Soldiers who received the order showed no signs of panic. Some of them quickly stepped forward to collect the crystal cores from the fallen zombies.
Another team maintained a perimeter around the first group, continuing their vigilance duty to prevent the crystal collectors from being ambushed by zombies.
Lu Heng glanced at the soldiers diligently searching for crystal cores and sighed. He was unaccustomed to not being able to use his spatial abilities freely.
They continued their journey, killing zombies as they went. The soldiers felt a sense of shame, as their speed in collecting crystal cores seemed unable to keep up with Lu Heng's pace in killing zombies.
Often, in less than a minute, Lu Heng could silently eliminate hundreds of zombies in the vicinity. Afterward, it would take them nearly half an hour to individually search for the crystal cores within the zombies' brains.
Fortunately, the harvest this time was quite substantial. The area they encountered was mostly populated by level three zombies, with only a few level two ones.
"We're almost at the granary, and it's getting dark. Let's find a house nearby to settle down for the night," Lu Heng said to the soldiers, looking at the few large cylindrical structures faintly visible in the distance.
"Understood," the captains of the two squads replied, nodding in agreement.
Zombies were significantly more active at night than during the day. Moreover, their large group emitted too strong a human scent. If the zombies went into a frenzy, casualties were possible.
However, these were elite personnel from the army, and no losses could be incurred. They had to ensure the mission was completed safely and they all returned.
Lu Heng and his group had been traveling along the road leading to the granary, so they had hardly made any significant noise during their advance. This reduced their chances of being surrounded by zombies.
The journey had been relatively smooth. They reached a small town not far from the granary. The granary was built on the outskirts of the town, but there were many zombies there, and the surrounding area consisted of open fields, making it very disadvantageous for concealment.
On the outskirts of the town, they found a detached house. One squad quickly eliminated the zombies around and inside the house, while the other squad maintained constant vigilance.
The captain of the zombie-killing squad made a gesture to Lu Heng. They had previously briefed Lu Heng on some military hand signals back at the base, so Lu Heng understood instantly that they had confirmed the safety of the vicinity and the house, and that they could enter.
Following the soldiers, they quickly entered the room. Then, the well-trained soldiers moved separately. Some kept watch by the windows, observing the situation outside, while others guarded the entrance.
In the county town, people liked to install railings on their windows to prevent home theft. Moreover, the outdoor door of this building was a simple iron door with basic anti-theft features, which appeared quite sturdy, facilitating their defense.
The captain of the first squad searched the small building. This appeared to be an ordinary residential house, built over three floors. The top floor had a large terrace, and the roof was also accessible. It seemed to be used by locals for drying grain.
"Reporting, Mr. Lu. The entire house has been confirmed safe. We've also cleared out the surrounding zombies. Furthermore, we only killed zombies using abilities and did not collect their crystal cores, fearing that wandering zombies from afar might be attracted by the human scent," the captain of the first squad reported quickly.
"Yes, you did well. These small amounts of crystal cores are not worth collecting. Safety first. Everyone should now rest in turns in groups of three for defense," Lu Heng said after inspecting each room.
"Understood. Mr. Lu, would you prefer to rest here in the living room on the first floor with most of us, or..."
"I've looked around. I'll rest in the room on the left on the second floor. I'll leave the Siberian tiger on the first floor. It has higher vigilance and can definitely sense danger more acutely than humans."
"Understood, thank you, Mr. Lu. However, I don't think this Siberian tiger will eat our military canned food. The food we brought this time is all military-grade canned food, and it's all bean-based."
"It's fine. These mutated animals can endure hunger much better than us humans. However, I need to take it upstairs to drink some water first, and then I'll bring it back down to the first floor later."
"Understood."
Lu Heng then took the Siberian tiger and the golden eagle to the room on the left on the second floor. Lu Heng chose this room because its door appeared to be the most intact. He planned to take his pets back into his spatial dimension to rest for a while, as they had all been tired from the day's activities and needed to rest and replenish their energy.
Upon entering the room, Lu Heng quickly closed the door and blocked it with a cabinet, just in case someone suddenly entered from outside.
However, he had also instructed the soldiers not to disturb him unless there was an emergency. He also mentioned that he could sense danger immediately and would not need them to find him.
Although the soldiers were somewhat surprised by Lu Heng's decision to be alone upstairs, as the base leadership had designated Lu Heng as the overall commander for this operation, they, as soldiers who obeyed orders absolutely, would choose to comply with Lu Heng's commands even if they had doubts.
...
Inside the spatial city.
Lu Heng brought the golden eagle and the Siberian tiger back to his apartment in the spatial dimension. He first prepared a basin of ancient well water for each of his two pets and then brought out all their food.
Feeding them each time was so troublesome. Even if Lu Heng himself wasn't hungry, he had to go into the spatial dimension according to the outside time to feed his pets.
Of course, these pets didn't eat three meals a day. Most of them ate once a day, but they would definitely eat their fill.
In fact, these animals didn't have food every day in their wild environment. Some large carnivorous animals often only managed to hunt prey once a week.
Having an owner like Lu Heng, who fed them once a day, was truly benevolent.
After preparing all the pets' food, Lu Heng went to his room to take a bath. After coming out, he checked to see if the pets had finished their meals.
Fortunately, these carnivorous animals ate quite quickly. Lu Heng said to Fat Tiger, who was being affectionate with the Siberian tiger, "Fat Tiger, you'll go out with me later to replace the Siberian tiger. It's been running around outside all day, so let it rest more."
Normally, Fat Tiger would have been unwilling to be separated from the Siberian tiger again, as it hadn't seen her all day.
However, when it heard that its owner wanted the Siberian tiger to rest more, it obediently nodded.
"Hmm, anyone who knows how to cherish their partner is a good beast," Lu Heng praised Fat Tiger for not objecting this time.