Dozens of cannons cleared the way for the Zombie King and Blue Face Hero, drawing blue meteor trails in the sky as they rushed towards the Zombie Queen. The trajectory of the cannons was calculated with precision, directly predicting the Zombie Queen's current position as she charged towards the ground.
However, a burst of white mist suddenly exploded around the Zombie Queen. The rain of bullets fell upon the spreading white mist, but it seemed to collide with something as hard as steel, exploding in all directions. It was the energy fluctuation field of the Zombie Queen.
"Whoosh—"
A gap in the smoke was suddenly breached as the Zombie Queen dealt with the cannons and continued her charge. However, this obstruction from the cannons allowed the Zombie King and Blue Face Hero to seize the initiative.
The Zombie Queen realized that only Blue Face Hero remained among her two opponents. Just as she was puzzled, she suddenly felt a murderous intent descending from above.
"Take this!"
The Zombie King transformed into a bolt of Black Lightning, striking directly at the Zombie Queen! Despite such a rapid assault, the Zombie Queen still had a moment to retaliate. Her eye sockets suddenly overflowed with light, and she transformed into a gray-white light wave that surged upward.
Blue Face Hero did not possess the same level of charging ability as the Zombie King. By the time he arrived, the collision of two light waves nearly sent him flying. He quickly drew his laser crescent blade from the air and firmly planted it into the ground to ensure he wouldn't be blown away.
His scarf billowed behind him as he raised one hand to shield his eyes from the swirling dust. The two Spirit Corps engaged in close combat had completely transcended mere physical fighting. It was as if two beams of black and white light were fiercely clashing in the sky, cutting against each other. In the falling snowflakes, it resembled two streams of sword energy battling.
Embarrassingly, Blue Face Hero found himself unable to intervene. He could only watch from the ground.
"Boom—"
A thunderous explosion erupted behind him, reminding Blue Face Hero sharply of Fierce Eagle.
"Xiaotian!"
He cast one last glance at the intertwining beams of light above and silently prayed for the Zombie King before resolutely charging towards the flames behind him.
"Waal—"
The approaching Zombie Horde gathered from all directions, pushing and shoving their way into this street. Abandoned vehicles were crushed underfoot by the horde, while snow continued to fall on flickering billboards and neon lights lining both sides of the street, landing on what little flesh remained atop their heads.
The Zombie Horde continued to rush forward, more ferocious than beasts. It seemed they had sensed some kind of call that led them here. Without orders, they would likely be chasing after fleeing refugees ahead.
"Vroom—"
A laser shot downwards, causing the leading zombie to halt immediately, watching as a scorched mark was burned into the ground beside its feet.
The zombies looked up—
Fierce Eagle slowly descended, using his own body to block the path of this street-filling Zombie Horde.
The gun-shaped battle sword rested on his shoulder as he approached the asphalt road before them and spoke slowly to the horde:
"Killing you will be a way to help those who perished in this city find peace."
Of course, zombies could not understand his words. As soon as Fierce Eagle finished speaking, the tide of corpses surged toward their first prey standing before them.
"Everyone..."
Fierce Eagle lifted his gun-shaped battle sword while opening a team channel.
"This time, I will go ahead."
The incoming Zombie Horde surged up to three meters high like a massive bloodthirsty maw, seemingly ready to swallow both Fierce Eagle and his fully charged battle sword whole.
"Why are you walking? All you do is walk all day long."
The familiar voice and phrase echoed in his ears; the voice belonged to Liu Xuan, but the words were his own reprimand directed at Liu Xuan.
A magnetic hook shot out, and then Fierce Eagle felt a force suddenly pull him back.
Fierce Eagle and Blue Face Hero exchanged knowing glances. Fierce Eagle immediately fired a Recoil Projectile into the Zombie Horde, and the zombie lunging at him was blown apart. At the same time, the massive recoil of the Recoil Projectile propelled him backward along with the hook.
"I've got you!"
Blue Face Hero caught Fierce Eagle as he flew back, supporting his back. Fierce Eagle unlocked his head armor and turned to see Blue Face Hero smiling at him with one human eye exposed.
"Don't mention it," Liu Xuan's resentful voice came through, "Who told you to shout so loudly when you scold?"
"Alright, I won't scold next time, ah." An Xiaotian gripped his battle sword, and both of them looked toward the continuing surge of the Zombie Horde ahead.
"I heard Brother Xiaotian is leaving; we should send him off, right?"
Another mischievous voice chimed in through the team channel. Suddenly, there was a loud crash behind them. They turned to look—
Titan Aibo slowly straightened up, its light blue eyes flashing coldly as it looked down at Fierce Eagle and Blue Face Hero, who only reached its knees.
What surprised them even more was that Xiao Kuang and Dr. Xu Yicheng were standing on Aibo's left shoulder.
Xiao Kuang unlocked his facial armor and squinted down at the two below, sticking out his tongue.
On top of the tall buildings and various small shops, George led the Spirit Corps as they jumped down, landing behind Defender, baring their claws and glaring at the approaching Zombie Horde.
"Defenders!" Fierce Eagle turned around; energy waves began to rhythmically resonate within his battle sword as his head armor immediately enveloped him.
Xu Yicheng shivered slightly; Xiao Kuang patted him on the back, signaling him: Don't be afraid with me here.
"Charge—"
No one expected Xiao Kuang to preemptively shout Fierce Eagle's line.
"You're naughty." Fierce Eagle chuckled softly, then his mechanical wings spread out instantly as he aimed his battle sword at a zombie's head and fired a laser—
City Center
In the only relatively old residential area where all the residents had fled, it was dark and desolate. The paths and rooftops were covered in piled snow.
This old district seemed somewhat out of place compared to the vibrant neon lights outside, while distant flames and explosions starkly contrasted with the tranquility here.
"Crack."
The leather boots landing in the snow showed no signs of stopping; another step caused the snow to continue cracking underfoot.
The wind died down, and the edges of his hood drooped down, obscuring the man's view above. He gently lifted part of his hat; snowflakes stuck to its edge immediately fell off, attempting to block his line of sight upward.
On the side of Building 12, the man counted from bottom to top—the sixth floor—
In a room on the sixth floor, there was a faint light visible.
Moreover, it didn't seem like a large ceiling lamp; he guessed it was probably a small desk lamp.
"Could there still be someone there..."
The man wasn't surprised; he knew many refugees had not evacuated yet.
It was precisely for this reason that he chose to stay behind.
He tightened his grip on the gun handle and walked toward the entrance of the residential building.
"Authentication failed, please confirm again."
"Authentication failed, please..."
Then came the sound of glass shattering.
Ming Juan froze for a moment, quickly shutting off the live aerial broadcast of the military helicopter on her phone. She stood up and walked to the window to look down.
The door had already been gently closed by the man, but that sound of breaking glass had made Ming Juan alert.
Ming Juan immediately ran to the front door and locked it, glancing around but finding nothing to block the door with. She had no choice but to use her body to block the entrance, covering her mouth, her shoulder pressed against the peephole, holding her breath.
Ming Juan listened intently, but the hallway outside was eerily quiet, with no sounds at all.
The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. Her trembling hand began to pat around on the shoe cabinet beside her, feeling for something, and grasped a pair of scissors tightly in her hand.
Since she had lost contact with her family, Ming Juan no longer thought about surviving. Rather than being torn apart by a zombie, she would rather perish alongside it.
She wanted to prove that she was not a weak woman; without Miao Chengmin, she could still be strong.
Just as she was lost in thought, there was suddenly a knock on the door!
Ming Juan shivered and quickly moved her body away from the door. She held the scissors tightly and looked at the peephole as if making eye contact with an unknown creature outside.
"Is anyone there?"
A male voice came from outside.
Ming Juan dared not respond; she could only be thankful that there was someone outside and not a zombie.
The door stood still, forming Ming Juan's last line of defense.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here to save you. Trust me, okay?"
Listening to this person's voice, Ming Juan still did not dare to answer. Instead, she took a step back.
Her trembling hand caused the scissors to shake as well; with Ming Juan's retreat, the tip of the blade trembled and suddenly tapped twice on the shoe cabinet beside her.
Startled, Ming Juan quickly pulled back her hand holding the scissors, her pupils shrinking in fear...
"It's okay, he didn't hear it, didn't hear it... he doesn't have a key; he can't open it..."
Ming Juan's wildly beating heart prayed fervently.
The person outside seemed to fall silent as well, but Ming Juan strained her eyes; there was always an eye outside the peephole.
"Bang!"
With a loud knock, Ming Juan felt as if her body had been struck hard; her mind went blank as she stood there dazed, with only her pupils moving on her face.
"Run, run fast!"
Her inner self urged her repeatedly.
But where could Ming Juan run? Jump out of the window from the sixth floor?
Her body moved involuntarily toward the back of the shoe cabinet.
"Creak—"
The front door was gently pushed open. The man walked into the room, bent down, and prepared to place the removed lock as quietly as possible on the carpet...
As he lowered his head, his peripheral vision caught sight of a figure flashing out from behind the shoe cabinet!
"Ah—"
Ming Juan screamed, raising the scissors and thrusting them violently toward the man's head!
She didn't even dare to open her eyes to look! She flailed wildly below!
The man grabbed Ming Juan's wrist and gently twisted it to the side. His strength was immense, causing Ming Juan to cry out in pain as the scissors fell to the ground.
It was clear that the man was also somewhat flustered; he quickly released his grip. Ming Juan covered her wrist and crouched on the ground, screaming.
In such a quiet place, even sounds from the sixth floor were very noticeable! The man quickly stepped behind Ming Juan, who had no ability to fight back, allowing him to cover her mouth with his hand.
"Mm—ugh..."
Ming Juan's tears fell in large drops, and fearing she might scream again, the man still dared not let go. A calm middle-aged voice came from beneath his hat: "Stop crying, stop crying. I'm not a bad person, trust me! If you scream again, the zombie will be attracted here, and no one will survive!"
Upon hearing this, Ming Juan's face showed more fear as she cautiously lifted her eyes to glance at the man covering her mouth.
He wore a hat and a black mask, with only a bit of stubble visible on his chin.
The man looked around anxiously, listening intently to the sounds outside. Ming Juan dared not make another sound; she could only trust that this was someone come to save her.
Minutes passed, and aside from distant explosions, there was no other noise outside. The man carefully released his hand from covering Ming Juan's mouth. After confirming she would not make any more noise, he pulled her up.
"Come with me; I'll take you to a temporary shelter." The man pulled out an Ability Gun with flowing blue lines from behind him, glanced at the door, and beckoned for Ming Juan to follow him downstairs.
Ming Juan picked up the scissors that had fallen on the ground and followed closely behind.
"Shelter? Are there others?" Ming Juan asked in a hushed tone as she walked behind the man.
"More," he replied succinctly.
Ming Juan's heart sank—she thought she was the only one left behind, even though it had been her choice to stay here.
The man began to explain why he hadn't left: "I lived here too and wanted to escape by plane, but..."
He suddenly stopped speaking as he pushed the door of the residential building slightly back. The two squeezed through the gap and stepped into the snowy night.
"But what?" Ming Juan asked.
"I couldn't bear to leave my experimental results behind, and... I can't leave," he answered her.
Ming Juan found the first part of his statement understandable, but she couldn't grasp "can't leave"—with so many rescue vehicles around, wouldn't it be easy to just hop onto one?
"Then... how should I address my benefactor?" Ming Juan ran up beside the man.
"No need to call me benefactor; I don't deserve it." The man lowered his hat slightly as she approached him.
"My surname is Liang."
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