Chapter 25: The Horde of the Dead

Lu Li snapped back to reality, feeling a surge of annoyance. What century was this to still be swayed by a pretty face? How pathetic.

She forced a smile and asked dismissively, "What is it?"

The man looked down at the scattered scratch-offs on the table and waved a hand; they vanished instantly. In their place sat several yellow crystal cores. Lu Li followed his gaze downward, and when she looked up again, he was gone.

She curled her lip, speechless. "Unbelievable."

She pulled down the shutter, ordered a bowl of beef noodles at random, finished the meal hastily, and then washed up before collapsing into bed. After a long day of work, she had no energy left for anything; she just wanted to lie in bed and watch variety shows.

She opened the group chat, where the discussion was heating up. The main topic was which scratch-off tickets offered the most and best rewards. Some people had even gone as far as summarizing patterns in the serial numbers, claiming certain digits were lucky, and they sounded quite convincing.

As Lu Li verified this with her system, she renamed the group chat: "Lu Li’s Lottery Shop."

The system replied in an indifferent tone, "Impossible. It is completely random. It’s entirely down to luck; there are no patterns to follow."

Lu Li felt relieved. If this were cracked, she might as well close up shop and throw away all the losing serial numbers.

Nowadays, every major base was equipped with signal towers to receive instructions from the Central Base and to facilitate communication among the populace. In the third year of the apocalypse, "Light-Brains" were released—devices similar to smartphones that could handle messaging and streaming. Their tracking and navigation features were even more robust, and they came in various forms: watches, necklaces, rings, and more. If you had enough crystal cores, you could even get one custom-made.

Lu Li scrolled through the chat logs for a while longer until her eyelids grew heavy. She obediently shut down her Light-Brain and prepared to sleep.

Just then, Xiao Lu suddenly became restless, pacing back and forth on the floor with a rhythmic *tap-tap* of its claws.

Drowsy, Lu Li rolled over, peered over the edge of the bed, and reached out to beckon the creature. "Xiao Lu, what’s wrong?"

Xiao Lu leaped up, burying its head into her palm and nudging her insistently, clearly agitated.

"What is it?" Lu Li scooped her up. Suddenly, alarms blared in her mind, and the system chimed in at the perfect moment: "A zombie horde is coming."

She remained unfazed. "What’s there to fear? I have you; they can't get in."

"Ahem, I forgot to tell you, Host. I need to undergo maintenance every three days. The time has come, and I... have to... leave..."

Lu Li sat bolt upright. "You’ve got to be kidding me, System! What are you doing? Don't go! Don't leave me!"

She didn't wallow in sorrow for long. She hopped out of bed, walked barefoot to the driver's seat, and engaged the autopilot.

Soon, the RV was in motion. The system hadn't specified when the horde would arrive, but given Xiao Lu's agitation, it had to be soon. There was no time to run, so she had to get as close to the Hope Base as possible.

Major bases surely had their own ways of dealing with zombie hordes, but as Lu Li approached the main gate, her heart sank.

The guards were napping? And there were only two of them?

I mean, seriously? This is a massive base! With only two guards, even a small group could break through.

The RV's high beams flared, startling the two guards. At first glance, they thought the Base Commander had returned. One of them subconsciously pressed a button on his shoulder, and the heavy gate slowly swung open.

Lu Li: ? These guards are really something...

She didn't have time to dwell on it. She slammed on the accelerator and drove the RV into the base, letting out a heavy sigh of relief.

The second guard rubbed his eyes, his head clearing. "Who was that just now?"

The first guard said confidently, "It must have been the Commander. Who else could afford an RV?"

The second guard nodded. "True, but why did it look so brand new?"

Both guards turned in unison to look at the pristine RV parked inside the base, and their hearts skipped a beat. They reflexively hit the wall-mounted alarm button, and instantly, sirens wailed across the entire base.

Though called a base, it was essentially a small city, neatly divided into four distinct zones: residential, core, research, and agriculture. They were surrounded by high, thick walls designed to repel zombie attacks.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Lu Li heard the ear-splitting sirens and breathed a sigh of relief again. *It seems the guards aren't completely useless—at least they can spot an incoming horde.*

But the very next moment, she saw a squad of men charging over with grave expressions, swiftly surrounding the RV.

Lu Li: ? Go deal with the zombie horde! Why are you surrounding me!

It was truly maddening. Just as she stood up, a knock came at the door. Well, at least they had manners.

She opened the door, and a dozen gun barrels were instantly pointed at her, ready to fire at the slightest provocation.

Lu Li stepped back instinctively, and the guns moved forward in unison. The captain in the lead eyed her up and down. He was stunned by her cleanliness and neat appearance. His gaze flickered to the interior of the RV behind her—it was new, and a faint, pleasant scent wafted out. In her, he felt as if he were catching a glimpse of the civilized era. The captain paused, momentarily dazed.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "What are your intentions in breaking into Hope Base at night?"

Lu Li was anxious. She had a gut feeling that the horde was almost here! *Forget about these trivial questions!*

"I'm Lu Li," she said directly. "I run the lottery shop at the gate. But that's not the point. The point is a zombie horde is coming! Get ready to fight!"

Someone among the fifteen men clearly recognized her. "I know her," he said weakly. "She's Boss Lu."

"I know her too. I went to buy scratch-offs on my break today and won a pear."

The captain shot them a look of disdain. "What 'Boss' this and 'Boss' that?"

As they started to bicker, completely missing the point, Lu Li felt as if the sky were falling. She jumped up and shouted, "The zombie horde is coming! Why are you still bickering!"

She successfully captured their attention. The captain sneered, "A zombie horde? How is that possible? We spray 'Zombie-Away' repellent regularly."

Lu Li was confused, but she trusted the system implicitly. "If you believe me, start preparing for the horde right now."

She spoke with such sincerity, her eyes shining with a resolute light, that it was strangely convincing.

The captain hesitated. He opened his Light-Brain, performed a few operations, and his face turned deathly pale. "The horde arrives in thirty minutes..."

Lu Li leaned in to look. It was an official app used to monitor zombie movement patterns. On the screen, a circle represented Hope Base, and to the southeast of the circle were dense clusters of red dots.

Judging by the captain's expression, these red dots were zombies—layer upon layer of them, far too many to count.

Just then, the app's belated alarm finally sounded, and a line of bold red text appeared on the screen:

[The zombie horde will arrive in thirty minutes. Please proceed to the underground shelter.]