Chapter 225: Chapter 213: A Middle-Level Zombie Appears
News of Morgan Sterling’s death seemed to have already spread throughout the safe base. As the four of them left the villa district and walked along the streets between residential areas, many people stopped to stare at them.
Suddenly, a group of over twenty superpower users walked past them, carrying bags filled with glittering objects.
Flora Bloom focused her senses and realized they were Crystal Cores. ’Where did they get so many Crystal Cores?’ But after a moment’s thought, she understood. ’I completely forgot about Morgan Sterling’s Crystal Core warehouse!’
That many Crystal Cores were enough for an entire ten-person team to reach Level 3 and attempt to break through to the Middle Level. ’What a mistake!’ But her father’s well-being was the top priority right now, so she had no time to dwell on it.
Surprisingly, the base’s main gate was unguarded, and the four of them walked out openly.
"Mi-Miss Bloom, if we go on foot, we won’t reach Area 009 by dawn!" Kane Warren said, his legs growing weak as he looked up at the vast, dark night sky. The very thought of being forced back into an area teeming with zombies terrified him. "Why don’t we wait until daylight?"
Flora Bloom completely ignored him. Not long after they left the base’s main gate, she waved her hand and summoned Juggernaut.
When Kane Warren saw the enormous monster that had suddenly appeared—and then realized it was a giant crocodile—he nearly fainted.
Seeing Kane Warren’s legs shaking like a leaf, Flora Bloom shot him a disdainful look. "I’d advise you not to piss your pants. Otherwise, I’ll tie a rope around you and drag you all the way there. People with superpowers are tough. I guarantee you’ll make it to Area 009 alive!"
Kane Warren struggled to control his trembling legs, but his muscles continued to twitch uncontrollably. The nerves in his face, in particular, quivered without restraint.
Only when the four of them were seated on Juggernaut’s back and moving at full speed did Kane Warren’s body begin to relax slightly.
But when they arrived in Area 005 on Juggernaut’s back, the scene before them left them all stunned.
This was not what a city was supposed to look like. Everywhere they looked—on the roads, inside the houses, in the malls—was teeming with zombies.
The zombies were either shuffling in circles on the spot or standing completely motionless.
As Flora Bloom and the others arrived on Juggernaut’s back, the swarms of stationary zombies suddenly turned in unison under the cover of night to face them. A glance revealed at least several thousand of them packed into the entire street and inside the buildings. The sight was as monumental as it was eerie.
"Juggernaut, charge through!"
Juggernaut showed no fear in the face of so many zombies. With a casual lift of its foreclaw, it sent several of the foremost zombies flying.
With a single swipe, brains splattered everywhere. The bodies of the zombies that took the hit were torn to pieces.
But as soon as the zombies in front fell, more from behind surged forward to take their place. It was as if they had a death wish, throwing themselves at Juggernaut only to be smashed into bloody pieces, their heads sent flying.
Kane Warren saw the ground covered in corpses, all from Juggernaut’s claws, and each strike was a one-hit kill. The fear he’d felt upon seeing so many zombies vanished. In its place, he found himself thinking that watching this giant crocodile smash zombies was incredibly satisfying.
Flora Bloom noticed that Juggernaut was just swatting zombies from a fixed position. The ground was littered with their corpses, yet more and more zombies were gathering. ’What’s going on?’
"There must be a high-level zombie in this horde. Saul, see if you can find where it’s hiding."
"Yes, Boss!"
Saul Sterling stood up on Juggernaut’s back, closed his eyes, and a white energy emanated from his body as he activated his superpower.
The zombie horde in Area 005 was dense, and that density extended all the way to Area 009. The zombies seemed to be controlled by some sort of spiritual power. While the zombies in Area 005 were attacking them, Areas 006 through 009, and even the more distant 010 and 011, were also filled to the brim with zombies.
Those zombies occupied every street, alley, home, and mall, standing motionless on the spot as if they were asleep.
’No, something’s very wrong!’
Saul Sterling frowned and suddenly opened his eyes. "Why is there a human among the zombie horde?"
"A human?" A sudden sense of foreboding washed over Flora Bloom.
"It would be impossible for a person to be in the middle of a zombie horde unharmed," Saul said. "Unless they had a superpower that lets them control zombies." ’Or maybe... it’s not human at all.’
"There’s another possibility," Flora said. "It’s not a human at all, but a Middle-Level zombie or higher! Only a zombie of that rank could control a horde this massive!"
Flora Bloom’s words made Lex Cross glance over at her. ’This girl seems to know a lot.’ "Are you saying Middle-Level zombies look just like humans?" he asked.
"No, there are differences! Saul, take a look. Is its skin abnormally pale? And its eyes—does it have a pair of yellow, vertical pupils?"
Saul continued focusing his superpower. After a moment, he replied, "That’s right! It’s too dark to see its skin color clearly, but it looks like there are some bulging veins on its body. And its fingernails are blackish-gray."
Flora Bloom let out a breath.
"Okay, it’s a Rank 1 Middle-Level zombie. Even though it looks a lot like a human, you can still tell the difference with the naked eye. Be careful, everyone. Middle-Level zombies not only have powerful bodies, but most of them also have superpowers. They’re extremely dangerous!"
By now, Juggernaut was completely surrounded by the zombie horde. Though its thick hide protected it from their scratching and biting, it was pinned down and unable to advance.
"This isn’t working. There are too many of them," Flora Bloom said, frowning. She stood up to gaze into the distance. "There are thousands of zombies in our line of sight alone, and for every one we kill, more take its place. We’ll never reach Area 009 like this!" As far as she could see, there was a boundless sea of corpses with no end in sight.
"Even though there are a lot of them, this entire horde is being controlled by that Middle-Level zombie. If we don’t take it out, we’ll never get through!"
Just then, Saul retracted his superpower, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Sister-in-law, I see your father!"
Flora Bloom was startled. "How is he? Is he injured?"
"He’s safe for now. He’s hiding in a surveillance room on the second floor of a shopping mall. It’s a well-hidden spot, so he shouldn’t be discovered for a while."
Flora Bloom breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as he’s okay!" Hearing her father was safe, the weight on her heart finally eased. But that still left the problem of their current situation. How were they supposed to reach that mall in Area 009?
"However, I think something is off about that mall," Saul continued. "At this distance, my superpower can cover the entire building. Other than your father and another man and woman, there are no other living people inside. But the mall is filled with zombie corpses, and each one has been decapitated, its Crystal Core removed. It’s a very strange sight.
"The entire zone from Area 005 to Area 011 is completely overrun. If our area has a Middle-Level zombie commanding the horde, then I suspect the other areas do as well.
"What’s more, looking at the map, Area 009 is at the very center of this zone, from 005 to 011. I’m afraid there might be something even more powerful there."
Flora’s heart sank as she listened to Saul’s analysis.
’It’s like a video game map,’ she thought. ’Areas 005 through 011 are surrounding Area 009. The outer rings have endless mobs and mini-bosses, which usually means the main boss is right in the center.’
’Even a bulldozer like Juggernaut is pinned down by this horde. How are we supposed to get to the center, to Area 009, and save my father?’
