Two completely opposite lights collided in midair.
One was pale green and brimming with life, while the other was dark green, rotten and fallen.
The instant they met, a sizzling sound burst through the air, like water poured onto a scorching iron plate.
The Zombie Mayor let out its angriest roar yet.
It raised the scepter high, and the dark green light at the tip desperately resisted Marikawa Shizuka’s purifying glow.
However, the Saint Healer talent was a direct counter to negative statuses, and the dark green radiance was being suppressed and weakened at a visible speed.
At the same time, the zombies surrounding Shiro slowed down noticeably.
The eerie green glow in their eyes flickered unsteadily, and their bodies began to sway.
They were no longer as frenzied as before.
Some of the zombies that had just been summoned even collapsed directly to the floor, losing their ability to move.
“Now!” Shiro no longer paid attention to the ordinary zombies that had temporarily lost mobility.
He slipped through the gaps in the zombie horde and charged straight toward the Zombie Mayor.
Seeing Shiro rush over, the Zombie Mayor gave up resisting Shizuka and roared as it swung its scepter down at him.
The scepter fell with a fierce whistling sound.
Shiro dodged sideways, and the weapon brushed past the edge of his clothes before smashing into the floor, sending broken stone flying.
Shiro seized the chance and swept his bat sideways.
The baseball bat struck the mayor’s wrist, triggering Precision Strike.
The 10% instant kill effect did not trigger.
The damage boost took effect, but the attack failed to interrupt the mayor’s movement.
The Zombie Mayor struck back with its scepter, smashing Shiro in the shoulder and knocking him back several steps.
A cold, piercing pain spread from his shoulder.
When Shiro looked down, the cloth there had already been corroded by the scepter’s dark green light, revealing skin that had turned an unnatural bluish-purple.
If his Physique had not risen to 6 points, his arm would probably have been crippled by now.
“Shiro-kun!” Shizuka’s expression changed.
“Don’t stop!
Keep suppressing its scepter!” Shiro shouted through gritted teeth.
Shizuka bit her lip and poured all her strength into her talent.
The pale green light became even more dazzling, like a small rising sun.
Under the impact of that light, the dark green glow on the Zombie Mayor’s scepter began cracking apart inch by inch.
“No—impossible—my—power—” The Zombie Mayor let out a hoarse roar.
For the first time, a trace of fear appeared in its voice.
Shiro seized the opportunity and endured the stabbing pain in his shoulder.
Gripping the baseball bat with both hands, he swung it at the Zombie Mayor’s head with all his strength.
Precision Strike triggered!
Instant Kill triggered!
Bang!
The baseball bat slammed hard into the mayor’s temple.
Dark green blood mixed with brain matter splattered outward.
The Zombie Mayor’s massive body swayed, finally lost its balance, and crashed to the floor.
Its body twitched a few times on the ground before slowly beginning to dissolve.
The dark green light on the scepter was completely dispersed by Shizuka’s purifying glow.
The remaining ordinary zombies lost control, the green light in their eyes went out, and they stood frozen in place.
Shiro did not hesitate.
While they still had not regained their ability to move, he finished them off one by one with his bat.
When the final zombie dissolved, the air on the third floor finally returned to normal.
That uncomfortable, oppressive feeling vanished, replaced by the afterglow of the setting sun slanting in through the windows.
Where the Zombie Mayor had disappeared, a silver-white treasure chest had been left behind.
The scepter was also there.
The gem at its tip had already shattered, but the shaft itself remained intact.
Shizuka collapsed onto the floor, panting heavily.
Fully releasing her talent had nearly exhausted all her stamina.
Sweat covered her forehead, and her golden hair was damp, sticking to her cheeks.
“Sen… Sensei, are you okay?” Shiro walked up to her while holding his injured shoulder.
“I’m fine… You’re hurt!
Hurry, let me see!” When Shizuka saw the wound on Shiro’s shoulder, she hurriedly struggled to stand.
She reached out and pressed her hand against his shoulder.
Pale green light lit up once more and gently wrapped around the wound.
The cold, piercing pain quickly began to fade, and the bluish-purple color on his skin gradually receded, returning to a normal complexion.
A few seconds later, the wound on Shiro’s shoulder had completely healed, as if he had never been injured at all.
“All done.” After confirming the wound had fully healed, Shizuka finally let out a sigh of relief.
But right after that, her eyes turned red.
“Idiot!
Don’t be so reckless next time!
What if you got infected?!” Shiro looked at Shizuka’s worried and angry expression.
For once, he did not argue back.
He only smiled.
“Because you were here, Sensei.
That’s why I dared to charge in.” Shizuka froze for a moment, then burst into a soft laugh and wiped the tears at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Honestly, you only know how to say sweet things.
You’re clearly the one who’s been protecting me this whole time.” “I’m serious.” Shiro’s tone was sincere.
“Every zombie controlled by that thing had twice the speed of an ordinary zombie.
If your talent hadn’t suppressed its scepter, and if you couldn’t dispel the zombie virus, that hit just now would’ve basically been a death sentence for me.
So I didn’t win alone.
We won together.” Hearing those words, the exhaustion on Shizuka’s face was replaced by a warm smile.
She wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve and looked up at Shiro.
“Of course!
Sensei has to protect her student, after all!” Shiro smiled and shook his head, then turned to collect the spoils.
The treasure chest left behind after the Zombie Mayor dissolved felt cold to the touch.
The system prompt rang out immediately after.
[Obtained: RV Upgrade Module x1, Survival Point x1, Elite Zombie Core x1] [Rarity: Fine] [Description: An energy core condensed inside an elite zombie’s body.
It contains far more powerful energy than an ordinary zombie crystal.
It can be used to upgrade the RV core system or craft special items.
This is the first elite-class monster you have killed in the Survival World.
This honor will be recorded in the Codex.] “An RV Upgrade Module!
I was just wondering where we were supposed to find one of these.” Shiro stored the core away, then picked up the scepter.
[Obtained: Purified Scepter x1] [Rarity: Common] [Description: The scepter once used by the Zombie Mayor.
The gem at its tip was completely purified by the Saint Healer’s power during battle.
Although it has lost the ability to summon zombies, the shaft itself is made of extremely hard material.
It can be used as a melee weapon, has a slight intimidation effect against zombies, and can also be disassembled into rare materials.] [Crafting Materials: Elite Zombie Material x1, Steel x3] “Disassembling it would be too wasteful.
I’ll keep it for now.
This thing does way more damage than my baseball bat.” Shiro stored the scepter as well.
At the same time, another system notification sounded in his mind.
[Monster Codex updated: Zombie Mayor (Elite) has been unlocked.] [Zombie Mayor (Elite): An elite-class zombie transformed from the mayor of a small town.
Unlike ordinary zombies, it retained a few memories and obsessions from when it was alive.
Because of this, it gained the ability to control other low-level zombies and possesses a certain degree of simple intelligence.
Its transformation process involved intense negative energy corrosion, causing significant mutations in its body.
Its weak points are the head and wrist.
However, because it has some combat awareness, attacking the head is not easy.
It is recommended to prioritize destroying its control medium to sever its connection with low-level zombies, or to use purification-type talent power to weaken its abilities before engaging in direct combat.] [Zombie Mayor Codex entry automatically unlocked.
Elite-class monsters do not require cumulative kills to unlock.
Reward obtained: Physique Attribute +1, Zombie Serum Blueprint.] [Zombie Serum Blueprint Crafting Materials: Elite Zombie Blood x1, Clean Water x3, Elite Zombie Core x1] So zombies could drop materials too.
Shiro did not know whether his luck was good or bad, but this zombie core was probably not an easy item to obtain.
A stream of heat poured into Shiro’s body.
His muscles became firmer, and his bones became tougher.
His Physique increased from 6 to 7 points, now exceeding the ordinary human maximum by a full 2 points.
“Another point in Physique.” Shiro clenched his fist and felt the power filling his body.
“Sensei, how are you doing?” “I’ve recovered a little stamina.” Shizuka stood up from the floor and patted the dust off her skirt.
“Should we look around the mayor’s office and see if there’s anything useful?” “Of course.” The mayor’s desk had been pushed into the corner, but the things on top of it were still fairly neat.
Shiro found an open notebook lying on the desk, with an uncapped pen resting on top of it.
Beside the notebook was a small safe embedded in the wall.
Its combination lock had clearly been turned many times, and the surface was covered in scratches.
Evidently, after turning into a zombie, the mayor had instinctively tried to open it, but failed because it lacked the intelligence to do so.