In the end, Shu didn't go over. Instead, he continued displaying his stubborn spirit here, taking down zombies one by one with the simplest and most inefficient method.
Most of these shriveled bodies, dead for three months, didn't even manage a howl before their heads separated from their bodies, quietly falling asleep.
Three months ago, Shu was still being chased all over the streets by just a few zombies, sneaking around, afraid to make a sound.
Now, this massive horde of zombies couldn't even divert Shu's attention from the chat channel. It truly made one sigh...
"Chariot-class Honkai Beast?! Seriously?!" Kiana exclaimed. "Bronya, where are you? I'll come support you right away!"
"Bronya does not require Kiana's support. Bronya can defeat a Chariot-class Honkai Beast alone," Bronya politely declined Kiana's team-up invitation.
"Aww~~" Kiana dragged out her voice. "But it's so boring over here..."
So you really did activate this chat channel out of boredom!
Shu's mouth twitched. Sighing, he helped two approaching zombies find release from this world.
At least Kiana's side involves searching. My side is the truly boring one. Any place someone could hide is obvious at a glance, leaving only endless zombies for me...
At least they still look human! Shu found self-consolation from another strange angle.
Shu's current situation was roughly like having over a hundred thousand pigs lined up for him to chop. At his current efficiency of only two or three zombies per second, it would probably take a whole day and night to clear this area.
"Kiana, focus a bit more," Mei, the true lurker, also joined the group chat. After admonishing Kiana, she reported her own situation to Shu. "Shu, I haven't found anything on my end either. There might be a few Seraph-class Honkai Beasts..."
"Mei, if the number of Honkai Beasts is high..." Shu reminded her.
"Mm, I understand," Mei replied.
"How come you all encountered Honkai Beasts..." Kiana muttered discontentedly. "What about you, Shu? You didn't run into Honkai Beasts too, did you?"
Shu glanced up at the motionless corpses behind him, then looked at the crowded "people" in front. "No."
"Phew... Good thing Shu's the same as me..." Kiana just breathed a sigh of relief when Shu's next sentence interrupted her spellcasting.
"But there are over a hundred thousand zombies, maybe more..."
"Huh?! That many?!" Kiana exclaimed. "Shu, do you need support? I'll come find you right away!"
Shu sighed. "No need. I'll handle them slowly here. You just continue searching."
"Okay..." On the other end, Kiana pouted, discontentedly pushed open the gate of a siheyuan [traditional Chinese courtyard house], shouted inside the entrance, searched the courtyard, and then left.
Although she complained about being bored, she was diligently searching every place where people might possibly be.
The communication channel, initially used for reporting situations, quickly got sidetracked by Kiana onto the topic of what everyone wanted for lunch.
"Mei, I saw a fast-food restaurant! Can I go see what's inside? That nutrient fluid is really hard to... uh, very precious..."
"This... It's been three months, right, Kiana? Don't just eat random things..."
"Bronya does not believe any hamburger can be preserved for three months."
"Kiana, I don't want your distress call to be because you're crying and fussing from a stomachache."
"Aiyah, I know my limits, okay? You guys make it sound like... like I'm the type to randomly rummage through trash cans on the street for food!"
"Aren't you?"
"Aren't you?"
"You guys...! Prejudice! This is your prejudice against me! I won't cry and fuss from a stomachache!"
"Uh... Kiana, this... actually..."
"That's just me whining to Mei!"
"Oh... So you do cry and fuss? I won't come rescue you, you know."
"I—Do—Not—Cry—And—Fuss!!"
"Hehe, Bronya doesn't believe it. Kiana is clearly a child who cries and fusses even when losing a game."
"Aaaah! You shorty are the child who won't grow up!!"
"Kiana can't beat Bronya. Bronya is a child. So Kiana is saying she can't even beat a child."
"Damn it! That was just... just my hands were sweaty! It's not that I couldn't beat you!"
"Kiana, bad, practice more."
"Shu, you too! Mei~ Look at them~~"
"Ha... This..."
The tone in the channel had shifted in an absurd direction.
While chatting, Shu's efficiency didn't decrease. He had no plans for lunch.
Perhaps he should speed up a bit, then eat dinner?
Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to drink the provided nutrient fluid either.
That stuff was certified difficult to swallow even by Kiana. Even Theresa, who liked bitter tastes, had to grimace to drink it.
Thinking this, Shu finally found some motivation.
He silently quickened his movements. The attack range of the replica Xuanyuan Swords visibly expanded. Now, no zombie could approach within two steps of Shu.
Waving his arms grew tiring. Shu simply released his grip. The two replica Xuanyuan Swords holstered at his lower back automatically flew out from their clasps.
The three swords circled Shu at high speed. With a wave of his hand, Shu sent them all out. Centered on Shu, they began a circular "Musou-style [Dynasty Warriors games] grass-cutting."
Each sword found the path with the most zombies, spinning through, felling zombies in line after line.
The efficiency increased significantly now. He estimated he could finish clearing this area by the afternoon.
As for the cost? It was just controlling three swords to fly in fixed trajectories. Shu only needed to move slowly through the zombie horde as the center point.
Like taking a walk.
Kiana's voice asking whether sprouted potatoes were edible drifted into Shu's ears, along with Mei's clearly anxious warnings.
He didn't rejoin the group chat, ignoring the zombies falling wave after wave around him. He looked up at the flagpole in the center of the plaza.
A crimson flag hung limply on the bare pole. There wasn't much wind at the moment, so the flag that should have been fluttering merely swayed slightly under gravity.
Looking down again at the zombies that could no longer be called "people," Shu remained silent, but his hands didn't stop.
That motionless crimson flag could no longer protect these already rotten lives.
What a pity... I couldn't make it for its final raising...