Chapter 72

Chapter 72

"Holy shit!"

Someone exclaimed, and the others couldn't help but gasp.

"Gack—"

Huang Qian was already retching.

Faced with such sheer repulsiveness, Jiang Nian also felt his stomach churn.

The zombie mid-meal noticed them, threw aside the severed limb in its hand, and roared as it stood up from the chemical pool, sending a cacophony of clattering chains.

The zombie was of medium height, paunchy, and balding. Below its waist, its body was tangled in a chaotic mess of chains—some as thick as arms, others as thin as thumbs.

How they’d tangled was a mystery, but a significant portion still lay at the bottom of the pool, limiting its movement range.

"Careful, it has a Superpower!"

"Bang—"

Jiang Nian's warning and Jian Cheng's instant shot happened simultaneously.

Yet before anyone could praise Jian Cheng for his quick reflexes, they realized his bullet hadn’t taken the zombie’s head off.

The bullet seemed to hit an invisible barrier and ricocheted straight back.

Zhao Lei immediately manipulated metal to erect a protective wall in front of the team.

Yang Kai used gravity dampening to slow the bullet’s rebound, while Liao Yu seized the chance to unleash ice, attempting to freeze the zombie—only for both attacks to be deflected.

"Everyone, be careful!"

The gravity field dissipated, and the ice shards rebounded. Huang Qian summoned vines to block them.

Just as the team was surprised that a seemingly tough zombie capable of eating its own kind only had a deflective Superpower—

The next second, its half-rotted hands began twisting and deforming, emitting a grating, nails-on-chalkboard *creak*.

"The energy fluctuation changed—it has a dual-type Superpower!"

Jiang Nian barely finished speaking before Cheng Jing hauled him back.

Immediately after, the zombie’s stiffened hands elongated grotesquely toward them.

The team acted as one, aiming to finish it off while it was between powers.

Jiang Nian only saw a flash of Thunder Fire lash out at the chemical pool, while Zhao Lei manipulated metal into a blade to slash at the grasping hands.

Lu Ningzhou and Huang Qian erected dirt ramparts and brambles for defense, while Liao Yu struck when he could from the side. The others, their powers useless here, opened fire.

Bullets flew—"Bang-bang-bang—"

"Clang—"

"Brrrt—"

Chaos erupted.

In an instant, bullets and superhuman abilities were simultaneously unleashed upon the zombie, the workshop lit up with fiery sparks and surges of energy.

Yet after a fierce exchange, the water in the chemical pool had evaporated, many objects were reduced to ashes, and even the surrounding heavy machinery twisted, deformed, or melted under the pressure of superhuman abilities—yet the zombie remained unscathed.

Its seamless switching between reflection and deformation made it appear effortless. If it hadn’t turned into a zombie, it would have been one hell of an agile fat guy.

With such muscle memory, it was clear that it had mastered superhuman abilities long before mutation.

"Holy shit! This is completely broken!"

Liao Yu exclaimed while carefully dodging the ricocheting ice attacks.

"Everyone pull back! Its grabbing range is limited—about five meters based on the earlier attacks!"

Cheng Jing’s expression was grave. Hearing this, the team retreated beyond five meters in unison, spreading out to encircle the chemical pool while maintaining vigilance.

Sure enough, the zombie lunged again, its killer claws thrashing wildly within the five-meter range, letting out furious roars.

Fortunately, the chains tangled around it—some still anchored to the pool’s bottom—prevented it from advancing further.

"It uses its deformed hands to grab and eat its own kind. No wonder there are no other zombies around here. That's messed up."

Jian Cheng muttered, shaking his head, tightening his grip on his gun.

Jiang Nian added,

"Zombies can sense the state of their kind and have an instinct for self-preservation. The more advanced they evolve, the sharper this instinct becomes."

These mutated creatures go berserk when facing the living but behave differently toward their own kind—especially after forming energy cores. Zombies only grow more formidable.

"Let’s try again! This time, I’ll defend while you all attack."

As Zhao Lei spoke, he warped metal to form a circular wall, allowing the team to unload everything they had for another assault.

"..."

But after several rounds, the result remained the same.

Reflection and deformation weren’t formidable separately, but combined, they became a pain in the ass.

Moreover, the agility with which the Superpower Zombie wielded dual attributes was way beyond what they'd expected.

The group found themselves stuck in a standoff with the zombie, with neither side gaining an advantage in quick skirmishes.

"This is bullshit!"

Tang Yi couldn’t help but complain.

Their team had a well-balanced set of superhuman abilities, yet they were getting owned by a single zombie.

Liao Yu also shook his head.

"Mainly, the tight quarters in the workshop limit our range, making us vulnerable to our own rebounding attacks. We can’t go all out. If we were outside, we could just 'smash through it with raw power'—break through its reflection defense and put it down for good."

"Exactly."

Yang Kai added,

"We need to find a way to cancel out its reflection ability. Otherwise, this war of exhaustion is unwinnable—we’ll exhaust our psychic stamina first."

He had completed many missions at Base S, but this was the first time he encountered such a situation. A Superpowered becoming a zombie was truly terrifying.

Yang Kai's words made Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian both freeze momentarily, while the others shot subtle glances in their direction.

There was no way to block the rebounding superpower against them, but Jiang Nian's ability wouldn’t affect them even if reflected—and it still worked on the zombie. It might be worth a shot.

"..."

A wordless understanding flashed among the teammates.

Huang Qian was the first to speak:

"Hanging around here won't solve anything... We still have other places to go."

"Right. It's not going anywhere anyway. Let’s search the rest of the workshop first to see if there’s anything unusual, then come back and figure out how to handle it," Zhao Lei, the deputy leader, added before turning to Cheng Jing.

"Leader, what do you think?"

"..."

Cheng Jing frowned slightly, deep in thought, while silently noting: *These guys are quicker to speak than I am.*

Liao Yu jumped in:

"I agree. Sister Qian, Ning Zhou, Cheng, and Brother Nian—you four stay here and stand guard. The rest of us will search the other areas. Since no other zombies came out despite all the noise earlier, this guy probably ate most of them. Let’s just make a quick pass to complete the mission."

"Yeah."

"Right."

"Fine..."

The others, including Yang Kai, nodded in agreement.

"..."

After a moment of serious consideration, Cheng Jing nodded.

"Alright. Watch yourselves. We’ll stay here and keep it distracted while you move forward to complete the mission. After searching the workshop, wait for us outside—no need to come back. If it’s really unsolvable, call for backup from the base."

Being a family man, he wasn't about heroics. If they couldn’t handle it, they’d let more capable people take over.

"Got it."

Zhao Lei nodded, waving the others to fall in before moving forward.

"..."

Yang Kai took a few steps before looking back, wanting to say he'd stay—but meeting Cheng Jing's cold stare, he bit back his words and wordlessly fell in step with Zhao Lei.