Fang Tianhe fell silent after hearing Lin Xinghai’s explanation.

Indeed, if something like the Changping City incident happened again, they might not be able to handle it. Back then, there were the Three Major Mercenary Corps, but now, it was just them.

"How about I go with you? That way, if something unexpected happens, we can watch each other’s backs," Fang Tianhe said after a moment of consideration.

"No need. Anyone who can’t keep up with my Speed will just be a liability." As he spoke, Lin Xinghai opened the Mecha’s cockpit and climbed inside.

Fang Tianhe: "???"

Lin Xinghai’s words were a bit harsh. But for that very reason, everyone understood he wasn’t just posturing—he was stating a fact. So, no one else said a word.

PSSH!

The Mecha activated, its pneumatic valves hissed open, and it leaped straight out of the Armored Vehicle, quickly vanishing into the distance.

Any Zombie that stood in the Mecha’s path was either rammed or trampled to death.

In just a few swift movements, the Mecha’s silhouette was completely obscured by the buildings.

Liu Miaomiao kept her gaze fixed on the direction Lin Xinghai had gone, her eyes full of worry.

Seeing this, some of the other crew members inside the vehicle wanted to comfort her but didn’t know how to start. Just then, a voice spoke up.

"You don’t need to worry," said Xu Hao, the leader of the first squad. "Vice Commander Lin’s power is terrifying. He has the Speed Superpower, which makes him faster than any Zombie. Even if something unexpected happens and he can’t win, retreating won’t be a problem for him."

He was originally just a deputy squad leader under Roger. But as the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps continued to grow, he had been promoted and was now being groomed for a leadership role, second only to the likes of Roger.

"Really? He’s faster than any Zombie?" Liu Miaomiao’s attention was immediately diverted. This was her first mission, so it was hard for her to have a clear idea of just how strong Lin Xinghai was.

"Of course it’s true. The Hunter is a Mutated Zombie known for its speed, but it’s not even half as fast as Vice Commander Lin. His advantage against other Mutated Zombies is even greater. Back when we fought the Death Claw, it couldn’t even lay a finger on the Speed Mecha," Xu Hao said earnestly.

This eased Liu Miaomiao’s worries a little.

But just then, the crew member monitoring the instruments in real-time suddenly exclaimed, "What’s going on?"

His cry immediately drew the attention of everyone in the vehicle.

"What is it?" Xu Hao immediately walked over, asking with a hint of tension.

’Now that Lin Xinghai, the strongest in their Mercenary Corps, is gone, they’ll be in trouble if a major problem occurs.’

"The signals for the two Hunters just vanished," the crew member said, looking at the Zombie Detector with a baffled expression. He’d never seen anything like it.

Xu Hao walked over to the detector and took a look. Everything else seemed normal; it was just the two black dots representing the Hunters that were gone.

’How could this happen? Did the detector malfunction?’

He was about to contact the other squad leaders to ask about the status of the Zombie Detectors on their Armored Vehicles.

Before he could even ask, he heard others raising the same issue over the communication channel. He quickly reported his team’s situation as well.

"If all five Zombie Detectors are showing the same thing, then it’s not a detector malfunction. Something must have happened." Fang Tianhe’s brow furrowed as he listened to the reports from his squad leaders.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he quickly gave an order, "Use the signal booster and tell Ah Xing what’s happening. With something this bizarre going on, it’s best for him to pull back for now."

Their Communication Devices only had a range of one kilometer. For anything further, they had to use a signal booster.

Upon hearing the order, Xu Hao immediately had a subordinate carry it out. But just as he gave the command, he heard Liu Miaomiao cry out, "Ah Xing is back!"

’He’s back? Did he notice something was wrong and pull back early?’

As this thought crossed his mind, Xu Hao looked in the direction Miaomiao was pointing. What he saw left him stunned.

Thanks to the special training he had been receiving from the Mercenary Corps, he had already broken his second Genetic Lock. His Genetic Optimization Level was the highest of anyone in the vehicle, and so was his eyesight.

He could see that it was indeed the Speed Mecha rushing back, but it was carrying one Hunter on its shoulder and dangling another from its hand.

His eyes went wide. It seemed incredible, but the scene before him was undeniable proof: Lin Xinghai had killed two Mutated Zombies in just a few short moments.

It wasn’t just Xu Hao. As Lin Xinghai drew closer, more and more people saw him. Without exception, every single person who got a clear look at the two Mutated Zombie corpses he was carrying was left speechless.

Lin Xinghai still had his Superpower active. The Mecha covered dozens of meters with every stride. In the span of a single breath, it crossed several hundred meters and arrived back at the convoy.

At this point, everyone was still in a daze.

It wasn’t until he tossed the two Hunter corpses onto the roof of the vehicle with a loud THUMP THUMP that everyone was jolted from their stupor.

"Incredible!" Liu Miaomiao breathed with genuine admiration as Lin Xinghai emerged from the Mecha.

Seeing was believing. At that moment, she finally had a clear understanding of Lin Xinghai’s true power. She also recalled what he had told her before the mission: "We have a mission today, so I’ll show you what the strongest of the Optimized looks like."

Now, Liu Miaomiao no longer had any doubt that Lin Xinghai could help her get into East Sea Academy.

At the same time, the others were gradually snapping out of their daze.

Roger: "You bastard, you’re as much of a monster as ever!"

Xu Haishui: "Brother Hai, you’re a beast!"

Fang Tianhe: "Incredible! By the way, how did you manage to kill two Hunters in such a short amount of time?"

Hearing Fang Tianhe’s question, everyone else quietly turned up the volume on their earpieces. It was the question on all of their minds.

"Simple. I got close, blew one away with a single shot, then stabbed the other one. End of story," Lin Xinghai said with a smile.

He said it so casually, but the others were inwardly astounded. As much as they found it hard to believe, the facts forced them to admit that Lin Xinghai had indeed dispatched the two Mutated Zombies in a flash. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly have returned so quickly.

Of course, Lin Xinghai wasn’t lying; he had just left out a few details.

For example, the two Hunters only knew something was happening in the area, but they had no idea what it was before getting close, so they had let their guard down while en route.

Plus, the dense buildings of Guanghan City provided perfect cover for a Mecha. As long as he was fast enough, he could get close to the two Hunters before they even had time to react.

And once he was in close quarters, those two "squishies" were his to deal with however he pleased.