Chapter 401: Hunt Time
The base had no extra enemies, so livestock was used as bait. Fortunately, zombies weren’t too picky.
When a nearby contact point found signs of the enemy, four S-rank powered users split into two teams and lured some zombies away in different directions, while the main force was led by Lu Weiyi’s mental power, guiding the bulk of zombies away from the Pingjin base.
Relying on their high power level, several team leaders directly broke into the enemy camp, throwing the bait meat into their encampments and surrounding areas.
Compared to the remote Half Moon Bay, their location was in the city, harder to escape once zombies were attracted. The enemy was forced to engage with large numbers of zombies.
Only when the zombies near Half Moon Bay were completely wiped out did the enemy show no sign of advancing, leaving the lone squad members stunned.
Only when Zhuang Mingxu received news from Qi Lin did they know the enemy was still fighting zombies.
Previously, to attract zombies, they had stirred trouble around the zombie nests in Pingjin city center. After Lu Weiyi’s group diverted some zombies, the scattered bait attracted even more zombies. With ongoing injuries and continuous zombie attacks, the enemy was overwhelmed, unable to spare anyone.
The entire base entered a recovery phase. Instead of previous panic, a sense of prosperity appeared.
Ye Jiatian of the Frost Association took her squad to guard the ice wall day and night, even volunteering to take a post herself.
“I’m the strongest in ice powers. Any zombies that come here definitely won’t harm the ice wall below. Base Commander, trust me, I won’t disappoint the base,” Ye Jiatian assured confidently, patting her chest.
“Don’t worry, sisterhood stands with the base through life and death,” Yu Mengchu said.
“You’re on guard but haven’t gotten any purification crystal cores,” Lu Weiyi bluntly pointed out their thoughts. “The base production is limited; there’s not much to give. The recent distributions to all squads have nearly depleted storage.”
“You sound like you don’t trust us. We’re making the contributions the base deserves,” Yu Mengchu said solemnly, patting her chest.
Lu Weiyi raised an eyebrow, then she immediately switched to a flattering expression. “Of course, if the Base Commander appreciates our efforts, any future purification crystal cores will be thought of for the Frost Association first, right?”
“The base will remember your contributions,” Lu Weiyi said.
“Thank you, Base Commander,” Yu Mengchu said cheerfully, genuinely leading her team to take up a post.
Other squads followed suit, sending people to help. Just by relying on the purification crystal cores, the entire base was solidified together.
After the zombie corpses at Half Moon Bay were cleared, news arrived from Pingjin Base: the Blizzard Squad members had returned with their forces.
“Their captain Zhang Tong and several veteran powered users died. The whole Blizzard Squad is now leaderless and immediately entered a power struggle. Everyone is trying to rush back to the base to control the rear,” Zhuang Mingxu leisurely said as he played chess, slowly moving pieces while telling Lu Weiyi the latest news.
Lu Weiyi wasn’t good at chess, often taking three steps forward and two steps back. Zhuang Aiyi watched admiringly and asked, “So it can be played like this?”
Amused by Zhuang Mingxu’s laughter, Lu Weiyi had to put the pieces back and scold him for bad moves.
“Who do you think is most likely to succeed?” Lu Weiyi had someone take Zhuang Aiyi away to play, then resumed destroying the chessboard and asked.
“I think it’s Zhou Xue. Want to bet?” Zhuang Mingxu said, just as Lu Weiyi’s rook jumped directly onto his general.
He looked up at him, and Lu Weiyi gave an innocent look back. “What do you want to bet?”
“Ahem.” Zhuang Mingxu really didn’t know how to play a game where the general was already taken, but since he wasn’t serious about the game, he made random moves and asked again if Lu Weiyi wanted to bet.
“No bet.” Lu Weiyi proudly watched as his pile of pieces grew while Zhuang Mingxu’s shrank. “You’ve definitely arranged people to help her.”
He quickly captured Zhuang Mingxu’s last usable piece, looking triumphant. “You sly fox, trying to trick me.”
Zhuang Mingxu stared at his empty board and didn’t know what to say.
“Then should we bet on whose team arrives at our base first?”
“No bet. You’re in charge of communications along the route; you’ll get the news first anyway.”
“Well…”
“What do you want? Always thinking about betting with me?” Lu Weiyi looked at him warily.
“What else can I do?” Zhuang Mingxu awkwardly scratched his nose. “I just have a small request that needs your cooperation.”
“What request?”
“If I tell you, it’s no fun. Bets are only fun if there’s mystery,” Zhuang Mingxu teased, tempting him, “Don’t you have something you want me to do? As long as I win, anything is possible.”
“For example…” Zhuang Mingxu grabbed Lu Weiyi’s hand and moved it to a more ambiguous spot on himself.
Lu Weiyi’s eyes instantly widened, then got excited. “If I win, you…” He leaned close and whispered two words in Zhuang Mingxu’s ear.
Zhuang Mingxu stared at him incredulously, then chuckled quietly. “Wow, little Yi, you’ve got some nerve.”
“Bet or not?” Lu Weiyi pushed him with sparkling eyes.
“Bet,” Zhuang Mingxu immediately said, “but if you lose, you can’t cheat on this winter’s medicinal jade.”
Lu Weiyi snorted and turned to leave, but Zhuang Mingxu grabbed his hand. “You’re the Base Commander now, aren’t you?”
“…Deal! I bet Jiang Ning’s team will arrive first.”
“I’ll bet on Meng Hu’s team then.”
Lu Weiyi pushed him away and walked outside. “Wu Yue, call Qi Lin. I want the latest news.”
Zhuang Mingxu calmly packed up the chess set, looking quite relaxed.
*
Even though Lu Weiyi personally contacted nearby communication points, it didn’t change the outcome of his bet.
Late the next night, Meng Hu led his remaining thousand-plus powered users, along with tens of thousands of zombies, steadily approaching the main base force.
When Lu Weiyi received the news, he immediately mobilized all powered users to deploy.
The weather was gloomy and cold. Standing on the high walls, the wind could almost blow him away. In the distance, zombies roared loudly. Meng Hu’s forces used powers and guns continuously, with occasional crashes and explosions from vehicles colliding.
“Ba-Base Commander!” Yu Mengchu, seeing such a huge horde of zombies for the first time that stretched beyond sight, trembled with panic. “What do we do?”
Lu Weiyi took the walkie-talkie from the sentry. “All turrets prepare. Fire on my command. Turret One, nine o’clock direction. Turret Two, eleven o’clock. Turret Three, one o’clock. Turret Four, one o’clock.”
“Turret One, received.”
“Turret Two, received.”
“Turret Three, received.”
“Turret Four, received.”
As the enemy moved toward the base, the telescope continuously calculated distances.
2,500 meters.
“Three.”
2,200 meters.
“Two.”
1,800 meters.
“Fire!”
Four of the most powerful fire-element converters turned A-rank crystal cores into giant fireballs, shooting them in different directions. On impact, they exploded into huge fireballs, the scale rivaling a nuclear explosion.
Some powered users around Lu Weiyi were stunned into silence by the spectacle, relieved that none of the zombies escaped the base.
“Rocket launcher operators, prepare. In one minute, start the first attack round as planned,” Lu Weiyi ordered.
After another round of artillery fire, at least half the zombies and powered users below disappeared, but some still survived the intense bombardment.
Several figures covered in black charged out from the smoke and ran fast toward them, waving their arms wildly.
“They’re alive!” Wu Yue glanced and handed the telescope to Lu Weiyi.
At this height, it was impossible to tell which faction they belonged to. Lu Weiyi hoped, still mindful of his bet with Zhuang Mingxu, turned to Ning Yuan and said formally,
“Go ask which team they are. If it’s Jiang Ning’s, let them stay and trade supplies with Pingjin Base. If it’s Meng Hu’s, kill them.”
Jiang Ning is hostile toward ordinary people, which is a problem in mindset—in short, their values don’t align. It’s like the difference between capitalism and socialism: neither side can be said to be absolutely right or wrong. But Meng Hu is outright disgusting. Especially since he once focused his schemes on Lu Weiyi, no matter how big-hearted Lu Weiyi is, there’s no way he’d just let the tiger go free.
Without a word, Ning Yuan stepped outside. In full view of everyone, an ice wall extended, forming a kind of stairway right beneath his feet. Step by step, he descended, the steps forming a stairway downward.
“Wow, that’s so cool!” Antonio scratched his head with interest, looking like he wanted to learn how to do it.
Next to him, Wu Yue muttered a curse, “Show-off.”
Then Li Zhuang lowered his voice to ask, “Do you think he’s going to fall?”
“What—” Before Wu Yue could finish his question, Ning Yuan slipped, immediately falling flat on his face, sliding on the ice toward the sea surface.
“Ah!” Wu Yue covered his face.
Several others stifled laughter, careful not to mock their teammate too loudly since other squads were nearby.
“The remaining zombies must be cleared manually. Li Zhuang, lead teams two and three to cover the nine to eleven o’clock direction. Antonio and Xiong Jie lead teams four and eight from eleven to one o’clock. Gu Qingji and Ning Yuan lead the Frost Association from one to three o’clock. Liu Rui and Xu Sa take the Peace Squad from three to five o’clock.”
“Gu Qingyue leads all remaining water-element powered users to defend the rear, reinforcing the ice layers and walls at all times to prevent zombies of the same element from breaking through.”
The zombies had already reached the coastline, so weapons were no longer suitable for fighting. Lu Weiyi gave orders swiftly.
“Received.”
“Received.”
…
“If high-level zombies appear, don’t resist head-on. Report immediately. Our goal is to clear the area as fast as possible. Your objective is to hold the coastline and not step onto land. I will use weapons to clear the way ahead,” Lu Weiyi said.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
