Slaanesh

The two people in the front seats didn't want to disturb the pair in the back.

After a while, Ji Mengyao suddenly pulled away from Wu Di as if shocked by electricity.

Though that familiar embrace was indeed warm, there were still two people watching from the front.

She glanced at Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue in the front - one focused on driving, the other whistling while looking out the window.

Both had expressions that seemed to say "please, carry on."

Ji Mengyao adjusted her hair under her hat, too embarrassed to look at Wu Di, and moved back to sit by the window.

"Mengyao, do you want to lean on me again?"

Wu Di turned to ask Ji Mengyao, seemingly concerned, pointing to his shoulder.

Just as she had started to feel better, Ji Mengyao became flustered again and quickly waved her hand in embarrassment:

"Lean on your head!"

She rolled down the window and lit another cigarette that Ning Yu had given her to calm her nerves, looking outside to avoid Wu Di's gaze.

Ning Yu wondered what exactly was going on between these two.

30 minutes later.

The SUV slowly approached an industrial park, where numerous zombies in work uniforms wandered about.

As soon as Ning Yu drove up to the entrance, she spotted muddy truck tire tracks on the ground.

She got out to investigate and pointed in the direction the tracks led, saying:

"He must have driven that same truck, heading that way."

A zombie in work clothes crawled across the dirty ground towards them, but Ning Yu kicked its head clean off like a soccer ball.

She skillfully avoided the blood splatter, unusually careful unlike her normal carefree self.

She had just changed into new clothes and gotten a new hairstyle today, and didn't want them ruined so quickly.

Seeing that the tire tracks definitely led into the industrial park, Ning Yu got back into the SUV.

The park's main gate was wide open, likely forced open when Wan Heng arrived, so she could drive straight in.

The others in the car scanned their surroundings, staying alert.

Ji Mengyao had calmed down considerably, regaining some of her energy.

There weren't many zombies in the park, posing no immediate threat to the group.

The park contained various industrial facilities with exposed steel staircases wrapping around the buildings, not yet rusted - this was clearly a newer industrial complex.

They quickly spotted the large truck parked in the center - the same one Wan Heng had used to transport zombies when they first met him.

Ning Yu parked the SUV next to the truck, and everyone quickly got out.

Wu Di retrieved the large wooden box containing the red chainsaw from the trunk and strapped it to his back, while holding a solid steel axe.

Ji Mengyao also equipped an identical steel axe on her back, having learned her lesson after a Greed-type zombie broke her axe handle last time.

Ning Yu was more casual about it, carrying a small dagger in her left hand and a sleeve-mounted crossbow in her right sleeve, not having spent points on new weapons yet.

With Shen Yiyue around, she didn't really need to upgrade her weapons anyway.

Shen Yiyue still had her long sword on her back and held a black pistol with infinite ammo in her hands - the sparse zombie density here meant guns were viable.

As soon as the four got out of the car, nearby zombies had already started converging on them, drawn by the noise - mostly zombies in industrial park uniforms.

The air filled with gunshots, the sound of axes cutting flesh, and the muffled thwack of crossbow bolts as the group quickly dispatched the closest zombies.

"Sister Yiyue, don't overuse your abilities, you might faint."

Ning Yu advised with concern.

Shen Yiyue turned back with a smile: "No problem!"

Ji Mengyao was the first to climb up to the truck's door and peer inside, finding no people or corpses.

The door was locked, indicating Wan Heng had deliberately exited the vehicle.

This suggested he hadn't encountered any danger up until leaving the truck.

Ji Mengyao jumped back down and shook her head at the others.

Ning Yu had already guessed as much. She activated [Detection (Intermediate)] and quickly got results:

[No mutant zombies detected!]

But they couldn't let their guard down, as the detection range was limited.

"Let's split into two groups to search the area. Don't go alone, don't enter any buildings, and regroup immediately if there's trouble."

Ning Yu suggested.

Ji Mengyao and Wu Di nodded in agreement, while Ning Yu paired up with Shen Yiyue.

The groups then spread out to search the industrial park.

Ning Yu scanned the surrounding buildings, noticing nothing unusual, while Shen Yiyue kept her gun ready beside her.

Soon, Ning Yu found fresh muddy footprints on the ground. She knelt down to examine some of the dirt and said:

"These are fresh."

The two followed the footprints slowly, but unfortunately, they became increasingly faint.

Suddenly, Ning Yu's gaze caught something, her pupils contracting:

"Over there."

She spotted the figure of a young man in flashy clothes, with sunglasses frames visible behind his ears, though he was facing away from them.

Shen Yiyue looked in the same direction but couldn't see clearly - the distance was too great.

She wondered if she was becoming nearsighted, as she often couldn't see what Ning Yu could spot.

Ning Yu's brows furrowed, sensing something was wrong, as the young man's figure stood completely motionless at another entrance to the industrial park.

Things were likely already going badly.

"Let's regroup with the others first."

Ning Yu quickly climbed a high tower and used her incredible eyesight to scan the park, quickly locating Ji Mengyao and Wu Di.

They immediately headed toward the others' position to regroup.

Seeing Ning Yu approach, Ji Mengyao tensed up and quickly asked in a low voice:

"How is it? Did you find anything?"

"I found him."

Ning Yu replied calmly, her amber eyes beneath her hat brim showing no emotion.

Seeing Ning Yu's serious expression, both felt something was wrong. Wu Di asked:

"Is he still alive?"

Ning Yu shook her head slightly:

"Not sure, but probably..."

"Let's go check it out!"

Ji Mengyao cut off Ning Yu's words, gripping her axe tightly.

Following Ning Yu's lead, the four approached the industrial park exit.

In the direction Ning Yu pointed, they all saw the figure of Wan Heng with his sunglasses, standing motionless with his back to them.

Now closer, Ning Yu could clearly see the color of his skin.

It was grayish.

Suddenly, Wan Heng, who had been facing away from them, seemed to come alive, abruptly vaulting over the industrial park gate and running away.

Ji Mengyao, not caring if she attracted zombies, called out loudly:

"Wan Heng!!"

But the young man completely ignored her call and kept running.

Ji Mengyao made to chase after him but was stopped by Ning Yu before she could start running.

"Wait, something's not right here."

She activated [Detection (Intermediate)] again and quickly got results.

Ning Yu narrowed her eyes and coldly told the group:

"Prepare for combat. There's a mutant zombie."

Hearing the words "mutant zombie," everyone's hearts sank.

[Detected: Slaanesh (Low Level)]

[Position: 10 o'clock direction, approximately 1005 meters, vertical height difference less than 1 meter]