Jace immediately sensed that something was wrong. He raised his pistol and fired three consecutive shots, striking the zombie in the head and shoulders.
Unexpectedly, the firearms, which were usually highly effective, seemed significantly less impactful against this zombie. Despite being shot, leaving its flesh torn apart and part of its head blasted away, the zombie did not fall.
Instead, Jace's shots enraged the zombie. With a powerful kick of its right leg, it lunged toward them at a startling speed, leaving everyone alarmed.
This zombie was clearly different. Its speed was at least three times faster than that of ordinary zombies, and its movements were noticeably more agile.
Jace hurriedly reloaded his gun, but the zombie had already closed the distance. With no time to aim and shoot, he instinctively pulled out his baton and struck the zombie with all his might.
The zombie took the baton hit head-on, its body merely shaking slightly before it knocked Jace to the ground. Fortunately, Jace wasn't easily subdued. Reacting quickly, he kicked the zombie away in an attempt to break free.
Mia was the second to react. She had been slightly delayed because she was helping Jessica. Swinging the baton in her hand, she struck the zombie's head, causing it to stagger and release Jace.
"Ah…" However, several other police officers nearby weren't as fortunate. Without Jace's quick reflexes or firearms, they were quickly overwhelmed by the zombie, which pounced on them one by one, taking their lives.
Furious, Mia wanted to retaliate as she watched her colleagues fall, but she only had a baton and couldn't match the zombie's incredible speed.
Jace, though armed with a revolver, was limited by its low stopping power. Additionally, his earlier injury made it difficult for him to aim accurately at the swiftly moving zombie.
To make matters worse, the zombie's attack stirred up the surrounding zombie horde, which began closing in on them, surrounding them completely.
"We can't hold out—retreat!" Jace issued the order. They had no choice but to fall back. Their bad luck had reached a peak: just as they were about to break through the horde, they encountered a level-two zombie, an agile variant, leaving them nearly wiped out.
With heavy hearts, Mia and the remaining few survivors retreated. Meanwhile, the others who were surrounded by the zombie horde soon succumbed and lost their lives.
"Mia, I can't make it… That was a level-two zombie. The higher-ups have reported that these zombies evolve from ordinary ones, with different paths of evolution. That one must have been an agile type," Jace said weakly, leaning against the car.
"No, no, Uncle Jace! The government will definitely find a way to save you!"
Mia heart was filled with sorrow—not only for the tragic deaths of her colleagues but also for the sight of the wounds on Uncle Jace, her father's friend who had helped her so much in the past. Those were claw marks left by the zombie.
"No, I can't make it. In as little as half an hour, or at most two hours, I'll be infected by the virus. There's no way to stop it," Jace shook his head.
Of the dozen or so people in their team, only four managed to escape: Mia, Jessica, Jace, and a teammate named Hummer, who was driving a police car with the others out of the station.
"Hummer, stop the car," Jace said suddenly.
"Chief, you… what are you…" Hummer hesitated, glancing at the rearview mirror.
"Follow my orders."
"Yes…" Hummer reluctantly pulled the car over to a deserted roadside spot.
"Mia, Uncle Jace doesn't want to turn into one of those monsters out there. Remember to take your gun, find a place where you can survive, and wait for the government's rescue," Jace sighed before pulling the trigger, ending his own life.
Mia was overwhelmed with sorrow, but she didn't cry. Now was not the time for tears. She and the others hurriedly buried Jace before deciding to continue their journey.
Outside the police station, Ryan lowered his binoculars, watching Mia and the other three escape. He had observed their entire battle earlier, including the appearance of the level-two zombie.
Strangely, the moment Ryan approached with his armored vehicle, that agile level-two zombie vanished without a trace.
"A busty policewoman and a loli policewoman?" Ryan's interest was piqued.
He started pursuing them in his armored vehicle. Although the armored vehicle wasn't as fast as the police car, Mia's group couldn't drive at full speed. With the roads blocked and detours nearly impossible, they would soon have to abandon their vehicle—unlike Ryan, whose armored vehicle could crush through obstacles with ease.
As expected, it wasn't long before Mia group encountered a roadblock. Dozens of damaged cars lay scattered across the road ahead, making it nearly impossible to pass. There was no viable detour, and turning back wasn't an option. The group had no choice but to abandon their car and proceed on foot.
"Captain, are you alright?" Hummer asked, concerned as he looked at Mia.
"I'm fine. Let's keep moving," Mia replied, leading Jessica. Jessica had been almost invisible throughout the ordeal but was lucky to remain unharmed under Mia's protection, though she was visibly frightened.
"Buzz… buzz…" The sound of a vehicle engine echoed in the distance.
The group turned around in surprise and saw a familiar black armored vehicle.
"Someone's coming! Is it our people? That's great!" Jessica jumped up happily.
Hummer's expression also showed some excitement, but Mia remained silent, her face grim. Before long, the armored vehicle stopped in front of them, and a man stood up through the sunroof.
"Who are you?" Mia asked warily, her eyes fixed on the young man before her. He had a firm expression, was somewhat handsome, and wore a black combat uniform.
However, she didn't recognize him, nor had she ever seen him at the police station. Not only that, Jessica and Hummer also looked confused.
While it might make sense for Mia not to know him, Hummer had worked at the station for five years and had met almost everyone from here. Where had this stranger come from?
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ryan," the man said with a smile, jumping down from the armored vehicle.
Hummer looked bewildered, Mia stayed on guard, and only the naive Jessica failed to sense the odd atmosphere. Instead, she approached with joy.
"Brother Ryan? Did you come to save us?" she asked curiously, staring at him.
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "That's right. I'm here to save you."
But Mia wasn't buying Ryan's story.
When they had evacuated the building earlier, they had heard the sound of armored vehicles and machine guns. If Ryan had been alive back then, he would've come to rescue them immediately. Why wait until now?
"Jessica, come back here," Mia said, pulling the confused Jessica behind her.
Ryan's expression didn't change as he analyzed their reactions. The little girl was clearly the type who'd believe anything.
The man might not be much different. But the busty policewoman—her heroic demeanor and wary expression marked her as smart and alert, someone who wouldn't be easy to fool.
"Alright, tell us what you want," Mia demanded, gripping the revolver in her hand tightly as she aimed it at Ryan.
"Ah, Sister Mia, what's going on...?" Jessica asked, puzzled, just as she was about to say more, Hummer beside her stopped her. By now, he too had sensed that something wasn't right.
"Sigh..." Ryan let out a soft sigh, his smile fading as he spread his hands helplessly.
Although this busty policewoman was difficult to deal with, it wasn't really a problem for him.
Ryan deliberately jumped down from the armored vehicle, an act of confidence in this secure position. Even if Mia noticed something wrong and decided to act, she wouldn't be able to stop him.
"Alright, let's skip the small talk. I've set up a shelter and I'm inviting the two of you to join," Ryan said directly.
"The two of us?" Mia glanced at Hummer beside her.
"You heard me right, just you two women. Apologies, but my shelter only accepts women besides myself. Additionally, anyone in my shelter must obey my orders unconditionally. There will be no resistance or questioning allowed. I need complete and total loyalty."
"You—you're nothing but a bandit! This is tyranny!" Before Mia or Hummer could respond, Jessica couldn't help but blurt out indignantly.