Chapter 171 The Vast Gap in Strength

Su Ze's figure was like a ghost, silently merging into the shadows of the Taoyuan Residential Area.

As soon as he entered, the thick smell of blood rushed towards him, mixed with shrill screams and desperate wails.

Looking around, the entire residential area had already turned into a purgatory.

A young man wearing sportswear rushed out of a residential building in a panic, with three zombies in hot pursuit behind him.

"Help! Save me!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs while running, but none of the other people running around him spared him even half a second of attention.

The man's Stamina had clearly reached its limit; he stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.

In the next second, the three zombies swarmed over him.

The crisp sound of breaking bones and stifled screams were quickly drowned out by even greater chaos.

Su Ze looked away from the body that had quickly lost its life, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

Too weak.

The ordinary players here were ridiculously weak.

Facing zombies, they had almost no power to resist, acting just like novices on the first day of the game, knowing nothing but how to scream and run.

Logically speaking, after experiencing the seven-day Novice Period, no matter how bad they were, they should have accumulated some combat experience and obtained some free attribute points from settlement rewards.

Yet this group of people before him, let alone fighting, even their most basic survival instincts seemed so clumsy.

Just then, a rhythmic and heavy sound of footsteps came from afar, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding chaos.

Su Ze sidestepped into the dense canopy of a landscape tree, concealing all his presence.

He saw a team of about a hundred people striding over from the direction of Villa No. 1.

They had fine equipment, their movements filled with a murderous aura; wherever they passed, the wandering zombies were like paper, easily cut down or impaled.

Leading them were six men; the one walking in the very center was wearing a well-fitted suit and gold-rimmed glasses, looking refined and gentle.

But Su Ze's attention fell upon his hands, which were covered in thick calluses, and the fierce aura that faintly emanated from him as he walked.

Liao Long.

Su Ze was almost certain that this person was the leader of the Dragon Gang that Wang Meng had mentioned.

Unfortunately, the distance was too great, and the other party seemed to have some special means, so he couldn't view their specific data.

"Bang!"

A Lv.4 mutated zombie lunged out from the nearby greenery, its sharp claws capable of tearing through steel plates.

A burly man beside Liao Long didn't even lift an eyelid; he backhanded a slash.

A cold light flashed.

The Lv.4 zombie, which would have been enough to give a squad a headache in the Jinghai University District, had its massive head sent flying into the sky, and dark green blood sprayed all over the ground.

One-hit kill!

Su Ze's eyes narrowed slightly.

Something was wrong; this strength, it was too wrong.

The elites of the Dragon Gang, every single one of them, had strength far exceeding the ordinary players of Jinghai University, even a notch stronger than leaders like Wang Meng.

If it were said that their settlement scores were very high and they had added all the free attribute points obtained from the settlement, perhaps they could reach this level.

But the problem was, if the strong ones had added points, why didn't the weak ones?

In such a life-and-death moment, were they saving those precious attribute points to breed?

This was illogical.

The only explanation...

In Su Ze's mind, he quickly connected the intelligence previously reported by Wang Meng with everything he was seeing right now.

The players in the Taoyuan Residential Area had not heard any notification sounds regarding individual settlement, Dormitory settlement, or regional ratings.

Therefore, in all likelihood... they hadn't received any rewards at all!

No free attribute points rewards, perhaps even nothing at all!

So where did those rewards go?

Su Ze's gaze fell back onto Liao Long and his hundred elite subordinates.

A bold and terrifying guess emerged in his heart.

This Liao Long, or rather, the Dragon Gang he controlled, possessed some kind of special mechanism, item, or even an aura,

that could intercept all the rewards that all players in the entire Taoyuan Residential Area should have received, and take them for themselves!

He treated tens of thousands of players as his own nourishment, depriving them of the chance to become stronger, and concentrated all resources on himself and a few core members!

If that was really the case...

A chill washed over Su Ze's heart.

This Liao Long was even more terrifying than he had imagined.

He was not only ruthless, but he also possessed such heaven-defying means.

Stacking the free attribute points of tens of thousands of people onto himself and a few others... this power was enough to form an overwhelming advantage.

Just as Su Ze was pondering, the situation on the field had already reversed.

The Dragon Gang elites were like an efficient meat grinder; under Liao Long's command, they methodically divided, surrounded, and then annihilated the rioting zombie horde one by one.

In just over ten minutes, the zombie tide that had just been raging throughout the entire residential area had been completely slaughtered by them.

Su Ze noticed that there were quite a few Lv.4 zombies in the horde here, but he didn't find any traces of Lv.5.

Moreover, the total number of zombies seemed to be much smaller than over at Jinghai University; he didn't know if it was the setting of the area itself, or if they had already cleared them out on a large scale before.

"Seal off all entrances and exits; don't let a single fly out!"

Liao Long wiped the blood splatter from his lenses; his voice wasn't loud, but it clearly spread throughout the entire area.

"Continue searching! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find those women for me!"

"Yes!"

The Dragon Gang members shouted in unison, then quickly dispersed, beginning a new round of blockade and search of the entire residential area.

Su Ze moved, silently following a team of people.

He mingled in the back of the search team, using buildings and shadows to cover himself, unnoticed by anyone.

Soon, he followed this team to the garden plaza in the center of the residential area.

Then, everyone stopped in their tracks.

On the lawn in the center of the plaza, a battered, unrecognizable female corpse lay in a pool of blood; most of her body had been gnawed away, and her face was impossible to identify.

From the clothing on her body, which could still vaguely show its original style, one could infer her identity before death.

Liao Long also walked over. He glanced at the corpse on the ground, his face devoid of any emotion, and just let out a contemptuous snort.

"She had guts, I'll give her that. Unfortunately, it was useless."

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding high-rise buildings, then looked toward the nearest one, issuing a new order in a cold voice.

"Everyone, search this building!"