Chapter 74

Half a minute passed until Gong Lixin opened his mouth and whispered, "Here they come."

As his voice fell, a black figure slammed into the gate with lightning speed as it rushed towards them. Gong Lixin took a few steps forward and lashed out with the tip of his toe, a loud bang sound was heard as the black shadow was kicked out with a thunderous kick. The figure fell on the stone table in the middle of the yard.

The stone table couldn't bear the brunt of the attack and broke into several pieces. The black shadow lay on the stony remains and was incapable of moving for a long time. Everyone was staring at it. When they saw the black shadow's appearance, they had all become worried.

This was a very strong evolved zombie. It was 190 centimetres tall. The muscles on its body had developed inhumanly. Its original clothes were ripped; its skin and muscles were all covered with sturdy black and purple blood vessels. It looked grotesque. Its entire face had rotted too and it didn't look human anymore. There were two rows of sharp teeth on the outer side of its gums and stinky saliva was dripping from the mouth. Not only had the fingers changed, but its toes had also become black and grown long, becoming as sharp as a machete.

"Stop looking so dazed, there are two more coming. You deal with them yourself." Gong Lixin warned and went to greet the zombie that was picking itself back up from the stone debris.

The other two zombies were screaming as they climbed the gate and were very loud about it. Everyone shouted in unison and quickly pressed down the anxiety in their hearts and moved into offensive and defensive positions.

After a few seconds, the two black shadows rolled down the wall and flew towards the group of people. They were a pair of male and female zombies. Although their bodies were not as strong as the first one, their movements were faster and more agile, making them very difficult to deal with.

They pushed Li Dongsheng- who was unable to protect himself- into a safe corner and divided into two groups to meet the two fierce zombies. At the same time, Gong Lixin took at the tall zombie's head.

In front of Gong Lixin, an evolved zombie that only had pure brute force and copper-iron bones was an ant-like existence to him. The zombie was swept away by an invisible force coming from the youth's palm. It immediately fell to the ground and its head was hammered with a strong hit and, like a watermelon, the skull and brain matter splashed onto the ground. A pure and transparent nucleus lay in the red and white brain matter with the sun shining its brilliance on it.

Gong Lixin picked up the nucleus into the palm of his hand and brought it up to the sun. It looked like he was looking at its colour. After a while, as if satisfied with his income, he pocketed it and turned to look at his team members who were fighting the other two zombies.

Wang Tao, Gu Nan and Ma Jun were dealing with the male zombie. Wang Tao used his brute force and rushed to the front to meet the zombie's fist. Gu Nan and Ma Jun stared at one another, constantly trying to take aim and use their ability to attack, but refrained from shooting due to fear that they would accidentally hurt Wang Tao. They became more and more anxious.

Wang Tao concentrated his ability into his foot and kicked the male zombie right in the chest. The sound of broken ribs was heard and the zombie stepped back, finally revealing an opening. Gu Nan and Ma Jun's eyes shone and they immediately seized the opportunity to throw out fireballs and wind blades that had been readied for a while. However, Wang Tao also rushed in. He currently did not know how to cooperate with others and avoid their attacks. Instead, he went to meet the zombie and prepared to punch its head.

The fist was close to the zombie's temple when he saw the fireball and wind blade coming his way. He panicked and immediately ducked after landing his punch. But after all, it was a step too late. The fireball and wind blade hit the zombie on his shoulder and the embers splashed onto him, burning his sleeves.

Wang Tao moved to the side and quickly flapped his sleeves to put the fire out. However, the zombie was unaware of the pain and was also tireless. After only a small pause, he continued to rush towards Wang Tao, he's sharp black nails gleaming in the sunlight. The hair on the back of Wang Tao's neck stood on end as he was unable to avoid the oncoming attack.

After Gu Nan and Ma Jun successfully landed their attack, the joy on their faces solidified, for only a second before they watched the following scene with horror. They wanted to rush in to save him, but couldn't do anything because they were too far away.

The knife-like nails were only a few inches away from Wang Tao's eyes. As his life was flashing before his eyes, Gong Lixin flashed in front of the zombie and his five fingers came together as they slashed downwards, like a knife, across the zombie's hand.

The zombie didn't move back and the claws that were heading straight to Wang Tao were pushed away. Gong Lixin then slammed his hand into the zombie's skull and yanked out the broken bone and brain matter as he brought out a brilliant crystal nucleus.

Wang Tao's face was as white as a paper. He let out the breath he was holding in, bent down and gasped for air. Gu Nan and Ma Jun patted their chests as they were afraid for a while.

On the other side, Sun Tiantian and her brother also had no rhythm. One didn't stop casting their ability on the ground, trying to trap the zombie, whilst the other kept making ice cones and shot at the zombie's face. But the female zombie was petite and more agile than its male counterpart. It easily dodged the attacks and rushed towards them. Luo Dahai desperately tried to control a wire vine to try and entangle the leg of the zombie, but not only did it take a long time, but the speed of the wire vine's spread also could not catch up to the zombie's movements.

Da Liu and Ling Yun quickly stepped forward to block; one attacked the upper part of the body and the other attacked the lower part. One person’s actions were fierce and fast and the other one's action was flexible and stable, their tacit understanding of each other made for a well-matched pair.

Ling Yun, with a machete in her hands and with her knees bent, leans forward and cuts off the legs of the zombie. The zombie fell heavily onto the ground. Da Liu was just in time and raised his own blade and swiftly plunged it between the zombie's eyebrows. A muffled sound emerged as black blood splashed onto the ground. The zombie struggled for a while before it died.

Luo Dahai's legs felt a little soft but he still slowly moved to the side of the shivering Sun Tiantian and her brother and whispered comfortingly, "It's okay. Don't be afraid."

"Good job!" Seeing Da Liu searching through the zombie's skull for the crystal nucleus, Gong Lixin spoke up with appreciation. He then looked to the shame-stricken Wang Tao and the others, shaking his head. "You have the ability to be powerful, but do not know how to use your flexibility of movement and lack fighting experience. On the battlefield, without a sense of cooperation, it's better to be an ordinary person. This will not work!"

"Boss, we are wrong. Give us another chance. This was the first time we met an evolved zombie and we were nervous." Wang Tao straightened up and explained, his face was not as pale as before.

"He's right. Young Master Gong, this was our first cooperation. It would inevitably go wrong. After killing a few more zombies, our tacit understanding of each other will finally form. Besides, this yard is small and our abilities can't be displayed." Ma Jun quickly explained, fearing Gong Lixin would be dissatisfied and expel them.

"You are right, fighting consciousness and cooperation skills can be cultivated by killing, but you don't have the time for that. If you all don't grow up quickly, you will die very quickly. However, don't worry about it, I have a solution." He took the crystal nucleus handed over by Da Liu and looked at the sun.

Gu Nan and Ma Jun turned to face each other and felt like that there was some hidden meaning in Young Master Gong's words that made them feel uncomfortable. Others who were nervous and wore a tight expression, relaxed with Young Master Gong's understanding.

Gong Lixin handed the three crystal nucleus to Li Dongsheng in the corner who looked at them doubtfully. Gong Lixin whispered, "Put the nucleus into your space. It's easy for them to fall when fighting. Keep them all in your space and, once we go back, we'll divide them."

"Ah? Young Master Gong, isn't supposed to be whoever killed the zombie who will absorb the crystal nucleus?" Li Dongsheng took the nuclei and put them into his space.

"Whatever rules are established in other groups doesn't matter. In my group, it will be equally divided. All of you need to become strong and nobody is allowed to fall behind because I don't want to see anyone among you die." Gong Lixin's tone was flat, but his words touched them.

Obviously, if the nucleus is evenly divided, the one with the biggest disadvantage is the strongest in the team. In the apocalypse, strength represented everything, so who was willing to give up the nuclei he gained in exchange for risking his life? At least, before Gong Lixin's mentioned it, they had not thought about it.

Nine people hung their heads, their eyes were flushed red as they remained silent for a long time and couldn't find any words to express the turbulent feeling in their hearts. They could only dumbly call out 'Young Master Gong' and the rest of the words were stuck in their throat.

Right now, they may seem pale and weak and can only be guarded by the strong Young Master Gong, but one day, they will become his right-arm and will return his kindness.

At this time, Gong Lixin didn't know that his simple words made the weakest group the most united and strongest team in the future. He only knew that he didn't want to see his friends die in front of him and that that thought made him feel bad.

"Go in. Put away the food inside and move fast." Seeing the nine people with strange expressions on their place as they stood still, Gong Lixin scrunched up his brows, raised his jaw and urged Li Dongsheng.

"Young Master Gong, you should first count the food supply before I collect it." Li Dongsheng said with a grimace.

"We will be responsible for battle in the future. You will be responsible for counting and collecting material. This will save us a lot of time. You don't have to be too cautious. I believe in you." Gong Lixin said very calmly. He could read what kind of person Li Dongsheng was. And even if he's wrong, he still had thousands of methods to force Li Dongsheng to spit out the things he put in his space.

It was more accurate to say that he believed in himself more than he believed in Li Dongsheng. However, Li Dongsheng apparently didn't understand the deeper meaning of his words and felt moved by his trust.

Sun Tiantian and Wang Tao also calmed their inner feelings and couldn't wait to open the cellar. They saw sweet potatoes and potatoes piled up on the ground and a few large bags of rice, mung beans and red beans.

When Li Dongsheng saw it, he quickly went in and counted them, then divided the food into his space. His space was very big and he only had filled 30m2 when it became full. When he received things, he placed most of them in his space and it took a portion of the space. But even then, the amount of material collected by their group was much more than other groups. If they could keep 10% of the collected material, then they will have enough for the whole group to eat for a whole month.

In his heart, when he thought about this, Li Dongsheng's lips curved up into a pleasant smile. The inferiority and powerlessness of a person hiding in the corner instantly disappeared and turned into motivation and satisfaction.

A group swept through the various household along the road and their harvest was quite abundant. On the way, they encountered several first-level zombies and a large group of primary zombies. Although they didn't feel as scared as with the first enemy, they still managed to barely cope through the fight. It took Gong Lixin's help to take care of the zombie several times.

Once again, he cut off an evolved zombies head, leaned his back against the wall and sighed. The pale-faced Luo Dahai saw Gong Lixin's expression and his pale-expression held a hint of gloom.

Too weak, still too weak! They can't reach his expectations! Gong Lixin closed his eyes and suppressed his disappointment. He silently recalled how Xiao Lin forced him to become stronger when he was confined in the Underground Palace. Although Xiao Lin was evil, his methods cannot be ignored. His methods were indeed very effective.

When he opened his eyes again, his clear and bright eyes were dark and he deeply despised everyone who got in the way of his own interest. He walked to Shai Gu Ping, the field they had just passed by.

Everyone was not sure what was going on. After picking up the crystal nucleus, they quickly kept up.

Shai Gu Ping was very wide. Looking at half of the football field, there were many trails connecting the place to each household. There was a heavy bell in the middle. When the heavy bell was rung, it was used to signal a village meeting.

Gong Lixin turned his head and looked at Li Dongsheng. He spoke openly. "You go stand next to the bell and ring it. When danger comes, hide in a safe space.

"Ah?" Li Dongsheng blinked and his expression showed his confusion.

"Young Master Gong, ringing the bell will lead the zombies from the whole village over here." Gu Nan pulled his arm and hurriedly opened his mouth to stop him. Wang Tao and others also quickly nodded, looking at the indifferent Young Master Gong, feeling suddenly cold.

"You are too weak! Only after killing countless time can you grow quickly, but there isn't enough time. So I can only fight another way! Rest assured, I won't let you die. Li Dongsheng, ring the bell!" His steady and indifferent tone was filled with strength and self-confidence. So much so that everyone who heard him surrendered.

The group of people were silent for a moment. The fear on their faces was gradually replaced by fighting spirit. Li Dongsheng nodded and looked around at his circle of companions. He calmly held the rope and rang the bell.