Secret Weapon

The movement of all objects was drastically slowed, including the mutated zombie.

Lao Zhang’s ability could alter the properties of fluids within a certain range; using it on the air exerted powerful control over the zombies within it.

This ability also slowed down bullets, rendering gunfire ineffective, but for Zhao Sanyan, it was the perfect control ability.

His “Status Maintenance” allowed bullets to maintain a completely constant velocity, unaffected by any slowing effects.

“Need a visual link?” Huang You asked.

She was the sister of the Awakened duo assigned to support Zhao Sanyan, possessing the ability of visual sharing.

“No need, I’m not blind. I can see something that big,” Zhao Sanyan said as he raised his gun.

He had already taken down three of these mutated freaks today.

This damned place was just senselessly packed with high-level zombies.

The projectile flew out, then suddenly split open in mid-air, ejecting a steel wire over ten meters long.

Empowered by Zhao Sanyan’s ability, it sliced toward the mutant like a razor blade.

However, this mutant seemed different.

The thin, high-speed wire failed to cut it in two.

Instead, carrying immense, non-decaying kinetic energy, it sent the mutant flying, even knocking it out of Lao Zhang’s control range.

“Damn it! What the hell is this thing’s skin made of?! Get me armor-piercing rounds! I’m going to put a hole in its head!”

An assistant next to Zhao Sanyan immediately handed over the prepared special ammunition.

However, in the next second, that assistant’s head flew off right before Zhao Sanyan’s eyes.

“Holy crap! Speed-type mutant! It’s breached the line! Non-combat personnel, fall back! Repeat! Non-combat personnel, fall back!”

Zhao Sanyan loaded a new clip and fired three shots at the black shadow, but its extreme speed made it impossible to aim, and the killing radius of the piercing rounds was too small.

“Lao Zhang! Control it!”

The military’s battles were always conducted with precise coordination and command, but the special operations team’s first foray into the city was clearly not going to be that smooth.

The line was thrown into sudden chaos by the breach of the high-level zombie, exposing the support personnel to the mutant’s claws, leaving them in extreme danger.

Huang You panicked.

As the younger sister, she had always been timid, and this was her first combat mission after being assigned to Zhao Sanyan.

In her confusion, she accidentally ran to the wrong place.

Watching the wandering zombies slowly approach her, drawn by her scent, she was terrified, but the high-intensity training of the special operations team still made her pull out her assigned handgun and aim at the zombie’s head with crisp efficiency.

But before she could pull the trigger, the head exploded on its own, and foul-smelling brain matter even splattered onto her face.

Someone had smashed the zombie’s head with a single blow before she could fire.

Appearing before her was a man in a suit with slicked-back hair.

Although his clothes were somewhat tattered and stained with dark red blood, they were still worn neatly, making it easy to imagine the care with which their owner had put them on.

His dark red hair was slicked back meticulously, neat and smooth, without a single stray strand.

The man was slender and handsome, around thirty years old, possessing the maturity and composure of an adult male.

Aside from his slightly damaged suit, his formal appearance was jarringly out of place in this city filled with chaos and death, which made Huang You notice him immediately.

“My dear beautiful lady, it seems you’ve run into a bit of trouble.

Is there anything I can do to help you?”

After the battle, Wan Xingbang listened to his subordinate’s report, his face growing darker and darker.

“Three non-combat personnel killed, thirteen wounded, four of whom may turn into zombies.
They have handed over their identification tags and detonated their Glory Grenades.
The rest are able to continue fighting.
No one is missing.”

This was the first time the special operations team had suffered combat losses since entering the city.

Wan Xingbang had once fantasized about completing a perfect combat mission by coordinating Awakened and ordinary people, but reality seemed to be much crueler than he had imagined.

A single breach of their line by a high-level zombie had caused such terrible casualties.

It was important to remember that everyone in the special operations team, whether Awakened or ordinary, were elite soldiers he had personally selected and trained.

“Very good.
Record the names of these seven.
Retrieve the identification tags of the three.
They deserve honor.”

Though his heart was heavy, his soldiers had at least not disappointed him.

Death was inevitable; no one could have a smooth journey in the apocalypse.

All Wan Xingbang could do was make the right decisions and soothe the souls of his warriors with human victory.

“And the Awakened?”

“No Awakened were killed.
None were wounded.
Missing… one.
Confirmed identity is Huang You.”

“Did you say missing?”

Rage sparked in Wan Xingbang’s heart.

Missing.

Not killed in action, not wounded, but missing.

Missing meant the possibility of desertion, and Wan Xingbang would absolutely not tolerate a deserter among his men.

Just as he spoke, a commotion erupted from the rear.

Huang Jing was being held back by someone, looking extremely anxious.

“Let me go! She’s calling for help! My sister is calling for help!” Huang Jing shouted.

“What is going on here!”

Anger was already burning in Wan Xingbang’s heart.

Seeing such a scene, his tone was laced with suppressed fury.

“This is the city center! Do you have any idea what will happen if you shout like this!”

“Sir, Private Huang Jing says she heard Private Huang You’s call for help and wants to leave the unit,” the soldier restraining Huang Jing reported.

“Let her go. I’ll go with her,” Wan Xingbang commanded.

Huang Jing was somewhat surprised by Wan Xingbang’s attitude.

In her memory, this captain, who usually seemed quite amiable, was not actually this easygoing.

Leaving the unit should have been his greatest taboo.

Wan Xingbang wasn’t actually thinking that far ahead.

He just wanted to know Huang You’s whereabouts.

He would not accept a single deserter in his team.

Led by Huang Jing, Wan Xingbang gradually walked toward the place where the battle had first broken out.

It wasn’t far from the team’s encampment.

But in this dangerous environment, a single person’s misstep in positioning could be the beginning of a catastrophe for everyone.

However, Wan Xingbang had considerable confidence in his own abilities, not just his powers, but his physical skills as well.

Even if he encountered a Level Three zombie, he wasn’t worried about his own safety.

“Can’t you use your ability to see that place?” Wan Xingbang inquired.

“It’s in that alley.
There are too many obstacles.
My vision can’t penetrate them.”

As they walked deeper, Wan Xingbang also seemed to hear the faint, yet increasingly clear cry for help.

Not only that, but it was mixed with screams of extreme agony.

“It’s just ahead!”

Huang Jing rushed forward.

For her safety, Wan Xingbang had no choice but to quickly follow.

However, after turning the corner, what appeared before them was not Huang You calling for help, but a parrot perched on a railing.

“How could this be…” Huang Jing was a little disappointed, but also relieved.

If the sound was coming from this mischievous parrot, then her sister probably wasn’t in any danger.

To be honest, those screams had made her heart tremble.

“No… parrots only repeat the sounds they hear,” Wan Xingbang said, continuing to walk forward.

Thick terror filled Huang Jing’s eyes.

She realized the cruel truth.

Unlike at the beginning when Huang Jing had hastily led the search, it was now Wan Xingbang leading Huang Jing forward.

Huang Jing was afraid of the scene that was about to appear.

She didn’t dare to look, nor did she dare to use her ability to find the way.

After bypassing a pile of debris stacked by the roadside, a mangled corpse appeared before the two of them.

It was as if all the flesh had been ripped from her body by hand, her bones then broken and rearranged haphazardly, making it impossible to recognize her original human form.

However, the identification tag that had fallen beside her cruelly told the truth Huang Jing least wanted to see.

Name: Huang You

Blood Type: AB

History of Drug Allergies: None
……………….
Overwhelmed with grief, Huang Jing’s legs gave out, and she knelt on the ground.

The parrot was still crying for help, repeating those agonizing screams, repeating the sounds that had filled this place not long ago, as if recreating that brutal scene.

Wan Xingbang’s hand gently rested on Huang Jing’s head.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear.

“I know you are heartbroken.
Please accept my condolences.
But if you dare make a sound like an idiot in a place like this and attract mutants, then I can guarantee that in that instant, I will turn you into a pile of meat paste.”

The moment Wan Xingbang’s words fell, the parrot that had been crying for help plummeted from the railing, smashing into a pile of mangled flesh on the ground, and fell silent.

Watching this, the grief in Huang Jing’s heart fermented with fear.

She knew the hand on her head was not comforting her.

She covered her mouth, tears soaking her young face, without making a single sound.

Meanwhile, on another street, a red-haired man in a suit furiously smashed a car in half.

“You bastards! To call me a zombie! I am human! Bastards!” he roared, destroying everything around him.

A mirror shattered in front of him, reflecting a face of extreme madness.

Looking at this face, he suddenly calmed down and raised his hands before his eyes.

The vivid red was so alluring.

He couldn’t resist licking it.

Unlike rotten flesh, unlike crystal cores, it was fresh, vibrant blood.

Soothing.

He suddenly came to his senses.

“I am human.

I am human.

I am human.”

The man in the suit repeated this phrase over and over.

Zombies wandered around him, yet not a single one paid any mind to the self-muttering man.

A single messy strand of hair fell from his meticulously slicked-back coiffure, dangling before his eyes.

The man in the suit carefully combed the messy strand back with his hand, smoothing it down.

The fresh, red blood stained the strand, plastering it securely into the immaculate hairstyle.

The dark red of the man’s hair deepened by another shade.

He carefully straightened his collar, smoothed his sleeves, and brushed off the dust that had accidentally settled on him.

The man in the suit noticed an RV driving toward him, and then spoke elegantly.

“It appears you’ve run into some trouble, my friends.
Do you require a little assistance?”