Chapter 16 Summon

Entering the courtyard, Li Chenzhou closed the iron gate at the outer edge. He placed Grey Bear and Xiaoya in the southernmost room on the second floor, where Duan Lei also put Duan Xue.

Although there were plenty of rooms in the small building, enough for each person to have their own even on the second floor, that wouldn’t be safe. It was much more secure to keep them all in one room.

Li Chenzhou stood by the window and tapped on it. The glass was the ordinary kind installed in rural homes, offering no real protection. Fortunately, they were on the second floor, providing a commanding view. Duan Lei would surely be able to spot anything unusual in advance.

"Xiaolei! You stay here and watch over them. I'm going to check out what's going on in this village!"

Li Chenzhou said, looking at the three still unconscious.

"老大 (Lǎodà, Boss), wait a moment! Let me confirm something!"

Duan Lei replied.

Truthfully, after hearing Li Chenzhou's words, Duan Lei felt a little uneasy. He had read many novels like *Silent Hill*, where deserted, deathly silent villages often concealed terrifying entities.

However, after entering the village with Li Chenzhou, Duan Lei had cast aside his fear. He knew that now that they were inside, being afraid was useless.

Therefore, he had been carefully observing the surroundings. However, because they had entered the village at the outermost small building, his view was limited, which was why Duan Lei had asked Li Chenzhou to wait.

Li Chenzhou naturally agreed, knowing that Duan Lei was meticulous and that he himself couldn't match him in that regard.

Duan Lei turned and opened the window, climbing directly from the second floor to the roof. He stood where Li Chenzhou had stood earlier, looking around.

After a good three or four minutes, Duan Lei returned, looking at Li Chenzhou.

"老大 (Lǎodà, Boss)! At least on the surface, I didn't see any living creatures in this village, not even mosquitoes or flies. This place is definitely abnormal.

"I also noticed that in the backyard of the farmhouse we're in, there's a shed, probably for raising chickens and ducks, but it's completely empty too!

"And everywhere I could see, including inside this building, I didn't find any traces of blood or signs of a struggle.

"So…老大 (Lǎodà, Boss), do you know of any mutated creatures that can summon all other life? Not like a corpse king that can only summon zombies, but all life, even insects!"

"You mean…"

Hearing Duan Lei's words, Li Chenzhou subconsciously asked,

"All the creatures in this village were summoned away, like…the zombies summoned by the corpse king?"

"Exactly!"

Duan Lei nodded.

"I also considered whether the creatures here disappeared instantly due to some mysterious power, but I found that not only here, but in other small buildings, the courtyard gates and building doors are also wide open.

"The apocalypse descended last night. Villages like this don't have any nightlife like cities do, so at that time, not everyone would leave their courtyard gates and doors wide open.

"Moreover, it's impossible for everyone in this village to have turned into zombies. If there were any survivors, upon seeing the Hell Silk and discovering that people were mutating, their first reaction would definitely not be to open the door and rush out, but to close the door and lock themselves inside!"

"So! The fact that the doors of these farmhouses are all open means…they opened them themselves, and then walked out of their homes?"

After Duan Lei's analysis, Li Chenzhou also thought it seemed to be the case, and asked thoughtfully.

"Right! Now the problem is:

"1. What kind of summoning could possibly make people, zombies, animals like cats and dogs, birds like chickens, ducks, and geese, and even insects like flies and ants, all these species of creatures, leave?

Duan Lei said with a solemn expression.

"2. Why don't we feel anything summoning us now? Has that summoning become ineffective? Or is there another reason?

"3. Is the one issuing the summons some kind of mutated life form? Or something else? Does this thing…have any connection to the changes in our world?"

"To our world?"

Li Chenzhou looked out the window, his brow furrowing.

Duan Lei actually thought that the mysterious summoning might be connected to the apocalypse he had experienced?

Li Chenzhou hadn't thought in that direction, because in his previous life, over the course of ten years, countless powerful individuals had tried to unravel the mysteries of the apocalypse, such as what kind of creatures were responsible for the Hell Silk, and the purpose of turning the world into an apocalyptic wasteland.

But all along, no one had been able to find anything related to that, and everything was just speculation. The cause of the apocalypse had always been an untouchable enigma.

Precisely because of this, Li Chenzhou hadn't thought in that direction at all. This might be the effect of ingrained thinking, while Duan Lei, lacking a previous life and ten years of apocalyptic experience, had immediately connected the two.

"Bang!"

Just then, a crashing sound came from behind them. Facing the window, the two turned around instantly, Li Chenzhou even drawing his pistol and pointing it at the source of the sound.

Behind them, Grey Bear was leaning against the wall, kneeling on one knee, with his own pistol raised towards Li Chenzhou and Duan Lei, his eyes seeming somewhat dazed.

But upon seeing that it was Li Chenzhou and Duan Lei, Grey Bear's eyes gradually cleared. Then, his whole body relaxed, the hand holding the gun drooping weakly, and his left hand rubbed his head. He let out a groan and looked around, asking,

"What's going on? Where is this?"

Li Chenzhou and Duan Lei exchanged glances, and Duan Lei turned to Grey Bear, opening his mouth to speak, when he saw Grey Bear suddenly turn his head, looking in one direction with an expression of confusion.

He was looking at the wall to his right rear, and although the door was also there, from Duan Lei's angle, he could see clearly that Grey Bear wasn't looking at the wall, but through it, as if trying to see far into the distance.

"Grey Bear! Are you alright?"

"I…"

Grey Bear looked at Duan Lei, then at Li Chenzhou, hesitantly pointing in the direction he had been looking.

"Is that the direction of the city? Why do I have this feeling…like I want to go there?"

Grey Bear had just woken up, and hearing voices in his ear, as a special operative, and since Li Chenzhou and Duan Lei's voices didn't belong to his teammates, he had immediately made a defensive tactical movement, which had drawn the attention of Li Chenzhou and Duan Lei.

After seeing the two of them, Grey Bear had immediately relaxed his guard, but at that moment, he had suddenly felt that a place was calling him, making him feel that he had better get there immediately.

So, Grey Bear had immediately thought of his captain and the comrades trapped in the hotel, and that was why he had asked the question earlier, because he subconsciously felt that that direction was the location of the Qin Ting Hotel…