After rescuing Old Man Guo Cheng, the group stealthily made their way back toward the Base City, advancing in fits and starts. Under Ye Chen’s seemingly casual but calculated guidance, they managed to skirt numerous powerful monsters.

Buzzing…

Suddenly, the sound of vibrating wings echoed from ahead. The people walking through the ruins startled, halting immediately and scrambling into a nearby building to lie in wait.

Moments later, the group observed the sky above darken as countless "buzzing" sounds rapidly approached and then sped away into the distance.

Ye Chen looked up and instantly saw a massive swarm of evolved Mosquito Monsters sweeping past—a dense mass numbering in the tens of thousands. Each one was five inches long, sporting a sharp proboscis harder than steel. As they flew past, any Zombie Dogs or Zombie Rats lurking in the shadowy corners that dared to rush out were impaled by these sharp mouthparts.

Following close behind the swarm of mosquito monsters, a dark cloud seemed to drift away. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a large congregation of bizarre creatures. Their heads were enormous, like watermelons, but their mouths were not horizontal; instead, they split vertically, revealing terrifying teeth and claws as sharp as blades.

"Zombie Flies!" Ye Chen’s gaze sharpened. This vast group, numbering over a hundred thousand, turned out to be Zombie Flies, and judging by their ferocious appearance, they were actively hunting the mosquito swarm!

"Hiss—"

The Zombie Flies surged forward, catching up to the Mosquito Monsters, and the two factions became entangled, erupting into a deadly brawl.

Hiding in the building below, Ye Chen and the others held their breath, terrified of alarming these creatures. Being detected meant certain death. After all, although a single mosquito monster possessed only Level One physique, a coordinated charge by tens of thousands would possess power greater than a rocket launcher, capable of blasting through and piercing city walls instantly!

As for the Zombie Flies, they possessed the strength of only five humans. In the previous peaceful era, both types of monsters were as weak as ants, perhaps even weaker. But in the apocalypse, even a slight evolution in an ant caused a 400-fold increase in strength, making them far more powerful than flies or mosquitoes in terms of brute force. However, their inherent defense remained fragile, equivalent to only about three humans' strength. Yet, they were covered in an exoskeleton that had been significantly hardened through evolution, adding substantial defensive capabilities, making them quite hard to kill.

Simply put, a single evolved ant possessed the sight and hearing equivalent to only three humans, but its strength had been amplified 400 times, reaching the power of 120 humans! Strength, to a certain degree, also influenced movement speed, allowing the ants to match the speed of Level Six to Level Eight monsters.

Who would have thought that a Level Twelve ant would possess vision and hearing equivalent to only three humans?

The evolved ants, while outwardly appearing merely magnified, had undergone subtle changes in their internal structure. Their neural reaction speed had increased many times over. Although their core strength was only that of three humans, their reaction speed was comparable to Level Eight monsters, enabling them to evade some bullets. These creatures, once among the most humble and weakest animals on Earth, now far surpassed creatures like dogs and rats.

Their vision and hearing, however, remained their fatal weaknesses!

Nevertheless, in most situations, the ant’s hearing and sight were almost negligible; being able to clearly perceive enemies within their attack range was generally sufficient.

This is why ants became one of the most formidable monster factions in the later stages.

The Zombie Flies possessed the strength, hearing, sight, and defense equivalent to five humans. Unlike the ants, their primary advantage lay in neural reaction speed.

A fly’s neural reaction speed is many times faster than a human’s; their eye reaction speed is 60 times faster than a human's. Humans cannot perceive the 60 flashes per second of a fluorescent light, but a fly can see it clearly. Furthermore, a fly's hearing is far more agile in responding to sound sources; the subtle rush of air generated by a fly swatter is detected by the fly, causing it to instantly dart away.

Under the virus's modification, the structure of the flies had changed significantly. Some abilities were optimized, while others degenerated. Just like the ants, no species of ant monster, whether evolved or the Zombie Dark Ants, retained wings; it was as if God had stripped them of the ability to fly.

For instance, termites, which originally possessed a pair of wings, saw those wings gradually degenerate into two hard shield-like plates, granting them formidable defense as they evolved.

The flies also experienced structural changes. Although their strength and speed were only equivalent to five humans, their reaction speed, vision, and hearing were massively enhanced—amplified a hundredfold, reaching the reaction speed of a Level Fifty human!

Ye Chen couldn't help but wonder how incredibly powerful it would be if the genes of flies and ants could be merged, allowing them to mutually compensate for each other's shortcomings.

Splat!

In the sky, corpses rained down like raindrops, spraying blood everywhere.

The Mosquito Monsters and the Dark Flies were locked in a bloody struggle, forming an undifferentiated mass. In this confined space, fighting in a swarm, the flies’ reaction speed advantage was nullified as their bodies were pierced, and they were sucked dry.

Across the entire world, only the Mosquito Monsters could absorb any blood without reservation!

The evolved Mosquito Monsters had strengthened and altered internal structures. They could absorb the blood of these Dark Flies, which contained massive amounts of virus, digest it, and then expel it harmlessly.

Other creatures dared not be so reckless; only if their own physique was many times stronger than the opponent’s would they be unafraid of infection from the viruses contained within that blood.

Squeak, squeak…

The two types of monsters writhed together, fighting ferociously, with bodies continuously dropping. Soon, as the number of corpses decreased and the open area above grew, the flies, initially at a disadvantage, could dodge around, eventually mounting a counterattack, showing signs of turning the tide.

After about fifteen minutes…

Thwack!

The last Mosquito Monster had its abdomen ripped open by several flies, blood spurting out as it fell with a tragic cry. Tens of thousands of Mosquito Monsters were slaughtered like this! Meanwhile, of the more than one hundred thousand Dark Flies, only about ten thousand remained. They had paid a heavy price, yet these remaining Dark Flies seemed instinctively excited, swooping down to commence devouring the corpses of the fallen Mosquito Monsters.

Those hiding in the building below were nearly suffocated, holding their breath and daring not to move.

Four or five hours later…

Having gorged themselves, the swarm of Dark Flies prepared to rest. Suddenly, a strange sound echoed from a distance. The flies all turned their heads, then abruptly took flight, dragging the remaining Mosquito Monster corpses with them as they flew toward a distant part of the street.

Seeing this, Ye Chen frowned slightly. For Dark Flies, any place should be suitable for dwelling; why would they go to such trouble to move corpses and migrate elsewhere?

Could it be… that a Fly King of the Dark Flies was summoning them from afar?

"They're finally gone," the others stood up, breathing sighs of relief.

"Let's go, it's getting dark," Mu Baifeng urged, leading the way out of the building. The rest followed, shaking out legs that had gone numb from squatting.

Ye Chen glanced at the ground outside, a scene of utter carnage littered with corpses. A flicker of coldness crossed his eyes. In every corner of the world, similar events were unfolding; humans were not the only targets of these monsters; they attacked each other as well.

Especially in the early days, countless sea monsters perished, resulting in mountains of floating corpses.

Next, the group cautiously crept toward the Base City. Along the way, they encountered minor dangers, killing single zombies they ran into, and finally made it back to the Base City successfully.

As Ye Chen and the others entered the city gates, the inspecting soldiers merely glanced at their attire and let them pass without hindrance.

"Damn it, entering the city requires registering for something—what the hell is this stupid regulation!" A burly man suddenly stood near a vetting soldier, glaring furiously at the soldier, clearly agitated about not having his registration paperwork.

The soldier replied coldly, "If you aren't registered, you can pledge allegiance to the military. Based on your individual aptitude and potential, you will be assigned to a suitable department; at the very least, you can join the production division to help with farming!"

The burly man roared, "Nonsense! Is this still a Base City? What time is it? We come here, and not only do you not give us food, but you want us to do hard labor? What kind of trash Base City is this? I wasted my love for the country before!"

"Another fool," Mu Baifeng glanced over and sneered.

"While the Base City has a few too many rules and a bit less warmth, under these circumstances, having a place to rely on is already quite good," another man scoffed coldly. "This guy still thinks the Base City's grain is free? Operating a massive Base City like this, if they just sheltered a bunch of useless people, it would collapse in a few days!"

"This guy even talks about patriotism—what era is this? Truly idiotic!"

"One must adapt to the world; the world won't conform to you. This person doesn't understand such a simple principle, still thinking it's the peaceful era of before, concerned with morals and ethics. Now, all that matters is gaining strength and surviving."

"Last time, I saw a Great General soliciting prostitutes on the street, but did anyone dare say anything? His power is established. Even though that general was just a cook in a hotel before, now he controls five thousand people!"

A few people murmured amongst themselves, watching the burly man with ridicule.

Ye Chen casually looked over and saw the soldier drawing his pistol, saying coldly, "Cause further trouble, and don't blame me for enforcing military law!"

The burly man’s face twitched, slightly changing color. Finally, persuaded by a few people who seemed to be his acquaintances, he found an opportunity to back down, grumbling a few times, but ultimately chose to submit.