Chapter 31: The Savior’s Substitute in the Apocalypse, Part 8

"Of course," Mu Yin replied casually with a wave of her hand.

"Thank you, Mu Yin," Wan Yuanheng said, expressing his gratitude with solemn sincerity.

The recollection ended, and considering the current situation, it seemed that Wan Yuanheng's family was not as simple as it appeared. Otherwise, it would be impossible for everyone in the Shanghang City base to begin physical training just ten days after their arrival.

Yet Mu Yin felt indifferent about this. No matter what background Wan Yuanheng had, it had nothing to do with her. She stopped overthinking and headed straight for the base's entrance. The reborn woman had come as a representative from another base, making quite a spectacle upon arrival. Mu Yin only needed to check daily for any commotion to know if they had come.

However, time dragged on longer than Mu Yin anticipated. Several days passed without a sign of them. She wondered if it might be the butterfly effect. While she waited in vain, an invitation arrived—Wan Yuanheng asked her to join a mission.

The reward was generous: the task was to retrieve experimental samples from a research base. The laboratory once belonged to a renowned domestic doctor of biochemical sciences, who had been researching a vaccine for the plague before the apocalypse. Unfortunately, the plague mutated before a breakthrough was achieved, and the world collapsed.

Though the doctor had been rescued, only his notes were recovered—none of the earlier research samples. Time had been short, space limited, and the samples deemed unnecessary at the time. Now, recent studies revealed that to trace the origin of the mutated zombie virus, one still needed samples of the original plague virus.

But now that even the plague virus had mutated, where could such samples be found? The doctor recalled the specimens he had once created during his experiments, and thus this mission was set.

The location was perilous—within Shanghang City itself. As the capital, the city was densely populated, with vast numbers of zombies. Worse still, the laboratory was situated beside a major hospital, making it all the more dangerous.

This was why Wan Yuanheng had especially invited Mu Yin—her participation would greatly reduce the risks. She readily agreed; she had nothing else pressing, and the mission aligned with her own task of saving the world.

After setting out, Wan Yuanheng informed her that another base would be collaborating on the mission, approaching Shanghang from the opposite side. That base was the Songxia Base. Mu Yin’s lips twitched at the thought.

So, the reborn woman was bold enough to cross Shanghang City head-on—a sign of great confidence.

She inwardly scoffed but was not concerned. After all, the fate of a reborn supporting character was already formidable—capable enough to seize the role of protagonist. The only flaw was her selfishness; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been rejected by Heaven’s Will, forcing Mu Yin, an outsider, to take up the mantle of world savior.

Honestly, Mu Yin wouldn’t mind if the reborn woman perished—it would save her the trouble of dealing with her. But if it came down to a confrontation, Mu Yin would not hesitate. She had always been the supporting type, but before her rebirth, she had slain mutant humans, beasts, and even aliens. In the late apocalypse, she had been at the forefront of the alien hunt. By then, her powers were advanced; though not offensive in nature, she could bring her drawings to life with ease.

Now, however, her abilities were limited by her level and lacked offensive force—a clear weakness Mu Yin was keenly aware of. For now, all she could do was protect herself and seek ways to grow stronger.

Physical training had become her sole means of improvement. Besides cultivating her powers, she devoted herself to martial arts—unlike others, her training method was designed to complement her abilities and was thus most suitable for her. Still, she believed she should learn other skills, like talisman crafting. Character talismans were versatile but lacked offensive power. She longed to visit the cultivation realm, but with her current strength, she doubted she could survive there.

As these thoughts preoccupied her, the convoy entered Shanghang City. The vehicles were lined with soundproof talismans, lessening the danger along the way. Still, the roads were rough and rarely traveled, necessitating frequent clearing of obstacles.

Whenever fighting broke out, even Mu Yin’s talismans became useless, and the group had to disembark to clear zombies by hand. All the participants were elite fighters—third-level ability users, a rarity in the early days of the apocalypse, especially in a world devoid of spiritual energy. Anyone who advanced so quickly was a true genius.

Though Mu Yin’s abilities were limited, for the sake of survival she had thrown herself into physical training with even greater focus. Now at the third level herself, her prowess in battle was undeniable. Wielding a long blade, she cut down zombies as easily as slicing melons.

This surprised the soldiers who had assumed she was just a support member. While they did not look down on supports, they rarely gave them much importance. But if Mu Yin could also serve as a formidable combatant, that changed everything.

During breaks, she found herself much closer to her teammates than the other support members; many even sought her advice on martial arts. Wan Yuanheng made no attempt to hide her contributions.

Even the team’s captain—a tall, handsome major—treated Mu Yin with warmth and respect. This, however, displeased the other two women in the group, who often shot Mu Yin resentful glances, though such things meant nothing to her. To Mu Yin, all of this was just part of the mission.

What would have been a journey of just over an hour before the apocalypse now stretched into two or three days. By the time they reached their destination, several members were injured—even with Mu Yin’s support in masking their presence and scent, which allowed for quieter nights.

Shanghang City’s dense population seemed to have accelerated the evolution of its zombies. Unlike elsewhere, where evolved zombies had only human-like speed and strength, here they were three or four times faster and stronger than ordinary people, some even developing supernatural powers.

Caught off guard by the appearance of ability-wielding zombies, the team suffered one serious injury and several lesser ones. Only thanks to a healer in their ranks—and Mu Yin’s own support—was the seriously wounded member saved from death.

Upon reaching the hospital near their objective, they found a vantage point in a tall building nearby and began preparations, contacting Songxia Base to coordinate.

Two days later, they finally received word that the other team would need another day to arrive. Deciding to wait and move together, they spent the time thoroughly scouting the hospital’s surroundings. As expected of a former disaster zone, the hospital, once packed with plague patients, now harbored the greatest concentration of zombies. Few medical staff had escaped in those early days.