Chương 173: Chapter 172: Back to the Frontlines

With the sensitive topics out of the way, Evelyn heard Vince's question and simply waved her hand, leading the group outside to the military truck.

"There weren't many fiber-optic drones left at the garrison. It's not that the drones themselves are rare, but military drone controllers that use a physical fiber-optic tether require specialized converters. We didn't have any in reserve; these were just a few left over from a previous training exercise." She opened a storage case and pulled out a small plastic spool, roughly the size of a water bottle.

"This is the fiber spool. Each spool holds ten kilometers of fiber optic cable, thin as a strand of hair. To ensure the drone's safety, we only fly out to a maximum range of four kilometers before returning, just to prevent the cable from snapping and causing a crash." Vince took the spool and weighed it in his hand. It was incredibly light. Seeing that there were only about a dozen spools left in the case, he handed it back.

"We only managed to bring one functioning drone with us. The rest were destroyed. And even this one is barely holding together..." Evelyn opened another case, revealing the sole surviving drone to Vince and the others.

"The auto-balancing and payload systems are shot. Right now, this drone can only fly because Raven uses her ability to manually stabilize it. On top of that, the camera optics were fried by the blast last night, and we haven't found replacement parts yet." She snapped the case shut and continued.

"Looking out past the Outer Ring Road, whether heading east or west, the nearest gas stations were all billowing black smoke. This one on Tianshui Road was the only one that looked intact from a distance, and it wasn't too far away. So, after discussing it with Joseph... Colonel Zhou, we decided to risk pushing through the horde to resupply here."

"How many hordes of that size have you guys pushed through?" Vince couldn't help but ask, a corner of his mouth twitching as Evelyn spoke about 'pushing through zombie hordes' as casually as if she were talking about going to the grocery store.

"Eight. Three of them were actually larger than the one here. But back then, our supplies were still relatively ample, and we had plenty of heavy ordinance," Marcus answered, taking the question.

"Even though we suffered continuous casualties, we were also constantly picking up stragglers along the way to replenish our numbers. It was brutal, but we weren't completely run into the ground like we are now." He paused, a lingering dread flashing in his eyes as he recalled a specific memory.

"Besides, the ones we managed to push through weren't truly 'massive.' We once used the drone to scout a horde... A dense, undulating sea of black that stretched as far as the eye could see. You couldn't even call that a horde anymore. That was a zombie tide...

"Every time we breach a horde, it's out of absolute necessity. Unless we're cornered, or forced to choose the lesser of two evils, we always opt to detour around them."

"Which is exactly why it's taken us five days to cover a mere hundred kilometers, and we still haven't reached our destination," Evelyn added. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Furthermore, the APC is incredibly heavy. Not all overpasses or bridges can support its weight, which severely limits our viable routes. The dual auto-cannons were our heaviest firepower, but they're completely broken now. Because of that, I don't recommend driving the APC anymore moving forward."

"You guys know a hell of a lot more about weapons and vehicles than I do. Even though I'm technically the 'Supreme Commander'..." Vince paused.

"Forget it, I officially appoint you Vice Supreme Commander. You don't need to 'recommend' vehicle assignments to me, making it sound like I own everything and you guys are outsiders..." Hearing the hesitation in Evelyn's voice, Vince decisively delegated the tactical authority back to her and her team. He didn't know the first thing about the performance specs of these military vehicles or weapons. What if his assumptions were completely off base? Amateurs dictating to professionals was a massive survival taboo.

After all, they were all tied to the same rope now. If things went south, Vince and his Awakened might be able to fight their way out and run, but Evelyn's team would face a total wipeout. Because of that, they were guaranteed to be infinitely more cautious than he was.

"Alright... that works," Evelyn accepted immediately, giving Vince a nod. She turned to Marcus.

"Major Marcus, go establish a perimeter watch." She then turned to Raven and Wyatt.

"Wyatt, follow the highway south and run recon. Keep an eye on the horde's movements and report back continuously. Maintain a safe distance..."

"I'm going too..." When the group had first stepped outside, Raven hadn't followed them. Vince hadn't paid it any mind—just a teenage girl throwing a temper tantrum. But the moment Evelyn started handing out recon assignments, Raven popped out of nowhere and interjected. The childish demeanor she had shown when first addressing Vince was completely gone. Her face was set in a stern, icy mask. Paired with her tactical gear, she looked exactly like a battle-hardened veteran.

"Alright, then the two of you..."

"Seth, you tag along," Vince called out, pointing to Seth, who had been chatting quietly with Cody nearby.

"Him? We're heading to the frontlines for recon, not a sightseeing tour!" Raven shot back. It seemed she was still a bit salty about Vince messing with her regarding Joseph's last words, and seeing Vince pull out a scrawny, nerdy-looking kid set her off.

"His Awakened ability is perfectly suited for recon. I want him to go with you guys and learn a few tricks from the seniors." Vince didn't care about her complaining. He grabbed Seth, pulled him to the center of the group, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on..." With that, he gave Seth a gentle shove forward. Understanding Vince's intention, Seth activated his ability and began walking away from the group. The moment Raven heard that this seemingly useless nerd was actually an Awakened, she dropped her contempt. As she watched Seth walk outward, her eyes grew wider and wider.

"Holy shit... Invisibility?"

"No, not just invisibility."

"His presence completely vanished..." The veterans standing beside Evelyn whispered amongst themselves in shock. Given their highly honed senses, they quickly realized that Seth's ability wasn't optical camouflage. He was literally erasing himself from everyone's perception... Even Raven's eyes widened, a dark blue light flashing briefly in her pupils. Even with whatever she was doing, her expression remained one of sheer astonishment.

"Does his ability work on zombies too?" Since she could no longer pinpoint exactly where Seth was, she turned her head and asked Vince directly.

"Mhm." Vince nodded, mirroring her serious expression.

"... Fine. But he follows our orders. No acting on his own." Seeing that his ability truly was top-tier for recon, Raven relented.

"Alright, then you guys..." Seeing that Raven had no objections, Evelyn started, scanning the remaining people as if asking if anyone else was joining.

"Actually, I'll tag along with you guys too..." Vince hesitated for a second before interrupting her. With things wrapping up here, he had already been planning to head over to the Outer Ring Park to check on the aftermath of yesterday's explosion. Since they were heading that way anyway, he figured he might as well hitch a ride. The moment the words left his mouth, every single pair of eyes snapped back to him, making him feel a bit awkward. Only Zoe, standing right behind him, had a knowing glint in her eyes.

Instantly figuring out exactly what he was really going for, she decisively raised her hand.

"Then I'm going too!"