Uncle circled around Wen Yan at the center, and as he did, ashes drifted across the ground—nearly twenty walking dead had been completely drained of their power, as if they’d just been burned in a luxury furnace, leaving behind only some ashes.
With malevolent energy rising around Uncle and sweeping through the area, the instincts of the surrounding walking dead and wraiths finally started to kick in. They immediately turned and tried to get far away.
It seemed that something farther away had sensed Uncle’s presence, as a distant howl echoed through the air.
Wen Yan thought of the green-haired zombie he’d previously encountered in the water ghost domain, and out of caution, shouted out.
Uncle didn’t hesitate for a second, immediately turning around and returning to Wen Yan’s side.
Back when they ran into that green-haired zombie, Wen Yan already thought something was odd.
There were two strange things about it.
First, aside from its corpse poison, that green-haired zombie didn’t seem all that special.
Normally, even if Uncle was a bit out of the ordinary and stronger than regular zombies, since both were haired zombies, the green-haired one shouldn’t have been crushed to death by Uncle so easily.
Second, it takes a long time and effort for a zombie to evolve into a haired zombie, but that green-haired zombie was still wearing tattered modern clothes.
Too bad the green-haired zombie died too fast, turned to dust too fast, and with the corpse poison, Wen Yan hadn’t dared to get too close and hadn’t gotten a good look.
These were all things Old Zhang used to talk to him about. About other stuff, what Old Zhang said wasn’t always that reliable, but when it came to zombies, Old Zhang from Fuyu Mountain was definitely an expert.
Now, here in this place, looking at all the walking dead scattered everywhere, Wen Yan was starting to get it.
Because this was weird too—sudden reanimations aren’t that easy, and even going from reanimating to becoming a walking dead requires conditions and time.
This many walking dead here? Obvious abnormality.
With such a huge number, if a hopping corpse or a haired zombie also emerged, it’d be completely possible.
That distant roar just now was powerful and carried a heavy sense of oppression.
Wen Yan figured keeping a low profile was best; what if something even stronger than a haired zombie was around here? Plus, he still didn’t understand what this domain was all about.
He wandered near a pool, trying to recall the layout of the chemical plant.
This was probably a part of the plant’s sewage treatment system—a section with outdoor pools, which should have already been processed water.
But that was how it was in the real factory; inside this domain, he still wasn’t sure what kind of water filled these pools.
What he could be sure of was: the water inside couldn’t be brought out. The pool where he’d come out and another farther away could both connect to the water ghost domain.
He reached into his pocket, took out the smartphone the Scorching Sun Department had given him, and found that the screen still worked. He took a few photos of the area.
He made sure to get shots of both pools, adding notes just in case he forgot later.
With Uncle and the little zombie on his back, Wen Yan walked the whole area. Any walking dead they passed kept far away from them.
The little zombie, who usually liked to nap while being carried, was awake now, holding Wen Yan’s neck, its two short legs wrapped around Wen Yan’s waist, clinging to his back and staying alert to everything around them.
After wandering this part of the facility—which was only a section of the sewage system—Wen Yan knew there were still lots of other water-related areas in the plant, like those for cooling water, process supply, and so on.
Following a thick pipe, Wen Yan moved forward quietly, when suddenly, he felt the little zombie’s grip tighten. He immediately froze in place.
Around the next corner, a white-haired zombie with a red safety helmet emerged from behind a building.
Behind it were six hopping corpses in yellow safety helmets.
The white-haired zombie froze on seeing Wen Yan and his group.
This white-haired zombie, possessing a bit of spiritual intelligence, hesitated. Wen Yan’s Yang energy was intense—it had sensed it, which was why it had come to take a look.
But behind Wen Yan, Uncle—eyes closed—was a black-haired zombie, exuding an overwhelming pressure.
The little zombie on Wen Yan’s back didn’t seem ordinary either.
While the white-haired zombie’s mind struggled to process all this, not sure what to do—
Wen Yan also stopped in his tracks. Sure enough, this was no ordinary ghost domain—encountering another haired zombie so easily, and they all even wore safety helmets.
Wen Yan noticed the white-haired zombie kept its distance, clearly wary. And the hesitation in its manner proved it wasn’t just another mindless undead.
Add to that the yellow safety helmets on those hopping corpses, and the white-haired’s red helmet—this was obviously all intentional.
He thought it over, grit his teeth, and muttered under his breath,
"Yell at him, just say when you were coming in from the water, you got attacked by stupid walking dead and a green-haired zombie, and you’re telling the grown-ups later!"
The little zombie immediately started speaking in its whimpering tongue.
It let out a series of varied ’ying ying ying’ sounds, who knows what it was saying.
The white-haired zombie stood frozen, not daring to move, and answered in a low, muttering, jumbled speech that no one could make out.
Hearing the white-haired zombie’s mutterings, Wen Yan felt the little zombie squeeze tighter with its hands and feet, so he went along with it and strode toward the white-haired zombie.
He got within a meter of the white-haired zombie; Wen Yan’s heart started racing, feeling the little zombie’s strength as it seemed to be trying to guide his right arm.
He resisted just a bit, but then the little zombie nuzzled his cheek with its face. On the second try, Wen Yan gritted his teeth, followed the guidance, and smacked the white-haired zombie across the face with his right hand.