Outside Wang Han's Safe Spot, an armored car and over a dozen armed men arrived in force. After clearing the nearby Zombies, they discovered the sewer entrance leading to the Safe Spot.
Wang Peng laughed heartily, "Finally found it! Second squad stays on watch outside. The rest of you, follow me down. Report anything unusual immediately!"
They sprang into action, leaving five men on the surface while the rest descended into the sewer.
The five quickly assigned positions and began carefully surveying their surroundings.
One guard stationed at the entrance suddenly heard faint moaning sounds. His expression changed drastically as he cautiously approached the source with his rifle raised.
There lay a Zombie missing both arms and a leg, its skull pierced by a gaping bloody hole, its entire body soaked in greenish blood—a truly pitiful sight.
The armed man burst into laughter, "So even you Zombies can end up like this? How pathetic! Hahaha~~"
Noticing the Zombie wasn't completely dead yet, his glee intensified. He stomped viciously on the Beautiful Zombie's face with his boot, laughing maniacally, "Weren't you Zombies so tough? Show me how tough you are now! Mindless beasts who killed so many of our comrades—I'll finish you off!"
As he cursed and stomped on the Zombie's head with increasing ferocity, the seemingly lifeless Beautiful Zombie's skull suddenly split open, revealing horrific fangs that swallowed half the man's calf in one bite.
"AAAH—!" The guard's bloodcurdling scream immediately drew the other four men. They rushed over only to find their comrade's mutilated corpse, its internal organs nearly completely devoured.
"Ugh—" Three of the four vomited on the spot.
Meanwhile, in the air-raid shelter beneath Bai Song Orphanage, Bai Wen had repaired the ventilation system. Foul air quickly dissipated from the shelter, allowing everyone to breathe freely at last. Overcome by exhaustion, they collapsed against the walls to rest.
After one final safety check, Bai Wen secured the heavy shelter door and joined them.
Yun Fei Wu hesitated briefly before approaching with a canteen. "Have some water," she offered gently.
Bai Wen accepted but didn't drink immediately. Understanding his caution, Yun Fei Wu took the canteen back and drank first.
Only then did Bai Wen take several sips. He instructed Tai Long to distribute compressed biscuits and canned meat to the group.
After eating, Yun Fei Wu asked uncertainly, "What should we do now?"
All eyes turned to Bai Wen.
"We'll hide here for a few days," he replied.
Exhaustion soon claimed everyone as they fell into deep sleep.
"You should rest too," Yun Fei Wu said softly to Bai Wen. "I'll keep watch."
Bai Wen nodded without protest, closing his eyes while keeping his pistol close at hand.
When he woke up, it was already 8 PM. Everyone else was already awake, cleaning the air-raid shelter. Wang Ya had also woken up, clinging tightly to his arm with tearful eyes. She must have wanted to cry but held back, afraid of disturbing Bai Wen's rest.
Now that Bai Wen was awake, Wang Ya could no longer restrain herself. She threw herself into his arms and burst into loud sobs.
Her crying had a ripple effect, reminding Yun Fei Wu and the others of the tragic state of Yun Lin and Yun Feng, and soon they were all wiping away tears.
Bai Wen didn't stop them. In such harsh conditions, people needed an outlet. Crying allowed them to fully release their pent-up negative emotions—it wasn't a bad thing at all.
Once they had cried their fill, Bai Wen said, "Everyone, eat something and get some proper rest. Tomorrow, I need to go outside to assess the situation and gather some supplies. There are plenty of beds, sheets, and blankets upstairs—bring a few down. Sleeping on the floor all the time is unbearable!"
"Don't worry, Brother Bai, leave it to me!" Tai Long thumped his chest in assurance.
Wang Ya also nodded, telling Bai Wen she could help too.
Early the next morning, Bai Wen picked up his gear and left the orphanage to begin exploring the surrounding area. There were many Zombies here, but none were particularly troublesome, which pleased Bai Wen. Finally, he could hunt Zombies and earn Crystals.
He found a safe spot, set up his sniper rifle, aimed at a Zombie through the scope, and pulled the trigger...
The next few days were relatively calm. Bai Wen went out daily to hunt Zombies, and his Crystal count steadily climbed, finally surpassing 300 points—bringing him one step closer to the main base.
While hunting Zombies, he also began training himself. When encountering small groups of Zombies, he would draw his Blood-colored Battle Blade and slash wildly, honing his close-combat skills. For larger hordes, he relied on long-range sniping.
The SCV was also busy collecting Crystals and manufacturing ammunition supplies. Although some Crystals were spent, the amount was negligible, making Bai Wen even more curious about Energy Crystals.
By the fifth day, his peaceful routine was finally disrupted.
That day, Bai Wen was lying on a rooftop, sniping Zombies in the distance. Just as he took down one Zombie and was about to relocate, gunfire suddenly erupted not far from his position!
Bai Wen tensed. Had the people from the Black Cloud Zone tracked him down?
Soon, he spotted a group of fierce, burly men armed with guns, steel pipes, and crowbars, swaggering down the street as they cleared out Zombies. Each of them was broad-shouldered and menacing—clearly not good people. Bai Wen quickly estimated their numbers: over two hundred!
"These definitely aren't from the Black Cloud Zone. They must be another group of survivors. But how are there so many of them? Could they be from 'that place'?"
'That place' referred to the Safe Zone where Bai Wen had lived in his previous life. It was far from S City, making it unlikely they would send such a large force here.
So where had these people come from? And why were they so brazen, charging recklessly through the streets like this?!
The nearby zombies were gradually drawn by the gunfire, their numbers increasing. Bai Wen even spotted those strangely fast evolved zombies among them—likely second-tier ones! There were also those burly, bone-spiked strength-type zombies covered in spikes. Upon seeing so many humans, they immediately let out excited roars and charged madly toward them.
These fierce-looking men showed no fear. The leader suddenly shouted and, with a wave of his hand, unleashed two invisible wind blades!
The two wind blades sliced through the air like massive invisible scimitars, carrying a gale-force wind. The sound of "thwack, thwack" echoed repeatedly as over a hundred zombies in front of him were cleanly bisected at the waist.
The sheer power of the attack was staggering!
"An Ability User?" Bai Wen frowned.
What followed was a one-sided massacre. There was more than one Ability User in the group, and the zombies stood no chance against them. Soon, the gathered horde was completely wiped out.
Then, the group marched off in a specific direction. If Bai Wen wasn't mistaken, they were heading toward the Black Cloud Safe Zone.
The Black Cloud Safe Zone was doomed!
To his surprise, Bai Wen also noticed that some people at the rear were using daggers to cut open the zombies' chests and extract the crystals inside.
They were collecting crystals too?
Without hesitation, he raised his sniper rifle. As soon as the main group moved far enough away, he pulled the trigger.
Five rapid shots—each one precise—took down all five crystal collectors. Bai Wen quickly led the SCV downstairs and gathered all the crystals they had collected.
"This won't do. The people and zombies I'm encountering are getting stronger. I need to build the Terran Command Center as soon as possible!"
After collecting the crystals, his crystal count instantly jumped to 532 points.
But where should he place the Command Center? According to the SCV, the main base was enormous—absolutely massive. Once constructed, it would undoubtedly attract unwanted attention, which could backfire.