Chapter 35: The Unexpected Convoy, My Dear Friend Sang Yuanyuan!

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Everyone took a moment to steady their nerves.

Zhang Yunqi leaned against a broken wall, his legs still trembling uncontrollably. His voice carried the lingering fear he had yet to shake off. “I can’t help feeling that the zombie monsters here are completely different from the Ghostlands in Jinling’s digitized zone... The zombies here are clearly far more terrifying! They can run almost as fast as a trained soldier like me!”

Hearing this, Su Bai nodded. Who could deny it? If she and Lin Wanqing had not both acquired classes and grown stronger, there was no guarantee the two of them would have made it out alive.

Recalling the mutated zombies’ bodies from earlier, everyone shuddered.

Those zombies were practically biochemical weapons from a science-fiction film, nothing like the zombies of ordinary legend.

Qin Yuke studied their surroundings with a grave expression. Suddenly, he pointed into the distance. “Something is definitely wrong. This Zombie Territory seems to have fused with the Mist Forest region...”

Following the direction of his finger, everyone vaguely saw several white moths emerging from the gray mist. Their originally snow-white wings were now stained with purple-black slime, making them look unnervingly bizarre.

“The situation is worse than we imagined.” Qin Yuke’s voice was low. “This Zombie Territory is far too strange and dangerous. From now on, do not enter unless absolutely necessary.”

Everyone nodded.

No one wanted to experience being relentlessly hunted by zombies again.

Nearby, Su Bai was crouching on the ground, carefully taking wet wipes and disinfecting supplies from her backpack.

She pulled Tianba’s paw toward her and meticulously wiped away the purple-black slime clinging to it.

“Don’t move. Let me disinfect it properly,” Su Bai scolded softly when Tianba tried to pull its paw back. “If even a trace of the virus is left behind, the zombie infection could spread to you.”

She remembered how Tianba had darted through the horde, its claws slicing precisely through one skull after another. She became even more thorough, disinfecting every crevice.

Only after hearing this did Tianba allow Su Bai to clean it properly.

Pearl perched on Su Bai’s shoulder, watching as she wiped Tianba’s paw.

Lin Wanqing walked over and looked at Su Bai’s earnest profile. Unable to contain her admiration, she said, “Your pets are incredibly powerful. We only managed to break through because of your two companions.”

Su Bai looked up with a smile, never pausing in her work. “How can you say it was all because of them? Your flames were the key.”

She recalled the way Lin Wanqing had controlled the fire to clear a path. “Honestly, I’m so envious of the Mage class, especially an ability as formidable as flame manipulation.”

Lin Wanqing rubbed the back of her head, a little embarrassed. “I only changed classes recently... My strength still isn’t anything special. Otherwise, I could have blown the zombies’ heads apart directly.”

The two girls exchanged a smile, and the tense atmosphere immediately eased considerably.

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Tianba took the opportunity to pull its paw back. It had been about to lick it, but Su Bai stopped it. Everything had to be cleaned thoroughly first.

Pearl remained perched on Su Bai’s shoulder and affectionately rubbed its face against her cheek.

Seeing the effortless teamwork between Su Bai and Lin Wanqing, the sternness in Qin Yuke’s expression softened slightly.

He strode over and said solemnly to the two of them, “We owe you both a great deal. If not for Miss Su and this—”

“Lin Wanqing.” Lin Wanqing smiled faintly. “Just call me Lin Wanqing.”

“Thank you both for coming to our aid in time.” Qin Yuke’s voice held the characteristic sincerity of a soldier. “If not for you, my team would probably have—”

After cleaning all the blood from the mutated zombies off Tianba, Su Bai put away the disinfecting supplies and rose to her feet, interrupting him. “We were only protecting ourselves, Captain Qin. You really don’t need to thank us like this. Besides, it wasn’t entirely our doing. Your team was the decisive factor.”

Su Bai paused and warily surveyed their surroundings. “I don’t think we should waste any more time here. Reaching Verdant Ridge Safe Zone as soon as possible is what matters.”

Qin Yuke agreed.

After a brief rest, everyone continued on their way.

Their vehicles had been left behind in the Zombie Territory and were all beyond repair, so they had no choice but to travel on foot.

After walking for roughly two hours, the roar of engines suddenly came from the distance.

“It’s a convoy!” Zhang Yunqi shouted excitedly. “Maybe they can take us with them!”

Two convoys made up of modified off-road vehicles and trucks came driving out of a fork in the road.

When they saw Qin Yuke and the others in military uniforms, the convoys slowly came to a stop.

A burly man with a close-cropped haircut jumped out of one of the vehicles.

“Soldiers?” The man glanced at the insignia on Qin Yuke’s shoulder. “Do you need help?”

Qin Yuke stepped forward, explained their situation, and asked for a ride to Verdant Ridge Safe Zone.

The burly man looked troubled. “It’s not that we don’t want to help, but this convoy is heading to the Mist Forest on a mission. If we turn back to take you there, we’ll miss the main force.”

After a moment’s hesitation, he suggested, “Why don’t you come with us to the Mist Forest? Once the mission is over, we can return to the safe zone together.”

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“No!” Qin Yuke’s expression changed dramatically. “The Mist Forest is extremely dangerous right now. You absolutely cannot go there!”

A young man wearing a thick gold chain sauntered over from the convoy with an insolent air. “Hey, soldier boy, aren’t you sticking your nose a little too far into our business? Do we need to report to you everywhere we go?”

Lin Wanqing stepped forward, her tone stern. “We’re not trying to control you. Linghai City was just digitized into a Zombie Territory, and we barely managed to escape. The monsters there have already begun merging with the Mist Forest region. The danger is far beyond anything you can imagine!”

Unexpectedly, the young man became even more enthusiastic after hearing this. “Isn’t that even better? We can level up all the way there! I heard those students obtained their class cards by killing monsters.”

He proudly brandished the machete in his hand. “Maybe we can find player cards and change classes too.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the window of another vehicle suddenly rolled down, and a girl with a ponytail leaned out.

The moment she saw Su Bai standing by the roadside, her eyes widened in surprise. “Su Bai?! What are you doing here? You never evacuated Linghai City?”

Hearing someone call her name, Su Bai turned around in astonishment.

When she recognized the familiar face, she cried out, “Sang Yuanyuan!”

Sang Yuanyuan leaped nimbly from the vehicle and ran to Su Bai in three quick strides.

Her lively eyes and distinctive ponytail were just as familiar as ever, and she was dressed in her usual style.

Sang Yuanyuan was one of Su Bai’s few close friends at university. The two of them shared many interests.

“Su Bai, what happened to you all...?” Sang Yuanyuan looked the group up and down, her gaze lingering for a moment on Qin Yuke’s uniform.

“Yuanyuan, listen to me.” Su Bai seized her friend’s wrist, her voice urgent. “Do not go anywhere near Linghai City. It has been completely digitized into a Zombie Territory. We barely escaped from there. The monsters inside cannot be dealt with using ordinary weapons!”

Sang Yuanyuan was startled by Su Bai’s reaction. She knew Su Bai would never deceive her without reason, so she hesitantly glanced back at the convoy.

“But I promised some people that I would go level up with them.”

“Su Bai, you don’t know this, but Mi Hanwen killed monsters in the Mist Forest and obtained a class card. It caused a huge stir. The reason we’re going there is to obtain class cards and change classes!”