Apocalypse Survival Guide for a Beta [GB] - Chapter 76

Lin Bai met Lou Tiannan in full makeup that morning. She didn’t show it on her face, but she felt a bit disappointed that his high-heat energy particles were gone.

Lou Tiannan was wearing a pheromone suppressant patch, making his green citrus scent almost undetectable. The high-heat energy particles around him were also well-contained. Even during his susceptible period, his self-control was this strong. Lin Bai silently thought to herself that his ability to control his energy must have reached another level.

Severe emotional fluctuations, intense desire, and heightened aggression, even with pheromone patches and suppressants, restless pheromones would still leak out. Alphas with mates would also exhibit some degree of nesting behavior and territorial possessiveness.

Those were all normal signs of an Alpha’s susceptible period. But looking at Lou Tiannan, who appeared completely calm, no one would be able to tell that he was currently experiencing one. For an S+ ranked Alpha to remain so composed during his susceptible period, it was unheard of.

Lin Bai recalled the time at the ruins by the sea when she had witnessed him going through it once before. Even without a suppressant, his self-control had been astonishing.

She thought to herself that she needed to take advantage of Lou Tiannan’s susceptible period to absorb as much energy as possible.

Lou Tiannan noticed Lin Bai’s gaze lingering on him, sending ripples through his heart. Outwardly, he continued speaking normally with the others, but inside, he was wondering if she had noticed that he had shaved this morning and even trimmed his hair. He had spent twice as long as usual tidying himself up, although he worried Lin Bai might overthink it. He told himself that he hadn’t done it specifically for her.

After all, as the captain, he couldn’t look too unkempt… Oh, right! He had even changed his shirt, had she noticed?

The combat uniforms issued by the Federation Army were durable, resistant to wear, and designed in muted, practical colors, mostly black, dark blue, and camouflage. Lou Tiannan usually wore black t-shirts or tank tops, but today, he had purposely switched to a dark blue t-shirt. He recalled Xi Ya mentioning that Lin Bai liked yellow, but unfortunately, the combat uniforms didn’t come in yellow.

With so few color options and so many ability users in the team, outfit collisions were inevitable.

Lou Tiannan’s dark blue t-shirt didn’t attract much attention. Zhou Yu and the others only vaguely felt that their captain looked even more striking today, although they couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

As for Lin Bai, her focus was entirely on the high-heat energy particles surrounding Lou Tiannan.

There was no movement from Aurora’s side that morning, so everyone was busy training. Lin Bai ran through her mental list of ways to provoke Lou Tiannan. She tried two, but they didn’t have much effect. She also didn’t want to waste time chatting with others.

Close to noon, she went straight to Lou Tiannan and said, “Let’s fight.”

Lin Bai figured that if she fought Lou Tiannan and managed to knock him down, he would definitely feel embarrassed and get angry.

As for stirring up trouble by chatting with others, that was too much of a hassle. It might even create unnecessary problems. At this point, she didn’t want to cause any major disturbances, so beating up Lou Tiannan was the best option.

Lou Tiannan hadn’t expected Lin Bai to make such a request, but after a brief thought, he agreed.

He had observed Lin Bai’s combat skills before and she was on par with him. The two of them had never fought seriously before and he suspected that Lin Bai might see this as part of her criteria for choosing a mate. That suited Lou Tiannan just fine. He was looking forward to their match.

Lin Bai’s challenge wasn’t widely known at first. But by the time the two of them stood in the training arena, a crowd had already gathered. Except for those on guard duty, nearly everyone had come to watch.

They had no idea what Lin Bai was thinking. They just found it incredible that she dared to challenge an S+ ranked Lou Tiannan. She truly had guts.

On the field, the two wasted no words and immediately started fighting.

To an outsider, it was an exciting spectacle. But to those with combat skills, it was something else entirely. The ability users watching raised their eyebrows in surprise as they observed Lin Bai’s techniques against Lou Tiannan.

“Damn, Lin Bai’s got some serious skills!”

“She really is!”

Xi Ya hugged her doll proudly and said, “My mom is super amazing!”

Lou Tiannan’s fighting style followed the standard combat techniques of the Federation Army. However, his strength and speed far surpassed the average soldier’s, and every move he made carried immense explosive power and impact.

On the other hand, Lin Bai’s fighting style seemed more eclectic, as if she had learned from multiple disciplines. If Lou Tiannan’s attacks were forceful and powerful, Lin Bai’s were agile and precise. Her slender figure and nimble movements allowed her to find opportunities to counter his strikes even amidst his overwhelming offense.

A few minutes into the fight, some onlookers noticed that Lin Bai appeared to be at a disadvantage.

However, only Lou Tiannan, who was facing her directly, understood that he had to stay alert at all times to avoid falling into one of her traps.

Lin Bai attacked sparingly, but every strike was precise and effective. Twice, he had almost fallen for her feints, only managing to block them through sheer, inhuman strength.

Lin Bai found the fight somewhat frustrating. No matter how well-coordinated her body was, it couldn’t compare to a natural human body. Additionally, to protect her bionic limbs, the maximum force she could exert had been pre-set at the time of manufacturing. No matter how hard she tried, she lacked the natural muscle-driven explosive power that human fighters had.

Take Lou Tiannan, for example. His strikes carried an overwhelming force, driven by raw muscle power. Lin Bai couldn’t help but feel a rare tinge of envy.

However, she didn’t have time to dwell on it. Lou Tiannan was strong and facing a powerful opponent thrilled her. Even if she couldn’t match his raw strength, there were always other ways to fight.

That said, knocking Lou Tiannan down in front of everyone was going to be difficult.

Neither of them had any intention of holding back. Lou Tiannan wouldn’t and Lin Bai certainly wouldn’t.

She leaned back to dodge a punch from Lou Tiannan, then swung her leg up to kick his shoulder. Lou Tiannan sidestepped, dodging the strike, and countered with a punch of his own.

However, it seemed Lin Bai had anticipated missing. As soon as her left leg landed, she used the momentum to spin and evade his punch, swiftly lifting her right leg for a sweeping kick.

Bang!

Her foot connected solidly with Lou Tiannan’s forearm, forcing him to step back half a pace.

‘Here it comes again,’ Lou Tiannan thought. He couldn’t help but admire Lin Bai’s keen observational skills and sharp predictive abilities. At times, he couldn’t even tell whether Lin Bai had anticipated his moves beforehand or if her reflexes were simply that fast.

If Lin Bai had even half—no, maybe just a third—of his strength, she would be an incredibly formidable opponent.

But for now…

Lou Tiannan halted his punch just one centimeter from Lin Bai’s nose before pulling back. His gray eyes gleamed with admiration as he sincerely praised her, “You’re really impressive.”

Lin Bai also withdrew her knife-hand strike aimed at Lou Tiannan’s neck. She shrugged and said, “It was just alright.” She knew Lou Tiannan had held back, just as she had. It was just a practice spar, not a life-or-death battle. If Lou Tiannan got injured, it would be a hassle.

They both stopped at the right moment, leaving the spectators wanting more.

Just then, someone came from outside to report to Lou Tiannan. Meanwhile, a few ability users gathered around Lin Bai, eager to ask when they could have a chance to spar with her as well.

After finishing his conversation, Lou Tiannan looked back up and saw that several people had already crowded between him and Lin Bai. Seeing her surrounded by eager ability users, his thick, sword-like brows furrowed slightly. He hadn’t even gotten to talk properly with Lin Bai today.

Lin Bai, still engaged in conversation, sharply sensed the presence of high-heat energy particles nearby. Her eyelashes lowered slightly and she smiled as she agreed to each sparring request.

After responding to all of them, she could clearly feel the high-heat energy particles becoming even more active.

Lin Bai thought to herself, ‘Tsk, an old-school Alpha supremacist. After going around in such a big circle, the method I found the most troublesome turns out to be the most effective.’

However, just as she had accepted multiple sparring invitations, a new piece of intel arrived, putting all those matches on indefinite hold.

Their surveillance team reported that the guards at the Aurora Church’s side hall had been rotated. Based on their previous analyses, such rotations only happened when Aurora was transporting zombies.

Lou Tiannan personally led a team to inspect the side hall.

The guards had indeed changed, although not in an obvious way. If their lookout hadn’t been meticulous, they wouldn’t have noticed at all.

Once the intelligence was confirmed, everyone prepared themselves because they were about to face their first direct confrontation with Aurora.

Everyone braced for battle, but no one expected Aurora to act so quickly. That very night, the team spotted Aurora transporting what they claimed were supplies, but in reality, it was zombies.

There were five full trucks.

Lou Tiannan led the ability users in firing two cannon rounds, stopping the vehicles in their tracks.

Ignoring the warnings from the Aurora clergy, they pulled back the black tarps covering the truck beds, revealing hundreds of zombies, eerily quiet inside the cages.

However, the moment they sensed external stimuli, the zombies suddenly seemed to ‘come alive,’ emitting hoarse, guttural howls. Under the harsh lights, their pallid, decaying bodies and razor-sharp claws sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

The Aurora cleric, shocked that their operation had been discovered after successfully transporting zombies dozens of times before, immediately realized those intruders couldn’t be left alive.

He sent an emergency signal to the church while simultaneously leading his forces into battle against Lou Tiannan’s team. Upon recognizing Lou Tiannan, his heart filled with panic.

The Aurora clerics assigned to zombie transport were all A-rank or higher ability users. Their combat with Lou Tiannan’s team was evenly matched.

However, in the midst of battle, the zombies in the truck beds, agitated by the scent of ability users’ flesh and blood, went berserk, biting through their cages and escaping into the fray, turning the battlefield into utter chaos.

***

In the dead of night, Coomber sprinted through the silent corridors of Aurora Church, his face filled with urgency.

Clair was watching the giant cocoon displayed on the surveillance screen. At the same time, he was awaiting the arrival of the final batch of zombies for the night.

All the data indicated that She was about to awaken. As long as they could extract the necessary melanin from the last group of zombies to synthesize the stimulant, She would definitely wake up…

Before Coomber rushed into the observation room, one of the puppets beside Clair opened its eyes. “Clair, I must tell you some unfortunate news,” the puppet said in a hoarse voice.

Clair’s golden eyes narrowed.

“There’s been a problem with the last batch of zombies…”

Clair abruptly stood up.

At the same time, Coomber arrived at Clair’s door, panting. “Your Excellency Bishop!”