The Mucus Man

How to make an already fragile team collapse into chaos.

It only takes a tiny bit of fright.

At this moment, what came into Zhou Zhi's view was exactly that.

It looked like a human, but its skin was as pale as a corpse, and it was covered in strange, viscous liquid, leaving behind such disgusting traces wherever it passed.

"That's Auntie Mi!"

Xiao Nan's eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe it.

And there were more behind it.

"These people are all residents from here!"

These familiar faces left Xiao Nan somewhat dazed.

In an instant, he began to cry out.

"Auntie Mi, and everyone, do you... do you not recognize me anymore?"

"It's Xiao Nan..."

Zhou Zhi gripped his scalpel.

His gaze locked onto one of the [people].

[Mucus Man].

[Pathogen Index: 63%].

[Disease Ability: 1. Primary Infection: Prolonged presence in the same space will significantly increase the Pathogen Index.]

[2. Mucus Secretion: The area of activity will be left with viscous bodily fluids; all pathogens of the same sequence on top of these fluids will have their physical attributes enhanced.]

[3. Physical Reinforcement: Effectively increases resistance to ordinary weapons; overall athletic ability is significantly improved.]

[Before pathogeny, it was a middle-aged woman; after pathogeny, it still maintains its fine traditions—at least, it runs very fast.]

Human.

Zhou Zhi's eyes flickered, and he stepped back twice.

As expected, so-called pathogeny refers to humans becoming monsters once they are infected with a disease to a certain degree.

"Fall back!!!"

Lei Heng's expression changed drastically; he gripped his dagger and slashed it through the air twice.

Monster!

Monster!

"Watch out!"

Behind them, Xia Yu exclaimed.

In an instant, an elderly Mucus Man sprinted toward them.

It was hard to imagine the physical condition of that Mucus Man before it became infected, but this elderly one was extremely fast.

Every step was as swift as flight, and its bones emitted an obscure sound, like gears shattering in the process of meshing.

Squelch!

The bodily fluid splashed onto the body of one of Lei Heng's underlings.

The underling was extremely terrified at first, but then realized nothing seemed to happen.

"It seems... I'm fine."

Lei Heng's eyes shifted, turning ferocious.

He gripped the dagger in his right hand and stabbed it toward the elderly Mucus Man's neck.

Clang!!

The sharp skin actually resisted Lei Heng's dagger.

But simultaneously, crack.

The sound of bone fracturing.

In an instant, the elderly Mucus Man collapsed to the ground, and Lei Heng's hand was stained with a large amount of mucus.

"It's... nothing special after all."

"Hahahahaha."

After the extreme terror came the sinister man's laughter.

The Mucus Man twisted its body on the ground; clearly, its internal bones had already shattered, leaving only the dormant skin, like a maggot.

Zhou Zhi observed Lei Heng's side.

The resistance to impact had indeed increased, and it seemed to have lost the sense of pain as well.

The problem was that the original body of this Mucus Man was somewhat too frail, which led to it being easily dealt with by Lei Heng.

For this little hoodlum, brawling and fighting were just everyday occurrences.

But...

Zhou Zhi saw with his own eyes that this person's Pathogen Index had jumped significantly from the previous seven percent!

"Pathogen Index: 25.6 percent."

It was... the bodily fluids of those Mucus Men!

"There are more ahead!"

Lei Heng seemed to have regained his confidence; he stood dauntless even as a Mucus Man came sprinting toward them in a bizarre posture.

But this time, they were not so lucky.

A burly Mucus Man ahead swung its arms outward, walking toward the group with a vacant expression.

"That is..."

"My son!"

"It's me! Xiao Jie!"

Uncle Liang, who had been hiding to the side, saw the person before him, his entire face filled with disbelief.

"That is my son!!"

"Look at me!"

Uncle Liang stood up, somewhat agitated.

But the burly figure did not pause in the slightest, instead rushing rapidly toward the people who were scattering in all directions.

People who have undergone [Pathogenesis] have no thoughts of their own.

Zhou Zhi pondered in his heart.

The burly Mucus Man, expressionless and swift, reached out and grabbed one of the clinic's sick patients.

With a forceful grip.

The patient's entire right shoulder blade was snapped directly by this strong Mucus Man!

The bone shattered completely!

It looked like twisted steel rebar.

AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

A shrill, miserable scream echoed through the deserted street.

At this, the scattering Mucus Men moved even faster.

On this side, Xia Yu held a wooden stick against the head of a Mucus Man; Zhou Zhi truly hadn't realized that this girl, beautiful to the point of being strange, was actually quite a capable fighter.

On the other side, because the number of people was slightly higher, Lei Heng was not having such a difficult time.

Of course, it wasn't easy either.

One of his underlings became trapped in the mucus of a Mucus Man, his movements slowed, and he was devoured by the creature amidst a look of terror and despair.

It was truly devouring.

It was nothing short of man eating man.

The pre-operative observation was about done.

Zhou Zhi took out his scalpel and gave it a slight flick.

If things continued like this, the small group would be wiped out right here.

His slender fingers, accompanied by the sharp scalpel, were like fireworks under the daylight.

[Surgery begins].

What Lei Heng and the others saw were the heads of several Mucus Men snapping off directly.

The heads flew into the air, as numb as the expressions on their faces.

"You must avoid the [mucus]."

Zhou Zhi walked past, scalpel in hand: "Maintaining epidemic prevention is the primary task in eradicating disease."

The man's voice was gentle and calm.

[Lobectomy].

In his right hand, the scalpel displayed strange points of light, as if they were there and yet not.

The small blade flashed with an arc of light.

The skin of the Mucus Men, which was tough to Lei Heng and his group, was like chopping vegetables in Zhou Zhi's hands.

The Mucus Men were separated head from body, and what splattered out was not blood, but a mucus-like substance.

Zhou Zhi did his best to avoid contact with those fluids, which were essentially nasal mucus, to reduce the risk of infection.

The mask on his face served the same purpose.

The scalpel flowed in a precise arc.

"Th-this..."

Xiao Nan's mouth hung open.

Behind him, Xia Yu's eyes flickered.

Fear and forcibly suppressed malice were hidden within Lei Heng's eyes.

"As I thought."

Zhou Zhi leaped over the mucus on the ground.

The power spreading from his chest surged through his entire body in the form of a special energy.

His strength increased, his speed quickened, and his mind grew increasingly rational.

"And this so-called lobectomy does not refer to a type of surgery."

"It should rather be categorized as... a martial art."

Eh.

The burly man clutching a patient turned his head, bending his neck at a ninety-degree angle impossible for a normal human.

Fluid flowed from his nasal cavity, and his frame grew even more massive.

Target: the lungs.

Bai Xiu held his scalpel horizontally using a bow grip.

His hand movements were perfectly centered, without a hint of tremor.

"Don't... don't..."

Uncle Liang coughed as he tried to rush out from the corner, only to be held back by Xia Yu and Xiao Nan.

A heart-rending sound rang out in Zhou Zhi's ears.

Plague Exterminator?

A doctor.

Is, by nature, a Plague Exterminator.

Swish.

The blade cut through the air.

Flesh and blood fell.

Mucus soaked the earth.

The burly Mucus Man's chest.

A hollow had formed in his lungs.

It reflected Zhou Zhi's indifferent face.

[Surgery complete].