Monster Upgrade

Twelve monsters emerged from the fog. They did not look simple.

Before Lu Chengchuan and the others could make a move, a roar sounded from behind the monsters, and all twelve charged at once. The soldiers raised their guns and fired, bullets striking the monsters and throwing off showers of sparks.

As metallic clanging rang out, the soldiers' faces turned grim.

The monsters could withstand bullets. That was bad news for them—very bad news. Compared to the monsters, guns were the soldiers' only advantage. If even guns could not kill them, they did not know what to do.

"Retreat!"

The monsters were far stronger than expected. Zhou Yaning did not hesitate for a moment before ordering a retreat.

After giving the order, she walked over to Lu Chengchuan. "Please cover them."

The monsters were fast—much faster than the ones from before, and far faster than ordinary people. The soldiers needed time to withdraw, and someone had to cover their safe retreat.

Lu Chengchuan was powerful. Having him bring up the rear was reassuring.

There was no time to spare. The monsters were already upon them. Lu Chengchuan set down his rifle, glanced at the Fine Steel Sword, and decided to intercept the monsters bare-handed.

Bullets only produced sparks when they struck the monsters. Even if that Fine Steel Sword chipped and curled, it would not kill a single monster. He might as well use his hands directly. His hands were harder than the Fine Steel Sword anyway.

He had used the sword because he did not want to get his hands dirty. Since the sword could not kill them, he would do it himself.

As the monsters rushed forward, Lu Chengchuan stepped out and drove his fist heavily into one monster's chest.

A dull boom sounded as the monster flew backward. Lu Chengchuan withdrew his fist. As expected of monsters that could withstand bullets, the impact had made his palm ache.

One monster was sent flying, while the other eleven surrounded him, swinging their arms to grab Lu Chengchuan.

Lu Chengchuan easily evaded them. Zhou Yaning and the others helped from the side, activating their respective abilities and doing their best to stop the dozen or so monsters pursuing them.

Flames and transparent blades of air shot out from both sides, striking the monsters. Yet those attacks only halted them for an instant before they charged again as though nothing had happened.

They fought as they retreated, running toward the circle of light at the edge of the village.

Lu Chengchuan swung his palm and sent the monsters closing in on him flying. Every strike was delivered with full force, but their bodies were as hard as iron. They would be knocked down, then rise again completely unharmed.

The soldiers entered the circle of light in a line, and more than twenty people left one after another.

When the monsters caught up, Lu Chengchuan stopped. He circulated his Inner Energy throughout his body. As it flowed through him, his strength and explosive power were enhanced.

He grabbed one monster and let the others attack him as he violently tore at its neck.

Sharp claws pierced his body, pain flaring all over him. The monsters clawed at his body and shoulders, tearing at him with all their strength as well.

His Inner Energy surged wildly into his arms and fingers. His arms swelled, making them look terrifying.

With the support of his Inner Energy, he gritted his teeth and pulled with all his might, tearing the monster's neck open.

He tossed aside a hard chunk of black flesh. Tainted Qi rapidly leaked from the wound in the monster's neck. It looked just like the zombies. Could these monsters be zombies too?

Their bodies were stiff, their skin iron-blue, and there was no life in their eyes. They really did not look like living creatures.

With one hand, he shoved away the monster that was leaking Qi, then swung both arms and forced back the monsters surrounding him.

"Move!"

Standing before the circle of light, Zhou Yaning shouted at Lu Chengchuan. A transparent shield enveloped her body. This was her ability, capable of protecting her from every angle without blind spots.

The moment Lu Chengchuan broke free of the encirclement, she entered the circle of light.

Killed a zombie. Obtained 100 days of lifespan.

As he fled, the monster whose throat he had torn open died, and the system's voice sounded. This thing really was a zombie. It was not one of those low-level zombies; the difference in strength was enormous, and the lifespan he gained had increased greatly as well.

One zombie could give him one hundred days of lifespan. If he could kill the remaining zombies, he could gain more than three years of lifespan. Unfortunately, he could not do that for now.

The zombies could not hurt him for the moment, but once his Inner Energy ran out, he would not be able to hold on for long with only the defense of the Eagle Claw Iron Body Skill.

It took considerable effort for him to kill one zombie. With eleven zombies surrounding him, even he could not fight so many hands with just two fists.

Lu Chengchuan leaped into the circle of light, and his entire body instantly vanished from the black fog.

Everyone escaped the black fog. The pursuing zombies lost their targets and stood there blankly, until a low roar sounded from behind them. The remaining zombies turned around and returned to the center of the "village."

Outside the black fog, once they confirmed that the monsters had not followed them out, everyone finally relaxed.

The soldiers stationed outside gathered around. When they saw it was them, they lowered their rifles and resumed their watch.

"What kind of monsters are those? Why can't bullets kill them?"

The soldiers were still shaken, and the members of the Investigation Bureau were equally baffled.

It was more than just being unable to kill them. Bullets sparked when they hit their bodies. Were those monsters made of iron?

"Do you know what they are?"

Zhou Yaning instinctively asked Lu Chengchuan. He was far too mysterious in her eyes. She felt that Lu Chengchuan knew many things and simply chose not to say them.

"Do you take me for an encyclopedia? You ask me everything." Lu Chengchuan was somewhat helpless. Zhou Yaning seemed to think that he knew and understood everything.

But he really did know what those things were, and he did not keep them in suspense.

"They're zombies. I tore open one zombie's neck just now, and Tainted Qi leaked out from inside. It was very similar to the low-level zombies I killed before."

"Zombies? Can monsters become stronger too..." Zhou Yaning asked again.

Lu Chengchuan knew the difference between them. The ones before had merely been low-level zombies. The ones inside did not have the words "low-level" attached to them. They were true zombies.

Though the difference was only in name, the gap in strength was worlds apart.

"Humans can awaken abilities, so why can't monsters grow stronger? They're far stronger than low-level zombies. Ordinary bullets can't hurt them. Do you have more powerful weapons?"

"If we want to enter and find the Energy Source, we have to deal with these zombies."

Now that they knew what those things were, they had to find a way to deal with them.

"We brought some armor-piercing rounds. We can try them."

They had made plenty of preparations before setting out and had brought many armor-piercing rounds. They could give them a try. If that did not work, they had also brought several heavy machine guns. If rifle armor-piercing rounds could not solve the problem, they would use heavy machine gun armor-piercing rounds.

Zhou Yaning picked up the phone they had left outside and discovered that only half an hour had passed from the time they entered to the time they came out. It was still early, so they would rest for a while before going in again.

"Hopefully, they can deal with them..."

Lu Chengchuan suddenly felt that things were not that simple, though he could not say exactly why.

Zhou Yaning did not catch the meaning behind his words. She found Li Wang and told him to prepare the armor-piercing rounds. After resting for a while, they would go in again to investigate.

Li Wang was afraid of those monsters that even bullets could not harm, but he had his orders. As a qualified soldier, he still obeyed without hesitation.