Chapter 240

Chapter 240

When they reached the rooftop, Gao Xuyang tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and concentrated on sensing.

The surroundings were pitch black. Yang Kai, lacking Jiang Nian’s innate talent, couldn’t perceive the strange energy radiating from him and simply waited quietly nearby.

Gazing down at the dimly lit base from above, his mind wandered to random thoughts:

*How long will this darkness last? Without sunlight, people will get sick eventually.*

Even if everything calmed after the polar night, the growing sense of dread was unmistakable.

"......"

After about half an hour, Gao Xuyang finally exhaled deeply and stopped, informing Yang Kai:

"The zombies are sharing intel about human strongholds. They’re gathering en masse across the country in the darkness, led by evolved zombies like myself."

"I can’t sense the specifics, but one thing’s certain—a real zombie wave is coming. Not just hundreds or thousands, but tens of thousands."

The Southern City Base was far away. If not for the overwhelming number of signals from his kind on the same frequency, he wouldn’t have paid attention.

Yang Kai sighed helplessly, scanning their surroundings:

"If a horde arrives before the polar night ends… do they want us all dead?"

With most shelters closed, waiting for the polar night to pass, the zombies’ silent approach in the dark meant trouble—whether in attack, defense, or escape—for humanity.

"This is how things were bound to play out. With nearly all humans in shelters now, even without higher-level zombies directing them, they’d still instinctively attack human settlements. It just happens to coincide with the polar night."

Gao Xuyang’s tone was indifferent. With fewer scattered humans outside, zombies going hungry would naturally seek out "human nests."

Yang Kai nodded irritably:

"True… Let’s get inside."

Earlier, after Zhou Rongbin’s power level-up, the mirage he captured had also hinted at a coming swarm. Authorities had already instructed bases to prepare.

But this was too fast—back-to-back disasters without a breather. At this rate, humanity might truly face extinction.

Plenty of desperate survivors at the bottom had already cracked under the pressure and taken their own lives.

Back in the room, Gao Xuyang said to Yang Kai, his face grim:

"Report this to the command center tomorrow. Use satellite broadcasts to warn everyone. Even if some bases lack the strength to resist, advance warning might buy more time for evacuation."

Some things couldn’t be stopped, nor could everyone be saved. They could only do their best.

"Right."

Yang Kai nodded, then hesitated before voicing his concern again:

"Professor Gao, Southern City's packed with people, and you can sense them. Are you sure the horde won’t target us?"

Gao Xuyang replied firmly:

"No. Since arriving here, I’ve released signals during every patrol to claim this turf as mine. Unless I permit it, they know better than to attack."

"Even other Zombie Kings won’t go to war over turf before humans are extinct. For now, with me here, all we need to worry about is saving people."

In his opinion, the security outside the walls was unnecessary, but given that his situation couldn’t be exposed, the base’s caution was a normal procedure.

"That’s good."

Yang Kai felt relieved. With their "home" safe, they would have more capacity to help others.

"..."

It was almost six o’clock. Under normal circumstances, the sky would have been bright by now.

The two got dressed, washed up, ate something, and then headed to the command center early to report the anomalies they had discovered.

Department Head Wang immediately called in Cheng Jing and the others for a discussion, then he contacted the leaders of the other three city bases.

A large-scale zombie horde would be tough to handle with ordinary military firepower or Superpowered individuals—it required high-powered weapons.

And those devastating weapons were only controlled by military-led bases, requiring deliberation and decision-making for deployment.

To avoid exposing Gao Xuyang, the South City Base issued a warning about the impending large-scale zombie horde under the guise of a brain-evolved Superpowered professor, to lend credibility.

They alerted all bases to monitor their surroundings, report any signs of the horde promptly, and instructed all survivors to prepare for immediate evacuation from their current shelters.

If the situation escalated beyond control, the authorities would implement comprehensive lockdown and clearance measures, following the "sacrifice the few to save the many" approach.

It was a harsh but necessary approach, warning survivors to seek refuge in larger bases whenever possible during evacuation.

When the news spread, fear spread rapidly in the darkness.

Some fled overnight from weaker bases, some sought official assistance, while others gave up completely.

As for the zombie horde, Jiang Nian had never experienced it in his past life—other than knowing that many small and medium-sized bases couldn’t withstand it, leaving people to simply wait to die.

In Cheng Jing’s memories, the timing of the horde in his past life didn’t match the current situation, nor were there any early warning signs—it was only noticed when large groups of zombies were discovered gathering.

However, the authorities had indeed used small-scale "dust-to-dust bombs" in severely affected regions, which was the only reference point available.

Ultimately, the people and events connected to their past lives had already played out their consequences—the current situation was a variable caused by the butterfly effect.

Because of this, Jiang Nian felt unusually agitated by the never-ending night.

At first, his teammates only thought Brother Nian seemed more irritable, but gradually, they realized his mood was genuinely off.

Cheng Jing wasn’t oblivious—since the polar night began, he had been closely observing Jiang Nian’s condition and was the first to notice his lover’s unusual behavior.

But Jiang Nian refused to admit it, always brushing it off with a laugh—until he was caught sneaking medication in the middle of the night.