Chapter 140
In the afternoon at 3 o’clock, Chen Luo left behind just over thirty people to guard their home base. He didn’t want to leave too many behind because this was going to be a challenging mission.
Five trucks were part of the convoy, while the rest of the group would travel on foot. Over the past few days, Chen Luo had recruited over two hundred new members, effectively doubling their numbers.
Chen Luo’s original members had started evolving to level three over the past half-month. Their talents were above average, and they were fearless in battle. Level three was no longer considered rare, and more and more people were reaching that level. Even among those with lower potential, about one out of every twenty could evolve to level three.
In Chen Luo’s survivor community, which had a substantial population, it wasn’t difficult to find several level-three survivors.
However, Chen Luo had strict requirements and maintained a disciplined environment. Most importantly, newcomers, regardless of their level, were treated as rookies. Even if you were strong, why settle for being a follower here when you could become a middle-ranking figure elsewhere and have people admire you?
People have their own aspirations, and many understood that here with Chen Luo, they might never rise above their current status. Therefore, although many met the requirements, they chose not to join Chen Luo’s group.
With nearly four hundred people, Chen Luo led the way toward the location provided by Xiao Yu. Along the journey, the zombies they encountered were frightened and scattered as soon as they saw such a large group of people. Even zombies had an aversion to confronting large numbers of humans.
Chen Luo advanced effortlessly for about seven to eight hundred meters, leaving only a remaining distance of five hundred meters to the cake shop. However, difficulties arose. The zombies weren’t running far away and not coming back; instead, they were calling for reinforcements.
The incessant roars of zombies echoed, and more distant zombies were attracted to the noise. Even Chen Luo found it challenging to make progress. The zombies kept coming, and it wore him down. He couldn’t use spatial teleportation since it consumed a significant amount of energy. Without his abilities, it would be very dangerous.
Third-level zombies would have a hard time harming Chen Luo, but in large numbers, they could wear down even a Level 5 spatial user. More people meant more zombies would be attracted, and zombies, once engaged, wouldn’t stop until they were defeated. This made the operation challenging.
If at this moment, Rice warned them, Chen Luo would have no choice but to continue pushing forward as initially planned. Changing Rice’s prediction lightly could result in disaster. When Chen Luo had altered a single person’s fate, it had caused significant harm to Rice. Altering the fate of so many people would undoubtedly lead to Rice’s demise.
The first wave of zombies quickly approached, numbering around four hundred. Zombies tended to gather in response to the number of humans nearby, and assembling thousands of zombies was not an easy task.
Chen Luo, Su Dazhu, and Xia Haoran each took control of one of the three trucks, ensuring that Rice was safely secured. The street was wide enough to accommodate all three vehicles simultaneously.
The three of them revved up the engines, pushing the gas pedals to the floor, and charged straight into the approaching zombie horde. Zombies, despite their limited intelligence, attempted to avoid the oncoming vehicles and attacked them.
However, when zombies crowded together, avoiding an approaching vehicle became nearly impossible.
Moreover, Chen Luo had to worry about attracting mutant zombies. If they were Level 7 or higher, it would be a disaster. When that happened, it would be a test of who could run the fastest and escape alive.
The impact of the trucks didn’t immediately kill the zombies, but it disrupted their formation, which was the primary goal. Zombies scattered as they tried to avoid being hit by the trucks, causing their formation to break up. The survivors behind the trucks took this opportunity to move forward.
Earth-elemental users used earth shields to advance rapidly, with the elemental users following closely behind to harvest the zombies. When one earth shield was breached, they quickly replaced it with another.
Chen Luo, Su Dazhu, and Xia Haoran faced a barrage of spells and attacks from the zombies. The front of their trucks took a lot of damage, with the doors and hoods getting battered. The tires and body of the trucks were also under attack, but the zombies weren’t targeting the fuel tanks.
This chaotic situation continued as they pushed forward, using the trucks as battering rams and the earth shields to protect themselves from harm.
The trucks had to slow down due to the damage they had sustained, but they had achieved their goal in breaking up the zombie formation. Chen Luo, Su Dazhu, and Xia Haoran quickly got out of the trucks and engaged the zombies from both front and rear.
Just as they finished dealing with the first wave of zombies, another wave approached, consisting of just over three hundred of them.
“Attack! Kill them!” These words didn’t come from their own group, and Chen Luo immediately scanned the area. He spotted a female zombie dressed in red on the other side.
Large-scale actions like this one tended to attract nearby mutants, and dealing with them was a challenging aspect of such operations. However, there was no warning from Rice, indicating that the threat level of the mutant wasn’t high.
The Thunderbolt King, who was eager to earn points, wasn’t rushing in but rather observing the mutant from a distance with a cautious look in his dog-like eyes.
The mutant made a leap, effortlessly jumping over five meters high onto the rooftop of a storefront. There was a brief pause, and a powerful spell didn’t immediately take effect.
Chen Luo squinted his eyes, recognizing that this wasn’t an instant-cast spell; it was clearly a potent one. He shook his head, initially thinking about letting Su Dazhu, Xia Haoran, Rice, and Shu Yun deal with this mutant to gain combat experience.
However, it became apparent that this mutant wasn’t a fifth-level or seventh-level one. There was no warning from Rice, suggesting that it was likely at the sixth level. Asking the others to engage with such a creature was difficult, given the significant difference in power.
At the sixth level, it was one level higher than Chen Luo himself.
In the next moment, the mutant zombie at the sixth level was split in two, and its spell was abruptly interrupted.
Chen Luo used Void Walk to appear behind the mutant and instantly cleaved it with his Void Sword.
This scene left everyone shocked, including even Mi Li and Mi Ling, who had witnessed it several times before.
Mi Ling couldn’t help but feel that this combination was simply unstoppable.
Who could withstand it?
It was an impenetrable defense.
Chen Luo chuckled lightly, not particularly concerned about revealing his Void Walk ability. Even if people knew about it, they would need a way to counter it. Knowing about it was one thing; having the means to deal with it was another. If there was no way to break the ability, what good was knowing about it?
In fact, exposing his power could be a deterrent. It was like having a nuclear bomb; others would think twice before attacking you if they knew you had such formidable capabilities. On the other hand, if they didn’t know and attempted an attack, that’s when it would be used.
Many members had never witnessed Chen Luo in action, and they were now experiencing something truly incredible.
Their leader was this powerful?
The fire-element zombie was at the sixth level, and Chen Luo obtained its crystal with a smile. If he wasn’t concerned about attracting zombies of the seventh level and above, Chen Luo would have used a larger group of members to lure them in.
Zombies came in waves, with the largest wave being the first one, consisting of over four hundred zombies.
Chen Luo quickly arrived at the cake shop’s entrance, digging out its crystal without wasting any time. He didn’t linger and swiftly led the members away.
What pleasantly surprised Chen Luo was that this was a level seven ice-element crystal. A level seven crystal, the highest level he had obtained so far. With this, he could soon reach level six.
Currently, for a zombie to become a mutation, it required at least a level five zombie. Transitioning from level three to level four was indeed quite hard. To be considered a mutation, they had to surpass the average level of zombies by at least two levels.
For this operation, each participating member received ten points, and for discovering the mutation, Chen Luo awarded Xiao Yu with three hundred points. Xiao Yu didn’t exchange them for food; instead, she upgraded her status to an elite member. Chen Luo also gave her a bonus of a fried chicken.
Xiao Yu might have teased Mengyin with her words, but she still shared the fried chicken with her.
Just by absorbing a third of the power from a level seven crystal, Chen Luo advanced to level six in just two days.