Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Perilous Forbidden Zone

When Ye Hai piloted the Star Tail 7 to the edge of the Corpse Catcher territory, a group of burly men immediately appeared, wielding various homemade firearms and aiming them at him. It wasn’t until Ye Hai lowered the car window, and the guards recognized Ye Hai and Qiao, that they respectfully bowed and let them pass.

Compared to the thuggish rabble employed by other forbidden figures, the guards of the Corpse Catchers were far more disciplined—at least, from Ye Hai’s perspective, they met the standards of ordinary security personnel. That was sufficient. Ye Hai had never considered training the members at the fringes of the Corpse Catchers to be soldiers; the cost would be astronomical. The daily expenses of military drills, especially the meat required, would bankrupt Ye Hai in no time.

Regardless, these guards counted as a formidable force among the organizations near the Pilate black market, enough to deter rivals. Of course, compared to the armies of other planets, the Corpse Catchers’ peripheral members were utterly inadequate. Even if Ye Hai spared no expense to militarize them, they would still lose to even the weakest warlords on Chaos Star—their equipment simply wasn’t in the same league.

Unlike the territories of other forbidden figures, the Corpse Catcher organization never accepted visits from survivors. It wasn’t that Ye Hai looked down on them; the summit contained things far too dangerous. Ye Hai worried that, if he opened the territory for trade like others, a careless mistake could trigger a biohazard outbreak—and then the Pilate black market would be doomed.

“Where’s Big Lung?” Ye Hai inquired.

The lead guard replied respectfully, “He’s in the forbidden area. We saw Mr. Big Lung enter yesterday and he hasn’t come out since.”

That suited Big Lung’s character—no, it was the common trait of all Corpse Catchers except Ye Hai. Unless out hunting, they would disappear into their laboratories, conducting research day and night, ignoring all other organizational affairs unless someone invaded.

Ye Hai felt fortunate to have recruited Javier. In the future, he could entrust all peripheral members to Javier, letting him expend his boundless energy. After all, a man who, in middle age, married several wives could only be described as vigorous.

“By the way, have you seen a group resembling regular soldiers arrive at Blackstone in recent days? About fifty men?”

The guards exchanged glances and shook their heads, indicating they hadn’t seen such a group.

Ye Hai nodded and continued driving the hover car toward the forbidden zone at the summit.

“Looks like Javier’s unlucky brother-in-law might have run into trouble!” Qiao muttered, his eyes ringed with dark circles.

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Ye Hai nodded. “I wonder what connection they have with those spider mutants.”

“A squad of fully armed Giant Tree warriors wielding high-energy weapons isn’t something any local force could resist.”

“Let’s figure out the current situation before worrying about that. Besides, Javier hardly needs a brother-in-law.”

Chatting idly, the two soon arrived at the summit. Within a circle of menacing iron barbed wire lay the forbidden zone of the Corpse Catcher organization.

They parked the car and walked toward the forbidden area. At the entrance, more armed guards stood watch, looking far more professional than the earlier security—at least they wore matching uniforms and carried brand-new automatic rifles.

Passing the sentry post, they entered the woods atop the mountain. Before long, they came upon a tall white wall, and within it, several scattered white buildings—the laboratories of the Corpse Catchers.

Although Ye Hai had built individual villas for the Corpse Catchers outside the forbidden zone, for these virus fanatics, the laboratory was their true home.

They made their way toward the first white house on the left—Big Lung’s laboratory.

At the entrance, a sign warned, “Beware of vicious dogs.”

Qiao sighed. “Only that bastard Big Lung likes those skinned, ugly zombie dogs. Except for you and him, those creatures will bite anyone.”

“It’s bizarre. Last time, Zero killed every zombie dog here, yet Big Lung somehow managed to get more.”

Ye Hai smiled. “Big Lung’s gene research is the best among us. There are always thrill-seekers venturing into the forbidden zone. Once Big Lung catches them, he grafts in some canine genes and injects the T-virus. That’s how he easily creates a fresh batch of zombie dogs.”

With that, Ye Hai pushed open the laboratory door. Instantly, a pack of zombie dogs rushed out, howling, and charged directly at Qiao.

Qiao exclaimed, “Damn it, how many people have broken into the forbidden zone lately? Could it be that Javier’s brother-in-law brought a group, and Big Lung wiped them all out?”

As he spoke, Qiao retreated, drawing a gleaming alloy dagger from his boot, his figure darting like a shadow among the rabid dogs.

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In no time, Qiao severed the limbs of more than thirty zombie dogs. They rolled and snarled at him, baring their teeth.

Qiao glared at the mangled remains, grumbling, “One day, I’ll break all five of Big Lung’s limbs!”

Ye Hai shrugged and tossed back, “Anyone can talk big.”

He turned and entered the laboratory, with a disgruntled Qiao trailing behind.

Inside, glass containers of various sizes lined the walls, filled with all manner of mutants, and even a few live specimens of lower ranks. Despite many visits, Qiao still found the bubbling green solution in those containers revolting.

They traversed a corridor about ten meters long and reached the staircase. As they rounded the corner to the second floor, a mass of dark tendrils surged toward them from above and below, quickly blocking the passage.

Qiao’s eye twitched at the sight. These squid-like tentacles never attacked Ye Hai.

“I should never have come in here with the old man,” Qiao muttered. “And that bastard Big Lung always lets these dangerous things roam his laboratory. Today, I’ll tear this place apart!”

Fuming, Qiao pulled out a freshly cultured Bloodborne Virus from his pocket. Though the tendrils were primarily engineered with the T-virus, they also contained plenty of zombie virus. Packed together as they were, they’d make a spectacular clash with Qiao’s Bloodborne Virus.

Ye Hai rolled his eyes. “You want to blow this place up? I built these laboratories brick by brick, and those precision instruments cost a fortune.”

With a casual wave, Ye Hai signaled the tendrils, which retreated like the tide, revealing the passage to the third floor.