Golden-green light streaked through the night, forming a brilliant aura that swiftly enveloped Liu Chuang’s body. The adult’s downward momentum, fueled by inertia, pulled Lu Zhi along. The tendons and bones in his arm were yanked sharply, causing him to groan in pain, his brow furrowed.
“Careful!”
Luo Shiyu and Lan Yushan simultaneously reached out, gripping the tendrils of the manluo vine and helping Lu Zhi to cushion the impact.
The three of them worked together to pull Liu Chuang into the room through the window.
“Lu Zhi, are you alright?” Lan Yushan asked with concern.
Lu Zhi shook his head, lifting his arm. The slight stinging was negligible. “I’m fine. Let’s check on Liu Chuang first.”
Blood was pouring from Liu Chuang’s mouth. Luo Shiyu quickly examined his body, his brow deeply furrowed. “He has three broken ribs and is bleeding profusely from his mouth. Internal organ rupture is a possibility. We need to call a doctor immediately.”
Liu Chuang weakly grasped Luo Shiyu’s arm, coughing. “It… it was a Level Three Corpse Ghoul. Cough cough cough… Hurry, notify the guards… to seal…”
“Captain Liu, stop talking. We know what to do,” Lu Zhi interrupted Liu Chuang’s unfinished words. He instructed Lan Yushan to notify their people to come up, deciding that he and Luo Shiyu would head to the rooftop to help.
“Be careful,” Lan Yushan said, using his optical computer to contact the doctor within Liu Chuang’s team, a standard member for every squad.
Lu Zhi and Luo Shiyu decisively abandoned the idea of taking the elevator. If Liu Chuang was right about a corpse ghoul, taking the elevator would be the most dangerous option.
“Why are there anomalies inside a safe zone?” Lu Zhi couldn’t understand this.
Luo Shiyu ascended the stairs with steady speed, remaining vigilant of their surroundings. He replied, “All treasures have weaknesses. A boundary that defends externally is most vulnerable internally. Reconnaissance is conducted before deployment, but it’s impossible to guarantee perfection. If a boundary is breached from within, everyone inside will die.”
Lu Zhi also understood the gravity of the situation. The function of a boundary probably only served to defend against external attacks; it was fragile from within and could not be inspected for the presence of dangerous anomalies, which was why guards were needed for patrols.
Liu Chuang and Yang Yueying had likely discovered the corpse ghoul during their patrol.
He recalled that a Level Three Corpse Ghoul was the weakest type of anomaly, the only one among Level Three anomalies with little intelligence. However, they could summon corpses to attack people. Killing one completely required decapitation or destroying its ‘heart of resentment.’
*Clang—*
The floor-to-ceiling window of the thirty-sixth floor shattered. Two crawling corpses lunged towards them.
Lu Zhi’s heart suddenly clenched. Unused to any real combat, he still showed a flicker of fear when facing such creatures.
“I’ll handle it.” As soon as Luo Shiyu spoke, two gunshots precisely hit the crawling corpses between their brows. They turned into smoke and disappeared before they even landed.
“Let’s go, the Corpse Ghoul is upstairs,” Luo Shiyu said, leading the way with his gun.
Lu Zhi took a deep breath, trying to keep pace with him. As they neared the rooftop, he heard the sound of intense gunfire and Yang Yueying’s commands: “Quick, suppress the firepower! Watch out for surprise attacks from the Corpse Ghoul!”
“Deputy Captain, be careful!”
As Lu Zhi and Luo Shiyu burst onto the rooftop, they saw a three-meter-tall ghoul leap behind Yang Yueying, opening its sharp, fanged maw to bite down on her head.
Luo Shiyu’s expression changed drastically. He raised his left hand and shouted, “Ice Shield.”
*Crackle—*
The ice shield was bitten through.
*Bang bang bang—*
Luo Shiyu fired three shots in rapid succession. One broke the ghoul’s fangs, another hit its eye, and the third was blocked by the ghoul’s arm. It roared and retreated, its bleeding, fierce eyes watching Luo Shiyu with caution.
Lu Zhi quickly threw out the manluo vine, pulling Yang Yueying away from the horde of corpses. The dense gunfire forced the surrounding crawling corpses to retreat, but as long as the Corpse Ghoul was alive, these crawling corpses would appear endlessly.
“Are you injured?” Lu Zhi had seen the ghoul’s fangs seem to graze Yang Yueying.
“I’m fine, thank you,” Yang Yueying seemed to have just snapped back to reality. She looked down at the torn outer fabric of her shoulder, but the material underneath was intact.
“Deputy Captain, we’re running low on ammunition.”
“Me too.”
“Damn it, if we don’t find a way to kill the big one, this will never end!”
Lu Zhi focused on Luo Shiyu, who was locked in a standoff with the Corpse Ghoul. In just a brief exchange, the ghoul had adapted to Luo Shiyu’s moves, always evading his attacks at critical moments. If this continued, Luo Shiyu’s psionic power would be depleted.
Lu Zhi looked at the manluo vine that coiled around half his arm, unsure how to utilize its power.
Suddenly, Shen Qi, with wings, landed silently on Lu Zhi’s shoulder. He whispered, low enough only for them to hear, “Your treasure, only you know its true purpose. Sense it with your heart.”
Lu Zhi’s fingers lightly touched the manluo vine’s fleshy, bud-like leaves, and his mind seemed to plunge into a meditative space.
“Watch your back.”
“Damn it, I’ll fight you to the death!”
Yang Yueying swept her gun across a group, shouting, “Listen up, everyone! Even if we die, we can’t let these monsters escape and harm the public. Hold the line! Reinforcements will arrive soon!”
“I’m out of bullets!”
“Me too.”
Yang Yueying gritted her teeth, tossed her gun to a teammate beside her, and kicked away a crawling corpse that was ambushing them. She declared resolutely, “When the bullets run out, use your knives!”
“Yes!” No one objected. When their guns were out of bullets, they discarded them and drew their short daggers, engaging the horde head-on. Not a single person retreated; only firm faces and fearless eyes burned with courage.
However, their ordinary bodies, which were difficult for anomalies to wound, and even their knives imbued with psionic energy, were at a disadvantage in terms of stamina.
“Ah—”
When the first person fell, signifying a crack in their solid defense, the horde surged forward, eager to tear them apart.
Yang Yueying’s eyes were bloodshot. Watching her teammates fall one by one, she gnashed her teeth in hatred, tears welling up.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze accompanied by the glow of fireflies swept behind everyone. Lu Zhi opened his eyes, a golden light flashing through his pupils. He called out, “Manluo.”
The single branch, green with streaks of gold, instantly split into countless tendrils, bursting forth like arrows. In a flash, they pierced the dense horde. As they coiled around the corpses, they bloomed with a magnificent, dazzling light, constricting and tightening before exploding into wisps of black smoke with a bang.
These horde corpses, being creatures conjured by the Corpse Ghoul’s abilities, were instantly annihilated by a large portion of Lu Zhi’s unleashed manluo, indirectly affecting the Corpse Ghoul. In that brief opening, Luo Shiyu’s ice element transformed into a spear, which he forcefully hurled, striking the ‘heart of resentment’ burning with red flames in the Corpse Ghoul’s chest.
The Corpse Ghoul roared in agony towards the sky, struggling to pull out the freezing spear. Luo Shiyu sprinted and leaped, his ice-element-condensed blade slashing down, severing the Corpse Ghoul’s head. It fell from the high building, burning to ashes before it even hit the ground.
The horde of corpses dissolved simultaneously the moment the Corpse Ghoul died. Luo Shiyu gasped for breath, using his long saber to support himself as he knelt on one knee, clutching his profusely bleeding abdomen.
“Luo Shiyu, you’re injured!” Lu Zhi, still caught in the joy of the Corpse Ghoul’s demise, saw Luo Shiyu’s staggering body. He had only taken a few steps when his own legs felt weak, all his strength draining away.
Shen Qi then spoke leisurely, “Don’t worry, he won’t die.”
Hearing this, Lu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. The imprint on his chest felt like a burning pain, and his heart pounded… pounded… pounded… each beat more fervent than the last, as if it were about to explode.
Little Shen Qi flew to his vision, which was gradually blurring, and stroked the corners of his eyes. His clear, cold voice seemed to have a hypnotic quality. “Sleep.”
Then, Lu Zhi truly fell asleep.