Chapter 11: You Call Strength Awakening?
1326 Words
"Mutant zombies! These are mutant zombies!"
A young man among the survivors shouted, his voice filled with fear but also excitement. He was an avid fan of all things related to biochemical mutations, and the sight of mutant zombies was like seeing his own mother.
"Shut up, or I'll throw you over to them!"
The young man was standing next to Lin Yuan, babbling in excitement, his saliva almost spraying like mist.
"Dude, you don't understand. Mutant zombies! These are the kind of monsters that only appear in movies! Look at their frail bodies—it's because their other tissues have been absorbed, making their muscles extremely reinforced, with explosive power comparable to wild beasts. This is a kind of evolution!"
Instead of getting angry at being interrupted, the young man eagerly explained to Lin Yuan.
"So, what you're saying is, when those three zombies rush at us, we're all dead, right?"
Lin Yuan tightened his grip on his fire axe. These three zombies were also classified as Tier 1 in his life detection ability, posing a significant threat. Although he wasn’t sure if they would attack someone like him, a fellow "infected," he wasn’t going to take any chances.
"Probably not. Even though they are mutant zombies, they’re still carbon-based life forms. Guns should be able to tear them apart, as long as the rescue soldiers are up to the task."
The young man spoke calmly, showing no concern for their current predicament. If they couldn’t kill the three mutant zombies, not many people here would escape.
"Hey, since you’re so skilled, why don’t you go help them?"
Moral coercion was a skill anyone could use, and in times of danger, someone always tried to be clever.
"Sure thing. You see that g*n over there? The one lying under that soldier by the abandoned vehicle? Go fetch it for me."
A few people had already noticed the rifle under the body of a soldier in camouflage by the side of the road, but no one dared to retrieve it.
"If you want it, go get it yourself. Why are you ordering me around?"
The young man looked uneasy and quickly distanced himself from Lin Yuan.
"Exactly. If you want to help, go ahead. Don’t try to guilt-trip me!"
The few who had been thinking about asking Lin Yuan, with his obvious strength, to help quickly backed down. Some clever ones even sneaked off to hide in empty rooms along the street.
The three soldiers’ firing patterns were staggered. When one ran out of ammo, the second still had a third of a clip left, ensuring there were no gaps in their fire. But as the captain quickly raised his hand, signaling them to stop, the three soldiers let go of their triggers, cautiously watching the riddled, abandoned car.
Sure enough, just as the gunfire stopped, one of the zombies darted out from behind the obstacles. Despite the several deep bullet wounds visible on its body, its movement was completely unaffected.
As soon as the zombie appeared, the three soldiers immediately refocused their aim, and a barrage of bullets tore through the air.
The zombie didn’t even hit the ground before it was blown to pieces, its limbs scattering all over.
"Two more! Save your bullets!"
Chen Yang shouted, his voice tight with tension. As a member of the rescue team, he had more detailed knowledge about zombies, especially mutant ones. They were incredibly difficult to deal with, and any small mistake could be fatal.
The three soldiers quickly retreated to gain a safer distance, but the second and third zombies rushed out together, skittering along the sides, almost impossible to track with the n***d eye.
"Watch out!"
Although they attacked at the same time, the one on the left was noticeably faster. Unfortunately, the soldier on the left was reloading, so he hurriedly pulled out his pistol and fired off several shots. Even for a sharpshooter, hitting a rapidly moving target wasn’t easy. In just a few breaths, the zombie was already on top of the soldier.
The other two soldiers had no choice but to turn their guns on it, unloading everything they had left in their rifles. But at that moment, the zombie on the right suddenly accelerated, launching itself straight at the captain.
Chen Yang reacted quickly and aimed, but his rifle clicked—empty. He tried to switch to another g*n, but there was no time.
Just when it seemed all was lost, Chen Yang felt a powerful force yank him backward, sending him flying through the air. A split second later, he saw a figure dash past him. A red fire axe sliced through the air, carving out an arc of blood like a crimson moon.
"Bang!"
The mutant zombie's head was smashed straight into its chest, and its body rolled a few times before collapsing on the ground, sliding several meters and leaving a long trail of blood. After killing the mutant zombie, Lin Yuan glanced at its evolution level and was surprised to see that it had gained a full ten points!
"Captain Chen, are you hurt?"
Lin Yuan didn’t turn his head but instead stood in front of the fallen soldier with his axe raised, deliberately showing off his imposing figure.
"Holy crap! That was awesome!"
Chen Yang exclaimed in shock. He quickly got to his feet, changed his magazine, and scanned the area cautiously before moving over to Lin Yuan.
"Dude, have you awakened?"
Chen Yang asked. Killing a zombie with an axe was something he could do, but sending one flying several meters was beyond the limits of an ordinary person.
"You guys call getting stronger 'awakening'?"
Sure enough, the rescue team had secrets that ordinary people didn't know, but now wasn't the time to ask about them. The two remaining soldiers glanced at the dead zombies on the ground with lingering fear, both casting grateful looks at Lin Yuan. Though soldiers aren't afraid of death, who would really want to die?
"I'll tell you some things when we have time. It's not classified information."
Chen Yang, grateful for Lin Yuan's life-saving actions, dropped much of his initial wariness and treated him differently than the other survivors. One soldier stood guard while the other two cleaned up the battlefield, gathering the equipment from the two fallen soldiers.
Though Lin Yuan was tempted by the guns, he knew they were off-limits to him.
At that moment, the support team arrived at the crossroads and quickly set up defenses to protect the survivors.
"Leave two people to clean up any remaining zombies, especially focusing on those three mutant zombies. There may be gene crystals inside. The rest, escort the survivors out."
The new team leader, wearing a helmet that obscured her face, surprisingly turned out to be a woman based on her voice.
"Captain Jian, we owe this guy big time. If he hadn't helped, we might have suffered heavy casualties. Also, it seems he might have awakened."
If the mutant zombies had broken into the crowd, the effectiveness of their firearms would have been limited, and very few survivors would have made it out alive.
Jian Ning glanced at Lin Yuan, especially at the blood-soaked fire axe he carried.
"Evaluate him. If he passes, bring him into the reserve squad."
Chen Yang nodded. A life-saving favor deserves a huge return, and this was his way of finding Lin Yuan an opportunity.
With the help of the reinforcement soldiers, the survivors who had been hiding came out and quickly followed behind the team.
"Why does it feel like something's grabbing my legs?"
Someone in the crowd muttered. Without realizing it, their walking speed slowed down.
"Ah! My legs!"
A sudden scream made everyone instinctively turn to look. The person at the back of the group had dark red threads wrapped around their legs, and the bloodstains on the ground seemed to move as if alive, slowly wriggling!
- Writer
