"Why is the leader's brat here?"

Xu Li stood on the watchtower at the checkpoint, frowning. He carried an AmR2 heavy sniper rifle on his back, with a belt of metallic ammunition around his waist, each bullet the size of a thumb, gleaming yellow-orange. Xu Li was a rugged man, at thirty-five, in the prime of his life, with a broad back and a sturdy build, a formidable warrior in the Siege City.

As a Third-Stage Martial Artist paired with the highly accurate AmR2, he was a steel wall at the checkpoint.

Xu Li wasn't particularly fond of Zhou Zheng.

As the leader's son, Zhou Zheng bore more responsibilities than others, yet he had not stepped into the martial artist realm, which was his fatal flaw.

But regardless of his shortcomings, Zhou Zheng was still the leader's son, an unchangeable fact.

Even if Xu Li didn't like him, he couldn't show it. He instructed a subordinate beside him, "Keep an eye on him." After receiving a response, Xu Li didn't climb down the watchtower's stairs but instead pressed his hand on the railing, propelling himself off the watchtower.

From the ten-meter-high watchtower, Xu Li landed with a slight "thud."

In Zhou Zheng's memory, he recognized Xu Li as one of his father's formidable subordinates. He smiled politely and said, "Hello, Uncle Xu!"

Zhou An and Lan Xi both said in unison, "Greetings, Captain Xu."

Xu Li nodded slightly, his tone somewhat stern, "You two, don't you know this place is full of dangers? Why are you fooling around with the young master? Take him back to the city now, or the leader will have your hides."

"Uncle Xu, I insisted on coming out to take a look. It's not their fault," Zhou Zheng said calmly.

Zhou An and Lan Xi didn't dare to breathe heavily, knowing Xu Li's prowess.

Xu Li finally turned his gaze to Zhou Zheng, "Young master, your father just left the Siege City. You should stay inside. It's dangerous out here. If something happens, how will I explain it to your father?"

"It's okay, Uncle Xu. I'm just taking a look around here."

Zhou Zheng merely chuckled, taking down his Type 03 rifle, checking it skillfully to ensure it was in optimal condition.

Xu Li pursed his lips but ultimately said nothing more.

He walked to the front of the checkpoint, where some defensive fortifications were built, mainly against Toxic Corpses. A great iron gate spanned the road, forming a floodgate. The soldiers stationed here were at least at the Apprentice Martial Artist level, each equipped with firearms.

Standing at the checkpoint, there were many corpses in front, all Toxic Corpses.

Zhou Zheng's memory included images of Toxic Corpses, but it was his first time seeing them in their true form.

Toxic Corpses were similar to zombies but differed from the ones in movies like Resident Evil. These Toxic Corpses were also decayed, but their skin was a dark iron blue, appearing blackish-green and toxic. With these characteristics, people preferred to call them Toxic Corpses rather than zombies.

The corpses in front of the checkpoint were all shot dead.

To deal with Toxic Corpses, their heads were the primary fatal point. A bullet to the head would usually render them lifeless.

Toxic Corpses were further divided into various levels. Ordinary Toxic Corpses weren't terrifying, but those with levels were. Some high-level Toxic Corpses couldn't be penetrated by bullets, let alone have their skulls cracked open to damage the brain tissue inside.

Perhaps influenced by his predecessor's memory, Zhou Zheng wasn't as scared of these terrifying Toxic Corpses as one might imagine.

He looked at the Toxic Corpses with some interest. Under the scorching sun, some of the earlier corpses had dried up, with blackened flesh clinging to the bones, lying in various shapes on the road. Some had been run over by cars, their bones shattered like pancakes. There were also a few fresh corpses, with some bluish liquid oozing from the bullet holes.

The checkpoint had a faint stench, the odor emanating from the corpses of the Toxic Corpses.

Honestly, Zhou Zheng didn't like this smell.

Xu Li stood beside Zhou Zheng, watching him with interest, speechless. Were these Toxic Corpses really that fascinating?

"Young master, let's go back. There's nothing worth seeing here."

Zhou Zheng, however, was staring ahead because he saw several blurry figures appearing at the end of the road, far away.

With the Rogue's character attributes, Zhou Zheng discovered another trait: extraordinary vision, superior to others. Just like now, the figures were spotted by Zhou Zheng before the watchtower could detect them.

"Uncle Xu, something's up!"

He pointed ahead, and soon the sentry on the watchtower also noticed the situation on the road. Through binoculars, they could clearly see the true nature of the figures.

A sharp but not loud whistle sounded, not urgent, very calm.

The soldiers at the checkpoint were familiar with the different whistles, like now, indicating a low-level alert, meaning the danger wasn't significant.

Xu Li took the binoculars hanging around his neck: "Seven Toxic Corpses, four first-level, three second-level."

First and second-level Toxic Corpses were just ordinary.

The appearance of several Toxic Corpses had become common recently, and the people at the checkpoint were used to it. Hearing the captain's count, only a few soldiers moved to the shooting holes, picked up their guns, and waited for the Toxic Corpses to approach.

Zhou Zheng knew, this was his chance.

In his vision, the seven Toxic Corpses had a red bar above their heads, presumably their health bars. The iron-blue Toxic Corpses emitted a faint red glow in Zhou Zheng's eyes, indicating they were hostile, not friendly.

Grabbing the Type 03, Zhou Zheng said, "Uncle Xu, can I take care of these Toxic Corpses?"

"What do you plan to do?" Xu Li frowned.

Zhou Zheng just smiled without answering.

Xu Li was helpless. A few first and second-level Toxic Corpses weren't much of a threat, so he agreed to Zhou Zheng's request. With him around, these Toxic Corpses couldn't cause much trouble.

Standing at the shooting hole, there was a sense of being in a commanding position.

In his previous life, Zhou Zheng had never handled a gun, but his predecessor had practiced, even possessing shooting talent, playing with a gun skillfully. With these memories, Zhou Zheng's shooting skills weren't bad. He leveled the Type 03, aiming at the distance.

The Type 03 lacked a scope, which Zhou Zheng regretted, but it didn't hinder his shooting.

The Rogue's skill tree at level 1 had only unlocked the first skill: Weakness Scan, a basic Rogue skill that could identify the target's weak points, ineffective if the target was more than 10 levels higher than the character.

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In the early stages, this Weakness Scan seemed a bit useless, but it proved to be incredibly powerful in the later stages. When facing monsters, a Weakness Scan would often highlight the weak points, and hitting them would result in double critical strike damage.

This seemingly useless early skill was considered game-changing in the later stages.

Zhou Zheng squinted, focusing on one of the approaching Toxic Corpses, activating the Weakness Scan in his mind.

Instantly, several red dots appeared on the Toxic Corpse's body.

"Interesting."

Seeing the skill work in reality, an uncontrollable excitement surged through him. If not for Xu Li and the others nearby, Zhou Zheng might have laughed out loud.

The weak points of the Toxic Corpses were mostly concentrated on the head, followed by the neck, and then the joints of the legs.

Zhou Zheng speculated that the joints of the legs were considered weak points because the Toxic Corpses relied on them for movement. Once the joints were shattered, their threat level would drop significantly.

Staring at the Toxic Corpse marked with red dots, Zhou Zheng adjusted his aim slightly.

Bang!

A crisp gunshot echoed, the bullet whistling out, instantly bursting a bluish liquid from the Toxic Corpse's chest. The bullet created a hole the size of two fingers, only causing the Toxic Corpse to pause slightly, as if provoked, its pace suddenly quickened.

A "woo woo" sound emanated from the mouths of the Toxic Corpses, unsettling to hear.

Zhou Zheng noticed that with one shot, the red health bar above the Toxic Corpse's head decreased by a tenth.

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Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan