You were supposed to hoard supplies, why the heck did you hoard zombies!

This thing was actually playing dead?

Startled, Xu Lin immediately had the person who stepped forward to check retreat a few steps.

"What kind of animal is this?"

"A monkey?"

Under the illumination of the strong flashlight, the creature in the cage was frantically trying to escape, making it difficult for Xu Lin to see it clearly, so he simply asked the people next to him, including Lin Mo.

"It's not a monkey, it's a zombie."

"A mutant zombie."

The voice sounded somewhat shrill.

When Xu Lin turned to the side, he realized it was indeed a woman speaking.

Seeing his gaze, Gao Feng immediately seized the opportunity to continue, "We, the Hunter Squad, found it in the abandoned state-owned factory in the industrial area."

As she spoke, her eyes suddenly drooped, and she seemed a bit saddened.

"In less than half an hour, seven people died."

"Afterwards, it was the captain who came up with a solution, acting as bait himself while we provided support from outside; that's how we managed to bring it back to the safety zone."

As the woman spoke, the remaining members of the Hunter Squad fell into a somber silence.

The casualties they suffered were indeed substantial.

But they couldn't blame anyone else.

If it hadn't been for the recklessness of Wu Yi and his two companions at the beginning, perhaps there might have been no fatalities in this operation; after all, those mutant zombies were clearly hiding in the old buildings of the factory area.

The three must have pursued too far, drawing those mutant zombies out of the buildings.

Lin Mo was also at a loss for words.

The excitement and thrill of a successful mission had vanished at this moment.

As everyone was immersed in sorrow over the loss of their teammates, there was a sudden excited shout, "Right, Director Xu, we brought back something else!"

The one who spoke was Liu Bing.

As he spoke, he began to bring something down from the vehicle.

Curious, Xu Lin looked into his hands and saw the body of an unidentified animal swaying in the air, not very large in size.

A rabbit?

Could it be a small dog?

He took a few steps closer to have a look.

The creature's pointed triangular head and signature incisors immediately made Xu Lin break out in a cold sweat.

A big rat?

He had seen one before.

The Mutant Rat they had captured earlier had been taken for experiments.

It proved that the virus carried by these mutant beings could also turn living humans into zombies, but only through their teeth's bites, not their claws.

The initial hypothesis was that the teeth contained some body fluids, with the highest concentration of the virus.

But other than that one, they had not seen another Mutant Rat.

Until the appearance of this Mutant Rat before him.

Thinking of the theories that Zhang Ye had mentioned to him earlier, Xu Lin quickly inquired about this Mutant Rat, and after listening, felt a chill throughout his entire body.

The Mutant Rat in front of him wasn't the second one?

But rather the third or even fourth?

Could there be more?

Liu Bing had intended to take credit for his find.

But seeing Xu Lin's unsettled expression, he started to panic.

Damn it, hadn't the captain said the company also wanted Mutant Beasts? Why did Director Xu look like he'd seen a ghost upon seeing the rat in his hand?

The others were also puzzled, as Xu Lin didn't seem like the type to be afraid of rats from their past experiences.

Most of them had been rescued by him leading a team from the city area.

If he wasn't afraid of zombies, why would he fear rats?

After a while, Xu Lin left with a heavy heart.

Before leaving, he made a special point, from now on there would be no more restrictions on Hunter Squad personnel entering and exiting the safety zone; they just had to register with the guards on duty.

The new type of mutant zombie had been taken by him to the base.

It was expected that the reward would be given to Zhang Ye the next day.

After completing the mission, Lin Mo and his companions walked back to their residence in high spirits.

In light of the heavy losses incurred during this mission, Xu Lin had already agreed that the remaining members could be listed under the Combat Department and enjoy the same treatment as the soldiers there.

At the same time, the Hunter Squad was divided into two groups, with Liu Bing and Gao Feng serving as leaders of the sub-teams.

Lin Mo remained the leader of the main team.

The three had treatment equivalent to officers of the same level in the Combat Department and their families would be moved into the company-staffed buildings, with all daily necessities henceforth provided by the company.

As for their mission reward, it would be distributed after Zhang Ye inspected the Mutant Zombie the following day.

The reward was expected to be no less than eight hundred exchange coupons.

To tell the truth, these generous rewards far exceeded the imaginations of Lin Mo and his two colleagues, including the few who were merely listed under the Combat Department.

They had thought that at most they would receive five hundred exchange coupons plus a nominal team leader title.

Who would have thought the company would even provide for their families!

This was too humane! Experience tales at empire

For a while, everyone was filled with anticipation for the meeting the next day.

After all, only Lin Mo and his two colleagues had seen the chairman; before this, Liu Bing and Gao Feng barely even had the chance to see Xu Lin's face.

Early the next day, the three put on the clean clothes they had dug out of their wardrobes the night before and headed to the base.

Along the way, Liu Bing's eyes kept glancing to the side.

Was he mistaken?

Was this Gao Feng?

Without the cumbersome protective gear she usually wore, her already fine figure was immediately on display.

Wearing a pair of well-fitted denim shorts, not only did they outline her full and pert buttocks, but they also made her muscular, toned legs look incredibly sexy and tempting.

"Keep staring, and I'll gouge out your eyes," she said coldly, prompting Liu Bing to chuckle awkwardly and look away.

What a pity.

She only looked like a woman.

Lin Mo, walking ahead, remained silent the whole time, seemingly lost in thought.

Besides the three of them, there were eight others in the team: the Hunter Squad currently had only eleven people, nine short of the twenty-person roster.

But the three team leaders were not worried about the shortage of personnel.

There were plenty in the safety zone who wanted to be fed by the company.

As for the potential dangers—

To tell the truth, the events of the previous day had already been thrown to the back of most team members' minds; now, all they harbored were beautiful expectations for the future.

Death, after all, was a common occurrence in the post-apocalyptic world.

Those who were dead were already dead.

Those who were alive had to keep living.

Everyone cherished their own lives, yet regarded others' lives as if they were worthless, all for the sake of surviving better.

People were already waiting within the base for the arrival of the Hunter Squad.

The squeaky sound—

It was the thick metal door, just like before.

Sharp noises continued to emanate from the gears and tracks.

All members of the Hunter Squad looked at the security officers on top with fear in their eyes, their palms beginning to sweat uncontrollably.

This was the company headquarters.

The base.

Following a team of security guards through the main gate, the first thing that came into view was a series of villas standing side by side.

All of these were the residences of the company's current and future executives.

Undead workers could be seen everywhere.

Not just security guards, but also construction workers reinforcing the walls, janitors pushing trash carts.

Even the shadows on the roadside lampposts were zombies.

The chairman's residence was reached quickly.

But then there was another wall.