Early the next morning, Chi Ying didn’t have much to pack. She simply tucked the oversized carrot Mu Yu had asked her to store into her space the day before. That was all.
Outside the headquarters, a crowd had already gathered to see them off.
Part of it was due to Gu Chi’s high rank in the Alliance, but more importantly, it was because they’d brought back a zombie leader.
For the Human Alliance, any early information about zombie evolution—even just a few seconds’ worth—was incredibly valuable.
Among the people seeing them off, Chi Ying spotted Yun Ling, wiping away tears as she watched. Beside her, Ye Wuhan’s face was as dark as thunder, but she ignored him completely.
Gu Chi gave the signal. “Get in the car. Let’s move out.”
The off-road vehicles started up with a low rumble and slowly pulled away from the base.
Through the window, Chi Ying glanced back at the hundred-meter-tall iron walls.
She had only stayed here for three days, but somehow, it felt like the warmest place she’d encountered since arriving in this cold, brutal apocalypse.
Maybe… before the world ended, most humans had been genuinely kind. It was only when fear and hunger devoured them that those soft parts were stripped away.
Just as she was lost in thought, the system’s voice echoed in her mind.
【Host, get ready.】
Chi Ying blinked. Get ready for what?
【The real war between humans and zombies is about to begin,】 the system said grimly.
【In the original story, once the first zombie leader appeared, more kept emerging—and faster. Evolution sped up.】
【Until now, humanity’s biggest problem has been a lack of supplies. But once zombie leaders pop up everywhere… it won’t just be about food anymore.】
Chi Ying stayed silent.
The system shifted its tone. 【So, host, you have to start saving up your Holy Mother Value! You can’t spend it so recklessly anymore!】
Chi Ying: “…”
So after all that build-up, this was the real reason?
The system coughed awkwardly. 【Ahem, I also mean… once you save the world, you can return to your original world. You won’t have to stay trapped in this collapsed game world anymore. The main system will grant you a new body.】
Chi Ying froze.
Go back…
She hadn’t dared to hope for anything. She hadn’t even asked what reward awaited her. But now that the possibility was real, her heart ached.
She missed those players who used to chat with her NPC self…
“What’s wrong?” Gu Chi asked, tilting his head slightly.
“Ah, it’s nothing.” Chi Ying shook her head and smiled.
Gu Chi didn’t press. He simply reminded her, “I mentioned before—the supply team and exploration team encountered a group of strange zombies. The place we’re heading to was the last location one of the supply teams reported. But don’t worry—we’ll observe the situation first. We won’t take unnecessary risks.”
As night fell the next day, they arrived at their destination—a B-level safe zone in the western district.
Calling it a ‘safe zone’ was generous. It looked more like a makeshift village.
There were open fields growing hardy crops, obviously tended daily. There was food here, at least, but Chi Ying could immediately tell: this place wasn’t truly secure.
Surrounding the fields were about a dozen large villas, each several stories tall, along with scattered farmhouses. Everything was built close together for safety.
As Chi Ying observed, a voice suddenly shouted from a villa window.
“Hey! Are you from headquarters?”
She looked up and spotted a loudspeaker sticking out from the slightly cracked window.
Lu Yunfei, clearly used to this, took a deep breath and yelled back, “Yes! Alliance Exploration Team!” while pulling out his dark blue identification card and flashing it toward the window.
After a long moment, the villa door finally creaked open.
A fat man, probably no older than thirty, stepped out.
Chi Ying’s senses sharpened automatically—this man was a fourth-level ability user.
He approached, eyes sweeping over their team before introducing himself. “Li Quan. I’m the general manager here at West District Safe Zone No. 237.”
“It’s not safe outside. Come in.”
Inside, the villa was surprisingly roomy. Three floors housed about forty people, and with the rest of the villas and houses nearby, Chi Ying guessed there were easily a thousand survivors living here.
Li Quan explained as they walked, “These are mostly villagers who survived the outbreak.”
Chi Ying’s sharp gaze caught the details: several guns mounted on the walls, clearly well-used. Besides Li Quan, she sensed two other ability users—both weaker.
Li Quan suddenly turned to Gu Chi. “You’re the team leader, right? What’s your name?”
“Gu Chi,” he answered simply.
“Alright, Team Gu,” Li Quan said, smiling sheepishly. “I’ll be blunt. We don’t have many ability users, and most of them are tied up guarding the zone. When you head out on missions… we probably won’t be much help.”
Gu Chi raised an eyebrow but didn’t look bothered. “Understandable.”
Li Quan visibly relaxed, but he still looked worried. “I heard from headquarters you’re planning to head into a big city. There are a lot of zombies there. Just a few of you…”
“We’ll do what we can,” Gu Chi said calmly.
Li Quan arranged two rooms for them—one for the women, one for the men. Given the overcrowding, even that was generous.
That night, Mu Yu, who was sharing a room with Chi Ying, seemed extra chatty. She sat cross-legged, cleaning her gun while gossiping.
Chi Ying listened in amusement. Her earlier impression of Mu Yu—the aloof tsundere—completely shattered.
“Ugh, it’s so annoying! Everyone else is at level four already, but I’m still stuck at level three!” Mu Yu grumbled. “Even Song Shi, who joined last, overtook me!”
From across the room, Song Shi chuckled softly. “Your dual abilities are harder to level up.”
Mu Yu huffed, then turned to Chi Ying. “What about you, Chi Ying? What’s your space ability level now?”
“Ah… probably not that high,” Chi Ying said a little guiltily.
Mu Yu waved it off. “Right, space abilities are hard to quantify anyway.”
She leaned closer, whispering, “By the way, tomorrow we’ll probably split into groups.”
“Groups?” Chi Ying asked, curious.
“Yeah. If all six of us move together, it’ll slow us down. Captain Gu usually divides us.”
“Ohhh.” Chi Ying nodded.
“You don’t have offensive powers, so you’ll probably be paired with me or Lin Xun,” Mu Yu predicted. “Gu Chi usually sticks with Lu Yunfei—they’re a good combo.”
Chi Ying nodded thoughtfully.
Somehow… she felt a little disappointed. Like she wasn’t pulling her weight yet.
Before dawn, the team assembled next to their vehicles.
“Groups,” Gu Chi announced.
Mu Yu bumped Chi Ying’s shoulder with a grin. See? I was right!
Chi Ying smiled and gave a tiny thumbs-up. Mu Yu’s really on point today.
Gu Chi shot them a look, coughing lightly to cover his amusement.
They immediately straightened up, paying attention.
“Song Shi, Lin Xun—you’re together,” Gu Chi said first.
“Mu Yu—”
Mu Yu perked up.
“You’re with Lu Yunfei,” Gu Chi finished.
Lu Yunfei looked stunned. “Huh? I’m abandoned?”
Gu Chi raised a brow. “Problem?”
Lu Yunfei immediately straightened up. “Nope! No problem!”
Song Shi, standing nearby, was also a little surprised.
“And Chi Ying,” Gu Chi said, looking at her, “you’ll be with me.”
Everyone froze for a beat.
Gu Chi’s tone was calm, almost casual. “She’s new. I’ll guide her for now.”
Of course, what he really thought was: if Chi Ying got assigned to anyone else, her power would be wasted. There was no way he was leaving someone with that kind of hidden strength idle.
As he passed Chi Ying, his gaze brushed over her, soft but calculating.
Chi Ying shivered slightly.
Why do I feel like I just got… recruited?
__
After setting off, they quickly reached the outskirts of the targeted area.
Lu Yunfei glanced at the red marker on his communicator and grimaced. “Captain, we’re close.”
They stood at the edge of a once-bustling city, now a hollow ruin of towering buildings and silent streets.
Lu Yunfei stared ahead, scalp tingling. Cities like this—big, prosperous ones—were the nightmare of every exploration team. The zombie density inside would be terrifying.
“Captain… this looks bad,” he muttered.
Gu Chi didn’t reply immediately. His gaze sharpened.
“It’s worse than bad,” he finally said. “Yunfei, contact headquarters. Ask them if the supply team that sent this location is still reachable.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Think about it,” Gu Chi said coldly. “Would a supply team stupid enough to pass through this place really make it back alive?”
Lu Yunfei’s heart sank.
Right. Something about this whole situation… felt wrong.
Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 34.1