Chapter 456: Blowing Bubbles!

"Got the dropper?"

Zhang Su pulled out a small bottle but found no sampling tool—he dared not pour it out randomly; that would be ridiculous.

"Got it, here!"

Yu Qing, meticulous as always, retrieved a micro-dropper with a capacity of 0. milliliters and handed it to Zhang Su.

Holding the dropper, Zhang Su carefully unscrewed the glass bottle's cap, recalled the power of that previous test, then carefully filled both bottles in sequence.

"We'll call this bomb 'Grape.' Here, Luezi—use this one first, then this one. You don't need me to teach you how to maximize the blast radius, right?"

Zhang Su handed both bombs to Wu Lue, emphasizing the order: the two bombs contained different Ascension Primordial Fluids—the first extracted from the brain of the venomous zombie discovered in the Azure Dragon Corps, the second from the brain of the zombie whose corpse had been hung as a charm by Ju Wuying.

The two Ascension Primordial Fluids differed slightly in concentration, but barely noticeable—perfect for this comparative test, as Zhang Su wanted to see if there was any difference in explosive effect.

Wu Lue carefully noted the sequence, his face glowing with barely concealed excitement, and nodded: "Brother Su, don't worry—I know to lure the zombies first, then throw. I'll notify you when it's done: 'Grape inserted.' How's that?"

"Very much your style, kid…"

Zhang Su didn't interfere, granting his men full freedom.

Yu Qing rolled her eyes beside him—these two were truly wild.

Zhang Su and Yu Qing left Qingfeng Xiaoyuan and hurried toward the parking lot, where they saw Xie Yanshan pushing Fu Weijun outside the lab.

"Mr. Zhang, the situation seems complicated—is there anything we can assist with?"

Fu Weijun asked calmly.

He and Xie Yanshan had heard the news over their radios while working in the lab; though they usually ignored outside affairs, they couldn't remain indifferent to today's crisis.

Zhang Su walked over, clapped Fu Weijun on the shoulder, and said: "Dr. Fu, you've done what you needed to do—just wait for the fireworks!"

With that, he and Yu Qing kept walking without stopping toward the parking lot.

On the highway, people waited anxiously, then saw a van descending from the hill—something felt off. When it drew closer, it was clear: eight men stumbled out, heads hung low, and approached Li Zongkai.

Li Zongkai didn't harshly punish his former comrades—they weren't traitors of great evil, and he gave them a chance to redeem themselves by arming them and placing them back in the ranks.

After another wait, Zhang Su and Yu Qing returned. Before anyone could ask what was happening, a dark shape lifted from the forest—a drone slowly flew northwest, something hanging beneath it, but not a loudspeaker.

"Lao Pan, as soon as we engage the horde, you drive the tank north immediately—try to block them, but don't get bogged down. Save enough fuel to get back to camp!"

As the vehicle stopped, Zhang Su got out and gave his orders.

"Understood, leave it to me!"

Pan Guoliang, as the tank driver, felt complex emotions—he was safe even if the tank ran out of fuel and got stranded in the horde, since zombies couldn't open a metal can. But he didn't want it to come to that—it meant failure, the camp's failure.

He'd experienced it once—he didn't want a second time. Sitting in the cockpit, half his body protruding from the tank, he fished out a cigarette, lit it, and let his hand drift through the smoke like the tank cutting through the horde.

Back at the front line, Zhang Su saw over a hundred eyes fixed on him—some blazing with battle spirit, some calm, some tense and fearful…

"You all came to Tianma Isle because of a conspiracy. Now we're friends, and we'll be comrades, brothers. As the master of Tianma Isle, I haven't even had time to give you a proper welcome—so let me treat you to a grand fireworks display."

Zhang Su's speech, logically structured yet utterly incomprehensible, left everyone except the Yama Corps utterly bewildered.

Some noticed that when Zhang Su mentioned "grand fireworks," many members of the Yama Corps suddenly wore strange smiles—as if something long awaited was about to arrive.

Without explanation, Zhang Su picked up the radio: "Luezi, begin!"

No response—he was controlling two remote controllers simultaneously, eyes darting between two screens, with no free hand to press the talk button.

Seven or eight hundred meters away, the drone with the loudspeaker stopped circling and slowly flew toward the larger horde to the northwest, lured by the sound.

The horde had been a "circle," but now stretched into a "line" as it chased the sound source northward. Yet as the source moved farther, zombies began to fall behind, the horde elongating like dough being pulled thinner and thinner…

Fighters gathered behind the barricades took turns observing the distant horde through binoculars, confused but silent—no one voiced questions, only quiet murmurs among neighbors.

"Brother Su, how much did you put in this time?"

Chen Hanzhou stepped beside Zhang Su and asked cautiously.

Several nearby people heard and turned to Zhang Su—some from the Yama Corps, equally curious; others, utterly baffled.

Zhang Su merely smiled at them and said: "Figure it out yourself."

He didn't say because he wasn't sure himself—better to keep some mystery. The trump card was out, but not fully revealed—let them stay wary.

The stretched-out No. 1 horde stood bewildered in the open field—they couldn't reorient to human magnetic fields in a short time; how long it would take was unknown.

Minutes passed. Five minutes later, someone lit a cigarette—whether from relaxation or tension, no one knew. Five minutes after that, more lit up, and murmurs grew louder.

Because of the flame zombies, everyone clustered around the cargo van—cold wasn't the issue, but waiting was still unbearable.

Suddenly, the lookout reported: the northern horde had reached 1. kilometers north of Tianma Isle! Pan Guoliang didn't wait for orders—he climbed into the tank, sealed the hatch, and braced himself.

The approaching horde weighed heavily on everyone's hearts—then, just then—

"Grape inserted!"

As patience neared its end, a serious voice crackled over the Yama Corps' radios—yet the words were anything but serious…

"Phew…"

Zhang Su licked his dry lips, rubbed his cheeks, and pointed northwest: "Watch the fireworks."

All eyes turned to the northwest.

Zhang Su pressed the remote.

Three… two… one…

"Huh?"

Zhang Xin frowned—he felt a brief distortion in the air ahead.

Before he could think further, a purple orb suddenly appeared in the distance—as if the earth had chewed blueberry bubblegum and blown a giant bubble: vivid, surreal, sci-fi in hue. Distance made exact diameter hard to judge, but it looked at least twenty meters tall!

The eerie glow drew gasps of "Whoa!"—many truly thought it was fireworks; others imagined an alien spacecraft landing.

The time to quietly admire the "grand fireworks" was brief—just over three seconds later—

BOOM!

The sound wave traveled briefly, then exploded like thunder in everyone's ears, jolting those entranced by the purple glow into panic—the blast hammered their hearts, pounding wildly.

Simultaneously, the purple firework shrank violently and vanished instantly—as if it had never existed. The deafening noise triggered instinctive fear; many clapped hands over ears and hunched their bodies.

Accompanying the blast, visible debris flew skyward—chunks of earth, weeds, shattered stones, and zombies. Living zombies were torn apart by the shockwave; dust swirled, and mangled bodies rained down…

Rumble… rumble… rumble…

The shockwave struck Tianma Isle's mountain, echoing repeatedly.

Whoosh! The blast weakened with distance, but when it reached the crowd, it still kicked up a cloud of dust, slapping against clothes with a rustling sound. Some screamed as their cheeks were cut by flying debris; metal vehicle bodies rattled like sandbags.

Even a kilometer away, the impact was so fierce that everyone's faces betrayed shock and awe.

(End of Chapter)