Chapter 122 - 97: Disturbance

Chapter 122: Chapter 97: Disturbance

"Ah! Up ahead! There are more of them up ahead!"

The Scavenger running at the very front suddenly screamed in terror.

Xu Mo’s heart went cold. He spun around to look. On the side of the road leading to the rally point, a figure suddenly burst from the shadows of an abandoned guard post and slammed straight into the flank of the retreating crowd.

By the dim light filtering from the distant rally point and the sweeping beam of his own tactical flashlight, Xu Mo finally got a clear look at the "strange zombie’s" true appearance.

It was roughly humanoid in shape, but its skin was an unnatural, algae-like dark green and seemed to be covered in a layer of fine, slimy scales. Its face was severely deformed; its mouth and nose jutted forward, and its lips were gone, revealing jagged, sharp teeth. Its small, murky eyes glinted with bloodlust.

The strangest things were its hands. A translucent, web-like membrane seemed to connect its fingers, making its palms look exceptionally large and grotesque.

There was no telling how long the monster had been lurking there, but now it shot out like a phantom, its speed astonishing. It pounced on a middle-aged man at the edge of the group who was a split-second too slow to react, opened its massive, fang-filled maw, and bit down hard on his neck.

CRUNCH! The sickening sound of bone shattering echoed out. Blood instantly spurted forth. The middle-aged man only managed a short whimper before he went silent.

Meanwhile, the green zombie took advantage of its momentum to swipe with its sharp claws. The arms and shoulders of two nearby Scavengers, unable to dodge in time, were instantly slashed open. Two cries of pain followed; they were clearly wounded.

"You’re dead."

Xu Mo’s eyes were ice-cold, his reaction lightning-fast. Almost at the very instant the monster tackled its first victim, he had already turned his weapon. There was no time to aim properly—it was all muscle memory.

BANG! BANG!

Two precise, single shots! One hit the back of the green zombie’s head, the other struck its temple.

The monster’s body went rigid, its gnawing stopped mid-bite. The light in its tiny eyes faded rapidly, and it collapsed heavily beside the corpse it had just killed. Viscous, dark-green blood mingled with the rain and spread across the ground.

"Keep moving! Don’t stop!"

Xu Mo roared, snapping the others out of the stunned terror caused by the sudden attack. They forced down their fear and sprinted even more desperately toward the rally point.

The bus rally point was now in sight, and the area had been completely transformed. Several high-powered searchlights had been set up, bathing the surrounding parking lot in daylight. Two wheeled infantry fighting vehicles were parked in a pincer formation at the entrance. The Black Hole muzzles of their roof-mounted heavy machine guns were aimed into the surrounding darkness, radiating a reassuring killing intent.

Dozens of fully-armed soldiers had already constructed a simple defensive position and were standing guard with grim expressions. The Scavengers who had arrived earlier were gathered behind the fortifications, still shaken. Many had collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, the sheer terror they’d experienced still etched on their faces.

Xu Mo rushed into the light-drenched safety of the perimeter with the rest of the crowd, only then allowing himself a small sigh of relief. He looked back at the industrial district behind him, shrouded in darkness and a curtain of rain. He could have sworn he could still hear faint screams and sporadic gunfire in the distance.

Tonight’s evacuation had been bizarre and bloody. And those "strange zombies"—with their dark green skin and webbed fingers—had left a profound impression on him.