Resistance

After receiving feedback from the Blacklight Virus's biological instincts, Xia Leng instantly grew alert. He jumped down from the roof of the wrecked vehicle and quickly took cover behind it.

Since gaining these abilities, this was only the second time he had received such a danger signal. It meant that something capable of threatening him was about to happen!

But he wasn't with the group up ahead. Xia Leng had long ago guessed that this makeshift band of refugees would soon fall apart, which was why he had stayed behind and watched.

Sure enough, after hunting just one infected corpse, the group had already descended into fierce internal conflict.

As for the Apocalypse Warrior, he was carrying a refugee's corpse on his back as he walked toward the gray crystal.

If he had come to the Fortress a little earlier, he could have moved in as a Baptized One. He wouldn't have had to lower himself to compete with ordinary refugees for a ticket.

But now those fools had been intimidated by his status. They wouldn't dare try anything underhanded.

However, he had forgotten that he wasn't the only one in the group with equal standing. There was also an Apocalypse Hunter.

Just as he bent down to pick up the gray crystal, the shrill sound of a weapon cutting through the air suddenly rang out behind him!

Thwack!

An arrow pierced the corpse on the Apocalypse Warrior's back, its tail trembling with the force of the shot!

"I knew you were up to no good, you bastard! I'll pry the crystal out of your skull in a minute!" Startled, the Apocalypse Warrior immediately began cursing furiously.

As expected, the arrow had been fired by the Apocalypse Hunter with enhanced eyesight. It simply hadn't hit its intended target.

The Apocalypse Warrior was also glad he'd planned ahead and strapped a refugee's corpse to his back as a shield.

That Hunter only had enhanced eyesight, so his speed probably wasn't much greater than the Warrior's.

And even a strength-type Warrior had stronger legs than an ordinary person, so his speed wasn't slow either.

He quickly picked up the crystal and clenched it in his hand, then immediately turned and ran toward the patch of sunlight. As he did, he shifted the corpse around to block the arrows coming from ahead.

The Apocalypse Warrior wore a sinister grin as he watched the Hunter keep shooting at him. He was determined to smash the man's head in!

The Apocalypse Hunter showed no sign of fleeing, continuing to rapidly fire arrow after arrow!

When his opponent was about 0 meters away, the Hunter suddenly flashed a strange smile, drew his bowstring taut once more, and fired.

This time, however, he aimed slightly lower. He loosed the arrow at the brief moment when his opponent's leg showed between strides!

Whoosh!

The arrow struck the Apocalypse Warrior in the thigh. A sharp pain shot through his leg, and his pace immediately slowed, though the wound wasn't fatal.

"You bastard!"

The Apocalypse Warrior was furious with pain and immediately let loose a string of curses. He held the refugee's corpse more carefully in front of him, making sure not to leave himself exposed again.

Whoosh!

Another arrow flew straight at him. This one pierced the refugee's corpse through the back and struck the Apocalypse Warrior in the heart!

This time, the fatal blow left the Apocalypse Warrior unable to run. He stumbled and fell face-first to the ground, and the gray crystal in his hand bounced away with a clear clatter.

In disbelief, he stared at the corpse that had failed to protect him, its back bristling with arrows.

Most astonishingly, nearly all the arrows had struck the same spot, boring a hole right through the corpse!

That last, fatal arrow had passed through the hole in the flesh and pierced his heart!

Only an Apocalypse Hunter with enhanced eyesight could have hit his mark so precisely...

"You..." The Apocalypse Warrior lay on the ground, coughing up a large pool of blood. It seemed he still had something he wanted to say.

Thwack!

The next arrow pierced his right eye and plunged into his skull, snuffing out the last breath of life in him...

"Hmph. What an arrogant fool."

The Apocalypse Hunter eyed the corpse and the gray crystal, but had no intention of fetching them himself. He planned to threaten a sacrificial pawn into doing it for him.

He turned to tell a refugee boy beside him—who looked underage and was trembling all over—to go get it. Then, without warning, a powerful sense of danger surged from behind him!

Clang!

A wooden club studded with rusty nails came crashing down, striking the bow the Apocalypse Hunter had quickly raised to block it!

He saw that his attacker was a gaunt, terrified-looking woman among the refugees, and anger immediately flared in him.

"What, you want to die too?!"

The Apocalypse Hunter immediately raised his right foot, intending to kick the woman away.

But then the refugee boy behind him, who had seemed cowardly moments before, suddenly pulled a wooden dagger from his clothes and plunged it into the Hunter's waist!

"Let go of my mom!"

The Apocalypse Hunter looked down at the wound, with only the handle of the dagger visible above his waist. The searing pain instantly filled his eyes with blood vessels.

Rage and agony twisted together inside him!

"You little bastard!"

He gritted his teeth, pulled out the dagger, and prepared to send the mother and son to their deaths.

Clang!

A dull thud rang out as a rusty hammer swung from somewhere and smashed into his head!

A thread of viscous blood trickled from his forehead, then down his face...

The blow left the Apocalypse Hunter dazed. His eyes widened in shock as he stared blankly around him.

The cowardly refugees who had backed away moments ago had, at some point, gathered around him. Every face was cold and hard.

"You..."

Thump!

Another iron bar came crashing down, then a second, then a third...

The refugees said nothing. Each of them took up a weapon and silently brought it down on the "noble."

They seemed to treasure this rare opportunity. Every swing was delivered with nearly all their strength, the dull thuds of blows ringing out among the crowd without pause.

About a minute later, the once-arrogant Apocalypse Hunter had been beaten into a lump of flesh, trampled beneath their feet!

As for the crystal inside his skull, someone had snatched it amid the chaos...

"Fine. The two Baptized Ones who thought they were special are both dead. That leaves us refugees, all on equal footing. From now on, we compete fairly. Whoever grabs that stone gets to keep it!"

As soon as one man finished speaking, he bolted forward.

The others quickly came to their senses and surged like a swarm toward the dark street!

Their only goal was the gray crystal on the ground, which could give them a stable life. Not one of them thought of working together to hunt another infected corpse.

Once they got their ticket, what did anyone else's fate matter to them?

Xia Leng had watched the whole theatrical scene from behind. He was also surprised. He hadn't expected these refugees, usually so submissive in front of the Baptized Ones, to fight back.

Even so, he still didn't intervene. That faint sense of danger hadn't gone away, and it was growing heavier...