Lead the Zombies Away

"We're too few. We need to call for reinforcements."

Zhou Yaning did not reject the idea. There were simply too few of them; only two members of the soldier squad were still able to move, and someone had to watch the vehicle. She decided to call for more support first. Once the reinforcements arrived, they could discuss how to lure away the Black Zombie.

Having made her decision, Lu Chengchuan said nothing more.

After a while, Zhou Yaning took out her phone to request support. The people on the other end agreed to send reinforcements, and after the call, they waited in the vehicle for them to arrive.

The reinforcements would need an hour or two to get here, which gave them time to discuss the plan.

"We'll lure the zombies away. When the time comes, you'll destroy the Energy Source. Give me an estimate of how long you'll need." She knew Lu Chengchuan wanted the Energy Source, so she decided to help him along.

Besides, even if they came, there was no guarantee they could pull it off. If they failed, they would be finished once the Black Zombie returned.

"Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes at most!"

Last time, absorbing the Energy Source had taken only around seven minutes, but the exact time was beyond his control. He could only give a relatively conservative estimate.

"Fine. We'll buy you fifteen minutes!"

Zhou Yaning had no other choice but to grit her teeth and agree.

The military had previously tried driving various armored vehicles into the black fog, intending to use the weapons on those vehicles to eliminate the monsters. Yet the vehicles malfunctioned the moment they entered, and every instrument became unusable.

They had nearly smashed the firing buttons, but the cannons mounted on the vehicles did not react at all.

To deal with the Energy Source, soldiers could only use explosives. No one knew how many would die just getting close to it. Holding the monster back for just over ten minutes was far easier for them to accept.

With the plan settled, all that remained was to wait for the reinforcements.

Shortly after three in the afternoon, two troop carriers sped over from outside. Spotting the black car parked on the road, the troop carriers sounded their horns in a pattern of three long blasts and one short blast.

"They're here. Sound the horn, quickly."

At Zhou Yaning's order, a subordinate sounded the horn in response to the soldiers.

After receiving the response, the troop carriers pulled over and stopped. Zhou Yaning got out, calling Li Wang with her, and the two walked over. An officer also stepped down from one of the troop carriers. When the two sides met, the officer raised a hand in salute.

"Captain Zhao, did Regiment Commander Huang tell you the details before you came?" Zhou Yaning lowered her arm and asked whether he understood the mission.

"The regiment commander told me to cooperate with you. Just assign us our tasks, and we'll carry them out without fail!"

Zhao Zhian did not know the specifics, but as a soldier, obedience to orders was in his nature.

Hearing the determination in his voice, Zhou Yaning said nothing further and explained the plan. Learning that they would be restraining a monster so powerful that even armor-piercing rounds could not harm it, Zhao Zhian showed no fear.

The two troop carriers had brought thirty-five soldiers. Zhou Yaning told them to rest for twenty minutes before acting.

"Later, hide in another alley. We'll lure the monster away, and then you'll make your move. The faster, the better. I'm afraid more people will die if this drags on."

Zhou Yaning did not want too many people to die. Some sacrifices were unavoidable, but if they could avoid them, they should.

"I'll be as quick as possible. Once the Energy Source is destroyed, the black fog will definitely disappear." Lu Chengchuan nodded in agreement.

Zhou Yaning said nothing. She turned to look at the strange black fog before her, though no one knew what she was thinking.

After the twenty-minute break ended, Zhou Yaning waved her hand and said in an utterly even tone, "Move out!"

With the order given, more than forty people rose and entered the black fog. The instant they entered, everyone went on alert. Zheng Xin turned invisible and went ahead to scout, only returning more than twenty minutes later.

"Captain, there are no monsters on the outskirts."

The monsters had returned to the village's middle and central areas. With none blocking their way outside, the group advanced cautiously until they reached the alley where they had entered before.

"You wait here. The monster will charge out soon. We need to hold our ground for fifteen minutes."

Behind them was an intersection. A pond lay on one side of the road and houses on the other, but the terrain was useless. The Black Zombie could ignore bullets and charge straight at them. They had to keep moving and draw it around; they could not stand still and defend.

This time, only the Investigation Bureau members would lure the zombies away. Everyone else remained here to wait.

Lu Chengchuan slipped into the alley with them. Zhou Yaning and the others hid inside, watching the alley entrance as they waited. According to the plan, they would reveal themselves in five minutes to lure the zombies away, allowing Lu Chengchuan to slip in while their guard was down.

Two minutes later, Lu Chengchuan arrived at another alley.

After confirming that it led directly to the square, Lu Chengchuan hid inside and waited patiently.

He did not have to wait long. Gunfire and explosions erupted, followed by zombie roars. Lu Chengchuan knew Zhou Yaning and the others had begun their operation.

He did not emerge immediately. Lu Chengchuan waited a little longer, only showing himself when the gunfire became intense.

He raced out of the alley. The Black Zombie had already been lured away, and the square a dozen meters off held only the floating ball of light and piles of corpses.

Without hesitation, Lu Chengchuan ran to the light orb in a few strides.

Pure energy detected. Absorption in progress.

The system's voice rang out the instant he approached the light cluster. An invisible force drew the energy within it into his body. While absorbing the light cluster, Lu Chengchuan watched his surroundings to prevent the monster from ambushing him.

Elsewhere, compared to the silence in the square, Zhou Yaning's side was far more chaotic.

The Black Zombie killed three soldiers the moment it arrived. Armor-piercing rounds struck its body like pellets of mud, producing nothing but tiny sparks and accomplishing nothing.

Zhao Zhian was also an Esper, and he had brought several other Espers with him. Yet none of them could stop the Black Zombie. They could not even defeat the zombies with bluish-gray skin.

"Chains! Use chains to bind it!"

If they let the zombie continue slaughtering freely, their forty-odd people would not last long. Forget fifteen minutes—they would struggle to hold out for even a minute and a half.

Chen Long and several others swung iron chains, intending to use them to restrict the zombie's movements.

The others held back the remaining eleven zombies. They too were impervious to blades and bullets. Armor-piercing rounds could only puncture their skin and lodge in their flesh, knocking them back with the impact but unable to truly kill them.

After driving the zombies back, the soldiers hurled explosives at them, relying on the explosives' tremendous power to kill them.

Only a minute had passed since the battle began, and the weaker monsters had all been killed. Yet the remaining twelve zombies showed no sign of fatigue, forcing everyone to continue acting with extreme caution.

The Black Zombie tore apart another soldier. Just as it savored the hot blood, three chains wrapped around its body, followed by two more.

With the zombie bound, the five men pulled together. The Black Zombie swung a hand at the chains, making them ring sharply.

Then the zombie began to struggle. It ran forward, and the five men could not hold it back. The soldiers nearby hurried over to help, while the rest continued dealing with the remaining monsters.

Working bullets and explosives together, the soldiers killed six zombies, but fifteen of their own had also fallen.

More than ten others were injured, but the wounded still had to keep firing. If they did not fight desperately, they would die.

Seven or eight minutes later, the Black Zombie snapped the chains around its body. Chen Long and the others' expressions changed drastically. They did not dare hesitate for even a moment, hurriedly drawing their weapons and resuming their attack.