Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Mission Target
Wu Lian Yi’s pale, delicate-looking hand clasped his strong one. No one watching would’ve guessed the thin woman could toss a military truck like a toy.
“Captain Eaglewing,” Wu Lian Yi said, serious now, “humans are evolving. These zombies are evolving too. If they evolve faster than we do, we’re the ones who’ll pay. While we can still use firearms, we should kill as many as we can.”
Ying Yi didn’t bristle at the advice. He simply nodded. They released their grip. That was enough. They were acquainted now.
Wu Lian Yi turned and hauled Sun Wang up from where he’d dropped. “Sun Wang. You all right?”
He shuddered, then forced himself upright, rigid as a post. “Sister Lian Yi… I’m fine. And I think I broke through.”
Wu Lian Yi smiled and patted his shoulder—hard enough that he nearly buckled. “People have more potential than they think. Push hard enough and your pocket space grows. Keep at it. You still have a sister to protect.”
Sun Wang swallowed and nodded fast. “I won’t miss any chance to level up my superpower.”
Word spread quickly. Other ability users drifted over, polite and eager, asking questions—mostly about what it felt like to break through, hoping for something they could copy.
With a nudge from Wu Lian Yi, Sun Wang told the truth. “I got squeezed to the edge and didn’t back off. I… kind of gambled with my life. Then it clicked. My speed’s higher now. My teleportation range should be about a hundred meters.”
After the rescue, Zhao Chong Lin and the men who’d survived took a moment to steady themselves. They thanked Ying Yi, then came over to Wu Lian Yi and Sun Wang as well. Their eyes held a different kind of respect now—especially for the super-strength woman.
Zhao Chong Lin straightened and saluted. “Miss Wu. Thank you for risking your life to save us.”
“No need,” Wu Lian Yi said evenly. “You were trapped because you were saving civilians. You didn’t fear death. I have ability—of course I’ll do what I can.”
Zhao Chong Lin and the soldiers behind him looked at her and Sun Wang with warmer faces after that. Then they regrouped. They’d be running nonstop, evacuating more stranded people from the city.
Fighting flared again behind them. This time, the ability users joined in more aggressively. Nobody wanted to waste a chance to temper themselves. If their superpower leveled up, it could mean survival.
Wu Lian Yi and Sun Wang pulled back to rest.
“Have you confirmed the mission target?” Wu Lian Yi asked inside her mind.
“Kzzzt…”
“Don’t fake a bad signal,” she snapped. “Talk.”
“It has left Yun Rou’s soul and entered an evolved zombie.”
Wu Lian Yi clicked her tongue. “So it couldn’t stay human and decided to become a zombie. What level? Where is it? If its consciousness hasn’t awakened yet, I’ll go kill it.”
“It is currently a level-one zombie. It can control nearby level-zero zombies. Its consciousness has not awakened. It was mixed into the zombies attacking the truck. When you cut them down, it sensed the threat and fled into the city.”
“It ran.” Wu Lian Yi’s mouth tightened. If she’d known the otherworldly soul was hiding in that crowd, she wouldn’t have held back.
“Maintain surveillance of the target,” she ordered. “My current strength isn’t enough to chase it alone. We wait for an opening.”
“Acknowledged.”
The communicator went quiet.
Wu Lian Yi’s mood didn’t improve. A level-three mission really was vicious. Before, the enemy had been inside Yun Rou, and Wu Lian Yi’s god’s-eye view had given her an advantage. Now the enemy had switched from human to zombie. Half her information became useless overnight. From here on out, she had to seize timing with her own hands.
Before sunset, they cleared the remaining zombie tide. Some stayed behind to clean the battlefield and burn bodies. Everyone else returned to the temporary settlement.
When Sun Yi saw the two of them climb down from the transport truck without a scratch, she finally let out a shaky breath and rushed over. “Lian Yi, underling—are you two okay?”
“Sis, relax. We’re fine,” Sun Wang said at once, then launched into a breathless retelling, words spilling out without pause.
Back at their temporary quarters, Sun Yi wiped sweat from her brow and silently congratulated herself again for clinging to Wu Lian Yi.
Wu Lian Yi stayed calm on the surface, but her mind kept circling the mission target—now a zombie—and how to put it down.
Five days later, the chance came.
Ying Yi came to find Wu Lian Yi. His unit planned to enter the city to cull level-zero zombies, check whether stronger level-one zombies had appeared, and gather supplies as a secondary objective.
Perfect.
She agreed immediately.
“Tomorrow, nine in the morning,” Ying Yi said. “Meet at the resettlement camp gate. We’ll issue weapons. We cover all mission-related consumption. You just need to stay in fighting condition.”
His bronze skin and plain features would vanish in a crowd, but those distinctive eyes made him easy to recognize.
“Fine. See you tomorrow.”
After he left, the Sun siblings talked it over. Sun Yi wanted to come too.
“Sun Wang can barely manage,” Wu Lian Yi said bluntly. “But you’re an ordinary person right now. On a normal errand, maybe. This is a culling mission. They won’t accept you—and I can’t protect two people at once.”
Sun Wang looked up, anxious. “Sister Lian Yi… do you feel danger in this mission?”
“Nothing bad so far.”
“Then Sis stays behind. I go with Sister Lian Yi.” Sun Wang tightened his fists. “My superpower leveled up last time. I need to train more.”
The next morning, they arrived on time. This time, it was almost all soldiers. Ying Yi’s squad was there too. Only a handful of ability users had been invited—those who’d performed well before. The arrogant ability user from last time was nowhere in sight.
“Move out!”
Wu Lian Yi and Sun Wang climbed onto the same military truck as the Eaglewing Squad. They’d been grouped together.
In the cargo bed, Sun Wang ran his fingers over the issued gear: a combat knife, a pistol, a submachine gun, two magazines. His old long-handled blade was strapped to his back. A bulletproof vest hugged his chest.