After finishing three bottles of juice, two jars of jam, and five loaves of bread, Anna finally seemed satisfied. Hugging Chu Lian's waist tightly, she rubbed her face against her mother's neck and murmured, "Mommy, Mommy, from now on, can Anna always eat these? The first thing you gave me was so bland, and it didn't even fill me up."
Her words made Chu Lian grimace inwardly. Oh, my sweet daughter, do you have any idea what you're eating? Every bite costs me my integrity! Those treats aren't just food—they're made from my very morality! You just devoured fifty thousand points' worth! And knowing you, you'll only eat more and more in the future. No matter how much I have, it'll never be enough...
Sneaking a glance at her system balance, she saw that after spending 150,000 Integrity Points, she was down to 4,870,000. Still, in just over four hours, she had earned more than 10,000 points—not too bad, all things considered.
Despite her internal grumbling, Chu Lian had already fully stepped into the role of a mother. She didn't have the heart to deny Anna's request. "As long as Anna wants to eat, Mommy will give you more. But you have to promise Mommy not to eat only these, okay? The food Mommy gives you is good for your body, and if you don't eat properly, Mommy will be very sad."
She wasn't actually sure whether Misuzu Kamio's Juice, Sanae Furukawa's Bread, and Aunt Akiko's Jam had any real nutritional value, but saying it with confidence sounded good enough. And who knew—maybe she wasn't wrong. If the taste of those things was already otherworldly, perhaps their nutrition was too. Probably. Maybe... hopefully.
"Anna knows Mommy's the best!" The little girl's delighted shout was followed by an even tighter hug. To Anna, anything her mother said was absolute truth.
"Alright, Anna, enough hugging. Time to get down. We need to move out soon. Oh, and tell Hiru to shrink down to normal size—about ten centimeters thick should do." Feeling her muscles starting to ache, Chu Lian knew she couldn't let Anna keep squeezing her like that. Any longer, and she'd be limping into battle.
Unbelievable, she thought, watching Anna run happily toward Hiru to give the order. Even at her age, the strength she used just now was enough to make me unable to move—and she nearly cracked my ribs. No ordinary kid, that's for sure.
"Big Sis, what's our next move?" Chu Chu asked, stepping forward as the others stayed quiet.
"We're breaking out," Chu Lian replied. "We'll destroy a few of the American research facilities on the way, then head toward Miami before they notice. There's one final battle waiting for me there." She spoke calmly, without concealing anything.
"Big Sis, we'll follow you wherever you go," Chu Chu said without hesitation. "But… we're nearly out of bullets. And the vehicles are all gone. Are we really going to run out there on foot?"
Chu Lian froze for a moment. She hadn't thought that far ahead. It wasn't impossible to move on foot, but it would take too long—and it would be far too dangerous.
Even though the horde had thinned after their earlier purge, fresh waves of zombies were already surging from afar. In another hour, the place would be overrun again.
Her gaze swept over the girls—Inori's composure, Li Xiu'er's shyness, Liu Yanran's calm, Lux Lyle's determination, Ruriko Nana's focus—and finally landed on Chu Chu's face, full of hope and trust.
"We could ask Hiru to carry us out," Chu Lian said suddenly, her eyes lighting up as Anna returned, smiling brightly, with Hiru coiled lazily behind her.
"Hiru? You mean that giant snake?" Chu Chu's face was filled with surprise, and beneath it, a flicker of fear. It wasn't her fault—fear of serpents was instinctive, no matter one's courage or skill. And considering how massive Hiru was, it would be impossible not to feel some unease.
Overcoming such a primal fear required one of three things: either having faced horrors far worse, like Kurosaki Satsuki; being naturally detached, like Inori; or simply not caring at all, like Chu Lian and Anna. For anyone else, it wasn't easy to conquer.
"Don't worry," Chu Lian said with a smile, pinching Chu Chu's nose affectionately. "Hiru won't hurt us. It's actually really intelligent—smarter than most adults, I'd say."
"Well, if Big Sis says so, then I'll trust you." Flustered but comforted by Chu Lian's warmth, Chu Chu nodded and ran back to explain things to the other girls.
"Lian, may we handle the next battle ourselves?" Inori asked as she approached, her steps light and graceful. She took Chu Lian's hand gently, her eyes steady.
"Let them handle it," Ayase's voice spoke in Chu Lian's mind before she could answer. "The system has already confirmed that your current power could destroy those labs effortlessly. Completing the task is just a formality now—it doesn't matter who does it."
"Alright," Chu Lian replied aloud with a faint smile. "Then I'll leave it to you. I'm sure dealing with a few soldiers won't be any trouble."
"Then you mustn't interfere," Inori said with a sudden, bright gleam in her eyes.
"I won't. I'll just watch with Anna from the sidelines," Chu Lian promised, stroking Anna's small head as the girl looked up at her pleadingly. Seeing her relax and close her eyes in contentment, Chu Lian added, "Anna, ask Hiru if it can carry more than twenty people at once."
Anna nodded and began speaking to Hiru in that mysterious, ancient tongue again. After a moment, she looked up and said, "Mommy, Hiru says a one-meter body could carry everyone, but it would move slowly. If it becomes two meters thick, it can go full speed."
Hearing that, Chu Lian turned her gaze toward the special forces stationed nearby—their weapons still ready, their bodies perfectly still. For a brief moment, she hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. Tell Hiru to make itself two meters thick. We'll need to move as fast as possible."
"Okay…" Anna murmured softly and relayed the message. Moments later, Hiru slithered past the perimeter. A surge of black light flashed, and its body swelled into a colossal serpent nearly two meters wide and over a hundred meters long.
"You all go up first." Chu Lian wrapped her arms around Inori and Anna's waists and, with a graceful motion, tossed them lightly onto Hiru's head. Then she turned back toward the girls, picked them up one by one, and sent them up as well—ignoring their surprised protests.
To their astonishment, standing on Hiru's back felt nothing like they had imagined. It wasn't slimy or cold at all—instead, its scales were soft, warm, and smooth, almost like standing on a luxurious carpet.
After everyone was aboard, Chu Lian finally turned to face the special forces again. She stood silent for a moment before speaking. "What now? Planning to die here? You haven't even finished your mission yet. You haven't reported back or submitted your data. Dying now would be a waste of effort, don't you think?"
"We don't wish to die here," came a deep, rough voice in reply. "But protecting you is our highest directive. Until we can confirm your safety, we will not retreat."
His words made Chu Lian both touched and amused. "We're about to leave," she said, smiling faintly. "How can you protect us if you stay here? If you truly wish to fulfill your duty, then come with us."
Without waiting for their response, she turned and began walking away.
"Chief, don't you blame us for being incompetent? That we forced you to step in yourself to resolve this crisis?" The question came from the same gruff man who had been speaking with Chu Lian before. His words made the others fall silent—so that was it, the reason they hesitated to follow her.
"You held the line for two and a half hours," Chu Lian said without turning around, her tone firm and rising with each word. "You kept nearly all of the enemies outside the perimeter, didn't lose a single soldier, and still completed your mission. And you call that incompetence? Tell me, how many units in the world could have done that? Even if your motives weren't pure, this battle—this stand—is something I take pride in, not something I'd ever condemn."
"If that's incompetence, then what are those American troops outside? The so-called strongest soldiers in the world? Don't make me laugh. Faced with the same situation, they chose exile over battle. If they could have held out even half an hour, I might have respected them."
"So tell me, where's the failure in that? What right would I have to blame you? You are the elite among elites. This battle—though it may never be revealed to the world—will still stand as one of the proudest, most glorious records in Huaxia's military history. A victory that will make every soldier proud!"
"Would you really let such honor be buried here? Would you rather die under the so-called might of the American army's incompetence? If that's truly what you want, then I won't pity you—I'll be ashamed of you."
Her words struck them like blades to the heart—sharp, painful, and awakening. Their shame turned to fire, their exhaustion to determination.
She was right. With so few men, they had withstood the tidal onslaught of countless zombies. Not a single man had fallen. Not a single man had faltered. Not even one had been injured. That alone was a victory of legends.
Yes, it had taken strategy, coincidence, and luck—but the results spoke for themselves. No one could deny it.
This battle must not be forgotten. It must be carried home—carried back to a nation that would take pride in its soldiers.
At that thought, their despair lifted. At their captain's barked command of "Form up!", the troops gathered their gear and moved in perfect order.
"We march in triumph!" the captain roared, leading the charge toward Hiru.
Their mission now was simple—to ensure that Chu Lian and her group escaped safely, and that they themselves reached the designated safe zone before the combat stimulants wore off.
Hearing the unified shout behind her, Chu Lian stepped onto Hiru's massive head. A faint, satisfied smile crossed her lips.
Finally, she had convinced those stubborn men.