Chapter 23: Bargain Teammates? A Date with a Beauty?

After a round of reorganization, Gu Lang’s team experienced a meteoric rise in strength. A group of his wives had advanced to the Silver rank, with their abilities improving dramatically. The key was that Gu Lang also reaped the benefits of their advancement, essentially gaining a double set of Silver-tier powers. In the early days of the apocalypse, such a team was nothing short of a trump card. After all, a single Silver was enough to dominate a region, let alone an entire team.

This time, Gu Lang and his companions set out once more, their target the psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of the city. Gu Lang lived in Ancheng, and he had heard of the asylum outside town; he even knew the way there. Now, they had already traveled twenty kilometers, with about five left to go. From a distance, they could already see the white building of the hospital perched atop a distant hill.

“Brother Gu Lang! Ever since our skills leveled up, our team has gotten so ridiculous!” The little girl tugged at Gu Lang’s arm with her delicate, pale hand. At this moment, forty zombies trailed behind their team—an effect of Gu Lang’s and the little girl’s combined Sovereign skills. Their procession was grand, comparable to a small army.

“These zombies may look numerous, but they’re just cannon fodder,” Gu Lang said calmly. Zombies moved too slowly, and those without any rank had no abilities at all; they were no match for a living person. But they made up for it in sheer numbers. If commanded well, they could form a zombie wall—a useful tactic. As they advanced, Gu Lang had arranged the zombies in a fan shape at the front, four zombies per group, ten groups in all. The zombies served as scouts and could trigger dangers first.

On the road, whenever they encountered other zombies, these traitors would swarm and overwhelm them—four against one, killing the target instantly. Even if their enslaved zombies got injured, they could be replaced with skills. It was free combat power, pure and simple. Occasionally, a rare Silver-rank zombie would appear, and only then would Gu Lang act personally. A single cast of his Ice Spike would instantly annihilate everything in its path. In this way, they swept aside all obstacles and arrived safely at the hospital gates.

The grounds were overgrown with weeds, but the entire hospital was visible. The facility itself was expansive, but smoke curled slowly from both sides of the entrance, and tents had been set up. There were people here.

Gu Lang concealed himself in the tall grass and watched quietly. “Brother Gu Lang, I think other survivors have their eyes on the Zombie Queen too!” the little girl whispered fearfully.

Gu Lang snorted coldly. “I expected as much. These Chosen Ones won’t let any chance to become stronger slip by.” Ever since the system had revealed that the Zombie Queen could make someone stronger, Gu Lang had guessed that survivors would be lying in wait nearby. They had probably already attempted to assault the Queen several times. That was why Gu Lang had been so eager to improve himself along the way. He wasn’t worried about the Zombie Queen herself, but about the other survivors. Now, with an absurd array of skills and an expanded team, he was confident he could crush any survivor group.

“It seems we have no choice but to attack head-on,” he said coldly. The most efficient way was to kill his way through.

But just then, a middle-aged man walked up behind Gu Lang, evidently returning from relieving himself. “Whoa!” Gu Lang’s eyes widened—he hadn’t expected to be discovered so soon. But the man’s next words put him at ease. “So many people! You must be from the neighboring village? Want to join forces?”

Since Gu Lang had hidden the zombies, all the man could see was Gu Lang and his wives. Clearly, he took them for locals. In fact, this was perfectly reasonable; there were many survivors in the wild, and quite a few small villages had formed safe zones. Otherwise, their first reaction upon meeting would have been shock at encountering another living person.

Gu Lang’s eyes darted, and he decided to go along with it. “That’s right! We heard there’s a Zombie Queen nearby and came to check it out!”

Soon, Gu Lang found himself inside the camp. The place was bright with campfires, and there were a dozen or so strong individuals, all at Bronze rank. Seventy or eighty others, ordinary survivors following Wang Ping’an, made up the rest. But they all had the air of ruthless bandits.

The camp’s leader, Wang Ping’an, personally welcomed Gu Lang. “Brother Gu Lang! I’ve heard a lot about you! To be honest, these zombies are tough. We’ve tried and failed many times—how about we join forces?” Wang Ping’an was sincere; he hadn’t expected anyone else to attempt an assault on the hospital. Though he’d never seen Gu Lang before, and he didn’t seem like a local, Wang Ping’an was secretly delighted. At last, some cannon fodder!

The girls in Gu Lang’s group were strikingly beautiful, but they all seemed to be Bronze Chosen Ones. The fellow before him was even a Silver! If he could send them against the Zombie Queen, he’d have free muscle.

“Deal! We’ll split the rewards fifty-fifty!” Gu Lang laughed heartily. He hadn’t expected such an amicable outcome, but he wasn’t naive; he was sneering inwardly. Only one Silver, and the others were all Bronze—weak enough that he could wipe them all out himself. But now wasn’t the time; it was better to use them for now. Once inside the hospital, they’d be at his mercy.

Each group harbored its own schemes, but their goal was the sa