First Encounter with the Undead Tide

The Gudu at night was under martial law. Along the way the taxi drove, one could see the towering city walls.

The taxi driver was a shrewd businessman, cramming four passengers into one car and heading towards the city center.

Xu Fang sat by the window, gazing at the continuous city walls that resembled mountain ridges, a flicker of awe crossing his eyes.

Sitting next to him was an old man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. Seeing his expression, he asked, "First time here?"

"Yes."

Xu Fang exclaimed, "It's my first time seeing such a massive Safety Zone. It's truly spectacular."

"Of course, the outer wall of Gudu was spearheaded by Forbidden Mages, and built in collaboration with many Earth Element Mages, including Super Level Mages!" the old man said with a hint of pride.

Seeing his expression, Xu Fang, being perceptive, asked, "Could it be, sir, that you also..."

"Ah, I just did a little bit, nothing worth mentioning, nothing worth mentioning!" the old man said humbly, though the wrinkles on his face were creased like a blooming chrysanthemum.

Xu Fang's question had hit the right spot for him.

The driver chimed in from the front, "I think this is just cowardice, like turtles hiding in their shells to defend. If I were a high-ranking leader, I'd gather all the Mages and directly destroy the undead's lair, solving it once and for all!"

The passengers rolled their eyes.

What kind of freak is this, talking about Forbidden Mages so casually?

The old man, also hot-tempered, didn't humor him at all and directly cursed, "You're truly heartless! The country spent so much effort building the Safety Zone for you, and they built it wrong?"

The driver retorted, "No matter how well it's built, I still only make a few thousand yuan a month, and I can't afford a house... Besides, people lived just fine before the Safety Zone was built!"

"Lived just fine?"

The old man's beard trembled. "Let me tell you, old man! Before the country was founded, Gudu only had a 14-kilometer inner city wall, protecting the rich and powerful. Ordinary people had to stay outside, and who knows when they'd become food for the undead! It wasn't until this outer wall was built, encompassing the entire Gudu, and the Military Mages patrolled every night, that you could sleep soundly without worrying about the undead breaking into your home under the cover of darkness!"

The driver stopped arguing, not out of sudden enlightenment, but because all the passengers were glaring at him. He suspected that if he said another word, this group would gang up and beat him...

Silence fell in the taxi for a moment, with only the city wall outside the window standing tall like a shield against the dark clouds, like a giant dragon protecting the city's inhabitants. Even though these people had grown accustomed to it, even complaining about it, it had always silently guarded them, from beginning to end.

The undead were relatively quiet tonight, and the taxi reached the city center without any hindrance.

Gudu was a quaint metropolis. Its prosperity was no less than that of Magic City, dazzling Xu Fang, a bumpkin accustomed to Bocheng.

He found an apartment hotel to stay in. The undead plague had caused Gudu's tourism industry to decline significantly, making the large hotels incredibly cheap.

After settling his belongings in the hotel, Xu Fang didn't rest immediately. Instead, he went out alone and walked towards the nearest section of the outer city wall. From today onwards, he would have to stay in this land of the undead for at least two years. He wanted to see it in advance to be mentally prepared.

"Who's there!" a Military Mage shouted.

"A Hunter Mage from the Hunter's Alliance!" Xu Fang took out the ID card named Zhang San and showed it. The Military Mage glanced at it and waved him up the wall.

From the inside, the outer city wall looked like a towering iron barrel, securely locking in the city's prosperity. But standing on the wall, the feeling was completely different. The dark clouds seemed within reach, and the wind blowing against his face carried a chilling cold, like ghosts blowing on the back of your neck, mixed with the smell of earth and rotting corpses. The local Military Mages had a more vivid term for it: the smell of death.

Before Xu Fang could observe further, suddenly, a Radiance streaked across the high sky. Someone on the wall shouted sternly, "All stand by----!"

In the wilderness, hands emerged from the graves, followed by grotesque undead creatures with glowing green eyes scanning their surroundings.

The next second.

Whoosh!

All the undead abruptly turned their heads towards the city wall. Their movements were no longer jerky; they charged forward at an incredibly fast speed! Their black bodies, seen from afar, looked like a swarm of refugees rushing towards food. But as they got closer, densely packed together, one could see pieces of hanging rotten flesh falling off, and black corpse oil polluting the ground. They turned into a rotting flood, crashing against the city wall wave after wave. Their ferocious faces and hungry eyes made countless Mages' scalps tingle! Although they had no vocal cords, this black tide still emitted chilling death roars.

The fastest undead had already reached the base of the city wall, trying to insert their hands into the wall. Some of the sturdier ones acted as human ladders, stacking on top of each other like tumbling monks, allowing other undead to climb up.

"Attack!!!"

The commander on site roared.

The next second, Magic of various colors rained down, bombarding mercilessly, and black blood splattered.

"Glow · Radiance · Purify!"

Xu Fang held his star track, and large swathes of light scattered like a curtain. The fluorescent light's inherent constant temperature effect caused the affected undead to melt like ice and snow under a scorching sun, leaving nothing behind even from the corpses used as stepping stones.

"Hunter Mage? Or a student?"

The Military Mage closest to Xu Fang noticed him and was momentarily stunned by Xu Fang's young face. "Never mind that. Since you're here, let's kill undead together. Watch your Demonic Energy consumption!"

Xu Fang nodded and unleashed another Radiance.

Then came the third.

And the fourth.

Gradually, everyone's attention was drawn to Xu Fang, his Radiance, and the empty patch of ground in front of him.

They had a million ways to say "awesome" and "666" in their hearts but didn't know how to express it.

One-third of the Mages standing on the walls of Gudu were Light Element Mages, and Radiance was their signature skill.

But even though they had seen plenty of Radiance, this group had never witnessed such a peculiar Radiance before.

Its range was terrifyingly large, and its power was immense. Ordinary Black Rot Corpses were mowed down like chives in a field, harvested batch after batch.

Undead like Ironhide Corpses, known for their defense, weren't killed by a single Radiance from Xu Fang.

But what made everyone's eyes nearly pop out was that the Radiance didn't dissipate naturally. Instead, it stubbornly clung to the Ironhide Corpse, slowly eroding its body.

A few Black Rot Corpses near the Ironhide Corpse, having accidentally brushed against it, were immediately decomposed by the residual light.

"So, so strong..."

One Mage murmured.

Countless others shared his thoughts, their hearts churning. At this moment, Xu Fang was the brightest star on the entire stretch of the city wall!

For those who had long since fallen asleep, the night was short.

But for the Mages on the outer walls of Gudu, this night was as long and arduous as any other.

Xu Fang had already come down from the wall. Together with other Mages, he received a boxed meal from a steaming food cart and found a spot to wolf it down.

"Is that enough? Have some more if you need it," said the Military Mage sitting next to him enthusiastically. "We Military Mages get government subsidies, so there's a wide variety and plenty to eat."

"It's enough, thank you, Squad Leader," Xu Fang replied.

The Military Mage chuckled. "I saw your performance just now. You're quite impressive, young man!"

Xu Fang wasn't sure if he was genuinely complimenting him or had some ulterior motive, so he responded by burying his head in his food.

"Um... you look like a high school student, right?" the Military Mage asked casually.

"I'll be starting my second year of high school when school opens."

"Second year of high school is great!"

The Military Mage slapped his thigh, his eyes shining startlingly. He immediately pulled out his phone. "Come on, let's add each other as friends!"