Chapter 7

'This is the place!'

It was an old building covered in withered vines.

At the sight of the doorplate which felt both familiar and unfamiliar to him, Andy's heart stirred with excitement.

He did not waste a single second.

He fought his way through hundreds of zombies and reached this place in just five minutes.

His combat suit was caked in dried, sticky blood.

His leather boots were smeared with bits of flesh.

He had changed his weapon from the broken fire axe to the severed spine of the Licker.

Since Andy fought his way through blood and carnage, he looked like a monster that had crawled out of a pile of corpses.

"Jason! Shirley!"

Andy didn't stop. He rushed into the building, ignoring the zombie horde outside.

He kept calling out to Jason and Shirley.

"Andy!"

Huddled in a corner of the room, Shirley's face lit up with surprise when she heard Andy.

She jumped up and peeked out the window, afraid that she might have heard wrong.

"I'm over here!"

Shirley leaned out of the window and waved, her eyes filled with hope.

Outside the door, the zombies grew increasingly restless, attracted to Andy's living presence.

Andy immediately looked up when he heard Shirley's voice.

On the chair inside the room, Jason suddenly broke free from his bindings.

His wrists, now thinner after the flesh had been rubbed off, were no longer restrained by chains.

The metallic chains fell to the ground with a clatter.

But with the zombies howling, Shirley didn't notice.

The room was dim.

A pair of savage, bloodshot eyes suddenly appeared behind her.

Andy's pupils constricted to dangerous pinpricks.

Burst of Strength!

He activated his Awakened Talent once again.

Disregarding the massive strain from activating his Talent in quick succession, Andy stirred the power within him.

Charge forward!

Swftt!

The Licker's sharp spine pierced right through the zombie at the door, pinning it to the doorframe like a kebab.

Faster!

Faster!

Andy roared in his mind, swinging his right fist with all his might.

Boom!

He broke open the door with brute force.

The thick metal door screeched as it twisted and broke.

Inside the room, Shirley grabbed her throat weakly, blood oozing through her fingers.

"Jason... Jason?"

Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

Jason's grotesque, rotting face showed no sign of reason. A thin trickle of blood hung at the corner of his mouth.

He prepared to bite again.

"Jason!"

Andy roared.

His muscles tore.

His already maxed-out speed got even faster.

Jason twitched at the cry, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

The mouth that was about to bite again froze in place.

Boom!

In half a second, Andy burst into the room, slammed into Jason, and knocked him away from Shirley.

Behind Jason, the wall cracked, dust falling down.

Zombies were different from ordinary humans.

Even though Jason had not completely transformed, the virus had made his body much stronger than that of a normal person.

If he were an ordinary human, he would have been immobilized after taking a hit from Andy, even if Andy had held back.

But not Jason.

After being paralyzed for a brief moment, his eyes turned crimson again, filled with a craving for flesh and blood.

Growl!

Andy firmly pinned him down to prevent him from harming Shirley.

Jason struggled to break free, but he could only move his head because his body was restrained by Andy.

Low growls came from the depths of his throat like he was a feral beast.

His once-strong, handsome face was now covered in rotting flesh.

The zombie virus had eaten away at his skin.

Andy's eyes were full of pain.

He had already checked on Shirley. She was okay for now, but since Jason had wounded her throat, she would also get infected with the virus.