Under Chu Tian’s command, the defense at the north gate proceeded in an orderly fashion. For the time being, no more zombies were able to make their way onto the city walls.
This greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers and supernatural ability users stationed at the north gate.
Meanwhile, Chu Tian’s mental energy remained active without a moment’s rest. The zombies’ attacks were highly organized and coordinated, which meant there had to be someone directing them. Perhaps it was a group of high-level zombies, but perhaps…
Chu Tian thought of that mysterious laboratory.
About half an hour later, the artillery fire began to weaken. Finally, the last shell landed, and the former commander returned to Chu Tian’s side.
“Sir, the shells have… all been used up!”
The expression on the former commander’s face was almost tragic.
Their shells were gone. Large numbers of zombies had fallen, but even more continued emerging through the thick smoke. It was truly unimaginable. After enjoying several months of peace, during which zombies had rarely been seen in the surrounding area, where had this enormous horde suddenly come from?
“Bring out all the remaining ammunition and weapons. From now on, whatever we have, we use,” Chu Tian said calmly, displaying no particular emotion.
Seeing how composed Chu Tian was, the former commander gradually steadied himself as well. He looked at the seemingly endless tide of zombies in the distance, said nothing, and turned to leave again.
A young officer, however, could not help asking, his voice trembling slightly, “Does it even mean anything to keep defending like this?”
The vast, dark mass in the distance stirred the deepest fears in his heart.
“What else would you suggest?” Chu Tian turned to look at him. “What else are we supposed to do?” He gave a faint, almost mocking smile. “Go back into the city and wait to die? Or jump down and charge straight into the zombie horde?”
The young officer froze. He looked toward the city and then beyond the walls. In the end, he said nothing more and silently tightened his grip on his gun.
Chu Tian had not spoken particularly loudly, but everyone nearby had heard him clearly. No one raised any further questions. They threw themselves back into the battle with renewed concentration.
That was right! What else could they do?
There was no retreat left. They could only move forward and defend the walls to the death. Perhaps there was still a slim chance of survival.
Another half hour passed.
Without the suppressive force of the artillery, the zombies’ attacks gradually grew fiercer. More and more of them managed to reach the base of the city walls.
In the brief moments when someone’s attention wandered, several people were dragged away. After an entire hour of continuous ability use, the supernatural ability users were already struggling. They had never experienced a battle that lasted this long.
Their ammunition was also being consumed at an alarming rate. There were no reinforcements available, because the defenses at the other three gates were hardly in a better situation.
Once their ammunition was exhausted, the soldiers would effectively lose their ability to fight. With only the thirty-odd supernatural ability users left, they would probably be unable to hold the walls.
That was why Chu Tian continued working so hard. He needed to find the “commander” as quickly as possible.
Finally, that familiar mental barrier appeared again.
This mental barrier was not intended to conceal its owner’s presence. Rather, it was designed to prevent mental attacks.
“Northwest direction, more than fifteen hundred meters away!” Chu Tian murmured under his breath.
At this point, the excessive consumption of his abilities had caused his vision to blur slightly. Continuously extending his mental power over the entire surrounding area to search for a target was simply too exhausting.
Chu Tian habitually took out the water he carried with him and drank a mouthful. Only then did he realize that Bai Mingxi had already distributed all the bottled space water to the supernatural ability users who were still holding their ground.
At first, they had assumed it was ordinary water. After fighting for so long, both their physical strength and supernatural abilities had been severely depleted. Even a single bottle of water would have helped replenish their strength.
However, they soon discovered something astonishing. As the water went down, their strength and supernatural abilities gradually began to accumulate and recover.
They were surprised and curious, but their relief and delight were even greater. Every bit of recovered stamina and ability meant a better chance of survival.
The situation was urgent, and no one had the time or inclination to investigate what was happening. As soon as their strength returned, they immediately rejoined the battle.
There were more and more zombies before them. All they could do was keep killing, killing, and killing!
Xiaoyu, Xiaobai, I have to go out there! I’ve found the people from that laboratory. I suspect they’re connected to this zombie horde, so I need to fight my way over and investigate.
Chu Tian conveyed the message to Quan Xiaoyu and Bai Mingxi through mental communication.
As always, Quan Xiaoyu did not ask any questions. He simply said, “I’m going with you.”
His determination was unmistakable.
“I’m going too. We came together, and we’ll leave together,” Bai Mingxi added.
Rarely did he ask any questions, either. He simply thought that if they were going to die, they should at least die together.
This time, Chu Tian did not argue with them. Instead, he called over the former commander.
“I’ve discovered a possible zombie commander. I need to go and investigate.”
The commander froze. “Where?”
Chu Tian pointed toward the zombie horde to the northwest. “Over there. Inside the horde.”
The former commander was immediately at a loss for words.
Inside the zombie horde? How were they supposed to get there when the entire area was packed with zombies?
Chu Tian had no intention of wasting time explaining everything to him. After handing command back to the former commander, he prepared to leave with Quan Xiaoyu and Bai Mingxi.
The former commander explained their objective to the others, partly to reassure them.
After fighting for an hour under Chu Tian’s capable command, everyone had come to accept and trust this sudden, parachuted-in commander. Now that he was leaving, they immediately felt as though they had lost the person holding everything together.
Of course, no one thought they were fleeing in the face of danger. They were heading toward the front lines, not retreating toward the rear.
Facing the countless, densely packed zombies ahead, going forward was practically the same as throwing their lives away.
And yet, they were still going, supposedly because they had discovered the zombie commander!
“Everyone, we can’t afford to back down, either. I won’t give you some grand speech about defending our homeland out of righteousness. At the very least, we’re fighting to preserve our own lives! Keep fighting! Perhaps they really can take out the zombie commander!”
The former commander spoke calmly. After being put through so much by Chu Tian, he had gradually come to terms with the situation.
Apart from fighting to the death, they had no other way out.
Meanwhile, after that first hour had passed, the city itself descended into complete chaos.
No one could possibly ignore the artillery fire that shook the heavens. Everyone began gathering their valuables and preparing to flee for their lives.
In the apocalypse, wasn’t escaping with your life the one thing you always had to be prepared to do?
What they did not know was that they were already birds trapped in a cage, with nowhere left to escape.
It was as though the early days of the apocalypse were unfolding all over again inside Dawn Base. Cries and screams filled the city, accompanied by endless wailing.
The crimes that the base had suppressed for so long began resurfacing once more.
People started streaming toward the city gates in every direction, migrating like a panicked swarm. They wanted to escape, but they had no idea that the area beyond the gates was the most dangerous place of all.
The General’s Residence
The people who had been arguing noisily for so long finally failed to reach any agreement. In the end, they scattered in all directions, each seeking their own way to survive.
The general still could not understand how he had ended up being abandoned when everything had been going so well.
It was only now that he began to understand just how powerful that man truly was.
After turning the matter over in his mind again and again without finding an answer, the general eventually blamed everything on the arrival of Chu Tian and the others!
Their arrival had shattered the peace that had existed until now!
Thus, in his dazed state, the general asked his trusted subordinate, “What about those people at the Gu residence?”
The subordinate had never expected that, at a time like this, the general would still be thinking about them.
Instead of answering, he said anxiously, “General, everyone else has already left. We need to find a way to escape, too!”
“Escape?” The general was still in a daze. “Where are we supposed to escape to?” He gave a bitter laugh. “The zombies are surrounding us in every direction. Where can we possibly go?”
The subordinate moved closer and lowered his voice.
“The laboratory! We can hide there first. Have you forgotten? It was built to be extremely sturdy, and there’s food stored inside! As long as we wait for the zombie horde to pass, we can make a comeback!”
There was a secret passage leading directly from the general’s study to the laboratory.
At last, the general came to his senses.
That was right! There was still the laboratory!
Back then, to prevent their secrets from leaking out, they had built the place to be exceptionally secure. It had only one secret exit!
He could preserve his strength and wait for the zombie horde to recede.
The general’s previously dull eyes finally sharpened with renewed determination.
He would definitely return!
On the Streets
The streets were filled with people fleeing in panic.
After considerable difficulty, Jia Lunxu finally reunited with his team, and they began discussing how they could escape this terrifying disaster.
However, Dawn Base had already completely lost all order. The surging crowds soon separated Jia Lunxu from the team he had brought out of the An family’s residence.
The only person who stayed glued to him, never leaving his side for even a moment, was the general’s daughter!
This woman was like a piece of sticky plaster. No matter what he did, he simply could not shake her off!
At this moment, however, the man before the general’s daughter was her only lifeline.
It was true that she possessed a supernatural ability. But without any mutant beasts around, a beast tamer was no different from an ordinary person!
She had to find a way to coax this man into taking her back to the general’s residence. As long as she could return home, her father would be able to protect her.
Outside the North Gate
Chu Tian’s mental energy formed a protective barrier around the three of them as they fought their way through the zombie horde.
Their progress was painfully slow. The zombies of today were no longer the easy prey they had been in the early days of the apocalypse. Entering the horde was like a sheep walking straight into a tiger’s den.
At that moment, they missed Xie Mingxuan terribly.
Unfortunately, Xie Mingxuan was still asleep inside Quan Xiaoyu’s space.
Another half hour passed, yet they had advanced only about three hundred meters.
At this point, even Chu Tian was beginning to lose confidence.
Fortunately, they had already discussed what to do before setting out. If they reached the point where they could no longer hold on, all three of them would retreat into Quan Xiaoyu’s space.
That was their last resort.
Chu Tian was actually reluctant to do so. It would preserve their lives, but it would not solve the fundamental problem.
He wanted more than that.
The man sheltered by the monsters continued observing the various battlefronts. He looked completely at ease, taking in everything around him as though he were watching an entertaining blockbuster.
“I didn’t expect these children to be so persistent. What a pity I misjudged them back then. If I’d known they would grow up to be like this, I should have kept them by my side.”
The man seemed to be speaking to the people standing behind him. None of them answered, but he did not seem to need a response.
He continued talking to himself.
“Since that’s the case, let them come over. They’re struggling so hard to kill their way through. It’s almost painful to watch.”
As he said this, he actually began to laugh.
Meanwhile, Chu Tian and the other two continued fighting, forcing themselves not to give up and to battle until the very last moment.
Suddenly, the pressure eased.
The zombies before them seemed to have lost their ability to resist. The three of them began cutting through the creatures as easily as chopping vegetables.
Not long afterward, they noticed that the zombies had begun passing right by them, as though the three of them did not exist.
Bai Mingxi stared wide-eyed. “What’s going on?”
Chu Tian raised his head and continued looking toward the northwest.
In truth, he could see nothing but zombies in front of him. Apart from their mangled, disgusting heads, he could not see anything in the distance.
Nevertheless, Chu Tian said, “He’s summoning us over. It really is connected to him.”
“The big villain from the laboratory?” Bai Mingxi asked, referring to the nickname he had come up with himself.
Chu Tian nodded and decisively withdrew his mental defense.
Since the other party had invited them over, there was no need to keep wasting energy on a protective barrier.
“Let’s go. We’ll find out exactly what kind of person we’re dealing with.”
And so, the three of them squeezed through the packed mass of zombies, as though they were pushing through a crowd of holiday shoppers in the days before the apocalypse.
Surrounded by countless ruined faces and overwhelmed by the nauseating stench, they struggled to push their way in the direction opposite to the zombies’ own advance.
The three of them looked utterly disheveled as they squeezed through the horde.
Meanwhile, the man in the distance was thoroughly enjoying himself. He laughed gleefully, like a child delighted by someone else’s misfortune.
“What adorable children,” he said.