Without something to strive for, the entire community would stagnate. Those with strength and vision deserved different rewards; forced to mingle with the ordinary, they’d feel like lions among dogs—eventually growing frustrated, and in time, losing their drive.
No human could entirely subdue their instinct for superiority. The skilled should be distinguished, placed elsewhere, granted special benefits. Living close to brilliance uplifts; people in the apocalypse don’t get to shine by mere proximity but through sacrifice on the front lines, risking life, exchanging blood and sweat.
Such sacrifices deserved to be rewarded with a better life in the center—that was true fairness.
After Richard left, Murphy pushed the "document" to the center of the table and turned to the thirty-something man in a gray suit with a hint of arrogance on his face, asking,"Deputy Chief Reyes, what do you make of this?"This young man was Percy Reyes, deputy chief of supplies, responsible for overseeing non-standard supplies for the entire survivor base in Lakeside County. Of course, he was also the only son of County Chief Murphy Reyes.Percy carefully re-read the fake document, scrutinizing it repeatedly but finding no flaws. Finally, he replied cautiously,"Father… County Chief Reyes, I think we should confiscate all related materials and issue a strict reminder to all military personnel against indiscriminate acceptance of supplies. We absolutely cannot appear to be supporting these bandits."Murphy tapped his fingers on the table before asking,"Hmm, anything else?"His tone was calm and indifferent, seemingly without any emotional nuance, making it impossible to gauge what h
After a brief fifteen-minute respite, the vehicle arrived at the frontlines.Brady had taken over for Richard to accompany Jarred, and now he turned to him with a cautious question."Captain Lawton, which battlefront would you like to join?"This young man’s strength was almost at a commander’s level, so his opinion mattered most.Jarred listened as Brady quickly introduced the four battlefields, then, considering his own plans, quickly made a decision."Take me to the front where the humans have the strongest defenses, I’m terrified of dying and need safety—absolute safety."After thinking for a moment, Richard replied: “Then the frontline led by Commander Sears is the place for you, it has the highest number of protectors."With the decision made, Jarred was soon escorted to the battle’s border by a Lakeside soldier.The fighting here was ferocious. As far as the eye could see, black waves of zombies surged forward. The humans, though valiantly holding their ground, were forced to r
In addition, Jarred wanted to keep the secret of the demon-slaying gun under wraps. From the intelligence gathered, no one in Lakeside had heard of this weapon, and he had no intention of sharing it with the opposing side.By drawing their attention to his unique ability to create effects for the bullets, he achieved his objective for this mission.After finishing the preparations and climbing out of the vehicle, Jarred was met by cold and hostile stares from all around. He scoffed. These fools had annoyed him since he’d arrived, ogling his sister-in-law as they were. He could only wish to bind them up and haul them back to Hope to deal with, but they had no real connection to him—why should he care?Jarred then stepped forward, tossing the modified round to a nearby team member operating the SPG-09 recoilless gun and nonchalantly commanded:“Direct shot at shielded Level 25, target should be at least 1.6 kilometers away.”The teammate, catching the PG-9V round, was taken aback, stari
At that thought, his eyes widened, his pupils darted around before narrowing quickly.Memories flooded back of being chased by a towering creature, standing at nearly three meters, with dark, slimy skin and furious howls echoing behind him. That had been one of Wylie’s riskiest missions, where he was tasked with luring a terrifying monster into a trap."A Devouring Type… an Eat-2, at least level 23…"Cold sweat poured from Wylie’s forehead. It had been so long since he’d last encountered a Devouring Type that he’d almost forgotten the existence of such creatures.This was the most formidable kind of zombie. Intelligent, strong, fast, resilient, with supreme combat skills, the ability to level up by devouring other zombies, self-repair abilities, tactical awareness, and even the instinct to retreat when facing danger. Practically without weaknesses, even severing the head couldn’t kill it — they had to electrocute it with high-voltage power. It was only missing flight and the ability t
Tyra, a woman in her twenties, pointed to a newly drawn terrain map, cross-referencing it with the data on the screen and the written report, and began her update in a soft tone:“Commander, currently, approximately 80% of Cloudy Town shows no signs of free-roaming zombies, and the entire townscape is one of complete ruin.”“Both Zone A and Zone D exhibit signs of intense explosions and fires. Observations suggest these were accidental, possibly caused by electrical short circuits after the apocalypse or unattended fires, not deliberate attempts by humans to attack the zombies.”“In Zone C, several barricades and new roadblocks ha
Meanwhile, Wallflower’s gun crew had been surrounded by a group of six or seven newcomers, some seeking to learn and others to interrogate.Those who came to question initially arrived out of curiosity, but after hearing Jarred’s explanations, they were fuming."What? You brought twenty shells, but eighteen fell out in a bush by the road?""You lost artillery shells while… going to the bathroom? Were you carrying them somewhere they shouldn’t have been?""Jarred, the official count on your requisition was exactly twenty shells. Bringing only two? This is a breach of contract!"Most of the crowd shared this sentiment, yet out of nowhere came an officer from the Fourth Battalion, Deputy Commander General Ambrose Santos, who approached Jarred sincerely."Jarred, I heard you can reinforce shells with special abilities? Come to our battlefield, we’ll provide you with anti-tank rounds, howitzers, and DKZ-82 recoilless guns to work your enhancements."Hearing this, Black, the Deputy Commande
That’s why the specialized shells caused such monstrous damage, they retained full energy for all three internal rounds without losing potency.Previously, that black dog at level 21 could rival an F2 level 25 simply by holding two demon-slaying bullets. Since the bullets hadn’t been fired, they retained all their latent threat, with effects waiting to be unleashed.Back on the battlefield, just one PG-9V shell had broken half of the zombie group’s defenses, creating a huge impact among those present. Ambrose, in particular, was certain the round had been entirely normal before Jarred’s modification. The difference in power was staggering. What kind of ability was this?Black was equally shocked, his eyes fixed on Jarred with an intense glint."This kid can’t be allowed to return to Renaissance, his ability is too useful."He wasn’t the only one, several others felt the same way. A superhuman who could enchant artillery rounds was truly unique. They lacked exactly this kind of talent
The high command overseeing the campaign initially intended to continue the pursuit with specialized artillery, but Jarred kept glancing at the time and eventually waved his hand, signaling for a halt."I’m exhausted, mentally and physically.” he muttered: “If I don’t rest now, I’ll collapse. I can’t reinforce any more abilities right now."Although he was thoroughly protected by multiple layers of Light Armor, two lapses in Soul Suppression had left him on the edge. While others like Nicky and Albin were still holding up, Jarred was not.Under Jarred’s heavy insistence, he was finally granted permission to withdraw.The jeep carrying Jarred Lawton, Nicky Weiss, and Albin Palmer left the battlefield, heading back to the rear base. Joining them was Richard Savage, who personally arrived to receive them."Head of Department Savage, we’ve missed home for too long, let’s just head straight back. No need for a reception or welcome party.” Jarred mumbled drowsily in the jeep, stifling a yaw