Coolie Zombie

After climbing up the passage, the two found a spot where they could take a breather.

This place didn’t seem like a passage with metal ladders installed; instead, it appeared to have been haphazardly dug out with crude tools.

However, it conveniently allowed them to look down and observe the situation ahead.

“They’re coming.”

Ning Yu whispered in an extremely soft voice. The two were standing close enough that Shen Yiyue could just barely hear her.

From their vantage point, they looked down at the area below. At the center was an empty mechanical base, with some lighting equipment, steel materials, and storage containers piled up in the corners.

As Ning Yu spoke, several groups of figures began pouring in from various entrances below.

The two of them stared intently for a moment, both startled by what they saw.

Those figures weren’t living humans—they were zombies!

But what was strange was that they didn’t seem frenzied or aggressive. Instead, they were neatly lined up in rows, all wearing identical uniforms.

Each of them was carrying or dragging various materials. Their bodies were severely hunched, yet they somehow managed to bear the weight of their loads.

At regular intervals, fully armed soldiers stood guard, holding firearms.

What was going on?!

Neither Ning Yu nor Shen Yiyue had ever seen zombies like this before. They looked like oppressed slaves, with fresh human flesh right beside them, yet they showed no sign of resistance.

They simply carried their materials, silently moving forward—true walking dead.

Ning Yu narrowed her eyes, focusing on the zombie at the front of the line.

“Something’s off. These zombies are... strange.”

“What do you mean?”

Shen Yiyue turned to her, about to set up her machine gun, but Ning Yu gently stopped her.

“Look at their skin.”

Ning Yu pointed to the zombie she was observing.

It appeared to be a young male zombie, with hair dyed blond during his lifetime.

His skin still had the grayish hue typical of zombies, but it was noticeably different from the rotting flesh of ordinary zombies.

Upon closer inspection, his skin was surprisingly intact. By this stage, a regular zombie’s body would have already begun to decay, with flesh hanging loose and bones exposed.

This one had dark circles under its eyes, and its mouth was tightly shut, unlike the gaping maw of a typical zombie, forever craving flesh and blood.

If not for the eye dangling from its socket and the characteristic zombie shuffle, one might mistake it for a living person with an odd skin tone.

The most peculiar thing was its expression, which seemed to carry a hint of exhaustion—something never seen in zombies.

Ning Yu scanned the rest of the laboring zombies, her sharp eyes taking in every detail.

Not a single one had the bloodthirsty, frenzied look typical of zombies.

“They... seem like they’ve gained consciousness,” Shen Yiyue whispered, exchanging a glance with Ning Yu.

Ning Yu nodded, agreeing with the observation.

The two of them remained hidden in the shadows above, unnoticed by those below.

Soon, the area around the empty mechanical base was densely packed with laboring zombies carrying materials.

Was this some kind of post-apocalyptic cotton plantation, with zombies as the enslaved laborers?

As Ning Yu watched the soldiers scattered around the corners, guarding the laboring zombies with their guns, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of absurdity.

The zombies looked like they had been on the move for a long time, with some even having bones protruding from their lower backs. Yet, they showed no signs of resting.

Immediately, they began working diligently around the mechanical base.

Some were hammering nails and tightening screws, while others passed materials back and forth.

The scene was hard to believe—these creatures, once mindless beasts that only tore into their prey, were now cooperating like humans.

It was both astonishing and deeply unsettling.

These tireless, painless monsters had developed the intelligence to work together, and among them were the terrifyingly powerful mutated zombies.

This was truly...

Suddenly, a minor incident occurred in the center.

A short male zombie lost its grip on a thick steel plate, causing it to fall to the ground. The plate landed on its leg with a loud thud, bending it at an unnatural angle.

The zombie tried to straighten its leg, but the bone was already broken, leaving it flopping around at odd angles.

“What are you doing?!”

The nearest soldier quickly approached to assess the situation.

The zombie had just managed to push the steel plate aside and was trying to stand up shakily when it lost its balance and stumbled toward the soldier.

“Damn it!”

The soldier reacted swiftly, kicking the zombie away. Unfortunately, the kick tore the already unstable leg completely apart.

The zombie let out a howl, as if it could feel pain.

“Stop howling! Get back to work! Now!”

The soldier, visibly annoyed, raised his gun and aimed it at the zombie’s head.

Another short female zombie, seeing the gun pointed at its companion, dropped the materials it was carrying and rushed over to help the injured male zombie.

But the male zombie could no longer stand, so it hobbled on its one good leg, trying to keep both feet at the same level.

The soldier spat on the ground and cursed,

“Great, another useless one.”

He didn’t lower his gun, and the female zombie immediately dropped to the ground, prostrating itself and kowtowing repeatedly.

It looked like it was begging for mercy!

This scene left Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue utterly shocked. These weren’t zombies—they were acting like living humans.

“Hahaha, it’s bowing to you for the New Year,” another soldier nearby joked, the cigarette in his mouth bobbing as he spoke.

The soldier called Old Yu kicked the female zombie, causing it to stagger.

“Get back to work, or I’ll put you both out of your misery.”

“Stop wasting your breath. They can’t understand you.”

Just as Old Yu was about to pull his leg back, he realized it was stuck—the female zombie had grabbed it tightly.

“You’ve got some nerve!”

He raised his gun to shoot, but suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“Ahhh!!!”

The female zombie had bitten down hard on his leg, tearing through the flesh.

That scream was like a battle cry.

In the space below, all the laboring zombies suddenly dropped their materials and turned in unison, locking their gazes on the soldiers who had been watching them.