You’re too slow!!
Yue Zhong’s eyes flashed with a hint of cold fury, as the Devil Flame danced in his right hand. He condensed into another Devil Flame Spear, and he used all his strength to throw it at the escaping helicopter! In a flash, the spear penetrated the helicopter.
With a huge HONG sound, the Devil Flame combusted and caused the remaining helicopter to explode in a ball of fire as well, before crashing towards the ground.
Too strong!!
What strength!!
…..
The troops that were standing beside Yue Zhong, be it female or male, had eyes filled with endless respect. Yue Zhong had used his own strength to take down 2 assault helicopters, which they couldn’t believe was a feat that could be accomplished by a human.
Damn bastard!! He has already caught up!!
Yue Zhong had no joy on his face even though he destroyed the 2 assault helicopters.
The 2 assault helicopters that were deployed by Wuyan Hong had instantly decimated a number of Yue Zhong’s troops, and amongst the central force of 400 people, over 50 had died. Over 400 Vietnamese survivors were killed amongst the 2000+ survivors as well. An additional 400+ had seized the opportunity during the chaos to run, and their whereabouts were unknown.
Many vehicles had been destroyed by the 2 assault helicopters, on top of that, a vehicle loaded with over 30 tonnes of rations had also been burnt, turning the food contained inside to cinders.
Evacuate!
Yue Zhong looked at the burning town and the corpses littered on the ground, as he gritted his teeth and barked out the order. He could only commit this atrocity to heart, and wreak vengeance in the future. After all, he couldn’t do anything if he were to face Wuyan Hong directly with his current strength.
Under Yue Zhong’s orders, the remaining 1,000+ survivors were led by the 300 soldiers who were still weak as they went towards the direction of Nabu Town.
A few of the vehicles that were not destroyed were filled to the brim with the items that could be brought along and followed the human group from behind.
By this time, it was already evening, and night was about to fall. Still, Yue Zhong had no choice but to order the group to continue moving. This was because the town of the vanguard troops was really too close to Wuyan Hong’s troops. Staying there would just mean certain death.
In the dark, the advance of the troops had slowed to a crawl.
Organizing a movement in the dark was easy to lose some troops if they were not careful, and especially since they’re in the midst of the forest that was filled with Mutant Beasts, it was a dangerous operation.
In the dark, pairs of green eyes lit up, as they stared down at the group of delicious prey. Without hesitation, they embarked on a ferocious assault.
Level 23 Mutant Beast: Mutant Leopard Cat. It is an agile night hunter.
Careful!! There’re enemies!!
Yue Zhong had always kept his guard up, and the moment those ferocious Mutant Leopard Cats with bodies like cheetahs and strange runes covering their bodies appeared, he had already shouted his warning.
White Bones immediately charged forward into the midst of the Mutant Leopard Cats, waving his iconic White Bone Axe about, at the same time, protruding small Bone Blades from its body. This combo of attacks ended up instantly decimating the Mutant Leopard Cats that pounced towards it.
Yue Zhong had already taken out his heavy machine gun and was firing wildly at the Mutant Leopard Cats that somehow. numbered in the 100s.
Under the heavy barrage of firepower, those pouncing Leopard Cats found themselves being suppressed. The strength of the machine gun bullets were extremely lethal, and they, being low-level Mutant Beasts, were not mutated enough to deal with these bullets.
The leader of the defence troop Gan Tao had fired a flare into the skies the moment the attack started, and had shouted loudly:
Fire!! Kill those damn beasts!!
The 300+ soldiers started firing their guns at the Mutant Leopard Cats. However, as they had not gone through much target practice prior, their shots mostly missed. There were even a few who received the recoil badly on their shoulders, causing their guns to drop to the floor.
Thankfully, with just the efforts of Yue Zhong and White Bones, they managed to kill a large number of the Mutant Leopard Cats.
Under the flare, Chen Yao had also seen clearly the Mutant Leopard Cats, as she immediately activated her [Plant Manipulation] Ability. She attacked while making use of 6 vines to slaughter those Mutant Cats that survived the onslaught of Yue Zhong and White Bones.
The coordination between the 3 of them was so smooth that it allowed them to kill a large number of the Mutant Leopard Cats, but as the total numbers were above 300, there were quite a few who managed to charge into the midst of the Vietnamese survivors, as they slaughtered those survivors mercilessly.
The Vietnamese survivors were plunged into chaos. Those who were within the areas of attack quickly escaped toward various directions, wailing as they ran.
Those extremely agile Leopard Cats pounced forward, and swiftly bit the throats of many of those escaping survivors, gorging on them.
As for those who had their wits about them, they ran towards the direction of Yue Zhong, Chen Yao and Gan Tao. Only be being near these experts, could they have a chance to live on.
As Yue Zhong made use of his heavy machine guns to kill a large number of the Leopard Cats, he then pointed to those who were chasing the Vietnamese survivors, as dozens of Devil Flame balls were conjured out of thin air, and shot towards those Leopard Cats.
The dozens of Devil Flame balls exploded atop the heads of those Leopard Cats, directly killing a few of them.
After decimating those Leopard Cats, he quickly pulled out his Stinger, and shot at the remaining Leopard Cats continuously. Each time he fired a bullet, he could cause the head of a Leopard Cat to explode.
The heavy machine gun was the best weapon against a huge mob, and the Stinger was most effective against single targets. Under the [Night Enhancement], Yue Zhong’ Agility had already surpassed normal humans by 10 times, and his Stinger kept firing, as he changed out bullets, every single movement of his fluid and precise. His shots rang out accurately and ferociously without stop, killing the Leopard Cats one by one.
On the other side, White Bones was also killing with a speed that was slightly higher than Yue Zhong. Both of them combined had slaughtered over half of the original group of Mutant Leopard Cats.
Congratulations on achieving Level 50, you have gained 2 attribute points to be allocated, as well as a skill enhancement point. Due to the possession of [Heart of Darkness], your Devil Flame Skill can be enhanced to +4. With it, its strength will be enhanced even further, and the power of the Type 2 Devil Flame will also increase exponentially.
After Yue Zhong had just used a Stinger to kill off a Leopard Cat, the sweet notification sound resounded in his ears. He had gained a level.
His mind thinking fast, he only chose to allocate the 2 attribute points to Agility, and did not immediately enhance his Devil Flame to +4!
With the combined ferocious attacks of Yue Zhong and White Bones, the remaining Leopard Cats were finally scared off, as they left 200 corpses, before escaping into the distance.
Continue moving!!
Yue Zhong looked at the retreating group of Leopard Cats, before heaving a sigh of relief, and collecting the items dropped by the Mutant Leopard Cats, and then ordering for the journey to continue.
This wasn’t the place to stay for long, and the fur of the Mutant Leopard Cats were good materials for protective vests. Even though they could not defend against bullets, they could be useful in protection against the claws of normal zombies. But Yue Zhong wasn’t willing to stay too long here.
The Mutant Leopard Cats were considered smaller Mutant Beasts, if a Type 2 or Type 3 was to appear, then this entire group of survivors would only be facing certain death.
After the assault of the Leopard Cats, all the survivors became aware of the dangers of the nighttime journey. They quickly picked up their speed as they continued on their journey in the darkness.
Not long after the group continued on their way, a Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat with the body of a liger and the majestic aura of a king stepped out from the forest. It sniffed the scent in the air, before shooting towards the direction of Yue Zhong and his men.
The Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat activated its maximum speed as it gave chase from behind, and the normal survivors could only feel the strong gust of wind blowing past, not even catching sight of the appearance of the Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat.
Like the flash of a lightning, the Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat had reached Yue Zhong’s back, and noiselessly extended its lethal hooked claws towards Yue Zhong’s neck.
Only when the Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat extended its claws, did Yue Zhong feel the danger from his [Danger Perception] ability, and at the first instance, he activated his [Shadow Steps], lowering his body and dodging towards the side.
White Bones who was by Yue Zhong side had also discovered the Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat as it swung its axe ferociously towards it.
The speed of the Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat was truly astonishing, even after activating his [Shadow Steps], Yue Zhong did not manage to fully escape from its claws, receiving a huge slash on his shoulders, and the Type 2 Mutant Black-Scaled Boar hide was actually torn through by the Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat easily. Yue Zhong’s shoulder also received a deep wound, when the Leopard Cat actually clawed out a huge chunk of his flesh and blood.
Level 60 Mutant Beast: Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat! The tyrant of the forest.
The Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat had no innate abilities, its strength could not compare with those huge Mutant Beasts, nor could its defences match those of the Type 2 Mutant Black-Scaled Boar or Type 2 Mutant Snapping Turtle, like Turtle. Its fur could only withstand against the bullets of a normal heavy machine gun, but not the explosive power of rockets. However, it possessed an incredible speed that was terrifying, nearing the extent of a Type 3 Beast, and its sharp claws, as well as a superior fighting instinct, therefore making it the top killer within the forest.
White Bones’ axe was extremely fast, even an Agility-based Evolver would be hacked in two at such a close distance. However, the Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat just nimbly twisted its body, evading the blow of the axe, before its 4 limbs stretched on the ground, and pushed off with great strength, crashing into White Bones’ body, knocking it backwards for a few dozen metres.
Chapter 132: Type 2 Mutant Leopard Cat!
Yue Zhong rolled to the side, and swiftly leapt back to his feet, pulling out his trusty PF98 that had worked against many Type 2 Mutant Beasts. Although it had only 9 rounds left, at this crucial point in time, he couldn’t care less.
Yue Zhong had just aimed at the Type 2 Leopard Cat, when it used its 4 limbs to push itself off the ground, disappearing from Yue Zhong’s aim like a ghost. This Type 2 Leopard Cat was not like other Type 2 Mutant Beasts which had huge bodies. Although it didn’t have the power and defence that came with the size, its speed on the other hand was extremely terrifying.
The moment the Type 2 Leopard Cat disappeared, it appeared to Yue Zhong’s right, its eyes filled with a cold and cruel tint, as it swiped its claws towards Yue Zhong’s neck. As long as it found its aim, Yue Zhong’s head would be slashed away.
Yue Zhong threw the PF98 to one side while waving across his ring, and the 2m-long Black Tooth Blade appeared in his hand. He only had time to bring it in front of him to defend, and the huge cat paw struck the blade.
The moment the claws met the blade, a huge force reverbed throughout the sword, causing the Black Tooth blade to tremble uncontrollably. Yue Zhong had forcefully blocked this attack, but had been sent flying a few metres backwards.
Although the Type 2 Leopard Cat was not as strong as the other behemoth Type 2s, its strength still exceeded Yue Zhong who wasn’t a Strength-based Evolver. The moment Yue Zhong was sent flying, the Type 2 Leopard Cat had sprung forward like a bolt of lightning. Its vapor like movement made it appear in front of Yue Zhong, once more stretching out its huge claws to swipe at him!
Yue Zhong took a deep breath, activating his [Gravity Manipulation], as a 100 jin suddenly weighed down on the Type 2 Leopard Cat.
With the pressure of the 100-jin, the Type 2 Leopard Cat found its speed greatly reduced, and while Yue Zhong who had activated his [Shadow Steps] accordingly was still far from matching it, he was not as helpless as he was at the beginning of the fight.
Different skills could create different results for different situations. Yue Zhong’s [Gravity Manipulation] was low-level, and could only exhibit its effectiveness on a non-strength type Mutant Beast like the Leopard Cat. If it was a Type 2 Black Scaled Boar, then the 100-jin weight would not even feel like anything to the beast.
Yue Zhong could now catch the speed of the Type 2 Leopard Cat, and his eyes flashed with ferocity. The Black Tooth Blade in his hands turned into a flash as it slashed towards the Mutant Beast, intending to cleave it in 2.
This Type 2 Leopard Cat had truly given Yue Zhong a dangerous sense of pressure. The speed it exhibited was precisely the perfect counter to Yue Zhong’s chosen path of enhancement. His main killing blow, the PF98, could do nothing to the speed of this Type 2 Leopard Cat. Using the PF98 was just a meaningless way to die.
The Type 2 Leopard Cat agilely twisted its body, evading the blow from the Black Tooth Blade, before it curled up slightly, and sprung out explosively towards Yue Zhong, knocking him to the ground.
When it had knocked Yue Zhong to the ground, it opened its huge jaws to chomp down towards Yue Zhong’s neck!
At this critical juncture, Yue Zhong’s left hand raised up to defend his neck, and the Type 2 Leopard Cat bit down harshly, its sharp teeth penetrating through the Type 2 Mutant Black Scaled Boar hide, crushing the bones in Yue Zhong’s left hand.
Bind it Chen Yao!!!
Yue Zhong hollered amidst the excruciating pain he was feeling.
In response, 4 vines suddenly shot out from the ground, and coiled around the limbs of the Type 2 Leopard Cat like snakes, pulling down tightly, and dragging it forcefully away from Yue Zhong’s body.
Chen Yao had already risen to Level 23, and not only was she an Evolver, her [Plant Manipulation] ability was risen to Level 3, her control over her vines had improved plus the vines themselves had grown a lot sturdier. It was definitely enough to contend with this non-Strength based Type 2 Mutant Beast.
Yue Zhong rolled towards this direction, because he had seen Chen Yao’s vines being controlled here.
When the Type 2 Leopard Cat found its limbs entangled, it started struggling furiously, and the 4 vines were being tested to their limits, seemingly about to break anytime.
Yue Zhong eyed the Type 2 Leopard Cat that was bound tightly, and immediately activated his [Body Encompassing Armor], and White Bones turned into a bone carapace that covered his entire body. His left hand that was mangled by the Leopard Cat could only form an exoskeleton with White Bones’ carapace.
Stinky cat!! You have bitten off more than you can chew!! Now it’s my turn!!
Yue Zhong glared at the Type 2 Leopard Cat, and his eyes showed a cold hate, before jumping onto the cat’s head. As he landed, immediately his fist started pummeling the head of the Type 2 Leopard Cat, his 60+ Strength exploded out, beating the Type 2 Leopard Cat senseless.
Yue Zhong punched out with all his strength, his fists raining down on the head, causing the brain to suffer the whiplash from the force until it started haemorrhaging.
Yue Zhong’s Strength that was far greater than a normal person could not do much to a huge Type 2 Mutant Beast with a thick hide and huge body mass, but to the Type 2 Leopard Cat that was Agility-focused, it had an immense potential to maim and kill.
The Type 2 Leopard Cat continued to struggle violently, each time pulling the vines tautly.
On the other side, Chen Yao’s eyes were bloodshot, she had expended her Spirit to maintain the strength of the vines, and to prevent them from breaking. Without the support from her Spirit, the vines would have snapped long ago.
Yue Zhong’s fists collided with the head of the Type 2 Leopard Cat constantly, after bashing it multiple times did the Leopard Cat finally slump limply to the ground.
Yue Zhong then heaved a sigh of relief, and allocated the precious skill point to the [Tamer Technique] causing it to reach +2, increasing the number of lifeforms he could tame to 3.
Yue Zhong then focused the [Tamer Technique] onto the Type 2 Leopard Cat that was beaten senseless by him, as a green light shot in between the brows of the Leopard Cat, and started to condense into a rune. Upon completion, it entered the body of the Type 2 Leopard Cat.
The gaze of the Type 2 Leopard Cat immediately turned fierce, and the condensing rune dissipated. Yue Zhong’s 1st attempt at taming this beast was a failure!
Damn bastard!
Yue Zhong roared out angrily as he pummeled the head of the Type 2 Leopard Cat with his right fist mercilessly, and lashing out with dozens of blows, causing the Type 2 Leopard Cat to throw up blood again, become dispirited.
Yue Zhong saw that the Type 2 Leopard Cat threw up blood again, and once more activated his [Tamer Technique, as the green light once again shot in between the brows of the Type 2 Leopard Cat, and condensed into a rune as it entered its body.
Only this time, there was no further resistance from the Type 2 Leopard Cat, and the rune was fully absorbed into its body.
When the [Tamer Technique] rune entered the body of the Type 2 Leopard Cat, Yue Zhong felt the connection established between them.
Yue Zhong heaved a sigh of relief, and called out to Chen Yao:
Chen Yao! You can release it now!!
Chen Yao then deactivated her [Plant Manipulation] ability, and the 4 vines swiftly disappeared. She panted, and her back was drenched in sweat, while looking at Yue Zhong, her heart filled with worry and fear.
If Yue Zhong had been killed by that Type 2 Leopard Cat earlier, the entire group would have lost their will. Chen Yao shuddered to think of her fate in such treacherous terrains.
Although Chen Yao had successfully become an Evolver, in this post-apocalyptic world, the strong were as many as the clouds. Even Yue Zhong did not dare to say he was an invincible existence, more so for herself. She did not have the confidence to even handle a single warrior of Wuyan Hong’s troops. The moment she was captured, she would live a life worse than death.
After the Type 2 Leopard Cat was released from its binding, it approached Yue Zhong docilely, as it nuzzled Yue Zhong, giving an air of playfulness.
Your speed is so fast! Let’s call you Lightning then!!
Yue Zhong pulled out a Type 2 Forest Venomous Snake’s nuclei and fed it to the Type 2 Leopard Cat he just tamed as he said. 1
Lightning stuck out its tongue and gobbled up the offered nuclei, before crunching it, and its huge eyes squinted comfortably, licking Yue Zhong constantly.
The flesh and blood of high-levelled Evolvers, Zombies, Mutant Beasts and even the nuclei of some Mutant Beasts were all nourishments that helped evolution for Mutant Beasts. Amongst them, the nuclei was one of the preferred food of the Mutant Beasts, as swallowing them could help boost the evolution process.
Let’s go!!
Yue Zhong called out to the entire fleet that had stopped moving.
Under Yue Zhong’s orders, the fleet that had come to a stop resumed its journey towards Nabu Town.
With Lightning’s protection, there were no more attacks from any Mutant Beasts along the way. Finally, daylight shone and they reached the zombie-infested Nabu Town.
When Yue Zhong reached Nabu Town, he took out a small bottle of juice that was squeezed from the Snake Birth Fruit and gave it to Gan Tao, saying:
Gan Tao, drink this! After you consume it, you will gain a huge power!
Yes! Boss Yue!!
Gan Tao eyed the bottle, without hesitation, he downed the whole bottle in a single gulp. Even if Yue Zhong did not have good intentions, he would not retaliate. Furthermore, he trusted Yue Zhong deeply, because Yue Zhong had rescued him and his brothers from the depths of hell.
After Gan Tao drank the Snake Birth Fruit juice, he was soon besieged by that raging force, his entire body turning feverish, and his eyes went dark as he slumped to the floor. 2
Squad Leader!!
Gan Tao’s brothers immediately knelt down to support Gan Tao, as they looked to Yue Zhong worriedly, hoping to get an explanation.
Chapter 133: Gratitude
He will run a fever for a day! After that, he will possess a new power. During this period, you must take good care of him!
Yue Zhong just spoke this sentence, before beckoning to Pan Jinyong.
Yue Zhong directly gave the Level 3 Skill [Forest Ranger Transformation] to him and said:
I’m handing you this skill book! Make good use of it to kill the enemies.
Pan Jinyong received the skill book, and replied excitedly:
Many thanks Boss Yue!! I will definitely kill the enemies! I won’t let you down!
Level 3 skill books were extremely rare, and if Pan Jinyong could utilize this skill book properly, he could become a strong Enhancer.
Yue Zhong was currently in a foreign land, and the number of people he could make use of was really too small. Hence, he could only give away a precious Snake Birth Fruit as well as a Level 3 skill book to these soldiers whom he had yet to know well enough. At the very least, they could start to form the basis of his establishment here, and increasing his might here was also a good thing.
Yue Zhong patted Pan Jinyong’s shoulders, before taking huge strides with White Bones to the entrance of Nabu Town.
At this time, at the entrance of Nabu Town, Lightning had gathered with 100 of its companions.
As a Type 2, Lightning possessed the ability to lead the other members of the same species. These Mutant Leopard Cats were its subordinates.
Greenie and Turtle both have the same type of ability. Only Greenie was a lone warrior and did not like to gather with other of its kind, hence it was hard for to randomly summon a few fellows. As for Turtle, while there were no low level similar members of its species, it could subdue the other Type 2 Mutant types, and control their underlings through them.
Yue Zhong patted Lightning, and pointed to the small town:
We’ll have to trouble you Lightning, rid the town of all the zombies!
Lightning nuzzled Yue Zhong for a moment, before letting out a low growl to the group of Leopard Cats.
With Lightning’s command, the 100 Mutant Leopard Cats shot towards the town like arrows. As they ran, they could be seen pouncing on any zombie they came across.
These Mutant Leopard Cats were the result of a lifeform that adapted to the onset of the Apocalypse virus. Therefore, the infection from the zombies was unable to hurt these Mutant Leopard Cats. It was also the strongest advantage they had against the zombies. Many Mutant Beasts preyed on the zombies, as long as there wasn’t a Z-Type controlling an entire horde, the normal zombies could only become the food for Mutant Beasts.
When the Mutant Leopard Cats charged into the town, they embarked on a slaughter. If it was in the past, after eating enough zombies, they would leave the town. However this time, under their boss Lightning’s orders, these Mutant Leopard Cats slashed about without stopping, decapitating countless zombies.
Lightning also charged into the town, casually slaughtering any zombies it came across. Be it an L2, or S2, there were no zombies that could escape from its claws. In just an entire morning, the 2,000 or more zombies in Nabu Town had been totally wiped out by Lightning and its little brothers.
Yue Zhong saw Lightning elegantly walking out of Nabu Town,and gave the order to the survivors:
Enter the town! Under Chen Yao’s organization, the 1,000+ survivors trickled slowly into the town.
Fan Tongxuan strolled about in Nabu Town, along the way, he saw the countless corpses of the zombies, and he felt his heart shook:
What a terrifying man! The zombies were just cleared so easily by him, he truly is amazing!
Wuyan Tong had followed along the side of the soldiers and felt immense shock when he saw the situation of the town. At that time, when he was told to wait outside the small town, he did not escape. On one hand, as a traitor, he would not be let off by the cruel Wuyan Hong, and if he escaped to the forest, based on his abilities, he would most likely die. In fact, he harbored some hope with Yue Zhong.
What he didn’t expect was that not only did Yue Zhong single-handedly take down the entire vanguard town, he even brought over a thousand survivors out with him to enter Nabu Town, and even then he still ended up annihilating the zombie horde within Nabu Town with ease. He made the decision to follow Yue Zhong.
After entering Nabu Town, the corpses of the zombies were gathered and burnt.
The different storehouses within the town were opened and obtained when Chen Yao assigned some duties to different people.
The Vietnamese survivors were all given a bowl of thick gruel, before being herded into different bungalows and kept under watch.These Vietnamese survivors were not a dependable existence, as they could revolt at any time.
After settling the accommodation of the Vietnamese survivors, the soldiers comprising of the Chinese, Blacks and Caucasians finally got a chance to rest.
When the soldiers got into their assigned rooms, they laid on the bed and fell into deep sleep straight away like pigs. They were still weak, had undergone a rough night of operations, and almost could not handle it anymore. If an expert was to sneak into the camp now, just one person was enough to assassinate these soldiers in their sleep.
Yue Zhong had faced battle after battle as well, and was feeling exhausted. After ordering White Bones to guard the door, he laid on the bed and fell into deep slumber. He was after all not like the strange creatures from the God and Devil System, even though he possessed power now, he was still a mortal. After countless intense battles, he would feel tired all the same.
On the other side, Wuyan Hong’s response had been pretty quick as well. On the morning of the 2nd day, he had deployed 2 battalions of soldiers from Tooth County to set off for the vanguard camp.
Wuyan Hong had long since gotten information on Yue Zhong’s sneak attack on the vanguard team from those Vietnamese soldiers who ran. They were extremely clear that 2 battalions led by 20 members of the Wolf Fang Battalion would be more than enough to decimate Yue Zhong’s force.
Hong!!
Following a huge explosion, the 2 battalions that were marching lost 2 of their men, while another 3 sustained heavy injuries.
There are landmines!! Everyone be careful!!
After that shout, all the soldiers became cautious, and they stopped moving. Wuyan Hong had only set up this Army of the Great Empire of Vietnam recently, and amongst them, while there were actual Vietnamese soldiers, the majority of them were normal survivors who joined in. They did not have much experience dealing with other humans, especially the unforeseeable threats such as landmines.
The 3 soldiers that were blasted with heavy injuries moaned out in agony, severely undermining the morale of the troops. In this post-apocalyptic world, it wasn’t just China that lacked medical resources. Even Vietnam had its struggles as well. These casualties would only be put out of their misery, as Wuyan Hong would not waste precious rations to take care of those soldiers that had become handicapped.
Engineers!! Go scout for the mines!! Engineers go scout for the mines!!
A Vietnamese commander ordered out loudly with a steely expression.
A staff officer replied meekly:
Commander!! We don’t have the necessary expertise and equipment!
In fact, there were some experienced engineers and proper equipment within the Army of the Great Empire of Vietnam. However, they were all old soldiers, and were part of Wuyan Hong’s personal battalion. The rest of the battalions lacked the necessary expertise, furthermore, their aim was to battle against the Mutant Beasts of the forests and zombies in towns, not facing against other humans with modern warfare.
Furthermore, in their own homeground, they didn’t expect that there would be landmines at all. This was a point that they neglected.
Damn it!! What do we do now?
The commander’s expression turned ugly as he lashed out. He had thought that this operation to attack Yue Zhong’s forces was going to be an easy one, and they could casually quell any resistance from them. After all, when Yue Zhong had fought his way in the vanguard town, there was no one here to protect it. Never did he imagine that they would be stopped by a single landmine.
The staff officer hesitated, as the safest method they could muster was to turn back and deploy some landmine engineers, as they help to clear the landmines, before the entire troop can proceed carefully. However, he was not sure if the suggestion would be acceptable to the commander who seemed ready to explode himself.
Another staff officer frowned and quipped in:
Why don’t we find some wild beasts to open the way for us?
Making use of animals to set off landmines was also a common tactic. On top of that, there were other demolition methods, profession landmine-resistant vehicles, and engineers who could clear them.
The commander cursed out loud:
Fuck! Under these kind of conditions, where’re you going to find beasts?
Using animals to clear the landmines was in fact a good idea, it was just that it was a post-apocalyptic time now. Wild beasts such as cows and horses were hard to find, even if they were found, they were rare and precious sources of meat, they could not be squandered on such a mission just to clear the way.
As each staff officer chipped in with their ideas, the commander turned them all down.
In the end, the 2 battalion commanders discussed, and decided to send someone back to request aid, asking for a team of engineers to come help clear the mines.
When the team of engineers came, they immediately began demining the place. What made the commander’s blood boil was that, Yue Zhong did not actually plant many land mines in a cluster, but at the same time, he had placed countless other booby traps, which severely impeded the advance of the troops.
By the time the 2 battalions arrived at the small town, night had fallen.
In the town, there were countless buildings and corpses that were blasted by rockets, before Yue Zhong left, he had even set the entire town ablaze, turning it into a ghost town. This made the 2 battalion commanders extremely furious.
As they did not know which direction Yue Zhong had led his people to, the 2 battalions could only spend the night within the town.
With the previous encounters serving as a lesson, the soldiers of the 2 battalions did not dare slack off in their duties, even at night, there were patrols to prevent the possibility of Yue Zhong launching a night raid.
As he had escaped in time, Yue Zhong could have been considered to buy precious time for his troops, and avoided being annihilated by the Army of the Great Empire of Vietnam.
Chapter 134: Evolver!
This is what it’s like to be an Evolver!! I’ve become an Evolver?!
After one whole day, Gan Tao had regained consciousness, and the moment he awoke, he could feel the earth-shattering change that had happened to his body. He had directly become an Agility-based Evolver from a normal human in just one day, and at the same time, he gained comprehension in a Level 3 Agility skill: [Enhance Agility].
Under the various enhancements of agility, Gan Tao already had a 30 point bonus to his base Agility attribute, even though he was only at Level 1 Enhancement, it could be seen how huge the change was.
Captain!! You’re awake!!
Captain, how are you? Boss Yue said you would become an Evolver. How is it, did you become one?
….
Right now, in the room, it was filled with Gan Tao’s subordinates and a few other Chinese survivors. They all knew that Gan Tao could possibly become an Evolver under Yue Zhong’s help, and would gain a fearsome strength, therefore they had come to observe.
Gan Tao replied excitedly:
That’s right!! I’ve become an Evolver!!
During the post-apocalypse, Enhancers and Evolvers all possessed miraculous abilities. Their strength that surpassed normal humans was not a secret, and everyone wished to become a powerful Enhancer or Evolver.
Amongst them, the natural talent and enhancements of an Evolver far surpassed that of an Enhancer. Upon hearing that Gan Tao had become an Evolver, many present were envious and jealous.
One of the soldiers called Xu Liangchen said:
Captain! Let’s have a spar!!
Xu Liangchen was one of the best grapplers in their defence force. In the past, Gan Tao could not overcome Xu Liangchen at all. Gan Tao’s expression was full of eagerness and excitement as he replied:
Sure!!
Under the encirclement of the audience, they quickly came to the open grounds. Many of the soldiers were attracted to this spar between Gan Tao and Xu Liangchen, and had gathered over.
Here I come!!!
After the 2 of them had gotten in position, Xu Liangchen let out a grunt, and charged towards Gan Tao like a ferocious tiger.
So slow!
Gan Tao looked at Xu Liangchen and a thought appeared in his mind, as he slightly manoeuvred his body and kicked out at the opponents calf. The attack caused Xu Liangchen to fall to the ground. He then casually applied his weight on Xu Liangchen’s back, and locked his right shoulder. As long as he applied a little pressure, he could easily dislocate his right shoulder.
Gan Tao’s actions were extremely swift, and surpassed what Xu Liangchen could follow. He had no way to react, and was easily overcome by Gan Tao. If it was in the battlefield, Xu Liangchen would have been killed just like that.
So strong!!
This is an Evolver’s strength? It’s too powerful!!
……
When the surrounding soldiers saw Gan Tao subduing Xu Liangchen with ease, their hearts were filled with excitement, adrenaline and a little envy. Since Yue Zhong possessed the means to change someone into an Evolver, they were filled with excitement and hope that they themselves could become an Evolver as well.
Gan Tao! Boss Yue’s looking for you!!
Right at this time, the audience parted, as a soldier came running up to Gan Tao. Gan Tao forcefully kept his excitement in check as he left with the soldier.
Soon after, other than Gan Tao, Pan Jinyong and 25 other warriors who had recovered their strength quickly left Nabu Town with Yue Zhong. Led by the locals Fan Tongxuan, Wuyan Tong and 6 other Vietnamese warriors, they entered the Forest of Death.
In Nabu Town, those old soldiers were currently training up the 300 soldiers that Yue Zhong had gathered. Without strict military training and battle, the new soldiers would not amount to anything.
The rest of the Vietnamese survivors were organized by Chen Yao, and assigned to work on the hide of the Mutant Forest Venomous Snakes. After becoming workers, these Vietnamese survivors were allowed to eat their fill, and the decent treatment made them feel slightly more satisfied as they did their job diligently.
As Wuyan Hong did not have much rations, adding to the fact that most grain seeds were mutated, and the rest could not develop. Under those circumstances, the large majority of the Vietnamese survivors could only rely on gruel to survive. If they wanted to eat their fill, they had to rely on themselves.
After entering the Forest of Death, they soon encountered a rustling within the tall grasses, as a few Mutant Jungle Lizards jumped out and charged at Yue Zhong’s group.
The number wasn’t considered high, there were only 7 of them, but every single one of them was vicious, and their speed quite fast.
Gan Tao! Pan Jinyong! Take care of them!
Yue Zhong looked at those 7 Mutant Jungle Lizards, and gave a command to Gan Tao and Pan Jinyong.
By this time, Gan Tao was decked out in a God and Devil System protective covering that Yue Zhong had retrieved from the corpse of Da Yang. With these clothes his speed reached 40 points, becoming faster than the average human by 3-4 times. He held the Black Tooth blade that Yue Zhong lent him, as he shot forward like an arrow, and swung the blade down on the body of one of the Mutant Jungle Lizards.
The sharp 2m-long blade easily dissected the Mutant Jungle Lizard in two, and with that one-hit kill, Gan Tao gained a huge orb of experience, instantly achieving Level 3.
Gan Tao excitedly swung the blade back and turned into a flash as he went for another Mutant Jungle Lizard, reaching Level 7.
On the other side, Pan Jinyong had transformed into a Forest Ranger. His hands wield a Dark Magic Blade as he engaged the Mutant Jungle Lizards in close combat. After transformation, his senses were enhanced and his stats increased, he swiftly took care of the 2 Mutant Jungle Lizards, also becoming Level 7 with only a moments work.
White Bones raised its hands, as 3 bone blades shot out from its arm, tearing into the limbs of the remaining 3 Mutant Jungle Lizards.
With Yue Zhong’s instructions, 3 of the normal soldiers wielding chopping wood knives stepped up and expended some energy to kill the 3 Mutant Jungle Lizards, and also gained some enhancements. However, as it wasn’t by their own singular efforts, the EXP was split and they only managed to gain 1 level each. They could not compare to Gan Tao and Pan Jinyong who had reached Level 7 in one shot.
Yue Zhong led this small platoon of soldiers as they patrolled about the edge of the Forest, hunting down all sorts of Mutant Beasts, pushing them to become stronger and raising their overall strength.
As the Forest of Death had too many huge Mutant Beasts within its depths, Yue Zhong did not dare venture in too far. Every single Type 2 Mutant Beast was a terrifying existence, and if he wasn’t careful, he could cause this small platoon to be wiped out.
Yue Zhong led this team of warriors and fought continuously within the Forest of Death for a grueling 7 days. After 7 days of constant battles, the 31-member team lost 2 of their members. As for the rest, they had risen to above Level 10, and gained some measure of strength.
The ones who experienced the most growth were the Evolver Gan Tao and Pan Jinyong who possessed the [Forest Ranger Transformation] skill. Gan Tao had risen to Level 26, while Pan Jinyong had become a Level 21 Enhancer.
After becoming an Agility-based Evolver, Gan Tao possessed more potential than the rest. Furthermore, with the equipment Yue Zhong prepared for him, slaughtering ordinary Mutant Beasts was easy for him. In addition, Gan Tao was from the military, and had received proper military training, and hence he wasn’t weak in the first place.
That was why he could grow so fast. Evolvers grew faster than ordinary Enhancers amidst battles. After raising this team of experts, Yue Zhong could be considered to have an additional trump card.
A force consisting of 29 warriors of above Level 10 was not to be underestimated. Of course, when compared to Yue Zhong’s own Special Combat Force or Wuyan Hong’s Wolf Fang Battalion, they were still far off.
Amongst the team, those who could contend with the Wolf Fang Battalion would at most be the Agility-based Evolver Gan Tao, the [Forest Ranger Transformation]-possessing Pan Jinyong, and Chen Yao with her [Plant Manipulation].
After 7 days, Yue Zhong led this small team out of the Forest of Death. In order to quickly raise the strength of all of them, they had to venture deeper into the Forest of Death, where the more ferocious beasts reside. In that place, even Yue Zhong had no confidence of protecting everyone. After all, a Type 2 Mutant Beast was no joke, and they didn’t possess enough heavy firepower.
The moment they exited the Forest and reenter Nabu Town, Gan Tao and the rest fell straight asleep when they reached their beds. While the 7 days of intensive training had strengthened them a lot, it was extremely exhausting for both body and mind.
Was there any activity from Wuyan Hong’s side?
When Yue Zhong went back, the first thing he did was to find Chen Yao to clarify on matters.
Wuyan Hong and his troops were considered Yue Zhong’s primary concern right now, as the power they held was too strong. If they were not careful, Yue Zhong and his team might be wiped out easily.
Chen Yao’s brows lifted slightly, as she swiftly replied:
Wuyan Hong’s troops don’t seem to be making any moves towards us at this moment. The 2 battalions that he had stationed at the vanguard town have already retreated back towards Tooth County.
Intel was perhaps the most important aspect for any power. When Yue Zhong had left to train the small team, Chen Yao had immediately selected 4 soldiers to survey at the frontlines. That was how she obtained this precious information.
Those soldiers were also fighters, and possessed a little skill, even if they met some low level Mutant Beasts, if they could not defeat them, they could at least escape. Those with a little bit of survival skills would be considered stronger than normal humans. With this in mind, Chen Yao had selected 4 such soldiers to conduct reconnaissance.
Yue Zhong pondered a while, as his brows furrowed:
Wuyan Hong must be up to something big!!
After destroying an entire battalion, and having stolen a thousand plus people, as well as goods, if Wuyan Hong could even tolerate this, there must be something else that required his attention, that was why he had to recall his troops to protect Tooth County.
Chapter 135: Making Necessary Arrangements!
Yue Zhong conducted a series of arrangements after that. He deployed Gan Tao and Pan Jinyong to lead small teams of non-Vietnamese soldiers to sweep towards the direction of Guangxi, clearing the zombies that they came across. On one hand, they were to search for survivors and resources, on the other hand, they could train to become strong.
Currently, this small team under Yue Zhong could handle their own against any one battalion of Wuyan Hong’s. Although they wouldn’t be defeated, the gap between the prowess of the two sides was still large. Yue Zhong had to make use of killing zombies to strengthen this team, only through constant battle, would the team grow to become indispensable and independent.
What Yue Zhong lacked most was time. The immense pressure made it hard for him to focus on establishing his roots and training the troops properly. After all, this was Vietnam, he had little to lose here, and had not much capital. If he wasn’t careful, he could be easily annihilated by Wuyan Hong.
Under the combined efforts of the Vietnamese survivors, pieces of protective covering made from the hides of the Mutant Forest Venomous Snakes were produced, and worn by the soldiers. The aesthetics was not much, but to these soldiers, these hide coverings were essential to their survival, and no one gave a hoot about the look of the hides.
When the protective hides finished production, Chen Yao gathered the Vietnamese survivors and assigned work for defences and constructions to be carried out. Under the supervision of the soldiers, outposts and secret places of firepower started to take form.
Yue Zhong wasn’t too sure himself if these constructions were going to be handy, but what else could they do to keep from letting the Vietnamese survivors idle around and give birth to dangerous thoughts? He chose to play it safe, to prevent any chaos from happening. Therefore, he chose to make use of them to construct defences.
After he passed on some crucial objectives of development for Chen Yao to handle, Yue Zhong made White Bones stay on to protect Chen Yao, while he left towards Tooth County on his own. He had to create some hindrance to Wuyan Hong’s plans.
The inspection is pretty strict, seems like it’s going to be hard to sneak in!!
Yue Zhong quickly came to a hilltop near Tooth County as he observed the ongoings of the town, his brows furrowing.
Currently, at the entrance of Tooth County, there were 16 soldiers stationed. They were checking every person and vehicle that was entering the town. Near the county itself, there were a few ponds, forests, marshes and areas where wild vegetables grew abundantly. As well, worms and aquatic life thrived there. As long as one wasn’t afraid of being eaten by a Mutant Beast, it was possible to obtain huge amounts of food in those places.
However, there were many smart people around. Some Enhancers who could directly make use of their strength would organize a party of normal survivors to go pick the wild vegetables and fish, while they were in charge of facing any arriving Mutant Beasts. This was how countless hunting groups were formed.
Just as Yue Zhong was pondering on how to enter Tooth County, he noticed a fleet of armored vehicles exiting from Tooth County, moving towards the direction of the main road into the distance.
There’s some activity!
Yue Zhong’s eyes brightened, as he leapt onto Lightning’s back, pointing to the fleet of vehicles and spoke lightly:
Follow them!
Upon receiving Yue Zhong’s orders, Lightning swiftly made its way towards the forest, with Yue Zhong on its back. They were closely followed by a pack of over 100 Mutant Leopard Cat underlings.
The large fleet soon came to a camp.
In front of the camp, there was a small town, and at the moment, there were gunshots ringing from within the town. At the same time, there were various artillery pointed towards the small town, raining terror on the buildings, causing them to be blasted.
The entire town was engulfed in dancing flames, yet the residents of the town did not seem to be giving up, instead, they were retaliating with even more ferocity. The gunfire only ceased temporarily when the artillery was raining their rounds, the moment the artillery stopped, the gunfire resumed.
The battle within the town was obviously brutal, and the battalion that had just arrived as reinforcements were quickly caught up in the fight. The countless soldiers made their way towards the town in a disorganized fashion.
Good chance! Do it! Lightning, go kill those artillery soldiers!
Yue Zhong saw the battalion of soldiers being deployed to enter the fray, and he quickly gave an order to lightning, before taking up his .05 submachine gun and charged towards the battalion of soldiers.
Lightning let out a low growl, and shot towards the artillery squad like a bolt from the heavens.
These artillery soldiers were the most wretched, because of them, the other party had to struggle very hard. Without the support of the artillery, then the Vietnamese soldiers in the town would have to pay a price 10 times their current losses to achieve the current state of battle.
Lightning’s speed was way above Yue Zhong even after he had activated his [Shadow Steps], to the point of unbelievable. The 500m distance was near instantly covered by its movements in a matter of 2-3 seconds.
2
Before the artillery squad even had the chance to react, Lightning had already leapt into their midst and lashed out every which way, knocking soldiers to the ground and biting the ones with now exposed throats.
Seeing that there was a Type 2 Mutant Beast amongst them, the Vietnamese soldiers promptly fell into chaos, as they struggled to take out their weapons and start firing.
Sadly for them, Lightning’s burst speed was absolutely too terrifying. It spared no effort as its claws swished left and right, easily slashing the throats of the closest soldiers. Many soldiers fell within these first few seconds.
The rest of the Mutant Leopard Cats had also now pounced forward, charging towards the camp in attack! While their speed could not compare with Lightning’s, it was more than enough to spell certain death for the normal soldiers.
Within the camp, other than the commanding officers, there were 2 platoons, a squadron and some soldiers in charge of the back-end support for the Vietnamese army.
When the Vietnamese camp came under attack, the 2 platoons of soldiers swiftly picked up their weapons. They charged into the fray while relying on cover. Every step of the way they were firing at Yue Zhong and the huge group of Mutant Leopard Cats.
Yue Zhong continuously dodged about and attacked as was his wont in battle. Each leap avoided incoming bullets, while he lobbed grenades into the midst of the soldier groups as he passed.
Hong! Hong! 3
The sounds of explosions rang out, as many soldiers were blasted and sent flying. With his countless battles, he had found plenty of use for the hand grenades.
Some of the Mutant Leopard Cats started suffering some wounds amidst the 2 attacking platoons of soldiers, and there were a few casualties already.
Near the command centre, there were 2 12.7mm heavy machine guns, firing rapidly and causing mass destruction. Under the heavy barrage of firepower, 6 Mutant Leopard Cats were quickly shredded, and 3 others suffered broken vertebrae and lost their combat ability.
Just as the 2 heavy machine guns had begun exhibiting their prowess, Yue Zhong appeared from the side! He quickly hoisted a rocket launcher and fired a missile at one of the machine guns.
With a flash, the Vietnamese soldier behind the heavy machine gun was blasted to death.
After destroying the heavy machine gun, Yue Zhong waved his hand, and a grenade flew over towards the other heavy machine gunner. causing him to face a similar fate, dying together with the exploding machine gun.
When the 2 machine guns were destroyed, and the pressure of the 2 heavy machine guns was gone, the Mutant Leopard Cats could once again unleash their fury! They suddenly frenzied and engaged in a mad slaughter amongst the soldiers.
Facing the ferocious attacks of the Mutant Leopard Cats, the Vietnamese soldiers finally lost their morale and started to abandon their posts, as they tried escaping in various directions. They were after all not troops that had gone through many battles, and many of them were still considered normal people. They had only received training for 2 months, and not being able to withstand the attacks of the Mutant Beasts was extremely normal.
Yue Zhong ignored the Mutant Leopard Cats slaughtering the Vietnamese soldiers, his own gaze a chilling cold, as he rushed towards the command centre.
30 Vietnamese soldiers quickly rushed out from the command centre, 9 of them decked in strange attire. They were either wielding longbows, or huge maces, some were even holding large steel shields, their aura very different from the normal soldiers.
The 9 of them were experts from the Wolf Fang Battalion, and were specially in charge of protecting the commanders from being killed in any attempts on their lives.
The moment the 9 experts appeared, Yue Zhong pulled out his strongest weapon, the PF98! Without hesitation he immediately aimed at one of the warriors holding a scepter and fired immediately.
With a flash, the rocket landed and exploded on the warriors from the Wolf Fang Battalion, bursting into raging flames! Before that poor guy even got to do anything, he was killed in one shot by Yue Zhong, the scepter in his hands also dropping to the ground.
Shit!!!!!
A huge man bellowed out in rage. Towering at 2m, his hands carrying a huge steel shield that likely weighed a ton, he charged at Yue Zhong like a typical Tanker.
4 other Agility-based Enhancers also activated their various abilities while running to the sides. They intended to surround him as they started firing their weapons wildly.
One of the Enhancers activated his [Forest Ranger Transformation], retrieving the long bow on his back, before firing an arrow at Yue Zhong. Even though they weren’t in a forest right now, his power was still terrifying even though it wasn’t at the max potential.
A second Enhancer slapped his hands to the ground, activating his [Earth Manipulation] skill, as sharp spikes exploded out from the ground, aimed at Yue Zhong.
Another Enhancer had huge fireballs conjured in both his hands, as he combined them into one and condensed it into a spear. He threw out with his might, as the spear shot towards Yue Zhong swiftly. 1
Although Yue Zhong had killed one of their comrades, these 8 experts of above Level 30, were absolutely capable of killing a normal Level 50 Enhancer through their teamwork.
Chapter 136: Genuine Ability!
Yue Zhong activated his [Shadow Steps], his body flashing out of sight. As he dodged the freshly incoming bullets, he zigzagged, evading the numerous Earth Spikes on the ground. Expertly multitasking, the blade in his hand danced simultaneously, and slashed at the oncoming Ranger arrow.
HONG!
The destruction of the arrow caused a tremendous repulsive force to explode outwards, sending him 6 – 7 metres back from the point of impact. Thankfully at the same time, the huge bone arrow was also destroyed by him.
Since Yue Zhong was in the air when the flame spear had flown out in attack, it hit him just as he landed. The blazing spear keenly pierced Yue Zhong in the upper right part of his abdomen, before combusting, and engulfing Yue Zhong entirely in flames.
This explodable flame spear was the true killing move of this small Wolf Fang Battalion team. No one could withstand the flames that could burn everything.
Is he dead?
The foremost Agility-based Enhancer threw his spent gun away, as he took out a dagger, looking at Yue Zhong consumed by flames and his heart relaxed a little.
The rest of the team also relaxed. Regardless of the expert, facing this team of 9 who worked extremely well together, they had that confidence that the enemy would fall.
With a peng, the front most Agility-based Enhancer had his brains shot out, as his headless corpse fell back onto the ground.
All their eyes turned to the ball of flame, only to see that within the flames, there was an even more fearsome red-hot fire consuming the flames conjured by that Enhancer.
The Enhancer with the [Fire Manipulation] ability saw his own fire being consumed, his eyes filled with shock:
How is that possible? My fire was actually consumed by him. Is he also a [Fire Manipulation] expert?
Yue Zhong’s body was wrapped entirely in a thin sheet of the fearsome Devil Flame! He walked forward, his gaze cold, looking akin to the Devil himself.
He pointed towards the Enhancer with the [Forest Ranger Transformation] skill and the other Enhancer with the [Earth Manipulation] skill. 2 Devil Flame spears shot out explosively, penetrating their heads in an instant. After the impact, the combustion of the flames enveloped their brains and turned them into ash.
Seeing that Yue Zhong had killed 3 of their elites within a matter of seconds, the remaining 5 Wolf Fang Battalion warriors felt a shudder in their hearts, as their fear of Yue Zhong mounted.
The 2m-tall man, who was the leader, shouted out crazily:
Kill him!! If we don’t, we’ll die!!
Before he even finished speaking, Lightning pounced noiselessly, landing on his back and bit off his head in one mouthful! The huge man fell lifelessly to the floor, his headless corpse leaking a fresh, brilliantly crimson puddle from the ragged stump.
When their leader died, the remaining 4 members all lost their will to fight, and they started escaping towards the other directions. As for the important commanders they were supposed to protect, they were left behind.
Yue Zhong looked at the Enhancer with the [Flame Manipulation] skill, as he raised his Stinger and aimed coldly at him.
Don’t kill me!! I surrender!! I surrender!!
The Enhancer felt his heart turn cold, as he immediately knelt on the floor and pleaded profusely.
Yue Zhong shot 2 of the escaping Wolf Fang Battalion members, before coldly gazing at the Enhancer with the [Flame Manipulation] skill:
Can you speak Chinese? If not you can go and die!
1
Although Yue Zhong did not understand Vietnamese, the physical act of kneeling and raising hands was universal for surrender. That was why he spared the Enhancer at first.
Wei Ningguo kneeled and spoke out in haste:
Yes!! Yes!! I can speak in Chinese!! My name is Wei Ningguo!! I am of Chinese-Vietnamese blood, 3/4 Chinese infact. Please don’t kill me!!
Wei Ningguo was truly a mixed blood of Chinese and Vietnamese descent. Prior to the apocalypse, he was a small time businessman working on the borders of China and Vietnam. He was extremely glib and well-versed with going with the flow in life. When he had to work for Wuyan Hong, he was a simple Vietnamese, now facing Yue Zhong, he was suddenly a mixed-blood with 3/4 Chinese ancestry.
Follow me!!
Yue Zhong gazed at him coldly, before taking out a .05 submachine gun, and charged towards the direction of the Vietnamese commanders.
Thoughts raced in Wei Ningguo’s mind, as he looked towards the corpse of the leader who had been beheaded by Lightning in one bite, and his heart trembled, before throwing out all the useless thoughts, and he followed Yue Zhong closely.
The commanders were mostly normal people, with a few being low-level Enhancers. Their escaping speed could not possibly match against Yue Zhong’s pursuit, and soon Yue Zhong caught up with them.
Yue Zhong did not waste time talking with the commanders, and directly used his .05 machine gun and sprayed wildly, killing them all as they fell into pools of their own blood.
Wei Ningguo saw how Yue Zhong killed those 20 commanders without batting an eyelid, and his heart turned cold.
After killing those 20 commanders, within the entire camp, there were only the Mutant Leopard Cats which were devouring the spoils of war.
Yue Zhong brought Wei Ningguo as they walked around the command centre, only to discover a small walkie-talkie crackling with an urgent voice.
Yue Zhong looked at the walkie-talkie and asked Wei Ningguo:
What are they saying?
Wei Ningguo carefully reported:
Sir, they are from the 7th Battalion. They are currently asking if there’re any problems with headquarters.
Yue Zhong coldly ordered:
Very good!! Tell them now. There are 3 battalions with unknown equipment currently attacking headquarters, let them all retreat and protect the command centre. Otherwise, their retreat will be cut off by these unknown forces!!
Wei Ningguo’s heart trembled, without any hesitation, he replied:
Yes!
After which, Wei Ningguo quickly proceeded to use Vietnamese and spoke frenzily into the walkie-talkie, ordering for the retreat of the 7th Battalion, which was currently attacking the small town.
The 7th Battalion had heard the sounds of gunfire and explosions from the command centre, now hearing Wei Ningguo’s explanation and order, they had no more doubts. They quickly pulled back from the small town, and retreated in a frenzy towards the camp, in order to protect their way back.
In this small town, Wuyan Hong had deployed a total of 3 battalions of power. The 7th Battalion was the aid sent as reinforcements, the moment they pulled back, the other 2 battalions were thrown into chaos, as they panicked and demanded the reason for withdrawal.
When they heard that their retreat might possibly be cut off, the remaining troops of the 2 battalions immediately abandoned their positions and started withdrawing. Enemy troops cutting off possible retreats was a nightmare for strategies, the moment they could not retreat, then the 3 unknown battalions could easily wipe out everyone here.
The 3 battalions that Wuyan Hong had deployed were the 7th Battalion, 9th Battalion and 5th Battalion. The 9th Battalion had the most number of new recruits. This time, the attack on the town was for the 5th Battalion to guide the 9th Battalion, raising their combat prowess.
This sudden retreat caused a multitude of problems. As the 9th battalion soldiers had only received training for a short while, fighting a winning battle was not a problem, but a sudden withdrawal was almost like a collapse of fighting will. A large number of them threw away their equipment and started making a run for the exit of the town.
When the Vietnamese soldiers were trying their best to escape, the leader in the small town saw his chance, and immediately organized 2 platoons of elite soldiers to start their counter attack on the Vietnamese soldiers.
As the main fighting force, the 5th Battalion was starting to become exhausted, and when they faced the rash actions of the 9th Battalion, they themselves could not tolerate it and started to run themselves. In the end, their retreat was chaotic and lacked all sense of order, as a number of soldiers were killed in their attempt to escape.
The remaining soldiers of the 7th Battalion, 9th battalion and 5th Battalion abandoned the armored vehicles and ran out of the small town.
Just as they had made their way out, Yue Zhong had already summoned White Bones from far away, as he himself activated [Shadow Steps], and brought Lightning and a 100+ Mutant Leopard Cats charging towards the 7th Battalion.
When Yue Zhong charged into the midst of the 7th Battalion with his hands wielding his .05 machine gun, he activated his [Art of Fear], casting it in a wide radius while firing wildly, and the huge Spirit attack blanketed the entire area without restraint.
If it was within an area of proper construction, the 3 battalions could easily defend against the attacks of over 100 Mutant Leopard Cats, but as they were currently in the midst of escaping, and were suddenly assaulted by these ferocious Mutant Beasts as well as Yue Zhong, they were soon overcome. Many of them suffered heavy injuries, and the entire 7th Battalion was turned into a blubbering mess, with their body count mounting. The remaining 9th and 5th Battalion also escaped in various directions.
The Mutant Leopard Cats possessed insane speed, and the retreat of the soldiers could not hope to compare with them, as every second there were soldiers with their throats ripped out by the Mutant Beasts.
Lightning exhibited even more of its unworldly speed, continuously flashing about, and soldiers would find their comrades being beheaded by a slash, after a mere 10 seconds, 15 soldiers had already lost their lives. Lightning’s slaughter of the soldiers was at a terrifying speed compared to Yue Zhong.
The moment the soldiers of the 7th Battalion collapsed, their remaining soldiers were slaughtered by the Mutant Beasts. After an intense battle of not even 2 hours, the 3 battalions were wiped out entirely by the one hundred+ Mutant Leopard Cats. A few fortunate survivors escaped to the forests, surviving the attacks of the Mutant Leopard Cats.
Wei Ningguo had been following by Yue Zhong’s side, and upon witnessing the utter annihilation of the 900-strong army at the hands of these 100 something Mutant Leopard Cats, he was filled with a renewed fear of Yue Zhong:
What is this man!! Too scary!! How can he command such terrifying Mutant Beasts?
Chapter 137: Eliminate the Remaining Troops!
Yue Zhong led the group of Mutant Leopard Cats and engaged in a thorough slaughter of the 3 battalions, before he met with a representative from the town.
The middle-aged man walked out from the town, and eyed the more than 100 Mutant Leopard Cats behind Yue Zhong. His tone was extremely respectful as he said:
How do you do sir! I am Zhang Weiyang! Thank you for lending a hand! May I ask how should I address you?
Vietnamese?
Hearing Zhang Weiyang’s Vietnamese, Yue Zhong frowned, and his face turned cold. His felt a little disappointed as well. In this region, the Vietnamese didn’t look at the Chinese kindly just like their were similar Chinese provinces. Lastly, these Vietnamese that he saved might not be anybody good as well. He felt a little upset, and was starting to consider if he should kill all the survivors within the town cleanly to prevent a pointless hate war in advance.
In these antagonistic parts, it was hard to convince the Vietnamese to accept Yue Zhong as a leader. He didn’t dare to trust them too much as well. Since this was the case, he would consider killing them, rather than allowing them to be absorbed as part of Wuyan Hong’s forces. After all, with every increase in strength of Wuyan Hong, it would spell additional trouble for Yue Zhong.
Zhang Weiyang heard Yue Zhong’s Chinese and immediately replied in fluent Chinese:
No!! No!! We’re Chinese!! We’re from the Chinese Association!!
Yue Zhong then relaxed before replying:
I’m Yue Zhong! Is Zheng Qiang present? If he is, let him speak to me!
Yes!! Yes!! He’s here!! I’ll bring him here now!
Zhang Weiyang then heaved a sigh of relief, as long as there was someone familiar to handle things, it would become easier. He was after all an astute person, and he could detect the rising killing intent from Yue Zhong when he had spoke in Vietnamese.
Zheng Qiang walked out of the town quickly soon after, his entire body covered in ash, his eyes bloodshot, and his expression one of exhaustion. The moment he saw Yue Zhong, he became excited:
Yue Zhong!! It really is you!! Much thanks for your help!! If it wasn’t for you, I’m afraid the Chinese Association would have been wiped out this time!
Zheng Qiang then caught sight of the 100 something Mutant Leopard Cats and Lightning behind Yue Zhong. His eyes flashed with passion:
Are you controlling these Mutant Beasts? Holy shit, you’re amazing! How did you do it? Can you teach me?
In this part of Vietnam, there were forests, swamps, marshes, and the number of Mutant Beasts running around rampant was truly terrifying. If one could learn how to tame and control Mutant Beasts, although it would be hard to claim to that they could subdue the world, one could still have some capital and trump cards.
Yue Zhong chuckled, before gesturing to Lightning.
Lightning let out a snarl, before it quickly disappeared into the forest. Its little brothers also followed suit.
That I can’t do!
Yue Zhong directly rejected, and as he looked at the equipment left behind by the 3 Vietnamese battalions, said to Zheng Qiang:
These equipment are mine!! Can you get someone to collect them for me? Wei Ningguo, stay here and look after this!
Wei Ningguo replied with utmost reverence:
Yes Sir!!
Zheng Qiang blinked as his gaze turned different before speaking softly:
Yue Zhong!! This isn’t too good right? We had fought quite hard within the town, and a number of our brothers have died. This equipment, we do deserve to share some don’t you think? What’s more, what are you going to do with all this equipment on your own? You can’t take them away anyway!
There were after all armaments and more left behind by 3 entire battalions! There were even a few heavy artillery. These equipment and weapons were enough to make anybody’s eyes go red in these post-apocalyptic times. Yue Zhong just opened his mouth to lay claim on these items, and it didn’t sit too well with Zheng Qiang.
Yue Zhong’s expression immediately frosted over and his tone became overbearingly cold:
Zheng Qiang! Your words are wrong! If it wasn’t for my efforts to save you guys, your Chinese Association may only have had a few experts left this time. In fact, you might not even be alive to try and negotiate with me. Don’t tell me that the price for saving all your lives is worth less than these 3 battalions’ worth of equipment?
If he had saved a white wolf, Yue Zhong wouldn’t mind using his own knife to kill it if it had no conscience. These 3 battalions’ worth of equipment could not be given away freely. With this equipment, as long as Yue Zhong found enough survivors, he could start equipping them to enlist into his force. Without equipment, even if he did find people, he could only treat them as cannon fodder.
Hearing Yue Zhong’s stern lecture, Zheng Qiang’s face turned ugly, he was not someone who forgot the gratitude of being saved. However, the importance of the equipment was too huge, if the Chinese Association could get their hands on these equipments, it would greatly bolster their fighting strength.
In the end, he managed to suppress his greed as he replied in a heavy voice:
Yue Zhong, the Chinese Association people are not ungrateful. This equipment belongs to you, I will get someone to help you gather them!!
Although they could not get the equipment, if they could receive the support of Yue Zhong who could control Mutant Beasts, it wasn’t too bad of a deal to the Chinese Association.
Yue Zhong then revealed a smile:
Good! You’re a friend worth having! I won’t let you guys get the short end of the stick though. I can give you guys a platoon’s worth of equipment. Out of the artillery platforms, I can gift you 2 of them, with 20 shells. If you guys can offer me reasonable prices, I don’t mind selling more to you guys, but the maximum is a battalion’s worth!
Zheng Qiang’s eyes lit up in excitement:
Like this?! Thanks!! Yue Zhong, really, thank you so much! Come with me and have a sit in the town! Our president and the committee would like to meet you.
The Chinese Association was really lacking in weapons and equipment. Many of the warriors were still using primitive weapons like knives, watermelon knives, butcher knives, long spears, etc. If it wasn’t for the fact that they lacked weapons, they wouldn’t have been forced to a corner by Wuyan Hong’s forces, almost to the point of collapse. The single platoon worth of equipment was really precious to them.
Yue Zhong smiled and said:
I too, would like to meet the heroes of the Chinese Association!
A few Chinese survivors walked out from the town, and they started to gather the equipment of the Vietnamese soldiers, before packing them together under orders.
Wei Ningguo became Yue Zhong’s representative to oversee these Chinese survivors.
In that small town, within an office, a middle-aged man with a refined temperament, his looks imposing and dashing, bowed towards Yue Zhong, and he spoke with sincerity:
How do you do! Yue Zhong, I am Shu Wenyan, the president of the Chinese Association! I’ll take it upon my humble self to thank you on behalf of the 1,300 Chinese people within our Association.
Thank you for lending us a hand in our dire times of need! If it wasn’t for you, I’m afraid every single one of our Chinese people here would end up under the whip of Wuyan Hong, that beast!
The Chinese Association had no shortage of experts, there were even 2 Evolvers amongst them, but they lacked heavy weaponry. They had limited ammunition as well, and many soldiers could only rely on handguns or melee weapons to fend off the enemy attacks. This caused them to suffer greatly.
When the 3 battalions of soldiers under Wuyan Hong had pressed in, although the Chinese Association managed to kill a large number of their enemies, they themselves were facing a mounting number of casualties. If Yue Zhong had not provided aid at that time, the Chinese Association would have likely fallen. Even though they had 2 Evolvers above Level 40, it wouldn’t change a thing.
If Yue Zhong had not enlisted the help of Lightning and its little brothers, it wouldn’t have been so easy to decimate 3 entire battalions.
Yue Zhong looked at Shu Wenyan and smiled:
No problem!! If we Chinese want to live on here, we need to stay united. It was something I should have done anyway!
The fact that Shu Wenyan could pull together a small faction like this in Vietnam, it could be seen that he was capable as well. Regardless of his motive, at least he had ensured the dignity and lives of 1,300-over people. With regards to him, Yue Zhong had a favourable impression.
Shu Wenyan looked at Yue Zhong, before his eyes flashed and he laid out an attractive proposal:
Yue Zhong, are you willing to join our Chinese Association? As long as you join, I’m willing to let you be the vice-president!
President!! No!! How can we let him be the vice-president?!
No way!! President! That’s too important a position! Let him be an elder!!
…..
With a single sentence from Shu Wenyan, the entire office went into an uproar, and resisted loudly. The Chinese Association only had 2 vice-presidents, both of them having contributed a lot to the cause, and their strength earning them respect. At the same time, the vice-president possess quite the amount of authority, even elders would have to obey. It could be said that their position was under one, but above many. Seeing that this position was to be given to someone they barely knew, it was unacceptable to them.
Quiet!
Shu Wenyan frowned as he called out in a deep voice, he truly had the prestige, with just a single word, all the upper echelons quietened down, although dissatisfaction could still be seen in their eyes.
Shu Wenyan looked to the 2 vice-presidents beside him:
Xingchun, Tiger, what are your thoughts?
The Chinese Association had a president and 2 vice-presidents. The president was Shu Wenyan and the 2 vice-presidents Wang Xingchun and Tiger Chu! Amongst them, Shu Wenyan and Wang Xingchun were Evolvers, and possess great might. Tiger Chu was also an Evolver of above Level 40, with countless battles and experience under his belt. He had helped the Chinese Association on many occasions, thus earning merit and rising through the ranks. Shu Wenyan could not ignore their views and just offer the position to Yue Zhong straight away.
Wang Xingchun was a skinny, tanned-looking middle-aged man, his appearance a little wretched. He pondered a while, before softly speaking:
I’m for Yue Zhong becoming a vice-president!!
Shu Wenyan’s gaze then turned to Tiger Chu, a stout and muscular man, with a face full of scars.
Chapter 138: The Chinese Association
Tiger Chu lifted his head and looked at Yue Zhong, as he nodded and said:
I also approve of Yue Zhong to be a vice-president!
When the president and even the vice-presidents have agreed for Yue Zhong to be a vice-president, the elders could only shut up and look at Yue Zhong with envy.
I’m sorry! I don’t wish to join the Chinese Association. Let’s just remain as allies!
Right at this moment, Yue Zhong smiled and declined.
If Yue Zhong was to join the Chinese Association, then the 3 battalions of equipment would be handed over to the Chinese Association without any conditions. Furthermore, he did not have enough prestige within the Chinese Association, and no subordinates. If he wanted to gain some actual power and authority, it would be an uphill task.
If Yue Zhong wanted to control the Chinese Association, he needed to ensure that he first captured the hearts of Shu Wenyan, Tiger Chu, and Wang Xingchun. To him, this was too troublesome. He would rather remain an ally, that way his position was more carefree, and he could do as he pleased.
Zheng Qiang had a look of shock, as he spoke hastily:
Yue Zhong, aren’t you going to consider? It is the position of vice-president after all!!
Zheng Qiang and Yue Zhong’s relationship wasn’t too bad, and he wished for Yue Zhong to join the Chinese Association very much. With his strength, joining the Chinese Association would help to bring up the strength of the Chinese Association.
In this parts of Vietnam, the Chinese Association was considered the biggest faction of Chinese.
By joining them, there was a stronger chance of resistance against Wuyan Hong.
Shu Wenyan’s sharp eyebrows raised, as he spoke directly:
Yue Zhong, do you have any burden? We are after all good brothers here! As long as you join us, I believe we will be able to get along well.
Yue Zhong shook his head and insisted:
I’m sorry. I’m really not interested in joining. Let’s just discuss on the issue with the equipment. I’m willing to sell 3 platoons’ worth of equipment. President Shu, what will you guys be willing to offer for it?
Shu Wenyan broke out into a warm grin and said:
Yue Zhong, just call me Wenyan. You’re someone worth befriending, even if you don’t want to join us, you’re still a good friend of ours! We will never forget the kindness that you’ve shown by saving our lives today.
Shu Wenyan’s words made Yue Zhong extremely comfortable, and instantly caused the friendship to be closer. He could naturally be such an outstanding leader not just because of his strength but also with his eloquence.
Shu Wenyan thought for a while, before lifting his head and asked Yue Zhong softly:
Our Chinese Association does in fact need the batch of equipment, dare I ask your conditions to sell those items to us?
First, I would like the intel that the Chinese Association has. Including those of Wuyan Hong and the other Chinese factions, their leaders as well as locations.
Second, I would need to borrow 100 soldiers for a battle, I will require them for a month. Zheng Qiang is extremely familiar with the areas around here, I hope to borrow him for a month as well.
Third, prepare 200 tonnes of rations for me to use anytime.
Fourth, allow my subordinates to borrow the territory of the Chinese Association to rest.
Shu Wenyan thought for a while, before he nodded and agreed:
Fine! I’ll promise you
The full battalion’s worth of equipment was too important to the Chinese Association compared to a single platoon, that was why Shu Wenyan agreed to the terms.
Yue Zhong grinned at Shu Wenyan:
Much thanks President Shu!!
Shu Wenyan wore an amiable smile as he replied:
It isn’t safe here anymore! Let’s move! After a night’s rest, I’ll hand those soldiers over to you.
Sure!
Yue Zhong wasn’t worried that Shu Wenyan was going to go back on his word, after all Shu Wenyan possessed more power than Yue Zhong now, if he really wanted to swallow the equipment, Yue Zhong wouldn’t have a choice. However, if things really got to that state, Yue Zhong wouldn’t mind giving them something harsh to remember.
Shu Wenyan then started introducing the rest of the upper brass of the Chinese Association:
Yue Zhong! Let me introduce this bunch of good brothers. This is vice-president Wang Xingchun brother Wang and this is vice-president Tiger Chu, brother Chu…..
The Chinese Association had a strong sense of brotherhood and valued loyalty. The top brass was made up of a president, 2 vice-presidents and 14 elders. They made up the majority of the authority, and were the top figures amongst the Chinese Association. Under the elders, the rest were members, and they formed the rest of the Chinese Association.
Amongst the 14 elders, there were 2 female elders, 12 male elders. Of the 2 female elders, 1 was called Zhang Yu, her looks ordinary, with some 6 or 7 knife scars, her eyes radiating a ruthless gleam. The other was Shu Tianya, with a full head of thick black hair, her features defined and her demeanor uncommon. She was strikingly beautiful and had a good figure. This beauty was also precisely Shu Wenyan’s sister.
The other 12 male elders were Zheng Qiang, Feng Qingtian, Zhang Mu, Hu Yan, Liu Ming, Niu Wei, Zhang Shuwen, Sun Tie, Luo Ming, Luo Tu, Chen San, Liu Niujin.
Every single elder was an Enhancer above level 30. They possessed extraordinary combat abilities, and it was precisely because of them that the Chinese Association could withstand the assault of Wuyan Hong’s forces.
Other than these Enhancers, the normal soldiers of the Chinese Association were mostly new recruits. The training period could not even compare with Wuyan Hong’s training. They had fought bravely because they knew how Wuyan Hong treated the Chinese. They would rather die than end up in the Vietnamese’s hands, and hence had gave it their all when retaliating.
If it was a comparison of fighting force, without the help of these high-level Enhancers, the Chinese Association’s 1,000+ fighting members would not be able to contend against a single battalion of Wuyan Hong.
However, these Enhancers were not invincible existences. Initially, there were 22 elders. The attack this time had caused the deaths of 8 elders. Now there were only 14 elders remaining. Without Yue Zhong’s interference, the remaining 14 elders would not have been able to withstand the onslaught either.
After a round of introductions, the Chinese Association started to evacuate. Survivors carried all sorts of resources and followed vehicles as they went away into the distance.
The Chinese Association had no way of standing up to the entire army of Wuyan Hong, and since their town had been discovered, they could only hastily change locations.
In this post-apocalyptic world, investigations weren’t as easy and convenient, as long as the Chinese Association relocated, they could buy some time to rest and recuperate.
The Chinese Association did not just have this one location as their base. Other than this town, they had 6 or 7 other secret locations. However, this town was the most important location of theirs. This time, Wuyan Hong had really struck at a good time, and almost wiped out the entire top brass of the Chinese Association.
If Wuyan Hong was successful in decimating the upper echelons of the Chinese Association, then the entire Chinese Association would have suffered a great loss, and would not be able to put up any resistance against Wuyan Hong for a long time.
The relocation was done quickly, and not long after, Yue Zhong followed the group to a forest, within a secluded hillside, there were a few holes dug up, that was covered entirely by grass. Normal people would be unable to discover this place.
It was so secretive that even if Wuyan Hong had plenty of local Vietnamese, they would be unable to find it. However, it wasn’t all that convenient living here, the biggest danger they faced were Mutant Beasts, and in this forest, if there were too many people gathered together, attracting the attention of huge Mutant Beasts was a disaster. Other than those that travel in packs or groups, there were a few monstrous lonesome Mutant Beasts that posed even more danger to these survivors.
The survivors started moving into the various holes and furnishing their new homes. Losing the town, they could only stay here for a long period of time, and await the next chance.
Yue Zhong walked quietly amongst them, behind him was Wei Ningguo who followed obediently.
After witnessing Yue Zhong’s methods, Wei Ningguo had killed all thoughts of betraying him, his own hands stained with the blood of Wuyan Hong’s soldiers. Even if he went back, he would only face death.
When it came to meal time, within the forest, the survivors all grabbed their bowls and drank some gruel with wild vegetables.
In this post-apocalyptic world, any faction faced the same issue: rations. Unless they had opened the national strategic grain reserve near Nanjing, which would provide a temporary reprieve from the problem. Both the experts of the Chinese Association and Wuyan Hong forces had fought hard, killed many zombies and Mutant Beasts, yet their total reserves were not more than 2,000 tonnes. They could only eat sparingly, with the warriors enjoying a full meal, and the normal survivors eating half that amount.
However, these survivors were contented with that. Under Shu Wenyan’s leadership, the people had their basic needs met, if they were to fall under Wuyan Hong’s hands, then the males would definitely be tortured and tormented as slaves till death, while the women would be treated like playthings, after being raped and tormented, they would be turned to meat and eaten.
When Yue Zhong and Wei Ningguo walked by, those survivors would look at them with a face of envy and respect, not because Yue Zhong was the one who saved them – no one knew who it was other than the top brass. Instead, it was that both Yue Zhong and Wei Ningguo were carrying AKs on their back, loaded with bullets.
In this post-apocalyptic world, it was many survivors’ dream to become a soldier. However, not everyone got to be one.
A short figure looked at Yue Zhong and Wei Ningguo, as she crept behind stealthily, and nimbly stretched out her right hand, towards Yue Zhong’s pocket.1 2
Chapter 139: Thief!
If the target was a normal person, the little shadow would have made off with the contents of the pocket already. However, Yue Zhong was a fearsome person with truly inhuman speed. He casually intercepted the small hand of the thief, and coldly said:
What do you think you’re doing?
Yue Zhong looked carefully at the little figure, discovering that it was a kid. Her entire face was grimy, and covered in ash. Even her was hair messy and all over the place, with specks of mud in it, various long strands covering her face. Her clothes were in tattered pieces.
Yue Zhong frowned and spoke:
Thief?
The kid saw that Yue Zhong had grabbed her right hand, and her eyes flashed with fear, as she started struggling and shouted:
Ah!!! Let go of me!!!! I’m not a thief!! I’m not a thief!!!
As the child was struggling and protesting, Wei Ningguo pulled out a handgun and pointed it at her head, as he spoke coldly in Chinese:
Shutup! Keep your cool and wait for our Boss Yue to handle you! Otherwise I’ll blast your head apart.
In these post-apocalyptic times, human lives were really cheap. Be it the elderly, women or kids, as long as they angered a person of power, forfeiting their lives was a normal occurrence. Concepts like
Society
and
Juvenile Courts
didn’t really apply anymore. There were even maniacs and perverts out there who enjoyed torturing kids.
Wei Ningguo, having been part of the Wolf Fang Battalion himself, had never allowed the killing of people to burden him, even the murder of kids.
As the child looked at the gun pointing at her head, her expression full of terror, she dared not make anymore sounds. She had seen the plight of countless pitiful children. She was clear that some people had gone beyond their rationality, and if this person in front of he was like them, if she was not careful, she might just lose her life.
What happened?
Following a sweet voice, Shu Tianya, Zhang Shuwen, Hu Yan appeared. The voice belonged to the beauty Shu Tianya.
Yue Zhong pointed to the dirty little rascal that looked like a beggar and said to Shu Tianya:
Miss Shu! How’re you guys doing! I’m not sure how the Chinese Association deals with people who steal. This little fellow here tried to steal my things, and was caught red-handed by me.
Shu Tianya’s gaze immediately turned suspicious, as she turned towards the child and asked with an overbearing pressure:
Is it true? Did you try to steal his things?
The beggar hesitated a while before nodding:
Yes!!
Shu Tianya sighed, and her gaze turned complicated as she looked at Yue Zhong and said:
Yue Zhong, here, if a thief is caught, you can choose to beat the thief to death on the spot, or claim him or her as your slave. However, once he or she becomes your slave, rationing will be under your care. And it will no longer have anything to do with the Chinese Association.
Yue Zhong frowned lightly as he thought:
Slave!! Things are done like that here?
In this post-apocalyptic world, many factions were very harsh on robbers and thieves. If there was such behaviour during a battle, if one was caught, he would immediately be executed. If it was during a lull period, Yue Zhong’s first cause of action would be to throw the person into the Scum Battalion, leaving the person’s fate to dying in battle, or fighting in enough battles to regain his freedom. The way things were handled here were slightly different, the fate being left to the hands of the master.
In the eyes of the people within the Chinese Association, this punishment was extremely harsh already. After all, there was no way of making things worse than it already was in this post-apocalyptic world.
Yue Zhong frowned as he took a look at the little rascal again like as if he was looking at a burden. A child could only bring more trouble for a faction that does not have too much of a support. Unless the child happened to be like Yao Yao, a natural Agility-based Evolver.
The kid looked at Yue Zhong gazing down with a frowning expression and immediately kneeled down in fright, hugging Yue Zhong’s legs and begged:
Don’t kill me please!! Please!! Uncle!! I’m willing to be your slave. Don’t kill me!!
Yue Zhong took one more hard look at the little rascal grabbing his leg, and he waved his hands at Wen Ningguo:
Alright!! I’m accept you then! From today on, you’re under me.
Wei Ningguo received the order and took out the bag behind him, before pulling out a few small cakes, and a bottle of milk for the little kid.
The moment the kid received the cake and milk, she unceremoniously ripped the packaging open and started to take big bites and gulps. The cake and milk were extremely luxurious items in the new world, and if one wasn’t careful, it would be snatched away.
When the various kids of the Chinese Association saw that the thief was able to eat such good stuff when she became Yue Zhong’s slave, their eyes went red, they wanted to eat cake and drink milk too.
The kids walking about started to converge towards Yue Zhong’s location.
Yue Zhong looked at the kids, and he smiled at Shu Tianya:
Miss Shu!! I’ll leave you to handle these guys!
Shu Tianya’s eyes flashed with a strange gaze, as she looked at Yue Zhong and replied coyly:
Yue Zhong, if you continue to call me Miss Shu, it’s too polite. Call me Tianya, or I’ll take it that you don’t see me as a friend.
Yue Zhong chuckled:
Fine! Tianya!! I’ll trouble you with them then!
Hearing Yue Zhong calling Shu Tianya by a first-name basis, Zhang Shuwen and Hu Yan both felt incredibly jealous. Both had been pursuing Shu Tianya for a long time, and they were clear, only those who she viewed capable of her standards could call her by name. It was obvious that Shu Tianya held Yue Zhong in high regard, and thus this made them jealous.
Shu Tianya broke into an exceptionally bright smile, as her gaze swivelled towards Zhang Shuwen and said:
Shuwen!
Zhang Shuwen immediately pulled out a gun, as he pointed it at those kids, his expression stern and fearsome:
Get back! Don’t get any ideas. Otherwise, you might lose your life.
The kids were immediately frightened off by Zhang Shuwen’s fierce expression, their faces pale.
Hu Yan walked towards Yue Zhong with a fighting intent, as he challenged Yue Zhong:
Yue Zhong!! I heard that your skills are top-notch. Do you want to spar with me?
Yue Zhong had the ability to command Mutant Beasts. This was the common knowledge amongst the Chinese Association. However, as man could not be perfect, a person was unlikely to have many strong points, there was bound to be a weakness. Hu Yan thought that Yue Zhong was focused on controlling Mutant Beasts, but as for a single-handed fight, he was likely to be weak.
Yue Zhong lightly shook his head and declined the challenge:
Brother Hu! I’m sorry, I’m not interested in these activities, sparring for no reason is not my cup of tea. Please find someone else.
Hu Yan’s gaze was still fiery as he challenged:
Are you afraid? Yue Zhong!! I know you can command Mutant Beasts. I’m very grateful that you brought the beasts to save us. But, a true warrior would not back away from any challenge! Let us fight fairly!! Don’t worry, I’m a magnanimous man, as long as you feel that you cannot win me, immediately surrender, I will stay my hand. I would definitely not do any despicable thing!
Hu Yan truly felt grateful that Yue Zhong brought the beasts to save them, however, he was even more adamant on proving his worth in front of Shu Tianya, and showed that he was definitely above Yue Zhong. Yue Zhong was at most lucky, and managed to gain the ability to control Mutant Beasts.
Yue Zhong laughed mildly, before casually replying:
Alright, I admit defeat! It’s your win, Brother Hu!!
Yue Zhong really did not want to waste his energy on this type of aimless fight.
Hearing Yue Zhong’s indifferent dismissal, his face turned red, and he gripped his fists tightly, till even the veins could be seen, his body trembling with rage.
Hearing Yue Zhong’s declination, even Shu Tianya felt a huge disappointment. She was extremely curious about this young hero who could command over a 100 Mutant Beasts, and was commended by Zheng Qiang as though he was a god. Now that Yue Zhong had refused, she was extremely let down.
Zhang Shuwen eyed Yue Zhong and asked softly:
Yue Zhong! Just now you said that you’re not interested in a challenge without any aim. Why not we do it like this! As long as you can win Hu Yan, then he and I will listen to you for an entire month. If you lose to him, then the 300 tonnes of rations offered to you by the Chinese Association will be reduced to 200 tonnes, how about that?
Zhang Shuwen was smarter than Hu Yan and saw through Yue Zhong’s words, and hence decided to offer some terms to test Yue Zhong.
Zhang Shuwen and Hu Yan were both Enhancers above level 30, and possessed battle experience. If Yue Zhong could gain them as his followers for a month, he could accomplish a lot more.
Yue Zhong pondered for a while, before agreeing:
Fine!! I accept! Brother Hu, are you ok with this suggestion?
Hu Yan was extremely confident as he proposed his own conditions:
I accept!! But you cannot use the Mutant Beasts you command. If you command them to attack me, I am not a match for the Type 2 Leopard Cat.
Yue Zhong replied deeply:
Not a problem!! I won’t use any Mutant Beasts.
Hu Yan replied:
Good! Let’s go!!
Yue Zhong followed Hu Yan towards a location which was specifically set up for training.
This arena was meant for the different experts within the Chinese Association to exchange pointers. Many of them would challenge each other, and raise their own abilities, and discover more skills.
Yue Zhong and Hu Yan’s spar soon garnered the interest of the people nearby, and the experts all gather around to spectate.
Shu Wenyan looked at the 2 of them within the arena, as he asked his vice-president Wang Xingchun:
Xingchun, who do you think will win this match?
Wang Xingchun looked at the 2 of them as he evaluated silently, before saying:
Hu Yan is the most likely victor!! If Yue Zhong doesn’t use his ability to command Mutant Beasts, he most definitely isn’t Hu Yan’s match.
Hu Yan had reached Level 38 and was the 4th strongest expert within the Chinese Association, losing only to Shu Wenyan, Wang Xingchun and Tiger Chu. He had his close combat skills enhanced to Level 3, and within this arena, even Shu Wenyan would lose to him if he wasn’t careful.
Chapter 140: Ready For War!
The arena was simply too small. Exchanging moves in such a location was extremely advantageous for close combat specialists. As for those summoners, magic and abilities-based Enhancers, they would be at a disadvantage.
An Enhancer with the [Sniper Specialization] would be able to take down a close combat specialist from a distance of 2km, however in this arena, it would take only a second for the reverse to happen.
Shu Wenyan and Wang Xingchun acknowledged Yue Zhong’s abilities, but they didn’t think that Yue Zhong would stand a chance against Hu Yan.
Shu Wenyan then asked Tiger Chu:
Tiger, what do you think?
Tiger Chu was also after all one of the mainstays of the Chinese Association, and he had the experience and eyesight to discern potential.
Tiger Chu thought for awhile, and a strange gleam appeared in his eyes as he said:
I feel that Yue Zhong would most likely win.
Shu Wenyan frowned slightly, and kept his thoughts to himself.
Around the arena, people had gathered and everyone’s eyes were on them.
Watch out Yue Zhong!
Hu Yan roared out, as a strange glint appeared in his eyes, and he started executing a strange set of footwork towards Yue Zhong. Originally, Hu Yan possessed an impressive speed of 70 points but through his footwork, he suddenly appeared right in front of Yue Zhong like a lightning bolt out of a blue sky, as his hands reached viciously towards Yue Zhong’s arms.
Hu Yan’s speed was swift and decisive, to the point of abnormal. The moment one was caught by him, he could dislocate the joints of the person just by exerting extra strength. Even the president Shu Wenyan had to admit defeat when facing this move.
Just as Hu Yan appeared in front of Yue Zhong, Yue Zhong’s eyes flashed, and he activated the [Art of Fear] skill, and an intense Spirit attack assaulted Hu Yan.
At that instant, Hu Yan felt himself entering hell, as countless heat waves rose from the ground and his body was splattered by boiling oil, causing his skin to suffer numerous burns.
This is an illusion!!!
Hu Yan was also a warrior with a stout heart and countless experience and he maintained his calm during his pain. He bit down on his tongue, and with the help of the pain, he managed to extract himself from the illusion.
You’ve lost!
Hu Yan had just opened his eyes, and heard Yue Zhong’s cold voice, whose hands were placed on his neck. As long as Yue Zhong decided to squeeze, Hu Yan would find his windpipe choked.
I admit defeat!!
Hu Yan had a look of disbelief as he said. If it were a life-and-death battle, he would have been killed on the spot. Although he loved to battle, he wasn’t a hot-head who didn’t know when to retreat. If he insisted on continuing, things would just get ugly.
All the experts present saw Hu Yan pouncing towards Yue Zhong, and just as he had almost grabbed his hands, he suddenly stopped moving, and his throat was easily grabbed by Yue Zhong!
With Hu Yan’s skills, it should have been easy for him to dodge Yue Zhong’s move, and still engage in a counter-attack, but no one expected for him to stand there without resisting, causing everyone to be shocked.
What power!!
Truly fearsome!! Who knows how many other trump cards he’s hiding!!
…..
When all the experts of Chinese Association saw that Hu Yan was so readily subdued by Yue Zhong, their hearts were all filled with shock. Hu Yan’s close quarter combat skills were renowned amongst them, having been enhanced thrice. Now that he actually lost to Yue Zhong, their fear and admiration for Yue Zhong’s strength grew.
It appeared Yue Zhong could command Mutant Beasts AND his own fighting capabilities were terrifying as well. He was simply an untoppable existence.
Shu Wenyan took a long look at Yue Zhong and his eyes contracted as his expression was one of regret. If this expert could be used by him, the Chinese Association would grow 3 times in power.
Hu Yan called out with a little dejection:
I’m willing to admit my loss! From now, Zhang Shuwen and I will listen to your commands for a month.
Good!
Yue Zhong nodded lightly, in this month, he will have 4 Enhancers (including Pan Jingyong and Wei Ningguo) above level 30 as well as a 100 warriors of the Chinese Association. It was a decent-sized power, and with it, Yue Zhong could utilize them to cause problems for Wuyan Hong.
After an entire month, Gan Tao should have trained up a batch of soldiers after gruelling combat against the zombies. By then, Yue Zhong wouldn’t be fighting a battle against Wuyan Hong alone anymore.
After defeating Hu Yan, Yue Zhong brought the little kid and Wei Ningguo back to where they were staying.
In this forest, even though Yue Zhong was a distinguished guest of the Chinese Association, he could only bring them into a hole that was made in the mountain.
There was a stone bed and some simple essential life tools within the cave. On the stone bed, there was a layer of straw, to act as a mattress. It was considered an extremely decent treatment as compared to the rest. The other normal survivors could only curl up in a patch of grass, not many could get to use a stone bed.
The moment they left the town and went into the forest, there would be many inconveniences. Of course, the forest was a lot safer as compared to the town now, and if there were any more conditions, then the survivors would rather go back to the town and sleep.
Go take a bath first, clean yourself up before seeing me again!
Yue Zhong frowned as he looked at the little beggar-like child.
Yes!! Yes sir!!
The child looked at Yue Zhong a little timidly, before going over to where a few buckets of water was prepared for bathing purposes and started to wash herself.
Yue Zhong then stared at Wei Ningguo and asked directly:
Wei Ningguo. Tell me all you know about Wuyan Hong and his troops.
Wei Ningguo replied respectfully:
Yes sir! I will tell you everything I know.
Wei Ningguo was after all an elite of the Wolf Fang Battalion, and knew much more than most common people. Yue Zhong also had Li Bingyan back at the base with him, just that he didn’t know if he could trust her intelligence. As for the things that Wutan Tong knew, it could not compare to someone who was in the know like Wei Ningguo.
Sir! I’m done!!
Right as Wei Ningguo was explaining about the the situation vividly, a bright sound came from the side.
Yue Zhong turned around, only to see a small petite little girl, with a lush head of hair, exquisite features, and slightly yellow skin standing in front of him.
Yue Zhong was a little taken aback, as he asked:
What’s your name? And how old are you?
Yue Zhong never imagined that this little dirty thief with such guts to steal from him was actually just a cute little girl.
I’m called Ming Jiajia! I am 12 this year, after December, I’ll be 13. My parents are Chinese. I know how to speak Vietnamese, and I know how to read as well. I can wash clothes, cook, and help to massage. From today, I’m your slave. I will listen to you well. Whatever you require of me, I’ll do to the best of my abilities.
Ming Jiajia spoke out docilely, as she presented her worth.
In this post-apocalypse world, those with no value would be eliminated quickly. Ming Jiajia was clear on the rules of the current world now. Even if it was under the leadership of Shu Wenyan, the harsh realities of the world still existed. Only when a new prim and proper order was established, and new systems and laws were in place, could the law of the jungle be replaced.
Yue Zhong hesitated, before asking warmly:
Ming Jiajia! I will rescind your status as a slave, and allow you to go back. How about that?
Ming Jiajia was just a little girl with no combat power. She could not be put to use, and without a stable place, bringing her along would create problems. Yue Zhong had taken her in because he did not want to kill her for no reason.
Yue Zhong was after all molded into a decisive and ruthless leader. He was not someone who spared his enemies, regardless of who they were. Yet he was not an animal that killed without reason, and he could not bear to allow a young life to be wiped away in front of his eyes.
Ming Jiajia immediately quivered and kneeled in front of Yue Zhong, her eyes filled with tears as she begged:
Sir!! What did Jiajia do wrong? Please don’t chase Jiajia away!! If Jiajia leaves master, Jiajia will die! Please, please master, keep Jiajia!! Jiajia will give her all to serve you!!
Yue Zhong had just given her cake and milk, and she did not want to leave such a generous master. Almost anyone would fight over just a piece of cake within the Chinese Association,1 to the point where there were people being beaten to death before.
Yue Zhong looked at the pitiful Ming Jiajia and his gaze softened:
Alright alright, from now on, you’re my maid and secretary. Come over here!
Thank you master!!
Ming Jiajia sobbed as she thanked him, before jumping onto the stone bed and started massaging his legs.
Wei Ningguo looked at Yue Zhong and Ming Jiajia as he respectfully dismissed himself:
Sir!! I’ll take my leave!
In this post-apocalyptic times, where order had collapsed, there were many types of people present. Wei Ningguo did not want to intrude on Yue Zhong’s matters and intentions.
Yue Zhong was speechless when he saw what Wei Ningguo thought of him. He wasn’t at liberty to explain himself as well, and he just waved his hands to dismiss him.
The Freemasons, were very different from the Freemasons in history. This was just one of the small Chinese factions within Vietnam, and the current leader was called Peng Lingbo, and he was an expert at Level 25. He controlled a small village between Lang Son City and Gaoping City, and had over a hundred Chinese survivors dependent on him, with 300 other Vietnamese survivors. He alone ruled, and enjoyed his current lifestyle.
1 Ulamog: Yes indeedy, I too would kill someone for a Twinkie and milk during the apocalypse, to say nothing of Woody Harrelson and HIS shotgun…