Yang Bin didn't really want to deal with this kind of mess anymore. It'd only take a flick of the wrist, sure, but sometimes getting involved just invited trouble.
Like those women at Walmart. Not real trouble, exactly, but still left a bad taste in his mouth.
But when he saw the bruises on the mother and daughter inside-their eyes caught between desperate hope and animal fear-Yang Bin sighed. He wasn't cold-blooded. Not yet.
"Ah Kun, go in and kill those three men."
"Got it."
Zhao Kun nodded, then kicked the door clean off its hinges and walked in.
Yang Bin led the others toward a different apartment.
This one had its door hanging open. Clearly a battle had gone down here-furniture overturned, blood smeared across the floor in dark streaks.
"You guys clean this place up. I'll be in the kitchen stewing the dog meat."
"Sure."
On the other side, Zhao Kun's sudden entrance made all five people inside jump.
"You-what do you want!?" one of the men stammered, voice cracking.
The intruder had just booted the door in with one kick. Obviously an Evolver. The man's bravado evaporated.
Zhao Kun swept his gaze across the room. Took about two seconds to piece together what had been happening here.
No hesitation. The Barbell Rod flashed out-two swings, three skulls caved in like rotten melons.
The two women clung to each other, shaking uncontrollably.
Zhao Kun frowned at them.
Boss only said to kill the three men. Didn't say anything about what to do with these two.
No instructions probably meant don't bother.
He thought for a moment, then looked at the women. "Lock the door tight. Don't let zombies in. Wait for rescue."
Then he turned and left, leaving two women staring blankly at the space where he'd been.
Survival Base...
The military's aggressive sweeps had cleared every zombie within five kilometers of the Survival Base. The perimeter kept expanding outward, the safe zone growing larger by the day.
The population inside swelled too. By all appearances, things were trending in the right direction.
For most people, fewer zombies meant good news. For some, it was the opposite.
Plenty of Evolvers in the base needed zombie kills to harvest crystals.
But now the military had swept everything clean, funneling all the crystals into official hands. That didn't sit well.
Anyone who wanted crystals had to range farther out.
Farther out meant more danger.
Of course, there was a shortcut: join the government.
Mayor Ma had laid out the terms plainly-submit to official management, and you'd get the crystals you needed.
So plenty of people caved and signed up.
But others refused to be leashed. People with pride, or ambition, or both-they held out.
Tang Weiwei and her team were the textbook example.
These past days, Tang Weiwei led her squad out daily to hunt zombies and build strength.
Except there was always one extra body tagging along. Someone who didn't belong to their team.
She couldn't shake him. Couldn't kill him either. It drove her up the wall.
And because of his presence, Ma Zhongguo now knew Tang Weiwei was an ability user.
That only made him more persistent.
The recruitment pitches came constantly-sometimes subtle, sometimes not-and every one of them grated on her nerves.
She wanted to take her people and leave the Survival Base entirely. But with that tail on them, their movements were tracked around the clock. If they weren't back by evening, a vehicle would roll up to "escort" them home.
Such generous hospitality. Made Tang Weiwei want to thank his whole goddamn family.
Their strength was decent, but going head-to-head with the government? Not an option.
The worst part was that people in her own team had started flipping.
The officials knew how to buy loyalty. In just a few days, half her squad was already nudging her to join up.
Only now did Tang Weiwei truly grasp how insidious Ma Zhongguo's playbook was.
Qin Wei's situation was no different.
He wasn't an ability user, but his team had real combat power. After days of grinding, they'd hit Tier 3 across the board, with Qin Wei, Fang Sijie, and a few others already at Tier 4.
A squad like that? Ma Zhongguo wasn't about to let it slip away.
And facing a bunch of college kids who'd never been ground down by the real world, he was confident he could reel them in.
Meanwhile, on a road more than twenty kilometers from the Survival Base, Tang Weiwei led her team at a brisk pace.
"Team Leader Tang, we've come pretty far, haven't we?" A middle-aged man fell in beside her, brow furrowed.
"What, Director Jiang-you're managing our route now too?" Tang Weiwei's voice could've frozen water.
"Of course not. I'm just concerned that if we're too far from the Survival Base and run into danger, backup won't arrive in time."
"Funny. I don't recall ever needing your backup. The government cleared every zombie near the base. If we want kills, we have to go farther. Simple math."
"Still, we don't need to go this far. There are zombies all along the way-"
"I feel like it. Got a problem with that?" Tang Weiwei snapped.
"Uh... alright. Just a friendly reminder." Jiang Tianming raised his hands in awkward surrender.
"Weiwei, maybe we really shouldn't push it," Mo Yu murmured beside her. "If something goes wrong out here, it'll be bad."
Tang Weiwei glanced at him and let out a breath.
She pointed toward a residential complex in the distance. "Fine. We'll hunt there."
"Okay."
Their team numbered two hundred, all Tier 3. Tang Weiwei herself had hit Tier 4 peak-and with her ability, she could punch up against Tier 5 opponents.
She needed more strength. Desperately. Enough to stand against the government if it came to that.
On the other side...
Qin Wei's team had just finished a brutal engagement. Over a thousand zombies, including two Tier-4 Zombies and dozens of Tier-3 ones. The cost: more than ten dead.
Qin Wei stared at the bodies of his fallen brothers. Grief carved deep lines into his face.
Several of them had been on his basketball team. Years of friendship. Good people.
They'd followed him from day one of the apocalypse. He was the one who'd led them out of the school.
And now they'd never see the end of this.
Fang Sijie's expression mirrored the pain. He understood.
"Team Leader Qin, my condolences."
A delicate-featured woman approached the two of them.
"Perhaps if you'd accepted my suggestion yesterday, today's tragedy could have been avoided."
"Can you leave?" Fang Sijie said flatly. Ice in every syllable.
The woman shrugged and walked away. She knew when to stop pushing. Plant the seed, let it grow.
"Sijie... do you think if I'd agreed to join yesterday, they'd still be alive?"
Fang Sijie went still. He met Qin Wei's eyes. "Don't forget what you said."
"I know. That's why I keep refusing. But... is freedom really worth more than their lives? With official backing, wouldn't the guys be safer?"
"If it were genuinely just joining the government, I wouldn't fight it this hard. But he doesn't represent the government."
"What do you mean?"
"Brother Wei, these waters are too murky. We need to stay clear. Once we're in, it won't just be freedom we lose."
"I hope you drop this line of thinking entirely. If you actually go through with it-I'm gone."
Fang Sijie turned and walked away without another word, leaving Qin Wei standing alone, lost in thought.
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