Сhарter 17: Fierсe Battle with а Fоurth-Tiеr Zоmbiе, Sесretlу Wаtсhed by thе Grim Rеaрer Merсenаry Corрs
Pаle rеd еyes—thе mark of a Fоurth-Тiеr Zоmbie!
Cоuld thе соrpse grаss mud smeаred on hеr body сonfuse а Fourth-Tier Zоmbiе?
Shе wasn’t surе.
In thе original novеl, the mаin fоcus was оn the tanglеd web оf lоvе and hаtred betwеen the mаlе аnd female leads and the supроrting female chаrаcters. Thеrе weren’t many detailed descriptions about leveling up and fighting monsters.
At this moment, she felt a bit uncertain.
But that Fourth-Tier Zombie was walking in her direction, its pale red eyes locked onto her.
The Fourth-Tier Zombie had targeted her!
A chilling sensation, as if being stalked by a wild beast, swept over her entire body.
Mo Qianqian tensed up instantly, her adrenaline surging, and her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might leap out of her chest.
Humans and zombies were natural enemies. When the two sides met, it was a fight to the death.
If that Fourth-Tier Zombie discovered her human identity, it would definitely not let her go!
In a narrow encounter, striking first was the best strategy!
With a soft whirr, the crossbow bolt shot out.
Compared to the foolish first- and second-tier zombies, the Fourth-Tier Zombie seemed to have a slight sense of danger.
Facing the bolt aimed at its eyes, the Fourth-Tier Zombie tilted its head slightly.
As a result, the arrow that was originally aimed at the eyes struck its forehead instead.
The immense kinetic energy carried by the bolt forcefully knocked the Fourth-Tier Zombie back two steps!
However, the zombie’s head didn’t explode like those of first- or second-tier zombies.
In fact, the bolt couldn’t even penetrate the zombie’s skull.
Instead, the bolt shattered into pieces from the violent impact.
Of course, the Fourth-Tier Zombie was injured—the area from the bridge of its nose to the top of its head was left a bloody mess from the bolt’s impact.
But such superficial injuries had no real effect on the zombie.
Sure enough, after a brief stumble, the Fourth-Tier Zombie took another step forward, advancing toward Mo Qianqian.
Mo Qianqian believed she had strong mental fortitude.
Yet, as she watched the Fourth-Tier Zombie approach step by step, she couldn’t help but panic.
The urge to turn and flee surged in her mind, but at the last moment, her rationality suppressed the impulse to run.
She couldn’t run, and she wouldn’t be able to escape.
Even second-tier zombies could match the speed of a normal human running.
She definitely couldn’t outrun a Fourth-Tier Zombie.
If she turned and fled, death would be the only outcome!
For now, the other zombies showed no intention of attacking her.
Only this Fourth-Tier Zombie had targeted her.
Her only chance of survival was to kill this Fourth-Tier Zombie!
The Fourth-Tier Zombie continued to advance toward her step by step.
The crossbow bolt couldn’t pierce the zombie’s skull, and aiming for its most vulnerable eyes only made it dodge.
How could she kill this zombie?
Mo Qianqian’s thoughts raced.
Back in the 21st century, she had practiced practical close-quarters combat, but while it might work against humans, it would be suicide against this zombie.
Her only reliance now was the hand crossbow in her hand!
Since the hand crossbow’s power wasn’t enough to blow off this Fourth-Tier Zombie’s head, she had to find a way to restrict its mobility first.
She wondered if the zombie’s limb joints were as tough as its skull!
Mo Qianqian immediately adjusted her crossbow’s firing angle.
With another soft whirr, the Fourth-Tier Zombie’s right knee was pierced by the bolt!The massive kinetic energy carried by the crossbow bolt directly blasted a hole the size of a fist in the zombie’s knee, completely shattering the kneecap.
The Fourth-Tier Zombie suddenly collapsed to the ground due to loss of balance.
Indeed, the joints were the weaker points in a zombie’s defenses.
She had gambled correctly.
Mo Qianqian adjusted her breathing. The moment the zombie fell, the outcome of this battle was already decided.
All that remained was to dismantle this Fourth-Tier Zombie’s mobility bit by bit.
Zombies felt no pain or fear. After falling, it actually began crawling toward Mo Qianqian on all fours, its speed not much slower than walking.
Mo Qianqian’s expression remained unchanged. With a thwip, another crossbow bolt shot out.
This time, the zombie’s left shoulder was pierced through at the joint.
Another thwip followed…
…
In the center of the Urban Ruins, inside a building surrounded by layers of zombies, over twenty disheveled figures were either sitting or lying down.
Many of them bore injuries.
They wore uniform camouflage combat uniforms, with a skull and scythe emblem on their sleeves.
They were the survivors of the Grim Reaper Mercenary Corps.
Mu Shengzhou leaned weakly against a corner of the wall, his face pale. While no obvious external injuries were visible on his body, his overall condition was clearly not right.
“Boss, can you hold on?” Shen Feng asked with concern.
“I’m fine,” Mu Shengzhou replied. “How much longer can Yu Chao hold out?”
Despite his young age, Mu Shengzhou had taken over the vast Grim Reaper Mercenary Corps.
Although he possessed strength, his foundation was insufficient, making his position as leader less stable.
Shen Feng, Yu Chao, and Jiang Ci were Mu Shengzhou’s trusted confidants.
Among them, Shen Feng was a combat specialist, a Fire-type Special Ability user at the peak of the Fourth Tier.
Jiang Ci was the strategist, with formidable combat skills as well—a Wind-type Special Ability user at the Fourth Tier.
As for Yu Chao, the Special Ability he awakened was rather unique.
He could mask the aura of a small area.
At that moment, the reason the twenty or so of them remained unharmed amidst the zombie horde was because Yu Chao had used his Special Ability to mask the aura of their room.
With no scent of living humans detectable, the zombies naturally did not besiege the area.
However, Yu Chao’s Special Ability had a drawback: once activated, the area with the masked aura could not be moved.
In a place like the Urban Ruins, using such an ability to mask their aura during temporary rest was quite effective.
But in combat, Yu Chao’s Special Ability was almost useless.
“Yu Chao can hold out for at most another two hours,” Jiang Ci said.
“Then we’ll rest for an hour and a half. After that, we’ll break through with full force,” Mu Shengzhou’s voice, though weak, was exceptionally firm.
As Mu Shengzhou’s words fell, most of the group closed their eyes to rest.
Shen Feng, who was relatively uninjured, was assigned to keep watch.
He walked to the building’s window, observing the movements of the zombies below.
Suddenly, he spotted a figure in the distance, colored a dull green, that seemed slightly different from the surrounding zombies.
As a Fourth-Tier Superpowered Individual, his vision was exceptionally sharp.
Although the distance was considerable, he estimated that the dull green figure appeared to be a living person.
When he saw the dull green figure use a wooden weapon that looked like a toy to hunt down a Second-Tier Zombie and retrieve its Crystal Core, he was completely certain it was a living person.
But how was that person managing to move among the zombie horde without being attacked by the other zombies?Was it due to a special ability, or perhaps…
“Jiang Ci, come take a look at this situation,” Shen Feng called out.
Jiang Ci immediately went over to investigate.
“Look at that person,” Shen Feng pointed toward the figure in the zombie horde, the one with the shit-green hue.
As the team’s strategist, Jiang Ci understood Shen Feng’s meaning without needing further explanation.
He promptly took out a small telescope and carefully observed the shit-green figure.
“That person seems to have smeared something like corpse grass mud all over their body,” Jiang Ci remarked.
“But wouldn’t corpse grass mud cause skin to fester upon contact? Has that person’s skin rotted?”
Shen Feng took the telescope from Jiang Ci for a closer look.
“I can’t see any signs of skin decay on that person,” Jiang Ci murmured.
At that moment, Mu Shengzhou, having recovered somewhat, also walked to the window to look.
Just then, the shit-green figure raised a peculiar weapon in hand and aimed it at the fourth-tier zombie.