Chapter 38: Bitter Battle

Chapter 38: Bitter Battle

Bai Mu restarted the car, stepped on the gas, and drove straight toward the tiled house.

The zombies that were originally heading toward the exit seemed to receive a command and turned toward the tiled house.

Sure enough, the level three zombie must be inside this tiled house.

Xiao Hua was now certain and didn’t hesitate, opening the roof hatch.

She leaned half her body out, killing any zombies that came close by shooting ice spikes, all while calculating her energy usage, trying to conserve as much as possible.

After all, the big challenge was still ahead.

Finally, the car jerked as it ran over zombies and rushed to the door of the tiled house.

"Get back," Bai Mu reminded Xiao Hua and stepped on the gas again, crashing through the wooden door.

"Bang!" The wooden door shattered into pieces, with splinters flying everywhere.

The off-road vehicle broke through into the courtyard.

The two got out of the car, Xiao Hua gathering her powers, ready for battle, while Bai Mu cloaked himself and lurked in the shadows.

The wooden door was shattered, but the hundreds of zombies outside hesitated, afraid to enter.

It seems that low-level zombies indeed fear high-level zombies and don’t dare to invade the private territory of a high-level zombie.

This simplifies things.

Xiao Hua's fingers moved slightly, and ice spikes faintly appeared between her fingers, hidden but not released.

She listened in all directions and observed her surroundings, walking slowly toward the inner room.

Suddenly, a sharp pain like a needle prick passed through Xiao Hua's mind.

A mentalist zombie!

Xiao Hua couldn't hold on and crouched down, her left hand on her forehead, concentrating all her attention to resist the zombie's attack.

At the same time, she tried to sense the source of the psychic energy in her mind.

Xiao Hua felt her right wrist being tightly gripped and quickly waved him off, signaling Bai Mu to stay back.

Her wrist was still being held.

Xiao Hua then reassured, "I’m fine. Just give me a moment; I’ll find it."

The force on her wrist lessened, and the hand no longer held onto Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua breathed a sigh of relief and continued to feel the direction of the zombie with her eyes closed.

Got it!

Xiao Hua slowly stood up and, as she walked toward her target, said, "It’s in the northwest, probably in a basement.

Brother Bai, stay hidden and only move if you’re sure you can take it down in one hit."

Bai Mu didn’t respond, but Xiao Hua knew he was still with her.

With a teammate lurking in the shadows, Xiao Hua felt more confident—victory was all but assured.

Xiao Hua cautiously pushed the basement door open.

In an instant, a blurry figure rushed over, its grotesque expression looming larger in Xiao Hua's vision, accompanied by the rotting stench of a zombie.

Xiao Hua was prepared and immediately formed a wall of ice three times thicker in front of her.

The force knocked Xiao Hua back several steps, and the zombie was sent flying from the counterforce, but at least she didn’t start coughing up blood like before.

Seizing the moment, Xiao Hua unleashed a barrage of ice crystals through the doorway, striking the zombie within.

The zombie was hit by the large-scale attack and then frozen in place.

Xiao Hua charged forward, intending to finish off the zombie, but another one appeared behind her, rushing to attack with incredible speed.

As Xiao Hua prepared to defend herself, a sharp pain shot through her mind, freezing her in place.

At the critical moment, Bai Mu arrived and blocked the fatal strike aimed at Xiao Hua.

"Bang!" Although the second zombie was small, it was a strength-type. It slammed Bai Mu to the ground.

"Ptoo!" Bai Mu spat out a mouthful of blood, was forced to reveal himself, and immediately went into hiding again.

Bai Mu remained hidden in the shadows, occasionally striking to keep the strength-type zombie from getting close to Xiao Hua.

Xiao Hua couldn’t afford to waste any time and sprinted toward the frozen third-stage psychic-type zombie, her ice blade slashing downward with all her strength.

The head fell to the ground.

Xiao Hua didn’t have time to grab the crystal nucleus and immediately turned to deal with the other zombie.

This zombie, although only at the peak of the second stage, possessed immense strength. A single swipe from its claws could pierce through cement—definitely not something Xiao Hua could withstand.

Fortunately, it was only a second-stage zombie, and no matter how strong it was, its brain wasn’t very sharp. Xiao Hua seized the opportunity and froze it in place.

Before the zombie could break free, Bai Mu arrived and stabbed the back of its head with a dagger.

The zombie fell, and Bai Mu fell with it.

Xiao Hua dashed forward, catching him just before he hit the ground.

"Brother Bai, how’s the injury?"

Xiao Hua hadn’t seen Bai Mu cough up blood, but the blood stains at the corner of his mouth and his pale, paper-like complexion spoke volumes—his condition was very bad.

Bai Mu kept his eyes closed for a moment, then opened them and said, "I need to recover first."

"Okay." Xiao Hua quickly pulled out a first-stage crystal nucleus and offered it to Bai Mu.

Bai Mu didn’t take it but continued to lean on Xiao Hua, his right index finger touching the crystal nucleus, slowly absorbing its energy.

Seeing how weak Bai Mu looked, on the verge of death, Xiao Hua’s anxiety made her hands shake.

She feared that, like Tang Yi in the original story, Bai Mu’s injuries were so severe that he might never regain his strength.

If that happened, she’d be no different from the female supporting character—harmful to everyone, including herself.

She had to do something—anything—to prevent that from happening.

It took Bai Mu nearly thirty minutes to fully absorb the crystal nucleus.

When Bai Mu opened his eyes, he saw the worry and concern on Xiao Hua's face, which made his heart ache.

As soon as Bai Mu woke up, Xiao Hua asked, "How are you feeling? Will this affect you in the long run?"

"I’m okay, but I’ll need more treatment once we’re back. Don’t worry about it. How’s the situation outside? Did you let the others know what’s going on?" Bai Mu replied.

Xiao Hua’s attention was successfully diverted, and she answered, "The third-stage zombie is dead, and most of the zombies outside have scattered.

But a few second-stage zombies are still lurking outside, waiting for us to come out."

"I’ve already alerted the others, but the village is still overrun with zombies, so they can’t get in," she continued.

Xiao Hua looked at Bai Mu and added, "Brother Bai, you should take your time recovering. The lingering scent of the third-stage zombie is keeping the others from coming in for now."