Chapter Sixteen: Monsters

The street had once been paved with smooth asphalt, pristine and immaculate, but now, after the rampage of the zombies, every passing second became a test of one’s psychological endurance. The entire road was strewn with mangled flesh and gore, a sight so harrowing that it was impossible to tell how many had perished along this endless stretch.

Fragments of bodies, barely recognizable, were scattered across the ground; among them, tatters of clothing and skulls gnawed down to the bone. Standing amidst such carnage, Fan Li could not help but feel a profound sense of desolation. The wandering zombies contrasted sharply with the broken limbs at his feet, prompting the inevitable question: was life tenacious or merely fragile?

He could see, with the naked eye, dozens of mindless zombies still lingering in the street. Among them was a familiar face—a security guard from the nearby bank, someone who had always been talkative and lived in the neighboring unit, an old acquaintance. But now, that garrulous middle-aged man’s uniform was torn to shreds; a deep bite mark on his neck revealed the source of his mutation. His head lolled loosely to one side, his eyes clouded and mad, like those of a rabid dog, consumed only by the urge to unleash his fury.

The noise Fan Li had heard earlier had caught the zombies’ attention, including the security guard. Though he had not seen the enemy, he responded to the distant sound by opening his bloodied mouth and letting out a raspy, guttural roar from deep within his throat—a sound as chilling as a duck’s quack muffled by a clenched hand, its ugliness laced with a terrifying ferocity.

Zombies further down the street had also noticed the commotion and, with angry roars, rushed toward the source of the sound. Driven solely by instinct, these mindless creatures were easily distracted and quick to frenzy.

Suddenly, a thunderous crash echoed in Fan Li’s vision. At the corner, a zombie was flung high into the air, landing heavily against the wall.

At that moment, a figure appeared before Fan Li—one beyond description.

“What... what kind of monster is this?” Fan Li was no stranger to the apocalypse. He had witnessed its horrors firsthand, even slaughtered several zombies himself, including a mutated zombie dog. Yet, the foes he had faced paled in comparison to this newcomer; they seemed as harmless as children.

Before him stood a male zombie, bare-chested, radiating a brutal and imposing presence. His iron arms and bronze fists were covered in bulging muscles, and he loomed like a towering mountain, suffocating all who gazed upon him.

The muscles in his face were twisted, his eyes vacant and white, his lips leaking foul blood from clenched teeth. There was no doubt—this was the one who had hurled the zombie against the wall.

He appeared to be around thirty before his mutation, but his current form was astonishing. Most zombies Fan Li had encountered retained some semblance of their former selves, facial features altered by decay or infection, but not unrecognizable. This hulking zombie, however, was different. His body had grown far beyond human proportions, larger than any bodybuilder, and his skin had turned a cement-like gray, making him look as though he were coated in concrete—unyielding and solid.

The ordinary zombies, realizing the source of the noise was not food but a fellow creature, ceased their charge. Zombies rarely attacked their own kind; they stopped and drifted aimlessly.

But—while the others halted, the gigantic zombie had no intention of sparing his “companions.” He extended his arm and swept it sideways, his limb crashing into a zombie’s chest like a small tree.

The sound—a sharp crack—was unmistakable. Fan Li listened closely as the struck zombie collapsed, unable even to rise.

Zombies had always been a symbol of evil, at least for humanity, but faced with this mutated kin, ordinary zombies posed no threat whatsoever.

Yet the hulking zombie was far from satisfied. His neck swelled as he let out a ferocious roar, his thick arms rippling with worm-like veins. Death had stripped him of all human traits; excessive force did not redden his skin, but instead deepened its color from gray to a purplish hue.

The next blow was not the sound of flesh meeting flesh—it was nearly as loud as a mild explosion.

The security guard zombie, whom Fan Li knew well, had his upper body crushed and deformed by a single punch. Fan Li had no doubt: a blow like that could dent even a car, let alone a body of flesh and blood.

The scene before him left Fan Li in shock. Never had he imagined that, on the seventh day of the apocalypse, such a formidable enemy would appear before his eyes.

This had already shattered Fan Li’s understanding of zombies. He had always thought of them as mindless, violent, bloodthirsty creatures, with their strength only incrementally increased—still within bearable limits.

But this creature, standing two meters tall with arms thicker than his own thighs, what on earth was it?

As the monstrous zombie rampaged, the surrounding ordinary zombies scattered, cowering away. Fan Li watched as it bent down, grabbed the security guard zombie by the head, and, with a burst of strength, lifted it effortlessly.

The giant zombie brought its captive to its nose and sniffed.

A guttural roar emerged—void of any human semblance. With a powerful toss, it slammed the security guard zombie to the ground, skull first, rendering it lifeless.

This was not the food it craved.

The taste of its own kind seemed to repulse the hulking zombie endlessly. Its wild howls echoed throughout, desperate for fresh sustenance to satiate its hunger.

Denied the meal it sought, hunger made it ever more violent. Now, it rampaged across the street, smashing aside any obstructing vehicle, the collisions ringing with piercing noise.

As the monstrous zombie rampaged, Fan Li’s expression grew grave; his right hand clutching the curtain tightened unconsciously.

This zombie had surpassed all of Fan Li’s expectations—it could no longer be called a zombie, but a true monster.

“A monster?”

Staring at the mutated creature, a strange thought arose in Fan Li’s mind. If both were monsters, he wondered, was this hulking zombie more formidable, or was his own Ellie superior?