A six-person team wearing Octopus Face Masks and Keslav tactical vests sat inside an armored vehicle, holding a secret meeting.
"At present, the company has played all its cards, yet it still can't satisfy those bloodsuckers in the military."
"So the higher-ups have decided to send Wolf Pack Squad to Toko City to collect samples of the new virus..."
"If necessary, reproduce part of the important experimental data..."
"This will become our bargaining chip against the military. After all, on this free land of North America, only interests remain eternal..."
Looking somewhat haggard, Wolf Mom Ruper explained the importance of this mission to veteran members "Grim Reaper" Hank and "Four Eyes" Kyoko Yamaya, as well as the three newly recruited replacements.
Unlike Hank and Kyoko Yamaya, who remained calm and composed, the members recently transferred from other regions, though skilled enough, appeared somewhat arrogant.
"All right. As long as you complete this mission outstandingly, the company will grant every member of Wolf Pack Squad permanent paid leave."
Compared with the previous cautious warnings, Umbrella Corporation's generous reward upon completion of the mission clearly tempted them more.
Idiots! No matter how much money there was or how generous the terms were, they only applied to the living...
Knowing the company's style, those upper-level cannibals who devoured people without leaving bones certainly would not spend money supporting names on the casualty list for nothing.
Umbrella Corporation had truly declined. Even such unqualified mercenaries had been shoved onto the battlefield.
Ruper, Hank, and Kyoko Yamaya could not help feeling somewhat desolate, and they were extremely pessimistic about this mission.
After all, according to reliable intelligence, the elites sent into Toko City included not only special operations teams from their old rivals, the BSAA, but even colossal forces such as Anti-Entropy and Schicksal had extended their claws there.
Moreover, this viral crisis seemed to be inextricably connected to Umbrella's leaked new T-Virus weapon.
Once Umbrella Corporation's filthy dealings with those lunatics from Holy Trinity Church were exposed, Umbrella, whose hands were already dirty, would inevitably be attacked from all sides.
Therefore, they also bore the task of destroying the evidence.
But the problem was, they seemed to be the weakest side...
Hopefully, everything would go smoothly.
Wolf Mom Ruper opened her necklace and took one deep look at the photo of her daughter. Then she resumed her cool, efficient manner and waved Wolf Pack Squad into action.
Unlike Wolf Mom Ruper, whose daughter was being held within Umbrella Corporation, the relatively free Hank and Kyoko Yamaya felt a faint stirring of doubt.
Perhaps it was time to find another job...
However, the people riding in the slowly advancing armored vehicle failed to notice a blond man with slicked-back hair and sunglasses silently emerging from the shadows.
PS1: A quick report: yesterday, I received over 1,000 recommendation votes, 97 monthly votes, 36 blades, as well as rewards from readers @{"reader_id":"1767192","reader_name":"Galactic Emperor Belial"} and @{"reader_id":"189894","reader_name":"Dolphin Listening to the Wind"}.
What made me feel rather upset was that yesterday alone amounted to the total recommendations from the previous five days...
Personally, I believe how readers use their recommendation votes is their freedom, and I feel awkward interfering too much.
However, since some readers said they often forget to use their recommendation votes, this author shamelessly asks everyone to vote steadily. Thank you.
PS2: This extra chapter was purely to thank so many readers for their support. I really don't have the time, so this will only happen once. I hope everyone understands.
A Female Driver's Guide to Driving
"Which lunatic is driving?! Are you trying to get us killed?! Steady the damn thing!"
At that moment, Kevin, who had temporarily secured himself to the roof, was sweating profusely as he roared into the cabin through a gap.
Under the control of a certain female driver, the bus beneath his feet had somehow been driven with the momentum of an M1 Abrams Tank.
Whether it was the zombies swarming around them or the wrecked vehicles blocking the road, everything was crushed without hesitation.
As a result, while the vehicle charged ahead at breakneck speed, it shook violently and nearly rolled over several times.
The blond female driver seemed to realize that the bus, whose outer shell was already somewhat deformed, could not withstand many more collisions, so she gradually brought the speed back to a normal level.
Still, her occasional drifting turns and extreme fishtails made Kevin's heart leap into his throat.
Damn it, again! Kevin watched four Dobermans with rotting skin suddenly leap out from a ruined building resembling a pet shelter to one side. He immediately steadied himself and drew his gun.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" Of the four consecutive shots, only two struck the bodies of the first two Dobermans.
What he had not expected was that after being knocked down briefly by the force of the bullets, the two hit Zombie Dogs merely rolled over before resuming their pursuit of the highly conspicuous school bus.
These transformed Zombie Dogs had overall stats of only around 60 to 65, so they were not especially powerful.
However, with agility as high as 18, constitution at 14, and astonishing bite force, even if intelligence and strength were their weak points, they were still bona fide killing machines.
Worse, those beasts were no slower than the bus and were even steadily closing in. If they did not deal with them, everyone in the vehicle would be finished sooner or later.
"Go straight! Slow down!"
Kevin gritted his teeth, smashed the roof with the butt of his gun, and ordered the female driver at the wheel.
This woman, who lacked much initiative, instinctively followed Kevin's arrangement. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, gradually shifted down, and chose a relatively flat, open main road.
Seeing his chance, Kevin tore a fragmentation grenade from his tactical vest. After accurately calculating the detonation time, he hurled it onto the road ahead of the four Dobermans.
Even though the dogs actively tried to evade it, the powerful blast wave still made them stumble, leaving their tilted bodies unable to recover effectively.
Kevin held his breath and decisively fired, blowing the heads off the first two Dobermans.
It worked! Just as Kevin was preparing to repeat the trick and finish off the remaining two dogs, they unexpectedly split left and right, weaving nimbly through the obstacles.
What the hell... They were evading! They were smart!
Kevin's pupils contracted slightly. He had never imagined he would use the word "smart" on these living corpses.
A coincidence... It had to be a coincidence...
It had better... not be what I think it is!
"Scrreech!" A Zombie Dog closing in leaped down from an obstacle, its claws exposing purple-red muscle and carving three two-centimeter-deep gouges into the rear compartment.
Amid the teeth-grating sound of tearing metal, piercing female screams erupted inside the bus.
The students who had been sitting in the back like quails were so terrified that they ignored the shaking of the moving bus and scrambled toward the front.
Panic spread like a plague, throwing the entire cabin into chaos. Even the blond female driver was inadvertently shoved.
At once, the bus, its steering wheel jerking sideways, ran over a huge chunk of collapsed concrete. The vehicle lurched violently, and Kevin nearly got thrown off the roof.
A bunch of pigs! Kevin barely caught hold of his knife and dragged himself back onto the roof. For a moment, he nearly considered throwing a few teammates down as blood sacrifices!
After that jolt, the bus's engine seemed to suffer minor damage. The exhaust pipe began spewing black smoke, and its speed plummeted.
At that moment, the two Zombie Dogs surrounding them were less than ten meters away.
Just as Kevin wanted to raise his head and curse, his gaze caught the gigantic billboard hanging above the main road, and inspiration flashed through his mind.
The commander immediately pulled two blocks of C4 from his marching pack. After attaching the detonators, he threw them hard at the metal framework at the end of the billboard.
"You really aren't cute at all. Bye!"
Then, slumped on the roof, the commander waved the detonator in his hand at the two Zombie Dogs that had leaped beneath the billboard and pressed the button with a teasing smile.
"Boom!" The gigantic billboard, its metal frame severed, came crashing down and crushed the two Zombie Dogs that failed to dodge into pulp.
"Thanks, idol..."
The nightmare was finally over. Kevin waved goodbye to the actress on the huge billboard, who looked remarkably like Satomi Ishihara.
After escaping danger, the bus traveled another kilometer before finally breaking down due to engine damage.
Everyone huddled nervously inside the bus. Only after waiting nearly ten minutes did they realize that aside from several amethyst-like humanoid sculptures, there seemed to be no zombies lurking nearby.
According to the map, the direction they had come from led toward the city center and the large coastal island.
The farther they moved away from there, the sparser the zombies became. Could those zombies be actively gathering in those places?
Kevin opened the electronic map. After thinking briefly, he marked their previous route.
After resting for a while, the commander leaped down from the minibus, put on a "nuclear-friendly" smile, and knocked on the passenger bus's door.
"You're a soldier!"
"Did you come to save us?"
"Where is the military? How many people came?"
"This place is so terrifying. When can we see our families..."
Questions, surprise, and pleading voices merged into a noisy torrent inside the bus, making Kevin's ears buzz.
His standard military uniform made his general identity obvious without needing any explanation.
"We are a special operations team under the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, dispatched by the United Nations to investigate the cause of Toko City's viral crisis..."
"When necessary, we will do our utmost to protect civilians and evacuate them safely!"
That imposing official identity immediately sent the carload of inexperienced Junior High School Students into delighted cheers.
United Nations Agent... when necessary... Heh...
Sitting in the corner, Saya Takagi, the pink-ponytailed girl, adjusted the glasses on her nose. A disdainful sneer appeared at the corner of her lips.
Toda Hirano, the chubby otaku beside her wearing Black-rimmed Glasses, seemed to notice Saya Takagi's displeasure and looked somewhat confused.
Seeing that not only Toda Hirano, but also her friends Takashi Komuro, Rei Miyamoto, and the others beside her wore faintly puzzled expressions, Saya Takagi spoke up.
Proud of her genius mind and deductive ability, the girl immediately curled her lips, revealing her delicate canine teeth, and lowered her voice as she quietly explained to the small group.
"Even if he has the identity of a United Nations Agent, so what? Why haven't we seen the 'we' he keeps talking about?"
"Besides, this soldier came to investigate the cause of the viral crisis. His mission is important. Why would he wholeheartedly care whether we live or die?"
"As for that last sentence, it was only meant to calm people down and prevent everyone's anger from being stirred up."
"Think about it. What counts as a necessary situation? Is there a clear definition? What he said was the same as saying nothing..."
"If they truly wanted to rescue civilians, the government should have organized a large force to advance here."
"What use could this scattered elite squad possibly have against hundreds of thousands of zombies?"
Takashi Komuro, the fairly handsome boy with messy black hair, thought for a moment, and his brows furrowed tightly.
"So, it's very possible that the government has already abandoned us?"
That suffocatingly heavy topic immediately plunged the members of the small group into silence. Their eyes were filled with confusion.
At that moment, Kevin, who had roughly understood the passengers' situation, wore a somewhat strange expression.
He had actually run into these students who escaped from Fujimi Academy. What a coincidence.
"Hello, I am Koichi Shido. Greetings to you."
Just as Kevin was carefully considering what to do next, an effeminate voice slipped into his ears and interrupted the commander's thoughts.
PS: Thanks to reader @Blizzard Dad for the correction. I checked it out: Apache attack helicopters are equipped with heavy firepower and carry two people in practice, so I changed the transport helicopter to a Black Hawk model.
Thanks to readers @{"reader_id":"145472","reader_name":"Baker Street Requiem"} and @{"reader_id":"1159182","reader_name":"Ashen Dawn"} for their rewards.
As usual, please vote. Thank you.
The Poison of the Mind
A long-faced man in a brown plaid suit walked forward with a smile, seemingly expressing goodwill.
However, the next moment, the gloomy Fujimi Academy teacher spread his hands and began questioning Kevin.
"May I ask where your team is? I would like to invite them to travel with us."
"We ran into a Corpse Tide on the way and got separated."
Kevin lowered his eyelids and answered honestly, looking somewhat ashamed, as though he were a rookie soldier who had only recently joined the service.
The students inside the bus all changed expression, and their earlier enthusiasm toward Kevin gradually faded.
"I'm very curious. Why would the United Nations send a bioterror special operations team into Toko City?"
"As a sovereign nation, the Self-Defense Forces should theoretically be capable of rescuing civilians."
Koichi Shido spoke with deliberate rises and falls in his tone, drawing everyone's attention to the conversation between the two.
"Sorry, military secret! No comment!"
Kevin took a slight step back, his expression somewhat unnatural.
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