Tian Xiaoyu couldn't type at the moment, so she had to send a voice message.
"Chen Du, I passed out earlier, but I'm safe for now."
Chen Du received the message and finally let out a sigh of relief.
He then asked, "What exactly happened?"
Tian Xiaoyu told him everything.
"Zhang Hao somehow found an old friend of his, a man named Junior. This morning, at the shelter, Zhang Hao confronted me directly and tried to assault me. I shot him in the shoulder when he wasn't paying attention, but Junior is incredibly strong—he overpowered me almost instantly."
"Afterward, the two of them brought me to the Scar Crew, intending to hand me over to their leader. Now I'm locked in some warehouse, though I don't know where exactly."
Chen Du frowned as he listened to her voice message.
He knew Junior too—back in the day, Junior had been Zhang Hao's loyal lackey, always willing to take risks for Zhang while letting him reap all the rewards.
"How are you holding up?" Chen Du asked.
Tian Xiaoyu quickly sent another string of voice messages. "I'm fine. I'm wearing a combat suit I scavenged—it's bulletproof and knife-proof. They haven't been able to remove it yet."
"But Zhang Hao suggested starving me into submission, hoping I'll take it off myself."
Chen Du sneered.
That selfish, backstabbing scum didn't deserve to live in this world.
Tian Xiaoyu continued, "Chen Du, I have a big favor to ask. I want you to come and rescue me. I can offer you this combat suit as payment."
"Of course, if it's too dangerous, don't come. I don't want to drag you into this."
What a coincidence.
Chen Du had already secured the antiviral serum and was planning to deal with Zhang Hao anyway.
He nodded in agreement.
"Alright, send me your coordinates. I'll come to rescue you."
"But let's be clear—if it's too dangerous, I'm turning back. Got it?"
Tian Xiaoyu quickly replied, "With your promise, I feel much better. I'll send you the coordinates right away."
Chen Du received the coordinates and furrowed his brow slightly.
The distance between Tian Xiaoyu and himself was nearly a hundred miles—farther than expected. Even driving at full speed, it would still take half a day.
"Tian Xiaoyu," he said, "the distance is considerable. It'll take me at least half a day to reach you. Until then, you'll need to fend for yourself. Wait for me."
Tian Xiaoyu sent another voice message.
"Understood. For now, I'm still safe in this warehouse. Be careful, Chen Du."
Chen Du closed the chat window and began preparing his gear, checking the tire pressure on his vehicle.
Seeing this, Xie Li asked, "What's going on? Is there an emergency?"
Chen Du sighed. "There's someone from my university days I need to settle things with. While I'm at it, I'll save a former classmate."
"You mean the girl you've been sending supplies to?"
Chen Du nodded as he filled the car's fuel tank.
Xie Li pulled out her handgun.
"I'll go with you. An extra pair of hands could help."
Chen Du shook his head. "Tian Xiaoyu has been captured by the Scar Crew. They're gaining power rapidly, and I can't guarantee your safety. If I go alone and things get dicey, I can use my stealth to escape. Stay here and wait for my update."
Xie Li bit her lip.
"Fine, but if anything goes wrong, you must contact me!"
Chen Du ruffled Xie Li's hair gently, climbed into the driver's seat, and started the engine.
In peaceful times, a hundred miles might only take an hour or so. But in this apocalyptic world overrun with zombies, every step required caution. By the time Chen Du reached the Scar Crew's base, it was already late at night.
To avoid detection, Chen Du turned off the car several miles away and proceeded on foot. The Scar Crew's stronghold was heavily guarded, with sentries posted every ten steps. Clearly, their numbers far exceeded Bai Xi's group.
Chen Du didn't know what Scar looked like, so targeting the leader directly wasn't an option. Instead, he opted for the most straightforward approach: arson.
Tonight, Mr. Li was on gate duty alongside his roommate, Achen. Both were exhausted but had no choice—they'd drawn the short straw for the midnight shift.
Mr. Li yawned and scratched his behind before saying to Achen, "Man, there are so many mosquitoes tonight…"
But Achen didn't respond. Turning around, Mr. Li saw Achen clutching his neck, unable to make a sound. Blood spurted from the wound, and Achen collapsed lifelessly.
Eyes wide with terror, Mr. Li reached for the alarm bell—but suddenly felt invisible hands clamp over his mouth and nose, cutting off his air supply. His throat burned painfully, and his vision blurred…
Chen Du released the lifeless bodies of the two guards without breaking his stealth. He retrieved two cans of gasoline and quietly poured them along the ground, spreading the trail from the outer perimeter inward.
Inside the Scar Crew's dormitory, many members had already gone to bed, but a few restless youths were still awake. Huddled together, they pored over a worn-out adult manga, occasionally whispering excited comments.
Just as they were engrossed in the explicit illustrations, one of them suddenly said, "Do you smell that? It's gasoline—really strong."
The others sniffed the air.
"Yeah, it does smell like gasoline... Eh, probably just a leak somewhere. Are you done drooling over that book or not? If not, go to sleep!"
The first speaker grew indignant.
"Damn it, that book belongs to me! You're trying to kick me out? Make some room!"
The group resumed their heated discussion. Suddenly, one of them shouted, "Shit! Something's wrong! Where the hell would we even have gasoline here? We're under attack!"
Realizing the gravity of the situation, they scrambled toward the door.
Boom!
Before they could exit, a deafening explosion rocked the area—a grenade. Flames erupted, spreading rapidly across the compound.
"Fire! Help!"
Panic spread as the sleeping members of the Scar Crew were jolted awake. Faced with the inferno consuming their base, they fled in disarray. In these resource-scarce times, everyone prioritized self-preservation; no one considered wasting precious water to extinguish the blaze.
Meanwhile, the mastermind behind the chaos—Chen Du—remained cloaked in invisibility, skillfully navigating through the panicked crowd while searching each room systematically.
At that moment, he noticed a bald man with a blind right eye standing on the balcony of a two-story building at the center of the compound. The man bellowed furiously at the fleeing Scar Crew members below.
"You worthless bastards! Stop running and put out the fire! Water doesn't matter—we can find more later! Without this base, do you plan to camp in the wild and get eaten by zombies? Damn you all—put out the fire!"
Under the bald man's enraged shouts, many of the fleeing Scar Crew members reluctantly returned to try extinguishing the flames.
Scar.
Chen Du deduced that this bald man must be the leader of the Scar Crew. He began making his way toward the building.