Chapter 53: Jin Zhaoye Clings to Her, Looking Up for a Kiss

Jin Zhaoyang's fingers instinctively reached for Xie Li's scent gland. The moment she touched it, Xie Li let out a soft hiss and shrunk her neck.

"What's wrong?" Jin Zhaoyang pulled her hand back, brow slightly furrowed. "Where does it hurt? Turn around and let me look."

Xie Li pressed the light switch and turned her back to Jin Zhaoyang, bending over the table's edge.

Jin Zhaoyang set the bag she was carrying on the table, stood beside Xie Li, and gently lifted her falling hair to see the entire patch of abnormally flushed skin.

The skin around the scent gland was especially red, with some areas already starting to peel.

"It's a sunburn. Do you have any aloe vera gel stocked?"

"I should. Let me look." Xie Li's consciousness sank into her Space, quickly found the aloe vera gel, and took out a box to hand over.

Jin Zhaoyang took it, unscrewed the cap, squeezed some onto her fingertip, and applied it to the reddened skin.

The cool ointment landing on the scorching skin made Xie Li flinch from the stimulation.

"Don't move." Jin Zhaoyang pressed her shoulder, squeezed out more aloe vera gel, and started applying from the back of her neck, along her shoulder all the way to her reddened arm.

"Remember to put on sunscreen tomorrow." Jin Zhaoyang applied while reminding her. "The sun is very harsh now. You all train on the training ground all day—your skin can't take it."

Xie Li suddenly had a thought: "You know, if we can't handle being exposed to the sun all day like this, how do the zombies handle it?"

"Maybe zombies also know how to avoid sunlight?" Jin Zhaoyang guessed casually.

She收回手拧好瓶盖，把没用完的芦荟胶放在了桌面上。

Xie Li stood up straight and looked back at her: "Speaking of which, when I went out last time, I found that the zombies have gotten much stronger. Their running speed is already comparable to a normal person sprinting at full speed."

"I know. Zombies are evolving, humans are evolving, animals are evolving too. Now it's just a matter of which side evolves faster."

After speaking, Jin Zhaoyang rubbed the tiny bit of aloe vera gel remaining on her fingertip all over Xie Li's face, reminding her once more: "Remember to apply sunscreen, got it? If you get tanned and ugly, your jiejie won't like you anymore."

Xie Li's face being rubbed, she mumbled indistinctly: "Ow, I didn't expect you to be so shallow, Dr. Jin. I've really misjudged you."

"Hmm~"

Jin Zhaoyang tossed her head傲娇地一扬脑袋，转身走进卫生间，洗掉手上残留的黏腻。

Water sounds quickly stopped, and she walked out of the bathroom wiping her hands: "Eat the food while it's hot. I need to go back to the Research Institute."

"Huh?"

Xie Li was surprised, feeling reluctant: "Why are you leaving as soon as you came?"

Jin Zhaoyang walked to her, lifted her hand to fix the strap that had slipped off her shoulder from the medication: "I need to rush the research and try to make the Gene Agent as quickly as possible to keep up with the mutated creatures' evolution."

"You need to train hard too, okay?" After saying this, she leaned up and kissed Xie Li on the lips.

Xie Li tightened her arms and pulled her into a hug, acting spoiled: "Can't you wait until I finish eating before you leave?"

"If I eat with you, you'll then cling to me to sleep with you."

Xie Li couldn't argue—she indeed would.

"Don't worry. We'll both be staying at the Base from now on. We'll have plenty of time together. Take it slow. First train hard, okay?"

"Mm." Xie Li obediently agreed, walked Jin Zhaoyang to the door, watched her go downstairs and leave, then turned back to the room and opened the bag Jin Zhaoyang brought.

She took out the food boxes one by one—still home-cooked dishes, very good taste, fragrant aroma filling the air. She picked up her chopsticks and sat down to eat.

After eating, she had broken out in a thin sweat again.

After收拾完饭盒，Xie Li went into the bathroom for another shower. The sunburned skin on her back of the neck and arms, rinsed by cold water, all peeled off, revealing the pink new skin underneath. The stinging sensation had improved much more.

She dried the water droplets, put on her sleepwear, slipped on her slippers, went back to bed, and closed her eyes to sleep.

......

The next morning, exactly at five o'clock.

Xie Li woke up on time, got up to wash up, changed clothes, gathered with her teammates downstairs, and headed to the training ground.

The morning air was relatively cool compared to the daytime heat, carrying the scent of morning dew.

Arriving at the training ground, they warmed up by running as usual, followed by various physical training.

After lunch at the Canteen, Xie Li led her teammates to the logistics department to exchange for a batch of bullets. In the afternoon, they started shooting training again.

Only when darkness completely fell did everyone finish training and return to the apartments.

After showering, Xie Li changed into clean clothes, ran to the villa district area to wait for Jin Zhaoyang. The two of them had dinner together, took a walk in an empty corner, lingered affectionately, then went home separately.

Nearly a month passed. Xie Li and her teammates did not leave the Base again.

Every day, besides sweating profusely on the training ground, the remaining time was meeting with Jin Zhaoyang.

Sometimes Xie Li waited outside the villa district for Jin Zhaoyang, sometimes Jin Zhaoyang came to the apartment to find her. The meeting time was generally not long.

Occasionally—they would seize the time to do it once.

The actual time they spent together was not long. Jin Zhaoyang had been too busy lately.

She had visibly lost weight, the little flesh on her cheeks becoming even less. Her wrist was so thin it could be grasped in one hand, and there was more dark circles under her eyes. The signs of exhaustion were impossible to hide.

That night, Jin Zhaoyang came to Xie Li's apartment as usual.

The moment they met, before even a word was said, Jin Zhaoyang embraced Xie Li and kissed her.

Afraid she would be too tired, Xie Li pulled away after a while: "Rest for a bit, okay? Want something to eat? I'll get it for you."

"Want to do it." Jin Zhaoyang clung to her, tilting her head up to ask for a kiss.

"Really want to?"

"Mm." Jin Zhaoyang kissed her while giving a vague response.

Xie Li thought about it, took out a small toy from her Space that could suction, and turned it on to use together.

Perhaps it was the first time experiencing a small toy—Jin Zhaoyang couldn't last even a minute before reaching once.

"Don't want that, it's too stimulating... I didn't get to properly feel it. One more time." Jin Zhaoyang protested in a low voice.

"Okay okay, one more time." Xie Li laughed and tossed away the small toy.

This time she slowed the pace, letting Jin Zhaoyang properly feel it.

After doing it twice, a thin layer of sweat covered Jin Zhaoyang's body. She lay soft and limp in Xie Li's arms, eyes closed, slowly calming her rapid breathing.

"Sleepy? Have you been sleeping too little lately?" Xie Li whispered near her ear.

"Mm..." Jin Zhaoyang lazily responded, her voice a bit hoarse. The apartment's soundproofing wasn't great—when they were here, she had to hold back and try not to make any sounds.

"The research has reached an important stage. It should be soon to break through. If it goes smoothly, the first batch of Gene Agents can be made. If the animal experiments succeed, then suitable volunteers will be selected to test the results."

Xie Li's team hadn't gone out of the Base. The military personnel were constantly taking action. If not for them clearing one round after another outside, the mutated creatures wandering within Dapan Mountain alone would be enough to make all survivors suffer.

Fu Yunsheng's people brought back many Crystal Cores, all sent to the Research Institute. With sufficient experimental samples, the progress sped up a lot. Jin Zhaoyang was stuck in the laboratory day and night, not even returning home.

The only relaxation was meeting Xie Li, being close, and making love.

Xie Li touched the dark circles under her eyes, gently reminded: "No matter how busy, ensure enough sleep. The next few days, you rest well. Don't squeeze time to come see me."

Jin Zhaoyang opened her eyes to look at her: "Going out?"

"Mm." Xie Li nodded. "Shooting training burns too many Contribution Points. If this continues, I won't be able to pay next month's rent. Need to take them out to gather some supplies."

"Where are you planning to go?"

"Not decided yet. Might go to the Food Processing Plant I mentioned to you before." Xie Li paused. "Actually, when I first came, I was very resistant to the Base. Now, I've come to like this stable and orderly life. Actually leaving now, I'm a bit reluctant to leave you."

"I also can't bear to part with you." Jin Zhaoyang buried her face in Xie Li's chest, pressing even closer.

The temperature had been getting higher day by day. The apartment had no air conditioning. They had just done it, and a thin layer of sweat covered their bodies.

In the past, Jin Zhaoyang would have hated such sticky embraces. But since it was Xie Li, she actually liked it.

Liked her scent, liked that scorching body temperature, liked her lean yet powerful muscle lines.

After a moment, she spoke in a muffled voice: "Be careful. Come back quickly."

Xie Li lowered her head and kissed the top of her hair: "Okay, I definitely won't go to dangerous places. I'll come back to you in one piece. You also need to ensure sleep. The body is the foundation of revolution."

They lingered affectionately for a while longer. Jin Zhaoyang pulled out of her embrace, bent down to pick up the scattered clothes, and put them on one by one.

Xie Li also got up and put on her clothes, took out some instant food from her Space, and also took out cake and desserts she had stockpiled at the warehouse supermarket earlier, arranging them on the table to feed Jin Zhaoyang.

Watching her finish eating, Xie Li walked her to the door, came back to clean up the trash on the table, went into the bathroom, and took a shower using water from her Space.

The Base hadn't been supplying water all day recently. Only at specific times would some water be released for everyone to simply wash up.

......

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Xie Li's group was ready to set out.

They first went to the mission hall to get a release permit, then went to the logistics department to exchange the remaining Contribution Points for two rifles and one hundred bullets. By then, the group was penniless again, not a single coin left in their pockets.

Shouldering their newly acquired weapons, Xie Li waved her hand: "Set out."

The group ran to the Parking Lot, jumped into the vehicle, started the car, and the rattling truck rumbled out of the Base's gate.

As usual, Xie Li took out the map, spread it out on the truck bed, and discussed the next route with her teammates.

"Lanshan County is too small." Liu Zhaoyang spoke first. "Although we didn't enter the city last time, we roughly know the city's situation. If we go straight to the Food Processing Plant and come up empty, we'll have wasted the entire day."

Zhou Yu continued: "Why not go to Dapan City along the way, searching as we go, and see if we can trade for a car. I really can't stand this broken truck anymore."

Xie Li raised her head and glanced at her teammates: "What do you all think?"

"Either way is fine. We listen to you." Fang Mai said.

Tang Ran joked: "Yeah, listen to the captain. You point where we go."

Although they usually called each other by name, they all acknowledged Xie Li as the captain. A team always needs a leader, and Xie Li was the leader everyone trusted and was willing to follow.

Xie Li rolled up the map: "I'm also thinking of searching along the way to see if we can find a car. Then it's settled."

Having said that, she put on her sunglasses, leaned against her backpack. Her gaze swept across both sides of the mountain road. Compared to when they came out last time, the trees in the mountains had withered badly. Green leaves were almost nowhere to be seen, only bare trunks remaining, one by one sticking out on the slopes.

The dense forest that originally covered the mountains was Dapan Mountain Base's natural cover. From the outside, one couldn't see the Base's true situation at all. Now that the trees had fallen, this outermost layer of barrier was rendered useless.

Xie Li recalled the original book's plot, not noticing whether the book described whether the weather would return to normal in the later stages of the Apocalypse. If the high temperature continued, food shortage was certain going forward.

There were many external teams from the Base setting out on the road, just like them. One vehicle after another overtook them, making Lan Ran so anxious she almost wanted to get out and carry the broken truck to run.

The broken truck swayed on the road for two to three hours before finally arriving at Dapan City.

As they approached the city area, zombies visibly increased. Hearing the engine noise, they emerged from every corner and ran toward the truck.

The few people dozing in the truck bed perked up, looking at the zombies running behind the truck's tail.

Dozens of zombies followed behind the truck, running fast. The distance between them couldn't be widened for a while.

Fang Mai frowned and muttered: "How come... it feels like the zombies are getting faster?"

"It's not an illusion. They're becoming more agile." Xie Li patted the roof of the driver's cabin, raising her voice toward Lan Ran inside who was driving. "Drive faster, shake off the zombies. Find a place to stop. We'll enter the city on foot."

"Okay." Lan Ran shouted in response, stepped on the gas pedal hard, and the speed suddenly increased.

The zombies chasing behind were soon outdistanced. After driving around the city outskirts for a while to shake off the pursuing zombies, the truck stopped in front of a small supermarket.

The supermarket's glass windows were already shattered to pieces. Without even entering, one could see the shelves inside had toppled over. The group didn't expect to find anything here—it was just a temporary stopping point, the starting point for their supply-searching trip.

Carrying their weapons, the group jumped down. Without Xie Li needing to direct, they quickly spread out, each guarding a position, alert to surrounding movements.

Xie Li pulled out her Miao Dao, stepping over broken glass to walk into the supermarket.

The things in the supermarket had basically been cleared out. The floor was scattered with some food packaging bags and dried, darkened bloodstains. The air carried a mixed smell of stale, moldy, and rot.

Xie Li lightened her footsteps, expanded her Psychic Domain for a moment, confirmed there were no zombies in the supermarket, then withdrew it.

They would be staying outside for a long time. She couldn't exhaust too much psychic power at the start. Every time her psychic power was depleted, she would feel dizzy and have difficulty moving.

"Come in. There's no zombies in the supermarket." Xie Li turned back to signal her teammates guarding the door.

One by one, the others walked into the supermarket, spreading out to search for supplies.

Soon, everyone reconvened on the first floor of the supermarket. Each person's backpack had more or less something in it—a small harvest, barely.

"There's a back door to the supermarket. I saw what seems like a small pharmacy behind. It's quite hidden. Maybe it hasn't been searched. Want to take a look?" Fang Mai asked in a low voice.

"Let's take a look." Xie Li waved to the group and walked out through the supermarket's back door.

Outside was a narrow alley. In the corner stood several large plastic trash cans, the garbage inside already rotted, giving off a foul smell.

The alley led to a small street at the end. Some small shops were open on the street. The pharmacy Fang Mai mentioned was at the end of the street.

They avoided the stinking trash can full of flies and quickly walked toward the pharmacy.

Walking to the pharmacy entrance, Xie Li suddenly raised her hand, signaling everyone to stop: "There's something inside."

Lan Ran leaned toward Xie Li, peering in. In the pharmacy's glass display window, something seemed to flash quickly.

It was slender, no fur, no scales, crawling on the ground with four limbs. No idea what kind of creature had mutated into this.

"How is it somewhat like a lizard? Where are its scales?" Fang Mai's voice carried some confusion. Apparently, she didn't recognize these mutated species either.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't look big. Two slashes and it's minced." Lan Ran waved her knife forward. "Sisters, charge!"

The group charged into the pharmacy with weapons raised. Perhaps their momentum was too strong, that mutated creature didn't dare come out to cause trouble, shrinking into a dark corner and disappearing.

The pharmacy was empty except for overturned shelves and a floor covered with empty medicine boxes. Basically nothing.

Not finding anything was within expectations. They didn't waste time, quickly exited the pharmacy, and moved forward along the small street.

After walking several streets, the situation was worse than they expected. They hadn't gathered much supplies. All the shops along the street had been looted.

Lan Ran quickened her pace, leaning toward Xie Li, whispering: "The situation is a bit bad. During the month we were training in the Base, the external teams looted Dapan City clean. Won't we go back empty-handed and go hungry?"

Xie Li laughed low: "I wouldn't let you go hungry. Let's look ahead first. Find a car first. Even if we have to go farther."

Having cards up her sleeve, her mindset was steady. If worst came to worst, she could take out some supplies from her Space, stash them in some corner and pretend they were accidentally discovered. In any case, she wouldn't let these people go hungry following her.

Moving forward a bit, a fairly large auto repair shop appeared in front of the group. A row of vehicles was parked in front, and nearly ten zombies were wandering near the shop. Smelling human scent, they turned their heads and roared as they charged toward them.

"Don't shoot. Close combat." With that, Xie Li raised her blade to meet them. The blade's flash attracted four or five zombies. The remaining zombies she left for her teammates behind.

The training during this period wasn't for nothing. Facing the charging zombies, everyone held their ground, each taking on one. The movements of slashing, dodging, and weaving were all crisp.

Soon, all ten zombies lay on the ground. Xie Li used the blade tip to flip open the zombies' heads and indeed found translucent Crystal Cores.

She dug out these Crystal Cores, wiped them clean, and put them away. Liu Zhaoyang saw this and squatted down to help dig out the zombie skulls.

While they were busy, Fang Mai's voice came from the auto repair shop entrance, excitement barely containable: "Xie Li, found a good car."

Xie Li put away the Crystal Cores and walked over quickly.

Fang Mai stood at the shop entrance, face full of smiles.

Two Land Cruisers were parked in front of the auto repair shop—one black, one white. They looked to be in good condition.

Fang Mai skillfully ducked into the shop, searched on the key board hanging on the wall for a moment, took down two sets of keys, got into each car to try them. The Land Cruiser engines started one after another.

She pushed the car door open, the smile on her face impossible to hide: "Now that's better. Finally can blow some air conditioning instead of baking in the truck bed. Wait here. I'll find some usable parts to bring."

"Good. Hard work." Xie Li responded.

Fang Mai was quick. In no time, she carried parts from the shop and stuffed them into the trunk. She also found a few walkie-talkies from the toolbox, handing one to Xie Li: "One per car, convenient for contact along the way."

Xie Li took it, looked at her watch. They arrived at Dapan City at just past nine, nearly ten. Searching for supplies along the way took a few hours. Now it was nearly two in the afternoon.

"Let's go. First go back to the truck, fill up with oil, then go directly to the Food Processing Plant. Best to arrive at Lanshan County before dark and find a place to stay."

"Okay." Everyone responded in unison, got into their respective cars. The two Land Cruisers, one in front and one behind, drove out of the auto repair shop, heading toward the small supermarket where they had stopped earlier.

In front of the supermarket, Fang Mai jumped out of the car, nimbly filled all three vehicles with oil.

Xie Li and the others stood guard nearby. After filling up, everyone got back into the cars.

The two Land Cruisers, one in front and one behind, protecting the broken truck, formed a simple convoy, heading toward Lanshan County.

Lan Ran drove the lead black Land Cruiser. Xie Li sat in the passenger seat, took out two packages of Compressed Biscuits from her backpack, opened one and handed it over: "Eat."

Lan Ran took the Compressed Biscuit and took a bite. Crumbs sprayed from her mouth: "So dry. Want iced cola."

Xie Li also wanted to drink, but Lan Ran didn't know she had a Space. Taking out two bottles of ice-cold cola from her backpack at this point—Lan Ran would notice something was off even if she had a hole in her head.

"Drink water." Xie Li opened a bottle of Mineral Water and handed it to Lan Ran. She herself also opened Compressed Biscuits and started munching.

The convoy traveled along the road. Occasionally, some scattered, lone zombies attracted by the engine noise would run to chase them, but were quickly shaken off.

When they arrived at Lanshan County, it was already dark.

Xie Li picked up the walkie-talkie and said to the teammates in the two cars behind: "First find a place outside the county to stay the night. Don't go to the Food Processing Plant at night—too dangerous. Rest first, wait until daylight to act."

The two cars behind responded simultaneously: "Received."

Lan Ran slowed the speed to let Xie Li observe the buildings along the way. The headlights swept across the shop fronts on the street. The mottled signs flashed by in the light.

Moving forward a bit, the headlights illuminated a single-story building. The sign hanging on the entrance read Ping'an Hotel in big characters.

Xie Li looked at those four characters: "Ping'an Hotel. Nice meaning. We all should be safe. Let's stop here. Park near the front."

Lan Ran turned the steering wheel and parked in front of the hotel. The other two cars followed and pulled up in a line.

Xie Li picked up the walkie-talkie: "Drivers stay in the car, don't turn off the engine for now. Everyone else, get out and follow me."

Having said that, she pushed the car door open and got out.

Walking to the lobby of Ping'an Hotel, Xie Li shone a flashlight inside. The front hall was messy. The sofas for guests to rest were overturned. The front desk was splattered with many bloodstains.

She lightly knocked on the glass door—two sharp knocks that echoed in the empty hall.

In the darkness, a low roar sounded. Seven or eight zombies charged out from the corridor's corner.

Xie Li held her blade in one hand and the flashlight in the other, expanding her Psychic Domain. She instantly caught every zombie's movement.

The blade flashed continuously in the night. In just a moment, seven or eight zombies all lay on the ground, head separated from body.

Sheathing her blade, Xie Li turned back to call at the door: "Get out. Should be safe now."

They turned off the car and locked it. The group filed in. Xie Li led Lan Ran and Zhou Yu upstairs. The other three stayed downstairs and checked each floor one by one.

Zombies wandering in the hallways were all dealt with. As for those trapped in rooms roaring, Xie Li didn't bother—they couldn't leave the rooms anyway, so they weren't causing any trouble.

Confirming safety, the three went downstairs and reconvened with the other three teammates.

Xie Li chose a street-facing room on the second floor as their lodging for the night. Opening the window, their cars were right there. Even if something unexpected happened, everyone could jump out directly through the window.

Lan Ran and the others took out the instant noodles, snacks, and Mineral Water they found during the earlier search. They used a portable stove to boil some water, made the noodles, and with Mineral Water, each person ate a warm bowl.

After dinner, those not on night watch went to sleep one by one. Soon, only the footsteps of the night watch members moving around could be heard in the hotel.

......

At daybreak, everyone in the hotel woke up. After a simple cleanup, they went downstairs, got back in the cars, and drove toward the Food Processing Plant located at the edge of the development zone.

Lanshan County was small. The convoy soon arrived at the destination.

The factory gate was wide open. Looking through the entrance, one could see this was a large factory. The office building was directly facing the main gate. The food production workshop was further inside.

Lan Ran glanced at Xie Li: "Drive straight in?"

Xie Li shook her head: "Don't drive in. Let's scout first to see what's inside."

Her Psychic Domain's coverage was limited. The specific situation inside still needed scouting.

"Okay." Lan Ran stepped on the brake and stopped outside the factory gate. The other two cars stopped behind.

Xie Li held her blade, pushed the car door open, and led her teammates into the factory.

Walking several hundred meters along the office building, they reached the production workshop. The workshop door was tightly closed. Further inside was a warehouse with half-open doors. A row of dusty box trucks were parked in front of the warehouse.

Xie Li turned back to signal them to check the trucks first.

Bowing low, they ran across the cement ground to those trucks.

All were locked, no keys. The cargo compartments were also closed. Not sure if there was cargo inside.

"Let's check the warehouse. If we can find the keys, we'll drive all these cars back." Xie Li said.

Fang Mai walked at the front, first stepping into the warehouse.

The warehouse was large. Shelves stretched in rows deep into it, piled with cardboard boxes and woven bags. The air carried a smell of oil that had been sun-baked.

Xie Li took a flashlight from her backpack and shone it on the goods on the shelves.

"We hit the jackpot." Fang Mai whispered, her voice barely containable excitement.

On the shelves were neatly stacked various canned goods—braised pork cans, luncheon meat cans, soybean cans, fruit cans, tomato cans. The dates on the boxes were very fresh, produced just days before the disaster broke out.

Xie Li also smiled, reminded in a low voice: "Don't get excited yet. First look around for zombies. Find the car keys before moving goods isn't late."

They walked along the channels between the shelves. The flashlight beams swayed in the dim warehouse.

After checking one round, they didn't see any danger in the warehouse for now.

Xie Li led the group back to the entrance and arrived at the warehouse manager's small office.

When they entered earlier, she had heard a zombie in this office, but it was locked inside, so she hadn't rushed to deal with it.

The moment Xie Li's hand touched the door handle, a massive force came through the door.

The entire door panel flew backward along with Xie Li. A black figure pounced out from the pitch-black doorway, carrying a rotting stench, directly slamming into Xie Li.

"Xie Li!!!" Liu Zhaoyang cried out in alarm.

Mid-air, Xie Li fully expanded her Psychic Domain.

She kicked the door panel away, pulled out her Miao Dao, and stabbed toward the pouncing creature.

The blade tip pierced in an inch before getting firmly stuck.

Only now did Xie Li see this zombie's appearance.

Its shoulders and back were almost twice her width. Its entire body was covered in bulging muscles. Under its gray-black skin, blue-purple veins writhed like earthworms.

Its jaw was split open, from the corner of its mouth all the way to its ear root, revealing an especially ferocious set of teeth.

Xie Li's hair stood on end. She turned to shout at the others: "Scatter! This is a Mutated Zombie."

Before the words finished, she and the Mutated Zombie crashed to the ground together.

The zombie's two claws reached out, firmly gripping the blade. Its strength was astonishing. The blade back was pressed down toward Xie Li's throat.

"Damn, die for me."

Lan Ran charged from behind, slashing her blade at the zombie's head.

The blade edge hit the gray-black skin but couldn't cause much damage. The Mutated Zombie waved its hand indifferently, directly slapping Lan Ran, person and blade, flying away.

Lan Ran crashed into an entire row of shelves. Cardboard boxes came crashing down, instantly burying her.

"Lan Ran!" Xie Li's eyes turned red.

Her knees suddenly发力, kicking the Mutated Zombie on top of her to fly backward. Her palm pressed against the ground as she leaped up, foot stepping on the shelf for leverage. Her whole body rose into the air, both hands gripping the blade. Using the speed and weight of her descent, she slashed down with full force on the Mutated Zombie's neck.

The blade cut halfway in, firmly stuck on the zombie's spine.

The Mutated Zombie let out a low roar. Its eyes instantly turned red. Its claws reached for the hand gripping the blade.

Shouldering the rifle, Tang Ran and Zhou Yu kept aiming but couldn't pull the trigger. Xie Li and the Mutated Zombie were constantly moving, too close. They were worried about hitting Xie Li.

"Take this club." Fang Mai appeared from the side, swinging the steel pipe in a full circle, hitting the zombie's claw. The zombie paused for a moment.

In that moment, Xie Li took out the pistol from her back, pressed the muzzle against the zombie's eye socket, and fired several shots.

Bang bang bang—bullets shot into the Mutated Zombie's eye socket.

The zombie's body paused, slowly pitched forward, and fell to the ground, motionless.

Xie Li put away her pistol. Without time to pull out the Miao Dao stuck in the zombie's neck, she quickly ran toward Lan Ran, moved the cans piled on her, and dragged her out.

"How is it? Are you okay?"

Lan Ran's forehead was broken. Her nosebleed was flowing profusely, covering half her face. She looked as disheveled as could be.

She bared her blood-stained teeth at Xie Li, laughing as if nothing had happened: "Old lady wants to eat ten cans of braised pork."

Looking at her in this useless state, Xie Li laughed along: "Okay okay, you can eat twenty."

"Don't laugh at me." Lan Ran rolled her eyes at her. "Give your sister a hand."

Xie Li grabbed her wrist and pulled her up.

Lan Ran stood steady, brushed off the dust, lifted her T-shirt hem to wipe the blood off her face, then turned to look at the fallen Mutated Zombie: "All that muscle didn't help, did it? Still got solved with two shots."

"Don't be careless. If the bullets hadn't gone directly through the eye socket, pistol bullets really might not have been able to hurt it." Xie Li reminded.

"Right. That zombie was too fast. We couldn't aim just now." Zhou Yu agreed.

Tang Ran walked out of the warehouse manager's office, keys dangling in her hand, a smile on her face: "Sisters, look—car keys in hand."

"Well done." Fang Mai praised.

"Xie Li, your blade." Liu Zhaoyang pulled the Miao Dao from that zombie's neck.

Xie Li took the blade, sheathed it, and scanned everyone present: "Fang Mai, check the cars. Everyone else, move the goods out."

Everyone in the team moved.

Fang Mai took the car keys, went out of the warehouse, checked all the box trucks, and came back to report: "The cars are in good condition. Much better than our broken truck."

Xie Li dug out the Crystal Core from that Mutated Zombie's head, waved to the group: "Move the goods."

The cargo compartment doors opened. Everyone started moving goods inside.

The warehouse didn't only have canned goods. There were also many instant foods—instant noodles, dried noodles, biscuits and candies, quite a lot.

Except for candy, everything else was ignored.

No other reason—meat cans could be exchanged for more Contribution Points. With limited carrying capacity, they had to maximize the benefit.

Six people. Three moved goods, three stacked them in the vehicles. In just over an hour, three box trucks were filled to the brim.

Xie Li looked at Fang Mai, who was about to go into the warehouse to move more goods, and stopped her: "That's enough, Fang Mai. We have too few people. No matter how much more we load, we can't drive it all back."

Fang Mai and the others looked at the remaining goods in the warehouse, some reluctance in their eyes. They were already considering whether to abandon the Land Cruisers and directly drive six box trucks back to the Base.

"Let's go. Get in the car. The supplies aren't going anywhere. We can make another trip tomorrow." Xie Li called to everyone, turned, and walked toward the trucks.

Everyone else moved. Fang Mai and Tang Ran pulled open the driver's seat doors. Zhou Yu and Liu Zhaoyang were each holding two boxes of cans, planning to put them on the passenger seat.

Everyone's mood was relaxed. This external mission could be considered a huge haul. Exchanging for Contribution Points back at the Base would be enough to laze around until next year.

Before they got into the cars, a group of Zombie Dogs slowly walked out not far ahead, blocking the exit.

They should be the guard dogs of this processing plant. Their necks still had broken collars.

Now, their entire body fur had mostly rotted away, revealing the black-red muscles beneath. On their backs had grown a row of ferocious bone spurs, like Bone Chopper Knives stuck upside down.

The dog group slightly arched their backs, their scarlet eyes staring fixedly at this side. Their mouths showed uneven fangs, drool dripping from the corners.

Fang Mai gripped the car door handle, her body frozen. Lan Ran's leg, halfway climbed in, hung in mid-air.

Xie Li stared at those scarlet eyes, her hand quietly moving behind her back, signaling the group.

Lan Ran and the others came back to their senses, moving gently, inching toward the car, not making any sound.

A wind blew from the factory entrance, bringing a clear bark!

The Zombie Dogs lowered their front limbs, like an arrow leaving the string, and charged toward the group.

"Zhou Yu, Tang Ran, get on top of the car—!" Xie Li shouted loudly. "Everyone else, get in the car, close the doors tight, hide well."

After shouting this, Xie Li raised her blade and charged toward the dog group.

The Zombie Dogs' speed exceeded everyone's imagination. Almost in the blink of an eye, the fastest one had pounced in front of Xie Li. Its mouth full of saw-like broken teeth bit toward her throat.

Xie Li sidestepped. The Miao Dao grazed along the Zombie Dog's back. The blade cut through the gray-black flesh. Thick black stinking blood oozed from the wound. The creature rolled over and landed. Its claws scraped several pits in the cement ground. Almost without pausing, it turned to pounce back.

At the same time, Tang Ran and Zhou Yu stepped on the wheels and leaped onto the top of the cargo compartment. They knelt on the metal roof to stabilize, raised their guns, aimed, and fired. The movements were seamless.

Gunshots rang out one after another. Bullets spun out of the gun barrels, shooting toward the dog group.

Those Zombie Dogs' movement speed was too fast. Fast enough that there were only gray-black silhouettes in the field, weaving and dodging through the bullet rain.

Most bullets flew past their shadows, hitting the cement ground and kicking up strings of stone chips and white smoke.

Xie Li fell into the encirclement of the dog group. Seven or eight Zombie Dogs circled her at high speed. Gray-black silhouettes crisscrossed and overlapped. The alternating attack rhythm was so fast she couldn't catch her breath.

This was definitely the hardest battle she had faced so far.

The Zombie Dogs seemed to still retain some intelligence from their living days. They fought cooperatively. One in front would feign an attack, and immediately a Zombie Dog would take advantage from the side. Xie Li forced one back with her blade, and another pounced from behind.

There were also two or three trying to jump onto the top of the cargo compartment, but were forced back by Tang Ran and Zhou Yu's gun muzzles. They landed beside the car, rolled, and rejoined the group attacking Xie Li.

Even with the Psychic Domain cheat, Xie Li gradually fell behind. She could sense each dog's attack, but these dogs' speed was no slower than hers.

A Zombie Dog pounced from behind. Xie Li ducked to avoid it, evading the fatal neck. Her shoulder was clawed by the Zombie Dog. The fabric tore open, flesh turned outward.

Xie Li grunted, forced back that sneak-attacking beast with a backhand blade. She stumbled half a step.

The people in the cargo compartment couldn't sit still. Lan Ran was the first to push open the car door, holding her blade to jump down.

Xin Zhaoyang caught their movement in her peripheral vision, shouted sternly: "Go back, get in the car. Don't come down and die!"

"Xie Li—watch out behind!" Zhou Yu shouted from the top of the car, lowered her gun muzzle, and fired a hip shot.

The bullet hit head-on that Zombie Dog leaping toward Xie Li's back. The huge impact force knocked it flying.

Xie Li didn't miss this opportunity. Both feet pushed against the ground, springing up. The Miao Dao raised high above her head, she slashed down with full force.

The blade cut into the skull. Xie Li twisted her wrist. The blade edge directly stirred up the dog's brain. The Zombie Dog twitched twice and collapsed on the ground, motionless.

Xie Li took the chance to gasp rapidly. Her chest rose and fell quickly. Sweat mixed with blood from her shoulder dripped from her fingertips.

Her gaze swept across the battlefield. Two lay on the ground. Five or six more remained circling around.

They didn't retreat because of their companion's death. Smelling the blood scent Xie Li emitted, they went even more insane. Low roars came from their throats.

Xie Li's mind raced. Continuing like this definitely wouldn't work. Her physical strength was being consumed too fast. Her shoulder was burning hot. That definitely must have broken the skin. She didn't know if it would infect with the zombie virus.

She couldn't keep消耗下去了.

She tried to recall her outbreak beside the cargo ship. How had she done it then? How had all the zombies and mutated creatures fallen at the same time?

It seemed... there was only one strong thought in her heart. She wanted those zombies to die, wanted Jin Zhaoyang to live. Only that thought, extremely strong.

Xie Li took a deep breath, whistled at the dog group, turned, and ran toward the factory entrance.

Five or six Zombie Dogs all moved at once, paws digging into the ground, chasing her.

After running far enough, Xie Li suddenly turned around, facing the chasing dog group, roared: "Die for me!"

Psychic Shock exploded from her as the center, invisible ripples spreading out. The Zombie Dogs that had chased to her side were struck by lightning. Their running bodies suddenly stiffened, one after another fell to the ground.

Xie Li looked at the dog group lying in front of her. Her lips moved, as if wanting to laugh. Her body didn't listen to her again. She swayed, her knees softened, and she knelt down.

The long blade in her hand supported her body, preventing her from falling face-first onto the Zombie Dog's corpse.

"Xie Li!!!" Lan Ran was the first to rush out of the cargo compartment, scrambling on all fours toward Xie Li.

The others also ran over quickly, gathering around Xie Li.

Fang Mai squatted down to check Xie Li's breathing and pulse, then ordered everyone: "Get in the car first. Leave this place."

Without a word, Lan Ran put Xie Li's arm over her shoulder, bent down, and carried her.

Everyone quickly retreated to the box trucks. Lan Ran placed Xie Li in the passenger seat, pulled over the seat belt and fastened it.

Xie Li's head tilted to the side. The fine hair on her forehead was stuck to her pale skin with cold sweat. She was unresponsive to everything around her.

"You absolutely can't die. Otherwise I'd be too sorry for the goddess." Lan Ran muttered, then quickly walked to the driver's seat, ignited the engine, shifted gears, stepped on the gas. The box truck rushed out of the factory.

The other two box trucks followed closely. At the factory entrance, everyone jumped out and got into the Land Cruiser and truck parked there earlier.

The three vehicles started, caught up with the lead box truck, and sped in a line toward the Base.

Lan Ran held the steering wheel with one hand, her peripheral vision always on Xie Li.

Xie Li's face was as pale as paper. The color on her lips was completely gone. The wound on her shoulder was a mess of flesh and blood. The skin torn by the claws was turned outward, mixed with black and red blood.

Lan Ran didn't know if her good sister was mutating.

But regardless of whether the other person was turning into a zombie, she had to bring the person back to the Base and hand her over to Goddess Jin.