With Hiru leading the way, they encountered almost no significant resistance along the route. The girls standing on higher ground could easily use their spiritual power rifles to attack the zombies, while the zombies struggled to get anywhere near Hiru's head.
This was the restricted zone within the restricted zone. Even without Chu Lian or Hiru lifting a hand, Inori's accompanying spiritual bullets and occasional Deathblow pistol shots were enough to keep nearly all special-type zombies from coming within ten meters. Not to mention, in the shadows, Kurosaki Satsuki was silently guarding them with her twin blades.
For reasons unknown, after being completely healed by Resurrection of the Dead, Kurosaki Satsuki's power had advanced another level—rising directly from Initial Spirit level to High Spirit level. Her growth rate rivaled Chu Lian's, enough to frighten anyone if word got out.
As for Inori—ever since signing the contract, her growth had been tied to Chu Lian's. As long as Chu Lian continued to grow without limit, she too would follow in her footsteps. Although her own progress seemed slower for now due to Chu Lian's sudden leap in power, during battle she could still feel herself steadily improving—bit by bit, yet firmly.
"Up ahead is the edge of the valley," Chu Lian said, pointing toward a metal structure in the distance. "Those surrounding buildings are temporary research stations built by the U.S. military. If we destroy them, we can leave."
"You just watch…" Inori nodded. Her leather boots pressed lightly against the ground, and with a graceful leap, she descended. After a few quick jumps, she sped toward the research facility.
Each research station was built by connecting several steel war vehicles, each ten meters long, their outer defenses incredibly tough—enough that even five or six tank zombies couldn't hope to damage them. Hidden firing ports were installed throughout, allowing soldiers inside to shoot at enemies outside. Without a base, this was indeed an efficient setup. Though somewhat shameless, it was consistent with the U.S. military's usual approach—and was the go-to solution for most nations in similar crises.
Perhaps because the site sat on the valley's edge, far from the densest zombie hordes—and because they had chosen a secluded, camouflaged position reinforced by steel vehicles concealing human scent—few zombies had ever attacked. It allowed them to construct their temporary research outpost in peace.
They never imagined that those they had long abandoned—left to die—would return alive, seeking revenge.
Light as a feather, Inori landed atop the research station, gracefully avoiding any hidden sentries as she approached the facility's gate. She moved too fast for the ordinary American soldiers inside to react—slipping in from above without being noticed.
The moment she entered, a girl in a black sailor uniform appeared beside her. The girl pointed to the fallen U.S. soldiers already lying on the ground and mouthed a few silent words.
Inori, who had once lived within Funeral Parlor, had forgotten most of her memories—but not her instincts. She immediately understood Kurosaki Satsuki's lip movements: "There's a strong one inside. Be careful. I'll handle the small fry—you take care of him."
Inori nodded lightly, drew her pistol, and slowed her steps as she moved deeper into the facility. Thankfully, to make the interior more comfortable, the floors had been carpeted, muffling the sound of her boots.
The interior space was far larger than it appeared from outside. Several vehicles had been linked together, creating a maze of narrow corridors and dead ends. She wandered through them, guided by the trail of American corpses, until she finally reached the central laboratory.
The sight that greeted her there froze her for a heartbeat—a scene of blood and carnage. Frowning slightly, she raised her pistol and fired at the researchers who hadn't even noticed her arrival.
Shouts and questions erupted one after another, but Inori didn't understand English and didn't care to. Her beautiful face remained expressionless as she methodically gunned down every researcher in the room.
Seeing that there were no survivors left, Inori finally stepped inside. On the lab tables lay people whose bodies were half-corroded by the virus—their skin rotting, flesh rolling and peeling away—some shriveled and dry with abnormally large heads, others grotesquely swollen yet still moaning in agony. She shook her head lightly and whispered, "Rest in peace."
The clothes on their bodies were hospital gowns, the kind worn by mental patients. That meant these were not zombies, but humans.
In other words, once the American research unit had secured safety, they had immediately begun human experimentation. Their test subjects were these physically healthy yet mentally unstable patients. To use humans as experimental material—how typical of them.
No one knew how carefully they had planned it, or whether they had prepared such measures in advance. But within only four or five hours, the U.S. military had reached this stage. If given more time, they might indeed have achieved some results.
"He's not here." After finishing off all the researchers and mercy-killing the experimental subjects, she still hadn't seen the so-called powerful enemy Kurosaki Satsuki had warned of. Clearly, he wasn't in this facility.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, she turned around—and saw a burly white man in U.S. military uniform approaching with a cold grin. Pale lightning flickered faintly around his body, revealing that he was an ability user who controlled electricity.
"Strength 42, Agility 38, Endurance 40, Ability Power: B-rank, Power Type: Electrokinesis…" A flash of white spiritual light crossed her eyes, and the man's stats appeared before her.
"To be able to see through someone's strength so easily… what a terrifying ability," she murmured, twisting her body sharply to the side to dodge the bolt of lightning he hurled at her.
"Lian said this ability lets you gauge someone's strength—but you must never rely on it for everything. Looks like this one's not someone to underestimate." After landing and taking a few steps forward, Inori straightened up, her wine-red eyes locking onto him.
She rushed forward, firing round after round from her gun.
However, the man's reflexes were nothing to scoff at. Even in this confined space, he managed to evade most of her shots, blocking only the unavoidable ones with the lightning armor on his body.
Unfortunately for him, that very act gave Inori the information she needed. The moment he used lightning to defend, she assessed the strength of his barrier. She stopped moving and fired five consecutive shots, all forming a single straight line.
She had chosen the perfect timing and distance—so close that he had no way to dodge. He would have to take the hit head-on.
Realizing this was an all-or-nothing attack—one he could either evade and counter, or fail to dodge and die—he channeled nearly all his energy to the surface of his body, forming a full lightning armor.
Just as he wished, the first three spiritual bullets were destroyed by his armor. But the fourth pierced through, and by the fifth—the deadliest one imbued with Deathblow—the bullet penetrated his body completely.
Clutching his abdomen, where crystalization rapidly spread, he tried to resist—but his strength failed. The fifth bullet's Deathblow effect had shattered his organs from within, exiting through his back and blooming into a vivid violet crystal flower.
"Amethyst Bloom: coats the bullet with the Apocalypse Virus. Upon firing, it encases the bullet in crystal, instantly crystallizing the impacted area."
It was a skill she had conceived and mastered during their recent battles. Thanks to it, she was able to defeat this enemy—whose attributes matched her own—in such a short time.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, her tone calm. "But crystal is an insulator. It doesn't conduct electricity."
The man glared at her with furious eyes, but soon his body turned entirely into crystal and shattered into dust. A glowing white orb crackling faintly with electricity hovered briefly in the air. Curious, Inori reached out and caught it. The orb dissolved instantly, flowing into her body as pure energy.
She felt no harm, no visible change—only a faint, tingling warmth. Frowning slightly, she decided to ignore it and headed for the exit, where Kurosaki Satsuki was already waiting.
Boom! The moment Inori and Kurosaki Satsuki retreated a hundred meters from the laboratory, the temporary steel structure was obliterated by the explosion from within.
"Tired? If not, shall we move to the next one?" Chu Lian asked softly as the two girls returned. In her arms, Anna—full and content—was already fast asleep. The scene almost resembled that of a wife welcoming her husband home.
Shaking her head, Inori replied, "Lian, I'm not tired. Let's go to the next one." Kurosaki Satsuki nodded in agreement. "It's a kind of training. The more, the better."
"Alright, then. Let's head to the next base." Seeing that neither of them wanted to rest, Chu Lian didn't insist. Following the route indicated by the system, she led them toward their next target.
"Oh? A new kind of ability has appeared," Ayase murmured, sitting cross-legged within the system space, a glass of wine in hand. "Because Inori's method of killing was so unique, did it cause their internal powers to transform into absorbable ability orbs? I wonder if every enemy drops one—or only special ones, or those killed under special conditions?"
After destroying three research facilities, the remaining ones lay in the opposite direction—deep within the zombie-infested valley. Even if Chu Lian wanted to finish the job, she couldn't risk it now. She had people to protect.
If she were alone, she could have easily destroyed all of them. But with her companions beside her, she couldn't take that chance.
Once they exited the gorge, the system flooded her mind with a rapid series of notifications, leaving her stunned.
Though this mission had been perilous beyond belief, the rewards were equally immense—so much so that for a brief moment, Chu Lian felt the urge to cry out in relief.
The crushing trial that had hung over her like a curse had finally been overcome. For now, she would finally have some peace—a long-awaited stretch of calm where she wouldn't need to live in constant fear.
"It's true," Ayase said quietly from within the system space, observing her expression. "She's been holding herself together far too tightly these past two weeks. Even with three of those powerful enemies left, she nearly wiped them all out. Then came the zombie tide—two Nightmare-level quests in a row. It's no wonder she's exhausted, even if she won't admit it. But… now's not the time to relax. Perhaps the next challenge awaiting her will be a Fantasy-level quest."
Raising her gaze, Ayase looked toward the image reflected through Chu Lian's perspective—her eyes narrowing as they locked onto a distant landmark.
There, stretching across the ocean, stood the great Miami Cross-Sea Bridge.