NOVPUBAfter hearing Jiao Lizhi's explanation, Shen Xueli understood that the problem wasn't just her weak, old parents, but because of her baby.
Zombies were sensitive to sound—if her son cried, it would bring trouble to the team. So, it was understandable that Jiao Lizhi rejected her.
When she reached this conclusion, she nodded and said, "I understand. Sister, thank you for helping me and my family. If we have fate and meet again in the future, I will definitely repay your kindness."
"I'm just helping you along the way. There is no need to be so polite. Just live well and kill more zombies—that will be the best repayment for me," Jiao Lizhi replied with a smile.
Shen Xueli smiled and said, "Okay."
After their brief conversation, Jiao Lizhi went back and finished her breakfast. While Xun Che's team was arranging the survivors, she went to the second floor and packed up three backpacks of supplies for Shen Xueli.
With a baby with her, it would be harder to find supplies. So, she gave her ten cans of baby formula, three boxes of baby cereal, five packs of diapers, and some baby and women's products.
Besides that, she also gave her medicines and compressed biscuits. Thinking about the small baby, she hid a handful of crystal cores inside one of the backpacks.
When she came back from the second floor, she walked over to Shen Xueli and said, "Sister, I found some baby and women's products on the second floor. Here, these are for you and your son."
Seeing the backpacks, Mother Shen and Father Shen were stunned. Although they knew it was hard to get supplies, they still accepted them.
The old couple bowed to Jiao Lizhi and said, "Thank you, Comrade."
Jiao Lizhi patted their shoulders and said, "Uncle and Aunty, I hope you all stay safe and sound."
Not long after, they heard the soldiers say, "It's time to depart. Everyone, get into the buses."
With that, the survivors left the family restaurant and boarded the buses one after another.
The soldiers entered their military vehicles, with some driving the buses and trucks. With the armored vehicles guarding the perimeter, the supplies and survivors were protected in the middle.
Before they left, the survivors waved at the Phantom Team as they said their goodbyes and thanked them.
After they left, Jin Xuyan said, "Pack up, we are leaving too."
"Yes, Captain!"
Compared to the survivors, they only needed five minutes to pack up and leave the family restaurant. Before leaving, Jin Xuyan said, "Captain Xun, we will lead the way. You only need to follow us closely."
"Okay," Xun Che agreed readily.
Unlike Xun Che's team, whose used a military vehicle, Jin Xuyan's team only used SUVs. As usual, Jin Xuyan drove Jiao Lizhi's SUT while the rest of the members split into three cars.
After driving for a while, Qin Luzi said, "There's a group of zombies up ahead. We have to get down and clear the road."
Hearing this, Shen Jinzhe used the taillights to send a message using Morse code. Seeing the message, they responded with a message using the headlights.
When they were about twenty meters away from the zombies, they parked their cars and got out. Seeing this, Xun Che and his team also exited their vehicle.
"We will clear the road first before we continue," Jin Xuyan informed them.
Before Xun Che could warn them about the number of zombies, the Phantom Team members had already taken out their airguns and started shooting the zombies.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
"Roar!!"
The moment the zombies caught their scent, they rushed over with their mouths wide open. Seeing this, Xun Che and his team pulled out their guns and prepared to shoot.
"Don't use guns—you will attract more zombies," Gao Bohai reminded them.
Hearing this, one of the soldiers asked, "Comrade, if we don't use guns, then how do we kill the zombies?"
Pop!
Gao Bohai killed a zombie pouncing at them from the side as he said, "You either use an airgun or a blade."
Xun Che looked at the airguns in the Phantom Team's hands and asked, "Comrade, where did you get the airguns?"
"Our team members made them. We can make some for you, but you will need a wind-type ability user to fill the CO₂ cartridges. Otherwise, it's better to use blades," Gao Bohai replied.
Crack! Bam!
While they were talking, they heard noise from the front. Turning their heads, they saw Zhou Huajian using his vines to move cars off the road. He stacked the vehicles together so they wouldn't block the way.
Seeing this, Xun Che was stunned. His team was considered one of the strongest in the camp, thanks to having seven ability-users. But compared to the Phantom Team, they suddenly seemed weak.
Not only did the Phantom Team have wood-type, metal-type, and wind-type ability users, but their marksmanship and close-combat skills were far superior. His team only awakened basic-type abilities, such as vision, hearing, smell, and strength.
"Captain, should we help them?" one of his team members asked.
Xun Che shook his head and said, "No need. Observe their fighting style and learn from them."
"Understood."
In less than fifteen minutes, all the zombies had been eliminated. When Xun Che and his team thought they would be leaving, they saw Shen Jinzhe burn the zombies' corpses with his blue flame, while Xiao Qi collected the crystal cores.
This time, they finally realized that the Phantom Team might have more ability-users than they had initially thought.
"Captain, we are done," Xiao Qi reported.
Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Let's go."
As they got closer to the commercial district, the number of zombies increased, and the road was either blocked by abandoned cars or destroyed by the battles that had taken place there before.
Seeing this, they decided to continue on foot. After Feng Yun stored their vehicles in his space, Wen Mo and Wen Kai created seven metal blades and handed them to Xun Che and his team.
