On Shenghua Avenue, a seven-seat SUV lay flipped on its side, wheels still spinning uselessly in the air.
A moment later, six figures crawled painfully out through the windows.
"Cough, cough..."
"So, uh... would you guys believe me if I said I just misjudged the gas pedal?" Yang Bin said, face burning.
"Yes!"
"Great. Then let's find another car and I'll try again. I'll nail it this time, I swear."
Every head shook like a rattle drum. Even Little Orange was shaking hers furiously.
"Brother Bin, we're Evolvers, sure, but even we can't survive you behind the wheel," Chen Hao said, face dark.
"Yeah, Brother Bin, just sit in the back and enjoy the ride. Leave the driving to me," Zhao Kun said quickly.
"Fine. It's not like I insist on driving. I just figured since I can spot zombies up ahead, I could call things out early," Yang Bin argued.
"Then sit shotgun and give directions."
"...Fine." Yang Bin sighed. He genuinely wanted to drive. Too bad these bastards weren't giving him another shot.
They continued searching for a vehicle. Luckily, abandoned cars littered the road, and it wasn't long before they found another van.
This time, Zhao Kun threw himself into the driver's seat before anyone could blink. He was genuinely terrified Yang Bin would volunteer again.
The engine turned over. The van crept forward.
Zhao Kun had only ever gotten his license without real road experience, but at least he'd practiced at driving school. Steadier than Yang Bin by a mile-just slow.
Not that speed was an option anyway. Overturned cars and scattered zombies choked the road at every turn.
Every few minutes they had to stop, clear out zombies, and shove blocking vehicles aside.
At least the group had the strength for it. Two people could lift a sedan and toss it clear.
"At this rate, when the hell are we getting there?" Chen Hao groaned.
"Can't help it. Too many cars in this stretch. Once we're past the city center it'll open up. Think of it as zombie grinding," Skinny Monkey said.
"Tell you what," Yang Bin said. "Forget riding for now. We clear the road on foot, Zhao Kun follows in the van. Once we hit the outskirts, we ride."
"Works."
The group fanned out and started cutting a path forward.
This stretch of Shenghua Avenue was wide, buildings set far back on either side. The zombies here were sparse-mostly people who'd turned inside their cars-so clearing them was straightforward.
What they didn't know was that despite the distance to the nearest buildings, the noise they were making carried far. In a building not far off, a zombie dressed in black watched them from an upper floor.
But this zombie didn't charge mindlessly like the others. It turned and headed downstairs.
On the road-
"Brother Bin, this is way better, honestly. No massive hordes, the occasional Tier-3 Zombie for spice-beats the hell out of school where they came in waves of hundreds," Chen Hao said, grinning like he'd discovered paradise.
"Right? Why don't we just clear the whole way on foot? It's only twenty-something kilometers," Old Hei said.
"Mm. Sure," Yang Bin replied, distracted.
Something felt wrong. He couldn't pin it down, but the itch at the back of his mind wouldn't go away.
They pushed forward another two or three kilometers. Less than two klicks ahead was the elevated highway. Once they hit the overpass, they could merge onto the Outer Ring Road, where traffic would thin out dramatically.
But then they stopped.
Ahead, seven or eight hundred zombies stood packed across the road, blocking their path completely.
Yang Bin's eyes narrowed. Not because of the numbers-because those zombies looked like they were waiting.
"Turn around. Move. Now." His voice was hard.
The others exchanged confused glances. They'd never heard that tone from him before.
Seven or eight hundred zombies was a pain, sure. But nothing that should rattle Yang Bin like this.
Still, nobody hesitated. They turned and ran.
They didn't get far.
Behind them, another mass of zombies had appeared, filling the road.
Then both flanks. Zombies poured in from every direction, tightening like a noose.
"What the-how? Where did they all come from?" The group stared in disbelief.
"Someone's directing them," Yang Bin said, voice low. "A high-order zombie."
"Tier-4?"
"No. A Tier-4 doesn't have this kind of command ability." Yang Bin's jaw tightened. "This is a Tier-5 Zombie."
"Tier 5?!"
Every eye went wide. They'd barely seen two Tier-4 Zombies in their lives, and now a Tier-5?
"The apocalypse started, what, ten-something days ago? How is there already a Tier-5?" Zhao Kun swallowed hard.
"Zombies don't level up by eating crystals like us. They cultivate on their own. Some are just born gifted. It happens."
"So what do we do?" The mood crashed. They'd barely left campus and already walked into a death trap.
"Cars. Now. Push them together as a platform-it'll break their charge momentum." Yang Bin was already moving.
The zombies weren't rushing in yet. They advanced slowly, deliberately, tightening the circle. That bought time.
The group hauled nearby vehicles into a cluster and climbed on top, standing on the roofs.
The elevated vantage gave them a clear view in every direction.
And what they saw made their stomachs drop.
Yang Bin saw the most. Three to four thousand zombies closing in from all sides. Dozens of Tier-3 Zombies among them. Two Tier-4 Zombies.
And somewhere out there, a Tier-5 Zombie he still couldn't locate.
Yang Bin ran the math. Could he take a Tier-5? Probably not. He'd only just broken through to Tier 4.
Every time he'd fought above his tier before, he'd been at peak strength within his current order, with cultivation bonuses stacked on top. That was what let him punch up.
Now? He was fresh into Tier 4. Bottom of the tier. Against a Tier-5, he had nothing resembling confidence.
The horde closed in. And then the group noticed something that made their blood run cold.
Some of the zombies were carrying weapons.
"Shit," Old Hei muttered, throat bobbing. "Why do I feel like the zombies at school were innocent little lambs compared to these?"
"The Tier-5 is directing them. This just got a lot worse." Yang Bin's expression was carved from stone.
"Everyone-heads in the game. This fight is going to be ugly."
The instant he finished speaking, the horde surged forward as one, like a switch had been flipped. Thousands of zombies charged from every direction.
The team stood on the car roofs in a tight circle, weapons swinging in every direction, hacking at the tide of bodies clawing up toward them.
The zombies hit like a wave. Standing elevated, the group avoided the worst of the impact-the dead couldn't build momentum climbing up.
But below them, the cars buckled and groaned under the pressure of thousands of bodies slamming against metal. At this rate, their platform wouldn't hold.
The fight was brutal from the first second. These were battle-hardened fighters by now. First and Tier-2 Zombies? Manageable.
But then the Tier-3 Zombies joined the assault, and everything tilted toward disaster.
And what none of them noticed-in the distance, a black-clad zombie slipped quietly into the horde, weaving between bodies, inching closer...