Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Taking the Initiative

In the truck bed, one of Ying Yi’s young soldiers adjusted a device and checked the drone feed, then reported quietly, “Captain, the drone has spotted zombie clusters. No large-scale movement.”

“Keep scanning,” Ying Yi ordered. “If the groups start moving in bulk, report immediately. We start on the outskirts—clear the smaller clusters first.”

W City was huge and spread out, but it still had 1.5 million residents. One-fifth had been evacuated. Two-fifths were trapped in their homes. The rest had become walking dead. The odds of an ability user appearing were roughly one in a thousand.

“Captain,” the young soldier said, “we can hit Tuan Jie Intersection first. There’s a farmers’ market there. A tide of more than ten thousand has formed.”

“Good. Tell the convoy to advance according to plan.”

“Yes, sir.”

Wu Lian Yi watched the organization with a trained eye. This operation was built around firearms—heavy weapons included. Around five thousand personnel. Empty trucks followed in the rear for transport and supplies. Clean lines. Clear roles. The commander knew exactly what he was doing.

Two hours later, the convoy rolled into the suburbs.

The vehicles alone drew attention. So did the living heat inside them. Zombies that had been wandering aimlessly began drifting toward the road, then converging.

“Prepare to fire,” Ying Yi ordered. “Aim well. Don’t waste bullets.”

Wu Lian Yi noticed the soldiers’ suppressors. They weren’t trying to wake the whole city. Whoever planned this had a brain.

“Where’s the mission target?” Wu Lian Yi asked in her mind. She didn’t come here for a scenic drive.

“The target is engaged in combat with another level-one zombie,” the communicator replied. “They are chasing each other within the city.”

“Is it winning?” Wu Lian Yi asked. “Or losing? Let it die and save me effort.”

“The target has the upper hand. If it wins, it can obtain the opponent’s crystal core and advance to level two. This is unfavorable to the tasker.”

Wu Lian Yi’s jaw tightened. “Now you tell me. One crystal core and it levels up? Does it have a protagonist halo?”

“It is the bug of this apocalypse,” the communicator said, voice flat. “These gains are opportunistic. Without the tasker’s presence, it would replace the original protagonist unnoticed. With you here, it is only delusional.”

Wu Lian Yi grimaced. “Can you stop talking like that? You sound like some toe-scratching thug trying to do a cute voice.”

Silence.

“Mark the target’s position,” she snapped. “Give me distance.”

“Acknowledged. The target is ten kilometers away in a straight line and approaching.”

This time the communicator used a young man’s voice. Much better.

While she’d been talking, the convoy collided with the smaller tide of ten thousand.

Suppressor-muted gunfire stitched through the air. Small bombs detonated in precise arcs. In moments, the quiet suburban road turned into a grinder.

“Captain,” the monitoring soldier reported, “zombies nearby are slowly converging toward us because of the noise.”

“How long until we’re boxed in?” Ying Yi asked.

“Thirty minutes at most.”

“Withdraw in twenty.” Ying Yi’s voice hit the radio, and the order spread across the convoy.

The invited ability users began to move. A metal-type condensed thin needles that punched into zombies’ brow centers. A wood-type scattered seeds that rooted and strangled five zombies before he staggered back to recover—low-level stamina couldn’t keep up. An earth-type raised spikes that pinned zombies in place, and the surge behind trampled them into pulp. A fire-type hurled fireballs into dense clusters. The dried-out bodies burned fast, each blazing sphere taking hundreds before guttering out.

Wu Lian Yi and Sun Wang stayed as a pair. They’d already agreed on their method.

“Sun Wang. We’re moving.”

“Got it!” His eyes shone with adrenaline. “Sister Lian Yi, where first?”

“Northwest corner intersection,” Wu Lian Yi said. “Zombies are pushing in from there. We block.”

She’d coordinated with the monitoring soldier to choose the position.

Sun Wang grabbed her hand. They vanished from the truck bed, leaving more than one exhausted ability user staring in envy.

They reappeared.

Lei Yao flashed as Wu Lian Yi poured lightning into the blade. A streak of purple cut across the street. Zombies dropped in heaps. Within ten meters, the ground cleared into a dead, empty ring.

Sun Wang knew his role. He put his back to Wu Lian Yi’s and opened fire, sweeping the edges without hesitation.

Ten minutes of blood and rot.

Then a black blur slammed in—fast, sharp.

A claw reached for Wu Lian Yi’s face.

She leaned aside, lips curling. “Good. I was coming for you.”

The mission target stood before her—now a female zombie in a fashionable black leather miniskirt and black camisole. A clear bite mark on her shoulder told the story of her mutation. Her movements were too quick, too clean—faster than ordinary zombies, even faster than most living people.

Wu Lian Yi thrust. The zombie twisted and slipped away.

“It advanced,” the communicator confirmed.

Wu Lian Yi condensed a lightning ball in her palm, about the size of an egg. Sun Wang stopped firing, tension coiling in him.

“Take me to that seven-story building,” Wu Lian Yi ordered. “The roof.”

“Roger.”

He seized her hand and teleported them away.

Below, the female zombie threw back her head and roared. The entire cluster surged, stirred into frenzy.

From the battle line, Ying Yi’s brow furrowed. He grabbed his radio. “All vehicles, attention. Suburban zombie groups are agitating—suspected high-level control. Avoid Tuan Jie Intersection immediately. Snipers, locate the high-level zombie and eliminate!”

As his orders went out, Wu Lian Yi and Sun Wang appeared on the rooftop.