"Awooo."
A zombie who had been feasting suddenly looked up, only to be ruthlessly kicked in the temple by a heavy boot.
With a crisp crack, its neck snapped, and the zombie collapsed, motionless.
Another zombie worker on the right lunged toward Huan Tian, but he swiftly sidestepped and circled behind it. His gloved right hand clamped down on its jaw like an iron vise and twisted sharply.
Crack.
The zombie's neck was instantly broken, and it crumpled to the ground.
Huan Tian had no interest in saving anyone — this was a move of necessity. The nine security guards he had knocked unconscious and dragged into the hallway were now half-pinned under attacking zombies.
Their presence attracted the zombies, allowing Huan Tian to avoid being surrounded and eliminate the infected zombie workers one by one, keeping his risk of infection to a minimum.
If all nine were bitten and turned, nearly twenty zombies would converge on him — even Huan Tian wouldn't stand a chance then. After all, he was still just an ordinary human, no gear, and hadn't awakened as a Gene Evolver.
This brief window of a few seconds was the sliver of hope he found in a desperate situation.
Huan Tian moved like a precision assassin, every strike a kill. In just five seconds, all the infected workers were dealt with. Not a single bullet was used to avoid drawing more zombies.
[Ding! Killed Level 1 Zombies: 6. Current Demon Hunt Points: 6]
The people inside the office were stunned by Huan Tian's overwhelming battlefield sweep. The fainted guards had been roused by the screaming and now stared at Huan Tian as if beholding a god.
One man had charged unarmed into a group of zombies and taken down more than a dozen using only his fists and feet. This was divine intervention.
Especially Wang Susu — her eyes sparkled as she looked at Huan Tian. Suddenly, she stood up and ran barefoot toward him.
Right now, staying close to Huan Tian was the safest choice. Wang Susu was determined to use everything she had to cling tightly to him.
But the moment she took her first step, she froze in terror.
The first bitten security guard suddenly convulsed like a spring, his entire body trembling violently. Crack, crack—his bones twisted out of place with grotesque snapping sounds. In the next second, he stood up just like the other zombies, his pitch-black pupils now clouded in ashen gray.
"So, it is fifteen seconds!"
Before the zombie guard could fully enter attack mode, Huan Tian struck—a brutal kick landed squarely on its temple.
Crack!
The zombie's neck snapped audibly, its head flopping to one side as it dropped to its knees, collapsing in a heap. But even though it couldn't move, its jaw was still gnashing relentlessly.
Huan Tian frowned slightly.
His body was far weaker than it had been in his past life. He couldn't crush the zombie's brain through the skull.
"Six points in Strength just isn't enough. I need at least seven."
But in that brief moment of distraction, more zombies had already closed in. Huan Tian swiftly took down two of them, while a third was already sprinting straight toward the office.
Huan Tian instinctively reached for his gun to shoot—but he didn't.
"You filthy scumbags, enjoy your reward."
The zombie charged wildly into the office. Compared to Huan Tian, Jiang Qing's fresh, bleeding wounds were far more tempting to it.
"Whoever kills it gets ten million!"
Jiang Qing, trembling on the ground, issued a desperate bounty. After being shot and collapsing, even the slightest movement caused searing pain—this was likely his final shot at survival.
The remaining security guards didn't hesitate—they raised their stun batons and rushed forward.
After watching Huan Tian slaughter zombies outside, they began to think these creatures weren't so scary after all, especially since there were over a dozen of them against just one zombie.
But they knew nothing about the enhanced strength of the zombies. Those stun batons were useless—barely more than a tickle to the undead—and completely incapable of delivering fatal damage. As a result, three people were immediately tackled and bitten by the zombies.
"I've been bitten! Help me!"
"Get away! Stay the hell away from us!"
"Help! Somebody help!"
...
The coordinated effort to fight back collapsed in an instant. Everyone began to flee in panic, dodging zombies—and also avoiding their own bitten comrades. The CEO's office, which had just barely been holding out, was instantly overrun due to one wrong command.
The zombie guard locked eyes on Jiang Qing and lunged at him, sinking its teeth into his thigh. Like a rabid hound, it thrashed its head violently from side to side. In the blink of an eye, Jiang Qing's leg was shredded and soaked in blood.
"Help me! Kick him off, quick!"
"I'll give you fifty million! A hundred million!"
But at that point, no one had the energy or courage to care. Everyone was desperately searching for anything nearby that could be used as a weapon.
Jiang Qing flailed his arms wildly in the air, trying to grab onto anything that might save him—until suddenly, his hand clamped around a soft, smooth leg.
Wang Susu had been running toward the window, looking for an escape. Jiang Qing's desperate grab yanked her off balance, and she fell flat on her face like a dog hitting the ground.
"Wang Susu! Save me! Please, save me!"
"Let go of me, Jiang Qing! Let me go—don't drag me down with you!"
The blood-soaked zombie and Jiang Qing behind her frightened Wang Susu so much that her pretty face turned pale.
She kept furiously kicking Jiang Qing's head with her legs, but in Jiang Qing's eyes, Wang Susu was his last lifeline. He held on tightly, his fingers gripping so hard they nearly crushed her ankle.
"Bite her! Bite that damns woman! Don't come near me!"
Jiang Qing screamed wildly. The zombie seemed to understand him, lifting its head and staring fixedly at Wang Susu with lifeless, grayish eyes. Its gaping mouth revealed bloody teeth, still stuck with bits of flesh.
Despair surged in Wang Susu's eyes. In desperation, she suddenly caught sight of something sparkling on the carpet out of the corner of her eye.
"Howl!"
The zombie guard lunged at Wang Susu.
She grabbed the crystal ashtray from the floor and recklessly swung it at the zombie's head. The first blow struck the zombie's temple.
The sharp edges of the crystal ashtray instantly smashed a large, bloody hole in the zombie's temple. The zombie's body visibly staggered.
"Die! Die!" Wang Susu hammered relentlessly until the zombie guard's face was completely crushed into a bloody pulp.
Panting heavily, Wang Susu suddenly clenched her teeth and glared at the man who had nearly gotten her killed.
"Wang Susu did well! You saved me! Later, whatever nice things you need, I'll buy them for you. Any luxury goods you want, I'll get them!"
Boundless joy surged in Jiang Qing's eyes. Now that fifteen seconds had passed and he still hadn't turned into a zombie, did that mean he wouldn't turn? Maybe he was the legendary chosen one? Naturally born with antibodies?
But before he could fully sink into ecstasy, he caught Wang Susu's cold stare aimed at him.
And the crystal ashtray, stained red with zombie blood, was raised high above.
"What are you trying to do, Wang Susu?!"
"Jiang Qing, you're going to turn into a zombie sooner or later anyway, so why don't I just send you off now?"
"No, no, ah!"
…
[ Ding! Killed 8 level-1 zombies, gained 8 Demon Hunting Points; total Demon Hunting Points: 14.]
In the corridor, Huan Tian snapped the neck of the last zombie, then turned to look toward the office, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes.
"Why is it that the one who killed the zombies is her?"
At this moment, everyone in the office where the zombies were killed finally began to slowly calm down. But many had blood stains all over their bodies, making it impossible to tell whether they were injured or just covered in others' blood. They gripped their weapons tightly, guarding themselves warily against each other.
The original trust had completely collapsed.
Huan Tian strode into the office, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
Wang Susu was the first to run toward him. About two meters away, she suddenly began tearing off her clothes until she was completely naked, then spread her arms and spun several times in front of Huan Tian.
"Huan Tian, look, I'm not hurt at all. Not even a scratch. I'm not infected. You… take me with you."
Only then did the others finally react.
Huan Tian was incredibly powerful and even seemed to have an extraordinary understanding of these zombies. At this point, following Huan Tian was the best chance to survive!
"We haven't been bitten either! If you don't believe me, look!"
"I'm completely unharmed."
"Huan Tian, from now on, we'll follow you. Take us and lead us to safety."
The security guards began taking off their jackets to show the blood on their bodies, but all of them were unharmed.
However, the other five guys hesitated and didn't dare come closer.