Courtyard House: I fish in the heavens, a professional bird abuser.

"Clang—Sizzle—"

The sound was getting closer.

The sharp sound of metal scraping against the floor was like someone was using a dull saw to pull back and forth on the bone near your ear.

Dozens of meters underground, where the atmosphere was deathly still, the commotion was enough to blow one's skull open.

Outside the main server room.

The glass corridor, which had just looked empty and high-tech, now has its lights flickering on and off.

All the lighting systems became unstable due to the Red Queen's restart, like flickering candles in the wind, stretching the writhing shadows into bizarre and grotesque shapes.

Captain Xue De's palms were covered in cold sweat.

Even though he was a seasoned mercenary, even though he had fought as a guerrilla in Africa and killed drug lords in South America, he still felt a chill run down his spine when faced with this unknown and eerie situation.

"Attention all!"

"All units... maintain firing position!"

Xue De's voice was a little tense. He licked his chapped lips and stared intently at the door that was now completely open.

That direction leads to Restaurant B.

That is the place that He Yuanchao just mentioned, the place filled with culture tanks of unknown organisms.

"Thump...thump...thump..."

The footsteps were heavy and dragging.

The sound of worn-out leather shoes stepping on puddles, along with the panting sounds like broken bellows, mingled together, each step pressing on the taut nerves of the task force members.

at last.

In the flickering shadows of the corridor, the first "thing" emerged.

It was a man wearing a gray maintenance worker's uniform.

If you can still call "it" a man.

His neck was tilted to the left at an extremely strange angle, as if it had been twisted off but hadn't fallen down.

Half of his face was covered in dried, blackened bloodstains, and a large chunk of flesh was missing from his chin, revealing his white gums, with even visible black blood vessels still wriggling inside.

In his hand, he was dragging a red, heavy fire axe.

That teeth-grinding sound was caused by the axe blade dragging on the metal floor.

"stop!"

Ryan, who was standing at the very front, shouted.

The female team member with the fiery temper had her facial muscles twitching slightly at that moment.

She held the MP5 submachine gun in her hand, and the beam of the tactical flashlight from the muzzle shone directly into the monster's face.

The bright light did not cause the other party to dodge in any way.

in contrast.

The monster seemed to have been triggered by some kind of instinct by the light.

Its gray-white eyes, devoid of any pupils, suddenly fixed on Rain.

then.

It let out a low growl that didn't sound like a human.

"roar--!!!"

His voice was hoarse, filled with hunger and rage.

Immediately afterwards, the guy who had seemed unsteady and barely able to walk suddenly unleashed an astonishing power.

It suddenly raised the fire axe in its hand and pounced on Rain without any regard for anything else!

Its speed was even several points faster than that of a normal person running!

"Fuck! What the hell is this thing?!"

Ryan was also startled, but this woman was indeed fierce.

Driven by instinct, her finger immediately pulled the trigger.

"Put-put-put—put-put-put—"

The distinctive, crisp sound of a submachine gun exploded instantly in this confined space!

The gun barrel spewed fire.

Hot cartridge cases rained down on the metal floor with a clattering sound.

The bullets all landed with pinpoint accuracy on the monster's chest.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Black blood blossoms exploded on the repairman's chest.

The powerful impact of a 9mm pistol bullet can break bones and fracture muscles even when the wearer is wearing a bulletproof vest.

The zombie was struck by the immense kinetic energy, causing it to tremble violently, stagger, and even stagger backward several steps.

The work uniform on his chest was instantly torn apart, revealing a torso that looked like rotten flesh, with several gruesome bullet holes clearly visible, and black blood gushing out.

"call……"

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this thing looks scary, as long as the gun works and the bullets can penetrate it, there's nothing to be afraid of.

"The target is heavy..."

Rain was about to report that the target had been killed.

But the word "silence" was stuck in his throat before he could even utter it.

Her eyes widened, almost popping out of their sockets.

The repairman, whose chest was riddled with bullet holes and who should have been dead long ago, actually shook his head and stood up again!

It didn't even glance at the wound on its chest.

That complete disregard for pain, that inhuman cruelty, is what truly chills people.

"roar!"

Another roar.

The zombie raised its axe again, this time even more frenzied, like a tireless killing machine, reeking of blood, and charged forward once more!

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

"It's not dead!"

"How is this possible?!"

"I blew its heart out! I even punctured its lungs!"

Rain's scream was tinged with a broken sob.

This completely contradicted all the biological and tactical common sense she had ever learned in her life.

She frantically continued pulling the trigger.

"Rat-a-tat-tat!"

Another half-bullet was fired.

But this is completely useless!

That monster is like it has no pain receptors at all; it will keep moving unless you can smash it into pieces!

At this critical moment.

The zombie had already rushed to within five meters of Ryan, and it looked like it was about to swing the axe down in a wide arc.

If that axe had landed squarely, Rain's head would probably have exploded like a rotten watermelon.

Raine tried to back up to change the magazine, but her hand trembled and the magazine got stuck.

"Get out of the way."

A cold voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

The sound wasn't loud.

But amidst the cacophony of gunfire and shouts, it stood out remarkably clearly, exuding an unwavering composure.

He Yuanchao.

This "inspector," who had been keeping his hands in his pockets and in complete spectator mode, finally made his move.

He had somehow pulled out a pair of tactical goggles from his pocket and put them on. Through the lenses, his gaze was as cold as if he were looking at a pile of dead flesh.

He stepped over the still flustered Rain, his figure as elusive as a ghost.

He didn't even blink as the axe was about to fall.

He didn't even draw his signature Desert Eagle.

He Yuanchao simply turned his body slightly, using a movement that looked slow but was actually extremely fast, to avoid the slash that whistled through the air.

"Bang!"

The axe slammed heavily onto the floor, sparks flying everywhere.

The zombie, due to its excessive force, lunged forward, exposing its entire back to He Yuanchao.

He Yuanchao snorted coldly.

"this one?"

He lifted his foot.

Those were his high-end leather shoes, which remained shiny even after being worn through a sewer.

"Bang!"

A powerful front kick!

He Yuanchao didn't use his full strength in this kick, but his enhanced physical qualities, combined with his superb power generation technique, made up for it.

That kick had enough force to knock over a cow.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound of bone cracking.

The zombie's spine was instantly broken by the kick, and the whole body flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the wall before sliding down like a puddle of mud.

Because its spine was broken, its lower body was paralyzed and unable to move, but its upper body was still twisting wildly, and it was still making that creepy growling sound. Its two hands were still scratching at the ground, trying to crawl over and bite people.

This scene.

It's a hundred times more terrifying than when it charged at people and attacked them.

The task force members were all dumbfounded.

Is this a human or a ghost?

They've been smashed and broken, and they're still not dead?

He Yuanchao walked over slowly.

He looked down at the zombie still struggling on the ground, his mind racing with messages from the system.

[Target Detection: T-Virus Infected (Primary Zombie)]

[Physical condition: 90% of muscle tissue is necrotic, pain nerves are completely severed, but there are still active signals in the brain.]

[Combat Data: Strength approximately 1.5 times that of an adult male; experiences no fatigue; attacks carry a strong T-virus infectiousness.]

[Weakness Analysis: Central Nervous System (Brainstem)]

He Yuanchao pushed up his tactical glasses on the bridge of his nose, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"See that, newbies?"

"In this godforsaken place, there's nothing that a burst of bullets can't solve."

"If so."

"Then you've come to the wrong place."

Done.

He Yuanchao lifted his foot and used his toe to pry up the zombie's head, which was still being gnawed at.

then.

He stomped down hard!

"Splat!"

That sound is a bit disgusting.

It's like stomping on a bag of expired ketchup.

The head that was still howling instantly turned into a mixture of red and white on the ground.

The body that had been writhing twitched a few times before finally coming to a complete stop.

The world is quiet.

Only the heavy breathing of the crowd remained in the passageway.

Ryan stared wide-eyed at the puddle at He Yuanchao's feet, and gagged.

This is...too brutal.

That's too direct.

But... it's freaking effective!

"Head...head?"

Captain Xue De, being a veteran, was the first to react and asked in a hoarse voice.

"That's right."

He Yuanchao rubbed the dirt from the sole of his shoe on the corpse's clothes, looking disgusted.

"These things are dead in body, only their brainstem is still directing their actions."

"Even if you riddle it with bullets, as long as it still has a brain, it can bite your neck off."

"So, remember that."

He Yuanchao turned around, pointed to his temple, and his eyes were as sharp as knives, piercing into the hearts of every team member.

"head shot."

"This is the only way out."

"Whether it's a gun, a knife, or that fire extinguisher over there."

"If you don't want to become rotten flesh like them, then aim for those damn heads and smash them hard!"

Everyone is still processing this cruel reality.

Sudden.

"Shhh..."

The dragging footsteps rang out again.

And this time, it's not just one.

It was a whole area!

They were like a swarm of locusts, or like the gates of hell being opened wide.

From the other end of the corridor, from the shadows, from the stairwell.

Countless figures staggered out.

There were researchers in white lab coats, security guards in uniforms, and even female secretaries in business suits.

Their faces were all rotten.

Their eyes were all filled with greed for flesh and blood.

They... were all hungry.

"My God..."

Kaplan clutched his head and let out a desperate wail.

"We...we're surrounded!"

He Yuanchao glanced at him, took out the Desert Eagle he had never used from his pocket, and pulled the safety off with a "click".

"Stop yelling."

"Save your energy for running away."

"This first blood was a lesson learned."

"The real test is coming up next..."