Chapter 404: I've been watching all day, waiting for the mantis to pounce on the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
In fact, from the moment Lu Nange and her group set off towards Jingmao Commercial City in the morning, they had already been targeted by this group of "predators" lurking in the ruins.
Lu Nange and Shi Xu did sense some prying eyes with their mental powers, but they assumed it was just ordinary survivors watching from a distance and didn't pay much attention to it—after all, in this post-apocalyptic world, it was normal for survivors to be wary of each other.
However, they did not expect that this group of "survivors" was actually a robbery gang entrenched in the area.
This ragtag group, without a base and hastily assembled from several small teams of survivors, regarded this area as their exclusive "hunting ground."
They roam the city's outskirts like hyenas, specifically targeting teams that venture out to search for supplies, and are particularly adept at picking off teams that appear to have made a good haul but are in poor condition after a hard-fought battle.
"Boss, they really did head towards Jingmao!" A thin scout crawled behind a broken wall, holding up a pair of cracked binoculars, and reported in a low voice.
The man known as the boss, wearing exaggerated sunglasses and with a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his lips, sneered, "Kyoto? That's a tough nut to crack. But..."
He exhaled a smoke ring: "The tougher the bone, the better it tastes. You guys keep a close eye on things!"
"Boss, should we...?" A burly man with a face full of scars eagerly leaned over and made a throat-slitting gesture.
The man with the sunglasses beckoned with his finger: "Come here."
The burly man thought his boss thought his suggestion was good, so he happily bent down and approached.
To everyone's surprise, the man with the sunglasses raised his hand and slapped him twice on the forehead with such force that the burly man saw stars.
"Go and ambush them now?" The man with the sunglasses scolded, exasperated. "Don't you even look at their fully armed formation! It's the middle of the morning when they're most energetic; are you going to throw your life away or rob someone?"
The burly man, rubbing his dazed head, said with a pitiful expression, "I was wrong, boss..."
"You're all grown up, but you're a pig-brain! Get out of my way!" The man with the sunglasses kicked him irritably, then flicked his cigarette ash.
"Remember this—the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The best time for us to strike is when they've fought tooth and nail to find the supplies and are exhausted."
A sinister smile curled at the corner of his lips: "When the time comes, all the good stuff they find will have to obediently hand over to us."
......
When fifteen level-four giant zombies suddenly appeared outside Jingmao Mall, the spectators hidden in the shadows could hardly contain their elation.
"My God... fifteen Level 4s!" The reconnaissance soldier was so excited he almost fell off the broken wall. "They're going to be lucky to escape with their lives!"
Another voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Don't be too happy yet. If they're all dead, we'll have zero results today too!"
As time went on, the battle situation was continuously transmitted back through telescopes.
"One of the level four zombie heads is missing!"
"Another one!"
"Can you see the battle situation clearly from your side?"
"I can't see clearly, it's all gray, I can only make out the zombie's head..."
As the last level-four giant zombie crashed to the ground, a collective gasp of astonishment rippled through the shadows.
"Gone...gone...all fifteen level-four zombies are gone..."
"They're so strong, are we afraid we won't be able to beat them?"
A man in sunglasses burst into laughter over the walkie-talkie: "God is on our side! After this battle, how much strength will they have left?"
"Boss, shall we go now?" the subordinate asked eagerly.
"What's the rush?" The man with the squinting glasses said, "Let them expend some more energy. After dealing with these big guys, there are still zombies to clear in the entire area. They only count if they come out alive; what's the point if they die inside?"
He glanced around at his men: "When they've finished their day's work, exhausted, and come out with the supplies... that's when we'll reap the rewards!"
"Like a spent force, easily captured. Boss, you're truly amazing!"
"Boss is brilliant!" the subordinates flattered.
As the sun began to set, the sounds of battle outside the Jingmao Shopping Mall had subsided.
"They're burning the bodies!" the scout reported in a low voice, his tone barely concealing his excitement.
A burst of noise immediately came from the walkie-talkie.
"Finally, this moment has arrived!"
"Boss, give the order!"
But the man with the sunglasses remained unusually calm: "The burning of the body means they're doing their final cleanup. Brothers, get ready for our feast!"
As Lu Nange and her group finally boarded the car and the convoy slowly drove out of the shopping mall area, the lurking observers were already poised to strike.
"They're out! They're out! Boss, five cars, looks like thirty or forty people!"
The man with the aviator glasses slowly stood up, adjusted his glasses, and a confident smile appeared on his lips.
"The prey has been caught. Brothers, let's... let's proceed according to plan!"
When the group with the stunt glasses arrived at the designated roadblock location, the voice of the person in charge of keeping watch came through the walkie-talkie.
"Boss, they've parked! They're about a kilometer away. Could it be they've spotted us?"
On the road below, the more than 300 people who had been lying in ambush began to stir.
These ragged survivors, armed with all sorts of weapons, had greed gleaming in their eyes.
A burly man with a small braid approached the man in sunglasses, his voice urgent: "Boss, have they noticed? What do we do?"
The man with the sunglasses slowly rotated his wrist, a glint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes: "What's the panic? Are we going to let a cooked duck fly away? The fact that they stopped shows they're not confident!"
He stood up, glanced around at his men, and suddenly raised his voice: "Brothers! Jingmao Mall is a prime target; they've been ransacking it all day! If we pull this off today, we'll be living it up for a while!"
A frenzied cheer erupted from the crowd; greed had driven these people mad.
The man with the magnum opus looked at his men with satisfaction and continued to fan the flames.
"They just fought fifteen level-four zombies and cleared out all the zombies in the mall. They're like a bunch of sick cats now! Do you think we, with over three hundred people, are afraid of them?"
"Don't be afraid!" the crowd shouted in unison.
With a wave of his hand, the man in the sunglasses declared, "Since they're scared, then we'll... go and see what our food is like! Let them know who's in charge here!"
Amid the cheers of the crowd, the minor leaders each harbored their own thoughts.
The burly man with dreadlocks was the most loyal henchman of the man in sunglasses, and he was already itching for a fight: "Boss, let me lead the brothers to the front!"
The bespectacled man standing next to him pushed up his glasses with a worried expression.
He remained clear-headed: "Boss, a team that can take on fifteen level-four zombies and still survive Jingmao is probably not that simple..."
"Shut up!" the gaiter interrupted impatiently.
"You're such a coward! No matter how strong they are, they're at their last gasp! Thirty or forty of them, and we have over three hundred, ten against one, what are we afraid of?"
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