“You two showing up voluntarily, and both being Tier 3 ability users, was beyond my expectations. If we can fight the Tier 4 zombie, we will. If we can’t, we retreat immediately. Keeping our lives is the most important thing.”
As he spoke, Brother Wang led the two of them out of the ability user hall.
A few hundred meters away, two seven-seater off-road vehicles were parked, just enough to fit fourteen people.
The existing members of Brother Wang’s squad didn’t say much about the arrival of the two women, but the four newly recruited strangers had plenty to say.
“Brother Wang, why did you bring two women? Are they going to wave pom-poms and cheer while we fight zombies?”
“If you can’t speak properly, shut up!” Brother Wang swept his gaze sternly over them. “If you think you’re so capable, you can take the lead in battle later! If you don’t dare, then shut up and be mute!”
Who would want to take the lead? It was exhausting and thankless.
The four men reluctantly fell silent.
Brother Wang then turned to Su Su and Qu Wen. “You two will ride with me.”
It was both a form of protection and supervision.
He wanted to see for himself whether this so-called zombie-controlling ability user was bluffing.
The off-road vehicle drove for half an hour before leaving the base.
Without the final building blocking the view, the once narrow sky suddenly opened up. The area that had once been filled with towering skyscrapers was now an endless plain. Only a few collapsed ruins remained, resembling broken bones that jutted hideously through the earth’s skin.
After traveling for over an hour, they saw from a distance a massive iron fence, stretching thousands of meters long, extending all the way to the vast mountains at the edge of their vision, blocking the entire eastern tide of death from entering.
As they got closer, they could even see the layers of dust coating the fence, with unknown brownish solid residue still clinging to the gaps.
The superpowers of humans and the grasping and scratching of zombies had once caused it irreversible damage. Despite enduring ruin and continuous patching up, it still stands tall to this day.
In addition, there are hundreds of sentry towers, large and small. They are even taller than the iron net, with each one patrolled and guarded by superpowered individuals. They are also equipped with the most advanced binoculars, constantly on the lookout for zombie invasions.
The staff member on duty extended his right hand.
Brother Wang smoothly stopped the car and presented the hunting team’s credentials. Soon, the staff member raised his left hand, and the only brand-new section of the iron net slowly opened outward, revealing a spacious road.
Two off-road vehicles were smoothly allowed into the Eastern Hunting Zone.
Since learning that the two of them were newly joined superpowered individuals from the Southern Base, Brother Wang patiently explained along the way, “See that area?”
He pointed to a section ten kilometers away from the iron net, where the ruins of overturned buildings were scattered all around. Passing vehicles would instinctively steer around it, leaving with a carload of dust in their wake.
“That is a minefield. If a zombie horde approaches the base, it will trigger a mine explosion, and all the superpowered individuals in the city will have to rush over.”
“So, remember this—no matter what happens, even if zombies are chasing you, you must not lose your mind and drive into that area. Otherwise, your death would be in vain.”
Qu Wen stuck her head out of the car window, looking at the sentry towers and iron net fading into the distance, sighing, “No wonder the Southern Base is so safe. At this rate, for a zombie horde to break through these layers of defenses would be harder than reaching the heavens.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Brother Wang said indifferently. “Before last year’s snow disaster, a Tier-4 Zombie King appeared, leading tens of thousands of zombies to charge at the iron net. The base almost couldn’t hold them back.”
“What happened then?”
“Two newly arrived Tier-3 superpowered individuals joined forces to kill that Tier-4 zombie.”
Su Su suddenly interjected, “Were they from the Eternal Team?”
Brother Wang raised an eyebrow. “So, you’ve heard of them too?”
Qu Wen was completely puzzled. “What Eternal Team? I don’t think I’ve heard of them before.”
“The Eternal Team originally had only four members. The leaders were a couple named Si Zhe and Lin Weiran. Their abilities are lightning and fire respectively, and when combined, their attacks are greater than the sum of their parts.”
“So, when all the other Tier-3 superpowered individuals in the base failed to stop that Tier-4 zombie, the two of them did.”
“In order to keep them, the city lord offered generous conditions. Now, they have more than a dozen teammates and have become the largest hunter team in the Northern District.”
Brother Wang’s tone was indifferent as he spoke.
Su Su keenly caught a subtle detail—or perhaps it was just her sixth sense—he didn’t like the Eternal Team.
She timely asked, “Are there any other well-known teams?”
“What, are you looking for a team to join too?”
Su Su nodded. “I’m considering it.”
Brother Wang didn’t doubt her. After pondering for a few seconds, he provided a list of the teams he was more familiar with.
— Azure Dragon Team, led by a Tier-4 fire-type superpowered individual.
— Liuren Team, whose members had a wide variety of abilities, even including those who could draw talismans.
— Baili Team, specializing in close-quarters combat, with most of their members possessing self-enhancement abilities suited for melee battles.
…
By the time he finished listing them, Su Su still hadn’t heard any familiar names or abilities from his mouth.
That shouldn’t be the case. Wei Yan was a Tier-4 superpowered individual proficient in both offense and defense, while Cancan had a poison-type area-of-effect ability. No matter which base they went to, they wouldn’t be nobodies.
Could it be that they hadn’t arrived at the Southern Base yet?
Su Su furrowed her brows and instinctively touched the Xiao Hei creature inside her backpack.
Were they still guarding that small village? It had already been two months—if they couldn’t find anyone, they should have given up by now.
Or… were they, like her, deliberately lowering their presence?
Su Su fell into deep thought and didn’t continue asking questions, causing the car to return to silence.
The off-road vehicle drove for another dozen minutes before finally reaching its destination. Brother Wang immediately perked up. “We’ve arrived at the zombie gathering area!”
All the teammates who had been resting with their eyes closed opened them at once, their abilities already prepared for battle.
Su Su looked out the car window and saw that the buildings were becoming increasingly dense. Small groups of zombies wandered around, and their average strength far exceeded that of their counterparts in other cities.
The off-road vehicle slowed down as it reached a plaza.
Brother Wang spoke cautiously, “Last time, we ventured deeper into this area and ran into four or five Tier-4 zombies. But we were short on manpower and exhausted, so we had to retreat in a sorry state. Our car even got its rear smashed to bits by a Tier-4 zombie.”
The roar of the vehicle gradually attracted the wandering zombies nearby. They howled and charged forward, only to be cut down by a barrage of superpowered attacks.
After killing a Tier-3 zombie, Brother Wang turned to look at Su Su and Qu Wen.
“I hope you two can prove your strength. If the hunt is successful, I can give you two Grade-4 crystal stones.”
Considering there were only four or five Tier-4 zombies in total, offering two crystals was already quite generous.
Su Su didn’t respond.
A wave of white light rippled outward from the car, sweeping over the zombies surrounding the lead off-road vehicle. In an instant, they froze in place, as if they were marionettes with their strings cut.
The people in the second vehicle hadn’t figured out what had happened, but they seized the opportunity to slaughter these “dazed” creatures.
Inside the first vehicle, there was dead silence. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Su Su.
Brother Wang’s lips even trembled. “Y-You’re a Tier-4 superpowered individual? You can actually control zombies?!”
Su Su nodded. “Mm.”
“Hoo—” Brother Wang let out a deep breath, and his gaze turned burning hot. “Good! Good! I never expected to randomly recruit such a powerful player!”
“In that case, let’s make use of your strength today and wipe out all those Tier-4 zombies!”
Just as he finished speaking, four or five agile figures burst out from the buildings.
They were the same Tier-4 zombies that Brother Wang had encountered last time!
They seemed to remember the team that had escaped their grasp and, bearing a grudge, charged straight at them.
Su Su locked onto the leading Tier-4 zombie. White light flickered, and its gaze gradually became vacant as its body stiffened in place.
Before Brother Wang could make a move to finish it off…
A bolt of lightning suddenly shot from behind, striking the zombie at close range and killing it outright.
Whoosh!
A sleek, high-performance red off-road vehicle brushed past them, coming to a precise stop beside the fallen zombie.
A person jumped out of the car, overjoyed as they picked up the yellow crystal stone.
“Brother Si Zhe! You were right—there really is a nest of Tier-4 zombies here!”
After snatching the loot, he turned to look at Brother Wang in the driver’s seat behind him.
The well-known superpowered individuals of the Northern District all recognized each other. The moment Wan Pengfei saw Brother Wang, his brows lifted in surprise.
But almost immediately, he arrogantly tossed the Grade-4 crystal stone up and down right in front of Brother Wang.
“Oh, so it’s Brother Wang.”
“Look at you, only a Tier-3 ability user, yet you’re already leading your team to their deaths?”
“Sure, Grade-4 crystal stones are tempting, but do you even have the lives to take them?”
His tone was dripping with provocation, his attitude brazen and despicable.
A teammate inside the car cursed in fury, “Wan Pengfei, that bastard! Brother Wang, let me get out and take the crystal stone back!”
“Stay put!” Brother Wang growled. “That car belongs to the Eternal Team, and all of them are here. You won’t get it back!”
Eternal Team?
Among the few Tier-4 ability users in the base, the Eternal Team had two!
The teammate slumped back into his seat in frustration. “So we’re just going to watch them steal our crystal stone?”
Brother Wang fell silent.
“You won’t get it back.”
A crisp voice drew everyone’s attention. Su Su ignored their eager gazes, her eyes fixed intently on the yellow crystal stone that was being tossed up and down. She spoke softly,
“My things—no one can take them.”
Not even Si Zhe and Lin Weiran, who had now advanced to Tier-4.
When they parted ways in X City, Lin Weiran’s sneak attack was a debt Su Su had yet to settle.
A brilliant white light surged outward.
All the surrounding zombies—including the newly emerged Tier-4 ones—simultaneously turned and charged toward the red off-road vehicle.
At the same time, the ground beneath Wan Pengfei’s feet suddenly cracked open.
Caught off guard by Brother Wang’s trap, he was thrown off balance and took a heavy fall.
The Grade-4 crystal stone slipped from his grasp and flew into the air.
Wan Pengfei gritted his teeth, steadied himself, and shot out a vine, aiming straight for the crystal stone.
But Su Su was even faster—she swiftly unzipped her backpack.
A pitch-black shadow shot out from the car window.
The black snake bit down on the Grade-4 crystal stone before the vine could reach it. Its tail swayed elegantly in midair, poised to snap the vine in two.
However, the vine wasn’t weak—it swiftly coiled around the snake’s tail.
“Hiss!”
Sensing the vine’s pull, the black snake roared, spewing out scorching blue flames. The fire instantly ignited the greenery, reducing the plant that even ordinary zombies couldn’t bite through to ashes inch by inch. Before the flames could reach Wan Pengfei, he panicked and severed the vine.
Plop.
The massive black python landed on the ground.
A pair of long legs, accentuated by black work pants, stepped out of the vehicle. Su Su walked over to Xiao Hei, taking the Grade-4 crystal stone from its mouth.
“It’s you!”
Hearing the familiar voice, Su Su lifted her head and met Lin Weiran’s gaze in the front passenger seat.
Beyond her, Si Zhe sat in the driver’s seat, his eyes dark and heavy as he stared at her.
The black snake coiled itself around its master’s body in loops, eventually poking its head out from behind her neck, its eerie gaze fixed on every person inside the red off-road vehicle.
Su Su had long since removed her mask. Her delicate features made the city’s ruins appear less like a post-apocalyptic wasteland and more like a deliberately designed high-fashion photoshoot.
In front of everyone, she openly stuffed the crystal stone into Xiao Hei’s mouth.
Gulp!
The Grade-4 crystal stone, which so many had coveted, was swallowed whole by a cold-blooded creature.
The most crucial part was—Su Su stood there, doing absolutely nothing, yet all the surrounding zombies seemed blind, instinctively avoiding her while relentlessly charging toward the red off-road vehicle.
As Si Zhe and Lin Weiran’s faces grew darker, Su Su finally curved her lips into a smile. But the smile never reached her eyes.
“What a coincidence,” she said lightly. “We meet again.”