Apocalypse Survival Guide for a Beta [GB] - Chapter 41

Hearing Lin Bai’s praise, Xi Ya gradually stopped crying but her arms still clung tightly to Lin Bai, clearly still shaken.

Once she had calmed down, she spoke in a small voice before anyone could even ask.

“I crawled out of the tunnel and followed Mommy’s instructions. I checked the vent and it was locked. I went out to find the valve but as soon as I did, I saw a zombie standing next to it…”

At the mention of the zombie, Xi Ya’s voice trembled and she shrank deeper into Lin Bai’s embrace. “It was just a regular zombie… I-I have fire-based abilities, so I thought I could beat it… Then another one showed up… I used my ability and the small knife Mommy gave me to kill them…”

She didn’t describe the fight in detail but Lou Tiannan and the others, who were experienced in combat, could easily piece it together. The burn marks on the zombies, along with the stab wounds on their eyes, foreheads, and chests, all matched the shape of the small dagger hidden in Xi Ya’s doll’s tiny leg.

The zombies had been fully grown adults, while Xi Ya was barely over a meter tall. It must have taken every ounce of effort for her to fight them.

“Xi Ya, you’re amazing!” Song Yan praised.

Xi Ya sniffled and looked up. “Thank you, Auntie Song Yan.” She had to be polite.

Song Yan, who had just been promoted to ‘Auntie’: …

“Pffft—hahaha!” Zhou Yu burst into laughter from the side.

As Lin Bai held her, Xi Ya gradually relaxed. Looking at Lin Bai’s profile so close to her, she couldn’t resist leaning in and giving her a little kiss.

The soft, warm touch on her cheek made Lin Bai pause for a moment. She lowered her eyes and met Xi Ya’s gaze. The little girl’s dirt-covered face had a faint blush and her big round eyes were filled with hopeful anticipation. “Mommy, can you kiss me too?”

Lin Bai pressed Xi Ya’s face back into her neck and said coldly, “No.”

“Okay…” Xi Ya rubbed her soft little face against Lin Bai’s neck and was still very happy. She had kissed Mommy, Mommy had comforted her, and Mommy was holding her. Mommy was the best mom!

Above the platform they were on was a heavy iron cover of over two hundred pounds. That wasn’t a problem for the federal soldiers but the real concern was what lay beyond the ten-centimeter-thick cover. No one knew what was waiting on the other side.

“We’re at Northern Street Three in Southern District One,” Lin Bai said.

Zhou Yu had just wanted to ask how she knew when Lou Tiannan shone his flashlight on the metal cover. Stamped into the steel were the letters and numbers: South-1 NS3.

Now, Zhou Yu had a different question. “Lin Bai, how do you know so much about the underground garbage disposal tunnels?”

“I’ve been here before.”

“You’ve been here?” What had she come there for?

Not only Zhou Yu but everyone else was also curious. However, it was clear that Lin Bai had no intention of answering their questions. “Whoever has the most strength, open a crack and check the situation.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lou Tiannan stepped under the iron cover.

With one hand, he gently shifted the cover slightly to the side. Fresh air immediately rushed in and everyone took deep breaths, as if they had just come back to life.

“I feel like I’ve been marinating in here,” Zhou Yu said with a grimace.

Lin Bai replied, “Then hurry up and get out before your smell fades.”

“Oh, right! That makes sense.” Zhou Yu thought Lin Bai’s brain worked way too fast.

Lou Tiannan stood on the ventilation platform and extended a folding mirror to check the situation outside. After about ten seconds, he closed the cover again and said to the group, “There are some regular zombies on the street, but not too many. There’s a shop to the left where we can take cover, about fifteen meters away. I’ll take Xi Ya out first. Wait for my signal. Zhou Yu and Song Yan, you go next. Lu Jia and Lin Bai, you follow. Any questions?”

“No questions.”

Before moving out, Lou Tiannan checked the surroundings once more. He secured Xi Ya to his chest with a strap and told the others, “Once we exit the tunnel, turn left immediately and enter the shop. You must do this within two seconds.”

Zombies were highly sensitive to sound and smell but their reaction speed was about a second slower than a human’s. If they could get into the shop within two seconds, they would minimize the chances of being noticed.

Lou Tiannan lifted the iron cover and leaped out of the ventilation duct, swiftly slipping into the shop.

In the dim street, only a faint shadow flickered past before everything fell silent again.

Inside the shop, three zombies lurked. Before they could react, Lou Tiannan unleashed a burst of black flames, reducing them to nothing.

“It’s clear. First group, come out,” Lou Tiannan said over the radio.

Song Yan and Zhou Yu had been partners for years and worked seamlessly together. Staying close, they synchronized their movements, slipping out of the tunnel and into the shop without issue.

The wandering zombies on the street remained oblivious.

When they turned away again, Lou Tiannan said, “Next group, go.”

Lin Bai and Lu Jia didn’t have the same level of coordination as Song Yan and Zhou Yu but they were both quick. Their exit went smoothly until a piece of garbage fell off Lu Jia’s pants and hit the ground with a loud clatter.

In the empty, quiet street, the sound was especially jarring.

The four inside the shop tensed, watching as the zombies turned toward them. Lou Tiannan and the others prepared to fight but before they could act, Lin Bai kicked Lu Jia into the shop while simultaneously hurling the black blade in her hand.

The zombie on the street hadn’t even fully turned around before its head and neck separated, falling to the ground with a loud noise that attracted the attention of the other zombies.

A black blade spun through the air, returning to Lin Bai’s hand in the final seconds before she entered the shop.

The other zombies moved toward the decapitated one but since they lacked the ability to think and couldn’t sense any living flesh in the area, they soon resumed their aimless wandering.

The shop, about twenty meters away, had its door tightly shut, sealing off all traces of scent from within.

Lu Jia, realizing he had nearly caused trouble, lowered his head and apologized, “I’m sorry, Captain Lou, I didn’t notice something was stuck to me.”

The garbage was an old metal-covered toothpaste tube, the same color as his pant leg. He hadn’t even realized when it got stuck there and it almost caused a serious problem.

“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me,” Lou Tiannan said calmly.

Lu Jia glanced at Lin Bai, who was still leaning against the door, and muttered dejectedly, “Lin Bai, I’m sorry. Thanks for saving me just now.”

“Oh,” Lin Bai responded coldly.

To be honest, she hadn’t wanted to save the troublesome guy. But if he had been left outside, Lou Tiannan and the others would have had to go out as well, creating even more commotion and rendering all their previous efforts meaningless.

It was indeed Lu Jia’s carelessness and Zhou Yu and Song Yan had nothing to say about it. Just then, Elena’s voice came through their communication devices at the perfect moment, “Lou Tiannan, where are you now?”

“We’re in Southern District One, on Northern Street Three…” Lou Tiannan glanced around, “inside a jewelry store. Where are you?”

Elena replied, “We’re on the outskirts of Southern District One. We can’t get through. There are too many zombies here and it’s too dark to scout the area properly. We’ve decided to wait until daylight to assess the surroundings before making a move.”

“Understood.”

Moving around at night when they couldn’t see anything was indeed too dangerous.

After ending the call, Lou Tiannan said, “We rest here and move at dawn.”

Zhou Yu and the others cherished every minute of rest. They hurried to replenish their supplies and checked their equipment thoroughly.

Once everything was confirmed, they took turns standing watch.

Apart from Xi Ya, who didn’t need to take a shift, Lin Bai also voluntarily joined the watch rotation. In fact, as long as her energy was sufficient, she could go without sleep all night. But to avoid suspicion, she pretended to sleep while secretly working on modifying the crystals she had taken from the Guangming Building. They were getting closer and closer to the 621 Biopharmaceutical Research Institute in Eastern District One, so she needed to adjust the components in her body to their optimal state.

Song Yan, hoping to get Lin Bai’s advice on her abilities, intentionally took the same watch shift as her.

In the latter half of the night, Song Yan asked, “Lin Bai, I can now internalize my earth-based ability into my limbs, covering half of my body.”

“That fast?” Lin Bai was a little surprised.

Song Yan nodded. “Yeah, after listening to your advice last time, I started consciously controlling and enhancing it. The energy strengthened much faster than I expected.” As she spoke, she demonstrated her ability.

Her left arm slowly transformed into sand. When she reached out with her hand, it rapidly dispersed, then reformed once her palm pulled back.

“Can you control it in separate areas?” Lin Bai asked.

Song Yan shook her head. “Not yet. I can’t make it detach from my body in sections.”

Lin Bai said, “Try dispersing your consciousness.”

Song Yan was taken aback. “Disperse my consciousness?”

“Spread your awareness across different parts of your body.”

“That sounds difficult.” Song Yan was beginning to grasp Lin Bai’s idea.

“Yeah, it is,” Lin Bai replied.

“I understand. Thank you, Lin Bai.” Even though it was difficult, she had to do it. Right now, her ability wasn’t strong enough to help her teammates and she hoped she could grow stronger, faster.

Just as dawn was about to break, Lin Bai keenly stood up and looked outside through the gap in the shop’s glass door.

Beside her, Lou Tiannan’s voice rang out, “Everyone, get up. We’re retreating in one minute.”

Lin Bai glanced at him. His expression was serious as he stared out of the shop. “You sensed it too?” she asked.

“Yeah. Zombies are approaching.” A few seconds ago, Lou Tiannan had felt a warning signal of danger in his mind. He couldn’t see them yet but he could vaguely sense that high-level zombies were closing in on them.

Zhou Yu and Lu Jia hadn’t been sleeping deeply, so they woke up immediately at the call. Xi Ya took a moment to fully regain her senses but as soon as she saw the serious expressions on her mother and the others, she knew danger was coming. Her small face held an expression far too mature for her age.

“Captain Lou, what’s going on?”

“Retreat now!” Lou Tiannan’s voice was quick and firm.

“What about the zombies in the street?”

“We can’t worry about them! Follow me, now!” As the sense of danger escalated, Lou Tiannan yanked open the shop door, scooped up Xi Ya, and sprinted forward. The moment the door opened, their presence was exposed and the wandering low-level zombies around them began to converge.

The instant they all left the shop, a massive fireball shot straight toward the building. A deafening explosion rang out, shattering the glass door into countless pieces.

Out of the corner of their eyes, they caught sight of the source. They were black-eyed mutant zombies. More than one!!

The group ran down the street at full speed.

Buildings lined both sides of the street, making it dangerous to fight there. If the structures collapsed, they would be in extreme peril.

But they didn’t make it far.

As the mutant zombies howled, waves of zombies poured out from the alleyways, blocking their path. Most of them were low-level white-eyed zombies with rotting bodies and sharp fangs, swarming toward them like a relentless tide.