Visitors from the Lab

This group was well-trained, moving silently. When zombies blocked their path, some would quickly break off to eliminate them without slowing down the main group.

On their chests was a five-pointed star, made of silvery-white metal, reflecting a spectrum of colors when the sunlight hit it.

Starry Night Lab.

Angelica walked toward the group.

The leader took out a device and scanned Angelica, then frowned.

"Miss Angelica, you've been infected with the zombie virus?"

"It was an accident," Angelica said calmly.

She then took off her backpack, tossed it to one of them, and started walking back the way they came without looking back.

The leader raised his hand, a fireball slowly forming.

He glanced at the hotel, sneered, and threw the fireball.

The next moment, the fireball exploded, flames soaring into the sky.

Zombies, attracted to the explosion, rushed towards it like moths to a flame, only to be burned to ashes within minutes.

In a corner, two people slowly emerged.

"Master, Angelica has been taken."

"Yes, I saw it. Come back."

Born lowered the binoculars from his sixth-floor room, having witnessed everything.

Although most people got drunk last night, there were exceptions.

The fireball released by the Starry Night Lab's people before leaving was a clear display of power.

Born frowned.

Over time, he had accumulated many points, and his ability had already reached level 10. Advancing further would require 200 points per level.

Born had not chosen to upgrade further.

With the maid corps around, he rarely needed to kill zombies himself.

However, the destructive power of his level 10 ability was far from the casual power displayed by this man.

Born deduced that the man's ability level was at least above 20.

Lane stood nearby, her brow furrowed, feeling the same pressure from the man as Born did.

In terms of physical strength, Lane and Born couldn't match Mia. However, their ability levels were the highest among everyone. Their sensitivity to powers was also the most acute.

"Master."

At the sound of the voice, Mia and Laura walked in from outside.

"That group consisted of about 15 people, moving extremely fast—faster than I can run at full speed. Their physical fitness is impressive."

"Additionally, their equipment is highly sophisticated, more advanced than the weapons of the Eagle Squad," Mia reported.

Born felt the weight of the situation.

What exactly was the Starry Night Lab that it could produce such a formidable armed force? No wonder Aileen could ignore the rescue teams and even the military.

And this was just one branch of the Starry Night Lab.

"Don't overthink it. Starting tomorrow, we'll use this hotel as a base to hunt zombies."

"Be careful not to interact with the people at the exhibition hall. Wait until they feel it's safe before coming out of their shell."

Born squinted his eyes, looking down towards the exhibition hall. The hotel was only two streets away from it, but these streets were swarming with thousands of zombies.

It seemed they needed to make good use of the hotel's structure.

Born took out the employee handbook, which he had picked up from the front desk when they first arrived. It detailed the layout of the entire hotel.

"Safety passages, elevator shafts..."

Born was already formulating a plan.

In any case, the hotel wasn't a long-term refuge.

He didn't know what kind of people were in the exhibition hall, but in the apocalypse, rules didn't matter.

Born felt no guilt about taking over the exhibition hall. However, he didn't want to damage its outer structure, which could pose a future risk.

He had to wait until the people inside came out.

"According to Jesse, there are about 30 people in that group, and they are armed..."

Born calculated silently in his mind.

"System, upgrade the recruitment level."

[Current points: 3248. Upgrading to the next level requires 1500 points. Current recruitment: 20/25. Conditions for upgrade met.]

Previously, it was necessary to fill all recruitment slots before upgrading, but from this level onward, upgrading recruitment levels no longer required a full roster.

[Points -1500. Recruitment level 4 achieved. Recruitment points 40. Successful recruits can receive a random 2-point attribute boost. Recruitment capacity: 20/35.]

[Congratulations to the host for reaching the new recruitment level. Reward: one upgrade scroll.]

[Upgrade Scroll: Can increase the level of a specified item by 1-3 levels.]

Born had only one item—the combat vehicle that he had never used. Now that Angelica had left, he could finally bring it out.

Born immediately used the upgrade scroll on the combat vehicle.

Luck was on his side, and it upgraded by 3 levels!

[Level 6 combat vehicle, equipped with 1 main and 3 secondary positions. Secondary positions can use the weapon system, requiring basic driving and shooting skills. Capacity: 40 people.]

The vehicle now had an additional pair of wheels and a much wider frame. The upper machine gun was upgraded to three.

"Awesome," Born muttered to himself.

This combat vehicle could completely crush the nearby zombies. However, the machine guns would surely consume a lot of ammunition.

"Let's go to the underground garage!" Born said, leading Mia and the others to the underground parking lot.

Most of the zombies around the hotel had been cleared out. Since they used automatic crossbows, the noise was minimal, preventing nearby zombies from gathering.

Born arrived at the hotel's underground garage.

Luxury cars were parked everywhere, now covered in dust.

Mia and Laura carried plastic containers, draining fuel from the tanks of these luxury cars.

The combat vehicle's attributes showed a 300-liter fuel tank, requiring almost all the fuel from these luxury cars to fill it up.

Born deployed the combat vehicle.

Compared to the icon displayed in the system, seeing the combat vehicle in person made Born truly understand what a steel beast it was.

A vehicle over ten meters long and as wide as two cars. 

Overall, it looked like a tank.

"Kind of annoying that the roads outside are full of cars. This combat vehicle will have to bulldoze its way through," Born laughed.

But he wasn't worried. The combat vehicle was like a tank with an all-metal steel plate shell, impervious to collisions.

Born walked inside. The interior wasn't luxurious. Two rows of bench-like seats lined the sides.

The driver's cabin was filled with various electronic instruments, overwhelming at first glance.

No wonder driving skills were required to operate this thing.

Born decided to have the school nurse as the main driver. Additionally, three members of the ranged team would be trained in driving skills to handle the vehicle perfectly.

"Master!"

Suddenly, a cry of alarm rang out.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

That was the sound of the automatic crossbows firing.