Chapter 80: All Tier 4
Yang Bin led everyone downstairs at full speed, hoping to clear the building before that crowd made it up.
No such luck. The building was over twenty stories tall, they'd been on the roof, and the elevator was dead. Even running as fast as they did, they slammed into the people charging up from below on the fifth floor.
Both sides froze, staring at each other.
Yang Bin sighed. This disaster had dropped on them like a bucket of shit-no dodging it.
This wasn't a few hundred or even a few thousand zombies. It was a full ten thousand. He had no idea how these people had managed to kick that particular hornet's nest.
Battalion Commander Song stared wide-eyed at Yang Bin's group descending from above. He hadn't expected anyone to be up there.
Before Song could speak, Yang Bin cut in. "Stop running up. Hold the stairwell down here. The higher you go, the fewer ways out you have."
The female officer beside Song opened her mouth, but the Battalion Commander grasped Yang Bin's meaning immediately and shouted to the rear.
"Stop climbing! Hold the stairwell!"
The soldiers at the back halted, stowed their rifles, drew bayonets, and locked down the stairwell entrance.
Everyone else pushed through the fire door onto the floor itself.
The building was commercial office space. The fifth floor belonged entirely to a large tech company-one tenant, wall to wall.
Over four hundred people including soldiers. The floor was big enough that it didn't feel cramped.
Just as Yang Bin's group was dealing with the headache of their situation, a cluster of women approached them.
"You-hello. Last time, you left before we could thank you. We didn't expect to see you again so soon. Thank you for saving us!" several of them said gratefully.
Yang Bin frowned. He could see clearly-these women had barely crossed the threshold into Evolver status. They'd eaten the crystals his team left behind and never gone out to hunt more on their own.
He sighed but said nothing. Like he'd told them: the road was theirs to walk. Their choices shaped their fate. Nobody was going to carry them forever.
He'd acted on impulse back then, giving them one extra chance. Turned out it was wasted. No more of that. Those dozen-plus crystals would've made a decent snack for Little Orange.
He shook his head and looked at them flatly. "No need to thank us. We just happened to be passing through."
That was when a female police officer with a striking figure walked over.
"The people dead in that supermarket-was that you?"
She'd clearly overheard the women talking.
Yang Bin glanced at her. No point denying it. "Yeah."
"Everyone's already struggling just to survive, and you're out there killing people?" she said, anger rising in her voice.
Yang Bin stared at her blankly.
"Are you serious right now? You think this is still the old world?" he said.
"What about this world? Does the apocalypse give you the right to kill whoever you want?" Her voice climbed higher.
"Officer, they didn't kill randomly. Those men were monsters. They deserved worse than death," one of the women spoke up.
"Even if those people committed crimes, that's for the police to handle. It doesn't give civilians the right to execute anyone. Don't think that having a little strength means you can do whatever you please. It's people like them that make this apocalypse even more terrifying than it already is!"
"You'll handle it?" Yang Bin's voice went cold. "Where were you when these women needed you? There are people dying out there right now-everywhere. What are you doing hiding in here? Go save them."
"You-!"
"Captain Lü! That's enough!" Battalion Commander Song barked.
"Battalion Commander Song, are you shielding murderers?" Lü Jiao didn't flinch.
"Can you not read the situation we're in?"
"So you agree? The apocalypse means no laws apply anymore?"
"Impossible to reason with!" Song Tielin snapped.
He genuinely couldn't fathom why headquarters had saddled him with this woman. It was sabotage.
"Battalion Commander Song, I suggest you remember your position. You are a soldier!"
"Then what do you want!? To execute them right here?" Song Tielin's voice rose to a shout.
"At minimum, they should be restrained and escorted back to base for tribunal."
"You want to arrest them, do it yourself. I'm done playing along." Song Tielin spat the words and walked away.
Watching him go, Lü Jiao's chest heaved with fury. She swore to herself-the moment they got back, she'd report him to headquarters.
Then she drew her sidearm, leveling it at Yang Bin's group. "Hands behind your heads. Squat in the corner. Now."
Yang Bin and the others didn't move. They watched her with flat, cold eyes.
"Did you not hear me? I said get in the corner!"
"And if I don't?"
"Then don't blame me for pulling this trigger!"
"Try it." Yang Bin's voice was ice.
Neither side budged. The surrounding crowd scattered backward, gawking at Yang Bin's group like they were insane.
Defying the police-who the hell were these people?
What they didn't know was this:
If Yang Bin weren't wary of those soldiers and their rifles, Lü Jiao would already be a corpse.
"Lü Jiao, are you done? Put the gun down!"
Song Tielin, who'd washed his hands of this mess, had no choice but to step back in.
If this woman were under his command, he'd have had her dragged out and shot long ago. But she'd been assigned by headquarters, and that tied his hands.
"Battalion Commander Song, these are dangerous individuals! Order your men to act!"
Silence.
"Battalion Commander Song." Yang Bin's gaze shifted to him. "I'd advise you to get this woman under control. Otherwise, I'll throw her off this building and let the zombies sort it out."
More silence.
"01, 02, 03-confiscate her weapon. Take her to the other side."
"Yes sir!"
Three soldiers stepped forward, plucked the pistol from Lü Jiao's grip, and marched her toward the back.
"Song Tielin! You dare detain me? Just wait-I'll report you to the Mayor himself!" Lü Jiao shouted as they dragged her away.
She was taken to another room. The shouting faded.
Song Tielin turned back to Yang Bin. "I removed her. But not as a concession to you-because right now isn't the time for infighting."
His expression hardened. "That said. You people clearly have no regard for official authority. Do you think the apocalypse means the government is finished?"
"You're overthinking it, Battalion Commander." Yang Bin's tone stayed level. "If she weren't government, she'd already be dead. That's the only reason she isn't."
Song Tielin studied them for a long moment. "You carry too much killing intent."
"You think mercy keeps people alive in this world?"
Song Tielin went quiet. He didn't argue. He knew Yang Bin was right.
"Do you know why I kept stopping her from pushing you?" Song Tielin asked.
"Because you know that picking a fight with us gains you nothing." Yang Bin smiled faintly. "And might cost you dearly."
"Heh. Confident, aren't you." Song Tielin's eyes narrowed. "But I'll admit-I feel real pressure coming off your group. Some of you have hit Tier 4, haven't you?"
"All six of us." Yang Bin held up a hand, then added one finger. "All Tier 4."
Song Tielin's expression froze.
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