Chapter 28: Battle (Part 2)

Chapter 28: Battle (Part 2)

A wave of heat hit them, impossible to ignore, and along with it, a towering three-meter-tall zombie covered in flames appeared, with three people desperately dodging its attacks.

The zombie was massive, yet its movements were surprisingly agile. Its head was surrounded by a large amount of flame, and when it attacked, lines of fire spread everywhere in the small room.

Tang Yi was already entangled by the fire lines, unable to shake them off. They clung to him like a stubborn parasite, impossible to extinguish, leaving several burnt marks on his body.

Zhao Ye and Han Xiu Jie could only barely dodge the zombie. They wanted to save Tang Yi but had no way to intervene.

Seeing this, Xiao Hua immediately adjusted her position, aligning herself, Tang Yi, and the zombie in a straight line. At the same time, she activated her powers and shot a column of water from her right hand, drenching both Tang Yi and the zombie thoroughly.

The flames on the zombie's head were temporarily extinguished. Brother Bai quickly pulled an iron rod from his dimensional pocket, dashed forward, and circled around to the zombie's back. With one clean strike, he smashed the zombie's skull with the rod.

Xiao Hua swayed on her feet, her lips pale as ash.

This time, she was completely drained—no doubt about it.

Brother Bai took out a crystal core and handed it to Xiao Hua while supporting her.

Xiao Hua shook her head. She had no strength left, not even enough to move a finger. Standing was her last bit of stubbornness.

Xiao Hua's powers were severely drained, Tang Yi was burned by the fire lines, and Zhao Ye and Han Xiu Jie weren't in good shape either.

Brother Bai and Su Mo were the only two left with intact combat abilities. However, neither of their powers had offensive capabilities, and Su Mo even needed protection.

They all sat down to rest. Su Mo healed Tang Yi, while the others did their best to recover on their own.

After all, healing powers can patch you up, but they can't restore your energy, and Su Mo had only absorbed one crystal core so far, so her healing capacity and time were limited.

Seeing the three of them looking beat, Brother Bai asked, "What went down?"

Zhao Ye was silent for a moment before speaking, "We don't know... There was only one of that monster, but we just couldn't take it down."

Zhao Ye, usually so smooth with words, seemed at a loss for once, a testament to how much they had been shaken by the encounter.

Brother Bai then looked at Han Xiu Jie, who spoke slightly more.

Han Xiu Jie summarized concisely, "Xiao Yi and I were ambushed. To cover us, he got caught in the fire. That thing couldn't be extinguished."

"Ambushed?"

"...Yes," Han Xiu Jie replied, and like Zhao Ye, he fell silent, clearly still confused by what had happened.

Without Xiao Hua's water blast, they could've lost someone.

Xiao Hua looked at the fallen zombie again. It was taller, more agile, could spit fire, and even ambush them.

This was fucked up...

Xiao Hua signaled to Brother Bai, "Brother Bai, can I see that crystal core for a moment?"

Brother Bai didn't suspect anything and handed it to her.

Xiao Hua took the crystal core, looking at its translucent red color and feeling the energy within it. After a long pause, she confirmed, "This zombie has evolved, and it even has powers."

"Evolved?!" Several pairs of eyes turned toward her.

Xiao Hua tossed the crystal core back to Brother Bai and dropped the bombshell without giving too much away, "Yes. I think I've hit a bottleneck these past few days. If I break through, I’ll be able to handle something like this."

Xiao Hua wasn't sure when the zombies had upgraded.

After all, since the story is told from Su Mo's perspective as a healer, it focuses on the sweet romance between the main couple, without detailing the specific evolution speed and timing of the zombies.

But she still knew a little. Keywords related to zombie evolution were easy to recognize, and verifying it with the crystal nucleus was straightforward.

Zhao Ye was shocked and couldn't help but yell, "It upgraded so fast?! Little Hua, why aren't you as fast as it?"

Xiao Hua, with a gentle smile and kind tone, said, "That's because it was born with lots of food and people's care."

"What the heck?!"

A few seconds later, Zhao Ye reacted, his laughter booming, "Haha, damn! Who knew 'food and care' could sound so sophisticated for a zombie that eats people! Sis Hua, you're something else!"

His booming laughter was contagious, sweeping away the previous gloom. The mood lightened up, and everyone felt more cheerful.

Xiao Hua raised her eyebrows and laughed, playing along, "Don't call me sis, I'm your dad—literally!"

Bai Mu coughed lightly, trying to steer the conversation back to seriousness, "In that case, places with lots of people, like schools, hospitals, and malls, probably have upgraded zombies by now."

Xiao Hua also stopped joking and analyzed seriously, "Probably, and there would be more of them. And since Zhao Ye and the others were ambushed earlier, it's likely that the upgraded zombies not only have strength but also intelligence."

Bai Mu asked, "Xiao Hua, what are your chances against such zombies?"

Xiao Hua helplessly replied, "If they don't have powers or if their powers are weak against mine, I have a 50% chance. If they have powers that can also suppress mine, it's 30%."

At her current late first-level state, this win rate was already thanks to Xiao Hua's courage and determination.

Truth be told, it was lucky this was just a fire-type zombie. If it had been any other attribute, given Xiao Hua's half-crippled state, it would have been a tough battle.

Bai Mu asked again, "What if Xiao Zui joins?"

Xiao Hua's eyes lit up, understanding Bai Mu's intention, "70%, 50%. It's a shame it'll be several more days before I can reach level two, then I could just crush them."

Bai Mu smiled, "No rush."