Faced with this kind of pressure, an ordinary person would have likely panicked. However, everyone inside the vehicle, aside from Lin Xinghai, was a veteran mercenary. With their extensive combat experience, they remained calm as they aimed and fired.
As the zombies drew closer, the mercenaries' accuracy also rose rapidly. By the time they pulled their triggers for the second time, two zombies were taken down with headshots.
With the third volley, the number of zombies instantly killed with headshots rose to four.
As for a fourth volley, there wasn't time for one.
The zombies had covered the hundred-meter distance to the armored vehicle in far too little time, giving the mercenaries only enough of a window to aim and fire three times.
Still, by this point, nearly half the zombies were down. They were no longer a threat in terms of numbers, and even less so in terms of strength.
Five Physique Type Optimized jumped from the vehicle, wielding Great Sabers and Giant Axes to meet the charging zombies.
The mercenaries still in the vehicle used the brief window their companions created to take aim and fire at close range.
The remaining seven zombies quickly fell, either cut down or finished off with a headshot.
Of course, the process wasn't entirely smooth. The two Intermediate Zombies demonstrated that they were anything but ordinary.
In a head-on clash with the mercenaries, they didn't lose any ground. One of the Intermediate Zombies even swatted away a mercenary's Giant Axe with its powerful claws before swiping at his chest.
Fortunately, the mercenary's Combat Suit was more than just for show. Although a gash was torn in the outer layer, the inner lining remained intact.
After taking the hit, the mercenary quickly spun his Giant Axe, bringing the blade around in an arc to cleave the Intermediate Zombie's head from its shoulders.
By Lin Xinghai's estimation, the strength of these Intermediate Zombies was already equivalent to someone with a 30% Genetic Optimization Level.
Fortunately, there weren't many of them. If all the zombies had been of this type, the fight would have been far from easy.
With the battle over, it was time to clean up the battlefield.
"I'll go too!" Lin Xinghai immediately spoke up when he heard Roger assigning personnel.
'This was the entire reason he'd come out on a mission with the Mercenary Corps! He absolutely could not miss this moment.'
"Uh..." For a moment, Roger didn't know what to say.
In truth, collecting Elemental Crystals was grunt work. If you weren't careful, you could easily get splattered with blood. It was a dirty, tiring job that nobody really wanted to do.
While new recruits were required to do such chores, a genius like Lin Xinghai naturally received preferential treatment and could be excused from it.
But Roger hadn't expected Lin Xinghai to volunteer for it, and with such enthusiasm, no less!
It reminded him of the young man's performance during "Lesson 1" yesterday, and his expression turned a bit strange.
'He couldn't possibly have... that kind of hobby, could he?'
'Whatever. It's none of my business.' Roger didn't hesitate and said directly, "Fine! I'll have Vice-Captain Xu Hao teach you some dissection techniques."
Xu Hao, who was resting off to the side, instantly looked miserable.
"No, no, that's too much trouble for Brother Xu," Lin Xinghai quickly refused. "I can just watch the other members and teach myself."
'Are you kidding me? If someone was watching over my shoulder the whole time, how would I be able to collect Blood Qi Power?'
"Heh, self-study is good, self-study is good! Xiaohai, if there's anything you don't understand later, just come find me. I'll teach you everything I know," Xu Hao immediately chimed in, clearly pleased with Lin Xinghai's attitude.
Since Lin Xinghai himself had said so, Roger certainly had no objections.
Soon, Lin Xinghai got out of the vehicle along with the five members Roger had named.
However, Lin Xinghai didn't immediately start collecting the Elemental Crystals. Instead, he pretended to be a humble student, looking this way and that with a serious expression on his face as if trying to learn.
Of course, what no one noticed was that every time someone else dug out an Elemental Crystal, he would discreetly touch the zombie's wound.
The five of them worked quickly. In less than a minute, they had extracted the Elemental Crystals from all thirteen zombies.
By this time, Lin Xinghai had also harvested 13 points of Blood Qi Power. He opened his system panel to confirm it: his Blood Qi Power had increased from 14 to 27 points.
He still hadn't absorbed the two Genetic Potions Roger had given him. Factoring those in, his usable Blood Qi Power was already as high as 37 points.
'If things go smoothly, I'll be able to awaken during this mission!' Lin Xinghai thought gleefully as he followed the other mercenaries back into the vehicle.
...
"What did you think?" Roger asked, approaching him as soon as he sat down.
"Huh?" Lin Xinghai was a little confused.
"I'm talking about the zombies' strength," Roger clarified.
"They're very strong," Lin Xinghai said honestly after a moment of contemplation.
The Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps might have dealt with those zombies easily, but one had to consider their strength. Aside from himself, they were all the Optimized.
Moreover, their weapons were top-notch, allowing the Mercenaries to fight at their absolute peak. Even so, one of them had nearly been injured.
Just imagine if it wasn't the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps facing those zombies, but a group of ordinary people.
Even with firearms, they would likely have suffered heavy casualties.
After all, zombies possess immense Life Force and incredible Speed. Moreover, they have a beast-like intuition for danger.
When you take aim at them, they instinctively try to dodge.
If ordinary people, or even a regular army, were to encounter a horde of zombies in the wild, the outcome would likely be disastrous.
This was why, a full year after the great catastrophe, humanity was still confined to living in underground Shelters.
Roger glanced at Lin Xinghai in surprise. Seeing the genuine look on the young man's face, he couldn't help but nod. "It's good that you have that mindset."
"Zombies are indeed strong. What you've just seen are only the most common kind. Once we're inside the city, not only will there be far more zombies, but Intermediate Zombies will also be extremely common."
"There are even a fair number of the more powerful High Level Zombies. A zombie of that Level has strength comparable to an expert with a 60% Genetic Optimization Level. Even I would have a hard time winning a one-on-one fight against one."
"Furthermore, among these zombies, there's a chance they can evolve into 'Mutated Zombies,' and those are the truly terrifying ones."
"So, even if you're improving quickly and have good equipment, you must never let your guard down. Out here, you can never be too careful," Roger said seriously.
He said all this because he was worried Lin Xinghai's youth and impetuous nature would get the better of him.
It wasn't a huge problem out here, but if he were to disobey orders once they entered the city, it could cause some serious trouble.