Chapter173

With such thoughts, his movements naturally quickened, his agility peaking, leaving mere shadows among the vines.

Normally, Park Su would have clapped in admiration for his husband's prowess, her heart filled with reverence.

But now, he had no mind for such things, focusing solely on prolonging their defense, until the taste of blood filled his mouth!

He suppressed this sensation, determined to hold out until Xu Nuo had eradicated all the zombies and collected their cores. By then, Park Su's complexion was ashen.

Seeing Xu Nuo approach after finishing the task, Park Su's body relaxed, and he collapsed. Xu Nuo, startled, rushed to his side, catching him before he hit the ground.

Without Park Su's energy, the Green Vine retracted back into his body. Meanwhile, the first and second-tier zombies, now leaderless, began to stir restlessly.

However, the allure of the two living beings before them was too great due to their proximity, drawing numerous zombies towards them.

Xu Nuo, with no desire to engage in combat, considered the person in his arms his utmost priority. Seeing the zombies approaching, his irritation flared, and he instantly activated all the formations he had previously set up.

In that simple moment, a considerable number of first and second-tier zombies were obliterated. Before the remaining zombies could recover from the shock, he swiftly carried Park Su into the nearby supermarket.

Fortunately, they had already placed isolation talismans on the supermarket doors, and for added safety, Xu Nuo had affixed two more upon entering. Thus, the zombies outside could not sense their presence within, despite their restless movements outside; this place was, for now, the safest.

The espers inside the supermarket were taken aback to see their deputy leader carried in by their captain, rushing forward to inquire about the situation.

However, Xu Nuo had no patience for explanations, only demanding that Ge Qing and Lu Shang arrange a relatively private space for them.

Without concern for exposure, he took out an attribute-less energy stone, slowly channeling its energy into Park Su's body while simultaneously checking if his condition was improving.

Upon examining Park Su, he realized that he had completely overexerted his abilities, causing slight damage to his meridians.

Thus, Xu Nuo not only helped him recover but also used his spiritual power to soothe and repair those meridians, only breathing a sigh of relief when he saw some color return to Park Su's face.

However, internally, he grew increasingly frustrated with his own lack of advancement in his Dao techniques.

He had always spoken of becoming stronger, yet in practice, he had not devoted significant effort to it, being preoccupied with organizing the team. While this was important, enhancing his own energy was more crucial at the moment, as it was the only way to better protect those around him.

Had he advanced to the fourth tier of esper abilities today, or if his Dao techniques had reached the tenth tier, dealing with these zombies would have been effortless, sparing his wife such desperate assistance!

Moreover, if he had prepared more offensive talismans, even with only ninth-tier Dao techniques, he could have easily managed this horde of zombies, avoiding such a disheveled outcome.

Ultimately, his overconfidence in his current strength, and his focus on other matters, had led to this situation, endangering his loved one.

With these thoughts, his gaze deepened, and he gently touched Park Su's head, guilt washing over him. He resolved to break through in his Dao techniques as soon as possible; even the tenth tier would not suffice anymore.

In the truest sense, the breakthrough of Dao techniques to the Yellow Tier marks a significant watershed; at that point, dealing with not just this number of zombies but even twice as many would be effortlessly manageable for him.

However, it has been over 200 years since anyone has achieved this level of breakthrough. Even in his past, he thought it might be beyond his lifetime's reach.

But since the apocalypse, the concentration of spiritual energy in the air has suddenly increased manifold, giving him hope that such a state might not be impossible for him now.

Moreover, with people to protect, he couldn't bear to see Park Su lying before him like this again, especially after having learned from a previous incident where he could shift blame to others; this time, it was entirely his fault.

Meanwhile, Ge Qing and Lu Shang stood by, only relaxing when they saw Xu Nuo's expression improve slightly, then shifting their focus to monitoring the situation outside.

Given Xu Nuo and Park Su's current condition, they clearly couldn't handle the zombie horde outside, thus the responsibility fell to the two vice-captains.

The situation outside was no better; Xu Nuo had at most eliminated one-third of the zombies, leaving two-thirds of the first-tier zombies loitering around the supermarket.

With Park Su injured and Xu Nuo preoccupied with his wife's condition, he was in no mood to deal with external threats.

In the eyes of outsiders, Xu Nuo might be formidable, but he was likely only a fourth-tier esper. Having already killed all the fourth and third-tier zombies and many of the second and first-tier ones, his energy expenditure must have been massive, making it impossible for him to tackle any more zombies outside under these circumstances.

Moreover, Zhu Xiao and the others had only recovered 50% of their abilities, and even at full strength, they couldn't match Park Su or Xu Nuo's scale of zombie extermination.

Thus, the chance of carving a bloody path through this horde was negligible. Their previous esper team had navigated through zombie groups before, especially during their time in Pingcheng when they weren't an easy squad to deal with. They had practiced their teamwork by engaging small zombie groups to enhance their synergy. Those encounters were no less challenging than the current one.

However, the team had grown in size, including many non-espers, which diluted their overall strength due to the increased number of people needing protection, thus heightening their concerns.

Now, due to their earlier overconfidence, the esper team's abilities were nearly depleted. While Zhu Xiao and his group could recover with zombie cores, the others lacked such resources.

Rushing out to face so many first and second-tier zombies would be suicidal. The only viable option was to stay quietly in the supermarket, slowly recovering their abilities while waiting for the zombie numbers to dwindle outside.

Thankfully, they had isolation talismans to prevent detection by zombies. They just hoped it wouldn't rain, potentially dislodging the talismans; such an accident would be disastrous.

As for food, they were not worried since Zhu Xiao had stored most of their scavenged supplies in his space, with additional reserves in the vehicles outside.

Zombies had no interest in resources, only in people. As long as they could quietly wait out this difficult time, there was hope they could eventually leave safely.

But sometimes, what you fear is exactly what happens. Though no rain came, they had overlooked the speed esper who had inadvertently led the zombies here.

He hadn't meant to draw the zombies this way, but his escape route took him past where they had previously killed many zombies, leaving a heavy scent of blood that attracted even more zombies than here. Seeing the situation, he had no choice but to run back. He had considered redirecting elsewhere, but this was a straight road with small supermarkets and shops on both sides, lacking the complex pathways for a detour.

Although he evaded some zombies, he eventually ended up here, drawn by the conspicuous row of parked trucks and trailers. He figured there must be people, perhaps even an esper team, inside those vehicles.

A sudden clarity struck him; those two who could stand there calmly earlier might have some tricks to deal with the zombies. Seeking them out might be his only chance at survival, far better than certain death on his own.

With a 'dead horse as a living horse doctor' mentality, he ran here, and to his surprise, the fourth and third-tier zombies that had been chasing him were gone. Only second and first-tier zombies roamed around, their numbers significantly reduced compared to before.

More importantly, the two from earlier were nowhere to be seen, but he was convinced they were still alive. He felt that finding them might lead to his salvation.

Having run for so long, his abilities were nearly exhausted, and without a safe haven soon, he'd be in dire straits. With zombies both ahead and behind, he was trapped, with no escape. Thus, seeking out Park Su and Xu Nuo was his only shot at survival.

His search led him to this small supermarket, which was too close to those eye-catching trucks. With its large glass windows, one could easily see inside.

With fewer people, he might have gone unnoticed, but with over forty inside, they were too conspicuous!

The esper was astonished to see so many people inside, especially since the zombies around seemed oblivious to those within the supermarket, just walking past without any attempt to enter.

He knew something was odd with this supermarket, not knowing what exactly, but certain it was his last chance for salvation.