“I’m not going to make it to the sixth floor at this rate; I’m running out of ammo.
I’ll use my powers to have the zombies clear a path to the third floor,” Chen Wan shouted, swinging her machete to kill two more zombies charging at them.
“Can your body handle it? You just recovered,” Qin Ke replied while shooting.
“Don’t worry, Yi Yi said that every time I expand my mental threshold, I can control the zombies for longer.
I can do it,” Chen Wan shouted the last sentence.
They were being squeezed by the zombie corpses and the living ones, unable to move.
If they didn’t use their powers, they’d either be bitten to death or crushed.
Chen Wan activated her mental powers again, controlling fifty zombies around them to fend off the horde coming from all directions.
This time, Yi Yi was at the front, clearing the way with the zombies, while Qin Ke covered the rear with her gun.
Chen Wan found the first ten seconds much easier than before, even managing to kill a few zombies with her machete.
But after half a minute, sweat started to bead on her forehead.
Still, she could hold on, and her complexion wasn’t too bad.
They had reached the second-floor lobby and were about to head up the stairs.
However, the zombies changed tactics.
The ones at the back climbed onto the shoulders of those in front, attacking from all directions.
The fifty zombies Chen Wan controlled were struggling to help them break through, unable to fend off the ones leaping from above.
Chen Wan, enduring a headache, pulled out her pistol to shoot the zombies lunging at them, as she could barely hold the machete anymore.
Fortunately, Jiang Yanxin and Qin Ke noticed Chen Wan’s condition and immediately called Yi Yi back.
“Yi Yi, come back and help.”
Yi Yi had already carved a bloody path with the zombies.
Her T-shirt was soaked with their foul-smelling blood.
Hearing the call, she turned back, swinging her machete at the zombies coming from all sides.
Her strength was immense, and no zombie could keep its head on its shoulders after her blade swept through.
The scene was gruesome, with foul blood splattering all over the four of them.
Taking advantage of the cleared path, Chen Wan and the others finally struggled up the stairs to the third floor.
Nearly two minutes had passed by now.
Chen Wan was drenched in cold sweat, her face pale.
Jiang Yanxin supported her as they moved forward.
Chen Wan felt her consciousness slipping away.
If not for gritting her teeth, she would have already closed her eyes from exhaustion.
Jiang Yanxin, supporting Chen Wan with one hand and shooting with the other, had to find time to reload.
Seeing Chen Wan’s worsening state, she shouted, “Hang in there, we’re almost on the third floor.
Chen Wan, don’t fall asleep, Yang Yang is waiting for us to return.”
She had to shout because the situation was chaotic, with zombie roars all around.
If they spoke any softer, they wouldn’t hear each other.
Chen Wan, enduring the discomfort, gritted her teeth and made it to the third floor with Jiang Yanxin’s help.
It was thanks to the fifty zombies under her control; otherwise, the four of them wouldn’t have made it up.
As soon as Chen Wan stepped onto the third-floor landing, her legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed.
It had been three minutes since she started using her powers.
Jiang Yanxin saw Chen Wan about to fall and supported her while focusing on shooting.
She forced herself to stay calm, and in this life-or-death situation, her mind became unusually clear.
Her gaze was drawn to the images of Greek gods on the third-floor lobby wall, focusing on one in particular.
Jiang Yanxin had a realization and gave a mental command.
The next moment, a scene that left the zombies dumbfounded unfolded.
A figure from the image appeared a few steps in front of Jiang Yanxin.
A tall man, wearing a feathered helmet and leather arm guards, wielding a bronze spear, accompanied by a vulture and a large black hunting dog.
This was Ares, the god of war from Greek mythology.
Jiang Yanxin wasted no time in giving Ares a command.
The next moment, the man charged into the zombie horde like a god of death, clearing a path with his spear.
Ares’ vulture pecked at the zombies surrounding Chen Wan and the others, while the black dog bit through them one by one.
Chen Wan, unable to hold on any longer, collapsed unconscious into Jiang Yanxin’s arms.
Seeing Chen Wan faint, Yi Yi, no longer needed at the front, quickly carried her and followed Ares, knowing that Jiang Yanxin’s powers were also mental and wouldn’t last long.
They needed to make the most of their time to climb as many floors as possible.
Jiang Yanxin and Qin Ke hurried to follow, with Ares leaving the black dog to protect Jiang Yanxin and cover the rear.
Qin Ke, shooting zombies while still a bit dazed, followed the foreign man to the fourth floor.
Jiang Yanxin’s forehead began to sweat, and it had been half a minute since she materialized Ares.
Ares, wielding his spear, charged into the zombie horde, staining the once-white stairwell walls with their foul blood.
His spear swept through, sending zombie heads flying.
The level 2 zombies, now intelligent, grew fearful of Ares’ ferocity, clearing a path for him and Jiang Yanxin’s group.
They reached the fourth floor, but Jiang Yanxin was in no better shape than the unconscious Chen Wan.
Qin Ke quickly supported Jiang Yanxin.
“Are you okay?” Jiang Yanxin, trembling, shook her head, unable to let Ares lead them to the fifth floor.
Before her mind clouded, Jiang Yanxin gave Ares a final command to escort them to any room near the stairs.
Ares quickly cleared a path to a room on the left side of the fourth-floor stairs, kicking the door open.
By then, Jiang Yanxin’s consciousness was fading, and without Qin Ke’s support, she would have collapsed.
As Jiang Yanxin fainted, the tall figure at the door vanished.
Qin Ke and Yi Yi quickly moved the unconscious pair into the room, blocking the door with a desk.
Yi Yi sat on the desk, while Qin Ke, exhausted, sat on the floor to rest.
Chen Wan and Jiang Yanxin lay unconscious on the floor, with no furniture left to lie on.
After a while, Qin Ke reloaded her gun and asked, “Where did that ancient foreigner come from? He was pretty impressive.”
Yi Yi, sitting on the desk, smiled and explained, “That was Ares, the god of war from Greek mythology.
You might not have noticed the frames on the third-floor lobby wall, which had images of Greek gods.
They were probably for decoration, and Ares was materialized by Yanxin.”
“So she can summon these ancient gods?” Even the usually indifferent Qin Ke was intrigued by such a cool ability.
“She can materialize characters or inanimate objects from books, cards, or images.
These materialized entities follow her commands, but it consumes a lot of mental energy.
Once her mental energy is depleted, the materialized entities disappear.”
Yi Yi continued to smile, surprised to find that Jiang Yanxin’s powers were also mental.
Mental powers were rare, and it was unexpected that two of them had such abilities.
Jiang Yanxin’s mental strength seemed stronger than Chen Wan’s, as she lasted a minute and twenty seconds on her first try, which was almost impossible.
Chen Wan only managed ten seconds on her first attempt.
“What about living people? Can Yanxin materialize you?” Qin Ke asked curiously.
Yi Yi shook her head.
“She can’t materialize living people or zombies.
The entities must be from images or books, already lifeless.”
“That’s still impressive.
We should find more books with images for Yanxin when we go scavenging.
They might come in handy,” Qin Ke suggested, grateful for Jiang Yanxin’s foreign creation that helped them escape the third floor.
As Qin Ke and Yi Yi chatted, Jiang Yanxin and Chen Wan lay unconscious.
The two friends knew they’d be fine after a while, so they talked happily.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yanxin woke up first, propping herself up and looking at Chen Wan.
“Is Chen Wan still out?” she asked, puzzled.
Yi Yi smiled and walked over.
“No, I didn’t expect you to wake up first.
How do you feel?”
“Much better, I’m fine now,” Jiang Yanxin replied, feeling her strength returning and her head clear.
“Your power is materialization.
I think you understand how it works, and it seems your mental strength is greater than Chen Wan’s,” Yi Yi said with a mysterious smile.
Jiang Yanxin and Qin Ke didn’t understand Yi Yi’s smile, but she didn’t elaborate, knowing Jiang Yanxin would find out eventually.
