Chapter 334: Zombie Kingdom, an Ordinary Zombie’s Multiple Paths of Evolution

Chapter 334: Chapter 334: Zombie Kingdom, an Ordinary Zombie’s Multiple Paths of Evolution

[Ding! The Zombie Kingdom instance is a special ’Civilization-Linked’ type. The outcome of this instance will directly affect the real world of Azure Star!]

[Ding! All Players must complete every mission in the Zombie Kingdom instance!]

[Failure Penalty / Associated Consequences:]

[1. If the Players’ overall completion rate is below 80%, or if the final challenge is failed, the ’Civilization Trial’ will be considered a failure.]

[2. Upon trial failure, the Zombie Virus module will be loaded into the real world of Azure Star, compounding the existing natural disasters. A zombie crisis will erupt on a global scale!]

[3. Upon trial success, provided all Players meet the contribution standard, the intensity of the extreme climate disasters currently facing Azure Star will be permanently weakened to a certain degree, and Players will unlock certain high-level survival exchange privileges.]

"This... This is..."

Seraphina Sullivan’s pupils constricted the moment she heard the system notification. She instantly understood what it meant.

This was no longer just an adventure for an individual or a team to survive and grow stronger.

It had escalated to a "test" for the very survival of Azure Star’s entire civilization!

Success meant Azure Star would get a chance to breathe, and the disasters would weaken.

Failure would make a bad situation worse, directly introducing an even more terrifying and chaotic Zombie Virus!

The fate of the entire planet now rested on the shoulders of "Players" like them!

For their home, for the ordinary people who couldn’t enter the instance, there was no turning back!

[Warning: The difficulty of this instance is extremely high. The estimated mortality rate exceeds 70%. All participants, please make your final preparations.]

[Countdown: 10, 9, 8...]

The cold countdown tolled like a death knell.

Inside the safe zone, a faint teleportation light began to glow around all the eligible Players.

Seraphina Sullivan quickly exchanged a look with Sean Chandler beside her. Both saw the gravity in the other’s eyes.

[Countdown: 3, 2, 1...]

[Teleportation commencing!]

There was no more time for thoughts or goodbyes.

The next second, a powerful sensation of being torn from Space assailed her, more violent than ever before!

Seraphina Sullivan felt the scene before her eyes twist violently.

After what felt like traversing endless darkness and streams of light, her feet finally touched solid ground.

A moment later, foul air—a mixture of the thick stench of blood, rot, and decay—flooded her nostrils. Seraphina knew.

She, along with all the other chosen Players from Azure Star, had arrived on the battlefield where the fate of their home would be decided.

The Zombie Kingdom.

Before her lay a ruined cityscape of crumbling walls, all of it shrouded in a dim, yellow haze.

Inhuman roars echoed from the distance.

The sky was a sickly dark red, where a blurry "sun" hung listlessly.

Meanwhile, the [Crimson Gemstone] Talent she carried began to grow slightly warm almost the instant she landed.

The Talent spontaneously began to slowly absorb some kind of deeply unsettling Energy that permeated this apocalyptic world.

The real test was only just beginning.

"Watch out!"

Seraphina Sullivan’s feet hadn’t even fully adjusted to the sticky, slick ground beneath them when Sean Chandler’s urgent warning rang in her ears!

A black shadow reeking of a thick, putrid stench darted out from behind a toppled container to their side.

Its withered, black fingers shot straight for her neck.

It was incredibly fast, moving with the reckless madness unique to a zombie!

Luckily, Sean Chandler, who had used a [Team Formation Card] to link up with Seraphina Sullivan before teleporting, was less than a meter away.

His reaction was lightning-fast. As he shouted his warning, he had already stepped to the side, positioning himself in front of Seraphina. His right fist shot out like a cannonball, whistling as it tore through the air. Though the zombie moved first, his punch landed first, smashing violently into the shadow’s chest!

"THUD!"

The dull impact was accompanied by the sickening crunch of breaking bones.

The shadow flew backward even faster than it had lunged, slamming hard against a broken Wall seven or eight meters away and splattering dust and foul, black blood everywhere.

Only then did Seraphina Sullivan get a clear look at the attacker.

It was a "person" in tattered work pants. The flesh on half of its face had rotted and peeled away, revealing ghastly white cheekbones and teeth.

Sean Chandler’s punch had shattered its sternum, yet it seemed to feel no pain.

A guttural "HURK... HURK..." rattled in its throat, a wheezing sound like a punctured lung, as it struggled to crawl out of the rubble.

Its murky, milky-white eyes were fixed on the two of them, filled with a raw hunger for living flesh and blood.

The [Eye of Resume] instantly locked onto the target, and information materialized:

[Name: Common Zombie]

[Gender: Male]

[Professional Skills:

1. Zombie Virus: Its claws, teeth, blood, and bodily fluids contain a highly concentrated and active Zombie Virus. Any living creature scratched, bitten, or whose open wounds come into contact with its bodily fluids has an extremely high probability of infection. Note: There is an extremely low probability (approx. 0.001%) that viral infection will trigger a positive mutation or special Evolution.]

2. Devouring Evolution: Can slowly evolve by continuously devouring fresh flesh and blood. Multiple potential evolutionary paths exist.]

[Weaknesses: The head. Its head, particularly the brain, must be completely destroyed. Otherwise, even with severed limbs, it will retain its basic motor functions and ability to infect.]

"So this... is a real zombie."

Seraphina Sullivan took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

Movies and imagination were one thing, separated by a screen. But when this putrid, hideous, death-reeking creature appeared before her in the flesh and lunged with clear killing intent, the horror and revulsion rooted in her most basic survival instincts still struck her with full force.

But soon, her reason regained control.

Seraphina Sullivan quickly analyzed the information, her expression growing even more grim.

"’An extremely high probability of infection from a scratch or bite... Weaknesses only the head...’" she repeated in a low voice, her mind racing.

It meant that in this world, any carelessness—a tiny cut, a single drop of splashed zombie blood—could lead to a point of no return!

Their combat style would have to change. They needed to avoid close-quarters combat whenever possible and aim for one-hit kills—in other words, headshots. Moreover, Seraphina knew she had to be completely protected at all times.

What made her heart sink even more was the note about "multiple potential evolutionary paths" and the "extremely low probability of positive Evolution," as well as the possibility of "Devouring Evolution."

Seraphina looked at Sean Chandler, a thought forming.

"Tell me... what if a Player with a Talent Ability is unfortunately infected with the virus, but instead of dying immediately, they trigger that minuscule probability of ’Evolution’... Could they become a... ’Variant Zombie’ that retains some of its former Abilities, or is even enhanced by the virus?"

Sean Chandler’s eyes sharpened, and he slowly nodded. "It’s very likely. And if zombies can also evolve through Devouring Evolution... then if one devours a powerful Player or a special creature, the resulting variant would probably be even tougher to handle."

This inference seemed to make the very air around them grow heavier.

The truly terrifying aspect of this [Zombie Kingdom] instance lay not just in the virus itself, but in its potential for nearly infinite evolution and mutation!