Chapter 33

Xu Yan hesitated for a long time before finally asking the question that had been bothering him: "Xuanyun, you were there just now, why didn't you stop it?"

"Stop what?"

"When that criminal was killing people, why didn't you intervene? I believe, with your skills, it shouldn't have been difficult to kill that monster, right?"

Zhu Youxiang's steps slowed slightly, and she furrowed her delicate brows. Then, she looked at Xu Yan and said calmly, "Young Master Xu, if you had been in danger at that time, I would have intervened."

"But..."

"What does the life or death of others have to do with me?"

Xu Yan was taken aback: What did she mean? Was she saying that in her heart, he was a special existence?

Xu Yan stammered, but just then, he heard a familiar hum again: the Spring Cicada sword at Zhu Youxiang's waist was buzzing urgently once more.

Hearing the familiar urgent hum, Xu Yan's face changed dramatically—today's events had already proven that the Spring Cicada sword was extremely sensitive to monsters. Now that the sword was humming again, did it mean the monster was approaching him once more?

At this moment, Xu Yan suddenly heard a commotion behind him. Having gained considerable experience in handling emergencies today, he did not stop to watch like the other customers. Instead, he immediately ran towards the nearest mall exit, where a group of police officers were stationed.

Seeing a young man pulling a girl and rushing over, the police officers became alert. Even from a distance of about ten steps, a police officer shouted at him, "Stop! You there, why are you running?"

Xu Yan stopped and raised his hands to show he meant no harm, shouting clearly, "Comrades, get your guns ready, the killer is coming this way!"

A middle-aged police officer with a higher rank frowned and asked, "Young man, how do you know that?"

Xu Yan had already prepared his answer and replied without hesitation, "I saw that madman at the West Gate! I just saw him again, I recognized him, and he's coming this way—comrades, get ready!"

The police officers all looked at the middle-aged officer in charge. He seemed decisive and waved his hand, "That's an extremely dangerous criminal. The command center has given orders to shoot to kill on the spot. Everyone, check your pistols—make sure the safeties are off, and don't point the guns at anyone. Young man, come over here and stand behind me. When the criminal appears, remind us!"

"Yes, Chief Zhang!"

The police officers all drew their pistols, and the sound of the slides being pulled back echoed crisply, creating a tense atmosphere. The surrounding crowd looked on curiously, and many people gathered to watch the commotion.

Seeing the growing crowd, the middle-aged officer in charge frowned deeply and shouted, "Hey, everyone, don't gather here. Disperse, it's dangerous..."

Before he could finish, a loud sound of shattering glass came from the jewelry counter. Everyone turned to see a blood-soaked man rushing out from the aisle. He was wearing a tattered T-shirt, covered in blood, and holding two kitchen knives. He was charging towards the entrance with incredible speed.

At the first sight of the man, Xu Yan recognized him and shouted, "It's him! It's that criminal!"

At the same moment, several police radios were going wild, "Attention, officers at the East Gate on the first floor, attention, officers at the East Gate on the first floor, the target is heading your way! The target is heading your way! The target is extremely dangerous, officers have already been killed, repeat, permission to shoot to kill! Repeat, permission to shoot to kill!!"

Thanks to Xu Yan's warning, the police officers were not panicked and raised their guns to aim at the man.

"Stop! Stop or we'll shoot!"

In the midst of the police officers' shouts, the criminal ran even faster. He bent over and sprinted, leaping over a jewelry counter in one swift motion. His movements were so agile that Xu Yan was reminded of a charging leopard. Someone in the crowd exclaimed, "Wow, he's faster than Liu Xiang!"

As the police officers were shouting, the criminal, wielding his two knives, had already closed the distance to within twenty meters. He was running so fast that his face was a blur, with two eerie red lights shining from where his eyes should be.

The middle-aged officer in charge barked, "Fire!"

As he spoke, he fired first. With a "bang," the criminal stumbled, stopped, and swayed as if about to fall.

Someone cried out, "He's hit!"

The police officers held their breath, observing the figure ten steps away, and the crowd was silent, all eyes fixed on the criminal, waiting to see when he would fall.

But the criminal did not fall. At that moment, his body suddenly straightened, exuding a fierce aura. He roared an incomprehensible sound, "Horalahuraba~~" and then, raising his knives, he charged at the crowd with a menacing presence.

"Wow!" The crowd let out a gasp of shock. Without waiting for the middle-aged officer's command, the other police officers also opened fire, and the sound of gunfire filled the air, creating a deafening noise. In those few seconds, countless bullets were fired, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of gunpowder.

In the dense hail of bullets, the criminal's body was repeatedly hit. He fell, got up, fell again, and got up again, hit, and got up again... Under the intense barrage, his body twisted grotesquely, like a modern sculpture at an exhibition, forming a twisted and bizarre shape.

His body twisted grotesquely in the hail of bullets, the sound of bullets hitting flesh "plop, plop, plop" was continuous. The criminal's clothes and even his limbs were shattered by the bullets, and the bullets that missed him hit the glass counters of the mall, shattering them with a "crash, crash, crash."

"Bang, bang, bang, bang—bang, bang—bang—bang—"

The gunfire gradually died down because the police pistols only held seven rounds, and in their nervousness, the officers had fired all their bullets in one go. The shooting did not last long, and when the gunfire stopped, the crowd let out a gasp of fear.

"Ah!" "Oh!"

The "criminal" was still standing—or rather, the object that was once human was still standing upright.

No one could count how many bullets had hit him. His entire face was unrecognizable. The most densely hit area was his chest and abdomen, where his clothes were completely shredded, revealing white ribs, and his intestines dangled from his waist, swinging back and forth. His right leg was broken at the knee, twisted into a bizarre shape, but it still supported his body, moving forward in a lurching motion. As he moved, a piece of his intestines fell and hit the marble floor of the mall with a "plop."

His skull had been blown off, the right half of his face and hair were missing, and white brain matter was oozing out. Yet, his left face and eye were still intact, the bloodied eye emitting a ghostly red light, like a flame from hell.

Despite such severe injuries, anyone would say he was dead beyond a doubt, but this body, riddled with bullets, was still standing upright and even moving forward in a bizarre manner. The onlookers were too terrified to speak.

Everyone watched in horror as the broken, mutilated body moved forward with a "plop, plop, plop," the sight of this dismembered body approaching step by step made everyone's faces pale. Women covered their mouths and closed their eyes, unable to bear the sight, and even the bravest men turned pale, with some even vomiting on the spot.

"That guy is still alive? He can still move!"

"Good heavens, is he a zombie? He's still moving after all that, it's terrifying!"

Even the trained police officers were pale with fear at this terrifying scene. Seeing the bloodied, mutilated body moving forward in a stiff, bizarre manner, everyone thought of the word "zombie."

Xu Yan was also pale with fear. He dared not look but remembered Zhu Youxiang's words: "His mind has been eroded by a demon from the demon world... In the end, when he is completely eroded, he will lose all consciousness and thought, becoming a mere walking corpse, driven only by the instinct to kill humans..."

He looked at Zhu Youxiang, who remained calm and composed, still observing the scene. Xu Yan noticed that while everyone was watching the mutilated criminal, Zhu Youxiang was observing the police officers—more specifically, their pistols.

Feeling Xu Yan's gaze, Zhu Youxiang turned and asked clearly, "The demon is still alive. Why aren't these officials—police—continuing to shoot?"

"Maybe they're out of bullets. But, after all that, the monster should be on its last breath."

"Last breath?" Zhu Youxiang shook her head. "Young Master, it's far from over. This demon is not mortally wounded and is still very dangerous."

As if to illustrate Zhu Youxiang's words, the heavily wounded, scarred criminal suddenly burst with energy. He leaped forward with unimaginable agility, instantly pouncing into the crowd.

"Ah~ Help!"

The crowd immediately panicked and scattered. There were brave people in the crowd, and the police were nearby, so they were not afraid to fight the criminal. However, the criminal was so disgusting, covered in blood, with intestines, brain matter, ribs, and shredded flesh, that just looking at him could give someone nightmares. The thought of grappling with such a revolting creature was too much for anyone, even for trained soldiers and police officers.

So, when the criminal pounced, everyone fled in panic, no one daring to resist. The crowd, which had gathered to watch the commotion, now scattered in chaos, creating a scene of utter pandemonium.

A few police officers tried to rush over, but the fleeing crowd blocked their way, and two officers were even knocked down and nearly trampled. By the time the police officers pushed through the crowd, a terrifying scene greeted them.

The criminal, hit by dozens of bullets, was kneeling on one knee on the ground. In front of him lay a woman in a dress. Her face was obscured by long hair, so her age was unclear, but the police could see that the "criminal" was biting the woman's throat, tearing at it with his teeth. A piece of bloody flesh hung from his mouth, and the woman's limbs were twitching, clearly still alive but either unconscious from fear or too injured to resist.

As if sensing the police's approach, the "criminal" suddenly lifted his head. His half-missing skull was still oozing white brain matter and blood, and his teeth were still clamped around a piece of bloody flesh. Blood dripped from his mouth. The criminal's remaining eye, emitting a ghostly red light, stared at the police with an extremely evil and deranged look.

Seeing this terrifying scene, even the most composed and brave police officers felt a chill run down their spines. At this moment, even the most nerve-wracked people could see that this bullet-riddled criminal was no longer a normal human!

"Really bizarre! So many bullets and he's still alive, still grabbing people and drinking blood, eating flesh. What the hell is this thing?!" The police officers muttered, "A zombie, or a zombie, or a vampire?"

The middle-aged officer in charge, his face pale, shouted, "Who has bullets? Reload and finish this thing off!"

A few police officers frantically searched their bodies, responding, "Damn, I'm out!"

"I'm out of bullets too!"

To prevent the misuse of police firearms, the police in Huaguo strictly managed their weapons. Police officers only carried guns during operations like roadblocks and arrests. Even during dangerous missions, they rarely had many bullets. Because Huaguo's public security was generally good, there were rarely gun battles where all the bullets were used. Usually, one magazine was enough. In the previous round of shooting, the police had used up all their bullets, and now they couldn't find a single bullet.

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