Chapter 63: An Unlucky Start
America(United States of America), the pre-apocalypse world’s strongest nation, the sole superpower.
Lin Jiayao didn’t judge the country’s past stance or actions; after the apocalypse, the entire world had changed.
She just wondered what the situation was like in America. Although she had never been there, she knew enough not to be completely in the dark.
She chose Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Although Milwaukee was the largest city in Wisconsin, compared to other more prosperous areas in America, it was a relatively small place.
“Splash—”
“Splash—”
Before Lin Jiayao could open her eyes in the darkness, she heard the sound of water.
Water?
She quickly opened her eyes. Everything was a shade of dark gray or black, the world tinted crimson.
Although it was daytime in China, it was still night in America, across the Pacific.
It seemed she had logged into a zombie with night vision.
Testing her limbs, she felt the familiar connection.
A zombie with normal limbs, good.
Lin Jiayao controlled the body to stand up, intending to use her height to survey the surroun—
dings…
Hmm?
Standing, she realized something was wrong.
Why was her perspective still so low?
Looking down, even in her crimson-tinted vision, she could tell these hands were too small.
The hands of a child, about ten years old.
Unfortunately, she didn’t sense any other abilities. It seemed she had logged into an ordinary Biter.
A system prompt appeared.
「Inherited Evolutions: [Blood Rage Lv.1] [Bone Spike Lurker Lv.1] [Bone Regeneration Lv.1]」
She seemed to have inherited the most basic bone and flesh-related evolutions from her main body.
Unfortunately, these were abilities Mask could easily counter.
Lin Jiayao dismissed her slight disappointment and looked around.
She seemed to be in a harbor at night, the shore and water filled with various boats.
She was standing inside a yacht, rocking gently with the waves.
Seeing her surroundings, she decided to move away from the harbor.
Aquatic zombies were more difficult to deal with than those on land – they were much larger and stronger.
Leaving the harbor, she reached a road and checked the extraction point.
「Extraction Time 4:59:33」
【Extraction Point: 11km】
The extraction point was far, especially for an ordinary Biter, but the time allotted was generous.
Perhaps she could observe the local zombies along the way.
“Buzz—”
Just as she was about to head towards the extraction point, a strange buzzing sound resonated in her mind.
And she felt an urge to move towards a certain direction.
This is…
Suddenly, realization dawned.
Was this a call from some kind of Hive Zombie?
Although it was quite far, and slightly off course from the extraction point, Lin Jiayao decided it was worth investigating.
It would be a waste to simply extract with an ordinary Biter body.
She changed direction and jogged towards the source of the buzzing.
She couldn’t run any faster; this small zombie body was limited.
Passing a store, she glanced at her reflection in the window.
She couldn’t tell her eye or hair color in her current vision, but she could confirm that she was indeed in a little girl’s body.
The girl’s dirty, blood-matted hair hung down her back, clinging to her blackened dress.
There was a gruesome wound on her neck, as if someone had taken an axe to it. The skin and flesh around the wound were curled outwards, dry, seemingly years old.
Other than that, it was a relatively intact Biter, much better than the one she’d controlled on the first day, whose back had broken almost immediately.
As Lin Jiayao got closer, the buzzing grew louder.
She could even feel the strange, almost tinnitus-like sound affecting her mind.
If she lost focus, her body would involuntarily move towards the source of the buzzing. She had to concentrate to maintain control.
This attraction is terrifying…
Lin Jiayao focused on moving forward, not daring to relax her mind.
If she were an ordinary zombie, she would have been drawn in without resistance.
This explained why she hadn’t seen any other Biters along the way.
Finally, after turning a corner, she heard sounds in the otherwise quiet city.
A cacophony of noise and zombie growls.
But it was still too far. Although she could hear it, it was beyond the range of her Lv.1 Bone Spike Lurker.
To be safe, Lin Jiayao slowed down, extended her right hand, placed her skinless index finger on a nearby wall, and activated Bone Spike Lurker.
Sensing for sounds, she continued forward.
But she quickly frowned, retracted her hand, and deactivated Bone Spike Lurker.
It was too noisy, too many vibrations; she couldn’t discern anything useful.
“Boom—————”
A massive explosion rocked the ground nearby. Lin Jiayao’s attention snapped towards the source.
In her vision, a terrifying explosion erupted from the middle floors – around the twentieth floor – of a high-rise building not far away.
A huge hole was blown into the building, a mushroom cloud of fire and smoke rising into the air.
The shockwave shattered all the surrounding windows. Even Lin Jiayao was pushed back a few steps by the blast.
What was going on?
Such a massive explosion was definitely man-made.
But wasn’t this a zombie-infested area? Why would anyone detonate such a large explosive here?
Before she could figure it out, her eyes widened.
The smoke-filled building was tilting… towards her.
It’s collapsing!
“Damn it!”
Lin Jiayao cursed inwardly and turned, running with all her might.
Logging into a weak Biter was bad enough, but at least she had heard the call of a Hive Zombie.
But before she could even find it, she’d encountered a massive explosion.
And now the building was collapsing, towards her.
The unluckiest start ever!
“Boom—”
“Rumble—”
Another rumbling sound came from behind. Lin Jiayao glanced back and then quickly lowered her head, activating Blood Rage.
A second explosion!
Her already crimson-tinted vision became even brighter, everything glowing red.
At the same time, her strength surged, red veins bulging on her thin arms and legs.
She didn’t care what happened to this zombie body; if she didn’t run, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything.
After the second explosion, not only the middle section, but the lower floors of the building also began to collapse, the entire structure falling towards her like dominoes.
“Crash—”
“Boom, boom, boom—”
A deafening crash shook the ground as a massive chunk of debris hit Lin Jiayao’s back, sending her flying.
As she landed, more debris rained down, burying her.
Lin Jiayao’s consciousness didn’t fade, nor did she feel any pain.
She knew most of her bones were broken. If it weren’t for Blood Rage, she wouldn’t be able to move.
At least my head is intact…
Lin Jiayao didn’t waste any time. Using the last of her Blood Rage boost, she frantically wriggled free from the largest piece of debris. Then, an overwhelming wave of weakness washed over her.
It was so intense she felt that if she closed her eyes, she would die. And her crimson vision faded; even her night vision was gone.
Fortunately, she could still control the system.
She opened the safehouse. A blood crystal materialized.
With effort, she opened her mouth and licked the crystal. The normally hard crystal, now like butter touched by a hot knife, melted slightly against her tongue.
The dissolving crystal flowed into her body, rapidly repairing the damage.
It was a good thing she had inherited [Bone Regeneration Lv.1]; otherwise, with her shattered bones, she would have been stuck here for five hours until the extraction automatically failed.
Lin Jiayao lay there, waiting for her bones to regenerate.
After about five minutes, she heard the buzzing again.
That zombie was still alive?
Fighting the urge to crawl towards it, she put the remaining blood crystal back into the safehouse and looked back.
Even after five minutes, the air was still thick with dust.
The collapsed building had completely buried the street, blocking the road.
Another five minutes passed, and Lin Jiayao felt her bones had almost fully regenerated. She tentatively moved and found she could stand.
She could move, but the buzzing in her mind was now intermittent.
Was the Hive Zombie injured?
Lin Jiayao slowly got up and walked towards the source of the buzzing.
Although her bones had regenerated, her flesh was mangled, her dress clinging to chunks of meat.
She looked even more like a zombie now.
Climbing over the debris would take too long, so she chose to detour through the adjacent street.
After about ten minutes, following the intermittent buzzing, she reached the collapsed building.
Along the way, she saw countless zombie corpses, most of them burned or dismembered.
They seemed to have fallen from the building during the explosion and collapse.
No wonder she hadn’t seen any zombies along the way; they had all been gathered here?
Had someone deliberately lured the zombies into the building with a Hive Zombie and then detonated explosives?
This seemed like the most plausible explanation.
If that were the case, someone would be here to clean up the battlefield soon.
She had to hurry.
Ignoring the scattered blood crystals, Lin Jiayao headed straight for the ruins, her only goal the Hive Zombie.
The building was now a mountain of rubble. The closer she got, the stronger the buzzing became.
The Hive Zombie was trapped beneath the debris.
Taking the pistol from the safehouse, Lin Jiayao crouched down, preparing to use Bone Spike Lurker to scout the area.
The moment her finger touched the ground, activating Bone Spike Lurker, she quickly dropped to the ground, concealing the pistol beneath her.
She heard footsteps. Eight people, all human.
The heavy thud of boots on the ground; they all seemed to be strong adult men.
“Pyke, Lee, hold this position, others follow me.”
“Affirmative.”
“Roger that, boss.”
After a brief exchange in English, two sets of footsteps stopped.
The other six continued to move quickly towards her.
Lin Jiayao could hear the clattering of their tactical gear. She lay still, pretending to be a corpse.
Only after they passed did she slowly turn and look at their retreating figures.
They were a team in black tactical gear, bulletproof vests, tactical helmets, and night vision goggles. Their equipment would have been expensive even before the apocalypse.
Especially their heavily modified guns; Lin Jiayao couldn’t even identify the models.
America was different from China. Their firearms and accessories were far more advanced, having been readily available to civilians before the apocalypse, like large toys.
But now, in the apocalypse, this had become an advantage.
The well-equipped tactical team reached the ruins and stopped.
They split into groups. Two remained behind to guard the perimeter, while the other four opened burlap sacks and began collecting blood crystals.
Their movements were swift and practiced.
Had they used a Hive Zombie to lure the horde into the building, detonated explosives, and then returned to scavenge the battlefield?
A highly efficient way to collect blood crystals.
“Boss, over here! I sense it!”
One of them shouted excitedly in English, and the two guards joined them.
They seemed to have found something and began digging through the rubble.
“Buzz—”
The buzzing in Lin Jiayao’s mind intensified as they dug.
It seemed their actions had angered whatever was buried beneath.
“Fuck!!!”
A terrified shout, followed by the muffled sounds of suppressed gunfire.
It seemed the Hive Zombie, angered, had intensified its call, summoning the remaining zombies towards the team.
“Back! Back! Fall back!!!”
Lin Jiayao saw zombies swarming from all directions towards the ruins. These weren’t the ones that had been crushed in the building, but those that had been lurking nearby.
They looked like Sprinters with exposed muscles, but their muscles were black, with a matte texture, as if covered by a protective film.
They charged towards the center of the ruins, drawn to the gunfire.
Even Lin Jiayao had almost succumbed to the mental pull.
The fight didn’t last long. Their firepower was no match for the overwhelming number of Sprinters. Within five minutes, the gunfire stopped.
After a while, the Sprinter-like zombies began frantically digging, as if trying to unearth something.
Only then did Lin Jiayao dare to get up.
That human team, though quickly eliminated, had been a greater threat to her than the horde.
But she couldn’t understand why the Hive Zombie had ambushed those Sprinters beforehand.
Had its intelligence evolved to such a degree?
With this question in mind, Lin Jiayao followed the buzzing, walking towards the digging zombies.
Reaching the spot where they were frantically digging, Lin Jiayao bent down, picked up a stone, and tossed it aside, pretending to be working.
Her right hand reached out and unfastened the bulletproof vest from one of the corpses.
Confirming she wasn’t being watched, she quickly started looting.
Tactical helmet? Remove the night vision goggles, put it on.
Bulletproof vest? Put it on.
Ammo vest? Put it on over the bulletproof vest, leaving the unfastened straps dangling.
Gun? Take the one the “boss” had been holding, along with all his magazines.
Unable to wear anything more, she started collecting grenades, finding three and a few disposable syringes labeled with a name she didn’t recognize, seemingly adrenaline.
As Lin Jiayao happily looted, the zombies seemed to be making progress with their digging.
“Buzz—”
The buzzing in her mind suddenly intensified. She switched on the laser sight attached to one of the rifles and aimed it at the source.
Several black Sprinters were pulling at something, trying to drag it out of the ground.
“Crack, crack, crack—”
After pushing aside a pile of rocks, the thing finally emerged.
Lin Jiayao saw it clearly.
It was a grotesque creature that made her stomach churn.
It was about two meters tall, but incredibly bloated, like a morbidly obese person.
Its head had atrophied to the size of a fist, covered in green veins, with no discernible features except for a small opening for a mouth.
From its neck to its shoulders were countless black holes, like a honeycomb, with emerald green insects crawling in and out.
Its body was grotesquely swollen, its skin almost translucent.
Lin Jiayao could see what was inside.
Human brains, connected by emerald green threads, piled haphazardly within its body like toppings in a boba tea.
It looked like a giant, pulsating blob of aspic, filled with human brains, instantly turning Lin Jiayao off any kind of fatty food.
After the grotesque zombie was pulled out, its small head swayed like a snake, and the countless holes on its neck and shoulders wriggled, emitting a buzzing sound.
“Buzz, buzz—”
The zombies around it started moving again, searching for blood crystals.
After a while, the zombie seemed to sense something was amiss. It turned towards Lin Jiayao.
“Buzz—”
A powerful, almost hypnotic suggestion entered Lin Jiayao’s mind, telling her what it wanted her to do.
Collect food. Bring it here.
A simple command, seemingly directed at the still motionless Lin Jiayao.
It didn’t even seem to notice the bulletproof vest and oversized helmet on her small body.
It seemed unable to comprehend these human items. To it, regardless of what she was wearing, she was just another zombie.
And in its perception, she was a weak, easily controlled zombie.
Lin Jiayao didn’t know if this disgusting zombie had any other abilities. Holding a rifle, she bent down and casually poked at the stones on the ground with the barrel.
A clear display of feigned obedience.
Seeing the small zombie “searching for blood crystals,” the Hive Zombie turned and lumbered towards a nearby human corpse.
“Gurgle—Gurgle—”
The brains and pus inside its swollen belly sloshed with every step, a sickening sound.
It reached the corpse, sat down with a “thump,” and then, leaning forward, ripped off an arm.
“Crack—”
Raising the severed arm, it held the bloody stump to its atrophied head and twisted, a sickening crunch of bone echoing through the air.
Blood and bits of flesh splattered onto its head, only a small portion entering its tiny mouth.
Like Bear Grylls squeezing water from cow dung in the wilderness.
After draining the marrow and remaining blood from the arm, it casually tossed the scraps aside, reached out with its bloodstained hand, and snapped the corpse’s neck.
Then, holding the head by the neck, it crushed the skull with its other hand, peeling away the skin, hair, and bone fragments like an egg, revealing the yellowish brain within.
“Buzz, buzz—”
Emerald green insects swarmed from the holes in its neck and shoulders, covering the brain.
In moments, the brain was devoured, and the insects returned to their honeycomb-like holes, except for one.
The single emerald insect crawled down the corpse’s broken neck and into its throat, disappearing into its body.
Within ten seconds, the corpse began to convulse, its veins glowing with an eerie green light, as if filled with a new kind of blood.
Watching this gruesome scene, like some ancient ritual, Lin Jiayao narrowed her eyes.
Where was this fleshy Hive Zombie’s weakness?
She couldn’t see any.
It didn’t even have a proper head; that atrophied thing was just a feeding tool.
Even the massive explosion and the crushing weight of the debris hadn’t harmed it.
A question arose in her mind.
Would bullets even be effective?
Might as well try.
Lin Jiayao raised her rifle, aimed at the Hive Zombie’s back, the laser sight targeting its translucent skin.
The red laser even penetrated its skin, illuminating the brains floating in the murky fluid within.
It was a good thing she had the laser sight; with this small body, even looking through the scope was difficult.
“Bang—”
She fired a single shot and then lowered the rifle, continuing to pretend she was digging for blood crystals.
She watched the zombie from the corner of her eye.
She could clearly see the bullet penetrate its back, punching through the gelatinous skin.
“Buzz—”
Hit, the zombie seemed to go into a defensive state. The countless holes on its neck and shoulders widened, and swarms of glowing green insects flew out, buzzing around its body.
Besides a small puddle of pus and one destroyed brain, the bullet seemed to have had no effect.
The wound quickly sealed itself with the pus.
And strangely, the zombie completely ignored Lin Jiayao, walking past her towards an open area.
It didn’t seem to realize she had fired the shot.
“Too difficult to deal with…” Lin Jiayao muttered, watching its retreating figure. “And so unintelligent…”
This wasn’t an insult; the zombie truly seemed to lack intelligence.
The earlier ambush with the Sprinters had likely been instinctual, or a mere coincidence.
Lin Jiayao felt a little sorry for that eight-person team. They’d died needlessly.
Suddenly, she looked down at the three grenades on her vest.
She was almost certain now that the reason the explosion and debris hadn’t killed the Hive Zombie was because it hadn’t been at the epicenter.
And its thick skin had protected it from the impact.
But sharp bullets could still penetrate its skin.
A bold idea formed in her mind.
What if she put the three grenades inside its body?
Even if it didn’t kill it, it would be enough to turn those brains into mush, right?
Lin Jiayao took a grenade from her vest, gripped her rifle in her other hand, and followed the Hive Zombie.
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