Chapter 97: Doomsday 12

Le Yixian noticed a significant change in Ke Yuandao’s attitude toward her. He began bringing her roasted meat and fruit, and whenever a zombie lunged at her, a flash of lightning would instantly reduce the creature to ashes.

They had reached the armory. A winding concrete road cut through the woods, and as the superpowered individuals drove along it, they spotted a rusted iron gate. The leaders stepped out to investigate. Sitting in the car, Le Yixian peered through the window at the gate. On a stone pillar beside it hung several signs, rusted and weathered by time, with only a few characters still vaguely legible: "XXX Training Base."

After the scouts checked the surroundings and confirmed it was safe, they signaled the vehicles behind them. A metal-type superpowered individual stepped up to the gate, his hand glowing with metallic energy. With a sharp "crack," he sliced through the heavy iron chain.

The convoy entered the compound’s courtyard, where Ke Yuandao and the other team leaders gathered to discuss their next move. "According to intelligence, the armory is located beneath the training field to the west. Let’s send a team to check it out."

The plan was quickly set. The team would advance in three echelons: the first consisted of offensive and reconnaissance types, the second was made up of space-type users, and the third was another offensive group. Le Yixian was assigned to the second echelon.

There were only five space-type users—three men and two women. They looked at Le Yixian with great curiosity; rumors about a woman with healing abilities had been circulating through the team recently. However, because Le Yixian was usually flanked by either Ke Yuandao or Li Qing, no one dared to get too close, and they could only observe from a distance. Now that they were finally in close proximity, they couldn't help but size her up. Their first impression was that she was beautiful; the second was that she possessed a serene, holy aura that made others hesitate to approach.

"I'm Xia Meimei," Le Yixian said, introducing herself to the group.

"I'm Zhu Ziqing, nice to meet you," the girl with a ponytail said excitedly, her eyes sparkling. "Can you really heal? Like in the novels?"

"I don't know what it's like in novels, but my ability is indeed healing," Le Yixian replied.

"In novels, people who can heal are usually the villains or the big boss behind the scenes," Zhu Ziqing blurted out.

Le Yixian: "..."

Realizing what she had said, the girl covered her mouth and blinked sheepishly. "I didn't mean that."

"It's fine," Le Yixian responded calmly, offering no further comment. She didn't particularly like what the girl had said, and she couldn't be bothered to engage.

The team headed toward the western training field. Soon, the scouts reported that they had found the entrance. Le Yixian glanced around. On one side of the field, the words "Strict Discipline, Obey Orders, Win Battles" were still faintly visible. Due to a year of neglect, the area was overgrown with weeds. The buildings in the distance, presumably the barracks, looked desolate and abandoned.

Out of the corner of her eye, Le Yixian caught a fleeting shadow. She instinctively turned to look, but saw only waist-high weeds.

"Meimei, what is it?" asked Lin Ziqing, who was always talkative.

"I thought I saw..." Before Le Yixian could finish, a cry of pain rang out.

"It's zombies! Prepare for battle!" a firm, loud voice commanded.

As part of the logistics support, Le Yixian and her group were quickly shielded by several offensive-type users.

"Damn it, zombies again," a bespectacled, refined-looking man cursed. A flash of light emanated from his right hand, and a sharp butcher knife appeared in his grip. The sight of the butcher knife in the hands of such a scholarly-looking man was strikingly odd.

"What are you staring at? Take out your weapons, or do you want to die?" the man snapped, glaring at the others who had been watching him.

The others rubbed their noses, and with subtle glimmers of light, various weapons appeared from their storage: baseball bats, long blades, handguns, and maces.

"Meimei, where’s your weapon?" asked the petite Zhu Ziqing, who was heaving a mace.

"I don't have one," Le Yixian replied.

"How can you not have a weapon?" the space-type users exclaimed, quickly offering her various items from their storage. "Even if we aren't as powerful as the offensive types, we need to defend ourselves so we don't put too much pressure on them," the scholarly man added.

Le Yixian thought he had a point. She picked a sharp kitchen knife from the pile—it should be enough to split a zombie's skull.

However, she soon had no time to worry about zombies. An injured man with a rotting shoulder was brought to her. "Meimei, save him," Li Qing said anxiously. "The zombies here are mutated."

Le Yixian’s expression tightened. Mutated zombies were rare. There were only about a hundred zombies surrounding them, all wearing tattered camouflage uniforms, fighting desperately to stop them from entering the armory.

Le Yixian knelt down and reached out. A faint white light flickered, and the man's wound healed instantly.

"Wow, that's amazing! I feel like I'm full of energy again," the man, who looked like a teenager of about fifteen or sixteen, exclaimed. His face, previously twisted in pain, was now filled with shock and excitement. He jumped up, clenched his fists, and instantly, flames erupted from them. Taking a deep breath, he stepped back, crouched into a sprint, and roared as his flaming fist sent a zombie flying.

"Stupid kid, I told him not to engage in close combat!" Li Qing scolded.

These mutated zombies were incredibly difficult to deal with. While the team had maintained their formation initially, things were now becoming chaotic, and a few zombies had managed to slip into the center of the formation.

Zhu Ziqing swung her mace, smashing the face of a lunging zombie. Its face caved in, and as it staggered back, the scholarly man seized the opportunity to swing his butcher knife, decapitating the creature.

They worked in perfect coordination. Le Yixian, still holding her kitchen knife, clapped her hands. "Impressive!"

"It's nothing. In the apocalypse, you have to learn how to protect yourself," Zhu Ziqing said humbly.

As the group teamed up to take down another zombie, Le Yixian suddenly sensed a gust of wind behind her, accompanied by a sickening stench. She instinctively ducked and rolled across the ground, only to find a tall, hulking zombie with blood-red eyes staring directly at her.