There was a commotion outside the night after Rhodes received the system notification.
…
Early the next morning.
The zombies were no longer as agitated as they were during the night. However, it could be seen that they had become more powerful.
Rhodes wondered out loud, "Ten days ago, when the apocalypse began, 90% of the people turned into zombies. In just ten days, the world seemed to have gotten worse by a level. I wonder if the same thing will happen again after another ten days?"
He did not dwell on the matter for long. In any case, he needed to work hard to increase his strength so he could help Julie level up as soon as possible. He also needed to find more powerful beauties, feed them the 'poison', and build his own force.
After a while, he recalled that he had to find time to check out the situation at the south gate.
He had ordered Julie and the others to help him increase his strength again this morning.
He managed to accumulate 20 Ability Points. He did not hesitate and used all the points on the special ability, Elementary Metal Molecule Manipulation. With that, the ability was upgraded into Intermediate Metal Molecule Manipulation. Its range had widened to a 100-meter radius, and the weight of the metal he could control had risen to 500kg.
Then, Rhodes' mind slowly drifted to the process of him increasing his strength through the four female zombies' bites, and his hand began to move rhythmically.
The zombies were getting more and more ferocious. Even their energy crystals seemed to have improved as well.
To help Julie level up, he would not slack off at all. He had killed many zombies and had obtained six level-three energy crystals. Apart from that, he managed to obtain two level-five energy crystals as well.
Fortunately, he had awakened the Intermediate Metal Molecule Manipulation ability. Otherwise, he would have to constantly sharpen his knife.
He had experienced it yesterday; the head of a level-five zombie was much harder to pierce compared to a level-three zombie!
…
In an area outside of the university's vicinity.
At this moment, military helicopters whistled past in the air; they did not stop at all.
Angry curses could be heard in every corner of the street every time the helicopters flew past. The curses were from survivors whom the military, intentionally or unintentionally, failed to rescue. Alas, apart from cursing, there was nothing they could do. They could only feel bitter as they dispersed, in fear of attracting zombies.
Meanwhile, on the 27th floor of Ronan Tower.
Bradley was also one of the people who were cursing. Amidst his angry curses, he lit a cigarette and walked to the window, hoping the nicotine would calm his anger.
He surveyed the scenery below him blankly as he exhaled the smoke from the cigarette. All of a sudden, his eyes stopped roving around as he focused his sight.
It was as though he had seen a new world as he watched the zombies swarm the street below.
Since the apocalypse dawned on humankind, he had seen many zombies. He had even seen waves after waves of zombies swarming the street. However, what he was seeing now shocked him.
Zombies had no intelligence; they were only driven by basic instinct. They only knew how to instinctively search for the scent of the living to satiate their hunger. To be blunt, they were blindly running around. Even if there were obstacles in their way, they would run against the obstacles without any hesitation.
Bradley was well aware of this after spending some time observing the zombies. However, today, his understanding of the zombies had been destroyed.
Normally, hordes of zombies would occupy the street. However, something was different today.
Attracted by the sounds of the helicopters, a horde of zombies came running from afar. Usually, they would run blindly, crashing against everything that stood in their paths. However, at this moment, the horde of zombies avoided an area in the center and split into two groups, like a two-prong fork. After passing the area they avoided, the two groups of zombies proceeded to merge into one again.
How high was the 27th floor? It was more than 70 meters in height. Under normal circumstances, humans could only vaguely see from such a height.
Bradley's interest was piqued. He squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look. He wanted to find out what it was that actually made the zombies take a detour of their own accord. Soon enough, he saw a figure with a swollen belly, similar to that of a pregnant woman, lying on the ground. From this distance, it was too hard for him to tell, but based on the situation outside, he deduced that it could only be a zombie.
He felt as though he was walking in the middle of a cloud of dense fog at this moment; his vision was really bad. Moreover, the curiosity was like an itch in his heart that would not be satisfied until he found out the reason behind this strange phenomenon.
His heart thumped wildly in his chest as he hurriedly brought out his phone from his pocket. In his haste, he had forgotten about the cigarette, which had already burned close to the butt, in his mouth. He only reacted when it burned his lips.
He spat the cigarette out and hastily turned on the camera on the phone. He pointed the camera in the direction where he had seen the figure as his fingers began to zoom in on the scene.
In just a moment, he saw that the figure lying on the ground was, indeed, a zombie. To be precise, a female zombie. Shockingly, it seemed like it was pregnant! He could even see the outline of a tiny arm moving under the surface of the belly.
As soon as Bradley saw this, his heart skipped a beat as fear of the unknown began to tighten its grip around his heart. As though to combat his fear, a hint of denial briefly appeared in his mind.
He was not stupid. Anyone would think of childbirth immediately when they witnessed this scene. However… were zombies capable of having children? If zombies could have children, could humans still be saved? Would the new generation of zombie babies be as instinct-driven and stupid as their parents?
Bradley did not have the answers to all these questions. However, there was something he was certain of. Whether humans survived the apocalypse or became extinct due to the apocalypse, the recording in his phone was definitely an extremely important piece of information.
He finally understood why the zombies had instinctively avoided the pregnant zombie. It was due to the birth of a new life. The continuation of a species was of utmost importance. Even wild beasts would instinctively protect their children. It seemed like zombies were no different in that aspect.
He lowered his gaze and continued to look at the phone screen in shock and fear. His breathing quickened as he watched a small hand clawed its way out of the female zombie's belly. After tearing its way out of the female zombie's stomach, a fair and tiny hand moved in the air for a moment.
The hand was small; it was exactly the size of an infant's hand. The difference between the hand and an ordinary infant's hand was the sharp claws at the tips of the small hand. Although Bradley could not tell how sharp they were from such a distance, to be able to tear the female zombie's stomach open, they had to be very sharp.
Bradley's heart rate continued to accelerate, and he felt as though he had been dealt a heavy blow. As he looked at his phone screen, he did not know if he should continue watching. He had an ominous feeling that he was about to witness something terrible.
His feet seemed to have taken root on the ground, and his arms were stiff. He could not move at all. It felt as though he was under a spell and was forced to continue watching.
Bradley was still stunned and frightened by what he had seen so far when a small head popped up from the torn stomach.
What Bradley saw next made him feel as though his heart that had been racing wildly in his chest had abruptly stopped beating altogether. He had even unconsciously held his breath as though he was trying to diminish his sense of presence. He thought he had been extremely afraid earlier. However, at this moment, he finally realized the true meaning of fear.
The small head that popped out of the belly lifted its head at this moment, revealing its face that was like a porcelain doll. As though it could sense Bradley watching it, it looked directly into the camera as though it could see him.
At this moment, Bradley finally reacted. He screamed as he frantically retreated from the window. He stumbled and fell to the ground as he threw the phone in his hand away like a hot potato. He crawled under a table, shivering, as he looked at the window fearfully. It was as if he was afraid the little monster would pounce at him through the window.
"F*ck! Who's screaming?"
"Are you trying to f*cking scare me to death in broad daylight?"