Early the next morning, everyone left home again.
Today's objective was singular: Tier-5 Zombies.
The entire squad had hit Tier-4 peak. Only Tier-5 crystals could push them further.
Still, Yang Bin had everyone collect lower-tier crystals whenever possible. Energy was energy-there might be other uses down the line, or maybe some method to synthesize them into higher-order ones.
Tier-5 Zombies remained extremely rare, and they'd already swept the nearby area clean of anything high-order. Today, they'd range farther out.
Seven people on bicycles, tearing down an open road.
They'd scavenged the bikes along the way. Surprisingly practical-no fuel, no noise, and fast.
Don't assume bicycles meant slow. That depended entirely on who was riding. When your legs could blur the pedals into afterimages, you moved like the goddamn wind.
Of course... at those speeds, wiping out hurt like a bitch.
Just as everyone was hitting their stride, a shape exploded from the overgrown median on the left and slammed directly into Chen Hao.
Chen Hao crashed into Yang Bin. Yang Bin crashed into Hu Wenliang. All three hit the pavement.
Zhao Kun and the others behind couldn't brake in time and piled on top-secondary damage, chain-reaction style.
"What the fuck-something just blitzed right through us!" Chen Hao rubbed his ass, scowling.
The others picked themselves up. Disheveled, sure, but they were Tier-4 Evolvers. A bike crash wasn't going to do real damage.
Then they saw the culprit.
A dog. The size of a cow.
"Is that... a Husky?" Zhao Kun squinted.
"Obviously. That's an Erha," Hu Wenliang confirmed with a nod.
"An Erha that big-its house-wrecking ability must be maxed out."
"For sure. Before, it could only shred sofas. Now it can probably demolish the whole building."
"......"
"Bin-ge, what order?"
"Fourth."
"We taking it?"
"Absolutely." Yang Bin licked his lips. "Haven't had dog meat in ages."
"Haha, now we're talking."
The squad advanced on the Husky, grins spreading across every face.
The Erha watched them warily. It was goofy, not stupid. Those expressions meant trouble.
It had thought it was ambushing prey. Turns out it had kicked a steel plate.
But this Erha wasn't the old Erha anymore. This was Super Ultra Mega Ha.
The moment they got close, the Husky committed-launching itself straight at Yang Bin in the center.
"......"
Everyone stared. This dumbass really had zero threat assessment. Went straight for the strongest one in the group.
Dogs had more raw power than cats, but less agility.
Yang Bin met the pounce with a single kick that launched the beast backward. It hit the ground and tumbled end over end.
Feeling the gap in strength, the Erha scrambled up, spun around, and bolted.
A wall materialized in its path.
The Husky couldn't stop. It plowed face-first into solid earth.
Then a boulder appeared above its head and dropped.
Blood burst from its skull. The Erha collapsed, legs twitching, unable to rise-but still baring its teeth at them.
Yang Bin shook his head, walked over, and brought his club down on its skull. One hit. Done.
Huskies were defiant even before mutation. After mutation, completely uncontrollable. Keeping one around was asking for trouble.
Little Orange handled guard duty just fine. No need for a second pet.
Besides, not every Mutated Beast could be tamed. Little Orange's eyes had shown real intelligence-almost human. That's what gave Yang Bin the idea in the first place.
This Erha's eyes held nothing but feral aggression. Pet material it was not.
Yang Bin dug the crystal from its skull.
Unlike zombie crystals, Mutated Beast crystals weren't spherical-they came in irregular shapes.
To test the effect, he popped it in his mouth and swallowed.
Result: nothing.
"Let's go. Find a place in that residential complex up ahead and cook ourselves a dog meat feast." Yang Bin grinned.
"But... didn't we just eat breakfast before leaving? I'm still full." Zhong Yuansen patted his stomach.
"You're full? Then don't eat later."
"Uh... Boss, I was just making conversation. Not full anymore. Burned it all off pedaling."
"......"
"Main thing is, this carcass is too big to haul around. The blood trail would attract every zombie in a five-block radius. Better to process it now."
"We eat fresh first, jerk the rest into dried dog meat for later."
"Boss is wise."
Old Hei clapped Zhong Yuansen on the shoulder. "Old Sen. Remember-in this team, you don't question the boss's calls. Every decision he makes is correct. We just follow."
"Right, right." Zhong Yuansen nodded vigorously.
Yang Bin rolled his eyes.
"I'm not some dictator. We're a team. We discuss things. I'm not a god-of course I make mistakes."
"I dunno, I think Old Hei's got a point. Ever since I started following you, my brain's been on vacation." Zhao Kun shrugged.
"......"
They reached the residential complex shortly after.
Nothing fancy-a standard neighborhood. A dozen or so twenty-story buildings clustered together.
Zombies shambled through the grounds. The old security guard at the gate had turned, but was still posted inside his booth. Hard not to respect the dedication. Must've been one hell of a conscientious employee in life.
This number of zombies was routine. Nobody even flinched. They charged straight in.
Bulling through the wandering dead, they reached a building and wrenched the iron door open. Two stayed behind to hold the stairwell. The rest headed up to the second floor.
That's when they heard sounds from inside one of the apartments.
"People?"
They exchanged glances. Yang Bin activated True Vision Eye and looked through the wall.
Five figures inside. Three men, two women. All staring at the door with naked fear.
But this wasn't a family of five. The two women looked alike-mother and daughter, probably. The three men were all burly guys in their twenties and thirties. Not family.
And in the kitchen, Yang Bin saw half a human body.
He understood immediately.
A family of three. Intruders broke in, killed the husband, took the mother and daughter, and ate the man.
"...Hah."
Yang Bin let out a quiet breath.
Human nature in the apocalypse.
This kind of thing was probably happening in every residential complex across the city.
Most people didn't keep twenty days of food stockpiled at home.
No food. Too scared to go outside and fight zombies. So they turned their eyes to the neighbors.
The squad had been hunting in commercial districts this whole time, so they'd never run into it.
But in the residential areas? This was far from rare.