Chapter 252: Elimination, Someone Came to Grab the Crystals
"In the future, if you encounter a single zombie, don't use your powers. Only use them when facing a zombie horde," Shen Que suggested.
Lin Jun and the others agreed, and the next day, Zheng Yan brought over a treadmill.
Although the treadmill looked worn on the outside, after Lin Jun's repairs, it was able to function properly.
Just as Meng Ci and Shen Que were about to leave the base for a stroll, Zhang Mingtian arrived!
"Hello, big brothers!"
Zhang Mingtian had clearly bulked up since the last time they saw him, but his honest and simple demeanor remained unchanged.
He was taken aback when he saw that the door to Meng Ci's house had been damaged.
Meng Ci gave a brief explanation and then asked him what he was there for.
Zhang Mingtian scratched his head and said excitedly, "Huang Zhi and I both have powers now."
"After seeing the official announcement, we thought about forming a team with you guys to go after some zombies."
Zhang Mingtian's power was strength-based, and Huang Zhi's was speed-based.
Meng Ci shook his head and said, "No, for now, the two of us aren't short of food, so we don't want to risk our lives killing zombies."
Meng Ci understood that Zhang Mingtian and Huang Zhi both had children and naturally wanted to earn more points by killing zombies.
As for Meng Ci and Shen Que, although they wanted to eliminate zombies to bring an early end to the apocalypse, it was on the premise of protecting their own lives, which was why Meng Ci declined.
"Alright," Zhang Mingtian wasn't too disappointed upon hearing this, as he knew the two big brothers were capable individuals.
He then handed a bag he was carrying to Meng Ci, which contained pork, rabbit meat, and meat buns wrapped by Zhang's mother.
Although the base was raising pigs and cows now, due to limitations in grain and water resources, large-scale farming hadn't been possible, making meat relatively expensive.
Knowing how hard Zhang Mingtian worked to support his family, Meng Ci didn't want to accept the gift.
"Big brother, we owe you a lot for taking care of us and helping us survive until now."
"This small gift can't fully repay your kindness, but we hope you'll accept it anyway."
Zhang Mingtian went on and on, and not wanting to hear more, Meng Ci took the items.
Meng Ci was concerned about how dangerous it would be for Zhang Mingtian and the others to go out and hunt zombies, especially if their teammates turned out to be untrustworthy and betrayed them.
"If you're looking to form a team, I can hook you up with a few people!" Meng Ci thought of Yun Jingcen and the others.
A while back, when some teachers were injured by their students, Meng Ci fronted the points, and Yun Jingcen and the others later paid him back. Apart from occasionally sharing any good finds, they didn't stay in frequent contact otherwise.
However, Yun Jingcen, Chen Xiao, and Fang Heng were all quite decent people, upright in character and trustworthy.
Zhang Mingtian might be a bit smooth, but he's not the type to betray his friends. His heart's in the right place.
So, these individuals would make a suitable team.
Zhang Mingtian's eyes lit up at the suggestion!
"Anyone the big brothers recommend would definitely be reliable."
Meng Ci then informed Zhang Mingtian of Yun Jingcen's address. Whether the two groups would team up was entirely up to them.
After all, such matters couldn't be forced.
After seeing Zhang Mingtian off, Meng Ci and Shen Que drove out of the base.
They headed west, toward the Xishan Wild Villa Area, where there were many houses, and taking a door wouldn't attract much attention.
This place had once been used for burying numerous bodies, and Lu Chen had previously led people to eliminate part of the zombie population.
However, some zombies had awakened later and slipped through the net, now wandering the roads.
When these zombies heard the sound of Meng Ci and his group's vehicle, they quickly approached in an extremely bizarre manner.
Since they had decided to come out, it was natural to kill a few zombies and extract crystals to bring back.
Thus, Shen Que parked the car to the side, opened the door, and like arrows released from a bow, Eagle and Eggplant dashed out.
"Roar!"
"Bark!"
A zombie suddenly pounced on another, instantly pinning it to the ground, making grunting sounds.
Meng Ci and Shen Que swiftly got out of the SUV, each holding a long sword.
Despite the hard cement ground, dense forests surrounded the area.
Meng Ci skillfully used his abilities to control the surrounding greenery, tightly binding the zombie's legs and arms with plants.
He circled around behind the zombie and skillfully used his long blade to extract the crystal from its skull.
Soon, the zombie stopped moving entirely and lay still on the ground.
Since Meng Ci's current level is relatively low, he can only control up to two zombies at a time.
Shen Que summoned a ball of flame in his hand, then hurled it at the zombie, knocking it to the ground.
Even after being knocked down, the zombie didn't give up and struggled to get back up.
Shen Que didn't give it a chance, swiftly swinging his long blade to decapitate the zombie.
With two sharp cracks, two shiny crystals fell to the ground.
However, more zombies were approaching.
Meng Ci and Shen Que didn't waste any time, immediately dealing with the new wave of zombies.
They expertly used their powers to fend off the zombies, slashing at the ones nearby with their blades and quickly extracting the crystals from their skulls.
Jianzi and Xiongying weren't stupid; they noticed that Meng Ci and Shen Que were always targeting the back of the zombies' heads.
So, when they realized the zombies they were fighting wouldn't die, they quickly understood what needed to be done.
Without hesitation, they extended their sharp claws and dug into the zombies' brains.
Fortunately, the crystals weren't buried too deep, so they easily extracted them.
At that moment, the zombie that Xiongying had been holding tightly finally stopped struggling.
The dog, seeing this, immediately let go of the zombie it was biting and lunged at another zombie.
The wolf wasn't about to be left out, letting go of its prey and charging towards other targets.
The two men, the wolf, and the dog worked together seamlessly, continuing to take down the zombies.
After half an hour, they had successfully taken down over twenty zombies.
The zombies here seemed to be more intelligent than the ones they had encountered before. Seeing their companions fall, they did not blindly rush forward but chose to retreat instead.
With no more zombies closing in, Meng Ci and Shen Que put away their weapons and readied themselves to collect the crystal shards from the ground.
But just then, an ice blade suddenly flew out from the side, heading straight for Meng Ci.
Meng Ci reacted fast, sensing the danger just in time and pulling his hand back from the shard.
"Who!"
Meng Ci stood up, his expression darkening.
The dog and the wolf immediately stood in front of their masters, their eyes sharply fixed on the depths of the forest ahead.
Shen Que picked up a crystal shard without encountering any ice blades and, upon hearing Meng Ci's shout, quickly stood next to Meng Ci.