You were supposed to hoard supplies, why the heck did you hoard zombies!

If it was just a Hunter inadvertently kicking a can or a bottle, making a noise, that would have been the end of it.

But the familiar sound of firecrackers that erupted was far from an accident.

It was clear that someone had been secretly following them.

And now, they had finally found an opportunity.

The firecrackers went off less than twenty meters away from the Hunter Squad, seemingly thrown from a nearby building.

But as soon as the sound rang out, everyone knew there was no chance of catching the person responsible.

Because they had no time to think about that anymore.

"Run!"

"What are you staring at?"

Nobody knew who shouted, but the ten people immediately began to run in a panic toward the alley closest to them.

These narrow terrains could effectively prevent the situation of being surrounded by a horde from all sides.

Assuming it wasn't a dead-end alley.

Even so, the dark and long passages under the shadows of the buildings were not absolutely safe.

There were many zombies hiding within them, avoiding sunlight or looking for food.

And there were those mutant stray cats that appeared out of nowhere.

In less than half an hour, the fleeing Hunter Squad had lost two members—one was unlucky enough to be grasped by a zombie, and the other had been carried off by a cat unnoticed.

Everything was silent.

By the time the group realized they were down a person, they had already crossed the street.

But the zombie horde behind them hadn't given up on their rare prey; finding a living human wasn't easy these days, sometimes not even within ten or fifteen days.

Especially for those who stayed in the central area, there were too many zombies and too little flesh—it was terribly unlucky. Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire

Now that they had finally found a few living humans, how could they not be excited?

The ones leading the chase were two Type-T Variants.

These zombies had completely transformed into a new appearance, running on all fours, and at first glance seemed no different from the stray dogs in the suburbs.

But compared to the dogs, their dexterity was obviously superior.

Climbing walls and jumping across rooftops was almost as good as a monkey's.

With them leading the way, the rest of the zombie horde naturally followed closely behind, a massive wave that looked like countless heads surging out from the gaps on both sides of the street.

The noise from the advancing wave drew in more zombies, large and small, swelling their ranks even more.

In the end, it turned into a tsunami that swept across half of the commercial street.

This was why no one dared go to the city center.

If it weren't for the "traitorous" zombie employees paving the way, Zhang Ye's human staff wouldn't have been able to hold back such a wave.

Even if their numbers were doubled, it would still be the same.

It was also for this reason that without any system tasks, he still planned to spare no effort in expanding the company's influence to the surrounding areas.

Not for anything else, but to have a way out the day they couldn't hold back the impending zombie tide.

In the face of this surging wave, the Hunter Squad had only one way out.

That was to go indoors.

"I'm sorry."

"I was too reckless."

When Gao Feng finished her last word, her face was filled with guilt, and she didn't even have the courage to look up at Zhang Ye anymore.

One-third of the Hunter Squad that had come with her had died or were injured.

As the captain, she naturally couldn't shirk her responsibility.

However, from the company's perspective, it was only right for the Hunter Squad to track and scout for potential threats as a precaution and also fulfill the security work of this outpost.

Therefore, not only did Zhang Ye not blame her, but he also admired her even more, as diligent and responsible employees like Gao Feng were few in the company.

So, he immediately expressed his stance, "This wasn't your fault, don't think too much about it. This is a good opportunity to recruit a few more people into the Hunter Squad."

Recruiting was just the first step.

First, they needed to let the survivors here understand the company's working style and generous benefits, so that in the future, people would naturally want to join on their own.

As for the second step, it involved expanding the fleet's compound.

Turning it into a veritable stronghold.

But before that, it was necessary to meet a certain person.

Peng Yue.

Early the next morning.

The sky had just started to lighten.

The ruckus of truck engines roared, waking the sleeping survivors with a stream of curses.

But the wave of dissatisfaction quickly vanished as the noise from the vehicles ceased.

"Hey!"

"Open up quickly!"

The voice of the person shouting sounded somewhat familiar.

Survivors who had been in the compound for a longer time immediately recognized the identity of the voice—it was an old-timer from the Excellence Fleet.

It seemed to be called Big Elephant or Banana or something; they weren't figures to be trifled with anyway.

The guard above was one of Zhang Ye's zombie sentinels.

Since they didn't need to rest, they took up the task of gatekeeping, a job that demanded a great deal of time and energy.

"Who..."

A voice emanated from beneath the helmet.

It sounded like an old man who hadn't had water in over half a month, speaking with a suppressed voice.

Banana below immediately felt something was off; he remembered that the last time he passed by, the person standing guard didn't wear this outfit.

Had the company given these people new equipment again?

But just as he was about to shout again, the huge gate suddenly opened, and the intense light hit his face so hard that Banana couldn't open his eyes for a while.

The drivers who remained in the vehicles also burst into profanities.

"Damn it!"

"It's already daylight; why the hell are they using a searchlight!"

"God damn! My titanium alloy dog eyes are gonna be blinded!"

Peng Yue was also squinting against the sudden bright light; seated right at the forefront, his already sore eyes immediately began tearing up.

When he finally managed to wipe away the tears and looked ahead with reddened eyes, he found what seemed like two rows of figures standing inside.

Each one dressed exactly like the guard on the wall.

He felt a sudden sinking feeling in his heart.

Something was wrong.

Had they finally decided to make their move against him?

Just then, a familiar laugh rang out from within the gates, and a tall man emerged from inside.

"Ah, Big Boss Peng is finally back!"

"Made us wait for you!"

The person was none other than Big Beard, who served as the liaison and chief of the action department between the two sides, and as he spoke, he had already approached the truck and pulled open the door.

Peng Yue calmly looked at the man in front of him, just as he heard the words whispered next to him, "The boss is inside, please."

No sooner had the words been spoken than the two rows of figures on the wall and in front of the door raised their guns in unison.

The dark muzzles aiming squarely at the fleet.

The situation was quite clear.

He had to go, whether he wanted to or not.

If he didn't, he'd simply be forcibly carried over by these wolf-like armed guards.