Lu Hao frowned down at some reports. He sat at his desk, the sun shining through the window behind him. Though it was a beautiful day outside, he didn't have the luxury of appreciating it.

The human population continued to dwindle, yet the number of zombies continued to rise. Not only that, but the zombies were becoming stronger. Up until the third year of the zombie apocalypse, most zombies were only about level 2 or 3. The most dangerous zones might have up to level 5 or 6 zombies, and any zombies stronger than that were singular appearances.

But now, ever since that level 10 zombie had appeared a year ago, the average strength of the zombies had jumped to level 5, and it was even common to see stronger zombies than those milling in the area.

Over the past four years, Lu Hao had worked to keep the borders of his territory and the road to F City clear and safe. But now, the base suffered weekly attacks.

Something had happened that had made the zombies stronger.

Reading this report, Lu Hao's brows furrowed, and he tapped a finger on his desk. He needed more information. More importantly, humanity needed to find a way to defend themselves from the ever more powerful zombies.

F City's government base was on the verge of collapse. At first, Lu Hao had tried to support it, but when the zombies started attacking the SG, he had to return to defend his own group. And when Lu Hao had left, the ones who stepped in were the triad group led by a mysterious man who Lu Hao only knew as "Kai".

The triad group had brought stability to F City, but the local government had folded under its power. Now, the connection between F City's government and the SG was just holding on by a thread.

Lu Hao had no interest in the politics of groups or territorial warfare. The SG was self-sufficient, and the last thing he wanted was to fight other humans. But the triad wasn't the same. To the triad, the SG, which didn't bow down to its tyrannical requests, was simply a thorn in its side. As such, it seemed that future conflict would be inevitable.

Lu Hao sighed. He wished that he could discuss this in depth, have someone to bounce his thoughts off of. But Ji Ling had been gone for the past four days to scope out F City and to find out more about the triad's influence, and no one other than her knew better about the current situation.

Still, staying cooped up here would do him no good. Lu Hao got up, leaving the reports on his desk.

Outside of the villa, which lay at the heart of the base, the territory of the SG had undergone enormous change. Watchtowers rose up over the many walls and gates dividing and protecting the camp. On-duty SG members stood on guard at various entrances and vantage points, looking over the roads that led to the residential areas and toward the entrance to the base.

Lu Hao walked out of the heavily-guarded section of the villa and into the forest at the back of the camp. The forest was used as a training ground, sometimes, and even now several recruits ran their laps between the trees, panting as they jumped over logs and hustled over the uneven forest floor. They saluted Lu Hao upon spotting him, and Lu Hao waved a hand with an encouraging smile.

He continued walking further into the forest until the tree coverage grew so thick that the few spots of sunlight glowed bright white against the shadows. And there, at the edge of the cliff, was a sturdy tree.

Lu Hao reached the base of that tree and looked up. A small treehouse was nestled between the branches. Without much effort, Lu Hao leaped up along the tree's branches until he reached a small footstep in front of the house's door. A mechanical pulley sat on that footstep. Lu Hao knocked on the door with short, sharp raps, then opened it. Beyond that door, sitting at a table beside the small treehouse's window, was Hong Sheng.

Hong Sheng didn't look up when Lu Hao entered. His gaze was locked on the piece of machinery laid out over the table. Various pieces of paper depicting schematics had been pinned to the walls with gridlike precision. The loft bed which stood above several neatly-stacked boxes and crates was perfectly tucked in, the sheets having not a single wrinkle. Everything about this place was in order, aligned and controlled.

The window had been covered by a metal pane, and the only sources of light in this room were the lightbulb hanging above Hong Sheng's workstation and the open door behind Lu Hao. Lu Hao closed the door and sat quietly on a large crate across from the table. He watched Hong Sheng carefully pinch a wire with a pair of tweezers to pull it into a piece of machinery, setting it into a small space only a milimeter wide. After several more wires had been attached, Hong Sheng finally set down the metal and looked up. He squinted and squeezed his eyes a bit, adjusting to the change of focus, and then he reached to the side and pulled open the window cover. The metal pane folded and slid open, and sunlight spilled into the treehouse.

"Lu Hao," Hong Sheng greeted. The corners of his lips pulled up a bit in a small smile, and his dim eyes shone a bit from the reflected sunlight.

"Do you have time? Want to go for a walk?" Lu Hao stood up, already anticipating Hong Sheng to follow.

Sure enough, Hong Sheng replied, "Sure." He picked up a bag and followed Lu Hao to the doorway, and after Lu Hao had leaped down, Hong Sheng reached in his pocket and clicked a switch. The mechanical pulley on the doorstep activated, and it released a rope ladder which Hong Sheng climbed down. Once his feet hit the ground, Hong Sheng clicked the switch again, and the rope ladder retracted back into the pulley.

Lu Hao and Hong Sheng walked together through the forest, enjoying the clear and crisp air of the morning. There did not seem to be a single person around them, only squirrels and birds in the trees.

"How is the latest test going?" Lu Hao asked.

"Alright. I don't know how long it will last. The aim was thirty minutes, but the outer shell won't last long if it's found."

"That's fine. We just need something that can distract the zombies, even better if it leads them away. Can that device really mimic human temperature for that long?"

"We'll see. It needs field testing."

Lu Hao and Hong Sheng reached an overlook in the forested mountain which gave them a view of the road toward F City. The distant hills obscured the winding path which lead to the small and foggy silhouette of the distant city. A series of walls and barricades extended around the mountain, and beyond, in the mist, tiny shadowy figures lumbered and staggered aimlessly.

Hong Sheng frowned when he saw them, and Lu Hao also grew more solemn.

"I received a report this morning," Lu Hao said. "It confirmed that it's not just us. It's everywhere. Zombies keep growing in numbers and getting stronger, but there's no clear reason why."

Hong Sheng's mouth pressed into a flat line.

It was no secret that the majority of the human population had died in one fell swoop in that first year of the apocalypse. The population continued to dwindle over the next few years, but not all of the dead turned into zombies. Some died from their wounds; some died of starvation or thirst; some died by the hands of other people. Only a fraction of people turned into zombies. Theoretically, the rate of the zombie population was estimated to have reached its maximum peak in the middle of the third year. After that, the zombie population should have reached a standstill simply because the remaining people were wise enough to not leave themselves vulnerable to zombies. Without people dying to the infection, the number of zombies shouldn't increase.

And yet, now, a sudden surge of zombies had appeared. Even without the human population changing, more zombies had come out of nowhere. Just how was that possible?

Something wasn't adding up.

"The report... who wrote it?" Hong Sheng lowered his gaze as he quietly asked this question.

Lu Hao continued looking out at the grim scenery, toward that distant haze of a city, "Ji Ling. They were her latest findings from F City." As he looked at those skyscrapers, he thought about how Ji Ling must be walking between those buildings now as she continued to investigate, alone and unseen.

For an instant, Hong Sheng's lips tightened again. A shadow flickered over his face, and after a moment, he turned around to face Lu Hao and opened his mouth. Before he could say anything, however, his gaze tracked to the side and he seemed to see something that shocked him.

The unusual expression set Lu Hao's instincts off, and he immediately whirled around to see what Hong Sheng was looking at.

What he saw was—

The tall and sturdy trees, standing as stably as ever, and the vast forest floor which was covered in old leaves and branches. The sunlight poured beads of light onto the ground, and the leaves and grass swayed in the breeze. Birds chirped, plants rustled, and insects buzzed all around.

"Was something there?" Lu Hao asked Hong Sheng. Hong Sheng's gaze didn't move from that empty spot, and after a moment, Hong Sheng unclenched his fists and pointed toward one of the trees.

"Squirrel," he said.

Lu Hao blinked. He looked up, and sure enough, a squirrel was sitting in the nook of a tree branch. If Lu Hao concentrated, he could hear the fast pattering of its heartbeat and the soft brush of its fur on the bark.

"Just a squirrel? You had me startled." Lu Hao cracked a smile and patted a hand to Hong Sheng's shoulder. "Can't believe you."

Hong Sheng diverted his gaze. Lu Hao continued on his walk, leaving the small clearing overlooking F City, and Hong Sheng followed after him. Lu Hao continued chatting as the two of them left, and eventually, their voices grew quieter and quieter the further they went from this clearing.

The squirrel in the tree jumped around the branch, and then climbed down the tree in search for more food. Its little feet pawed at the bark, but when that bark turned into sturdy cloth, it didn't even notice. After reaching the forest floor, it twitched its nose and went in search of nuts.

Standing behind that tree, pressed up against the bark, stood a girl. She had held her breath, heart beating loudly with adrenaline, and when Lu Hao's voice could finally no longer be heard, she released her breath and relaxed her body.

And then the girl frowned. She had been startled for no reason. It was impossible for anyone to notice her—even Lu Hao, the Unknown-ranked anomaly, wasn't aware of her existence. It must have only been her paranoia that made it seem as if that other man beside him had locked eyes with her. After reassuring herself this way, Ji Ling detached herself from the tree and made her way into the forest, toward a treehouse at the edge of a cliff.