Chapter 177 - 117: Choice

Chapter 177: Chapter 117: Choice

In just a few seconds, no active threats remained near the fortress entrance.

Xu Mo retracted his Triangular Spike. Getting his bearings, he pushed off the ground and shot forward like an agile cheetah, racing in the direction of Fortress D-10.

His figure quickly vanished into the labyrinthine factory ruins and crumbling walls. Only the sound of his determined footsteps striking a powerful rhythm echoed through the silent rubble.

Xu Mo darted through the desolate factory area, his feet moving over broken concrete blocks and rusted metal scraps. He deliberately avoided open spaces, choosing to advance along the shadows of buildings and through complex terrain to minimize his exposure.

In this dead land, the scent of a living person was like a flame in the night, inevitably attracting the wandering zombies. Upon sensing Xu Mo’s fleeting figure, some of the zombies that had been aimlessly shambling through the ruins immediately let out hungry snarls, lurching forward stiffly to attack.

However, Xu Mo was far too fast. The Cowhide Realm provided not only defense but also an overall physical enhancement that had long since surpassed that of an ordinary human. These slow-moving, common zombies couldn’t even touch him.

Unless a zombie was directly in his path, Xu Mo paid it no mind, his figure flashing past like the wind, leaving behind only a blurry black shadow and futilely waving, rotten arms.

Only when he encountered a zombie he couldn’t avoid would Xu Mo abruptly slow. The Triangular Spike at his waist would flash out, becoming a cold glint of light that stabbed with unerring precision into the zombie’s eye socket or temple, piercing its brain. His movements were clean and efficient, with no wasted motion.

Without a moment’s pause, Xu Mo would twist his body to continue his forward rush, the entire sequence flowing seamlessly. The dispatched zombie’s corpse would often take a second or two before crumpling to the ground.

Just as Xu Mo was crossing a relatively open area, the unexpected happened.

From behind a pile of discarded wooden crates to his front-side, a relatively slender, dark figure shot out like a phantom. It moved on all fours with incredible speed, reeking of a foul stench as it lunged straight for Xu Mo’s neck. With its twisted limbs and speed far surpassing that of a common zombie, it was clearly a level-one Agile Zombie.

An unprepared Xu Mo would have been hard-pressed to deal with such a sudden, swift attack. But at this moment, his qi and blood were circulating at an accelerated rate, and a faint, nigh-imperceptible, resilient sheen appeared on his skin. In his perception, though the zombie’s pounce was fast, its trajectory was also much clearer.

In a flash, Xu Mo didn’t even fully stop. He just sidestepped and twisted his body at a clever angle. The Triangular Spike gripped in his hand struck like a viper, meeting the pouncing shadow with a precise forward thrust.

SCHLICK!

With the faint sound of flesh and bone giving way, the Triangular Spike’s unique blood grooves ensured the penetration was smooth and deadly. The Agile Zombie’s pounce came to an abrupt halt.

Xu Mo flicked his wrist, shaking his Triangular Spike clean. Without a second glance at the dead Agile Zombie, he pushed off the ground, accelerated again, and continued sprinting toward Fortress D-10 without looking back.

’My strength and reflexes... they seem to have improved a lot since I first entered the Cowhide Realm.’ The thought flashed through Xu Mo’s mind as he sprinted. The ease with which he had just killed that level-one Agile Zombie was exceptional, far beyond what he could have managed in the past. It wasn’t just an increase in strength, but a comprehensive improvement in his control, timing, and coordination. The constant nourishment from his circulating qi and blood, even without a breakthrough, was imperceptibly strengthening his foundation.

A few minutes later, Xu Mo burst out of a low-lying warehouse district and his view opened up. Ahead lay a relatively clear field. At its edge stood a familiar steel fortress, its observation port glinting faintly in the dim light—it was Fortress D-10.

However, the area around the fortress was silent. Other than a few common zombies that had been drawn by the earlier commotion and were still lingering nearby, there was no sign of the "Sharp Sword" squad or the level-two zombie. Only the jumbled footprints on the ground, a few pits clearly corroded by strong acid that were still faintly foaming, and scattered shell casings silently testified to the fierce chase that had recently taken place.