Jarred then retrieved four bottles from the pouch at his waist. These were bottles of mutated wine, a specialty of Lakeside. Casually, he tossed them toward four distant corners. As the bottles shattered roughly 100 meters from the M2 Level 29 zombie, thick black smoke began to billow out, causing a sudden explosion within the zombie horde’s ranks.If anti-demon rounds instilled bone-deep fear in zombies, then the black smoke from mutated grapes drove them wild with insatiable desire.For the Iron Stone zombie horde, encountering such a resource for the first time was a disaster. Their self-control was weak against its allure.Not only do humans need to control their impulses, but zombies do as well—and perhaps even more so. Their very survival often depends on suppressing the overwhelming desires flooding their minds. The demise of the M2 Level 28 zombie at Sunny Hills occurred because it couldn’t resist its craving for mutated gemstones, despite its mission being to control the more

As long as he held Manipulation Type, the zombie horde would keep chasing. Unless he could teleport more than four kilometers away to sever their connection completely, escape was impossible.In just two more seconds, the wedge-headed creature would catch him. When that happened, he’d undoubtedly be torn to pieces—not eight, but thousands."Evolved Being… Evolved Being… The first two buffs were manageable, but the third is completely broken. Damn it, this is my end… Oh, my legs!"At that moment, Memphis’s reprimanding voice crackled through Jarred’s earpiece:"Silent One, stick to the plan! Stop playing around!"Through the drone’s reconnaissance feed, Memphis watched the dramatic chase unfold and couldn’t hold back his frustration. That brat always pulled stunts like this, waiting until the most critical moments to push himself to the brink.Perhaps this was his secret to improving control—forcing himself to the limit, where life and death teetered on a razor’s edge. In such moments,

5:45 PM, Iron Stone Battlefield.All the zombies within the area of the 10 trenches had been completely lured away by Jarred, and those too slow to keep up were eradicated. Corpses piled into mountains, and rivers of black, foul-smelling blood flowed through the vast battlefield, now submerged in decay.Twelve squad leaders were assigned specific zones to oversee the collection of resources, including potential stones, exp crystals, skill books, item cards, advancement cards, and alchemy crystals. Meanwhile, dozens of others worked tirelessly to load the bodies of evolved zombies onto trucks and incinerate the remaining piles of ordinary zombie corpses.Drones hummed overhead, capturing every movement. Data was meticulously recorded and would later be analyzed by the logistics department to ensure minimal losses during the collection process.At the center of the battlefield, several soldiers with earth manipulation abilities were digging a pit 5 meters deep. Once the digging was comp

At 6:31 PM on the 22nd day of the apocalypse, a long convoy of vehicles snaked its way from the southern end of Iron Stone back toward the northern reaches of Hope.Onboard the troop transports, every face bore signs of exhaustion, yet the visible joy and exhilaration were impossible to conceal.The Hope Battalion, invincible as ever, had concluded yet another campaign.A complete victory!After tonight, once everyone exchanged their earned contribution points and fully processed the spoils of war, their strength would ascend to a new level. They would grow stronger and stronger.At the peak of the zombie lock column, a glass flask filled with water gradually froze into solid ice. Half a blink later, Memphis utilized Ice Phantom to materialize beside the iron cage, a large black suitcase in his right hand.After imprisoning the Manipulation Type inside the cage, he meticulously checked the surveillance cameras, the one-way locks, the helium balloons, and the parachute cords attached t

Stay up all night without worrying about waking up early for labor, rest all day without lifting a finger, and spend money without earning it first. What was left to wait for? Burn it all tonight! Opportunities like this didn’t come often—it was time to spend, and spend big."I love you, Commander Jackman!""Commander Jackman, take this ration voucher for 100 grams!""Commander Jackman forever!""Take these acceleration boots!""Aaaaaa...""Up, up, up!"Memphis had agreed to cooperate with Lionel in creating an ideal setting for this "cash-in" operation—a move with immense benefits and minimal losses.Firstly, announcing this plan guaranteed Memphis 50% of tonight’s profits. Though he personally had no use for war contributions, others needed them desperately. By strategically depleting the contributions of others, he would further bind them to his influence, forcing them to strive harder to earn the resources necessary to utilize the services within his sphere of control.This strate