Bang!
Bai Zemin had swung the Xuanyuan Sword with such power that the evolved zombie was forced to kneel on one knee while crossing both limbs in an X-shape to parry the blow.
Even the ground had cracked slightly due to the powerful impact!
But that wasn't all that happened...
Crack...
A very small sound that would normally go unnoticed rang out in the middle of the silent corridor where two beings were struggling to survive and evolve into something superior.
The evolved zombie's greenish eyes twitched softly and a strange growl escaped from its mouth as it looked at the tiny crack that had appeared on both blades.
The Xuanyuan Sword was not a normal Rare grade treasure, it was a Rare grade treasure that was at the peak! With its ability to pierce through almost any defense below level 40 and even being able to pierce through an armored vehicle, even the two blades of the evolved zombie could not withstand being hit with such power by such a weapon!
"Damn zombie!" Bai Zemin spat and taking advantage of the superior position turned his body and kicked the evolved zombie in the ribs, sending it flying over twenty meters.
The evolved zombie rolled across the floor until it hit the wall of the opposite corridor.
If it were any other level 21 living being facing this zombie, that person would undoubtedly die immediately or end up being infected. However, Bai Zemin had been constantly fighting against existences stronger than him and upon defeating them his stats received a certain power boost, so his actual strength was much more than that of any other level 21.
In addition, the current Bai Zemin was under a strange effect in which his reflexes and reaction speed had increased at least two or three times more than normal due to the rapid circulation of adrenaline through his skill Blood Manipulation.
If only one of these factors were not present, Bai Zemin would have already been defeated because although his Strength stat was at least twice higher, his Agility was inferior so he would not even have time to react before being killed.
Clang!
Bang!
The metallic sound and explosions echoed throughout the corridors as the evolved zombie tried to use its superior Agility to overwhelm Bai Zemin. However, the creature failed to overcome his reflexes and reaction speed so it was always sent flying after meeting his sword.
Why isn't this zombie using that strange skill it used earlier to parry my attacks? Bai Zemin frowned tightly as he collided with the evolved zombie.
The evolved zombie's blades had small cracks that slowly but surely began to spread wider and wider with each collision. However, the beast was not using that strange barrier that had stopped the blood chains.
Could it be that it could no longer use it? Such an idea flashed in his mind and he immediately activated his Blood Manipulation skill again without worrying about lack of blood as his previous preparations by spreading blood over most of the corridors had made everything simpler for him.
Swoosh!
After spending more than thirty Mana points, six huge blood spears floated in the air and shot at full speed towards the evolved zombie that was struggling to stand up after being sent flying.
However, that strange barrier appeared again, causing Bai Zemin to frown. Before discovering the weakness of that skill, he was unwilling to waste any more Mana.
In the end, Bai Zemin once again entangled with the evolved zombie in a fierce dance to the death where a single mistake could cost anyone their death, slowly forcing the creature to retreat to one of the marked rooms where the final phase of the plan would come into play.
* * *
In one of the rooms on the fourth floor.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of metal clanging against metal followed by bangs could be heard inside the room. Four friends were sitting in the corner of the room, moving as far away from the door as possible while looking with fearful eyes in that direction.
"It's been almost five minutes but the sound of fighting still persists." Li Na whispered quietly like the buzzing of a mosquito.
The group of friends had been waiting in hope for the arrival of a person with enough strength to save them from this hell they were locked in. However, while the person who had entered the building had gotten farther than the man who had snuck in several days ago, it seemed that this new person had also encountered an obstacle powerful enough to hold him back for so long.
"It seems we can only pray." Gao Min replied in a whisper as she joined both hands together and began muttering prayers.
The moment all hope disappeared and one could only hope for a supernatural miracle, even the least believing person would start praying to some kind of almighty God in search of salvation.
"If this person is also forced to leave? I don't think I can endure another day..." Fan Wu could not stop her tears from sliding down her beautiful face. She had already reached the breaking point and was probably the worst of the four friends.
Wu Yijun frowned tightly and a hint of worry glittered in her eyes. She had been the only one of the four girls who had glimpsed for a second the person who had charged into the building.
Even such a fast person was forced to stop? Wu Yijun thought inwardly, horrified.
If even a person capable of crossing several tens of meters in a few blinks of an eye had been forced to fight for so long without being able to defeat the other side, then this could only mean that the enemy was incredibly powerful!
Only now did Wu Yijun realize how lucky they had been to continue alive so far and, for the first time in six days, she was silently grateful to be locked up in this place she had previously called hell.
BANG!
As the group of four friends prayed for the safety and victory of whoever was fighting whatever was out there, the door of the room was suddenly sent flying alongside a body the height of a human being.
"Ah! The door collapsed!"
"Monster!"
"It's a zombie!"
"Oh my God, it's over!"
...
The girls screamed in terror and drew energy from where they didn't know they had it to stand up and run to the other corner as they looked at the blue-skinned zombie getting to its feet with staggering steps.
Grrr...
The evolved zombie opened its mouth and looked at them with eyes filled with murderous intent before taking a step forward.
Seeing the greenish eyes of the zombie staring at them with a bloodshot gaze, the faces of the four girls paled with fear.
Swoosh!
A shadow flashed before the eyes of the four girls before a powerful metallic bang made their ears buzz. When the shadow was forced to stop by the two strange blade-like arms of the strange blue-skinned creature, they finally caught a glimpse of the possible savior of their lives.
Bang!
The floor cracked and the window panes were crushed by the shockwave caused by the collision between the Xuanyuan Sword and the two sharp blades of the evolved zombie.
Finally seeing the man who had dared to enter the female dormitory and who had killed who knew how many dangerous creatures to reach this place, the group of four friends was a bit surprised by the fact that he was actually a person two or three years younger than themselves.
However, the biggest surprise was when they saw that this young man actually had the strength to fight on equal footing against a monster so strange and horrifying as that zombie with blue skin and greenish eyes... No, in fact, from the expression on his face he seemed to have the upper hand.
Remembering that terrifying speed at which he crossed the gate and that horrifying strength that was powerful enough to slightly crack the ground without even touching it, Wu Yijun and her friends could not help but be amazed.
Of course, what the four girls felt the most was hope; hope to survive, hope to finally be released from this prison that was heaven but at the same time was hell for them.
But in fact, Bai Zemin had the upper hand in this battle... Almost to the point of overwhelming his enemy.
"Isn't this thing a bit weak?" While clashing swords against the evolved zombie, Bai Zemin couldn't help but whisper such words under his breath.
He hadn't paid attention to the four friends in a corner as although he currently had the advantage one slip up would be the end for him.
"It's not that that creature is weak, in fact, that zombie is very strong," Lilith replied lazily. "The problem here is you. After defeating the First Order Blazing Beetle you got a great boost of power... Besides, among the evolved existences there are also differences in power and type as well as a combat style."
Bai Zemin nodded before kicking the evolved zombie and making it almost fall out of the window. He had finally reached his target, now he just had to wait a moment there.
Of course, such a thing was not easy since the evolved zombie was constantly moving and with its Agility was giving Bai Zemin a headache.
"Besides, Bai Zemin..." Lilith's voice sounded again. "Your current condition... You are likely to suffer the consequences for manipulating the way your own body works."
"Wh-" Bai Zemin was about to ask what she meant by those words when suddenly his expression changed and he growled slightly.
A small trickle of blood slipped from the corner of his mouth, leaving him dumbfounded.
What is this all about...? The evolved zombie hadn't even been able to hit him once, how was he suddenly bleeding? Furthermore, his veins suddenly began to feel extremely hot as if instead of blood, burning lava was running inside it!
"I told you." Lilith frowned and a hint of worry flashed in her eyes. "You're currently close to creating an active skill thanks to your natural knowledge of human physiology and your Blood Manipulation skill, but apparently you're still missing something.,. You should stop manipulating the adrenaline rushing through your veins by controlling your blood or the pain will only get worse and you could get seriously hurt."
While adrenaline was mostly beneficial, this was so when it was flowing at normal speeds and the body could respond to such stimulation. Bai Zemin's body had been enhanced many times over after absorbing so much Soul Power, therefore, the "normal" speed at which his adrenaline naturally moved was also many times faster than a normal person... However, by manipulating his own blood, Bai Zemin had forced that speed to double.
Bai Zemin did not respond but his eyes glittered and a hint of resolve appeared in them.
If he stopped controlling his adrenaline now that he could through blood flow, then that adrenaline would soon disappear since the initial fright he felt had disappeared after beating up the evolved zombie. If the substance that enhanced his reflexes and react
reaction speed disappeared, Bai Zemin had no confidence in being able to stop the evolved zombie's attacks.
The speed of the evolved zombie was simply too high for the current Bai Zemin and if he could not defend himself from its attacks then his superior strength was useless.
Besides he had another motive... Bai Zemin secretly sighed inwardly as he looked sideways at Lilith.
Everything had consequences, and he was willing to suffer some of them to achieve his goals. Sometimes, life was like that; losses and gains being two sides of the same coin.
* * *
Meanwhile, in a building a few dozen meters away from the female dormitory.
Chen He and Shangguan Bing Xue were standing near a large broken window on the top floor of the building. Chen He was holding his bow with his left hand and had put on a pair of rubber gloves on his right hand to hold the icy stake that Shangguan Bing Xue had crafted; even though she was controlling the temperature it was possible to see that his hand was shivering slightly due to the coldness.
The carbon fiber cable attached to the ice stake was falling out of the window and a few meters away on the ground Liang Peng could be seen holding the other end of the cable with both hands.
The three of them were staring at the fourth floor windows of the female dormitory as although Bai Zemin had said he would lure the zombie to one of those windows it was impossible to tell which one it would be.
"Over there." Shangguan Bing Xue suddenly noticed something strange and raised her pristine hand to indicate the location to Chen He.
"Got it." Chen He nodded and quickly put the ice stake on his bow as he took a professional shooting stance that he had grown accustomed to and had perfected over the years.
Shangguan Bing Xue glanced at him for a moment before stepping forward and leaping out the window to prepare to fight. While she could attack from afar, the more distant her target was the longer she would need to control her ice creations in the air, and due to the fact that she had no telekinesis, she needed to expend astronomical amounts of Mana. Therefore, she had no choice but to get as close as possible.
Chen He's gaze wandered from the target for a moment and looked at Shangguan Bing Xue, who seemed to be floating in the air and hovering like an immortal ice fairy.
In the end, he shook his head and quickly focused.
"Don't move..."
He muttered as he narrowed his eyes. In his line of sight several meters away Chen He could make out the back of the strange blue-skinned zombie just as Ming Shui Shui had described. He could also see Bai Zemin's body flashing constantly, entangled in what appeared to be a tenacious fight where swords were constantly clashing.
"I got you." Chen He whispered again for no one in particular and his eyes flashed coldly before releasing his grip on the bowstring.
The ice stake had turned into an arrow that traveled at astonishingly high speeds and in a matter of a second or two it had already hit its target.
Swoosh!
The piercing sound of the howling wind reached Bai Zemin's ears from the first moment the ice stake had left the bowstring's bow. Immediately and without delay he pressed the blades of the evolved zombie down with all his might; instead of sending it flying like the previous times, this time his aim was to do his best to keep it firmly in place without allowing it to move.
The ice stake that had been used as an arrow hit the back of the evolved zombie hard and easily went all the way through its body until the tip protruded into the chest area.
Roar!
A strange roar similar to that of a wounded lion erupted from the evolved zombie's mouth as its green eyes widened and it began to struggle frantically in an attempt to free itself from the strange object that had pierced its body. Unfortunately for the beast, the ice stake created by Shangguan Bing Xue had been shaped in such a way as to make it easy to pierce through flesh but extremely difficult to get out due to the small sharp spikes protruding in the opposite direction.
Realizing that it might be in real danger of death, the evolved zombie began to struggle frantically trying to flee.
The smell of rotting flesh and dried blood assaulted Bai Zemin's nostrils; obviously, the evolved zombie had been delighting in other creatures and other humans slowly over the past few days. However, although the smell was foul, he gritted his teeth and stopped breathing to firmly hold the zombie in the window area without letting it escape.
Shangguan Bing Xue's ice skill is extremely powerful and amazing, but Chen He's marksmanship is really great considering he was only using a normal bow to shoot this ice stake. Bai Zemin silently thought.
"Liang Peng, pull the cable! With all your strength!" Bai Zemin shouted out loud.
The girls in the dormitory were shocked, but they soon realized that this young man was not alone as from the floor a deep voice echoed everywhere.
"I'm on it!"
Immediately afterwards, along with a war roar coming from outside the building, the evolved zombie suddenly howled in pain. The ice stake firmly stuck into its flesh stabbed with far stronger thrust and tore the inside of the creature's body as the carbon fiber cable was fiercely pulled taut.
Due to the great strength used by Liang Peng, the evolved zombie flew out of the fourth floor window and began to plummet towards the ground.
"You girls stay away from the door and wait here."
Without looking back, Bai Zemin said those words and jumped out of the window while using one foot to propel himself forward.
The group of four friends looked at each other and quickly began to move the beds toward the door to act as obstacles that could buy time in dangerous moments, drawing strength from where they didn't know they had it after so many days without good food.
* * *
Outside the building.
"Jaaaaaaaah!" Liang Peng screamed at the top of his lungs as the muscles in his body expanded to twice their normal size.
"Go to HELL!"
Seeing the blue-skinned zombie falling towards him, Liang Peng raised his huge hammer and swung it behind his body before swinging it with all his strength forward.
The surrounding air seemed to blast due to the amount of Strength used and because the evolved zombie was squirming in pain in the middle of the air and unable to control its body it had no chance to dodge.
BANG!
The infected was hit hard and its body that was falling in a curved line was sent flying in a straight line as if it was a meteorite.
Bang!
The zombie's body hit the wall of the nearby building hard and a pile of rubble collapsed onto it.
"Phew... It wasn't so much in the end, was it?" Liang Peng looked at Shangguan Bing Xue who was several meters away and relaxed.
The Strength he had used along with the powerful blow of his hammer was enough to bring down an entire house. Liang Peng did not believe that a creature whose body was so thin as a stick could survive after being hit by such a blow.
"Retard! It didn't die yet!" Bai Zemin shouted after falling to the ground and immediately broke into a sprint at full speed.
Swoosh!
Suddenly the dust cloud opened up completely and the rubble was cut into countless pieces at lightning speed. Before Liang Peng could react, the evolved zombie charged forward and raised its blade as it fiercely slashed downward.
Liang Peng's face turned white like a cartoon ghost. Seeing those bloodshot eyes staring at him with murderous intent brimming over, Liang Peng's last thought was that his life was over.
In fact, it should have been. Fortunately for him, Shangguan Bing Xue did not believe that a creature similar in level to the giant elephant beetle would die so easily even if her reasoning told her that it was impossible to survive such a powerful attack.
"Ice Wall!"
Shangguan Bing Xue's hurried voice rang out and less than a second later a meter-thick wall of ice appeared before Liang Peng, separating him from the evolved zombie just before it managed to deal the killing blow.
A tearing sound echoed through all the nearby buildings as the blade of the evolved zombie sliced through the thick wall of ice as if it was made of soft, thin cotton.
"Ice Bullets!" Shangguan Bing Xue couldn't help but let her expression change when she saw how easily her defensive wall was knocked down and quickly gritted her teeth, spending a quarter of her current Mana to create twenty small ice bullets and launch them forward.
The ice bullets looked like real bullets as they moved at speeds difficult to track with the naked eye. However, to Shangguan Bing Xue's disbelief, the evolved zombie's greenish eyes glowed and the bullets were deflected by the same strange energy barrier that had stopped Bai Zemin's blood chains and blood spears.
The sound of the ice bullets hitting the strange barrier was similar to that of small metal spheres hitting a steel plate and a second later all the ice bullets had melted into the ground.
Swoosh!... Swoosh!... Swoosh!
The wind howled and the evolved zombie quickly turned its body before starting to cut with its only intact blade as one of them had been destroyed by Bai Zemin's constant attacks and Liang Peng's powerful final blow with his hammer. In less tha
a second, the creature had managed to make three different cuts, showing that even if it was wounded its speed was still as scary and horrifying as ever!
Clang!.... Clang!... Clang!
After three metallic sounds, three arrows fell to the ground a close distance from the evolved zombie. The evolved zombie looked towards the distant building and its eyes glowed ominously as it glared at Chen He, who was stunned to see the power demonstrated by the zombie in front of him.
In fact, it was not only Chen He. Shangguan Bing Xue and Liang Peng were shocked and frightened after realizing the reason why Bai Zemin had previously refused to fight this creature.
Was this the power of a First Order creature? The blue-skinned zombie's power was too strong! In just two seconds it had shown enough power to prove to them that no one could really stop it!