Chapter 26: Soybean and Pork Trotter Soup

"If we let them keep slamming against it like this, this metal door won't hold much longer."

During the nearly two months they had been on the road, Lin Weiran had long since grown accustomed to giving orders, and now, she had reclaimed her rhythm.

She looked at the group, focusing primarily on Su Su’s party, and said calmly, "As long as we wipe out the wave of zombies at the very front, the ones behind won't be able to smell living people, and they won't blindly slam against the door anymore. Once they calm down, they will naturally disperse to other places in search of fresh flesh and blood."

"The front door is being hammered, and the back door surely won't be spared either. We need to split into two teams to guard both entrances."

Having said this, Lin Weiran paused. Seeing that no one opposed her analysis, she continued, "Our team has four second-order ability users and one third-order ability user. That is enough to hold the front door."

"As for you lot..."

In Zhao Zhenyu’s team, he was the only second-order user, while the other three were first-order.

As for Su Su’s side, at least from what had been revealed to everyone, there was a third-order giant python, a second-order poison-type ability user, a little boy so thin he probably couldn't even manifest an ability, and then there was Su Su herself, a regular person with no abilities whatsoever.

"If you all work together, guarding the back door shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"No way!" Pang Cancan refused without a second thought.

One was Zhao Zhenyu, who was full of malice toward Sister Su Su, and there were several old teammates who had betrayed her. What kind of grudge or grievance was this to force them into a team with these people!

Faced with her rebuttal, Lin Weiran was calm. "Then you are welcome to guard a door by yourselves."

Pang Cancan was choked into silence. She couldn't be sure that she and Sister Su Su alone could withstand the entire zombie horde.

Zhao Zhenyu sneered, "Don't think I'm eager to team up with you either. If you’re so capable, guard it yourselves."

"I agree. Let's do it that way."

Su Su pulled back Pang Cancan, who was about to snap back, and gave her a subtle shake of her head. The latter struggled to suppress her explosive temper.

"Since no one has any objections, let’s get moving!"

Lin Weiran led her teammates to the front door and loosened the iron chain tied to the handle. The two metal doors instantly swung open, leaving a gap several dozen centimeters wide.

Bang!

A purplish-black zombie arm jabbed through the gap at an angle. Lin Weiran’s fireball scorched it first, and then she swung her blade to hack it off. The others followed suit; whenever a zombie rushed over to slam the door, it was dealt a heavy blow by their flying abilities.

"Let's go, you two. What are you waiting for?"

Zhao Zhenyu’s mocking, sarcastic voice rang out. Pang Cancan endured and endured, her clenched fist swinging vaguely toward the back of his head.

"I really don't want to be in the same space as these people! Seriously, I was the one who led us to this stadium route; they’re just picking up the scraps, and now they have the audacity to act like they’re in control of everything!" Pang Cancan whispered indignantly. "And that woman, Lin Weiran—is she sick? Zhao Zhenyu betrayed her, yet she’s still shielding him in every word she says!"

Su Su pulled at the corner of her mouth. "They were teammates for a long time, after all."

But when it came to time spent together, who could compare to her?

Her attitude was too calm, which left Pang Cancan very confused. "Sister Su Su, don't you have a temper?"

Did she not have a temper?

Su Su pursed her lips. How could she not have one? It was just that in her past life, she had been angered, ignored, targeted, and suppressed so many times that when faced with these familiar scenes once again, her heart had long since gone numb, leaving only a sense of "as expected."

"The time hasn't come yet."

As for when that time would be, or what would count as the right time, Su Su did not elaborate. She only cast her gaze toward Zhao Zhenyu in front.

For some reason, Su Su always felt there was another reason why the zombie horde was besieging the stadium. Recalling the scene of them speeding on the road, she remembered clearly—this wave of zombies had been chasing them!

But what could there be on Zhao Zhenyu that made them pursue him so relentlessly?

Su Su couldn't figure it out, so she could only follow the others to the back door.

The chain was loosened, and the metal doors opened a gap of several dozen centimeters. Zhao Zhenyu didn't say a word; he immediately unleashed his abilities to slaughter the zombies crowded at the front.

In times like these, no one had the energy to settle scores. The stadium gates could not be breached. Once they were, no one would leave alive!

"Little Black," Su Su nudged the black snake in her arms, leaned close to its head, and whispered, "Hold back some strength, okay?"

This stadium was filled with ill-intentioned people, and everyone had their own hidden agendas; there was no need to reveal her trump card too early.

Her voice was too soft, and her breath carried a slight warmth. The black snake whipped its head around, as if trying to shake off that strange itch.

"Hiss!"

*Hmph*, it wasn't as if it were hunting; of course it knew to use less strength. Why would it need her special reminder!

Su Su took it as the snake understanding and indulgently scratched the tip of its "chin."

"Alright, I know you’re the smartest."

The zombies outside surged in wave after wave. They couldn't get in, but they refused to retreat, eventually turning into pile after pile of corpses stacked at the entrance.

Zhao Zhenyu grew exhausted, so Su Su took over, holding the black snake at the front line. She had originally thought that these corpses piling up at the door would block the zombie horde's advance and allow everyone to catch their breath.

But a shocking scene unfolded!

Several second-order zombies appeared from somewhere, roaring as they grabbed the chunks of corpses, held them high, and threw them far away. As to which unlucky zombie’s head they hit, there was no way to know.

Under Su Su’s shocked gaze, the second-order zombies, having "cleared" the obstacles at the door, didn't rush in to slam against it themselves. Instead, they cleverly stepped back, letting the low-order and first-order zombies take their place.

The black snake in her arms didn't realize the distinction; when a wave of zombies came, it spat out blue flames to burn them all to death. Only when countless purplish-black arms occupied the gap in the back door again did it unhurriedly activate its ability.

Behind them, Su Su and Pang Cancan looked at each other, and Zhao Zhenyu’s new teammates pointed out the key point, trembling—

"Have these zombies evolved intelligence?!"

"But they are clearly only second-order!"

Second-order zombies only evolved speed and strength, or at most, their abilities became more formidable, but overall they were still just a batch of dead things without flexibility or intelligence.

Yet, before their eyes, this batch of zombies was retreating and advancing in an orderly fashion, and they even knew how to clear away their companions' corpses!!

Everyone’s complexion turned extremely grim.

When the corpses piled up into a mountain again, Su Su whispered, "Little Black, attack those second-order zombies."

Blue flames instantly incinerated the few second-order zombies that had emerged to drag away the corpses.

Zhao Zhenyu, who was resting behind, saw this scene, his eyes flickering.

A beast with an ability, and even a third-order one at that.

If she were allowed to continue growing... this woman who could command it would always remain in an invincible position.

Zhao Zhenyu knew clearly how many excessive things he had done to Su Su and how many nasty things he had said. This was a crisis, and she hadn't thought of it, or perhaps she didn't have the time to settle scores with him. Once the zombie horde left, she would be his greatest threat.

With this in mind, Zhao Zhenyu turned his head and gave his new teammate a look.

Lin Wenzong clearly received this signal. Capable of heartlessly sacrificing Pang Cancan to buy himself survival time in a crisis, he was cut from the same cloth as Zhao Zhenyu. Their thoughts were, to a certain extent, in sync.

Therefore, Lin Wenzong easily understood.

"I’ll take over for a bit. You go rest."

Lin Wenzong swapped out his teammate and stood guard behind the other door. Su Su glanced at him vigilantly but saw nothing amiss.

Another half hour passed, and Zhao Zhenyu, now rested, stood up. "My turn."

Su Su didn't hesitate; Little Black had been doing all the work, and naturally, she felt protective of her companion.

At the moment they brushed past each other to swap places, no one saw Lin Wenzong, standing by the door, quietly unlock the chain securing the handle. The gap of only a few dozen centimeters instantly widened to half a meter!

Zhao Zhenyu reached out, caught off guard, and shoved hard.

Su Su’s petite body lost its balance, passing through the gap in the gate and tumbling uncontrollably toward the outside.

"Sister Su Su!"

"Sister!"

Everything happened too suddenly; no one expected Zhao Zhenyu to harbor such malicious intent at a time like this.

Cries of alarm rushed past her ears, but Su Su heard nothing. She stared fixedly at the culprit, easily capturing the mockery and satisfaction flashing in the depths of his eyes.

*Die!*

This scheming, useless woman should have died a thousand times over on the road instead of causing others to die one after another while she remained unscathed.

Still, it didn't matter anymore.

He would let her die in the zombie horde and end this useless, burdensome life.

Zhao Zhenyu’s smile hadn't even fully formed when, at the moment they brushed past each other, he saw a pair of delicate arms, like vines strangling a giant tree, grab his arm with all their might.

"Little Black!!"

The pitch-black snake tail moved in response. Before Zhao Zhenyu could tear Su Su’s hand away, it wrapped around his upper arm as well!

"Ahhhhhhh!!!!"

A tearing scream rang out. Zhao Zhenyu was pulled toward the outside by immense force, tumbling into the zombie horde along with Su Su.

"Sister Su Su!"

Pang Cancan lunged toward the gate, attempting to pull them back. Lin Wenzong, guarding the door, hadn't expected Zhao Zhenyu to be dragged out too; he was stunned for less than a second before quickly reacting.

"Close the door! Close the door quickly!"

"Don't you dare close the door! Who dares to close it!"

Pang Cancan roared, lunging at the door to tear at Lin Wenzong.

Lin Wenzong dodged her attacks in a panic, roaring back, "Are you crazy? They’ve already fallen into the zombie horde! They can’t be saved! Opening the door now will only let the zombies swarm in! This stadium will fall completely!"

As he spoke, a sudden pain shot through his arm. He looked down to see the skinny little boy biting his arm hard.

"Argh! You little brat, you dare bite me?!"

"Open the door! Let Sister back in!"

One after another, they lunged at him. Lin Wenzong was so angry he roared at his teammates, "Are you all blind? Get over here and help me!"