Chapter 455: We Need Something Explosive

"What the hell happened to Liu Yao, that damn jinx?"

Yang Xin felt the atmosphere was too oppressive, turned to find Liu Yao to vent his frustration, only to discover he had already fled far away...

This was extremely out of character for Liu Yao—mainly because the situation was just too cursed, and even he himself was frightened, vowing to speak less from now on!

As nearly thirty thousand zombies advanced step by step, a sense of unease quietly spread among the crowd; no one voiced their fears aloud, but emotions, like viruses, spread through the group.

Yu Wen keenly sensed the spreading panic. Fortunately, the Yanluo Corps' fierce morale shone like a beacon, fiercely resisting the tide of fear. He knew he had to act—he took a deep breath and activated the speaker clipped to his waist, then, seeing the zombie horde inch closer, quietly turned it off, and announced loudly.

"Everyone, remain calm! The Yanluo King's resolve is the blade that will slay the zombies. If he dared to have you stand here to face the horde, he has a plan to get us all out alive. If anyone here gets bitten today, I, Yu Wen, will kill myself to join you!"

Yu Wen's words were not light. Many were moved. Though some thought, If I get bitten, why should I drag this old bastard down with me? still, he was a major figure on Tianma Island; no one would say such a thing without cause.

"Relax!" Lu Yu smiled carefree, spinning the grain-sampling device he'd carried for years. "The Yanluo Corps never needs cannon fodder. That's what Boss Zhang said. Even if someone gets hurt, it'll be one of our own first—not you!"

"Young man, you're too modest. We're all in this together. The Civilization Guard will never let the brothers of Tianma Island fight alone!"

Li Zongkai took a deep breath, raised his steel spear high, showing his determination.

Seventeen members of the Civilization Guard responded enthusiastically. The eight who had previously left the Civilization Guard were not here—they were still bound and held back at camp...

"The Vanguard Team, Third Squad, aren't cowards, right?"

Zhang Xin had wanted to persuade Zhang Su earlier, but now he didn't back down. If the sky were falling and everyone would die together, he was no longer so afraid.

"That's right!"

"Trust Captain Zhang! Trust the Yanluo King!"

Most of the Third Squad members shouted back. Zhang Xin glared at the two gloomy men who hadn't spoken up—so they, too, were forced to join in and yell.

"To strike hard against humans but grovel before zombies—that's beastly."

Wu Baokang sneered. He'd brought a Tianma Island-issue steel rod from camp, burning with rage and ready to vent. Even if he had to lure zombies away, he'd pick at least a dozen to unleash his fury on!

Yang Xin looked toward Liu Yao, hidden in the crowd, and called out: "Hey, Liu Jinx, all these people have spoken. Now it's your turn. Your Little Hawk Clan was always tough—what's your take?"

"I'm not called Liu Jinx, hmph!"

Liu Yao snorted. He absolutely couldn't let the "jinx" label stick now—otherwise, he'd never shake it off for the rest of his life.

He crossed his arms: "I told you already—there's no Little Hawk Clan anymore. We're all members of Tianma Island now. The guys just haven't been officially enrolled yet, but of course we're following the reserve squad—no, following the Yanluo Corps' lead, not falling behind!"

He'd been about to say "following the reserve squad," but seeing the all-female squad nearby, he realized that sounded too embarrassing and quickly corrected himself.

"This mess is your fault, you jinx! Now we have to clean up your mess! Damn it, the Tianqi Corps has no choice but to cleanse evil!"

Yang Xin made his stance clear.

So far, only the Survivor Alliance's Vanguard Team Two and Search Team Three's leaders hadn't spoken—but neither group had retreated, which indirectly signaled their stance.

Zhang Su drove furiously up the mountain, unaware of what had happened at the front. On the way back to camp, he explained his plan to Yu Qing. When he arrived and slammed the brakes, he spotted the eight men who had tried to leave the Civilization Guard, crouching in the corner.

"Go prepare first. Meet me at Wu Lue's place later!"

Zhang Su told Yu Qing to get the explosives, then strode quickly toward the eight bound men.

The eight men saw Zhang Su storming toward them, their faces twitching as they instinctively shrank back—but behind them was a wall...

"Want to fight side by side?"

Zhang Su stood before them, calmly asking.?? They'd assumed he'd come to scold them or use them as cannon fodder—how could there be such a good thing as fighting side by side?

"Yes! Yes!"

"Really?"

"I'm willing! Willing!"

They nodded frantically like chickens pecking grain. They'd left the Civilization Guard only because they didn't understand Li Zongkai's actions—they'd always fought for the Civilization Guard, and learning there was a higher authority above had shaken their beliefs.

But after cooling down, they realized many things and regretted their impulsive decision. Now that a chance to make amends had come, they had to seize it.

Zhang Su nodded, said nothing more, and swiftly slashed through their ropes with his blade. The Survivor Alliance was amusing—even decent hemp rope was unattainable; they'd used all sorts of junk to bind people: cloth strips, network cables, electrical wires, even shoelaces twisted into ropes...

"The keys are still in that van over there—hurry to the assembly point! Get weapons from others!"

The eight men didn't dare delay—they sprinted toward the van.

"Luezi!"

Zhang Su ignored the eight, quickly finding Wu Lue on the rooftop of Qingfeng Xiaoyuan, controlling the drone.

"Boss Zhang? What's wrong...?"

Wu Lue had no idea Zhang Su had returned. Using a drone's loudspeaker to lure seven or eight thousand zombies was extremely difficult—he was fully focused, pushing himself to the limit.

"We can't handle this without something explosive. I told Yu Qing to prepare explosives—you'll handle the drop!"

Zhang Su stepped up to the drone screen, watching the zombie horde through the camera, his expression slightly excited.

"Something explosive..." Wu Lue muttered, then suddenly lit up with joy: "Boss Zhang—are we going to use Heaven-Ascended Fluid?"

It wasn't hard to guess. Using ordinary explosives to kill tens of thousands of zombies was nearly impossible—and would definitely cause fire!

Ten thousand regular zombies could be handled by a hundred-plus fighters. But two thousand flame zombies? The scene would be horrific—even tanks wouldn't dare charge into such a horde.

So it couldn't be ordinary explosives. Only one answer remained: Heaven-Ascended Fluid.

The explosion of that substance was unforgettable to Wu Lue: purple light blooming like a seductive flower at night, vaporizing everything at the epicenter, accompanied by a devastating shockwave—the perfect weapon against zombies!

Zhang Su nodded, confirming Wu Lue's guess. He patted his pocket, reluctant: "This is a precious thing... damn, I really hate to use it."

Only before his former subordinates did Zhang Su reveal his true feelings, showing his stingy side.

Revealing his strength didn't matter—his main goal now was recruiting the four factions. But Heaven-Ascended Fluid? Every drop used was one less!

Just then, Yu Qing came up the stairs, panting, holding a ladies' handbag.

"Special small bombs designed for Venom Fluid. There are eight here—only these three can be remotely triggered at five kilometers. The others only work within one or two hundred meters..."

She displayed the contents of the bag to Zhang Su.

Wu Lue sighed helplessly: "We really can't help it, Boss Zhang—we don't have any extra long-range modules..."

"Three are enough. Once we handle this, we'll go back to the city and find those modules—there must be plenty."

Zhang Su pulled out one bomb from the bag. It looked like a firecracker called "Earth Blossom" used during New Year's, tied to a glass vial smaller than a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Water. The ignition mechanism and receiver were attached to the fuse. The whole thing was no bigger than half a palm—dainty and compact.

He pulled the fuse from the ignition device, tested it with the remote—no problem, it fired normally.

(End of Chapter)