Chapter 157 Approaching the Demon Capital

Fang Xia realized that the little loli had changed; she was no longer as considerate as before.

How could anyone ask such a question at a time like this? Wasn't this simply stirring up trouble?

"This... uh, what is your name?"

Fang Xia suddenly realized that he still did not know the name of the woman Wang Ke had brought along.

"Commander is quite something, bringing people back without even knowing their names."

"Huang Lubing."

Two voices rang out simultaneously.

Aside from Huang Lubing's self-introduction, there was also Liu Rui's sarcastic remark.

"What about the other one? You don't know her name either, do you?"

Liu Rui's taunts did not stop as she turned her gaze toward the person she intuitively felt was problematic.

"Uh, this is Wang Ke, a team commander from Chencheng. She wanted to see the outside world, so she came along with us."

Fang Xia offered a vague explanation.

Seeing quite a few young ladies looking over with curiosity, Liu Rui said nothing more, merely let out a soft huff and turned to walk into the tent.

Immediately following her were the twin sisters, who also let out a huff and followed Liu Rui inside.

Bai Xing was not to be outdone, mimicking the others with a huff of her own.

Perhaps finding it amusing, Bai Xiaochun and Li Qianwan joined in on the fun and also let out a huff.

"Well... let's go inside first."

Fang Xia cast an awkward glance at Wang Ke, only to find that Wang Ke gave him a side-eye as well, let out a huff of her own, and walked inside.

She already knew what kind of people were in this tent, and soon, she would become one of them.

Although Fang Xia had not told her the truth beforehand, seeing how many people he commanded actually gave Wang Ke a renewed sense of security.

She would just stick with him for now. Besides, with so many women here, as long as she was unwilling, he certainly wouldn't be able to force himself on her.

From the behavior of those women just now, it was clear that Fang Xia cared quite a bit about them—and in this regard, he was still much better than Xie Feng.

Dinner completely refreshed Wang Ke's worldview.

Wasn't this eating a bit too extravagantly?

A massive hot pot, sliced lamb, sliced beef, shrimp paste—literally everything one could possibly want.

Looking at it this way, they didn't look like people living in the apocalypse at all; it felt much more like a camping vacation.

"We depart promptly tomorrow morning. We are about to enter the territory of Modu, so everyone must remain vigilant."

Leaving Chencheng led directly to Shaocheng, which was already not far from Modu.

"Rest assured, the total number of Tier 4 members in the group has reached twenty-one now, and we are quite close to having enough Tier 3 upgrade crystals. We'll have our second Tier 5 powerhouse very soon."

Liu Rui reported the current status of the team.

With this level of strength, even upon reaching Modu, everyone felt confident they could establish a firm foothold.

Wang Ke listened in numb silence.

Tier 3s across the entire group? Twenty-one Tier 4s? A second Tier 5 coming right up?

Was she perhaps a bit too insignificant in this place?

However, thinking of her own special ability, Wang Ke regained a fraction of her confidence.

"Brother Fang, traces of Tier 3 zombies were spotted up ahead. Commander Guo has already taken care of them."

It was already past ten in the morning.

Because the zombies in the Chencheng region were too weak, the team had been moving at a rapid pace without any delays.

"Bai Xiaochun, take a major squad and head up front to assist. Let's strive to reach Modu earlier."

It was only a little over three hundred kilometers from Chencheng to Modu, and with a bit of effort, they would definitely make it before nightfall.

It would be best to arrive earlier so they could get a preliminary understanding of the actual situation in Modu.

After all, being newcomers, they still needed to proceed with caution.

By now, they had crossed out of Xiang Province and entered the territory of Yue Province, and the tier of the zombies had jumped up significantly.

Although they were still traveling along the highway, the two groups of zombies they had just encountered both possessed Tier 3 commanders, resulting in some casualties for Guo Yu's team.

At this rate, encountering Tier 4 zombies was not entirely out of the question.

"Ruirui, have everyone heighten their vigilance. New challenges are coming."

For some reason, a faint sense of excitement stirred within Fang Xia.

Bai Xiaochun had already arrived at the front, and Guo Yu let out a breath of relief upon seeing her bring reinforcements.

"Brother Fang says we must hurry our march and arrive in Modu tonight."

Hearing Bai Xiaochun's words, Guo Yu let out a long breath and nodded firmly.

A distance of over three hundred kilometers was not exceptionally difficult, provided they did not run into massive hordes of zombies along the way.

"Sis."

Once the conversation between the two ended, a young boy beside Guo Yu suddenly called out.

It was Bai Xiaochun's cousin, Bai Jingming.

Because of Bai Xiaochun, as family dependents, they could have simply stayed protected within the team just like Guo Yu's mother.

However, Bai Jingming was still young, full of youthful drive, and insisted on following Guo Yu, a decision his parents had also agreed with.

Guo Yu had specifically sought out Bai Xiaochun over this matter, hoping she would persuade her younger brother otherwise, but to his surprise, Bai Xiaochun ended up persuading him instead.

This was the apocalypse; everyone walked with their heads on the line, and personal strength was the fundamental basis for survival.

Being so young and acting like a hothouse flower meant that if any danger struck, it would simply be waiting for death.

Of course, Bai Xiaochun was not sending her brother to his death; she had previously obtained upgrade crystals from Liu Rui to elevate her brother to Tier 3, giving him the capability to fight.

Right now, Fang Xia's team was hardly short on Tier 1 upgrade crystals, unless he had lost his mind and decided to elevate every single member of Guo Yu's team to Tier 3.

"Stick close to Guo Yu, watch yourself, and if you get killed, nobody is going to care."

After admonishing her cousin, Bai Xiaochun strode directly to the front.

Since Fang Xia had sent her out to clear the path, his intent was blatantly obvious: carve a way through with the fastest possible speed.

The convoy pressed forward for another hour. As they advanced, the frequency of zombie encounters increased steadily, and while their tiers varied, quite a few Tier 3 zombies had begun to appear.

From this alone, Fang Xia was already able to deduce that the situation around Modu was indeed somewhat more intense than that of Xiang Province.

"Brother Fang, heading down that way should lead toward Shaocheng. There's a cluster of zombies gathered at the intersection."

Following the direction Liu Rui pointed out, a branch road appeared alongside the main highway. A road sign hanging nearby indicated that this was the exit off the highway down toward Shaocheng.

From here, one could observe the situation beyond that road: small packs of zombies were huddled together, though no massive hordes were detected.

"It seems my guess was correct. Most of the survivors around here have probably fled toward Modu since the distance isn't very far."

Throughout the journey, Fang Xia had traveled strictly along the highways. Anywhere survivors gathered, highway exits invariably featured massive waves of zombies.

Upon seeing the current scene before him, Fang Xia concluded that these survivors had already left Shaocheng—or at least the vast majority had—which explained why there were so few zombies remaining.

"Keep moving, make good time."

Furthermore, the road ahead was much easier to travel. The closer they got to Modu City, the harder the journey would likely become, and there was also the possibility of earthquake-damaged roads blocking their path.