After the meal, Jie Xi sent someone over with the information regarding this mission.
The Kelo-Yi Biological Research Institute was located in the eastern suburbs of City M, while the nearest stronghold was situated midway along Ring Road No. 2 in the west. To reach the destination, they either had to cut straight through the city or make a wide detour around the city to the south or north.
Wang Zhi would absolutely not attempt to cut straight through the city; the population there was too numerous and dense—it was tantamount to suicide.
Currently, this was all the information Wang Zhi had: the location of the stronghold, the location of the destination, and a map of City M.
The four of them discussed it but reached no definite conclusion. Wang Zhi proposed they first head out and make a specific judgment based on the actual situation.
The discussion ended, and the four members of Wang Zhi's team re-equipped themselves fully and left the third-floor room. As they passed through the lobby, several members of the Former Dynasty team were training. Upon seeing Wang Zhi and his group, Zhang Ming immediately walked up to them.
"What the! You guys are heading out again? It's only been a few days! Don't tell me you find down here too boring?"
"Yeah, we just want to get out for some fresh air," Wang Zhi chuckled lightly, not saying much more.
"Impressive. Well, I wish you a safe return!" After saying that, Zhang Ming waved goodbye to Wang Zhi and the others.
Following the mission instructions, Wang Zhi's group of four soon arrived at the elevator exit leading to City M.
This mission did not include a helicopter; Wang Zhi would have to figure out his own way to the destination. The reason was simple: the helicopter's Aviation Kerosene had been completely depleted.
The four walked through the dark corridor in silence, the only sound being the rhythmic *tap-tap* of their boots on the steps.
Soon, Wang Zhi reached the end. The four drew their weapons, remaining constantly prepared for a fight.
Click. The door opened!
Wang Zhi held his rifle tensely. When the door opened, no harsh light assailed them. It was night, and faint moonlight barely illuminated the ground. Wang Zhi scanned the surroundings; there was no sign of any Zombies.
The four slowly approached the highway before them. Because it was nighttime and the surrounding environment was complex, Wang Zhi's group advanced extremely slowly.
Wang Zhi checked the map. They were currently in the middle section of Ring Road No. 2 on the western side of the city—the location of the Stronghold. Their target lay in the eastern part of the city, and the distance traveling south or north was identical.
"We head south," Wang Zhi stated.
The four proceeded slowly southward through the darkness. Since it was night, Wang Zhi's group had to stay tightly packed, inching forward to ensure they wouldn't be ambushed.
"Why are there no vehicles on this road?"
Old He questioned from the rear.
Wang Zhi halted.
"Indeed! How can there not be a single car? This road might be a bit remote, but it shouldn't be completely devoid of traffic."
Wang Zhi also noticed something was wrong.
Wang Zhi walked for another hour until he finally spotted a tunnel ahead. Several police cars were parked in front of it, and seeing them gave Wang Zhi a bad feeling.
Wang Zhi raised his hand, signaling his team to halt, and took out his binoculars.
"What is it?" Su Muying asked.
"The view is unclear; let's move a little closer."
Wang Zhi finished speaking and slowly advanced toward the tunnel.
After approaching about 500 meters, everyone could dimly make out the tunnel entrance.
The entrance was sealed off by several layers of heavy iron mesh.
"This! What in the world is going on?" Wang Zhi said, staring at the barricaded tunnel.
"They sealed the tunnel. I was wondering why there wasn't a single vehicle on the road; turns out they blocked everything off," Old He remarked from behind them.
"Damn it, this is monstrous! They won't even grant people a chance to flee?" Wang Zhi muttered, raising the binoculars again to peer toward the tunnel.
"Damn it!"
Wang Zhi took one look through the binoculars and immediately recoiled in shock.
Seeing Wang Zhi startled, Su Muying took the binoculars from his hand to look for herself.
On the far side of the iron mesh, countless Zombies were amassed, all snarling and clawing, tearing at the barrier. Even Su Muying, veteran of countless battles, could not help but be stunned by the sight.
"There are countless Zombies beyond that mesh; we need to retreat immediately!" Su Muying urged.
Just as Su Muying finished speaking, two figures wearing police uniforms suddenly rushed out from the police staging area ahead and ran quickly toward Wang Zhi and the other three.
"Be careful, they're Zombies!"
Old He spotted them first. Before Wang Zhi could clearly see, Old He raised his rifle and shot the two Zombies wearing police uniforms dead.
"Aren't you worried they might be survivors?" Wang Zhi asked.
"If they were survivors, they would have driven off long ago! Come on, let's take their car," Old He said flatly.
Looking at the seven police cars ahead of the tunnel, Wang Zhi conservatively estimated there were fourteen Zombies nearby. Old He had just taken care of two; Wang Zhi still couldn't locate the remaining twelve.
Just as Wang Zhi and the other three neared the police cars, two more Zombies in uniform suddenly lunged out from behind the distant vehicles. Wang Zhi sidestepped, causing one Zombie's attack to miss. Before he could regain his footing, the second one followed closely, pouncing. Just as it was about to land on him, Wang Zhi's eyes flashed—the Zombie's head had already separated from its body and fallen to the ground.
Jia Liuli had drawn her Ye Linglong and decapitated both Zombies, while Old He and Su Muying behind them dispatched five more Zombies that had appeared out of nowhere.
During that recent exchange, Wang Zhi deeply felt that the Zombies were much faster than they had been the last time they went out; he had nearly been knocked down just now.
Wang Zhi patted Jia Liuli's head: "Thanks, Liuli."
Jia Liuli shyly lowered her head slightly.
Wang Zhi looked at the shy Jia Liuli, somewhat puzzled. How could a girl who killed Zombies without batting an eye display such shyness?
"Look over there!" Su Muying pointed at the iron mesh covering the tunnel entrance.
The Zombies inside the tunnel appeared even more frenzied than they had from a distance, their biting motions becoming more violent.
"Not good! Let's go quickly. This iron mesh probably won't hold much longer. If they break out, we'll all die."
After saying this, Wang Zhi got into a relatively intact police car.
"Get in."
The key was inside the car; Wang Zhi could start it immediately.
"Phew—good thing there was a key. I really thought that iron mesh was about to break," Wang Zhi said, still shaken.
Wang Zhi checked the fuel tank; it was half full, enough for them to make a round trip.
"Old He, you drive; I'll study the map." After driving some distance, Wang Zhi yielded the driver's seat to Old He.
Wang Zhi stared at the map of City M. They were currently following Highway 2 and had entered the Outer Ring Road West.
"I hope the north side isn't sealed off in the same way," Wang Zhi said, leaning back in the passenger seat.
Traffic on the Outer Ring Road West was extremely sparse. Occasionally, they saw a wrecked vehicle, and they only spotted one or two Zombies from time to time, but before the creatures could react, Wang Zhi and his team had already sped away.
After driving a while longer, they suddenly saw a car lying sideways in the middle of the road ahead, with a person standing beside it.
"Old He, slow down!"
As the car approached, Old He saw it was a man whose clothes were already tattered and worn, looking extremely wretched. In his hand, he held a fire axe stained with blood.
After the four got out of the car, Wang Zhi raised his pistol toward the man. The man immediately knelt down, crying out, "Big brothers, I beg you to save my whole family."
"Keep your voice down. Who are you?" Wang Zhi asked.
"Big brother, my name is Hao Chenggong. I fled here from a town in the north; I am a police officer. Here is my identification." As he spoke, he pulled out his credentials from beneath his ragged coat.
Although it was night, Wang Zhi had night vision goggles, and after clearly seeing that the photo on the ID matched the man before him, he knew the person was not lying.
"Police Officer Hao Chenggong from the Longkou Town Public Security Bureau?"
"Yes, that's me,"
Seeing that Wang Zhi still showed no sign of yielding, Hao Chenggong immediately pleaded, "Police big brother, please, you must save us. If you think there are too many people, you can take my wife and child; I will stay behind alone."
"We have a mission right now. If you follow us, you will certainly die. Wait where you are. If we return alive, or if you see us return alive, I will take you to a safe place." After speaking, Wang Zhi glanced again at the wife and child huddled fearfully in the back seat.
"Okay! Okay! We will wait for you!" Hao Chenggong said excitedly.
The four returned to the car, restarted the engine, and drove toward the Outer Ring Road North.