117: Chapter 117 The corpse poison was brought to Lin Yuan's lips, and he smiled as he drank half a bottle.

Early morning.

A long line forms at the entrance of the Jiang University canteen.

Everyone receives a piece of multigrain flatbread and a small bottle of water. Outbound squads receive an extra half.

Fatty takes the bread and weighs it.

"Today's bread is not bad."

Thin Monkey takes a look.

"It's hard enough to be used as a brick."

Fatty nods seriously.

"Then it's even better; if you can't finish it, you can use it for self-defense."

Fang Xiaoxiao finishes registering the mission and closes the notebook.

"Today we're going to the southern residential area."

"A team went missing there yesterday."

She looks at the group, lowering her voice.

"Same old rules."

"Don't run around, don't be greedy for items, and don't touch unknown liquids."

Ma Chao is the first to reach out and pick up the tool bag.

"I'll take the lead."

Fang Xiaoxiao glances at him.

She doesn't praise him, just shifts her short crossbow half an inch to her side.

Ma Chao keeps his head down, his voice much lower than yesterday.

"I'll do more work today."

Fatty rubs his chin.

"Tsk."

Thin Monkey looks at him.

"Tsk what?"

Fatty lowers his voice.

"Something smells off about this."

Ma Chao proactively picks up a crowbar and hangs the rope over his shoulder. Lin Yuan follows at the very end, holding a short spear in his right hand, like a new recruit who just learned to walk.

His gaze sweeps across Ma Chao's waist. Beside the issued small bottle of water hangs another bottle. The cap has been resealed.

It even has the scent of peppermint candy rubbed on the outside. An ordinary person smelling it would only think it's the smell of plastic mixed with mint.

But having lived two lifetimes, Lin Yuan is extremely sensitive to this scent. Zombie Poison.

Lin Yuan withdraws his gaze and rubs the seam of his pants with his left hand. Ma Chao's brain, it actually has good execution when doing bad things.

The five of them leave the south gate of Jiang University along with three other teams.

Abandoned cars block the street in a row. The rolling shutter of a roadside convenience store has been pried open; the shelves are empty, leaving only a few bags of crushed puffed food.

A half-torn banner hangs at the entrance of the residential area. [United as one, overcoming difficulties together]. Below it lies a headless corpse.

The teams briefly divide the area and quickly disperse.

Fatty walks in front, raising his shield.

"I'll hold the door."

Thin Monkey grips his short spear.

"I'll go for the eyes."

Fang Xiaoxiao says, "I'll finish them off."

Ma Chao immediately chimes in, "I'll clear the stairs."

Lin Yuan says quietly, "I... I'll watch the back."

Fatty turns back and smiles.

"Alright, you're the new guy, just focus on staying alive for now."

The first building. The unit door is half-open. Fatty kicks the door open.

Two zombies rush out from the stairwell. Looking at their clothes, it's a father and daughter who were preparing for school. On the little girl's school uniform, there is even the name of the Jiang University Affiliated Primary School.

Fatty raises his shield to hold them back. Bang! The large zombie crashes into the shield, teeth gnashing, nails scratching against the shield surface with a squeaking sound.

Thin Monkey probes with his short spear from the side of the shield. Pfft. The spear tip pierces into the eye socket.

Fang Xiaoxiao slices across the neck with her short blade.

The second, smaller zombie bypasses the shield. It lunges toward the side.

Ma Chao rushes up, swinging the crowbar horizontally. Crack. The zombie's knee snaps. He finishes it with a blade in his other hand, hacking into the back of its head. Black blood splatters over half his body.

Ma Chao pants, looking at Fang Xiaoxiao. Fang Xiaoxiao nods.

"Don't get carried away."

The five continue upstairs. Ma Chao is even more proactive this time.

Thinking about how Fang Xiaoxiao took care of Lin Yuan yesterday, the evil fire in his heart becomes uncontrollable.

Ma Chao lets out a low growl, unexpectedly bypassing Fatty's shield directly, and kicks open the door on the left side of the first floor!

"Ma Chao! You're out of position! Get back!" Fang Xiaoxiao's expression changes drastically, and she shouts urgently.

Too late. Inside the door, it's not just a regular wandering zombie, but a green-skinned D-rank Elite Zombie!

"Roar—!" A black shadow lunges down, bringing with it a foul wind. The stairwell is narrow, and the distance is close.

Ma Chao never expected an elite zombie to be hidden here and is stunned on the spot. He swings his crowbar wildly, missing completely.

Sharp claws head straight for his throat. At this very instant, Lin Yuan, standing at the back, his eyes turn half a degree colder.

For Ma Chao to die now would be too easy. He gently flicks his fingers hanging at his side.

The small bottle of water issued this morning at his waist silently loses a sliver of content. In the shadows of the stairwell, a wisp of Water Blade sweeps along the base of the wall. It's so fast that only a wet streak remains.

The D-rank Elite Zombie lunges into mid-air, when its shoulder bone suddenly tilts. The sharp claws graze Ma Chao's throat and smash into the wall.

Rip—! The wall plaster explodes, and debris splatters everywhere. "Ah!!" Ma Chao screams.

The color drains from his face instantly. He doesn't push forward. Nor does he retreat to make room for his teammates.

He reaches back, grabs Fatty's vest, and yanks him in front of himself.

"Damn it!" Thin Monkey blows up on the spot. "Ma Chao, you animal!"

Fatty is yanked off-balance, his eyes instantly turning red. "Get out of the way!" He roars, forcefully slamming his shield forward.

Bang! The shield face slams into the D-rank Elite Zombie, pinning it tightly against the wall.

Fang Xiaoxiao leaps off the stair railing, her short crossbow almost touching the zombie's face. Twang! The crossbow bolt pierces through the eye socket.

The D-rank Elite Zombie roars, slamming against the shield. It looks like it's about to break through.

Lin Yuan steps forward, pressing both hands against the back edge of the shield, as if helping to hold it with all his might.

Thin Monkey seizes the opportunity, stabbing his short spear in from the side. Pfft. The other eye socket is pierced through.

The D-rank Elite Zombie twitches twice and finally stops moving. For a moment, only heavy breathing remains in the stairwell.

Ma Chao collapses onto the floor. "No... Xiaoxiao, listen to me, I also wanted to push up just now..."

"Don't call me by my name, call me Captain." Ma Chao's face stiffens. "Yes, Captain."

Fang Xiaoxiao's face is dark. "Get to the back and do your job."

Ma Chao lowers his head and presses down on the water bottle at his waist. Lin Yuan sees it. He says nothing.

The entire building is searched. No survivors. Only empty pots, rotten blankets, and a few thoroughly dead corpses.

At the corner of the stairs, they find the missing team member's backpack, which still contains three crystal cores, but the person is gone. There are also three blood-stained finger marks on the wall. It seems they are likely doomed.

Fang Xiaoxiao puts the crystal cores into a cloth bag. "Let's head back to turn in the account and report the findings."

When going downstairs, Ma Chao proactively walks up to Lin Yuan. "Boss Lin." Lin Yuan stops.

Ma Chao takes the water bottle from his waist. The bottle is very clean. "I saw that your small bottle of water is finished."

"This bottle is clean, I haven't drunk from it." "You take it."

Fang Xiaoxiao turns back and sees this scene, frowning slightly, but doesn't speak. Fatty hasn't recovered from the yank earlier and is too lazy to pay attention to Ma Chao.

Lin Yuan takes the water, his fingers resting on the bottle. When unscrewing the cap, his forearm covers the bottle body. His Spatial Ability flashes. The liquid in the bottle disappears. Mineral water of the same weight fills it. The movement is so fast that no one sees it.

Lin Yuan tilts his head back to drink. Gulp. Gulp. He drinks half the bottle right in front of Ma Chao. He even wipes his mouth. "Thanks, Brother Chao."

Ma Chao stares at his Adam's apple. He has even started imagining Boss Lin collapsing and convulsing, and Fang Xiaoxiao retreating in terror.

At that time, he will be able to point at this face and tell everyone—look, he really isn't a good person.

"No problem." "We're all on the same team."

On the way back, Ma Chao keeps sticking close to Lin Yuan. He holds a machete in his hand. His eyes don't look at the road. He only looks at Lin Yuan's neck, the whites of his eyes, his fingers.

One minute. Ten minutes. Half an hour. Lin Yuan's complexion is normal. He even burps.

Fatty turns back. "Didn't you eat enough this morning?" Lin Yuan smiles awkwardly. "I drank the water too fast."

Ma Chao's footsteps falter. Impossible. That was the black fluid he personally scraped from an infected person's gums.

A new recruit in the corpse disposal unit got a little bit on the back of his hand yesterday and started convulsing within two minutes. Why is Boss Lin fine? What exactly is he?

Lin Yuan suddenly stops and hands over the remaining half bottle of water. "Brother Chao."

Ma Chao is stunned. Lin Yuan looks honest. "You've been looking at me the whole way, are you thirsty?" "Do you want some?"