Chapter 28: The Vanguard Squad

The vanguard team surrounded Lu Li tightly. Those selected for such a squad were no pushovers; their height, physique, and abilities were top-tier within the Hope Base. Surrounded by the scent of male hormones, Lu Li felt a momentary shortage of breath and diverted her attention. "Look here."

She pointed to the bottom right corner of the screen, where several green dots were blinking incessantly, moving steadily toward the Hope Base.

Wang Zhendong, the leader of the vanguard squad, frowned and asked, "Are those zombies?"

Lu Li explained, "Yes, and they are fifth-tier zombies or higher."

The others gasped. Usually, anything above a third-tier zombie was rarely seen, which was why people dared to leave the base to hunt them for energy cores. But now, there were fifth-tier zombies—one, two, three... seven of them?

The scale of the threat was terrifying; it would take at least ten fifth-tier ability users just to put up a decent fight. Wang Zhendong glanced at his teammates. He was the highest-leveled among them at tier five, while the rest were only tier three or four. How could they fight this? There was no chance of victory.

These ten people represented the peak combat strength of the Hope Base. If even they stood no chance, the rest of the base didn't stand a prayer. Tier five was a watershed moment; every level beyond that was incredibly difficult to reach. One either needed immense talent, like Shen Bing, who leveled up effortlessly even without diligent practice, or extreme dedication, filling the gaps in talent with sweat. If one possessed neither, they might as well go back to the base and lie down.

Lu Li didn't understand the gravity of being a fifth-tier user, but the silence from those around her made it clear. She skipped the trivial questions and asked the most critical one: "Can you win?"

Wang Zhendong gave a slight shake of his head, and the others lowered their gaze in defeat. Seeing this, Lu Li knew the vast gap between people and said, "Then let's go back to the base." She turned to leave.

"Go back for what?" the sub-leader grabbed her, asking anxiously.

"If we can't fight, why go up there just to die?" Lu Li retorted as if it were obvious.

The sub-leader’s eyes dimmed instantly. Wang Zhendong and the others hung their heads, unable to speak. They didn't want to die either, but their families and friends lived in that base. If even they were too afraid to face the threat...

Wang Zhendong said firmly, "We cannot go back. Even if there is only a sliver of hope, we must fight!"

Lu Li thought: *I just want to go back and sleep...*

***

Time stopped backtracking. Unable to return to the base for a nap, Lu Li had to lead the vanguard squad toward the location of the seven zombie bosses.

While they were still a long distance away, Wang Zhendong ordered the sub-leader to protect Lu Li while they scouted the situation. The two found a hidden corner and lay down, covering themselves with a pile of hay in a clumsy attempt at camouflage.

As Lu Li lay on the ground, the hay pricked her skin. It was itchy, but she didn't dare move too much to scratch. She could only shuffle slightly, using her clothes to rub against the ground to relieve the irritation.

The sub-leader tilted his head and asked, "What are you doing?"

Lu Li replied in a muffled voice, "The hay is too scratchy."

The sub-leader was confused. "It's not scratchy. Your skin must be too delicate."

"..." I'll just shut up.

Suddenly, someone lay down to Lu Li's left. Thinking it was one of the vanguard members returning, she wanted to ask for an update. She turned her head and met a pair of cold, refined eyes; she was so startled she almost screamed.

Once she realized who it was, she demanded, "Shen Bing? Why are you here?" And why did he have to lie right next to her?

The sub-leader also turned to look, but the night was too dark, and they dared not use any lights. He squinted and whispered, "What's wrong?"

Lu Li answered casually, "It's fine. Shen Bing is here."

"Shen Bing?!" The sub-leader sounded surprised, his voice fluctuating strangely. Lu Li was in the middle, with Shen Bing on her left and the sub-leader on her right.

Hearing this, Shen Bing propped himself up slightly to acknowledge the sub-leader, though he barely glanced at him before lying back down.

"Hello, hello," the sub-leader whispered, feeling flattered. He had heard of Shen Bing—a powerful but incredibly cold person who always acted alone. Why would he be here at such a critical moment? Surely he wasn't here to help the Hope Base?

While the sub-leader's mind raced, Shen Bing was busy answering Lu Li's earlier question. "I was hunting zombies and saw you, so I followed." He spoke at a normal volume, which gave Lu Li a fright.

She hurriedly covered Shen Bing's mouth and leaned in, whispering, "Keep it down! There are high-tier zombies nearby!"

Shen Bing’s breath hitched. He didn't wear his cloak when hunting at night, and her hand was pressed firmly against his lips.

He slowly relaxed, his nose filled with the scent of her body wash. It was a lovely, fragrant aroma, something he had never smelled in this hellish apocalypse. He felt inexplicably greedy, wanting to savor it for a moment longer, but...

Shen Bing reached up and removed her hand from his mouth. Her hand, like her, was warm and vibrant. Unlike his own hands, which were icy cold all year round.

Lu Li shivered and asked subconsciously, "Why are your hands so cold?" Then, she shifted back to the topic, "You were hunting zombies nearby? Wait, where do you even live?"

Shen Bing, driven by some strange impulse, replied, "I have nowhere to live." It sounded inexplicably pitiful.

Before she could ask more, the sub-leader said urgently, "Captain Wang and the others can't hold out much longer!"

Lu Li looked at her light-computer. Of the seven green dots that were blinking, only four remained. Meanwhile, good news came from the Hope Base: the number of zombies had drastically decreased, and they no longer swarmed forward in endless, pain-insensitive waves.

It seemed the low-tier zombies had been controlled by the high-tier ones, used as puppets and cannon fodder to overwhelm the base with sheer numbers, while the high-tier zombies sat back and reaped the benefits.

Lu Li scrambled to her feet. "Let's go, then. Why are you just standing there?"

The sub-leader looked at her with hesitation. "What tier are you? Can you handle this? Maybe you should stay here and let Shen Bing protect you." He vaguely remembered Lu Li claiming to be an ordinary person, but what ordinary person owned a brand-new RV and a lottery shop that hadn't been looted?

Lu Li felt a vein pop in her forehead. "Then what are you, a tier-four user, doing? Going there to die?"

She urged them, "Enough, stop dawdling. Let's go together. If you keep wasting time, you can just wait to collect Captain Wang's corpse."

The sub-leader fell silent. Shen Bing didn't say a word, simply standing quietly behind Lu Li's side. The three of them hurried toward the vanguard squad. On the way, another green dot vanished. The sub-leader's face turned anxious. "They are fighting for their lives!"

Lu Li didn't say a word, silently quickening her pace. But ultimately, she was an ordinary person and lacked the formidable stamina of an ability user. Before they were even halfway there, she was gasping for air. She braced her hands on her knees and waved at the two of them. "You go on ahead, I need a moment."