Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Emblem

After a brief moment of panic, the Three-Linked Team calmly managed to temporarily halt the rampage of the big-headed zombies, allowing others to gradually regain their composure. However, the sight of the headless corpses on the ground still sent shivers down their spines.

In less than two minutes, the death toll among the special ability teams had already reached eight, with seven becoming headless corpses on the ground. Apart from the Three-Linked Team and Zhang Ji’s team, who had taken shelter from the rain, the other special ability teams had also suffered losses. The mutated zombie Gu Ning had killed was the smallest and weakest among them.

Seeing that the other mutated zombies were temporarily restrained, Gu Ning bent down to dig out the crystal core and pocketed it. She wiped the rainwater from her face with her hand, then gripped her long knife and charged toward another big-headed zombie in the heavy rain.

Her footsteps splashed through the puddles as Gu Ning dashed forward, dodging the tongue lashing out from the big-headed zombie. In a swift sidestep, her blade accurately lodged into the unusually slender neck of the zombie, and with a forceful slash, the blade cut through its most vulnerable spot—

A massive head rolled off the neck, landing with a splash in the water, staining a large area of the puddle red.

Horrified gazes turned toward her!

These big-headed zombies might look terrifying, but their combat strength was far inferior to the tentacle zombies and the long-tailed zombie from the hospital that Gu Ning and her team had encountered before.

Initially, the chaos and fear had caused significant losses, especially among those who had recently evolved and lacked combat experience. Many had frozen in terror at the sight of the big-headed zombies, forgetting they were special ability users.

The last big-headed zombie was taken down by a group effort, and as if afraid someone would snatch it, the Yuezhou Team immediately dug out the crystal core, which changed hands several times before being hidden away.

The Three-Linked Team collected four mutated crystal cores, three of which were from zombies Gu Ning had killed. Zhang Ji’s team obtained two, while the other three teams each got one. Only the Green Tree Team came away empty-handed.

Third Brother wiped the rain from his face and looked at the pale corpses on the ground, his expression grave. They hadn’t even seen the helicopter yet, and already eight people had been lost.

“Is everyone in our team okay?” Jia Daozhang counted heads and sighed in relief when he found none were missing.

The other special ability teams also began counting their members. Apart from the Three-Linked Team and Zhang Ji’s team, the other teams had suffered casualties. The Green Tree Team’s leader, Liang Le, looked pale, having lost three members. The other girls in her team silently wiped away tears.

Seeing this, Third Brother ordered the men in his team—Method, Cheng Ming, and Zhang Xiaobai—to move the corpses to a dry area, where Huang Mengyao set them ablaze.

During the battle, Xiang Xu’s spiritual power had been fully focused on covering the entire battlefield, ready to rescue any team member in danger. The intense concentration left no room for shielding from the rain, leaving everyone soaked to the bone.

Now that the adrenaline had worn off, they all felt a deep chill. The special ability users’ bodies…

Xiang Xu pointed in a safe direction, and they entered a building. Gu Ning retrieved fifty sets of clothes from her space and distributed them. After changing into dry clothes, they gradually felt their bodies warming up. However, after the recent danger, many began to feel hesitant about continuing.

“We’ve already lost three people,” Liang Le, the Green Tree Team leader, said hesitantly, her face still pale. “I don’t want to go on.” Her team had started with only ten members, and losing three was a heavy blow. Her decision was understandable.

Hearing this, the leaders of the other three teams, who had also suffered losses, showed signs of hesitation, clearly considering withdrawal as well.

“Think carefully. Even though you’ve lost some people, the rewards won’t decrease. You’ve already earned an extra 150 pounds of rice. Whether to continue or not is up to you, but consider it carefully,” Zhang Ji said gravely.

His words, though cold, were true. The dead were gone, but the rewards remained with the team.

The expressions of the others shifted slightly. Even the Green Tree Team, which had been determined to leave, now hesitated. Someone sneered, “Your teams didn’t lose anyone, and you collected the most crystal cores. Of course, you’d say that.”

Zhang Xiaobai’s face darkened. Never one to back down, he shot back, “You were the ones who broke away to take shelter from the rain, which is why you suffered heavy losses. If it weren’t for us, you’d have lost even more people! The number of crystal cores we got was based on our skills. No one stopped you from killing zombies.”

The speaker was left speechless, their face flickering with uncertainty.

Seeing their hesitation, Jia Daozhang quickly interjected, “Everyone, listen to me. We’re not far from where the helicopter crashed. A few more steps, and we might reach the supplies. If we turn back now, we’ll lose both people and resources, which would be a waste. Besides, we didn’t encounter any powerful mutated zombies on the way here, but if you go back, that might not be the case. It’s safer to stay with the main group.”

The other team leaders still looked uncertain, but Yuan Ge from the Survival Team spoke up, “Jia Daozhang is right. Turning back now would be a waste. We’ve come this far; we might as well see it through.” His team, composed of young men and women, quickly agreed.

With that, three teams decided to stay.

The Night Eagle Team, Yuezhou Team, and Green Tree Team still hesitated.

Gu Ning glanced at the increasingly heavy rain outside and frowned. “Let’s go,” she said coldly, then stepped out of the building first, followed without hesitation by the rest of the Three-Linked Team.

The image of Gu Ning swiftly killing three big-headed zombies was still fresh in their minds. Even as special ability users, they couldn’t match her efficiency. Her silent, stoic demeanor now carried a chilling, blood-soaked aura.

The leaders of the Night Eagle Team and Yuezhou Team exchanged a glance, then quickly followed.

Only the Green Tree Team remained hesitant. But with just one team left, and the weakest at that, they had no real choice but to reluctantly follow the group.

The rain fell silently on the spiritual shield, the droplets sliding off without a sound. Only the heavy footsteps of the group splashing through the water broke the silence.

Gu Ning ignored the complex looks Zhang Ji occasionally sent her way.

As the group moved in silence, the closer they got to their destination, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. Zombies began pouring out from alleys and streets, and even Gu Ning’s expression grew serious. Everyone’s faces were tense as they unleashed a barrage of elemental and mutated abilities—fire, water, earth, wind, thunder, and ice—forming a wall of attacks that crushed any low-level evolved zombies and ordinary zombies in their path. No one was holding back their abilities now; after all, if they didn’t use them now, they might never get another chance. Amid the zombies’ agonizing wails, the group pressed on with difficulty.

Finally, they reached the 500-meter radius provided by Director Zhong.

A towering high-rise building, about forty stories tall, stood out among the surrounding structures—a five-star hotel.

The helicopter was within a 500-meter radius centered on this hotel.

They immediately spotted the helicopter crashed into the flower bed in front of the hotel. The previously demoralized team perked up and rushed toward it.

The helicopter had either chosen a bad landing spot or suffered another attack during its crash. The fuselage was covered in scratches, and only one piece of the propeller remained, with the others scattered thirty to forty meters away. The entire body lay tilted in the flower bed.

Inside, a man’s body had been severed at the waist by some sharp object. His lower half was stuck in the seat, while his upper half lay outside the fuselage, connected only by a few strands of intestines. From the visible half of his face, he appeared to be around thirty years old. The scene was gruesome.

Method suppressed his discomfort and climbed into the fuselage to search carefully.

After nearly half an hour, two more people took turns searching, but they found no trace of the box or any documents Director Zhong had mentioned.

Only this one body was found.

Of the two helicopters, they had only found this one. Since the vaccine data wasn’t here, it must be on the other helicopter.

Xiang Xu and the spiritual power user from Zhang Ji’s team simultaneously extended their spiritual power to locate the other helicopter.

Meanwhile, another wave of zombies began surging toward them from the direction they had come.

Gu Ning stepped forward, her knife at the ready, when her foot suddenly stepped on something protruding. She instinctively moved her foot and looked down, spotting a red five-star emblem lying there.

Gu Ning immediately recognized it—it was the emblem of the Five-Star Brigade.