Doomsday police, please show your god/demon ID card.

Twenty minutes later.

Through everyone's efforts, a narrow passage that could only accommodate one truck was cleared.

"Get on the bus and cross the bridge."

The convoy started up again, the roar of the engines sounding particularly heavy on the empty bridge.

As the armored vehicle passed the middle section of the bridge, Tang Long took a special look beyond the guardrail.

On the steel frame, the bodies of two special infected individuals, who had been sniped and killed by Luo Yongchao, hung upside down.

The abnormally swollen fleshy outlines on their necks did not disappear even after death, resembling two rotten fruits and exuding an ominous aura.

"Captain Tang," Wang Hu said, staring out the window with a furrowed brow, "are there more and more of these special infected beings?"

Tang Long nodded, his expression unchanged, but his heart sank slightly.

A special infected individual poses a threat far greater than ten ordinary zombies.

As for entities like "meat cocoons" and "butchers," dealing with them requires mobilizing the entire team and paying a huge price.

As for...

Tang Long couldn't even begin to calculate the "Queen" in the city center.

"Why."

He sighed softly and muttered to himself.

"Humanity's situation is becoming increasingly difficult."

......

Night fell as expected, swallowing the last glimmer of light on the horizon.

The roar of the convoy's engines grew louder as they approached, eventually fading into silence in front of an abandoned gas station.

This is the central area of ​​the southern district. Just two streets away is the new municipal government building.

"Everyone, proceed as planned!" Tang Long's voice relayed the order through the walkie-talkie.

Heavy trucks and armored vehicles moved quickly, blocking the two entrances and exits of the gas station and forming a makeshift barrier.

The survivors were ordered to stay in their vehicles, and squads of regular police officers began to get out and start clearing the zombies from the gas station.

Da da da!

The gunshots sounded particularly jarring in the silent night.

Three minutes later.

"Report! The zombies have been cleared." Wang Hu's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Roger that! Arrange for officers to seal off the entrance and be on high alert."

"Everyone, begin disembarking."

Tang Long did not choose to attack the municipal government building overnight.

Nighttime is the domain of zombies, where their activity and aggression increase dramatically. Engaging in nighttime combat in an unfamiliar environment is tantamount to suicide.

The area offers a relatively open view and lacks tall buildings to obstruct the view, making it easy to monitor the target's movements and also facilitating rapid evacuation in case of unforeseen circumstances.

More importantly, the convoy needs resupply.

The gas station's fuel depot still had about half of its reserves left, enough for them to fill up all the vehicles' tanks.

Liu Qiang, along with several members of the engineering team, had already begun prying open the oil depot's cover, preparing to take over the refueling operation.

After inspecting the area and confirming that nothing had been overlooked, Tang Long entered the convenience store at the gas station.

The store has been initially cleaned, and a few emergency lights emit a cold white glow, barely dispelling the surrounding darkness.

Dr. Zhang, along with Lin Xiaoruan and Zhao Jia, was treating the wounds of several survivors injured in the chaos on the bridge.

"How's the situation?" Tang Long walked over and asked.

"They're all superficial wounds." Without looking up, Dr. Zhang used tweezers to remove a piece of broken glass embedded in the wound. "It's fortunate that no one was scratched by that thing."

Tang Long nodded, took out his walkie-talkie, and shouted.

"Here! Captain Tang, what are the instructions?" Liu Qiang's voice was somewhat noisy, with the sound of metal clanging in the background.

"Pass down the word that all survivors who participated in the clearance operation today will receive an extra can of meat for dinner."

"receive!"

After finishing his chores, Tang Long turned and went upstairs.

The second floor, which originally housed the gas station's offices and rest area, has now been converted into a temporary command post.

Several police officers were leaning against the window, vigilantly observing their surroundings with binoculars.

Upon seeing Tang Long approach, they immediately straightened up.

"Team Leader Tang."

Tang Long nodded in acknowledgment, walked straight through the corridor, and came to the innermost window facing the city government building.

Chen Ming, along with several assistants, was making final adjustments to a uniquely shaped drone.

The drone was entirely black, with sharp, industrial lines that gave it a completely different feel from the previous patched-up junk.

The "Night Owl" model is a police reconnaissance and strike drone.

Tang Long spent a full 500 Order Points to exchange for top-tier items specifically for this mission.

"How is it?" Tang Long asked.

"Don't worry, Captain Tang!" Chen Ming looked up and patted the drone's shell as if caressing a lover.

"This treasure is nothing like that piece of junk we had before!"

He pointed to an inconspicuous module below the drone's camera lens and boasted, "I installed a military-grade thermal imaging module on it. Let alone people, I can see clearly even a mouse in heat 300 meters away!"

"Stop talking nonsense." Tang Long kicked him. "Can it be used?"

"We can take off anytime!" Chen Ming assured, patting his chest.

"Okay." Tang Long's gaze turned to the deep darkness outside the window.

"Let it fly over and see what our new home looks like at night."

"Just you wait and see!"

Chen Ming rubbed his hands together and quickly began operating the control panel.

"Night Owl activated, rotor system self-test normal, thermal imaging module activated, signal connection stable."

"Ready for takeoff!"

With a very faint buzzing sound, the black drone rose vertically like a ghost and silently disappeared into the night.

By the window on the second floor, everyone held their breath, staring intently at the bright display screen in front of Chen Ming.

The image on the screen is a black-and-white thermal imaging perspective.

The world has lost its color, leaving only outlines formed by temperature.

The drone quickly ascended, flew over abandoned streets and buildings, and sped towards the city government building.

Along the streets, human figures radiating faint warmth wandered aimlessly.

"These things are really energetic at night," someone muttered.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

Tang Long turned around and saw Wang Hu, Su Yan and others coming up one after another.

"Are you done with your work?" Tang Long asked.

"Don't worry, the intersections are all blocked off, I guarantee not even a mouse can sneak in," Wang Hu patted his chest.

Su Yan nodded slightly: "No strong malice or threat has been detected nearby for the time being."

Tang Long nodded slightly and turned to look at the control screen.

The drone flew very fast and very steadily.

In less than two minutes, the outline of the new city government building appeared on the screen.

"Lower altitude, fly around to reconnoiter, and be careful to maintain distance," Tang Long ordered.

"clear."

Chen Ming controlled the drone, which began to circle the building.

As they got closer, the scene on the screen made everyone frown.

The entire building, from its base to its roof, was tightly wrapped and entangled by some kind of thick, coiled object.

They resemble giant pythons or incredibly thick vines, crisscrossing and covering and engulfing walls, windows, and pillars.

From a thermal imaging perspective, these entangled objects appear in an eerie, almost perfectly grayish-white hue that blends seamlessly with the surrounding environment.

There was almost no temperature difference; it was as cold as an extension of the building itself, deathly still and devoid of any warmth that life should have.