This was a highly evolved group of zombies, capable of teamwork and possessing considerable intelligence.
Gale Zhang could see that Tank was incredibly ferocious, slaughtering everything in his path.
He had fought Tank before and managed to drive him off. Clearly, the zombie had returned for revenge.
"These things... they actually hold grudges?" Gale Zhang frowned deeply.
"Mr. Zhang, look there!" The guard next to him looked astonished.
Within the Horde, a young man stood out. Wearing a spotless white shirt, he looked completely out of place among the hideous zombies surrounding him.
He was expressionless, watching everything with detached indifference.
"Is that... a person or a ghost?" Gale Zhang was equally stunned. Even among humans in the apocalypse, few were this clean. The youth stood there, giving off an unreal sense.
To use a common phrase: 'His background is just too fake...'
"Quick! Target him and open fire!" Gale Zhang immediately gave the order.
The guard next to him instantly adjusted his rifle. Fire spat from the barrel as countless bullets were unleashed.
But Ethan stood still, completely unmoving.
In a flash of red light from his eyes, the incoming bullets passed straight through his body, embedding themselves harmlessly in the ground behind him.
"Holy Sh—!" Gale Zhang was aghast. The sight was far too bizarre!
As the guards on the walls were systematically killed, the intensity of their fire weakened.
The zombies at the wall's base piled up, layer upon layer, successfully building Human Ladders. The upper zombies scrambled onto the wall.
"ROAR—"
Their faces were hideous, their roars feral. They lunged at anyone they saw, utterly vicious. Several guards were knocked down and savagely torn apart.
The fear in the hearts of the remaining men caused them to break formation immediately.
Seeing the outer wall about to fall, Gale Zhang quickly ordered, "Quick! Retreat, fall back into the Safe Room!"
The guards had wanted to run for a while, and they instantly turned and fled, occasionally firing back to slow the pursuing zombies.
But Little Eight was the fastest. Her claws were stained with blood, her face intensely excited as she reveled in the slaughter.
The human retreat only heightened her predatory urge. Her legs churned, and she flew forward, leaving streaks of afterimages.
In just a few breaths, she brought down five or six more humans.
"That's an Agility Zombie King!" Gale Zhang assessed. At the same time, his hands ignited with flames. A scorching heat permeated the air as he unleashed his Fire Ability.
If he didn't stop her, few of his men would escape.
With a sweep of his hand, two fireballs flew toward Little Eight.
Little Eight reacted instantly, leaping backward to dodge.
"BOOM! BOOM!"
The fireballs exploded, creating a wall of fire.
Using the fire wall as cover, the remaining guards managed to retreat into the rear building.
Gale Zhang glanced back and spotted Ethan within the Horde.
Ethan's figure was slowly advancing.
"Hiss..."
Gale Zhang dared not linger. He leaped off the high wall and retreated into the building. He found Ethan extremely eerie and still hadn't figured out what his ability was.
With the outer wall breached, Ethan calmly and unhurriedly walked toward the building.
He hadn't attacked immediately because he wanted to gauge the strength of the human Evolved Humans.
While his Corpse Domain was powerful, a full deployment could only last Five Minutes. If he attacked recklessly... he might ruin his clothes.
After the brief confrontation, two-thirds of the hundred or so guards at the Prison were lost, leaving fewer than forty men.
Ethan, having suffered virtually no losses, led his zombie army deep into the compound.
Tank followed behind him, a childlike smile spreading across his ugly face, clearly feeling immense satisfaction.
Revenge, finally... That's what you get for bullying me!
Inside the Prison, Gale Zhang's team had constructed a Safe Room. It was made entirely of Four-Inch thick Alloy, including the ceiling and floor, with no weak points—incredibly sturdy.
Only the front wall had a few Fist-Sized holes. These were Firing Ports for shooting outside, and they also served a Ventilation function.
"WHEW—"
The group let out a long sigh of relief after getting inside the Safe Room.
"These zombies... they're too fierce!"
"I know, they're not like the Horde used to be!"
"No kidding! Have you ever seen a zombie using Weapons?"
"You might not believe me, but I almost got sliced by a zombie with a Machete back there..."
"These monsters are evolving too fast!"
...
The guards sighed in shock.
Ethan's 'Vanguard' had already caught up, arriving outside the Safe Room. They clawed at the wall and roared ferociously, but the Alloy Wall was too thick; the zombies couldn't breach it.
"Use the satellite phone to contact headquarters and request support. We're safe for now, but we can't be trapped here by the zombies," Gale Zhang instructed.
"Understood," a nearby guard quickly replied.
'RUMBLE!'
At that moment, Tank smashed through several walls and charged directly toward the Safe Room.
Seeing his enemy hiding inside a 'Turtle Shell,' he was furious. He swung his massive fists, pounding the wall repeatedly.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The Safe Room shook violently, but the Alloy Wall was too thick; Tank couldn't break through.
"Hmph! Dumb brute, you can't get in, can you?" Gale Zhang wasn't worried at all. This Safe Room was built specifically to withstand Strength-Type Zombie Kings and powerful mutated creatures.
"ROAR ROAR ROAR— Damn humans!" Tank was enraged, roaring repeatedly out of sheer frustration.
Gale Zhang analyzed the situation. Someone with Tank's intelligence couldn't possibly be leading such a well-coordinated Horde. The true master had to be someone else.
It had to be... that impossibly clean young man!
As he was thinking this, the zombies outside suddenly fell silent, all at once. It was like a noisy classroom when the Principal abruptly walks in.
"Huh? What's going on?"
"Why did they suddenly go quiet?"
"These zombies... they're so strange!"
...
The abrupt silence left everyone stunned. It was the first time they had encountered anything like it since the apocalypse began.
The zombies stood rigidly in place, then, with uncanny coordination, they automatically cleared a path.
"What..."
People were even more astonished; they had never seen zombies behave this way.
Then, the figure of the young man slowly emerged from the distance.
Little Eight and The Doctor followed him, one on each side, the hierarchy clearly defined.
"M-Mr. Zhang, these zombies are too weird!" one subordinate stammered out of fear.
Gale Zhang stared intently, equally shocked.
"It's fine. They can't get in anyway. We'll just wait for rescue," he reassured them.
"Yes," the subordinates nodded, feeling a measure of relief.
Given the Safe Room's resilience, even a Missile couldn't breach it. They truly didn't have to worry about the zombies getting in.
"Pah! You dog-sons of zombies, come and bite me, huh?" one guard shouted.
"That's right! Stop pretending to be mysterious! You think you're so tough!"
"DAMN IT, my brother was bitten to death by you bastards!"
...
The guards were under intense psychological pressure, having witnessed too much gore and the deaths of their comrades. Feeling safe for the moment, they wanted to vent.
One even aimed at a Firing Port, pulled the trigger, and emptied a magazine outside.
But just as the muzzle flashed, Ethan's approaching figure suddenly vanished...