On the other side...

Yang Bin and the others set out hunting Special Zombies again.

The campus had a massive student body, which meant a massive zombie population. They spotted undead almost every few dozen meters.

It didn't take long before Yang Bin's eyes locked onto another one.

"See that group over there? There's a Special Zombie mixed in." Yang Bin pointed toward a cluster of zombies milling around on the grass nearby.

The group numbered over twenty. They'd probably been drawn here by the broadcast, though the loudspeaker on the lawn had already been smashed to pieces.

"Over twenty... that's gonna be a pain." Chen Hao frowned.

"Yeah. And there are several other packs nearby. If we take too long, we'll pull them all in."

"So do we still go for it?" Hu Wenliang asked.

"Absolutely. Special Zombies don't just fall into your lap."

"Haozi, see if you can peel some of them off. Fewer numbers means an easier fight."

"Got it. I'll try."

Chen Hao activated Invisibility and crept forward.

Once he was close to the group, he fished out a few pebbles and tossed them near the zombies.

The trick had worked great inside the dorms. Out here on the grass? Completely useless.

The stones landed on the soft turf without a sound. Not a single zombie so much as twitched.

He tried again and again. Nothing. Finally, he gave up and walked back.

"Can't split them." Chen Hao looked a bit embarrassed.

"Guess we're doing this the hard way." Yang Bin sighed.

"Hold on-maybe let me try something first. The Way of Assassination I've been working on." Chen Hao's eyes lit up.

"Way of Assassination? The hell is that?" Yang Bin raised an eyebrow.

"Heh. Give me a few minutes to recharge and I'll show you." Chen Hao grinned but offered no explanation.

"Alright. Looking forward to the show." Yang Bin smirked.

A little over ten minutes later, Chen Hao rose to his feet.

"Okay. I'm going in. Don't move until I give the signal."

"You sure about this? Don't be a hero if it's not working." Yang Bin said.

"Relax. I've run this through my head a thousand times."

"Fine. Be careful."

Yang Bin nodded, and Chen Hao vanished.

He reappeared-or rather, didn't reappear-near the zombie cluster moments later. This time he didn't hesitate. He walked right up beside one of the undead, and his iron pipe lashed out in a single brutal strike. The zombie dropped.

The instant he attacked, his body flickered back into visibility.

The surrounding zombies froze for a heartbeat, then roared and surged toward him.

But Chen Hao was already gone. The moment the kill landed, he bolted. Three steps, four-and his figure dissolved into nothing.

Through the True Vision Eye, Yang Bin watched it all. Chen Hao's feet barely kissed the ground, each step feather-light. The grass swallowed whatever sound remained. He moved fast, but silent as a ghost.

He didn't run in a straight line either. He looped wide around the side, giving the charging zombies a wide berth.

The pack stared at the empty space where their prey had been. Confusion rippled through their dead faces. Whatever passed for thought behind those rotting skulls couldn't process a target simply ceasing to exist.

Seconds later, they lost interest and resumed their aimless shuffling.

That's when Chen Hao struck again-materializing beside a different zombie on the far side. One swing. One kill. Then gone.

The horde spun in circles, snarling at nothing, chasing air.

"So that's his Way of Assassination." Yang Bin let out a low whistle. "Kid's actually got something."

"Hao-ge is insane!"

Hu Wenliang couldn't see Chen Hao while he was invisible. All he saw was a figure blinking into existence, a zombie crumpling, and then-nothing. A moment later, the same thing happened somewhere else entirely. One hit, one kill, vanish. It looked absolutely lethal.

Chen Hao kept it up-nine zombies dropped in succession before his body finally hit the wall. His skull felt stuffed with cotton, the world tilting sideways. He recognized the feeling: his ability was tapped out. He gritted his teeth against the vertigo and sprinted back.

The second he reached the hedge where the others were hiding, he dropped Invisibility and collapsed onto his ass.

"Hah... this thing eats through stamina like crazy." His voice came out thin and ragged.

"Yeah, but Haozi-you just soloed almost half of them." Yang Bin clapped him on the shoulder. "That was impressive."

"Seriously, Hao-ge, you're a beast!" Hu Wenliang's eyes were shining.

"Damn right I am." Chen Hao managed a weak grin. "But my ability's shot for at least half an hour."

"No problem. Thirteen left. Once you've caught your breath, we go in together and brute-force it." Yang Bin said.

"Deal."

After a short rest, Chen Hao hauled himself up. His ability was offline, but his arms still worked fine.

The three of them gripped their iron pipes and charged.

The zombies spotted them immediately. Excited snarls erupted as the pack rushed to meet them.

The two sides collided. Three pipes flashed out simultaneously-three zombies dropped in the opening exchange.

The remaining ten were already on top of them.

The trio yanked their pipes free and switched from thrusting to sweeping, driving wide horizontal arcs into the oncoming wave.

Their enhanced strength sent zombies stumbling backward across the grass.

All except one.

Every ordinary zombie staggered back four or five steps. The Special Zombie barely moved two.

"I've got the Special. You two handle the rest!" Yang Bin called out.

"On it."

Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang peeled off toward the regular zombies without hesitation.

Yang Bin drove his pipe straight at the Special Zombie's chest.

The open lawn gave him room to work. No walls, no furniture-just space to swing.

Stab. Swing. Overhead smash. He cycled through every angle, hammering the thing relentlessly.

Within moments, the Special Zombie's skull caved in under a final crushing blow. Its body toppled onto the grass.

By then, Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang had each dropped two more. Five zombies remained.

Yang Bin dug the crystal out of the Special Zombie's shattered head, pocketed it, and rushed over to help finish off the stragglers.

"Move!"

The kills done, the three bolted. This area was compromised now-too much noise, too much blood.

They didn't stop until they found a quiet stretch with no zombies in sight. Yang Bin pulled out the crystal.

Before he could even open his mouth, Chen Hao cut in. "Bin-ge. Don't even ask. Just eat it."

"Yeah, Bin-ge, hurry up. Let's see what it does." Hu Wenliang urged.

"Alright."

Yang Bin didn't argue. He wiped the crystal clean and swallowed it whole.

Warmth bloomed in his gut as the crystal dissolved into energy, flooding through his body.

But when the last of it settled... Yang Bin's brow creased.

"What's wrong, Bin-ge? Did it not work?"

Both of them caught the expression and tensed.

Yang Bin shook his head. "It worked. Just... not as well as I hoped."

"I figured the second crystal would light up the second point on the first star. But it didn't."

"My strength did increase-just not as noticeably as the first time."

"Hey, that's still progress. As long as you're getting stronger, we're good." Chen Hao shrugged.

"Yeah. My guess is one crystal isn't enough. The second point probably needs more to activate."

"Makes sense to me. So we keep hunting. Campus is huge, zombies are everywhere-no way we run out of targets." Hu Wenliang said.

"Right. Let's keep moving."