Chapter 107: Encirclement and Interception
While they were still talking, four or five people on the other side had already died. Various abilities had been used, but none proved effective. Suddenly, a round of gunfire erupted. After the barrage, the mutant pig finally collapsed to the ground. Li Ji and a few others waited a while longer before letting anyone approach to confirm its death. They then had a spatial ability user store the mutant pig in their space and proceeded back toward the pig pens.
Surrounded by buildings on all sides, Li Ji’s group didn’t notice anything unusual. But from their vantage point, Lu Weiyi and his team saw everything clearly. The gunfire had attracted zombies, which were now encircling the area.
“You guys… think that thing is edible?” Antonio’s first reaction was: that’s a lot of meat—enough to feed Dean for a while. He glanced at Lu Weiyi, but thinking it might be too abrupt to ask directly, he added the “guys.”
“Probably not for ordinary people,” Lu Weiyi didn’t give a definite answer. “We’ll try it later.”
Mutant animals were indeed edible, and packed with energy—beneficial for ability users. But whether they were safe for regular people was unclear. In his previous life, everyone around him had abilities. Regular folks mostly worked logistics in the base, so he hadn’t paid much attention. He vaguely recalled hearing that mutated animals weren’t safe for non-ability users, though mutated plants might be. Even now, he wasn’t entirely sure.
“We’ll snatch it later,” Li Zhuang said as he continued watching them.
By now, the zombies had gathered at the farm. Li Ji and his group had noticed as well. Luckily, being in the suburbs meant the zombie numbers weren’t overwhelming. Still, after just having battled a mutant pig, everyone was drained—physically and mentally.
You had to hand it to Li Ji’s group—they were ruthless. Clearly aware that ability users couldn’t be infected, they fought zombies practically with their bare hands. As long as they didn’t get torn apart, it was always the zombies that died.
“Brutal,” Li Zhuang said in admiration. “People like this will be tough to deal with later.”
The gruesome scene felt vividly real. Were it not for the fact that they were enemies, Lu Weiyi’s group might have stepped in to help, out of respect for their fierce will to survive at any cost.
No one spoke for a while, not until the other group had wiped out all the zombies.
The courtyard was littered with bodies and blood. Knowing that lingering would just attract more zombies, Li Ji had the injured board the trucks while several uninjured members and the spatial user went back into the pig housing.
Seven or eight minutes later, they burst out again, each covered in blood and carrying a pig over their shoulders. They swiftly tossed them into the trucks and climbed aboard.
At this point, Li Zhuang lowered his binoculars and turned to the others. “While their ability users are still worn down from dealing with zombies, we strike now. One person stays in this building, one in the next, two across the street. Spread out, aim for the third or fourth floors for optimal sniping and quick access if needed.”
“Remember, no one can be allowed to escape. Otherwise, we risk exposure. Don’t forget about the weapons stash we’ve got. If that leaks, we’ll become public enemies.”
“I’ll stay in this building,” said Lin Yimu, knowing he had no abilities and didn’t want to overreach.
“I’ll take the next one,” Ning Yuan offered.
“We’ll go across,” Li Zhuang said, glancing at Antonio before finally looking at Lu Weiyi. “What about you?”
“I’ll stay on the first floor by the roadside. I’ll be the last to act,” Lu Weiyi replied calmly, knowing full well why he was here. As he spoke, he handed each of them a sniper rifle, a pistol, plenty of ammo, walkie-talkies, binoculars, and other essentials.
The four took their gear and quickly headed downstairs.
“Hmm, is it getting colder?” Ning Yuan remarked not long after stepping outside.
“In August?” Lin Yimu replied. “Probably just feels that way because it was hot inside from cooking noodles, and now it’s overcast outside.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Ning Yuan agreed.
But Lu Weiyi paid closer attention to that comment. Wearing long sleeves and pants all the time, he couldn’t tell if it was genuinely cold or just the weather shift. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the snowstorm was near. Thinking of Zhuang Mingxu, who was still out there, he started to grow anxious.
Just past five o’clock, the wind began to blow. At first, it just rattled the windows, but soon it kicked up dust and sand.
“This weather’s turning nasty,” Li Zhuang muttered as he aimed his sniper rifle.
“They’re coming back,” Ning Yuan said, eyes still glued to the binoculars. “Do we proceed?”
Everyone hesitated, seemingly waiting for Lu Weiyi’s decision. A moment later, his voice came through the walkie-talkie. “…Proceed.”
“The weather’s about to turn. Let’s finish this quickly and regroup with the others tonight,” Lu Weiyi added after a pause.
Antonio clenched his fists—he always feared Lu Weiyi’s judgments, because they were often right and usually dire. “Roger that,” he responded.
The others followed with quiet affirmations and waited in silence for Li Ji’s group to approach.
Over the next half hour, the windstorm grew stronger. Eventually, Li Ji’s convoy appeared in the distance.
As the first truck rolled over the spike trap and its tire blew out, four sniper rifles fired in unison. The drivers of all four vehicles were taken out instantly, followed by the co-drivers. The three cargo trucks each had only a driver and a co-driver, so with both dead, the trucks ground to a halt. Their cargo bays were tightly covered, making it impossible to see what was inside, and the passengers in the back had no idea what was happening outside.
But the SUV was different. Sitting in the back, Li Ji immediately realized they were under attack. He ducked down behind the seat in front of him and told the person next to him something. That person quickly followed his lead, hiding beneath the seat. After waiting a moment, Li Ji reached for the driver’s walkie-talkie.
“I’m watching the off-road vehicle,” Li Zhuang said proactively. “Li Ji is in the best position.”
“There are goods in both the front and rear trucks. All the people are in the second trailer.” Lu Weiyi, who had been hiding by the roadside and hadn’t made a move yet, spoke up after investigating the vehicles. If it weren’t for the two spatial ability users inside, the best move at this point would’ve been to throw in some explosives and wipe them all out at once.
With another soft “puff” sound, the person sitting next to Li Ji also died. In the off-road vehicle, only Li Ji was left.
At this moment, the people in the truck sensed that something was wrong.
Lu Weiyi moved in slightly, and as the rear curtain of the truck was lifted, he manipulated a small green vine to strangle the five people closest to the back and dragged them down. Panic, screams, and blood instantly spread through the inside of the truck.
The rest quickly grabbed whoever was nearby as human shields and jumped off the truck.
This was the moment Lin Yimu, Ning Yuan, and Antonio were waiting for. The three fired simultaneously. Only the muffled “puff puff” of silenced gunfire could be heard, and people kept dropping. Amid the chaos, Lu Weiyi continued to manipulate his green vine, seizing the chance to strangle several more enemies.
People kept dying, yet the attackers remained unseen. The survivors began to panic. Several ability users started firing off their powers in all directions—fist-sized fireballs, finger-thick ice spikes, palm-length daggers, and slender plant vines.
One person even raised four earth walls to enclose themselves in the center. These early-stage abilities were being used to their fullest by Li Ji’s team, and their power levels were noticeably higher—even higher than Li Zhuang and Ning Yuan’s.
Taking advantage of the chaos, they began to flee toward the roadside. Four unlucky ones ran straight into Lu Weiyi—including Cheng Hai.
Lu Weiyi vaguely remembered Cheng Hai—he had been part of Zhuang Mingxu’s secretary group and had followed him for quite some time. But now he was being used as a human shield, held by a power user with a vine wrapped around his neck—clearly just a bullet sponge.
He wondered if Cheng Hai was regretting things now.
Lu Weiyi thought to himself, then used the green vine to strangle the other three to death. He then bound Cheng Hai and tossed him into a nearby building. A few others who had been following them screamed and fled in the opposite direction after seeing their companions killed.
Meanwhile, Li Ji, who had been under Li Zhuang’s watchful eye, suddenly pulled out a bundle of explosives. He lit it and threw it in Li Zhuang’s direction before jumping out of the vehicle, smashing through a window and hiding inside a building.
If that bundle had exploded nearby, Li Zhuang, Antonio, and Lu Weiyi on the first floor would likely have been seriously injured if not dead. Lu Weiyi didn’t have time to hide anymore. He leapt out and used his green vine to grab the explosives and hurl them toward the road behind, where the explosion would attract zombies instead.
As soon as someone appeared, Li Ji—hiding in the building—fired a shot. But Lu Weiyi’s mental shield blocked it, and he dodged swiftly.
Then, after a loud boom, Lin Yimu’s voice came over the walkie-talkie: “Li Ji ran off. Everyone else is dead. Ning Yuan and I are in pursuit.”
“At the very least, he’s badly wounded,” Lu Weiyi said on the radio—his tone carrying a rare edge of cruelty.
“Copy that,” Ning Yuan responded calmly, the sound of a vehicle starting in the background.
Thank you for the chapter