Outside the car window were various terrifying roars, slapping sounds, scratching sounds, and the explosive sounds of weapons and ranged esper abilities.
Inside the car, after the last person spoke, the eerie silence returned, making everyone’s hearts involuntarily shiver—heads? Heads were missing? The decapitated zombies had no heads??
Although an ominous feeling lingered, nobody had the mental capacity at this moment to speculate about the connection between the disappearance of heads and the sudden surge in the zombies’ strength.
“Retreat! Retreat now!” The first captain to regain his senses temporarily cast aside this doubt, realizing that whether there was a connection or not, it wasn’t the time to consider it. Right now, the most crucial thing was to escape this eerie city and get away from these peculiar zombies!
The convoy hurriedly withdrew, lacking the composure from their previous entry and the caution from their current approach. The buildings along the road that were intentionally avoided before were now destroyed by large-caliber shells, collapsing into countless ruins. Buildings toppled, massive chunks of stone, glass, doors, and windows rained down onto the snow-covered ground and low-lying structures, creating a gruesome landscape.
Even the zombies fighting on the streets and the retreating convoy couldn’t escape the devastation. Countless vehicles were hit by bricks and debris falling from above.
“They jumped away! The zombies actually jumped away! Swerve quickly…” Before the words were even finished, the zombies that had left the cars for some unknown reason were about to turn a corner and exit this block when they were directly hit by fallen floors that came crashing down from above…
Zombies had a natural aptitude for avoiding danger. They would actively avoid the most perilous areas during significant natural events. Even if they had no choice but to confront danger, they would instinctively shield their most vital parts. This was true even when fighting against humans. They would attempt to dodge attacks aimed at their heads or the location of their nuclei. This trait became more pronounced the longer a zombie had been undead.
However, those living in the base outside the city were unaware of this trait. Although they knew that evolved zombies had learned to counterattack and evade head-targeting attacks, they believed these behaviors were simply instinctual in combat, not that zombies would actively evade natural hazards.
Thus, during this battle, the sudden departure of the zombies from the cars left those inside puzzled about the true reason behind their evasion.
“Charge! We’ll reach the highway after crossing this intersection!”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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The captain and his staff in the command vehicle remained relatively calm. They had already estimated that only three vehicles had been truly damaged by zombies or collapsing buildings, out of the total thirty-two vehicles they sent on this operation. The damage was still within acceptable limits.
As long as they could retreat successfully, this mission wouldn’t be considered a failure. After all, this time, just like the last, their purpose was to gather information in the city.
The vehicles at the very back were already on the highway, and they couldn’t help but cheer as they looked at the snowy wilderness ahead. The command vehicle was also close to the rear, and it was now following the front cars in their retreat. Even though a group of incredibly fierce zombies still chased after them, at least now they had room to breathe.
“Captain, should we deal with the zombies following us or retreat directly?” Although the situation was dangerous, with their current firepower and armed strength, they could still engage in battle with these zombies.
After all, even though they didn’t know the reason, the fact that a group of significantly stronger zombies was left behind here wasn’t a good sign. Everyone, including the captain, felt it would be better to eliminate as many of these enhanced zombies as possible during this retreat. That way, they might even receive commendation for this operation when they returned—the ability to handle unexpected situations, retreat, and destroy stronger enemies.
Before the captain could nod in agreement, a voice came over the intercom from the people in the leading vehicle: “Reporting, Captain! Something is coming from the distance! It’s too far away, and our altitude is too low to determine if they’re mutated animals or zombies!”
The people in the command vehicle were stunned once again, exchanging glances. The captain immediately ordered, “Keep observing! Slow down the speed of the lead vehicle and wait for the other vehicles to join before proceeding together!” No matter what was coming, they couldn’t afford to panic right now.
After giving the order, he then instructed the soldier responsible for observing the external situation inside the vehicle, “Xiao Wang, pay attention to the situation outside. See what’s coming and from where.”
“Got it!” A tall and thin young soldier immediately got up and rushed to a device resembling a periscope, adjusting its height to look outside.
In less than two minutes, the soldier shouted loudly, “In the southeast, coming toward us… It seems like there are a lot of them, and they aren’t very tall… Why do they look like… zombies or humans?” After speaking, Xiao Wang came back to his senses. On a day like this, in a place like this, it was impossible for such a large group to be people heading toward the direction of City T!
“They’re so fast!” Before the captain could ask, Xiao Wang suddenly exclaimed, “They’re coming! Their speed is incredibly fast, and they’re not even running… My god! These zombies can jump more than ten meters in a single leap!”
After shouting, he suddenly turned to look at the captain, “Captain, they’re really fast! There are so many of them, and there are countless others behind them! They might be able to catch up in less than five minutes…”
More zombies were pouring out from the city in the direction of their base, surrounding the convoy that was waiting for the remaining vehicles. And now, more reinforcements were arriving from afar…
“To the west! Don’t let them block our way! Change direction, accelerate, and head back to the base!” The captain couldn’t care about anything else at this point. Although the new zombies might not be as powerful as they feared, the captain suddenly recalled the rumors they heard at the base this spring, and he remembered why the military hadn’t organized any operations into the city throughout the year…
Zombies that could set traps, zombies that seemed to understand military strategy…
God, please don’t let them encounter those kinds of zombies this time!
Cold snowflakes were hitting his face, and even though Wei Xuan wasn’t particularly sensitive to temperature, he could feel the icy touch.
He squinted his eyes, fully alert as he stared at the scene not far away where groups of mutated animals were battling.
Yes, just as he was salivating over the thought of luring one of those sheep, planning how to lure it over, kill it, and then happily carry it back home for a feast, suddenly a group of mutated dogs rushed over, engaging in a fight with the animals that had been lurking around.
Sheep were kicking, dogs were barking wildly, and the other scattered mutated creatures were running amok. In the distance, a few large birds took flight, flapping their wings to join the commotion. They seemed eager to join in, perhaps hoping to snatch a meal as well.
Meanwhile, in another direction, an area covered in snow was trampled by panicking mutated animals, and a mass of tentacle-like mutated plants sprouted, entangling with those creatures.
The sounds of the wind and snow, as well as the noises of the fighting mutated animals, made Wei Xuan ignore the faint sounds coming from afar. His companion Du Hang and the other zombie subordinates had also become restless when they saw the mutated animals earlier. Although their agitation was stronger now, Wei Xuan still couldn’t receive clear information about the distant battle.
He had ordered his subordinates to remain quiet and not charge out to fight the animals when they got closer. Despite the tantalizing and delicious scent of food, they had to suppress their instincts and patiently wait.
Squinting his eyes, Wei Xuan observed carefully for a while. As expected, he noticed several animals suddenly turning and running in his direction. His heart raced a little in excitement. Besides spotting a sheep, his desired target, he also saw a chicken among the approaching animals. Although he had been eating bird meat for a year, he didn’t mind capturing a chicken while aiming for a sheep to have a stew at home.
“Um, and that one too. I want these two. Kill them and bring them back. Be careful, don’t get injured!” Wei Xuan pointed at the sheep and then at the not-so-far-off chicken, giving orders to Du Hang and the zombie subordinates.
It wasn’t until this moment that Du Hang and the others understood that Wei Xuan had been hiding here with them for so long just to kill these creatures. Thus, when Wei Xuan gave the command, they dashed out in response, charging toward the panicked and running mutated animals.
In the distant wilderness, flying birds finally joined the fray, making the already chaotic battle even more disorderly. Further away, larger creatures were drawn by the scent of blood, joining the spectacle.
Wei Xuan tightly gripped the explosive-proof axe in his hand, watching cautiously as Du Hang and the others raced in the direction of the oncoming animals.
He hoped this endeavor would succeed, but he also worried about unforeseen complications. Suddenly, a deafening “crack” resounded, almost shaking the entire world. Wei Xuan raised his head in astonishment, vaguely seeing a trace of blue light lingering in the dense, lead-gray clouds, disappearing completely as he gazed in that direction.
“… Can’t be, right? Thunder in winter?!” The snowfall intensified, and fierce winds swept across the land, picking up snowflakes from both sky and ground, relentlessly battering everything in the world.
I’m glad that the snow was trampled in the last chapter, so you can’t tell that it had been harvested. It is a little bothersome that the convoy is away from their base and panicking. I’m worried they will find Wei Xuan’s complex and zombies and try to take it over for the “good of others”.
Thanks for the update and rushing to the next chapter 🤣❤️
Thanks for translating 💐
I might have missed it but what is this explosive-proof axe that he keeps talking about? I’m struggling to imagine how it works 🤣
Ok nevermind, it probably just means it doesn’t break easy. My brain was thinking about actual explosives 🫢