A Five-Person Squad

No one spoke.

Everyone knew how dangerous it was up ahead.

It was practically suicide.

They weren't stupid enough to throw their lives away just so these two could climb the ladder on their corpses.

"I'll go," Tu Ran spoke up. Their thoughts were practically written on their faces—she and Xie Xu had to send at least one of them in, or this bunch would never move.

"What about the rest of you?" Xie Xu looked at the others.

"I'll go with her," the burly man said, hefting his machete back onto his shoulder and sweeping Tu Ran with a contemptuous look. "With a frame like hers, how many people could she possibly bring back? I'll tag along."

Tu Ran: "..."

By all means, go ahead—but no need to put me down while you're at it.

With the burly man as the vanguard, three more stepped forward: two men clutching submachine guns and a woman holding a slender, slightly curved blade.

Tu Ran found herself mesmerized by that curved knife. Its arc was exquisite—the first time she'd ever wanted to call a weapon beautiful.

They were about to plunge deep into a nest of aberrants and kill them at close range. Compared to guns with limited ammo, a blade was the better choice.

"I need a knife," Tu Ran said.

All she had on her was a pistol with twenty rounds left. Charging in with gear like that—she'd have to be out of her mind.

But of everyone present, only the burly man and the woman carried blades; the rest were all guns.

Xie Xu pulled a dagger from the small of his back.

He tossed it to her.

"This is all I have."

Tu Ran stared at the blade, shorter than her forearm, and momentarily lost for words.

"It's... a bit short."

"Better than nothing," the burly man snapped. "If you've actually got the skill, what difference does the weapon make? If you don't, nothing's going to help you anyway!"

Tu Ran pressed her tongue against her back teeth.

What now? She was already tempted to stab him.

Xie Xu piled on. "He's right."

Tu Ran: "...?"

Xie Xu deliberately avoided her gaze, looking instead at the others in her squad. "Let's move out."

Tu Ran: She suspected Xie Xu was trying to get rid of her under the cover of this mission.

The burly man had taken it upon himself to be the squad leader of the five-person team, giving orders: "I'll take point. You—stay behind me."

"Who?" Tu Ran looked around and realized the burly man was pointing at her.

She was to follow behind him?

With her strength, she belonged in the middle?

Shouldn't she be leading or bringing up the rear?

The burly man ignored her shocked expression and pointed at the woman with the blade. "You stand behind her."

Tu Ran understood now. This burly man didn't look down on her specifically—he looked down on all women.

She felt vindicated.

She obediently fell in line.

Once everyone was ready, Xie Xu pulled open the carriage door for them from the side.

The moment the door swung open, the five of them rushed in.

The sixth carriage had only a few scattered aberrants.

There were no survivors in the sixth carriage.

After all, the seventh carriage was right there—if there had been survivors, there was no reason not to just run over. They'd have gone straight there.

The priority now was the first and second carriages.

Back when the aberrants had started gnawing on a woman's neck in the third carriage, more than half of the people there had fled toward the first and second carriages.

According to the surveillance footage the Federal Government had pulled from the train, the people who had voluntarily held the line in the second carriage didn't have much ammo left. They wouldn't last much longer.

Tu Ran's squad mission was to find the survivors hiding in the other carriages, escort them to the first and second carriages, link up with the survivors there, and hold the line at the first and second carriages.