“Battle Tiger Special Forces, follow us!”

Xiang Ru stood at approximately 1.7 meters tall; she did not resemble a soldier.

In Yang Mu's imagination, a female special forces operative would embody a tomboyish persona, with sun-kissed, rough, bronze skin from years of training.

Yet, Xiang Ru's skin was astonishingly flawless, pale and delicate, as if she had never seen the sun.

In terms of beauty, she might even surpass Wen Sijia.

The reason he used "might" was due to his own bias.

Beauty is subjective, after all; Wen Sijia was Yang Mu’s swan, and no matter how many beauties he encountered, that fact would remain unchanged, stemming from their first meeting in the rain years ago.

They then followed the Battle Tiger team in retreat.

Their marksmanship was impeccable, akin to wielding hacks; each shot landed true, with a single bullet often resulting in a headshot. The rapid succession of gunfire echoed, and with each volley, corpses fell.

All seven were hailed as elite warriors, truly a rarity; one would not attain such a title without exceptional abilities.

The zombie dog stood no chance against the firepower of these warriors.

Every bullet found its mark, targeting critical areas such as the face or other vulnerable spots.

As the zombie dog attempted to dodge, its rear end was exposed.

Yang Mu watched as Xiang Ru fired a shot, and a mist of blood erupted from the creature’s rear, likely a bullet having penetrated its insides.

He couldn't help but shudder slightly; she was not one to be trifled with.

The group continued to fire while retreating into the wholesale fruit market.

Upon entering, Yang Mu was astonished; while the exterior teemed with zombies, inside there were none—only heaps of corpses.

It appeared the elite warriors had thoroughly cleared the area.

After locking the large door and barricading it with heavy objects, Xiang Ru approached Yang Mu, her expression cold.

“Is Xiang Hai dead?”

Yang Mu furrowed his brow, disliking her frosty demeanor, but he held his tongue for Xiang Hai’s sake.

“Yes, how do you know me?”

“You are Yang Mu. Xiang Hai sent me a photo of you before he died.”

Yang Mu was unaware of when Xiang Hai had taken a picture of him.

“Our plane encountered an attack from zombie birds as we entered the quarantine zone. They are extremely sensitive to aerial objects, leading to the crash and the pilot's demise. We fought our way here from the wreckage. Xiang Hai video-called me via WeChat, informing me that he had entrusted the first target and the half-dead to you, which is why we have been searching for you.”

“And you found yourselves in this zombie-infested place?”

“We analyzed the route using satellite and street cameras, deducing that this might be a place you frequented. The other routes are equally treacherous, so we had no choice but to come here. We cleared the zombies and planned to use this as a focal point to search for you. Fortunately, you appeared just in time.”

“Alright… you remain remarkably composed; your brother has just died, yet you seem unfazed?”

“Should I express my sorrow to you? Enough. We will now endeavor to lead you out, but you and your companions must follow orders. We are on a mission to extract the first target and the half-dead; when necessary, we may have to abandon other civilians. Do you understand?”

Chu Hong was about to protest when Yang Mu raised his hand to stop her, smiling at Xiang Ru.

“Alright, that's exactly what I wanted to convey. If necessary, I will abandon you.”

Xiang Ru, of course, did not understand the source of Yang Mu's confidence; to her, he was merely another face in the crowd.

Without further words, she turned and seized the communication device to report the situation back to base.

“Okay, you’re surrounded, and there’s a large fellow who looks quite formidable. I’ll send support right away, so don’t worry, Xiao Ru.”

“Li Xiangjun, you’ll regret it when I get back!”

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“Alright, alright. The genesis bomb has been manufactured and is ready for its inaugural deployment. We’ll commence the countdown in thirty seconds.”

A man’s voice emerged from the speaker, likely not very old, and the conversation with Xiang Ru carried an ambiguous undertone.

As the countdown concluded, the genesis bomb was launched.

“Cover your ears; it travels at five kilometers per second and will land in twenty seconds.”

The elite warriors quickly shielded their ears, and Yang Mu’s group mimicked them.

“Boom! Zzzz!”

An explosion reverberated, followed by a piercing, continuous sound.

Clearly, this device was specifically designed to combat zombies; the impact caused no harm but released a powerful genesis device that emitted intense pulsating vibrations, affecting an area of several kilometers for up to twenty minutes.

If the apocalypse were to persist and form a new era, this design—manufactured within three hours and ready for mass production in ten—would be recorded in history as humanity’s first weapon against zombies, far more effective than any conventional missile.

Everyone endured this cacophony for a full five minutes before Li Xiangjun's voice crackled over the intercom again.

“South gate, a passage has opened. You have three minutes to reach the south street entrance and access the subway station. Fortuitously, the subway Line 8 isn’t operational yet, but it is completed and poised for use. The initial sections are sealed, but you can find an entrance. Once inside, proceed through the subway; I will provide illumination.”

Yang Mu felt a sense of reassurance upon hearing Li Xiangjun’s words; using the satellite system in conjunction with the citywide camera network, they were remotely monitoring everything nearby.

With such surveillance, escaping should not pose much difficulty, right?

Although Xiang Hai’s team had perished, Yang Mu had to admit—professionals are indeed professionals!

Why hadn’t Xiang Hai’s group utilized the city’s cameras and satellites?

It seemed linked to Li Xiangjun; he was either a tech expert or possessed authority over the satellites, or perhaps both.

Regardless, as long as they could escape, that was all that mattered!

He hoped there would be no further complications this time.

The group commenced their actions, swiftly exiting through the south gate and descending into the subway.

Upon entry, the elite warriors sealed the entrance.

“Li Xiangjun, what’s the next step?”

“You can proceed straight for one and a half kilometers, encountering a few zombies along the way. After that, exit onto Mingfeng Road, where a bus awaits. This bus route is infested with scattered zombies; drive it directly to Yuanhua Road, then make a left turn. You’ll find that the C exit isolation camp is approximately three kilometers away. Our team is currently clearing zombies at the C exit, and there are vast numbers of them—thousands of zombies will take some time to eliminate.”

“Have so many zombies already gathered?”

“Yes, some survivors ran in that direction and drew the zombies with them. In fact, a comprehensive extermination task was just issued. You know that zombies were once human; it takes substantial approval to commit to exterminating hundreds of thousands of them. But there’s no need for concern; we are already planning the D, E, and F exits, preparing to abandon the A, B, and C exits and establish a new isolation camp outside the quarantined zones. The D exit is quite close to the C exit; if you can make it to that area, we should be able to extract you.”

Xiang Ru fell silent and gestured for everyone to proceed.

Midway through their journey, Li Xiangjun's surprised voice suddenly crackled over the intercom.

“Wait! Something's wrong!”

“What’s happening? Are there hordes of zombies in the tunnel?”

“No! But the zombies outside are surging toward the South Street and Mingfeng Road subway entrances!”

“How is that possible? Are there any other exits?”

“The iron gates of the other exits are all closed, and there are many zombies outside.”

“Do the zombies know we’ve entered the tunnel? Are they trying to seal us in here?”

“Forget about that! Hurry to Mingfeng Road! It’s best to escape before the zombies arrive; otherwise, it’ll be too late... Ah! The zombie mountain at Binbei Tower is rapidly collapsing, and the zombies are rolling in your direction like waves. Could it be... could that intelligent zombie has set its sights on you? No, no! More precisely, it’s targeting the one named Yang Mu. He escaped from the zombie mountain using a wooden door cylinder and has certainly caught the attention of the intelligent zombie. It may be tracking him, or perhaps it can share the vision of other zombies. After all, it likely controls the zombies through abnormal brainwaves, acting as a remote brain for them... We’ll study that later; just run! Fight your way out!”

Li Xiangjun shouted until his voice was hoarse, his cries resembling the strangled wails of a distressed woman.

Yang Mu felt a fire ignite within him—this was truly a thought of paradise and a thought of hell.

Why did that intelligent zombie choose to attack now, of all times, waiting until this group descended underground? Its intelligence was certainly no small matter!

They ran at top speed to the Mingfeng Road exit, where zombies had amassed. The elite warriors engaged them with fervor, and after five arduous minutes, they managed to clear most of the horde. However—

“Xiao Ru, it’s no use! There’s an operational button nearby; quickly lower the barrier gate! At the end of the left passage, about fifty meters ahead, there are sandbags and some equipment from the staff rooms. Use them to block the exit!”

“What’s the situation outside?”

“The zombies surrounding the C exit are converging on this subway tunnel. You are already trapped in a sea of corpses; in two or three minutes, you’ll be completely surrounded. I seriously doubt the barrier gates on either side will withstand the zombies... I checked the underground structure, and there’s a Qiyuan Road station back the way you came. The staff lounge there is the largest and has a sturdy door. Head there for temporary refuge, and I will find a way to rescue you!”

Li Xiangjun’s voice was filled with an unsettling gravity.

Though Xiang Ru spoke to Li Xiangjun with an unmistakable coldness, her trust in him was evident. Without hesitation, she followed his instructions and proceeded to the staff lounge.

The large area comprised three rooms: the lounge, the security monitoring room, and the dining area.

All of these were enclosed within a sturdy iron door, which, when locked from the inside, provided a sense of security. A group of individuals followed Xiang Ru into the security monitoring room, where they connected the equipment to observe the external situation.

Initially, the corridor was eerily quiet, but after three minutes, the entrance on one side was breached by a horde of zombies. Within ten minutes, the passage was overwhelmed, filled to capacity with the undead.

This subterranean, windowless space felt entirely sealed off, resembling a box crushed underground after an earthquake.

In reality, there were ventilation shafts, but these did not connect to any exit on the surface.

While they could reach the ceiling, escape remained impossible—no different from having no exit at all.

What more could Yang Mu say? Fate was cruel, and he accepted it.

However—

As before, he accepted his fate,

Yet would never compromise!