Early the next morning, everyone finished breakfast and loaded their daily essentials into the Troop Transport Vehicle.
This would be their ride home. The rear compartment had plenty of cargo space and seating, so there was no need for two cars.
Once everything was packed, Lin Yifei took the wheel, Yang Bin rode shotgun, and the rest piled into the back.
The vehicle crept down the winding mountain road.
Yang Bin and Chen Hao's hometown was Ru County-a city tucked deep in a mountain hollow.
Over four hundred kilometers from Star City.
Mostly highway. Before the apocalypse, the drive took five or six hours.
After the apocalypse, that estimate meant nothing.
The stretch to the highway on-ramp was still over ten kilometers, and none of it had been cleared. The vehicle crawled.
Abandoned cars littered the road. Every few minutes, a swarm of zombies burst from the wreckage and threw themselves at the vehicle.
Fortunately, the squad was strong enough that the zombies couldn't get close.
But seven or eight kilometers in, they had to stop.
Ahead, a wall of zombies packed the road shoulder to shoulder. They'd been marked by a high-order zombie.
Yang Bin surveyed the horde and his brow furrowed.
Twenty to thirty thousand. At minimum.
"Two Tier-6 zombies again? Or... has a Tier-7 appeared?" he thought.
"Out of the vehicle. We force through. Don't let them bog us down," Yang Bin said.
Everyone dismounted, formed up around the vehicle, and pushed toward the sea of corpses.
Yang Bin leapt onto the roof and scanned for sixth or Tier-7 targets.
Nothing. After a thorough sweep, no high-order zombie revealed itself. He shelved the concern-break through first, worry later.
Zhao Kun and Zhong Yuansen took point.
Zhong Yuansen encased himself in Earth Armor. Zhao Kun's hands shimmered with Metallization. The two of them bulldozed forward through sheer brute force.
The rest followed, each unleashing their own arsenal.
Chen Hao's dagger gleamed with Sharp Edge. Every swing carved clean through a zombie's neck like it was paper.
Hu Wenliang's Dark Bolts punched through skulls in rapid succession. Between shots, his eyes swept the team-the moment someone took a hit, a healing pulse was already on its way.
After months of fighting together, he could gauge the exact Mental Energy cost just by glancing at a wound.
With him in the backline, the squad's survival was guaranteed.
But the real damage dealer? Old Hei.
One Fire Rain and dozens-sometimes over a hundred-zombies burned to cinders.
The downside was the consumption. A few casts and he had to pause, or he'd pass out again.
Fang Sijie's Light Waves and Skinny Monkey's Wind Blades rounded out the firepower.
Every member of the squad was an ability user. Every single one had reached the Yaoguang Realm. These zombies couldn't even get within arm's reach.
Lin Yifei drove the vehicle behind them, keeping pace with the advance.
Carving a path straight through a horde this dense-probably no other group on earth would attempt it.
Above, Yang Bin's Tang Saber orbited in a lethal circle. Every strike dropped a Tier-5 Zombie.
His targets were exclusively Tier-5. Only they posed a real threat to the team.
After each kill, he split the skull open with Telekinesis and pocketed the crystal.
Tier-4 and below weren't worth the effort. Tier-5 crystals were still scarce.
On a rooftop in the distance, a zombie watched the carnage below.
Conflict twisted its features.
It wanted to descend. Devour them. These humans radiated power-consuming them would be a feast.
But its intelligence-far from low-screamed a warning. If it went down there, it would die. Tier-7 or not.
This group was terrifying.
It had only just advanced. No powerful subordinates yet. If it could rally a few Tier-6 zombies, multiply the horde several times over... then maybe it could trap them for good.
Not today.
The zombie let out a single frustrated roar.
The effect was immediate. The horde surrounding Yang Bin's squad pulled back like a receding tide.
Yang Bin's head snapped toward the sound. His eyes locked onto the figure standing on the distant rooftop.
"Tier-7," he murmured.
So one really had appeared.
The Tier-7 zombie met his gaze with cold, appraising eyes. Then it turned and walked away.
Yang Bin frowned, calculating the distance. If he chained Blinks back to back, he could catch it.
But he'd arrive with his Mental Energy nearly drained. Without Mental Energy, fighting a Tier-7 alone was a coin flip at best. He'd never faced one before.
"Forget it. Tier-7 zombies aren't going anywhere. I'll meet one again soon enough." He shook his head and let it go.
"A Tier-7 appearing... that's bad news for Star City's survivors."
"Hope they evacuate in time."
Yang Bin let out a long breath.
"Let's move."
Everyone piled back into the vehicle and they rolled forward.
After that encounter, no more large hordes appeared.
Another half hour of driving finally brought them to the highway toll station.
The toll plaza was gridlocked-cars crammed bumper to bumper, zombies milling between them.
Yang Bin swept his hand. Telekinesis hurled every vehicle aside like toys. The others dropped the zombies in seconds.
The vehicle shot onto the highway.
Abandoned cars dotted every lane. Yang Bin's Telekinesis became their snowplow.
He sat on the hood, scanning ahead. Whichever car he looked at launched off the highway like it had been flicked by a giant's finger.
Looked cool as hell. Cost just as much.
Yang Bin clutched a fistful of crystals, popping them into his mouth one by one like candy.
Plenty of cars on the highway, but surprisingly few zombies. Maybe they'd wandered down the off-ramps to terrorize survivors elsewhere.
They covered over fifty kilometers like this. Then, approaching a service area, a group of people flagged them down.
"Stop the car! Everyone get the fuck out!"
Thirty-odd men stood across the road, faces hard with bandit swagger, gripping an assortment of weapons.
The squad exchanged looks of pure amusement.
They'd always been the ones doing the robbing. Getting robbed was a new experience.
"Move it! Out of the car! Hand over every last supply you've got!" The leader-a middle-aged man with a thick beard-bellowed at them.
What caught Yang Bin off guard was the man's strength. Tier-5.
Reaching Tier-5 out here in the middle of nowhere took real ability. No wonder he had the balls to play highway bandit.
"Brother, that's a bit much, isn't it? You take everything, what are we supposed to eat?" Yang Bin said mildly.
"That's your fucking problem. Say one more word and I'll put you in the ground."
"I don't believe you." Yang Bin shook his head.
"Motherfucker-won't learn till it's too late, huh? Third Brother, kill him!"
On cue, a man behind him hefted a Fire Axe and strode toward Yang Bin.
He made it halfway.
A fireball slammed into his chest. He was charcoal before he hit the ground.
"Oh, so you've got lackeys too?" Old Hei stepped forward, glaring at the bandits. "Talk to our boss like that again and I'll burn every last one of you to ash."
"Ability users?!"
Thirty pairs of eyes went wide.
"Shit... just our fucking luck. First job and we hit a brick wall!"
The leader's bravado evaporated. His expression flipped to something ingratiating so fast it was almost impressive.
"Big brothers! You must be exhausted from the road. How about a rest at the service area?"
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