"In a moment, Sister Ying and Old He, you two release Signal Flares to the sides. Liu Li and I will break through toward the main gate. Everyone else follow closely behind. Sister Ying and Old He, you cover the rear. Any problems with that?"
Wang Zhi laid out a simple plan and led the group with the supplies toward the road.
When they were about 200 meters from the horde of Zombies on the road, Wang Zhi had Su Muying and Old He fire Signal Flares to both sides.
Whoosh! Pop! The Signal Flares shot up, releasing intensely bright light onto the road, drawing all the surrounding Zombies toward them.
"Now! Everyone behind, keep up."
Wang Zhi seized the moment, raised his gun, and charged onto the road. Those behind him, carrying supplies, followed closely.
By the time Wang Zhi reached the road, some Zombies had already noticed him and turned to charge toward them.
"Wang Zhi, go open the gate first! We'll handle the Zombies," Old He shouted from behind.
Wang Zhi knew that opening the gate required time for identity verification. He had to get there early and open the door ahead of time. Realizing this, Wang Zhi instructed Liu Li to protect Dr. Yang before immediately speeding up toward the gate of the passage.
He took out the pre-prepared Magnetic Card and placed it in the slot. *Beep!* Verification successful, and the large gate began to open slowly.
"Everyone get inside quickly!"
Wang Zhi put away the Magnetic Card, changed the magazine, and covered the others at the doorway as they entered. Those behind saw the gate opening and rushed over with their last bit of strength.
The Zombies, which had been attracted by the Signal Flare, had clearly lost interest, and they all turned around to run toward the living people.
Wang Zhi saw that things were turning bad. Zombies from both sides were converging here. If they didn't close the gate and retreat immediately, there would be trouble.
"Everyone retreat immediately!"
Seeing that Jia Liuli had successfully escorted Dr. Yang to the entrance of the passage, Wang Zhi used his earpiece to tell Su Muying and Old He to immediately withdraw.
Wang Zhi continued providing fire support, but many people carrying supplies for him had not yet arrived. If this continued, all the Zombies would rush into the passage entrance.
No, if this continued, the supplies would be lost, and the people wouldn't be able to get in. There was no time. Wang Zhi immediately changed the angle of his gun.
Bang! Bang! Wang Zhi fired two shots at the people behind him who were not carrying supplies, hitting both of their legs directly. After being shot in the legs, the two lost the ability to move and fell directly to the ground. The Zombies immediately lunged toward the fallen woman upon smelling the blood.
While performing this action, everyone else was desperately fleeing, making it difficult for them to notice Wang Zhi selling out people. Still not enough! Bang! Another woman fell to the ground.
"Ah! Save me!" that man screamed.
Unfortunately, not a single person paid him any attention; they were all running toward the gate without looking back.
After Wang Zhi threw three living human baits outside the cave, the intensity of the zombie attack indeed dropped significantly. As Su Muying and the other survivor successfully retreated, Wang Zhi immediately darted back, and the iron door slammed shut, still being battered by the zombies outside.
"Hoo, that was close."
Su Muying leaned against the wall, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She tossed the rifle to Wang Zhi; it was clear that the physical exertion from being surrounded by zombies had taken a heavy toll.
"Is anyone injured?" Wang Zhi looked at these still shaken people and asked.
No one responded. Wang Zhi turned on the lights and conducted a quick inspection. Only after confirming everyone was uninjured did he head downstairs.
Along the way, nobody noticed the missing people, nor did they care how they disappeared. Right now, all they knew was that they had survived.
Wang Zhi felt no guilt over his previous actions; it was a necessary sacrifice. Had those few not been sacrificed, the outcome would only have been heavier losses.
"Well done, Liuli," Wang Zhi praised.
Wang Zhi had witnessed Liuli's actions. Her protection of Dr. Yang had been impeccable; hardly any zombies managed to get close, which in turn allowed Wang Zhi and the others to execute a faster retreat.
Excluding Dr. Yang, nine survivors were trailing behind. This operation was highly successful, netting nearly 5900 Survival Points and some food supplies in just two days.
Upon returning to the Dawn Tower, Wang Zhi first went to check the infirmary. Sophie was momentarily stunned when she saw Wang Zhi and the others.
"We meet again, Captain Wang," Sophie said, emerging from her office to greet him.
"Director Sophie certainly has a good memory."
"Don't joke around. Your team is the star team of the Dawn Tower right now; everyone knows about you."
"Alright, let's hurry up with the inspection. Just put all these supplies into that container."
Wang Zhi directed the survivors brought back from the outside, and then placed his own gear inside as well; all of it needed cleaning and disinfection.
After setting everything down, Wang Zhi and the others entered the decontamination room. Following a complete process of cleaning, changing clothes, and physical examination, Wang Zhi took the people from the Research Institute and Hao Chenggong's family to the Affairs Hall to hand over the mission. Dr. Yang Liu, however, was received by dedicated personnel.
Upon completing the handover, Wang Zhi successfully claimed the 5900 Survival Points.
"Let's hurry back. I'm exhausted; I haven't slept in two days," Wang Zhi said, quickening his pace as he left.
The four returned to the residential area on the third floor. Fatty, who was inside, immediately ran out upon hearing the noise. Startled when he saw Captain Wang, he exclaimed, "Captain Wang? You're back so soon? Am I dreaming?" Fatty then turned his gaze to Su Muying, "Sister Ying, quickly slap me to see if it hurts."
"Ow! That hurts, it hurts! It's not a dream! Stop, stop, I'm awake!"
"You lazy fatty, you're quite relaxed, still able to sleep," Su Muying said, twisting Fatty's hand mockingly.
"That's unfair! The doctor said I should rest more because I'm injured!" Fatty complained aggrievedly.
"Alright, stop picking on Fatty; he's the patient," Wang Zhi interjected from the side.
"Oh? You're telling me not to bully him, are you hoping I'll bully you instead?" Su Muying released Fatty's hand, draped her arm around Wang Zhi's neck, and challenged him flirtatiously.
Wang Zhi looked utterly exasperated. "Stop messing around, Sister Ying. I haven't slept in two days—I could fall asleep standing up. Hurry up and rest."
"By the way, Brother He, how did you guys get back so fast? Did the mission go smoothly?" Fatty asked.
"Relatively smooth," Old He replied briefly before heading back inside to sleep.
The four of them had barely slept during this entire outing; they were now severely overworked and exhausted.
"Hey, I just woke up! Huh, Sister Liuli is still hanging in there. Sister Liuli, why aren't you sleeping? Sister Liuli? Damn it! You've fallen asleep sitting up?" Seeing that everyone else had already drifted off, Fatty grew bored and joined the queue to sleep.
.....
"We've arrived. Please go inside now," the person who collected Yang Liu said from outside the door.
Yang Liu didn't ask any further questions and walked straight in. It was a large laboratory; many of the instruments were familiar to her. Reaching the depths, she saw a person she was intimately familiar with.
"Teacher! Is that really you?" Yang Liu asked, finding it hard to believe.
This was understandable, as Dr. Chen had left five years ago under the pretense of being dead.
"You've come, Xiao Liu."
When Dr. Chen spoke, she confirmed that this was indeed Teacher Chen, who had been 'dead' for five years.
"Teacher, you're not dead? How are you here?" Yang Liu had a million questions waiting to be asked.
"Hehe, I'm sorry, Xiao Liu. Arriving here five years ago was a top-secret operation; I told no one."
"Could it be... that you were the one who ordered them to go out and rescue me?"
"As expected of Xiao Liu, your thinking is still so sharp. That's right, it was my request, and after the Tower Master approved it, my request was issued as a mission to those warriors."
"What about the others! Your other students?" Yang Liu asked anxiously.
"Alas, Xiao Liu, you were the student I favored and was most proud of back then. You've grown from a little girl into the young woman you are now. To be honest, finding you and bringing you here was the extent of my capability," Dr. Chen said mournfully.
"What are you saying... I almost didn't make it either. If it hadn't been for Wang Zhi and the others, if they had been any later—just a moment later—I might not be standing here talking to you now." Yang Liu recalled the moments when Xiao Qi and An Qing risked their lives to go out and find food while she was near death.
"Come, find a place to sit. You said Wang Zhi and his team took the mission?"
"Yes! What is it, Teacher? You know them?"
"I know a little. They've become quite famous at the Dawn Tower recently, and the Tower Master mentioned them to me as well. Tell me the details of your arrival here."
Yang Liu recounted everything that happened, from waking up in the lab after fainting from hunger to see Wang Zhi and his team arrive, all the way to her experiences after entering the Dawn Tower.
"You mean you encountered mutated wolf packs?" Dr. Chen asked in surprise.
"That's right. Even animals have been infected with the virus now."
"Sigh, it seems things are getting worse and worse!"
"Then, Teacher, what should we do next?"
"Hmm... mainly, we need to research the gene antibody, biological mutations, and maintain some of the Dawn Tower's functions. But before that, you need to get some proper rest. If it weren't for the Adrenaline Hormone during this journey, you probably would have collapsed on the road long ago."
"Yes, Teacher!"
It was only after Dr. Chen reminded her that Yang Liu realized she hadn't slept or eaten properly for the past two days.
...