Chapter 49: Return

Chapter 49 – Return

“Later, Sakura, Old He, you two release the flares to the sides. Liuli and I will break through to the main gate. The rest follow closely behind. Sakura, Old He, cover our retreat. Any issues?”

Wang Zhi quickly devised a simple plan and led the group with supplies toward the road.

When they were about 200 meters from the zombie horde on the road, Wang Zhi signaled for Su Mu Ying and Old He to release the flares to the sides.

Whoosh! Bang! The flares illuminated the road with a glaring light, attracting all the zombies around them.

“Now! Everyone follow up.”

Wang Zhi seized the opportunity, raised his gun, and dashed toward the road, with the others carrying supplies following closely behind.

As soon as Wang Zhi reached the road, some zombies noticed him and turned to charge toward them.

“Wang Zhi, open the gate first! Leave the zombies to us,” Old He shouted from behind.

Wang Zhi knew that opening the gate would take time to verify their identity. He had to reach it first and open it in advance. With that in mind, Wang Zhi reminded Liuli to protect Dr. Yang, then accelerated toward the tunnel’s main entrance.

He took out the magnetic card he had prepared in advance and placed it in the card slot. Ding! Verification successful, and the gate slowly began to open.

“Everyone, hurry up and get inside!”

Wang Zhi put away the card, swapped the magazine, and covered the others as they rushed through the gate. Seeing the gate opening, the rest of the group pushed themselves to the limit to reach it.

The zombies, having been attracted by the flares, had now lost interest and began heading toward the living.

Wang Zhi realized the situation was dire. The zombies on both sides were already gathering around. If they didn’t close the gate and retreat now, they would be in trouble.

“Everyone, retreat immediately!”

Seeing that Liuli had already escorted Dr. Yang to the tunnel entrance, Wang Zhi gave the order for Su Mu Ying and Old He to retreat via the earpiece.

Wang Zhi continued to provide cover, but there were still many people carrying supplies who hadn’t made it through yet. If they didn’t hurry, the zombies would soon overrun the entrance.

“No, this can’t go on. We’ll lose supplies, and no one will make it inside. There’s no time!” Wang Zhi quickly changed the angle of his gun.

Bang! Bang! Wang Zhi fired two shots at the two people carrying no supplies, hitting them in the legs. The two immediately lost the ability to move and fell to the ground. The zombies, smelling the blood, instantly charged toward the fallen girl.

Other people were desperately running for their lives and didn’t notice Wang Zhi’s sacrifice. It wasn’t enough. Bang! Another woman fell to the ground.

“Ah! Help me!” The man screamed in agony.

But no one paid attention to him. They were all running toward the gate, not looking back.

Wang Zhi threw three live human decoys outside the gate, which successfully reduced the zombies’ intensity of attack. After Su Mu Ying and Old He returned safely, Wang Zhi quickly retreated, and the iron gate slammed shut. The zombies on the outside kept pounding on the gate.

“Phew, that was close.”

Su Mu Ying leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. She tossed her rifle to Wang Zhi. It was clear she was exhausted from the near-encirclement by zombies.

“Anyone injured?” Wang Zhi asked as he looked at the people who were still shaken.

No one replied. Wang Zhi turned on the lights to conduct a basic check-up, confirming that no one was injured before heading downstairs.

Along the way, no one seemed to notice the missing people, and no one cared how many had disappeared. They only knew they had survived.

Wang Zhi wouldn’t feel guilty about his actions. Sacrifices were necessary. If those few hadn’t been sacrificed, the losses would have been far worse.

“Good job, Liuli,” Wang Zhi praised.

Wang Zhi had been watching Liuli’s actions closely. Her protection of Dr. Yang was impeccable. Few zombies had gotten close to them, which allowed them to evacuate faster.

Currently, besides Dr. Yang, there were nine other survivors. This operation could be considered a success. In just two days, they had earned nearly 5,900 survival points and some food supplies.

Wang Zhi returned to the Dawn Tower and first checked the medical room. Sophie, seeing Wang Zhi and the others, froze for a moment.

“We meet again, Captain Wang,” Sophie greeted as she walked out of her office.

“Your memory is really good, Director Sophie.”

“Come on, now your team is the star team of Dawn Tower. Who doesn’t know about you?”

“Alright, let’s hurry up and check. Just put all the supplies in that box,” Wang Zhi directed as he guided the survivors from outside.

After everyone deposited their equipment, Wang Zhi and the others entered the disinfection room, where they underwent cleaning, changing, and a health check. Afterward, Wang Zhi led the researchers and the Hao family to the service hall to hand over the mission. Dr. Yang was taken by specialized personnel.

After the handover was completed, Wang Zhi received the 5,900 survival points.

“We should head back now. I’m dead tired. We haven’t slept in two days,” Wang Zhi said, picking up the pace.

The four of them returned to the third-floor residential area. Upon hearing the noise, the fatty immediately rushed out. When he saw Wang Zhi, he was startled.

“Captain Wang? You’re back so soon? Am I dreaming?” The fatty turned to Su Mu Ying. “Sakura, hit me, see if it hurts.”

“Ah! It hurts, it hurts! It’s not a dream! Stop, I’m awake!” Su Mu Ying grabbed the fatty’s hand and teased.

“You lazy fatty, you’re still able to sleep through this,” she said with a mock scolding.

“That’s unfair! The doctor said I need more rest after my injury!” The fatty complained.

“Alright, stop bullying the fatty. He’s a patient,” Wang Zhi advised.

“Oh? You want me to stop bullying him? Or do you want me to bully you?” Su Mu Ying let go of the fatty’s hand and put her arm around Wang Zhi’s neck, teasing.

Wang Zhi had a black line on his face: “Enough, Sakura. I haven’t slept in two days, and I’m so tired I can sleep standing up. Let’s just rest.”

“By the way, Old He, how did you guys come back so quickly? Was the mission smooth?” the fatty asked.

“Pretty smooth,” Old He simply replied before heading back to his room to sleep.

The four of them hadn’t slept for almost two days, and now they were all extremely exhausted.

“Wait, I just woke up. Huh, it’s still Liuli who’s tough. Liuli, why aren’t you sleeping?” the fatty noticed everyone had already fallen asleep and joined the sleep queue.