Chapter 23: Both Human

The Starlight Squad pressed forward along the highway, relying on Kobei to deal with zombies whenever possible. Kobei’s strengths were obvious—his power was immense, his explosive force unmatched—but his shortcomings were equally clear: his combat instincts were lacking.

To sharpen Kobei’s awareness in battle, Gu Kun deliberately created opportunities for him to fight; thus, every encounter with zombies along their journey was left to Kobei to resolve. Over three days and dozens of skirmishes, Kobei’s combat instincts gradually improved, and his understanding of the Severing Blade deepened. So long as he didn’t face the purple-haired zombies, ordinary zombie hordes rarely posed a threat to him.

“We’ve arrived at Wu Mountain City,” Captain Gu Kun said, gazing at the ruins of a city in the distance, his tone tinged with melancholy. “Once inside, be extra careful. The city is nothing like the wilderness.”

The guttural roars echoing from within the city brought a weight of seriousness to Gu Kun’s brow. “Kobei, Chen Hu—you two take the middle.”

Kobei was strong but inexperienced, and Chen Hu, responsible for logistics, was the weakest member of the Starlight Squad. Gu Kun’s arrangement was sensible.

“Let’s go.”

The seven members of the Starlight Squad advanced cautiously along a narrow path, carefully avoiding dozens of zombie hordes until they reached their first destination—the National Foundation Hotel.

The National Foundation Hotel was the remains of a five-star hotel, thirty-six stories tall. Generally, zombies wouldn’t climb floors, and the higher up they went, the safer they would be.

Their mission wasn’t to hunt zombies but to investigate whether any divine beings were present here. The duration of the task was uncertain, so they needed to find a suitable temporary residence.

“To the rooftop!” Gu Kun ordered. “If there are zombies inside, kill them with one strike. Avoid making noise!”

The squad ascended the staircase, and finding no zombies in the corridors, they quickly reached the rooftop.

“Wang Shan, block the stairwell!” Gu Kun instructed.

“We’ll rest here tonight. In case any clueless zombies try to come up.”

“Got it!” Wang Shan replied, hefting a massive stone sculpture from the northwest corner of the rooftop and wedging it firmly in the stairwell, sealing the entrance.

“Have something to eat.”

Chen Hu opened his backpack, distributing jerky and clean water among the group.

After three days of travel, everyone was both mentally and physically exhausted. They ate a little, then lay down to sleep; soon, loud snores echoed through the empty, silent night.

Kobei listened to the snoring, staring at the sky, unable to sleep no matter how he tried. Since sleep evaded him, he decided to forgo it altogether. Sitting cross-legged, he began to cultivate his Vital Energy Technique.

His current strength was roughly equal to that of twenty-six men, but the system hadn’t issued any prompts. He didn’t know when he would be able to undergo the third refinement of the Dragon Elephant Wisdom Technique.

After a while, Kobei slowly opened his eyes—his mind remained unsettled, unable to reach a meditative state.

As he gazed at the stars, lost in thought, a crisp voice suddenly echoed in his mind:

“Kill three commander-class beasts within a month. Will the host accept this task?”

The system’s prompt left Kobei stunned.

He truly dared not accept this mission.

Commander-class beasts could rival the lowest tier of the divine race; not only was Kobei no match for them, even after fully inheriting the upper scroll of the Dragon Elephant Wisdom Technique, he wouldn’t dare face such monsters.

“Damn it, what kind of ridiculous mission is this? Commander-class beasts—three of them, no less!”

Kobei was frustrated. After completing two consecutive missions and skyrocketing in strength, he had tasted the sweetness of growth. Now, with another task before him, he felt unwilling to refuse, yet saw no hope in accepting.

“Sigh… Who knows what level I’ll reach after inheriting the upper scroll of the Dragon Elephant Wisdom Technique? Maybe then, combined with my flying blade skills, I’ll be able to fight a commander-class beast?”

Kobei didn’t want to give up any opportunity. Since he didn’t want to let it go, he tried to convince himself, even though he doubted that the inheritance would truly make him a match for such monsters. Nevertheless, it offered him some comfort.

“I accept!”

Gritting his teeth, Kobei couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

“Focus on cultivating the Vital Energy Technique; I must undergo the third refinement of the Dragon Elephant Wisdom Technique as soon as possible!”

Urgency gnawed at him—without the third refinement, his current strength would be utterly insufficient, and he’d be nothing more than a mouthful for a commander-class beast.

The night passed in silence. When dawn’s first rays broke, Kobei opened his eyes. Soon after, the rest of the Starlight Squad awakened.

“Zhao Hai, get the binoculars. Observe the zombies’ movements,” Gu Kun instructed.

“Alright! Watch your brother Hai work—if there’s a divine being here, I’ll surely root it out.”

Zhao Hai chuckled, opened his backpack, took out the binoculars, and crouched at the rooftop’s edge to observe carefully.

“Captain, something’s off,” Zhao Hai said after ten minutes, his expression tense.

“The density of zombies has increased tenfold, and every roaming horde moves in a highly organized manner.”

“Each horde is identical—led by three purple-haired zombies, followed by twenty green-haired zombies and about a hundred red-haired zombies!”

Gu Kun frowned, took the binoculars, and peered downward.

“These zombie hordes are patrolling. Damn it, looks like a divine being really has slipped in here.”

At Gu Kun’s words, every team member’s face grew grim.

“Captain, what now? Should we head back?” Sun Ze asked, fingering his long gun.

“We’ll retreat. We can’t handle the divine race!”

Having discovered their presence, the mission was successfully concluded. Yet Gu Kun felt no joy—a zombie horde commanded by a divine being would be difficult to handle. Even if the Guardian Squad sent experts to eliminate them, the cost would be steep; many humans would bleed, and some would lose their lives.

“Wait, Captain—look over here!” Zhao Hai suddenly cried, pointing downward.

Gu Kun took the binoculars and followed where Zhao Hai indicated.

“It’s the Free Fighters Alliance! Why are they here too?”

On a street less than five hundred meters away, nine figures in battle gear, with a blood-red short sword embroidered on their chests, were fighting a zombie horde.

This squad belonged to the Blood Sword League, one of the three major forces of the Free Fighters Alliance in Lingfeng Foundation City.

“Damn it! Wasn’t Wu Mountain City supposed to have few zombies?” A bald, burly man cursed as he cleaved the neck of a red-haired zombie.

“Boss Liu, the brothers can’t hold out much longer—let’s find a way to retreat,” a crew-cut man said anxiously, falling back in front of the bald warrior.

“Fight! Break through—we can’t stay in the street!” the bald man shouted, hacking down more than a dozen red-haired zombies, quickly making a decision.

“Charge!”

With peak third-level strength, the bald man carved a path through the horde with his ferocious attacks, allowing all nine to follow him toward the end of the street.

“Roar! Roar!” As they neared the exit, a chorus of howls erupted—the street’s entrance was blocked by another group of red-haired zombies, led by three purple-haired ones.

The squad was trapped in the street; barring a miracle, disaster loomed.

Meanwhile, from the top floor of the National Foundation Hotel, the Starlight Squad watched everything unfold below.

“Captain, do we save them?” Zhao Hai asked Gu Kun. Without intervention, the Free Fighters Alliance team would be slaughtered by zombie claws.

“Check how many zombie hordes are nearby,” Gu Kun said after a moment’s silence.

Zhao Hai quickly scanned with the binoculars.

“There’s another horde within a kilometer—three in total!”

Three zombie hordes meant nine purple-haired zombies, sixty green-haired, and three hundred red-haired zombies.

“Downstairs!” Gu Kun said, clenching his fist in determination after a moment’s thought.

“Aren’t they from the Free Fighters Alliance? Why risk ourselves?” Kobei asked quietly, puzzled by Gu Kun’s decision.

“Because they are human,” Gu Kun replied, stopping and turning to look directly at Kobei.

“Humans may kill each other out of hatred—but I refuse to stand by and watch a pack of beasts tear our kind apart.”