Chapter 1: The Zombie Siege

Chapter 1: The Zombie Siege

"Boom—!" Suddenly, the quiet mountains shook violently as dust rolled in from afar.

Ten miles to the north stood a stone city, surrounded by twenty-meter-high walls on all sides, with an additional ten-meter-high defensive wall outside. Soon, armed personnel holding firearms appeared row after row on the walls.

As the ground trembled louder, a dark wave line gradually emerged on the horizon.

Seeing this, several people on the high walls stepped back and quickly set up a fortress cannon, its black muzzle pointing directly at the opposite side.

Through the telescope, as the distance closed, the sea of shadows revealed itself to be a crowd of people! In a blink, those decaying faces were right before them!

The person holding the telescope trembled, almost dropping it. He waved his arm down and shouted, "Fire!"

"—Bang!"

The cannon fired, tearing a large hole in the surging tide, sending blood and flesh flying under the blue sky. The sound of bodies hitting the ground made one's hair stand on end.

A piece of flesh fell within the city walls, landing with a soft thud on a bald head.

That slight sound was like a sharp sword, instantly piercing through the city's facade. Screams erupted from the previously silent inner city.

A half-body lying at the base of the wall tilted its head upward, staring at the high walls. Its eyes rolled white, and its mouth opened and closed in a strange arc. Its hand gripped the wall, nails digging deep into the stone, inching upward, trailing a disgusting trail of thick liquid behind.

"Plop, plop, plop..." One by one, corpses fell from the sky, landing like raindrops. They struggled to rise, staring up at the people on the high walls, their pale faces with lifeless pupils, then charged forward at incredible speed.

The armed personnel on the high walls adjusted their guns, aiming at the zombies, unleashing a barrage of gunfire.

Inside the stone city, at Hongshan Base, Jiang Zhendong stood before the monitors, his eyes filled with rage. "What is going on? Wasn't it supposed to be a Level Four zombie wave?!"

Shen Tian stood beside Jiang Zhendong. On the monitor, red dots were rapidly consuming the green area from south to north. The alarm kept beeping, the numbers in the corner climbing towards the million mark, far exceeding the expected fifty thousand zombies.

"Leader!" A man in combat gear suddenly appeared behind Jiang Zhendong, his face anxious. "The first line of defense has been breached! The number of zombies this time far exceeds our estimates. Our forces can't hold them back! I suspect this isn't a Level Five but an unprecedented Level Six zombie wave!"

Jiang Zhendong turned sharply to stare at him.

Zhao Xiong's breath caught.

Jiang Zhendong withdrew his gaze, pushed him aside, and strode out.

Shen Tian hurriedly grabbed a gun nearby and followed closely.

They took the elevator to the observation deck. By then, the outer district had fallen. Below, the city was a sea of blood, filled with chasing zombies and fleeing residents. Human screams and the sounds of flesh being torn and bones crunching echoed incessantly.

More despairingly, a massive hole had appeared in the inner wall, through which more zombies were falling into the inner city.

Shen Tian was shocked. That wall was nearly five meters thick, built by a Level Four Metal-type and a Level Five Earth-type ability user!

Suddenly, Shen Tian stumbled, and the surroundings darkened. Two towering pillars appeared before him.

He slowly looked up along the pillars and saw a giant, tens of meters tall, with bulging muscles and ragged clothes, staring at him with huge eyes.

"Level Five zombie?!?"

Shen Tian's eyes widened in terror.

He had never seen a Level Five zombie, but he had heard enough about their terror. It was not something a Level Four ability user could handle.

He turned to look for Jiang Zhendong, but Jiang Zhendong was nowhere to be seen.

In the next moment, dark clouds loomed overhead, leaving no time for thought. Shen Tian raised his hands, and a giant python shot out!

The giant zombie did not dodge, colliding straight with the python. The python shattered into water, then reformed into sharp blades that stabbed at the zombie. However, these blades seemed ineffective against the zombie's iron-like skin. With a shake, the blades exploded and vanished.

Shen Tian was pushed back several steps by the impact. He steadied himself and raised his hands again, releasing another giant python, which wrapped around the zombie as it stepped forward!

The python was about to coil around the muscular zombie, but the zombie casually waved its hand, causing half of the python to turn into water. The water reformed into small snakes that stuck to the zombie, one of which darted into its ear!

Shen Tian rejoiced momentarily but was then slapped away by a giant hand, vomiting blood onto the wall.

Meanwhile, Jiang Zhendong easily dispatched two Level Three zombies. Turning back, he saw Shen Tian sprawled in a pool of blood, firing wildly at the multi-story zombie. However, the fireballs bounced off the zombie's bulging muscles, making humans seem like mere ants under its dominance.

"Zhendong, save me!" Shen Tian cried, his voice breaking. His leg was broken, and he couldn't get up. He threw his depleted energy gun at the zombie, which crushed it without hesitation, then reached out and grabbed Shen Tian—

"Bang!"

The zombie was struck by five lightning bolts, flying dozens of meters away. Jiang Zhendong retracted his hand, a severed arm spinning through the air.

Zombies lost all sensation of pain since the day they died. Even with an arm severed, the zombie only paused briefly. Its severed flesh and nerves twitched slightly, regenerating a centimeter in just moments.

Seeing Jiang Zhendong, the zombie's white eyes moved, then it abandoned its previous target and sprinted toward Jiang Zhendong at even greater speed.

Jiang Zhendong narrowed his eyes, pulled Shen Tian up, and said sternly, "Attack it."

Shen Tian looked disheveled. "But I..."

"No excuses!" Jiang Zhendong roared. Shen Tian hesitated, and Jiang Zhendong added coldly, "Don't forget what happened to your brother."

Shen Tian stiffened, tremblingly raising a hand. A water column shot out but wilted halfway.

Shen Tian's pupils contracted.

A purple flash appeared beside him, and a bolt of lightning surged into the water column. Water and electricity merged, causing a burst of purple light and a crackling sound like thunder striking the Level Five zombie's head!

Before Shen Tian could celebrate, the headless zombie staggered but continued charging toward them!

Jiang Zhendong stepped back, raised his hands, and unleashed two thick purple lightning bolts that struck the Level Five zombie with blinding speed—

At the center of the lightning strike, a giant 'hand' formed from densely packed lightning bolts clashed with the zombie. With a loud "Bang!", sparks flew, and the force sent both of them flying hundreds of meters away. Someone caught them and swiftly flew away from the scene.

Behind him, the giant zombie was engulfed in raging flames.

Its high-speed sprint fueled the fire, making it look like a towering sea of flames from a distance. Beneath the flames, purple lightning coiled around the giant zombie, splitting into countless fine electric threads that darted into the zombie's body like cunning vipers.

Jiang Zhendong stared intently at the zombie, beads of sweat dripping down his furrowed brow. From afar, the sound of explosions could still be heard coming from the Level 5 zombie. When the three of them landed, the massive zombie finally collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The battle below paused briefly as the Level 5 zombie fell. Zhao Xiong used wind blades to dissect the zombie’s thick chest and retrieved an orange crystal core. After cleaning it with a whirlwind, he handed it to Jiang Zhendong.

Jiang Zhendong took the crystal core and placed his hand behind his back. He looked at the corpse of the Level 5 zombie. Clearly, this creature had been through fierce battles before; besides the wounds inflicted by him and Shen Tian, there were several partially healed injuries on its body. The most fatal wound was a half-healed hole near its heart, just two centimeters away from the crystal core.

Jiang Zhendong clenched his fist tighter. The Level 6 zombie hadn't appeared yet, and they couldn't stay here any longer.

He picked up Shen Tian and strode away, barking, "Pass the order! Execute Plan Three!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiong’s eyes widened. He glanced back at the inner city, which resembled hell, and his eyelashes trembled. He replied solemnly, "Yes!"

"Beep... beep..." The phone rang.

Jiang Zhendong answered the wireless phone, "Speak."

"Leader, according to the latest intercepted information, thirteen hours ago, Chuanshan Base and Abole Safety Zone were attacked by a wave of Level 6 zombies and have since fallen! No rescue requests were received from Luyue City Safety Zone or surrounding areas! Currently, a horde of one million zombies is approaching within a hundred kilometers of our location! Please give instructions!!!"

"Understood. Hold your positions!" Jiang Zhendong hung up and tossed the radio aside. He walked a few steps to the edge of the city wall, glancing at the territory he had rebuilt himself. "Has everything been arranged for the doctor?"

Zhao Xiong: "We’ve already sent A’Jie to pick up the doctor. We’ve also brought plenty of explosives."

"Good."

Hongshan Base was originally a prison. After Jiang Zhendong arrived, he converted the former office building into a medical facility, consisting of two floors. The building was deep and divided into two zones internally. The front served as a small clinic and laboratory, while the rear area was known to very few.

In the rear area, thirty people dressed in hospital gowns were tied together with a rope, being pushed and shoved by ten people armed with energy guns or bayonets. Two ability users hurried ahead.

At the end of the line, Shenchi lifted his eyelids, his dry lips pursing. As an experimental subject, his body had long been drained. Even with the help of those pulling him forward, he was frequently prodded and cursed at by the guards to move faster.

They passed through a corridor shaped like a “well,” leading to a stone door perfectly integrated into the wall. From either side, no one could tell there was a door, hiding a vast laboratory behind it.

Author's Note:

New story, "Have You Seen My Spirit Form [Sentinel-Guide]"—please add to your collection!

In this world, apart from the majority of ordinary people, there are a few individuals with extremely acute senses and combat abilities far surpassing normal humans—sentinels—and those with powerful mental abilities and strong emotional resonance—guides.

They can materialize their mental worlds into various animal forms, and the behavior of these spirit forms reflects the owner's personality and emotions.

After reaching adulthood, Jie Yin awakened as a guide.

During a mission, Jie Yin accidentally triggered a bonding heat with a sentinel who had a perfect compatibility match.

The sentinel's spirit form, a black mamba snake, instantly grew huge, encircling Jie Yin and preventing anyone from approaching.

Not even its own master.

The black mamba snake raised its massive head, staring straight at its master, hissing in warning at any movement.

Sweating profusely, Pei Xingshu smiled from the side, "I think about how to kill that stupid snake every day."

Jie Yin hugged the snake's cool skin and rubbed against it.

Pei Xingshu stiffened, his ears turning red.

Jie Yin: "Jealous."

Pei Xingshu: "What?"

"Your scent," Jie Yin said, "has turned sour."

Pei Xingshu: "..."

A cool and manipulative guide paired with a sweet and straightforward sentinel.

---

One day, black fog enveloped everything, and time vanished.

Pei Xingshu glanced at his watch; the hands had stopped moving, frozen at February 4th, 3:40 PM. He said, "Global integration complete."