Survivors?
The sight of the mutilated zombie bodies in the staircase flashed the idea by his mind.
However, after observing carefully, he quickly dismissed the notion.
The ghastly state of the zombies didn't look like the work of humans, but rather seemed as though some beast had torn it apart.
Scratch marks exposing the underlying material were visible on one of the entrance doors.
As though there was still a beast or monster lingering in the hallway.
"Dammit!"
Wu Heng cursed once more.
The hallway door was left ajar yesterday, and an unknown beast had shown up today.
Turns out, his own apartment was the safest.
Clang~ Clang~ Clang~!
Suddenly, a violent shaking resonance surged from the staircase handrails.
The sound quickly spread across the entire hallway.
As though something was non-stop pounding on the staircase handrails below.
A sense of tension rose again in Wu Heng's heart.
Gripping his weapon tightly, he whispered, "Let's go, downstairs."
Wu Heng walked in the middle, leading the way downstairs.
Leading the way downstairs.
The sound of the skeleton's feet hitting the ground is drowned by the violent collision against the railings.
It didn't attract any enemies.
Continuing onwards, there were several more destroyed zombies with ripped limbs are scattered everywhere.
Wu Heng did not release his Bone Manipulation Skill, choosing instead to see what was happening downstairs.
By the time they reached the fourth-floor platform, the source of the noise banging against the railings was apparent to be below them.
He rearranged the position of the skeletons, came to the step, and peeped down at the third floor.
There was a mottled Golden Lion Zombie, its front limbs clutching onto the railing, shaking its waist violently.
Just like a beast in heat, venting its excess energy on the railings.
"What's going on?"
Even animals can get infected?
Moreover, how would there be a lion in the staircase?
As Wu Heng looked at it in amazement, it seemed to sense something too.
The frantically shaking lion zombie suddenly stopped, turned its head to look in this direction.
The shriveled lips revealed sharp tusks; shredded flesh hung from the corner of its mouth.
This isn't some lion.
It's that Teddy owned by one of the building's occupants.
The only difference was that its size had increased several folds, and with its yellow fur coat, there wasn't much difference from a lion.
Even after becoming a zombie, it can't break the habit of wagging its waist everywhere.
Woo~Roar!
The Teddy zombie let out a roar, and charged upwards directly.
After recognizing it as Teddy, the tension in his heart eased considerably.
Seeing the zombie Teddy about to charge, Wu Heng took two steps back, ordering, "Kill it."
Swish~
The Skeleton Warriors charged forward, weapons raised.
The zombie Teddy bounded forward, suddenly sprung its legs, used the wall to gain momentum and directly leaped over the oncoming skeletons.
In one step, it landed on the turn platform.
Waving its dog-like paws, the Skeletons in front were flung away, it bit the skull of one, shaking it furiously.
The powerfully built body rampaged through the platform, toppling the Skeleton Warriors and rolling down the stairs.
Next, Teddy lifted its head, looking towards Wu Heng at the back.
It leaped again, charging straight at Wu Heng.
Wu Heng's face turned, he held up his round shield at an angle, the next second a massive force slammed into the shield, his body uncontrollably flew backwards.
He rammed into the wall behind, then rolled down the stairs, his helmet clanking on the steps.
The zombie Teddy intended to attack again, a sword swung towards its head, thwarting its move.
Simultaneously, the surrounding skeletons also responded promptly, a few clung onto Teddy's back, holding its body tightly, while more wielded kitchen knives chopping randomly at it ignoring what part they were hitting; fur and flesh kept falling.
Like a lion, Teddy began to struggle with all his strength, thrashing about like a sticky rice ball covered in white bones.
Wu Heng quickly stood up and straightened his helmet.
With a wave of his hand, several skeletons appeared to shield him once more.
Bang~crash!!
Zombie Teddy suddenly slammed into a nearby wall. The intense collision caused the skeleton attached to his body to scatter.
Immediately, he sprang up again, his target still Wu Heng.
"Damn it!"
Swearing, Wu Heng quickly dodged to the side. Simultaneously, he bent low with a crouching step, accumulated strength and jabbed the spear forward.
The spear training had yielded some benefits.
The spear hit Teddy in the chest from the side, sinking into the putrefied body.
At the same time, a force transferred to his wrist and the spear slipped out of his grasp.
Teddy landed elegantly, the spear still lodged in his chest. The spear stuck into the ground, pierced right through his chest and left forelimb with a thudding sound.
Deep red, viscous blood flowed from the wound.
Wu Heng leapt down a whole set of steps backward, continuing, "Don't stop, go kill it."
The Skeleton Warriors surged forward once again.
A damaged body couldn't deal a fatal blow to Zombie Teddy, but the spear piercing through his chest and forelimb did affect his movements.
Unable to support his body with his left forelimb, his movements were uneven.
Teddy slowed down, but the assault from the Skeleton Warriors became fiercer.
Relentlessly hemming and assaulting him, his body was covered in wounds.
When his entire body was submerged by skeletons and the sound of chopping meat rang continuously, the system notification quickly followed.
[Experience gained +42.]
[Summon entity - Skeleton Warrior, experience +20.]
Wu Heng lifted his face shield, disregarding the stench in the air and breathing deeply.
He never would have imagined that a teddy bear could mutate into such a form.
Genetic mutation, or some sort of devolution?
That's how it was written in the novels, but whether it was one of these two, he wasn't sure.
Regardless, Teddy had become a lion.
He was trapped in the hallway; otherwise, with such a massive body, it would have wreaked havoc everywhere, bringing disaster to many species.
Zombie Teddy's combat ability far outstripped that of a regular zombie.
To be able to charge and crash amidst a crowd of skeletons, his strength was undoubtedly extraordinary.
The most terrifying aspect was that he seemed to possess some intelligence.
Otherwise, he wouldn't keep repeatedly trying to attack Wu Heng.
If all zombies possessed intelligence, could they still be called zombies or would they be a new sentient species?
He couldn't figure it out.
But that sort of outcome would not be good news for him.
This fight served as a reminder for him.
In addition to increasing the number of skeletons, he also needed to enhance his own strength. Otherwise, if he were killed, having many skeletons wouldn't be of any use.
After catching his breath, he stepped forward to pull the spear out of Teddy.
He activated the Bone Manipulation Skill.
Summoning a large beast-like skeleton was something he was quite looking forward to.
[The summoned entity exceeds the summoner's capacity, instability factor increases...]
As the Bone Manipulation Skill was released, a notification appeared.
Before Wu Heng had a chance to react, he could feel his spiritual power being rapidly drained.
This made Wu Heng's complexion change.
Ordinary corpses usually stood up instantly.
The corpse of Zombie Teddy in front of him, however, required a lot more spiritual power. Plus the instability factor mentioned in the notification made him worried.
He couldn't afford to summon something that would attack himself.
That would indeed be a catastrophe.
Soon, the corpse of Teddy began to change.
Flesh and blood melted like hot wax, and a canine skeleton slowly stood up. The ghastly white bones were even more thickset, and within the empty eye sockets, a strange pale-blue ghostly flame flickered.
[Skeleton Hunting Dog (Level 5)]