For the last few days, Qiao Mingxuan's White Shark Battalion had been running security for Ginkgo Town, which meant they were also the ones handling recon.
The latest report was unsettling: a horde of about two hundred zombies was shambling its way.
On paper, it wasn't a world-ending threat. The White Shark scouts confirmed they were mostly low-level—a handful of Level 4 Predators and Level 3 Assaulters, but the rest were just your garden-variety Level 2 Stiffs and Level 1 Walkers.
The zombie force itself wasn't terrifying, but Commander Qin Bing had other concerns. She didn't want a firefight on the town's doorstep, fearing the virus would spread through the streets in the aftermath. Besides, her own Killer Whale Battalion was flush with recruits, and she saw an opportunity. This was the perfect chance to blood the rookies in a real-world engagement.
She was a firm believer that the only true soldiers were the ones forged in the fires of actual combat.
At 10 a.m., Xiao Ke mustered the Killer Whale Battalion. The officers climbed into armored off-roaders while the grunts piled into the back of military trucks, the convoy kicking up dust as it rumbled toward the ambush point.
Xiao Ke's jeep held three men. Duan Canglong was behind the wheel, driving with his usual aggression. In the back, Luo Hou manned the roof-mounted machine gun, his eyes constantly scanning. And in the passenger seat, there was Xiao Ke.
He sat with his saber, "Fierce General," resting in his lap, his body subconsciously adjusting to the violent lurching of the jeep. He was a quick study. Though he hadn't been an Imperial soldier for long, he already had the quiet confidence of a seasoned vet.
Luo Hou, now used to Duan Canglong's chaotic driving, kept a firm grip on the machine gun. His eyes were like a hawk's, sweeping the desolate landscape. Every so often, he'd spot a lone, wandering zombie, swing the heavy gun around, and shred the distant target with a quick, merciless burst.
After hours of bouncing along the ruined roads, the convoy finally reached a canyon known as Pocket Pass—the chokepoint they'd chosen for the ambush.
Xiao Ke, who had been dozing lightly with his eyes closed, snapped them open the second the jeep rolled to a stop. His gaze was sharp, focused. He and Duan Canglong vaulted out of the vehicle in one fluid motion. Luo Hou stayed put, keeping the machine gun aimed for trouble while barking at the arriving trucks.
"Move it, move it! Get your asses off those trucks, you worthless rookies! Fall in, let's go!"
Xiao Ke looked up at Luo Hou, a small smile playing on his lips. "Where'd he learn that drill sergeant routine?"
Duan Canglong chuckled under his breath. "That's pretty much word-for-word what our old officers used to scream at us when we were the new guys."
He then joined in, his voice a gravelly roar. "Everybody out, on the double! This isn't a goddamn field trip! Move with a purpose! Show some backbone, don't drag your feet like a bunch of old women!"
The words had barely left his mouth when he felt a cold, sharp glare land on him.
He turned and saw Centurion Qin Bing striding toward them, flanked by two guards, an icy look on her face.
Cold sweat popped on his forehead. He wanted to slap himself. Like a bunch of old women? He'd completely forgotten that his supreme commander—the most dangerous person for miles—was, in fact, a woman.
Duan Canglong froze, terrified, but while Qin Bing had clearly heard him, she didn't call him out on it.
Seeing her, Xiao Ke snapped a sharp salute.
Qin Bing returned it crisply, her eyes sweeping over the assembled soldiers. In under two minutes, they had all formed up under their squad leaders. Most of the rookies looked nervous, their knuckles white where they gripped their rifles, but they were organized. They were starting to look like Imperial soldiers. It was hard to believe that most of them were just refugees and scavengers a week ago.
"You've trained them well," she said, her voice low and direct.
Xiao Ke offered a slight smile. "They were trained on your orders, Commander. I can't take the credit."
"A soldier's courage comes from their commander; a unit's strength comes from its leader," she stated, her gaze unwavering. "A cowardly soldier is one man's failure. A cowardly commander creates a whole battalion of them. Whether the Killer Whales become an elite force or a pack of cowards rests entirely on your shoulders. Do you understand?"
"I understand completely," Xiao Ke said, his voice firm. "I will make the Killer Whale Battalion a unit the Empire can be proud of."
Qin Bing nodded once. "Good. Get your men into position. The scouts said that the horde will be here soon. We need to be ready."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Xiao Ke quickly began deploying his five combat teams, assigning each a sector of fire. The mission was simple: annihilate every last zombie that entered Pocket Pass.
Once the defensive lines were set, he ordered the men to take cover, get some food and water, and stay sharp. The wait began.
He then took Duan Canglong and Luo Hou and joined Qin Bing on a high ridge overlooking the canyon entrance. It was the perfect observation post.
They moved with practiced ease, scaling the rocky slope in minutes. Finding no sign of the enemy, they settled in.
Qin Bing and Xiao Ke both found a spot to rest, closing their eyes to conserve energy for the fight to come. Duan Canglong and Luo Hou, however, were too wired to rest. They took turns on watch, pacing restlessly, their impatience growing as the hours crawled by.
Three hours later, as the sun bled across the western horizon, Duan Canglong's voice was a harsh whisper. "Over there. Movement!"
Luo Hou spun around. "Zombies! A goddamn army of them!"
Qin Bing and Xiao Ke were on their feet in an instant, joining them at the edge of the ridge. In the dying light, they saw the horde. It wasn't two hundred. It was closer to four, maybe five hundred.
But that wasn't the worst of it. The zombies were moving in a tight, disciplined mass, like a slow-motion flood. And at their center was a creature that towered over the others. It was massive, easily over eight feet tall, a horrifying mix of man and beast with a thick, powerful tail dragging behind it. The thing radiated pure menace.
Xiao Ke had never seen anything like it. He was about to ask what it was when Qin Bing answered the unasked question, her voice tight with alarm.
"That's a Level 6 Frieza. It's intelligent. Powerful. It can command other zombies, gather them into an army."
Xiao Ke's eyes narrowed, studying the way the lesser zombies swirled around the towering figure. "So that's why they're not just wandering. They have a general."
"What the hell do we do now?" Duan Canglong asked, his voice shaking slightly. The Frieza was a full level higher than the Hellhound that had nearly killed them. Normal rifle rounds would probably just piss it off. For the first time, he and Luo Hou looked genuinely terrified.
But Qin Bing's voice cut through the fear, as sharp as steel. "We stick to the plan. Even with these numbers, we cannot let them through this canyon. If they reach the open plains near Ginkgo Town, we'll never be able to contain them. Imagine that thing loose in a populated area. The body count, the new infections… the consequences would be unthinkable."
Duan Canglong and Luo Hou exchanged a worried glance. The Hellhound fight had been a nightmare. This was worse. Could they actually win?
Before their doubt could fester, Xiao Ke spoke, his voice cold and hard. "Get down there and prepare to fight. We either make a name for ourselves today or we die trying. Life is short, and in this world, all we have is the fight. We can be heroes or we can be ghosts, but we sure as hell aren't going to be cowards. We've run before. We are not running again."
That was all it took. Duan Canglong and Luo Hou looked at each other, a new resolve hardening their faces. "Alright," they said in unison. "We're with you, brother. Let's go kill some monsters."
The enemy was at the gates: a Level 6 Frieza leading a force more than double the size they'd expected. The situation was dire. Xiao Ke, trailed by Duan Canglong and Luo Hou, sprinted back to the defensive line.
Qin Bing watched him go, her eyes tracking his determined figure against the backdrop of the advancing undead tide. A small, appreciative smile touched her lips.
It was ironic. Her last Killer Whale Battalion had been wiped out to a man, leaving her a commander without a command. The Black Shark Army, short on reserves, had given her a meaningless assignment chasing deserters. Then, after the old army commander fell in battle, the new one, Bai Longyin, had inexplicably tasked her with garrisoning this outpost with the very deserters she'd caught.
She never imagined that this handful of runners, bolstered by a hundred green conscripts, would become the new foundation of her battalion. They were only 200 strong—a long way from the full 500—but under Xiao Ke's leadership, they felt different.
If she had to put a word to it, it was potential.
Xiao Ke felt like a rising sun—full of energy, ambition, and an unwavering sense of hope.
To think I stumbled across someone like him by sheer chance, she thought to herself. A Level 1 soldier who can take down a Level 3. He's been in uniform for less than a month, but he moves like he was born for this. Just how far can you go, Xiao Ke? I can't wait to find out.
By the time Xiao Ke reached his men, his four squad captains were already rushing toward him. "Sir, what's going on?" Liu Jinquan demanded.
"New intelligence," Xiao Ke said, his voice grim. "The horde is bigger than we thought—at least four hundred. And they're being led by a Level 6 Frieza."
The captains sucked in a collective breath. "A Frieza?" Liu Jinquan sputtered, his face pale. "Jesus Christ, how are we supposed to fight that? We're just Level 1 grunts! Our bullets will bounce right off it!"
Xiao Ke pinned him with an icy glare. "Did you already forget your promise from yesterday? 'Where your will points, our blades will follow.' Or was that just empty talk?"
"Sir, it's not that we won't fight," Liu Jinquan pleaded, his voice strained. "It's… can we actually win?"
"We won't know until we try," Xiao Ke shot back. "And don't worry, I'll be on the front line with you. If anyone dies, it'll be me first. But let me be clear: anyone who tries to run gets a bullet in the back. Duan Canglong, Luo Hou—you're on disciplinary duty. You see a man turn, you put him down."
"Yes, sir!" they both snapped.
But Xiao Ke could see it wasn't enough. Even with his promise and his threat, the fear was still thick in the air. He couldn't blame them; they were a mix of disgraced soldiers and terrified kids. It was a miracle they hadn't already broken and run.
His eyes scanned the area, and then he saw her: Centurion Qin Bing, making her way down the ridge. An idea sparked.
He clapped a hand on Liu Jinquan's shoulder, pulling his captains into a tight huddle. "Listen up," he said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't lose your nerve. So what if there's a Frieza? You're forgetting something important. We have a heavy hitter on our side."
He subtly jerked his chin in Qin Bing's direction.
Understanding dawned on the captains' faces. Of course. The Valkyrie.
They'd all heard the stories about Qin Bing's reputation in the Black Shark Army, but none of them had ever seen her in a real fight or knew her actual combat level. But they knew this: the commander of the White Shark Battalion, Qiao Mingxuan, was a Level 5 War General. Qin Bing outranked him significantly. Logic dictated she had to be at least a Level 6, maybe even a Level 7 Fierce General. With her in the fight, maybe they stood a chance after all.
Seeing the flicker of hope in their eyes, Xiao Ke pressed his advantage. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret," he said, leaning in closer. "She's not a Level 6 or 7. The Commander is a Level 8 Fierce General. Think about it. Would she lead a bunch of rookies and ex-deserters into a fight she couldn't win? She knows she can handle that Frieza herself. She's just staying quiet because she wants to see what we're made of. So don't you dare make a fool of yourselves and let her down."
A Level 8 Fierce General.
That was a whole different league. A true powerhouse, respected anywhere in the Empire.
The fear in the captains' eyes vanished, replaced by a greedy, ambitious fire. With a commander that powerful backing them up, this wasn't a suicide mission anymore. It was an opportunity. Every zombie they killed was another step up the ladder, another military honor to their name.
Energized, the captains rushed back to their squads. The "secret" spread like wildfire, and in moments, the entire battalion's morale shifted. Fear gave way to a hungry eagerness for the battle to begin.
As the captains dispersed, Duan Canglong and Luo Hou sidled up to Xiao Ke, their expressions a mix of awe and curiosity. "Hey, boss," Duan Canglong whispered, "when did you get so tight with the Commander? She told you her real combat level?"
Xiao Ke shot them a sidelong glance. "She didn't tell me anything."
Their eyes widened. "Then… how did you know she was a Level 8?"
A wicked grin spread across Xiao Ke's face. "I guessed."
Duan Canglong and Luo Hou looked like they'd been slapped.
"Now stop screwing around and get ready," Xiao Ke snapped, his voice dropping back to business. "You two have a job to do. Don't mess it up."
"Yes, chief!"
Just as they left, Qin Bing arrived, her brow furrowed in surprise. The atmosphere was completely different. The men were buzzing with energy, their eyes sharp and focused. There was no sign of the panic she'd expected.
"How did you do that?" she asked, looking at him curiously.
Xiao Ke just smiled. "Commander's secret."
She let out a short, unimpressed huff. "Stop playing games. Send a team out with the animal blood we prepared. Spread it at the mouth of the canyon. The scent will draw them right into our kill zone and mask our own scent. It'll give us the element of surprise we need to hit them hard and fast."
"Yes, Commander!"