Chapter 125: Chapter 125: The Number One Base
At that moment, in the government base in the neighboring city, Simon Dunn was at his wit’s end.
The previous year, a series of extreme blizzards and power outages had nearly turned the entire base into a giant ice coffin. They had only managed to survive by shamelessly borrowing two full shipments of cold-weather gear and generators from the Silas Hawthorne Base, located just a few blocks away.
Then came the extreme heat and floods—it was one disaster after another.
He had thought they could finally catch their breath after surviving the natural disasters, but after just three days of peace, a horrifying sight appeared on the streets: walking corpses, zombies running rampant.
Simon Dunn stood before a map in the temporary command center, gripping the walkie-talkie in his hand so hard it seemed he might crush it.
His throat was as raw as sandpaper, yet he dared not stop shouting, "Everyone, listen up! Retreat immediately! Top priority is to avoid the zombies. They’re too dangerous, and we don’t have the strength to take them head-on! Everyone fall back to the base and hold your positions! Abandon all search missions for now!"
Static crackled from the other end of the walkie-talkie, mingled with a panicked shout, "Director! We found something a zombie dropped! Looks like a Crystal Core!"
"Crystal Core?" Simon Dunn’s heart clenched. He immediately barked into the radio, "Who told you to touch it? Get back here, now! I don’t care what that thing is, get your men back here first! I’ll repeat this one more time: anyone with any signs of a scratch or a bite from a zombie—even a single bloody mark—is absolutely not allowed back into the base! Quarantine them on the spot!"
He wished he had three heads and six arms.
He had to placate the wavering morale of his troops caused by dwindling supplies, coordinate the base’s defenses, and keep a constant watch for the zombie horde that could appear at any moment.
They were severely understaffed, and every decision felt like dancing on a knife’s edge.
Just then, an urgent file came through on an encrypted channel.
It contained the latest regulations for dealing with zombies: Zombies are generally slow-moving, making them ripe for culling. Thirty percent of zombies will have Crystal Cores form within their skulls. One Crystal Core can be exchanged for ten Points. The one hundred-plus bases across the country will be given a comprehensive score based on their material reserves, number of zombies killed, number of Crystal Cores collected, and number of high-level Superpower Users.
Scoring?
Simon Dunn stared at the last few words on the screen. He froze for a moment, then let out a bitter laugh as the tension coiling in his gut eased slightly.
’Everyone’s scores must be terrible, right?’
At the start of the apocalypse, their base had been a prominent one with plenty of stockpiled supplies. But during the more than a year of the frozen period, it was impossible to go out on supply runs. Their stored food and fuel were depleted day by day, and now they probably had just enough to barely survive. How could they even think of ’abundant reserves’?
As for Superpower Users.
Simon Dunn glanced at the figure in the corner, whose eyes were closed in meditation. That was their base’s only S Level Superpower User, the pinnacle of their combat strength. ’That makes sense,’ he thought. ’An S Level Superpower is a one-in-a-million rarity. How many could there possibly be in the entire world? The other bases are probably in the same boat.’
As for kill counts...
The corner of Simon Dunn’s mouth twitched. ’That’s even more ridiculous,’ he thought.
’Everyone just saw zombies for the first time in broad daylight. They’re all so scared they’re hiding behind walls, trembling, not even daring to fire their guns. Who would actually dare to go out and kill them? Everyone’s score is probably a big fat zero, hahaha!’
However, the moment he tapped open the national base leaderboard, the smile on his face instantly froze, then solidified completely. His pupils constricted.
In the number one spot, displayed in bold, was the Silas Hawthorne Base.
The number next to the name struck him like a sledgehammer to the chest.
Points: 16,320.
Sixteen thousand three hundred and twenty Points??
Simon Dunn nearly dropped the tablet, wondering if the screen was broken.
He rubbed his eyes hard, but the number remained, glaring and sharp.
’How is this possible? We’ve only just encountered zombies for the first time today, and they’ve already scored over ten thousand?’
With a trembling hand, he scrolled down to look at second place.
Points: 1,210.
While that number seemed pathetic on its own, compared to the leader, it was the difference between an astronomical figure and a speck of dust.
He then looked at their own ranking. They were neither high nor low, stuck in the middle with a paltry 427 Points.
The base at the very bottom of the list had a pitiful 118 Points.
’So, what in the world happened? Did some major event that we know nothing about occur over at the Silas Hawthorne Base?’
Meanwhile, at the Silas Hawthorne Base, just across the river, it was another scene entirely—one of bustling, feverish activity.
The wide streets were no longer shrouded in their usual deathly silence.
Under the personal command of Sue Lawrence, well-equipped hunting squads advanced in tactical formation.
"The straggler on the left is mine!" Sue Lawrence’s voice was cool and sharp, carrying an authority that inspired confidence. Dressed in a light combat suit, she moved with ghostly speed, her high-frequency combat blade whistling as it sliced through the air.
CRACK!
The blade struck the zombie’s cranium with precision. With a sharp crack, she deftly extracted a pale blue Crystal Core that emitted a faint glow.
"Leader Sue is a badass!" her teammates behind her erupted in cheers.
Unlike the timid members of other bases, the people of the Silas Hawthorne Base had long since been forged in the fires of battle by Sue Lawrence, their fighting spirit thoroughly awakened.
They weren’t afraid; on the contrary, they were filled with eager anticipation.
As for what to do with the Crystal Cores, Silas Hawthorne had already made it clear: whoever obtained one could dispose of it as they wished. They could consume it themselves, turn it in to the base for Points, or, of course, trade it.
Sue Lawrence, of course, had no need for these things. As an S Level Superpower User, she didn’t need to consume Crystal Cores to gain a Superpower. So, she naturally gave the Crystal Core she’d just obtained to one of her men.
He was an ordinary young man who had previously been struggling just to survive. Now, his eyes burned with fervor. He took a deep breath, tilted his head back, and swallowed the Crystal Core.
In that instant, a warm yet violent surge of energy flooded his entire body.
His previously frail body jolted. His muscles coiled and bulged, and his once-dull eyes instantly shone with a brilliant light.
"I... I’ve awakened! It’s the Power System!"
The man was so excited he was nearly incoherent. He threw a punch, and the air cracked with a sharp BOOM.
"Well done! Join the melee squad!" Sue Lawrence nodded, satisfied.
This marked the thirty-seventh Superpower User to awaken in the base over the past few days.
The efficiency of the Silas Hawthorne Base was astonishing.
And this high efficiency was all thanks to Sue Lawrence’s Ability.
Her ant-like pathfinding ability, A Level Observation Power, and Perception allowed them to avoid zombie hordes in advance, letting them pick off straggling or weakened zombies instead.
Their actions left Jason Sterling, who was trailing behind them, utterly shocked.
He was stunned to realize that all of this was just like in his past life.
In his past life, it had been the same. They always managed to avoid the hordes. The closest call had them hiding in a building, holding their breath, and silently watching a tide of zombies shamble past right outside.
That horde took a full three and a half hours to pass by completely.
Back then, he had always chalked it up to good luck, but now...
He couldn’t help but look at Sue Lawrence.
