Chapter 24 – Four-Man Squad

Volume 1: Apocalypse Beginning

While Wen Yu was risking his life and picking up bargains without knowing the danger…

Riverside Park, side gate.

"Tao-Ge1, most of the Zombies have been lured away by that big Simba. Should we go in?"

A sly-looking young man whispered to the burly man beside him.

"Tsk tsk, that Simba was terrifying. The moment the apocalypse hit, even lions turned into monsters. Wait, what did you just say?"

The burly man was still shaken by the sight of Simba leaving and was clearly a beat slow to react.

Behind the two stood a pair of twins who looked very much alike, about 23 or 24 years old. One held a crossbow, the other a homemade hunting rifle. Hearing their boss's off-topic comment, one of them couldn't help but rub his forehead. "Tao-Ge, we're asking if we should stick to the original plan."

"Oh, oh. Ah, this is tough, really tough. What if there's another Big One like that inside the park? This is really tough."

The sly young man and the twins sighed heavily. Although they knew their boss was righteous and valued friendship, his personality was really… headache-inducing.

The twin with the crossbow ignored his boss's mumbling, strode forward, and fired three crossbow bolts in quick succession, each one striking a Zombie in the forehead. The archer's F-Rank skill, Precision, allowed his crossbow bolts to hit their marks at this range without fail.

The other two grabbed the burly man's arms and quickly followed. The sly young man complained as they walked, "I knew it, shouldn't have asked you. Should've just let Wan Ping be the boss."

Hearing this, the burly man shook off their arms and dashed to the front of the group, swinging his Steel Blade at incredible speed.

Even the remaining Level 1 Zombies ahead couldn't withstand the sharpness and immense power of the Steel Blade.

The obstacles in front of the four were quickly torn apart.

The burly man in the lead killed Zombies as he went, still having the energy to turn and laugh, cursing, "What are you brats thinking? You think I don't know? You just want your strong and energetic boss to be the meat shield up front, and you still have the nerve to talk about picking a captain?"

The other three acted as if they hadn't heard their captain's complaints. Wan Ping, with the crossbow, kept shooting at approaching Zombies. Wan An, with the hunting rifle, nimbly collected crossbow bolts from nearby Zombies. The sly young man, Lin Li, hunched his neck, carefully scanning the surroundings and sticking close behind Guan Tao, the captain of the squad.

This seemingly mismatched squad cleared out Zombies at an impressive speed, quickly opening a path into the park's interior.

Inside the park, it was eerily quiet. Seeing the deathly stillness, the four killed the Zombies that had followed them and instinctively huddled together.

"Boss, could there be ghosts here?"

Lin Li shrank his neck and tugged hard at Guan Tao's sleeve.

"Ghosts, my ass! What ghost could be scarier than that big Simba? We're here to snatch food from the lion's mouth. If we're not afraid of death, why be afraid of ghosts?"

Guan Tao said fiercely, but he still tightened his collar, clearly not as fearless as he claimed.

"Tao-Ge, you still haven't told us what we're here in the park for."

Wan Ping asked as he kicked away a Zombie's arm in disgust.

As the four adapted to the eerie environment, they slowly moved deeper into the park.

"We're here for treasure this time!!"

Guan Tao squinted his big eyes and whispered to his teammates.

The other three immediately shivered.

It had to be said, Guan Tao's expression was just too much. Imagine a man about 1.9 meters tall, weighing 100 kg, speaking in a "let me tell you a little secret, don't tell anyone else" tone-you can imagine how the other three felt.

The three of them could barely restrain the urge to give Guan Tao a good beating.

Wan Ping tugged at the corner of his mouth. "What treasure?"

"Hahaha, brothers, this is something you just don't know about."

Guan Tao laughed smugly as he pulled out a pack of Soft Zhonghua2 cigarettes from his pocket, handing one to each of them. Lin Li, sharp-eyed, immediately took out a lighter and lit the cigarettes for his teammates one by one.

He exhaled a smoke ring with satisfaction. Seeing the three of them watching him eagerly, Guan Tao said with pride, "Anyway, there's nothing else around, so let your Boss tell you the story."

"Come on, get closer. Take a look at this."

Guan Tao pulled out a pendant from around his neck. The three immediately crowded in to examine the mysterious little object.

The chain held what looked like a compass, its needle pointing straight ahead, not far from where they stood.

Guan Tao grinned. "I-your Boss-found this before I met up with you, inside a Silver Vortex. You weren't there at the time. Inside that vortex were dozens of giant animals just like the ones we just saw-cats, dogs, rats, rabbits, and even a huge tiger. Scary stuff."

"Just watch your Boss-me." Guan Tao put special emphasis on the "me."

"I wielded a steel blade and was unstoppable, like a reborn God of War, invincible! Then I hit them with a Flying Kick…"

The more Wan Ping and the others listened, the stranger it sounded. This was nothing but bragging, wasn't it?

"Stop, stop, stop," Wan Ping quickly interrupted. "We've known each other for years. You know what you're like, and so do we. Just get to the point!"

"The point is my steel blade…"

Seeing the murderous look in the eyes of the three in front of him, Guan Tao wisely shut up.

"Fine. Basically, I entered a Silver Vortex, saw a broken box, found a broken compass inside, and then brought you all here."

Guan Tao stretched out his hand holding the compass, speaking with a hint of grievance.

Wan Ping's eyes lit up. He snatched the compass from Guan Tao and examined it closely.

"Hmm, it's pointing right at this spot. If you're telling the truth, Guan Tao, this really might be a treasure."

After they'd walked less than ten meters forward, Wan Ping saw the compass start to wobble and said,

"Really? There's really a treasure? Let me see!"

At the mention of "treasure," Lin Li immediately rushed over and snatched the compass.

"If Guan Tao isn't just bragging." He finished, shooting Guan Tao a look of disdain.

Guan Tao hunched his neck, turned away, and muttered something under his breath.

"This thing might be something that appeared after the Apocalypse, just like the Stone Pillar. Whether it's a blessing or a curse, who can say? Treasures aren't so easy to claim."

Wan Ping stayed calm, and seeing Lin Li's greedy look, immediately cooled him down.

"I knew it."

Lin Li stuffed the compass back into Wan Ping's hand, reluctantly turning his head away. Wan Ping, who had always been the brains of the group since they were young, was someone Lin Li trusted.

"We can't just leave it alone, can we, bro? Besides, this is something Guan Tao snatched from a bunch of monsters," Wan An teased, glancing at Guan Tao.

Guan Tao glared fiercely at Wan An.

"I never said we'd leave it. We just have to be careful."

Wan Ping remained calm, carefully feeling the compass in his hand.

"Wait, you guys are just deciding like that? Didn't we agree I'm the captain?"

Guan Tao said angrily.

Wan Ping looked seriously at Guan Tao and said in an extremely solemn tone, "As the captain, you should lead from the front."