Chapter 19: Killing the Chimera Zombie
Joo Joowon knew he absolutely could not allow it to escape.
Otherwise, forget killing it.
He himself might become dinner instead.
Joo Joowon did not dare gamble whether his five points of Physique could survive the zombie virus.
The enhanced neural reaction speed granted by Agility allowed Joo Joowon to disassemble and handle objects faster than ordinary people.
His speed was already comparable to some professionally trained individuals.
He quickly reloaded the compound crossbow and fired another bolt.
Cats naturally possessed the habit of ambushing prey.
That was probably why the little zombie had not appeared earlier.
However, once cats truly attacked, they also enjoyed tormenting their prey.
The little zombie seemed to have completely merged with feline instincts.
While inheriting a cat’s advantages, it had also inherited the weaknesses hidden within feline behavior.
After realizing that the gap in the doorway blocked by its parents’ corpses was too small for its chubby body to squeeze through and would only turn it into an easy target, the little zombie suddenly leaped upward and dodged Joo Joowon’s incoming bolt.
It was even smart enough not to attempt climbing over the top of the door.
It clearly understood that doing so would likely result in the same fate as its parents.
Instead, it directly entered what looked like parkour mode.
The creature jumped and climbed wildly around the room while smashing against the door like it was playing some kind of game.
From time to time, it even disappeared from Joo Joowon’s field of vision completely.
The tremendous force of each collision caused Joo Joowon’s legs to grow numb from bracing against the door.
He had no doubt that if given enough time, the creature could directly smash the entire door apart.
The massive impacts caused the door to shake violently with loud banging noises.
While reloading the compound crossbow, Joo Joowon rapidly thought through possible solutions.
The little zombie was an extremely fast moving target.
Even at such close range earlier, it had still managed to react in time.
He truly had no confidence in landing a one shot kill.
Running away was not entirely impossible either.
While the little zombie had been jumping around wildly, Joo Joowon had quietly taken the opportunity to move the corpse on the floor slightly farther inside the doorway.
There was a chance he could suddenly slam the door shut and escape while the creature was still playing its cat and mouse game with him.
But what about afterward?
If such a high level zombie were allowed to escape and slaughter nearby survivors, then it becoming a regional boss monster would not be impossible at all.
At that point, all he would have done was barely extend his miserable survival for a short while before dying anyway.
Even worse, it seemed intelligent.
Or perhaps it was not intelligence, but the hunting instincts of a predator.
Yet whether it was the former or the latter, both possibilities were equally terrifying.
What should he do?
For a moment, Joo Joowon found himself trapped between advancing and retreating.
The thought of backing down naturally began surfacing in his mind.
Even if escaping only delayed death, perhaps during that extra time he might discover another solution.
No matter what, it was still better than dying here right now, was it not?
The moment that thought appeared, his fighting spirit naturally began fading.
Joo Joowon stared deeply at the door that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Time was not on his side.
There was no room left for hesitation.
Holding the compound crossbow raised, Joo Joowon slowly stepped backward.
Without him using his own strength to brace the door shut, the ordinary table blocking the entrance, far lighter than a solid wooden desk, could not possibly stop the little zombie’s impacts.
Very quickly, the table began scraping backward across the floor with an ear piercing screech.
A yellow blur immediately burst through the opening.
It let out a strange roar that sounded partly like a cat’s cry and partly like a zombie’s growl.
Turning your back toward an enemy was the stupidest possible action.
Leaning against the wall, Joo Joowon kept the compound crossbow raised while staring unblinkingly at the creature.
Ten meters.
Five meters.
Closer.
Even closer.
The little zombie suddenly leaped into the air.
Four meters.
Three meters.
Two meters.
One meter.
Now!
Thunk!
Without even checking the result, Joo Joowon immediately abandoned his original position and retreated.
The system notification never sounded.
Joo Joowon’s heart instantly sank.
Without hesitation, he immediately widened the distance between them.
At such close range, missing was impossible.
That could only mean one thing.
Even after being shot directly in the head, the creature still had not died.
While running, Joo Joowon quickly reloaded the crossbow bolt.
Only after reaching a safe distance did he raise the crossbow again and look back at the small zombie.
Its tail twitched violently as it struggled to stand back up, but after losing control from its damaged brain, its body no longer obeyed properly.
It could only let out unwilling roars.
Only then did Joo Joowon finally let out a breath of relief.
He aimed directly at the small zombie’s head and fired another bolt without hesitation.
The small zombie’s body shook violently.
Its convulsions became even more intense, yet it still did not die.
Seeing this, Joo Joowon immediately fired another shot.
This time, the small zombie finally stopped moving.
[ Ding! ]
[ Level 3 Chimera Zombie has been killed ]
[ EXP +6 ]
[ Copper Coins +3 ]
The moment the small zombie died, a green pillar of light rose from its corpse.
Three cards quietly floated within the light.
Three pieces of equipment actually dropped!
Joo Joowon became even more convinced that he had encountered some kind of elite monster.
Although there were no visible HP bars, this creature’s vitality was clearly far greater than that of ordinary zombies.
It only truly died after its brain had been damaged to a severe extent.
He did not believe every Level 3 zombie would be this terrifying.
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