Chapter Fifteen: Taking You to Soar

The surge of corpses ahead was indeed densely packed, but the narrow valley could only accommodate seven or eight thousand zombies at a time. The rest, drawn by the sound of gunfire, began to flank from both sides.

“Damn it, this is getting out of hand!” Yang Chunxi realized the problem and immediately ordered, “Everyone, open fire, clear the valley fast, don’t you dare save your ammo!”

The zombies were flanking because the valley was too crowded, and only by swiftly clearing it could the number of flanking zombies be reduced.

“I just flew up for a look. The horde numbers nearly thirty-five thousand. If we go all-out up front, we can hold off twenty thousand. The right side is steep, with only two gaps for flanking. If we deploy two squads there, they can hold back about three thousand zombies. That leaves twelve thousand, who’ll soon be climbing up from the left. I suggest abandoning the left high ground and focusing all defenses on the right.” Lin Lei analyzed.

His figures came from the system’s simulation, highly accurate. But the proposal to abandon the left and defend the right was his own idea—after all, the system provided intelligence analysis for free, thanks to the war loan. If he asked for actual strategies, the system would only recommend him to buy, buy, buy!

If personal weapons weren’t enough, then buy war machines. Try the Gatling six-barrel Vulcan cannon, or the Hive drone combat swarm, or heavy exosuit battle mechs...

As long as you have money (contribution points), every problem before you ceases to be a problem.

But Lin Lei had no money.

Even if he could afford these war machines, he wouldn’t buy them, because the ammunition or energy packs would bankrupt him.

“No. If we give up the left high ground, we lose crossfire. The zombies in the valley bottom could break through our lines, and then we’d be attacked from both sides!” Yang Chunxi disagreed.

The purpose of crossfire was to prevent Tier Two zombies from climbing up from the valley bottom. Without firepower from the left, it’d be hard for the right to even spot zombies underfoot, let alone shoot them. If those zombies broke into the position, the outcome was obvious.

His only original suggestion was thus rejected; clearly, Lin Lei was not suited for command.

“Alright then, I’ll go block the gap on the left myself. But the zombies are so many, I don’t know how long I can hold out. If I can’t, I’ll just fly away.” Lin Lei proposed again.

Facing over twelve thousand zombies alone was not some noble sacrifice—after Yang Chunxi’s team went all-out, Lin Lei was earning ten to twenty contribution points every minute.

In other words, every minute he bought Yang Chunxi’s team, he earned another ten to twenty points.

At twenty thousand per point, he was pocketing three to four million every minute.

Plus, he could fly—if he couldn’t win, he could always escape. A deal with only profit and no loss—only a fool would refuse.

“If that’s so, I’ll leave it to you. But if you can’t hold, let me know so I can adjust accordingly,” Yang Chunxi finally agreed after some thought.

At this point, he really couldn’t “hog it all.” Letting Lin Lei handle twelve thousand zombies would ease his own burden.

If Lin Lei failed to hold the gap, Yang Chunxi would simply retreat, preserving his forces for a chance to counterattack.

“I’ll go with you,” said Yang Xueli, who had been silent until now.

“No!”

“No! You can’t go!” Lin Lei and Yang Chunxi spoke in unison.

“If I go alone, I can focus on fighting. Taking you along is just another burden,” Lin Lei refused bluntly.

“Don’t worry, I won’t drag you down. I’m just doing my duty—if you can’t hold and flee, I’ll be the first to notify my brother,” Yang Xueli retorted.

“Hey, are you looking down on me? If I have to leave, I’ll just fly back and notify him myself. That’s faster than you running back,” Lin Lei replied.

“Who knows? Maybe you’ll get greedy for more zombie corpses and forget to notify him at all,” Yang Xueli said, not above slinging mud to get her way.

She wasn’t wrong—Lin Lei had considered this. Now that she’d unwittingly exposed his motives, he didn’t know how to respond.

“Stop talking nonsense, Xue! Lin isn’t that sort of person. I know your temperament—if I force you to stay, you’ll find some way to sneak over anyway. In that case, as your brother, I have to let you go.” Yang Chunxi seemed to guess her intent, then turned to Lin Lei: “Brother Lin, I’m entrusting my sister to you. Please protect her well!”

What a farce.

The way Yang Chunxi, that big brother-in-law, looked at Lin Lei made him unable to meet his gaze.

“Fine, fine! I’ll bring you along. Come here, let me carry you.” Lin Lei gave in, opening his arms for Yang Xueli to approach.

“What are you doing?” Yang Xueli froze.

Faced with such a loaded question, Lin Lei knew no one would believe him if he claimed he had no ulterior motive.

But he realized she misunderstood, so he explained, “Of course, I’ll fly you there! We’re out of time—what, you want to walk over?”

The exosuit’s flight module was on his back—if he carried Yang Xueli piggyback, they’d both roast. Holding hands was possible, but would require recalibrating power output for stable flight, which wasn’t realistic in this tense situation.

Embracing her waist Titanic-style risked an accident, so, after some thought, he simply opted for a princess carry.

Activating flight mode, he headed toward their destination...

Suspended in mid-air, free from external interference, one’s mind easily focused. With the warmth and softness in his arms, Lin Lei suddenly felt shy, his heart pounding wildly.

As an evolved human, Yang Xueli’s senses were heightened. At such close range, she could easily hear his racing heartbeat.

Perhaps by instinct, or perhaps out of curiosity, Yang Xueli turned to look at Lin Lei.

Their faces so close, their eyes met—and both their cheeks flushed instantly.

“Strange. From a distance, he looked like a scruffy middle-aged man. Up close, he’s actually a bit handsome,” Yang Xueli thought.

In truth, Lin Lei wasn’t that old—just unkempt, and with little exercise over the past three years, he’d gained some weight. But if you just looked at his face, he was rather good-looking.

A mutual gaze is always a test—of composure and of nerve. Whoever looked away first would be the one to admit defeat.

Yang Xueli was lost in her own thoughts, unaware of the situation, so Lin Lei was the first to lose his nerve. He turned his head aside, silently reciting, “O-mi-tofu, get over it, get over it...”

“Pfft! All that bravado before, and now you’re shy? Maybe you’re still a virgin!” Thinking back to their first meeting, Yang Xueli couldn’t help but tease him.

When a woman starts flirting, a man is rarely a match.

Sure enough, Lin Lei was so flustered that he stumbled, his hand trembling, nearly dropping Yang Xueli.

“Ah!” Yang Xueli cried out, instinctively wrapping her arms around Lin Lei’s neck, shrinking closer to avoid falling.

At that moment, their faces were nearly touching. Thankfully, the tactical helmet protected Lin Lei’s virtue.

“Remove tactical helmet,” Lin Lei ordered.

To hell with the helmet, to hell with virtue!

As the visor lifted, Lin Lei lowered his head and pressed his lips to Yang Xueli’s...