Amidst a forest atop the wilderness.
Deep within, a settlement lay hidden.
Wooden cabins clustered together, backward in technology and complex in terrain, yet everywhere, countless human figures could be seen.
Their clothes were somewhat tattered, some even filthy beyond compare.
Their hair and beards were wild and unkempt, like Wilderness People who had roamed this desolate land for ages.
This was a gathering place for Wilderness People, but at this moment, it welcomed a stranger.
On the largest wooden platform in the settlement, two people sat facing each other.
One was rugged in appearance, his face lined and skin dark, dressed in a clean black vest—he was the Chief of this settlement.
Sitting across from him was a young man with white hair.
Behind the youth stood two bodyguards in suits, each holding a document case.
“One million. Help me get rid of someone in the wilderness.”
The young man spoke coldly, beckoning with his hand.
The bodyguard immediately placed the case on the table and opened it, revealing piles of Alliance Currency, and atop the stack, a photograph—a beautiful figure.
Though the Chief resided in the wilderness, his position as leader meant he was well aware of the goings-on within the city.
“Bai Family Disowned Daughter?”
A trace of surprise appeared on the man’s face.
“Just a civilian profession. If your Bai Clan wanted her to vanish quietly in Tianmu City, wouldn’t that be easy?”
The youth wore a hint of disdain and mockery on his face, sneering as he replied, “Chief, you must be joking. How could we ever harm one of our own? Even if she left the Bai Clan, she still shares our blood.”
Hearing this, the other man also laughed, picking up the photo to study the details.
After a moment, a troubled look crossed his face.
“There’s also a second-level Hunter Team. That’s going to be troublesome.”
“From what I know, they just destroyed a First-Tier Calamity Gate.”
The youth’s voice was icy.
At these words, the Chief immediately rose to his feet.
“Then it’s settled!”
***
Elsewhere, inside the Third-Tier Calamity Gate.
Bai Nian’s gaze sharpened, and she found herself standing within an abandoned city.
Broken doors and windows, filthy deserted buildings, roads littered with garbage, and both sides of the street crammed with derelict vehicles.
Some had collided and piled up, while others had crashed straight into storefronts.
The air was thick with a mix of odors, even the sky above was gray.
All around was nothing but ruin.
Staring at the scene before her, two words surfaced in Bai Nian’s mind: Doomsday.
The sight here was even more apocalyptic than the world outside.
She looked around, but Zhang Kun and the others were nowhere to be seen.
The last thing she wanted to happen had come to pass.
The four of them had been separated!
At that moment, a string of small words appeared at Bai Nian’s feet—‘Document.’
“This is H City. Due to an outbreak of an Unknown Virus, it has been completely sealed off. Three days from now, a Destruction Weapon will be deployed to obliterate everything.”
“Your identity is Special Task Force Personnel air-dropped here. Your mission is to obtain the research results of a Doctor and evacuate with this Confidential Document.”
Seeing the words ‘virus,’ a sense of dread immediately rose in Bai Nian’s heart.
As soon as the words vanished from the ground, a chorus of snarls and growls erupted around her.
Bai Nian turned towards the sound, only to see shadowy figures materializing from all sides.
They wore tattered, bloodstained clothing, their skin pale and mottled with black patches, mouths agape, black fluid oozing out.
Their limbs were grotesquely twisted, bodies contorted into uncanny shapes, and they were slowly shuffling toward Bai Nian.
“Zombies?!”
She cried out in alarm, hardly a stranger to these creatures.
These things were almost the same as the Skeletons she’d faced before—unless their weak points were struck, they simply wouldn’t die.
Most importantly, they were dead things—Bai Nian had no way to hypnotize them!
With empty hands, she turned and ran without hesitation.
Unlike her earlier observations, with the disappearance of the text, this world within the Gate had officially started operating.
Now, everywhere Bai Nian looked, zombies were visible to the naked eye.
Fortunately, her body had been strengthened, and these zombies were a bit different from the ones she’d seen in movies.
These zombies didn’t run.
That meant, as long as you didn’t get surrounded by a horde, even an ordinary person could escape.
“The file said this city is sealed, and in three days it’ll be utterly destroyed. My task is to find the Confidential Document and escape within three days.”
As she ran, Bai Nian mulled over the new information.
But that was probably only the requirement to clear this place.
As for actually closing the Gate, she still had no idea how to do it.
“Being chased like this won’t work. I have to shake them off.”
She scanned her surroundings, spotting a tall building not far away.
These zombies were too stupid.
She could use the building’s layout to limit their movement.
If she made it to the roof, she could overlook the whole city.
With a goal in mind, she immediately sprinted toward the building.
Snatching up a steel pipe lying by a trash bin, Bai Nian leapt and swung hard at the zombie blocking her path.
With a loud bang, its head burst like a watermelon, green fluid spraying everywhere.
The zombie’s body immediately collapsed, motionless.
Good news—ordinary weapons could kill zombies!
She didn’t dare to imagine what would happen if this kind of disaster broke out without any preparation.
No wonder the countries of old perished to such calamities—a single Third-Tier Gate could create a full-blown Biochemical Crisis.
Soon, Bai Nian arrived at the foot of the high-rise.
Only a door frame remained, the darkness inside yawning like a beast ready to devour all.
There were a few searchlights on either side, and, strangely, not a single zombie nearby.
“This place is much cleaner than the others.”
Bai Nian stood where she was, peering inside.
“There are people in there.”
Just then, a few zombies, attracted by her presence, began to shuffle toward her from behind.
Suddenly, the searchlights on both sides flared to life, bathing the area in piercing purple light.
Instantly, it was as if the zombies had been doused with acid—they began to rot, and the air filled with a nauseating stench.
In just a few breaths, the zombies caught in the light had turned into puddles of black, unidentifiable matter—dead beyond dead.
Good—there were survivors here.
That would make it easier to gather information and find her teammates.
Bai Nian ignored what was happening behind her and headed straight inside.
The entire first floor was barricaded with barbed wire, and the staircase ahead had been completely dismantled.
If she wanted to reach the second floor, she would have to climb up from where the stairs once were, all while bathed in purple light.
It was a clever design.
Just this was enough to keep the zombies from getting upstairs.
But it was no obstacle to Bai Nian.
With a light leap, she propelled herself up and landed easily on the second floor.
“Who’s there?”
Two figures suddenly emerged from the shadows around the corner, keeping a cautious distance.
The muzzles of their guns pointed straight at her.
But in the instant their eyes met Bai Nian’s, the piercing gaze in her heterochromatic eyes seemed to expand endlessly within their minds.