Chapter 40: The Blood Devil

Seeing the life-saving passage opened by Fang Tianhe, the other members scrambled to jump onto the fixed frame.

As they reached the first floor, the mutated zombie entered the 100-meter range of Lin Xinghai’s perception.

"So fast!" Lin Xinghai felt a jolt of horror.

However, his attention was quickly diverted, as explosions were erupting continuously from the front right. The sounds grew louder and more terrifying, as if they were tearing the entire research facility apart.

"What’s happening now?"

Before the thought could even settle in his mind, he saw Fang Tianhe sprinting toward the source of the explosions. Without time to hesitate, Lin Xinghai followed the team.

Fang Tianhe was moving in a straight line, but since there was no corridor in that direction, he had to keep smashing through the walls to enter the rooms ahead.

*Swoosh!*

He unleashed his Rending Heaven ability once more. Unlike the deep underground levels, the ground-level structure of the facility wasn't reinforced with alloys, relying instead on high-strength reinforced concrete. Consequently, Fang Tianhe didn't struggle as much breaking through, though his energy signature dimmed considerably, clearly indicating a heavy toll.

*Roar!*

The zombies in the room lunged at him instantly. Fang Tianhe reacted faster, raising his hand cannon and firing three consecutive shots; the two dozen zombies rushing him were blasted away. Using the hand cannon at such close range was the quickest way to clear a path, though he had to endure the shockwave himself. He only dared to do this because of his formidable physique.

Lin Xinghai was the second to enter the room. It was thick with smoke, and visibility was extremely low. Under such conditions, aiming and firing was nearly impossible for an average person. But Lin Xinghai was different; at such close range, his perception allowed him to pinpoint the zombies' locations. Relying on this, he fired rapidly, clearing the remaining five zombies that had survived the blast.

A flash of surprise crossed Fang Tianhe’s face. Under normal circumstances, he would have stopped to see how Lin Xinghai managed that, but the mutated zombie was now only 60 meters away. Even with his keen hearing, he could detect a strange, sloshing sound, like the flow of liquid.

Without a moment’s delay, Fang Tianhe smashed through the wall into the next room.

At the same time, a violent boom echoed from the adjacent chamber. As Lin Xinghai rushed through the hole Fang Tianhe had created, he saw the team leader pressed against a wall, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. He had been thrown back by the shockwave of an explosion.

"Commander, are you okay?" Lin Xinghai asked urgently.

"I'm fine. Keep moving!" Fang Tianhe peeled himself off the wall and continued running. Despite his injuries, he was holding up.

Lin Xinghai looked ahead. Every wall in their path had been cleared—or rather, blasted open. Following this improvised tunnel, they only needed to run another 100 meters to reach the exit. At the end of the corridor stood the snow-white Frostfall mecha; the protective covers on its legs were open, and more than half of its micro-missiles were spent. It was clear this path had been carved out by those missiles.

"Simple and brutal," Lin Xinghai couldn't help but remark, though it was undeniably effective.

With the path cleared, the group picked up their pace. As they neared the exit, the mutated zombie reached the tunnel behind them. Lin Xinghai turned to look and saw a humanoid monster squeezing through the wall.

This mutated zombie was bizarre. It lacked claws or sharp protrusions, appearing entirely smooth and supple, as if molded from soft rubber. Lin Xinghai’s first impression was that, aside from its size, it seemed harmless.

However, the expressions of the others changed drastically.

"Damn it, how are we so unlucky to run into this thing?" Roger cursed.

"What is that? Is it that terrifying?" Lin Xinghai pressed.

"It’s called a Blood Demon," Roger explained. "When the Great Catastrophe broke out, the sudden appearance of these things and their mass spreading of the virus is what turned so many humans into zombies."

The Blood Demon let out a hiss—a strange, muffled sound as if transmitted through water. No one lingered on it, however, as the Blood Demon charged, moving with immense speed and covering over ten meters in a single leap.

"Get out of the way!" Shen Han’s cold voice rang out through the mecha’s loudspeakers. She had already maneuvered the mecha to raise its electromagnetic railgun, channeling her Frostfall ability.

Lin Xinghai and the other mercenaries dove aside. The next instant, a white streak condensed in the air before them.

*Thwack!*

The bullet struck the Blood Demon accurately. Its body, seemingly composed of blood, was instantly coated in frost, hindering its movement.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Two micro-missiles followed, striking the creature directly.

*Boom! Boom!*

With two deafening roars, the Blood Demon’s massive body was blown to pieces.

Lin Xinghai was dumbfounded. "That… that was too easy!"

He looked at Roger with confusion, but the latter simply grabbed him and sprinted, rushing out of the research facility in one breath. Only then did Lin Xinghai look back, his eyes widening in shock.

The shattered pieces of the Blood Demon had transformed into spheres of blood. These spheres were bouncing forward, still in pursuit. As they moved, they drew toward each other and rapidly fused. By the time they exited the shelter, they had completely merged back into the Blood Demon, without a single scratch on its body.

Lin Xinghai felt a chill run down his spine. Fortunately, they had already escaped, and Fang Tianhe had summoned the Rending Heaven mecha to cover them.

"Move! Get to the vehicle; don't get in the way here," Roger commanded.

They quickly reunited with the waiting team, and the energy crystals were loaded onto the multi-purpose off-road vehicle. Fighting a monster of the mutated zombie’s caliber was impossible without a mecha. The group escorted the vehicle away from the battlefield at top speed.

With the Rending Heaven and Frostfall mechas providing cover, retreating was manageable. But if they couldn't kill or severely cripple the Blood Demon, its relentless pursuit would make it impossible to escape the city center safely.