Chapter Seventy-Eight: Entrapment?

After Lin Dong defeated Serpent Eyes, his territory expanded once again. Now, with the other end connected to Little Black’s domain, the three areas were fully joined together.

The total area under his control now reached fifty square kilometers, almost covering the entire city center, making him an undisputed overlord of the region.

The zombie horde under Lin Dong’s command had more than doubled in number, rising from the previous ten thousand to twenty-five thousand. Among them were five thousand elite zombies, including five hundred from the elite corps.

Through relentless fighting, slaughter, and devouring numerous brain cores and flesh, their strength had grown even more formidable!

Within the territory, the three kings had now become four with the addition of Little Black.

Each of the four zombie kings guarded a quarter of the land: Little Black took charge of the north, his old stomping ground and one he knew intimately; the Doctor watched over the south; Tank and Little Eight guarded the east and west in descending order...

The four kings could be referred to as: “Black of the North,” “Doc of the South,” “Tank of the East,” and “Eight of the West.”

At first, Little Eight protested the nickname, but the other three kings flatly refused to swap with her...

Lin Dong remained stationed at the high-rise. The five hundred elite corps were spread out around him.

Then came the thousand-strong elite zombies, radiating outward in successive rings.

As for the skies above, they were naturally entrusted to Brother Crow, who enjoyed absolute aerial supremacy.

Now, this entire region was a fortress, its defenses impenetrable, especially in the central area, which had become utterly forbidden to humans.

Of course, there was one exception.

That was Su Xiaorou, the diligent worker.

At this moment, she was kneeling on the ground, scrubbing diligently with both hands. Everything around her was spotless and neatly arranged, so pleasing to the eye that even the most compulsive would be satisfied.

Lin Dong lounged on the sofa in front, holding a “cup of juice” in one hand and fiddling with his phone in the other.

The recent fierce battle had already become a hot topic online, and the internet was abuzz with speculation.

“Breaking News! Senior executives from Tyke Corporation killed in action, their awakened contingent utterly wiped out—was this a planning failure, or simply a sign of weakness?”

“Revealed: The mystery of Yang Hao’s death. Insiders report he once reached the territory of a five-star zombie nest...”

“Top Dangers Still Lurking in Jiangbei City!”

...

Yang Hao’s death had caused widespread panic, for it proved just how perilous the outside world had become.

Beneath these headlines, comments poured in.

“Does anyone actually know what happened? If not, I’m about to start spreading rumors!”

“Heard Yang Hao tried to negotiate with the zombie king, but it fell apart and he was killed.”

“Hey, are you just making things up already?”

“Then you tell us what happened.”

“Obviously, Tyke Corporation wanted to ally with the zombie king to wipe out another faction, but in the end, they lost—ID: HandsomeBoy.”

...

“Dang! No way, were they really that weak?”

...

The comment section was a riot of competing theories. As Chen Ming once said, nothing online could be taken at face value—who knew what monsters lurked behind those posts?

Those commenting weren’t necessarily survivors from the shelters; they could be Black Scorpion members, or agents from other organizations, or even monsters or zombies who had developed intelligence!

Some of these fiends would even post bait threads, fishing for victims, luring human awakened individuals into the abyss through lust or greed.

For instance:

“Looking for a duo, you’re the only one for me.”

“Seeking a partner, any kind of relationship—your call.”

“Kisses, do you love me? DM if you do.”

“Looking for a caring guy to protect me so we can survive together.”

“I’ve found a stash of supplies, anyone capable come get it quickly...”

...

Such posts were a dime a dozen, often accompanied by seductive photos of beautiful girls—fair-skinned, long-legged, in black or white stockings, school swimsuits, and so on...

These were classic honey traps.

Anyone who fell for them would pay dearly.

Of course, people had grown wise by now; hardly anyone was fooled, and some even trolled the posters for amusement.

“Hey, I’ve got one criterion for a partner: I don’t go after taken people, and I’m not interested in anyone others have rejected.”

“Sis, is ‘caring’ all you want? Can you throw in something extra?”

...

Lin Dong often browsed these posts.

Not because he was bored or interested in the pictures.

The real reason was... he’d always wondered:

Could he reverse the honey trap?

If they wanted to lure people in, why not play along and see what kind of monsters lay behind the bait?

With Serpent Eyes taken care of, there were no immediate threats. His next move was to raid Tyke Corporation for the Q-virus, but that was a week away—he had nothing pressing to do...

So, Lin Dong continued scrolling through the posts.

He planned to randomly pick a “lucky” netizen.

Ideally, someone whose location was near his own territory—there was no need to take big risks for a small reward.

It didn’t take long for Lin Dong to notice a “supply discovery” post.

“A little sister’s found a ton of supplies, but I’m trapped now, surrounded by zombies—please, someone come save me, sob sob~~~”

Below was a photo of a cute little girl, big eyes, chubby cheeks, the kind that instantly triggered a man’s protective instincts.

Lin Dong casually replied.

“Where are you?”

“Big brother, how many of you are there? It’s really dangerous here, please be extra careful.”

A private message arrived almost at once—clearly, these people were cautious, not revealing their location right away, but first probing the other party.

Lin Dong replied,

“Just me.”

“Alone???”

...

Meanwhile, in a dark basement, the glow of a phone screen lit up the face of a burly, bearded man. On the back of his hand was a tattoo of a black scorpion.

“Brother Yan, we’ve got a live one! He says he’s coming alone,” the man grunted, turning to speak.

Around him sat a dozen others, all with harsh, cruel faces.

Their leader, a gaunt middle-aged man with high cheekbones and sinister eyes, pondered for a moment.

“Alone... surely no one’s so foolish these days?”

“You never know, the world’s a big place. Maybe he’s smitten with my looks—or, well, the looks in my photo,” the bearded man joked.

The leader was clearly wary—what if the shelter’s awakened were setting a trap to wipe them out?

But this was a gamble, after all. If things went wrong... there was always Plan B.

“Fine, give him the address.”

“Got it!”

The bearded man grinned wickedly, picked up his phone, and replied:

“Sob sob sob, I’m in the underground plaza of the furniture store, I’m so scared, please come save me soon...”

...