Xia Chang bent over panting, taking two minutes of broken speech to complete his message: "The river is packed with zombies and beasts, we paddled upstream... The current will wash some away, but I estimate nearly four hundred will still make it across..."
"Four hundred!" Song Ziyi's mouth formed a perfect O, showing rare signs of concern.
That number meant eighty per person—even slaughtering eighty chickens, ducks, or geese would be exhausting, let alone killing aggressive zombies and beasts. They'd likely be completely drained by the end.
But A Miao had spotted their luggage, wedged between the raised roots of an ancient tree. Being stuck there made it inconspicuous, and it hadn't been torn apart by zombies and beasts yet.
Once they finished this battle, they could successfully cross to the other shore and retrieve their lost luggage!
Xia Chang said, "No matter how difficult, we must overcome it. We've come this far without injuries, we can't give up halfway!"
At this crucial moment, Qian Zhenzhen made a big investment, buying vitality potions worth 66 Koi Vouchers from the voucher shop. She told everyone, "I have a potion that can temporarily boost our physical abilities for about two hours, but there are side effects after it wears off—headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and those with weak constitutions might even get sick..."
Before she finished speaking, the wandering team said in unison, "That's fine, we'll drink it!"
Qian Zhenzhen went inside, poured five cups of drinking water, added 20% vitality potion to each, then called the four outside, "We'll drink when they appear."
A Miao looked at the cup, slightly furrowing his brow, and suddenly asked, "Can I not drink it? I'm not tired."
"Hey, give it to me then!" Song Ziyi reached for his cup. "I'll drink more, I can take on a hundred!"
Lu Qin kicked him. "Stop fooling around, that's A Miao's."
Qian Zhenzhen studied A Miao's expression and asked again, "Are you really not tired? Or do you just dislike the potion, so..."
"A Miao." Xia Chang considered their situation carefully. "Among us, you're the strongest, and drinking the potion will make you even stronger."
He pointed at the chevaux de frise outside the door. "With 400 of them, these simple defensive structures won't hold. Once the zombies and beasts break through, some of us will get injured, and we'll have to retreat into the inn."
After hearing this, A Miao pressed his lips together and nodded. "Then I'll drink it."
Qian Zhenzhen moved closer to him. "...Are you okay?"
A Miao shook his head calmly. "I'm fine."
Twenty minutes later, a large horde of zombies and beasts approached.
Song Ziyi was the first to charge out after drinking the potion, shouting excitedly. Xia Chang and Lu Qin followed right after, putting down their cups and running out.
After drinking the potion, Qian Zhenzhen was delighted to discover her comprehensive rating had temporarily risen to B+!
As for A Miao... he was sniffing at the cup of water mixed with the potion.
Seeing his hesitation, Qian Zhenzhen reached for the cup. "If you really don't want to drink it, then—"
A Miao threw his head back and downed it in one go, then frowned and inhaled sharply, complaining for the first time: "It tastes terrible."
Qian Zhenzhen: ...Terrible? o(⊙﹏⊙)o
At most it tasted like sugarcane juice with a dash of vinegar—quite mild, really.
Could he be allergic to something in the energy potion?
Qian Zhenzhen felt worried.
A Miao had eaten overcooked sweet potatoes before, even with the skin on, and had never once complained about the taste.
Unfortunately, the situation was urgent and there was no time to think about it further. The two of them put down their cups and rushed out with their weapons.
Zombies and beasts were packed in layers, crowding around in circles and spreading to the east and west sides. The chevaux de frise shook violently, spikes breaking one after another, the fixed frames cracking ominously—they could collapse at any moment.
A Miao and Song Ziyi faced the enemy head-on, while Qian Zhenzhen and Lu Qin moved to the east side, and Xia Chang to the west. The five of them, feeling power surge through their bodies, threw themselves into the fierce battle.
When one zombie fell, another lunged forward. Many beasts lay trampled to death, while others clawed at the ground, trying to break through from below.
Qian Zhenzhen gripped her spike, forcefully stabbing at a lunging wolf's head and pinning its body to the ground. Then bang-bang-bang, she raised her wrench and beat it to death.
Suddenly something heavy flew at her from behind. She dodged in shock, only to realize it was a zombie head that had rolled to the ground, cut off by—oh, it was A Miao.
His iron axe flashed a dazzling cold light in the sunlight. With just one shadowy streak, a head would fall. Qian Zhenzhen had only glanced a few times, but he had already swiftly killed four zombies and was charging at the fifth! In the system, his comprehensive rating had reached S!
Not just him—the wandering team had all risen to rank A. The potion had given them full power, and everyone was going all out, their attack speed greatly increased.
Zombies and beasts fell one after another, trampled into pulp by those behind them. Blood and pus mixed together, soaking large patches of ground. Under the fierce afternoon sun, the five fought until they were covered in filth, sweat pouring down like rain.
"Brother Xia, watch out on the left!"
"A Miao, quick, help!"
"Zombies are crawling in over there!"
"Watch your feet!"
Boom! A row of chevaux de frise completely collapsed, and the zombies rushed toward Qian Zhenzhen and Lu Qin.
A Miao's axe rose and fell, cutting down the zombies in front of him as he stood guard before them.
Xia Chang and Song Ziyi provided cover from the left and right as the five contracted their defensive line, fighting while retreating.
Seventy-something... fifty-something... thirty-something...
Lu Qin kicked over the last wolf and roared as she brought down her spiked club, sending up a bloody firework to mark the end of the battle.
After an hour and a half of fighting, they had overcome great danger and eliminated all the enemies.
[You killed [Zombies/Beasts]*41]
[Your employee [Qian Zhenmiao] killed [Zombies/Beasts]*159]
[Your guest [Xia Chang] killed [Zombies/Beasts]*62]
[Your guest [Lu Qin] killed [Zombies/Beasts]*50]
[Your guest [Song Ziyi] killed [Zombies/Beasts]*88]
These impressive battle results represented a huge amount of money and experience points. Qian Zhenzhen could already sense that her living conditions were about to undergo an earth-shattering change!
However... the chevaux de frise had mostly collapsed, with the northern side and both east and west sections destroyed. The wooden cabin had no defenses left, and the vegetable plot was exposed to the outside.
[The inn's defensive facilities have been damaged, damage level 48% (medium), would you like to spend materials/Koi vouchers for repairs?]
Qian Zhenzhen closed the prompt. Without enough materials, repairs would have to wait.
"Is it over?" Song Ziyi looked around with his weapon raised. The potion's effects were still active, and he felt energetic enough to keep fighting.