On top of the city wall, seven or eight giant eagles were slashed down by wind blades, their blood and severed limbs scattering through the air.
Sun Zhichun stared fixedly at the man below the city: “Yu Zhenghong! You actually dare to come back!”
That handsome face was one the entire base loathed to the core.
If this brat hadn’t escaped so quickly back then, Sun Zhichun would have already skinned him alive!
How could he have had the chance to advance to a Tier 6 ability user?
The handsome man, who had been roared at by Sun Zhichun, stood atop an off-road vehicle. His narrow, peach blossom-shaped eyes slightly narrowed as his gaze swept over the remains of the fallen giant eagles. He suddenly spoke: “Where is Sun Zhixia? So many of her eagles have died—where is she?”
“You still have the nerve to mention her!”
Sun Zhichun raised a water dragon, its fierce momentum surging straight toward Yu Zhenghong.
Just as the rolling water stream was about ten meters away from the man, a whirlwind suddenly erupted on the spot.
The water dragon was immediately swept into it, forcibly redirected—charging straight for the city wall!
Boom!
A section of the city wall’s edge collapsed, yet the tornado’s force remained undiminished, tearing its way inside the city.
If it broke through… the low-tier ability users inside would never escape!
Sun Zhichun formed a water curtain, preparing to block the tornado, but before he could act, Yu Zhenghong’s indifferent voice rang out again.
“You still have the time to worry about others?”
More than a dozen sharp wind blades came slicing toward him.
The water curtain meant to block the breach in the wall was forced to intercept the incoming wind blades first.
Boom! Boom!
The eastern city wall was completely lost, a gaping hole several meters high blown open by the tornado.
Several low-tier ability users at the back had no time to dodge and were about to be swept into the sky when—
A blue firewall wrapped around the rampant tornado with difficulty, barely managing to contain it in place.
Yu Zhenghong’s expression shifted slightly.
He could tell that this was another Tier 5 fire-type ability user, someone close to reaching Tier 6. But since when did this seaside base have such a figure?
“Yu Zhenghong! You actually dare to come back!”
The exact same words were shouted, but this time, coming from the elder sister’s mouth, they carried far more fury and hurt than her brother’s.
Yu Zhenghong’s attention shifted to the dark-skinned woman who had suddenly appeared atop the city wall.
To be fair, her skin tone was quite healthy and athletic, her features dignified and striking, and her figure well-proportioned and toned.
Among the many beauties he had hunted, she was the most distinctive.
Yu Zhenghong gazed at his former lover with an appreciative, almost nostalgic look. “Zhixia, I’m back again.”
This posture—every onlooker who knew the inside story felt sick just watching it.
Sun Zhixia spoke coldly, “Hei Bao, tear him apart!”
A sharp eagle cry echoed in the sky.
The half-bald eagle king spread its wings and dove toward Yu Zhenghong.
Yet at this moment, the latter still had the mind to look at Sun Zhixia. “Zhixia, are you sure you want your beloved eagle king to kill me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill it instead?”
Sun Zhixia turned a deaf ear and blew a series of short whistles.
The eagle king agilely dodged every wind blade that came slicing toward it, its sharp talons lunging straight for the handsome man’s eyes.
Yu Zhenghong’s expression darkened. “You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!”
Under his mental control, the wind blades that had been dodged suddenly made a boomerang turn. The eagle king, still maneuvering to avoid other attacks, was caught off guard—half of its wing was brutally severed.
The whistle’s pitch abruptly turned sharp and sorrowful.
The eagle king struggled to flap its remaining wing, barely managing to fly back to the city wall.
Blood scattered through the air, leaving splattered stains on the ground.
Two against one, yet they were both at a disadvantage.
But Yu Zhenghong did not press his advantage. He still remembered the Tier 5 fire-type ability user who had yet to reveal themselves.
After a moment of contemplation, he raised his voice:
“Sun Zhichun, what happened last time was my fault, but I have reflected on my actions. Now, zombies in the apocalypse have entered a phase of rapid evolution. Even Base S has fallen. Your small seaside base is still clinging to an outdated, self-sufficient model—aren’t you afraid that one day, you’ll meet the same fate?”
“I have no ill intentions toward you or this base. If you don’t believe me, look—I’ve brought so many survivors along with me. I want to work with you to expand and strengthen this base, so that no matter how much zombies evolve, we will always have the power to resist them!”
Yu Zhenghong gestured to his subordinates.
The rear trucks and buses slowly opened their doors.
Inside the cramped vehicle compartments, hundreds of ordinary people were packed together, their faces filled with confusion and fear as they stared blankly at the city wall.
On the wall stood hundreds of power users, watching them like hawks.
On Yu Zhenghong’s side, however, stood countless elderly, women, and children.
Just from sheer numbers, his side had already seized the moral high ground.
Sun Zhichun and Sun Zhixia’s expressions darkened immediately.
“Yu Zhenghong, you did this on purpose!”
This bastard had clearly set his sights on their base long ago!
With Base S fallen and high-tier ability users fleeing in all directions, new bases—big and small—had started emerging. Rumors had already been circulating that some high-tier ability users were searching for suitable locations to establish their own forces.
But who would have thought that Yu Zhenghong, who had once fled in disgrace, would return as a Tier 6 ability user? That after recovering from his injuries, he would use his familiarity with their base to bring people back and try to seize their territory?!
This was a farmer and the snake!
“Tweet——”
The whistle rang out once more.
Seeing another wave of giant eagles swooping toward him, Yu Zhenghong sighed with a trace of helplessness.
“Zhixia, why are you so stubborn?”
“I am a Tier 6 ability user. You and Zhichun are both Tier 5. If we join forces and take advantage of this prime coastal location, we could build a massive base. Maybe not on par with the Northern Base, but at the very least, it could rival the Southern Base.”
“And when that time comes—you will be my only lover. Zhichun will co-govern the base with me. Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”
The more Yu Zhenghong spoke, the darker Sun Zhichun and Sun Zhixia’s expressions became.
“Shut up!” Sun Zhichun unleashed several more water dragons, gritting his teeth. “Even if the base falls, we will never let you in!”
Several giant eagles dove in unison with the water dragons.
Yu Zhenghong seemed to realize that mere words wouldn’t persuade these twin siblings.
Then he would let strength do the talking.
Even if there was still a hidden Tier 5 fire-type ability user on the other side, he refused to believe that the three of them together could overpower him!
A fierce wind overturned several eagles, sweeping the water dragons into the sky once more, forming a bizarre waterspout.
The battle instantly became one-sided.
Just as the wind blades were about to slice through the remaining eagles, a strange, eerie chorus of chirps and buzzing suddenly echoed from within the city walls.
Yu Zhenghong warily looked up—only to see a massive, dense swarm of venomous insects surging toward him like a dark cloud.
They were numerous and horrifying in appearance, bringing a far greater psychological pressure than a mere dozen eagles ever could.
Screams erupted from the trucks and buses behind him.
Yu Zhenghong’s face darkened dramatically. “What the hell is that?!”
He tried sending out a wind blade, effortlessly slicing the leading insect in half.
Its attack power and defense were weak—even a Tier 4 ability user could kill one with ease.
But the problem was—there were too many of them!
Against such a wide-scale swarm, single-target attacks were completely useless. With no other choice, Yu Zhenghong braced himself and unleashed a second wave of tornadoes.
The powerful gusts swept up most of the venomous insects, but a few managed to break away, weaving erratically as they flew toward him.
At the same time, the eagles that had been swept away regained their footing and soared into the sky once more.
This time, the eagles and venomous insects were no longer enemies—they had joined forces against a common foe.
Yu Zhenghong’s dozen ability users were entangled by the base’s defenders. That meant—he was now alone, facing:
– A Tier 5 ability user
– Several formidable eagles
– A strange swarm of venomous insects
– And still, the hidden Tier 5 fire-type ability user had yet to make a move!
At this rate, he would be worn down and killed!
A ruthless glint flashed in Yu Zhenghong’s eyes.
The winds howled violently as three massive tornadoes erupted outside the base’s city walls, roaring in three different directions—
If the walls were breached, the tornadoes would sweep into the city streets at terrifying speeds.
By then, the number of civilian casualties would be immeasurable.
This was the base that the Sun siblings had poured their blood and sweat into building—they would definitely try to stop him!
And once they did, their attacks would no longer be focused only on him!
A triumphant smile spread across Yu Zhenghong’s face.
He waited, he waited… and then—
“HSSSS!!!”
A massive python suddenly rose from behind the city walls, its enormous body blocking the largest tornado in its path!
Logically speaking, the python should have been swept into the air by the powerful winds.
But it was too heavy— the tornado couldn’t lift it at all!
The giant python flicked its tail impatiently. In just over ten seconds of standing at the center, it had completely blocked all the wind force.
The tornadoes, losing their momentum, quietly dissipated.
“HSSSS!!!”
Before Yu Zhenghong could react, the python slithered through the breach, closing in on the man standing atop the vehicle in the blink of an eye.
The blue flames reappeared.
But it wasn’t from the Tier 5 ability user he had expected—it was a Tier 5 battle pet!
Yu Zhenghong’s abilities were already more than half exhausted from summoning multiple tornadoes. Now, faced with an imminent life-threatening crisis, he had no choice but to withdraw all attacks to deal with the python.
Ordinary wind blades likely wouldn’t be able to cut through its scales.
Just as Yu Zhenghong was about to condense a massive wind blade, at a critical moment, his mind suddenly wavered for half a second—completely beyond his control.
The battlefield changed in an instant.
That half-second of hesitation was enough to expose a fatal weakness.
PAH!
The python’s thick tail swung violently, smashing the off-road vehicle from beneath his feet.
Yu Zhenghong lost his balance immediately.
The moment he fell to the ground, the half-bald eagle king, lying in wait nearby, seized the opportunity.
It moved so fast it left only an afterimage—before anyone could react—
Its talons pierced through the handsome man’s eyes!
“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
A bloodcurdling scream tore through the sky.
In that instant of excruciating pain, his consciousness collapsed. A blinding white light pierced through his mental defenses, delaying his already belated counterattack by yet another half-second.
A sharp whistle cut through the chaos.
The eagle king’s razor-sharp beak mercilessly punctured Yu Zhenghong’s chest, tearing apart his still-beating, blood-red heart.
On the city wall, Sun Zhichun and Su Su instinctively turned to look at Sun Zhixia.
Her eyes were rimmed red, and her trembling hands were hidden deep within her sleeves.
Yu Zhenghong died a wrongful death.
But not entirely wrongful.
Had he not been so greedy, had he not tried a second time to covet Linhai Base, this proud Tier 6 ability user wouldn’t have met such an end.
Beyond the battlefield, the remaining enemy ability users—under the relentless assault of the eagles and venomous insects—had completely followed in their leader’s footsteps.
Now, only hundreds of ordinary people remained, huddled together, trembling in fear.
The external crisis was over, but in its wake, it left a mess to clean up.
Yu Zhenghong’s lifeless body lay sprawled on the damp ground.
With the deep-seated resentment in his heart finally dissipated, Sun Zhichun’s gaze immediately shifted to the two individuals who had helped them immensely—Su Su and Pang Cancan.
From the moment he had stepped onto the city wall and seen Yu Zhenghong, he had understood—
Everything that had happened today was pure coincidence.
These two groups of outsiders were definitely not on the same side.
At the end of the day, this was still a historical issue, the lingering aftermath of having invited a wolf into the house.
Sun Zhichun sincerely apologized. “I’m sorry, I misunderstood you.”
Pang Cancan glanced at Su Su.
Although the now-dead Yu Zhenghong seemed to have been Sun Zhixia’s former lover, and all of this was merely an internal conflict within their base… after witnessing so many unexpected twists, she no longer dared to casually speak her thoughts.
“I’m sorry.” Sun Zhixia lifted her head, her eyes still tinged with a faint redness, but her apology was not perfunctory. “Thank you for helping us.”
Without them, Yu Zhenghong’s plan to take over the base would have succeeded.
All that talk about cooperation and alliances—given his greedy nature, it was obvious that his true goal was to swallow up the entire seaside base.
Sun Zhixia once again realized her own foolishness.
She trusted the wicked yet doubted the kind.
Su Su let out a breath of relief. “As long as everything is clear now, that’s what matters.”
When she first arrived, she too feared that she had unwittingly led ill-intentioned ability users to this seaside base.
Seeing how understanding these two were, Sun Zhixia’s eyes reddened once more.
She tugged at Sun Zhichun’s sleeve. “Brother, let’s give them that thing as an apology.”
At the mention of this, Sun Zhixia instinctively glanced at the massive python that had just slithered back inside the city wall.
Sun Zhichun paused for half a second before realizing what his sister meant by “that thing.”
“Alright.” The dark-skinned young man didn’t hesitate and readily agreed.
The siblings seemed to be speaking in riddles, leaving Su Su completely confused. “What thing?”
“The Energy Disruption.”
Now that he understood they were truly ability users from the Northern Base, Sun Zhichun explained in detail.
“It’s an instrument invented by the Northern Base. The first-generation device can shatter the energy impurities left behind after Tier 1 to Tier 3 ability users consume crystal cores. The second-generation device can do the same for Tier 4 to Tier 5 ability users. However, both are still considered semi-finished products, with limited effects on humans—they work far better on battle pets.”
“Since battle pets evolve through abilities, their progression is even more difficult than that of humans. We bought a second-generation Energy Disruption from the Northern Base, originally intending to use it on the eagle king. But since your battle pet has also reached Tier 5, this device should help cleanse its accumulated energy impurities.”
“This will significantly reduce the dangers of its next advancement.”
Su Su’s heart tensed slightly at this revelation.
She casually probed further. “Why have we never heard of this Energy Disruption before?”
“It’s currently only circulating in the North. Due to its high manufacturing cost, only a handful of high-tier ability users have access to it—most people have never encountered one.”
Even the Sun siblings had to spend a fortune to obtain just one.
Hearing this explanation, Su Su subconsciously looked at Xiao Hei—her only companion who knew the true nature of her core ability.
Everyone else, including Pang Cancan, only assumed she had a dual ability in mental and healing powers.
No… once this Energy Disruption became widely used, Wei Yan, Cancan, and the others—those closest to her—would inevitably start piecing together the truth about her “healing” ability.
As if her thoughts had conjured reality, Pang Cancan suddenly let out a “Huh?”, her gaze instinctively sweeping toward Su Su.
Sun Zhichun: “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Pang Cancan scratched her head and said casually, “I was just thinking, this thing is so valuable, and you’re really giving it to us?”
“If not for you, who knows what Yu Zhenghong would have done.” Sun Zhichun’s tone was sincere. “Consider this both an apology and a token of gratitude.”
Su Su no longer declined. “Alright, then we’ll accept it.”
She also wanted to see just how advanced the Northern Base’s research had become.