William unsheathed his katana and stepped down the stairs into the subway. "Grow!" A few zombies standing at the end of the stairs shrieked. It was a bit dark compared to outside. ’They must’ve gotten here now.’ He thought as Gray was able to get out unharmed.
"In just half an hour, many have turned into zombies." William frowned. He shook his head, clenching his blade hard. ’This time, no escaping.’ He couldn’t run from them, as even walking was trouble for him, and he no longer had the cycle.
He slowly descended, even slower than the zombies. Whether it’s luck or not, zombies couldn’t climb. Their legs seemed to be rigid and unable to bend, so they fell on top of each other on the stairs instead of stepping on them.
And the noise attracted more undead; many appeared from inside. William shook his head with a light smile. "This makes things even easier."
As soon as he reached the middle of the staircase, all the zombies were wriggling on each other. They had packed the end and filled the way. There was no gap for William to exploit. But they were quite literally dumb.
They raised their hands and glared at William instead of standing. The zombies at the bottom tried to crawl but couldn’t, as they were pushed down and blocked by the ones on top. However, the ones on top managed. Slowly, they climbed one stair at a time.
By the time William reached one-third, three zombies had finally managed to close in on him. He just swung his blade downward while bending his knees a little for distance. Before the zombies’ hands could touch him, they were beheaded, splashing blood. "Ahh!" He grunted, almost falling down as his legs almost gave way. He managed to stand by supporting himself with his weapon. He sheathed his katana and held his knees, panting. ’I hope it’s worth it.’ He thought.
He hadn’t worked out even once in over a year, and he had now suddenly pushed his legs to their limit. He pedalled the cycle so hard that it matched a small-engine bike. If his lower body worked properly after this without medical intervention, it would be God’s blessing.
The three zombies fell and pushed a few in the back. Thud! Thud! "I really miss my Ether Slash." He groaned. Ether Slash was his favourite attack whenever he was surrounded or ganged up on.
"Now, how to take them?" He muttered, drawing his blade yet again. There were more than fifty zombies in front of him, slowly crawling towards him.
Almost all of the subway undead should have appeared here.
He took a deep breath and sat down. He pulled down his pants to check; his eyes widened as his body protested against his stunt. He noticed his thighs were swollen with a hint of crimson.
"I need to buy a healing potion." He glared deep into the subway. "Only I could’ve spotted the portal from here." He’d hoped for an easy way out.
To solve his lower-body problem, he just needs to find the portal, or at least spot it with his eyes. He swung his katana lightly, glancing down.
"One by one, come to die." He grinned. Within moments, a few more zombies came up. Whoosh! He swung his sharp weapon, beheading them by leaning in. He then pushed them down with his blade with force. The falling zombies’ bodies slammed the healthy zombies into the ground below and lay on top of them.
Before they could get up or push the dead bodies away, thud! new dead bodies fell from above. William was swinging his blade and pushed the dead bodies to the ground. And due to the massive amount of zombies in the limited space of the staircase, only four or five at once could reach him. And the zombies next in line were pushed down when dead bodies fell with force.
Within a few minutes, William leisurely slaughtered many zombies and made healthy zombies get stuck under the weight of their fellow dead comrades.
"Grr!" Zombies growled from within, but there was no use, as they were powerless to crawl out by shoving the dead bodies away.
William glanced at his handiwork of bodies and nodded to himself as he tried to stand up.
He fell. Thud!
After a few attempts, he managed to stand up. With slow movements, he descended the stairs. Dead bodies had filled the entry path, but a little gap at the corner allowed William to squeeze in.
He first checked whether any healthy zombie could touch him by placing his blade. He wasn’t surprised when he found they were in between, locked and unable to move out.
After all, there were more than fifty zombies. A regular zombie has the strength of less than a normal human, so how could they heave massive dead bodies on top of them? William twisted his body and entered the subway. He found the path empty and dark. ’They are all here.’ He muttered as he sighed.
He slowly moved his legs, straining himself with each movement. He scanned for everything on his way. ’Nothing.’ He found nothing interesting. It was just a regular subway with boards and walls. He hadn’t reached deep enough to even find stores.
The deeper he went, the darker it got. After a few more turns, he found dead zombie bodies. There were arrows stuck in their heads. Not a single one missed the target. It showcased the skill of an extraordinary marksman.
’As expected of her.’ He just smiled. That’s why he wasn’t in a hurry after he’d lost his strength. He was confident in Alissa’s power. He wanted to find the portal faster because he could save more people and, if possible, make things easier for her.
He then finally noticed railway tracks and another raised platform next to the one he stood. He found a board with the words second platform on it. On it, he found a black spinning vortex on a white wall, which was next to a water stall, just a bit above the center of the dock.
[ Ding! You have found the portal! ]
[ Ding! You have completed the Main Quest 1—Survival ]
[ Ding! You have unlocked levelling! ]
[ Ding! You have unlocked the store! ]
His vision was filled with a string of notifications as a luminous panel flashed.
"Was it the butterfly effect?" He wondered about the location of the portal as he relaxed. He then searched for Alissa on the platform. In the left corner of the second platform, more than twenty zombies were slowly shambling, while a purple-haired beauty raised her bow and knocked an arrow, releasing the string.
Whoosh! Her arrow pierced right through the zombie’s forehead in the front and killed it. William frowned as Alissa knocked another arrow, but didn’t release it. His expression changed as he noticed her arrows were running out. Less than five arrows remained in her quiver.