Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

A census in the City of Dawn indicated that about ten percent of all zombies turn into various special types, which are stronger and stranger in appearance.

But in Mechanical City, since all zombies visible on the ground were promptly disposed of, the survivors had never encountered any special types.

This zombie, having survived in the underwater tunnels, had grown very strong over the months by constantly feeding through the sewage pipes.

Before the survivors could react, the overturned robots immediately triggered the alarm.

Instantly, robots from various streets converged towards the central street.

The survivors finally saw the creature's form clearly; even without knowing what it was, its daunting appearance alone was indicative of its horror and danger.

"There’s a monster, run!"

The sitters scattered in all directions, fleeing, while the robots moving in the opposite direction began their assault on the creature.

Robots of all sizes, armed with chainsaws, firearms, bladed weapons, and more, attacked the creature.

For a moment, they stalled the creature’s advance, giving the sitters a chance to escape.

The fusion zombie became enraged; it wanted to search outside the city for that delicious meal but was now blocked here and even occasionally hit by the dense robot attacks.

It roared and flung the robots away with its body.

The fusion zombie had immense strength; the robots it hit with its flesh became flattened like discs.

With a dull "thud," a robot hit a sewer manhole cover, falling down along with it.

Simultaneously with the robot's alarm, the factory also resounded with the ringing of bells.

Professor Lin, who was chatting, suddenly changed his expression and rushed to a nearby control panel.

"What's wrong?" Grandma Wu asked, noticing his grave demeanor.

"A zombie has appeared," he said, tapping the screen on the control panel, searching for the problem area. Finding it in Central Street, he immediately opened the nearby surveillance.

A flesh-colored monster appeared on the screen.

Evidently, Lin Huai was also seeing such a zombie for the first time, his face showing astonishment: "What kind of monster is this?"

The group moved closer to inspect, and Xu Fang immediately exclaimed, "Wow, such a huge fusion-type zombie!"

Lin Huai turned around, "You know about this?"

"It's a mutated zombie, very powerful and extremely difficult to deal with. This zombie's size is so large, not something ordinary people can handle."

Wu Shuangxue was once a top adventurer, but now, even her elemental power pales compared to Xu Fang and Ouyang Dong. Fusion zombies are judged by their size, and the larger they are, the harder to kill. This one is even bigger than the one that appeared at the base before, beyond their ability to kill.

"Xiao Jiang, what about the elementalists in Mechanical City? Do you have anyone who can deal with this zombie?" Wu Shuangxue asked seriously, concerned about the potential loss of lives if left unchecked.

Lin Huai looked troubled, "You mean those who can emit various elements from their hands? How could they possibly kill such a powerful zombie?"

Wu Shuangxue replied, "Use their elemental abilities, even if they're weaker. They can at least hold it off for a while."

Udo, who had been standing in the back, sensed something amiss, "Haven't the people of Mechanical City ever killed zombies? Haven't they trained their elemental abilities?"

This remark made the others quickly realize something.

In Dawn City, elementalists go out daily to kill zombies, using this method to train and strengthen their abilities. However, in Mechanical City, they rely on robots. The robots kill the zombies, so the protected people never get a chance to use their abilities, leaving their powers likely undeveloped at a rudimentary stage.

Only able to produce a small flame or a tiny mound of earth.

How could they possibly kill zombies with that?

After some explanation, Lin Huai's lips trembled, "So, you're saying if I hadn't deployed so many robots, everyone would have had the chance to kill zombies, and their abilities would have grown stronger, strong enough to kill this kind of zombie?"

"What are you implying, trying to take the blame on yourself? We all wish we had robots for protection. If the people of Chu Xi City weren't in dire straits, why would they risk their lives fighting zombies? Right now, the priority is to eliminate this zombie, don’t overthink the rest," Wu Shuang Xue immediately suggested going out to confront the zombie.

Lin Huai called out to her, "Xiaoxue, wait, I still have a plan."

The robots in the streets were attacking the zombie, but their damage was minimal. After all, a fused zombie's body is merely a shell as long as its core remains intact.

Suddenly, a new group of robots appeared from various streets, looking completely different from those currently fighting.

The ones in combat were originally domestic robots. Even modified, their combat strength was only sufficient against regular zombies.

The newly arrived robots were specifically designed for combat by Professor Lin.

Watching the fiery battle on the screens from the factory, the group stood agape. Xu Fang turned to look at the elderly, gentle professor beside him, suddenly feeling an impulse to take Professor Lin away.

"Incredible, aren’t they even more formidable than elementalists?"

Psychics can get tired, injured, and even die, but robots don't. As long as there are materials, countless robots can be made to tirelessly slaughter zombies, no matter how many there are.

"Why don’t we have a Professor Lin in Dawn City?"

Thinking about how the people of Mechanical City don’t need to venture out to kill zombies or scavenge for supplies, yet spend their days well-fed and opposing this and that, it’s infuriating.

The combat robots were larger and equipped with more powerful weapons. Their defenses were strong too; even when swept away by the fusion zombie, they quickly rose to continue the fight.

The zombie roared in fury, evidently enraged by these robots, more resilient than zombies themselves. It lunged with its bloated body towards the robots, snapping its densely toothed jaws.

The sound of teeth grinding against metal was cringe-inducing. Finding its opponent too hard to bite through, the zombie was forced to spit out the robot.

The robot's waist was indented, surrounded by dense bite marks, yet it continued to attack. Even with sparks flying from its damaged waist, its combat power remained unaffected.

If it were a human, they would have been bitten in half and killed by the zombie by now.

Yet this fusion zombie, under the relentless assault of numerous robots, began to show signs of defeat.

Wu Shuangxue hadn't anticipated such an outcome. In Chuxi City, they were used to killing zombies themselves and accustomed to losing people on each scavenging mission. Now, seeing a fused zombie overwhelmed by a swarm of robots, they felt an oddly satisfying thrill.

The group looked at Lin Huai and, simultaneously, harbored the same thought as Xu Fang: they really wanted to kidnap Professor Lin.

Lin Huai was still focused on the screen, constantly maneuvering more robots, oblivious to everyone's sinister gazes.

Just when everyone thought the fused zombie would soon be eliminated, another zombie, drawn by the noise, crawled out of a nearby uncovered sewer entrance.

Then came a second, a third, and even several special-type zombies.

The robots on the scene, detecting the presence of other zombies, immediately redirected their firepower to target the closest ones.

The entire central street was in chaos, with zombies and robots clashing everywhere.

A standard zombie staggered forward, and after being struck, it fixed its crimson eyes on the robots and let out an enraged howl, its mouth splitting grotesquely to its ears. The deafening screech seemed to vibrate through the viewers’ ears, even through the screen.

The robot it faced malfunctioned from the zombie’s sonic assault, emitting black smoke from its frame.

Nearby villas had their windows shattered by the intensity of the sound.

This was a mutant zombie that had enhanced its vocal capabilities.

Among them was another more robust zombie, with dark grey skin that shimmered with a metallic luster, melting the robots into pools of molten metal with a mere touch.

This too was a special-type zombie, one with metal-manipulating abilities.

These two zombies posed a high threat to the robots, leading to increasing damage and loss of the mechanical fighters.

This respite allowed the fusion-type zombie to continue its sluggish advance toward the outskirts of the city.

The special-type zombies could sense Lin An's presence, while the common zombies swarmed towards the hiding places of the residents.

Lin Huai, growing anxious, turned to head towards central street but was stopped by Wu Shuangxue.

"What are you doing? The robots can't handle it, and your presence there won't help," she said.

Lin Huai, desperate, replied, "But there are many people there!"

The screen showed casualties; some residents who had hidden in villas were chased out by zombies, scrambling for cover on the streets.

Wu Shuangxue clenched her teeth and finally directed, "Tell those robots to ignore the special zombies for now. Prioritize killing the common ones to protect and facilitate the evacuation of others. We'll handle the special zombies."

They all were aware of Lin An's zombie-attracting trait, and seeing the fusion-type zombie slowly moving towards the city's edge on the screen, they knew it sought Lin An.

Meanwhile, the other special-type zombies, possibly driven by hunger, were destroying robots and chasing nearby humans.

A closer observation would reveal that these zombies also occasionally glanced in the direction of the city's outskirts.

Lin Huai firmly refused, "No, protecting Mechanical City is my responsibility, not yours. There's no need for you to risk your lives fighting those zombies."

The threat posed by these zombies was far greater than that of the common kind, making them incredibly difficult to defeat.

Despite having met just that day, Xu Fang couldn't help but admire the elderly professor, "It's okay, we would have to face these zombies sooner or later anyway."

The unique zombies were determined to find Lin An; they couldn't just stand by, and with their leader present, whom they couldn't contend with, all they needed to do was lure the zombies out. The leader would undoubtedly handle them with ease.

Xu Fang had blind faith in their leader, and with Lin An's exceptional abilities, even if they failed, there were still those two individuals.

Without waiting for Lin Huai to say anything more, Wu Shuangxue was ready to lead a few people to slay the zombies. Lin Huai, unable to stop them, insisted on joining them. As the current administrator of Mech City, he could not simply hide behind others.

Unable to persuade the elder, they all ended up going together in the end.

Mech City seemed to relive the day of the apocalypse, with zombies sprouting from nowhere, consuming people wherever they found them, no matter where they hid.

Screams and cries were everywhere.

These people finally remembered who had been protecting them for the past half-year. While being chased by zombies, they instinctively hid behind the robots.

The undamaged robots also followed the command to prioritize protecting humans, using their bodies to resist and block the approaching zombies.

"Where is the Professor? Where did he go?"

"Aren't there usually many robots patrolling? Where did all these zombies come from?"

They couldn't possibly be unaware of who was protecting them.

The gratitude and thanks of the early post-apocalyptic period had long faded with the dramatic changes in life and the plummeting sense of disparity. They feared the zombies, mourned the loss of loved ones, and their negative emotions kept accumulating, vented on lifeless machines and the silently working elderly.

The only means of opposition were insults and sit-ins, yet they never considered confronting Professor Lin, knowing deep down that without him, they would lose their only shelter.

Now that the robots could no longer hold back the zombies, these people remembered how weak and powerless they were on the day the apocalypse arrived.

The glaring blood stained the ground red, and those people finally began to regret, but it was too late.

With a loud "boom," the ground cracked open a chasm, and several zombies chasing humans fell into it.

Countless vines surged wildly from all directions, halting the zombies' advance.

A white-haired elder leaped down from above, his twin blades shimmering with red light, slashing two wounds on the zombie with metallic abilities.

Udo took out the sprayer from her space and faced the approaching zombie without even blinking, attacking directly.

Professor Lin watched these people's skilled actions; even a teenage girl could kill zombies without a change in expression. In contrast, the people of Mech City, apart from running and crying for help, had no fighting spirit whatsoever.

Gazing at the scattered limbs and fragments of robots around him, a flicker of confusion passed through his eyes. Had he made a mistake?