"You killed official personnel?"
Wang Ruikai cut straight to it the moment he walked through the door.
"Yep. Killed them." Yang Bin nodded, unbothered.
"......"
"Why would you be so impulsive? You've landed yourselves in serious trouble. Mayor Ma is furious about this-there's a city-wide Wanted Order out on you right now." Wang Ruikai wore an expression of deep concern, like a man watching his friends walk off a cliff.
But Yang Bin caught the slight upturn at the corner of his mouth. This prick was gloating.
"Wanted Order it is, then." Yang Bin shrugged.
Still, the scale of the official response surprised him. His suspicions were looking more and more correct-the government had already been compromised from within.
"........"
"This is an official Wanted Order. You're not scared?" Yang Bin's indifference had Wang Ruikai visibly thrown off.
"They want to issue a warrant, what am I supposed to do about it?" Yang Bin spread his hands.
"You can't do anything-but I can." Wang Ruikai leaned forward, barely containing his eagerness.
"Let me guess. Your solution is for us to join the Wang family."
"Exactly! Join the Wang family, and I guarantee your safety!" Wang Ruikai thumped his chest.
"Sounds like your Wang family carries some serious weight."
"Damn right we do."
"Alright. I'll think about it."
"Captain Yang, I hope you can read the situation clearly. There isn't much time for deliberation. If you don't decide soon, official forces could be at your door by tomorrow-and then it's over for you!"
"It's the apocalypse. All those surveillance systems are dead. They won't find us that fast-unless someone snitches." Yang Bin's eyes narrowed as they settled on Wang Ruikai.
"How could I! I'm not that kind of person!" Wang Ruikai declared with righteous indignation.
"Then we're fine. Head back for now. I'll give the Wang family offer serious thought." Yang Bin said.
"You-" Wang Yueming started to speak, but Wang Ruikai cut him off with a raised hand.
"Fine. We'll take our leave. I hope Captain Yang thinks this through carefully-because your window is closing fast."
With that, Wang Ruikai led his people out. He knew better than to push too hard. The other side had cracked the door open. That was enough.
"Bin-ge, why didn't we just silence them?" Zhong Yuansen asked, confused.
"Yeah, Bin-ge-if they rat us out to the officials, we're exposed." Zhao Kun looked equally puzzled.
"Heh." Yang Bin smiled. "He won't. Not in the short term. And not only won't he snitch-they'll actively help cover our tracks."
"They think they've got us on the hook. No way they'd let the officials reel us in first."
"When you put it that way... yeah. Keeping them around actually works in our favor."
"Didn't expect the officials to go this hard, though. Bin-ge, what's our next move?"
"We watch and wait. Our strength is decent, but we still can't shrug off bullets. A direct confrontation with the government is off the table."
"That said, they probably can't mobilize a large force either. Their primary mission is still rescue operations. If Mayor Ma tries to divert major resources to hunt us down right now, the military won't play along."
"Judging by how aggressively the military's been running rescue ops, their leadership isn't in bed with the political faction."
"But we can't bank on someone else saving us. Tomorrow at first light, we go out. Pack extra food. Nobody comes back until they hit Tier-5."
"We're sleeping outside?"
"Yeah. Time to leave the comfort zone and put some real pressure on ourselves."
"Got it."
On the other side...
"Brother Kai, you really think they'll agree?" Wang Yueming sounded skeptical.
"They've got no way out." Wang Ruikai laughed. "Besides joining the Wang family, what other option do they have?"
"I'd been racking my brain trying to figure out how to reel them in. Never expected a gift like this to fall into my lap."
"Tell my dad to keep eyes on the base. Any movement from the officials, I want to know immediately. We can't let them get snatched before we close the deal."
"Understood."
In a room at the Survival Base...
"Uncle Liu, this... is for me?"
A tall woman with striking, refined features stared wide-eyed at the crystal in Liu Yong's hand.
"It is. I've thought it through-you're the best fit. If you can break through to Tier-5, your ability might give us a real shot at killing that Tier-6 Zombie." Liu Yong's tone was dead serious.
"But aren't high-order crystals supposed to go through allocation discussions with the political side?"
"If we go through proper channels, this crystal ends up with the politicians. Guaranteed. We need that Tier-6 Zombie dealt with now, which means this crystal can't go to them."
"The only method I can think of to handle that thing is your ability."
"Your dad and I served together for years. I watched you grow up. This crystal belongs with you."
"But-"
"No buts. Think of it as doing your uncle a favor. Once you hit Tier-5, you deploy with the rescue team tomorrow. If we don't put that Tier-6 Zombie down, rescue operations are dead in the water."
"Alright. But I can't promise how effective I'll be against something at that level." Lin Yifei sighed.
"You don't need to do much. Hold it in place for one second. That's all Snow Leopard's Barrett needs to put a round through its skull."
"Okay."
Lin Yifei nodded, took the crystal from Liu Yong's hand, and swallowed it.
Moments later, her aura surged. Tier-5.
...................
The next morning, Yang Bin's squad was out the door at first light.
The goal: every member at Tier-5. Yang Bin's personal target-peak Tier-5.
That meant at least ten more Tier-5 crystals. No small task.
But pressure breeds results.
The strategy stayed the same-rooftop hunting in the commercial district. Find a tall building, scan for Tier-5 Zombies, strike when spotted.
Yang Bin planned to shift tactics once everyone hit Tier-5. No more careful hunting. They'd push straight into residential zones and brute-force their way to Tier-5 kills.
Hunting from rooftops was safe, but fewer zombies meant fewer Tier-5 targets.
A full day's search might only turn up a handful.
Residential areas were dense with the dead. Higher zombie count meant higher odds of Tier-5 specimens-but killing them in those conditions was brutal.
If the whole squad reached Tier-5, though, even carving through thousands of zombies to reach a single Tier-5 target became feasible.
This time, the Wanted Order had lit a fire under Yang Bin.
He climbed to the rooftop. Activated True Vision Eye. Swept every direction, missing nothing.
No targets found? Down the stairs immediately. Up the next building. Scan again.
Relentless. No breaks. No wasted minutes.
That pace paid off-six Tier-5 crystals by the end of day one.
Yang Bin distributed them all to the others. The entire squad hit Tier-5.
That night, nobody went home. They climbed to a rooftop and slept under the open sky.