C29 Slaughter
Shouts of battle and the splatter of blood filled the air.
Around X Supermarket, over fifty Evolvers split into multiple squads, launching coordinated attacks on the zombie horde from various directions.
Without the command of high-level awakened zombies, the horde crumbled like a sandcastle at the slightest touch, disintegrating into dust.
The Evolvers unleashed their formidable powers, effortlessly crushing the fanged zombies as if they were made of tofu.
From his vantage point in a high-rise, Chen Yu observed the stark contrast between the Evolvers inside the mall and the neighborhood guards. The disparity was not just in individual strength but also in teamwork. The guards' synergy far outmatched that of the Evolvers at X Supermarket.
Occasionally, an Evolver from the supermarket would recklessly dive into the zombie mass, neglecting their team's defense and requiring rescue by Liu Xingzhong and other mutant awakeners.
In contrast, the neighborhood guards had honed their coordination over the previous day, creating a seamless unit.
The two squads advanced methodically along the street sides, neither recklessly nor hesitantly.
They collaborated seamlessly, with front-liners cutting down zombies, others picking off stragglers, and reserves ready to rotate in and give the weary a chance to recuperate by consuming crystal nuclei.
In the thick of battle, each member played to their strengths while also receiving ample rest and replenishment.
Their killing efficiency far surpassed that of the Evolvers at X Supermarket, by a long shot.
In terms of progress, the guards had pushed nearly a hundred meters against the zombie counteroffensive.
Meanwhile, the Evolvers at the mall were still stuck at the entrance, caught in a tug-of-war with the assaulting horde, at times even being overwhelmed and forced to fall back inside.
Considering the strategic advantage the supermarket's location offered over the residential guard's position, their struggle was all the more surprising.
Chen Yu was left at a loss for words.
Yet, he understood that the Evolvers at the shopping mall were essentially being thrown in at the deep end.
This was in stark contrast to the guards in the residential district, who were meticulously chosen and had already gained a full day of real combat experience under Lee Hao's guidance before their evolution.
Lee Hao and his team had passed on every zombie-fighting technique Chen Yu had taught them to the guards without reservation. As a result, the residential district's guards held a significant edge in zombie encounters.
At the very least, the guards wouldn't lash out blindly; they aimed for the zombies' weak spots with precision.
At the mall, the urgency of the situation meant that, despite Chen Yu's instruction in zombie combat techniques,
the lack of practice and the high-stress environment led to a chaotic fray when it came time to engage...
It was an absolute shambles.
The Evolvers relied solely on their superior strength to endure the onslaught and bludgeon the zombies.
Consequently, their energy depletion far exceeded that of the guards.
That's why, once the Evolvers at the mall had drained their physical and power reserves, they had no choice but to fall back to the mall's interior to recuperate, effectively surrendering the hard-won ground to the undead.
Of course, in the struggle against the zombies, territorial gains and losses weren't the main concern.
The key was to deplete the zombie horde. Once their numbers dwindled to a certain level, their threat would diminish.
The terror of a zombie tide lies in its seemingly boundless mass, spreading like a relentless wave. If a breach is made, it swiftly engulfs everything in its path.
Chen Yu furrowed his brow as he assessed the cleanup progress, realizing that at the current pace of both fronts,
it would take no less than eight hours to completely eradicate this small horde of over ten thousand zombies.
Chen Yu glanced at his watch—it read 10:36—and decided it was time to stop being a spectator.
The training exercise had served its purpose. After hours of fierce fighting, the residential district guards' capabilities had been proven, and the mall's Evolvers were finally getting the hang of it, making fewer mistakes, coordinating better, and steadily ramping up their efficiency in killing.
"That's enough for now."
Having achieved his objective, Chen Yu's silhouette flashed, and he swiftly descended from the towering building.
Boom!
Chen Yu plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground with such force that it cleared a five-meter radius, flinging zombie limbs in a gruesome radial pattern.
Wuwuwu—
The mindless zombies, devoid of fear, were oblivious to the terror that was Chen Yu.
Upon noticing his arrival, they turned and, trampling over the remains of their kin, surged toward him.
His fists whipped through the air, sending white shockwaves slicing through the horde.
Chen Yu darted and weaved, a whirlwind among the undead, leaving swathes of cleared space in his wake.
From above, he resembled a tiger shark amidst a school of fish, his path through the zombie mass erasing them in whole sections.
Chen Yu's fearsome lethality outmatched that of two Evolver teams combined. As everyone registered his presence, their faces were etched with awe.
But unlike the Evolvers at the shopping mall, who were more curious, the local guard squad erupted in cheers at Chen Yu's display, their eyes alight with fervent admiration.
Their morale soared, and with it, their strength doubled, and they swiftly rolled over the zombies in a relentless advance.
The Evolvers at the mall, now spurred into action by Liu Xingzhong, Bai Zijian, and Cui Yingying, launched a coordinated assault on the undead.
From three directions, they converged on the plaza in front of X Supermarket.
The horde, numbering in the tens of thousands, was swiftly dismembered by the trio's relentless assault.
Chen Yu, finding his fists too slow, yanked a ten-meter-long street lamp from the ground and, wielding the steel pole like a club, decimated the zombies with each swing, their numbers dwindling by the second.
Caught up in the frenzy, even the guards and the likes of Liu Xingzhong kept their distance to avoid the swath of destruction.
They steered clear of Chen Yu's killing field, lest they be caught in the ferocious onslaught.
Chen Yu's eyes blazed with an intense will to fight, the street lamp pole in his hands a blur of motion. With no need for flashy moves, he relied on raw, direct power to sweep and smash through the horde.
The piercing whoosh of air being cleaved and the thunderous impact of the ground being struck composed a symphony in Chen Yu's ears. It roused him from the apocalyptic battle, transporting him back to the onset of doomsday. The primal urge for slaughter, long simmering within him, found its full release in that instant. He swung relentlessly, smashing and slaying. Time lost all meaning to Chen Yu; his mind was a paradox of lucidity and emptiness.
