The mysterious zombie roared at Vuong Tu Hien.
Vuong Tu Hien shouted back similarly, as if saying, "You dog bastard, come down and bite me if you dare."
Vuong Tu Hien, who had developed by keeping a low profile, always dreamed of becoming the zombie emperor, the King of Hop City. He was adaptable; whether it was a septic tank or a cesspool, as long as he could survive, he would jump in without hesitation.
Today, he could control four evolved zombies. He originally thought that based on the current situation, he could easily make any zombie submit.
But who would have thought he would encounter such a terrifying existence.
Four evolved zombies.
In just one encounter, they were torn to shreds by the opponent.
The four-armed zombie's roar was as heavy as rolling thunder. It stared malevolently at Vuong Tu Hien, not moving at all, just intending to wear him down.
Now, Hop City was a nation of zombies; there were likely no human survivors left.
With no one to clear them out, Hop City had quite a few evolved zombies, and even many strange and bizarre ones. Often, in a comfortable environment, any species would achieve astonishing advancements.
Vuong Tu Hien swam towards the distance, the four-armed zombie following along the bank, clearly having no intention of letting Vuong Tu Hien go.
"Gege wu."
Seeing this situation, Vuong Tu Hien roared, somewhat bursting with anger, as if he really couldn't tolerate this situation.
"Roar."
The four-armed zombie roared back in kind.
Vuong Tu Hien, waiting in the water, rolled his eyes, wondering what to do. He couldn't just stay here indefinitely. Regarding the previous situation, he knew his choice was not wise. Without figuring out the abilities of his fellow zombie, he ordered his four evolved zombies to launch a sneak attack, ultimately being forced into this dead end.
He, who could control zombies, tried to control the four-armed zombie, but it had no effect at all.
In the end, he could only glare, swimming away down the river.
Early morning.
"Do you have any particular skills?" Vuong Khai strolled around the shops with Dong Giai. Chuc Thanh had already settled his matter, which was to patrol from the rooftop. But this Miss Dong had not yet been assigned anything.
Dong Giai said: "I don't think I have any particular skills."
Vuong Khai pondered, deep in thought, "Right now, there's hydropower training – I'm a water plant employee, a professional – also lock-picking, patrolling, teaching, farming, and so on. There are many jobs available. What you want to do depends on your own choice."
Dong Giai thought for a moment. Suddenly, she raised her hand, her arm appearing behind Vuong Khai's head, holding a sandbag. She turned and saw a little child sticking out his tongue, seemingly having done something wrong, running towards them. She smiled and threw the sandbag to the child.
"Thank you, big sister."
"Mm."
Vuong Khai looked at Dong Giai in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Dong Giai said. She could predict events two seconds ahead, so she knew the sandbag would hit Vuong Khai's head.
"Oh, then just tell me what you want to do." Vuong Khai didn't know how to arrange work for Dong Giai.
Just as Dong Giai was contemplating.
Co Hang walked over, smiling, "How about a chat?"
"Brother Hang, are you talking to me, or to her?" Vuong Khai asked.
"With Miss Dong, of course."
Dong Giai looked at Co Hang, knowing he was the second-in-command here after Lam Pham, a soldier, always wearing battle armor, super domineering and handsome.
Vuong Khai said: "Brother Hang, then you chat. I'll continue with my work."
Co Hang nodded.
At this moment.
Co Hang and Dong Giai went to a corner. For Dong Giai, she was a bit confused, not knowing what was going on.
"Little Pham told me you are an Awakened one, able to predict things two seconds ahead."
"Yes."
Dong Giai nodded. To him, such an ability seemed to have little significant use. If you said it was powerful, it seemed somewhat powerful, but if you said it wasn't powerful, that wasn't quite right either.
Co Hang looked into the distance, saying to himself: "Honestly, the shelter you see now was built through Lam Pham's continuous efforts, considered a sanctuary of hope for human survival and development. You've wandered outside, avoiding zombies, so you definitely know how terrifying zombies are now. For humanity, the hope of survival is truly too remote."
Hearing his words, Dong Giai understood. In the short time since she arrived at the Duong Quang residential area, she already knew that the safety of this shelter truly relied on the person who had rescued them.
Co Hang continued: "You are an Awakened one. Your awakened ability should not be wasted in vain. Being able to predict the future by two seconds can often put you in an unbeatable position. Are you willing to make your own contribution to this apocalypse?"
"Me?" Dong Giai pointed at herself in surprise, somewhat disbelieving, "I am willing, but I probably can't do it."
Dong Giai was not an unconfident person.
But the reality was before her: she was just a girl with no strength to truss a chicken.
Originally, Co Hang wanted to interact with Dong Giai for a period before bringing this up, but after talking with Lam Pham, he thought some things couldn't be delayed. Humanity should see more stars of hope appear.
"No, when you said you were willing, I knew you could do it." Co Hang smiled, then gently touched the battle armor on his body, "Human strength is often diverse. Those who can arm themselves with wisdom are the most powerful.
The battle armor I'm wearing is called the Anh Nang Chien Giap; Lam Pham and I came up with the name. It represents the power of the Duong Quang residential area shelter, and it's also the crystallization of human wisdom combined with zombie [technology/materials].
Your ability is formidable, an ability that can change the tide of a situation. If you can accept training and control this battle armor, then you can do it."
Hearing Co Hang's words, Dong Giai looked at Co Hang in shock.
"You're willing to let me wear this battle armor?"
She was a bit stunned. Anyone not blind could tell the value of this battle armor before her. If outsiders knew about it, they would absolutely fight like crazy to snatch it.
Co Hang smiled, "I wear this battle armor not because I like or want it, but because in the Duong Quang residential area, apart from Little Pham, only I can maximize the power of this battle armor. And now, you've appeared. I know you are more suitable to wear this battle armor than I am."
Dong Giai looked at Brother Hang, a sense of reverence rising in her heart, "But I've only been here for a few days, you trust me that much?"
Co Hang said: "Mm, I trust you."
"Why?"
"Because you were brought back by Little Pham. I trust anyone he brings back unconditionally."
"Then what should I do?"
"Accept my training. I will train you rigorously. Although the process will be very tough, the rewards will be great, as long as you can persevere."
What Co Hang feared most was Dong Giai not being able to persevere.
After all, she was female.
Many things could be understood.
Dong Giai said nothing but was thinking. She had never thought she could achieve anything in the apocalypse. Her only thought was to survive, to live well.
But after Brother Hang said these words to her.
Her thoughts quietly changed.
"I think I can persevere."
She knew everyone here was striving to survive, striving to create a beautiful shelter. Therefore, she encouraged herself, she definitely could persevere.
Co Hang smiled and said: "Work hard, I think you can definitely do it."
After saying these things to Dong Giai.
He also breathed a sigh of relief.
The future required struggle, required effort. In his heart, Awakened ones would definitely be humanity's strong pillar. In the future, those who could contribute to defeating zombies might really only be Awakened ones.
"That... Brother Hang." Dong Giai looked a little expectant.
"Mm, go on."
"Can I try on the battle armor now?"
Co Hang: ...
On the road.
Lam Pham, as usual, after delivering breakfast to Dang Hoang pharmaceutical factory with Co Hang, went out to eliminate zombies. This was something he had to do every day.
Although slashing zombies was a very dull affair.
But for Lam Pham, being able to see fewer and fewer zombies in Hoang City gave him an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
He had learned from Brother Hang that he had spoken with Dong Giai, and it went very smoothly; the other party was willing to accept training. In Lam Pham's view, this was a very good start.
He also knew that Brother Hang was not greedy for the battle armor. If he found a suitable candidate, Brother Hang would definitely be willing to take off the battle armor and give it to the other person.
He walked onto a street he hadn't cleared before.
He was shocked by the situation before him.
Green mist floated in the air of the street, looking like a kind of miasma. This mist didn't drift far away with the wind but remained consistently within a certain range.
"Strange, how could this situation arise?"
At least during this period in Hoang City, he had not encountered such a situation.
"Could it be some special type of zombie?"
It hadn't been long since that thunderstorm.
He had already encountered several types of special evolved zombies. He had discussed with Co Hang that zombies were evolving at a very fast pace, and humans were already finding it very difficult to contend with them. As time passed, zombies would continue to evolve. This situation was a very bad thing.
Lam Pham walked towards the street with the drifting green mist, took a breath; the smell was rank and sour, with a rotten odor.
And his body was not affected in any way.
"I'm fine. It might be because my physical constitution is relatively good. I wonder what would happen if an ordinary person absorbed this kind of mist."
Walking, walking.
He stopped. A strange thing appeared at the entrances of the surrounding shops, like plant spores, or perhaps not. It looked like clusters of green flesh growths stacked together, seemingly able to breathe, emitting green mist.
"The mist on this street is emitted by this thing?"
He approached, looked down. Viscous liquid flowed on the surface of the fleshy spore growths, covered with dense, irritating bumps, looking very disgusting. He drew his sword and cut open a fleshy spore growth.
Swish...
Unknown green liquid flowed out, and at the same time, a cloud of mist, as if pushed by some force, rushed towards his face, instantly enveloping Lam Pham's face.
"What is this stuff? It smells awful."
Lam Pham waved his hand, spat a few times, observed himself; there were no changes.
"How did these things form? How could a perfectly fine Hoang City be occupied by this stuff?"
He expressed his dissatisfaction with this.
"Ughh, ughh."
There were zombie roars ahead.
Continuing forward, he saw a zombie in the mist. Just as he was about to draw his sword and slash the opponent, he was shocked by the condition of the zombie before him.
This was an ordinary zombie. On the ferocious half of its face grew the fleshy spore growths he had just seen at the shop entrance. Viscous liquid flowed down from it, and occasionally, mist spurted out.
Looking closely, this zombie's arms, waist, and various other body parts all had disgusting fleshy spore growths.
"What on earth is going on here?"
Just as he was wondering.
The zombie also spotted Lam Pham, growled, and lunged at him. When it opened its mouth to growl, viscous liquid sprayed out from its oral cavity.
Pfft.
He swung Frostmourne, cleaving the zombie in two with one strike. The notification still indicated it was an ordinary zombie, not any special type.
Lam Pham continued to walk forward. From time to time, similar zombies would appear, all of them cleaved in two by him one by one.
He saw a zombie curled up on the ground at the entrance of a shop on the street, a low growl emitting from its throat. Its body had already turned into fleshy spore growths, only its ferocious head exposed.
"Are these fleshy spore growths all transformed from zombies?"
Since the apocalypse began, he had never encountered such a situation. He understood in his heart that a new type of zombie had appeared, and this zombie was highly dangerous, its threat even stronger than other evolved zombies.
As he went deeper.
The surrounding scene was more nauseating than he had imagined. That's right, it was disgusting. He found many corpses, some already decayed human corpses, and some that had turned into zombies, seemingly affected by this mist, thereby transforming into fleshy spore growths, spewing mist.
"Is this type of zombie trying to create its desired living environment?"
Far away.
He saw a bulky zombie stirring in the green mist, as if it were a patrolman of this area. Shrouded by the mist, only its back could be vaguely seen.
"Hey," Lam Pham called out.
The mysterious zombie that was walking stopped upon hearing the sound, as if it hadn't expected to hear a human voice.
Very quickly.
Lam Pham approached the mysterious zombie, raised his head, and looked at the zombie in front of him. The zombie before him was even bulkier and taller than the self-destruct type zombies he had seen before. It was also the most disgusting type of zombie he had seen. He vaguely remembered that the zombie that had disgusted him the most back then was the one he saw in the underground parking lot.
Now, compared to the one before him, it was simply incomparable.
The mysterious zombie's entire body was covered in disgusting pustules, numerous in quantity, with viscous green liquid flowing down from them.
"Ughh, ughh."
The pustule zombie roared, green mist spraying out even as it breathed.
Boom!
Boom!
The fleshy spore growths at the entrances of the surrounding shops exploded, and thick mist drifted out.
The mysterious zombie seemed very puzzled, perhaps not expecting a human to appear here, and moreover, without any changes.
"Did you create this environment here?" Lam Pham asked.
He was quite concerned about the environment of Hoang City.
And he had always thought, whether the slashed zombie corpses were cleared or not already had a certain impact on Hoang City's hygiene. But who would have thought that this kind of mist-forming zombie would also appear.
Just looking at the color of the mist, one could tell there was a problem.
"Ughh, ughh."
The mysterious zombie roared and viciously lunged at Lam Pham. Its huge, bloated body would be impossible for any survivor to resist. Even someone wearing battle armor, under this kind of physique, would probably be pounced on and mauled like a dog.
As the zombie charged.
Lam Pham dodged.
He found that this type of mysterious zombie was not fast, and its strength was not as great as imagined. The only problem was that as it moved, the pustules on its body would spray out even more green mist.
The pustule zombie, having failed to hunt the human, growled, the pustules on its head looking like they might burst. Its mouth gaped open, its abdomen moved, and immediately, viscous green liquid shot out directly from its throat.
This liquid, like a water gun, shot towards Lam Pham.
Lam Pham still dodged.
Looking at the ground corroded by the liquid, he couldn't help but show a grave expression. This type of zombie could actually shoot corrosive liquid; the cement ground was showing a charred black color.
"It doesn't have extreme speed or strength, but it has such an ability. If ordinary survivors encountered it, wanting to hunt it down would basically be impossible. I don't know if the liquid flowing from the pustules on its body is harmful."
Lam Pham muttered to himself.
The pustule zombie roared, already somewhat enraged, obviously because its two attacks had not caused any damage to the human before it, and thus it was becoming unbearable.
Gurgle, gurgle!
At this moment.
Lam Pham saw the pustules on the surface of the pustule zombie's body swell up. With a thump, all the pustules on its body exploded, and viscous liquid surged towards Lam Pham like a tidal wave.
"So disgusting."
Facing such liquid, he retreated. As this liquid splattered on the ground, the ground again emitted a sizzling corrosive sound.
Through observation.
Lam Pham already understood. The formidable aspect of the zombie before him was the corrosive liquid in the pustules on its body. It could fight at range and also in close combat. If flesh and blood touched it, it would absolutely be corroded clean.
Even if he forcibly withstood this liquid, the clothes on his body would probably be damaged.
He valued his clothes greatly, not because they were a gift from someone important, but because clothes needed to be bought with money.
Lam Pham swung Frostmourne. An invisible sword aura enveloped it, instantly cleaving the pustule zombie in half at the waist. All sorts of messy flesh and blood fell to the ground, and a pungent smell assaulted his nostrils.
"Truly disgusting."
[Killed Di Bien Hinh tang thi] [Points +20]
Only 20 points?
This type of zombie, with this kind of ability, was only worth twenty points. This truly exceeded his imagination.
In his view, this type of zombie should at least be worth thirty or forty points.
After all, its harmfulness was very high.
Looking at the name, Di Bien Hinh, it meant it had no fixed name.
Could this "Di Bien" (mutation/aberration) mean that an originally normal zombie, under some special circumstances, underwent an unpredictable situation, thereby evolving along various perverted paths?
Thinking about it carefully, it was very likely so.
At least the Di Bien Hinh tang thi he had encountered all had some kind of distortion in their bodies, developing in the direction of monsters.
Although this zombie was extremely disgusting.
He still cut open the zombie's head and took out the crystal.
The mist in the street was pervasive. It didn't dissipate just because the zombie died but still persisted. As for when it might dissipate, that depended on fate.
He turned and left.
There were still many streets that needed him to clear.
This type of Di Bien Hinh tang thi merely added another category to his understanding of zombies.