Was it deliberately luring me in? Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, hoping he was just overthinking it.
After what had happened with Kang Dafeng, everyone was even more on edge.
A day later, the convoy stopped beside an abandoned toll station. Their mission began: this stretch of road had been damaged and needed repairs.
"Report! A battle has been spotted five li away. Five Evolvers are under attack by Mutant Beasts!" a soldier reported.
Lu Yin ordered a rescue.
Half an hour later, the five Evolvers were brought back. All five were men, disheveled and dressed in rags. They also looked hungry.
Lu Yin didn't have anyone give them food. Anyone who dared venture into the wilderness alone to hunt Mutant Beasts had to be prepared to die. Lu Yin wasn't a saint, and food in the army wasn't free. If all else failed, they could eat the Mutant Rats crawling everywhere.
The five Evolvers were kept outside the toll station, watching the army eat with hungry eyes. Before long, one of them asked to see Lu Yin.
Lu Yin stood on the toll station roof, looking out over the area.
Below, the Evolver's face was ashen. "Sir, could you give us some food? We can trade you information."
Lu Yin looked down at him. "Talk."
"If I tell you, will you give us food?" the Evolver asked hopefully.
Lu Yin said coldly, "Are you bargaining with me?"
The Evolver's expression changed. "I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare!" He continued, "Actually, we brought plenty of food with us, but it was stolen yesterday by a Heavenly Rank Expert wearing silver-white armor."
Lu Yin's gaze sharpened. "Go on."
The Evolver swallowed, his throat dry, but continued anyway. "Saint of Punishment, Zhou Shan, is the only Heavenly Rank Expert around Jinling. But that person could fly. I think it was because of that armor. After stealing our food, he was going to kill us to silence us, but then he started talking to himself like a madman and flew off excitedly toward the east."
Lu Yin knew they had run into Aoton. Talking to himself? He must have been contacting someone through his Personal terminal. Had he gotten in touch with the other students who'd landed here? That was bad. Zhou Shan had barely managed to drive Aoton back. If other students got involved, Zhou Shan might not be able to hold out.
"Give them something to eat," Lu Yin ordered. He sat down and looked up at the stars.
What was he so worried about? Jinling? Or the survivors? He was an outsider, not a native of Earth. When it came down to it, he was just like Asta and the others. Yet living on Earth had gradually made him accept this new identity.
He had only two and a half years of memories. Everything before that was blank, and most of the memories he did have were of Earth. Earth could be considered his home.
Lu Yin took a deep breath. It was a pity he wasn't an Absolute Expert and couldn't save Earth. But he could still save some people, as long as it was within his power.
Thinking this, Lu Yin contacted Zhou Shan and told him what he suspected about Aoton.
Zhou Shan replied gravely, "I understand. Repair the road as quickly as possible. I need to know what's happening with the others. Those students are no ordinary people."
Lu Yin ended the call. The others? The other six Saints?
"I hope Liu Shaoge doesn't die. Otherwise, who am I supposed to take revenge on?" Lu Yin muttered coldly.
That night, dark clouds covered the sky, hiding the stars.
Lu Yin was rather disappointed and went to sleep inside an armored vehicle.
In the middle of the night, a scream rang out, waking everyone.
"Boss! A zombie tide! We've spotted a zombie tide!" Xu San shouted urgently.
Lu Yin climbed out of the armored vehicle and leaped onto the toll station roof. Across the dark land, countless wandering zombies were closing in. They surrounded the place on all sides.
"Everyone, activate the defenses immediately! Set the fire and throw it out!" Luo Yun shouted.
Before long, the zombie tide began surging against the toll station. The ground was set ablaze as countless burning objects struck it. Flames roared, and waves of heat swept over them.
"Be careful! Don't let the fire get near the toll station, or you'll burn us all!" Luo Yun shouted.
Machine guns swept across every direction, filling the night—normally silent—with deafening noise.
Nearly ten thousand soldiers slaughtered zombies along the outer perimeter. Once their machine-gun ammunition ran out, they had only their steel blades. Soldiers were clawed from time to time, and some were dragged into the zombie horde, vanishing in an instant. The five rescued Evolvers stared around in horror. This was how the army fought—far more brutal than they had ever imagined.
Luo Yun swung her steel blade. An Earth-level Expert was no match for an ordinary Evolver. Each slash released a sharp burst of energy, enough to tear through more than a dozen zombies. She might have been a little timid, but in battle, she was still fierce.
Lu Yin charged into the zombie horde, swinging an iron rod. Each strike swept through a whole swath of them.
The best way to deal with a zombie tide was actually with heavy weapons. Unfortunately, Jinling had very few left. If the weapon depots hadn't been destroyed, missiles could have swept through the horde in waves. No matter how many zombies there were, it wouldn't have been enough to stop them.
As Lu Yin slaughtered zombies, the walkie-talkie at his waist crackled with a panicked voice. "Boss, the southwest side is about to collapse!"
Lu Yin was startled. He leaped into the air and raced toward the southwest, stepping on zombie heads. Sure enough, countless soldiers were being slaughtered there. What was going on?
"Boss, there's a strange zombie, and it's incredibly strong! Even the Human Level captains can't stop it!" Xu San reported. He had been watching from a high vantage point the whole time.
Lu Yin landed and faced the point where the soldiers and zombies clashed. He brought his iron rod down hard. A slash visible to the naked eye tore through the air, split the ground, and killed dozens of zombies in one strike, leaving a clear dividing line across the battlefield.
On one side of the line, countless soldiers retreated, staring fearfully ahead. Just moments ago, at least fifty of them had died.
With a clang, the iron rod in Lu Yin's hand snapped in two.
As Lu Yin's strength increased, the iron rod could no longer withstand even one of his blows.
"Commander of Ten Thousand, look out!" someone shouted.
All around him, zombies surged closer like a flood. There were too many to count—at least a hundred thousand, covering the hills and plains.
The Heavenly Star Art circulated over Lu Yin's body. Star energy formed into shock waves that swept outward, clearing everything within ten meters. All the zombies were knocked back—except for one long-haired zombie, which withstood Lu Yin's energy and stood its ground, staring at him.
"Boss, that's the one! It's killed a lot of soldiers!" Xu San's voice came through the walkie-talkie.
Lu Yin stared in surprise at the zombie before him. This was no ordinary zombie. It had intelligence.
A zombie with intelligence? It sounded absurd, but it was happening.
Lu Yin stared in amazement at the zombie, no more than two meters away. Its pair of blood-red eyes didn't look vacant. They looked thoughtful. This zombie was thinking.
Before Lu Yin could consider it further, the long-haired zombie charged at him, reaching for him with both claws.
Lu Yin dodged. The gust from its claws tore through the zombies ten meters away.
It was at Earth level, and far stronger than Kang Dafeng and Luo Yun—on par with Zhao Yu.
Lu Yin watched the long-haired zombie's attacks closely. They had a pattern. They were chaotic, but left no openings. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed the attacker was a zombie.
After several failed attacks, the long-haired zombie growled and turned to leave. It was actually trying to escape.
Lu Yin stared at the white threads on its back. What were they? Spider silk? Suddenly, he remembered the possibility he had considered that afternoon. This zombie was the one that had lured Kang Dafeng to that building. It definitely had intelligence.
Lu Yin had no time to think. He hurled the broken half of his iron rod with all his might. It pierced the air and sank into the long-haired zombie's abdomen. The zombie roared and glanced back at Lu Yin, then fled south.
The zombies all around them suddenly roared, as if provoked, and surged between Lu Yin and the fleeing zombie.
"Xu San! Tell me where that zombie is!" Lu Yin shouted.
Xu San's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Boss, it turned a hundred meters away and headed west, along the road we came in on!"
Lu Yin tensed his leg muscles, and his figure vanished. In the spot where he had stood, a wisp of afterimage was swallowed by countless zombies.
Xu San stared at the scene in shock. Was that a battle technique? How incredible!
Lu Yin burst out of the zombie horde at full speed and chased along the road they had taken. But the long-haired zombie was already nowhere to be seen.
"Boss, I can't see it anymore," Xu San said.
Lu Yin stopped, his back to the toll station, and took out his Personal terminal to check the readings. The terminal flickered constantly, displaying many nearby combat power readings, all from Mutant Beasts in the area. But one reading was especially high: nine hundred and ninety. It had already reached the peak of Earth level. It had to be the long-haired zombie.
Lu Yin chased in the direction indicated by his Personal terminal. If he could deal with the long-haired zombie, the zombie tide should come to an end. If his guess was right, that zombie was a Zombie King. It was directing the horde's attack and had meant to wipe out his unit. Kang Dafeng had been its first target.
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