Chapter 17: The Powerful Teammate, The Cool Blade Girl

The woman with the katana stepped forward and stood beside Zhang Jian. He raised his hand and introduced her to Liang Yu, “Let me introduce you to Dongfang Ke.”

“She’s my right-hand woman, the first female soldier king of Donghai City’s stationed military. You’ve heard of the Phoenix Squad, right?”

The Phoenix Squad was an elite all-female special forces unit, where only the best of the best were selected from across the country. The training was brutal, and many couldn’t even pass the first round.

Out of a thousand applicants, only fifty would make it through.

And even among those fifty, not all would officially join the Phoenix Squad. After the first round, they had to undergo three more months of intense training and assessments.

In the end, only a handful—maybe five—would remain.

And even those five had to undergo a final test, with only one or two successfully completing it.

So, the Phoenix Squad was the elite of the elite, with every member being a force to be reckoned with—and all of them were women.

These female soldiers could easily take on ten male special forces soldiers.

Not only were they experts in hand-to-hand combat and shooting, but they were also skilled in high-tech weaponry and cold weapons.

Dongfang Ke was the captain of the second squad of the Phoenix Squad. She had been visiting her family when the zombie outbreak occurred and had since become Zhang Jian’s trusted assistant, stationed here to help defend the shelter.

Hearing Zhang Jian mention the Phoenix Squad, Liang Yu exclaimed, “Of course I know! They’re the first all-female special forces unit in the country, the elite of the elite!”

Zhang Jian smiled, “Dongfang Ke is the captain of the second squad, even more impressive than what you’ve heard.”

Liang Yu was amazed. ‘This little shelter is full of hidden talents.’

Looking at Dongfang Ke, Liang Yu politely extended his hand in greeting. She glanced at him coldly and said, “Kid, if you slow us down, I’ll skin you alive.”

Hearing this, Liang Yu instinctively took a step back.

Zhang Jian laughed heartily and put his arm around Liang Yu, “Don’t mind her. She loves scaring the new recruits!”

Liang Yu gave Zhang Jian a sideways glance, ‘Easy for you to say!’

Straightening up, Liang Yu extended his hand again and said, “Captain Dongfang, don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re satisfied!”

His words had a double meaning, though it wasn’t clear which kind of satisfaction he was referring to.

Dongfang Ke finally shook his hand and said, “I hope you live up to your words.”

After that, Dongfang Ke excused herself to prepare the equipment and team for tomorrow’s mission.

Zhang Jian gave Liang Yu a quick tour of the shelter before assigning him, Hong Shan, and Lai Qingxue a room to rest in.

After all, they were no longer considered refugees but rather soldiers without military status.

The room had two beds and a sofa. Seeing this, Hong Shan knew he’d be sleeping on the couch tonight.

Lai Qingxue approached Liang Yu and asked, “Liang Yu, can I borrow your phone again?”

Lai Qingxue was still a beginner. Zhang Jian had mentioned that all three of them would be participating in tomorrow’s mission, but she hadn’t yet mastered how to use a gun safely. If she didn’t practice now, she might end up being a burden to the team.

Liang Yu understood what she wanted. He handed her his phone, unlocked it, and found the video tutorials from earlier. Then he passed it to her and lay down on the bed to rest.

Lai Qingxue took the phone and sprawled out on the other bed, watching the videos as if she were binge-watching her favorite drama.

From the couch, Hong Shan stared at the ceiling and asked, “Old Liang, what kind of weapon do you think they’ll give me tomorrow?”

“Give you? They’ll let us choose. Everyone has their own preferred weapon,” Liang Yu replied, slightly annoyed. “Do you think they’ll just hand you any random weapon? Would you even be comfortable using it?”

Hong Shan shook his head.

“Exactly. If you’re not comfortable, it’ll affect your combat efficiency. That’s why we’ll choose our own weapons,” Liang Yu explained.

“So, what weapon are you going to pick?” Hong Shan asked.

“Obviously a sniper rifle. Specifically, a high-precision one—my favorite!” Liang Yu’s eyes lit up as he talked about weapons, as if the sniper rifle he dreamed of was right in front of him.

“Every boy dreams of being a sniper. Now that I have the chance, why would I pick anything else?”

Liang Yu’s reasoning was simple, and Hong Shan believed him.

After all, when they were kids, Hong Shan had also dreamed of having a sniper rifle. Liang Yu wasn’t wrong—sniper rifles were every boy’s favorite.

***

Time flew by, and soon it was the next morning.

Liang Yu and the others arrived early, while Dongfang Ke’s team had been waiting for them. As they approached, Dongfang Ke gave the order, “Move out!”

The eight team members swiftly grabbed their weapons and gear from the armory and lined up outside.

Liang Yu glanced at Hong Shan and Lai Qingxue before the three of them entered the armory to choose their weapons.

Liang Yu’s eyes immediately landed on a KM80 sniper rifle—the world’s top sniper rifle.

Before the zombie outbreak, all the best snipers in the world used this gun. With the system’s firearms skills, Liang Yu knew he could handle it with ease.

Seeing Liang Yu pick up the KM80, Dongfang Ke walked over and smiled, “Good choice, the KM80 is a great gun.”

“Captain Dongfang, that’s obvious. If it wasn’t great, I wouldn’t have picked it!” Liang Yu joked.

“It’s a great gun, but can you use it?” Dongfang Ke still had doubts about Liang Yu’s abilities.

Sure, he could punch through a mirror, but using a gun was a different story.

Liang Yu didn’t respond. He slung the rifle over his shoulder, grabbed some KM80 ammo, and said, “You’ll see soon enough.”

With that, he walked out.

Lai Qingxue chose a handgun and a semi-automatic rifle, along with a bulletproof vest stuffed with several magazines. She followed Liang Yu out.

Hong Shan, on the other hand, went overboard. He strapped seven or eight guns to himself, looking like a walking armory.

He didn’t mean to overdo it, but he wasn’t sure which gun would feel the most comfortable, so he decided to bring them all.

Seeing this, Dongfang Ke nearly fainted. She shouted, “Hong Shan, are you planning to sell weapons or something!?”

“Reporting, Captain! No!” Hong Shan quickly stood at attention, saluting like a soldier in a movie.

“Then put those guns down!” Dongfang Ke walked over and tapped the guns hanging from his body.

Hong Shan quickly put most of the guns back, choosing just one, along with a combat knife and a few magazines, before heading out.

Dongfang Ke strapped a handgun to her thigh holster and carried her katana as she followed them out.