With a gasp, Bai Ye stepped forward and pulled Ning Shuang from the zombie's head, splattering gore. He was tired of his frail body from ten years ago. Fortunately, he had the T-virus. Once he obtained the T-virus vaccine, he could improve his body through injection. Moreover, the sudden appearance of zombies gave him an idea.
Zombies were, essentially, moving corpses, reeking of decay. However, the stench wasn't overpowering if one didn't get too close. This was a subterranean base. Building the facility underground necessitated excellent ventilation. Since numerous researchers would work here long-term, the Umbrella Corporation's underground bases featured superior air circulation systems with extensive, interconnected ventilation ducts.
Lost in thought, Bai Ye quickly entered a restroom and located a ventilation shaft. After removing the grate, he tested the opening and found it large enough to crawl through. He twisted his body and began to climb through the ventilation duct. At each grate, Bai Ye would peer down to ascertain his location before continuing.
"Pass through the office area quickly. The virus storage room is behind it." Bai Ye took a deep breath and refocused on crawling forward. Suddenly, he felt something sticky. Looking down, he discovered a pool of viscous fluid in his hand, emitting a faint, foul odor.
"No way!" Bai Ye felt a sense of dread.
The next moment, a whimper echoed from the ventilation duct ahead. "Alright," Bai Ye sighed. "It seems misfortune truly strikes when it pleases."
Around the bend in the ventilation duct, a hunting dog slowly emerged. It was not alive but long dead, transformed into a zombie dog by the virus. Its fur was gone, leaving bare skin, and a chunk was missing, exposing bone with scraps of flesh.
For half a second, man and dog stared at each other. Then, the zombie dog lunged towards Bai Ye. "Ning Shuang, Sword Control!"
The Ning Shuang sword, floating before Bai Ye, instantly transformed into a silver streak and flew forward, piercing the zombie dog's skull. The creature let out a whine and thrashed against the duct walls before falling silent.
However, just as Bai Ye relaxed, the supposedly lifeless zombie dog began to shift forward.
"How is this possible?" Bai Ye was stunned. Zombies shouldn't be active after their heads were pierced. He looked closer and realized the dog's limbs weren't moving. Its body was being pushed forward by something. Bai Ye understood.
There was more than one zombie dog! The dogs behind were still running forward, pushing the corpse. "Ning Shuang!" Bai Ye commanded urgently. But the Ning Shuang sword, embedded in the zombie dog's head, vibrated and refused to return. The sword was stuck!
"Is this what they call adding insult to injury?" Bai Ye cursed, drawing his pistol and firing. Bang, bang, bang... Gunshots echoed, leaving bloody holes in the zombie dog's corpse, spewing dark blood. But it was useless. The bullets weren't strong enough to penetrate the body and hit the dogs behind, and even if they could, they might not hit their heads.
At that moment, the corpse was finally pushed in front of Bai Ye. The ventilation duct was only just large enough for him to crawl through. In this situation, he couldn't turn around and could only push against the corpse.
In that instant, a dog's bark. From behind the corpse, a second zombie dog's head emerged, lunging for Bai Ye's wrist. Bai Ye reacted swiftly, raising his right hand and smashing his gunstock against the zombie dog's head, crushing it. But for a fleeting moment, the dog turned its head and persistently tried to bite Bai Ye again.
"Ice Barrier!" With Bai Ye's cry, the Ning Shuang sword, still lodged in the first zombie dog's head, emitted a silvery-white glow. The surrounding temperature plummeted, and a thick mist appeared, freezing everything around. An ice wall, conforming to the ventilation duct, materialized before Bai Ye. Bang, bang, bang... The zombie dogs behind the corpse, clambering over their fallen comrade, slammed against the ice wall with dull thuds.
"There's no choice!" Bai Ye took a deep breath. Advancing through the ventilation duct was no longer feasible. The ice wall grew larger, warping the duct until, with a loud boom, it completely ruptured.
Bai Ye fell from the fractured duct. As he landed, a circle of zombies closed in. Bai Ye wasn't surprised. The commotion in the ventilation duct would undoubtedly attract zombies in the area. He scrambled to his feet and immediately fired his pistol. Bang, bang, bang... At this close range, Bai Ye couldn't miss. With each shot, a zombie fell. When his magazine was empty, Bai Ye leaped onto a table, creating distance and quickly reloading.
Meanwhile, the Ning Shuang sword had returned from the ice wall, transforming back into a flying sword. "Sword Dance of Frost!" At Bai Ye's command, the Ning Shuang sword dissolved into frost, descending into the zombie horde. A burst of silvery-white cold erupted. The surrounding zombies were instantly coated in frost, their bodies freezing, their movements slowing. Bang, bang, bang... Bai Ye seized the opportunity, firing his pistol repeatedly. Blood splattered from the zombies' heads as they fell one by one with the gunfire.
Just then, a *crack* sounded from above. A ventilation grate fell, and a zombie dog leaped down, landing on Bai Ye. It pinned him to the ground and lunged for his head. Fortunately, Bai Ye reacted quickly, twisting his head aside. The zombie dog's jaws clamped onto the ground.
Then... *Zzzzt!* A piercing electrical sound suddenly filled the air!