After settling Su Xiao and the others, Liu Yang set out immediately.
Scarface Mouse took the underground tunnels.
Twenty minutes later, Liu Yang arrived outside the Black Tiger Survivor Base.
It was a sprawling luxury villa district with vast land and low population density. The distance between the estates provided the wealthy former residents with complete privacy, which meant fewer zombies haunted the grounds. That was precisely why Black Tiger and his crew chose this place for their stronghold.
In peaceful times, a single villa here cost at least fifty million yuan.
The people who once lived here were either filthy rich or powerful elite.
Unfortunately, most of them were now brain-eating zombies. The ones who hadn't turned had already been purged by Black Tiger's gang.
Liu Yang stood outside the perimeter wall. With a sudden burst of power, he leapt effortlessly over the four-meter-high barrier and landed silently inside.
Tucked against the inner wall were dozens of crude, makeshift tents housing the lowest-tier survivors of the base.
Because of their bottom-rung status, they were restricted to the outermost edge, forbidden from stepping anywhere near the luxury villas.
When they saw Liu Yang drop from the sky, they froze in absolute terror.
"Shh." Liu Yang held a black katana in one hand and pressed an index finger to his lips. "Keep quiet. Make a sound, and you die. Clear?"
"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!" The survivors nodded frantically.
Anyone who could clear a four-meter wall in a single jump wasn't a normal human-they were an ability user.
To these powerless survivors, ability users were no different from gods. Resistance was out of the question.
They did exactly as they were told.
Satisfied with their obedience, Liu Yang nodded and sprinted toward Black Tiger's residence, following the precise layout from his first simulation.
...
Inside Black Tiger's estate, the base's core elites gathered around a heavy conference table, debating how to handle Liu Yang.
Falcon sat in a corner, pressing a hot towel tightly against his forehead.
Ever since his aerial scout was headshot, excruciating phantom pain had been throbbing through his skull. He hadn't recovered yet.
Face pale, he looked at Black Tiger and groaned, "Boss... according to Scarface Mouse, Giant Bear got instantly erased. This guy is a monster. Why don't we just drop it?"
Several other ability users chimed in immediately.
"Yeah, Giant Bear, Yellow Dog, and Scarface Mouse-three ability users couldn't even scratch him! We've already suffered huge losses. Pushing this will cost us more than it's worth."
"Besides, that's his home turf. He knows the terrain, and there might be traps waiting for us. Boss Black Tiger, let's just do as Falcon says and call it off. It's just one woman! What kind of woman can't we get in this base?"
"Yeah, Boss. Let's just drop it."
"We can go on a recruitment run outside later and snag a few top-tier beauties for you. Forget about Zhang Jingyu. What do you say, Boss?"
...
Having heard Black Tiger relay Scarface Mouse's account, panic had infected the room.
Giant Bear was one of their absolute top combatants.
If even he was oneshot, wouldn't sending the rest of them just be feeding the meat grinder?
Seeing the terror written across his crew's faces, Black Tiger felt trapped.
He shifted his gaze toward the only woman in the room-the second-in-command of the Black Tiger Survivor Base.
She had sleek, cropped white hair and wore a form-fitting tactical suit, looking like a white-haired version of Black Widow. Her expression was calm and composed, a subtle, alluring smile playing on her lips, completely unbothered by the fear gripping the others.
Black Tiger asked, "White Fox, what do you think?"
"Doesn't matter to me. I'll follow your call," White Fox said, licking her seductive red lips. "Though I wouldn't mind meeting him. Honestly, after hearing Mouse's description, I'm pretty curious to see what he looks like. Wonder if he's handsome..."
"What is there to meet?! Don't go provoking him!"
"Big Sister White Fox, don't drag us down with you! Let's just drop it!"
"Yeah, yeah, let me out of this!"
The male elites panicked even more.
Everyone knew White Fox was a loose cannon. She was lethally strong, but her mind worked on a completely different wavelength. Her decisions were entirely unhinged, governed purely by whim.
Nobody wanted to follow a crazy woman to an early grave!
Listening to the shouting match, Black Tiger rubbed his aching temples, his expression heavy. "Let me think about it. I'll make the final decision tonight."
In truth, he was terrified himself.
Zhang Jingyu was just a piece of candy. The only reason he had insisted on getting her was to save face.
Now that he knew how terrifyingly strong the enemy was, going after her was sheer suicide.
Every instinct screamed at him to pull back, but as the boss, he couldn't just admit he was scared. That was why he asked his lieutenants for their input, hoping they would give him an out.
As second-in-command, White Fox's opinion carried the most weight after his own. He expected her to back the consensus, but the crazy bitch actually said she wanted to go fight!
Black Tiger cursed himself internally. He shouldn't have asked her a damn thing.
If she had sided with the crew, he could have gracefully backed down. But now, with his second-in-command eager for blood, chickening out would ruin his reputation forever. If a leader couldn't even avenge his stolen woman, how could he expect anyone to follow him?
Stuck in an awkward deadlock, Black Tiger planned to stall until nightfall, hoping the issue would quietly blow over.
Swept under the rug, forgotten.
Just as he was plotting his exit strategy, a cold, indifferent voice echoed from the doorway.
"No need to think about it. I'll make the decision for you."
The room froze.
A handsome young man stepped through the threshold, holding a pitch-black katana. Crimson blood dripped steadily from the edge-leftover from the two guards at the door.
Black Tiger stared in shock. "Who the hell are you? How did you get in? Where are the guards?"
"Dead. And you'll be joining them shortly," Liu Yang said coldly. "Because I'm here to claim your worthless head."
One of the gang members snapped. Drawing his machete, he lunged at Liu Yang, roaring, "Arrogant trash! Who gave you the balls to talk to Boss Black Tiger like that!"
"Flash!"
Liu Yang casually flicked his katana.
Before anyone could even register the motion, the man's head detached from his shoulders, tumbling onto the floor in a spray of gore.
He moved so fast the eye couldn't track it.
Terror seized the room.
It took them only a second to recognize the blade-that was Zhang Jinglin's custom katana! This was the monster Scarface Mouse had warned them about!
Black Tiger's lips trembled violently. He pointed an unsteady finger at Liu Yang, his voice cracking:
"You... you're the one who killed Giant Bear?!"