Born rushed out the door and saw Mallory and three others tied together.
Two men and two women. The other three showed signs of mutation, while Mallory was struggling to stay conscious.
Thankfully, the others were hesitating, otherwise, Mallory might have been shot already.
Although Mallory's death would make recruitment easier, a living Mallory was more useful.
Born thought for a moment and said, "I can save people, but I can only save two."
In an instant, a handgun was pressed to Born's head.
"Save them! I order you to save them in the name of the rescue team!"
Born glanced at the man holding the gun and sneered.
"My way of saving people isn't through your so-called antidotes or vaccines. If I die, they won't survive either."
With that, Born crossed his arms, watching the four with interest.
Mallory's eyes flickered as she looked at Born.
She had seen him discharge electricity from his hands; he was definitely not ordinary.
Rumor had it that the Starry Night Lab had created a batch of powerful soldiers with special abilities.
Could this man be related to the Starry Night Lab?
"Roar!"
A growl came from beside her.
Mallory snapped back to reality. She knew she couldn't hesitate.
"Let them..."
Before she could finish, the man holding the gun fired.
Bang! Bang!
The two men were shot dead.
"Captain, you can't die. They should have given their lives for you!"
Mallory was furious!
Her eyes quickly filled with blood, becoming frenzied.
"I said, you bastard, you..."
The man who had fired turned around, holstered his gun, and slowly lowered his head.
"Please, save them."
Born took a deep breath. This man had some guts.
"Alright."
Born pulled Mallory and the female soldier into a room.
Mallory was barely conscious, and the female soldier was starting to growl.
Without hesitation, Born initiated recruitment.
Recruitment in progress, reversing zombification, purging toxins, recruitment successful, points -40
With the upgrade in recruitment level, the points required had doubled, but now there was a chance to randomly boost an attribute.
The female soldier's spirit was boosted, which wasn't very useful, but Mallory's body had gained 1 point of stamina.
Mallory: Military Combat Skills (Martial Artist), Soldier, Commander
Defense: 1.8
Stamina: 3.1 (+1)
Spirit: 1.6
These were Mallory's basic attributes, with the only addition being the 1 point boost.
Born then looked at the other female soldier. Although her stats weren't as impressive as Mallory's, they were still notable.
Born considered that the remaining two female soldiers might not be recruitable.
Adding these two, however, would activate the martial artist synergy.
Martial Artist: 3 members, combat power boost 10%, attribute boost 10%
"Earlier, you mentioned the Starry Night Lab. Can you tell me more about it?" Born asked.
Mallory hesitated, conflicted, before saying, "This is classified information, but since my master needs it, I'll tell you."
This 100% loyalty was really something.
"The Starry Night Lab focuses on human genetic research. They decode human genetic sequences, compare them to ancient human sequences, and even alter them..."
It turned out that the Starry Night Lab advanced so far because of their genetic sequence research.
They developed methods to combat cancer, cut off hereditary diseases at the root, and more.
As a result, the Starry Night Lab received massive investments and was in the limelight.
Until the eve of the virus outbreak, videos showing genetic experiments conducted by the Starry Night Lab reached the hands of top officials.
Under their research, people turned into mindless, bloodthirsty monsters, some even beyond the scope of humanity.
The authorities tried to contain the information, but before they could decide on a course of action, the global zombie virus outbreak occurred!
"Now, it's not just Dover City, Starry Night Labs worldwide are being targeted," Mallory said, clenching her fist and punching the ground in frustration.
Born stroked his chin, deep in thought.
So the Starry Night Lab was a global organization. As a former college student, he had no exposure to such high-level information.
But!
The system, the abilities, and the evolution energy mentioned by the system—were these even within human reach?
Regardless, the Starry Night Lab was now Born's target.
That place was the most suitable location in all of Dover City to establish a base.
"Mallory, once we're out of here, continue following your superior's orders," Born said.
"In a while, I'll need you to help me connect with the rescue team and cooperate to break through to the Starry Night Lab."
This was why Born wanted Mallory alive.
If her teammates had killed her and he recruited her afterward, he could keep Mallory by his side but waste her identity.
In the early stages, he still needed the rescue team and even the authorities' help.
Mallory was the link, a line to gradually ascend.
Mallory and the female soldier both nodded.
After they went back out, Mallory and the female soldier appeared normal, their wounds even healed.
Born didn't explain much and left it to Mallory to handle.
He returned to the classroom.
"So, what about my suggestion?" Born asked Lane.
"My answer is the same. What about the children?" Lane's eyes were red, showing she had been crying.
"There's a rescue team, they'll take the children out of the city."
Lane nodded at this and said, "Then I'll go with you."
With that, Lane threw herself into Born's arms. "Don't move, let me hug you."
Born patted Lane's back and initiated recruitment.
Recruitment in progress, no resistance detected, recruitment successful, points -20
Spirit +1
Born's points were now down to single digits.
Fortunately, they had recovered the arrows from the zombie cats, and with the weapons brought by Mallory's squad, escaping wouldn't be a problem.
Born bought another maid outfit for the school nurse to complete the 10-member maid synergy.
He previously had 10 members, lost 1, recruited 4 more, leaving two spots open.
Born unexpectedly completed the martial artist synergy. His current plan was to use the remaining two slots to recruit doctors.
Maid was the primary synergy.
A row of maids in matching outfits stood before him.
"Master, please rest!"
The feeling was incredibly satisfying!
Thinking about it, Born grinned to himself.
"Report, there are signs of zombies breaching the defenses below!"
This immediately caused everyone in the classroom to stand up.
Born narrowed his eyes.
The zombies weren't the issue; the concern was the two remaining zombie cats. Additionally, there could be other mutated creatures in the school.
Thus, Born made a decision.
"Let them break through. Also, use a phone to play music and lure the zombies into the school building. Everyone else, we're heading to the rooftop!"
The gym teacher immediately jumped up, "To the rooftop? What, are we going to jump and become zombie snacks?"