Chapter 500: The Reaction Came Too Fast!

"This now…"

Yang Xin looked southward and said, "Maybe we shouldn't go to Absolute Justice today?"

Discussing whether human civilization will collapse is premature; the immediate priority is recovering the lost supplies.

Zhang Su leaned on one hip, gazing south; as he weighed the pros and cons, his eyes sharpened and his lips twitched involuntarily.

Crystal-clear snowflakes drifted down from the sky, beautiful beyond measure—yet the cost of this beauty was far too heavy.

"This… it's snowing already?"

Chen Hanzhou couldn't help asking, removed his glove with his mechanical prosthetic, then reached into the air to catch a falling flake; its icy touch melted in his palm, chilling him to the core.

"Big brother, this snow… it's bad news!"

Zhao Dezhu also reached out to catch snowflakes; his large palm caught many, which melted instantly into tiny droplets—weightless, yet crushing his heart.

From clear blue skies to falling snow, less than a few minutes had passed—this speed left no time to react.

Everyone turned to Zhang Su; whether to advance or retreat rested solely on his decision.

They had just eliminated over twenty combatants from Absolute Justice, and now this sudden transformation—if they launched a surprise attack on Absolute Justice's headquarters now, it might achieve an unexpected advantage, possibly even uprooting this insane faction entirely.

But the snow had already fallen; without doubt, the zombies would be strengthened—and then it would be humanity that faced disaster. As long as they didn't encounter zombies, all was fine; once they did, things would turn dire. Zhang Su felt even the destruction of ten Absolute Justice factions couldn't compensate for the loss of his own people, especially since the challenge task remained incomplete; the snow had drastically increased its difficulty. Without hesitation, he shook his head: "This snow saved Absolute Justice—they got lucky. We'll deal with them later."

Some from the Auto Park branch wore strange expressions; this sounded suspiciously like a villain's line—but for some reason, it felt incredibly satisfying. They'd never felt this tough before…

"Old Yang, take your men straight to the kindergarten—everyone goes."

Zhang Su didn't dwell on their odd expressions; he was focused on deployment.

"Huh… we're just abandoning this whole area?"

In Yang Xin's fixed mindset, evacuating the Auto Park meant surrendering control over a vast stretch of northwest Qincheng—sure to be slowly devoured by Absolute Justice.

"Abandoning? Forget that—first, get your men somewhere safe to settle!"

Zhang Su spoke with grave seriousness.

"Got it, got it…"

Yang Xin immediately understood: the Auto Park's supplies were nearly gone; returning there wouldn't sustain them, and no one knew what conditions this precipitation would bring.

"Hehe! Our kindergarten branch is well-stocked—welcome, brothers and sisters from Auto Park!"

Liu Yao wasn't troubled by having to accommodate over a hundred people; instead, he was excited—he could finally get back at Yang Xin in good conscience.

"Old Liu, don't gloat—this snow…"

Zhang Su paused. The snowflakes had changed from their original size—noticeably larger. He also heard a strange noise, coming from the highway direction.

He spoke with intense gravity: "I think this snow isn't ordinary. Merge both branches—no past grudges allowed. Return immediately and organize combat forces; use every available resource to prepare for the worst!"

"Understood!"

Liu Yao had never seen Zhang Su so serious—he instantly realized this was no ordinary situation, dropped his joking demeanor, and nodded firmly.

"Good. Everyone, find vehicles on the road—see how many are still drivable. We're too many; cram as many as you can, just don't burst the tires!"

Zhang Su waved his hand; everyone returned to the highway.

The burning debris had gone cold, but the shattered corpses remained uncollected—grotesque, yet after months surviving the apocalypse, people were numb to it.

"Boss!"

Wang Xin, who had been guarding the flamethrower zombie's cargo container, walked up to Zhang Su with a grim face and whispered: "That thing moved just now—damn, it was terrifying!"

"I know."

The strange noise Zhang Su had heard earlier came from the cargo container holding the flamethrower zombie. Normally silent, it had just thrashed inside—likely sensing something, growing agitated.

"Let's head back to LeGou Mall first."

It wasn't hard to guess: this snow would strengthen the zombies—but the extent of that enhancement was unpredictable and uncontrollable.

Now, a difficult choice lay before them: should they expose the flamethrower zombie to the snow to strengthen it?

Though it seemed a dilemma, there was no real choice—no one could bear the catastrophic consequences of the flamethrower zombie going rogue. Without foolproof measures—which they didn't have—it was unthinkable.

Or perhaps the flamethrower zombie had already been strengthened, and they simply didn't know yet. Either way, Zhang Su dared not release it.

One explosion destroyed over thirty vehicles; in the end, only twenty remained usable. Cars had immense carrying capacity—normally limited to five due to safety factors, but crammed tightly, fifteen people could fit inside, never mind seven or eight.

Excluding the cargo container that couldn't carry passengers, the remaining vehicles somehow managed to transport all over a hundred people—remarkably efficient.

While checking vehicles, Zhang Su's group also gathered usable items from them, and even scavenged some weapons from Absolute Justice's side—insufficient to fill the supply gap, but still a meager trophy.

As the convoy departed, snow had already blanketed the ground in a white veil; the blood and severed limbs beneath it looked especially grim and horrifying—but after four months of apocalypse, everyone was desensitized to such scenes.

As the convoy left Xihuan Road, the atmosphere inside LeGou Mall also grew heavy.

After Zhang Su and others left, LeGou Mall had been bustling with activity; no one felt uneasy about the leadership change—the announcement of people-friendly policies had left everyone cheerful.

Energetic personnel counts, designs for ventilation upgrades, technicians debating how to build a communication network—all of it filled everyone with hopeful anticipation for the future.

But in an instant, the winter sun vanished beneath dark clouds; the already dim mall plunged into pitch blackness—so dark, you couldn't see your hand before your face; a meter away, people vanished into shadow. Cold and darkness were primal fears etched into human DNA; once triggered, unease surged—and with both combined, the cheerful mood vanished instantly. Only when Yu Wen ordered Wu Baokang to turn on several high-power lights did the atmosphere begin to ease.

"What the hell is going on, damn it!"

Lu Yubo pressed against the window, staring at the rolling black clouds—even he, usually carefree, felt a creeping unease.

"Is it going to snow…?"

Tan Huajun sat nearby, face clouded with worry.

"Ah…" Liu Tianji gazed outside through another small window and sighed—he'd already seen scattered snowflakes landing on the glass.

"Sis, it's snowing already!"

Zhang Ya crushed out her cigarette, brow furrowed. Her combat strength was no joke, but that didn't mean she was bloodthirsty.

"This isn't a good sign."

Yu Wen and Li Zongkai knew precipitation would strengthen zombies, but they were powerless against climate shifts—helplessly watching white snowflakes dance through the dark sky, as if the entire earth trembled.

All they could do was stabilize morale and boost spirits. Fortunately, Zhang Su's lingering authority remained, and with Wu Baokang and Zhang Xin leading combat units who hadn't left, fear was quickly shattered.

At Tianmayu, as dark clouds rolled in, most of those stationed on the mountain gathered at Xiao Xingyun. The weather change unsettled them, but years of training kept their emotions relatively stable.

"This snow… won't be light."

Ma Changshou stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky, icy snowflakes striking his face.

"It's been a long time since the last snowfall."

Guo Dachao, who had returned with three surviving alliance scientists, was also at Xiao Xingyun, leaning against the wall smoking. Yang Wenjie stood beside him, nervously clutching his arm; thinking of zombies changing unpredictably with precipitation—and humanity's utter helplessness—she felt a wave of despair.

"Dachao, how was it when you left Boss Zhang?"

Zhong Xiaoshanyi looked across the group at Guo Dachao; in this tense moment, she desperately longed for her anchor to be near.

"We were at LeGou Mall then—things were going well. The survivors' alliance accepted Boss Zhang fully. He's probably heading to Civilization Guardian now—if he went west first, the Little Eagle and Qitian groups should already be dealt with."

Guo Dachao analyzed seriously; he didn't know about Yu Nuo's later antics, but even if he had, it wouldn't have mattered—no ripple at all.

"This snow really…"

Zhao Xue reached out to catch a snowflake, murmuring softly, her heart filled with complex emotion.

She was born during a blizzard, hence her common yet meaningful name. She'd always loved snow—but now, her feelings toward it were deeply conflicted.

"Attention, attention!"

Suddenly, the radio crackled—Pei Lan, on duty in the surveillance room, spoke urgently: "The zombies in the scenic area are acting strangely! Attention, attention…"

The scenic area's temple held no more than one hundred zombies, strictly controlled, used only for zombie-generator replacements, research, and thalamus extraction.

The sudden news sent a jolt through everyone present.

"Wait… it just started snowing, and they're reacting this fast?"

Lü Leiyang took a deep breath, face grim, instinctively drawing his steel rod—perhaps battle was imminent.

Yang Liehuo took two final puffs on his cigarette, leaving only a soggy butt, licked his lips, stood up, and drew his weapon—silent, but the message was clear: time to move.

"Everyone, looks like we need to eliminate those damn things!"

Zhong Xiaoshanyi drew her weapon, eyes resolute. Even in camp, she still carried the heavy wrench Zhang Su had given her—this weapon always gave her an inexplicable courage.

"Sister-in-law, we've got so many men here—how could we let you fight? Boss Zhang would scold us to death when he gets back…"

Wang Xinggui slapped his chest. He wasn't a formal member of the Yama Army, but he often hung around his uncle Wang Longzhong, who had long joined the Yama Army—he considered himself one-third Yama Army.

Wang Xinggui never flaunted his uncle's status, so everyone treated him politely.

"Xinggui's right, Sister-in-law—let the men handle the dirty work."

Wang Longzhong stood, leaning on his steel rod. He and Yang Liehuo embodied "aged but still fierce"—both over fifty, yet their combat strength matched that of thirty-year-olds.

"That's not…"

Zhong Xiaoshanyi shook her head, looking at the group, about to speak—when Pei Lan's voice crackled again over the radio, even more urgent than before.

"Bad news! The temple gate is moving—it's those zombies ramming it! We don't know how long it'll hold!"

The temple gate had been reinforced, but with subpar materials—it could handle ordinary zombies, but might not withstand another round of enhancement.

"I'll notify the reserve team!"

Yang Liehuo's face darkened, pulled out his radio, and contacted Weixing Village. One hundred zombies wasn't many, but no one knew how much stronger they'd become—more people were better safe than sorry.

"Boss Zhang left us Zero-03! If those bastards are too strong, we unleash Zero-03—turn 'em all into meat paste!"

"Zero-03's fine, but don't unleash it unless absolutely necessary—we don't have Da Kun's agility. If we lose control, we're done for!"

"It's not that bad—just a hundred zombies. We can handle it!"

Some were cautious, others confident—but no one showed any sign of retreat.

"Comrades, Boss Zhang is expanding our territory out there—our rear must be secured. No more talk—grab your weapons and defend our home!"

Zhong Xiaoshanyi's voice was sharp, but as she stepped resolutely out of the guesthouse, everyone felt a surge of power—the unmistakable aura of a leader!

Usually, Zhong Xiaoshanyi handled logistics—gentle, soft-spoken. But now, as the leader's woman, she would not hide behind anyone—she must take up arms.

With Zhong Xiaoshanyi's example, no one hesitated—everyone grabbed weapons and left Xiao Xingyun.

"Ma… Ma Shu… do we… do we go too?"

Yi Xiaoling saw everyone leaving, and she awkwardly tugged at Ma Changshou's sleeve.

Ma Changshou exhaled deeply and laughed as he patted Yi Xiaoling's arm: "Girl, we're pure technicians, but don't forget what Boss Zhang always says—our Tianma Yu advocates universal conscription. As long as we're not like Weijun, we must fight. Come on, follow me!"

A thin layer of snow covered the ground; due to the low temperature, it wouldn't melt, but it wasn't slippery yet. Judging by the time, it would reach the thickness of a shoe sole in at most half an hour!

"Damn, that's intense…"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Around the generator in the parking lot, the zombies ran like mad, their eyes glowing faintly red, moving more than twice as fast as usual—sometimes sparks flew from the iron bands they strained against, utterly violent. The group paused to watch as they passed the parking lot, moved by how desperately these zombies were "working."

(End of Chapter)