After killing Wang Zhenhu and A Wang, Chen Hao ran straight to find Hu Wenliang. The gash across his chest still needed treatment.
On the Wang family's side, Wang Zhenhu's death shattered whatever morale the evolvers had left.
People started abandoning the fight almost immediately, sprinting toward the base perimeter.
They'd already been scared half to death. With Wang Zhenhu gone, they didn't hesitate for a second.
Once the first ones broke, the rest followed like dominoes. More and more gave up, scattering in every direction.
Within minutes, everyone except the Wang family's direct bloodline had fled.
The remaining direct-line members hesitated, wavered - then ran too.
But by then, it was already too late for them.
Yang Bin's group had no way of knowing who was direct lineage and who wasn't. Simple solution: kill the ones who ran last.
In the end, out of the base's ten-thousand-plus population, Yang Bin and his handful of people cut down three to four thousand.
The early runners all got away clean. Not a single Wang family direct member escaped.
Corpses lay everywhere. Not a living soul remained in the entire base.
Looking at the hellscape they'd created with their own hands, the group fell quiet. These weren't zombies. These were people. None of them had expected the number to climb that high.
Yang Bin let out a breath. "This is the apocalypse. We don't kill, we get killed. If you want to survive out here, your hands are going to get bloody. That's just how it is."
The others nodded, faces heavy.
"Come on. Let's strip this place clean."
They fanned out across the base, tearing through every room, every basement, every corner.
It didn't take long. They pulled out mountains of supplies, and beneath the floorboards of Wang Zhenhu's room, they found thousands of crystals - various orders, all stashed away.
They also discovered something else: a purpose-built pit sunk deep into the ground, walls poured from reinforced concrete, the top sealed with a lattice of thick rebar. Long steel spikes jutted downward from the grating.
Hundreds of zombies were caged below. Tier 4, Tier 5 - all with their limbs snapped.
Say what you will about the Wang family, they knew how to farm zombies.
The sheer rigor of the setup actually made Yang Bin feel a little inadequate by comparison.
"Boss, why don't we just live here?" Skinny Monkey said. "There's enough supplies to last us ages, and everything's already set up. No more scavenging."
"You think this place is more comfortable than ours?"
"Well... no. But it's a ready-made base. If we're gonna build a force, why not just use it?"
Yang Bin shook his head.
"This place isn't suitable. Star City had a permanent population of over ten million. Based on the zombie ratios we've seen, that means roughly ten million zombies in this city alone. That number is terrifying."
"Everything humans have killed so far is the tip of the iceberg. Countless more are scattered in every corner of Star City."
"The higher a zombie's level, the smarter it gets. Yaoguang Realm zombies can rally tens of thousands. Tier 7? Easily tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. Higher than that - don't even think about it."
"The official base looks solid right now, sure. But if a truly high-order zombie shows up and sends hundreds of thousands swarming the walls? That base might not hold."
"Then... aren't humans just fucked?" Old Hei's eyes went wide.
"No. To survive, humans need to temporarily give up the cities. Retreat to the countryside, build bases there. Fewer people means fewer zombies, and there's farmland - solves the food problem."
"Once humans reach the Yaoguang Realm, combining crystal absorption with Self-Cultivation, our growth rate will outpace the zombies. And every Yaoguang Realm human gains an ability. That's when we finally have the right to fight back."
"So forget about city bases. They're all temporary. If we build a force, it'll be out in the countryside too."
"Besides, I need to think carefully about this whole 'force' thing. Running one means worrying about a thousand different problems, managing people, endless headaches. It'd slow down our own growth."
"Unless I find someone with real management talent, I'm shelving the idea."
"Whatever you say, Boss. We go where you go." The others all chimed in.
"Mm." Yang Bin's eyes flickered cold. "Once Ma Zhongguo's dead and everyone hits Yaoguang Realm, we leave Star City. I'm taking you all back to my and Haozi's hometown. There's something I need to confirm."
"Got it."
"Bin-ge, are we hitting Ma Zhongguo the same way? Straight assault?" Hu Wenliang asked.
"Bold of you to even suggest that. His base is nothing like this one. Probably over two hundred thousand people by now, and the firepower there makes this place look like a toy store. We roll up like that, we die without knowing what hit us."
"Then... how do you kill him?"
"If brute force won't work, there's always assassination." Yang Bin grinned. "Right, Haozi?"
"Heh. That's my specialty." Chen Hao preened.
"Tch. Wasn't someone just stumbling up to me with his chest split open begging for healing?"
"......"
"Alright, you two, knock it off. Everyone go find a working vehicle in this base. Something big enough to haul all this. We're heading back."
"On it."
They searched the base and eventually turned up several Troop Transport Vehicles. They loaded one to the brim with supplies and rolled out.
It wasn't that they didn't want to take more - only Zhao Kun could drive. One truck was all they could manage.
Still, seven people and a full vehicle of supplies. That'd last them a good while.
The return trip was quick since they'd already cleared the route on the way in.
But halfway back, the vehicle ground to a halt. Up ahead, hundreds of zombies were chasing a lone human across the road, blocking their path completely.
Yang Bin was about to wipe out the zombies and the runner together when the fleeing figure spotted their vehicle.
Then, to everyone's surprise, the person immediately changed direction - veering away from them without a moment's pause.
"Huh... interesting." Yang Bin raised an eyebrow.
Most people in that situation would sprint straight toward a vehicle. Best case, the occupants help. Worst case, you dump your zombie aggro on them and buy yourself time.
But this person saw them and turned away. Instantly. No hesitation whatsoever.
Yang Bin activated True Vision Eye and focused on the runner.
What he saw surprised him even more. This person - he recognized them.
Couldn't place the name. But he was certain he'd seen this face before. He just couldn't remember where.
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