Cheng Xiao withdrew the golden needles from Jiang Zhe. "There's fundamentally nothing serious; that virus hadn't spread into his system that fast, and the coagulant spray has been used, so he's bandaged up. I think he should be fine; his arm will just need to wait until we get to the 'Main God' space to regenerate. For now, let him keep sleeping."

Having endured two fierce battles back-to-back, the group was utterly exhausted, especially after the last assault by those tentacled zombies—the sight of those flailing appendages was enough to make one's scalp tingle. Now that the immediate danger was over and relief had finally set in, every single person could barely muster the will to move.

Jiang Zhe, being the only one injured during the second attack, suffered a truly grievous wound; the greater part of his arm had been cleanly severed by Zheng Zha's vertical slash. Yet, in this misfortune, there was a sliver of luck: he was a newcomer with negligible combat ability to begin with, so this injury merely relegated him back to his state of being non-combative, posing virtually no impact on the team itself.

Cheng Xiao collected the golden needles back into their case, then remarked, "Actually, that cut was incredibly sharp; the wound is an almost perfectly clean incision. If we could retrieve his arm, even modern grafting techniques could reattach the whole limb, hah!" Zheng Zha's heart skipped a beat. The memory of that jackal-like doctor from the Yin Zhou team suddenly flashed through his mind, the one who seemed capable of reattaching severed limbs. He quickly asked, "In the medical arts you've learned, is there a way to rejoin a severed limb? Connecting the bone, the nerves—all of it."

Cheng Xiao pondered for a moment. "Perhaps the 'Main God' system has medical tools, or other items we can exchange for, but I currently cannot rejoin a severed limb. Whether it's nerve reconnection or fusing the bone structure back together in a short time, it’s beyond my current capability, at least without proper medical equipment."

Zheng Zha nodded. "Once this horror movie segment is over, you'll certainly have the chance to exchange for enough medical gear—plenty of high-tech or even legendary magical medical devices. But the priority is that we all survive first." Zhan Lan had been quietly piloting the bus the entire time. Zheng Zha didn't rush her, just sat beside her, silently gazing ahead at the pitch-black road. After a long pause, he murmured, "You weren't scared during that situation just now? What if a monster had suddenly attacked you?" Zhan Lan still kept her eyes closed and let out a soft laugh. "I didn't feel afraid because I trusted that you and everyone else definitely could protect me. Even though I have no combat power myself, I trusted that we could handle the enemies and keep us safe. Didn't you turn your entire back over to Ying Kong at one point? Isn't that also a display of your trust?" Zheng Zha scratched his head. "Honestly, there wasn't time to think about such things back then. Fully focused on unlocking the Gene Lock, how could I possibly have the leisure to consider so much? At that moment, I only wanted to kill every monster attacking us and prevent any of them from getting into the bus. It was just continuous weapon swinging, using the 'Tomb Kings' Chant' (), dodging, and attacking. Hearing you say that just now, I actually remember definitely leaving my back exposed to Zhao Ying Kong."

Zhan Lan giggled sweetly. "It wasn't just you exposing your back to Zhao Ying Kong; Zhao Ying Kong was also wholeheartedly exposing hers to you both. At that time, neither of you gave any thought to whether monsters might be attacking from behind. Perhaps it was precisely that state of mind that allowed you to guard the two sides of the bus, resulting in no monsters attacking us."

Not far off, Zhao Ying Kong, who had been dozing with her head bowed, suddenly felt a slight flush on her delicate face. She shifted slightly, turning her back toward Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan. Though Zheng Zha noticed nothing unusual, Zhan Lan let out a mischievous chuckle that left Zheng Zha utterly bewildered.

As they were talking, a sound like rapidly beating helicopter rotors suddenly echoed from the sky. Everyone snapped awake from their dozing spells. They all peered out the windows, where several helicopters hovered above them. Then, the group watched as the choppers slowly descended. Before long, they heard a crisp metallic clang on the roof of the bus—something solid had clearly landed up there.

Zheng Zha exchanged a look with the others, then vaulted out through the window onto the bus roof. There, indeed, sat a black iron case. Zheng Zha lifted the case, but it wasn't as heavy as he might have expected.

He returned to the bus interior from the roof. Upon seeing the black iron box in his hands, everyone immediately crowded around. When Zheng Zha opened the box, they discovered a satellite phone inside, which was currently emitting a soft ring.

Zheng Zha picked up the phone, and a young voice immediately came through: "Hello, Mr. Zheng Zha. I am the supervisor currently in charge of the incidents in this city. In a sense, I am also responsible for your safety right now. Do you see the helicopters overhead? If there is any unusual activity before they land, those helicopters will directly turn your vehicle into sparks. Don't think the Corporation wouldn't dare destroy such a valuable mutant as you. In fact, it's better to eliminate you now than let you escape and become the Corporation's enemy."

Zheng Zha exhaled slowly. "I was already on my way to the Corporation's building in this city, so threatening me is completely meaningless. I mentioned that team of counter-attacking armed mercenaries—I assume you've located them through your surveillance system? If you don't mind, I'd like you to dispatch a few helicopters to deal with them first. I will then proceed toward the Corporation building."

The male voice sounded displeased. "Yes, an armed group of unknown origin is pursuing you from behind, but they are still dozens of kilometers away. There is no need to worry about them, Mr. Zheng Zha. If you are truly concerned about their threat, why not take a helicopter to the building first? We have sufficient defensive firepower here to protect you. Perhaps you could even leave this city and go to our company headquarters. How about that?"

Zheng Zha, however, replied with a cold smile, "Do you think I would abandon my comrades and run off alone? Let me tell you first, the strength of that mercenary team far exceeds your imagination. If you think you can dispose of them easily, you are gravely mistaken!"

The male voice practically roared, "Don't you think—"

"Dispatch the Sixth Team of mercenaries to engage that mercenary group. Tell them they must capture at least two alive. Have the other helicopter continue to protect the bus."

A cold voice interrupted the male speaker. The male voice immediately fell silent, and the cold voice continued, "Zheng Zha, as a Corporation employee, you should know that the Corporation will exert maximum effort for its greatest resurgence, but it will also expend all its efforts against any potential danger. Therefore, you can state your demands within the limits of our tolerance. If you exceed those limits, the Corporation will employ forceful measures or even destroy this city."

Zheng Zha considered this and said, "I have no special demands? Only two requests: Equip us with one military transport helicopter. My partners and I need to reach the inspection point. They will be checked there; if they are not infected with the virus, I hope the Corporation will let them go. As for me, I will see that my partners are safe from the helicopter before boarding to go directly to the Corporation Headquarters. I know you don't fully trust me, so I won't be disembarking. How about that?"

The cold voice was silent for a moment, then affirmatively replied, "Agreed. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I accept your terms. The military transport helicopter will arrive within half an hour after you reach the top floor of the building. Of course, since this is a transaction, our Board hopes that upon your arrival, you will engage in a duel with the strongest combat bio-weapon we have prepared: Tracker No. 2, a bio-weapon with superhuman physical attributes. If you can defeat him, our Board might even grant you internal member certification status within the Corporation."

Zheng Zha nodded. "We can discuss those things later. For now, just get us safely to the top floor first. By the way, it will take us about another hour to reach the top floor because we have been fighting for a full day and night, and we are starving. So I hope the personnel stationed there can prepare a meal for us. Preferably canned or packaged food; food transported from outside the city would be fine too. I certainly don't want my comrades turning into zombies after eating whatever you have on hand."

The cold voice hummed. "That's a minor matter, no problem. Rest assured and reach the top floor. As transactional partners, the Corporation absolutely will not move against you. I look forward to meeting Mr. Zheng Zha face-to-face at the corporate headquarters. Farewell."

As the voice faded, the cold tone vanished as well.

Zheng Zha let out a deep breath. When he saw six of the seven helicopters in the sky begin flying toward the northwest, his tension eased slightly. No matter how strong the Devil's Reincarnation Squad was, they couldn't possibly survive unscathed against an attack from helicopters armed with air-to-ground missiles, could they? As long as they could deplete some of their strength, or if luck held, even kill one or two of them, that would be a tremendous help.

(And please, let us all survive this.) He jumped to