Emerson Arrives

Time passed slowly.

Emerson contacted Born again eight days later, and when he did, he was already near the exhibition hall.

This didn't surprise Born, as he had been keeping in touch with Mallory.

Born dispatched Pearl and Mia, driving the combat vehicle, to pick up Emerson and his people.

However, Born didn't expect that when Emerson's main force arrived, three armed tanks reached the front of the exhibition hall first.

The long barrels almost pointed directly at Born before they finally stopped.

Born stood there quietly.

Soon, a sturdy man got down from the tank and walked towards Born.

Born stared at the man in front of him, feeling that this must be Captain Emerson.

Emerson stepped forward and offered his hand.

Born paused for a moment, then smiled faintly, extending his hand and saying, "Captain, quite an imposing entrance."

"I had to test if you had the guts," Emerson looked at Born with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

The two shook hands, formally meeting.

Emerson brought many people, including special talents and ordinary survivors, totaling three hundred people.

Including Emerson's own team of two hundred, there were a total of five hundred people, ten times the size of Born's group.

However, the exhibition hall itself had a large area, so five hundred people were not a big problem.

Soon, the convoy arrived.

A group of people got out first, protected by members of the Flying Eagle Squad.

They wore expressions of discontent.

"We were told to go to the shelter, and now we're back in the midst of the zombie horde."

"Damn it, I need a bath. Zombie flesh splattered on me."

"Hurry up and arrange accommodations. We've been traveling all the way and haven't rested well at all."

The group started chattering as they got out, scrutinizing the entire exhibition hall with critical eyes.

Born immediately activated his detection skill.

As expected, there were quite a few talented individuals among them.

The Flying Eagle Squad had previously been rescuing special talents, and now everyone was gathered.

Born now understood that to establish a base, simply being able to kill zombies was not enough.

At that moment, Emerson walked over to Born and put an arm around his shoulder.

"Everyone, stop. From now on, we will be joining Born's group. As I mentioned before, everything will be under Born's leadership, and you will all be under his care," Emerson said with a hearty laugh, glancing at Born's expression.

Born looked at the group in front of him and suddenly understood.

When Jesse left without a word, leaving the people behind and asking Born to take care of them, it was because Jesse, as a member of the Flying Eagle Squad, had the responsibility to ensure the safety of survivors. Therefore, he couldn't just abandon them.

By "handing over" the survivors to Born, they fulfilled their duty of protection.

Now, Emerson was doing the same thing as Jesse.

At that moment, a group of people, exuding a sense of superiority, approached Born.

"So, you're the one in charge of us now?"

"Hurry up and arrange accommodations for us. You probably have no idea who I am, do you?"

Born's face turned completely grim.

He raised his hand and slapped the person speaking, sending their teeth flying and causing blood to trickle from their mouth in a highly humiliating manner.

Emerson was stunned but secretly delighted.

Outwardly, however, he slowly clenched his fist and said, "Born, don't go too far."

He threw a punch, but it was very slow.

Born seemed to understand as well.

With electricity crackling in his hand, he slapped Emerson to the ground. The electric current caused Emerson to tremble all over.

Lying on the ground, Emerson twitched at the corners of his mouth, "This kid didn't hold back, did he?"

The scene left the group in shock.

"No matter what your status is, this is the apocalypse. Zombies are everywhere, and your status means nothing here."

"If you want a bath, fine, make a contribution. If you want food, fine, contribute."

"If you want accommodations, we will arrange for you to build them yourselves."

Born looked around, electric currents swirling around him, intimidating everyone.

For a moment, some even turned to leave.

The Maid Corps immediately rushed up, delivering two slaps each, knocking the people to the ground.

The members of the Flying Eagle Squad seemed to have received orders as well. Some of them pretended to faint before even being hit.

With incredible speed, the Maid Corps took control of the survivors, while most of the Flying Eagle Squad members were restrained and could only squat on the ground with their heads in their hands.

Born used strong measures to suppress everyone.

"Did I make myself clear?"

"Pearl, Sirena, you should know some of these people. Record their skills and assign them to the appropriate positions."

"Those who are useless or unwilling to cooperate, let them go outside and reason with the zombies."

With that, Born grabbed Emerson by the collar and walked into the exhibition hall.

Once they were in a secluded area, Emerson quickly jumped up, chuckling to himself as he sat down.

"Well done. I've been fed up with those people for a long time."

"Captain, I've done what you asked, but I don't like this way of meeting," Born said coolly.

Emerson's smile froze on his face. He stared at Born for a long time, suddenly realizing he might have underestimated this young man.

In this young man, he saw a kind of adaptability—a person who had adapted to the collapse of social order in the apocalypse without losing himself in the newfound lack of restrictions.

After a long silence, Emerson took out a tablet and handed it to Born.

Born took the tablet and saw a series of photos.

The photos showed a six-story building with a metallic five-pointed star emblem. When the photos were taken, the star was glowing with multiple colors.

Starry Night Laboratory.

What concerned Born the most was the presence of strange, flesh-like balls near the Starry Night Laboratory.

Upon enlarging the images, he discovered that these flesh balls were filled with zombies!

Some of the zombies were exceptionally tall, resembling the lickers from movies.

All of them surrounded the Starry Night Laboratory.

Born gasped in shock. It seemed that their skirmishes here were just child's play; even these special zombies were rarely encountered.

And in the photos, there was even a zombie tiger.

It was unclear from the photos how large it was, but in reality, the zombie tiger was as big as a nearby car.

Born fell silent and handed the tablet back to Emerson.

Emerson put away the tablet and said, "I think a major upheaval is imminent."

"In fact, our previous communications with the higher-ups have been cut off. My superior gave me a vague task, instructing me to prepare for a long-term confrontation with the Starry Night Laboratory!"