"What?"
Minister Wang, who had just been brimming with confidence, instinctively took half a step back. If not for the people behind him blocking the way, he might have collapsed onto the ground. His face turned deathly pale as he glanced around nervously. Stammering, he said to Xu Mo, "Little brother, the defense is entirely in your and Comrade Dong Tian's hands now. On behalf of the nation and the government, I place full trust in you. The lives of all the citizens are in your hands—don't let us down!"
Seeing his disgraceful display, Du Zhizhang, who stood behind Xu Mo, couldn't help but mock, "I recall that the state mandates leaders to take the front line in times of danger, doesn't it?"
"Well…" Minister Wang was momentarily speechless. His eyes darted around before he suddenly put on a righteous face and said, "Comrade, how can you say that? Civil affairs are equally important! Without a stable rear, how can the frontline fighters battle with peace of mind?"
Du Zhizhang was about to throw in a few more sarcastic remarks, but Xu Mo no longer had time to bother with these cowardly so-called leaders. After all, the lives of over two thousand people were no joke. Without hesitation, he waved his hand, turned around, and said, "Let's go! Head upstairs to check the situation outside!"
When Xu Mo and the others reached the rooftop of the third floor of Liangyuan Theater, the young sentries posted there looked as if their souls had left their bodies. Upon seeing Xu Mo, they immediately flocked to him like they had found their pillar of support, all talking over one another to describe what they had seen.
However, these young people were not trained scouts, and their descriptions were vague and lacked key details. Xu Mo waved them back to their posts and continued surveillance, then personally walked to the rooftop's edge with Du and Chang to observe the scene outside.
Liangyuan Theater had a unique location, flanked by two north-south roads, with a large square in front that faced an east-west road, and a narrow residential area stretching behind it. Because of this special terrain, the theater offered an expansive field of view. Except for the complex alleys of the residential area behind, which were obscured by buildings, any movement within a hundred meters on the other three sides was visible to the naked eye.
Just as the scouts had reported, a second wave of zombies had begun appearing within visible range. At both ends of the east-west road, as well as the ends of the north-south roads, different numbers of zombies were emerging. But this time, the undead seemed to have been gathered deliberately—they were no longer scattered but packed in frighteningly high density. In the central area, they were so tightly packed that even a person could not squeeze through. Even for Xu Mo, escaping unscathed if trapped within would be nearly impossible.
As for the reported estimate of five or six thousand zombies, Xu Mo realized upon seeing the scene firsthand that this number had been a conservative guess. The five to six thousand was merely what could be seen within direct sight, but the sea of corpses in the distance showed no end. This second wave of zombies was at least in the tens of thousands!
Compared to this black tide of undead, the skeletal horde at the "Mass Grave"—those mere thousands of white bone warriors—seemed laughably insignificant, like a tiny fish pond.
No wonder everyone looked like they had lost their souls. A horror scene previously confined to movies had now become a nightmarish reality. Even Xu Mo couldn't help but feel a wave of helplessness, as if doomsday had truly arrived.
Chang Ziteng, despite her usual brashness, was still a girl at heart. Upon seeing the seemingly endless tide of zombies, she instinctively leaned closer to Du Zhizhang and muttered, "Xu Mo… I suddenly feel a bit regretful. Was the Apocalyptic Mirage you experienced last time this terrifying too?"
Xu Mo shook his head with a wry smile. "That was like comparing a Pekingese to a Husky… I really underestimated the situation."
"At least it's not the difference between a Pekingese and a Tibetan Mastiff," Du Zhizhang whistled and interjected.
Chang Ziteng shot him an annoyed glare before asking worriedly, "So what do we do now? Just sit and wait for the zombies to attack? Fortunately, the theater's foundation is quite high, so regular zombies won't easily reach the windows. The only real defensive points to focus on are the three front doors, totaling about ten meters in width, and the two-meter-wide back door."
"I think this plan is feasible too. Besides, the front entrance has a double-tiered sixteen-step staircase. Even with sheer numbers, the zombies will struggle to apply sustained pressure on the front doors. If we just hold the back door, I think surviving the next twelve hours won't be too difficult," Du Zhizhang agreed sincerely, not just out of convenience.
Though this plan seemed a bit passive, given the overwhelming disparity in strength, Xu Mo had no better alternatives for now. Stability was the priority.
Judging by the zombies' speed, they still had some time before they fully converged on the square.
Xu Mo didn't want to waste this rare opportunity. This might be his last chance to go on a killing spree without much resistance. Even if he couldn't get many Apocalyptic Shards from it, reducing the number of zombies was still beneficial.
When Xu Mo voiced this plan, Chang Ziteng immediately agreed. Letting such a golden opportunity slip by would be a crime. They had taken such a huge risk entering this Apocalyptic Mirage—there was no way they would leave empty-handed. If they were lucky enough to obtain a few Apocalyptic Shards, it would give them an edge in surviving an even larger wave of undead in the future.
Leaving Du Zhizhang behind as their support in the theater, Xu Mo and Chang Ziteng slid down ropes from a second-floor window to the ground. Once landed, Xu Mo summoned his Spartan Shortsword and Earthshatter Warhammer, and together they charged toward a cluster of zombies a hundred meters away.
"Sister Chang, let's not stray too far from each other. If anything changes in the zombie horde, we need to cover each other to escape!" Xu Mo reminded her as they ran. Since this was their first time fighting together, without any battle chemistry, extra planning was necessary.
Chang Ziteng gave him a reassuring hand gesture and grinned. "Okay! These are just slow-moving corpses—so long as we don't get surrounded, this will be easier than killing chickens! Just don't get too close to me. My Earthshatter Warhammer doesn't recognize allies when it swings."
Even though Xu Mo deliberately slowed his pace to accommodate her, they still reached the battlefield in just over ten seconds. Exchanging a glance, they activated their full combat power and dove into the horde.
If regular weapons could harm these zombies, even an ordinary person wielding a wooden club could easily take on five at once—provided they weren't paralyzed by fear.
In terms of raw strength alone, both Xu Mo and Chang Ziteng far surpassed ordinary humans. Combined with their lethal Apocalyptic Weapons, the swarm of zombies in front of them was nothing more than livestock waiting to be slaughtered. They dashed left and right through the black tide, cutting through wherever they passed. Severed limbs and dark red blood splattered into the air like a grim, blooming death flower.
As Xu Mo had predicted, Chang Ziteng's "Earthshatter" Warhammer was a battlefield weapon of mass destruction. With its three-meter-long reach, she carved out a four-and-a-half-meter radius of death around her. Any zombie grazed by the hammer's shaft would at the very least suffer broken bones, while those unfortunate enough to take a direct hit from the massive hammerhead were instantly reduced to pulp.
If struck in the head, the result was even more grotesque—their skulls burst open like watermelons, spraying red and white matter everywhere in a gruesome spectacle.
By comparison, Xu Mo's slaughter was far more elegant. He moved with precision—approach, dodge, strike, withdraw. Each action was swift and fluid, and with each slash of his Spartan Shortsword, a zombie head would drop cleanly to the ground. Though he could only target one at a time, the sheer sharpness of his weapon—enhanced by dual Apocalyptic Shards—ensured that his efficiency rivaled Chang Ziteng's, with not a single zombie reviving from his strikes.