At exactly 11 o'clock, Chu Xun and his group immediately began to move. To Chu Xun's surprise, the leader of this operation wasn't Vincent, but the seemingly harmless, even somewhat gentle young man, Yang Ling.
After entering the city, Yang Ling immediately tapped the black watch on his wrist. A holographic map then projected above the watch, and from the size and layout of the map, it was clear that this was a city-wide map of the Number 7 Dead City!
"This is a city blueprint I acquired at great cost. Take a look and get a general understanding," Yang Ling said, tapping his watch again. The scale of the holographic map rapidly adjusted, and three blue, marked lines for the forward routes appeared on the map.
"The Number 7 Dead City isn't very large, so the routes are relatively simple. I'll give you three minutes to memorize these three paths. If we get scattered, we'll retreat along these lines immediately," Yang Ling said seriously, pointing at the map. "Apart from these three routes, the other paths have a significant number of automated defense weapons. Since the Number 7 Dead City was destroyed just over ten years ago, its energy reserves certainly haven't run out. If we take other routes, we could activate these weapons and bring unnecessary trouble."
"Excuse me, won't the zombies activate these defense weapons if they walk those paths?" Chu Xun asked curiously.
"When the Number 7 Dead City fell, the nuclear reactors inside were accidentally shut down, and the automated defense weapons deactivated as well. That's why the zombies walking these paths aren't affected by those defenses," Yang Ling glanced at Chu Xun and replied indifferently. "But to access the supply center this time, we'll need to restart the nuclear reactors, which will reactivate all the defense weapons, so we need to be extra careful!"
"I see!" Chu Xun nodded slightly, then turned his attention to the holographic map, mentally noting the routes.
After his powers enhanced, not only had his physical abilities improved, but his brain's potential seemed to have been unlocked as well. While he wasn't yet at the level of photographic memory, with some focus, memorizing this small map was still relatively simple.
"Don't mind it, that's just Yang Ling's personality. If you spend enough time with him, you'll notice that beneath his calm exterior, he's actually a bit of a hidden character!" At this moment, Chu Hang suddenly nudged Chu Xun and said with a grin, "And he's very loyal, the kind of trustworthy partner you can rely on."
"Yeah, I can tell!" Chu Xun nodded. Since both Vincent and Chu Hang had chosen Yang Ling as the operational leader, they clearly trusted him a lot.
"By the way, you also have the surname Chu. Are you from the Chu family too?" Looking at Chu Hang's somewhat pale, youthful face, Chu Xun suddenly asked.
"Haha, same surname, different fate!" Chu Hang shrugged and laughed, "I'm just an ordinary person, lucky enough to gain some powers, then became a Ruin Hunter. I'm not like you, a high-born aristocrat."
"Sorry…" Hearing Chu Hang's words, Chu Xun didn't know how to respond.
"No worries! Life's a mix of fate and effort. If the heavens gave me some luck and I gained powers, I'd be wasting it if I didn't try my best. Otherwise, I'd be no better than a salted fish!" Chu Hang didn't seem to mind, smiling lightly and continuing, "Plus, being able to latch onto someone like you is a stroke of luck. Not to mention your connection with the Martial Maniac, just you and your pet are enough to boost our chances of success!"
At this point, a curious look appeared on Chu Hang's face as he asked, "But yesterday, I saw you almost burned to a crisp. How did you recover so quickly?"
"My body's recovery ability is pretty good," Chu Xun smiled slightly, then asked out of curiosity, "What about you? I noticed you disappeared right after the battle ended. I was planning to thank you properly for your help."
"Eh, I had arranged to go with these two guys. But during resupply in Satellite Town 4, we got surrounded by a wolf pack. If it wasn't for your and Martial Maniac's support, I'd probably still be stuck there," Chu Hang waved his hand and said, "So, no need to mention gratitude. We're just helping each other out."
"Alright, three minutes are up. Let's get moving!" At this moment, Yang Ling interrupted their conversation and pressed his watch to retract the holographic map. He said, "I'll take point, monitor, and activate the Dead City's nuclear devices. Vincent and Chu Xun, you'll protect me and clear the way. As for Chu Hang, you'll keep doing what you've been doing—clear the path and provide support."
"Got it!" Chu Xun and the others nodded and stopped talking, preparing to move out.
This was a journey of adventure in the Dead City. Once they set off, they had to stay alert at all times, or they might lose their lives!
"I'll set up the perimeter first!" Seeing the serious expressions on everyone's faces, Yang Ling nodded in satisfaction and pulled out a few round balls the size of soybeans from his pocket, tossing them into the air.
Buzz… buzz… buzz…
The tiny round balls quickly transformed into fly-like drones in mid-air, flying off in all directions. At the same time, a row of data and small images appeared on the left lens of Yang Ling's glasses.
Clearly, the drones were equipped with surveillance devices.
"Advanced technology…" Chu Xun couldn't help but marvel slightly at the sci-fi-like display.
Though he had already known that in this seemingly broken world, technology had surpassed what it was on Earth before the collapse, he had mostly encountered abilities and martial arts since crossing over. He hadn't interacted much with technology.
But from what Yang Ling showed now, it was clear that the level of technology in this world was beyond what he imagined. Especially when abilities and technology combined, the resulting power was likely even more overwhelming.
"Damn it!" Soon, the miniature drones provided enough intel, but the information made Yang Ling frown, cursing under his breath.
"What's wrong?" Chu Xun and the others immediately asked.
"There are too many zombies on the path ahead, and there are two Lickers resting there," Yang Ling shook his head and said grimly, "It'll be very difficult to pass without alerting the zombie horde!"
"Two Lickers?" The others' expressions turned grim. Lickers were only first-tier dangerous creatures, but they were among the most dangerous in their tier. It would be very hard to deal with two Lickers without disturbing the zombies.
"Didn't we prepare scent neutralizers?" Vincent frowned and suggested.
Human ingenuity was impressive. After studying the characteristics of various dangerous creatures, humans developed strategies to counter them. For example, the scent neutralizer could temporarily blend human scent with the surrounding environment, tricking zombies, who had excellent olfactory senses but poor vision.
"It's useless," Yang Ling shook his head with a dark expression. "Lickers not only have an extraordinary sense of smell, but they also have sharp hearing. Even if we mask our scent, we can't cover up the sound of our heartbeat or the blood flowing in our veins. To the Lickers, those sounds are like the dinner bell."
At this point, Yang Ling turned to look at Chu Hang and asked, "Chu Hang, with your strength, can you take down both Lickers at the same time? If we get rid of them, we can use the scent neutralizers to avoid the regular zombies and take that path!"
"With my strength, I could quietly take down one Licker at most!" Chu Hang shook his head, then glanced at Chu Xun and said, "But I think Chu Xun might be able to handle the other one!"
"Chu Xun, do you think you can do it?" At hearing Chu Hang's words, both Vincent and Yang Ling turned their attention to Chu Xun.
If Chu Xun couldn't take out the Licker without alerting the zombies, they would likely have to abandon this mission.
After all, compared to risking a full-on assault on the Dead City, it would be better to find another opportunity and start over.
"It should be fine!" Chu Xun hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He flipped his right hand, and a dark purple card appeared in his palm.
When it came to assassination and ambush, no creature was more skilled than the Xenomorphs!