In the bus convoy, the door of the third bus in line swung open with a bang, and twelve young men and women got off one after another. Their clothing styles varied—some looked like professional office workers, some like traffic police, others wore chef or athlete outfits. Leading at the front was a young man dressed in camouflage.

As soon as the young man got off, he pulled a walkie-talkie from the pocket of his camouflage pants.

“Squad Three, all members ready. This is Eric Collins. We’re starting to clear the blockage now.”

“What’s the big deal? Isn’t it just a few cars? I could handle this by myself—why make it so complicated?” a freckled boy in a basketball jersey grumbled impatiently from the back.

“It’s just telekinesis, right? Being able to drive isn’t that impressive. If you’ve got the guts, go compete with big sis Olivia Carter,” scoffed a girl next to him, dressed like a little punk and chewing gum.

“Hey, that’s still better than your half-baked fire ability,” the boy retorted, folding his arms.

“Eric Collins, once we get past this intersection, it’s the outskirts, right?” A chubby guy dressed as a chef sidled up to the young man in camouflage.

“Yeah, this is the intersection. Once we reach the outskirts, we won’t have to be so on edge.” Eric Collins turned off the walkie-talkie, his expression a bit heavy. He had originally just been an ordinary retired soldier, recently returned home from the army, when the global zombie virus outbreak suddenly hit. By sheer luck, he had narrowly escaped danger several times, managing to take down the zombies he encountered. After killing his fifth zombie, he suddenly awakened the legendary superpower—Wind Blade. As the name suggests, it allowed him to quickly form blue-green energy blades and launch them at high speed, which he named Wind Blade.

Eric Collins glanced at the dozen or so team members around him. These people had all been ordinary before, but after killing a certain number of zombies—whether by chance or accident—they each awakened superpowers. From fire to ice, telekinesis to precision shooting, there was a wide variety. He was a bit worried about these ability users who had gathered together temporarily. Their powers were strong, but after all, they were just regular people. When truly facing fear, who knew how many could stay calm and perform at their best.

Along the way, as captain of Squad Three, he had already changed teammates three times; all the previous members had died in the tidal waves of zombie attacks.

“Brother Jun, looks like we don’t have much food left. How about I go with Jack Harris to look for some nearby? There’s no way we’ll get anything from the supermarket up ahead,” the chubby chef whispered, squinting his eyes.

“You want to look for hidden stashes, right?” Eric Collins frowned. “Go ahead, just search nearby. If you find extra, bring some back for everyone.”

“Got it!”

The chef, delighted, took another team member dressed as an office worker and, moving with surprising speed for his size, dashed into a nearby residential complex.

“The rest of you: John Thompson, use your telekinesis to assist Helen Parker with metal control. Be careful with the car fuel tanks you remove—don’t let the gasoline spill. David Carter and Emily Thompson, you’re on lookout. The rest, come with me to the supermarket up ahead.” Eric Collins began assigning tasks one by one.

※※※※

Brian Carter peered outside through a gap in the living room window. A triangular space between the aluminum panels was just enough for him to see what was happening on the street.

“It should be a convoy of survivors evacuated from the city.”

In his line of sight, at the entrance of Wanjiale Supermarket, seven or eight people in various outfits stood scattered about. One young man in camouflage let his right hand hang naturally at his side, and a blue-green semicircular arc silently floated beneath his palm.

“Is that... a superpower?” Brian Carter’s heart skipped a beat. Superpowers really existed in this world. It seemed the zombie outbreak had forced all these legendary figures out into the open.

“No! Not necessarily! Based on my calculations earlier, the reason I advanced to Level 1 Mage was because I killed that zombie that attacked with its intestines. And anyone with potential should be able to gain pure spiritual power from the zombies they kill, just like me. In other words, these people might have awakened their superpowers by killing zombies too.” Brian Carter pondered. “Given the current scale and threat of the zombies, aside from their infectiousness, they shouldn’t be enough to threaten the regular army. So why are there so few soldiers among these survivors? Could there be new types of zombies?” He couldn’t help but think of the various mutant zombies from Resident Evil, and felt a chill.

“I originally just wanted to hide safely at home, use magic to fortify my place, then gather materials to build an arcane garden on the rooftop, with an energy pool next door, so I could produce food, water, and energy self-sufficiently. But now, it seems this apartment building isn’t as safe as I thought. I need to find another place, like a basement. Or maybe just build one myself.” Brian Carter watched as the search team in the distance entered the supermarket. “Should I join them or not?”

Joining them would certainly be safer, but a larger group would also attract more zombies, and there was no guarantee that some powerful advanced zombie wouldn’t show up.

Judging by their direction, they seemed to be heading for the outskirts. But that way also led to the largest grain depot in Minshan City—the Minshan Grain Depot. There was no guarantee they weren’t heading there for food.