33: Chapter 33 Having a gun but not using it

"There's no time!" Chen Ye grabbed the weapon and quickly tucked it into his waistband.

He turned to look at Zhang Lei, who was still standing there in a daze.

He strode over to the fatty and lowered his voice, "The building in the center is full of Tier 1 Mutated Beasts. There are more beast cores than you can count. Besides, I'll go draw away the main force; you just need to pick up the leftovers."

"Do you want to join me in this act of righteousness to create an evacuation opportunity for the masses?"

Zhang Lei's eyes instantly went round, his chubby face filled with excitement.

Yet, he pretended to be serious, patting his chest as he shouted, "Serve the people! For such a righteous cause, I, Zhang Lei, am duty-bound!"

But in his heart, he was frantically calculating: beast cores everywhere? Picking up leftovers? This deal is a massive profit!

Plus, being able to leave a good impression on The Authorities is definitely worth it.

Chen Ye watched him feign righteousness, sneering inwardly.

This fatty was clearly afraid of death, yet in such a desperate situation, he actually dared to agree to venture into the tiger's den with him. It was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

His Slowing Ability must be hiding an even bigger trump card.

"Let's go!" Chen Ye said no more. He gripped his military dagger, turned around, and strode toward the dangerous building in the center of the Residential Community that was shrouded in thick fog.

Zhang Lei rubbed his hands together and trotted after him, his eyes flickering with greed for the beast cores.

Lu Zhenbang dared not delay. He took the two awakened team members and walked quickly toward the bewildered crowd of survivors.

In the apocalypse, the police uniform was the most reassuring flag.

He softly comforted the panicked crowd, briefly explaining the truth that the Puppet Enchantress was dead and that everyone had regained their sanity.

He quickly assembled the dozens of survivors into a group and moved steadily toward the side gate of the Residential Community to evacuate.

Zhao Tieshan carefully supported the weak Lin Qingqing as they followed at the end of the group.

The girl's slender body leaned against his side, her face still pale.

She frowned slightly with every step, a pitiful sight.

On the other side, Chen Ye and Zhang Lei used the thick fog and dim light to deliberately avoid the direction of the Mutated Beasts' roars, sneaking toward Building 11 in the center of the Residential Community.

Along the way, they indeed encountered low-level Mutated Beasts one after another.

Crazed stray dogs, giant rats with fangs protruding outward, and wild cats that had grown three times their normal size—they were all the weakest Tier 1 mutated entities.

Chen Ye relied solely on his 195 points of Basic Strength, combined with his military dagger, to dispatch them one by one, clean and efficient.

Zhang Lei activated his Slow Field, causing the Mutated Beasts to slow down, allowing him to easily kill them with a steel pipe he picked up.

Although the beast cores of Tier 1 Mutated Beasts were small and could only provide 10 points of Superpower energy, they had the advantage of being numerous and very easy to kill.

After only a moment, the two had harvested four pale white Mutated Beast cores. The hot beast cores clutched in their palms emitted a faint energy fluctuation.

"We've made a fortune! This trip is basically a delivery of wealth!" Zhang Lei chuckled as he stuffed the beast cores into his pocket, his chubby face beaming with joy.

After hesitating for a moment, he still reluctantly handed over two of them, "Brother Chen, take these."

"Although you're just a fitness guy with a lot of strength and haven't awakened a Superpower, so you can't use these beast cores."

While he spoke generously, his eyes remained glued to the beast cores, full of reluctance.

"I can use them to trade for instant noodles or canned meat—they're definitely useful!"

Chen Ye took the beast cores without changing his expression and tucked them into his pocket, responding indifferently, "This is more practical than anything else."

He couldn't be bothered to reveal his own Superpower; hiding one's true strength was the golden rule for survival in the apocalypse.

Zhang Lei leaned in and lowered his voice to ask curiously, "By the way, what was the deal with that person in black earlier? That lightning was way too fierce!"

"I didn't see clearly," Chen Ye said, brushing it off. "With all that lightning, they must have been a Lightning-type Superpower user. They left right after the fight; they didn't want any trouble."

The two chatted as they walked, and soon they arrived at Building 11 in the center of the Residential Community.

The building before them was eerie to the extreme.

The entire building was completely covered in a viscous, black, vine-like substance.

Like a hideous black spiderweb, it crawled over the walls, windows, and stairwells, emitting a faint, fishy stench that made it look completely out of place compared to the other buildings in the Residential Community.

Low roars of Mutated Beasts constantly echoed from inside the building, mixed with the faint weeping and screaming of a woman.

It was intermittent, making one's heart tighten.

"It seems the captured female survivors must be locked in here," Chen Ye's eyes darkened. "The Mutated Beast that set up the barrier is likely hiding in this building too."

Just then, a burst of intense fighting sounds and cries of pain came from the other side of the corner!

The two hurried around, and the scene before them made Chen Ye frown deeply.

Five or six team members wearing Armed Police uniforms were surrounded against the wall by a dozen Mutated Beasts of various sizes.

Although they were holding rifles and pistols, they were fighting with their bare hands the entire time.

People were constantly being knocked flying or scratched by the Mutated Beasts, letting out painful roars; it looked like they couldn't hold out much longer.

This must be another SWAT team that had entered the Residential Community.

"I can't just stand by and watch them die," Chen Ye thought to himself.

If he let them be killed, he and Zhang Lei would be in an even more passive position when facing the high-level Mutated Beasts inside the building later.

Without the slightest hesitation, he gripped the military dagger at his waist, leaped forward, and charged straight into the pack of beasts!

"Hey! Are you crazy?!" Zhang Lei shouted in a low voice, terrified. He tried to grab Chen Ye but only grabbed thin air.

Watching Chen Ye, who had already slaughtered his way into the pack, the fatty gritted his teeth and had no choice but to bite the bullet, activate his Slow Field, and follow.

Chen Ye's speed and strength far exceeded that of an ordinary person. His dagger flashed with a cold light, precisely piercing the eyes, throats, and other weak points of the Mutated Beasts, killing them with a single strike—his movements were clean and efficient.

Zhang Lei's Slow Field covered the battlefield, causing the Mutated Beasts to slow down. The Armed Police team's pressure instantly lessened, and with their combined efforts, the pack of beasts was dispersed in an instant.

During a lull in the fierce battle, Chen Ye looked at the firearms in the team members' hands, filled with confusion.

They had firearms but weren't using them, choosing to fight with their bare hands instead—could it be that they had run out of ammunition?

He subconsciously reached for the pistol at his waist. Just as he was about to raise it to fire, an Armed Police officer covered in blood next to him lunged over and firmly pinned his wrist down.

The officer shouted in a low, urgent voice, "Don't shoot! You absolutely must not shoot! It will alert those guys!"

Chen Ye was stunned. Before he could even ask for details, a sudden change occurred!

Zhang Lei, who was nearby, had long been eyeing the rifle dropped by the Armed Police; men were naturally obsessed with firearms.

He hadn't heard the teammate's warning at all. Seeing the gun drop beside him, he immediately picked it up, excitedly aimed at the lunging Mutated Beast, and pulled the trigger!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Three consecutive gunshots rang out, sounding exceptionally harsh in front of the silent building!

"It's over!" The Armed Police officer's face instantly turned deathly pale, and the other team members were filled with terror, closing their eyes in despair!

The next second, countless black shadows the size of rats poured out from the darkness of the stairwell like a tidal wave!

Dense and overwhelming, there were so many that it was impossible to count; they swept over in an instant!

As they rushed closer, everyone finally saw the appearance of these Mutated Beasts.

Multi-legged and arthropod-like, with flat bodies, their heads were almost entirely made up of a giant mouth filled with sharp teeth.

At the top of their heads was a bright red thermal sensor—hideous and disgusting!

Chen Ye's heart sank, and memories from his previous life instantly flooded his mind.

Thermal-Vision Insect Beasts!