My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse novel Chapter 736

Sure enough, the moment Kisha felt his warmth wrapped around her hand, something inside her eased. Her chest loosened, and the weight pressing down on her heart lightened, even if just a little.

And so, just like that, Duke drove them toward their next destination—just outside City A. The goal was simple: to observe how Dracon and his people would handle a zombie horde and assess their coordination and combat effectiveness.

Sure, Dracon's group might be at a disadvantage when it came to facing mutated creatures, especially since none of them hadn't awakened any abilities yet. But what about regular zombies?

Although the events in City B had caused a surge in zombie evolution, pushing many to level 1, there were still plenty of level 0 zombies roaming around. Only a small percentage had reached level 1, which served to maintain a fragile balance between the steadily evolving humans and the undead.

This way, the zombies wouldn't be too weak compared to humans, and humans wouldn't have an easy time fighting them either. If Kisha were to estimate, perhaps around 58% to 65% of the zombie population had already evolved to level 1.

While most of these level 1 zombies hadn't awakened any special abilities like the higher-tier mutants, they had still become significantly faster and stronger than before.

That alone made them a terrifying threat—just imagine a zombie sprinting at you like it's competing in a track race, possibly even faster than you. Most ordinary humans wouldn't stand a chance. They'd trip, fall, and be caught in an instant. It had definitely become much scarier to face them now.

The Winters men from HOPE Base had already adapted to these faster, stronger zombies after enduring countless battles, so level 1 zombies were still manageable for them. After all, the HOPE Base members had also reached level 1 themselves, giving them a slight edge in terms of stats. Besides, these level 1 zombies were still considered "normal" and hadn't awakened any abilities.

However, the ones who would struggle the most to adjust were the Winters from the hidden base and Dracon's team, who had less experience and weaker awakened ability users under their belts.

Just like before, once they entered the highway, Duke gave way to Sparrow's truck, allowing it to take the lead and clear a path for the rest of the convoy. Duke's truck, along with the others, then began pushing Sparrow's truck from behind to give it enough force to shove aside the tightly packed, abandoned vehicles blocking the road.

The trucks pulling Dracon's humvees remained at the back of the convoy, as only one of them had enough power to push forward. The humvees themselves were too bulky and a hindrance while tied behind their trucks, making it difficult for the others to push and advance.

The resulting jolts made the truck shake slightly, causing Abby to panic. She hurried back to Dracon and clung to his arm in fear—until Keith calmly explained the situation.

"Don't worry," Keith said with a shrug. "Our trucks are just giving Truck 2 a push so it has enough momentum to move those abandoned cars out of the way. It's better than having to reroute and waste time driving the long way around." _{freёweɓnovel.com}

With that, he casually tucked away the rag he'd been using to wipe down his beloved longbow.

"W-Where are we going? Are we heading back to your shelter?" Abby asked, her voice trembling, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as she looked at Keith, like a frightened rabbit.

Keith furrowed his brow, taken aback by the sight. For some reason, it reminded him of his sister when she was young—terrified of nearly everything, yet always putting his safety before her own fears.

He couldn't help but let out a soft smile at the memory, though his heart ached with sadness. He nodded, then quickly shook his head.