Chapter 200

Chapter 200

Gritting his teeth, Yan Bubu sprinted forward, feeling shadows flit by him, each either knocked away by bullets or pierced through the skull with a dagger.

Feng Chen saw Binunu ferociously biting and tearing at a zombie beast, completely absorbed in the fight, forgetting the earlier plan to run. He urgently shouted, "Binunu, hurry up and follow!"

Binunu hesitated slightly, then stopped lingering. As it leaped away, it viciously yanked a zombie's hair, tearing off a piece of scalp, before dashing ahead.

The group rushed out of the gorge, following their planned route up the mountain, aiming to break into the dark area through a narrow gap. Dozens of zombies closely pursued them, with a larger horde of at least fifty or sixty just a hundred meters behind.

Feng Chen and Lin Fen had set up psychic shields around the group. The zombies' relentless mental assaults pounded against the shields, making them rattle like hailstones.

Binunu followed closely behind, with the unrelenting zombies trailing. The leading zombie suddenly leaped forward, grabbing Binunu's collar and lifting it into the air, opening its mouth wide towards its head.

With a crunch, the steel helmet on Binunu's head was bitten into two halves.

Binunu touched its head, both shocked and angry, ready to retaliate, but Sasaki had already pounced on the zombie, its claws tearing off the scalp from forehead to the back of the head, leaving deep gashes on the skull, revealing a faintly shimmering membrane layer beneath.

"Soldier Binunu, don't bother with it, you need to get to the front," Lin Fen shouted from ahead.

Hearing the command, Binunu suppressed its anger and moved forward, but the zombie, though being mauled by Sasaki, still clutched its collar. After struggling twice without breaking free, it simply tore its jumpsuit, slipping out and landing on the ground.

Now, Binunu was not only without its hat but also its clothes, blending seamlessly into the thick night, becoming one with the darkness.

Yan Bubu, leading the way, ran relentlessly forward amidst the intense gunfire, all the while maintaining Feng Chen's psychic field. Behind him were Feng Chen, the other two, and the quantum beasts, running and intercepting the leading zombies.

Yan Bubu, mindful of his and Binunu's crucial role, turned his head but didn't see it, feeling a sudden panic, he called out, "Binunu, Binunu!"

Running alongside Yan Bubu, Binunu heard his call and growled in response, indicating its presence. But in the din of gunfire, its short growl was hardly noticeable, and Yan Bubu failed to hear it.

"Binunu, Binunu." Whether it was from running or anxiety, Yan Bubu quickly broke out in sweat.

Binunu growled several times in vain, growing somewhat angry when it saw Yan Bubu's gaze sliding over without recognizing it, and bared its teeth at him.

Yan Bubu focused his eyes, turned his head to ensure he didn’t trip over the path ahead, then looked back at Binunu.

"Is this your tooth? Binunu, you're here!!!"

Now assured that Binunu was by his side, Yan Bubu confidently surged forward. The zombies trailing behind them formed a long line, which Feng Chen and the others could manage, but if they didn’t reach the narrow gap soon, the approaching zombie horde would catch up.

Yan Bubu ran until his eyes blurred and his throat tasted of iron, suddenly noticing several flickering beams of light ahead.

Could the zombies be encircling them from both sides?

His heart raced with fright, immediately aiming his gun forward while continuing to run. As he got closer, he saw a peacock and a short-snouted crocodile rushing towards him, the peacock emitting short, sharp cries as it ran.

These were Ji Yi's and Chen Wenzhao's quantum beasts!

Behind the two quantum beasts were others like the bharal and hippopotamus, unfamiliar to Yan Bubu, but he could tell they were normal quantum beasts, not zombies.

A dozen people running in military uniforms appeared in view, with Wang Suizi, Ji Yi, and Chen Wenzhao leading them.

Yan Bubu's eyes welled up, his throat choked up. After taking a deep breath, he started shouting their names hoarsely, urging, "Hurry, go help them, hurry!"

Gunfire erupted immediately, bullets whizzing over the heads of Yan Bubu's group towards the zombies behind. The quantum beasts leaped into action, and ferocious growling resounded.

These welcoming sentry guides, already briefed on the zombies’ attributes, did not use psychic attacks but erected psychic barriers, firing at the zombies.

"Run! Don't get entangled in battle, the zombies behind are catching up. Block and run! Just shoot!" Lin Fen yelled amidst the gunfire.

As Lin Fen's voice echoed, a piercing scream followed; Yan Bubu recognized it as Wang Suizi.

"Colonel Yu, Major General Lin, was that Major General Lin's voice I just heard? Ah!! It's been so long since I've heard Major General Lin roar."

Yu Yuan said, "It's us. We'll talk later. For now, let's focus on dealing with the zombies."

"Okay, okay, ah!!! I'm so happy!!"

Feng Chen and Lin Fen shot at the zombies while running. Feng Chen dodged a zombie's attack, and Ji Yi, who had just come to his aid, saw this and punched the zombie in the chest.

"Ah!"

"Roar!"

Ji Yi, in pain, opened his mouth wide, holding his almost broken hand, and yelled simultaneously with the zombie.

"Only use weapons to attack, don't use fists or feet. These are modified zombies, be careful not to fracture your own bones," Feng Chen said as he grabbed the zombie and punched its skull, causing its face to implode.

"I know, just didn't expect it to be so damn hard," Ji Yi gasped in pain, but also amazed, "Feng, how did you get so strong?"

A sentinel who had trained with Feng Chen replied while retreating and shooting, "Didn’t you notice his sentinel rank increased? Our psychic barriers are shattered and constantly reshaping, but his only needs repairing."

"Ah!!!!! My foot!!!!!" another sentinel screamed in agony.

Chen Wenzhao, using his psychic powers to restrain a zombie, asked impatiently, "Are you guys idiots? Didn’t you hear Feng say they’re modified zombies? Why are you still using fists and feet?"

Ji Yi fired a burst of bullets backwards, then turned and caught up with the group, asking urgently, "Feng, what level are you now?"

Feng Chen replied, "Not sure, but definitely above A-level."

"Wow! How did you improve so much?" several sentinel guides exclaimed in surprise.

Yan Bubu, panting heavily at the front, shouted back, "Because, because we combined, after we fell off the cliff, I, I combined with the heat—"

"Keep running, what are you talking about at a time like this?" Feng Chen interrupted from behind.

With reinforcements, the situation improved significantly. Under Lin Fen's command, everyone attacked while heading towards the gap. Intense gunfire formed a defensive line, holding back the zombies and relieving Yan Bubu from the need to sprint.

"Bubu." Wang Suizi, running alongside Yan Bubu and occasionally shooting behind, called out his name excitedly.

Yan Bubu, gasping for breath, replied, "Sui, Suizi."

"Bubu."

"Sui, Sui, Suizi."

"Bubu."

Chen Wenzhao, running behind them, asked coldly, "Are you two done yet? Isn’t this a bit nauseating?"

Yan Bubu, spotting a zombie sneaking up on the left, quickly fired a burst of bullets to stop it, then turned to Chen Wenzhao with a smile, "Wen, Wenzhao."

"Chen Wenzhao! Call me by my full name!"

The leading zombies were finally taken down one by one, but a large horde rushed towards them, only a few dozen meters away. Lin Fen, seeing the gap ahead, decisively ordered, "Stop shooting, just run straight ahead, as fast as you can into the gap!"

Everyone started to sprint, with the quantum beasts covering the rear. Yan Bubu, fearing Binunu would follow, kept shouting while running, "Binunu, Binunu."

Suddenly, a row of sharp little white teeth appeared beside him, and Yan Bubu immediately shut up.

Wang Suizi called out, "I haven’t seen Binunu at all; could it have fallen asleep somewhere?"

Yan Bubu pointed to his side, "Right here."

"Where?"

"On my left."

Wang Suizi quickly glanced, "Where?"

"Right here."

"I can't see it..."

Yan Bubu then said, "It might be asleep."

As the group neared the gap, the zombies had almost caught up. The ground in front of Yan Bubu shimmered with light beams from behind, and his ears were filled with zombies' roars and sentinels' screams, urging them to run faster, or they'd get bitten.

Yan Bubu, with his eyes closed, ran as fast as he could, until his arm was suddenly grabbed. He immediately sensed it was Feng Chen, not a zombie, and let himself be hoisted onto Feng's back, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah! Hurry up! Damn it, they're right behind us."

Amidst the sentinels' panicked shouts, Yan Bubu was carried by Feng Chen into the crevice, followed closely by the others rushing in.

Lin Fen, the last to enter the crevice, immediately turned and fired back, retreating while shooting. The zombies had reached them, but the quantum beasts collectively blocked the entrance. Unable to confront these zombies head-on, after a brief struggle, they vanished in puffs of black smoke, including the black lion Sasaki.

Fortunately, the narrowness of the crevice prevented the numerous zombies from entering at once. Feng Chen, first to reach the edge of the dark zone, threw Yan Bubu inside, commanding "Get in." He then turned and ran back, reloading his gun and shouting, "Everyone in, hurry!"

Feng Chen and Lin Fen fired to slow down the zombies. Upon seeing the last person enter the dark matter, they intuitively turned and sprinted forward. A few zombies caught up, reaching for their backs, but the two simultaneously leaped into the thick darkness.

"Roar!" The zombies roared and plunged into the darkness.

Yan Bubu was the first to enter the dark matter area.

The sensitive plants did not immediately reveal a lit path as usual, but he quickly adapted to the darkness and began to discern his surroundings.

He saw zombies stumbling and crashing, most running straight ahead, some veering left and right, and a few standing still. All were in a state of extreme excitement, their roars echoing throughout the cliff base.

He also saw everyone tiptoeing, moving lightly in different directions, listening to the zombies' roars while changing positions to dodge, each looking quite bizarre in their posture.

But as the zombies gradually ceased their roaring, it became difficult to pinpoint their locations.

Yan Bubu noticed a stealthy guide about to collide with a zombie and almost shouted out.

In a moment of quick thinking, Yan Bubu picked up a pebble and threw it about ten meters to the left of the zombie. The pebble made a series of bouncing sounds, drawing the zombie's attention away as it howled and ran towards the noise.

The guide, hearing the disturbance, realized they had almost collided with the zombie and froze in place, too scared to move.

Just as Yan Bubu breathed a sigh of relief and looked to the left, his breath caught in his throat.

He saw Wang Suizi squatting with her gun, motionless, while a zombie stood less than half a meter in front of her.

Wang Suizi was tilting her head left and right, seemingly trying to listen to the surrounding sounds, while the zombie did the same, sniffing the air as if trying to discern a scent.

Yan Bubu wanted to pull her away but feared that she might jump up in fright and alert the zombie, so he looked down for another stone.

However, the ground beneath the grass was just mud, which scattered in the air when thrown and failed to attract the zombie's attention. He quickly moved to an open area without zombies, took a deep breath, and shouted rapidly, "I can see, I'll come to find each of you."

The zombies, which were wandering aimlessly, lunged in his direction the moment he shouted. After he finished the first part of his sentence, he quickly moved to a new spot and completed his shout, "Don’t make a sound when I touch you!"

The zombie in front of Wang Suizi had run towards the spot where Yan Bubu had just shouted. Wang Suizi remained squatting on the ground, her face pale with fear after hearing the zombie's footsteps leaving.

As Yan Bubu was about to approach her, he saw two rows of small white teeth floating in the air. The teeth drifted towards the direction of his shout, and with effort, one could barely make out a dark figure.

Realizing it was Binunu following his voice and showing its teeth to be seen, Yan Bubu quickly went over and scooped it up.

Binunu quickly raised its paw, but then recognized Yan Bubu and gently lowered it, resting it on Yan Bubu's shoulder.

Yan Bubu approached Wang Suizi from behind and gently tapped her shoulder. She shuddered violently, tensing up but kept her gun pointed backward, managing not to make a sound.

Yan Bubu quickly moved beside the gun barrel and patted her hand. She finally relaxed, sitting down on the ground with a thud.

Yan Bubu helped her stand, placing her hand on his shoulder, and led her towards a sentinel who was incessantly stabbing the air with a dagger, facing all directions.

Yan Bubu found it impossible to approach directly.

He had assumed the sentinel would have set up a psychic net around himself, alerting him to any zombies that came into contact with it. But seeing the sentinel's blind stabbing, he doubted whether a net had been set up.

Perhaps the sentinel was too tense? Even with a net, he dared not relax?

Yan Bubu picked up a long branch and, standing at a distance, prodded the air beside the sentinel.

One, two, three, four... he prodded rhythmically, and sure enough, the sentinel put away his dagger and walked towards him. As he approached, Yan Bubu took his hand and placed it on Wang Suizi's shoulder.

This way, Yan Bubu wove through the zombies, picking up people. The sentinels had set up psychic nets and, responding to his regular prodding with the branch, cooperated by coming closer. The guides, although without nets, were startled when Yan Bubu tapped their shoulders but managed not to react violently and were smoothly collected by him.

The line behind Yan Bubu grew longer, the people silently walking in the dark, each with a hand on the shoulder of the person in front.

Unsure of how many had come to meet them, he looked back to count. Apart from Yu Yuan and Lin Fen in the line, he wrote the number sixteen in Wang Suizi's palm.

Wang Suizi nodded, indicating they were all accounted for.

Now, only Feng Chen was left to be collected. Yan Bubu turned his head, scanning the area, and saw Feng Chen standing motionless under the right-side cliff wall.

Yan Bubu, leading his chain of people like a long-legged centipede, took a winding route to avoid the erratically running zombies and stealthily approached Feng Chen.

Feng Chen must have set up a psychic net around himself. When Yan Bubu got a few meters away, Feng Chen suddenly looked in his direction, tilting his head slightly to listen, obviously sensing the psychic net being touched.

As Yan Bubu moved closer, he saw the tension on Feng Chen's face dissipate, realizing it was him, and felt a tinge of regret. Still, he proceeded as planned, wrapping an arm around Feng Chen's neck and standing on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his lips.

After all, a quick kiss would take less than two seconds, and the people behind wouldn’t notice. It was a small reward for himself for having successfully gathered so many people.

As they drew close, Feng Chen and Yan Bubu's chests squeezed Binunu between them, causing Binunu to twist its contorted face and poke Yan Bubu under the arm with a paw.

Although it was a light poke, it carried a burst of angry energy, forcing Yan Bubu to abandon his action and silently take Feng Chen's hand, leading the line of people forward.

Yan Bubu didn't know how to exit the mountain, but his first priority was to get away from the zombies. Fortunately, it wasn't long before a vine appeared in front of them, winding its way forward.

When Yan Bubu stopped, the vine also paused, as if waiting for him.

Realizing the sensitive plant was guiding them, Yan Bubu led the group in the direction of the vine.