Monster - Chapter 102
Chapter 102: Thriller Paradise - NPC
Led by Lou, the three of them skirted the zombie horde by sticking to the surrounding buildings.
This was an attraction near the park's main entrance. The large group of hunters who had just entered hadn't dispersed yet. They were full of energy, and the monsters weren't strong. Right now, they were in a killing frenzy. If the zombies didn't come to them, they would actively seek them out, so there was no chance of any being missed and left for Lou's group, who were deliberately avoiding them.
This was also why Lou and the others could bypass them so smoothly. The zombies before them were the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Though numerous, they were easy to kill as long as one was careful.
Walking in the middle of the group, Lin Sandie watched as the old and feeble zombies fell one by one, their blood staining the grayish-brown earth red. She knew these zombies posed little threat to the hunters.
Anyone who had played games knew that the initial levels were never too difficult. To keep players engaged, game designers would give them a taste of success at the very beginning.
And these zombies were the appetizer for the hunters newly arrived in Thriller Paradise. They might manage to assimilate a few careless hunters, but the people who entered this place were no pushovers. These zombies were essentially the lowest-tier consumables in the park, cannon fodder. They burned through their lives, staying here for as long as possible, just to earn a meager amount of points for their families waiting outside the park.
At the same time, from the game designer's perspective, they could also provide the new hunters with the exhilarating feeling of being peerless, of slaying thousands of enemies.
"The attacker is on the fifth floor of the building next to you. I can see three people on the fifth floor right now, one is already dead…" Miu the crow promptly transmitted its observations to Lou. But before it could finish its sentence, a massive explosion erupted from the floor it had indicated. The windows of the surrounding buildings shattered from the blast. Not only did the zombies pause, but the ears of everyone nearby were ringing, some even experiencing temporary tinnitus.
"Let's go." Without hesitation, Lou immediately ran toward the fifth floor.
Lin Sandie and Xing Meilu exchanged a look. The explosion had left their hearing muffled, and they couldn't quite make out what Lou was saying.
Without asking, the two of them silently followed Lou. A moment later, once their hearing had recovered, Lou explained, "The person who set off the explosion is likely the Saya that Officer Xing is looking for. The one who got blown up should be a companion of mine. In our line of work, there's an unwritten rule: if you happen to encounter a fallen comrade during a mission, you should do your best to send them back to the Main World."
The bomber they had encountered in Sally Village had been identified by Miu's reconnaissance as Saya McConaughey, the person Xing Meilu had been searching for. At the time, Lou hadn't told Xing Meilu, worried she would lose control upon learning the truth. However, just now in the "Zombie Cafeteria," Xing Meilu's ability to quickly regain her composure after being sick to her stomach gave Lou a bit of confidence.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't biased. With Lin Sandie, Lou had a great deal of patience and tolerance, but with others, she was always pragmatic. While not entirely indifferent, she didn't give them much thought. Ultimately, when she had more important things to do, she really didn't care much about Xing Meilu's feelings. Whether it was Carlo, Xing Meilu, or the horde of zombies before them, to her, they were all just NPCs while she was on a mission.
"How do you know?!" Xing Meilu froze, her emotions suddenly flaring up.
"It's hard to explain. You need to stay calm," Lou said curtly. Countless invisible lines, unseen by Lin Sandie and Xing Meilu, emanated from her body.
"It's an Angel." Perched on a rooftop, Miu the crow sighed. It hadn't expected that it and Lou would encounter a former comrade in Leviathan—a comrade who was already dead.
Lou grunted in acknowledgment. Before she had even moved, dozens of lines had already spread throughout the building. Through the extension of these lines, although she couldn't get a direct visual, she could feel the traces of the black flames unique to the Angel Enya all over the place.
Glancing at Lou, Lin Sandie silently took the withered, yellow piece of human temporal bone from her space bag. After removing her mask, she pressed it to her head. A hollow, white human skull immediately covered her head, enhancing her physical defense for thirty minutes.
They were now on the fourth floor. The lighting in the building was good, especially since the formerly grimy windowpanes had been shattered by the explosion. Light streamed in from outside, brightly illuminating the entire floor. There was only some dusty old furniture here. Just as they were about to head to the fifth floor, a rush of urgent footsteps came from behind them, numerous and chaotic, surging upward like a tide.
"The zombies are coming too?" Lou was a little confused as to why this was happening and asked Miu on the team channel.
"They suddenly stopped attacking the visitors and are swarming into this building… I was thinking earlier, maybe these zombies have a structure similar to worker ants, with a more powerful zombie controlling them. Within a certain area, they're all controlled by a minor leader. After all, there's no way Enzo could control so many zombies by himself."
"Possible."
Just as Lou finished speaking, Wei and Morita Tsuyoshi appeared at the top of the stairs, followed a few steps behind by a panting Mike.
Lou grinned. Standing at the entrance to the fifth-floor staircase, she made a welcoming gesture toward them.
"What's the situation upstairs?" A tangible aura of bloodlust emanated from Wei. The brutal presence was so intense that a single glance felt like it could cut you.
"When you ask someone a question, you should have a better attitude." Lou ignored the bloodlust, leaning lazily against Lin Sandie, a viciousness hiding behind her smile.
Wei scanned Lou up and down, discovering that this seemingly devil-may-care woman had no openings whatsoever. If they were to fight, she might not be able to win unscathed.
"Excuse me, what is the situation upstairs?" Wei lowered her chin slightly, asking in a very formal and polite manner.
"The one who set off the explosion is a tall woman. The other one, a young girl with grayish-black skin, four arms, white wings on her back, and a halo over her head, is my target."
"Someone has four arms?" the samurai Morita Tsuyoshi asked with a smile from behind Wei.
"I understand." Wei, however, nodded decisively. Without further questions, she headed straight for the fifth floor.
Morita Tsuyoshi waved at the three of them and also started up. As he stepped onto the staircase, he didn't forget to turn back and instruct Mike, "You go wait for us downstairs. I have a feeling we won't get anything done today."
Behind them surged a massive horde of zombies.
"The zombies are coming upstairs! Brothers, stop chasing them from behind! Come to the front and block them!" The hunters, in their killing frenzy, were naturally unwilling to let this huge pile of points go. Seeing the zombies that had been besieging them suddenly pour into the building, they followed them in.
After running up a few floors, some of the more observant hunters noticed that the large group of zombies was purposefully heading for the top floor. They immediately picked up their pace, reached the staircase leading to the fifth floor ahead of them, and began preparing to unleash their ultimate moves.
These hunters all possessed some magical items. One of them took out a horn, brought it to his lips, and blew hard. The air on the entire fourth floor instantly turned cold. Lin Sandie saw dozens of ghost soldiers armed with submachine guns appear out of thin air. Upon hearing the hunter's horn, they immediately raised their weapons and opened fire on the approaching zombie horde.
For these old and feeble zombies dressed in rags, it was a one-sided slaughter. How could flesh and blood withstand a hail of bullets? In an instant, cries of agony echoed throughout the floor.
They could feel pain.
But even as blood splattered everywhere, even as zombies fell around them, the remaining ones with the ability to move still swarmed toward the staircase, desperate to get to the fifth floor.
Lou, Lin Sandie, and a somewhat agitated Xing Meilu watched the scene unfold before them, unable to say a word.
"Let's go. These zombies won't make it up," Lou said after a glance, turning to continue toward the fifth floor. Lin Sandie followed closely behind her. Xing Meilu stared at the zombies, who were screaming madly yet still trying to crawl up the stairs, bit her lip, and also turned to follow the other two.
This time, however, Lou miscalculated. Faced with the surging tide of old and weak zombies, the hunters guarding the staircase to farm points couldn't kill them all. A short zombie miraculously broke through the defensive line and scrambled onto the stairs.
"Aaaahhh!!!" The zombie, its voice so hoarse it was impossible to tell if it was male or female, shrieked as it climbed the stairs. From its long, dirty, graying hair, one could guess it was probably an old woman. After breaking through the line, she immediately began scrambling up the stairs on all fours, her hands grabbing onto Xing Meilu's leg first.
Xing Meilu was startled. Seeing the old woman clutching her pant leg, her mouth open with only a few teeth left, trying to bite her, she frantically lifted her foot. This caused the old woman to fall back uncontrollably, tumbling down several steps.
But she quickly regained her footing and climbed the stairs again, continuing to let out that soul-tearing scream as she lunged at Xing Meilu.
Lou, at the front of the group, drew the pistol from her shoulder holster. Moving past Lin Sandie and Xing Meilu, she fired a shot into the old woman's temple.
The once-gray hair was now completely stained red with blood. The old woman's blackened, claw-like hands still gripped Xing Meilu's pant leg tightly, but they soon went limp as she fell backward. Her entire body hung upside down on the staircase, her face turned upward.
It was a face full of wrinkles, dirty and gaunt, almost devoid of flesh—just skin stretched over bone.
"Mama…" The old woman uttered only two syllables before slowly closing her milky-white eyes under Lou's gaze.
Lou felt the bracelet on her right wrist vibrate. She holstered her pistol and raised her hand to look.
Kill Count: 1
Total Points: 1
Name of Last Kill: Zhao Anfu
Points from Last Kill: 1
Lou frowned. She glanced back at the old woman, thinking, it can't be that much of a coincidence, can it? The first zombie I kill is Carlo's grandmother.
"What is it?" Lin Sandie hadn't paid any attention to Carlo's grandmother, and this zombie that had suddenly appeared had a completely contorted face, so she naturally didn't give it a second look.
"Nothing. Just life being unpredictable," Lou shrugged, not dwelling on the matter.
She didn't care about Carlo, much less his grandmother. She had just killed a crazy old zombie that was blocking their path.
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