Chapter 176 - 175: Everyone Has a Unique Skill

Chapter 176: Chapter 175: Everyone Has a Unique Skill

"It’s dangerous over there. Whatever you want to see, I’ll go look for you!"

The moment Ye Qingniao heard Ye Qingzhou ask to go with Lin Fan, she immediately tried to stop her.

After all, despite past military training that gave her above-average stamina, she was a civilian staff member—a far cry from those veteran soldiers.

"Qingzhou!"

Even Zhang Wenyuan and Hu Chen, sitting in the driver’s seat, turned pale when they heard this. They had just charged through here yesterday and knew how many zombies were up ahead. Even if they traveled across the rooftops, there was no guarantee of safety.

Ye Qingzhou didn’t speak. She just looked at Lin Fan quietly and asked:

"Colonel Lin, can you guarantee my safety?"

"I cannot."

Lin Fan met her gaze and answered decisively.

’What a joke.’ If they got surrounded by that many zombies, even he would have to give it his all just to break out. He wasn’t a real superman, after all.

"...In that case, let me rephrase. Can you do your best to guarantee my safety?"

Hearing Lin Fan’s decisive reply, a hint of a smile actually appeared in Ye Qingzhou’s normally serene eyes as she continued her questioning.

"You have to go?"

Lin Fan frowned and asked her again.

"I feel that I absolutely must."

She looked back at Lin Fan and said seriously.

"I... I also feel that I absolutely must... Mmph!"

Hearing this vague statement, Chu Zhaozhao, who was standing at the side, immediately chimed in, but was promptly pulled back by Su Qing.

"Alright then."

Lin Fan didn’t know what she was planning to do, but if she had some prior research on that "tree," she might be able to figure something out. So, he nodded in agreement.

"We still don’t know the situation over there. If conditions don’t permit it, you can’t leave the rooftops. You can only watch from up there..."

"Okay."

Ye Qingzhou nodded, then retrieved a canvas bag from behind the back seat and stood beside Lin Fan.

"Then I’m going too!"

Seeing that Ye Qingzhou was really going with Lin Fan, Ye Qingniao quickly stood in front of them and loudly demanded to join.

"Mmph mmph..."

Meanwhile, Chu Zhaozhao, her mouth covered by Su Qing, was also protesting loudly.

"Hey, what is this, a package deal? I can’t protect both of you..."

Lin Fan said to the two of them, a headache starting to form.

"Mmph... Exactly!"

Chu Zhaozhao also managed to create a small gap in Su Qing’s hold to shout her protest.

"Cyan Bird, you have another mission. You, Zhang Wenyuan, and Hu Chen will guard the car. If the horde spreads this way..."

Ye Qingzhou didn’t indulge Ye Qingniao’s willfulness. Knowing her sister’s personality, she gave her a clear task instead.

"If the horde spreads this way, you fall back. Maintain a safe distance from those zombies,"

Lin Fan picked up where Ye Qingzhou left off, speaking gravely.

"Their mindless spread is slow; it would take them at least two or three days to reach the gas station. But if they’re chasing you, they could get there in less than half an hour... Try not to provoke them."

"Colonel Lin is right. But if the horde gets stirred up, we might have to rely on you to lead them away for the safety of the camp and all our vehicles and supplies. So do as you’re told."

Ye Qingzhou looked at her younger sister and said seriously.

She knew Ye Qingniao was worried about her safety, but she also knew that the fewer people accompanying her and Lin Fan, the fewer things Lin Fan would have to worry about.

"Cyan Bird..."

Even Zhang Wenyuan, standing to the side, could see that Ye Qingzhou had another motive and quickly spoke up to dissuade her sister.

"Fine... alright."

Although she was reluctant, Ye Qingzhou was right. If that situation arose, she was the only one capable of luring the horde away and returning safely.

"Let’s get going, then."

Seeing that everyone had their assignments, Lin Fan said to Ye Qingzhou.

"Let’s go."

The moment the words left Ye Qingzhou’s lips, she felt a strong, powerful arm wrap around her waist, lifting her slightly off the ground.

She didn’t even have time to see how Lin Fan exerted his strength before a wave of weightlessness washed over her!

The wind howled in her ears and the scenery blurred. The next instant, the two of them had already landed on the roof of a nearby storefront...

...

"So amazing. When will Wang ever have this kind of power..."

Zhang Wenyuan couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration as he watched Lin Fan wrap an arm around Ye Qingzhou, bend his knees, and leap to the top of the three-story building over ten meters high. But when he turned his head, he saw Ye Qingniao staring blankly at the two figures disappearing over the rooftops.

"Hey, Cyan Bird, don’t compare yourself to him. You’re still young."

"We’re heading out too. Contact us on the walkie-talkie if anything happens..."

Seeing Lin Fan and Ye Qingzhou leave, Su Qing and the others waved goodbye to Zhang Wenyuan’s group. They then turned and ducked into a nearby storefront, using its back door to enter the residential complex behind it.

"Uncle Zhang, Uncle Hu, you two stand guard here for a bit. I’m going to a higher vantage point to take a look..."

Ye Qingniao said to the two men before ducking into a nearby storefront and climbing a maintenance ladder to the roof.

They were only two or three kilometers from the park, but light smoke was still rising from that direction, making the distance look hazy.

The once-dense horde of zombies had spread out over half the night, now covering a distance of nearly two kilometers. From afar, they looked like a swarm of insects crawling across the roads.

As for Lin Fan and her sister, from Ye Qingniao’s position, she could only see their two distant silhouettes.

She pulled up her mask, took a deep breath, and adjusted the focus on her binoculars’ eyepiece until it was perfect. Then, she walked to the other side of the roof and began observing the three people who had just entered the residential complex.

’That woman, Su Qing, was right. For ordinary Awakened Ones like us, the only ticket to the future is to increase our strength.’

’Otherwise, we’ll end up just like this—not even qualified to go with them, needing protection at every turn.’

’But to get stronger, I have to consume crystals, and Lin Fan just told them to go "level up"...’

’What did that mean? Was he telling the three of them to go hunt Mutated Zombies?’

’Isn’t that trusting them a little too much?’

...

"Sigh... Every one of them has a special talent..."

Hu Chen watched as Lin Fan and Ye Qingzhou departed, then saw the two women and the young man with them also leave with confidence. After that, even Ye Qingniao dashed up to the rooftop.

He sighed, leaning against the door of a nearby car.

It was a sigh that came from the bottom of his heart.

Once upon a time, he too was the best of the best. With his intellect and training, he had ranked among the top at the Jishan garrison.

But in this new world, in the face of those abilities that defied all logic, he seemed so pale and powerless.

"Once we have a surplus of crystals, I swear I’m going to let a zombie take a bite out of me... If Wang could make it through, there’s no reason I can’t... If I don’t awaken soon, we won’t even be qualified to attend meetings. The two of us will just be stuck outside watching the cars."

"Oh, give me a break. I saw how much pain he was in,"

Zhang Wenyuan, who stood beside him, joked back.

"With your scrawny build, you’d turn into a zombie in less than five minutes..."