The pungent smell of blood hit them full in the face as they entered the room. The floor was completely bathed in crimson.
Four powerful ability users had all died in the same room at the same time without leaving behind a single trace of a struggle. They had been killed instantly.
The only surviving ability user had been away leading a team to forage for food.
Returning to witness this scene, he was petrified with fear.
The ordinary survivors behind him were even more terrified.
They were ruthless men, but witnessing such a gruesome sight still made them tremble in fear.
They knew how strong their boss was as a level-two ability user ranked over 800th on the Yellow Ranking.
Even level-two zombies were casually slaughtered in front of him.
Yet now, the boss hadn't even had the chance to fight back before being killed.
The enemy's power was beyond imagination.
One survivor turned to the remaining ability user and asked, "Brother Dong, what should we do? Even the boss got killed in a flash. Should we run too?"
"The other civilians in the base aren't dead, and the resources weren't taken either. That means the perpetrator came here specifically to kill. Did the boss provoke some ruthless person he shouldn't have?"
Lin Dong shook his head and said, "Don't be foolish! Even if he really angered someone powerful, they would have taken the food after killing him. In this apocalypse, food is vital to any base!"
The other survivors looked puzzled. "Then why? Could a mutant zombie have killed the boss? But that doesn't make sense either. Zombies kill humans to eat them. They wouldn't leave the bodies behind, nor would they ignore the civilians and target only the ability users."
Another survivor added, "What do we do then, Brother Dong? We don't even know who the enemy is, and they're so strong. If they want us dead, we can't stop them at all. Shouldn't we run?"
They were genuinely terrified.
Four ability users had been killed here. The base leader was a level-two ability user, yet all of them were taken out in an instant.
Moreover, the killer had slit their throats with a dagger rather than using underhanded tactics like poison. Overwhelming strength was required to leave them with zero ability to resist.
Now the entire base was in jeopardy. Staying here meant not knowing when death would strike, so they naturally wanted to flee.
Lin Dong shook his head and said, "If we run too, this base will be completely finished. Any random level-two zombie that wanders in could slaughter all the ordinary civilians!"
The other survivors urged, "Brother Dong, if we don't run, we're going to die here! It's the apocalypse-everyone sweeps the snow from their own doorstep. Who can afford to worry about the frost on someone else's roof? Come with us! We can find a new base and start over!"
Lin Dong pondered for a moment, his eyes filled with struggle, but he ultimately shook his head.
"Forget it. The young and strong can leave, but what about the old, weak, sick, and disabled? Could they endure a long journey?"
"The boss and I built this base step by step, growing it from a hundred people to over a thousand. Without the protection of ability users, so many survivors stand no chance against a level-two zombie."
"Help me bury the boss and the others. Afterward, if you want to leave, I won't stop you. But if anyone wants to stay with me, you're welcome to."
Several survivors gritted their teeth and nodded.
With heavy hearts, they buried the four dead ability users.
Afterward, they began packing their belongings to leave, spreading the news to the entire base so everyone could choose whether to stay or go.
In the end, five hundred people chose to leave.
Those who chose to stay were mostly the old, weak, sick, and disabled who didn't dare travel far.
This small base, which had once been fairly strong, was left with only half its population-mostly the vulnerable-and lost ninety percent of its overall strength.
Five hundred people departed from the base.
Before leaving, several survivors approached Lin Dong.
"Brother Dong! We've been through life and death together. Once we find a good place, we'll definitely come back and let you know!"
"Then we can take everyone and leave together! This base has been targeted; staying one more day means one more day of danger."
Although they had only known each other for less than a month, they had spent that time searching for food, fighting zombies, and saving each other's lives countless times.
They shared bonds forged in life and death.
Seeing Lin Dong staying behind alone, they couldn't bear to leave him.
Yet they also understood his character.
Lin Dong was a man of his word who stood firmly by his principles.
Since he couldn't abandon the survivors in this base, he certainly wouldn't leave.
As long as he was alive, he would protect the base from zombie invasions.
Lin Dong said with a complex expression, "Safe travels to you all."
He watched as the survivors disappeared into the distance.
...
Back to the present.
Liu Yang had successfully unlocked the potential of all fifteen beautiful young women in the neighboring villa.
To keep his win streak going, Liu Yang headed to the survivor base.
It was time to scout for new candidates...
This was the advantage of controlling a survivor base.
Previously, Liu Yang had to search for food outside while looking for beauties on the side. That method was inefficient, and missing a single day risked breaking his win streak.
Having a survivor base changed everything.
Once the existing beauties had been cultivated, he could simply visit the base to pick new ones whenever needed.
Besides, as time went on, the girls in the base were maturing.
If a girl was sixteen this year, wouldn't she be eighteen in two years?
Girls wouldn't stay eighteen forever, but there would never be a shortage of eighteen-year-old girls!
With the base backing him, Liu Yang's win streak would never break again.
Inside the survivor base.
The moment Liu Yang descended from the sky, everyone's face lit up with excitement.
God Liu hadn't visited for nearly half a month!
Scarface Mouse and Old Wang eagerly rushed forward to greet him.
Old Wang said, "Boss, you're here!"
Scarface Mouse added, "Boss, you haven't visited in so long, I thought you forgot about us!"
"How could I? I've just been busy lately," Liu Yang replied nonchalantly.
Indeed, over the past ten days, he had been searching for supplies by day and working overtime to cultivate beauties by night-he really had been quite busy.
Scarface Mouse chimed in, "Of course! With great power comes great responsibility, Boss. What you're busy with is beyond the imagination of people at our level. It's already amazing that you can spare the time to check on our base."
"Boss, let me show you the potatoes we planted in the villa area! They've all sprouted and should be ready for harvest in about three months! The survivors are overjoyed-the whole base feels full of hope, something we've never experienced before!"
Scarface Mouse grew more excited as he spoke.
Back when they followed Black Tiger, they had never seen such prosperity.
Black Tiger only cared about exploiting the civilians.
How could he ever care about sustainable development?
Under Black Tiger's rule, the civilians' lives grew worse by the day, leaving everyone hopeless and lifeless.
Now, things were completely different.
Watching the green potato shoots grow bigger, everyone's face shone with hope and anticipation.
Liu Yang nodded. "Good. Let's go take a look."
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