Liu Yang went back to his room and rested for several hours.
Just as he was pondering which beauty to pick from the thirty young women tonight for his 28th branch-spreading session, the ability user team from the Little Sun Empire returned to Base No. 2, over thirty kilometers away.
Outside the base, Taozi stood on top of a tall building, observing the situation inside with her binoculars once again.
Nakata asked, "Captain Taozi, how is it? Anything unusual?"
Taozi shook her head, her expression grave. "Nothing much. It's just that there are far fewer survivors inside this base. They probably discovered we killed their leadership and fled."
After saying this, she raised her binoculars to resume her search. This time, she frowned as she noticed something amiss.
"There's an extra guard at the entrance. He's sitting perfectly upright, totally motionless. Without anyone supervising, even gate guards shouldn't be so rigid. What security guard doesn't slack off? Something feels off..."
Based on Taozi's past experience, guards stationed at main gates usually weren't very strong-just low-level survivors watching the door.
They often weren't even ability users.
After all, ability users in ordinary bases like this typically held high-ranking positions.
Yet the guard she observed sat entirely motionless, like a statue.
If you didn't know better, you'd think he was a mannequin.
"Oh? An extra guard? Let me see." Nakata took the binoculars from Taozi with a puzzled look to see for himself.
He spotted the guard as well.
Dressed in a suit, wearing sunglasses and a mask, sitting bolt upright.
Even after watching for a full minute, the man hadn't moved an inch!
If his eyes weren't hidden behind sunglasses, Nakata would have doubted whether the man was even blinking.
Nakata voiced his confusion. "Could they have assigned an ability user to guard the gate because of our invasion?"
Taozi shook her head. "Even the ability users in our regular forces can't maintain this level of discipline."
Standing beside them, Inoue couldn't take it anymore. "Tch! He's just a gatekeeper! I'll go take him out!"
With that, he charged straight toward the survivor base.
Taozi called out hastily, "Hey! Don't be impulsive, Inoue!"
However, it was too late. Inoue had already cleared the gate in a few leaps.
Taozi gritted her teeth and had no choice but to order the rest to follow.
By the time they jumped into the base, Inoue had already snuck behind the security booth.
Drawing his sharp dagger, he lunged at the guard from behind and slashed hard across the throat!
"Slash!"
The guard's throat was sliced open instantly.
A triumphant grin spread across Inoue's face. "See? Handled. If we stood around hesitating like you guys, the opportunity would've passed us by!"
Yet all he saw on his companions' faces was shock.
Immediately after, he felt a violent rush of wind whistle past his ear.
Taozi screamed, "Watch out!"
Inoue's hairs stood on end as a sense of unprecedented danger washed over him.
Instinctively, he swerved aside.
But he was too late. The suited guard wearing a mask and sunglasses clawed violently at him.
"Rip!"
Five bloody gashes instantly tore through Inoue's arm, shredding his specially reinforced black tactical outfit.
Clutching his wounded arm, he yelled in disbelief, "I already slit his throat! Why isn't he dead?!"
Taozi had already realized the truth. "It's a zombie! That speed just now... it has to be a Level 3 zombie! Your arm has been infected with Level 3 zombie virus-you have to cut it off! Nakata!"
"Understood!" Nakata flashed to Inoue's side, swung his broadsword, and chopped straight down.
"AAAGH!" Inoue let out a agonized scream as his severed arm hit the ground.
Taozi immediately bound the stump tightly with a bandage to stem the bleeding.
Meanwhile, Nakata and the remaining two ability users charged at the Level 3 zombie.
All three were Level 2 ability users ranked in the top 1,000 of the Earth Ranking.
Joining forces, they instantly obliterated the Level 3 zombie.
...
Far away in the villa area, Liu Yang had already detected the situation on his end.
He frowned, murmuring, "Those guys actually came back? And they took down a Level 3 zombie so easily? Looks like they're no pushers. Time to go meet them in person."
With that, Liu Yang surged toward Base No. 2 at supersonic speed.
...
Back at Base No. 2, the sounds of battle drew the survivors out.
Lin Dong, the base's sole ability user, rushed out accompanied by several strong men.
When he saw Taozi's group and the dead Level 3 zombie, shock washed over his face, quickly turning to rage. He pointed at them and demanded:
"Are you the ones who killed our four ability users?!"
Taozi's expression turned cold. "Were you the one controlling this Level 3 zombie? Are you Liu Yang?"
"Fuck your mother! I'm your father!" Lin Dong cursed, turned on his heel, and sprinted away.
Level 3 zombies were formidable foes, and as a mere Level 1 ability user, Lin Dong was no match for one.
Yet these intruders had instantly killed it, proving how terrifying their strength was.
If he fought them, he'd end up far worse than that zombie!
Remembering Liu Yang's advice, he knew that when facing superior foes, the play was to run and stall for time.
Taozi and her crew frowned as Lin Dong fled.
If he truly possessed the ability to control Level 3 combatants, his personal strength shouldn't be weak. Why turn and run? Was he deliberately luring them into an ambush?
Nakata urged, "Captain Taozi, hurry! He's going to get away!"
Taozi nodded. "Pursue him, but stay sharp! There might be a trap ahead!"
Their second breach of this base hadn't gone as smoothly as the first.
Who could have guessed a Level 3 zombie was guarding the gate? Inoue had lost an arm, cutting his combat effectiveness in half.
It was a disastrous start with heavy casualties upfront.
Taozi's group immediately gave chase in the direction Lin Dong ran, maintaining their vigilance and refraining from sprinting blindly ahead for fear of an ambush.
Even so, the speed of Earth Ranking combatants was far beyond what Lin Dong could outrun.
Before long, the five ability users from the Little Sun Empire cornered Lin Dong inside a house.