181: The number of corpse kings is at least three digits

Qiu Qian pulled out a handheld radio transmitter, and soon, a Special Operations Group vehicle arrived directly to pick up the two.

However, the woman gave Tian Ming a very strange feeling.

But Tian Ming had also investigated and found her to be just an ordinary survivor, so he might have been overthinking.

After Tian Ming cleared the zombies from this area of ruins, he wandered around the nearby Commercial Street.

Now, Tian Ming had discovered his limitation: the range of his control over all things.

Due to high-intensity use, his control radius had already reached 12.1 meters.

Within the control radius, he was invincible, but beyond that range, he could only rely on his Human-Shaped Cannon, shockwaves, or attacks similar to the Metal Storm to engage the enemy.

If those Corpse Kings deliberately tried to hide, he truly had no good way to deal with them.

Within three months, clearing the city of zombies that threatened the Shelter would probably not be an easy task.

The radio signal on him rang; this area had no communication coverage, so they could only rely on these small radio transceivers.

The code was automatically converted into text.

"Boss, Special Operations Group Team Three encountered a Corpse King and lost three men."

Tian Ming frowned, immediately turning to look into the depths of the Commercial Street.

He had calculated everything, but he hadn't anticipated these zombies playing guerrilla warfare with him.

The city's area was too vast, and if the Special Operations Group acted separately, they would easily be targeted.

He couldn't be everywhere at once, and if the Corpse Kings adopted a blitzkrieg and guerrilla warfare approach, both the Special Operations Group and he would fall into a passive state.

Tian Ming spoke into the radio, "Special Operations Group, all withdraw."

Tian Ming's voice was converted into text and then quickly sent out via code.

Tian Ming did not rush to the rescue.

Since the zombies were hiding from him, it meant that the Corpse King who escaped last time had already informed all intelligent zombies.

Therefore, any zombie with a bit of sense no longer chose to confront Tian Ming head-on.

Looking at the city with its towering buildings, Tian Ming suddenly found himself in a dilemma.

Did he really have to turn into a demolition team and tear down the entire city just to find where the Corpse Kings were hiding?

Soon, the radio receiver buzzed again.

Tian Ming opened it to see it was from Zheng Haoyu: "Boss, during our retreat, we found many fresh corpses in a community park.

They weren't zombies; they were from my old employer, Life Origins Company.

They sent people."

Tian Ming immediately replied, "Return to the rendezvous point and discuss it in person."

Tian Ming sighed.

Everything was piling up.

That Life Origins Company was not to be trifled with; their single-soldier exoskeletons and laser weapons alone were difficult to deal with.

Tian Ming slowly and quickly flew towards the rendezvous point.

The rendezvous point was near the Shelter, and the surrounding houses had already been flattened by Tian Ming.

A moment later, Tian Ming landed in the supply station at the rendezvous point.

Zheng Haoyu and the rest of the Special Operations Group returned one after another, some with bloodstains on them.

The order to withdraw had been given three hours ago.

A total of 51 people participated in the reconnaissance, but only 42 returned.

Zheng Haoyu had called multiple times via radio, but received no response.

Everyone's hearts sank, because those who went to scout remote areas were in groups of three or four.

Before reconnaissance, a drone would first fly around to identify abnormal areas that needed human confirmation, and only then would the Special Operations Group personnel go.

The Special Operations Group, with the best weapons and the strongest physiques, could only be silently attacked before they could even send out a distress signal by Corpse King-level zombies.

Zheng Haoyu's mood was a bit low.

From the start of the reconnaissance, relying on the advantage of their weapons, they had eliminated many zombies.

Basically, upon finding a zombie, a rocket would be launched, and those with low mutation levels would be completely wiped out.

But today, the Special Operations Group lost so many brothers, which indicated that the Corpse Kings had begun to react.

Zheng Haoyu let out a long breath and said, "Boss, the nine people who haven't returned to the team are gone for good.

Today is the fifth day of the operation.

For the first three days, we could still find traces of zombies in the city.

For the past two days, they have basically hidden in basements or inside buildings.

These zombies have reacted!"

Tian Ming nodded slightly and said, "I've also noticed this, and the number of Corpse Kings born in Donghai City is probably in the triple digits."

"Impossible, I believe there are many ordinary evolved zombies, but Corpse Kings in the triple digits, this..."

Zheng Haoyu clearly couldn't believe that so many Corpse Kings existed in Donghai City.

With a creak, the door of the temporary supply point was pushed open, and Iron Dude and Dr. Qiao walked in.

These days of hunting had also benefited them.

In the eyes of zombies, living kin are companions, while dead kin are food.

After all, zombies were once humans; devouring humans can grow their brains, and devouring kin, though less effective, isn't too far off.

Dr. Qiao and Iron Dude followed behind the Special Operations Group, specifically to pick up leftovers.

Iron Dude's intelligence was already approaching that of the talking Corpse King.

Tian Ming slowly began to speak: "We also have zombies among us, Iron Dude, Dr. Qiao.

These two evolutionary paths are clearly evolving towards convergence with us humans."

Zheng Haoyu looked at Iron Dude.

Tian Ming was not wrong.

If it weren't for his metallic skin revealing that he wasn't human, the current Iron Dude, whether in physique or posture, was no different from an ordinary adult male.

Iron Dude opened his mouth, stammering, and actually spoke.

Since his master said last time that he couldn't speak, he, as a Corpse King-level zombie, had a very obvious emotional reaction.

After diligent practice, Iron Dude was finally able to control the hard vocal cords in his throat to make indistinct sounds.

"Master, the zombies in the city, only those with master-servant relationships can sense each other.

Their hierarchy is very clear.

The total number of Corpse Kings, big and small, throughout the city should be around 300.

Moreover, once a Corpse King awakens its mind, its brain will be re-lit, and most of its previous knowledge and cognition will return."

Tian Ming glanced at Zheng Haoyu and said, "Iron Dude has evolved into a Corpse King, and his evolutionary path is common to most zombies.

Don't forget, zombies are also humans."

Zheng Haoyu was silent for a moment, then asked, "Boss, what should we do next?

Should we continue reconnaissance?

Since these Corpse Kings have intelligence, they definitely won't choose to clash head-on with you."

Tian Ming pondered for a moment and said, "You all withdraw and guard the Shelter.

Leave the rest to me.

Oh, by the way, did your old employer, Life Origins, send people over?"

Facing Tian Ming's question, Zheng Haoyu nodded and said, "People came.

We found the bodies of Ability Users hunters.

They specialize in hunting Ability Users to take back for research, but this time they were unlucky, possibly encountering a Corpse King, so they were killed."

Tian Ming shook his head and said, "Not necessarily.

If a Corpse King killed them, there wouldn't be bodies.

There should also be a hidden human force that hasn't shown itself yet."