After the meeting, Eric Guo brought Cindy Ma over to Ian Song.
Hello, Ian.
Eric Guo’s chubby face was full of eager flattery as he respectfully bowed to Ian Song. Cindy Ma, meanwhile, just stood to the side without moving.
Do you need something?
Ian Song frowned slightly and replied in a cool tone.
Smack!
Eric Guo slapped himself hard and, abjectly, said, "Ian, I was wrong before. I’m here to apologize. Please give me another chance."
Seeing Eric Guo slap himself, a complicated look of disappointment flashed in Cindy Ma’s eyes.
Hearing this, Ian Song understood why they’d come to him and couldn’t help but smile wryly. He said, "Let the past stay in the past. Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you."
But Eric Guo was still suspicious. These days, people say one thing and do another all the time. He’d stolen Ian’s girlfriend, after all. Was Ian really going to let it go so easily—or was he planning to get back at him secretly?
Thinking this, Eric Guo gritted his teeth and said, "Thank you for your generosity, Ian. Don’t worry, from now on Cindy and I are totally separate—she’s her, I’m me!"
Hearing this, Cindy Ma was both shocked and furious. Her disappointment in Eric Guo hit rock bottom—he was so cowardly, he’d rather cut ties with her just to avoid Ian’s retaliation.
After spending over a year as Grand General in the Great Qin World, Ian Song had gotten much better at reading people. He knew that no matter how much he promised not to hold a grudge, Eric Guo probably wouldn’t believe him.
So Ian didn’t say any more. He just patted Eric Guo on the shoulder and said, "I’ll let my people know to take good care of you."
Eric Guo was instantly overjoyed, realizing he’d made the right gamble. He quickly said, "Thank you, Ian! I’ll make sure to behave from now on."
Go on.
Ian Song waved Eric Guo away. After a few more words of thanks, Eric left—without even glancing at Cindy Ma.
Once Eric Guo was gone, Ian Song smiled at Cindy Ma, "Do you need something else?"
He greeted her with a friendly face, but Cindy Ma just glared at him coldly and snapped, "I used to think you were just selfish, but now I see you’re a petty bully who throws his weight around. I must’ve been blind to ever like you!"
Faced with Cindy Ma’s insults, Ian Song didn’t get angry. After all, he wasn’t really her ex-boyfriend. He just said calmly, "I have things to discuss with other people. How about we talk another time?"
Hmph!
Cindy Ma shot Ian Song a hateful glare and stormed off.
"Ian, isn’t that girl getting a bit too full of herself? They broke up and she’s still acting like a big shot!" Leo Liao came over, looking at Cindy Ma’s retreating figure with obvious annoyance.
"It’s fine. No need to argue with a woman about stuff like this," Ian Song said with a shrug.
Soon, Jimmy Zhu, Ray Wang, Mark Mao, and Jason Long all gathered around Ian Song and sat down.
"Ian, when are we heading to attack the women’s dorms?" Mark Mao asked, unable to hide his excitement.
"No rush. Sharpening your axe won’t delay chopping wood," Ian Song replied.
As he spoke, Ian Song took out fifty Evolution Crystals and placed them on the table. "Each of you take ten. Five are for your current squad members, and the other five are to recruit and empower five new people—expand your teams to ten. The women’s dorms have way more zombies than ours."
The five of them were overjoyed.
Over the past few days, they’d all realized one thing: in the apocalypse, only those with real strength live well. They’d wanted to ask Ian Song about expanding their squads but worried he’d think they were plotting something. Since Ian hadn’t formed his own squad, they kept quiet to avoid making him suspicious.
They hadn’t expected Ian Song to offer expansion on his own. Their excitement was mixed with deep gratitude.
The five quickly took their Evolution Crystals and left.
Ian Song turned to Jason Long. "Interested in forming your own hunting squad?"
"Nah, I’m too lazy for that," Jason Long replied, shaking his head.
Seeing Jason Long refuse, Ian Song dropped the subject and changed the topic: "Have you noticed the zombies are getting stronger?"
The zombies hadn’t changed much in the past few days, but Ian Song could still feel it: compared to three days ago, they were noticeably stronger and faster.
"Definitely," Jason Long said seriously. "That’s bad news for survivors."
Leo Liao hurried over to the girl, all smiles and concern.
An hour later.
Ian Song led Jason Long, along with the three squads commanded by Leo Liao, Jimmy Zhu, and Ray Wang, toward the women’s dorms.
Just then, Ian Song and the others walked over. Seeing Ian, the girl looked surprised. "Ian Song? What are you doing here?"
Ten minutes later.
The hunting party arrived at a women’s dorm building and saw a surprising sight: a short-haired girl in a dark blue tracksuit was fighting her way through a crowd of zombies, wielding a fine steel longsword.
Her swordplay was light and agile, and her strikes were incredibly fast. But zombies aren’t ordinary people—unless you destroy their brains, they don’t die for good. So, even with her impressive skills, the girl struggled hard against seven or eight zombies attacking at once.
Luckily, her footwork was also excellent, so she could barely hold out.
Still, Ian Song knew she wouldn’t last much longer. The zombies’ encirclement was shrinking, and once they closed in completely, she’d be in real danger.
"Hey, beautiful, I’m coming to save you!"
Leo Liao yelled and dashed over with a steel pipe in hand.
At his shout, three of the zombies attacking the girl turned to look.
"Die, damn it!"
Leo Liao sneered and smashed down with the steel pipe.
Squelch!
One zombie’s head exploded from the blow, and with a single move, Leo Liao swept his pipe sideways, snapping another zombie’s neck.
"Damn, that guy stole my thunder!"
Jimmy Zhu cursed and charged in too, shouting, "Don’t worry, miss, Jimmy Zhu’s here!"
Both of them had killed at least a hundred zombies over the past few days, and the techniques they’d learned from Ian Song were getting sharper. Determined to show off in front of the pretty girl, the two of them wiped out all eight zombies in less than a minute.
"Are you okay, miss?"
Leo Liao hurried over to Helen Guo, all smiles and concern.
"Yeah, are you hurt at all?" Jimmy Zhu asked. The girl looked a bit worn out, but her natural beauty still shone through—both guys were clearly smitten.
"I’m fine, thanks so much for saving me!" Helen Guo smiled gratefully at them.
Just then, Ian Song and the others walked over. Seeing Ian, Helen Guo looked surprised. "Ian Song? What are you doing here?"