Chapter 594: Above the Frozen Earth

"Please, save our people! We can give you Crystal Cores or supplies, anything you want!" a filthy man pleaded, kneeling before the group.

"What’s going on?" Fern Spencer asked, running over to join them.

"No idea. We ran into them on the road over there. They seem to be from the South Riven Base," Conor from Soul Slayer said, pointing toward the narrow path where they had just been killing zombies. That was where they had found these survivors.

The man’s name was Aaron Lynch. Inside his heavily mangled car were two more survivors, both covered in blood.

"South Riven Base? What are they doing here?" Chase Gallagher asked.

"We were ordered by Akira Gallagher, the Base Commander of South Riven, to seek reinforcements at the City D Base!" Aaron answered, shouting at the top of his lungs.

The journey from South Riven had been incredibly grueling. Their physical stamina and Superpowers were already pushed to the absolute limit. They had thought City D was just ahead, finally seeing a glimmer of hope. However, multiple Intermediate Mutant Zombies suddenly appeared, followed immediately by the siege of a massive Zombie Horde.

Because he was a Spiritual Element Superpower User, he managed to break out immediately to seek help. To his delight, there were far more people here than his abilities had detected, though the caution and wariness in their eyes were equally palpable.

Aaron felt his hope slipping away. With so many zombies, ordinary people simply wouldn’t dare mount a rescue—especially for a bunch of strangers.

"Fifty thousand Crystal Cores," Nina Jacobs said.

"What?" Aaron snapped his head up, making sure she was actually speaking to him.

"We can save them, but in exchange, we want fifty thousand Crystal Cores," Nina replied.

Her words left Aaron stunned. Fifty thousand Crystal Cores was no small sum. However, he only hesitated for two seconds before agreeing. "As long as you can save everyone’s lives, I’ll pay the fifty thousand myself!"

Seeing the desperation in his eyes, Nina finally made her decision. "Lead the way. Fern, leave a few people here to look after those two. The rest of you, come with me."

His teardrops froze into ice shards as they hit the ground. Aaron wiped his face haphazardly, stood up, and hurried to his car.

"There were four Intermediate Zombies in total, each one terrifyingly strong. Our people fought with everything they had and managed to kill one. They also put up an Earth Barrier to block the surrounding Zombie Horde, but I’m afraid it won’t hold for long," Aaron explained as he pointed out the way.

The zombies were mutating and growing stronger; even using all sorts of weapons and traps proved futile.

"Intermediate Zombies are really becoming more common. How many have we killed today again?" Leo Hale asked.

"Thirteen," Chase answered. Three of them had been killed by Holly Morgan and Reginald Sutton, who had tagged along.

Encountering thirteen Intermediate Zombies in less than a single morning could only mean one thing: the evolution of zombies had already surpassed that of humanity.

"Please, you have to save them. Every life counts," Aaron pleaded, a sliver of hope reigniting upon hearing their conversation. If these people were capable of taking down thirteen Intermediate Zombies, perhaps his group really could be saved.

"Don’t forget your fifty thousand Crystal Cores. We’ll be collecting them regardless of whether we succeed in the rescue," Holden Shaw reminded him.

Aaron nodded. "We originally had sixty-four people. If you could just help save a few of them..." At this point, Aaron choked on his sobs, unable to finish his sentence.

"We’ll do our best, but you really should stop crying," Holden said with a conflicted expression. He had only spoken harshly upfront to prevent the man from backing out of their deal later.

They soon arrived at the location Aaron had described.

It was an empty expanse of frozen tundra by the roadside. A group of people was trapped in the center, surrounded by numerous zombies. Although an earth wall shielded them, it clearly wouldn’t hold for much longer.

The area had once been suburban farmland, but it was now an endless expanse of permafrost, as hard as iron. The grayish-white surface was cracked with cobweb-like ice veins, and stepping on it sent a piercing chill creeping up from below.

Ivan Young relentlessly repaired the meter-high earth wall surrounding them, but his efforts couldn’t keep pace with the zombies’ destruction.

"AGH!"

Screams rang out incessantly. A few Intermediate Zombies, seemingly ravenous, crouched down and began gnawing on a corpse that had been a living person just a second ago.

"Alan!" Jane Hawthorne shrieked, her voice tearing with agony. She and a few others had just finished hacking down a Mutated Zombie when she witnessed the gruesome scene.

Alan had just saved her, which was why he ended up facing that Intermediate Wood Element zombie alone. He could no longer feel any pain. He tried to raise his hand to say goodbye, only for his arm to be brutally torn off.

"I’ll kill you!!" Completely losing her mind, Jane conjured a long metal spear and charged forward.

"Don’t..." Ivan tried to stop her, but the words died in his throat.

Jane had already drawn the attention of the three Intermediate Zombies; it was too late to yell. Ivan knew that they were merely buying time with their teammates’ lives.

Only about thirty of them remained. Everyone was fighting the zombies with absolute despair in their eyes. If not for sheer survival instinct, they would have given up long ago.

Once those three Intermediate Zombies finished eating, they would simply move on to hunt the next person. Their only hope of survival was if Aaron could bring back reinforcements. Yet deep down, they all knew it was impossible for anyone to be out in this weather—especially since they were complete strangers who had never even been to the City D Base before.

In a split second, Jane’s metal spear was crushed into pieces by the thick, burly hands of the Intermediate Brute Zombie.

Just as Jane was about to become their next meal, a flaming spike tore through the air and pierced straight through half of the zombie’s head!

Ivan’s eyes widened. A surge of wild ecstasy followed.

Someone had come to help them!

"An Intermediate Brute Zombie... taken down in one hit?" Ivan muttered in shock as he channeled Earth Spikes to help kill the zombies on the perimeter. The flaming spike actually concealed a Stone Spike within it; no wonder it packed such terrifying force!

"Someone’s here to save us!"

The shouts of her companions finally snapped Jane out of her daze. She immediately manifested a Metal Shield to block her front.

The death of the Brute Zombie put the other two zombies on high alert. Abandoning their meal, they turned their attacks toward the remaining thirty-odd survivors.

CRACK!

The rock-hard permafrost beneath them churned, transforming into Stone Spikes that formed a barricade in front of the group, forcing the two Intermediate Zombies to quickly leap away.

ROAR!

Seemingly sensing the newcomers’ interference, one of the Alloyed Zombies let out a furious roar and charged toward them! The surrounding zombies were also drawn to the newly arrived group in the rear, instantly alleviating the crushing pressure of impending death for the survivors.

"Don’t rush to your deaths just yet! Aaron brought help!" Jude Stone shouted, looking toward the perimeter.

He watched as the Intermediate Gold Element Zombie lunged straight at an unfamiliar woman.

"That’s an Intermediate Gold Element! Get out of the way!" Jane screamed. Being in such close quarters was far too dangerous!

However, a powerful blast of air erupted out of nowhere right in front of the woman, instantly blasting the Alloyed Zombie over ten meters away!

BOOM!

A Fire Dragon immediately coiled around its body. The Alloyed Zombie rapidly metallicized its entire form in defense. Everyone assumed the fiery attack would be rendered ineffective, but to their astonishment, the Alloyed Zombie actually burst into flames!

Meanwhile, the other Intermediate Wood Element zombie was intercepted by Holly. Nina knew Holly coveted the Intermediate Wood Element’s Crystal Core, as it seemed to serve as a potent tonic for her Blood Vine.

With an Intermediate Brute Zombie and an Intermediate Gold Element Zombie taken down in quick succession, it would be a lie to say Ivan and the others weren’t completely flabbergasted.

Nevertheless, they didn’t dare lower their guard for even a second.