Chapter 504: The Terrifying Reality That

Howl… howl…

In the blink of an eye, the zombies on the snow didn't slip at all, dashing swiftly toward the convoy.

Bang, bang, bang-bang-bang…

Their speed and strength had greatly increased, but their intelligence showed no noticeable improvement. The first batch of thirty to forty zombies slammed straight into the vehicles, producing a series of crashes that shook the cars violently; many zombies were thrown to the ground by the powerful recoil, further blocking those behind them.

Even if a few zombies managed to squeeze through the gaps between the front and rear of the vehicles, all they met were iron rods…

Adaptability is humanity's greatest advantage—we must seize every opportunity to strike the enemy, and now is a perfect chance! "Advance!"

Zhang Su roared loudly, using his elbow to push off and leap onto the car hood, soaring high like a dragon in the sky as he charged toward the nearest target. The threaded steel rod in his hand was like a sharp dragon's claw, the sharp military knife like hardened dragon's fangs, effortlessly tearing through the zombies' defenses.

Immediately behind him, Zheng Xinyu, Zhao De, and Ju Wuying charged out from the flanks, their faces cold, lips tightly pressed. No deafening roars echoed—only upon close inspection could one see Zheng Xinyu and Zhao De's lips trembling slightly, a physiological reaction from extreme excitement.

Ju Wuying reacted differently—calmer than the others, her eyes filled with intense seriousness, more solemn than ever before, as if facing her greatest enemy of life. Her eyes gleamed, her spirit sharply focused! Dashing, turning, leaping, dodging… she might not kill a zombie with a single strike, but her movements were agile enough that three zombies lunging at her couldn't even graze her clothes—she seemed as slippery as oil.

Zhao De remained the same—his broad, forceful fighting style would never change. Years of training had vastly improved his physical condition compared to when he slaughtered fish in the supermarket; he wasn't afraid of zombies charging like football players—he simply slammed them over with brute force, the classic "one trick, but it works every time."

The remaining members of the Yama Legion lagged half a beat behind, but they refused to fall behind, grabbing weapons and rushing in. Fighting multiple opponents was tough, but two at once was manageable—they could kill zombies while keeping themselves safe.

Aside from the seven members of the Yama Legion, only Liu Yao, Ma Xiyu, and a few other fighters stood out. Among them, the Knight of Light, Fan Dahai, was worth mentioning.

The tall, thin man looked like a bamboo pole, but when fighting, he moved with clear discipline, skillfully using his few advantages against the zombies. He could handle two at once with ease—truly the combat backbone of the Auto Park branch.

The rest of the fighters could easily handle ordinary zombies before, but now they were clearly inadequate. Compared to Zhang Su and others at T0 level, they were utterly outclassed—even compared to other Yama Legion members, they fell short. Not even one-on-two was safe for some; some barely survived one-on-one. But humans possessed one skill zombies lacked: cooperation! If combat power was insufficient, they pooled their strength together. Yang Xin seemed to have long realized his subordinates were generally weak—the Auto Park branch members coordinated seamlessly, nothing like the chaotic solo fighting of the Kindergarten branch. They barely held back the zombie assault.

The Yama Legion broke the crisis with superior individual combat ability; the Auto Park branch defused danger through teamwork. The Kindergarten branch members, however, were stuck in between—looking awkward…

This battle was completely different from before!

Yesterday, after the grape bombing, thousands of zombies stormed Tianma Island, and over a hundred fighters easily cleared the threat, slaughtering with utter ease. But now, the situation was clearly different.

Only Zhang Su and Ju Wuying fought with true ease. Even Zhao De, Chen Hanzhou, and others who weren't immediately in danger felt immense pressure.

Without considering technique, speed and strength directly determined combat power. These zombies were far stronger than before—not simply additive, but exponential. Before, handling two zombies at once wasn't hard—not "anyone could do it," but it was effortless; even the reserve women's squad could manage. Now, Wang Xin, facing two zombies attacking him simultaneously, had to concentrate fully just to survive, and even his attacks could fail for any number of reasons.

Under this shift, the kill rate dropped drastically!

Zhang Su hadn't expected the snowfall would make zombies this formidable. These ordinary zombies now possessed the combat strength of the former burning zombies, differing only in that they didn't catch fire—no risk of being burned during combat. But this level of strength was already extremely difficult for ordinary fighters! He couldn't use his own power as a benchmark. If quantified, he believed Chen Hanzhou or Lu Yu's combat power made a better standard. If their power was 100, ordinary zombies before were at most 10—but now, ordinary zombies were 30!

"We must end this quickly!"

Zhang Su thought this, his grip tightening. He knew his companions couldn't hold out long against this level of zombie. With the help of the white mist, he fully understood everything within five to six meters around him—where the zombies were, what Zheng Xinyu was doing, whether he might accidentally hurt her—all crystal clear. He fully activated his berserk mode. The threaded steel rod no longer needed precise thrusts—"brute force creates miracles." He swung wildly, smashing! The zombies' attacks had strengthened, but their defense hadn't changed at all. Before his furious threaded steel, they were still helpless—heads crushed and shattered on impact, arms bent and broken when struck.

Zhang Su alone carved out a vacuum zone before him, the ground littered with zombies sprawled in all directions.

He glanced back at the rear of the zombie horde and instantly calculated: about a hundred or so left. He let out a deep breath…

He didn't rush forward to increase his kill rate. Instead, he began rescuing others. He could slaughter through the entire battlefield alone, but if someone got bitten, it wouldn't be worth it. Better to rush to anyone in danger, relieving the immense pressure on everyone.

"Kill you, kill you, kill you…"

Zheng Xinyu had said they'd fight side by side—and she did. Both hands gripped the threaded steel rod; the baseball bat was stuck on her back. In high-intensity combat, the threaded steel rod was far more effective—the baseball bat was more like a spiritual totem in her heart.

"Ah, die!"

As she furiously smashed zombies, a zombie suddenly charged from the side—bare-skinned, gnashing teeth, disgusting and terrifying. She couldn't strike like Zhang Su, using minimal distance to deliver lethal force—but she could charge! She stomped her foot, thrusting her chest forward to meet the lunging zombie.

Puff…

"Xinyu!"

Zhang Su had noticed Zheng Xinyu being flanked by two zombies and planned to slash one's head off from the side the moment she was tackled. He hadn't expected her to be so fierce—she charged right in.

The result wasn't bad: Zheng Xinyu and the zombie were both thrown backward by the recoil…

The difference? Zheng Xinyu sat hard on her rear, while the zombie staggered back three steps before stopping, then immediately attacked again.

Puff! Puff! The threaded steel rod shot out like a furious dragon, piercing straight through the zombie's skull lunging at Zheng Xinyu. Thud—it collapsed like a blanket falling over her. Though she fell, she held the rod upright against her backpack—the zombie, impaled on the rod, slumped sideways onto her.

"Get off me! My husband's fine!"

Zheng Xinyu angrily shoved the zombie corpse away, flipped over, and stood up. Her protective gear kept her unharmed, and she still called out to Zhang Su to reassure him.

The slaughter continued. All fighters gave their all, yet it was still grueling. Many secretly marveled—these zombies' abilities were truly monstrous.

At this moment, no one had time to despair about the future—they only wanted to survive this battle.

A little farther away, ordinary members of the Auto Park stood together in the snowstorm. Most hadn't moved far, watching the battlefield with bated breath. Many clenched their fists, silently cheering for the fighters and building up their own courage.

The scene of fighters desperately killing zombies was deeply etched into everyone's minds!

Puff…

"Die!"

As Zhao De drove his threaded steel rod through the last zombie's skull and kicked it to the ground, snow still fell—but the battle was over.

From start to finish, the battle lasted about ten minutes, but its intensity left many gasping for breath, white mist puffing from their mouths and vanishing above their heads—clearly, they were exhausted.

"How's it going? Anyone bitten?"

Zhang Su's chest heaved. His weapon remained unsheathed as he turned to face the group, his expression grim. He'd faintly heard someone cry out—he suspected trouble.

"No, none of us were bitten… but some got injured. Xiao Lin broke a bone."

Yang Xin raised his hand, his eyes still holding unshed panic. The battle had been too intense; many fled in panic, resulting in scrapes, bruises. One knight, trying to vault over a vehicle to dodge, accidentally broke his arm.

But as long as no one was bitten, it was a blessing. Liu Yao's group, however, was far more somber. He scowled, dragging a man forward: "Damn it! Boss Zhang, one of our guys got bitten!"

Zhang Su looked at the man and saw his glove was torn away in a large patch, leaving only half on his hand. A crooked, unmistakable bite mark was clearly visible.

"I… I used my hand to block… the zombie's mouth."

The man explained sadly, sniffing hard—obviously crying.

"I know. You did the right thing. But if you want to live, put your hand on it."

Zhang Su stepped forward and pointed to the hood beside him.

"C-can it really work? Lord Yama, I'm scared—I don't want to die!"

The man was about Zhang Su's age, with an artistic air. Hearing this, he trembled as he placed his hand on the car, turning his head away, unable to watch what came next.

Zhang Su stuck the threaded steel rod into his waist loop, then pulled a small object from his chest. Before anyone could grasp its significance, he raised his military knife—cold light flashed, blood splattered onto the white snow, crimson dots.

No hesitation. Doing this now was as simple as eating.

"Ah, ah, my hand—I…"

The man hadn't expected such speed and precision. A searing pain made him break into sweat. Had Liu Yao not held him up, he'd have collapsed on the spot.

"Don't worry. Your situation is similar to mine!"

Chen Hanzhou stepped forward, rolled up his sleeve to reveal a mechanical prosthetic: "Boss Zhang cut off my arm back then. Now I've got this metal one—look, how cool!"

Those around him, seeing Chen Hanzhou speak cheerfully, felt mixed emotions. How many could remain optimistic under such circumstances? It was truly hard.

"Here, Old Liu, feed this to him, take him to the car to rest!"

Zhang Su handed Liu Yao a zombie's thalamus, the size of a broad bean.

"Got it! With this, we're safe!"

Liu Yao took the thalamus seriously. He recognized it—he'd healed his fractured ribs in under five minutes. As he brought it to his companion's lips, he suddenly paused, hesitating.

"Boss Zhang, can my hand grow back if I reattach it?"

Zhao De stared at Liu Yao like he was an idiot. "Are you an idiot? Don't you know why we cut off the hand?"

"Ah, right, right!"

Liu Yao nodded frantically and quickly shoved the thalamus into his companion's mouth.

Zhang Su watched the man swallow the thalamus and asked: "What's your name?"

"I'm Ke. Ke Zhiyu."

The man's face was pale, forcing a grim smile.

"Ke Zhiyu…" Zhang Su murmured, finding the name awkward—he didn't know which "Zhi" or "Yu" it was—then said: "Alright. Take Brother Xiao Ke to the car to rest. And for safety's sake, tie him up first!"

"Understood. I'll handle it properly. Don't worry."

Liu Yao solemnly patted his chest and immediately ordered someone to fetch ropes—this couldn't be taken lightly.

"Heh…"

After Liu Yao and his team left, Zheng Xinyu wiped her filthy face and suddenly smiled.

"What's so funny?"

Zhang Su asked curiously.

"Ke Zhiyu—can be cured. What a lucky name! He'll definitely survive this!" Zheng Xinyu stood with one hand on her hip, her battered hat tilted over her head, looking like a mystic.

??

After tallying the wounded: besides Ke Zhiyu, fifteen others had minor injuries; three were badly beaten and spat blood; one had a broken bone. None were in life-threatening condition—but this casualty ratio filled everyone with unprecedented dread. Forget the distant past: yesterday, over a hundred fighters faced nearly thirty thousand zombies. Though powerful weapons eliminated many, the number killed in close combat still reached around eight thousand!

In other words, each fighter killed roughly sixty zombies using melee weapons.

Compare today: without counting precisely, it was clear the zombies emerging from the residential area couldn't have exceeded four hundred. With over sixty fighters, and many already killed by gunfire before close combat, the actual number in melee was only about two hundred sixty to seventy. On average, each fighter faced only five zombies.

Yesterday's "grueling" battle saw zero bites and only minor injuries. Today's "easy" odds—one bite, over ten injured!

Though there were factors like ambush versus defense, the difference was too extreme—it felt unreal, as if yesterday they were blasting fish in a pond, and today they were being mercilessly slaughtered.

But there was another crucial point…

Some people glanced secretly at Zhang Su and Ju Wuying. Though the battle was fierce, many noticed: this man and woman held back nearly half the frontline. No exact count, but conservatively, they eliminated thirty percent of the zombies—especially Zhang Su, who cleared the zombies before him and still had time to rescue others. Without his aid, casualties would have been higher. The other Yama Legion members also held back about thirty percent…

The zombies left for the Auto Park and Kindergarten branch fighters were few—barely a hundred at most!

When you didn't calculate, it seemed fine. When you did, you were shocked. The wise quickly figured it out: each of them had killed no more than two zombies! The answer was unbelievable. Such intense combat—and they'd only killed two? Looking back at the scattered corpses, the truth was obvious.

This data was terrifying. Without Zhang Su and the others present, they'd all have been wiped out here.

Before the snowfall, if they'd faced such a battle, using cover properly, each could have handled twenty or thirty zombies easily. After the snow, that ratio shrank tenfold.

Fortunately, not everyone was helpless—there were living examples: some could still fight ten, even more zombies alone. Ultimately, it was just that they were too weak.

Zhang Su's significance wasn't just resisting danger—his heroic zombie-slaying constantly inspired those around him, proving humanity could fight back, not be crushed by zombies.

A combat pillar was also a spiritual totem, showing everyone hope.

(End of Chapter)