"Lin Qingqing, block the five zombies behind us!"
"Got it!"
Though she had been frozen in fear ever since the mutated zombie revealed its true form, Huan Tian's command jolted Lin Qingqing into motion like a surge of electricity. She rushed toward the bookshelf by the hallway, gritting her teeth as she tried to topple it. But it was packed full of heavy books—far too much for her to push down alone.
Liang Jing started to step forward to help, but then abruptly stopped, as if something had just occurred to her. She subtly retracted her foot, the movement so discreet that even Huan Tian didn't notice.
"If you don't want to die, then help her!"
Huan Tian's cold shout thundered through the air. Liang Jing snapped out of her hesitation and hurried over to Lin Qingqing. With their combined strength, they finally managed to tip the bookshelf. It crashed down with a deafening boom, landing diagonally and jamming itself across the corridor, cutting off the zombies' path.
The five zombies behind them had already charged forward, but the fallen shelf blocked their way. They could only try to climb over it—or crawl underneath.
Either way, the moment they showed their heads, they were met with the sharp thrust of Lin Qingqing's spear.
Her strikes were still not accurate, but in this bottleneck, the danger was greatly reduced. If she missed once, she struck again. Twice, three times—until the job was done.
Dark red blood tinged with bluish light splattered across her chest and dress. Her wrist had long gone numb from the jarring impact against skulls, but Lin Qingqing gritted her teeth and forced herself to endure. With one final thrust, she drove the spear into the last zombie's eye socket.
She dared not stop—because she knew that, in Huan Tian's eyes, she was already someone bearing guilt. If she wanted to keep following him, she had to obey orders flawlessly.
Liang Jing stared wide-eyed at the blood-soaked Lin Qingqing, as if seeing her for the first time. The girl who had always been soft and gentle like a kitten now radiated the ferocity of a mother leopard.
Why was Lin Qingqing so strong?
Why could she still summon the courage to fight after witnessing such terrifying zombies?
No one knew the answer. But hidden beneath her bangs, deep in her eyes, a cold gleam was growing sharper with every second.
[Ding. Killed Tier-1 Zombies: 5. Demon Hunt Points gained: 5. Current Total: 34]
The sudden system notification echoed in Huan Tian's mind, making him pause for a fraction of a second. But in the next instant, his pupils shrank—the split-belly zombie had already retracted its tentacle into its abdomen and relaunched it with a sharp whoosh.
Huan Tian had been crouching, ready to dodge. But he immediately realized—the target wasn't him.
"Ah!"
Liang Jing instinctively threw herself to the side as the tentacle speared through the air above her head and slammed into the wall behind her with tremendous force.
"Roar!"
Missing its mark again drove the split-belly zombie into a frenzy. The fleshy tentacle twisted and thrashed in midair like a raging python, spraying crimson mucus everywhere. Liang Jing, who was mere inches from it, could only watch the monstrous limb undulate violently—her face convulsing in terror, skin twitching so violently that her features seemed to collapse into themselves.
Huan Tian's eyes narrowed sharply. His gaze locked on the nightmare crystal blooming like a flower at the zombie's core.
That precious crystal lay embedded in the center of the creature's belly. At this moment, it still looked like five distinct shards, but they were fusing—at a speed visible to the naked eye. Once fully merged, it would become far more dangerous.
His right hand reached toward his waist—five throwing spears remained. Huan Tian's eyes turned icy cold as a strategy instantly formed in his mind.
Just as he drew the first spear, the split-belly zombie recoiled again, spinning its tentacle in front of its body, forming a living shield.
But Huan Tian had been waiting for this exact moment.
He threw the spear with explosive force—
Thud!
The weapon struck dead-on, piercing straight through the middle of the thrashing tentacle.
"Roar! Roar!"
The split-belly zombie tried to retract its tentacle, only to realize the spear lodged in its midsection had jammed it in place. Without fully drawing it back, it couldn't launch its deadly, bullet-like strikes. Enraged, the fleshy bloom at its core let out a furious, guttural roar.
With no other choice, it lashed out with the remaining half of the tentacle, snapping it forward like a whip toward Huan Tian.
But this time, the force was weaker—nearly half the power of its full-speed strike.
Huan Tian rolled sideways, narrowly dodging the whip. As he landed and kept his distance, a glint of icy light flashed in his eyes. Without hesitation, he hurled another spear.
This time, it struck even closer to the tentacle's base.
Over and over, he repeated the same tactic—each throw hitting its mark. And with every strike, the part of the tentacle that the zombie could still retract shrank bit by bit.
At first, Lin Qingqing and Liang Jing couldn't figure out what Huan Tian was doing. But soon, they noticed: the shorter the retractable segment became, the weaker the zombie's attacks grew.
"It can only channel full force when the tentacle is fully drawn in... If it can't retract, that limb is useless!"
Lin Qingqing instantly saw the key. At the same time, she realized that Huan Tian had already used up all his remaining spears.
"Lin Qingqing!"
"Huan Tian—catch!"
The two shouted in unison. As Huan Tian reached back, Lin Qingqing's spear landed cleanly in his hand.
"Well done."
A rare smile tugged at the corner of Huan Tian's lips. His right arm tensed, muscles swelling so hard they stretched his sleeve taut. His body, powered by eight full points of strength, burst into motion.
With a roar, he hurled the spear like a javelin.
It tore through the air, a deadly projectile hurtling straight toward the zombie's core.
"Roar! Roar!"
The split-belly zombie let out a deafening roar, but its tentacles could no longer retract into its belly. They lay sprawled on the ground like dying eels, twitching feebly twice before falling completely still.
The sharp spear shot through the air like a precision-guided missile, piercing directly into the heart of the blooming core where the Nightmare Crystals were fusing.
Clang!
A sound like shattering crystal echoed out. The five fusing Tier-1 Nightmare Crystals exploded instantly, the blast force crushing them into fragments smaller than fingernails.
The split-belly zombie roared in a frenzy, but the sound quickly faded, as if all strength had drained from its lungs. Its once-powerful body visibly weakened, swaying unsteadily like it could collapse at any moment.
Draw the gun. Aim.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Huan Tian fired three shots in a flash. Thanks to his specialized recoil-absorbing technique, each bullet struck dead center on the zombie's forehead.
Boom.
The creature's skull exploded. Its headless body staggered a few steps, then collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The tentacles on the floor, which had still been pulsing like breathing flesh, immediately deflated and shriveled. A dark pool of blood oozed out as they fell still.
[Ding! Killed a Proto-Tier-2 zombie. Gained 10 Demon Hunt Points. Current total: 44.]
A look of joy bloomed on Lin Qingqing's face. She was just about to speak—
When a low, rasping sound came from around the corner.
"Hrrr… hrrr…"
Six zombies burst into view, rushing toward the trio. Bits of torn flesh still dangled from their mouths—and among them were Liu Tong and Li San, who had only just turned.
Huan Tian pulled the short spear from the split-belly zombie's body, quickly slipped on a plastic bag over his hand, and ripped out the mass of bloody flesh that wrapped the pseudo-Tier-2 Nightmare Crystal fragments.
"Let's go!"
Lin Qingqing pointed ahead, "Keep going straight—that's the warehouse."
As they neared the fork in the path, Huan Tian suddenly made a sharp turn, darting into the nearby emergency passage. Without hesitation, Lin Qingqing followed closely, while Liang Jing, flustered and panicked, barely had time to think and just stumbled after them.
The three rushed through the heavy door; Huan Tian quickly slammed the lock shut. Right behind the door was a shovel. Lin Qingqing's quick reflexes grabbed the long-handled tool and wedged it firmly against the inside of the door handle as a makeshift barricade.
No sooner had she let go than the emergency passage door thudded violently inward.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Angry pounding came from outside. The two rectangular glass windows on the door shattered instantly, and a dozen furious arms clawed inside. Despite the sharp shards slicing into their flesh and drawing blood, the zombies showed no sign of pain.
Liu Tong's half-torn, rotten arm flailed wildly right before Lin Qingqing and Liang Jing's eyes, splattering fresh blood onto their clothes.
Lin Qingqing trembled all over, but she was profoundly grateful for the adaptive training Huan Tian had forced on her last night—otherwise, she would have long since been paralyzed by fear.
Suddenly, a violent bout of dry heaving erupted beside her. Liang Jing leaned helplessly against the wall, vomiting uncontrollably but bringing nothing up. The very thought of the horrific thing tormenting her body the previous night sent shudders through her.
Without warning, Huan Tian grabbed Liang Jing's shoulder, pinned her against the wall, and fiercely tore open the front of her shirt.