It was an emergency, and no one dared slack off. Even Harrance and Clara worked hard. Soon, half an hour passed. As Theresa predicted, the steel mesh in the tunnel had been completely broken. The zombies had reached the steel plates in front of them. Theresa held the thirty-centimeter-thick steel plate with one hand. Behind the plate, a dense, frenzied horde of zombies pushed forward. "Roar!" Time passed slowly. At the tunnel entrance, everyone dug with sweat pouring down. Buckets of soil were quickly thrown out. The two people in front were digging nonstop, while those behind cleared the soil. Anyone who slowed even slightly at the front would be pushed aside by the others. Their stamina was almost empty, yet they dug faster than ever. Theresa continued to hold the steel plate firmly. She estimated there were at least a thousand zombies inside the tunnel. If anyone else were inside, they would be crushed or suffocated to death. However, the zombies weren't slowing down. Instead, they kept pushing forward desperately. If someone could see from above, the horde would look like a stream of ants rushing into their nest, swarming into the tunnel. Inside the tunnel, the frontmost zombies were already pressed into chunks of bodies. The steel mesh nailed into the tunnel walls cracked and bled as they were crushed. The zombies pushed forward relentlessly, squeezing out what little fluids remained in their desiccated bodies. Dark blood poured down the tunnel, and soon, a black pool of blood formed at Theresa's feet. She pressed both hands against the steel plate. Suddenly, she felt a surge of immense force pushing from inside the tunnel. "Roar!" "Roar!" The zombies were still roaring, but it was different from their usual hunger cries—Theresa sensed fear in their screams.Crack! Crack! The tunnel seemed to be smashed through by a giant hammer. The already tightly packed zombies had their bones shattered. Low-level zombies were crushed entirely, with their cores popping out of their skulls. Higher-level ones were endlessly compressed, and blood gushed out. The blood pool at Theresa's feet grew rapidly. Thud! The steel plate trembled. Theresa pressed her second hand against it. In that split second, she realized it was a Level 6 strength-type zombie! Both her hands braced the plate, and her eyes immediately lit up. She was certain that it was a level 6 strength-type! This was the first time she encountered a Level 6 zombie here! Even in Firestone, covered in toxic fog, the top level was only 4 or 5. "Speed up!" Theresa frowned. If it were just multiple Level 4 to 5 zombies, Theresa wouldn't take it as a big threat. After all, she had dealt with them before and knew their limits. However, this was a new and higher-level zombie, so she didn't want to take any chances. If she could run, she would first retreat to a safe position, gauge its strength, and then engage. She was cautious by nature. Previously, against the three Ark camps, she could have fought them from the start, but she never acted recklessly. She always evaluated their strength first before striking. The only bold time was when she fought against the Starborn Order, and that was because she had no other choice. Now, she was faced with a new Level 6 strength-type zombie, just beyond a steel plate. Thud! The plate shook again. The Level 6 zombie slammed against it with full force. Every impact crushed the low-level zombies in front, making the already crowded tunnel feel more spacious. Theresa focused entirely as she held the plate.After enduring several attacks, she got a sense of the level 6 zombie's maximum strength. It was roughly one-fifth of hers.