Outside the base...
Chen Hao leaned against a tree, quietly waiting for Yang Bin to return.
Suddenly, he turned and said coldly, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Uh, I need to use the bathroom."
"Hold it."
"......"
"I can't hold it anymore. If I wait any longer, I'm gonna shit my pants." The Light-type Ability user whined, face scrunched in misery.
"Then I'll grab a stick and plug you up. Problem solved." Chen Hao actually snapped a branch off the tree and walked toward him.
"Uh... actually, never mind. I don't need to go anymore." The Light-type Ability user said awkwardly.
"Heh. Try another trick in front of me, and I'll chop off your other hand too."
"......"
"Oh, Brother Bin, you're back."
"Yeah. Everything good? No issues?" Yang Bin asked.
"What issues could there be? This guy just kept trying to be slick. If I wasn't worried about having to carry him back, I'd have already taken both his legs off."
"......"
"Brother Bin... her?"
Chen Hao spotted Lin Yifei following behind Yang Bin and shot him a questioning look.
"She's joining as a Reserve Member. Staying with the team for now."
Chen Hao nodded. Didn't ask further.
"It's you!?"
Lin Yifei's gaze landed on the Light-type Ability user behind Chen Hao, and her expression went cold instantly.
"What is it?" Yang Bin asked.
"This guy is Ma Zhongguo's right-hand man. Back at the base, when Uncle Liu went out on a rescue mission, he tried to force himself on me. I nearly froze him to death."
"......"
"Gutsy little shit, aren't you." Chen Hao looked at the man with a half-smile.
The Light-type Ability user's face drained of color the moment he saw Lin Yifei. He hadn't expected her to be with this group.
He'd originally figured they kept him alive because they valued his ability. At worst, they'd drag him back and strong-arm him into joining. That was nothing. As long as they didn't kill him, one boss was the same as another.
But Lin Yifei's appearance made his stomach drop. This woman knew too much about him. If she spilled everything, he was finished.
Sure enough, the moment that thought crossed his mind, she spoke.
"This guy is scum. Why are you bringing him along? Is it for his ability?"
"More or less. He's still useful. We'll take him back for now."
"Alright." Lin Yifei nodded.
She didn't like the man, but since Yang Bin said so, she wouldn't push it.
"It's pretty far to your place from here. Let me go grab a vehicle from the base," Lin Yifei said.
"......"
The moment she mentioned getting a vehicle, both Chen Hao and the Light-type Ability user's expressions shifted.
Chen Hao asked quickly, "Uh... Miss Lin, you can drive, right?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, good. Then go ahead." Chen Hao let out a visible sigh of relief.
Yang Bin looked at him, exasperated. "Is my driving really that terrifying? You're at the Yaoguang Realm. You're scared of a car ride?"
"Honestly... yes."
"......"
Lin Yifei went back to the base and soon returned driving an off-road vehicle.
Yang Bin tossed a sack of crystals into the trunk. Chen Hao tossed the Light-type Ability user into the back seat.
Having a vehicle was far more convenient - at least nobody had to carry the guy.
Most roads were blocked in the apocalypse, but the main arteries were still passable.
Lin Yifei drove. Yang Bin rode shotgun. Chen Hao and the Light-type Ability user sat in the back.
The vehicle pulled away from the military base.
The trip was smooth enough. They barely encountered any zombies. These days, the undead traveled with the main hordes - stragglers on the road were rare.
The occasional overturned car or debris blocking the road was swept aside by Yang Bin's Telekinesis without the vehicle even slowing down.
An hour later, they were back at the Hilltop Villa.
When they got home, Zhao Kun and the others still hadn't returned.
Yang Bin hauled the crystals into his room. Chen Hao broke the Light-type Ability user's legs and locked him in the basement.
"Pick any room you want. But we're only here another couple days. After that, we're leaving Star City."
"Okay."
Lin Yifei grabbed her backpack and headed upstairs.
"Brother Bin, what made you change your mind about letting her tag along?" Chen Hao asked quietly.
"It's not really a change of mind. Before, I thought she wanted to join so we'd help her get revenge. Turns out she genuinely wants in."
"That being the case, no reason to refuse. Her ability is ice-type Absolute Freezing - huge asset for the team."
"My only concern is... we're a bunch of guys, and she's a woman. I don't know if that'll cause problems." Yang Bin said, a trace of worry in his voice.
"What problems? None of us are the type to lose our minds over a woman." Chen Hao wasn't concerned.
"Brother Bin, if you're really that worried, just announce you've got your eye on her. I guarantee the others won't even dare glance her way."
"......"
"Don't start rumors."
"Alright, it's getting dark. Those guys should be back soon. Let's get dinner going."
"Sure."
Just then, Lin Yifei came back downstairs.
"Captain, let me handle it."
"You can cook?"
"Yeah. Been doing it since I was a kid."
"Then it's all yours."
For the first time, Yang Bin felt that letting Lin Yifei join was a genuinely wise decision.
Finally, someone else could handle the cooking.
Just as darkness was settling in, Zhao Kun and the others finally returned.
"Huh, Boss? You guys beat us back?"
Seeing Yang Bin on the sofa, the group looked surprised.
"Finished up and came straight home. What took you so long?" Yang Bin asked.
"Ugh, don't get me started. Got baited by a Yaoguang Realm zombie. Fifteen thousand zombies swarmed us all afternoon. Almost didn't make it back." Zhao Kun groaned.
"Sijie told you to pull out, but you just had to keep fighting." Zhong Yuansen collapsed onto the sofa, clearly spent.
"That was Old Hei's call. I actually wanted to leave." Zhao Kun said helplessly.
"We went out specifically to hunt Yaoguang Realm zombies. Finally found one - how could we just run?" Old Hei didn't see the problem.
"With your guys' strength, ten thousand zombies shouldn't be that big a deal, right?" Chen Hao said with a grin.
"Easy for you to say. Thousands of Tier-4 Zombies, over a hundred Tier-5 Zombies, and the rest were all Tier-3. If we hadn't been burning abilities nonstop, we'd be dead." Hu Wenliang shot back.
"And it all fell on me. I fucking passed out twice because I burned through energy faster than crystals could replenish it." Old Hei said, face dark.
"Well, yeah. You're the only one of us with area attacks, so..."
"......"
"Long as you made it back safe." Yang Bin said.
"Did you kill the Yaoguang zombie in the end?"
"Heh, obviously. After all that effort, if we came back empty-handed, we'd never live it down."
"Good. Then it was worth it." Yang Bin smiled.