The cleaver wrapped in a book strapped to the forearm looked somewhat ridiculous, but it was undoubtedly more effective than the thin assault jacket.
Gan Xinglei and Yan Meiyu were dressed the same, the outfit they had found to be most suitable from both reality and films.
Although the flesh corpses were not zombies and did not carry a virus, their bites were still lethal.
The footsteps echoed in the corridor; the Angel Envoy flesh corpse led the way, followed by Gan Xinglei, Yan Meiyu, and Su Han.
Since it was a team, Su Han didn't intend for Gan Xinglei and Yan Meiyu to take the lead as human shields. The flesh corpses would just be senselessly sacrificed.
As for him trailing at the back, it was merely a bit of caution.
The corridor was pitch black, much dimmer than the hallway.
Gan Xinglei held a flashlight in one hand and the cleaver in the other, cautiously following behind the Angel Envoy flesh corpse.
In the dark corridor, not only footsteps but also breathing sounds were distinctly audible.
The trio passed the first landing when suddenly a dark shadow loomed ahead, growling and pouncing like a wild beast.
Gan Xinglei was startled, the flashlight revealed it was a flesh corpse, hunched back, sharp claws and teeth, and a bloody maw.
Its attack was swift as lightning, but it was the Angel Envoy flesh corpse at the forefront.
It quickly braced itself with a large hand, grabbed the twisted arm, and smashed it viciously into the corridor wall with a dull thud.
"Don't kill it, hold it down,"
As Su Han's command sounded, the Angel Envoy flesh corpse moved, not using its claws but activating Iron Skin. Black energy flowed over its skin, then it stepped forward, and the fist covered by black iron skin slammed into the flesh corpse's body.
A dull sound echoed; the just-struggling flesh corpse was hammered back to the ground, likely breaking many of its ribs.
The fierceness of the beast kept it roaring, but in the next moment, the Angel Envoy's large foot stomped down, breaking its arms, then it bent down, seized the other claw, and pinned it completely to the ground.
"Kill it."
As Su Han's voice reached him, Gan Xinglei visibly shook, replying, "I am on it."
Killing, or to say killing a monster transformed from a human, was a challenge for Gan Xinglei.
But he understood that to survive in this apocalyptic world, such acts were inevitable.
He had to survive, he had Yan Meiyu to protect, so he must take this step.
Having Su Han's help was already a stroke of great luck in some sense.
"Roar"
Approaching the flesh corpse, the low growl continuously emanated as it twisted and struggled.
He took a deep breath, then lifted the cleaver and harshly chopped at the flesh corpse's head, once, twice, three times...
The blood of the flesh corpse splashed onto his face, the strong smell of blood made him want to vomit. Chopping its head felt as hard as hacking through a pig's big bones, difficult to deal with.
However, as the blade continued to fall, the roaring quickly diminished.
The Book of Blood Spirit in Gan Xinglei's hand emitted a red glow, and by then he had stopped his action, looking at the slain flesh corpse.
"Contract"
As he conveyed his intent of the Contract, a red light soon enveloped the flesh corpse, transforming the remains into a stream of red light that merged into the pages of the Book of Blood Spirit.
Gan Xinglei could feel his body strengthening, his eyes flashed with excitement: "Su Han, Meiyu, I succeeded."
Speaking, his mind moved, and the Book of Blood Spirit lit up, then his Angel Envoy appeared before them.
Standing about one meter eighty, with pallid skin, a fierce twisted face, hunched spine, and terrifyingly elongated claws, it was enough to send shivers down the spine.
It was much shorter than Su Han's Angel Envoy and clearly much weaker in strength.
Su Han asked, "How does it feel?"
"I can control this creature... Angel Envoy, and it seems my body has gotten stronger. My back isn't hurting anymore."
Su Han: ...
Did I ask you that?
Gan Xinglei was originally a programmer who worked overtime every day. At only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, he already looked like he was in his thirties, so it wasn't hard to understand why his body had undergone a transformation to become healthier.
"Control your Angel Envoy, walk in front from now on," he said.
Encountering a flesh corpse in the stairwell was unexpected, likely lured here by the noise from the seventh floor yesterday.
As Gan Xinglei's excitement subsided, he had no other unusual thoughts. Wiping the blood off his body, he nodded and said, "I'll control it to go ahead."
The three continued downstairs, passed through the fire door, and arrived at the sixth floor. As soon as they reached this point, the scent of blood had already wafted over.
In the dimly lit stairwell the smell was intense, with hints of chewing sounds faintly audible.
"Tap, tap"
As footsteps echoed, the chewing sounds abruptly stopped. Flesh corpses at both ends of the corridor suddenly rose, turned around, and growled as they opened their mouths full of sharp teeth, then they rapidly charged at the trio on all fours.
"Stop them!"
Having killed a flesh corpse by hand, Gan Xinglei seemed to have gained some courage and wasn't scared. He controlled his own flesh corpse Angel Envoy and charged forward.
Although it had become an Angel Envoy, being outnumbered one to two was not advantageous. It crazily held off two flesh corpses, then its claws reached for their heads, leaving trails of wounds.
Meanwhile, the relentless biting inflicted massive wounds on Gan Xinglei's Angel Envoy as well.
"Take action, kill one of them," Su Han commanded.
Su Han controlled his own flesh corpse Angel Envoy to step forward, his hand's sharp metallic claws extended, and with swift movement, he clawed at the arm of another flesh corpse that was squeezing by.
With a clanging sound, the arm was cleanly severed, spurting a lot of blood.
"Roar"
The flesh corpse became even more frenzied, but what responded was another powerful punch from the Angel Envoy's Iron Skin, smashing half of its head.
"Watch the back!"
Suddenly, Yan Meiyu cried out. Su Han turned around swiftly, only to see a pair of dim red lights appearing at the end of the opposite corridor.
He shone the flashlight over, and with squeaking and grating sounds, a creature appeared—it was a half-meter long rat with rotting skin showing bone on its back, equipped with sharp teeth and claws.
The giant rat charged at them, its speed even faster than the flesh corpses, and in an instant, it was not far in front of them.
At that time, both Su Han's and Gan Xinglei's Angel Envoys were at the forefront, with some distance between them, and with Yan Meiyu and Su Han standing in between, their reaction came a fraction too late.
Su Han, staying calm, his eyes cold, thought to himself, "Damn it."
He instantly activated Iron Skin, his skin turning pitch black in an instant. The giant rat leaped high, its eyes blood red, about to pounce on Su Han who was closest to it.
But in this crisis, Su Han remained composed and stepped forward, slashing directly with his bone-chopping knife.
The knife strike was sharp and decisive, hitting the giant rat's front paw and severing it, which then fell to the ground.
The giant rat was hit mid-air, lost its balance, and crashed to the ground, injuring one of its legs from the pain, wildly fluttering and squealing as if it was insane.
Su Han was about to step forward, but Yan Meiyu, because the giant rat fell closer to her, moved faster. In the critical moment, she exerted all her strength and fiercely chopped down with the bone-chopping knife. The sound was distinct, and the giant rat's head, as large as a sea bowl, was almost entirely severed, spilling pungent blood all over the ground.
Su Han was stunned, "This woman is so fierce?"
"Pfft"
On the other side, Su Han's flesh corpse Angel Envoy twisted off the head of the flesh corpse controlled by Gan Xinglei's Angel Envoy, ending the threat.
"Are you okay, Meiyu?"
Seeing his girlfriend holding the knife and sitting slumped on the ground, Gan Xinglei was startled and rushed over to support her, his expression anxious.
After several calls, Yan Meiyu finally gathered her strength and said, "Old Gan!"
Her voice had a crying tone but she didn't cry. Even men seeing such a bloody scene for the first time felt uncomfortable, let alone her.
Su Han composed himself and suddenly said, "Form the Contract now, we haven't seen a giant rat before, and it was you who killed it."
Since Yan Meiyu had taken the initiative herself, there was no need to catch another flesh corpse for her to form a Contract with.
Moreover, since the giant rat was indeed something new, forming a Contract would serve as a good reference.
Yan Meiyu nodded silently, then closed her eyes slightly, beginning the Contract.