Chapter 198 - 197: The Watcher

Chapter 198: Chapter 197: The Watcher

BANG!

The instantaneous shockwave blasted the door to Wang Zhong’s storage room to splinters!

But he had anticipated this. Pressed against the wall next to the doorway, he held his breath the moment the door blew apart. Then he turned and charged out into the scorching air.

The deafening roar of the grenade exploding indoors made him, already weak from blood loss, even more dizzy. But he had gone over the escape route in his mind countless times and could find his way even with his eyes closed.

The instant he burst from the storage room, he sprinted straight for the rolling shutter door!

Two Mutated Zombies had been knocked to the ground by the blast, but they weren’t completely dead. One had an articulated limb blown off. The other, though a mangled mess of flesh and blood, was still mostly intact.

They had both been thrown by the explosion, slumping listlessly in the corner of the room.

Wang Zhong saw the two zombies the moment he rushed out, but he had no time to finish them off. The rolling shutter was already mangled by the blast. He just had to get through it, and the vehicle was just a short distance away!

However, a loud crash erupted from behind him. A third Mutated Zombie—left outside because it was less agile and sharp than the two bone-spurred ones—was agitated by the explosion. It went berserk, smashing through the entire window and charging in!

At almost the same instant, Wang Zhong collided head-on with the monster!

THUD!

A heavy thud!

Wang Zhong barely had time to bring the glowing blue crowbar up to his chest before a monstrous brute force crashed into him!

The blue light on the crowbar flickered and shattered. The immense force drove the crowbar hard into his chest, just as it had begun to glow blue as well!

He felt as if he’d been hit by an armored car. His feet left the ground, and he was sent flying backward!

CRASH!

He smashed through the rolling shutter door—already tattered by the explosion and shrapnel—and was thrown violently onto the sidewalk outside.

"BLEGH— *cough cough*!"

Wang Zhong rolled over, a huge mouthful of blood mixed with clots gushing out. His chest burned with fiery pain. He didn’t know how many ribs were broken, piercing his lungs. Every breath was excruciating.

"Ngh—" With a grunt, a blue light emanated from his chest as he forcibly suppressed his injuries. Pushing himself up with one hand, he scrambled to his feet.

’I can’t go down yet!’

The crowbar was long gone, flown off to who knows where. Even two of the fingers that had held it were twisted out of shape. He tucked his left hand under his right armpit and, gritting his teeth against the searing pain, forced the two fingers straight so they wouldn’t get in the way.

He staggered toward the glowing taillights of the assault vehicle in the distance. There were no signs of other zombies outside yet. ’The horde must not have arrived.’ If he could just get to the car, he could drive a few more kilometers to rendezvous with Cyan Bird.

On missions like this, he always left the vehicle’s engine running for a quick getaway. He never thought this little habit would actually save his life.

KRAKK—!

The sound of tearing metal came from the rolling shutter behind him. Wang Zhong didn’t need to look back to know that the freakishly strong Mutated Zombie had broken through!

Not just that one. A chaotic KLAK-KLAK-KLAK sound arose—even the two maimed bone-spurred zombies were chasing after him!

meters... 30 meters... 10 meters...

’Just get in the car. Just hit the gas. There’s no way these three Mutated Zombies can catch me then!’

He was unarmed now, and weakened to his absolute limit. Even the blue light on his chest was beginning to flicker, fading in and out!

The KLAK-KLAK-KLAK of footsteps seemed to pound in time with his heartbeat, getting closer and closer.

He could almost hear the hoarse HISS-SQUEAK that the bone-spurred zombies occasionally let out.

Made it!

Just as his left hand shot out toward the car door, his fingertips finally touched the cold metal. A surge of ecstasy welled up from deep inside him...

But an opposing chill wedged its way into the space between his right shoulder blades, bringing a paralyzing numbness that robbed half his body of its strength.

His left hand tightened on the door handle, only to find he no longer had the strength to even pull it open.

He struggled to turn his head. A pale eyeball, webbed with dark brown veins, was staring intently at him. One of its sharp claws was planted firmly in his back. In another moment, it would easily pierce his heart.

A sense of powerlessness washed over him. In that moment, the pain in his body seemed to vanish, replaced by a profound exhaustion.

He thought he saw his daughter, who was a year younger than Cyan Bird. He saw his comrades at the Jishan encampment, who were also searching for their families...

His gaze lost focus. Through the car window, under the glow of the interior lights, he could see the half-eaten ration biscuit Cyan Bird had left on the dashboard. He saw the wavy bite marks on it, and the image of that little girl—the one who looked so much like his own daughter—appeared before his eyes again...

The blue light on Wang Zhong’s chest suddenly went out.

But his eyes lit up. The long claw that had pierced his shoulder blade was now caught fast by a suddenly brilliant blue light, unable to advance another inch!

His lungs, no longer sustained by his Superpower, began to fill. Bloody bubbles frothed from his nose and mouth. Even so, he summoned his remaining strength, yanked on the car door to pull himself forward, and tore free from the zombie’s sharp claw!

He released the door, spun around, and gathered blue light into his fist. He slammed it into the head of the now-sluggish zombie. The blue light erupted, and the creature’s head—already damaged by the grenade—instantly exploded into a gory mess!

And then, his strength finally gave out. He slumped against the car door and knelt to the ground.

He lifted his head and saw the second bone-spurred zombie lunging at him, its sharp claws raised. The light in his eyes dimmed once more.

"Cyan Bird... I’m sorry..."

In a daze, he saw a streak of light fly from the distance like a shooting star, piercing through the body of the bone-spurred zombie...

SHINK!

The zombie, as if hit by an autocannon, exploded from the torso into a cloud of blood mist!

And the spear that had fallen from the sky was now wedged diagonally into the asphalt, its head buried, leaving only the shaft standing tall amidst the bloody haze.

The remaining three bone claws seemed not to realize what had happened, frozen in place by inertia. Only a moment later, with a few light *taps*, did they fall to the ground.

A figure dove from mid-air like a falcon, striking at the last, powerful zombie. A huge black shadow flashed in their hands, and the zombie split down the middle, its two halves falling to either side.

The spear, still standing and humming in the blood mist before him, seemed so unreal—like the most absurd hallucination before death. Wang Zhong opened his mouth, but his blood-frothed throat couldn’t produce a single sound...

THUD!

A heavy landing sound, followed by the patter of urgent footsteps drawing nearer.

Wang Zhong’s vision began to blur. He couldn’t even make out the newcomer’s face.

But the person reached out, and a cold metal object pierced his neck. At the same time, a round sphere was stuffed into his mouth.

"Wake up... It’s not time to clock out yet..."