Chapter 24: The Survival Squad

"Okay," Tone nodded.

Subsequently, the two gathered all the essentials they might need. With their physical conditions continually improving, the amount of food they required each day had multiplied. Leaving the mall meant that food wouldn't be as readily available, so they needed to carry more supplies. Fortunately, now that both of them possessed the strength of over a thousand pounds, even a large backpack wouldn't hinder their mobility.

"Let's rest once we're packed." Hayes stored the Gene Extraction Machine in the space, while still keeping the knife and axe on him.

The night passed quickly, as Hayes and Tone had grown accustomed to waking up early. Moreover, as their body levels increased, the need for sleep diminished. According to the apocalypse survival manual, if humans could elevate their body levels above 100, sleep would become a mere habit, with minimal impact on their functionality.

"Goodbye," Hayes looked back at the mall where they had taken shelter for nearly a month.

"Should we get a car?" Tone suggested as they walked past the few streets near the mall, which had few remaining zombies, making their journey relatively easy.

Seeing the streets littered with ownerless vehicles sparked the idea in Tone.

"If we had a couple of heavy machine guns and plenty of ammunition, your idea wouldn't be bad," Hayes said with a smile, not looking at Tone. Zombies are attracted by sound, and driving a car would make them an absolute target for zombies.

With two heavy machine guns, they wouldn't need to fear a zombie siege. A sweep could turn any approaching zombies into minced meat, and if surrounded, they could rely on grenades for a breakthrough.

Tone didn't know how to respond to Hayes' comment.

"Be careful up ahead," Hayes warned after they had walked for about half an hour and encountered only a couple of zombies. The journey ahead wouldn't be as easy.

"We'll cross the city center to leave this town," Hayes had planned their route the night before. The city they had lived in was a second-tier city. According to the apocalypse survival manual, most viable survival bases were established in first-tier cities or those near military bases, as these locations had sufficient firepower to eliminate zombies.

As for their current city, they had never heard of any nearby military bases. Otherwise, the military would have already conducted rescue operations for survivors.

"The zombies are starting to increase," Hayes noted as they neared the city center, where the population density was higher, leading to more encounters with zombies.

Considering they were on the move, they silently agreed not to engage with zombies unless necessary, except when encountering Level 2 'Green Zombies.'

It seemed someone was being surrounded by zombies up ahead.

Continuing north, they reached the city center without planning to stop. However, a gunshot drew Tone's attention.

Although Hayes heard the sound, he wasn't sure how to identify gunshots.

"Should we help?" Tone had grown accustomed to following Hayes' commands.

Getting closer, they could clearly see what was happening.

A group of about a dozen humans was surrounded by dozens of zombies, taking shelter between several large trucks. Using the trucks for cover, they resisted the zombie siege.

Among the survivors, a woman in uniform holding a pistol was likely the source of the gunshot.

Nearing the scene, they saw bloodstains and limbs on the ground, mostly belonging to zombies but some to humans, indicating that some of the group had already perished.

"Save them," Hayes knew Tone wouldn't stand by indifferently, especially now that they were capable.

Perhaps it was a soldier's instinct?

"I can handle this alone," Tone charged at the zombies with his great sword upon receiving Hayes' affirmation.

With only a few dozen zombies to deal with, Hayes decided not to intervene directly, slowly making his way towards the scene.

"Liu Yu, take Xiao Jun and Xiao Yu and retreat to the back later. We'll hold them off here," the woman in the green uniform calmly instructed.

Now, using several cars as barriers, even with numerous zombies, only two or three could attack them simultaneously. Some had died on their way here, but reaching this spot had temporarily halted the zombie advance.

However, she knew all too well that it was impossible for everyone to leave unscathed.

Even with the ability to rotate and rest, after more than an hour of fighting, they were running out of stamina.

"We won't leave. If we die, we die together," said Xiao Jun, a teenager around the age of fifteen.

"Lan sister, we're not afraid."

"Qin Lan, take Xiao Jun and the others and leave, quickly!" Just as Xiao Jun finished speaking, a man in his thirties who was fighting off zombies turned around after decapitating one and urged her.

"No, you won't be able to hold them off," Qin Lan was frantic, not expecting Xiao Jun to disobey her today. If they hesitated any longer, they would lose any chance of escape.

Over the past month, their group of sixteen had survived through seamless cooperation. Even going out for food and encountering zombies posed no significant danger. But today, they encountered a different kind of zombie at an incredibly fast speed. Two of their members were killed almost immediately upon encountering them, and another two died covering for the group as they fled.

Qin Lan's hands trembled slightly, her grip on the pistol unsteady as she stared ahead, fearful of the sudden appearance of that green figure.

"Thud"

"Thud"

Just as Qin Lan felt despair creeping closer, a strange noise caught their attention.

"Thump"

Suddenly, something spherical flew through the air and landed on the cargo box of the truck.

"A zombie head"

Qin Lan was momentarily stunned. The object that had flown over was a zombie's head.

"Could someone be coming to save us?" A thought so wild it seemed insane even to her flickered through Qin Lan's mind.

"Lan sister, look, someone's out there," Xiao Jun tugged at her hand while she was still in shock.

"He's just one person. Is he out of his mind?" Following the direction Xiao Jun was pointing, Qin Lan saw a figure surrounded by zombies.

The idea of one person fighting off dozens of zombies was madness.

Qin Lan could hardly believe her eyes. Even in the apocalypse, there were still good people willing to risk their lives for others.