Chapter 48: Tier-3 Zombie

"Impossible! We've killed so many zombies and still haven't reached Tier 2-how the hell are you already there!?" The leader looked like he couldn't accept what he was seeing.

Yang Bin smiled and said nothing.

Compete on zombie kills? Forget everything before-just in the past two days alone, they'd killed over a thousand. These people couldn't even begin to compare.

Besides, reaching Tier 2 wasn't about volume. It was about whether you'd killed a Tier-2 Zombie.

And on that front, nobody could match Yang Bin's group. They hunted with precision. Everyone else relied on luck.

Clearly, this group hadn't been lucky enough-or hadn't killed nearly enough.

"Haozi, they wanted to teach us a lesson. Why don't you teach him one back? Let him know that evolvers aren't all equal." Yang Bin's tone was flat, almost bored.

"On it."

Chen Hao grinned, walked over, and swung a kick at the man.

But the leader's reflexes weren't bad. He retreated two quick steps and dodged.

"Hmph-Tier 2, so what? I trained sanda for years. You think I'm scared of you?"

The man snatched a Fire Axe off the ground and hacked at Chen Hao.

Chen Hao's smile turned cold. His Barbell Rod swept up to meet the axe head-on.

Clang-

A piercing metallic ring. The Fire Axe spun out of the man's grip and clattered away.

"Sanda, huh?"

Chen Hao snorted, tossed his Barbell Rod aside, and launched another kick.

The man crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Boom-

The kick hammered into his guard. Raw force hurled him several meters back. He slammed into the wall, blood surging in his chest, a thin line of red trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"How is he this strong!?" The man stared at Chen Hao, eyes wide.

He'd been at Tier-1 Peak for a while now. He'd assumed Tier 2 might be somewhat stronger, but not by much-not enough that years of combat training couldn't close the gap.

He was wrong. The difference in raw power was staggering.

What he didn't know was that Chen Hao wasn't just barely Tier 2.

"You train sanda, right? Keep going." Chen Hao's voice dripped contempt.

"Fuck-I don't believe the gap's that big!"

The man forced down the blood roiling in his chest, charged again, leapt, and drove a fist straight at Chen Hao's skull.

Chen Hao raised one arm. Blocked it like swatting a fly. Then kicked him in the gut.

The man flew backward, tumbled across the ground, and coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

"Pathetic." Chen Hao shook his head.

"You-!"

"If we were both Tier 2, killing you would be like butchering a dog!" the man spat through bloodied teeth.

"That so?"

Chen Hao smirked-and vanished.

"!!!"

Every person on that rooftop froze, eyes bulging like they'd seen a ghost.

Thud-

A heavy impact. The man's body rocketed into the wall again.

"Pfft-"

A spray of blood erupted from his mouth. His eyes locked onto Chen Hao, wide with disbelief.

"Ability user!!!"

His eyes rolled back. He collapsed, unconscious.

"Even if we were the same Order-how many seconds do you think you'd last?" Chen Hao stood over him, arms crossed.

Yang Bin gave him a flat look. "He's Tier 1. And you used your ability."

"The bastard's mouth pissed me off. Had to put him in his place."

"......"

"Whatever. What's done is done. Nobody's going to find out anyway."

"They already found out, though?" Hu Wenliang said, confused.

"Dead men don't talk." Yang Bin's voice was calm.

"!!!"

"Bin-ge, you mean-?"

"They tried to kill us. No reason to spare them. Remember: once you've made enemies, don't leave loose ends. Sooner or later, loose ends come back to kill you."

"But... there are over twenty people here..." Hu Wenliang's voice was tight.

"Remember what I told you before?"

"In the apocalypse, you have to be ruthless." Chen Hao answered without hesitation.

"Exactly. You've both killed plenty of zombies by now, but never a person. These people are yours."

"Alright." Chen Hao nodded and walked toward the group.

He followed Yang Bin's words without question. Never had, never would doubt his decisions.

Hu Wenliang wrestled with himself for a moment. Then he followed.

"Don't-don't kill us, we know we were wrong!"

"Please, we're all classmates-don't do this!"

They were on their knees, begging, voices cracking.

Chen Hao drew a long breath. Raised his Barbell Rod. Brought it down.

Something flickered in Hu Wenliang's eyes-reluctance, maybe grief. But he clenched his jaw and lifted his rod.

Screams tore through the rooftop.

Then, quickly, silence.

Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang returned to Yang Bin's side, drenched in blood.

Chen Hao's expression was unchanged. Hu Wenliang's face was heavy.

Yang Bin clapped a hand on Hu Wenliang's shoulder. "Liangzi. I need you to understand-in the apocalypse, if you want to live long, you have to be ruthless. Otherwise, no matter how strong we get, someone will blindside us eventually."

"I get it, Bin-ge. It's just... hard to get past that line in my head. I'll sort it out." Hu Wenliang's voice was steady.

"Good."

Yang Bin nodded, then moved to the window. He activated True Vision Eye and scanned the campus below.

They hadn't come up here to kill people. They'd come to find zombies.

He burned through his energy several times before finally pulling back, a strange look settling on his face.

"What is it, Bin-ge?" Chen Hao asked quietly.

"I found Tier-3 Zombies."

"Tier 3!?" Both Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang perked up instantly. "Can we take them?"

Yang Bin shook his head. "No. Something's off. I spotted three Tier-3 Zombies across the whole campus, but every single one has at least several hundred to a thousand zombies clustered around it."

"What's weird about that? Bigger hordes have a higher chance of producing high-order zombies." Chen Hao shrugged.

"Maybe." Yang Bin's brow furrowed. "But I don't think it's that simple."

"What do you mean?"

"I think Tier-3 Zombies can summon nearby zombies to them." Yang Bin's voice was grave.

"!!!"

"That... no way." Both of them stared at him.

"Zombies don't have intelligence. How could they call others to them?"

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. But if I'm right, killing a Tier-3 Zombie just got a lot harder." Yang Bin exhaled.

"It's probably coincidence. Since we can't fight these ones, let's leave them for now. New Tier-3 Zombies should appear tomorrow-we'll know more then."

"Right. Let's go. Kill Tier-2 ones first and get you both to Tier-2 Peak."

"Let's do it."

They left Zhongyuan Building.

From the rooftop, Yang Bin had already marked ten Tier-2 Zombies that were isolated enough to kill. Once downstairs, he led the other two through them one by one.

After the tenth fell, Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang's strength finally broke through to Tier-2 Peak.

Same as Yang Bin before them-their raw power now exceeded five hundred kilograms, with an extra thirty-plus kilograms on top from their cultivation training.

With the day's hunting done, the three headed back to the dormitory.

Tier-3 Zombies were off the table for now. Better to rest early and see what tomorrow brought.