Always agonizingly close by a few hundred clicks, just a few hundred short, yet unable to break onto the main front page rankings—it's maddening! A massive surge tomorrow, three chapters?

Four? No!

A guaranteed four chapters tomorrow, and if we push through, a fifth will follow! I'm going all in!!!

Every click on a chapter counts as one! …… A slight curve slowly formed on Ye Chen’s lips.

He glanced at the man, then averted his gaze, paying him no further mind. Just then, Mu Baifeng walked over.

He spared a look for Bai Long and the others, then turned his attention to Ye Chen. "You just came up from downstairs—where are those monsters?" Ye Chen turned his head toward him.

"The monsters are right behind us. They’ll catch up soon enough.

We should head upstairs first and set up some traps." "Right behind us?" Mu Baifeng flinched, startled. "No way!

How long until they get here?" "A few minutes!" Ye Chen said casually. Everyone started to… Mu Baifeng made an immediate decision.

"Everyone, up the stairs, quickly!" Before he could even finish speaking, the other soldiers were already scrambling toward the stairwell, jostling to be first, terrified of being left behind. As for the elevator… it had long since lost power and was completely useless.

Ye Chen spared a quick glance at the short man whose arm he had twisted, then turned and headed for the stairs. Bai Long and the others followed, though they didn't exert themselves to move too quickly.

"Bastard!" The short man watched them all flee upstairs, his eyes burning with even deeper malice. Gritting his teeth, he clutched his arm and slowly stood up.

He didn't follow them to the stairs but instead walked toward the elevator, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "You fools.

There are so many monsters; you think you can stop them? Running further up is just digging your own grave." He reached the elevator.

If one looked closely, they would notice a slight gap in the door, which wasn't fully closed. Since everyone knew the power was out, they hadn't paid it much mind, but the short man had discovered this small secret much earlier.

"Once the monsters finish you off, they’ll leave, and I can just slip out then," the short man sneered, reaching out to pull the elevator door open. Inside, it wasn't empty at all.

There was a woman, her hair disheveled, head bowed, her eyes fixed on her toes. The short man's pupils constricted.

…… Ye Chen and his group fought their way past the zombies, finally reaching the eighth floor. Fortunately, while this building had more human-form zombies, there weren't many other monstrous types—only a few Zombie Ants and Zombie Bugs, which the group managed to kill through combined effort.

"We can't just keep running like this; those monsters will catch up eventually," one of the younger men muttered bitterly. Everyone stopped, their expressions growing grim.

Ye Chen stated calmly, "Let's send four people up to the ninth floor to guard the stairwell. The remaining fifteen people will each find a room on this floor, clear out the zombies inside, punch a peephole through the door, and shoot from there." "You want to ambush them here?" Mu Baifeng asked, startled.

Ye Chen nodded. "Everyone still has stamina now.

If we climb a few more floors, we’ll be completely exhausted, and the situation will be much worse." The others nodded in agreement. One sturdy man frowned.

"But, will this really work?" Ye Chen’s tone was cold. "Everyone, follow my lead.

When the monsters charge up, the four people on the upper floor will start shooting. The people on the lower level should fire intermittently, not too frequently, so as not to draw too much attention.

Once the people upstairs have successfully diverted the monsters' focus, the ambushers in the rooms will be responsible for harassing them and preventing them from reaching the upper floor!" Everyone listened intently. Mu Baifeng looked utterly stunned.

"Are you sure this will work?" Ye Chen didn't reply. He walked to the stairwell opening and looked down.

"The monsters are almost here. Everyone, move quickly." They exchanged glances.

After a moment’s thought, they decided to go with Ye Chen's plan. After all, running higher only meant eventually fighting the monsters anyway.

Since they still had energy now, it was better to fight while they could. Immediately, they began kicking open doors, dispatching the zombies within, and then using pistols to punch a hole, removing the door viewer and peeking out to monitor the situation.

Ye Chen pointed casually. "You, you, and Yue Heng, follow me." The ones he pointed out were Mu Baifeng and Chen Cheng, the young man who had tried to restrain Ye Chen earlier.

Both looked astonished. "What for?" "The four of us are going upstairs to provide cover fire," Ye Chen explained.

"Why?" Chen Cheng asked, a hint of wariness in his eyes. Ye Chen glanced at him, his expression unchanged.

"If monsters charge onto the ninth floor later, with our group's physical strength, even if we can't beat them, we’ll be able to escape." Mu Baifeng considered it and found the logic sound, nodding. "Alright." Chen Cheng looked at Ye Chen, feeling that something wasn't quite right, but with Mu Baifeng present, he didn't dare refuse, so he just nodded.

The four of them ascended to the ninth floor. Tap-tap...

Not long after the four ascended, the sound of running footsteps echoed from below, followed by two Zombie Ants charging up the stairs. "Fire!" Ye Chen stood near the stairwell edge, using a gap in the adjoining wall to pinpoint the monsters' location.

After giving the order, he opened fire. The bullets streaked downward, striking the leg joint of one of the ants.

Bang-bang-bang... Downstairs, the people hidden in the various rooms also pulled their triggers.

More than a dozen bullets rained down on the two Zombie Ants. The one Ye Chen had hit in the leg joint immediately slowed significantly, unable to dodge, and was riddled with bullets—hits to its body and head, leaking foul-smelling gray fluid.

The other ant moved rapidly, narrowly avoiding several shots but still taking one to the center of a leg joint. Instantly enraged, this ant lunged toward the nearest room.

"Shoot faster!" Ye Chen urged, firing three quick shots from his Type 64 pistol. They didn't form a straight line but aimed at three different leg joints.

The rapidly moving Zombie Ant’s body immediately lurched, nearly collapsing. Suffering such severe trauma, it became utterly furious and turned, climbing back toward the ninth floor.

Mu Baifeng and the others stared in shock at this sight. Ye Chen understood that zombies weren't mindless; they were creatures born from failed evolution—dark entities that feared neither pain nor death.

In the early stages, these dark creatures would still lunge at enemies even if an arm was severed, because their minds were consumed only by the craving for blood; they didn't feel the injury. They just sensed that a part of them was suddenly missing, though they didn't know what it was.

Such zombies were fearless and the most difficult to deal with. The Zombie Ants, now at Level 12, had developed simple intellect and various emotions.

They felt joy and comfort when they absorbed fresh blood, but when injured, they felt a sense of loss, triggering a natural wave of anger, even if they didn't understand what they had lost. By Level 100, monsters would achieve absolute control over their bodies, able to mimic various sounds through their throats to communicate and converse with humans, much like ventriloquists among people.

The current Level 12 Zombie Ant only knew that it must kill whoever made it lose something and devour their blood. Thus, the ant that only took one shot from the human targeted that person, while Ye Chen took three.

In the ant's simple consciousness, Ye Chen had caused it to lose much more, making its rage toward him significantly fiercer! Although Zombie Ants craved blood...

The fundamental reason was that absorbing blood gave their simple consciousness a feeling akin to soaring, which is why they craved it so intensely. But when attacked, the zombies became angry, just like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum might smash their most beloved toy.

As it rushed to the stairwell entrance, the people hidden in the rooms opened fire again. More than a dozen bullets struck it, riddled its body, but its head remained intact, and it didn't die.

It became even angrier and turned back toward the rooms to attack. Ye Chen quickly fired, hitting the zombie’s head and finally killing it.

Before anyone could catch their breath, more zombies, Zombie Ants, and Zombie Bugs surged up from downstairs. Everyone fired.

Ye Chen and the three others exerted themselves fully, bullets constantly spraying down. Many human zombies collapsed with headshots, but some Zombie Ants didn't die quickly.

Every time one lunged toward the rooms, Ye Chen and the four at the stairwell entrance focused their fire, immediately diverting the enraged target back toward them. That was how simple the Zombie Ants' intellect was!

Whoever shot it the most, it became angriest at! The Zombie Ants, which had seemed incredibly powerful and terrifying to Mu Baifeng and the others, were now being toyed with, leaving them all slack-jawed, before they secretly admired Ye Chen’s plan.

Though the plan was simple, how many people would have actually conceived of it? Just then...

Suddenly, the focus of several Zombie Ants' rage was not held by those downstairs; they charged directly up the stairs. Mu Baifeng roared, "Damn it!

What are these things doing?!" Ye Chen remained calm. "Move!

If they get close, we can't fight them. Find somewhere to hold them off." Mu Baifeng made an instant decision, turning to flee.

Ye Chen and Yue Heng exchanged a look and followed. Chen Cheng, seeing several Zombie Ants and Bugs rushing up, panicked and rushed after the others.

"You run in front!" Ye Chen suddenly whispered to Yue Heng. Yue Heng paused, glanced at him, and asked no further questions, darting ahead of Mu Baifeng and following closely behind him.

Soon, they reached a room. Mu Baifeng slipped inside, and Yue Heng quickly followed.

Ye Chen and Chen Cheng were trailing behind. Just as they were about to reach the entrance, Ye Chen suddenly slowed down and stuck his leg out to the side.

Chen Cheng, rushing up behind him, never expected Ye Chen to suddenly turn on him; he was momentarily stunned and tripped, falling hard to the ground. Ye Chen glanced at him, then sprinted toward the room.

Chen Cheng gritted his teeth, glaring venomously at Ye Chen. He scrambled up, intending to chase, but just then, a tearing pain shot through his back—the few Zombie Ants and Bugs had caught up.

"Hurry up, you guys!" Mu Baifeng shouted anxiously from inside the room, having already finished dispatching the zombies there. Ye Chen turned and fired two shots at the Zombie Ants, trying to save Chen Cheng.

Mu Baifeng cried out in alarm, "We can't save him! Get in here!" "Okay!" Ye Chen replied, firing two more shots before diving headfirst into the room.

As he entered, the sounds of crunching bones and a shrill scream reached his ears...

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