Chapter 133: Hesitation Brings Defeat
The noise outside was deafening, and every single one of the few survivors remaining in the building heard it with crystal clarity.
What Yang Shuo had not expected was that the enemy's retaliation would be so swift. Only a day had passed, and they had appeared once again right in front of the apartment building.
Only this time, the number of zombies was much denser. Taking a closer look, there were actually a staggering forty-three of them!
An aura of brutality, bloodshed, and ferocity permeated the surroundings!
Most of the zombies were incomplete and maimed. Standing downstairs, they emitted low, phlegm-choked growls from their throats, staring up at the building with dead, fish-like eyes. They looked like a platoon of soldiers awaiting orders, ready to rush into the building without a moment's hesitation and slaughter the survivors inside at the first signal to attack.
Behind the numerous ordinary zombies stood an even more deformed and hideous entity. It was short in stature, with its entire body covered in grotesque lumps. Upon closer inspection, one could see it was densely packed with black scales, completely wrapping around its body like fish scales. It lacked a nose and ears, with toad-like eyes embedded in its face and a gaping, blood-soaked maw.
In both appearance and sheer ugliness, this creature far surpassed ordinary zombies. Yang Shuo did not understand the distinction Fan Li made between mutated variants and monsters, but he understood one thing clearly: when a corpse bears an abnormal appearance, it possesses extraordinary abilities!
Yesterday there had only been a dozen zombies, but now, the creature had gathered dozens of them to besiege the building. This rallying capability alone was enough to shock anyone to the core.
"Hiss-hiss!"
At that moment, the supremely ugly zombie let out a sharp shriek. Immediately after, a robust, heavy-set zombie stepped out from around the corner.
Standing upright like a lighthouse, saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth as hoarse, dry roars emanated from its throat. With a violent swing of its massive arms—each as thick as an ordinary person's waist—it struck another zombie directly. Accompanied by the crisp sound of shattering bones, the unfortunate zombie was sent crashing straight to the ground.
Following that, the hulking zombie crouched down and began to chew on the rotting flesh of its own companion. Foul-smelling blood spilled from the gaps in its teeth, looking immensely bloodthirsty and ferocious!
In ancient wars, to strike terror into the hearts of enemies, some warriors would execute captives and bathe themselves in their blood. But now, the actions of the hulking zombie far exceeded that kind of bloody ritual manifold!
Yang Shuo knocked on Fan Li's door, only to receive the reply: "Don't worry, go back to sleep."
With dozens of zombies standing right downstairs, how could Yang Shuo possibly sleep?
By this time, Yang Shuo and the others had gathered together. He jammed the remaining bullets into his gun. Hu Huayao had already settled Hu Ji in a safe spot and gripped a club wrapped tightly in barbed wire. Even the team medic, Liu Hao, picked up a hammer, staring tremblingly out the window, ready at a moment's notice to face the zombies' onslaught.
Although they knew Fan Li possessed formidable means, feeling this way right now was akin to a race car driver hurtling down a treacherous mountain road at two hundred miles per hour. How could they possibly afford to lower their guard?
The concerns of Yang Shuo and the others were not unfounded. Surrounded by dozens of zombies, and with the enemy clearly possessing siege-type brawlers, they were undoubtedly under immense pressure.
However, in contrast to the group entrenched downstairs in a state of battle readiness, Fan Li, whose expression had previously been slightly irritable, widened his eyes a fraction upon seeing the large number of zombies effectively surrounding the base of the building.
His breathing grew heavy, his hands gripping tightly onto Ellie's shoulders, and his normally clear pupils became bloodshot.
It was not fear, but excitement!
Compared to the previous killing values of 100 and 500 points, the requirement given by the Monster Manual to summon the next monster had suddenly skyrocketed to 2,000 points!
If they were only dealing with conventional zombies, Fan Li would have to slaughter a full 2,000 of them to meet the summoning requirement.
Zombies were numerous in the wilderness, but in small-scale skirmishes, the increase in killing value was hardly noticeable. Large-scale battles, on the other hand, ran a high risk of provoking massive hordes. While Fan Li trusted his own strength and that of his monsters, he had never imagined he could escape unscathed from a horde of a thousand or more zombies.
Yet now, the appearance of the deformed zombie downstairs suddenly illuminated a previously gloomy path for Fan Li.
A predator capable of controlling ordinary zombies and even mutated variants!
The true value of such a creature was far from being wasted on the boring tasks of simply hunting down, killing, and eating survivors.
Instead, it could efficiently gather zombies together, allowing him to harvest them wave after wave like leeks to rapidly increase his killing value!
A zombie that knew how to make a comeback and harbored such a strong desire for revenge clearly possessed a degree of intelligence. Fan Li stood a very high chance of subduing it and placing it within his Monster Cabin.
Having subdued quite a few monsters one after another, most of them leaned toward individualism, including the Butcher-type who considered himself supreme and would never tolerate companions near him.
Only the creature before him—though a bit ugly in appearance—had impeccable operational capabilities. Subduing it would surely make accumulating 2,000 killing value points in a short time no longer a mere fantasy.
Thinking of this, Chen Feng could no longer hold back. He pushed the window open and shouted down at the deformed zombie: "Step back a bit, don't get hurt!"
Fan Li's voice acted like a fuse, instantly igniting the madness of the zombies. They were servants of flesh and blood; upon sensing the presence of humans, their limbs twisted and their faces contorted as they let out piercing wails.
Driven into a frenzy, the zombies had long since lost all reason. Craving human flesh and blood, their entire bodies shuddered with movements that defied the laws of nature.
"Hiss-hiss!"
The deformed zombie raised its head and howled, its ugly visage displaying a flash of sadistic pleasure in revenge.
What distinguished it from the other zombies was not just its appearance, but its eyes—enticingly red as blood, devoid of a shred of pity or kindness, as if soaked in countless pools of blood, emanating a wicked aura of destruction. Vague illusions seemed to multiply within them, where countless tortured souls groaned in agony under extreme torment.
"Boom!"
Just as the deformed zombie's emotions reached their absolute peak, as if it could already envision the humans who had brought it pain dying in the most miserable way before its eyes, a sudden, explosive sound shattered the sky.
Ellie leaped down from the upper floor, her heavy hammer raised high. Speed and force were magnified to their absolute limits at that moment, and she instantly materialized directly above the hulking zombie's head.
"Splat!"
With a single swing of the hammer, the zombie that had appeared extraordinarily robust a second before was instantly reduced to a puddle of minced meat. Flesh and shattered bones blended into a single messy heap, surreal and utterly unbelievable.
Everything happened too fast. A thick layer of gore from the enemy even splattered across the deformed zombie's face. It froze for a moment, its abnormal eyes staring up at Ellie as if silently asking, "And who on earth are you?"
"Wah!"
Ellie's dense row of teeth began to spin. True to her reckless nature and resolute character, she hesitated not for a second, swinging her massive hammer straight toward the deformed zombie's waist!