Danger

The creature looked as though it hadn't eaten in ages, but it paid no attention to the group standing beneath the blazing sun. It feasted on the corpse, chewing away with gusto and letting out a pleased growl, as if savoring a delicious steak.

"Damn it, does nobody have a ranged weapon?!"

Someone in the crowd reminded them, and it suddenly dawned on everyone: as ferocious as these zombies were, they could only attack once they got close.

Those who had weapons hurriedly brought them out. Some had homemade bows and arrows, others had crude crossbows, and a few even had firearms. But guns were so loud that they might draw a horde of living corpses from deeper in the street, so they would hold off on using them for now.

Whish—

A dull sound rang out. Someone had drawn a bowstring, and an arrow shot through the air!

The sharp metal arrowhead sliced through the air with a whistle, flying toward the crippled living corpse crouched beside the body!

Thunk—

But the archer's aim was terrible, and the homemade bow was poor quality to boot. The arrow landed on the ground ten meters from its target, wobbling back and forth...

"You idiot! Let me try!"

A lean man snatched the bow. He drew the string taut, and his eyes instantly sharpened. A faint crosshair appeared in his pupils!

He was also a first-tier Baptized One—and an Apocalypse Hunter with enhanced vision!

Whoosh!!

Yet his first shot missed too, landing about eight meters from the living corpse and drawing a chorus of jeers from the crowd.

He paid them no mind. With a cold laugh, he adjusted the tension on the bowstring and took aim again.

Whoosh—

Thwack!

This time, after correcting his aim, the Apocalypse Hunter's arrow struck true. It sank right into the center of the forehead of the living corpse, which was clutching fresh meat and devouring it with gusto!!

Caught off guard by the powerful arrow, the living corpse jerked backward. Green blood spurted from the middle of its forehead, and it toppled to the ground, motionless...

Was the first living corpse really taken care of just like that...?

"Raaaagh!!!!"

Not at all. It suddenly sat up, opened its bacteria-ridden, rotting mouth, and let out a bloodcurdling scream at the crowd!

The arrow's tail was still lodged in the center of its forehead, trembling up and down!

The moment they heard that bone-chilling shriek, everyone broke out in goosebumps. Fear came naturally, and some people were already starting to retreat.

At the back of the crowd, Xia Leng had been watching the show. The sound stirred something within him, too.

He had nearly died at the hands of these humanoid monsters several times before. Their swift, vicious attacks were something he could never forget.

The living corpse, its meal interrupted, spotted the "living" crowd ahead of it. It immediately sprang into motion and charged on all fours, moving at a speed that made the eyes widen, toward the group that vastly outnumbered it!

Its leg, twisted nearly all the way around, did nothing to slow it down. As it ran, the white bone of its shin could even be seen piercing through the skin!

In that bizarre, rapid, four-legged posture, it charged at the crowd like a beast driven mad!

The unreliable makeshift group was already starting to fall apart. Many unarmed refugees instinctively tried to run. What good was getting a ticket if they were dead before they could enjoy it?

"What the hell are you running for? There are so many of us, and it's just one corpse! Shoot the damn thing!!"

The strongest man in the group, an Apocalypse Warrior, proved somewhat useful after all. His booming voice roused some of the braver refugees, who hurriedly raised their weapons and fired wildly at the zombie!

Their aim left much to be desired, but they had plenty of weapons. Sooner or later, someone was bound to get lucky and hit the target.

By the time the ferocious living corpse had covered about half the distance between itself and the crowd, arrows were sticking out all over its body. Its movements had slowed considerably. No matter how you looked at it, there was strength in numbers.

"Raaaagh!!!!"

At last, after the Apocalypse Hunter landed several precise shots to its head, a series of arrows ripped away half the living corpse's skull, exposing its disgusting, dark-green brain tissue!

"That's the end of it. Heh heh."

The Apocalypse Hunter sneered, drew the bowstring taut once more, and fired!

Bang—

A crisp sound rang out. The final arrow pierced the exposed brain with perfect accuracy, knocking a gray crystal loose. It hit the ground, rolled a few times, and came to rest in a pool of viscous green blood.

Without that stone, the zombie—which had been so full of life and ferocity just moments ago—collapsed to the ground almost instantly. Apart from a faint twitch caused by its nerve reflexes, even its scarlet eyes gradually dimmed...

The zombie was dead.

At the same time, the crowd fell silent. Everyone had their own thoughts as they stared greedily at the gray crystal lying in the pool of blood—the "ticket" to a new life.

One gray crystal was a single ticket, while this makeshift group had twenty or thirty people.

The air grew heavy in an instant. Everyone wanted it, but everyone understood the consequences of taking the first step.

If they waited any longer, the thick stench of blood rising from the road might draw a huge horde from deeper in the street. Then they wouldn't get even one crystal.

"I threw out the bait, so this one's mine!"

The hulking Apocalypse Warrior stepped forward, looking so vicious that it seemed he'd beat anyone who dared object to a pulp.

Having made his claim, he started toward the "Pandora" stone to pick it up.

"What gives you the right to take it?! My arrows hit the living corpse too!"

"Yeah! Mine did too!!"

No matter the era or the place, oppression always bred resistance. And this makeshift group owed nothing to one another.

Hearing the furious shouts behind him, the Apocalypse Warrior suddenly spun around and reached out with his broad, calloused hand, grabbing one of the loudest refugees.

Then he gripped the man's head in one hand as if it were a coconut. Before the refugee could react, he clenched his other fist, as big as a cooking pot, and smashed it into the man's stunned face!

Crack—

The Apocalypse Warrior's fist sank almost all the way into the refugee's face...

The sudden, bloody spectacle silenced everyone once more. No one dared stick their neck out now.

"Goddamn it! You worthless bastards think you're somebody? Let me hear one more word!"

The Apocalypse Warrior viciously yanked his fist free, then grinned as he licked the blood and brain matter from it. The crowd was even more terrified and didn't dare make a sound.

Then the Apocalypse Warrior, who had cowed everyone with his strength, gave a cold snort, hoisted the corpse onto his back, and walked toward the gray crystal. Perhaps he wanted to stop anyone from shooting him in the back.

As for Xia Leng, who had stayed at the back the whole time, keeping out of it and watching, his pupils suddenly contracted. Fine, hairlike tendrils stood up across his skin!

The Blacklight Virus's danger sense had been triggered!