"Zombies may lack intelligence, but they share an uncanny instinct—a primal drive to help their kin evolve. One human meal turns them into Crawlers; two or three might only boost their speed and strength slightly."
"But sharing prey creates more Crawlers. More Crawlers mean hunting stronger Espers. Fact is, zombies and humans aren’t even the same species anymore. Call them what they are: pack-hunting beasts that kill purely to evolve."
...
"Holy shit... that’s terrifying."
Inside the sedan, Duan Heng was explaining zombie biology to Bai Ling with clinical focus. His earlier hesitation—letting the volunteer squad find the zombies first—was deliberate. He’d lured out every remaining Crawler.
Duan Heng wasn’t afraid of these monsters. But with Bai Ling beside him, he couldn’t risk her safety. Better to watch and wait.
Predictably, the workers who’d cheered for Liu Ming’s upgrade moments ago now panicked at the sight of two Crawlers:
"Up there! Two more mutated zombies!"
"That roar! It called its pack!"
"God! How many zombies are still in this compound? We’re dead!"
The volunteer squad’s faces turned ashen. Screams of terror echoed through the building unit, thick with despair.
Because now they saw it—not just the two Crawlers. More zombies poured from the apartments, drawn by the roar. They lunged from balconies without hesitation. *Crash! Thud!* Bodies rained down like a storm. Some shattered on impact. Others dragged broken legs. A few, heavily mutated, staggered upright instantly and charged the crowd.
Yes—the compound’s surface had been cleared. But no one ever checked the apartments.
Both building units housed at least three to four hundred zombies. Dormant until the Crawler’s roar jolted them awake like machines booting up.
By the time the squad realized it, they were completely surrounded.
"Group up! Fight back! Keep them away!"
One sharp-eyed student yelled orders, trying to rally the team.
Useless. Morale had already collapsed. No one obeyed. Even if they united, fifteen people against hundreds of zombies—and two Crawlers? Impossible.
"Help! Somebody help meee!"
"Liu-ge! Save me! I don’t wanna die!"
A worker got pinned by five zombies. They tore into his limbs. His screams never stopped—healing skills kept him alive just long enough to suffer.
"Ahhh! Get off! GET OFF!"
His agony drew more zombies. They swarmed him, scratching, biting. He crushed one skull—another took its place. Then another. An endless tide.
Soon, his screams faded.
His limbs lay scattered. Only a slick trail of blood seeped from the writhing pile. No one glanced back. Everyone was running.
ROOOAR—
The Crawler’s howl echoed through the compound, shaking windows. More zombies leaped from upper floors.
Just hearing that guttural roar made Liu Ming break into a cold sweat, his will to fight evaporating. Watching his squad disintegrate, his gaze hardened. A decision crystallized.
"Damn fools!"
He cursed, then sprinted—not toward his teammates, but away from the horde. The highest-level member, the strongest fighter, who’d stolen elite monster XP earlier, now abandoned his squad without hesitation.
Bai Ling stared, stunned.
"Liu-ge! LIU-GE!"
The fangirl who’d clung to him shrieked after his retreating figure. He didn’t look back. Within seconds, he was a hundred meters away.
The girl’s face drained of color. Her legs buckled. She slumped against Duan Heng’s car, paralyzed. Level 3 or 4 squad members might escape. Some reached building entrances.
But her? A girl with no skills, no strength—just flattery and coquetry. Trapped dead-center in the horde.
"Stay back! Don’t eat me!"
"Someone help me! PLEASE!"
As teammates fell one by one, she became the last living target. A zombie lurched toward her, jaws dripping.
"Eeek! EEK!"
Tears flooded her eyes. Desperate, she spun and hammered the car window, sobbing:
"Open up! Let me in! PLEASE!"
She trembled violently, tear-streaked face pressed against the glass—pitiful, fragile.
Duan Heng and Bai Ling didn’t flinch.
They watched her through narrowed eyes, utterly unmoved. Amusement flickered in their gazes. Her earlier insults—*pathetic loser*, *disgusting loser*—rang fresh in their ears.
No sympathy for such a fair-weather leech. Not from Duan Heng. Not even from Bai Ling. *You loved riding Liu Ming’s coattails. Why not run with him?*
Outside, the girl seemed to have forgotten her own venom:
"Are you deaf?! LET ME IN! I’M NOT JOKING!"
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
When they didn’t react, fear twisted into rage. She slammed the window like a madwoman:
"I’LL DO ANYTHING! ANYTHING! Blowj*b, sex slave—whatever you want! OPEN THIS DOOR! YOU BASTARDS! CAN’T YOU HEAR ME?!"
Her voice sharpened into a screech. Face contorted, spittle flying—utterly unhinged.
Finally, Duan Heng blinked. The window slid down an inch.
Hope flared in the girl’s eyes. She leaned closer—
Then froze.
Duan Heng and Bai Ling exchanged a look of pure disgust. In perfect unison, they murmured:
"Disgusting loser."
"You—YOU TWO!"
Her face flushed purple with rage. Eyes bloodshot, mouth gaping to hurl insults—
*THUD.*
A zombie’s claw snagged her ankle. She crashed to the ground.
"AHHHH—!"
Screaming, she was dragged away like butchered meat.
"Don’t! HELP ME!"
She clawed at the car’s undercarriage, head thrown back in terror. Duan Heng didn’t even glance down. Her sobs meant nothing.
"Save me! I’ll do anything! Men like virgins, right? I’m clean! I’m a good girl! SAVE MEEEE—"
"AAAAAH—"
The final shriek gurgled from beneath the car. Her throat was torn out. The horde buried her. Only one arm remained, clutching the chassis.
Duan Heng never looked back. Only when the last squad member fell—and the zombies began to disperse—did he turn to Bai Ling.
"Time to go."
"All of them?!" Bai Ling’s eyes widened with worry.
Duan Heng smirked. "Relax. You’ve got that S Tier Artifact. You handle the regular zombies. I’ll take the two mutants. Let’s see who kills faster."
"Uh... okay." Bai Ling nodded slowly.
Then she glanced away, voice small:
"But what if I’m in danger?"
"Hah." Duan Heng’s grin turned playful. "Just scream *‘Hubby, save me!’* I’ll be there in five seconds."
"Go die already!"
