Chapter 21

Bullets were flying around the few hundred square metres of the battleground in this communication room. Broken shards of glass from the lights as well as bricks and rubble were scattered all over the place, and screens and monitors had been pulverised. Through the night vision goggles, only a hazy dark green could be seen, and nothing could be made out clearly.

Chuncao desperately climbed up to the top of the large mainframe, shooting as she made her way up, wanting to jump onto the back of the zombie gorilla and hit it on the back of its head. However, when she was still in midair, the gorilla’s arm swung into her, and the bomb flew away!

Roar—

Zhou Rong’s face was entirely covered in blood, and his potent Alpha pheromones enraged the zombie beast even further. The gorilla ignored Si Nan’s rapid gunfire from a distance, its feet crushing the shelves and equipment under it, and its paw swung down upon Zhou Rong.

Zhou Rong scrambled backwards. With the corner of his eye, he saw the Type 89 heavy machine gun trapped under the rubble. Rolling over, he reached out to grab it, but he could not free it!

Just as he was about to be pounded into ground meat by that paw, he felt a force coming from his side. Someone had lunged over, yanking Zhou Rong and tumbling away. Right next to Zhou Rong’s ear, the ground shattered with the might of the gorilla’s paw.

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“Yingjie?!”

Zhang Yingjie was panting, seeming to be suffering from pain. “Quick, run…”

Zhou Rong pulled him up. Before he could steady himself, the paw of the gorilla that had smashed the ground swept towards them like a truck, throwing them a distance away!

This was the first time ever that Si Nan had felt such a strong terror. “Zhou Rong!!”

At this time, the surroundings were covered in gun smoke. Visibility was poor, and nothing could be made out beyond a few steps. Si Nan was completely unable to distinguish if Zhou Rong had been torn into pieces by the gorilla. In a moment of desperation, he pressed down on the trigger, only to get silence.

There was no more ammunition!

The firing speed of 1250rpm caused the gun barrel to glow a visible red. He still had an ammunition cartridge on him, but by then, he no longer had the time to replace it.

In this second of silence, the gorilla again rushed towards the direction Zhou Rong and Zhang Yingjie had been thrown towards!

Si Nan’s breathing increased rapidly. In that moment, his brain blanked out, and he did not think about anything.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out the explosives that were not used just now. Flinging them at the gorilla, he took out his dagger and slid it across his palm!

The black explosives smashed onto the back of the gorilla. The explosion rocked the room, and the gorilla’s flesh was stripped of its back, and as expected, its focus turned back to Si Nan.

Si Nan’s chest heaved, fresh blood spilling from his spread open palm. He stared straight into the zombie’s milky eyes, retreating step by step.

Although there was no theory about this, the publicly acknowledged truth was that zombies would instinctively chase after the scent of the pheromones belonging to Alphas and Omegas, and the pheromones of an Omega were even more potent.

The intensity of the pheromones was proportional to one’s sex hormones. However, the ability to scent the pheromones varied from one person to another. For example, Zhou Rong’s Alpha pheromones were extremely overpowering, but his ability to scent an Omega’s pheromones was only average. As for Si Nan, he was the opposite.

Si Nan was very sensitive towards Alpha pheromones, and he had strong adverse reactions towards them. However, his own pheromones were very weak — and this actually had to do with him injecting a pheromone-inhibitor over so many years.

A silence fell upon them. From dozens of metres away, Chuncao made her way up groggily. On the other side of the room, Zhou Rong pushed himself up with much difficulty on his elbows, his face stained with blood.

Two seconds later.

The gorilla gave a loud cry. Without any hesitation, it ran at Si Nan!

Si Nan immediately ran off, heading out of the room in the speed of light. Behind him, the ground trembled, and the zombie gorilla followed closely!

“Motherfucker…” Zhou Rong was covered with rubble, and he stood up, swaying. Finally, he was unable to retrieve the Type-89 heavy machine gun from under the debris. As he loaded the gun with armour-piercing ammunition, he shouted hoarsely, “Cao’er! Yingjie! Are you still alive?”

“Why did it follow Si Nan? Quick, let’s go…” Chuncao coughed, and flecks of blood could be seen.

Zhou Rong reached out to pull Zhang Yingjie. However, the moment he touched him, Zhang Yingjie jolted, as though he received an electric shock, and took a step back.

“What happened?” Zhou Rong asked.

In the corridor, the roars of the zombie gorilla sounded further and further away. Time was tight, and in the dim light, Zhang Yingjie’s face was ashen, his lips cracked, and his eyes were bruised-looking.

He seemed to have given up on something, and gave a short laugh. “You shouldn’t have saved me, Rong-ge. I’ve been infected.”

Zhou Rong’s breath caught.

Zhang Yingjie pulled up the legs of his trousers, and next to his sock was a broken patch of skin. Having been submerged in water, it was a dark purple, and it had started to fester.

“What expression is that, Rong-ge?” Zhang Yingjie smiled. “Don’t be like this. Come, give me a gun… Let’s not waste the last bit of time we have, let me accompany all of you for this last journey.”

“A warrior shouldn’t kill himself, nor should he turn into a monster. Let me die in battle as a soldier.”

***

Si Nan shot down the stairs. As he landed, he grabbed onto the handrails and leapt down to the floor below — Just as he released his hands from the railing, the metal rails were blown outwards by the impact of the zombie gorilla!

After running out from the communications room, he did not take the same route they came from, but headed in the opposite direction into the stairwell. Although in his haste, he was unable to select a path, unknowingly, the narrow staircase was an obstruction to the zombie gorilla.

Heading straight towards a corridor, it took about five or six seconds before the roar of the gorilla shook the building, and it chased after him.

At his speed, Si Nan was unable to see what was around him, and he did not even have the time to reach for his handgun. He never knew that he could run so quickly, and when bumping into a few groups of zombies along the way, he just shot right through them.

The Omega pheromones roused the gorilla’s predator instincts. The gigantic beast that was taller than four metres and weighing several tons was like a roller machine, coming down on him thunderously, and grinding those groups of zombies into paste!

The few circuitous corridors soon came to an end. In front was a fork, and both the left and the right passages were shrouded in darkness.

Si Nan’s feet slowed down. Having gone through over six hours of intense activities without food, his insides cramped with unbearable pain.

With that pause of 0.01 second, the zombie gorilla lunged forward, and slapped Si Nan into the wall!

A loud slam, and blood spurted from Si Nan’s mouth.

He felt as though a tank had collided with him, and the extraordinary pain drowned out all his other senses. He slid to the ground dizzily, and in a daze, he saw the zombie gorilla running towards him, the ground under him trembling.

No, he thought.

I still have something very important… very crucial to do. I can’t let things end like this.

He did not know where this thought came from, and had no idea what this crucial mission was as well. Si Nan’s hands shook, pulling out the Type-64 handgun from his waist, and shot up towards the air.

The metal duct came crashing down, causing the zombie gorilla to reel back!

Si Nan staggered up, dragging a gun of dozens of kilograms as he sprinted, loading it with ammunition quickly. The zombie King Kong was now completely enraged, easily tearing the duct that was thicker than a person apart. Like a supersonic fighter jet, it swept the remnants behind it. Its bloody mouth gaped wide open, and bit down towards his back.

The foul, rotten stench engulfed the area. Si Nan unexpectedly turned his foot, taking two quick steps on the wall, and flipped himself in midair.

His body turned 360 degrees in the air, almost dragging past the gorilla’s lowered head, and he landed on its neck!

The zombie gorilla shifted wildly, continuously slamming into its surroundings, and the light fixtures on the walls all feel. The deadly jolts injured Si Nan’s head, causing him to bleed heavily. His body hurt from all the impacts, but his legs were still tightly wrapped around the zombie’s neck. Gritting his teeth, he pushed his machine gun against the back of this monster’s head.

He pressed down on the trigger, and a hail of bullets shot straight into its skull!

Bam—

The extreme pressure lasted for over ten seconds without ceasing. The gun barrel was like an arrow that was on the end of its trajectory, and it finally exploded!

When it exploded, Si Nan was in a trance, and when thrown out by the shockwave he did not feel any pain at all. A trail of blood could be seen coming from his body as he flew outwards, landing in a deep pit at the end of the fork dozens of metres away—

[Restricted Biohazard Area, Unauthorised Entry Will Result In Death]

In the dark, a green sign glowed dimly, like a will-o’-the-wisp.

A loud thudding sound was heard. Si Nan landed in the pit, spraying out a mouthful of blood.

His ear was soaked in blood, muffling the sounds. Warm liquid trickled continuously from his nose, and spasms ran lightly through his body. He wrenched his eyes open, wanting to keep conscious, but his vision gradually dimmed.

The darkness was like feathers falling upon him, gently submerging his consciousness.

***

“Noah…”

“Noah!”

The lady quickly walked through the garden, crouching down and hugging the little boy whose back was facing her. “What are you doing, why aren’t you going in?”

The slight breeze in the misty morning brought with it the damp smell of earth. Dark green foliage hung from the metal frames in the garden. The yellow roses had already wilted, leaving behind only a few dead blossoms amidst the thorny branches.

“Papa doesn’t like me.”

The little boy stared at his feet, where a fresh mound of dirt had just been dug up. He again quietly repeated, “… Papa doesn’t like me.”

The lady held the little boy’s arm, making him turn around. Her beautiful, melancholic eyes studied her son.

She was dressed in a deep pink silk dress, her facial features deep and beautiful, her light-coloured eyes a pure, clean amber. That beauty that could withstand the test of time was heart-moving, but when she focused on something, there was always a slight melancholy in her eyes. “Why, Noah?”

The little boy’s lips pursed. Only a moment later did he softly say, “He scratched me.”

The lady picked up her son’s hand, gently pushing his sleeves up. The few scratches on his wrist were startling, and bruises could be seen as well.

“… Papa is tired.” The lady evaded her son’s statement after a long while. “He’s fallen asleep already… Come back with Mama, all right?”

The little boy no longer resisted her. He allowed his mother to hold his hand, and they walked deeper into the garden.

“Mummy.”

“Hmm?”

“Why is Papa sleeping in a wooden box?”

On the top of the church not too far away, the stained glass windows could be seen, and the cross pierced the dark sky. His mother was silent for a long, long time, before her feet stopped. She bent over and kissed the tender center of her son’s brows. “One day, Papa would leave the wooden box, and return to us forever…”

Her voice was a little sorrowful, but still very gentle. “That day won’t be too far from us.”

***

Cough…

Cough cough cough!

Si Nan coughed a couple more times, thick blood forced up from his throat. His hands shivered as he pushed himself up.

There were a few seconds where he did not know where he was, nor what had happened. He was confused for a short moment.

However, the memories of the past few hours quickly returned to him. In intense pain, he slowly regained his senses, and his injured internal organs caused his trachea to spasm, vomiting out the last bit of water in his stomach.

Did the zombie gorilla die?

That person called Zhou Rong… undisciplined and frivolous like an army riffraff, but surprisingly very reliable, was he saved?

Si Nan finally managed to stop dry heaving. Thinking about Zhou Rong, he was hunched over ungainly, and he slowly straightened up.

At this time, he suddenly heard a sound from in front — thump.

This sound was exceedingly clear in the silence, and Si Nan lifted his head.

This was an underground round lab. The ceiling was not sealed, and there was an elevator by the side, going upwards. The walls that were made of an alloy metal glowed white, illuminating a test site in the center that was about the size of a football field.

The sound came again — Thump!

Si Nan looked towards the center of the lab. Unconsciously, his pupils shrank, and he finally understood what had jolted him awake from his loss of consciousness.

That was a coffin.

The black-lacquered pine wood was crusted with earth, as though it had just been dug up from an English manor from the last century. In this laboratory surrounded by modern biochemical equipment, it was undeniably out of place.

What was even more out of place was a humongous silver cross embedded crookedly onto the lid of the coffin. Flowers and leaves were also carved around the cross, and the silver had already oxidised badly, almost splitting the coffin into two.

Thump!

The coffin lid jerked up.

Thump!!

Dirt and soil rained onto the ground.

Si Nan stood up, staggering backwards. His chest heaved visibly because of a terrifying premonition.

Thump!!!

An immense force cracked the coffin lid. The silver cross tumbled onto the ground, causing a huge crash.

Si Nan turned and ran towards the elevator. Pressing the button furiously, but there was no reaction from the control panel!

Bang—!

The heavy coffin lid split apart, followed by a demonic, beastly roar. A black figure sat up from within the coffin!

Si Nan’s eyes were glued tightly to it. A ghastly conjecture welled up in him, and chills spread through his limbs.