"Don't celebrate too soon. To avoid danger as much as possible, the planned route is very winding, with the total distance reaching about 15 kilometers. If we make too much noise in the middle, it might attract a lot of monsters, or if we're unlucky, we could encounter hidden ones, leading to danger just the same. If things go south, we could perish at any moment, so you still have the chance to back out now."
Su Mo lifted his head to explain the situation to Sun Duoxiang and the others.
"Brother, are you insulting us? How could we possibly back out? I'm laying it on the line today, whether it's facing blades or diving into oil, I'm sticking with you."
Sun Duoxiang patted his chest as he promised.
Lan Xi and the others also nodded in agreement, expressing their determination not to give up.
"Good. Now let me briefly talk about the preparations before we set off. Prepare extra food and water since our mission this time might be long. Remember not to bring any food with strong smells. Also, get some strips of cloth to tie around our shoes when we go out to minimize the noise we make while walking. And the most important thing, you must follow my lead. Without my permission, even if you are attacked by monsters, absolutely do not use firearms, just blunt weapons like batons to attack the monsters we encounter along the way and keep the noise to a minimum. Of course, as long as we don't run into a large horde of zombies, I will handle them myself as much as possible. Got it?"
Su Mo explained succinctly to Lan Xi and the others.
"Understood."
Lan Xi and the others nodded in acknowledgement.
"But we seem to be out of cloth strips, should I go buy some now?"
Sun Duoxiang volunteered enthusiastically.
"Go, and make it quick. We need to set off as soon as possible."
Su Mo instructed tersely.
In recent times, several large guilds in the safe zone had cleared the zombies wandering around the perimeter, opening up a path to the outside.
Many players formed teams to venture out, so now was a perfect time to depart.
"Piece of cake, just wait for me, I'll be right back."
After saying this, Sun Duoxiang took off running.
In less than fifteen minutes, Sun Duoxiang came running back with a big pile of dirty clothes.
"Brother, will this do?"
"Cut it up and let's go."
Su Mo didn't waste any words.
...
Several hours later, Su Mo and his team appeared in a small alley in the city, moving carefully.
The whole alley was eerily quiet, lending a sense of eeriness.
In fact, many players prefer to take the main roads and avoid quiet alleys like this one.
The reasons are simple: though there are fewer monsters in alleys, it's easier to be ambushed and trapped.
At that moment, sounds of chewing and feeding came from around a corner ahead in the alley.
Zhang Hao and the others tensed up, swallowing nervously and gripping their batons tightly.
As they approached, a zombie with completely hardened skin, claws like those of a wild beast, munching on flesh and blood, appeared before them.
The zombie suddenly lifted its head and charged at Su Mo and his team.
Su Mo's eyes turned steely, and with a forceful stomp, he surged forward with even greater speed, decapitating the zombie with a single slash.
One-hit kill!
The entire encounter was over in the blink of an eye, and it hadn't made much noise.
After the kill, Su Mo lifted his left hand and gestured to Lan Xi and the others, signaling them to follow.
Lan Xi looked at Su Mo's retreating figure, her gaze becoming more and more unusual.
When night fell, Su Mo and the others took shelter in a bungalow.
Sun Duoxiang carefully closed the door, and after that, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Although the monsters they encountered along the way were all dealt with by Su Mo, their hearts were never truly at ease.
"Rest for a bit, and we'll continue on as soon as it's daylight. We've already covered nearly two-thirds of the journey. If nothing unexpected happens, we should reach our destination by tomorrow."
Su Mo sat on the ground and took out a bottle of mineral water from his backpack, unscrewed the cap, and drank while speaking.
"Big brother, have some beef jerky. It's really tasty, much better than what we eat outside," Sun Duoxiang offered considerately, handing the food to Su Mo, knowing he needed to be well-taken care of.
Su Mo did not refuse, taking it from him. Because meat products can better replenish one's energy.
"Big brother, we passed so many buildings on our way here, and many seemed uninhabited. Shouldn't we go in and search them?"
Sun Duoxiang asked regretfully, having held back this question for a long time, thinking it such a waste. He wasn't foolish, though; he had sought out Su Mo to form a team. During the mission, he wouldn't dare blurt it out for fear of upsetting Su Mo, but during rest periods, it seemed okay to ask.
Su Mo lifted his head to glance at Sun Duoxiang and spoke a very common platitude.
"Look at the bigger picture."
"Got it, big brother."
Sun Duoxiang replied cheerfully.
After eating, Su Mo went straight to a corner, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes to rest, having no desire for idle chatter.
Lan Xi and the others were already accustomed to Su Mo's temperament and didn't say much.
They gathered together and discussed in low voices, coordinating the issues of taking turns on watch and being vigilant.
In the midst of the night, outside the vast ruins of the city, a series of solemn and efficient figures appeared.
Upon closer examination, it was a group of 25 elite assault squad members, all armed to the teeth with QBZ-171 automatic rifles, wearing high-strength first-generation mechanical armor, equipped with black holographic combat support helmets, and carrying light tactical backpacks.
In the early stages of the game, before civilization had fully revealed itself, this equipment was virtually top of the line.
The leader, a strong man over two meters tall, gazed at the ruins before him and said in a deep voice,
"Is this the destination for our tactical training?"
"That's right, York, our first objective is a military camp in the west of the city. It's said to have been taken over by a team of professional players from Country Z, numbering three hundred."
The speaker was a well-proportioned woman, a pity that her face couldn't be discerned through the combat support helmet.
"Kani, they're just some yellow monkeys, too easy," several teammates replied casually in a mix of languages.
At this moment, York spoke seriously, "The zombie tide is coming soon. We need to complete our tactical training before that, GO! GO!"
....
Time trickled by, the night grew denser.
The once silent city began to stir with life; distant gunfire and various other disturbances could be heard, along with the occasional chilling screams of terror.
Lan Xi and her companions clutched their batons tightly, but there was one thing they all adhered strictly to Su Mo's words, no one dared to reach for their pistols.
Sun Duoxiang and others occasionally glanced nervously at Su Mo, but he seemed as if he heard nothing, eyes closed the entire time.
They couldn't fathom just how large Su Mo's heart was.