“If they keep ramming like this, this metal door won’t last much longer.”
After nearly two months of traveling, Lin Weiran had long since gotten used to giving orders. Now, she had regained her rhythm.
She looked at the group—mainly at Su Su’s people—and calmly said, “As long as we kill the front wave of zombies, the ones behind won’t be able to smell living humans and will stop blindly crashing into the door. Once they calm down, they will naturally scatter elsewhere in search of fresh flesh and blood.”
“The front door is under attack, which means the back door definitely won’t be spared either. We need to split into two teams and guard both doors.”
Lin Weiran paused here. Seeing that no one objected to her analysis, she continued, “Our team has four Tier-2 ability users and one Tier-3 ability user, which is enough to guard the front door.”
“As for you all…”
In Zhao Zhenyu’s team, only he was Tier-2; the other three were all Tier-1.
On Su Su’s side, at least what was visible to everyone included a Tier-3 giant python, a Tier-2 poison-type ability user, a scrawny little boy who probably couldn’t even use his ability, and herself—a completely ordinary person with no abilities at all.
“All of you together should be able to hold the back door, right?”
“No way!” Pang Cancan refused without a second thought.
Zhao Zhenyu, who was full of malice toward Su Su, and several former teammates who had once betrayed her—what kind of deep hatred was forcing them into the same team?
Facing her rebuttal, Lin Weiran remained calm. “Then you can guard a door on your own.”
Pang Cancan choked on her words.
She couldn’t be sure that just she and Su Su alone could withstand the entire zombie horde.
Zhao Zhenyu sneered sarcastically, “Don’t think I want to team up with you. If you’re so capable, defend it yourselves.”
“I agree. Let’s do it this way.”
Su Su pulled back the still-fuming Pang Cancan and gave her a barely noticeable shake of the head.
The latter struggled to suppress her fiery temper.
“Since no one has objections, let’s move quickly!”
Lin Weiran led her teammates to the front door and loosened the iron chain wrapped around the door handle by a notch. The two metal doors instantly opened a gap about tens of centimeters wide.
Bang!
A bluish-purple zombie arm shot diagonally through the gap.
Lin Weiran’s fireball burned it to a crisp before she slashed down hard with her blade.
The others also took action. Any zombie that rushed up to crash into the door was met with fierce ability attacks that sent them flying.
“Come on, you two, what are you waiting for?”
Zhao Zhenyu’s sarcastic voice rang out. Pang Cancan clenched her fists, barely holding back, and swung a half-hearted punch in his direction, stopping just short of his head.
“I really don’t want to stay in the same space as these people! For god’s sake, I was the one who led them through this gymnasium route, and now they’re just taking advantage while acting like they’re the ones in control!” Pang Cancan gritted her teeth and whispered angrily. “And that woman, Lin Weiran—is she sick in the head? Zhao Zhenyu betrayed her, yet she still speaks as if she’s siding with him!”
Su Su curled her lips slightly. “They were teammates for a long time, after all.”
But when it came to time spent together, who could compare to her?
Her attitude was too calm, leaving Pang Cancan confused.
“Sister Su Su, don’t you have a temper at all?”
No temper?
Su Su pressed her lips together. How could she not have a temper? It was just that in her past life, she had been angered, ignored, targeted, and suppressed too many times. Facing these familiar scenes again, her heart had long grown numb—only left with the feeling of inevitability.
“The time hasn’t come yet.”
As for when that time would be and what it would look like, Su Su didn’t explain further.
She simply turned her gaze to Zhao Zhenyu in front of her.
For some reason, Su Su always felt that there was another reason behind the zombie horde besieging the stadium. Thinking back to when they were speeding on the road, she remembered very clearly—the zombie tide had followed them here!
But what on Zhao Zhenyu could be worth their relentless pursuit?
Su Su couldn’t figure it out and could only follow the group to the back door for now.
The iron chain loosened, and the metal door opened a gap of several dozen centimeters. Zhao Zhenyu said nothing and immediately unleashed his ability, slaughtering the zombies crowded at the front.
At a time like this, no one had the luxury to dwell on past grudges.
The stadium doors could not be broken through—if they were, no one would leave here alive!
“Xiao Hei.” Su Su adjusted the black snake in her arms, lifting it slightly, then leaned close to its head and whispered, “Hold back your strength, understand?”
This stadium was full of ill-intentioned people, each harboring their own motives. There was no need to reveal their trump cards too soon.
Her voice was too soft, and her breath carried a slight warmth.
The black snake suddenly jerked its head, as if trying to shake off that strange, ticklish sensation.
“Hiss!”
Hah, it wasn’t even a hunt—it knew very well to conserve its strength. Did she really need to remind it?
Su Su took it as understanding and affectionately scratched the tip of its “chin.”
“Alright, alright, I know you’re the smartest.”
Outside the door, wave after wave of zombies surged forward. They couldn’t get in, but they refused to retreat, their bodies eventually piling up into a mound of corpses at the entrance.
When Zhao Zhenyu ran out of strength, Su Su stepped forward with the black snake to take his place.
She had thought that the pile of corpses at the door would act as a barrier, blocking the zombies and giving them a brief moment to breathe.
But then, an astonishing scene unfolded!
Out of nowhere, several Tier-2 zombies appeared, roaring as they grabbed the corpse pieces, lifted them high, and hurled them into the distance.
As for which unfortunate zombie got hit in the head, that was anyone’s guess.
Under Su Su’s stunned gaze, the Tier-2 zombies “cleared” the “obstacles” at the entrance but did not charge forward. Instead, they smartly retreated, allowing the lower-level zombies and Tier-1 zombies to take their place.
The black snake in her arms had yet to notice the difference. With every wave of zombies, it spewed blue flames, incinerating them all. Only when countless bluish-purple hands once again filled the gap in the back door did it leisurely activate its ability once more.
At the back, Su Su and Pang Cancan exchanged bewildered glances, while Zhao Zhenyu’s new teammates shivered as they pointed out the most terrifying realization—
“Have these zombies evolved intelligence?!”
“But they’re only Tier-2!”
Tier-2 zombies were supposed to evolve only in speed and strength, at most gaining stronger abilities, but they were still mindless creatures that didn’t know how to adapt.
Yet the ones before them—these zombies moved in an orderly fashion and even knew to clear away their fallen companions!
Everyone’s faces turned grim.
As the corpses piled up into another small mountain, Su Su whispered, “Xiao Hei, target those Tier-2 zombies.”
In an instant, blue flames incinerated the Tier-2 zombies that had emerged to drag away the corpses.
Sitting in the back to rest, Zhao Zhenyu’s gaze flickered at this sight.
A beast with abilities—and a Tier-3 one at that.
If it continued to grow unchecked… the woman who could control it would remain undefeatable.
Zhao Zhenyu was painfully aware of all the cruel things he had done to Su Su, the terrible words he had spoken.
Right now, in the midst of a crisis, she either hadn’t thought about it or was too busy to hold it against him. But once the zombie horde dispersed, she would become the greatest threat.
With this thought, Zhao Zhenyu turned his head and exchanged a look with one of his new teammates.
Lin Wenzong caught the message clearly.
Someone who, in a life-or-death moment, could ruthlessly sacrifice Pang Cancan to secure his own survival was cut from the same cloth as Zhao Zhenyu.
Their way of thinking aligned in many ways.
So Lin Wenzong understood immediately.
“I’ll hold the line for a while. You should go rest,” he said, stepping in to replace his teammate and taking position at the other door.
Su Su cast a wary glance at him but found nothing unusual.
Another half-hour passed before Zhao Zhenyu, now well-rested, stood up. “I’ll take over.”
Su Su didn’t hesitate. After all, Xiao Hei had been the one doing most of the work, and she naturally wanted to take care of her partner.
In the moment of the switch, no one noticed Lin Wenzong, standing by the door, quietly unlocking the chain that held the door handle in place.
The narrow gap of just a few dozen centimeters instantly widened to half a meter!
Zhao Zhenyu abruptly reached out and shoved—
Caught off guard, Su Su’s small frame lost balance and tumbled uncontrollably through the opening.
“Sister Su Su!”
“Sister!”
It all happened too fast—no one had expected Zhao Zhenyu to betray them at such a crucial moment.
Shouts of alarm rang out behind her, but Su Su heard nothing.
She only stared at the culprit, catching the fleeting hint of mockery and satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
Die!
This scheming, useless woman should have died a thousand times over on this journey instead of repeatedly causing others to die while she remained unscathed.
But it didn’t matter anymore.
He would make sure she died in the zombie horde, ending her worthless and burdensome existence.
Zhao Zhenyu’s triumphant smile had yet to fully spread when, in that fleeting moment of near escape, he saw a pair of delicate hands—like vines strangling a giant tree—desperately clutch onto his arm.
“Xiao Hei!!”
At her call, the black snake’s tail lashed out, coiling tightly around Zhao Zhenyu’s upper arm just as he tried to pry Su Su’s fingers off him!
“Ahhhhhh!!!”
A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air as Zhao Zhenyu was violently yanked forward, tumbling through the door with Su Su—both of them plunging into the zombie horde.
“Sister u Su!!”
Pang Cancan lunged for the door, trying to pull her back.
Standing guard at the entrance, Lin Wenzong hadn’t expected Zhao Zhenyu to be dragged out as well. He froze for less than a second before reacting swiftly.
“Close the door! Quickly, close it!”
“Don’t you dare shut that door! Who dares to shut it?!”
Pang Cancan roared, rushing forward and grabbing at Lin Wenzong.
He dodged her frenzied attack awkwardly while yelling back, “Are you insane?! They’ve already fallen into the zombie horde! We can’t save them! Opening the door now will only let the zombies flood in! This entire stadium will be lost!”
As he spoke, a sudden sharp pain shot through his arm. Looking down, he saw that the scrawny little brat had sunk his teeth deep into his flesh.
“Ahhh! You little bastard, you dare bite me?!”
“Open the door! Let my sister back in!”
One after another, more people lunged at him. Lin Wenzong, furious, turned to his teammates and shouted, “Are you all blind?! Get over here and help me!”
The two teammates had just rushed forward when Pang Cancan released her venomous insects. At the same time, Le Rui, who had been thrown aside earlier, struggled to conjure a thin ice blade.
In an instant, everyone froze in place.
Lin Wenzong knew all too well how terrifying these venomous insects were. Even when they were only the size of fingernails, they could easily kill a person. Now, they had evolved to the size of ping-pong balls!
He forced himself to stay calm and tried to reason with her. “Cancan, no matter how powerful your insects are, can they carry you out there to save them? The zombies outside are endless. Your insects can only protect you! And we—we’re all just Tier-1 ability users! If we can’t hold this door, we’re all dead!”
Of course, Pang Cancan understood his words.
Su Su was already trapped outside. The most rational decision right now was to lock the door!
She understood. But…
Her arm trembled from tension, yet her voice was shockingly firm.
“Open the door!”
She might have been young and impulsive, but she had always acted according to her conscience.
Sister Su Su had saved her.
And now, she wanted to save Su Su.
The thin ice blade pressed against Lin Wenzong’s neck—so weak that it couldn’t even break through the skin of a fellow Tier-1 ability user.
“…Fine, but don’t regret this!”
Lin Wenzong’s face darkened as he reluctantly released the lock on the door.
His gaze remained fixed on Pang Cancan as she strode outside, just waiting for the perfect moment—when she passed by him—to shove her out just as they had done to Su Su.
His plan was flawless.
But just before they crossed paths, Pang Cancan abruptly stopped.
In the very next second, she swung her leg up and kicked Lin Wenzong with all her might, sending him flying out the door.
“Bastard! Get the hell out too!!”
The completed translation of this book is now available in my Kofi.
PART 1
PART 2