Chapter 60: Battle

The crisp sound of tightening joints erupted alongside Lao Zhou’s screams.

Crimson beads of blood seeped from the barbs of the limb, dripping onto the shattered floor tiles and blossoming into a small, eye-catching patch of red.

Lu Dongnuan’s eyes widened.

As she ran, she extended both hands, trying to control this zombie she had never seen before.

However, this time, the familiar, submissive consciousness did not arrive as expected.

Instead, a violent and turbid intent slammed into her mind, feeling like countless steel needles were stabbing her nerves.

“Ugh—” Lu Dongnuan let out a muffled groan.

Her face instantly turned deathly pale, the veins at her temples throbbed, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.

The consciousness of this zombie was too wild, like a prehistoric beast that had never been tamed by any force.

It not only resisted her control but was even trying to devour her.

She covered her mouth as blood flowed from her nose, the red liquid dripping onto her collar and spreading into a small, dark stain.

A piercing pain reached her heart, but Lu Dongnuan did not dare to relax even slightly.

The metallic sweetness of her bitten tongue allowed her to barely maintain consciousness.

The silver-gray halo on her fingertips lit up again.

This time, it was not aimed at that limb but spread toward every direction of the circular corridor.

“Hiss… hiss…”

Low growls rang out one after another.

Those Zombies, who had been hiding in unknown places, surged out from every corner of the corridor as if they had received a silent command.

Their clothes were ragged, their limbs were twisted, and their cloudy eyes were lifeless.

Yet, they possessed a fierce determination that defied death, lunging like madmen at the limb that had pierced through the floor.

Some Zombies clung tightly to the barbs on the limb, while others bit into the hard carapace.

Even if they were flung away or had their brains crushed by the impact, the following Zombies continued to charge forward over the corpses of their companions.

Dark green juice mixed with the foul blood of the Zombies, splashing everywhere.

The limb was clearly enraged by this sudden harassment, twisting and sweeping frantically, each swing taking a flurry of broken limbs with it.

But these Zombies, who knew no pain, eventually bought precious time for Lu Dongnuan.

Lin Sui also snapped back to her senses.

She protected the Specimen Box in her arms and dragged the young mother toward the exit.

The child in the mother’s arms was too terrified to cry out, only clutching the edge of Lin Sui’s clothes while his body shook like a sieve.

Xiao Li raised his gun and fired wildly.

The bullets hit the soft membrane of the limb, splashing even more dark green juice.

His eyes were terrifyingly red, as if he wanted to pour all his fear into the muzzle of his gun.

A dull roar came from deep underground, like some behemoth was waking up.

Debris fell from the ceiling of the entire circular corridor, and the vibration beneath their feet became increasingly violent.

Lu Dongnuan looked at the stumbling figures of the group and gritted her teeth, ‘A momentary lapse in judgment, and they actually managed to get near me!’

A flash of severity crossed Lu Dongnuan’s eyes.

The moment she turned her head, the silver-gray halo suddenly tightened.

The Zombies that had been lunging fearlessly at the limb suddenly paused.

Then, nearly half of them forced themselves to turn around, baring their teeth and growling as they surrounded Lin Sui’s group.

“What are you doing?!” Xiao Li was instantly shocked and furious.

He snapped his gun toward Lu Dongnuan, his finger on the trigger, but he hesitated to fire because he feared her power.

Lin Sui’s face also turned pale, and she instinctively hugged the Specimen Box tighter, her voice trembling, “We… we just want to follow you! There are zombies everywhere outside!”

Lu Dongnuan sneered and reached up to wipe the blood from her chin, saying nothing.

Before her voice could fall, the roar from underground suddenly rose in pitch as if in response to her.

The floor in the center of the corridor collapsed with a crash, revealing a pitch-black hole.

Viscous black soil mixed with dark green juice bubbled out, and a sickeningly sweet smell of decay instantly filled the entire corridor.

The bucket-thick limb retracted suddenly.

Immediately after, a giant pincer covered in a heavy carapace, with edges shimmering with a cold metallic light, emerged from the hole and slammed heavily into a nearby shelf.

“Boom!”

The shelf shattered upon impact, and the broken limbs of countless male mannequins scattered across the floor.

Lu Dongnuan’s pupils constricted.

She no longer cared about dealing with Lin Sui’s group and shouted sharply, “If you want to live, get to the fire exit over there! Stay away from here.”

But that zombie clearly had a special interest in Lu Dongnuan.

Eyes grew on its giant feet, and it began to chase her instead.

At the critical moment, Lu Dongnuan gritted her teeth and urged her Psychic Power.

A gray shadow darted out like a lightning bolt; it was the Gecko from before.

It used its hard back to take the blow head-on.

“Crack!”

An ear-piercing sound of bone cracking exploded.

The Gecko’s hard scales flew off like roof tiles, and dark green blood sprayed out, drenching Lu Dongnuan.

Its forelimb, used for blocking, was bent at a bizarre angle.

Lu Dongnuan’s pupils shrank.

The eyes on that limb were bloodshot, staring fixedly at Lu Dongnuan’s back with a violent light.

The pincer finally closed completely, and the Gecko’s body was crushed into a pile of meat paste, leaving only a few broken scales still emitting faint smoke.

A deafening roar came from underground, sounding like excitement over the success.

The hole expanded again, and more armored limbs emerged.

Every section was covered in those crimson eyes, locking onto Lu Dongnuan in a dense formation.

Old Zhao reacted the fastest.

He grabbed Xiao Li and then pulled Lin Sui’s arm, sprinting toward the fire exit.

The young mother followed behind with her child.

The child’s cries finally broke through his throat, sharp and ear-piercing.

Lu Dongnuan turned and ran, the soles of her boots splashing through blood and filth on the shattered tiles.

She could clearly feel the eyed limbs sweeping past her heels, the forceful wind making her back ache.

At the end of the circular corridor was a locked iron door.

She gritted her teeth and activated her Psychic Power.

The few remaining Zombies roared and lunged at the pursuing limbs, only to be instantly crushed into powder.

During that brief moment of obstruction, Lu Dongnuan reached the iron door and kicked the lock with all her might.

“Clang!”

The lock shattered, and the iron door swung open.

The moment she ducked inside, a limb slammed into the doorframe.

The heavy metal frame instantly dented and deformed.

Lu Dongnuan slammed the door shut behind her and leaned against it, panting heavily.

The scent of blood in her nose grew stronger.

She looked down at the dark green blood covering her body, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes.

She would definitely make this zombie pay for this.

***

On the other side, having escaped to the fire exit, Lin Sui and the others finally dared to stop.

“Dr. Lin, isn’t she from your Company? Why would this happen?”

Lin Sui shook her head and replied, “She definitely isn’t. Our Company doesn’t have anyone with that kind of ability.”

The Small Spiders sensed their leader’s call and ran past their feet one by one, making the group break into another cold sweat.

“Where are we going?”

Lin Sui pulled out her small phone and checked it.

“My phone can connect to the nearest satellite map. We can look for the nearest shelter first. It shows…”

She paused then said, “There is a safety zone being established on the East Coast. We can head there first.”