Chapter 16: Slap and Retreat
1339 Words
“Holy crap! What kind of monster is that?!”
Chen Yang considered himself experienced. Over the past few days of rescue operations, the team had encountered and killed various types of zombies. But the one crawling out of the elevator shaft now had exceeded their understanding of what a zombie could be. Its hideous head no longer resembled anything human, and its skull was topped with a smooth, rounded helmet—so familiar, yet out of place. Instinctively, a round of gunfire erupted. Bullets struck the Zombie King's body, sending spurts of blood flying, but when they hit the helmet embedded in its head, they bounced off, unable to penetrate!
The force of the bullets, however, was enough to push the Zombie King back into the elevator shaft, temporarily alleviating the crisis.
"Inform the survivors upstairs! Tell them to get to the roof quickly—we won’t be able to hold on here for long!" Jian Ning swiftly issued orders, pulling out the last high-explosive grenade from her belt. She popped the pin and tossed it into the elevator shaft. The team quickly retreated to avoid the blast's shockwave.
At that moment, Lin Yuan had already reached the stairwell. The relentless fighting had pushed his evolution progress close to 500. If he could max out his evolution now, reaching the full 500 points, he might have a chance to stand his ground in the final confrontation.
With no rescue soldiers left to block his way, a few zombies had already reached the stairwell. Lin Yuan swung his axe, slicing through them with ease, like cutting through vegetables.
After killing all the zombies that had made it to the eleventh floor, his evolution finally hit the maximum level!
[Current Level: Tier 2 Zombie]
[Evolution Progress: 3/2000]
[Abilities: Agile Movement, Life Sense]
[Talents: Virus Absorption (Gain 1 evolution point by absorbing viral energy from each slain zombie.)]
[Talent: Potential Burst (With each level gained, you can unleash double your strength.)]
Suddenly, Lin Yuan felt an immense surge of power coursing through his body. Upon advancing to Tier 2, his physique had undergone a qualitative transformation. The fire axe in his hand felt as light as a feather, and with a single punch to the wall, he left a deep crater.
"I feel like I could tear that zombie apart with my bare hands!"
At that moment, the elevator shaft was barely holding back the onslaught. Besides the Zombie King, hordes of newly hatched zombies were swarming out. These zombies showed no fear of death and were markedly different from regular ones. Most of the hatched zombies crawled on all fours, their swollen muscles exposed, and they leapt onto the ceiling with ease. Some of these zombies even wore black helmets, making them incredibly hard to take down.
“Hurry upstairs! We can’t hold them off any longer!” Chen Yang fired his last magazine, his backup ammo completely depleted, and resorted to using his pistol for precise shots.
"You all head up to the twelfth floor and take the survivors to the roof. I’ll cover the rear!"
In the face of such danger, a person’s true character is revealed. The four remaining rescue soldiers all volunteered to stay behind, giving others a chance at survival. Even though they had run out of ammunition, they showed no fear.
Jian Ning drew a knife, holding it in a reverse grip. With nimble movements, she dodged an attacking zombie and swiftly stabbed it in the back of the head. Her speed was remarkable, and every strike was lethal.
"Her strength and speed are about the same as mine when I was at level one," Lin Yuan thought. "She can easily handle regular zombies, but against that monster..."
The Zombie King, however, was a different story. As it burst out of the elevator shaft, it closed the distance to Jian Ning in a blink of an eye, swiping its claws at her.
With a metallic clang, Jian Ning’s body flew backward, skidding several meters across the sticky blood-covered floor before she managed to stabilize herself. Her hand, still gripping the knife, trembled uncontrollably, almost losing her grip.
“This one’s mine. You all need to fall back,” Lin Yuan said, stepping forward just as Jian Ning was beginning to despair.
“No way! You’re strong, but even you’re not a match for that thing!” Jian Ning protested, her face hidden under her helmet. But Lin Yuan had already charged forward, cutting her off mid-sentence.
Gritting her teeth, Jian Ning switched the knife to her left hand and followed him into battle.
The fire axe in Lin Yuan’s hand sliced through the air with a red glow, crashing against the Zombie King’s claws, sending sparks flying. As he landed, Lin Yuan skillfully weaved through a narrow gap, maneuvering behind the Zombie King.
The fire axe chipped from the impact. This axe, which had effortlessly cleaved through regular zombies, had finally met its match. The Zombie King’s claw also bore a gash, oozing red fluid.
Jian Ning, with her agile footwork, leapt onto the ceiling, using it to spring back down. She aimed her knife at the Zombie King’s head, hoping to strike its weak point. Nearly all zombies had weak points in their heads—destroying the core would kill even the strongest zombies instantly.
Clang!
Her knife clashed with the Zombie King’s helmet, producing a sharp sound but only leaving a shallow scratch. Jian Ning couldn’t help but feel frustrated by how durable the helmet was.
As she landed and prepared to attack again, the Zombie King lunged at her, its barbed tongue shooting out, inches from her face.
Her pupils dilated as the red tongue filled her vision, but in the next second, it abruptly stopped.
Lin Yuan, now behind the Zombie King, had grabbed its long tail with both hands, his arm muscles bulging as he forcefully yanked it back. With his newfound strength, Lin Yuan easily overpowered the giant creature, pulling it off balance.
“Get back down there!” he roared.
With his evolved strength, Lin Yuan effortlessly hurled the massive Zombie King into the elevator shaft. Picking up his damaged axe, he took a deep breath.
“Potential Burst, activate!”
The Zombie King, now climbing back up the shaft, barely poked its head out before Lin Yuan hurled the axe with all his might. Spinning through the air, the axe smashed into the Zombie King’s helmet with devastating force. No matter how durable the helmet was, at such close range, with double the strength from Potential Burst, even steel would be pierced.
With a loud crash, the Zombie King plummeted back down the elevator shaft.
“It should’ve fallen all the way to the first floor. Let’s get out of here!”
Lin Yuan knew that this attack wouldn’t kill the Zombie King; he was realistic about his chances. Besides, without a weapon, there was no point in continuing the fight.
As he reached the stairwell, he noticed Jian Ning still standing there, frozen. Without hesitation, he slapped her on the back.
Slap!
The sound of the slap rang out, accompanied by a subtle vibration.
“Let’s move! Why are you spacing out?”
After the satisfying slap, Lin Yuan quickly headed upstairs.
“Get lost! Why did you slap my butt?!”
Jian Ning finally snapped out of her daze. Whatever faint admiration she had felt for Lin Yuan vanished completely.
“That’s what you call ‘a parting slap,’” Lin Yuan explained. “If you don’t hurry up, once those zombies get here, you won’t have a chance to escape!” The two of them quickly raced upstairs, one after the other. The survivors on the eleventh floor had already been evacuated to higher floors. It wasn’t until they reached the twentieth floor that they saw any of them.
Along the way, Lin Yuan managed to find three more fire axes from the emergency cabinets, which eased his sense of impending danger slightly.
- Writer
