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Just as Lin Wu was preparing to retreat, a convoy came from the direction of Left County, a bicycle convoy, four vehicles with five people, led by a girl who had her head wrapped in a turban. The five cyclists reached the foot of the hill where the church was located and drew their weapons, dealing with the zombies that had been chasing the bicycles.
The lead girl issued commands and arranged her team on the side, each team consisting of one person with a blunt weapon paired with another wielding a sharp blade, splitting into two groups. The ones with the blunt weapons went first, swinging to strike at the zombies' heads. A hit from the blunt weapon had a certain chance of knocking the zombies down, and once a zombie fell, the sharp blade would leap forward, one hand pressing down on the zombie's chest and the other finishing it off.
Under the coordinated efforts of the two groups, the six zombies that had pursued the bicycle convoy were eliminated in the blink of an eye. What pained Lin Wu was that these people only killed the zombies without looting the corpses.
A Screeching Zombie appeared at some point, staggering toward the players. They didn't run away, but instead, a player wielding a metal pipe charged at the Screecher, moving very quickly. Screechers only let out their scream when they got within a certain distance of the player. Just as the Screecher bent its head, preparing to look up and scream, the player with the pipe had already landed a blow on its body. The Screecher's casting was interrupted and, as it bent its head down again, it took another hit from the pipe. Like this, the player with the pipe effortlessly took down the Screeching Zombie that many players would go out of their way to avoid.
Wow, a master indeed! Lin Wu didn't believe that five experts would gather in the same area, so he surmised that the female leader was the expert, who had given the players a brief training on how to efficiently kill the zombies.
The five players crouched by a stone monument some twenty meters from the front entrance of the church, whispering amongst themselves. The leader even took out a monocular to take a look. Lin Wu was sure they had a clear view of the church from their position and had already ascertained what was inside.
After a short discussion, one of the players, staying low, approached the church entrance and tossed a small stone inside, then quickly retreated after waiting a moment. Soon after, a zombie chased out. Except for one particular feature, this zombie was no different from the ordinary ones; the feature was quite apparent—the zombie's body seemed to be enveloped by a layer of bloody mist.
To put it more precisely, the zombie's body was smeared with a layer of blood-color, as the mist did not drift with the wind. The four players continued to keep still, and the player luring the enemy used the open space in front of the church to pull the zombie aside.
The player didn't attack the zombie with the pipe; instead, he extended his left arm for the zombie to grab. After retreating repeatedly, he extended his arm again for the zombie to bite. Then, he turned and ran.
The leader took out a crossbow arrow and, with one shot, exploded the zombie's head, then joined the others to rendezvous with the injured player. After a brief discussion on the spot, the five got back on their bicycles and left the mountaintop church.
Lin Wu watched them ride past the bridge, heading towards Left County. About a kilometer later, the convoy turned right off the main road, and soon they were out of sight. It was highly likely that their base was located about a kilometer from the mountaintop church. Judging by their command level and combat coordination skills, competing with them for the mountaintop church would be very difficult.
Lin Wu was a decisive person, and regardless of whether his decisions were right or wrong, he was always quick to make them. Should he return to base and report to Stone, or should he meet the others directly? Lin Wu chose to meet with them. His reasoning was that the mountaintop church was large enough that there might be room for cooperation between the two parties, and even if they couldn't collaborate, he would still get to know the experts, exchange radio channels, and be able to consult each other if there were problems.
As for whether they would kill him or not, Lin Wu didn't dwell on it, because he didn't feel he was worth that much. Besides the refined steel dagger and the medical kit, he only carried two novice weapons for close combat.
…
The road to Left County was clear, with no obstacles. After crossing the bridge, Lin Wu noticed that even the zombies were sparse. It was a vast plain, with a farm appearing every few hundred meters. Standing by the side of the road, Lin Wu took a moment to observe and saw that only a few zombies were allocated to each farm. He also confirmed that the players' base was located in a small farmstead two hundred meters away. Unlike the Shadow base, this base had a lookout post about five meters high, which allowed them to oversee the surroundings, although there was no one on duty.
Lin Wu continued down the road towards the players' base, making sure to look left and right. As he got closer to the base, he stopped to take a closer look at a farm on the left, hoping to understand more about the characteristics of the farmstead base.
The farmsteads were divided into several types: crop farms, livestock farms, and processing farms. Lin Wu believed that different farmsteads contained different resource packs. Seeing that each farm was equipped with farming machinery, he surmised that there must be gasoline reserves within the farms. The plain seemed sparse with people but was actually rich in resources.
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As he approached the player base, a man stepped forward to greet him, "Hey, brother, sorry, but the base is full. Turn right and walk one kilometer, there's another base."
Lin Wu replied, "No, I'm here to see your leader." He waved to the woman leader who emerged from the building.
After sizing up Lin Wu, the woman leader asked, "How do you know I am the leader?"
"Ah..." Lin Wu asked, "Would you believe me if I said I guessed?"
The woman leader was attractive and very spirited, looking to be in her mid-twenties. Hearing Lin Wu's response, she shook her head, "I don't believe it." While they spoke, another man came out from inside the building and positioned himself to the side, creating a pincer movement, showing rather obvious hostility.
The wise adapt to circumstances, and Lin Wu knew he couldn't joke anymore. He explained, "I am a member of Shadow Base, and I hope to communicate with you about the mountain top church matter."
"Mountain top church?" The woman leader wasn't concerned about Shadow Base but was interested in the mountain top church, asking, "How do we communicate?"
Lin Wu replied, "I'm not the Principal. If possible, can the Shadow Principal communicate with you?"
After thinking it over for a moment, the woman leader gestured, "Please come in."
...
The farm base was quite simple, with only a single-story building. The floor was earthen, and a narrow corridor went through the building. On one side of the corridor, there were partitioned livestock pens, and their unit was inside one of the pens. Lacking tables and chairs, the radio was placed in the middle of the corridor, making the already cramped space feel even more congested.
Although the conditions were harsh, unlike Shadow Base, the farm base had the bonus of an outpost, which could reduce the threat level. The threat level affected the intensity of zombie sieges. However, maintaining the outpost required the additional expense of one ammunition resource daily.
Lin Wu tuned the radio: "Calling Shadow, this is Liangren, this is Liangren, respond if you receive."
The woman leader looked confused, "What does Liangren mean?"
Lin Wu explained, "Code name, the antonym of darkness is light."
The woman leader asked, "Is the antonym of shadow, person?"
Lin Wu smiled and shook his head in response. He didn't understand why the woman leader was taking it so seriously, seemingly unable to detect his joking tone, and Lin Wu didn't think it was wise to explain further. He continued calling, "Calling Shadow... Stone, dinner's ready... "