Chapter Seventy-Seven: A Scathing Rebuke!

Failure!?

My face darkened instantly; I knew all too well what the consequences of failure would be. The hidden danger was no longer lurking in the shadows—it had erupted in full force. The gathering zone now was likely a den of dragons and tigers, and I stole a furtive glance at Huo Bing, who seemed oblivious to the looming threat.

This news had to reach her in advance, at the very least to prepare her mentally. Otherwise, once we returned, panic would be inevitable.

"Xiao Bing, I have something to tell you. You need to brace yourself." I quietly shifted gears, sending the car surging to its limits.

Thank goodness the avenue was deserted; otherwise, the reckless speed would have ended in disaster.

Sensing the gravity in my tone, Huo Bing stared at me with wide, anxious eyes, suspicion and tension mingling in her gaze.

"There may be something terribly wrong in the gathering zone. No matter what you see when we return, you must keep your composure. If you lose control, you'll harm yourself and others—stay steady."

Before I could look over to see her reaction, her trembling voice reached me. "Brother Cao... how do you know? Is it the hidden danger you mentioned earlier? Did the thing inside you tell you?"

I nodded lightly. "Take a few deep breaths first. The gathering zone might have suffered a catastrophic blow. While we must prepare for the worst, we can't abandon hope entirely. Perhaps... the most dangerous hour has yet to come. Let's hurry back."

As I accelerated, headlights suddenly appeared ahead—the beams of oncoming vehicles.

The glare stabbed into my eyes, nearly blinding me. A chill ran through me—this was murder in disguise. With vehicles moving so fast, a sudden blast of headlights could only mean someone wanted a fatal crash.

Before I could say anything, Huo Bing had already loaded the last remaining rifle and was aiming ahead.

Several cars blocked the road up ahead, clearly barricading our way back. This wasn't a permanent blockade—seeing our headlights, they must have set it up temporarily.

They were deliberately ambushing us.

I had no time to entangle with anyone now; every minute's delay meant the gathering zone was one step closer to destruction.

"Huo Bing, be ready to shoot. If they do anything suspicious, shoot them on the spot."

"Okay."

I floored the accelerator, forcing our way through a gap between the vehicles.

"Stop them! Damn it! You dare crash into our cars? You bastards have no decency!"

Their shouts echoed behind us, but I only sneered. In times like these, who are you trying to impress with empty threats?

A moment later, I heard engines roaring behind us. They had no armored vehicles—probably just a survivor squad or people fleeing from a small- or medium-sized gathering zone.

Their horns blared nonstop, prompting Huo Bing to curse, "Are these idiots trying to get killed? Racing down the road with headlights and horns blaring—are they trying to lure every corpse in the city?"

Her outburst made me laugh. "Of course they're fearless. If I’m right, they’ve scouted this stretch around XY City many times and confirmed there aren’t any high-level corpses or strong predators here. Without a moonlit boost, the low-level corpses can’t possibly catch up with their cars—unless a horde blocks the way."

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, but didn’t hit our car. These fools were even firing warning shots into the air now?

Using horns and headlights was bad enough—firing off rounds was asking for death.

"Hey, brothers up ahead, wait up! Stop for a second—we’re not bad people! Can’t we talk things out?"

"Yeah, and the lady with the white hair—we have some questions for you."

"Come on, man, give us a break!"

Voices kept yelling from behind; men were leaning half out of their windows, howling wildly—utterly fearless.

"Brother Cao, I’m about to lose my patience."

"If you can’t take it, don’t ask me—just do what you have to do."

"Alright!"

Ratatatatat!

With a face set in murderous resolve, Huo Bing leaned out of the car, rifle spitting fire as screams erupted from behind us, one after another.

"I didn’t expect your aim to be this good," I remarked in surprise as she ducked back in.

"I’m not sure. Ever since I came out of the reactor, whenever I focus, it feels like everything around me slows down. I have plenty of time to line up my shots," Huo Bing replied.

"If you show no mercy, don’t blame us for being ruthless! Focus on that white-haired chick! Hey, dyed her hair white—she must be a little delinquent. Be careful not to kill her; let the boys have some fun!" The voices behind us turned lewd and furious.

Huo Bing’s face grew colder; she reloaded in silence and was about to lean out again when I grabbed her arm.

Right now, sticking your head out was asking to be a target—the men in those four cars behind us were surely waiting for it.

"Let’s switch places. You drive, give me the gun."

I took the rifle, scrambled into the back seat, and punched a hole through the rear window with my fist.

These people were courting death, spewing filth as if they’d never have to pay for it.

Bang! Bang!

Unfortunately for them, they’d never live to see if Han Lao’s research on corpse mutations was accurate.

Bullets riddled our vehicle from behind, indicating at least a dozen armed men. Soon enough, one of the pickup’s rear tires was blown out.

It was a real hail of bullets—and these dozen or so attackers even had rifles. Had they robbed the army or a SWAT squad?

Impressive—these guys were more heavily armed than the Solitary Ground gathering zone, where people usually only had pistols and the odd grenade, and rarely even used those.

Now their cars were closing in fast. I calmly warned Huo Bing, "Follow my signal. When I say stop, slam the brakes and jump out—don’t hesitate!"

As I spoke, I tossed the rifle forward and gripped the car door with one hand and my titanium blade with the other.

With the rear tire blown, the car was unstable and fishtailing from the excessive speed.

Any further and we’d crash ourselves to death before the attackers even reached us.

"Stop!"

The brakes screeched deafeningly as the car slammed to a halt.

In that instant, the vehicles behind crashed into us, sending our pickup skidding far down the road. Their own car fared no better.

At the very least, no more sound came from within—the attackers were silenced for good.

Leaping from the car, blade in hand, bullets whistled past me.

Compared to the Swordfish Squad, these men were nothing. The Swordfish hadn’t killed me all those years ago, so these scattered thugs certainly stood no chance.