After securing their weapons, Luo Fei and Mo Han went to find Frank and Caitlin.
They had only walked a few steps side-by-side when a call suddenly burst from the Communicator: “Mo Han, we’re surrounded in the convenience store!”
It was Caitlin’s voice, punctuated by the sharp “bang bang” of gunfire. Mo Han’s brow furrowed. He immediately turned and headed toward the convenience store.
Compared to a large scene like the hospital, the convenience store was naturally much more cramped. The number of zombies was surely less terrifying than the hospital’s. However, precisely because of the tight space, there were fewer places to take cover, making it easy to get bitten with a single misstep.
Reaching the convenience store entrance, Mo Han signaled Luo Fei with a glance, pressing his back against the wall outside. Luo Fei understood. He kicked the door open, submachine gun at the ready, and entered. Immediately, he saw a dozen zombies surrounding Frank and Caitlin. Caitlin, weaponless, was being shielded by Frank, who held only a pistol.
They must have triggered a scene event after finding a weapon, but had been a moment too slow escaping and were now cornered by the zombies.
Luo Fei shouted, “Get down!”
Frank and Caitlin, recognizing him, instantly crouched.
The next second, a deafening roar of gunfire filled their ears—Luo Fei raised his submachine gun, sweeping it dominantly across the corner of zombies. The submachine gun instantly spat a long tongue of flame, roaring as it blanketed the horde!
The zombies had their backs to Luo Fei and couldn’t react in time. Their heads were blown apart before they knew what happened!
Spent shell casings clattered rhythmically against the tiled floor. Ten seconds later, the zombie horde crashed to the ground. Frank and Caitlin, still crouched in the middle, looked up at Luo Fei with stunned, disbelieving expressions.
So many zombies… He’d wiped them all out in just ten seconds. Practically one shot, one kill. Unbelievably accurate!
Luo Fei smiled. “Alright, come on out!”
Frank snapped out of it, quickly pulling Caitlin past the fallen zombies and out the door.
Caitlin’s face was a little pale. She was a girl, after all. Being surrounded by zombies for so long—it wasn’t so much fear as sheer disgust. She leaned against a shelf, taking deep breaths to quell the urge to vomit. Frank was much calmer. He walked over, clapped Luo Fei on the shoulder, and praised him, “Way to go, man! That’s some professional-grade marksmanship!”
Luo Fei glanced at him. “Your pistol is out of ammo, isn’t it?”
Frank looked a bit embarrassed. “We only found one pistol and ten rounds here. Too many zombies, not enough bullets. By the time Caitlin sent the distress call, we were down to the last two.” He paused, looking at Luo Fei with confusion. “But how did you know I was empty?”
Luo Fei explained, “I heard two gunshots from the communicator, and the empty click of the magazine. I figured you’d run out of bullets by the time you called for help, so we rushed over.”
Frank gave him a thumbs-up. “You could tell all that? Impressive!”
While Luo Fei was rescuing them, Mo Han had stood guard outside, observing both his surroundings and the situation within. If any nearby zombies had flanked them, things would’ve been worse.
How quickly Mr. F had neutralized the zombie horde genuinely surprised Mo Han.
In the chaotic hospital brawl earlier, Mr. F had just swept a path clear with the submachine gun. Mo Han had simply thought his aim was good, but he hadn’t expected this level of precision.
Typically, a submachine gun’s role was suppressive fire against hordes, covering the team’s retreat. Scoring about ten kills from twenty rounds was considered pretty good for a player. But Mr. F had scored a headshot with every single bullet. That meant during a wide sweep of suppressive fire, each round precisely targeted a vital point. His observational acuity and reaction speed were terrifying.
Frank calling his gunplay “professional-grade” was absolutely spot on.
Just who was this guy?
Mo Han felt a sudden curiosity about his identity, but now wasn’t the time to pursue it.
With Frank and Caitlin rescued, Mo Han said, “Let’s get out of here. Once a scene event triggers, it’s a chain reaction. The surrounding zombies will come out to hunt us.”
However, Luo Fei countered, “I think there won’t be any more zombies for a while.”
Mo Han arched an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”
Luo Fei shrugged. “Because I’m out of ammo too.” He showed Mo Han his empty magazine, analyzing seriously, “Clearing a Nightmare Mode instance is tough. Take Frank and Caitlin: they found one pistol and ten rounds in this convenience store, but there were over a dozen zombies inside. They had to hit every single one perfectly and escape fast. A slightly slower reaction or a few missed shots, and they’d be eliminated here.”
Mo Han quickly understood, nodding. “The hospital was the same. The ammo we found was around a hundred rounds. It must be proportional to the zombie count. But because your aim was so precise, neutralizing the horde with maximum efficiency and speed—I didn’t even use my weapon—the system probably considers us to have over-performed on the scene task.”
Luo Fei smiled. “Exactly. Nightmare Mode definitely ups the difficulty but won’t deliberately block passage. Frank’s side ran into trouble, we came to the rescue, and now my ammo is spent. I’m guessing there won’t be another large-scale horde attack in this vicinity for a while. At most, small packs of two or three zombies occasionally jumping out to scare us. We’d only trigger a bigger scene event again if we find new weapons.”
Seeing his smiling expression, Mo Han’s heart stirred—
This man was calm and sharp, his movements agile, his decisions clean and efficient. A true expert, rarely seen.
Even after resolving two consecutive zombie crises, he could still rapidly analyze their current situation. His mental fortitude was extraordinary.
Impressed, Mo Han’s lips curved slightly upward. “Looks like we need to go ammo hunting again.”
Luo Fei nodded. “Right. I remember you picked up over thirty pistol rounds in the hospital. Let’s split them so both of us are armed, in case of unexpected trouble.” He paused, lowering his voice. “Large hordes might not appear nearby temporarily, but that doesn’t guarantee other players won’t show up.”
The system monitored and scored each player’s performance. Having resolved two scene events at a super-high standard, it wouldn’t immediately throw large hordes at them again. As Mr. F said, at most small skirmishes, manageable even without guns.
But player spawns were random. If any other players were nearby and heard the gunfire, they might hunt them. After all, points from player kills far exceeded those from zombies.
Realizing this, Mo Han’s expression turned cautious. He promptly pulled bullets from his waist pack and shared some with Frank, who also had a pistol. Lowering his voice, he said, “We’ll take a detour.”
Luo Fei moved to take point again, but Mo Han stopped him. “I’ll go first.”
Luo Fei paused. Then Mo Han said, “Your weapon is empty. This time, I’ll clear the path.”
He remembered. Back at the hospital, Luo Fei had told him to follow, clearing the way to protect him. Now, it was Mo Han protecting him.
Warmth bloomed in Luo Fei’s heart. He felt his judgment was excellent, choosing such a clever and kind person. Still, he wasn’t used to being protected. He turned to Frank. “How about this: Mo Han takes point, I’ll be rearguard. Give me your weapon.”
Previously, Frank might have hesitated. But after witnessing Mr. F’s terrifying gunplay today, he promptly handed over his pistol.
The four-man squad quickly left the convenience store, slipping into a side alley.
Mo Han led the way, Frank and Caitlin in the middle. Luo Fei brought up the rear, his senses keenly scanning their surroundings.
The alley was very quiet. Occasionally, a zombie or two would ambush from a flank, but Mo Han dispatched them with swift, accurate shots.
Luo Fei noticed that Mo Han’s aim was exceptionally precise as well. A question surfaced in his mind.
Children of military families undergoing such training from youth was standard. But Mo Han came from a commercial lineage. Could Mo Qiming really have trained him in this too? Perhaps the Abduction Case years ago left Mo Qiming with a deep psychological scar, leading him to ensure his son learned expert marksmanship and how to carry a weapon for self-defense? That explanation seemed plausible.
Walking at the rear, watching Mo Han’s back, the resolve in Luo Fei’s heart solidified further—
Whatever happened to the Mo family in the past, I will protect you from now on. With me here, I won’t let anyone harm a hair on your head.
After dispatching a few zombies in the alleys, the four-man squad searched nearby residential houses and gathered more equipment.
This included a submachine gun, a sniper rifle, a substantial amount of ammo, two sets of Binoculars, three hand grenades, some bandages and medical supplies, and two bulletproof vests.
Mo Han was already wearing a vest. Luo Fei assigned the other two to Frank and Caitlin, leaving none for himself. His perception of danger was extremely sharp, so he prioritized protective gear for his teammates. This gesture touched Frank and Caitlin, raising their estimation of Mr. F several notches.
Mo Han preferred pistols and ended up dual-wielding AKs.
The newly found submachine gun went to Frank. Caitlin, a sniper, was thrilled to finally have a sniper rifle and immediately equipped it.
Acquiring heavy weaponry triggered another scene event. Zombie hordes now clogged both ends of the narrow alley.
Mo Han ordered, “Break through!”
All four unleashed full firepower. Luo Fei and Frank swept the street with their submachine guns in a frenzied barrage. Mo Han precisely picked off targets with his pistols. Caitlin’s sniper rifle was useless against the swarm, so she stuck close to the rear of the formation.
Due to Luo Fei’s terrifying accuracy, even the siege of a hundred zombies in the confined alley couldn’t stop the squad.
