This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 151 Story
"Pull out all the heavy weapons! Immediately seal off all entrances and exits to the sewers, and seal off Biological Research Institute No. 1. There must be areas there we haven't explored yet! Assign your best stealth teams to the Tokuno District and Biological Research Institute No. 1, and focus on exploring the structure of the underground passages.

"Before they set off, have them use the Hebo Necklace to unlock the map of the river's veins..."

He turned on the map function and looked at the dense river veins on the map. Among them, there were several underground rivers that passed around the ancient city and even approached the mines outside the city and several mutant creature nests.

This shouldn't have been a source of danger, but one of the underground rivers intersected with a former civilization's biological research institute located underground.

Liang Zhenduan's expression was serious. He added, "Be careful of parasites. I suspect the zombie parasites are related to the Biological Research Institute. The recent zombie problem in the city may be due to some long-term leak from the institute."

Zombies had appeared in Gushi long before Nie Weiyang first came to Gushi.

At the time, everyone thought that this was just someone who had contracted a parasite outside and evaded detection, bringing the danger in.

But now, more than half a month has passed, and the zombie problem in Gucheng City has not been solved. Even the small district of Chaoyi has been occupied by zombies for a long time, so much so that the Lost Soul Puppet Master and his puppets can blend in...

The Lost Soul Puppet Master shouldn't have done this. It was unconventional in terms of emotion, reason, and intelligence to attack the old city directly.

Transforming into a beast had a terrible effect on its intelligence and humanity. So, how could it have set a trap and attacked and killed five Taoists?
——There is something hidden behind it.

Is it the Return Sect? Liang Zhenduan had a moment of doubt, but then he dismissed the idea: If the Return Sect really had this ability, how could they have survived in the ancient city until now?
That's it.

No matter what, what is certain is that in this matter, the Lost Soul Puppet Master is the real puppet!
"This thing must be related to the Rat Summoner... Find this person first!" he said in a deep voice.

The sewer outlets were nailed shut, the crude drainage grates were blocked with stones, security personnel, guards and other professionals rigorously guarded the entrances and exits, and millions of people throughout the city were mobilized by loudspeakers to quickly block the water pipes, drains and toilets in their respective yards.

"Fortunately, when the plan was first made, for the purpose of unified management and prevention of small mutant animals, no drainage pipes were installed in the home environment."

An engineering scholar came over and pulled out several scrolls of engineering drawings that were more than a meter tall from his backpack. He asked his students to carefully unfold the rough paper, pointed at the complex images with a long, straight wooden stick, and circled several locations.

"I told you about these places back then. I wanted to keep them ventilated and remove the foul air. But you said you wanted to keep out snakes and insects, so I asked the craftsmen to make some filter nets. These locations are relatively remote, and if the enemy wants to escape, they might go through here. Of course, it's also possible..."

The stick moved to the next sheet and tapped somewhere on the edge.

"The structure here is the weakest. As long as we dig through our concrete wall and the five-meter underground structure, we can enter the underground river space. Please send someone to check it out."

Liang Zhenduan listened humbly and sent people forward one by one.

The engineer nodded, his white hair and beard swaying in the wind, and he patted the belt around his waist.

"I don't have anything else to say. I'll just stay here and get the guys from Geology and Water Conservancy over here. If you have anything to ask today, ask us now and we'll answer it."

At this time, several strong men and women also came over. They also had "著" hanging around their waists, but the book covers were made of stone.

Then a group of people wearing Water Conservancy Bureau badges came over. They looked like they had just emerged from a river or mud ditch. One of them proudly wrote "Shui Jing Zhu" on his book. Judging from the traces, the last word must have been changed.

"Here we come, here we come." The group of living maps of the old city waved to each other.

Liang Zhenduan let out a breath and felt a little relieved.

The map function is not specific enough, and the hand-drawn map is not vivid enough, but the memories in these people’s minds must be specific and vivid. They can even find out where there is a stone!

A group of people started working, talking to each other and proofreading the information.

Liang Zhenduan stared at the sewer pipe opening that was blocked by rocks not far away. The search team had already gone down. At this moment, he could hear footsteps spreading in the darkness under the noise of the city.

However, some people in the city have already said that their legs are weak due to lack of salt.

The salt reserves in the old city of the New World were simply not enough, and a large-scale salt shortage would soon occur. He could only arrange for temporary production of saline solution in various places, and let everyone drink a bowl before the search team went down.

Liang Zhenduan felt a bit of a headache when he thought of this.

"Alas..." He couldn't help but sigh, turned around and pulled his secretary over, and asked in a low voice: "How many of the reply letters from various places in Zhongzhou have not arrived yet?"

The secretary knew what he was asking and replied, "There are five more, including two major salt mining areas."

Liang Zhenduan rubbed his temples anxiously. "No matter what, keep an eye on things, make sure the post station is in good order, and report to me immediately if anything happens," he said. "We need to maintain stable communications and prepare to transport well salt."

"I understand." The secretary nodded.

As they spoke, teams of ordinary combat professionals were carefully exploring the drainage system beneath the ground, filled with a foul smell.

Some held various energy lights in their hands for illumination, while others relied on the faint light filtering through the grilles above to discern the path ahead. They had no lanterns, and none even possessed professions capable of unleashing fire-based abilities—everyone feared that certain gases would ignite upon contact with open flames.

At this time, dark creatures and those with higher perception bloodlines have the advantage.

Qiao Xing pricked up his ears, carefully distinguishing the echoes around him. Occasionally, when he met other people, he would just smile and nod at those people, and then they would pass through each other's world.

"Be careful to identify possible imposters," he whispered to the people behind him. Several male and female stalkers nodded.

There are too many people in the city, which is different from some small places.

In small towns, people are familiar with each other, and by the time they've gotten to know each other, they're more or less familiar with each other, making it less likely for them to be manipulated. But this isn't the case in big cities. This is true in the New World, and it's true on Earth as well—big cities have a higher overall resilience and tolerance for stress. Smaller communities are more interconnected, making them more suitable for individual survival. This has always been the case for humans.

As Qiao Xing walked through the darkness underground, he subtly felt that his current behavior was a little familiar, but a slight movement in the distance made him put aside his thoughts and turn his head abruptly.

"Who is it?!" he asked sternly.

In the distant darkness, a figure froze for a moment before treading on sewage and filth, turning back and running deeper into the sewer. Qiao Xing shouted, "The enemy is here!!!" and set off with a few people around him, without any intention of waiting for more teammates to arrive and reduce their personal risk.

On the ground, Liang Zhenduan jumped up from a rock. He wanted to rush out but held back. He just waited with dark circles under his eyes and pointed to the distance: "Chase!"

If a person gambles his life for others, it is either because he is young and ignorant, or because he is doing it for something more important than life.

Today, countless people are working hard for the lives of the people in Gushi, even risking their own lives.

In the suburbs, in the dark area.

"Sorry for destroying your sorghum field," said Nie Weiyang.

He looked utterly miserable, and Shu Li, now depleted of blood, was also covered in wounds, his body covered in dirt, rocks, and ice crystals. The battle seemed to be about to end, but in that final moment, without uttering any harsh words, or even engaging in a sharp exchange of blows, he simply pushed hard, and Shu Li fell backwards. His face, shrouded in black mist, naturally showed no emotion. He collapsed face-first onto the sorghum stalks, surrounded by red ears of sorghum.

The phantom of sorghum rice flew all over the sky and turned into black mist and dissipated.

"We will replant wheat," Nie Weiyang said. "The yield will be much higher than yours and can feed more people."

Behind him, the remaining seventy-odd people were all covered in scars, and some were even half-covered in ice shells, which they were smashing with their weapons.

"Let what's past pass," Nie Weiyang said. "Plans, crises, disasters, wars... We won't be unaware, we won't be unprepared. We will catch it, we will stop it... I will stand at the front line, whether you want to see it or not—"

As he removed the broken shoulder armor on his left side, he pulled out a piece of hoe tip from the breastplate, bringing out a pool of blood.

"—Now is our time," he said.

His voice was so soft that only he could hear it, and he didn't know who he was talking to. In his chest, the blood flow quickly stopped and the muscles squirmed and closed.

The millet dissipated, and the light of the spoils fell from the black fog and landed on the ground like falling stars. The starless and moonless darkness dissipated, revealing the twinkling stars. A breeze and flowing clouds passed by Nie Weiyang, running under the starry sky, telling the message to the sun and moon.

All of life gazes upon the old city tonight, witnessing this moment of unity. Witnessing the strongest individual of this generation of Homo sapiens stand before the front lines and swear: We will stop this, and never repeat yesterday's story.

Whether it is a story before history or a story before rebirth.

He always keeps his word.

　By the way: after I’m done with this, I’ll continue to update to maintain level 6 and strive for level 8, and occasionally even ten thousand a day.

　　I still have 17 drawings that I have to draw... After I finish them, I'll be temporarily busy... and then I can add more chapters... Well... I'll try to draw faster...!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)