Pfft!
Pfft!
Pfft!
System prompts chimed in rapid succession as Chu Feng maintained his disciplined rhythm.
[Target destroyed: Ordinary Zombie.
Rewards: 10 Points.] [Target destroyed: Ordinary Zombie.
Rewards: 10 Points.] [Target destroyed: Ordinary Zombie.
Rewards: 10 Points.] With his Tier 1 magnetic guidance correcting every bullet’s trajectory, each shot found its mark between the eyes of the advancing horde.
In less than a minute, his point counter climbed steadily to 130.
Click, click!
The slide locked back on an empty chamber.
The Beretta’s twelve-round magazine was completely spent.
Gaaarrrh…
Without the continuous stream of precision fire holding them back, the dead surged forward once more, completely indifferent to the pile of corpses blocking the walkway.
“Fall back!
Move!” Rain shouted, taking charge in the absence of Captain Shade.
Da-da-da-da!
Bang!
Bang!
The remaining mercenaries opened fire, backing down the narrow corridor in a chaotic retreat.
Unlike Chu Feng, they lacked magnetic manipulation to guide their shots; holding fully automatic assault rifles, they were forced to spray rounds into the approaching mob, aiming for volume over precision.
The heavy crossfire tore through the zombies, but erratic recoil sent wild rounds ricocheting off the reinforced bulkheads and slamming into the suspended glass containment tanks lining the sector.
“Watch your fire!” Chu Feng yelled over the roar of automatic weapons.
“Those tanks—!” He didn’t get to finish the sentence.
Beep—Beep—Beep!
A stray round struck a high-pressure valve on one of the chemical processing units.
Internal pressure spiked instantly, sparking a chain reaction.
BOOM!
A blinding flash of orange fire erupted as the tank detonated.
The shockwave tore down the hallway, shattering glass and throwing flame across the corridor.
Alice turned back just as the wall of fire blew outward.
Dazed by her recovering senses, she froze in the blast zone.
“Get down!” Chu Feng lunged forward, tackling Alice to the deck just as the thermal wave roared overhead.
The sheer force of the explosion swept over them, tossing their intertwined bodies several feet across the floor until they slammed hard against a lower steel support beam.
Thump!
Chu Feng took the full brunt of the impact against his spine, the air rushing out of his lungs in a sharp gasp.
Before he could recover, the momentum of the throw rolled Alice directly on top of him.
Her lips pressed hard against his in an accidental, high-velocity collision.
For a brief second, the world seemed to freeze.
As her lips brushed his, a sharp spike of adrenaline jolted Alice’s nervous system.
The physical shock appeared to burn through the remaining fog of the Red Queen’s neurotoxin.
Fragmented images flashed rapidly through her mind—a grand estate, marble statues under open sky, a red dress in a mirror.
Her memories were beginning to surface.
Chu Feng lay stunned beneath her.
Back pain flared from the hard metal impact, yet the sudden proximity of the striking woman left him momentarily speechless.
“Keep moving!
Go, go!” Rain’s voice echoed down the hall.
Seeing the fire engulfing the central junction, the surviving mercs assumed anyone caught in the direct explosion was dead.
They pushed forward into the adjacent sector, drawing the bulk of the zombie horde away with their loud gunfire.
The corridor fell quiet, save for the crackle of burning insulation and hiss of broken steam pipes.
As the ringing in her ears faded, Alice snapped back to reality.
Realizing how close they were, her reflex as a trained operative kicked in automatically.
She flipped her weight, pinned Chu Feng to the deck, and twisted his right arm behind his back.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” she demanded, her voice sharp.
“Ow—ey!
Stop, stop!
It’s going to break!” Chu Feng winced, his voice tight with pain.
“I just saved you from getting incinerated!” Alice froze, looking at the scorched metal frame above them and the burning debris scattered across the corridor.
The realization hit her, and she quickly released his arm, stepping back.
“I…
right.
Sorry,” she muttered, adjusting her leather jacket.
Then she narrowed her eyes slightly.
“But you shouldn’t have kissed me.” Chu Feng sat up, rubbing his shoulder with a look of utter disbelief.
“Are you serious?
Gravity kissed you into me!
You were the one on top!” Alice cleared her throat, a faint flush touching her cheeks before she quickly pulled back her cool, detached composure.
“Let’s just get out of here.” “Hey, my back took the entire blow for you,” Chu Feng said, wincing slightly as he stood up.
“A little help would be nice.” Alice hesitated for a second, then stepped side-by-side with him, letting him rest an arm over her shoulder to bear some of his weight.
With his enhanced physique from the Magneto gene, Chu Feng’s body was already recovering rapidly from the impact, but he wasn’t about to turn down the support.
Together, they navigated through the ruined service corridors until they reached a dimly lit storage block.
“Hold on,” Chu Feng slowed his pace, looking around.
Along the sides of the hall were dozens of heavy iron cages.
The steel bars weren’t unlocked—they were bent outward, snapped violently by raw physical force.
Zombie dogs, Chu Feng recognized instantly.
“What is it?” Alice asked, sensing his sudden tension.
Snarl…
A low, wet growl echoed from the shadows behind them, accompanied by the clicking of claws against the steel floorplates.
Without a firearm in hand, facing infected Dobermans in a narrow corridor was a deadly prospect.
“Don’t look back,” Chu Feng muttered.
“Run!”