Chapter 84

Since they planned to save people, they had to find a safer and more stable method.

Zhao Futu surveyed the surroundings and immediately leaped towards a balcony on the right. The current Shanghai was already in ruins, with many areas having exploded during the initial disaster, leaving many buildings with signs of collapse. Some areas had even been bombed. The memory of the place still lingered, and as Zhao Futu sneaked up behind the zombies, he quietly signaled to the two contractors.

The contractor with enhanced firearms had excellent vision. Upon seeing Zhao Futu's figure, he was immediately invigorated. Understanding the meaning of Zhao Futu's gesture, he shouted to his companion and then suddenly pulled out a large machine gun from his personal space—a Gatling gun, complete with a fixed tripod. The Gatling gun had terrifying firepower and an astonishing rate of fire, but its recoil was not something an ordinary person could withstand. At least, the firearms-enhanced contractor in front of him could not fully handle it.

"Roar!"

When the firearms-enhanced contractor pulled out the Gatling gun, the bloodline-enhanced contractor knew it was time to go all out. He roared and leaped up, his strong body shooting up to four or five meters in the air. His bones began to stretch, making a series of cracking sounds. Veins twisted like earthworms, his arms elongated, claws grew on his feet, and his muscles swelled like they were filled with expanding agents. His skull turned into a sharp triangle, and black hair covered his entire body. When he landed, he had transformed into a werewolf over 2.2 meters tall.

"Bang!"

This was the first time the bloodline-enhanced contractor had directly confronted the giant zombie. His body was thrown back several meters, but he nimbly flipped and landed steadily on the ground, leaving a two-meter-long scratch on the concrete with his sharp claws. This indicated that the giant zombie's strength still had a suppressive effect on him.

The werewolf's powerful vitality began to take effect. His wounds rapidly healed, and he stood up again. His claws rubbed against each other, making a sharp, metallic sound. Perhaps because his enhanced bloodline mutation was not of a high level, he seemed to have lost the ability to speak and could only signal to his companion. Then, using his sharp claws, he quickly climbed up the wall.

—Boom—

Another grenade was thrown, and after a dull explosion, the Gatling gun was loaded with ammunition. A stream of fire spewed out, unleashing a terrifying metal storm that completely enveloped the giant zombie.

It let out a series of painful growls, clearly not having lost all of its pain receptors. The tough keratin layer on its body was torn apart by the metal storm, and its chest was a mess of blood and flesh. As the outer skin was shredded, the yellowish fat layer inside gradually became visible, and the internal organs, which looked like intestines, writhed, appearing particularly disgusting.

...

The signal Zhao Futu gave had only one meaning—fire support.

So, when the firearms-enhanced contractor pulled out the Gatling gun, Zhao Futu also moved, leaping down from a three-meter-high floor like a ghost, directly charging at the Licker. The Licker was the most dangerous among all the zombies, with its powerful climbing ability and high-speed movement, making it the most unpredictable in such a chaotic environment.

When he landed, a faint electric light flashed in Zhao Futu's eyes. His 40-point perception allowed him to instantly lock onto the Licker's position, and he then kicked off the wall, leaping into a second-floor corridor.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three shots hit the target directly. The high perception lock had an astonishing effect on firearm accuracy. Zhao Futu hit the Licker's leg with one shot and its back with two.

Five seconds later, Zhao Futu turned off 'Three Flowers Gather at the Top,' and the Licker landed on the wall of the corridor.

—"Mountain Lean"

Without hesitation, Zhao Futu landed and kicked off the ground, the force concentrated in his feet, shattering the ground. He then charged at the wall the Licker was climbing.

Boom—

This was a significant impact. With 29 points of strength, Level 10 basic melee, and Level 1 grappling expertise, combined with the effect of 'Mountain Lean,' Zhao Futu's attack actually collapsed the wall the Licker was climbing on. His full-force attack could even crack the walls of the Nightmare Space, let alone a regular office building in China.

In China, construction was often just good enough, with layers of subcontracting and profit distribution, resulting in questionable building quality. The walls were mostly just a layer of cement and bricks. From the outside, they looked fine, but inside, they were just two layers of brick held together by lime. The Licker could climb on them, but Zhao Futu's full-body collision not only shattered the wall but also collapsed a section of it.

The brick wall, unable to withstand the force, collapsed, and the Licker, losing its support, fell off the wall. Amid the dust, Zhao Futu immediately closed his eyes, reactivating 'Three Flowers Gather at the Top.' He locked onto the Licker's position, stepped forward, and delivered a simple straight punch.

Crack!

The punch hit the Licker's chest, and he heard the sound of ribs breaking. As the Licker was pushed back, Zhao Futu pounced again. He felt the enemy's strength was low, around 18 points. With his 29 points of strength, he could completely overpower the Licker. He grabbed the Licker's ankle and swung it left, smashing it into the wall, then right, smashing it into the stairs, and finally, threw it up, smashing it into the ceiling.

A Licker weighed about 200 kilograms, and at this weight, Zhao Futu could easily swing and smash it around. When the Licker bounced off the wall and fell, Zhao Futu leaped up, delivering a powerful downward kick that sliced into the Licker's waist.

Crack!

The Licker's already hunched spine was snapped in half, and it landed in a shapeless form.

However, even then, it still had a bit of life left. Zhao Futu, marveling at the zombies' strong vitality, pulled out his Desert Eagle and shot it in the head.

"Contractor No. 1013 has killed a Licker, earning 100 survival points and an F-grade soul crystal."

At this moment, Zhao Futu was certain that the Licker he had encountered earlier was a second-stage evolution, as the space referred to it as a Licker (Evolved), while this one was just a regular Licker. After the battle, he estimated the attributes of a regular Licker: agility around 25-30 points, evolved Lickers around 35 points, strength around 20 points, and endurance not very high. The tongue's range varied with evolution, with regular Lickers having a 2-3 meter range and evolved Lickers a 5-7 meter range.

"As long as the number isn't too high, it shouldn't be a problem," Zhao Futu frowned, straightening his clothes, which were covered in dust. The space gave him the ability to analyze data, but it couldn't keep him from getting dirty.

A single zombie wasn't much of a threat to him, but if the number exceeded three, his situation would become dangerous. If it exceeded five, he would have to run, and if it exceeded ten, even running would be dangerous. Shanghai, a city of 30 million, even with a 3,000-to-1 evolution rate, still had at least 10,000 evolved zombies.

On their side, the number of contractors was at most 50, and likely around 40.

"The ratio is completely off," Zhao Futu was slightly worried.

Since the space had set this mission as a Gold-level main mission and a full-scale battlefield for all contractors, Zhao Futu didn't believe it would be as simple as just fighting a few zombies. This was only the first stage of the main mission, and the space's subsequent arrangements would definitely be more challenging. He was really worried if this number of people would be enough.

But at that moment,

A huge explosion occurred in a location in Huangpu District, Shanghai, and even Zhao Futu, who was far away, could hear it. Then, he heard a notification from the Nightmare Space:

"Contractor No. 0745 has died. The space automatically selects a higher-ranking substitute... Contractor No. 1013 takes over as field commander... Automatically takes over the original commander's mission..."

Without giving Zhao Futu any choice, the space forcibly added two new side missions to his mission page.

Then, another cold notification sounded:

"Contractor No. 1013 promoted to field commander. Please proceed to the center of Shanghai to meet with the other two commanders..."

...

(PS: This is the first update. There will be more updates in the evening.)