The exercise had taken up the majority of their time, and by the time they had successfully infiltrated a mall, half a day had already passed.
Mu Chen had called for numerous stops along the way, unabashedly pointing out every mistake in their coordination.
Ling Mo, though he enjoyed the downtime, still offered plenty of advice on the use of special abilities, which significantly improved their performance.
Guided by the two of them, the trio quickly got the hang of working together. By the time they were inside the mall, their coordination could be described as fairly polished.
âAlright, this is where we bring in Gu Shuangshuang,â Mu Chen gestured, calling her over.
âOkay,â Ye Kai nodded, and the other two didnât object. They were also curious about what role Gu Shuangshuang would play in the team, especially since she hadnât taken any action previously.
âThe layout here is complicated. The chances of drawing the zombies away again are slim. Even if we could, it wouldnât make much sense since we canât lead them far,â Mu Chen analyzed.
Ye Kai nodded again, but the look he gave Mu Chen was far from the friendly one he reserved for Ling Mo.
Mu Chen didnât mind, as he was just undercover and wouldnât be staying long; this team wasnât trained for Niepanâ¦
âDamn it! What am I even doing here?!â Mu Chen thought to himself, frustrated, but continued speaking, âSo the main goal here is to clear out the zombies. To do that, we need to achieve two things: one, clean and thorough elimination; two, as quietly as possible. Ye Kai, you should be able to hold your own, but Zhang Xincheng is not suited for fighting here, and Skinny Monkey is completely without combat abilityâ¦â
Skinny Monkey immediately felt a wave of embarrassment at being singled out; he couldnât help itâ¦
âBut relying on Ye Kai alone would probably work him to death,â Mu Chen added.
Ye Kaiâs gaze turned fierce at once, but Mu Chen had already glanced at him and said, âYou can try if you want, but donât say I didnât warn you. Also, keep personal grudges out of the mission. Itâs no good for anyone.â
âHmphâ¦â Ye Kai couldnât refute, but that didnât stop him from glaring menacingly at Mu Chen.
âOkay,â Ling Mo quickly intervened to smooth things over, âYour task is to go to the top floorâs managerâs office and retrieve an item from the desk.â
âWhat item?â Ye Kai glared at Mu Chen with annoyance before turning to ask Ling Mo.
âYouâll know when you get there,â Ling Mo said teasingly.
âWhatâs this aboutâ¦â
âBig brother probably doesnât even know what it isâ¦â
âYeah, definitely clueless.â
The group whispered among themselves briefly before they heard Mu Chen shout, âStart! And remember, youâre on the clock this time!â
As Mu Chen had predicted, their lack of combat strength as a group became immediately apparent in the complex environment.
Particularly without effective protection, they faced several close calls. Although they managed to pull through by the skin of their teeth, it left Skinny Monkey pale with fright, and even Zhang Xincheng appeared to be struggling.
The space was only so big, and the ceiling was only so high. Given the zombiesâ jumping ability, they could easily reach it, which made Zhang Xincheng nearly obsolete in combat.
Skinny Monkeyâs Wind Listener ability was somewhat useful, but its effectiveness was limited. Zombies were everywhere, and the slightest movement could lead to a surprise attack, making an early warning of one or two seconds pretty much meaningless.
Although Ye Kai was powerful, and the sight of him charging behind the zombies and furiously executing his Blade Dance was downright terrifying, he was only one man. And the zombies? Every time they advanced a bit, they could face five or six zombies simultaneously.
But with Gu Shuangshuang joining in, things changed.
Gu Shuangshuangâs psychic shockwaves could significantly alleviate the pressure on Ye Kai, even making his Blade Dance more lethal than usual.
Staying close to her at least ensured that the zombies wouldnât all pounce at once. Sheltering by her side, Zhang Xincheng and Skinny Monkey actually managed to fight back with some semblance of competence.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, Gu Shuangshuangâs ability to control her powers was really poor. Even with Ling Mo directing her, she frequently made mistakes, sometimes even sending shockwaves at her own teammatesâ¦
âIâm⦠Iâm so sorry!â Gu Shuangshuang apologized, her face beet red.
âThatâs the third time now. If it werenât for them stepping in to save you, youâd all be dead,â Mu Chen pointed out unsparingly.
Gu Shuangshuang lowered her head and glanced at Ye Lian and the others, her eyes filled with both shame and gratitude.
She had initially thought that the three of them were just tagging along with Ling Mo for a look-see, but when danger struck in an instant, the girl who looked like a mixed-blood appeared out of nowhere behind a zombie, grabbed its collar from behind, and her wristâs eerie blade swiftly sliced through its neck.
Another was even more bizarre, seemingly dazed but firing her gun as soon as she lifted it, hitting the zombieâs knees with two shots. Before the zombie hit the ground, another precise shot blew its head off.
The most terrifying part was her perpetually bewildered look; her gaze was vacant and unfocused, yet her shots were spot-on, not missing by a hair.
On the other hand, the long-haired girl, who seemed to be the strongest, didnât seem too keen on getting her hands dirty, but Gu Shuangshuang understood why the moment she saw her massive scythe.
If she was in action, did they even need to bother?
The four of them fought and coordinated for over twenty minutes before they finally reached the top floor.
However, most of their time was spent on the previous floors. By the time they got to the higher levels, their teamwork began to take shape, and they moved much faster.
âHere!â
Zhang Xincheng was the first to spot the office, but he didnât approach it right away; instead, he glanced at Skinny Monkey.
Skinny Monkey, understanding the cue, closed his eyes to listen, then shook his head.
The four of them, panting heavily, cautiously moved closer.
What could be on the desk? And what if there was nothingâwhat kind of token would they take back?
Ye Kai glanced around the doorway vigilantly before dashing inside.
He was a seasoned survivor by now, and the first thing he did upon entering was to check every nook and cranny. Some zombies knew how to hide their presence for sneak attacks, so one couldnât be too careful.
âItâs safe,â Ye Kai declared quickly after completing his check, snapping his fingers to signal the others.
The other three hurried in at the signal, converging around the office desk.
âHurry up and grab anything, weâre almost out of time,â Skinny Monkey urged.
Although Mu Chen hadnât specified what the penalty for running out of time would be, it was easy to guess that he would take the opportunity to mess with them.
Skinny Monkey was quite timid, especially when it came to unknown dangers, so the mere thought of a penalty spurred him into action, even reducing his sense of fear.
âUhâ¦â Ye Kai was just about to nod when he suddenly let out a surprised shout, âHuh?!â
âWhatâs wrong?â Zhang Xincheng asked urgently.
Skinny Monkey let out a yelp, his heartbeat that had just calmed down now raced again, and he jumped as if he had been stepped on.
Gu Shuangshuang also turned around nervously, scanning the surroundings, âAre there zombies?â
âNo, no,â Ye Kai shook his head, then picked up a piece of paper from the desk, turned around, and slowly lifted it in front of the three, âLook at this.â
Honestly, more than the note itself, the first thing that caught the attention of Skinny Monkey and the others was Ye Kaiâs expression.
This usually cool and tough guy was now standing with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape, looking utterly shocked.
What on earth could have scared him like this?
The three of them were immediately full of curiosity about the piece of paper and crowded in to take a closer look.
It was an old, ordinary piece of printer paper, but on it was a line of fresh handwriting.
âCongratulations on passing the test! Rookies, from this moment on, you are official members of the Miracle Team!â
â¦
In the moderately-sized office, silence reigned.
âLetâs not fuss about this rather casual team name for nowâ¦â Zhang Xincheng commented deadpan, then said somewhat bewilderedly, âHow did this note appear here?â
The zombies on the road, the zombies inside the mall⦠If they werenât quite sure that Ling Mo wasnât a mental ability user specialized in creating illusions, they might have doubted whether everything they had seen was just an illusion.
How exactly did this note get here?