RIACMET chapter 72

 

“Oh, shit!”

Someone blurted out, and everyone gasped.

“Ugh—”

Huang Qian started retching.

Faced with the overwhelming stench, Jiang Nian felt his stomach churn too.

The zombie that had been eating turned toward them. It tossed aside the severed limb in its hand, shrieked, and climbed out of the chemical pool. It let out a series of metallic clanging sounds as it did so.

This zombie was of medium height, somewhat fat, and bald. From the waist down, its body was tangled in a mess of iron chains, some as thick as a man’s arm and others no thicker than a thumb.

No one knew how it had become so ensnared, but it was clear that more than half of the chains were still tied to the bottom of the pool, limiting its mobility.

“Careful—he’s got a superpower!”

Bang!

Jiang Nian’s warning and Jian Cheng’s shot happened almost at the same instant.

But before anyone could praise Jian Cheng’s quick reaction time, they saw that the bullet hadn’t hit the zombie’s head.

It seemed to strike an invisible barrier and ricochet straight back.

Zhao Lei instantly manipulated the surrounding metal to form a protective wall in front of his teammates.

Yang Kai slowed the rebounding bullet with gravity, and Liao Yu froze it with ice magic. However, even the ice shards bounced off.

“Everyone, be careful!”

Gravity vanished in an instant, the ice fragments scattered, and Huang Qian raised her vines to block them.

Just as everyone was reeling from the shock that the zombie only had defensive rebound powers,

—in the next second, its half-rotted hand twisted and deformed, making a cracking sound like gnashing teeth.

“The energy fluctuations changed—it has a dual-attribute ability!”

Jiang Nian said. Cheng Jing pulled him behind him.

They watched the zombie’s stiff arm reach out and claw toward them.

The team all had the same thought: They had to finish quickly before the chemical pool unleashed its power.

As they charged the chemical pool, Jiang Nian only saw lightning and fire flashing in front of his eyes. Zhao Lei reshaped the metal into blades and hacked at the groping hands.

Lu Ningzhou and Huang Qian raised earthen walls and thorns to provide cover. Meanwhile, Liao Yu adapted on the fly. Those who couldn’t use powers opened fire immediately.

Bang, bang, bang—
Clang!
Bzzzz, crack, crack.
“…”

For a moment, bullets and supernatural powers struck the zombie simultaneously, creating sparks and surging energy throughout the workshop.

After the fierce exchange, however, the water in the chemical pool had evaporated, countless things had been reduced to ash, and even the huge machines nearby had been twisted, deformed, or melted under the onslaught. Yet the zombie remained unscathed.

Its seamless switching between rebounding and deforming made it look frighteningly skilled. Had he not mutated into a zombie, he would have been an incredibly nimble fat man.

That kind of muscle memory made it obvious that he had already mastered his powers before turning.

“Damn it! This is obscene!”

Liao Yu cursed and dodged another reflected shard of ice.

“Everyone, fall back! His range is limited. Judging by that last attack, it’s about five meters!”

Cheng Jing’s face was grim. Hearing this, everyone silently retreated beyond five meters. At the same time, they spread out into a formation that encircled the chemical pool from all sides, covering each other.

Sure enough, the zombie noticed they were backing off and began another attack. Its deadly claws flailed within a five-meter radius as it roared savagely.

Luckily, the chains tangled around it—some still fixed to the bottom of the pool—kept it from escaping.

“He uses his transforming hands to catch and eat his own kind. No wonder there aren’t any other zombies around. He’s completely deranged.”

Jian Cheng held his gun and shook his head.

Jiang Nian added calmly,

“Zombies can sense the state of their own kind. They also have an instinct to seek advantage and avoid danger. The more evolved they are, the more sensitive they become.”

While mutated creatures would charge straight at living humans, they reacted differently to their own kind. After evolving and forming crystal cores, zombies only grew stronger.

“Let’s try again! This time, I’ll hold the line while everyone else advances together.”

Zhao Lei said this as he shaped the surrounding metal into a circular wall. The others concentrated their firepower for another round of attacks.

“… ”

But after several volleys, the results were the same as before.

Rebound and deformation weren’t too formidable on their own, but using them together was a nightmare.

Moreover, the zombie’s agility in manipulating its dual attributes far exceeded their expectations.

Everyone was locked in a stalemate, unable to gain ground, even in close-quarters clashes.

“Disgraceful!”

Tang Yi complained.

Their team’s powers were balanced overall, yet they were powerless against this creature.

Liao Yu shook his head.

“The main issue is that the workshop is so cramped. If we go all out, we’re all in danger of getting hurt by the rebound. We can’t unleash our powers freely. If we were outside, we could use overwhelming force to crush his reflective defense.”

“True.”

Yang Kai continued.

“We have to figure out a way to make the rebound ineffective against us. Otherwise, it’s a war of attrition we’ll never win, and we’ll be the first to run out of strength.”

He’d been on plenty of missions back at S Base, but this was the first time he’d ever faced something like this. A superpowered zombie was a terrifying opponent.

Yang Kai’s words struck Cheng Jing and Jiang Nian simultaneously. The others all glanced at them without saying a word.

There really wasn’t a way to render the rebound ineffective against them. However, Jiang Nian’s ability wouldn’t harm allies, even if it was reflected, and it was effective against zombies. So this was their only option.

“… ”

An unspoken understanding passed between all the teammates.

Huang Qian spoke first:

“There’s no point in wasting time here. We should go somewhere else.”

“Yeah, it’s not like he can run away. Let’s search the workshop. There might be something important there. Then, we’ll come back and figure out how to deal with him.”

Vice-captain Zhao Lei spoke up, looking over at Cheng Jing.

“What do you think, Captain?”

“…”

Cheng Jing frowned slightly, thinking that everyone was talking faster than he was.

Liao Yu chimed in.

“I think so too. Sister Qian, Ningzhou, Brother Cheng, and Brother Nian, the four of you stay here and keep watch. We’ll search the rest. After all this noise, no other zombies have come out. I’m guessing this one ate them all. Let’s finish the sweep in one go.”

“Yeah.”

“Agreed.”

“Alright…”

Everyone, including Yang Kai, nodded in agreement.

“…”

Cheng Jing thought it over carefully, then nodded.

“All right. You all be careful. We’ll stay here to hold him down. Once you’ve searched the workshop, wait outside for us. Don’t come back in. If we can’t handle this situation, we’ll request backup from the base.”

After all, he had a family to feed. He wasn’t trying to be a hero. If they couldn’t handle it, they would let someone more qualified do it.

“Got it.”

Zhao Lei nodded and raised a hand to lead the others to regroup and press forward.

“…”

Yang Kai took a few steps, then looked back. He wanted to ask if he could stay, but when he met Cheng Jing’s cold gaze, he couldn’t speak. In the end, he just followed Zhao Lei in silence.