Rhodes was shocked by the thought that appeared in his mind.
He recalled the strange scene had witnessed earlier again. The thin zombie seemed to have been drawn here by the ordinary zombies' growlings. Then, it seemed to be listening to the zombies as though it could understand the zombies' growlings. Whatever it was, it seemed like the thin zombie had gotten what it wanted from the ordinary zombies.
'It seems like the situation at the south gate is more complicated than I'd imagined. It's best if I return after I increase my strength.' With this thought in mind, Rhodes retreated from this troublesome place.
…
On campus.
An inconspicuous car sat on the path between the south gate and the west gate.
The beautiful cop, Emma, who was lying in the car opened her eyes with great difficulty. She had fainted many times over the night, but every time, she managed to regain consciousness.
At this point, she had not eaten any food or drank any water for two days. Most importantly, she discovered she was no longer as clear-headed as before.
Along with a high fever, the scratch on her arm had turned darker as well.
She frowned upon seeing this. When she felt clear-headed enough yesterday, she had cut off the piece of rotting flesh! However, after a night, the rotting piece of flesh did not only grow back, but it had worsened as well.
She used the last of her strength to struggle and fumble around looking for the dagger on her body. After a while, her hand finally tightened its grip around its hilt. After catching her breath, she used all her strength to pull the dagger out from the sight.
At this moment, she could barely keep her eyes open. Her mind seemed as though it was forcing her consciousness away. However, just as she was about to lose consciousness, she used all her strength to use the dagger to cut the piece of rotting flesh on her arm again.
She cried out as a sharp pain seared through her body. The pain seemed to have taken the final toll on her, and she passed out.
…
Rhodes, who happened to be passing by, heard the miserable cry. He followed the cry and found himself in front of a car. He had watched as Emma struggled and cut off the rotting piece of flesh from her arm. He was somewhat impressed by her.
After all, for someone to be able to stick to their morals and not harm others in this apocalyptic world, it was indeed worthy of Rhodes' praise.
Rhodes opened the car door and searched the car for a while; he found a gun and a very sharp dagger. He planned to leave after he found those things. After all, Emma had screamed rather loudly earlier. It would definitely attract the zombies.
However, when Rhodes was about to leave the car, Emma suddenly bit him.
The system notification rang in his mind, interrupting his plan to leave.
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You've been bitten by a zombie. Reward: Speed +2!"
This was the second zombie after Julie that he had met that could make him stronger! With this, he yanked a few wires out from the car and quickly tied Emma up.
When he was done, a few zombies were already shuffling toward him. When they smelled the blood in the car, they grew agitated. They roared and rushed toward Rhodes.
With that, the zombies' roars seemed to have started a chain reaction. Alerted by the roars, every zombie in the vicinity rushed toward Rhodes' direction.
Rhodes could only smile bitterly. "This is really too much!"
He quickly picked Emma up and tied her to his body. Then, he got out of the car and jumped onto the roof of the car. As he stood on the roof of the car, he surveyed his surroundings. Then, he leaped as hard as he could and grabbed onto the railings of a balcony on the second floor. With his boosted strength, he used one arm as he moved from window to window. Like an ape, he traveled across the building.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Rhodes began to feel slightly sore in his arm. He found a balcony that could accommodate two people and climbed up.
He untied Emma from his body and placed her on the ground. When he saw her police uniform that was in a messy state and her long fair legs, he could not help but have a reaction.
However, before Rhodes regained his senses, she suddenly opened her eyes.
At this moment, Emma had already turned into a zombie. She struggled to break free from her restraints.
However, Rhodes did not give her a chance and quickly knocked her out with a stick.
"Ah! Julie, I really don't know how much longer I can hold on! I hope you'll get well soon. Otherwise, I'm going to fall into a trap sooner or later..." Rhodes sighed before he carried Emma on his back and made his way back to the safe house.
…
At this moment…
Beth and Ira were both hiding in a closet, trembling in fear.
Julie was pounding on the closet in a frenzy.
However, after a moment, the noises abruptly stopped.
Beth buried her head between her legs and asked Ira in a trembling voice, "Professor Ira, do you think she has left?"
Upon hearing Beth's question, Ira slowly raised her head that was also buried between her legs. She looked at the gap between the closet doors and said, "I-it seems like s-she has left!"
Upon hearing those words, Beth began to sob. "Professor, I'm almost frightened to death! I'm really scared!"
Although Ira was scared as well, she was a few years older than Beth so her endurance was slightly better. She gently patted Beth's back to comfort her, and at the same time, she comforted herself inwardly as well.
After a while, Beth's sobbing gradually died down into silent tears. She asked through her hiccups, "Professor, we lost Julie. Will Rhodes abandon us when he returns and finds out about this?"
"I... I don't think so!" Ira stammered. She truly did not know the answer to Beth's question.
"Then, are we going to become zombies?" Beth asked.
It was deadly silent in the closer.
Both of them had wounds on their thighs. They did not know if the wounds were from Julie or if they had wounded themselves during the commotion.
…
Rhodes successfully carried Emma back to the safe house. However, as soon as he walked in, he knew in an instant something was wrong due to the scratches on the walls and the bloodstains. He quickened his pace instantly as his heart grew uneasy. He put Emma down and began to call out, "Julie! Julie!"
There was no movement even after he called out for Julie a few times. Feeling helpless, he could only call out for the other two women. "Beth! Ira!"
Finally, Rhodes heard movements. However, instead of two women, he saw two half-human-half-zombies.