An ethereal human being stood in the clearing. It was a tall and slender man with a somewhat delicate appearance, like a piece of beautiful and ornate lace which could be ripped apart if pulled too hard. His skin was nearly as white as the fog, and his hair was so dark it was like looking into a pit. He wore a simple long-sleeved shirt and slacks, and his back faced Lu Hao.

In front of this man were several corpses stacked atop each other, and the man's hand was covered dark red from the blood and flesh he pulled from the human bodies.

When Lu Hao came into the clearing, the man ignored his presence for the first few seconds. Only after he had finished eating did he turn around.

His facial features were beautiful, as if carved from sculpture, and if weren't for the pitch-black sclera of his eyes, it would be impossible to tell he was anything other than human.

The zombie stared at Lu Hao with a piercing and assessing gaze. Lu Hao knew, deep in his gut, that this creature in front of him had an intellect and fighting capability far greater than any other zombie he had ever encountered, and for the first time, Lu Hao's instincts screamed at him to run.

Sweat broke over Lu Hao's back. He stood his ground.

"...Who are you?"

The zombie didn't answer. It just stared, eerie and unmoving.

And then-

-In the blink of an eye, it was in front of Lu Hao.

Lu Hao didn't even have time to react before a claw gripped his throat, choking him. The zombie began to lift Lu Hao in the air, and the second Lu Hao's feet left the ground, his instincts finally caught up. A burst of electricity coursed over Lu Hao's body, snaking down the zombie's arm. Yet even though this burst of energy would be enough to smash a building to smithereens or explode a thousand level 10 zombies, the energy dissipated when it reached the zombie's shoulder.

Lu Hao was left helpless in the zombie's grasp.

"Bastard...!" Gritting his teeth, Lu Hao tried to pry the zombie's fingers from his neck. The air around him crackled and sparked with energy, but nothing budged the zombie. It just tilted its head, and seemed almost... disappointed.

Then, something seemed to change around the zombie.

Like an aura coming to life, the air pressed down, suffocating Lu Hao. Every inch of his body felt immovable, almost like he'd been dropped into cement. He could hardly breathe, and he could feel his chest weakly squeezing around his heart.

The zombie dropped Lu Hao to its feet. It looked down at him, solemn and expressionless, and though Lu Hao struggled and tried to move, tried to speak, tried to do anything-the zombie simply walked away, its feet lightly brushing against the crisp and dewy grass.

Lu Hao was left there, helpless and bound, staring up at the unnaturally clouded and foggy sky.

Though the girl who carried Hong Sheng was small - far shorter than Hong Sheng, who was not that tall himself - she was surprisingly strong and quick. She quietly crossed a distance of two hundred meters in a few minutes. By that time, Hong Sheng had begun regaining some control of his body, and he attempted to lift his feet to walk.

He wanted to propel himself away from her, but the girl clutched onto him and shook her head, forcefully dragging him along. She was mouthing words at him, but Hong Sheng didn't know how to read lips and could only stare at her blankly.

He only understood when he heard a horrible scream erupt from behind them. Hong Sheng looked back, and there, at the very edge of the fog, he saw the vague silhouette of a zombie tearing into the SG member on the ground.

Seeing that, the girl tightened her grip on Hong Sheng and hurried forward. This time Hong Sheng didn't fight her. The two of them hobbled together through the forest, walking around rocks and the uneven footing.

The two of them worked silently in tandem to navigate the forest. Hong Sheng's vision still blurred in and out of focus. He needed all of his concentration just to lift his feet. If any zombies came now, he would certainly be dead.

After who knows how long, the sheer face of the mossy and rocky mountainside rose up before them. The girl brought Hong Sheng behind some bushes and lowered him so that they could rest.

Hong Sheng sent her a look. Luckily, the girl seemed to understand; she immediately whispered, "The zombies guard the road and the deep parts of the forest. We should be safe, for now." She looked tense while speaking, as if she didn't really quite believe that was true, but wished it was. Either way, they didn't have many options, so Hong Sheng just nodded.

"Do you know how we can escape?" he asked. There were several other pieces of information he could ask - such as who was this girl, where did she come from, and how long she'd been in here - but it was most important to leave the danger zone. All other questions could wait until there wasn't a chance of being eaten alive.

The girl bit her lip and shook her head. "We - my family... we tried to run. But no matter how far we went, we were always still in the forest. I even tried walking beside the mountain, but it didn't matter. I just ended up back where I started."

Hong Sheng looked up at the mountain. "Have you tried climbing over?"

"My uncle did," the girl whispered, face pale. "But he..."

Hong Sheng's mouth flattened into a grim line.

Some sort of barrier trapped them inside. Hong Sheng doubted it was intentionally laid out for them, or for anyone - this village was abandoned, after all. No one would come here except scavengers. But that also meant that if someone wanted to quietly hide something right under the SG's nose... this would be a prime location.

Hong Sheng's skin prickled with this knowledge. The barrier was meant to keep any witnesses in and silence them. No one was meant to leave this place alive.

Their greatest chance of getting out was Lu Hao. He had senses and powers far beyond anything Hong Sheng could imagine, and if anyone could find a way to escape, it would be him.

"Did you scream, earlier?" Hong Sheng asked.

"Eh?"

"About half an hour ago. Did you scream?"

"I... yes," the girl said, looking shaken and haunted. "I-"

Hong Sheng didn't actually need to know what happened. He could guess easily enough - judging by the girl's mismatched clothing, she and her family were scavengers. She had probably gotten separated from a family member, watched them die, and screamed - thus alerting Lu Hao to her presence.

As for why Lu Hao couldn't sense the presence of humans here, or the presence of all these zombies - likely the barrier's effect.

As for whether Hong Sheng should trust this girl? He had no reason not to. He would have been dead if she didn't rescue him. The chances of him surviving without her aid were extraordinarily slim.

"I am part of the SG. We came because my unit leader heard your scream. I need to find him. He's our best chance of surviving."

The girl looked hopeful when she heard that Hong Sheng was part of the SG, but when she heard the rest, she knit her brows. "You were separated? Then maybe your unit leader..."

"He is alive." Hong Sheng knew, without a doubt, that nothing would be able to stop Lu Hao.

The girl bit her lip and nodded. "How do we find him?"

"He went in the direction of where you screamed. That is where we should go."

The girl paled in fear. "W-We can't! The zombies there... we'll die!"

Hong Sheng looked the girl in the eye. He didn't need to explain the reality of their situation. After a moment, the girl seemed to understand that they had no choice. Even if they stayed here, they would eventually die. One way or the other, they had to keep moving.

"We have to be careful," the girl said. Hong Sheng nodded.

"Do you have any abilities?" he asked. "I don't."

"I... I can create fire. The last time I was in a city, they ranked me at level three."

He nodded. The senses of a level three enhanced human was much better than Hong Sheng's. He would have to depend on her.

"Then let's go."

"Wait," the girl said. "Before we go. What's your name?"

Hong Sheng considered her. He disliked people other than Lu Hao calling him by name. However, now wasn't the time to be uncooperative. "...Hong Sheng."

"Hong ge," the girl called him, overfamiliar. Hong Sheng's brow knit, but when he saw the girl's pale and unfocused gaze, decided not to say anything. "My name is Yu Qiu. Let's... let's try our best to survive."