The crux of the matter is that we don't know their landing zone, so we need to establish certain things, or perhaps engineer some events, to make these mercenaries descend exactly where we intend. Otherwise, I can't think of any way we could possibly seize the helicopter."

"I understand. Then let's use a massive fire or some other method to draw their attention. Zhan Lan, you can continuously scan their location for this. Create a diversion just before they fly overhead. Xiao Honglu, if we absolutely must engage the Devil Reincarnation Squad head-on, what do you suggest?"

"Uh, there's basically no other way. If a direct confrontation is unavoidable, my recommendation is to split our forces. Divide our team into several smaller groups. Although this seems to weaken our overall strength, if the Devil Reincarnation Squad truly intends to eliminate all of us, the only tactical move available to them would also be to split up. In that scenario, their collective coordination would undoubtedly be severely diminished. What remains is a test of individual combat prowess. In comparison, the reduction in our collective coordination would be far less significant. Perhaps by using this method, we can achieve victory. However, the trade-off is that if any single squad fails in its engagement, we won't even have the opportunity to attempt a rescue; we can only watch their demise."

While the two were deep in discussion, Miao Ruoleng suddenly flushed slightly, murmuring, "I apologize, I need to use the restroom."

She appeared quite awkward, given the presence of so many men around them.

Zhan Lan smiled and said, "Indeed. Everyone wait a moment, let's all step away for a moment."

With that, Zhan Lan took Miao Leng and Zhao Yingkong by the arm, and the three girls headed off toward the supermarket restrooms on their own.

Jill carefully considered the pill she had just consumed. After taking it, only a faint, pleasant aroma of food lingered on her palate, and the hunger was gone, as was the feeling of thirst. These two pill-like objects actually possessed such efficacy. Curiosity immediately struck her, and she asked, "What are these things? How can something so small fill the stomach?"

Zheng Zha, who had been talking with Xiao Honglu, paused when questioned.

He then muttered, "Food. Heh, this is our unique form of sustenance. Don't worry about where it comes from; suffice it to say, it wasn't stolen or snatched. Oh, right..." Zheng Zha thought for a moment, suddenly retrieving a bottle of compressed rations and a bottle of solidified water from his Ring of Holding. He tossed both bottles to Jill.

"Take these with you. Who knows how long the unrest in this city will last? This food and water can sustain one person for three months. At least having them offers some security." Zheng Zha offered a faint smile.

Jill said no more, catching the two small bottles and examining them closely. She then casually placed them in the small pouch at her waist, seemingly unconcerned by their appearance.

A short while later.

The three girls returned from the restroom. Miao Ruoleng's face was pale, almost sickly green; she looked as if she had just been vomiting. Even Zhan Lan's expression seemed slightly altered, though only Zhao Yingkong remained utterly composed as she walked slightly ahead of the other two.

Zheng Zha looked at their expressions and asked curiously, "What happened? What's wrong?"

Miao Ruoleng's mouth twitched, and she bent over, retching violently again. Unfortunately, after dry heaving for a long time, she could only bring up clear water, as she had only consumed compressed rations. The solidified water, however, had turned into a significant amount of liquid in her stomach, preventing her from dry-heaving entirely.

Zhan Lan offered a wry smile and explained, "When we were just leaving the restroom after everything ended... the first door suddenly swung open, and a corpse covered head-to-toe in maggots stumbled out. It lunged right at Ruoleng! If Yingkong hadn't reacted in time, the consequences could have been..."

Cheng Xiao suddenly burst into uproarious laughter. He walked over to Miao Ruoleng, gently patted her back, and roared with mirth, "Want to hear a joke? I've got some great pregnant woman jokes for you!"

After a few pats, Miao Ruoleng felt slightly better. Jill found an intact bottle of mineral water and handed it to her. After rinsing her mouth, the girl said, "No thanks. My ex-boyfriend always loved telling me pregnant woman jokes, but they were all explicit ones. I'd rather not listen."

"Cheng Xiao wasn't deterred. He continued laughing, "Then I'll tell you some clean, non-adult pregnant woman jokes. I guarantee you'll be laughing uncontrollably!"

"No, really, my ex-boyfriend always said that too." Thanks to Cheng Xiao's interruption, Miao Ruoleng's state slowly began to normalize. Jiang Zhe, who had originally intended to stop Cheng Xiao's harassment, now watched the entire scene silently. Cheng Xiao's actions weren't quite as malicious as they appeared; at the very least, the man was currently helping Miao Ruoleng.

Everyone returned to the armored transport vehicle, which continued its journey forward. This time, however, Jill opened the small window in the driver's cabin, allowing the group to see the conditions on either side of the street.

The road was desolate, filled with smashed and looted shops. Beyond the commercial areas, residential zones were also in ruins. In contrast, pedestrians were beginning to appear on the road. They walked aimlessly forward, and upon seeing the transport vehicle, they merely reacted instinctively by sidestepping to the edges of the street.

Most of the city's population was converging on the checkpoints, hoping to escape the city limits, hoping to get far away from the man-eating monsters at the city center. According to the plotline, a large number of Crawlers would undoubtedly have escaped from the laboratories, but surely no one who encountered a Crawler managed to survive and escape, right?

Time trickled by. Even Zhao Yingkong stopped reciting her poetry, instead quietly flipping through a romance novel. As twilight began to settle, Zhao Yingkong put the novel away as well.

Finally, a bright illumination appeared ahead. They were still at least a kilometer away from the checkpoint, but the transport vehicle could no longer advance even a single meter. The crowd was packed shoulder-to-shoulder, leaving no space to step.

Helplessly, everyone alighted and gathered together. Jill shouted to the others, "Stay close behind me! Do not wander off; it's too easy to get separated in this crush!"

Zheng Zha, however, smiled and said, "No need for all that trouble. We Chinese have an old saying: 'Cut the Gordian Knot.' Want to see how it's done?" Zheng Zha suddenly pulled an automatic rifle from his Ring of Holding. Holding the weapon aloft, he pulled the trigger toward the sky. The sharp pa-pa-pa of gunfire instantly silenced the surrounding clamor, freezing the noisy crowd. Everyone stared blankly at their group, instinctively moving away to create space around them.

Xiao Honglu chuckled, "Yep. That was precisely what I was planning to do myself. I didn't expect you to react even faster this time. Facing a situation like this, that really is the quickest way to reach the checkpoint—'Cut the Gordian Knot!'"

Jill was stunned for a long moment before she suddenly laughed. "That's a good idea, although it's technically illegal. But I guess nobody is here to arrest you now, right? Heh." With that, she also pulled out her handgun, aimed it at the sky, fired a few shots, and then began walking forward.

This short kilometer was jammed with commoners, standing packed together, grumbling and waiting. In reality, the entire checkpoint area had been completely sealed off. Even the nearly ten-meter-high steel barricade at the checkpoint had been rapidly constructed over the last ten-plus hours. The Umbrella Corporation's influence was astonishingly vast; they had effectively locked down the entire city.

About ten minutes later, Jill and the group reached the checkpoint. At this point, the checkpoint wasn't entirely sealed; at least the main gate remained open. Zheng Zha examined the gate closely. It was about a meter thick, likely constructed of solid armored or alloy metal. If he were to use his Red Flame to sear it, it might take considerable time to breach, although using high-yield explosives might offer a good chance of blowing the gate open.

Many heavily armed police officers were already holding positions where the group stood. Jill let out a sharp whistle toward them, and immediately, a burly Black man hurried over. He exclaimed happily, "Jill! Thank goodness! I didn't see you arrive and was worried something had happened to you on the way. Who are these people?"

Jill was about to reply when she noticed a middle-aged man behind the Black officer convulsing and vomiting on the ground. She immediately said, "We'll discuss them later; let's deal with the immediate trouble here first."

With that, she drew her pistol.

A young girl, perhaps a teenager, was trailing behind the vomiting man, crying out for her father. The Black officer shouted, "Stay away from him! Everyone clear out from around him! What are you waiting for? Get them separated quickly!" The surrounding officers snapped out of their daze and quickly pulled the girl away. The Black man strode toward the convulsing man, seemingly intending to check what had afflicted him.

The writhing man’s eyes suddenly turned dark. He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around the Black officer's leg and sinking his teeth in, successfully tearing off a large chunk of flesh. As the Black officer screamed and staggered backward, Jill aimed her gun at the convulsing man and pulled the trigger.

BANG! The man, now fully turned into a zombie, had his head instantly blown apart, spraying gore onto the ground.