Chapter 1007: with translation of chapter title

Fast! Faster!

Speed up!!!

Voice hoarse from exhaustion.

In the icy snow‑covered world, heavy blue‑ice‑colored Wu Yun clouds pressed down from the horizon.

Paul Kegin, responsible for directing the Survivors' evacuation, stood on the olive‑green off‑road vehicle, waving his arms repeatedly, directing the crowd to move.

Behind him, masses of Survivors were squeezing into a black spatial gate.

Bundles big and small, the Survivors carrying all their belongings formed a long line, their faces filled with fear and bewilderment about the future.

Half a meter above the ground, the spatial gate hovered in mid‑air, like a tear ripped in the fabric of reality, its center a deep black.

The crowd filed in one after another, and the black transport gate appeared at different positions, following the line's movement.

With each flash of white light, the transport gate sucked in groups of ten Survivors like a black hole.

Exhausted.

The Awakened Ones supplying energy to the transport gate sat on the vehicle roof, leaning on each other; whenever a team fatigued, the next team rushed forward like precise gears, without daring to delay.

A delay of one second loses ten people; a minute loses six hundred. Each living life forces them to allow no mistake.

His breath turned to mist; as the convoy moved, Paul instinctively gazed at the distant dusky red. His chapped hands involuntarily grabbed snow from the vehicle roof and rubbed his weary face.

In the distance lay the Awakened Ones legion tasked with intercepting the Crimson Tide.

At times, third‑level Awakened Ones could be seen slamming down from the sky, bursts of shining spiritual energy exploding in the dark red.

The towed artillery fired intermittently; bronze‑colored shells arced through the air like raindrops and then exploded with a bang.

Everyone was desperately trying to block the pursuing zombie horde, having exhausted nearly every means.

Yet these zombies, soaked as if in red medicine, seemed impossible to kill completely.

Bang!!

Steel Power!

At the forefront of the intercepting force, Tyr lunged like a leopard; his right fist instantly coated itself in a thick layer of metallic particles, then he drove it forward as if unleashing energy.

As the metallic particles spewed out at high speed under the force's push, the zombie horde before him, tens of meters away, was shattered as if hit by hundreds of shotguns, clearing a patch in the blink of an eye.

Tired... trapped... numb...

He didn't know how long he had been fighting.

Tyr had no time to check his results; he simply lowered his head and silently rushed back into the zombie horde.

After completing the trade with Lin An, the pressure in his heart had greatly lessened, and the situation did not seem to be descending into desperation.

But he knew it was all a temporary illusion.

Their war zone, too, had been listed by the system in a countdown to annihilation.

If he wasn't mistaken, in Red Tower Town—the core of the zombie horde—over thirty third‑level mutants had already been born!

They now appear able to retreat and still block the Crimson Tide's pursuit, simply because no high‑level mutants have intervened in the zombie horde.

Whoosh!

In his troubled thoughts, an arrow whistled past Tyr's face.

Tyr's already exhausted face showed little reaction; he merely turned his head instinctively toward the group.

In an Awakened Ones trio, a dexterity‑type Awakened One whose right hand hung limp like a noodle stared at him in panic.

My lord... I... I...

The archer Awakened One's face was pallid, his spiritual energy dim; gritting his teeth against the pain, before he could explain, his companion beside him hurriedly and anxiously began to explain to Tyr.

My lord! Keso Ya is exhausted! His hand was shattered by the recoil! It wasn't an intentional misfire!

Supporting his companion, this second‑level Awakened One wore a tense expression.

The tense battle allowed him no more words.

After a brief turn‑back, upon hearing the explanation Tyr didn't mind; unlike what the crowd imagined—him exploding in anger—he merely forced a smile and gestured for the team to temporarily rotate out.

He didn't overly mind Keso Ya's unintentional mistake.

By now, everyone was utterly exhausted.

Running while intercepting.

In the freezing cold, not only must spiritual energy be expended to release skills, precious spiritual energy also has to supply body heat.

Without time to eat, many Awakened Ones began to falter from physical exhaustion under the high‑intensity drain.

Gazing at the endless zombie horde, he silently sighed, then charged into the horde once more.

Punch after punch, as he mechanically tore through the zombie horde, Tyr couldn't help but recall that figure again and again.

If Lin An were here... perhaps the situation would be much better...

He clearly remembered that Lin An possessed a host of area‑of‑effect skills—especially the soul‑shaking, all‑slaughtering Sword‑Stream Storm and the strange Shockwave attack.

Now he thought, it was truly perfect for group combat.

Upon reflection, Lin An wasn't just strong in single‑target bursts; his group abilities were monstrous...

He truly didn't know how such a perfect Awakened One could exist in this world...

Amid his tangled thoughts, Tyr shook his head, driving Lin An's image from his mind.

Thinking about that monster... he was nothing but a greedy blood‑sucking demon...

After yet another group cleared a vast expanse of Red Tower zombies, Tyr instinctively calculated how many people remained unsent.

It had been almost two days since Lin An's deal; by now they had already fled the Safe Zone.

Just as Lin An had proposed.

They chose to flee in the opposite direction, leading this group of Red Tower zombies to the frozen wasteland far to the east‑west, where no one lives and the extreme cold can only weakly affect the zombies' mobility.

While running and transmitting, a great march of up to millions of people, like a colony of ants fleeing on a white ice plain.

Except for the initial unfamiliarity when just using the transmission permit, after wasting precious half an hour, the Awakened Ones in the team, under layered arrangements, have started turning like gears.

Awakened Ones of Second Level and above all went to the Rear to intercept the Red Tower Zombies; a small portion of Third Level were responsible for luring away the Mutants that joined the battle around.

The remaining First Level Awakened Ones were responsible for supplying transmission energy, ensuring that large numbers of ordinary people could be transmitted back to the safe rear of the Soviet War Zone.

It can be said that, under Tel's insistence, the Awakened Ones left the most dangerous tasks to themselves.

"Hum—"

"The 2038th transport aircraft is in position! Ready to depart!"

Above, on the sightseeing transport plane that ferries survivors back and forth, the engine lets out a tremendous roar.

Standing at the front of the crowd, a Second Level Awakened One officer constantly berated those boarding the plane:

"Throw away everything! Don't bring anything onto the plane!"

"Less weight, more life!"

"Anyone who hides contraband will be shot on the spot!"

The angry shouts were numb and mechanical; several soldiers, shouldering rifles, repeatedly pushed the silent survivors onto the transport plane.

As a second escape plan, the transport plane mainly carries the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled.

During the escape, this group of survivors who thought they would be abandoned had no complaints; they could only silently throw all their belongings onto the ground.

Wearing only thin, barely adequate clothing, the not-so-large warplane was packed with all kinds of survivors.

At a glance, they looked like sardines in a can.

"Rated load 40! Actual load 75!"

"The 2038th transport aircraft, ready for takeoff!!"

With a loud shout from the commander, the transport plane full of survivors, amidst a roar, flew difficultly and slowly into the sky.

Looking at the bright 'Faction: Long An' painted on the transport plane, the Awakened One in charge of command couldn't help but flash a hint of envy, and...

He sighed deeply.

"Team Lin, the Soviet War Zone is just ahead!"

Eleven hours later, as night fell again, Lin An calmly held Mo Ling and jumped off the warplane; behind him, Zhang Tie, still holding a bottle of beer, gulped it down in one go and then, feeling sentimental, looked at the dark bluish frozen soil beneath his feet.

This is the border between Outer Mongolia and the Soviet Union; the weather isn't that cold yet.

As far as the eye can see, it's all flat wilderness.

He waved his hand, Lin An signaled Yun Tian to return directly, then his eyes flickered as he looked into the distance.

The air was filled with a faint smell of earth and damp grass.

With a step across the war zone boundary, in an instant, a system prompt automatically sounded:

"Beep, you have entered the Soviet War Zone."

"Current war zone danger level: High!"

"Warning: This war zone has entered a state of annihilation alert; you can accept related war zone tasks in any Safe Zone."