Lucas came to Henry again to ask for weapons.

After returning to the bus, Lucas became more and more uneasy.

From the changes in the zombies, he realized that he needed to prepare more weapons, such as submachine guns and grenades.

He planned to take some from Henry as basic materials and prepare a few red blank blueprints to create weapons of red grade.

Henry didn't refuse Lucas's request.

Although they were running low on ammunition after encountering several zombie hordes, he could still provide a few guns and grenades for the time being.

Soon, the soldiers brought a box containing three submachine guns and ten grenades.

Henry originally intended to take this opportunity to talk to Lucas about the Doomsday Fortresses, but when he saw Lucas's distant expression, he decided not to bring it up.

As for Lucas, he was aware that Henry had something to say, but he resisted internally and simply took the weapons back to the bus.

It was just a business transaction.

Lucas had to stay with Henry and the others in order to complete the mission.

The less he knew, the less he had to worry about.

The army continued to move with the crowd and stopped outside a small town half an hour later, about two kilometers away from the town.

Henry instructed the reconnaissance team to assess the situation in the town and only allow the crowd to enter if it was safe.

Lucas had been to this small town before, and it had a population of about ten to twenty thousand, with other people scattered in the surrounding villages.

The town relied on the Phoenix Mountain scenic area for its tourism industry, serving visitors to the area.

Lucas was still following behind the crowd, using a drone to observe the town.

The control panel showed a pitch-black town, with no signs of light whatsoever, giving it an eerie appearance.

Lucas's drone didn't have a silent mode yet, so he flew it at a higher altitude to avoid alerting the zombies in the town.

Adjusting the direction, Lucas zoomed in with the drone's camera and carefully observed the town through the night vision device. He immediately felt that something was wrong.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

The town in the footage was filled with zombies.

Strangely, these zombies seemed to be sleeping, with many of them crowded together in certain areas.

This situation seemed to be prevalent throughout the entire town, with even three or four zombies lying scattered on the roads.

Lucas didn't lower the drone's altitude, so the images were still not clear.

However, it didn't stop him from suspecting that something was amiss in the town.

Without hesitation, Lucas quickly notified Henry about the situation.

The army used drones for reconnaissance as well, and they flew at a similar high altitude, making the ground details difficult to discern.

Henry didn't wait for a response from the reconnaissance team, but instead received a warning from Lucas.

In theory, Henry trusted Lucas.

However, at that moment, the reconnaissance team returned.

The information they brought back sounded more like good news.

All the zombies in the town had been wiped out by something; there wasn't a single "live" one left.

Apart from the overwhelming stench, there seemed to be no danger in the entire town, and the crowd could pass through quickly.

"All of them were wiped out by something?"

Henry didn't quite understand the meaning of this statement.

After asking the soldiers, it was revealed that most of the zombies in the town had turned into skeletons. There wasn't much flesh left on their bodies, and what remained was in small, fragmented pieces. It was impossible to tell what had caused this, and it didn't resemble the marks left by animal bites.

To ensure safety, the reconnaissance team carefully inspected several piles of zombies and found no signs of any survivors before returning to report the situation.

After considering the information, Henry informed Lucas about it.

Lucas, naturally, couldn't see any issues.

However, this small town was the main road to Phoenix Mountain. If they were to detour, everyone would have to walk seven to eight kilometers through the forest, which seemed riskier.

Eventually, after consulting with a higher-ranking general, Henry decided to lead the crowd into the town.

As long as the crowd moved quickly, they could pass through the town in about twenty minutes.

Led by over twenty soldiers, the crowd began to enter the town.

At this moment, Lucas parked the bus outside the town.

Feeling uneasy, he decided to wait until most of the people had passed through the town before making a decision.

The mute girl was once again called by Lucas to sit on the roof of the bus. If there were any problems in the town, she could rush in first.

Henry's vehicle was slowly moving behind the crowd. When he saw the bus stop, he also halted.

Henry not only had to lead the group but also had the task of keeping the bus within his sight.

At that moment, he noticed the mute girl sitting on the roof of the bus for the first time.

Although there was only the light from the car's headlights, Henry could still make out the general appearance of the mute girl.

With two knives strapped to her back and holding a submachine gun that Lucas had just taken, she sat there, her long black hair slightly swaying in the wind.

It was evident that she was a skilled individual.

By chance, Henry waved his hand at the mute girl, intending to greet her.

However, Henry didn't expect that as soon as he waved, the figure on the roof immediately responded.

The figure stood up, and the submachine gun in her hand was aimed at Henry.

Seeing her silent demeanor, it seemed like she could open fire at any moment.

The mute girl's actions startled Henry's bodyguard, who quickly shielded Henry in front of him.

"Don't provoke her, she has a bad temper," Lucas shouted at Henry from the bus, holding back his laughter.

Ratatatat—

Boom—

Lucas's voice had just fallen when gunshots and explosions suddenly rang out in the town, and flames immediately appeared.

Both Lucas and Henry were startled and looked towards the town.

Upon seeing it, the pupils of several people contracted.

Following the flashes of gunfire, Lucas saw a scene that terrified him deep within his heart.

In the sky above the town was a massive cloud-like entity moving, occupying a large area and giving off an indescribable sense of oppression.

At the same time, Lucas also saw black masses rising into the sky from the surrounding woods outside the town.

Due to the weak light, Lucas couldn't clearly see what they were. It wasn't until he heard a sound resembling a crow's call, mixed with a strange bird-like cry, that Lucas realized the black cloud in the sky and the black masses flying out of the woods were infected crows.

An infected flock of crows!

Lucas didn't expect that in the early stages of the apocalypse, there would already be infected bird flocks.

Lucas suddenly felt overwhelmed. He quickly opened the car door to let the mute girl get down, and not only shouted at Henry but also at the Cobras behind the bus, telling them to get on the vehicle and close the windows quickly.

In the apocalypse, infected bird flocks posed a greater threat to humans than insects due to their large numbers.

Even evolved humans with strong individual abilities would prefer not to encounter infected bird flocks.

Once they attacked humans, it was practically impossible to defend against them.

The infected crow flock in front of Lucas, with its vast numbers, was something Lucas had never seen before in all his years in the apocalypse.