This zombie was too buff, practically a humanoid beast!
Still, the heavy armored vehicle did slow Jake down a bit.
But before anyone could catch their breath, a slender figure appeared behind Jake, wearing a creepy smile and rushing towards them at an alarming speed.
Zoe's evolution was off the charts, now with a Core crystal and the awakened ability "Speed Stealth."
When she hit top speed, she'd turn invisible, sneaking up on targets undetected—a pretty spooky skill.
One of the armed guys was shooting ahead when Zoe, speeding up, suddenly vanished.
"Yo, where'd she go?"
The soldier lost his target and stood there, dumbfounded.
He quickly scanned around, searching for that terrifying figure.
But in the next second.
A horrifying smiling face appeared right in front of him, almost nose-to-nose.
"This..."
The man was shocked, instinctively dodging backward.
But Zoe's sharp bone claw, smooth as slicing tofu, barely touched him before plunging into his neck.
Then, with a fierce jerk, she flung a head clear across the field.
"Shoot, she's coming!"
The nearby soldiers panicked, including a Brain Nexus awakener who reacted fastest, charging at Zoe with an alloy steel blade.
Zoe dodged and vanished again.
When she reappeared.
She was behind the awakener.
Her sharp claw 'squelched' into his lower back, yanking out his kidney!
"Argh—"
The awakener screamed in agony, collapsing in pain.
"This is terrifying!"
"It's the Ghost Corpses!"
"Run for it..."
The soldiers lost their will to fight and turned to flee.
"Hehehehe~~"
Zoe chuckled weirdly, chasing after them, dropping one after another.
Her bone claws dripped with fresh blood, her eyes wild with the thrill of the hunt.
Silas and the main forces, noticing the chaos, realized even the Brain Nexus awakeners were no match for Zoe.
"We gotta stop her! Can't let this massacre continue!"
"I got this!"
Robert stepped up again, thinking his electric awakening powers might keep up with her speed.
Now, out of the five hundred armed personnel brought in, two-thirds were gone, leaving just over a hundred.
Robert was all lit up, like a walking thunderstorm, energy buzzing like crazy around him.
He was about to go stop Zoe.
But suddenly, a more intense pressure filled the air, and down the street, it looked like a tidal wave of blood was rushing towards them.
Everyone's heart skipped a beat, a sense of unease spreading fast—it was like a primal fear, making their souls shiver.
The real deal had shown up!
Everyone turned to look and saw a tall dude standing there in a crisp white shirt, spotless.
His face was blank, his eyes hollow, looking at everyone like they were just... dead meat!
"Is that... what is that? A zombie?"
One of the female awakeners wasn't too sure.
Silas's frown deepened.
"Yeah, I've never seen a zombie like this before, probably... he's the real Zombie Overlord!"
"This is gonna be tough..."
Harper, a psychic awakener, had a sharp intuition.
With all these Zombie Overlords popping up, they felt like they were stepping deeper into a nightmare.
Robert felt the urgency too. If they didn't take down a few Zombie Overlords, things were gonna get even tougher, so he was getting antsy.
"Let's take you down first!"
Robert ditched Zoe and turned to charge at Zane.
As a lightning awakener, his speed was insane, his body crackling with electricity, like a bolt of lightning!
Silas didn't stop him because when it came to attack power, Robert was the strongest in the team, like the 'tip of the spear' in their hunter squad!
But what happened next totally blew their minds.
Just as Robert got close to Zane, his speed dropped like he hit quicksand, his movements becoming super heavy.
"Oh no, Robert's in trouble!"
Silas quickly realized something was off and thought about how to jump in and help.
But Zane's Zombie Overlord aura had already engulfed Robert, and while he was stiff and slow, Zane casually reached into his skull and plucked out a shiny white Core crystal.
It was as easy as strolling through your living room, passing the coffee table, and picking up an apple—super chill and natural.
Robert's eyes widened, his pupils dilating, his face frozen in shock and disbelief.
Then, his body just flopped down behind Zane.
A bunch of elite zombies immediately pounced.
And they devoured his body!
"Man, oh man!"
Silas and the crew were totally gobsmacked. One minute everything was chill, and the next, Robert was toast—their top gunner, just like that!
This Zombie was straight-up nightmare fuel!
"Ghost Corpses!"
"We're dealing with a legit Ghost Corpses here!"
Silas's brow was furrowed, his mood hitting rock bottom.
The rest of the gang felt the unease ramp up.
"Yo, boss, are we, like, gonna die here?"
The female awakener's voice was shaky, almost tearful.
Silas was quick to respond.
"No way, if we can figure out his powers, we might have a shot at surviving. We can't stay out here, let's duck into that building!"
"Right on!"
The others agreed in unison and made a beeline for a nearby building.
The female awakener flexed her metal control powers.
She twisted the building's rebar, busting a big hole in the wall.
They dove in without a second thought.
Following them were a few Brain Nexus awakeners and about a dozen armed folks.
Outside on the street, a hundred more armed folks were still fighting, too late to retreat.
"We can't worry about them now!"
Silas said with a steely gaze, ready to leave them out there.
The female awakener didn't question it.
She used her powers again to seal the hole in the wall.
Silas, not quite reassured, used his earth powers to pile up dirt around, fortifying the walls layer by layer.
Doors, windows, walls—sealed tight.
Just the walls were nearly thirty feet thick.
This fortress-like setup cut off all the noise outside, making them feel like they'd stepped off the battlefield into silence.
"Phew—"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling a bit of safety.
Especially the armed folks, feeling super lucky to have stuck close to the awakeners and gotten inside.
If they'd been left outside, they'd be goners for sure.
But as they enjoyed this brief peace,
Outside turned into a slaughterhouse!
The armed folks fighting back suddenly realized the awakeners were gone, their faces turning ashen.
"We've been ditched!"
"What do we do now?"
Two of them looked desperate.
But in the next second, a few elite Zombies pounced on them, chomping down hard, blood spraying everywhere.
Screams of agony and despair filled the air, they were trapped with no escape, overwhelmed by a crushing sense of helplessness.
All they could do was wait for death in this brutal apocalypse, feeling helpless and lost...
...