Chapter 339: Chapter 164 Abandonment_1

“You’ve been abandoned.”

Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke with a piercing sharpness.

“Yes…”

Xu Xiaojun nodded, his eyes empty.

Jiang Shixue looked up at Wang Tao, her head filled with fragmented memories of him. She couldn’t recall the specifics, but she knew it was Wang Tao who had saved her.

If not for Wang Tao, she would have been dead by now. She hadn’t been abandoned.

Wang Tao felt Jiang Shixue’s gaze and rubbed her hair, then turned to Xu Xiaojun and asked,

“Then how did you survive here?”

Xu Xiaojun closed his eyes, his face contorted in pain.

“At that time, many people died. Those three zombies seemed somewhat afraid of light; they didn’t chase after us but ate the bodies of my companions instead. I ran in the chaos. I could have had the chance to escape… When I saw that the door was locked shut, I suppressed my discomfort and hid amongst the flesh and blood… Perhaps it was because I was covered in the scent of meat and blood, the zombies didn’t notice me…”

“But I knew that wouldn’t work forever; sooner or later, I’d be discovered. Just when I was trying to figure out what to do, I noticed the zombies seemed to disappear… I mustered the courage to go out and found a hole leading outside…”

“I thought I could escape to freedom and was ready to climb out, but one of the zombies was outside. It found me! I had no choice but to block the hole with everything I could find in the granary.”

“I didn’t know if the zombies buried in the flesh would wake up, and I knew I was no match for them, so I barricaded myself in here too. I wanted to die with some dignity… When I woke up again, I saw Brother Wang…”

Having heard Xu Xiaojun’s explanation, Wang Tao now understood the whole story.

In short, Eldest Lu and his group came to the underground warehouse and encountered those blood-covered zombies, nearly getting wiped out.

Had it not been for Xu Xiaojun covering their retreat and the zombies preoccupied with feeding… all of them would likely have died.

But they abandoned Xu Xiaojun, who had to hide and save himself. When he saw the zombies leave, he prepared to escape, only to find a zombie at the exit. With no other options, he blocked the hole.

Xu Xiaojun couldn’t see the zombies’ HP bars, nor did he know that the zombies yet to fully develop inside the flesh had no attacking ability. So, fearing they would wake up, he dared not attack. Thus, he barricaded everything around him, preparing for a somewhat respectable death.

But then, Wang Tao arrived…

“It’s true that appearances can be deceiving!”

Wang Tao remarked with a sigh.

He thought Eldest Lu was smart enough not to abandon a teammate — not because he was kind-hearted, but as a leader, abandoning a teammate in front of others would not sit well. How would that make the others feel?

Even if it was just for show, he should have at least tried to help Xu Xiaojun.

Hearing Wang Tao’s reflection, Xu Xiaojun suddenly spoke up:

“Eldest Lu… he’s dead…”

“…”

Okay, that would explain it… So he died!

Wang Tao felt a twinge of regret. He had previously thought that Eldest Lu’s Hidden Attributes, which allowed him to anticipate danger early, were quite impressive. Now, it seemed that even such abilities were not infallible.

Wang Tao then asked Xu Xiaojun for more details about those zombies.

“There’s one more, three in total… afraid of light… they stay in their lair during the day and go out at night…”

Wang Tao stroked his chin, not expecting there to be another one. It was fortunate they hadn’t encountered it, or things could have been troublesome.

Moreover, Wang Tao didn’t expect such a clear weakness in a Level 3 zombie… This aversion to light seemed worse than the Terrorizer’s.

Terrorizers are sensitive to light, but it’s only their eyes that are affected, and they can move freely outside during the day.

As for this Blood-red Zombie, it doesn’t come out during the day at all. Even earlier, when Eldest Lu and his group made noise outside, the zombie remained in its lair… obviously, it was more light-sensitive than the Terrorizers!

Could he possibly exploit this weakness? After all, this was a Level 3 zombie!

Wang Tao felt a bit greedy.

Yet it was night, and besides a flashlight, he had no other sources of light. He didn’t know if the flashlight’s light would be effective… If only they could find where the zombies hid during the day.

“Thud, thud, thud—”

Occasional thumping sounds still came from outside the hole.

Xu Xiaojun grew tense, while Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue remained relatively calm. Xu Xiaojun had securely blocked the entrance, so the zombies couldn’t get in.

Wang Tao pulled out a few bottles of nutrient solution, handing them to Xu Xiaojun:

“Eat something, then rest. We’ll discuss things tomorrow in daylight.”

“Okay, thank you!”

Xu Xiaojun accepted them gratefully.

He didn’t know what it was, but he trusted Wang Tao wouldn’t harm him, so he downed it immediately.

Sour and sweet, it was quite tasty.

Shortly after, Xu Xiaojun felt his strength returning. He was surprised, but didn’t ask further. After confirming that Wang Tao didn’t need him to take over the night watch, he lay down on the ground and soon, soft snoring filled the air.

Wang Tao found Xu Xiaojun quite interesting. After going through this ordeal, it seemed his stutter was gone?

Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue.

“Little Xue, you should rest too,” he said.

Jiang Shixue had also been injured in the fight with the Blood-red Zombie. Although Wang Tao had treated her with a first aid kit, some wounds needed more time to heal.