The zombies' movements were not governed by their own will. Though they possessed no consciousness to begin with, they had now been entirely reduced to mindless puppets, relentlessly launching attacks against the Players.
Such behavior was like a moth to a flame. The grotesque meatball had posed somewhat of a threat, but a lone zombie was inferior to even a normal human. Their muscles were atrophied, their bodies completely dehydrated, and most were missing limbs. They only looked intimidating on the surface; in reality, even walking was a struggle. They were merely a horde of crippled corpses.
In fact, if one ignored the corpse poison lingering on them, their combat effectiveness was lower than that of an unarmed woman.
Bai Mu did not hold back this time. He held the Flaming Sword in the flames for over ten seconds to imbue it with the fire attribute, then executed Quick Draw, cleanly decapitating a zombie.
Quick Draw had been ineffective against that iron-armored monstrosity, but it served as an incredibly potent counter against these zombies that were still technically flesh and blood. The tearing attribute of the attack caused massive, gaping wounds wherever the blade struck. This specific trait made injuries extremely difficult to heal and significantly amplified bleeding damage.
However, these zombies had no blood left to shed; their veins had run dry a long time ago.
He knew these people were nothing more than pitiful victims. Their souls had been offered to demons by the witch long ago. These remaining empty shells merely served as a testament to the suffering they had once endured.
As far as Bai Mu was concerned, he firmly believed in ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The dead belonged properly buried in the earth.
If it had been up to him, the moment he uncovered the tragedy behind these zombies, he would have found a quiet spot to resolve them all at once, giving them a clean and swift release to rest in peace.
Reduced to such a state, what would even be the point of leaving this house?
A hollow shell wandering the earth driven by lingering obsession would only become a monstrosity feared by the outside world. Even if their surviving family members recognized them now, there would be no embraces or comforting words. It was far more likely that they would hire a sorcerer to perform an exorcism, begging the spellcaster to purge them completely. In the end, they would still be burned to ashes, and their existence would only breed fear in their loved ones. No fond memories would remain—only terror whenever they were brought to mind.
Of course, Bai Mu could understand why some people might find them too pitiful to strike down.
But understanding did not equal agreement. Assuming these zombies minded their own business, Bai Mu would not have bothered to lift a finger against them. But now, another will was actively controlling them to attack him, making it no longer a question of whether he wanted to fight or not.
Furthermore, the zombies themselves were clearly in agony, weeping and wailing incessantly. It was time to grant them eternal rest.
Bai Mu drew his blade with blinding speed. The flash of the sword flowed like rushing water, the red-hot edge leaving searing trails in the air. He aimed exclusively for their vital points, dispatching a zombie to the afterlife with every single swing. His four teammates followed closely behind, rushing out from the doorway to provide support. From the very beginning, they had treated this Script as a combat-oriented one, and had thus prepared ample supplies.
Following their previous arrangement, Great Northern Wilderness held the frontline, taking charge of drawing aggro. Scattered Fireflies and Nancheng Port provided ranged damage output, while Yan Yu engaged in close and mid-range skirmishes to offer flexible support.
Bai Mu assumed the role of the vanguard. He fully committed to the task, having charged ahead of the group early on.
The current situation played out almost exactly as they had anticipated. The scorching heat in the air ignited the fallen corpses. With very few zombies left standing, the undead horde completely failed to hold its ground against a squad of Players boasting an average D-grade rating.
Even the most mediocre D-grade Player would still possess a handful of Rare grade equipment and skills. They might not be masters of all trades, but they generally specialized in at least one area—whether that was raw offensive power, sheer survivability, or stealth.
Great Northern Wilderness had carefully considered this when assembling the team. Scattered Fireflies possessed a healing skill, his younger brother handled ranged attacks, and Yan Yu took on melee combat. One glance at his own gear made it obvious that he was fully specialized in defense.
After all, between him and his brother, since one had chosen the bow, it was only natural for the other to pick up a shield.
The four of them formed a very well-rounded unit. As for Bai Mu, Great Northern Wilderness had invited him purely because he recognized the man's immense strength, without even considering his specific role. In his eyes, Bai Mu was a true all-rounder, and someone who stood out as extraordinary among all Players.
Upon their first meeting, he never could have imagined that such an ordinary-looking man would possess such terrifying methods.
But thinking back on it, the very fact that an F-grade Player had been matched into a D-grade team Script was already a glaring clue that something was extraordinary.
He had even laughed at the time, thinking Bai Mu had been scammed by veteran Players. He had originally planned to abandon the rookie at the first sign of trouble so as not to delay his own Main Quest. Who could have known that this F-grade Player would turn out to be the ultimate carry, completely blowing his mind.
And the facts proved that his judgment was not wrong.
A single Cherry Bomb had blown that troublesome meatball into a crippled mess, and over half of the remaining scattered zombie horde had been sent straight to heaven by his blade.
An expert was truly an expert. If he had tackled this Script with his previous teams, they would have likely been thrown into complete disarray the moment they encountered that armored monster.
They probably could have still stumbled their way to this current stage, but there was no guarantee they would have avoided severe injuries or even casualties. Regardless, the atmosphere certainly would not be as relaxed and harmonious as it was now.
That meatball ultimately proved to be nothing more than a false alarm. After a brief bout of intense combat, they successfully eradicated the zombie horde. The fire inside the house did not spread; while hacking down the undead, Bai Mu noticed that the flames on the furniture extinguished quickly on their own. In stark contrast, the zombie corpses burned until absolutely nothing remained.
Those bodies turned to ash at a highly abnormal rate. Normally, even after several hours of cremation, it would be difficult to reduce a human body to unrecognizable ash. Yet in this house, the burning efficiency seemed to have been multiplied by hundreds of times. In just a matter of minutes, not a single intact corpse could be found in the parlor. The flames themselves scattered into nothingness alongside the final body, dissolving into mere dust.
Great Northern Wilderness remarked, "If this witch opened up a crematorium, how many bodies do you think she could process in a single day?"
"Where would she even get that many people to burn?" Yan Yu replied. "Right now, we should be following the hints left by those bloody words to grant these empty shells eternal rest. Did any of you find anything resembling a key?"
"Let's look around," Bai Mu suggested. "Pay close attention to those piles of ashes."
The five of them immediately spread out, digging through the remains.
It felt a bit disrespectful to do so, but given their current circumstances, there was no room to worry about common decency.
Before long, Scattered Fireflies indeed found a key buried in the ashes.
[Name: Key to the Door]
[Type: Item]
[Note: Seems to open a door somewhere.]
Bai Mu took the key and tested it on the basement door, but it proved ineffective. It could not unlock it.
Everyone shifted their gazes toward the second floor. Since it could not open the basement, the answer to where this key led naturally surfaced in everyone's minds.