Chapter 99: Kouzi Village

January 1st, 2026, Overcast.

Three days passed quickly, during which Wang Zhi would occasionally pull out the map and examine the surrounding layout. In the end, he chose the area accessed by Elevator No. 9. It was relatively backward, with a small population, and this was the area Wang Zhi found most promising at the moment.

In the residence…

The six of them were checking their gear. The fatty, no longer the carefree and playful one, silently organized his backpack.

“The time’s almost up. We should leave.” Wang Zhi glanced at Lingling.

With that, the six of them slung their backpacks over their shoulders and went downstairs to the first floor.

As they walked past, people glanced back at them, captivated by their full gear. Some envied them, while others looked on with jealousy and curses.

The six of them entered the No. 9 tunnel. The elevator reached the end of the passage, and Wang Zhi slowly ascended the stairs. With each step, he could feel the cold outside, and it was even colder than the last time he had come out, colder by three degrees.

Wang Zhi furrowed his brows. In this freezing winter, the survivors outside had no air conditioning or heating. If they wanted warmth, they would have to burn wood. Without any protection or heating measures, they could easily freeze to death.

After walking for a while, they reached the iron gate leading to the outside world. The six of them disengaged the safety on their firearms, preparing for any sudden situation.

Once everyone was ready, Wang Zhi activated the iron gate.

Immediately, the cold wind rushed into the tunnel. Even though Wang Zhi was wearing warm clothes, he still felt a sharp chill that went straight to his bones.

Outside, it was a wasteland. Aside from some withered weeds, a few figures moved slowly in the distance.

Wang Zhi observed these figures. They were still wearing tattered short-sleeves, and he couldn’t help but admire them. These guys were incredibly resilient, surviving even in such freezing conditions.

The fatty, seeing the slow-moving zombies, secretly swapped for a dagger, approaching them. With only a few zombies around, the fatty, rarely bold, decided to go for it.

Just as the fatty was about ten meters behind a zombie, the zombie sensed him and turned around, charging toward him.

Wang Zhi, from a distance, noticed the zombies’ movement. He found that the zombies’ speed had significantly slowed since their last outing. The extreme cold seemed to have impaired their movement.

While Wang Zhi was thinking, the fatty had already knocked out a few zombies, striking what he considered a “handsome” pose. Wang Zhi couldn’t help but think of it as a mating display.

“Where do we head next?” Duan Qingtian asked.

Wang Zhi looked around at the vast wilderness. The map showed that there was a country road leading to a town ahead.

“Let’s head toward the country road. We’ll see if there are any villages along the way.” Wang Zhi put the map away and led the way.

Wang Zhi thought a village would be safer. With fewer people, they wouldn’t have to worry about being surrounded by thousands of zombies.

The six of them arrived at the country road. This road was a vital route to the provincial highway, with many abandoned trucks and oil tankers scattered along the road.

Wang Zhi checked one of the oil tankers and found it empty, shaking his head in regret. If the tankers had been preserved, they could have made a fortune. Some of the construction materials in the trucks were still intact, but unfortunately, they couldn’t help Wang Zhi’s team.

“Walk on the side of the road! Watch out for zombies behind the vehicles!” Wang Zhi warned, as zombies occasionally jumped out from the abandoned vehicles.

With the slowed zombies, the six of them found it much easier to handle.

“How much further?” half an hour later, Su Mu Ying asked, pulling the Flaming Sky from a zombie’s head. She frowned, surveying the area, which was now overgrown with weeds.

Wang Zhi, standing on top of an abandoned truck, used binoculars to survey the distance. He could clearly see tall buildings in the town ahead, but the nearby village was hidden, possibly blocked by trees.

“Judging by the distance, we still have four hours to go,” Wang Zhi called back.

“Four hours and it’ll be dark,” Lao He commented, looking up at the sky.

“Tonight, we’ll rest at a village,” Wang Zhi said, jumping down from the truck.

“There’s no village around here, though,” the fatty commented, looking at the vast wilderness.

“There should be one up ahead. If we don’t find it, we can always find a car and spend the night in it,” Wang Zhi replied as he continued walking ahead.

Half an hour later, Wang Zhi reached a monument on the roadside.

“Kouzi Village? Let’s check it out.” Wang Zhi turned onto a side road.

After walking for a while, Wang Zhi realized that the village was actually situated in a giant pit. This pit was a massive square depression, which was likely the reason the village was called “Kouzi” (meaning “hole” in Chinese).

Wang Zhi looked at the rows of rooftops within the pit. Estimating the population, there could easily be about ten thousand people here.

The six of them didn’t bother finding the village entrance. Instead, they jumped onto the roof of the nearest building.

Inside the yard, a zombie was wandering around. As soon as it heard noise from the roof, it started clawing at the walls, but it couldn’t climb up.

Bang…

Wang Zhi shot the zombie in the head, silencing it.

“We’ll rest here for the night,” Wang Zhi said, looking at the sky. The sun was starting to set, and unless necessary, he didn’t want to move at night. Even with night-vision goggles, the visibility was far better during the day.

Wang Zhi stood on the roof, looking at the densely packed houses in the distance. He took out a signal flare and lit it on the roof.

A column of red smoke slowly rose into the air.

Before it got dark, they could see if any survivors in the village would notice the signal. If they saw it, they would climb to the roof to investigate, and Wang Zhi could observe them through his binoculars.

The signal flare would last for an hour. If no one climbed onto the roof within that time, even if there were survivors, Wang Zhi wouldn’t waste time searching house by house for zombies.

Wang Zhi didn’t hold out much hope. After all, it had been three months. Unless it was a large refugee camp, survivors would eventually run out of food and have to venture out. That process was enough to be fatal.

The six of them sat on the roof, and as the signal smoke dissipated, no one came up to investigate.

“Forget it, let’s go inside,” Wang Zhi said, putting away the binoculars and jumping into the yard.

Inside the house, the living room couch was covered with dust, looking as if it hadn’t been touched in a long time.

Wang Zhi entered the bedroom, where he found two human skeletons on the bed. His brow furrowed; it seemed their plan to sleep in the bed tonight was foiled.