Chapter 7: Strange Zombies
After killing the , didn't immediately order them to advance.
He crouched beside the corpse and used the tip of his to lift the zombie's clothing.
The muscles on its limbs were noticeably thicker than an ordinary zombie's, its Achilles tendons elongated and bluish-black, its nails as hard as horn.
He muttered a few words into the terminal, then stood up.
" . Movement speed is about 1.5 times that of a normal person sprinting. Higher joint flexibility. Weakness is still the head. I'll note it down for now."
"Continue clearing Building 2. Raise alert level. Only move forward after confirming each floor is secure."
and acknowledged simultaneously.
The three re-entered Building 2, moving noticeably slower than before.
The soundproofing in this old residential building was terrible. The sounds of zombie footsteps, growls, and chewing filtered down from the stairwell, floor by floor. They could hear it all clearly.
Third floor. Three zombies roamed the hallway.
held up three fingers. The three men each locked onto a target and burst out from the stairwell simultaneously.
Three muffled thuds overlapped. Three bodies fell at the same time, black blood spreading across the cement floor.
The fourth floor was more complicated. Five zombies crowded the corridor, one of them still wearing bloodstained pajamas.
raised his hand in a retreat signal. The three silently pulled back to the corner on the half-landing between floors three and four.
"Lure them one by one. , make noise. and I will handle the kills."
picked up an empty soda can from the ground and tossed it toward the far end of the fourth-floor hallway.
The metallic clatter was especially harsh in the stairwell. All five zombies were drawn to it, snarling as they rushed toward the source.
As the last one passed the stairwell entrance, lunged out, driving his into the back of its neck. The zombie collapsed without a sound.
The remaining four were alerted by the sound of their companion falling and turned to charge back.
swung his sideways into a temple, the crack of bone clearly audible.
took down the remaining two with two consecutive chops. The last one actually turned and ran back.
caught up in two strides and stabbed it through the back of the head, killing it instantly.
put away his and stared at the zombie that had tried to flee and been killed for two seconds.
Ordinary zombies didn't have the option to run.
He added a note to the terminal: "Exhibits avoidance and retreat behavior. Be advised."
Rooftop of Building 6.
received 's report and stared at the dense cluster of red dots on the map.
"Awareness of avoidance and retreat..." A thought flashed through his mind—a setting from the post-apocalyptic novels he'd read before:
Second-order mutation. Intelligence type.
If that kind of thing really existed, then what they faced from now on wouldn't just be a disorganized mob.
" , report progress."
" , the north side of Zhongshan Street has 80% of the zone cleared."