Chaos Begins

Settlement, District 2.

A burly man wailed as he crashed through a tent. He stumbled forward two steps before collapsing to the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably.

The side of the tent bulged and eventually tore open as two zombies charged out, shrieking as they lunged toward the nearby crowd.

District 13.

A woman clutching an infant stumbled toward the Command Headquarters. Behind her, a zombie was in hot pursuit.

Judging by their respective speeds, it was only a matter of time before she was caught, but at this moment, no one dared to reach out and help the mother and child.

District 26.

Several tents were engulfed in raging flames. Cries of grief mixed with screams, rising and falling in a chaotic chorus.

Some citizens, in their panic, curled up entirely inside their blankets, praying that the zombies wouldn't discover them.

But many more chose to take their fate into their own hands, using the chaos to flee their tents.

Those with a bit of sense were running toward the military barracks, while many others, paralyzed by the sudden turn of events, scurried through the settlement like headless chickens, which only fueled the chaos further.

The chaos spread like a plague.

The population density of the settlement was simply too high. It wasn't as if no one had noticed this hidden danger, but unfortunately, there was no way to resolve it in such a short time.

So, when the zombies appeared in the settlement, the situation spiraled out of control.

Of course, amidst this panic, there was a group of people who remained calm.

To be precise, the chaos in the settlement was exactly what some of these people had deliberately orchestrated.

"Dum-dum-da-dum~ dum-dum~ dum-dum-da-dum~ Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A young man in a gray hooded sweatshirt hummed a little tune, bobbing his head as he walked toward the Research Center.

His leisurely demeanor was in such stark contrast to the panicked crowds fleeing around him that it felt as if he were in an entirely different dimension.

A young man with a multi-colored afro squatted on top of a tent, holding a palm to his forehead to scan the surroundings.

To be honest, most people make that gesture to shield their eyes from the sun, but it was the middle of the night, and combined with the formal suit he was wearing, he looked completely absurd.

Three men in black suits gathered together. It was worth noting that even though it was the middle of the night, they were still wearing sunglasses, which looked particularly bizarre.

One of them, who was bald, spoke up: "Boss, something isn't right. Didn't we only catch three infected? Looking at all this commotion, I'm afraid there are infected appearing in seven or eight different places."

"Tch, isn't it obvious that quite a few others had the same idea as us?" The boss curled his lip. "Forget it, it doesn't matter. The point is to attract the military's attention anyway; the more chaotic, the better."

The bald man looked a bit anxious: "That's not it, Boss. I'm worried that even the military won't be able to control the situation by then. There are tens of thousands of people gathered in this military base."

Research Center building.

"What's going on outside?"

Zhou Zongming frowned and walked quickly to the window to check the situation.

It was late at night, and visibility was low; at best, he could tell that the settlement was in chaos.

As for what exactly had happened, he truly had no idea.

His state of confusion did not last long before two phone rings sounded one after the other.

Zhou Zongming and the captain of the Rapid Response Force exchanged a glance, instantly realizing that something was terribly wrong.

Both of them answered their phones simultaneously. As they listened to the information coming from the other end, Zhou Zongming's expression turned incredibly grim.

He strode to the isolation door and slammed his fist against it, his tone icy: "Who the hell did this?!"

His intuition told him that Agu must know the reason, or perhaps was even connected to this chaos.

However, Agu only gave a mocking laugh, not bothering to reply.

Even if it wasn't explicitly shown, in reality, most Deathmatch Participants subconsciously felt a psychological sense of superiority over the "natives," with only the degree of that sentiment varying.

The situation was urgent. Seeing that Agu clearly had no intention of cooperating, Zhou Zongming naturally wouldn't pin all his hopes on one person. He turned and began issuing orders to the members of the Rapid Response Force.

"He is highly skilled. Leave four men to guard this place. If he comes out of the isolation room, there is no need to report—kill him on the spot.

Lao Yang, take your men immediately and seal off the passages between the various sectors of the settlement. If necessary..."

Zhou Zongming paused for a moment before continuing: "If necessary, you are authorized to open fire on civilians who try to force their way through. You must hold the line until the Second Company and Third Company arrive to clear out the infected."

The settlement was divided into forty sectors, housing nearly fifty thousand people.

Although zombies had already appeared in eight sectors, the situation had not yet reached its worst point.

Zhou Zongming knew very well that once this order was issued, it meant that the civilians in the sectors where zombies had appeared would have to fend for themselves.

There was no other way; the choice between fifty thousand people and a few thousand was clear.

He had to be decisive; there was no room for womanly pity. Otherwise, not only would those few sectors be lost, but the other thirty-plus sectors would also be impossible to save.

Soon, except for the four members left behind to guard Agu in the laboratory, the entire Rapid Response Force withdrew from the Research Center.

Seeing that almost everyone had left, Lu Bai, who had remained silent the entire time, stood up and walked toward the window.

"Ke Jianghao shouldn't be your real name, right?"

Zhou Zongming glanced at Lu Bai. In truth, he still had a stomach full of questions he wanted answered by Lu Bai, but unfortunately, the timing was poor; he needed to go and command the scene.

"I'll settle the score with you after this is over. It's chaotic enough as it is, so you just stay right here and don't cause me any more trouble."

He didn't order anyone to restrain Lu Bai, leaving only that sentence behind before hurrying away.

The massive laboratory fell silent once again.

Lu Bai watched the scene outside the window in silence for a while, let out a long breath, and turned to say to Agu in the isolation chamber, "I suspect these four people won't be able to stop you, but it doesn't matter. You are welcome to try and see if you can escape."

His smile, usually full of approachability, made one's spine chill in the current setting.

The four remaining team members, hearing Lu Bai's remark that clearly looked down on them, were all somewhat displeased.

However, before they could even open their mouths to retort, they watched in horror as Lu Bai braced his hands on the window ledge and nimbly vaulted out.

Witnessing this scene with their own eyes, the four team members stood rooted to the spot, looking at each other in dismay.

One of the members nearly had his eyes pop out of their sockets: "This... this is the fifth floor, right?"

Bang!

Lu Bai, having leaped down from the fifth floor, slammed heavily into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

With the enhancement of Blood Rage, he didn't even need to roll to dissipate the impact.

"I can't afford to owe any more favors. Even if it's just for peace of mind, this is too hard to pay back."

He stood up and straightened his back, sighing with a hint of self-deprecation.

Immediately, his expression hardened. He stomped his foot, and utilizing the violent force rebounding from the earth, his figure shot forward like a cannonball.