Xia Tianming was still feasting amid the zombie horde, unaware that the Umbrella Corporation was spying on him and livestreaming everything he did.
He had killed countless zombies, yet not a speck of blood had gotten on him.
That was because all the fluids splattered onto him had seeped into his skin and been absorbed by the Blacklight Virus.
His clothes, however, had been torn to shreds by the zombies, leaving him barely covered.
The zombies around him had no intelligence, so they wouldn't be embarrassed if he exposed himself in front of them, but it still felt uncomfortable.
If only he had Alex Mercer's stylish black hooded sweatshirt.
The moment the thought crossed Xia Tianming's mind, countless red-black tendrils suddenly extended from his skin!
They danced like sprites, rapidly weaving together across his body and taking shape!
In less than three seconds, a brand-new, pure-black hooded sweatshirt had appeared on Xia Tianming.
Woven from the Blacklight Virus, the garment felt comfortable, was lightweight, and was incredibly tough. Wearing it felt almost the same as wearing nothing at all.
Its color was darker than any material he had ever seen. It could blend perfectly into the darkness, like a black panther lying in wait at night, ready to deal a fatal blow to any enemy that passed by!
Seeing the clothes appear on him out of nowhere reminded Xia Tianming that he had the ability to use Camouflage.
Devouring an enemy didn't just let him steal their abilities; it also let him perfectly imitate their appearance, including their clothes, looks, voice, fingerprints, and even their DNA!
He also had an ability that was even more outrageous: [Memory Deep Web], which let him claim someone else's memories as his own.
But even after devouring so many zombies, he still hadn't obtained a single memory. Maybe their brains had atrophied and stopped functioning.
His Blacklight Threshold was now 623/3000. He needed about 2,300 more before he could break through the threshold again and reach the next evolutionary goal.
But he had slaughtered all but a few hundred of the zombies in this horde. There simply wasn't enough to eat.
Whatever. He'd finish off this batch first, then look for another batch of "food." This bioweapon-ravaged world had shortages of all kinds, but it certainly didn't lack zombies.
Just as Xia Tianming was practicing the clean-plate campaign, preparing to devour every last zombie, something happened.
The Blacklight Virus had given him heightened senses. Amid the deafening zombie howls, he suddenly heard some unusual sounds.
They sounded like engines roaring and helicopter rotors spinning at high speed.
The strange noises were coming from dozens of kilometers away, and whoever was making them was rapidly approaching his location.
Could they be humans?!
Were there still survivors in this post-apocalyptic world?
As he listened closely, Xia Tianming continued slaughtering and devouring the zombies around him.
Attacking had become instinctive. It was as if the Blacklight Virus had taken control of his body. His body would automatically "feed" without waiting for instructions from his brain.
If they were survivors, would they be friend or foe?
To be safe, Xia Tianming decided to stop attacking for now and hide among the horde.
And when he stopped attacking the zombies, they didn't dare attack him either. They even avoided him...
Dozens of kilometers from the horde, a convoy was indeed speeding toward Xia Tianming's location. It was heavily armed and clearly had no intention of negotiating.
It consisted of an M1A2 battle tank, two Black Hawk attack helicopters, four amphibious armored vehicles packed with soldiers, and an open-top camouflage jeep leading the way.
Beneath this imposing steel force, any zombies blocking the road were crushed without mercy, ground into the dirt.
Captain Kromi sat in the passenger seat of the jeep, coldly watching the road ahead. As they smashed through several zombies in their path, he didn't even blink.
He had belonged to the Umbrella Corporation even before the bioweapon apocalypse began. As the captain of a U.S.S. special forces unit, he made sure to carry out every order from the company to the best of his ability.
He had been leading his team on a routine patrol nearby, searching for that woman's whereabouts, when he suddenly received orders to capture a newly mutated infected.
Heh. Talk about using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
They were sending his powerful unit to capture a single Mutant? He couldn't help but sneer at the idea.
"Captain Kromi, you're five kilometers from your destination. You should be able to see a few scattered zombies now. Your target also seems to have noticed you coming. He's stopped attacking them and is trying to hide among the horde..."
The Monitor's warning came over Captain Kromi's radio, surprising him a little.
The target had noticed them from this far away. It reminded him of that woman.
Anyone who perfectly fused with the T-Virus gained a kind of sixth sense, allowing them to anticipate danger.
That was why Alice so often escaped right from under their noses.
Could this target be another person who had perfectly fused with the T-Virus?
Damn it, why wasn't he one of them?
Envy welled up in Captain Kromi. Before capturing the target, he decided, he'd give him a good beating.
He ordered the convoy to pick up speed.
A few minutes later, a sea of zombies finally came into view.
Captain Kromi could see that their numbers had dwindled significantly, shrinking from a medium-sized horde to a small group.
Still, finding the target with the naked eye among several hundred zombies wouldn't be easy.
He picked up his radio and asked the Monitor, "Where exactly is the target hiding?"
"Two o'clock, straight ahead. You can fire a little to force him out, but be careful not to kill him."
"Hmph. I don't need you to tell me that."
Captain Kromi snorted and stood up in the jeep. He took control of the heavy machine gun mounted at the front and aimed at the two o'clock position, his expression growing increasingly savage.
Let's see how long you can stay holed up, kid!
Meanwhile, Xia Tianming was still crouching among the zombies, completely unaware that the Sky Eye Satellite had him in its sights.
But the tendrils on the surface of his skin were now standing on end, as if some danger were about to strike.
Was the Blacklight Virus warning him that he was about to be in danger?
BANG! BANG! BANG!!
The thought had barely crossed his mind when a storm of gunfire echoed across the wasteland!
Machine-gun rounds tore through the zombies in their path. In an instant, flesh and blood filled the air!
Although zombies had nearly taken over the planet, they were still made of flesh and blood. Under fire from a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, they had no way to fight back!
Hidden among the horde, Xia Tianming felt a wave of intense pressure bearing down on him!
Pfft!
Just then, a machine-gun round punched through his abdomen, leaving a bowl-sized hole that went straight through. He could even see the view on the other side through the wound...
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