The fifth Step

"Hurry, those who just arrived take a rest."

Xiao Jun was no exception, as he plopped down on the command platform inside, pulling out a pack of snacks.

"What are the casualties?"

Xiao Jun asked Jiang Yue beside him.

"We've lost 47 Misses already."

Jiang Yue knew what Xiao Jun was asking about. 47 Misses, that meant 47 Third Order Mutants - the losses were far too high.

"It's still early. This is only because the zombies have been drawn to other areas, otherwise our casualties would be even greater."

Due to the zombies being unable to enter from the north, all the zombies would eventually come from the other three directions. If not for the suspicious defeat of the Lone Wolf Group which seemed like cheating, Xiao Jun would probably still be smoking on the first defense line.

At places like Future City and the Bloody Clothes Gang's area, the casualties were probably in the tens of thousands by now.

The second defense line was Xiao Jun's main focus, not only accommodating massive numbers of people but also with solid fortifications. Even facing countless zombies, it wouldn't crumble at the first push.

After a brief rest, Jiang Yue left with over a hundred Misses.

Xiao Jun could command the first defense line alone, as the opening was small with not many people.

But the second defense line stretched out for two thousand meters, forming a circle going back five to six thousand meters around. Just the first ring had over ten thousand people stationed.

Every five meters, a Third Order Mutant stood guard, preventing any Third Order Zombies from breaking through the line.

The number of Fourth Order Mutants was far too scarce. Even with the Lone Wolf Group's members, there were only around a dozen.

Now they could only pray that not too many Fourth Order Zombies would appear.

Like in the beginning, when eight Fourth Order Zombies emerged at once. If they all attacked one point, unless someone like Xiao Jun was present, even Fourth Order Mutants would be absolutely powerless to stop them.

Wan Qianya wouldn't be able to either. Given time, she could kill them all, but she couldn't stop the Fourth Order Zombies from slaughtering everyone else.

"Brother Jun, some areas over there can't hold on anymore. The Gale Gang and Tiger Leopard Gang's people are a bit lacking in strength."

Soon, a Miss came running over to report.

"Send the Lone Wolf Group's people over. With that kind of strength, they should be able to hold their ground."

With everyone at the Second Order level and nearly a hundred Third Orders, their strength far surpassed the Gale Gang and Tiger Leopard Gang. Defending one line would definitely be no problem.

Time ticked by second by second. In Future City, people died every second, with even more zombies dying as well.

Xiao Jun's brows furrowed tighter. The Fifth Order Zombie still hadn't appeared.

That was the thorn in his mind. As long as the Fifth Order Zombie was killed, Future City could absolutely withstand this million-strong zombie horde.

Two days ago, Chen Gang, White Cloth, and Xiao Jun had met again, this time excluding the Lone Wolf Group.

No matter where the Fifth Order Zombie appeared, they would immediately send word to the other two groups.

This thing was quite patient.

But the good news was that the second defense line had gradually stabilized. Although people kept dying, it looked like they could hold on for a while longer.

The zombies weren't truly endless either. Keeping up the killing would make their numbers dwindle, especially since the initial fire attacks and projectiles had killed at least a hundred thousand zombies.

"Brother Jun, the back area can't hold on anymore. The first batch on the outskirts have all died."

"Send Li Jingyin with some people over there. We must hold on."

At this critical juncture, they couldn't afford any chaos. Even more so, they couldn't let the zombies break through.

If one point crumbled, the entire defense would quickly collapse.

Meanwhile.

Chen Gang sat in command at the Lord's Mansion, with tens of thousands of people surrounding it under the leadership of various captains, battling the zombies by utilizing buildings and newly-built fortifications.

His many Fourth Order Mutant subordinates were also scattered, tasked with killing high-ranking zombies.

Although the situation seemed to have stabilized, Chen Gang's brow was also tightly furrowed, with two other Fourth Order Mutants by his side.

The Fifth Order Zombie was the biggest variable.

The night's battle had lasted two hours already.

On Xiao Jun's side, multiple emergencies had occurred, and even he had to step in several times.

"Brother Jun, should we fall back to the third defense line?"

This was the third time Jiang Yue had come to ask him.

As more and more people died, the defenses became more strained.

At this rate, unless everyone was committed, they might not last another hour.

"No..." Xiao Jun started to say, but then his gaze suddenly changed.

"Quick, arrange for retreat immediately."

"And extinguish the highest lamp. Notify Chen Gang and White Cloth."

This was the pre-arranged signal. Whichever side's lamp went out meant the Fifth Order Zombie had appeared.

Jiang Yue's face changed, knowing what this meant, and hurried to make arrangements.

Several Miss with the Fire Element Superpower were already in position.

Li Jingyin also led over twenty Misses with Tenacious Superpowers to the front line.

Wan Qianya returned to Xiao Jun's side, her gaze scanning the zombie horde unceasingly.

"Brother Jun, have you found it yet?"

Xiao Jun shook his head, his vision also sweeping.

But he trusted his instinct.

Just a moment ago, he felt the same sensation as when he was atop that tall building.

Being watched.

Suddenly, a broken, intermittent voice entered Xiao Jun's mind.

"Human... food... tasty..."

"He... food... evolve..."

Xiao Jun was stunned.

This didn't seem to be a human's thoughts.

Fragmented, like a child just learning to speak.

The Fifth Order Zombie, it had to be it.

The Fifth Order Zombie's intelligence was already equivalent to a young child's.

Humans are food? Evolve?

Countless thoughts flashed through Xiao Jun's mind.

Could zombies evolve by consuming humans? Weren't they supposed to just fall from the sky?

He hadn't heard of zombies evolving in the previous world.

Was it because such occurrences were too rare? Or he had never witnessed it before?

Wait!

His own thoughts would only trigger when the other party thought of him.

So the second "food" referring to "he", was that about himself?

Perhaps it didn't evolve from eating just anyone, just like how his own First and Second Order Mutated Crystals no longer affected him.

The food that could make it evolve was himself? Or rather, Fourth Order Mutants and above.

With this answer, Xiao Jun understood why this Fifth Order Zombie had delayed its appearance.

Lower-level Mutants held no attraction for it. It didn't need human bodies, but the energy contained within.

As for why lower-ranking zombies couldn't evolve, perhaps it was because their intelligence was too low to comprehend absorbing energy from human bodies.

Their instincts simply drove them to continuously attack humans.