Chapter 404: Chapter 404

More than three years had passed since the last zombie siege. During this time, although zombies roamed various places, large-scale group actions rarely occurred.

That leader was even more rarely seen, his traces hard to find.

In the past two years, this was the first time he had shown himself, and with just one encounter, he directly destroyed a heavy-duty base.

A zombie whose appearance was completely identical to a human!

It seemed the matter of leveling up was not a rumor.

Thinking of this, the expressions of everyone in the conference room simultaneously grew heavy.

Lu Ting frowned almost imperceptibly:

"If I remember correctly, the Falcon Base currently has at least three fourth-stage supernatural ability powerhouses."

The world was never short of geniuses.

Besides supernatural abilities, major bases had also been striving to restore their military strength recently. Although progress was particularly slow due to the lack of high-level talent and equipment.

Yet, even under these circumstances, the Falcon Base didn't even manage to send out a distress signal before the entire base was silently taken over.

It was simply... terrifying to such a degree!

Everyone present couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

The power that likely transcended stages was one thing, but what truly worried Lu Ting was the intellect and the exceptional leadership skills the other party displayed in this.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Ting immediately and decisively issued an order:

"Starting today, the city will be under full martial law. All guards and patrol teams must keep their alarms on their persons at all times. Anyone going out must undergo detailed registration. Anyone entering the base must be verified repeatedly. Also, the airspace above the base..."

Over the past three years, as the number of followers behind Lu Ting grew, his voice within the base inevitably became louder. Coupled with perhaps his greater age or limitations in aptitude, Base Leader Zhou had been stuck at the fourth stage for several years.

Compared to Lu Ting, his prestige was inevitably weaker.

Considering the external threat and to avoid internal instability and future difficulties in control, Zhou had formally ceded the position of leader last year, stepping down to a deputy role himself. Furthermore, after An Ning advanced to the fifth stage, the amount of food supplies the base could obtain clearly increased.

Now within the Blaze Base, saying it was Lu Ting's one-man show was a bit of an exaggeration, but it wasn't far from the truth.

After this order was issued, various departments within the base quickly sprang into action.

Even so, after returning home, the heavy expression on Lu Ting's face still hadn't lessened.

Especially when he met the eyes of his daughter, which were once again clearly filled with unfamiliarity.

Sigh, life is tough...

Fortunately, over the past three years, everyone in the family, including Lu Ting, had already grown accustomed to this scene.

Sighing almost imperceptibly in his heart, Lu Ting maintained his usual expression and once again repeated the self-introduction he had gone through countless times.

Beside him, Shen Qing skillfully brought their daughter her favorite fruits and freshly made pastries.

Everything was so practiced and natural.

Fortunately, compared to before, the thirteen-year-old An Ning was clearly more mature mentally. After a brief moment of stunned silence, relying on that inexplicable sense of familiarity in her heart, along with the photos and booklet she carried, she quickly confirmed something.

Her beautiful eyes soon curved downwards:

"Thank you for your hard work, Dad, Mommy!"

Only then did smiles appear on the couple's faces. After the family finished breakfast, noticing her husband's unusually grave expression, Shen Qing finally spoke up with concern:

"What's wrong, Ting-ge? Did something happen at the base?"

This matter concerned the survival of the base and their family, so Lu Ting naturally wouldn't hide it. He immediately put down the melon in his hand and solemnly recounted the news he had received earlier.

Instinctively, Shen Qing hurriedly looked at her daughter beside her:

"Is this zombie really that intelligent?"

If that were the case, then without a doubt, given the other party's intellect, who they would most want to target was almost self-evident.

Or rather, as one of the only two fifth-stage beings currently, only by eliminating An Ning could the other party proceed to destroy the developing human civilization without any worries.

Given the other party's caution, their nomadic state, and their terrifying speed, even heavy weapons were utterly useless.

Looking at her daughter, who also seemed somewhat puzzled but was listening attentively with a serious expression, Shen Qing tightly grasped her daughter's hand.

His gaze lingering on his daughter for a moment, Lu Ting's expression also turned serious:

"What we should fear now is not the other party using brute force..."

Over the past few years, besides desperately cultivating every day, the couple had spent most of their energy on their daughter. With Lu Ting's level of attention, he could naturally see that even though her memory often had problems, her daughter's supernatural abilities were indeed continuously growing stronger.

When she occasionally went out to search for supplies, her movement techniques and application of her abilities were equally masterful.

As for her killing power... well... Lu Ting couldn't help but fall silent for a moment. It was probably at the level of instantly taking out three of him!

To put it bluntly, in terms of combat power, Lu Ting wasn't worried about his daughter.

But in other aspects...

The only consolation now was that, at least within the base these past years, his control had been fairly solid.

"Anyway, A-Qing, for now, the two of us should try not to step outside this door. As for matters within the base, I will issue notifications using the communicator."

And on the photo An Ning kept hidden, another line was added:

"If you sense someone harbors malicious intent, no matter who it is, Ning Ning, remember not to hesitate. Use your ability and kill them directly."

As it turned out, Lu Ting's worries were not unfounded.

With the fall of the northern base and the news that the zombie leader had likely broken through to the fifth stage, people in other major bases couldn't help but feel a renewed sense of peril.

Many ability users even tried to flee to the Blaze Base with their families in tow.

However, right at this moment, a message suddenly came from the former Falcon Base in the north.

It was none other than that zombie leader personally publicizing his "creation" process.

The "development" process from an ordinary person to a dual-king of both zombie and supernatural abilities.

The blood of ability users, their hearts, the crystal cores of fourth-stage zombies...

"Ah, this... can an ordinary person really achieve this level? You must be joking!"

"And can abilities really be transferred ?"

"It must be fake. The energy in an ability user's blood is often too intense and domineering; how could an ordinary person withstand it? And the crystal cores..."

"Besides, wouldn't that turn you into a monster?"

But that monster... isn't it almost the same as a human now? And it possesses extraordinary power and a long lifespan.

You know, although the lifespan of ability users is still unknown, it's true that they are physically stronger and age slower.

Although this statement was quickly denounced.

Yet, even though communication between regions wasn't exactly convenient now, this piece of news still spread among the people at an extremely rapid pace...