Return to the Military Grain Depot

Ping Chengcheng boarded the helicopter, taking the co-pilot’s seat.

She placed the anti-materiel sniper rifle beside her, securing it carefully.

Yang Wen, sitting in the pilot’s seat, glanced sideways at her.

“First time flying on a mission?”

Ping Chengcheng nodded slightly.

“Yeah.”

Yang Wen grinned. “Don’t be nervous. Today we’re just scouting—no fighting unless we have to.”

The girl didn’t respond. She gazed out the window, expression calm, though her thoughts were far from settled.

Suppressant… she had to find that stuff soon, or sooner or later she’d lose control completely.

The helicopter lifted off.

Beneath them, the base quickly became a cluster of shrinking buildings.

Soon they were flying over barren roads and ruined towns.

Zombie activity on the ground looked sparse at first glance, but Ping Chengcheng knew this was just the edge of the infected zone. The deeper they flew into A City, the denser the threat would become.

More than an hour later, Yang Wen’s voice grew serious.

“Approaching designated area. Eyes open.”

The girl nodded, tightening her grip on her weapon.

From high above, the streets below looked utterly devastated. Vehicles lay overturned like discarded toys, and clusters of zombies shuffled along cracked asphalt.

But soon, Ping Chengcheng saw something worse.

“…There.”

On the horizon stood an immense figure—

a huge, pulsing mass of brown flesh, writhing like it was alive. Around it, zombies moved in waves, countless and endless.

Even from this height, the scale was shocking.

Yang Wen cursed under his breath. “What the hell is that thing?!”

Ping Chengcheng’s heart sank. She already knew.

Chimera Composite Zombie… no doubt about it.

Though it was far smaller than the one she remembered from her previous life, the sight still made her scalp prickle.

If it kept devouring and fusing more corpses, it would become unstoppable.

“Get closer.” Ping Chengcheng’s voice was calm, but her eyes glinted coldly.

Yang Wen hesitated. “That’s dangerous—”

“Do it.”

He gritted his teeth, pushing the helicopter lower. Wind buffeted the cabin as the monstrous shape grew larger, details becoming clearer.

Countless fleshy tendrils linked zombies together, forming strange, twisted structures like walls and towers. At the center of it all was the gigantic meat sphere, its surface swelling and twitching as though breathing.

“This thing is… alive,” Yang Wen muttered, his forehead damp with sweat.

Ping Chengcheng’s gaze was fixed on the core.

She could see it clearly now—pale tissue glistening wetly, pulsing with each grotesque beat.

“Hold steady,” she said quietly.

She raised the anti-materiel rifle, bracing it against the window frame, and took aim.

The first shot cracked through the air.

“Bang!”

The recoil shook her arms, but the bullet flew true, slamming into the writhing mass. A burst of foul black liquid exploded outward—
but the thing didn’t stop moving.

Instead, an ear-piercing roar rose from the swarm below, and countless zombies turned their heads upward at once.

“Damn it! They noticed us!” Yang Wen shouted, pulling the helicopter into an evasive climb.

On the ground, the huge meat sphere shuddered violently, sending ripples through its connected horde. Several tall, mutant figures broke from the mass and began scaling nearby buildings at terrifying speed.

Ping Chengcheng didn’t hesitate. She worked the bolt, aimed again, and fired.

Another shot slammed into the core, tearing off a chunk of tissue.

But more mutants leapt toward them, some spitting corrosive fluid, others hurling debris skyward.

“Hold it steady! I need a few more shots!” Ping Chengcheng barked.

“Are you crazy?!” Yang Wen cursed, jerking the helicopter aside as a massive chunk of concrete smashed past the tail rotor. “We’re gonna get shot down!”

“Just one more second—” Ping Chengcheng squeezed the trigger again.

“Bang!”

This time, the bullet punched deep into the sphere. The entire horde convulsed, emitting a unified shriek that rattled the cockpit glass.

But before she could fire again, Yang Wen yanked the control stick.

“Hold on!”

The helicopter banked sharply to avoid a projectile—

and suddenly, something slammed into them from the side.

A mutant zombie had leapt from a rooftop, claws piercing the frame of the aircraft.

“Shit!” Yang Wen struggled to keep control as alarms blared.

Ping Chengcheng dropped her rifle, yanked her submachine gun up, and riddled the creature with bullets. Black blood sprayed, but the monster clung stubbornly, dragging them off balance.

“Get it off!” Yang Wen roared.

Ping Chengcheng braced herself against the seat and emptied an entire magazine into the zombie’s skull.

Finally, with a screech, the creature lost its grip and plummeted away.

The helicopter lurched upward, barely recovering.

Breathing hard, Ping Chengcheng snatched her rifle again and glanced down. The massive horde was shifting—forming grotesque towers of fused bodies, as if reaching toward them.

Her expression was cold.

I need to kill it now… before it grows any stronger.

But Yang Wen shouted over the headset, “We’re pulling out! If we stay, we’re dead!”

Ping Chengcheng clenched her teeth, forced to lower her weapon.

They gained altitude quickly, retreating from the danger zone as the monstrous flesh sphere seethed below.

Far behind them, the roars of the horde still echoed.

Ping Chengcheng sat silently, gaze distant.

This was only the beginning.

If the Chimera Composite Zombie was already appearing, everything in this life would be far more dangerous than before.

When they finally landed back at base, several officers rushed forward.

Lu Linyuan stood among them, smiling faintly.

“Well done. You got close enough for clear visuals.”

Ping Chengcheng’s expression didn’t change, but her eyes glinted with cold light.

He knew about this. He sent me in without telling me the full risk.

Yang Wen, still pale, threw his helmet down.

“That was suicide! We almost got killed out there!”

Lu Linyuan ignored him, walking straight to Ping Chengcheng.

“You handled yourself well,” he said smoothly. “But don’t act on your own next time.”

Ping Chengcheng didn’t reply.

She simply slung her rifle over her shoulder, walked past him without a word, and headed straight back to her quarters.

Inside, once the door was closed, her calm mask slipped.

She clenched her fists, trembling slightly—not from fear, but from rage.

Lu Linyuan… you won’t live much longer.