The Rooftop

Born felt that luck was on their side tonight.

The moment the zombies started coming up, he woke up.

If he had stayed asleep, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they might have been wiped out or at least suffered significant losses.

Their battle plan had been disrupted!

Born took a deep breath and clenched his fists slowly.

The most important thing now was to stay calm and direct the fight.

"Mallory's squad, Pearl's squad, pull back half your firepower and let some of the zombies through!"

"Cease fire!"

Born roared.

However, Mallory's squad didn't stop firing.

"Listen to Born for now. He and I planned this together!" Mallory shouted urgently.

Soon, Mallory's squad also ceased fire.

The rooftop door wasn't very large, allowing only two or three zombies to enter at once.

Mia and her team quickly surrounded and dealt with the zombies.

"Don't just stand there, reload and get ready!"

Born raised his hand, electricity crackling in his palm.

As the number of zombies being let through seemed manageable, Born unleashed Lightning Chain.

"Attack!"

Gunfire resumed, but only three or four people were needed to suppress the zombies at the door.

Seeing this, Born further reduced the firepower, allowing more people to join the melee.

Lane and the children huddled in a corner of the rooftop.

Born stood with his back to them, electricity sparking in his hands, providing them with light.

Fortunately, maintaining this simple electric flow didn't consume much of his energy.

At that moment, all the children turned their eyes to Born, their emotions stabilizing significantly.

"Incredible, shattering the darkness with thunder and lightning!"

Born was speechless, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it.

He continued directing the battle.

They let in zombies in batches, killing them quickly. Soon, the rooftop was littered with corpses, with some even reaching Born's position.

He dealt with each one, earning the awe and admiration of the children behind him.

Heroes are always revered.

The battle raged on for what seemed like an eternity, until dawn finally broke.

The entire rooftop, including the stairwell below, was piled high with zombie corpses.

The bodies were stacked so thickly that there was no room to step.

And with the zombies piled up, who knew if any were still alive and waiting to bite an unsuspecting foot?

Mallory's squad stepped forward to handle the situation.

Using the rooftop cables, they jumped down to the fourth floor and tore down the curtains in the classrooms.

With the nylon ropes and military knives they had, they fashioned a makeshift escape route.

Two people held the bottom, and one by one, the children slid down like they were on a slide, reaching the fourth floor safely.

They continued down the building.

The stairwells were filled with zombie corpses.

Born glanced at his points, now at 952.

Despite the worker synergy bonus, the kill count was still staggering.

After hours of fierce battle, everyone was utterly exhausted.

Reaching the first floor, they encountered two zombie cats blocking their path.

Born smirked coldly, "Two beasts, I've been saving my strength just for you!"

He didn't hold back at all. With a lightning strike in his left hand and a chain lightning in his right, the zombie cats were immediately riddled with bolts from the automatic crossbows. Born nodded to Mia, and they all headed toward the school bus.

Mia deliberately lagged behind, retrieving the cores from the heads of the three zombie cats after everyone had left. Born referred to these as evolution cores because the system called them evolutionary energy.

Soon, everyone gathered on the school bus. There was only one bus, and the driver had died at the wheel, so the keys weren't an issue. Born waved his hand, giving the school nurse a driving skill. With no combat abilities, it was more practical for the nurse to drive.

Mallory's team had arrived in a vehicle that could seat 20 people. Given that the passengers were mostly children, they could manage by squeezing in.

Born stood inside the bus. "We'll depart first, drawing the zombies away from the streets. It will be much safer for you to leave then."

Mallory approached Born and bowed slightly. "Thank you. Here's my walkie-talkie. Keep it as a way to stay in touch." They orchestrated this exchange as an excuse to maintain contact. Mallory's team members didn't question it, recognizing the impressive combat prowess of Born's group.

Mallory's team disembarked, and the school nurse started the bus, driving away from the school. The bus honked continuously, attracting a horde of zombies to follow. Although the congested streets prevented them from moving quickly, it was still enough to keep the zombies trailing behind.

Pearl found an excuse to chat with Angelica, subtly extracting information about the Starry Night Laboratory. Born, meanwhile, went to the back of the bus to absorb the three evolution cores, gaining a total of 1500 points. Combined with the previous 902 points and the 800 points earned from killing the zombie cats, Born's points skyrocketed to 3202.

They now had firearms, thanks to Mallory leaving her squad's guns behind. In exchange, Born had given them automatic crossbows and bolts.

However, firearms were evidently more valuable. With guns in hand, ammunition became cheaper—150 rounds for 100 points. Comparatively, the automatic crossbow bolts were still more affordable, with 200 bolts for 100 points.

Born exchanged for 12 new maid outfits; the previous battle uniforms were in tatters after the intense fighting. White stockings were full of holes, and the short skirts had turned into rags.

Points: -36

He spent 500 points to get 300 rounds of ammunition and 600 bolts. He pondered the direction for enhancing his team.

Sibley, Mia, and Laura were all close combat fighters. Adding Mallory and the other female soldier brought the number to five. Born decided to spend 100 points to give Sibley and Laura advanced combat skills.

This activated the five-member martial artist synergy.

[Martial Artist: 5 members, total combat strength increase 25%, attribute increase 25%]

Unfortunately, skills like medicine and scientific research were not available in the basic skills; otherwise, he could directly form the related synergies. No matter—Born planned to use the exploration skill near a hospital to find the missing members for his team.

He needed to fill the 15-member quota to level up the recruitment. Currently, he was short by two members. With 2500 points remaining, he called Pearl's squad members to handle the zombies following them using the automatic crossbows.

Meanwhile, he sat down, closing his eyes. He opened Lane's panel, then glanced at Lane. He had promised to use the system to enhance Lane's abilities.

Awakening powers required 500 points per person, equivalent to the energy of one evolution core. Born compared Mia and Laura's panels before making his decision.

Laura, being the first recruit, held special significance and needed to be enhanced.

"System, awaken the powers of Lane, Mia, and Laura!"