Yang Mu relayed the situation to Li Xiangjun, who was visibly anxious and implored him to take care of Xiangru.

Impatient, but keeping his composure, Yang Mu replied, "Don’t worry, I’ll do my utmost to look after her."

Moments earlier, he had performed a full-body cooling treatment on her. One could only wonder how Li Xiangjun—who seemed to share some ambiguous connection with Xiangru—would react if he knew.

But such thoughts were left unsaid. Yang Mu inquired once again, “How's the subway plan?”

"Mr. Wen has been a great help. The preliminary plan is complete, and we expect to execute it in about twelve hours. We're using a high-powered dual locomotive, an extended subway body reinforced with thicker steel plating, and wheels designed to prevent derailment. The train will carry a fifty-man armed squad responsible for escorting you out. We’ve stocked the train with numerous tools, and the plan is to construct a zip line from the top of the station, allowing you to slide down to the subway. Once aboard, the train will depart at full speed, retracing its route."

Yang Mu exhaled deeply.

This was the strategy he had envisioned. His only concern now was one crucial detail.

If the subway plowed through a horde of zombies upon entering the station, could it still restart and safely escape afterward?

There would likely be an overwhelming number of zombies on the tracks by then.

After ending the call, Yang Mu checked on the weaker women in the group. They were stable, but Hu Die’s condition remained grim.

He had done everything he could. He had even shared his food with her, fulfilling his moral duty. Whatever happens next would be left to fate.

Song Ren and a few others were lying in a dazed state on the floor.

Yang Mu replaced the damp cloths on their foreheads, cooling them down.

Everyone's condition was manageable, and had they not been so physically frail, had the air in this place not been so stifling, they probably wouldn’t have fallen ill at all.

Afterward, Yang Mu took a brief rest and ate half of the remaining food.

Once again, it was time to gamble with his life—this time, however, the stakes were higher than ever.

He meditated for half an hour, finding a moment of clarity.

Was he being foolish?

No. It was hatred clouding his judgment.

He had been fixated on avenging himself against Jiang Yuanyuan’s father and uncovering the truth about his origins, to the point that he failed to think clearly.

But the voice that had suddenly surfaced in his mind had made things clear: the apocalypse would unfold in its entirety, and collecting raw stones was of utmost importance.

Where in this world could raw stones be found in abundance?

Of course, within the quarantine zone.

Blue and golden raw stones had appeared near aberrations, and with nearly 900,000 people within the zone, there had to be more than just two of these creatures.

If he wished to gather raw stones, the quarantine zone was the place to be.

Though fraught with peril, if the apocalypse spread across the globe, leaving no safe haven, how would he protect himself?

The means he had now would no longer suffice.

He needed to gather more raw stones.

The voice had mentioned that ten stones of the same color could be combined into a high-grade stone.

If such a fusion occurred, would it grant special abilities?

Enhanced strength? Bodily mutations? Combat skills or magic?

Damn...

It all sounded far too unreal.

Then again, what could be more unreal than the apocalypse itself?

If he escaped this death trap, perhaps he should stay behind.

He refused to be a puppet of the apocalypse, or fate for that matter. He had never yielded to destiny, even though life had dealt him more losses than victories.

Leaning against the wall, he dozed off momentarily, and upon waking, he realized that much time had passed. The twelve-hour mark was fast approaching.

Stolen story; please report.

Yang Mu went to sort through the weapons left behind by the special forces, taking two daggers, two pistols, and over a hundred rounds of ammunition.

He grabbed the walkie-talkie, contacted the base, and inquired about the situation.

“We were just about to reach out. Everything is ready. How are they holding up?”

Li Xiangjun asked, his voice filled with urgency.

"They were starving to the point of fainting. I'll wake them shortly, give them the last of the food, and once we settle on a time, you can send the train."

"Understood! Your wife, Chairwoman Wen, is indeed brilliant. She suggested, why send just one train when we can dispatch several? Now, we’re preparing to send four trains in succession, all modified. The soldiers who come will brief you on the specifics."

Yang Mu’s mind sharpened with excitement, the prospect of escape naturally lifting his spirits.

Damn, this time he owed Wen Sijia a favor. He’d pay it back when the time came.

She already had a superiority complex, and now, after seemingly saving him, she’d probably be even more unbearable.

Yang Mu went around waking the others, telling them there was a chance they could escape.

Most were in decent shape. After giving Chu Hong a sausage, she was able to sit up, the flu receding, with some strength remaining.

But Hu Die remained the worst off. No matter how many times he called her, she wouldn’t wake. Desperately, he fed her again, but to no avail—worry gnawed at him.

Yet, there was nothing more to be done.

Hearing that rescue was near, everyone else found a fleeting burst of energy.

Yang Mu cleaned out the bodies from the surveillance room and opened the ceiling panels above the dining area, revealing a hollow space.

The rescue team would likely come through here. The narrow hallway outside the door was too low—any attempt to build a passage from the ceiling could easily expose them to the zombies below.

Time dragged. Yang Mu sat in the surveillance room, his brow furrowed as he watched the screens.

The success of their plan hinged on whether the subway could crash into the station, a critical step.

At last, a message came through from Li Xiangjun: the subway had departed and was expected to arrive in eight minutes.

A cheer rose among the group, though their voices were weak, drained of strength.

Those eight minutes stretched on, each second feeling like an eternity as they anxiously watched the monitors.

Finally, the distant howls of zombies rang out. Those wandering the tracks were suddenly swept up in the surge of the train’s force, piling up and pushed further south along the tracks.

The subway had arrived. But how far could it go? Tension filled the air.

Seconds ticked by, though in truth, it happened quickly. To the survivors, it felt like a century.

At last, the subway’s front appeared at the station entrance and slowly came to a halt.

Relief washed over them. Though it hadn’t fully entered the platform, it had made it far enough—the mission could proceed.

Zombies in the station, drawn by the noise, swarmed toward the train.

Square openings at the top of the subway car popped open, revealing machine gun turrets welded from steel plates.

Once exposed, they unleashed a barrage of fire, mowing down the zombies attempting to pile up.

The train's roof opened further, and a dozen soldiers in camouflage appeared, armed with mechanical grappling hooks. They launched them at the ceiling and began scaling upward, while more soldiers below followed suit, creating ropes that stretched from the train to the ceiling.

The soldiers already atop the structure threw additional grappling hooks, reinforcing the ropes at key junctions. Then, they pulled out more ropes from their packs, extending the lines across the ceiling.

Three teams worked in sync, with more soldiers climbing up, carrying pulleys and securing materials.

Their movements were swift and precise—this was clearly a well-rehearsed operation, likely practiced countless times in the past twelve hours. In less than three minutes, they had reached the entrance.

The entrance was simply a section of the ceiling broken open, leading to the crawl space above the survivors’ quarters. The first soldier successfully slipped inside.

"We’re the Zhanlei Special Forces. Where’s Captain Zhanhu?"

"I... I’m here."

Xiang Ru had awoken, though her body, still ravaged by hunger and illness, was far from fully recovered.

Still, she stood tall, maintaining her military bearing.

Her eyes were red and swollen, her face pale.

This ordeal would be etched into her memory forever.

Her Zhanhu team hadn’t lacked in combat strength, but trapped in this death trap, there was nothing they could do.

Now, only she and Wu Feng remained—a sorrowful remnant.

"Alright, you’re all weak, so we’ll take over from here. Our men will help you escape using the pulleys. Let’s move."

The soldiers descended and assisted each survivor, one by one, guiding them out.

"Corpses..."

Xiang Ru wanted to bring her comrades’ bodies, but before she could finish, Yang Mu passed by and softly said,

"If you'd killed Ma Wusheng when he showed signs of turning, perhaps your comrades wouldn't have died in vain."

Xiang Ru trembled, glaring at Yang Mu with rage, speechless.

Her mercy had cost her teammates their lives.

Yang Mu moved on, a soldier offering to assist him. He smiled and gently pushed the man aside.

"No need, help someone else. I still have strength... Oh, by the way, the woman tied to the bed is a half-zombie. You know how dangerous that can be. Be careful when moving her—she might snap and attack."

With that, Yang Mu leaped onto the table, then into the ceiling, securing a pulley to a rope, and swiftly descended toward the subway.

Within six minutes, the Zhanlei Special Forces had successfully evacuated all the survivors to the train. The first stage of the mission was a success.

"Hurry, hurry! Get them on board and out of this hellhole!"

A voice commanded.

Yang Mu ran with the others inside the subway, scrambling up a ladder to the train’s roof.

There, a ladder led to the second subway car.

They moved through the cars, one by one, until they finally reached the last of the four trains.

There were fewer zombies here, and once everyone was aboard, the subway jolted to life, reversing course, speeding away from danger.

...

Yang Mu slumped to the floor, laughing aloud.

How could he not laugh? His life had been spared.

But soon, the sound of weeping reached his ears. Through the crowd, he saw Xiang Ru, draped over Wu Feng’s lifeless body, sobbing.

A nearby military doctor, dressed in a white coat, sighed and said,

"Captain Xiang, I’m sorry for your loss. It was likely a sudden cardiac death caused by a pre-existing heart condition."

Yang Mu watched Xiang Ru for a long moment, before finally letting out a sigh of his own.

The Kamikaze Special Forces were dead, and now, of Zhanhu, only Xiang Ru remained. The burden she carried was unbearably heavy.

Perhaps she was accustomed to glory, but had yet to truly taste disgrace.

The medic then turned to tend to Hu Die, administering glucose and antibiotics. It seemed she might survive.

The subway had been moving for about three minutes when, just five minutes from the exit, a deafening explosion shook the car.

Yang Mu was flung into the subway door by the force of the impact.

In the next moment, the train flipped over, and Yang Mu, thrown once more by the momentum, slammed into the ground, losing consciousness.