In the afternoon, at 6:17 PM, as the sky gradually darkened and nightfall approached.
Hum—
A roar like that of a wild beast erupted from an engine, as Ray, driving an armored vehicle, entered Wu'an District on the edge of Donghai City.
"Jarvis, how far is it to our destination?"
"Three hundred meters."
"Yuqing, keep an eye on the road conditions, and Zhizhou, be ready to deal with zombies that might appear at any moment."
"Got it!" The two women responded in unison.
They were on a bustling commercial street, and their destination was a modest nine-story hotel located at the edge of this street.
With darkness fast approaching, continuing their journey would undeniably pose a significant risk.
Therefore, the trio decided to find a place to stay nearby and continue their journey the next day.
Originally, they had planned to reach the downtown area of Donghai City by 4 PM.
The reason they had only just arrived was due to an encounter with a group of survivors, numbering around a dozen.
The chaotic situation in Donghai City hadn't fully stabilized yet, and many survivor groups adhered to the principle of quietly developing their strength, trying to avoid conflicts as much as possible.
However, Ray's armored vehicle was too conspicuous.
Such a steel beast was irresistible to anyone.
Unsurprisingly, these individuals harbored malicious intentions.
And the outcome was just as predictable.
Not one of the dozen people survived; Ray wiped them all out in one fell swoop.
This incident also attracted a small horde of zombies, causing some delay.
"Ray, there's an evolved zombie near the hotel. Should we snipe it?"
Zhao Zhizhou, always on alert with her sniper rifle, asked this after inquiring Jarvis about the zombie situation near the hotel.
By this time, the outline of the hotel had already appeared in their line of sight, including that evolved zombie. Ray immediately replied, "Take it out with a snipe!"
Bang—
A gunshot echoed, and the aimlessly wandering evolved zombie fell to the ground, its head blown off.
"Hehe...heh..."
"Woof...hooh..."
However, this gunshot attracted the attention of all zombies in the vicinity, including some hidden in the shadows. They immediately roared and rushed out, heading towards them.
In a matter of moments, the attracted zombies converged, forming a small horde numbering three to four hundred.
Ray and his team were already accustomed to this.
"Jarvis, you take the wheel."
"Alright, sir."
"Yuqing, go grab the assault rifle, and join us at the sunroof."
"Okay."
A flash of excitement passed through Liu Yuqing's eyes as she agreed.
She immediately got up, grabbed her assault rifle, and stood on the platform beneath the sunroof, half of her body protruding out.
This was their third opportunity to practice shooting on this journey! And also her third time handling a gun.
Liu Yuqing naturally cherished it.
Previously, ammunition was very limited, certainly not enough for Liu Yuqing, who was still not very familiar with rifles, to practice.
Now, however, they had nearly nine thousand rounds of ammunition!
They naturally didn't mind the bullets Liu Yuqing would use for practicing her shooting.
This was thanks to the group of survivors they encountered, who not only delivered over six thousand 7.62mm rounds but also nearly ten AKs, two light sniper rifles, and over a dozen handguns.
This provided Ray with a significant stockpile of firearms and materials for modifications!
In addition, various explosives also significantly contributed to the increase in Ray's supplies.
Ratatat—
The three individuals, leaning out from the sunroof, immediately pulled the triggers upon facing the small horde of zombies rapidly approaching them, firing 7.62mm bullets.
Ray and Zhao Zhizhou opted for sweeping fire, nearly two shots per zombie, while Liu Yuqing, who was still in the practice phase, used controlled bursts and managed to kill a zombie within five shots.
Pop, pop, pop—
As bullets poured into the small horde as if they were free, zombies' heads burst open one by one, instantly killed by headshots.
Before long, roughly the time it took for the armored vehicle to circle the hotel once, there were no more zombies behind them—they had killed them all!
As for the zombies attracted from farther away, they were still some distance from them, posing no threat.
After shooting the last zombie in the head, Liu Yuqing couldn't help but shout excitedly.
"This feels so awesome!"
However, the ensuing soreness in her shoulders made her frown slightly.
Ray smiled, "Not bad, you're making quick progress. Practice like this a couple more times, and you'll be ready to try the sniper rifle."
Squeak—
Just then, the armored vehicle slowly drove to the hotel's entrance and stopped.
The hotel's main door was wide open, saving them the time it would take to climb through windows.
As for the zombies on the first floor of the hotel, they had almost all been lured out by the noise they made earlier and were killed together.
"Alright, grab what you need to take, and let's get out of the car."
"Okay."
The two women agreed, put their guns away, and returned to the vehicle's cabin.
Half a minute later, all three of them got out of the car and walked into the hotel.
"Why did you bring these two boxes down too?"
At that moment, Liu Yuqing suddenly noticed the two bulky, large black boxes Ray was carrying, puzzled.
She remembered that these boxes were filled with various explosives.
"Secret!"
Ray replied with a mysterious smile, offering no explanation.
Then, as usual, the three of them formed a triangle and quickly moved upstairs.
Thanks to previous practice, Liu Yuqing had become very proficient with handguns, and the trio had established a strong understanding among themselves.
In less than twenty minutes, they fought their way to the top floor, the ninth floor of the hotel.
Along the way, they encountered an evolved zombie.
Unfortunately, it was no match for Ray.
Originally, Ray was already capable of handling evolved zombies. Earlier in the vehicle, he had taken a bottle of "Basic Strength Potion," which, although its effects were halved, increasing his strength attribute by only 10 points, still made his strength five times that of a normal person!
Facing a strength-enhanced evolved zombie charging at him, Ray didn't bother with any superfluous actions. He pulled out his kukri and with a single swing, cleaved it in two.
Why not use a handgun?
The defense of strength-enhanced zombies is astonishing, and ordinary firearms hardly pose a significant threat to them!
Unless it's a sniper rifle!
But using a sniper rifle in the hotel's narrow corridors, less than ten meters long, was clearly impractical. Moreover, with Ray's "Advanced Combat Skills," his close-combat capabilities were even stronger.
"Let's take this room, it's similar to the one at the Hilton. It also has two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom."
After reaching the ninth floor and clearing out the zombies, the trio found a larger and clean room to settle into.