Detention Center

A bird soaring in the sky suddenly veered toward the other side of the town, surprising all five of them.

"It's heading in the direction of six o'clock from the town. What's in that direction? And it's beyond the police cordon line, can we go there?" Joseph quickly estimated the direction and asked, frowning.

"Could the direction be wrong? Why are we trusting a bird instead of advanced technology—like drones or something?" Santos watched the bird slowly flying ahead and couldn't help but question.

"I trust Mr. Jason, so I trust this bird!" Joseph shot him a glance and continued to follow the bird, which flew at a moderate pace, maintaining a distance of about twenty meters.

"Shut up, Santos. Just follow us," Chief Louise reprimanded him, then turned to Joseph, "If we follow the bird's flight path, we will head to the northern streets of the town. There's no residential area there, just a detention center about three miles from the town."

"Oh, no. There are officers on duty there today, six police officers, and seven people in the detention center," Officer Patton suddenly exclaimed, slapping his forehead, "It's the most vulnerable place. But it's also within the cordon. I don't think they could get past unnoticed."

"That's not necessarily true!" Mr. Kote, standing aside, couldn't help but interject, "When we were building this town, one thing we overlooked was the sewer system. Think about it, guys, the sewers are cold even during the day."

When he said this, everyone understood.

Oh, my God, they had overlooked the sewer. Yes, the sewer could shield them from direct sunlight and even accumulate Yin energy. And through the sewer, they could infiltrate the town undetected. No wonder they couldn't find the female corpse and Prescott's body these past two days.

With this thought, cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

"Quick, we must hurry." After a brief shock, Chief Louise immediately realized the gravity of the situation. If the female zombie attacked the people in the detention center, could it possibly cause a spread?

Everyone fell silent, following Joseph and the bird toward the town at a brisk pace. They jogged most of the way and soon reached the outer cordon line.

But there were patrol officers here, two town police officers.

"Hey, Chief, what brings you here? I thought you were always over there." One of them saluted Chief Louise, then joked teasingly.

"Do your job!" Chief Louise nodded at him, waved her hand, and led the group across the cordon line. Her own men wouldn't stop her. Those FBI agents were too rigid.

The town was quiet due to the lack of people. At the detention center, there was an automatic gate with someone on duty controlling it. The bird stopped here, slowly circling in the air.

The guardroom was empty, but a pool of blood on the floor was visible. No need to guess, this person had been killed and most likely had become a zombie.

"Damn it, we're too late!" Chief Louise cursed, looking at Joseph.

Joseph looked up at the sky, the bird started flying again, crossing a wide road to reach the detention center. It was a single-story building, not very large. But they didn't encounter anyone along the way. Chief Louise and the rest tread carefully.

All the doors seemed to have been opened. The entrance, the lobby, and the detention rooms were all left ajar. And the gates of the cages in each detention room were open, with bloodstains all over the floor. The furniture inside was in disarray.

"What happened here? My God—" Santos tightened his grip on the shotgun, scanning his surroundings nervously. He wanted to stay close to the others.

"What kind of trouble are we walking into?" Santos stammered, feeling sweat on his forehead, "Where did all the people...go?"

"It's clear that they've become zombies, hence no bodies here!" After one encounter with the zombies, Officer Patton was no longer as panicked as before. Having Joseph and Mr. Kote made a big difference.

Their biggest support was Mr. Jason, so he appeared calm and composed.

"Don't let your guard down... Mr. Cox, how's the situation?" Chief Louise asked Joseph, glancing at the bird. After the bird flew into the building, it started to fly around haphazardly, making it difficult for Joseph to track. Where exactly was it going?

"I'm not sure either, the bird keeps flying erratically, not moving forward..." Joseph also furrowed his brows, observing the avian creature. Suddenly, the bird darted out of the house, flying outside.

Everyone hurried outside following the bird. Once they were outside, the bird began to ascend, flying higher and higher toward the rooftop.

"It's on the rooftop—"

Officer Patton yelled, pointing at the roof, and without hesitation, raised his shotgun. It was almost like a conditioned reflex. As he raised his gun, everyone else did the same.

On the rooftop, a woman in a red dress, followed by a trailing chain of zombies, seemed to be attempting to jump across the rooftop, heading toward a slope that led directly to the town center.

A burst of gunfire rang out, sounding like the intense popping of frying beans.

The shotgun quickly attracted their attention. The leading female zombie in the red dress abruptly turned around, spotting the people below taking shots at her.

"Heh-heh—" She produced a cackling sound from her throat, a sound analogous to the crushing of bones. It gave the impression of something scratching at one's heart's core—an irritating, yet elusive feeling.

At that time, a group of zombies beside her suddenly charged downstairs, heedless of whether they would fall or not. They tumbled from the roof, hitting the ground hard, then got up and rushed toward the five of them.

"Fire, fire..." Chief Louise screamed.

And then, the gunfire echoed again. The shotgun was far more powerful than a handgun, especially at close range. One shot could make these zombies retreat several steps.

"Kote—" Joseph turned to Mr. Kote, who was standing aside, "Your turn—"

With a flick of his wrist, Mr. Kote was suddenly holding a glowing

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miniature sword. Before the zombies could react, he swung the luminescent blade in an arc through the air and a series of sounds as if firecrackers were exploding followed.

All the zombies that had jumped down toppled to the ground after the flash of light. The glowing sword then swerved in mid-air and flew toward the two zombies on the rooftop.

One was the female zombie in the red dress, and the other was the zombie that Prescott had turned into. It seemed to understand the danger, attempting to escape, but before it could move, the glowing sword pierced its heart. Black smoke rose from its mouth, and it collapsed on the rooftop.

The luminescent miniature sword, without any obstruction, flew towards the female zombie. However, when the sword was about to reach the female zombie, it stopped abruptly, as if an invisible wall was blocking its path.

"Heh-heh—" The female zombie seemed to muster her strength, and the night air suddenly became cold, as if a whirlwind had swept through, chilling to the bone.

"Mr. Kote— Will this work? It seems to have blocked the sword!" Chief Louise was the most anxious one. The people below had already stopped shooting, watching this duel with rapt attention.

"It will!" Mr. Kote looked at Chief Louise and let out a deep roar from his throat. With this roar, it seemed as if he was radiating an overwhelming power.

A gust of wind truly blew over, a blustering wind that made it impossible to keep one's eyes open. Everyone covered their eyes, closed them, and amidst the wind, there was a series of deep, angry roars, the sound gradually becoming more and more muffled, like distant thunder.