Chapter 133: The Trap

Mu Zongxing was currently in the surveillance room on the perimeter of the Old Slaughterhouse. Through the cameras installed in every corner, he could see everything happening inside the building. In Nanchuan, very few people knew the true purpose of the Old Slaughterhouse. On the surface, it was an old industrial factory with nearly a century of history, but in reality, it was a military base left over from the Second World War. To prevent enemies from capturing the base, the interior was equipped with numerous traps. Even after all these years, these mechanisms remained intact and functional.

Mu Zongxing had secretly tested them under the cover of night a few days prior; they worked perfectly. He had arranged for a high-voltage electrical room to be built beneath the central garden of the main building and had planted explosives, waiting only for Yi Chen and the Lurker to be lured in so he could catch them all in one fell swoop and blow them to smithereens.

However, the situation had changed. His daughter had been abducted by the Lurker, and her whereabouts were unknown. According to the message conveyed by Ouyang Hong, he was actually being forced to assist the Lurker in eliminating Yi Chen. Mu Zongxing never imagined he would end up siding with a monster. He realized he had strayed from the right path, but it was already too late. Mu Qing was the apple of his eye; if anything were to happen to her, he would not want to live either. Compared to anything else, his daughter was more important.

Perhaps because it was a public holiday, or perhaps by Mu Zongxing’s deliberate design, Yi Chen had not seen a single living soul since entering the Old Slaughterhouse. Passing through hundreds of wide, umbrella-shaped pillars, Yi Chen reached the "Bridge Gallery Space." There were twenty-six steel inclined bridges connecting the four-story outer corridors. Faced with the intricate and complex paths, Yi Chen felt a headache coming on. It was his first time here, and he knew nothing of the layout. There were no clear directional maps, and the various signs only served to dazzle and confuse him.

Forget it. Spending time studying the signs was not as good as trusting his own judgment. Following the scent lingering in the air, Yi Chen pressed forward while sensing the locations of Lu Yu and his family. After wandering for a long time, he suddenly slammed on the brakes. The inclined bridge ahead was broken, with a gap of about twenty meters separating it from the other side, suspended in mid-air.

What was going on? Yi Chen looked closely and saw that the break was remarkably clean, with significant wear marks on the edges and signs of rust; it didn't look like it had happened recently. It couldn't have been an accident. Could it be a tourist attraction? There were no safety measures nearby; wouldn't it be dangerous if tourists reached this point? Yi Chen immediately dismissed both thoughts. He stood over the edge and looked down; the missing section of the bridge was hanging vertically below.

This was... a trap?! Yi Chen gasped. What kind of place was this Old Slaughterhouse?

Why was Mu Zongxing so concerned about his family, and why had he arranged for them to visit on a public holiday? As the events strung together, Yi Chen’s temples throbbed. The black rain falling from the sky, the zombie siege—why did everything have to happen today? This was no coincidence!

There was no time to lose. Without hesitation, he dialed Lu Yu’s mobile number. The call connected quickly. "Where are you now?" Yi Chen asked.

"We are almost at the central garden. Something is wrong here," Lu Yu replied directly, having already sensed Yi Chen’s entry into the Old Slaughterhouse. After they had passed through the "Bridge Gallery Space," the steel bridge they had just walked across had cracked with a loud snap and sunk significantly. It was clear that someone was making it impossible for them to turn back. Chen Hong was terrified, and Yi Lin was already sobbing.

Lu Yu realized the opponent was luring them into a trap. They were now being controlled within the scheme. Fortunately, he was no longer an ordinary person and could keep his composure. While comforting Yi Chen’s family, he led the way forward. Since they couldn't go back, they had to go forward; he wanted to see exactly what would happen.

"Wait there, I’m coming to find you," Yi Chen said.

"You... how are you going to get here?" Lu Yu thought of the twenty-meter gap. Yi Chen didn't have wings; could there be some other way to reach the central garden?

"I’m going to jump across."

"...You're not joking, are you?" Lu Yu was shocked. He knew Yi Chen’s constitution was different from other infected individuals, but twenty meters was pushing it!

"Xiao Yu, who are you talking to?" Chen Hong keenly sensed that this call was unusual, and an answer was on the tip of her tongue. She had thought about calling the police earlier, but Lu Yu clearly knew something. Connecting this to recent events, Chen Hong guessed that this might have something to do with her son, Yi Chen.

"Uh..." Lu Yu stalled. Logically, Yi Chen should have considered that his family was nearby, but as an intermediary, how should he explain it?

"It's okay, let me talk to my mom," Yi Chen said. Lu Yu handed the phone to Chen Hong.

"Mom, it’s me."

Chen Hong covered her mouth, and tears gushed out instantly. How many days had she waited for exactly these words?

"Hold on, I’ll be there in a moment!"

"Son, stop hiding from us. Mom knows what’s going on." Chen Hong wiped away her tears; she was a strong woman.

Yi Chen was stunned. What did his mother mean?

"The day the black rain fell, did something happen to you?" Chen Hong asked.

Yi Chen was speechless. That day, he had been scratched and infected by a zombie while saving his family. When the survivors in the residential compound were being sent to a safe place, he had said he was going to save people with Officer Bai, and thus separated from his mother and sister. This separation had lasted nearly three months. Yi Chen’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he finally managed to choke out a "Yes." He found it incredibly difficult to admit all this in front of his loved ones.

"Why are you so foolish? Why hide from us?! No matter what, you are my son! Even if you have turned into a zombie, Mom will protect you!" Chen Hong broke down into sobs again.

Although Chen Hong’s words were a bit extreme, the meaning could not be clearer: she had guessed Yi Chen’s condition long ago and felt neither fear nor rejection. She was very worried about him but rarely had news of him. Yi Chen gripped the phone, his eyes reddening. For a long time, he had only considered how to avoid them so as not to cause trouble for his family or disrupt their normal lives, but he hadn't realized that this line of thinking was the true source of the trouble. They were his closest kin; they might be afraid if they knew the truth, but he owed it to them to let them understand everything.

"Mom, we’ll talk in detail when we meet. Just wait for me."

Yi Chen hung up and began preparing to cross the twenty-meter gap. He retreated fifty meters, took a deep breath, and began his run-up. Even in the past, Yi Chen’s athletic ability had been exceptional; he excelled at high jump, long jump, running, and swimming. Because of his love for basketball, he had joined the school team in junior high and began specialized training. Now, his physique was even more extraordinary. While this twenty-meter gap was a major problem for an ordinary person—or even the current Lu Yu—it posed no threat to him.

With the wind whistling past, Yi Chen performed a triple jump and launched himself into the air!

Bang! With a loud thud, he landed steadily on the other side. The force was so great that it left a pair of footprints on the steel bridge deck. In the control room, Mu Zongxing and his assistant, Xiao Li, watched the surveillance footage in stunned silence. They couldn't see exactly how Yi Chen ran or jumped with their naked eyes, but the fact that he had effortlessly crossed over twenty meters was simply defying the laws of nature!

A monster!

Images of Yi Chen dealing with the Crawler and then them on the previous occasion flashed through Mu Zongxing’s mind, and he shuddered. No wonder the Lurker would kidnap his daughter to force him to assist in this plan. It must have been afraid of Yi Chen, too!