Chapter 583 - 501: The Battle Isn’t Over Yet
"Ah, my leg... Da Li, are you out of your mind...?"
Suddenly, Big Head, who was bravely killing zombies, felt a sharp pain in his calf. He glanced down, terrified out of his wits, and saw that a comrade fighting alongside him had unexpectedly turned into a zombie and was biting into his calf with abandon.
"Big Head... hey!"
Li Zongkai kicked the zombie Da Li who was biting Big Head. His heart was incredibly sorrowful because both were his subordinates. Big Head had been his companion from the beginning, and now Da Li’s sudden transformation and attack on Big Head filled him with deep grief.
Da Li, kicked by Li Zongkai, fell prone on the ground, flailing his legs like a drunkard. He couldn’t stand up, nor was it easy for him to even turn over.
The newly transformed zombie had not been strengthened, possibly due to remaining human consciousness desperately trying to control it. Its combat abilities were far inferior to the zombies they currently faced, resembling those from the initial outbreak.
"Da Li... I don’t blame you, brother. I’ll send you on your way, and follow shortly after!"
Big Head retreated a few steps out of the frontline, holding Da Li’s head with one arm and stabbed him with a knife. Tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes, not only mourning his brother’s fate but also grieving over his imminent death.
Da Li did not struggle much, his head drooped, ending his life.
"Chairman Li, I can no longer protect you, please take care of Xiaoduo for me!"
After settling Da Li, Big Head, with tears in his eyes, looked at Li Zongkai.
"Don’t talk nonsense, Big Head, your bitten leg can be saved!"
Li Zongkai grabbed Big Head’s arm to prevent him from doing something foolish.
"Let me die like a hero!"
Big Head forcefully knocked away Li Zongkai’s hand, then turned to look at the thinning crowd of zombies, distracted by the Yama Corps, and charged forward with his Steel Spear, determined to kill as many zombies as possible before he transformed.
"Big Head!"
Li Zongkai reached out feebly. At that moment, he felt a deep sense of defeat, as if no management skill was sufficient for the current situation.
"Don’t be in a daze; solve the problems at hand quickly, and there’s hope to save everyone!"
Yuwen shoved the despondent Li Zongkai, then shouted loudly, "Victory is right ahead; everyone hold on for a little longer, don’t relax, don’t lose heart!"
There have already been two cases of comrades turning into zombies. Ordinarily, self-examination should start quickly, isolating those who seemed off.
Yuwen knew it couldn’t be implemented; in such chaos, everyone was injured and couldn’t tell whether the wounds were from zombie bites or not.
No one would voluntarily step forward and admit it because they might not even be aware. Even if they knew, they might hold on to a glimmer of hope. In short, the time and place weren’t right!
Everything would have to wait until the battle was over.
Victory was assured, but how much longer would it take?
Yuwen didn’t know the exact time, but he knew it would be soon because the fiercest fight was nearing. As soon as King Yama broke through the entire battlefield, it would be time for everyone to be saved.
"Brother Su!"
At that moment, Lu Yubo shouted with joy. He saw the figure he admired, instantly recognizable even in the interplay of light and shadow due to his highly distinctive fighting style.
The loud yell made many notice Zhang Su’s combat perimeter, where pressure was lessening. People stole a moment to glance at the battle of the great figure. Seeing it, two opposing emotions surfaced—excitement and defeat.
Excitement arose from witnessing Zhang Su’s fearless slaughter of zombies, demonstrating that humanity wasn’t crushingly defeated. But Zhang Su’s fluid moves also illuminated the gap for the combatants, causing some despondency.
The fighter in the interplay of light and dark displayed foresight in anticipation and precision in timing, coupled with powerful strikes, leaving no motion wasted and no energy spared unnecessarily.
Where others found danger in narrowly avoiding zombie claws, Zhang Su seemed to evade intentionally to conserve energy and mount attacks over shorter distances.
"Someone can really kill zombies as easily as eating..."
"Damn it, I could have done that in the past too!"
Wu Baokang heard someone mumbling beside him and replied dejectedly. Times have changed; the once easily slaughtered zombies had turned into fierce predators, and human strength couldn’t match zombie enhancements.
Yet, there were always exceptions, and he once thought himself one, holding pride as a captain in the highest-level fight team. But now, he realized he was just another ordinary person witnessing something exceptional.
Just slightly stronger than the other witnesses.
Liu Tianji, covering his pale arm, watched zombies being slain, feeling a pang of bitterness. A few more minutes... if he had lasted a few more minutes, he wouldn’t be in such a state. A severed hand was the least of concerns; the main fear was turning into a zombie.
Once turned, everything would end.
"We survived, we made it through..."
Zhang Ya began to cry once she noticed fewer zombies between them and Zhang Su, yet she knew they couldn’t relax yet, as even one surviving zombie could cause fatal harm.
Propping herself against a battered counter which, like them, hadn’t completely broken down, they fought resiliently to the end.