Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

Seeing Zuo Li about to reach for the pin, Xie Ning urgently shouted, ”Don’t, don’t, don’t!” as she dove to her side.

She was both amused and exasperated.

’We’re not at the point of using grenades yet, are we?’

In this day and age, guns and ammunition were resources to be used sparingly. They couldn’t afford to be so extravagant and wasteful.

”What took you so long to come out!” Zuo Li wiped her face and grumbled fiercely, ”I was about to use explosives!”

She just wanted to hurry up and kill these annoying zombies so she could get to the back of the factory and see how Xie Ning was doing.

”You okay?” Zuo Li gave her a sidelong glance, looking her up and down.

”I’m fine.” Xie Ning tossed a handful of Golden Needles at a Speed System zombie that was hurtling toward them.

Dozens of Metal Spikes shot out, wrapping around the Speed System zombie and suddenly contracting.

Several sharp whooshes cut through the air.

The Metal Spikes formed a semi-enclosed cage, instantly trapping the Speed System zombie.

Xie Ning specialized in dealing with the Speed System zombies that zipped all over the battlefield.

She could now skillfully manipulate her Gold Element Energy, condensing a ball of Metal Spikes in seconds to clamp down on the head of an agile Speed System zombie. It was a spectacular sight.

Zuo Li, who had been firing a few shots from the side, stared in disbelief. ”You? How can you just retract and release your Gold Element Energy at will?”

It felt like that giant ball of Metal Spikes was constantly flickering in front of her—forming, then dispersing, then forming again.

’Isn’t that a broken ability?’

’Being able to continuously recall energy you’ve already sent out... isn’t that the same as recycling and reusing it over and over? Doesn’t that mean the energy in your body will never run out?’

Xie Ning glanced at her silently. ”You can’t?”

”What do you mean, *I* can’t?” Zuo Li was so mad she almost laughed. ”It’s more like no one can do that except you, right?”

She had never seen anyone who could quietly retract the energy waves from an attack they had already launched.

Xie Ning recalled the dispersed Gold Element Energy and looked at Zuo Li expressionlessly. ”It’s not that overpowered. Every time I throw the energy out, I can only recover about eighty-five percent of it.”

’So there is still some consumption, it’s just slower than everyone else’s...’

Zuo Li’s response was a massive eye-roll.

’I really don’t want to talk to her right now!’

”You’d better not tell anyone other than me about this overpowered ability of yours.” Zuo Li took out a Power Type zombie with a RAT-TAT-TAT of her gun and snorted. ”Because you’ll probably get beaten to death for it!”

While others were racking their brains trying to figure out how to produce the strongest attack with the least amount of energy, this person was lamenting that she lost fifteen percent of her energy even though she could recall it.

’What a punchable little brat!’

Xie Ning wanted to say, ’I didn’t tell you. You’re the one who figured it out!’

But on second thought, she decided to keep her mouth shut.

’Getting hit in the head by a Thunder Ball would still hurt a lot...’

The two of them quickly cleared out the annoying Speed System and Power Type zombies in the vicinity and focused their attention on the Third Rank Sound Wave Zombie.

The transmission of sound waves had a limited range, which was why Zuo Li had lured the Sound Wave Zombie out of the factory in the first place.

The unique terrain inside the auto-repair shop would have actually hindered their abilities.

And now, after unleashing several sonic attacks to no effect, the Sound Wave Zombie was showing human-like signs of wanting to retreat.

There was no way the two of them would let it escape. They flanked it, sweeping in for the kill.

One used Golden Needles to force the Sound Wave Zombie back, while the other launched several Thunderballs, electrocuting the zombie until its limbs twitched uncontrollably, making it stumble and shake even as it tried to run.

The Sound Wave Zombie was already exhausted. They had to strike while it was down and finish it off.

Xie Ning drew her Metal Knife and lunged from behind, piercing the Sound Wave Zombie’s skull with a single stab.

Zuo Li let out a breath of relief, slung her gun over her shoulder, and plopped down on a nearby dirt mound. ”Rest... Let’s rest for a second,” she panted.

She took the canteen from her waist, took a large gulp of water, and silently glanced at the person busy harvesting Crystal Cores. ”These, those... they’re all yours.”

If it weren’t for Xie Ning’s help, she might not have been able to kill this Third Rank mutated zombie today.

If they had allowed it to grow stronger, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Compared to the safety of the base, these Crystal Cores were nothing.

Xie Ning didn’t stand on ceremony. After collecting all the Crystal Cores, she returned to Zuo Li’s side with a grin. ”That Corpse Dominator... I killed it.”

”Corpse Dominator?” Zuo Li sat up straight. ”I knew it. There was someone behind the scenes controlling them, making them attack me together.”

Xie Ning nodded. ”I’ve got a big proposition for you. Interested? If you pull this off, I guarantee Golden City Base won’t have to worry about supplies for the next six months.”

”And you won’t have to worry about construction materials for your infrastructure, either.”

Zuo Li’s eyes lit up completely. ”Tell me.”

Xie Ning took a small, hand-drawn map from her independent Space and sat down next to Zuo Li. ”Here.”

She pointed to a red circle on the map. ”Ever heard of the Barbarian Base?”

”Take this place down, and you’ll find an unexpected reward.”

”You have to move fast,” Xie Ning said, patting Zuo Li’s shoulder. ”The Corpse Dominator was a scout from the Barbarian Base.”

”They deliberately sent her here to raise zombies.”

”Their original plan was likely to wait for this woman to train a relatively strong zombie army, then launch a surprise attack on your Golden City Base from both inside and out.”

”From what I know, that base is barbarian in more than just name. The leader’s codename is Barbarian. It’s less of a base and more... a gathering of madmen who have regressed to a primitive tribal society.”

She had heard many stories about the Barbarian Base in her past life. She picked out the most important details and gave Zuo Li a rough summary.

Zuo Li’s pupils contracted.

She now understood the urgency of the situation.

In other words, the Barbarian Base had been targeting the resources and manpower of their Golden City Base from the very beginning.

If Golden City Base fell to them, everyone would suffer a terrible fate.

Becoming prisoners and slaves would be the least of their worries. The most terrifying possibility was that they would become emergency food rations!

”What do you suggest?”

”My suggestion is to take them down in one go with heavy firepower. You have armored tanks. What was Golden City Base’s predecessor? One of the provincial capitals of East China Province. You have sufficient military force.”

”Don’t try any of that recruiting nonsense, because they’re a bunch of inhumane monsters. Except for the survivors they’ve enslaved, they all deserve to die.” Xie Ning leaned closer, her bright eyes fixed on her.

”Zuo Li, you lead the team there personally.”

”Armed suppression is the path you should take.”

”Don’t get into some fancy, drawn-out superpower battle with them. The Barbarian Base has a tribal army of over a thousand, with at least a hundred Superpower Users.”

”We won’t use superpowers to fight them.” Xie Ning patted her shoulder again. ”There isn’t much time.”