The muzzle flash from the bullets drove back the darkness ahead for less than a second, but that was enough for Li Wei and Zheng Yutong to see the shadowy figure clearly.
It was a person!
And not a living one—it was a zombie!
It stood over two meters tall, but hunched over. Its clothes were in tatters, yet the skin exposed beneath them wasn't rotting like an ordinary zombie's. Instead, Li Wei saw a sheen like hard leather.
Most astonishing of all were the zombie's muscles. Even the world's best bodybuilders couldn't compare. They bulged with strength. Familiar with human anatomy, Li Wei deduced that the zombie's bones had mutated. Its joints and fingers were more than three times as thick as a normal person's.
"Level 3 Zombie, attack: 45, health: 180. A mutated creature caused by T-Virus infection. Possesses tremendous strength and can tear steel plates apart with its bare hands. Special abilities: Strength Enhancement, Regeneration."
A Level 3 Zombie!
Li Wei furrowed his brow. How had they run into a monster like this? The Strength-Type Zombie's strength had to exceed 50. Tearing steel apart with bare hands was far beyond what ordinary physical strength could accomplish.
As for Li Wei himself, with a strength rating of 27, he could easily push a midsize car aside. If he wanted to, he could even throw it several meters with one hand. He could smash through a concrete wall with a single blow. That kind of strength was practically superhuman.
But tearing apart a steel plate was beyond him for now. Maybe he could bend one with all his strength, but he certainly couldn't rip it apart.
And the monster in front of them could do just that. Without a doubt, no one here could match it in a contest of strength.
The AK47's gunfire had clearly enraged the Level 3 Zombie. It opened its enormous mouth, baring a row of fangs, then sprang toward the newcomer who had fired, like a cannonball.
"Open fire!" Li Wei pulled the trigger first. His Stacking-enhanced rifle roared, spitting out powerful bullets.
Gunshots erupted all around them. The metal barrage of bullets completely engulfed the monster. Even a man of iron should have been riddled with holes by now, but the Level 3 Zombie didn't fall as Li Wei had expected.
Its hide, tough as leather, deflected most of the bullets. They bounced off with a sound like plastic pellets striking a heavy tire, and the ricocheting rounds clattered to the ground.
However, Li Wei and Zheng Yutong's enhanced firearms and bullets could still hurt it. They could pierce its skin, but couldn't penetrate any deeper.
Apparently wary of the weapon in Li Wei's hands, the monster darted into the darkness. They could still hear its furious roars now and then, but they couldn't see it anymore.
"Smart, too!" Li Wei quickly changed magazines, his earlier composure gone. This time, he was facing a powerful monster that could kill someone with a single blow.
Even he and Zheng Yutong probably couldn't withstand one of its attacks.
"We should go back the way we came!" one of the newcomers panted, fear written all over his face. He had just emptied his magazine at the monster without even scratching it. Could anything be more despairing?
With that, he ran toward the elevator behind them. Li Wei was just about to stop him when the Strength-Type Zombie suddenly sprang out of the darkness and pounced on the newcomer, dragging him into a place the light couldn't reach. After a few desperate screams, everything fell silent.
It was hard to believe that a life could be snuffed out just like that!
"Everyone, huddle together, back-to-back. Don't break formation!" Li Wei couldn't be bothered to explain what would happen if they ran off alone. The newcomer who had just died was proof enough.
The six remaining newcomers had learned their lesson. The shooting had shown them that only the firearms wielded by the two veterans beside them could hurt the zombie. At a time like this, sticking together was their only chance of survival.
They formed a defensive circle, staying alert for a possible attack. But the cunning zombie never showed itself. Everyone knew it hadn't left. It was just waiting for an opportunity.
"Li Wei, take them and retreat first. We can't keep this up!" Zheng Yutong looked grave. She knew that if they kept dragging this out, their defensive circle would eventually develop a weakness.
Of everyone there, including Li Wei, she was the only one who could fight the Strength-Type Zombie.
The thought of a beautiful woman risking her life while they, as men, ran away made several hot-blooded young men among the newcomers flush with anger.
But they didn't dare step up and take Zheng Yutong's place. They had all seen the muscles on that zombie. Even one of its fingers could tear them to pieces. Compared with their surge of righteous anger, staying alive mattered more.
At that moment, though, Li Wei said something that made the newcomers furious.
"Fine. Miss Zheng, I'll leave it to you."
Was he even a man? Not only was he running away, he even had the nerve to say something so glib. If he had any guts, he'd stay behind himself!
Even the girls among the newcomers looked at Li Wei with disdain.
Li Wei noticed all their expressions, but didn't take offense. He wasn't going to explain himself. What other people thought was their business. Especially these newcomers who knew nothing—he could just treat them like air.
Soon, everyone except Zheng Yutong retreated together, keeping their defensive circle intact. Zheng Yutong was left alone. She switched to the weapon she was best at using, her Longbow, and waited quietly, like a lotus blooming in a black pond.
Suddenly, a rush of air swept down from above.
"Here it comes!"
Zheng Yutong darted aside. A fist larger than her head came crashing down with a howl. The zombie had been clinging to the ceiling like a gecko, waiting to ambush her.
The enormous fist struck the concrete floor like the drill of a boring machine, plunging more than a foot into it. It also sent cracks branching through the surrounding ground. The force behind that punch was plain to see.
Zheng Yutong nimbly planted a foot on the zombie's thick arm and used the recoil to leap into the air. At the same time, she nocked an arrow. After a graceful turn, she loosed it in a smooth arc, and it pierced the zombie's shoulder.
"Its muscle density is too high. I can't get the arrow deep enough to hit anything vital!" Seeing how little of the arrow had sunk in, Zheng Yutong knew the Longbow alone couldn't pierce the monster's defenses.
By then, Li Wei and the others had retreated far enough. Zheng Yutong could finally let loose. She wanted to find out which of them was stronger: her or the Strength-Type Zombie.
She had barely landed when the zombie roared and pounced. The tremendous kinetic force generated by its muscles sent it hurtling forward. In an instant, it was right in front of her. It opened its maw, intent on biting Zheng Yutong to death.
"Wind Walk!"
Just as the zombie thought its attack would succeed, the human woman in front of it suddenly vanished. It froze in confusion, its slightly intelligent mind beginning to wonder if its eyes had deceived it.
Then it saw an arrow, wrapped in dazzling white light, hurtling toward it like a bolt of lightning.
Instinctively, the zombie raised its thick arms to shield itself. But the muscles that had resisted bullets now crumbled like fragile tofu before the arrow. Half its body was blown apart in a spray of flesh and blood.
What had happened?
The zombie didn't understand. The inexhaustible strength it had felt moments ago suddenly vanished, and with a thud, its massive body hit the floor. It lay motionless.
"Piece of cake!" Zheng Yutong put away her Longbow and walked over to the zombie's corpse.
Monsters of this level usually left behind a Treasure Chest when they died, which could yield items and points. But after waiting a while, she found nothing.
"Huh, what's this?" She hadn't found a Treasure Chest, but she had noticed something astonishing: the zombie's wound was rapidly healing. She could clearly hear the sound of flesh and skin growing back.
"Regeneration?" Zheng Yutong clicked her tongue and left without looking back. There was no doubt the zombie hadn't died. The T-Virus had completely transformed its body. She couldn't kill a monster with an ability this grotesque yet. Rather than waste time here, she'd better hurry and catch up with Li Wei and the others.
A few minutes later, the zombie climbed to its feet again. The regenerated muscle tissue was even stronger, like blackened steel. Its blood-red eyes searched for the human it had just fought.
When it couldn't find her, the Strength-Type Zombie furiously lifted a sports car parked in the Underground Garage. Its grotesquely thick arms tore and twisted it. With a screech of bending and breaking metal, the once-expensive car split in two.
After venting its fury, the zombie sniffed the lingering scent in the air and followed it.
Meanwhile, Li Wei and the six newcomers had reached a dead end. Seeing that the path ahead went nowhere, the newcomers' faces turned ashen.
"Weren't you saying there was a way out here? You liar!" One of the newcomers, a potbellied man, was clearly terrified. He had been shaking the whole way. Now that the path he'd pinned all his hopes on was gone, he completely lost his senses.
Li Wei glanced at the fat man and couldn't be bothered to answer. He had been observing the newcomers along the way. Of the seven, aside from the middle-aged man who knew his way around firearms, this fat man and the one who had just died had been the most troublesome.
Had these fools still not figured out what was going on? This wasn't the real world. It was a mission world where they could die at any moment. And he wasn't some kindhearted nanny. Giving them guns and protecting them had already been more than enough. Instead of being grateful, this man just kept pushing his luck.
"If you're unhappy, you can leave. No one's stopping you!"
The icy reply left the fat man speechless. Enraged, he racked his gun and aimed it at Li Wei.
"Damn it! Who do you think you are, threatening me like that? I've had it in for you from the start. You didn't step up yourself just now—you made that beauty stay behind to die in your place! Everyone, we've got weapons now, too. Why not follow me? I'll make sure you eat well and live comfortably!" The fat man's shouting echoed through the Underground Garage.
But no one paid him any attention. The newcomers looked at him with pity and amusement, making him even angrier.
"He's just one man. Even if he's a veteran, there are six of us and we've got six guns. Why should we be afraid of this coward?" The fat man was convinced that Li Wei had left Zheng Yutong behind to buy time so he could save his own skin.
By now, that beautiful woman was surely dead. This was the perfect chance to seize command of the group.
"Leave your gun and get lost!" Li Wei really couldn't be bothered to waste any more time with the fat man. He had more important things to do.
But when Li Wei saw a flash of malice in the fat man's eyes, he knew something was wrong.
"You dare—"
Before he could finish, the fat man sneered and pulled the trigger.
Before you continue