Chapter 65: Mutant Zombie

“Old Li, shoot!” Qin Tian raised his Desert Eagle and shouted.

“You go help them, I’ll observe for a bit,” I replied, drawing my Frostblade Sword. Qin Tian squeezed the trigger. The Desert Eagle truly lived up to its name—a single gunshot rang out, and a mutated zombie on the opposite side collapsed instantly. My eyes, however, remained fixed on the one zombie that stood out: a crimson corpse, as if its entire body had been dipped in dye. It hadn’t attacked, only stood in the distance, and I could sense danger radiating from it.

Qin Tian had dispatched a formidable enemy in a single exchange, which brought relief to the members of the Azure Dragon Gang. They thought the zombies would soon succumb to Qin Tian’s Desert Eagle, but to everyone’s shock, the zombie they believed dead clambered back to its feet. Its throat had been pierced by a bullet, a dark hole gaping in its neck.

“Aim for the head,” I reminded him. Qin Tian immediately fired again, the bullet whizzing into the zombie’s skull, sending blood and brain matter splattering as its head exploded.

“Be careful not to let the zombie’s blood get in your eyes,” I warned as I charged forward, Frostblade Sword poised. With a swift thrust, I pierced a zombie’s forehead, then withdrew the blade and turned to the group. “The head is their only weak spot. Attacking anywhere else is useless.”

Only then did everyone understand. Nine-Tailed Fox extended her right palm, sending a beam of blue light straight through a zombie’s skull and far into the distance. Murong Xue, wielding her three-foot white silk, descended like a goddess—one graceful wave, and a zombie crashed to the ground, a fissure splitting its forehead. Yu Jing’s style was more direct: a single punch shattered a zombie’s occipital bone. As for Xiao Xiang Ke’er and Xu Qinghuan, though the physically weakest after the ordinary people in our group, together they managed to take down one zombie.

I stood off to the side, my gaze locked on the crimson zombie. It stood unmoving, a cold smirk seeming to play on its lips. After we dispatched several mutated zombies, the crimson one let out a low growl and charged.

Clutching my Frostblade Sword, I rushed to meet the crimson foe. The moment we clashed, I dropped to my knees and slid forward, sweeping my sword horizontally from the right. The blade bit three inches deep into its abdomen before stopping short—this zombie’s defenses were formidable. I’d never used this move before; it had flashed into my mind right before the fight, no doubt a result of the Demonic Heaven Technique. Had it been an ordinary person, they would have been cleaved in two on the spot, but the crimson zombie sustained only a superficial wound before coming at me again.

Failing to finish it off only drove it into a frenzy. I stepped back, gripping my sword with both hands, searching for an opening. After my last strike, the crimson zombie became more cautious. Bone spikes protruded from its body, and its ten fingers transformed into whipping tendrils that lashed toward me. I swung at the incoming tentacles, but they recoiled at astonishing speed. Before I could recover my sword, the zombie launched another volley—bone spikes shot through the night like artillery shells, piercing my chest and thigh.

The spikes lodged deep in my flesh; I managed to pull the one from my leg, but the one in my chest was embedded too far—any movement sent waves of agony through me.

“Yunfei…”

“Old Li, are you alright?”

Their worried voices echoed in my ears as my consciousness grew foggy. Damn it! To think I’d be injured by a feint—I was shaken to my core. Gritting my teeth, I charged forward, sword in hand, losing awareness as I pressed the attack…

Later, Yu Jing told me my eyes were blood-red, and I looked like a demon from hell charging the crimson zombie. When my sword was knocked away, I fought with my fists, even biting with my teeth.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, I tasted the metallic tang in my mouth. “Damn, I actually bit that zombie?” I nearly retched, hurrying to the river to rinse my mouth with handfuls of water.

“Hey, Old Li, what was that all about? You even dared to bite a zombie! Honestly, I admire you,” Qin Tian said with a wicked grin.

“Get lost!” I barked, gripping the bone spike in my chest. This guy never took anything seriously. When I’d first met him as the Azure Dragon Gang’s boss, he seemed so honest—turns out he was just playing the fool.

“Let me take a look,” Murong Xue came over. I tore off my tattered shirt as she took a small bottle from her waist and sprinkled some white powder on my wound. Xiao Xiang Ke’er blushed and turned away.

Why so shy? Haven’t you seen a man’s body before? I don’t believe Yu Jing has been that well-behaved.

“Master Li, you can still laugh? Does it hurt?” Nine-Tailed Fox leaned in to ask.

I quickly wiped the smile from my face. “No, just hungry.”

We hadn’t eaten all day, and after that fierce battle, everyone was starving. As soon as I mentioned it, several stomachs growled in unison.

“Brother Qin, the task of catching fish is yours,” I announced, standing up. Qin Tian promptly delegated the job to his men, and the group tromped off to the water. I found a stone and sat down.

“Yunfei…” Xu Qinghuan’s eyes brimmed with tears, as if she had a thousand words she wanted to say. I stroked her head, pulling her into my arms.

“Qinghuan, Xu Lin isn’t your father, is he?” I asked as I let her go.

“…No. I’m sorry, Yunfei. I lied to you.”

“Why? I don’t understand.”

“So that’s how it is,” I sighed, lighting a cigarette. Perhaps everyone hides a story in their hearts, something they never want to mention, always running from it, only to recall it when least expected. Xu Qinghuan and Xu Lin kept the truth from us because they were on a mission. Two years ago, the Xu family was wiped out. Xu Qinghuan’s parents died tragically at the hands of Cang Lang, all because her father had uttered a single retort, bringing calamity on the entire family.

Now that Cang Lang was dead by my hand, the Xu family’s vengeance was at last fulfilled. Murong Xue deftly removed the bone spike from my chest. The medicine worked wonders—the spike slid out easily.

“Their bodies seem to have mutated,” Murong Xue observed, examining the spike.

“Yes, those are mutated zombies. In our world, we often see them in movies,” I replied, standing up. The pain had eased considerably by then.

“Movies?” Murong Xue asked, puzzled.

“In short, these monsters are called zombies. Next time we encounter them, just attack the head—that’s their only fatal weakness. Even if they lose all their limbs, as long as the head remains intact, they’ll still bite. And whatever you do, don’t let them scratch or bite you, and never let zombie blood get in your eyes or mouth, or you’ll be infected and become a zombie yourself.” I patiently explained everything I knew about zombies as the Azure Dragon Gang brothers returned with their catch of fish.