"No, Julie!" Rhodes roared as he fiercely hugged Julie to him when he sensed life completely leaving her body. It was as though by hugging her tightly, he could prevent her soul from leaving.
Rhodes was still deep in sorrow and despair when the door of the apartment began to shake violently. He turned around instinctively to look at the door. It seemed like someone, or something, was outside the door. With such strong and violent movements, it was definitely not human.
His face paled immediately. Just a moment ago, he was still an ordinary student, relatively sheltered from the dangers of the world. Now, he was thrust into a world that was even more terrifying.
Meanwhile, Rhodes suddenly felt Julie twitching in his arms. For just a fleeting moment, he felt joy before despair weighed him down again. He knew it was impossible for her to come back to life; her mutation had begun.
Rhodes' mind was blank at this moment. What should he do?
Julie began to convulse even more violently in his arms now. It was as though she was a kitten that had been caught and was struggling to free itself.
Rhodes hugged her even tighter than before, unwilling to let go. He closed his eyes, unwilling to see her rotting appearance. At this moment, he still wanted to hold on to Julie's bright smile.
The poison in Julie's body had been in there for so long that it was a miracle she had lasted so long. Therefore, it did not take long before she rose again as something else.
Her originally slender and frail body was incredibly strong at this moment. If it were not for Rhode's increased strength, he would not have been a match for her.
At this moment, the door was shaking even more violently than before and the noise had turned louder. It was as though there were many hands knocking, pushing, slamming, and smashing at the door.
When Rhodes looked at the door again, he knew the door would give way under the zombies' strength in less than ten minutes. No matter how he thought about it, there was no way for him to win.
In the end, he inhaled deeply before he resolutely let Julie go. However, as soon as he let her go, she bit him without any hesitation.
Rhodes was prepared for this, but for someone who had never even been in a real fight, he panicked. He tried to roll out of bed but Julie clearly had no plans of letting him go.
She lunged at him, not caring about anything else. However, she had barely moved before she fell down, tangled up in the blanket. She could not move her lower body at all. She could only bare her teeth and swing her claws around to intimidate Rhodes.
Now that Julie was under control, he heaved a sigh of relief. He was no longer as nervous as before. He stood up and called up the system to check his attributes.
Host: Rhodes.
Age: 22.
Strength: 30 (original 11)
Speed: 30 (Original 8)
Vitality: 30 (original 15)
Spirit: 30 (Original 13)
After looking at the system interface, Rhodes discovered his four attributes had increased, at least, two times in such a short time.
He clenched his fists and felt the abundance of strength his body contained. In the past, he struggled to lift a 100-pound weight. However, currently, he felt as though he could easily lift a 200-pound weight. Moreover, he could sense he was more agile and faster as well. It seemed like he would be able to put some of the boxing moves he learned in school to good use now.
At this moment, he tried moving around. Sure enough, his speed was incredibly fast. He even produced a sound wave when he moved.
As he familiarized himself with his newfound strength, Julie broke free and grabbed his hand.
This time, Rhodes did not panic and easily freed himself from her grip. Then, he sidestepped her and picked up a pillow before smashing it against her head. With just the pillow, he sent her flying with a bang against the wall.
"F*ck!" Rhodes cursed as he panicked and rushed forward to check Julie's injuries.
Fortunately, she had already mutated, and the pillow was hardly lethal.
At this moment, she shook her head as she rose to her feet before charging toward Rhodes.
Rhodes felt relieved when he saw she was unharmed. Then, he grabbed the blanket before twisting them into a rope and rushed toward Julie.
At the moment they were about to collide, Rhodes lowered his body and wrapped the twisted blanket around Julie's waist. Then, he quickly grabbed her hands and bound them.
However, Julie did not stop struggling. She kept struggling, snapping, and snarling, trying to bite him.
In the end, he lifted her up at the waist and placed her face down on the bed before grabbing her legs and tying them with the bedsheet.
Finally, he managed to get Julie under control. Apart from twisting her body in an attempt to free herself, she was mostly immobile.
After subduing Julie, before Rhodes could even take a breath, the door finally gave way with a bang.
Rhodes was shocked when he looked over. There was a hole almost as big as the door on the door, and all the furniture had been pushed aside. He could not see how many zombies there were, but the ones he could see were growling at him ferociously.
"This is bad!" Rhodes felt the weight of the danger pressing down on him at this moment. Just dealing with Julie alone had not been easy. If so many of them swarmed into the apartment, he would definitely die.
With death looming over his head at this moment, Rhodes braced himself before he charged out.
The zombies at the door grew agitated and excited when they saw a living person.
Rhodes felt goosebumps rise on his skin as he drew closer to them. He had no idea what these zombies experienced while they were human. Their bodies were mutilated in every way possible. Some of them were missing mouths, revealing only rows of bloodied teeth. Some even lost their lower jaws. Some had no arms and legs. However, all these impediments did not stop them from determinedly making their way to him. If it were not for the fact there was no way out, he would have run away in fear. Moreover, Julie was behind him; he could not run. Therefore, he could only muster up his courage and charge at the horde of zombies.
As he advanced, he grabbed an overturned stool and used all his strength to smash it on a zombie's head. With his boosted strength and speed, the stool became a lethal weapon in his hands.
The zombie's head exploded, and brain matter splattered everywhere. It was a gruesome sight.
Rhodes, who was caught off guard, was splattered by the brain matter as well. When he smelled the stench from it, he could not help but throw up. He retched a few times before he finally recovered.
Despite that, he felt good. This was his first time feeling pure strength coursing through his body. To destroy and smash everything with his strength; it felt like one of men's darkest and most primitive desires. This feeling brought him to a strange state of twisted pleasure at this moment. All his fear had been swept away now. He was brimming with fighting spirit, and his eyes were flashing with killing intent; his hands and feet were eager to move.