Unlike the other teams, Lin Xinghai’s group had a different approach. They continued to prioritize killing zombies, with travel as a secondary objective.

Lin Xinghai wasn’t the least bit worried. He had set aside an hour for himself, and with his speed, he could easily reach any area in the city center.

The others were in even less of a hurry. Little Fatty and his companions, for example, had no intention of competing for the Energy Balls.

Sun Tianbo’s group also focused more on hunting zombies. As for the Energy Balls, they didn’t plan to venture deep into the city center, but would instead try their luck on the outskirts.

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye, and it was soon 11:00 AM.

Right on schedule, Lin Xinghai led the team to the edge of the city center.

The biggest difference between the city center and the outer urban areas was the dense cluster of skyscrapers. Down on the streets, the sun was blocked out unless it was high noon.

The number of zombies here was also terrifying. Hordes of two or three hundred were commonplace, and you could even occasionally spot swarms exceeding five hundred.

Under these conditions, competing for the Energy Balls would be incredibly difficult.

After all, for a team with fewer than fifty members, it was no exaggeration to say that just moving through the city center was nearly impossible.

Of course, Lin Xinghai wasn’t concerned with any of that. Once he brought Sun Tianbo’s group to their destination, he had fulfilled his promise. He promptly left with Liu Miaomiao and the others.

Before he entered the city center, he first needed to find a safe place to hide Liu Miaomiao and the others.

When the assessment was about to end, they would regroup, and he would hand over the Energy Balls then. This would prevent anyone else from taking advantage of them.

...

Sun Tianbo watched Lin Xinghai’s group depart and sighed inwardly.

Just then, a member of his team couldn’t help but ask, "Chief, what’s our next move? Are we really going in?"

To be honest, their desire to risk it all by going inside wasn’t as strong as it used to be.

Before, they had no choice. If they didn’t go all out, they wouldn’t even qualify for enrollment.

But now they were all in the top 3,000. There was still over a day left in the assessment, and without Lin Xinghai’s leadership, their ranking was bound to keep slipping.

However, if they worked hard killing zombies, they might be able to keep their rank within the top 3,000 by the time the assessment ended.

But if they entered the city center now to fight for Energy Balls, and a major crisis forced them out of the assessment early, their current Points meant there was a nine-in-ten chance they’d be eliminated.

"Don’t worry, I won’t be that reckless. First, we’ll find an ally. For today, we’ll stick to killing zombies in the peripheral zones."

"Tomorrow, with only half a day left, the other teams will likely be exhausted. That’s when we’ll look for an opportunity and make our move." As Sun Tianbo spoke, he turned to look behind him.

Behind them was Xie Shanyong’s group, which had been following them.

At that moment, his eyes met Xie Shanyong’s.

In that instant, both men seemed to understand each other’s intentions. They exchanged a knowing smile.

...

Meanwhile, Lin Xinghai had led Liu Miaomiao and the others across two streets, stopping at the entrance of a shop.

"This is the only store specializing in wrist-mounted computers around here. See if you can find any useful tools," Lin Xinghai said, looking at Little Fatty.

Once they split up, the biggest problem Lin Xinghai would face was how to communicate with Liu Miaomiao’s group.

Having to run back every time he wanted to communicate would be far too much trouble.

Besides, hiding in a building wasn’t guaranteed to be safe. If they ran into danger, they likely couldn’t stay put, regardless of whether they chose to fight or flee.

In that scenario, he could grab enough Energy Balls only to return and find them gone. He’d be left high and dry.

Therefore, he had to solve the communication issue. The Communication Wristwatches they wore could only receive one-way transmissions from the Military Department; they didn’t allow for communication between examinees.

When Lin Xinghai had brought up this problem the day before, Little Fatty immediately claimed he could try to craft some rudimentary communication devices.

That was precisely why they were here now.

Everyone entered the shop and scanned the room. The shelves were bare. It was no surprise that valuable items like Communication Wristwatches were long gone—not even considering Mercenary Corps, even the Military Department’s own resource-gathering teams would have been tempted by them.

But Little Fatty wasn’t looking for those. He first checked the repair counter, finding only a few screwdrivers and the like. He then searched a back room and quickly emerged with a toolbox, looking satisfied.

"Nice. I found a basic model of a repair-assisting mechanical arm," Little Fatty said with a smile. "It’s a little crude, but it’ll do."

With their prize in hand, the group left the shop. Little Fatty then wandered the nearby streets before quickly settling on two sedans.

Little Fatty took out the mechanical arm, and from his backpack, he also produced a small Energy Crystal Stone and an Energy Converter.

Lin Xinghai had specifically found these items for him yesterday while clearing out zombies, right after he’d proposed the idea.

It had taken them a full day of searching to salvage two such sets from a pair of luxury sports cars.

After all, Energy Crystal Stones weren’t common ten years ago. Back then, most things ran on batteries; only high-end sports cars were equipped with this kind of tech.

The greatest advantage of an Energy Crystal Stone was its massive, long-lasting energy storage. In a stable environment, it could last not just for a decade, but for a century without issue.

Little Fatty inserted the Energy Crystal Stone into the Energy Converter, then externally wired the converter to the repair arm. Finally, he slid his hand inside.

As the repair arm activated, the soft metal casing molded itself to the shape of his hand, and an array of small tools popped out.

Next, Little Fatty’s surprisingly nimble fingers became a blur. Aided by the mechanical arm, he swiftly dismantled the cars and extracted a pile of electronic components.

Little Fatty then quickly began assembling and soldering these components together.

Watching the fluid, seamless work, Lin Xinghai couldn’t help but feel impressed. He had been skeptical when Little Fatty first claimed he could build communication devices.

But Little Fatty had insisted he’d even helped design and repair Mecha. He claimed his skill was only at the apprentice level, but making a small gadget like a communication device would be no problem at all.

Now, seeing him in action, Lin Xinghai felt Little Fatty had been far too modest. ’That level of proficiency... there’s no way he’s ’just an apprentice.’’

Just five minutes later, two dark, lumpy metal contraptions appeared before Lin Xinghai.

"Ahem! Materials were limited, so I couldn’t worry about aesthetics. You’ll have to make do," Little Fatty said with a slight cough.

"As long as they work, that’s all that matters. What’s their maximum range? How many kilometers?" Lin Xinghai asked, picking up one of the devices.

"You should get clear communication within 10 kilometers. The quality will start to degrade after that. 15 kilometers is probably the absolute limit," Little Fatty said after a moment of thought.

"That’s more than enough," Lin Xinghai said, nodding in satisfaction.