Chapter Eighty-Two: The Edge of the Territory

After a short while, the screams of humans faded into utter silence, leaving only the sounds of zombies feasting. A few crows pecked at scraps of flesh amidst the ruins. Dusk was drawing near; the dying sun, as red as blood, cast its light over the scene, creating a surreal and grotesque tableau.

When the bloody feast ended, the horde of corpses dispersed, each returning to its place.

Lin Dong did not return home. Instead, he wandered along the edge of his territory, accompanied by Tank, with a few crows circling overhead—giving the impression of a leader inspecting his domain.

Tank prayed silently that no more humans or other creatures would appear at such a time.

As they walked forward, the distant sound of rushing water reached them. Lin Dong arrived at the riverbank, where the water flowed ceaselessly, like a giant python surging ahead.

The city of Jiangbei took its name from this river.

Before the apocalypse, this place was a gathering spot for people after meals and work—young couples strolled hand in hand, old ladies danced in the square, and elderly men played their music by the water.

What once was lively was now desolate, with only bloodstains and rotting bones remaining.

The river glimmered under the setting sun, tinged with crimson. Occasionally, corpses or severed limbs drifted by.

On the opposite bank, a few zombies wandered. Though separated by hundreds of meters, they saw Lin Dong and howled ferociously from afar. Their cries echoed over the water, lingering for a long time.

That area was no longer Lin Dong’s territory.

“Damn, my temper…” Tank muttered, furious at the provocation toward his boss. He wanted nothing more than to jump into the river and tear the enemy apart.

“Come back,” Lin Dong called out. They were just a few minor underlings barking like stray dogs—unworthy of attention.

Besides, crossing the river was no simple feat. The water teemed with mutated aquatic creatures, and who knew what monsters lurked beneath the surface?

In the apocalypse, any body of water was extremely dangerous, especially the sea. Marine life far outnumbered that on land, and many were massive. With ample prey in the ocean, who could imagine what kind of abyssal monstrosities had evolved there?

Tank, restrained, had no choice but to let it go.

They continued along the riverbank. Soon, they saw the great bridge spanning the river. The roadway was jammed with derelict vehicles—some crashed, some overturned, some exploded and left blackened wrecks.

On the far side of the bridge, more zombies prowled. Their terrifying faces twisted with savagery; they were clearly well-evolved, elite among their kind.

“Are they guarding against me?” Lin Dong mused. The enemy had stationed elite zombies at the bridgehead—an unmistakable gesture.

Perhaps the enemy corpse king knew that a confrontation between them was inevitable.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain.

It was either life or death.

After crossing the bridge, they followed the riverbank further, which soon merged into a dense mountain forest stretching endlessly ahead—Jiangbei’s famous North Mountain.

The forest was vast and lush.

Before the apocalypse, countless tycoons, entrepreneurs, and celebrities had resided in luxurious villas atop North Mountain. These mansions, unimaginably extravagant to ordinary folk, overlooked the river, backed by mountains—a true haven of feng shui.

But after the end of days, everything changed.

Animals and plants had mutated, turning North Mountain into a land of chaos. When the apocalypse broke out, thousands of city dwellers had fled into the mountains to escape the zombies.

None ever returned; their fate was unknown.

There was no shelter signal in North Mountain, cutting off all contact with the outside world.

Lin Dong deduced that though a corpse tide was unlikely to form in the mountains, powerful individuals could certainly be born there. The members of the Black Scorpion Organization were most likely operating within.

North Mountain was a den of tigers and dragons—a place of peril.

Even the Bull Demon King would have to plow the land if he entered; even the Monkey King would end up performing circus tricks.

From afar, Lin Dong saw that the forest was thick with creeping vines—climbing tigers. These plants had grown bizarrely large, far more robust than before the apocalypse. Their stems and tendrils glimmered with eerie red, as though blood vessels pulsed beneath the surface, streams of liquid flowing within.

The dense vines threatened to spread outward, some already encroaching beyond the woods and nearing the city streets.

“These things aren’t right…” Lin Dong pondered.

He glanced at Tank, who looked rather dull and slow. Leaving him to guard this place alone seemed unreliable.

“Brother Crow, go and fetch Little Eight. From now on, let her guard here together with Tank,” Lin Dong said, looking up.

“Alright, I’ll go now.”

The red-eyed crow let out a sharp cry, flapped its wings, and darted away.

“Little West Eight… Little West Eight… I’m coming to find you!”

Brother Crow’s distinctive calls echoed across the territory.

Before long, he reached the western part of the domain. Sweeping the area with his ruby gaze, he spotted a slender figure standing atop a clock tower.

“Little West Eight… Little West Eight…” Brother Crow called eagerly.

Little Eight looked up. She’d heard him long ago but had no desire to respond, finding the little black bird increasingly annoying.

“Can’t you stop calling me Little West Eight?”

“Alright, Little West Eight.”

Little Eight was speechless. If not for the fact that this black bird could fly so high, she would have plucked out all its feathers by now.

“What do you want with me?”

“Boss said you’re to guard the eastern sector,” replied Brother Crow.

“Oh?” Little Eight’s eyes flashed. Without another word, she leapt from the clock tower, accelerating to the limit in an instant, like a sudden gust of wind racing eastward.

Soon, she vanished entirely, entering the state of “Swift Shadow”—her form disappearing without a trace.

Brother Crow, flapping in the sky, was left bewildered.

“Huh? Where’d she go?”

…

After inspecting the edge of his territory, Lin Dong finally returned home.

Inside, the house was spotless and pristine, a true haven—utterly separated from the horrors of the outside world.

“There’s nothing like home…” Lin Dong sighed, settling onto the sofa.

Though he was powerful, the world beyond his territory was far too dangerous—North Mountain, for instance, was riddled with hidden threats; monsters might emerge at any moment.

Around the building, five hundred elite zombie soldiers and thousands of other experts stood guard, providing a strong sense of safety.

Lin Dong preferred the idea of surfing the internet or fishing—much safer and more reliable pursuits.

He picked up his phone and, after a moment’s thought, decided to add a description to his social profile, just as Cheng Luoyi and Sun Xiaoqiang had done before.

“I am a timid boy, always lacking a sense of security…”