After Yang Bin and the others left the base, they called Little Orange back, then continued searching for a place to stay while hauling the large iron cage.
The cage was heavy and awkward as hell, but if they wanted to cultivate a Yaoguang Realm zombie, they had no choice. Might as well call it strength training.
The Yaoguang Realm was a major watershed. Zombies probably had just as hard a time breaking through to it.
It had been a while now, and aside from the one they'd killed last time, they hadn't encountered a single Yaoguang Realm zombie since.
Plenty of strong fighters were stuck at the Tier 5 with no way up. That worked just fine for Yang Bin.
Once you hit the Yaoguang Realm, Self-Cultivation became available. The longer everyone else stalled, the wider his lead grew.
Still, as time passed, more Yaoguang Realm zombies would inevitably appear.
And killing one was no simple task.
To put it bluntly-unless you had an exceptionally powerful ability user, the only option was to throw bodies at it. Tier-5 Evolver bodies, specifically. Anything lower was useless.
Of course, if a team actually managed to take one down, that team would skyrocket overnight.
A single Yaoguang Realm evolver on the roster meant dealing with Yaoguang zombies became exponentially easier.
After all, even non-ability users gained abilities upon reaching the Yaoguang Realm. Fighting same-realm zombies stopped being a death sentence.
So far, no one had seen a zombie with abilities. Yaoguang Realm zombies were just tougher and smarter-no other real advantages.
Yang Bin wondered if zombies with Special Abilities would show up eventually. If so, would eating their crystals grant those abilities?
Then again, if such zombies existed, whether you could actually kill one was a whole separate problem.
---
In a residential district over ten kilometers from the Survival Base...
After a fierce barrage of artillery, the zombies in the district were essentially cleared. Squads of soldiers began sweeping the buildings floor by floor-searching for survivors, scavenging whatever supplies remained.
Most people had turned on day one. If no other survivors had already picked a room clean, there was still plenty to find.
Zombies didn't eat canned food.
Soon, soldiers filed down the stairwells with bulging packs slung over their shoulders, loading everything onto the trucks.
Not all of it was food. Daily necessities-soap, medicine, batteries-were just as scarce back at base.
But soldier after soldier came down, and not a single survivor among them.
The further they got from the early days, the fewer survivors remained. They'd long grown used to it.
"Division Commander, we found three survivors!" Several soldiers emerged from another building, faces lit up.
Behind them trailed three men-hair matted, clothes filthy and hanging loose.
They looked no different from any other survivors they'd pulled from these buildings.
"Three's not bad." Liu Yong nodded.
The three men spotted Liu Yong and their faces crumpled with gratitude. Tears streamed down as they dropped to their knees.
"Thank you, Commander! Thank you, Commander!"
"Don't mention it. We're soldiers-this is what we do." Liu Yong stepped forward to help them up.
Then everything changed.
The instant Liu Yong's hands reached out, all three pulled daggers from inside their clothes and drove them straight at him.
No one reacted in time.
Liu Yong sensed it-pulled back-but he was too slow. One of the three was a Tier-5 Evolver.
Before Liu Yong's weight had even shifted backward, the blade was already buried in his chest. Precise. Straight through the heart.
"Division Commander!"
Every face went white. Soldiers sprinted toward him from all directions. Others lunged for the three attackers.
But the assassins had already drawn their blades across their own throats. By the time anyone reached them, they were gone.
"Division Commander, how bad is it!?"
"Get him to the vehicle! Contact base NOW-every doctor they have, assembled and ready!"
A dozen hands reached for him, trying to lift him onto the truck.
Liu Yong raised a hand. Stopped them.
"It's useless... My condition... I know it myself. Forget now... even before the apocalypse... this couldn't be saved."
"No! Division Commander, there has to be a way! Just hold on-we'll get you back!"
"Don't waste the effort... Listen to me."
His voice was thin. Each word cost him.
"After I die... Zhao Hu, you take charge of all military operations. Continue rescue missions... Don't clash with the political side... Wait for the higher-ups to arrive. Everything else... can wait."
"Rescue my ass!" Zhao Hu's voice cracked like a gunshot. "I guarantee those three bastards are connected to Ma Zhongguo! I'm taking the boys back right now to tear that Survival Base apart and put a bullet in that treacherous piece of shit!"
"Cough... Zhao Hu!" Blood flecked Liu Yong's lips. "You won't even... listen to me anymore?"
"Division Commander!"
"Obey... orders."
"...Yes!"
"Whether this is connected to him... without evidence, don't make accusations. Wait for the higher-ups... Let them decide."
"Okay." Zhao Hu's jaw clenched. He nodded, eyes burning red.
The soldiers pressed in close, a ring of reddened eyes and clenched fists.
"Zhao Hu... one more thing." Liu Yong's gaze drifted to him, already losing focus.
"Division Commander... I'm listening."
"Feifei's father... was my brother-in-arms. Life and death together. Before he died... he entrusted her to me. When I'm gone... look after her. She's just a girl... This apocalypse is no place..."
"Rest easy, Division Commander. I won't let anything happen to Miss Lin. Not ever."
"Mm... Then I'm at peace."
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. Life draining out with every shallow breath. His expression shifted-relief, reluctance, regret, all passing across his face like clouds.
"Sorry, Division Commander... In the end, I never liberated Star City. Don't know if you'll chew me out... when I see you down there."
His eyelids drifted shut.
The last sliver of light narrowed to nothing.
Then only darkness.
"DIVISION COMMANDER!"
Every soldier dropped to their knees. The sound of grown men weeping filled the empty street.
Liu Yong was the Vice Division Commander-a man who'd treated every soldier under him like family. His death carved a hole straight through the military's heart.
---
A long time passed before Zhao Hu had the body carried to a vehicle. The convoy drove back to the Survival Base in silence.
The moment they arrived, Zhao Hu saw the crowd gathered at the base entrance. Ma Zhongguo stood at the very front.
Seeing the troops return, Ma Zhongguo was the first to approach. His face was arranged into an expression of profound sorrow.
"I heard about Division Commander Liu..."
"Save the crocodile tears." Zhao Hu's voice could have frozen steel. "You know damn well what happened to our Division Commander."
Ma Zhongguo's expression hardened just slightly. "Regiment Commander Zhao. I'll chalk that up to grief talking. But only this once."
"You-"
Zhao Hu's fists balled, his whole body coiling forward. Someone behind him grabbed his arm.
"Regiment Commander! Calm down. Remember what the Division Commander said."
"Hmph!"
Zhao Hu shook the hand off, shouldered past Ma Zhongguo without another glance, and carried Liu Yong's body into the Survival Base.
After the last soldier disappeared through the gates, Ma Zhongguo's lips curled upward at the corner.
Without Liu Yong, the Survival Base would slowly-inevitably-fall entirely into his hands.