Moving forward

Listening to everyone's laughter, Bai Yaoyao finally felt some of the tension she had carried since her rebirth ease.

Still, she switched on her radio and said, "Everyone, stay alert. You must be careful. When you're fighting zombies, there's no such thing as just getting hurt. An injury means death or infection.

"Don't underestimate zombies, either. Some zombies with abilities are very powerful. We just haven't run into them yet."

Only after hearing everyone acknowledge her over the radio did Bai Yaoyao feel reassured.

When they passed the H City National Library, Bai Yaoyao called for them to stop.

She planned to go inside and collect all the books. She remembered that books, especially specialist texts, could be exchanged for quite a lot of points at the main base.

The moment they entered the ground-floor lobby, they saw nearly thirty zombies wandering aimlessly. When the zombies caught the scent of humans, it was as if someone had flipped a switch. They all moved toward the entrance, with one clearly faster than the others.

Bai Yaoyao no longer dared to let everyone use this as practice. She quickly tossed a dozen or so baseball bats and machetes onto the floor and said, "Go all out. Take them down fast!"

Everyone quickly grabbed a weapon that suited them and charged without hesitation. This was their combat instinct.

Their abilities were still too weak to be useful. To avoid standing still for three seconds to cast a skill only to give a zombie a hair wash, those with nature abilities never even considered using them.

Bai Yaoyao tried out her strength ability and found it incredibly satisfying. With a baseball bat in hand, she smashed a zombie's head to pulp in a single swing. She had never experienced this kind of thrill in her previous life.

She went straight for the fastest zombie, but before they had exchanged even two blows, Doggie stole her kill again.

Doggie's claws had evolved to become exceptionally sharp. These Level Zero Zombies were no match at all, and most died after a single swipe. Since Doggie deliberately targeted their necks, Bai Yaoyao suspected Doggie's intelligence had evolved just a tiny, tiny bit, too.

Xiaomi was having a great time as well. Now that Xiaomi could properly control that speed and combine it with fighting skills, everything was coming together more and more.

There seemed to be a lot of zombies, but everyone was so strong that all thirty in the ground-floor lobby were wiped out in no time.

Bai Yaoyao told everyone to collect the crystal cores as quickly as possible, then hurried farther inside. She worried that the noise of their fight might attract another horde of Zombies. If they were surrounded, they would be in trouble.

They had no area-of-effect skills yet. If they relied on hacking away with blades, they would wear the edges blunt before they could break out. After all, both sound and scent attracted zombies, so more and more would keep closing in.

Once inside the library proper, Bai Yaoyao did not rush to collect the books. She spread everyone out and had them check each area.

Only after confirming there were no zombies or survivors did she put the books, shelves and all, into her space.

This was not the first time everyone had seen Bai Yaoyao put things away, but they still found it incredible. No matter how often they watched, they never got tired of it.

After everyone returned to the vehicles, Bai Yaoyao checked their haul. They had sixteen crystal cores in total. One was pale yellow, from the speed-mutated zombie whose kill Doggie had stolen.

Enhancement Type Zombies all had yellow crystal cores, making them easier for enhancement-type ability users to absorb. Abilities such as speed, skin hardening, and strength all belonged to the enhancement category.

Nature-type zombie crystal cores were red, while special-type zombie crystal cores were black. They had not encountered either kind of zombie yet.

Ability users could absorb crystal cores of the corresponding type more easily.

They could also absorb other types, but it would take about three times as long. The effects, however, were not significantly different.

Before they even reached the city center, they could no longer continue by vehicle. The engines made too much noise, attracting more and more zombies.

Only a few hours had passed since everyone woke up, yet nearly all social order and production had collapsed.

Out-of-control vehicles littered the roads, while cries and calls for help rose one after another.

None of them were particularly kindhearted, but even they could not help staring at the scene in a daze.

"Fuck, I ran a red light! Am I going to get points deducted?"

"Quit joking around, dumbass. Get out!"

Once thirty or forty zombies had gathered, Bai Yaoyao told everyone to get out and start harvesting.

By now, everyone knew exactly how much force it took to kill a zombie in one hit. They neither risked leaving one alive nor wasted extra strength, so their progress was much faster.

Bai Yaoyao realized that the ratio of zombies to survivors was nowhere near fifty-fifty.

Perhaps fifty percent of the population really had turned into zombies at first, but the infection spread just as quickly. Anyone scratched or bitten by a zombie would turn within a very short time.

Someone might not even have woken up before the person beside them in bed became a zombie. One bite, and they would never get the chance to wake up again.

Many people in the buildings lining the road were watching Bai Yaoyao and the others. Seeing their matching outfits and swift, decisive movements, they assumed they were an official rescue team and shouted to them.

"Save us! There are five people in my family, including children and elderly people! Save us first!"

"Who doesn't have kids? Save us! We're on the ground floor, but there's a zombie right outside our door!"

Bai Yaoyao and the others acted as though they had heard nothing. After deftly retrieving the crystal cores, they prepared to leave. What a joke. We're assassins. You're lucky we're not killing people, and you want us to save them?

Saving you is easy. But what happens afterward? Do we become your bodyguards and keep you safe? Your nannies, taking care of everything from your meals to your bathroom needs?

Dream on!

The zombies on the first day of the apocalypse were so weak that anyone with even a little courage could grab a tool and go fight. There was no reason to stay trapped at home.

When the residents in the buildings along the road saw Bai Yaoyao and the others preparing to leave, they immediately panicked.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you saving anyone? How can you be so selfish? I told you there are children and elderly people in my family!

"Everyone, shout together! Bang on something and make noise! Lure the zombies over and don't let them leave! Make them save us!"

"Exactly! Don't leave! Save us!"

"What department are you from? I'm going to report you! My husband is an official at the provincial department!"

Bai Yaoyao picked at her ear. So fucking noisy.

She drew her gun, spun it in her hand, and aimed at the forehead of the person who had suggested luring over the zombies. Without the slightest hesitation, she killed them with a single shot.

The scene fell silent instantly.

Bai Yaoyao and the others let their intimidating presence loose, glaring fiercely at the people who had just been shouting.

"Well? Can we leave now?" Bai Yaoyao tried adding a little psychic power to her voice, sending it clearly into everyone's ears.

No one dared say another word. They were not stupid. Someone who dared to kill outright was clearly not here to rescue them! Screaming now would just be asking to die.

Once no one spoke again, Bai Yaoyao said to her comrades, "Let's go. Next street."

"Is it okay to just kill someone?" The usually taciturn Stone suddenly asked.

"As long as the person deserves to die, it's fine," Bai Yaoyao answered directly.

Every department was struggling to fend for itself now. No one had time to deal with things like this.

Even if they found out, with such an impressive team at her side, would they really pick a fight rather than try to recruit her just because she had killed a few scumbags deliberately stirring up trouble? No official authority could be that stupid.

But when she noticed the faint excitement in Stone's eyes, she rubbed the tip of her nose and asked, "Stone, you didn't finish killing all those people back then?"

"Two left. In A City."

Bai Yaoyao nodded and patted Stone's shoulder. "You'll get your chance."

"Yeah. They're dead."