Gaining fans

Seeing the students sensibly step aside, Bai Yaoyao nodded to Xiaomi and the others.

It was a male water-type zombie, probably a teacher before he died. He had already had a bald crown in life, and after turning into a zombie, only a few strands of hair remained.

Greenish pustules and rotting flesh covered his face. His eyes bulged so far out they almost stuck out past his glasses, and his black suit was tattered and covered in dirt and blood.

They had just worked out a coordinated attack: Chenxuan would boost Monkey's ability so he could hold the zombie in check, while she and Xiaomi rushed in, aiming to finish it in one strike again before it could use any skills.

They needed to practice their teamwork while the zombies still lacked much offensive power.

"Ready, charge!" The instant Bai Yaoyao finished speaking, she rushed out alongside Xiaomi. Xiaomi had a speed ability, while hers was instantaneous movement.

Bai Yaoyao thought she was already pretty fast, but Doggie still ruined the plan.

As soon as Doggie heard Bai Yaoyao shout "charge," he went wild. Moving even faster than Xiaomi, he bared his claws and lunged at the zombie. The zombie started spraying water straight into his face. Doggie jumped in fright, then instantly flew into a rage.

He howled and barked furiously, only to keep getting sprayed in the face. Bai Yaoyao had initially been annoyed that Dog Brother had messed things up again, but seeing him looking like a drowned rat, she couldn't help planting her hands on her hips and laughing.

In the end, Xiaomi couldn't bear to watch anymore. He took advantage of the opening while the zombie was attacking Doggie and killed it.

Doggie ran over to Bai Yaoyao, looking aggrieved.

Woof, woof! Awooo, awooo, awooo! Woof, woof, woof!

(You didn't help me, and you even laughed at me!)

Bai Yaoyao denied it. "Of course not. You must have seen wrong. Dog Brother, you looked so dashing that I was mesmerized!"

"Woof, woof?"

"Of course it's true! Dog Brother, you're so handsome. It's all Xiaomi's fault. If he hadn't interfered, you would've scored a solo kill!" Bai Yaoyao said flatteringly.

Doggie immediately raised his head, shook the water off his body, and barked a few times at Xiaomi.

Xiaomi looked baffled. "Dog Brother, I was helping you! Do you have a brain? Can't you tell your owner's making fun of you?"

"Woof, woof! Awoo, awoo, awoo, woof! Woof, awoo, awoo!"

(Impossible! My owner loves me most. You're just jealous!)

Puzzled, Xiaomi walked over and asked Bai Yaoyao, "Why is this guy such a doofus? Doesn't mutation improve his intelligence?"

"It's already a win that he isn't tearing the place apart. Now he can even kill zombies. That's pretty badass," Bai Yaoyao said with a laugh.

Just as they were about to leave, the boys from earlier ran over again. "Um... miss? Sorry to bother you. Could we... ask you something?"

"What is it?" Bai Yaoyao was in a fairly good mood and answered patiently.

"That stuff... you dig out of the zombies' brains, what is it? Would you mind telling us? If you'd rather not, then forget-" Brother Liang stammered.

"Crystal cores," Bai Yaoyao answered, taking one out to show him.

"Huh?" Brother Liang hadn't expected Bai Yaoyao to answer so readily and froze for a moment.

"They can upgrade your abilities. You find them inside zombies' brains. Hold one in your hand and concentrate, and you can absorb it," Bai Yaoyao explained.

It wasn't much of a secret, so she might as well tell him. The boy was quite talented, too, using his flames like that at level one. He also had decent character: he had taken the initiative to clear a path, shouldered the danger himself, and told his buddies to leave first.

Having more powerful humans was a good thing. After all, even zombies knew to gather together and fight as a group. What idiot wanted to take on a hundred alone?

"Thank you! Can I ask if you're an organization? Are you recruiting?

"There are eight of us, and three have abilities. I can use fire. Those two friends over there-one can see really far and can even see through the darkness at night, and the other is incredibly strong!

"The other five are all martial arts majors. We've all trained since childhood and got into H University through its separate athletic admissions track. We're all national first-class athletes." Brother Liang did his best to sell his team.

He also had a gut feeling that this was definitely an opportunity. Everyone standing opposite him was a powerhouse!

Even their dog was that badass. Just look at that wise gaze, despite its little slipup earlier!

So he couldn't hold back and hurriedly asked.

Bai Yaoyao rejected him without even thinking. A twelve-person squad was good-the ideal number. Any more, and uneven distribution could easily lead to conflict; any fewer, and zombie hordes would be difficult to handle.

Most importantly, they had all grown up together, so they never had to worry about being stabbed in the back.

"Sorry, kiddo. Our organization isn't recruiting."

"All right. Thank you for telling us about the crystal cores. What's your organization called?"

"The Dark Night Squad."

"Brother Liang, let's give ourselves a name too! Look how cool theirs sounds. It's got presence!"

"Aren't we called the H University Rescue Team?"

"That's way too lame. Let's pick something cooler!"

"Then how about the Deep Night Squad? Let's work toward being as badass as the Dark Night Squad someday!"

"Yeah!!"

"Go, Deep Night Squad! Hahaha!!"

The Dark Night Squad had no idea they had gained a little fan club, one that had even formed a team with an utterly bizarre name.

Bai Yaoyao led everyone on a sweep through all of H University. They had pretty much broken up every concentration of zombies, but they didn't hunt down every last straggler. First, it wasn't worth the effort. Second, they wanted to give those sheltered students a chance to gain some experience.

If they didn't even have the courage to fight those few zombies, they might as well die. How could anyone who didn't dare pick up a blade survive the apocalypse? Dying sooner would at least save some food.

"Let's not head back tonight. We'll keep clearing University Town tomorrow. Otherwise, we'll waste all our time on the road," Bai Yaoyao told everyone.

"No problem. There are more zombies on the roads now, so driving is too slow. We can't pick up any speed!" Fat Brother agreed.

Xiaomi pointed at the teaching building beside them and asked, "Should we make do with a classroom for the night, or find a dorm room?"

"Let's use the teaching building. There's more open space, so it's safer," Bai Yaoyao answered.

Nobody objected. Having somewhere sheltered from the wind and rain was good enough. Sometimes, on missions, they simply found a cave out in the wilderness and holed up inside.

They found an empty lecture hall on the ground floor. Bai Yaoyao put all the desks and chairs into her storage space, then brought out a long table. "Call out your orders!"

At last, it was time for A-Dai's favorite activity again: eating. "I want a kids' meal!"

"I want a big lobster..."

Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Bai Yaoyao took out the day's entire haul: 427 level-zero crystal cores, 21 level-one crystal cores, five level-two crystal cores, and one level-three crystal core.

It was more than double their haul from the first day. The level-two and level-three crystal cores combined were just enough for one more person to break through to level three.