After emerging from the spatial storage, the sky was already streaked with the white of dawn. Although the surroundings were still a ruin, it was clear that this wave of traveler zombies had moved on.
"Boss, all the cars are destroyed. What do we do now?" Yang Ning and Lu Feiguang surveyed the scene, finding no intact vehicles.
Xiao Wenqiang took out the compass she'd stocked and confirmed their direction with the rising sun. "Let's walk for now. We'll figure things out as we go."
The other members of the "Sunshine Squad" had lost their backpacks in the fight with the zombie horde, and their biscuits and water were gone.
Fortunately, Xiao Wenqiang still had plenty of supplies in her spatial storage. She took some out and redistributed it among the group. However, the members believed her remaining supplies were scarce, so they were anxious and tried to conserve their food and water intake as much as possible.
After walking for more than ten days, they finally reached the main road of another city one night. Along the way, they encountered a few scattered zombies, but fortunately, the newly awakened members with abilities used them as test subjects and dealt with them perfectly.
Lu Feiguang drenched the zombie in front of them with water, and An Xin, standing nearby, unleashed an electrical pulse. With a combination of attacks, another charred zombie fell to the ground.
Xiao Wenqiang threw a dagger, splitting the zombie's head open once more. After rummaging inside, she retrieved a blue solid, the size of a fingernail cap and as hard as a diamond.
"Boss, this zombie has a crystal too!" Lu Feiguang, illuminating the scene with his light ability, leaned in for a closer look.
Zhu Yan, with practiced coordination, took out a bag and placed the crystal inside. "Boss, this is our third crystal collected. And it seems they're getting bigger."
"It's not just about size, have you noticed?" Xiao Wenqiang wiped her dagger and returned it to her spatial storage. "The situation now is that zombies with crystals are stronger, harder to defeat. And the bigger the crystal, the stronger the zombie."
"Does this mean the zombies are also evolving?" Zhu Yan's expression turned grim. She realized her fire ability alone couldn't defeat the zombies quickly anymore. These zombies felt no pain and would relentlessly charge even when engulfed in flames.
"Yes! We humans need to evolve too, or we'll eventually be extinct." Xiao Wenqiang sounded the alarm for everyone.
...
After several more days and nights of travel, the members of the "Sunshine Squad" arrived in the territory of Yangshu City.
"Look, there are quite a lot of people in Yangshu City." Yang Ning said, having not seen so many living people for a long time.
"Yeah, yeah! Boss, look, it seems like people are setting up stalls up ahead!" Lu Feiguang spotted.
Xiao Wenqiang nodded. While the city wasn't as prosperous as before the apocalypse, it had a lively atmosphere compared to the desolate world they had come from.
"You're new here, aren't you?" A middle-aged man standing nearby overheard their conversation and approached them.
"Yes, brother. We just arrived from another place." Xiao Wenqiang replied with a smile. "May I ask your name, sir? And why is it so lively here? Aren't people afraid of sudden zombie attacks?"
"You young folks are quite polite." The middle-aged man smiled, flattered by the address. "You can call me Brother Zhu. As for why it's so lively, it's because we have a super powerful esper here. The zombies in this vicinity have all been dealt with by Master Liang and his men."
"May I ask who this Master Liang is?" Lu Feiguang asked curiously.
"Master Liang is Liang Yunchong, the captain of the Heng'ai Squad and also the base leader of our Heng'ai Base." Brother Zhu began to explain enthusiastically.
Hearing the name, the original owner's memories within Xiao Wenqiang stirred. This was the name of the male protagonist in this novel! However, she had never heard of this "Heng'ai Squad" before.
It turned out that the male protagonist, Liang Yunchong, and his team had arrived at the gas station earlier. He had seen the deceased female protagonist, Ye Yao, impulsively shot Ma Mingguang, and then continued on their journey.
Because Xiao Wenqiang's group was delayed by encountering the traveler zombie horde and their subsequent lack of vehicles forced them to travel on foot, they were slower.
The original male protagonist, Liang Yunchong, and his group, however, had driven smoothly all the way to Yangshu City and established the "Heng'ai Base" here.
"It seems the protagonist's halo is quite strong!" Xiao Wenqiang mused silently.
After a long and eloquent speech, Brother Zhu warmly offered, "If you have abilities, join the Guard Squad at Heng'ai Base, and we'll ensure you have enough food and clothing every day."
"What about those without abilities?" Yang Ning inquired.
"Master Liang is kind-hearted. One esper can bring one non-esper along for free. As long as that person is willing to work, they won't starve in the base," Brother Zhu said, sounding completely devoted to Master Liang.
"If someone has no abilities and doesn't know an esper who can bring them in, do ordinary people have to fend for themselves?" An Xin asked pointedly.
Brother Zhu smiled slightly and then shook his head. "That's why I say Master Liang is kind-hearted! In the past, ordinary people like that truly had only one path to death in the apocalypse. However, starting yesterday, Master Liang issued an order that if ordinary people are attacked by zombies and don't die immediately, patrol soldiers will bring them back to the base for treatment."
"Master Liang really did it? Then it seems Heng'ai Base is truly loving!" Little Wu scratched the back of his head and chuckled naively.
Hearing others praise Liang Yunchong, Brother Zhu became even happier than if they had praised him. He said enthusiastically, "Are you heading to the base? Just follow this road straight, turn left at the second intersection, and walk about five hundred meters. I have something else to attend to, otherwise, I'd take you there."
"Thank you, Brother Zhu. We'll go and see for ourselves. Since you have business, please go ahead!" Xiao Wenqiang declined on behalf of the group.
After Brother Zhu walked away, An Xin glared at Little Wu. "Do you really think this Master Liang is that kind? Bringing back ordinary people attacked by zombies for treatment? How are they treating them? Has it been successful? I don't believe it, not for anyone other than our team members. Right, Boss?"
Xiao Wenqiang gave An Xin an appreciative look. "Being cautious is a good thing. As for what kind of person this Master Liang truly is, we'll find out when we go inside."
"Boss, do we really have to go to that base?" Lu Feiguang sounded puzzled. "Our destination isn't this private base anyway, so we can just ignore them!"
"When you're near someone else's territory, even if you don't want to go, they might not agree!" Xiao Wenqiang gestured forward with her head.
The members followed her gaze and saw eight young men and women approaching from ahead.