Chapter 87: Reinforcements

Although Ye Chen could not yet locate the creature, he had already guessed its purpose. It was after him. Sooner or later, it would reveal itself and strike.

Ahead of him, the zombies were still throwing themselves at the iron gate on the first level of the quarantine zone, while the guards were too busy firing in volleys to spare any attention for the zombie force crossing the river.

Ling Zhe and the others were caught in the middle, making them extremely hard to spot.

Seeing this, Ye Chen relaxed and quickly left the riverbank.

Liang Bing and Ling Zhe were no easy prey; they could take care of themselves. Zhu Youzheng was a bit weaker, but as long as he stayed with them, there would be no major problem.

The relentless gunfire and the howls of the undead gradually faded behind him. Ye Chen stopped at a broader intersection.

The night wind swept through the desolate streets. Nearby zombies had all been summoned to the front lines, leaving the surroundings eerily empty.

With the turmoil set aside, Ye Chen finally had room to think.

The creature could conceal its presence, and that reminded him of one person: Zhang Lei.

But Zhang Lei had been wounded by his blade and should have died in the blast beneath the sewers.

Yet nothing in the world is absolute. This creature also resembled a crawler. And it possessed Zhang Lei’s powers. Perhaps, on the brink of death, the two had somehow come into contact through some twist of fate, merged, and formed a new monster...

As Ye Chen’s imagination ran wild, a sudden gust of wind came rushing at him. He immediately retreated several steps.

A nimble black shadow flashed past him and crashed heavily to the ground beside him!

The creature had appeared. Its sharp claws carved several deep gouges into the concrete. Had Ye Chen still been standing where he was, he would have been knocked down for sure.

At close range, Ye Chen could see its true form clearly, and he felt that his guess was not far from the truth.

It crouched low to the ground, not large in size, its skin a dark red-black, much smaller than a crawler.

Judging by appearance alone, it looked six or seven parts human. Though its face was badly decayed, its eyes were faint and indifferent, exactly like Zhang Lei’s used to be.

In the instant Ye Chen was distracted, the monster bent low and lunged again. Its intent was clear: it was aiming for Ye Chen’s head!

It had inherited part of Zhang Lei’s memories from when he was alive, and knew Ye Chen was no ordinary infected. Even if it tore open his chest and crushed his heart, that would not be enough to kill him.

Ye Chen had not expected such a fierce assault.

He only had an improved scythe in hand. In his desperation, he crossed it to block, and the blade snapped apart and was ruined as easily as a sheet of paper.

Damn it! Ye Chen angrily flung away the broken half of the scythe. His opponent was no ordinary zombie. Without a proper weapon, it really would not do!

Only then did he belatedly feel a searing sting on his face, and realized a crimson wound had been torn there by the claws.

The creature had inherited the crawler’s strength, speed, and explosive power. Though its frame was smaller, it was by no means to be underestimated.

If his body had not improved again, and his defenses had not risen considerably, half his head would probably have been taken off by now.

He began to miss that colossal evil-slaying sword.

If he had it in his hands, both offense and defense would be far less passive.

“Once I get into the inner city, I’ll find a way to take Evil-Subduer back from Future Group,” Ye Chen vowed silently.

After landing its strike, the monster did not linger in battle. It turned and melted back into the darkness, once again hiding its presence.

Ye Chen held his breath and listened carefully.

By now, his sight, smell, and spiritual perception had all become useless ornaments.

Leaving aside the thick night, its skin color could blend perfectly with the surrounding environment, and with no aura to sense, it was extraordinarily difficult to locate.

At this moment, hearing was the only sense that could still offer any help.

But by the time he caught the sound of something slicing through the air, it was already too late.

The monster sprang from behind. Its mouth opened wide, aiming to bite down on Ye Chen’s head!

Ye Chen clutched his head and crouched, only to feel a stabbing pain in his arm. A pair of sharp teeth had driven deep into the flesh.

With a harsh hiss, the monster shook its head and yanked violently, adding a fresh wound as blood poured out.

Just as Ye Chen was about to counterattack, the monster vanished once more.

That only infuriated Ye Chen further.

Up to now, he had faced many troublesome enemies, but none like this creature.

Whether in a quick decisive battle or a drawn-out war of attrition, there was always some fixed rhythm. As long as one could grasp the pattern and let the body adapt to it, there would always be a chance to turn the tables.

But this creature would strike a few times and flee, then emerge again the moment one let down one’s guard. It left him utterly unable to find any combat rhythm.

This was not a matter of whether one’s speed could keep up, nor was it the time to test reaction alone.

He could not tell where it would be the next second, or whether it would attack at all.

The monster fought with frightening intelligence.

It had not only strength, but also brains, battle experience, and even the ability to read human hearts.

It knew exactly what to do in every situation. Perhaps that had something to do with Zhang Lei’s past life as an assassin. When facing an opponent of roughly equal strength, wearing down their mind was often more effective than direct blows.

Before long, Ye Chen, having fallen into repeated setbacks, gradually lost his usual composure. He grew restless and made mistake after mistake.

After several exchanges, he was already injured in many places. The monster had seized the initiative, while he had become like a rat, toyed with at will.

At the riverbank, the first line of defense had been breached by the zombie horde!

The tide of corpses howled as it surged toward the second line of defense.

It was an iron mesh barrier, shaped much like the quarantine net at the entrances and exits of South River City, only with tighter and sturdier openings.

When the zombies threw themselves against it, the guards inside shouted, “Power it up!”

At once, someone in a small control room not far away pulled down the switch.

A crackling burst of eerie blue-white electricity flashed across the mesh, and the zombies clinging to it convulsed all over; some even fell stiffly to the ground!

It was an electrified quarantine net!

Ling Zhe, Liang Bing, and the others had mixed into Ye Chen’s horde and just crossed the first line of defense. Seeing this, they were all stunned.

They had the sense not to rush forward. The zombies charging at the front were nothing more than a demonstration of spectacular ways to die.

Though the electric shock would not kill zombies, it could stiffen their muscles and cripple their movements from lack of coordination. For the more seriously affected ones, it would take a while on the ground before they could rise again.

However, the electrical load was enormous. It could not remain energized forever, so this delaying tactic could not be sustained indefinitely.

While the zombies were crossing the river, the guards had already called Future Group and requested reinforcements. Since the outer city and inner city of South River had been built and the quarantine zone established, no zombies had ever managed to reach the second line of defense before.

The first wave of reinforcements arrived on the scene, and the commander who jumped down from the camouflage transport vehicle was Bai Ge.

She was not the sort of person who could sit still. Upon hearing that something had happened in the quarantine zone, she had volunteered to come and see the situation for herself.

Though young, Bai Ge was bold, meticulous, and fairly experienced in fighting zombies.

Just days earlier, she had led her team in a difficult operation to eliminate a crawler and, at a critical moment, rescued Mu Zongxing’s daughter, Mu Qing. Although they suffered some losses, the result had already exceeded expectations.

Her performance had caused the company to look at her in a new light, so they agreed to let her take the lead and bring the first wave of more than twenty reinforcements to the scene.