Carefully observing under the faint light, Sterling could make out that there were three men indulging in a frenzy of violence.
The woman's desperate cries for help stirred Sterling's compassion.
With two shells in the double-barreled shotgun and three men to face, it was worth a gamble!
Taking a deep breath, he took out the shotgun, loaded the shells, and began to move cautiously towards the scene.
"Hahaha, this is great!"
The three men, engrossed in their brutal assault, were completely unaware that someone was approaching.
5 meters!
4 meters!
3 meters!
The distance closed in, and Sterling could even see the naked woman, her makeup smeared from crying, her hands restrained by the men, struggling futilely as she sobbed and pleaded for mercy.
"Please, let me go, wuwu..."
2 meters!
Sterling's heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his throat.
Now or never!
"Click"
The sudden sound of the shotgun being cocked made the three men freeze, and they instinctively turned to look back.
"BANG"
A burst of fire, the shotgun roared, and one shot blew the attacker's head to pieces.
The other two accomplices panicked, releasing their grip on the woman, and turned to draw their weapons.
"Click"
The roar of death echoed again.
"BANG"
The deafening sound, the grotesque orange flash illuminated the entire dark alley.
The second man's head exploded, and he fell to the ground, dead.
The third man drew his gun and aimed, firing without hesitation.
Sterling quickly dodged, and then heard the deafening gunshot, and felt the searing heat as the bullet grazed his scalp.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
It was a revolver, with five shots, fired in quick succession, all the bullets expended.
Fortunately, the deep alley was dimly lit, and with Sterling's agile movements, he dodged left and right, using the double-barreled shotgun as a club, swinging it down viciously.
"Thud"
With a buttstroke, the shooter's head tilted, and he fell to the ground, dazed and unable to get up.
The woman, who had been ravaged, scrambled to her feet in terror and ran away without looking back.
Sterling could only catch a glimpse of her naked body flashing past him and hurriedly called out,
"I'm not a bad person, hey, put on some clothes before you run!"
The woman paid no heed, screaming and shouting as if mad.
Sterling wanted to stop her, but at that moment, a green glow caught his eye. Looking down, he was surprised to find a green card had dropped.
[Acquired Madman's Dagger.]
Sterling was taken aback; had he actually dropped an equipment card?
[Madman's Dagger (Green Equipment)]
[All attributes +5]
[Special Description: A dagger imbued with dark matter energy]
[Use/Do not use this equipment]
Without hesitation, Sterling selected [Use].
Immediately after, the dagger card embedded itself into his personal attribute page.
The dagger materialized in his hand, and as Sterling gripped it, he felt a surge of energy, a rush akin to the peak of ecstasy.
It wasn't just his body that felt the boost; his mind and senses were heightened as well, with significant improvements in his hearing and vision.
To put it practically, the dark alley didn't seem so dark anymore.
As Sterling was savoring the changes the dagger brought him, he happened to see the woman running out of the alley and encountering two individuals in police uniforms. The woman was gesticulating wildly, pointing back towards the alley, and he could faintly hear her saying,
"Murder, there's been a murder inside!"
"Damn it!"
Sterling cursed under his breath; he should have known better than to save this woman. The saying that in a chaotic world, one should first eliminate the self-righteous, was indeed true.
Seeing them running towards him led by the woman, Sterling didn't want to get into a conflict with law enforcement; once entangled, it would be impossible to justify himself.
Looking around, he spotted a fire escape above. He sprinted forward, leaped up the wall, and effortlessly flipped onto the second floor.
The feeling of increased attributes was exhilarating.
With the law enforcers closing in, Sterling didn't have time to think. He quickly opened a window and flipped inside.
The woman led the law enforcers to the scene, accusing the three men who had assaulted her. The enforcers searched the area with flashlights but couldn't find the perpetrator.
At that moment, one of the enforcers began to convulse in a grotesque manner, looking almost like he was mutating.
The next second, the enforcer, having lost his mind, lunged at the woman.
The woman, who had just escaped danger, was knocked down again and began screaming in terror.
The other enforcers did not intervene but stood by, laughing uncontrollably.
Sterling, hiding on the second floor, watched this unfold and cursed under his breath.
"Can't tell the good from the bad, you deserve to be bullied!"
At that moment, Sterling suddenly sensed the bedroom door opening.
A woman dressed in pajamas emerged from within.
Sterling quickly explained:
"Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person!"
Before he could finish his sentence, the woman in pajamas lunged at him with a ferocious snarl that sent chills down the spine.
"Ugh!"
By the faint light, he could see the woman's face was covered in veins and black capillaries, making her expression extremely grotesque and terrifying.
"Zombie!"
A wave of panic washed over Sterling.
Instinctively, he raised his hand to defend himself.
However, it seemed as if the world had slowed down.
The zombie's movements appeared to Sterling as if in slow motion.
Sterling merely sidestepped slightly and easily evaded the zombie's lunge.
"I've become stronger!"
Overwhelmed with joy, Sterling didn't hesitate. He plunged the dagger into the zombie's head.
"Splat"
Blood splattered, and the zombie fell to the ground, unmoving.
Sterling eagerly awaited, but the zombie remained lifeless, without dropping any equipment or attribute cards.
"Aren't all zombies supposed to drop gear?"
After pondering for a moment, Sterling decided to let it go. There was no time to lose; he needed to head to the school for the gathering.
With his significantly enhanced attributes, Sterling made his way through obstacles to reach the school.
Without hesitation, he climbed into the school, which was also filled with zombies, mostly students who had turned, numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands.
"So many?"
Sterling quickly hid to observe, and most of the zombies in the school were former classmates who had mutated. He even saw the school's most popular socialite.
Her clothes were disheveled, her body covered in blood, her neck gruesomely bitten, her face twisted with terror, her head drooping as she staggered around the campus.
She tilted her head as if sensing something, sniffed the air, and then let out a sudden roar.
"Whoa!"
The wandering zombies around her seemed to receive a signal, all collectively rushing towards Sterling.
"What's going on? How did I get exposed?"