But Flora Bloom had another idea. ’If the Argent Base can minimize its losses in every battle against the undead, won’t its chances of victory in the great war three years from now be much higher?’
Robin Grant looked at Flora Bloom. After getting her nod, he glanced at the unconscious Cynthia Grant and sighed.
"Take her to the temporary hospital. It’s been damaged a bit, but the basic infrastructure is still usable. Young Shaw is there and will be waiting for you!"
"But protocol dictates that any injured with superpowers have to be quarantined and treated before they can fight again. We—we can’t afford to wait!"
’Can’t afford to wait?’
Flora Bloom looked up at the three anxious men.
"Can’t afford to wait? For a safe zone the size of Argent, the largest horde it could possibly attract right now would be ten to twenty thousand, tops. Can’t the base even find a few thousand elites who can each take on ten enemies at once?" Flora Bloom asked, her tone laced with curiosity, yet her words were a clear jab at the base’s current leader, Titan Adler.
Titan Adler had rarely been questioned so directly, but faced with such a bizarre siege, he had to admit he was baffled himself.
"A normal horde wouldn’t be a major problem. But this is different. The zombies are just surrounding the outer walls, killing anyone who tries to get in. What’s more, those black scorpions have also appeared out there. It’s like they’re waiting for us to come out."
"Oh?" ’Her theory was becoming more and more likely.’ "So, are there rats or ants mixed in with them outside the base?"
The three men exchanged a look and nodded. "Yes. And not only that, behind the horde is a massive swarm of ants. From a distance, it’s just a sea of black! If they break into the base, do any of us stand a chance?"
Flora Bloom frowned. She had been right. ’Snakes, insects, rats, and ants... the whole gang’s here, plus the zombies. It’s obvious there has to be a leader zombie among these undead.’ ’And not just any leader; its level must be high! It’s playing a game with the people in the base, toying with their minds, waiting for their morale to crumble before it attacks.’
Flora Bloom’s words gave everyone goosebumps. "A leader zombie?" Titan Adler asked grimly. "What’s a leader zombie?"
"Like the leader of a flock. Leader zombies are intelligent. Their level is higher than the average zombie in the horde, and they possess actual intelligence."
"What? Are you kidding me? Zombies with intelligence? Then what chance do we humans have?" Liam Todd’s voice boomed. He glared at Flora Bloom in disbelief. "Listen, girl, we’re only giving you the time of day because you seem capable! Don’t you stand here fearmongering! If you cause a panic, you’ll be held responsible!"
Flora Bloom completely ignored Liam Todd, turning instead to Simon. "Uncle Simon, this undead horde is far from simple. I believe you should dispatch your top fighters to find and eliminate the leader zombie first, before engaging the rest of the horde.
"In my experience, without its leader, a horde is just a disorganized mob, no matter how large. But as long as the leader is alive, your chances of winning this fight are slim."
"You’re just a kid spouting nonsense! Old York, you can’t listen to her. I say we just use our weapons of mass destruction and blast these bastards to hell. Problem solved, right?"
Flora Bloom was startled to hear this. "You have weapons of mass destruction?"
Liam Todd heard this and gloated, "That’s right. So, what do you think? Now you know our family’s true strength, don’t you!"
Flora Bloom’s face went cold. "You absolutely cannot use weapons with a large area of effect on the horde right now!"
"Why not?" This time, it wasn’t just Liam Todd. Titan Adler, Simon, and Robin Grant all turned to look at her in confusion.
"As far as I know, sieges of this scale are always orchestrated by an extremely high-level leader zombie. Right now, outside the base, in addition to the main horde, you have swarms of three other types of undead creatures blocking the perimeter: black scorpions, ants, and rats.
"Even if these undead creatures are only Second Level or Level 3, they’re much stronger than zombies of the same level. Not only that, if you push them too far, just as you’ve already seen, the black scorpions will burrow up from underground and attack people directly inside the base.