With the Star Fall Squad officially established, Yang Bin splurged for once. He broke out the cured meat he'd been hoarding and some dried vegetables he'd never been willing to touch, cooking up a proper feast to celebrate the squad's formation.
With Zhong Yuansen's addition, the Star Fall Squad finally had a genuine combat ability user.
All this time, although the team had three ability users, they were all support types. Even Chen Hao's Invisibility wasn't particularly useful in group fights.
So their combat effectiveness wasn't much different from ordinary people. Their only edge was Yang Bin using True Vision Eye to pinpoint exactly the zombies they needed-that alone had kept them ahead.
But the battle against the Tier-5 Zombie had driven home just how much pressure they were under. Yang Bin desperately needed a combat-type ability user.
Especially after fighting Zhong Yuansen firsthand, he understood how terrifying ability users truly were-absolutely crushing ordinary people of the same rank, and punching above their weight wasn't even difficult.
Consider this: Zhong Yuansen had only just advanced to Tier 4, yet a single stone carried two thousand kilograms of force. That already met Tier 5 standards. It didn't take a genius to figure out that once he hit Tier 4 peak, he'd be able to take on Tier 5 opponents.
That was why Yang Bin had worked to pull him into the team. If abilities could be transferred, Yang Bin would have chosen that route-after all, he didn't know Zhong Yuansen's true character.
But abilities weren't something you could just extract. Sure, they joked about "slicing him open for research," but what would dissection actually reveal besides a mess? The ability wasn't housed in the flesh.
Now that Zhong Yuansen had joined, it was a solid outcome. The only remaining concern was the man's character.
That would reveal itself over time. Yang Bin would keep watching. If Zhong Yuansen didn't measure up, he wouldn't hesitate to put him down.
After dinner, the group hung out briefly before turning in early-which completely threw off Zhong Yuansen, who'd spent every day since the apocalypse walking on a knife's edge.
He half-wanted to step outside and check whether the world had somehow reverted to normal. This lifestyle was absurdly comfortable.
"Old Sen, get some sleep. Tonight, brother's taking you up to watch the stars." Old Hei clapped Zhong Yuansen on the shoulder.
"Watch the stars?"
"Uh... Hei-ge, my orientation is normal. Maybe you should ask someone else."
"Come or don't. I don't care." Old Hei turned and walked back to his room.
Zhong Yuansen was still standing there with a baffled expression when Yang Bin came over and patted his shoulder too.
"Get some rest. We're watching stars tonight."
Since Zhong Yuansen was part of the Star Fall Squad now, there was no point hiding things from him. Secrecy within the team would only backfire.
This method was likely still known only to them, but sooner or later others would figure it out. All they could do now was build as much of a lead as possible.
Hearing Yang Bin say the same thing, Zhong Yuansen figured it must be some kind of code phrase. Still confused, he nodded and found an empty room.
Looking around at the luxurious interior, he could hardly believe it. In an apocalypse this brutal, he was living in a place like this.
This wasn't the end of the world. This was a goddamn vacation.
---
Survival Base...
With tens of thousands of people working around the clock, construction within the Survival Base had already taken basic shape.
Over the past few days, survivors continued streaming in. The base population now exceeded forty thousand.
The military was clearing zombies from the surrounding areas, gradually pushing the perimeter walls outward to give the Survival Base more room to breathe.
In the meeting room at the base's center...
"Every single one of the thousand-plus soldiers sent to the Arsenal is dead." Liu Yong's voice was leaden.
"How is that possible? Those soldiers were all capable fighters, fully armed and equipped. How could they all be wiped out?" Ma Zhongguo's brow furrowed.
Military weapons were critical. With a large enough arsenal, he could launch sweeps of the surrounding zombie hordes-not only eliminating the threat but harvesting countless crystals in the process.
He'd assumed the weapons were practically in hand already. He hadn't expected news like this.
"The Arsenal is over sixty kilometers from the city center. The distance alone was brutal-they fought their way through almost the entire route. But halfway there, they ran into a pack of Mutated Beasts. Total annihilation." Liu Yong's grief was barely contained.
"Mutated Beasts?"
"Former predators that mutated. They already had massive physical advantages before the apocalypse. After mutation, those advantages are amplified tenfold. The soldiers couldn't hold against them."
Everyone in the room went grim. Zombies were bad enough. Mutated Beasts sounded worse.
"Why would that many Mutated Beasts suddenly appear in the urban area?"
"They likely took Furong Road. There's a large zoo along that route," a middle-aged man offered.
"......"
"Tigers, lions-apex predators that were already terrifyingly powerful. Now mutated? Of course they're even more savage. No wonder it was a total wipeout."
"Regardless, we have to find a way to get those weapons back. Ammunition reserves in the base are critically low."
Ma Zhongguo didn't dwell on the soldiers' deaths. His focus remained fixed on that stockpile.
"As more people arrive at the base, they draw more zombies with them. Just handling the ones that charge our walls has burned through massive amounts of ammo, never mind rescue operations elsewhere. The Arsenal situation is beyond urgent."
Liu Yong's jaw tightened, but his voice stayed level. "I'll send another team to the Arsenal."
"Why not go yourself? Bring more people. This shipment is too important to lose again."
"Fine."
"One more thing. I assigned Captain Lü Jiao to accompany Battalion Commander Song Tielin on a supply run. Song came back. Lü Jiao didn't."
"Captain Lü is Director Lü's orphan. We have an obligation to protect her. What Battalion Commander Song did seems excessive."
"Song Tielin? That doesn't sound like him."
"Go back and get the full story. These are extraordinary times. I don't want internal problems on top of everything else."
"Understood."
Liu Yong nodded, but he didn't buy it. He knew his soldiers. Song Tielin wouldn't do something like that without reason.
Back at his quarters, Liu Yong summoned Song Tielin immediately and asked for the full account.
Song Tielin didn't hold back. He laid out everything exactly as it happened.
"So Lü Jiao offended those people first, and then they refused to let her travel with the convoy?"
"Correct."
"If you'd moved against them at the time, what were your odds?"
"Before I saw them fight, I figured we could take them with some casualties. But after fighting alongside them?" Song Tielin laughed bitterly. "If I'd made a move, our entire unit would be dead. Every last one of us."
"......"
"I had no idea a team that strong existed outside the military. Six Tier 4 fighters-at this stage, that's genuinely formidable." Liu Yong couldn't hide his surprise.
"Yes, Division Commander. They're the real deal. Brave, smart, tactically sharp. Excellent potential recruits. Should we...?"
Liu Yong shook his head, weariness creeping into his expression. "The military may not be what it once was. Let's not drag good people into this mess."
"Division Commander, what do you mean by that?"
"Nothing. Tielin-the Lü Jiao situation had its reasons, but the fact remains you left her behind and came back alone. That's not a small thing. Take a team and go bring her back."
"Yes, Division Commander!"