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The low groaning of the zombies outside echoed ominously in the cavernous interior of the warehouse, grating on our already delicate nerves. Through a nearby window, I quickly noticed that the zombies were shuffling along at a markedly faster rate than before. In all likelihood, our short trip to that hotel might prove a little more troublesome than we had initially planned for. At the very least, ignoring them was no longer an option. But with our entertainment exosuits, even these enhanced zombies should be nothing more than point farms.

Now that Bitong and I had determined our route, it was time to depart.

“Wait! Where are you guys going?”

“Come back!”

“It’s dangerous outside…”

Caught off guard, the dozen survivors who had followed us thus far did not even have time to react at all before we dashed out of the warehouse without warning. Even though these were all people we had travelled with, I just couldn’t bring myself to look at them the same way again since that horrific incident. Even if their survival took precedence, all they needed was to stop for a couple of seconds… Regardless, the die had been cast now. And with those entertainment exosuits, they should be fine on their own, barring more of those Scorpid skeletons appearing. That was the main reason why I decided we should part ways now.

Yet barely a few seconds after stepping out of the warehouse, Qiaoqiao suddenly stopped. I quickly nudged her from behind.

“Don’t just stand there, we need to keep moving.”

“Big brother, are we really leaving them behind like this?” She asked in a low voice, “We could just bring them along…”

“Hmph. Those selfish creatures? They should be grateful that His Highness hasn’t punished them for their foolish display. Why would we ever bring them along with us? Just so that they can burden us again?”

Clearly, Lixiang’s impression of those survivors was just as bad as mine.

Yeah. You tell her, Lixiang.

“But I thought more team members made us stronger?”

“Qiaoqiao.” Bitong gently called out to the girl before patiently explaining, “We can’t trust them not to stab us in the back when the need arises. Given how selfish they’ve been, our chances of survival would actually drop with them around. Leaving is for the best. For everyone.”

That’s right. Can they even be considered a part of the team if they’re that untrustworthy? This isn’t some VR game anymore, there’s no reset button if we make a bad decision.

Now that we were fully out in the wilds of this concrete jungle, I could definitively say that the night had an enhancing effect on the zombies. Even their reaction seemed faster as they sped towards us, having been attracted by the sounds of our mechanical limbs.

However, that didn’t mean I needed to do anything. The moment the zombies came into range, the girls rushed forward without any hesitation. Whether it was a single zombie or a dozen of them, none were able to withstand a round of smacking from them.

Well… it’s not like those zombies can penetrate their exosuits, so why not? Now’s a good time to get them accustomed to the blood and gore of battle as well. After all, what use is all that power when you just faint at the sight of blood?

Perhaps saying power might be a little premature, but with a cheat known as a system, becoming strong was only a matter of time.

It only took five minutes for us to reach the front door of the hotel, thanks to the relative short distance between the warehouse and the hotel. With a mighty swing of her hammer, Qiaoqiao smashed one of the zombies blocking our way, before Lixiang rushed in from her side into the hotel lobby. Using her speed, she easily rammed over three zombies. Leg on the last zombie, and two hammer swings later, those three zombies were dead as well.

“We’re here then.” Bitong announced to no one in particular, then commanded her two unmanned exosuits forward. “Lixiang, step back for now. We aren’t sure what kind of monsters there are lurking about. If there’s more of those Scorpids, we could be in danger. Let the empty exosuits take the heat.”

The two exosuits she had under her command were definitely worse for wear, having gone through that battle with a hole in one of their arms, and legs pretty much in tatters. Even walking was proving a little difficult for them at this point.

In that case, there was no harm in having them be our canary in the mines.

The entire hotel was devoid of any survivors. That was the conclusion we came to after an hour of searching.

When the virus struck, those who could flee, fled. Those that remained behind were all zombies, whether men, women, young or old. Over ten floors were cleaned up in the end, during which we found a decent number of zombies after going through every single room. In order to avoid missing any, we even made a record. The result was that there were no survivors, other than us.

“Well, let’s head to 301 to sleep. That room is bigger, and cleaner too.” Bitong suggested, after cleaning up the six zombies on the balcony.

“Yeah. That room has a really big tub too! Qiaoqiao wants to take a bath!”

Just like that, we ended up in room 301. The room was a duplex room, with the living room on the first floor, along with one bedroom. Another bedroom was located on the second floor. The bathroom was on the first floor, with a washing machine located conveniently beside it. The view outside the window was spectacular as well – basically whatever you wanted, this room had it.

“Qiaoqiao wants to take a bath!”

The moment we stepped into the room, Qiaoqiao immediately clamored to take a bath. Unfortunately, Lixiang already had the bathroom blocked with her outstretched hands.

Face expressionless, she coldly stated, “This one is bathing first.”

“No! Qiaoqiao wants to bathe first! Her body is already starting to smell!”

“Foolish mortal. Countless years have passed, have you not learnt to live with your filth?” Lixiang raised an eyebrow at the girl. Then with a holier-than-thou look on her face, she declared, “This one needs to bathe first, so as to better service His Highness. Mortal, do not try to waste this one’s precious time with His Highness.”

“Meanie! Big sister Lixiang is just a big bully!” Qiaoqiao yelled at Lixiang. “How is Qiaoqiao filthy? Or ugly! Big brother, Qiaoqiao isn’t smelly, right?”

“Yes. Our Qiaoqiao isn’t smelly, at all.” I smiled with a grimace, then threw a pleading look at Bitong.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE