Amid the deafening roar of gunfire, Chu Lian stood calmly atop a bench. At that moment, she shone with unmatched brilliance—so dazzling that, to the zombies, especially the evolved ones hidden among them, she was like a piece of irresistibly delicious meat. Somewhere deep within their foggy consciousness and primal instinct, a voice told them that eating this person before them would be far more beneficial than devouring a million ordinary humans.
Thus, the already raging tide of zombies began to riot even more violently. They showed no fear of death, moving forward mechanically, driven by nothing but instinct—to seek food, to obey the commands of higher-ranked zombies, to advance ceaselessly.
If not for the special operations team's use of a strange potion—one that, when thrown upon the ground, instantly melted the flesh and bones of the undead, reducing them to fertilizer that seeped into the soil—this place would already have been buried under piles of corpses within minutes.
In siege warfare, the hardest part is not the offense—it is the defense. Especially when facing an enemy that outnumbers you many times over. The pressure of both body and spirit rapidly drains one's stamina and focus.
Fortunately, most of the people here were no ordinary humans. Not to mention Chu Lian and her group, even the special operations soldiers had consumed the medicine left behind by that white-robed youth before coming here. Within just six hours, their physical stats had skyrocketed, and their endurance had become nearly limitless.
Having endured endless battles, their mental fortitude surpassed even that of Chu Lian and her companions. Thus, when confronted with these monstrous zombies, not one of them thought to retreat.
"Their numbers are increasing... It's time to act." Chu Lian wasn't just standing there for show—she had been waiting for the right moment to strike and eliminate potential threats.
In truth, as a perpetual motion engine, she had no need to worry about energy consumption. Yet she had two reasons for holding back. First, she wanted her companions—especially Li Xiu'er and the others—to experience real battle and grow through it. Second, she feared that if she acted too early, she might not be able to provide timely support when danger arose elsewhere.
Even a perpetual motion engine required time to recover. When one-tenth of her Spiritual Power was consumed, she normally needed three minutes to replenish it. But with the [Spirit Convergence Device], it took only ten seconds to restore that same amount.
In theory, unless she expended all her Spiritual Power at once, she could sustain high-intensity combat for about an hour—and nearly two hours when factoring in passive recovery.
Now, however, her endurance depended entirely on how long the [Spirit Convergence Device] could maintain its amplification. But if she consumed too much power too quickly, it would still lead to temporary emptiness—a dangerous vulnerability, as if telling the enemy, "I'm exhausted. Now's your chance."
After countless battles—especially after nearly losing most of her comrades—Chu Lian's once restless heart had grown calm. Her thoughts became more comprehensive, her judgment sharper. She no longer hesitated when making decisions.
"There's no way this many zombies were transported here by manpower alone. I don't believe America would be foolish enough to do that. Back when Miami was in chaos, they already expended enormous manpower and resources. To transport all these zombies by land—a method so prone to disaster—would be absurd. That means the American military must be hiding technology unknown to us... like how Huaxia has its [Spiritual Energy Weapons]. Both are secrets never made public." Remaining on alert for possible threats, Chu Lian analyzed quietly.
"However, judging by how well-prepared Huaxia's special forces seem, they must have anticipated this. Perhaps they even knew long ago. Seeing their level of readiness... it's clear they came to America intending to cause major disruption. From the moment they set foot in Japan, their so-called 'protection mission' was already compromised."
"During their time in Japan, they must have secretly investigated anti-Chinese organizations, perhaps even eliminating a few troublesome figures. Following us all the way to America—it seems this was their true objective."
"It seems we were all deceived. None of these national elites are fools. Even the identities they've arranged for themselves are perfectly crafted. Using the excuse of the terrifying creatures in Jiuzhaigou and the anti-Chinese organizations in Japan, they joined us as supposed protectors—traveling around the world alongside a group of seemingly unremarkable students. While offering us a degree of protection, we've also become their cover, a convenient shield for their covert operations," Chu Lian thought to herself.
"This feels like some James Bond plot... Life really can be more thrilling than the movies, huh?" she muttered while her hands moved swiftly. One after another, arrows formed of Spiritual Power shot forth, killing the evolved zombies attempting to ambush them.
Her assumptions were not wrong. The true mission of this unit was indeed to act as bodyguards while secretly purging anti-Chinese organizations in Japan, stirring trouble in the United States, and eventually heading to Europe for special assignments.
What she didn't know, however, was that the true commander of this force was none other than her father. In order to protect his two beloved daughters, he had given the unit an absolute order—above all else, ensure the safety of the two girls and everyone around them.
Otherwise, there was no way these elite soldiers of Huaxia would throw themselves so desperately into danger. Even if they personally agreed to it, their superiors would never allow such precious assets to die protecting a few promising students who might or might not reach their potential in the future.
That was also why, back in Japan, they had hesitated to act. They weren't merely studying the environment—they were waiting for orders. Who could have guessed that a single command from the supreme leader would completely change their mission?
"I don't know why they're fighting so desperately now... They seem to have this tragic resolve—to protect us even if it costs their lives. Still, I can't deny it—their presence has helped me tremendously." As she pondered this, Chu Lian finally released the arrow she had been charging for three full seconds.
That arrow flew toward the section of the riverbank where Li Xiu'er and the others were defending. Chu Lian had noticed that the energy crystals powering their spiritual weapons were nearly depleted, so she decided to clear the area for them—giving them a moment's respite to rest and reload.
The new ability unlocked after releasing the second seal of the [Seven Illusions Bow] did not disappoint her. As she had predicted, the arrow transformed mid-flight into a massive projectile—its shaft nearly ten meters long and its head three meters thick—piercing straight through the densest part of the zombie horde.
The river boiled in its wake, red-scaled fish rising lifelessly to the surface. Many of the zombies, scalded by the sudden heat, had their flesh slough off, leaving them helpless as the raging current swept them away.
The devastating arrow—"Unstoppable"—had consumed seventy percent of Chu Lian's Spiritual Power, yet its destructive force far exceeded her expectations. It carved through nearly a thousand meters of the undead tide before exploding, leaving behind a crater over ten meters wide.
"What terrifying power... Even if I used seventy percent of my strength directly, I could at most destroy everything within a hundred-meter radius. But this arrow—empowered by the [Seven Illusions Bow]—pierced through tens of thousands of enemies before detonating. Just what kind of divine weapon is this? Its creator must have been a god..." Chu Lian's eyes widened in astonishment.
The sheer might of the attack shocked even her. No matter how she calculated it, she hadn't expected such force. Her curiosity toward the origin of the [Seven Illusions Bow] grew deeper.
After all, she hadn't forgotten—the [Key of Seven Illusions] possessed seven distinct forms, and the [Seven Illusions Bow] was merely the weakest, the only one she could currently wield. Its power had been heavily sealed, leaving her only the most basic abilities to use.
"Well, whatever. Let's deal with these annoying creatures first." The gunfire around them intensified. Some mutated zombies had used the endless sea of undead as cover, creeping to within three meters of the defensive line. Had the elite special forces not acted swiftly to eliminate them, chaos would already have erupted.
"There…" Chu Lian's eyes carefully scanned the ocean of undead, searching for hidden evolved variants. Suddenly, she spotted one—a zombie with an abnormally large head but a child-sized body, grinning wickedly amid the horde.
"Ordinary zombies can't show any expression, and even most mutants can't either. Only you intelligence-evolved ones are capable of that." Her eyes locked on the creature like a precision satellite. Chu Lian slowly drew back the string of the [Seven Illusions Bow], pretending to aim toward the right side of the creature—but at the very last instant, she shifted her aim directly at it.
"Screee…" The large-headed zombie clearly sensed death approaching. It emitted a shrill, rodent-like cry, prompting several zombies to instinctively move in front of it as shields.
Unfortunately for it, once a target was locked onto by Chu Lian's [Seven Illusions Bow], there was no escape—unless one could move faster than the arrow's flight, or teleport away at the precise instant before impact.
Even the Nightshade Clan, with far superior stats, couldn't evade it. For this intelligence-type zombie with poor physical attributes, escape was pure fantasy.
Thwip—Boom! The arrow sliced cleanly through every zombie in its path, then pierced through the creature's oversized skull and embedded itself in the ground. A violent burst of Spiritual Power followed with a thunderous boom, clearing all undead within three meters and scattering those within ten meters like rag dolls.
"One down. But the next one won't be so easy," Chu Lian murmured. "Judging by how these things behave, their intelligence isn't inferior to an adult human's. That one never expected me to pick it out among so many, which is why it didn't bother to hide. Now that it's dead, the remaining intelligent ones will likely stay hidden." She rubbed her temples, feeling a dull ache.
By now, they had collectively slain nearly thirty thousand zombies—but compared to the endless sea before them, it was a drop in the ocean. The tide seemed infinite, with no sign of diminishing. If anything, it was growing.
"I really don't understand how insane these Americans are. Did they slaughter an entire country and turn everyone into zombies? This isn't a zombie apocalypse world—how could they possibly need this many just for research?!" she complained aloud, then suddenly froze mid-motion, her expression shifting as a realization dawned.
"Wait… that's it. I've been stupid. A zombie world… that must be it. The U.S. military must have found a portal leading to another world—one overrun entirely by the undead. Either that, or that's the only thing they've managed to retrieve from there. Because it's too dangerous, they transferred the zombies here through some costly method. That has to be it! I should've realized this long ago…"
Just as excitement flickered in her eyes from this revelation, a deep, thunderous roar echoed from afar. With it came a crushing wave of pressure that swept across the battlefield…