Chapter 146: Leaving Yancheng

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“Want to come with me?” Fang Xia asked suddenly.

Xiao Qiang already had an answer in mind.

After he had demonstrated his strength the previous night, someone had immediately told him that Fang Xia would be waiting for him the next morning.

That meant his abilities had finally earned their recognition.

But if Xiao Qiang left with Fang Xia’s team today, what would become of the hundreds of thousands of people in Yancheng?

The past three months of the apocalypse had taught him that only the ruthless could survive.

Yet these people had gathered here because he had rebuilt Yancheng. If he silently abandoned them now that danger had arrived, Xiao Qiang could hardly bear to imagine the consequences.

So when Fang Xia asked him that question, he hesitated. He fell silent.

“Tell me about your ability.”

Fang Xia crouched down as well and lit a cigarette.

“Absolute Defense.”

“That’s what it’s called, but it isn’t truly absolute. If the enemy is more than three levels above me, I can’t defend against them. And I can only use it for five minutes a day.”

Xiao Qiang gave a self-mocking smile.

“If I fought Commander Fang, you wouldn’t even need to fight me. You could simply wait until my ability wore off and kill me with ease. After all, it only strengthens my defense. My speed and everything else remain unchanged.”

“In a battle against someone of the same rank, I might not even be as useful as Resilience.”

“Either way, I can’t break through their defenses, while Resilience can be activated for a full thirty minutes each day.”

Put that way, the ability really was rather frustrating.

Against opponents of the same rank, it was inferior even to ordinary Resilience. Against stronger opponents, it still could not keep up.

What use was invincibility if it lasted only five minutes? Once the time was up, he would be helpless.

However, Fang Xia’s eyes lit up when he heard about the ability.

This was good stuff—a divine weapon for fighting above one’s level.

Yes, a divine weapon.

In Fang Xia’s eyes, Xiao Qiang was a weapon: a defensive weapon.

The most terrifying part of a zombie siege was the appearance of a zombie that surpassed humanity’s level.

If Xiao Qiang had been at Dawn City, things would never have been so difficult.

Fang Xia could simply have teleported over with him.

It did not matter that Xiao Qiang was too slow. Fang Xia could carry him.

A little over a hundred pounds was nothing to a Fighter.

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With a shield like that in his hands, Fang Xia would have the confidence to face a sixth-level zombie head-on.

Five minutes was more than enough. Fang Xia refused to believe he could not kill his opponent in that time.

An ability like this was worth investing in.

Besides, Fang Xia had already seen the loyalty in Xiao Qiang’s heart. Although he looked down on such sentimentality, it would be a different matter if Xiao Qiang became one of his subordinates.

It was like Guo Yu. Fang Xia had never tried to change his occasional kindness.

If Guo Yu truly became completely corrupted, Fang Xia would have to guard against him.

“My team will leave today. With adequate preparations, Yancheng can indeed withstand the coming zombie rain.”

“Besides, the only fourth-level zombie has already been killed. Yancheng’s crisis isn’t as severe as you imagine.”

“Looking farther ahead, Yancheng will be destroyed sooner or later. If these people want to survive, they must leave and go to Dawn City.”

“Once this zombie rain is over and they have grown stronger, they can begin preparing to travel to Dawn City.”

“Of course, not everyone will believe you. How many ultimately survive will depend on fate.”

Fang Xia had said so much because he had taken a liking to the nature of Xiao Qiang’s ability.

If Xiao Qiang was still unwilling to leave with him after all that, then so be it. Fang Xia was not desperate for his company.

Xiao Qiang lit another cigarette.

After finishing it, he bowed deeply to Fang Xia, then turned and left without looking back.

“Brother Fang, it’s time to eat. We need to prepare to leave after breakfast.”

Bai Xing suddenly appeared behind Fang Xia.

Fang Xia seemed to have expected her and nodded before walking inside.

Whatever choice Xiao Qiang made was ultimately his own business. Fang Xia would not force him.

Breakfast was rice noodles as usual.

A bowl of noodles in the morning put everyone in good spirits.

Add some spicy beef topping, and it was surely even more delicious than stir-fried pork with green peppers.

What was more, this was pure wild-buffalo meat.

In a word: delicious.

Seven-thirty.

“Brother Fang, everyone is ready.”

It was time to set out again.

Fang Xia walked out of the villa. The members of both regiments were already standing in neat formation outside, waiting for him.

“Let’s go.”

The force of more than two thousand people slowly set off. This departure was different from the one from Dawn City. After enduring the zombie rain the previous night, they faced zombie attacks from the very moment they left the city.

The good news was that these zombies were not particularly strong. At least, they would provide a decent harvest of enhancement crystals.

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There were nearly twenty fourth-level Fighters in the group now, but they still had yet to meet the conditions for a second fifth-level Fighter.

Just as Fang Xia was about to leave Yancheng, two people came running from a distance.

“Commander Fang, Ashan has been my brother since the beginning of the apocalypse. Can you take him with us?”

Ashan was a third-level fire-element Fighter.

Fang Xia nodded.

“Go to Guo Yu’s regiment and tell him. From now on, you’re the deputy commander.”

“How many fourth-level advancements are still needed?” Fang Xia asked again.

“I already have 947 second-level enhancement crystals.”

Fang Xia nodded and took out another fifty-three second-level enhancement crystals for him.

“No rush. Wait until we reach our destination tonight before advancing.”

Xiao Qiang had not expected Fang Xia to trust him so much. He had just joined them and had yet to make any contribution, yet Fang Xia was already helping him advance.

“Commander Fang, I still have some supplies here…”

Fang Xia waved a hand, interrupting him.

“Keep your own belongings. These enhancement crystals aren’t gifts. You’ll have to pay them back; the cost will be deducted from your wages.”

Yancheng was behind them.

Modu was drawing closer.

The fighting began the moment they took their first step out of Yancheng.

There were not many third-level zombies, but if Guo Yu’s regiment had dealt with them alone, they would certainly have suffered some casualties.

Liu Rui waved her hand and deployed an entire battalion: ninety-nine third-level female Fighters and one fourth-level battalion commander. The situation was stabilized with ease.

Fang Xia almost hoped more zombie hordes like this would come.

They posed little pressure while yielding a considerable number of second-level enhancement crystals, and the boost they provided to the entire regiment was significant.

The regiment now had far more fourth-level members than when they had first left Dawn City—twenty-one in total.

If every city along the way brought them a battle like this, then by the time they reached Modu, having more than a hundred fourth-level Fighters would no longer be a dream. They might even gain one or two more fifth-level Fighters.

That was where their confidence came from.

“Brother Fang, Yancheng is a little farther from Chencheng than Baicheng is. It’s roughly 230 kilometers away. If we spend too much time here, we may not reach Chencheng before nightfall.”

Liu Rui offered the timely reminder from beside him.