Xia Tianming lowered his head and calmly looked at the horrifying wound in his abdomen.
If an ordinary person had been hit by a 12 mm machine-gun round, their guts would have been blown apart, and they would have died on the spot.
But despite suffering such a serious injury, he wasn't bleeding, and no organs had spilled out. Nor did he feel the agony he'd expected. It was as if the organs inside him no longer existed, and his body wasn't even his own.
In truth, organs like the heart and lungs were a burden. Once damaged, they severely limited a person's ability to act.
That was why the Blacklight Virus had devoured the organs inside its host. All it needed to stay alive was the nourishment provided by the virus!
Xia Tianming still didn't know that he could no longer be considered human.
Or rather, he was the virus...
The wound couldn't kill him, but having a fist-sized hole in his abdomen still felt uncomfortable.
So he grabbed a nearby Zombie, killed it, and devoured it to nourish the virus inside him.
After the Blacklight Virus absorbed the delicious nutrients, it roiled to life inside Xia Tianming once more. Countless viral tendrils extended from his gruesome bullet wound, writhing frantically around it as they wove themselves together!
In less than three seconds, the viral tendrils had filled the gunshot wound in his abdomen and formed new skin. Even his clothes repaired themselves, leaving no trace that a machine-gun round had pierced him!
As long as there were nutrients nearby, Xia Tianming was practically impossible to kill!
But he couldn't hide forever. Once all the Zombies ahead had been wiped out, he would be exposed to the enemy.
Who were those people, anyway? Why had they opened fire in his direction without a word?
One thing was certain: in this apocalypse, there were no good people.
Everyone had become deceitful and treacherous just to stay alive.
After all, concepts like morality, law, and ethics no longer existed in an apocalyptic world.
Survival was the only truth.
So instead of waiting to die, Xia Tianming decided to strike first.
He lowered his body and used the horde for cover. Guided by his viral senses, he dodged stray bullets as he charged toward the source of the gunfire!
He transformed both hands into Blacklight Claws and shielded his head. Bullets struck the incredibly hard biological blades, producing nothing but sparks.
Even if other parts of his body were hit, he could heal by grabbing and devouring other Zombies along the way.
But Xia Tianming soon realized that no matter how he dodged—or how erratically he weaved around—the enemy's shots always landed precisely where he was. It was as if someone had revealed his position to them.
In that case, he might as well stop dodging!
Xia Tianming straightened up and thrust out both claws, skewering several Zombies together like candied hawthorns on a stick!
Then he used the still-living Zombies as human shields and charged straight toward the edge of the horde!
Since the enemy was clearly after him, there was no point hiding anymore!
Just then, Captain Kromi, who was operating the heavy machine gun, received a warning from the Monitor: the target had abandoned cover and was charging toward them, using several Zombies as shields to block the bullets.
"Hmph. Finally decided to stop cowering?"
Captain Kromi gave a cold snort and began issuing orders.
"Everyone, take up combat formation! Shooters, use the tanks and armored vehicles for cover. As soon as the target appears, open fire on his limbs to restrict his movement. Helicopters, circle both flanks and keep watch on the target's movements within the horde. Report in real time, and wait for my orders before you fire!"
Their mission was to capture the infected subject alive. The Monitor had warned them that the target could regenerate, so as long as they didn't shoot him in the head, he shouldn't be easy to kill.
The Black Hawk Helicopter was equipped with a Vulcan Cannon, designed to take on heavy armor like armored vehicles. A single shot against a person would probably tear them to pieces, so the helicopter had been ordered to wait.
The combat formation was in place. Now they only had to wait for the target to leave the horde and enter the army's line of sight.
They waited for about a minute.
The horde began to stir in one direction. It was obvious that the target would appear there!
The soldiers immediately swung their guns around, took aim at that spot, and waited for the target to show himself.
But even after quite some time, the enemy still didn't appear.
Growing impatient, Captain Kromi asked the observers aboard the circling helicopters over the radio, "Can you see the target?"
"Negative, sir. The horde in your direction is in disarray, and we can't pick out the target," one of the helicopter observers replied honestly.
"What?!"
Captain Kromi furrowed his brow and asked the Monitor, who could observe the area via satellite. The answer was the same: the target couldn't be identified.
What was going on? Could that guy turn invisible?
While the group focused their attention on the restless horde ahead...
A "Zombie" emerged from the horde in another direction and glanced toward the army.
A closer look would reveal that only his clothes were tattered. His face and body were smeared with foul-smelling blood, but his skin wasn't rotting like that of the other Zombies.
That "Zombie" was none other than Xia Tianming.
Ever cautious, he had decided not to rush in before gauging the enemy's strength. Instead, he had physically disguised himself as a Zombie and watched them from the shadows.
As for the restless horde meant to draw the enemy's attention, he had caused the commotion by leaving a Blacklight Virus tendril attached to a Zombie.
Now he could see who had attacked him. It was an army?
Even in this apocalypse, organized and disciplined troops still existed?!
But when he saw the Black Hawk Helicopter and the red-and-white umbrella logo on the tanks, he immediately understood. He had once watched the Resident Evil movies.
So Umbrella Corporation hadn't been wiped out in this world after all.
Xia Tianming also realized why he'd been exposed. Umbrella Corporation's Sky Eye Satellite network covered the entire globe.
No matter where he went, if he showed his true form or started "feeding," they would inevitably detect him.
And Umbrella Corporation, obsessed with virus research, would never leave such a unique specimen alone. They would hound him relentlessly.
In this world, the threat to him wasn't the Zombies lurking in every corner. It was Umbrella Corporation, the company that had created this biological apocalypse!
So if he wanted to cleanse the world, he had to deal with them first!
How would Umbrella Corporation compare to Blackwatch, the old nemesis of the Blacklight Virus? Which one was stronger?
Before you continue