Chapter 166 - 165: Marble Police

Chapter 166: Chapter 165: Marble Police

Seeing that the anticipated conflict hadn’t occurred, Liu Bin and the others got out of their vehicles.

The members of the combat team from two assault vehicles and the bus, all armed with long spears, numbered a good thirty to forty people. They formed a dense, dark mass as they silently walked over to stand behind Lin Fan.

The men at the front—Liu Bin, Zhang Ziyi, and a few others—were clad in freshly acquired weapons and gear. Wang Yuanhua, in particular, looked burly and imposing.

Their energetic, high-spirited demeanor formed a stark contrast with the exhausted, panicked stragglers at the gas station.

Seeing this display of force, the soldiers around Tan Wei grew nervous, unsure of how the situation would unfold.

But their captain, Tan Wei, had previously ordered them to lower their weapons, and he hadn’t issued any new commands. On top of that, they’d heard that "Colonel Lin" had just executed seven people, so they dared not make a rash move. They could only fidget and whisper restlessly among themselves.

When Tan Wei saw so many people get off the bus, all of them burly men armed with spears, a shiver went down his spine.

He had joined this unit in a similar fashion, only he had neither a military background nor had he brought so many people with him.

’No wonder Ye Qingzhou is acting like this. It seems the two of them already have a tacit understanding. She’s found herself a powerful backer!’

’These men are full of energy, with healthy complexions. They don’t look like they’ve missed a single meal. With so many healthy men, all it would take is a little training, and they could be armed with guns to fight zombies.’

’And that’s not to mention the two women behind "Colonel Lin." One just telekinetically controlled a sharp blade, and the other is holding a shield. They’re obviously both Awakened Ones, and combat-capable ones at that!’

’I can’t believe we ran into our own people out here! What a stroke of luck!’

His mind raced, and he hurried to show his goodwill. After all, he hadn’t completely burned his bridges with Ye Qingzhou, and as an Awakened One, he was useful to the team. They probably wouldn’t do anything to him.

"Colonel Ye, why didn’t you say sooner that Colonel Lin was in the area? Look at this mess..."

When the people behind Lin Fan heard how the man addressed him, they had no idea what was going on. After a moment of shock, some of the combat team members in the back began whispering to each other.

But Liu Bin, who was standing at the very front, caught on after Su Qing glanced back at him. He quickly cleared his throat, and the people behind him immediately fell silent.

’Since I understand what Ye Qingzhou is trying to do, I don’t care what role I have to play, as long as our two groups can be integrated.’

Ignoring the commotion behind him, Lin Fan watched the Awakened One with 230 Life Value walk toward them, his face plastered with a fawning smile. Lin Fan’s expression turned cold as he stepped past Ye Qingzhou and asked:

"Are you Zhao Cheng?"

His voice was like Ye Qingzhou’s usual expression—cold, without a trace of warmth. It sounded less like he was asking for a name and more like he was checking off a list.

Tan Wei’s face froze the moment he heard Lin Fan’s question. Cold sweat instantly soaked through his undershirt.

The question was like a dagger at his throat. He was terrified, but a sudden wave of relief washed over him. ’Thank God I’m not actually Zhao Cheng.’

Before he could answer, Ye Qingzhou spoke for him. "This is Captain Tan Wei, leader of our third squad. He’s an Awakened One. A fence-sitter."

"Oh, come on, Colonel Ye, what are you saying? I was just trying to keep things from getting chaotic so we could all make it to the quarantine zone alive... Now that Colonel Lin is here, I have absolutely no objection to him taking command!"

Cold sweat beaded on Tan Wei’s brow. He quickly jogged a couple of steps forward to address what Ye Qingzhou had said, turning to explain to Lin Fan,

"Hello, Colonel Lin. I was a public security officer in Jishan County. Colonel Zhou’s convoy picked us up when they were passing through. I just wanted to do my small part..."

He then held out one hand, from which a cold mist suddenly began to rise. Like a magic trick, a block of ice slowly materialized in his palm, growing larger and larger until it was the size of a soccer ball.

"I’m an Awakened One. This is my ability. Sometimes, when the convoy was short on water, my ability is what got us through!"

A sycophantic smile remained fixed on his face, but his trembling hand betrayed his terror.

He was like a cornered clown, performing a little trick for the master in hopes that it might buy him his life.

But Lin Fan’s attention wasn’t entirely focused on the man’s hand.

’An Awakened One with a Life Value of 230, possessing 230 points of energy.’

Lin Fan reached out, took the ball of ice, and weighed it in his hand. It felt like it was over ten pounds.

’His Energy Value dropped by 6, and not only that, his Life Value dropped by 3 as well.’

At the same time, Lin Fan noticed faint wisps of heat, barely perceptible, rising from the man’s back.

’An ability that consumes Energy Value and damages the body... but since it involves thermodynamics, it has great potential.’ 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

’This is a life-saving skill for a small team that can’t find a clean water source, but in a large convoy, it can only fill a niche role. Its usefulness is limited.’

’Fortunately, his Awakened constitution and recovery rate should allow him to maintain decent combat effectiveness. Even if his ability isn’t overpowered, at least he has his physical strength.’

"So you’re Captain Tan. A pleasure to meet you..."

Hearing that this man wasn’t Zhao Cheng, Lin Fan couldn’t help but wonder, ’Where did Zhao Cheng go?’

Still, he extended his other hand and shook Tan Wei’s with a smile, then laughed to himself.

’A fence-sitter. Someone like Ye Qingzhou wouldn’t point out his stance just to mock him in public. She must have said it for my benefit.’

He let go of the man’s hand, turned his body halfway, cradled the ball of ice in his right hand, aimed toward the highway to the southwest, and then threw it with all his might!

BOOM—!

The instant the ball of ice left his hand, the very air seemed to tear apart, letting out an explosive crack like the report of a sniper rifle!

The ball of ice didn’t follow a normal parabolic arc. Instead, it became a visible, almost perfectly straight white "ray." With a high-pitched whistle, it left a trail of ice mist as it shot out—WHOOSH—toward the ruins of an office building to the southwest!

A few seconds later, at the end of the ray’s path, a cloud of black-and-white ice mist and ash erupted from the side wall of the burned-out office building. The sound of the impact didn’t arrive until a second after that.

The sound was distant and muffled, yet it seemed to strike a blow to everyone’s heart.

Everyone present had their eyes drawn to Lin Fan’s action, and they were left stunned by the result.

With the exception of a few soldiers who had no real concept of strength, everyone there was utterly intimidated by the throw. For a moment, the scene was dead silent.

GULP...

Tan Wei, who was closest to Lin Fan, swallowed hard, his eyes unable to tear themselves away from the trajectory of the throw.

’I always thought that with my Awakened physique, my strength was on par with the veteran soldiers, maybe even better than Ye Qingniao, who’s eaten a few crystals. My ability isn’t much help in a fight, but in terms of pure physical strength, I was number one in the whole convoy.’

’But this single throw just now... it didn’t just smash the fence I was sitting on; it shattered my entire worldview.’

’In my mind, an Awakened One was just someone stronger than a normal person, someone who recovered faster, was immune to the virus, or had some strange abilities.’

’But what this Colonel Lin just demonstrated... it’s not even in the same dimension.’

’Throwing an ice ball that weighed over ten pounds more than three hundred meters... That’s...’

Watching this, Ye Qingzhou’s expression suddenly stiffened, losing its initial composure. Her eyes quivered as if she were silently calculating just how much strength that throw required.

The hand she’d been holding her walkie-talkie with was now clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white. She was squeezing so hard that the plastic casing of the device let out a faint creak.

On the other end of that walkie-talkie, on the rooftop of the storefront across the street from the gas station—the same spot where Lin Fan and Chu Zhaozhao had observed them from before—a large-caliber sniper rifle was set up.

Ye Qingniao was sitting in an open area further back on the roof, out of sight of the people at the gas station. She stared blankly at the cloud of grey and white debris that had just erupted from the mid-section of the ruined office building to the south.

A minute ago, Ye Qingzhou had used a subtle gesture to signal to her that the plan had succeeded and the operation was over.

But right now, that wasn’t what was on her mind.

Instead, she was finally, completely acknowledging the term Hu Chen had used that night: a generational gap.

’But they had been too conservative in their assessment. Only she, who used her own ability at high intensity every day, could truly understand. This wasn’t the difference between a steam engine and an electric motor; it was the difference between a slingshot and a railgun...’

She subconsciously raised a hand and stared at her own fingers.

’Once, I believed I was one of the chosen ones of this new world, a hope for humanity.’

’But now...’

She let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh. Then, her gaze sharpened once more.

’A gap... is meant to be closed!’

...

"WHOA-HO!"

Only Chu Zhaozhao, standing behind Lin Fan, seemed to have limitless faith in him. She was still looking off in the distance, acting as his hype man.

"Boss, I should teach you how to throw a javelin later! With your arm, you could probably throw it a whole kilometer!"

But Su Qing, standing beside her, gently tapped her on the head and pulled her close.

"Ahem..."

Seeing that his show of force had achieved the desired effect, Lin Fan unequipped the strength crystal.

’Fence-sitters are the easiest to deal with.’

He then turned his head to look at Ye Qingzhou, who was still in a daze. He noticed subtle shifts in her expression, which made him chuckle inwardly.

’This woman hit me with a slick combo the moment I arrived and nearly stunned me. That ought to put her in her place.’

Still, he maintained his superior posture and cleared his throat.

"Colonel Ye, where has Zhao Cheng gone?"