29: Chapter 29 First Mission

The scene, how should I describe it? Everyone, including their heads, was wrapped in black Combat Suits; if they weren't wearing other clothes, they'd look like a bunch of Spider-Men. Now, with camouflage uniforms over them, they truly looked like a group of bandits preparing to rob a bank.

"Captain, where are we going?" Ruan Xinghua asked through his bone-conduction microphone.

"Let's go check out my old shop first!" Brother Zhang replied.

The over 40 people split into groups of 5, acting independently.

Before splitting up, Zhang Yuankui had instructed everyone not to go too deep and to immediately call for help if the situation seemed wrong.

"Understood!" Ruan Xinghua replied.

Ruan Xinghua's gun was custom-made by Oriental Chen. He only had one hand, so his gun was shaped like an extra-large pistol, but much longer than a typical pistol.

The few of them held their guns with one hand and quickly ran towards the park's exit.

Brother Zhang's shop was only about 3 kilometers from Binjiang Park. In about half an hour, everyone had arrived at the narrow alley where the shop was located.

Brother Zhang issued a series of instructions with hand gestures.

The few of them quickly took their positions, raising their guns. Brother Zhang looked ahead, one person looked left, one looked right, and two looked behind. The five formed a defensive formation, slowly advancing with stealthy steps.

Many vehicles were parked haphazardly on the street. Some had shattered glass, while others had darkened bloodstains on their windows, bodies, and interiors.

The December weather was full of desolation; the ground, car roofs, and public benches by the roadside were all covered with fallen leaves and dust, as well as rain stains left after previous downpours.

The protective suits had a warming effect, so no one felt cold.

Stepping on the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground inevitably produced crunching sounds.

After advancing about 50 meters, a "clang" suddenly came from a shop on the left.

The few of them felt a jolt in their hearts and quickly tightened their formation. Qu Zhengping's gun on the left was aimed inside the shop.

Slowly, slowly, they approached the shop door.

The few of them quickly changed their formation.

Brother Zhang and Ruan Xinghua leaned against the left and right walls, respectively. Qu Zhengping looked at Brother Zhang, waiting for instructions.

Brother Zhang nodded, and Qu Zhengping kicked the door open.

"Meow~"

A cat's meow sounded. As the sound faded, a cat quickly ran out of the shop.

The few of them breathed a sigh of relief, straightened up, and lowered their guns.

"Holy crap! You scared the living daylights out of me," Qu Zhengping said.

No sooner had he spoken than the few of them felt something was wrong, and instantly, cold sweat streamed down their backs.

Just as they were about to raise their guns, a loud "Argh~" sounded. A zombie sprang out from inside the shop and pounced on Qu Zhengping.

The zombie's strength was surprisingly great; Qu Zhengping was practically pressed to the ground like a large pillow, unable to move.

With a "pew~," Brother Zhang fired his gun, and the zombie's head exploded directly. Thick, dark-brown blood splattered all over Qu Zhengping's face.

Fortunately, the protective suit offered protection, so the blood didn't actually touch his skin.

Immediately after, the zombie fell limply, pressing down on Qu Zhengping.

Brother Zhang kicked the zombie away and pulled Qu Zhengping up.

Qu Zhengping wiped the disgusting blood from his face and nodded at Brother Zhang, indicating he was fine.

Brother Zhang bent down, took out the dagger from his leg, cut open the back of the zombie's head, and successfully extracted a blue crystals about two centimeters in size.

"Squad Leader, is this the crystals?" Ruan Xinghua asked.

Zhang Yuankui nodded.

Oriental Chen had explained about the crystals during the training at the base earlier.

He had also told everyone that this item had great uses. Many things produced and built at the base required it, so he encouraged everyone to collect as many as possible.

However, this was the first time everyone had seen a real crystals.

"You know, the boss is also at the base every day, just like us, never having gone out. How does he know all this?" Ruan Xinghua asked curiously.

"You, you just can't change that bad habit! Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, just do your own job!" Brother Zhang criticized sternly.

"Hehehe! Squad Leader is right. Hmm? Squad Leader, what's wrong with you?" Ruan Xinghua said with a fawning smile, then suddenly saw Zhang Yuankui staring blankly at the zombie's corpse, unmoving.

Brother Zhang didn't reply.

"Squad Leader, do you know him?" Qu Zhengping asked.

Brother Zhang nodded and said:

"We were all business owners on the same street, constantly seeing each other. Although his appearance is unrecognizable now, I still recognize his clothes."

Qu Zhengping gently patted Brother Zhang's shoulder, offering comfort.

"Sigh! He's a pitiful person too."

Brother Zhang waved his hand, indicating he was fine, and sighed with emotion.

...

Meanwhile, Yan Fangfang's team.

Her team consisted entirely of veterans who had always followed her.

The few of them had just experienced a small battle, killing two zombies.

Yan Fangfang dug out a crystals from the back of a zombie's head, held it in her hand, looked at it, and froze there.

"Sister Yan, is this the crystals?" a man asked.

Yan Fangfang nodded, not speaking.

"Sister Yan, I think we need to go back once," the man said using sign language.

Yan Fangfang still didn't reply.

"Sister Yan, the information here is very important, aren't you...?" the man continued to gesture.

Yan Fangfang directly raised her hand to interrupt the man, gesturing angrily:

"What, do you think I'm throwing a tantrum like a spoiled rich girl?"

"Uh~, no, no! ..." The man hurriedly waved his hands.

"Good that you don't. I've said it many times, don't discuss anything else here. This base is not simple, very not simple. Don't worry, I have my own plans. Your current mission is to fully eliminate zombies and collect these crystal cores; I have a great use for them," Yan Fangfang commanded with gestures.

"Yes!" The few of them nodded in response.

The bone-conduction microphones might be monitored. So everyone dared not communicate directly through speech, only using sign language.

Inside the underground base, Oriental Chen sat in his office, leaning back in his chair, rubbing his hands, and watching the screen.

The screen was divided into several small panes, which displayed the movements of each team in real-time.

Oriental Chen also saw Yan Fangfang and her team's actions.

He smiled lightly, showing no particular expression.

Soon it was around five or six in the afternoon.

Every team acted very conservatively, not venturing too deep.

Brother Zhang issued the command to return over the main channel. Upon receiving the order, the various teams returned one after another, except for Yan Fangfang's team.

"Sister Yan, we should go back," a team member said.

"Less nonsense, keep going forward!" Yan Fangfang said.

"But..." the member hesitated.

"No 'buts,' execute the order!" Yan Fangfang commanded, brooking no argument.

The few of them had no choice but to form a defensive formation and continue advancing.

Yan Fangfang was a bit unwilling. So far, she had only collected 6 crystalss. To gather 100 crystalss would take more than half a month!

No! That's too long!

She was a bit anxious, and perhaps the powerful equipment gave her the courage to take risks.

Oriental Chen frowned when he saw this scene.

He picked up his phone and dialed Brother Zhang's satellite phone.

"Hello, Boss!" Zhang Yuankui answered the phone.

"Brother Zhang, Yan Fangfang's team hasn't withdrawn. Arrange for someone to go check on them. Their location is near the intersection of Jianshe Road and Shuimo Street," Oriental Chen said.

"Understood, Boss!"

Brother Zhang hung up the phone and, while on the road, contacted Ling Zhenhai's team and Tong Li's team nearby. The three teams quickly rushed to the target location.

The other teams returned quickly according to the planned schedule.

The sun's halo gradually faded, and the last ray of sunlight disappeared below the horizon...

Sensing the arrival of night, the zombies became more active, and the entire city instantly became a place of alarm and terror.

Yan Fangfang and her team walked cautiously on Shuimo Street. For safety reasons, they did not rashly enter any buildings.

"Clang-clang-clang..., swish-swish-swish..., rustle-rustle-rustle..."

Various loud noises emanated from the shops on both sides.

To minimize attracting the attention of the zombies, the few of them had stopped moving, nervously looking around.

"Pew~."

Yan Fangfang fired her gun.

A zombie that had just run out of a shop was instantly headshotted.

The gunshots weren't loud, but they still startled other zombies. Immediately, four or five zombies quickly attacked.

The few of them didn't hesitate, all starting to fire their guns.

They were all experienced veterans, decisive in their actions, with every shot hitting the head.

As more and more zombies appeared, they fought while retreating towards Jianshe Road.

"Argh~!"

A loud roar sounded.

Immediately after, two cars flew towards the five people. Yan Fangfang quickly dropped to the ground, and the people on her left and right simultaneously dove to the sides. The two people behind couldn't dodge in time and were directly struck and sent flying by the incoming cars.

Yan Fangfang hadn't yet recovered from the sudden unexpected event when another street pole flew towards her. She watched the incoming object, too late to react, thinking she was done for.

At that very moment, the person on her right directly pounced over, shielding her. The street pole was moving very fast, and the man was directly struck and sent flying. The street pole lost momentum and fell to the ground.