While Wen Yu was oblivious to danger and capitalizing on an opportunity, a group had gathered at the side entrance of Riverside Park.
"Brother Tao, most of the zombies have been drawn away by that Big Lion. Should we go in?" a sleazy-looking young man whispered to the burly man beside him.
"Tsk, that Big Lion just now was terrifying. It's even gained monstrous power in this apocalypse. What were you saying?" The burly man, still reeling from the sight of the departing Simba, was clearly slow to react.
Behind them stood a pair of very similar-looking twins, around twenty-three or twenty-four years old. One held a crossbow, the other a homemade hunting rifle. Hearing their leader's nonsensical words, one of them massaged his forehead. "Brother Tao, we're asking if we should stick to the original plan."
"Oh, oh, this is tricky, really tricky. What if there are more of those behemoths in the park? This is really hard."
The sleazy youth and the twins sighed heavily. Although they knew their leader was loyal and deeply valued camaraderie, his temperament... well, it was a real headache.
The twin with the crossbow ignored his leader's mumbling. He strode forward and, with incredible speed, fired three crossbow bolts, each accurately striking a zombie in the forehead. The Archer's F-Class skill, Precision, ensured every shot hit its mark at this range.
The other two gripped the burly man's arms and quickly followed. "I knew it," the sleazy youth muttered as they walked. "We should've just made Wanping the leader from the start."
Hearing this, the burly man wrenched his arms free and dashed to the front of the team, his steel saber a blur of motion. Even the remaining Level 1 zombies couldn't withstand the keen edge of his blade or its immense power. The obstacles in their path were quickly torn apart.
"What are you little rascals thinking?" the burly man at the lead managed to call back, grinning even as he dispatched zombies. "You think I don't know? You just see that I'm strong and full of energy, perfect for being a meat shield up front, and yet you dare talk about choosing a new leader?"
The other three acted as if they hadn't heard their captain's grumbling. Wanping, with the crossbow, kept firing at approaching zombies. Wan'an, holding the hunting rifle, agilely collected the bolts embedded in nearby zombies. The sleazy youth, Lin Li, kept his neck hunched, carefully observing their surroundings while staying close behind their team leader, Guan Tao.
This seemingly discordant team rapidly cleared out the zombies, carving a path into the park's interior.
The interior of the park was eerily quiet. Once they had dealt with the zombies tailing them, Guan Tao's group couldn't help but huddle together in the oppressive silence.
"Boss, d'you think there are ghosts in here?" Lin Li shrunk his neck, tugging at Guan Tao's sleeve.
"Ghosts? What ghosts could be more terrifying than that Big Lion? We came in here to snatch food from the lion's jaws! We're not even afraid of death, so why would we be afraid of ghosts?" Guan Tao retorted sharply, even as he instinctively tightened his collar, clearly not as fearless as his words suggested.
"Brother Tao, you still haven't told us why we're here in the park," Wanping asked, kicking away a zombie arm in disgust.
Once the four of them had somewhat adapted to the gloomy atmosphere, they cautiously proceeded deeper into the park.
"We're here for treasure, guys!!" Guan Tao squinted and whispered to his teammates.
The other three immediately shivered. Guan Tao's expression was simply too much. Imagine a man, six-foot-three and weighing 220 pounds, speaking in a conspiratorial "I'll tell you a little secret, don't tell anyone else, okay?" tone. You can guess how the other three felt. They fought back the urge to pummel Guan Tao.
Wanping's lip twitched. "What treasure?"
"Hahaha, brothers, that's something you wouldn't know." Guan Tao laughed triumphantly, pulling a crumpled soft pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket. He handed one to each of them. Lin Li, ever observant, quickly produced a lighter and lit cigarettes for his teammates.
PHEW.
Guan Tao leisurely exhaled a smoke ring. Seeing their expectant gazes, he said smugly, "Alright, since there's nothing else around, your big brother will tell you all about it."
"Come closer, come closer. Take a look, what do you think this is?"
Guan Tao pulled a pendant from around his neck. The three immediately leaned in, carefully examining the mysterious little object. On closer inspection, the pendant hanging from the chain was clearly a small, compass-like device. Its needle pointed resolutely towards a spot not far in front of them.
Guan Tao declared with a wide grin, "This, my brothers, is something I, your big brother, found in a silver vortex before I met up with you. You weren't there! Inside that vortex, there were dozens of those giant animals, like cats, dogs, rats, rabbits... even a huge tiger! It was terrifying!"
"But just look at your big brother, me!" Guan Tao heavily emphasized the "me."
"My steel saber skills were flawless, impenetrable! Like a war god reborn, unstoppable by ten thousand foes! I sent them flying with a single kick..."
The more Wanping and the others listened, the stranger it sounded. This guy is bullshitting, isn't he? He's definitely bullshitting.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Wanping hurriedly cut him off. "We've known each other for years. Don't you know what you're like? And you think we don't? Get to the point!"
"The point is, my steel saber..."
Seeing the murderous glares from the three, Guan Tao wisely shut his mouth.
"Alright, alright. Basically, I went into a silver vortex, saw a broken box, found a crappy compass inside, and then I brought you guys here," Guan Tao said aggrievedly, holding out the hand with the compass.
Wanping's eyes gleamed. He snatched the compass from Guan Tao's hand and began inspecting it closely.
"Hmm, it's pointing directly this way. If Brother Tao isn't exaggerating, this might actually be a treasure."
They had advanced less than ten meters when Wanping, seeing the compass needle begin to swing erratically, announced, "The pointer's going wild! We must be close!"
"Really? Is there actually treasure? Quick, let me see!" Hearing the word "treasure," Lin Li immediately rushed forward and snatched the compass.
"That is, if Brother Tao wasn't bullshitting," Lin Li added, shooting a disdainful look at Guan Tao.
Guan Tao retracted his neck and turned his head, mumbling something under his breath.
"This item probably appeared after the apocalypse, like the Stone Pillar," Wanping said. "Whether it's a blessing or a curse is still unknown. Treasures aren't usually easy to obtain."
Wanping remained calm. Seeing Lin Li's money-grubbing expression, he quickly dampened his enthusiasm.
"I knew it." Lin Li reluctantly stuffed the compass back into Wanping's hand. As the one who had been the brains of their group since they were kids, Lin Li had a lot of faith in Wanping's judgment.
"But we can't just leave it, right, Big Bro?" Wan'an said, looking teasingly at Guan Tao. "Besides, Brother Tao supposedly snatched this back from countless monsters."
Guan Tao shot Wan'an an irritated glare.
"I didn't say we'd ignore it. We just need to be cautious," Wanping replied calmly, carefully examining the compass in his hand.
"Hey! Have you all just decided amongst yourselves? Wasn't it agreed that I'm the captain?" Guan Tao protested indignantly.
Wanping looked at Guan Tao earnestly and said in an exceptionally solemn tone, "As captain, all you need to do is take the lead and charge ahead."