Chapter 164 What on Earth is the Mission

Meanwhile, Feng Fei sat in the back seat, flanked by Hu Ke on her left and Li Yang on her right. Li Yang was a man of few words, maintaining a stony silence from the very beginning. No matter what Feng Fei said, he responded only with quiet indifference, leaving her feeling rather rebuffed.

Soon enough, however, she shifted her attention to Hu Ke. This fellow was, after all, the captain for the current operation. Although that person had instructed her to closely follow this mission, she had not been told what the mission actually entailed. Perhaps she could pry some information out of him? With this thought in mind, a smile immediately bloomed on her face.

"Captain Hu, might I ask if you happen to know what this mission is about?" Feng Fei's voice rang out in the car, sounding somewhat coquettish, accompanied by the faint, alluring scent of her perfume drifting through the stagnant air of the vehicle, instantly stirring a trace of wicked desire in the hearts of the few men present.

Of course, anyone who had managed to survive until now was hardly an ordinary person; they quickly reined in their improper thoughts, most simply closing their eyes to rest.

Upon hearing Feng Fei's question, Hu Ke merely furrowed his brow slightly. Then, patting her hand, he said with a smile, "You don't need to call me Captain Hu. Just call me Brother Hu. Your man specifically asked me to take good care of you, after all!"

At these words, Feng Fei's expression stiffened. *My man?* Remembering that person's usual methods, she could not help but shudder. She shook her head, forcing herself not to dwell on that man.

Seeing her shake her head, Hu Ke assumed she was unwilling to address him as Brother Hu. His heart skipped a beat—had he somehow offended her?

"What? Unwilling to call me Brother Hu?" His tone carried a hint of ingratiating caution that he himself failed to notice.

Feng Fei hastily shook her head and sweetly called out "Brother Hu," which finally cleared the gloom from Hu Ke's face.

Little did Feng Fei know what was going on in Hu Ke's mind. Realizing that he still hadn't answered her question, she tugged at his sleeve, pouting slightly in a spoiled manner as she coaxed, "Brother Hu, you still haven't told me what city we're heading to!"

Recalling the mission, Hu Ke sighed inwardly. He could not understand why their supreme leader had not dispatched the regular military to rescue the city, instead symbolically sending only a handful of ability users. No matter how powerful these individuals were, could they possibly withstand tens of thousands of members of the zombie horde?

The boss's mind was truly unfathomable! Hu Ke felt utterly helpless. Moreover, the boss had given strict orders not to reveal the mission until they reached the city. Military orders could not be disobeyed, so it seemed he had no choice but to brush Miss Feng off.

Seeing Hu Ke remain silent for so long, Feng Fei felt her heart skip a beat. *Could it be extremely dangerous? But that person said there was no real danger!*

"Brother Hu, is it very dangerous?" Feng Fei asked uneasily.

Hu Ke was startled and instinctively shook his head. He certainly could not admit to any danger; otherwise, these people might bolt before they even reached the city. If they did, where would he find scapegoats?

"Not dangerous at all. You'll see once we get there. Rest assured!" Hu Ke comforted Feng Fei.

Hearing this, Feng Fei finally let out a sigh of relief. *As long as it isn't dangerous, that's fine. I don't want to die yet. I haven't even seen that woman Qin Yu die—how could I possibly be reconciled to perishing here?*

Watching Feng Fei look relieved, a flash of doubt crossed Hu Ke's eyes. As far as he knew, that person doted heavily on Feng Fei. Why, then, would he forcefully dispatch her on this nearly suicidal mission? Could this assignment be far more complicated than it appeared on the surface?

Hu Ke knitted his brows in deep thought, while Feng Fei also lowered her head, deep in her own reflections. Silence settled over the interior of the car.

And so, amidst the jolting movements of the convoy, they welcomed the dawn. Rising with the first rays of sunlight was a sense of cheerful anticipation among the group. Having survived the terror of the previous night, they all shared the joy of a new lease on life. At least, that was true for the majority of them.

The vehicles continued their rapid advance. Despite the bumping and swaying caused by the rugged dirt roads, the distance to the city steadily shrank and shrank.

With meals and sleep both managed inside the vehicles, the group soon ushered in their third night away from the base city. In just one more day, they would arrive at the city to execute that "mysterious" mission.

Before that happened, however, they were forced to forage for supplies. The wear and tear of long-distance travel took a massive toll, and the provisions they had originally prepared were completely exhausted by midday.

With the exception of Qin Yu and her companions, the others desperately craved food and water. Finally, as night began to fall, they reached a village, and to their great fortune, the supplies within the village had not been looted.

The food left behind on the heated brick beds (kang), in cellars, and inside cupboards was more than enough for the small group to feast and drink to their hearts' content for days.

Though food was plentiful, so were the zombies. Fortunately, the zombies were relatively low-level, and by combining their strengths, the group managed to eliminate the hundred or so zombies scattered throughout the tiny village.

It was called a village, but it consisted of barely a dozen households, some of their houses already dilapidated and completely devoid of food, suggesting that they had been abandoned long before the apocalypse began.

Hu Ke and his companions carefully scouted the surroundings, making sure there were no zombie rats or similar threats in the vicinity before relief washed over them, and they selected a reasonably well-maintained house to settle in for the night.

Because Hu Ke held an exceptionally favorable impression of Feng Fei, his attitude toward anyone Feng Fei disliked similarly soured.

The look he cast toward Qin Yu was brimming with undisguised disgust. A water-type ability user, and yet her water couldn't even be drunk—Qin Yu's water ability was unusual, and from the very beginning, she had made it clear that her generated water was undrinkable. What use was someone like that? Truly a burden! Once they reached the city, she probably wouldn't survive a single day. *Hah, good riddance. Saves me the trouble of doing it myself.*

Qin Yu completely ignored Hu Ke's malicious gazes. In her view, aside from the requirements of the mission, they would have no further intersection whatsoever. She certainly saw no reason to curry favor with him.

Zhao Juan also noticed the shift in Hu Ke's attitude toward them. At this, she merely curled her lips in a classic "another man blinded by a woman" expression. However, to Hu Ke, that very expression looked suspiciously like provocation.

Thus, the seeds of internal conflict within the team had already been sown, awaiting only the day they would burst into full bloom.

Due to Hu Ke's altered impression of Qin Yu, he didn't bother inviting her group when they prepared dinner. Qin Yu and her companions were more than happy to avoid seeing them—especially Feng Fei, whom Zhao Juan declared ruined her appetite just by looking at her.

And so, within the same team occupying two separate farmhouses, two distinct factions engaged in a silent contest of wills.

After finishing their dinner, Qin Yu and her friends decided that, to avoid a repeat of the previous night's ordeal, they would simply rest right here in this farmhouse for the night. Besides, none of the surrounding houses were as decent as this one, so they agreed to make do.

Hu Ke and his group, having eaten their fill and feeling too lazy to move, decided to rest on the spot as well. After all, they were accustomed to sleeping even in the harshest of environments.

Thus, both squads ended up resting within their respective farmhouses.

As the night grew deeper, a solitary figure stealthily emerged from one of the houses, glanced left and right, and quickly darted away. Shortly afterward, a second figure slipped out, silently trailing in the wake of the first.