Chapter 125: Silent Land of the Living Dead (14)
When Ji Ning woke the next day, Xing Ye, who had shared her bed, was already gone. She got up and walked out of the room. The three men were sharpening axes and organizing their gear.
She'd always heard the saying about a strong ox collapsing from exhaustion long before the field it tills is ever ruined—so why was reality nothing like that? Her inner thighs still ached faintly, which was why she'd slept so soundly.
Yet the three of them all looked more energized than the next.
After greeting them one by one, Ji Ning walked to the balcony and looked down. A scattered handful of Living Dead roamed the residential complex. Aside from their skin turning a sickly gray, something about the way they walked seemed different from the day before.
Sheng Churan stepped up beside her and said, with some gravity, "Yes, our guess from yesterday turned out to be correct. As time passes, the Living Dead are evolving. Their speed and strength are increasing."
Ji Ning drew a sharp breath and murmured, "Could the virus's potency be increasing too? After a scratch or bite, the time it takes for a living person to turn... is it getting shorter?"
"The Captain's theory is very likely," Song Weiyang called out. "You could say all the settings related to the instance's difficulty are changing."
Xing Ye delivered his conclusion: "So we need to speed up. The sooner we reach the Kaimao Building, the better."
Everyone agreed.
Ji Ning quickly got herself ready. Once wrapped in her protective layers, she gripped her crowbar tightly and followed behind Sheng Churan.
There weren't many Living Dead left lingering in the corridors—most of them were charging out from open apartment doors when they heard noise.
When a slightly scrawnier male Living Dead finally appeared, Ji Ning called out, "Wait. Let me try. I can't have you protecting me forever. What if something unexpected happens?"
Hearing her words, Xing Ye pulled back the axe he'd raised and swung it horizontally, slamming it into the Living Dead's chest to knock it back. He held his offensive stance, ready to protect Ji Ning at any moment.
Ji Ning steadied her breathing, mobilized her body, and stepped forward on high alert. First, she used the crowbar to shove the Living Dead back. Then she gauged the position of its head, tightened her grip, and waited for its next lunge.
Time seemed to slow in that moment. Everything around her blurred. Ji Ning forgot her fear and only felt her heart pounding wildly.
She'd rehearsed this in her mind many times, telling herself to treat the Living Dead as nothing more than level monsters in a game—ignore the gore, ignore the dread.
If she hesitated, the only ones who would suffer for it were her three teammates.
Four meters, three, two... one meter. Now!
Ji Ning planted her lower body firmly, channeled force into her arms and wrists, steeled her resolve, hooked the point of the crowbar inward, and aimed a powerful swing at the Living Dead's head.
The strike landed precisely, but a woman's strength is naturally less than a man's. The Living Dead only had a bit of scalp torn open, black blood seeping out, and it still came thrashing and clawing forward.
Xing Ye was just about to step in and help, and Sheng Churan and Song Weiyang also tensed to charge forward.
But immediately after, they saw Ji Ning decisively lift her leg high and kick the Living Dead in the ribs, sending it crashing to the ground. She planted her foot on its chest to keep it from struggling.
Then, gritting her teeth, she let out a stifled grunt of exertion and hammered the crowbar down on the Living Dead's head without pause—once, twice, again and again. After four strikes, the Living Dead's skull was finally caved in. Black blood mixed with brain matter oozed out, and its movements gradually ceased.
A few drops of blood had splattered onto Ji Ning's face. She swayed slightly as she got to her feet, her heart still pounding as she panted for breath.
The scene of this cute girl taking down a monster packed an extreme visual punch. All three men were shaken to varying degrees. As they looked at Ji Ning, a new light glimmered in their eyes.
Xing Ye stepped forward to support Ji Ning, his voice warm with concern. "Are you all right? Does your heart feel upset?"
Sheng Churan pulled out a tissue and gently, meticulously wiped the spattered dark blood from Ji Ning's face.
Song Weiyang took Ji Ning's hand to examine it. Finding no wounds, he massaged her joints and tendons, making sure the sudden burst of force wouldn't strain any muscles.
Livestream comments:
"So cool!!! I'd say yes to you, big sis!"
"Who's been slain here? Me. I've been slain."
"A powerhouse soft girl with Intelligence and Agility stat points—who wouldn't love that?"
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