Chapter 65: To Fight or Not to Fight, That Is the Question

After the brief spell of dizziness passed, Du Yun found herself in the storeroom of the grocery shop in Dense Forest Town.

"Ah, back again." The darkness enveloped her, but Du Yun didn’t rush to move. She gripped her bow tightly, body tense, ready to deal with any sudden danger, and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim surroundings.

After all the time spent honing herself in the world overrun by zombies, her eyes had become adept at seeing in darkness. In just a moment, she could make out everything around her clearly.

“Good, no danger. It’s still dark outside, I wonder how much time has passed.” As she pondered, she walked toward the exit. She had stayed at home for so many days, and had no idea how much time had slipped by in the zombie world.

The passage of time was different between the two worlds, and Du Yun had to pause and recall what her situation was before she left. This time, she had just stored away supplies in front of the boss, then flashed back home. Before she left, the boss had promised to wait for her return.

But seeing no one in the storeroom, Du Yun was suddenly struck by a sense of being abandoned, glimpsing a bleak future of struggling alone in the zombie world, companionless, until her eventual demise.

"Du Yun?" A low voice called from outside. Her body tensed, then gradually relaxed.

So he was still here, waiting for me! In that instant, Du Yun couldn’t describe her feelings—joy surged through her like a tide, flooding every pore, so comfortable, so delightful.

"Yes, it’s me," she replied softly, unable to hold back a smile as she strode quickly to the storeroom door. Her chest felt full, and she was seized by an urge to embrace Xiao Yi tightly.

She flung the door open with a crash, her eyes shining as she gazed at Xiao Yi. Before she could throw herself into his arms, she sensitively noticed two other people in the courtyard.

"Why are they here? How long has it been?" Du Yun asked quietly, her excitement dampened.

"Three hours. The zombies are rioting—we have to leave," the boss replied, looking down at Du Yun’s transformation with a touch of disappointment, though he quickly pulled himself together. He glanced at the brand-new bow in her hand, his eyes flickering with doubt, but he suppressed it.

"All my things are with me, I can leave at any time." Hearing about the zombie riot, Du Yun’s heart tightened. Thousands of zombies were no laughing matter—if they broke loose and surrounded the group, in their current state, they would be nothing more than fodder for the zombie horde.

"Let’s go!" The boss gripped the machete he’d found in the grocery shop, grabbed Du Yun’s hand, and led her out swiftly. Zhuang and Skinny Monkey followed close behind. The zombies could break out at any moment; earlier, the boss had waited stubbornly for Du Yun and hadn’t been able to leave, but now, the sooner they left, the better.

Their steps were brisk, and following the directions on the map, they hurried along the main road toward the outskirts of the town. Along the way, they encountered a few wandering zombies, easily dealt with, and no real danger arose—it was all quite smooth.

By dawn, the four of them had already left the central area of Dense Forest Town. With only a few scattered houses ahead, their pace slowed, mainly due to the zombies roaming near the roads.

Dense Forest Town had many zombies, but they were concentrated. After Du Yun and her companions lured them into the valley and sealed them in, only a handful remained in the town. The situation outside the town was the opposite: zombies were scattered, but without a way to kill them instantly, more would be drawn by the commotion.

Each of the four could handle one or two zombies without issue, but facing ten or twenty at once was a different matter, especially as more zombies kept appearing, seemingly without end.

"This won’t do." Du Yun fired her last arrow, pinning a distant zombie in place. She sat down heavily, panting. They had just cleared a wave of zombies; within a few hundred meters, all nearby zombies lay dead at their feet. The thick smell of blood and an indescribable stench filled the air, impossible to dispel. Soon, more zombies would be drawn by it.

"Yes, if we keep fighting like this, we’ll die of exhaustion. We need to avoid people," Skinny Monkey agreed. Earlier, when leaving Dense Forest Town, he’d been resentful of Du Yun for wasting time, but now all such feelings had vanished.

If not for the three-hour delay, they would have encountered this zombie wave at night. For some reason, zombies were stronger and faster at night than during the day. If they had run into so many zombies in the nighttime, even if they survived, they would have suffered heavy losses.

Xiao Yi, the boss, noticed this as well, but didn’t immediately order them to change their route. Instead, he gazed silently into the mist-shrouded distance, weighing the pros and cons.

Taking a detour would be safer, but time would be uncertain. If they missed the arrival of the small starship, they might have to wait another half month.

Moreover, with their current fighting strength, it would be tough to reach the spaceport near the city and wait for the starship. No matter how deserted the city outskirts were, they couldn’t compare to this mountain town—there would be far more people.

More people meant more zombies. Their strength was already stretched thin here; if they encountered even more zombies, whether injured or not, escaping with their lives would be pure luck.

Yet fighting on the edge of death was the best way to improve their combat abilities. If they grew stronger along the way, it would greatly help them succeed in returning to Imperial Star. But increasing their strength also meant multiplied risk; if they were wounded or trapped, death awaited.

To fight or not to fight—that was the question.

But the boss didn’t hesitate long. Staring into the distant mist, his gaze grew resolute. "Soldiers don’t flee without a fight. We push through!"

"Alright, push through!" Zhuang and Skinny Monkey echoed, their eyes firming. They steadied their breathing, rose to their feet, tightened their lips, and gripped their weapons, ready to press on.

"Yes!" Seeing their resolve, Du Yun felt as though she were looking at warriors, fearless in defending their homeland, willing to bleed and sacrifice. Her own heart burned hot, her gaze fixed forward. If retreat was impossible, then let them fight!