As their numbers dwindled, the pressure on the remaining survivors grew crushing.
Chen Hao moved up beside Yang Bin. Both abandoned any pretense of defense and threw themselves into a frenzied charge against the horde.
With two Tier-3 Evolvers going all out, the group's forward momentum surged.
Minutes later, Yang Bin drove a savage kick into the seven or eight zombies blocking his path, sending them sprawling. He stomped over their bodies and punched through the encirclement.
The people behind him poured through the gap immediately, breaking free before the zombies could close ranks again.
But of the original 1,800-plus survivors, fewer than 500 remained. More than two-thirds-gone.
"Head for the teaching building!"
Yang Bin's shout cut through the chaos. He swept his Barbell Rod in a wide arc, smashing back the zombies pressing in from the sides.
The survivors still on their feet were the sharper ones. The moment they heard him, they bolted toward the teaching building without a second's hesitation.
Yang Bin's group and Tang Weiwei's team ran the same direction, cutting down pursuing zombies as they went.
Before long, the group flooded into the teaching building, rushed upstairs, and set up a defense at the stairwell.
Killing zombies in a stairwell was old routine for Yang Bin's crew by now.
The teaching building's stairwell was considerably wider than the dormitory's, but they had more bodies to fill it this time.
Yang Bin's trio plus Tang Weiwei and Mo Yu-two Tier-2 Evolvers-were more than enough to hold the chokepoint.
The five of them planted themselves at the stairwell entrance on exhausted legs while the rest fled into classrooms.
Yang Bin shook his head. He'd originally thought about lowering his standards and recruiting teammates from this crowd. Now he saw no point.
Half an hour later, the stairwell was completely choked with corpses. All five collapsed to the floor.
This time, they were truly spent. Even Yang Bin felt like he couldn't lift the Barbell Rod.
After a long moment, they slowly recovered. Tang Weiwei looked at Yang Bin and said sincerely, "Thank you... we owe you our lives this time."
"Don't thank me. We were getting ourselves out. You just happened to be behind us." Yang Bin waved her off.
"..."
"Regardless, without you three, there's no way we would've made it." Tang Weiwei's tone was firm.
She knew exactly how brutal that run had been. Her team had gone from seventy or eighty people down to just over forty-nearly halved.
If the rear guard suffered that badly, she could only imagine what Yang Bin's group endured at the front. If it had been her leading the charge, she never would have broken through.
"I'm curious. There's only three of you. How did you get this strong in such a short time? I haven't seen any special abilities from you either." Tang Weiwei tilted her head.
"Can't tell you that. You're not Liangzi's wife."
"..."
"Forget I asked." Tang Weiwei said flatly.
Yang Bin smiled and left it at that.
The group sat on the floor, resting in silence.
All of them were carrying injuries, but with outsiders around, Yang Bin couldn't have Hu Wenliang heal them.
Hu Wenliang's ability was too conspicuous. If word got out, it would bring nothing but trouble. Treatment would have to wait until they were back at the dormitory.
After resting for over half an hour, Yang Bin hauled himself to his feet.
"Alright. It's getting dark. Time to go. I'm not spending the night in a classroom."
"The stairwell's completely blocked. How are you leaving?"
"Second-floor window. The teaching building isn't sealed up like the Cafeteria-you can get out anywhere."
"You're not going to look after them?" Tang Weiwei glanced toward the classrooms.
"I'm not their parents. Why would I? Getting them out was generous enough." Yang Bin rolled his eyes.
"Fine. Then you're not harvesting these crystals either?" Tang Weiwei gestured at the corpses piled in the stairwell.
"They're yours."
Yang Bin flashed a grin, then led Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang toward another classroom.
Tier-1 Crystals were beneath their notice now. All they wanted was to get back to the dormitory and patch themselves up.
"Weiwei, I think we should keep our distance from those three in the future." Mo Yu murmured once they were gone.
"Why?"
"They're too dangerous." Mo Yu kept his voice low. What he didn't dare say was that he was afraid Tang Weiwei might get pulled into their orbit.
"They're not that bad, actually. Yang Bin looks cold and heartless on the surface, but he's not completely without conscience. He did bring people out."
"I don't want to admit it, but in both strength and ability, he's above me. If we can stay on good terms with them, we should. In the apocalypse, one more ally is one more chance at survival." Tang Weiwei said it plainly, without hesitation.
"Alright." Mo Yu couldn't argue with that logic. He'd just have to keep a closer eye on things-make sure she didn't actually get swept away.
Yang Bin's group reached a classroom window and looked down.
The teaching building's floors were taller than the dormitory's. Second floor to ground level was roughly 3.5 meters.
Intimidating for a normal person, maybe. For Second and Tier-3 Evolvers, it was nothing.
A dozen or so zombies milled around below. Not a problem.
Yang Bin dropped first. The zombies spotted him and lunged.
A few lazy swings of the Barbell Rod put them all down.
Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang jumped after him, and the three moved carefully toward the dormitory.
The moment they got back, all three collapsed onto their beds and didn't move.
Eventually, Hu Wenliang dragged himself up to start healing.
None of their wounds were life-threatening, but the accumulated damage-cuts, bruises, gashes-needed attention sooner rather than later.
It took over an hour, with several rest breaks in between, before Hu Wenliang finished treating everyone. Then he dropped onto his bed like a dead man and was asleep instantly.
Yang Bin and Chen Hao, on the other hand, felt refreshed.
"Thank god for Liangzi. How do other people even deal with injuries?" Chen Hao said suddenly.
"Evolvers heal faster than normal people. As long as it's not fatal, minor wounds close up in a few days on their own. But having instant treatment is obviously better-which is exactly why Liangzi's ability can't be exposed. It'd bring endless trouble."
"Mm."
"Bin-ge, what's our next move? Keep building strength?"
"Mm."
"I've noticed everyone else is expanding their teams, clearly trying to carve out territory in the apocalypse. Should we..."
"No rush. Think about it-the government won't tolerate warlords popping up everywhere."
"Their control has weakened, sure. But their overall strength is still the greatest. Forget firearms for a second-just in terms of Evolvers alone, the government has the most."
"So don't cross their line. Watch how things develop. We focus on our own strength first. If the day comes when everything truly falls apart, we'll have the capital to make our move."
"Mm. Bin-ge, I'm with you. Whatever you decide, I follow." Chen Hao's voice was steady.
"Good brother."