Chapter Twenty-Two: The Evolution of Type II Zombie Beasts

The rules of interdimensional trade remained unbroken. Seeing the leopard beast still charging forward with unflinching ferocity, Wood felt a chill in his heart. The zombie beast’s physical defenses were terrifyingly strong. With his current physical capabilities, the strength in his legs probably did not exceed a few pounds, yet he could do nothing to this creature. As the leopard lunged at him, he executed a rapid “Flash Step” to appear at its side, wrapped both arms around its head, let out a strange cry, and with a forceful twist, broke its neck.

At last, the zombie beast finally collapsed to the ground. The others, seeing that the leopard wasn’t quite dead, hurriedly fired several shots into its skull. Watching how easily Wood dispatched the beast, a flicker of something unreadable crossed Wu Feng’s face. He knew well that among zombie beasts, this leopard was considered a formidable one—its speed and razor-sharp claws meant that even he, one-on-one, lost more often than he won. This proved that Wood was far stronger than himself and utterly beyond his control.

Wu Feng’s thoughts flashed by in an instant, and he barked, “What are you all standing around for? Grab your weapons and get out there! If we can’t protect this city warehouse, we’re dead either way!” As he spoke, he fired a bullet each into the heads of his two dead subordinates lying on the ground. Wood understood his reasoning: he was afraid they’d reanimate as zombies and turn on them.

There had been nine men inside with Wu Feng just moments ago. Three had already been killed by the leopard, leaving three extra weapons behind. Kong Yangyun quickly snatched up two for protection. At this point, both groups had no choice but to join forces and charge toward the warehouse. The three women cowered in a corner, trembling, too frightened to move.

By now, night had fallen completely. Fortunately, a few cold beams of light illuminated the corridor; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to see the way forward at all. Wood and Wu Feng led the group, when suddenly cries of alarm erupted from behind. They turned to see, emerging from who-knows-where, a wall-crawling gecko the size of a leopard, its long tongue flicking out menacingly.

“Evolved Type II Zombie Beast!” Wu Feng shouted in terror.

“What?” Wood asked, but the beast had already leapt upon them, landing precisely where Fan Wen, Kong Yangyun, Mu Siyu, and the others were. They all raised their guns in panic, yet the zombie beast was so fast that it instantly tackled a burly man and crashed into the group. Chaos erupted. The creature moved with terrifying speed and, in a single bite, tore off the man’s head, blood spraying everywhere—a gruesome sight.

Even decapitated, the man’s body convulsed violently on the ground, sending chills through everyone present. Qiao’er and the other women were so terrified they could barely move their legs. Only when Wu Feng roared did the group regain their senses and fire their submachine guns in a desperate attempt to drive off the monster. But the beast’s entire body was covered in scales and armor; the bullets sparked off its hide harmlessly. Nonetheless, wounded, the zombie beast let out a pained howl and lunged—this time, straight at Fan Wen.

Fan Wen was petrified. Realizing his gun was useless against the creature, he reflexively grabbed the nearest person as a shield. There was a startled cry; the unfortunate person was, in fact, his own wife, Mu Siyu. Meeting her devastated, disbelieving gaze, Fan Wen’s heart wavered but then grew cold: “She’s already ruined, no longer my wife,” he thought.

The zombie beast, lightning fast, instantly pinned Mu Siyu to the ground. Mu Siqing, horrified, screamed, “Sister!” but was restrained by others, unable to rush forward.

Mu Siyu felt utterly hopeless, her heart filled with despair. As the monster’s tongue flicked across her face and its gaping jaws descended, she closed her eyes, resigned to her fate. Just then, a muffled “crack!” rang out and she suddenly felt herself being lifted by a strong hand. Opening her eyes, she saw the beast sprawled to the side, struggling to right itself.

At the last possible moment, Wood had “Flashed” in and kicked the zombie beast away. Yet his heart sank—a numbness shot through his leg from the recoil, proving that the beast was both heavy and incredibly strong. Wood’s physical prowess was more than ten times that of an ordinary person, and after his battle with the six-legged insect, his combat skills had improved greatly. Nevertheless, facing this monster, a chill ran down his spine: brute strength alone might not be enough.

The zombie beast seemed to sense that the being before it was not to be trifled with; it roared and feigned another attack, but hesitated, and so beast and man stood tense, wary of each other. This display unsettled the group even more. The creature’s caution showed a glimmer of intelligence—whether animal instinct or something more, it was far more terrifying than ordinary zombie beasts.

Wu Feng muttered under his breath, “Mr. Wood, we’re counting on you here!” Then, to the others: “Follow me, to the warehouse!” The rest, grateful, hurried after him. Mu Siqing cried, “Sister, come with us!”

Mu Siyu looked at Wu Feng and the others, then at Wood, and resolutely shook her head, pointing at Wood—she would wait for him. Kong Yangyun agreed, “Yes, I believe Mr. Wood can defeat this creature!” In truth, he didn’t trust Wu Feng and his people at all, suspecting that once the crisis was over, they might “dispose of” his own group, leaving even his wife unprotected. Qiao’er and Mu Siqing exchanged anxious glances, remaining behind, silently praying for Wood’s victory.

Suddenly, the monster roared and charged. Wood wanted to test his own strength and speed, so he faced it barehanded, relying on neither skills nor weapons. Man and beast moved with dizzying speed—the only sounds were muffled thuds and the clash of flesh and scale under the dim lights. After a tense struggle, the two figures separated. The zombie beast staggered, clearly wounded, while Wood’s shoulder was slashed and bleeding from the creature’s claws.

Everyone was alarmed. If even Wood couldn’t defeat this monster, they were doomed. Qiao’er asked anxiously, “Brother Wood, are you alright?” Wood glanced back at her, noticing her sudden tension and the look of warning on her face—he had already anticipated the zombie beast’s next move. He had tested his combat limits; there was no need to delay further. In a flash, he activated “Flash Step” and drew his high-frequency energy blade. In the brief blaze of light, accompanied by a humming vibration, the onrushing zombie beast was decapitated and its head pulverized, its twitching body soon falling still.

Wood put away his blade and smiled faintly, “Let’s go.” Through this battle, he realized that the creatures of this world could not threaten his life. With genuine energy powers, B-level skills, and the sci-fi weaponry given by Zigu, he could handle these evolved zombie beasts. His true purpose had been twofold: to test his abilities and to gauge the true danger posed by a Type II zombie beast, feared even by Wu Feng.

With the monster slain, everyone rejoiced. Over the past days, they had come to see that while Wood possessed great power, he was gentle and approachable; following him offered both safety and dignity. At the corridor’s end lay the city warehouse. As Wood’s group arrived, a complex look flickered in Wu Feng’s eyes—it was obvious that the Type II zombie beast, which even he feared, had been slain by Wood. Yet, seeing the wound on Wood’s shoulder, a hint of relief crossed his face; perhaps Wood was only slightly stronger than himself, or simply had one more ability, and that was why he could defeat the beast. Laughing, he opened the iron warehouse door: “Brother Wood, you’ve got some skills—even a Type II zombie beast is no match for you!”

Wood replied with a faint smile, “I was just lucky.” The group filed in.

“Wow! Look at all this stuff! We’ll never go hungry again!” exclaimed Kong Yangyun. For months, he’d gone hungry more often than not, and now, seeing the warehouse piled high with cans, rice, bottled water, and other supplies, he couldn’t contain his joy. The others were equally elated, but just then, a panicked voice cried out, “She’s… she’s hurt!”

It was Fan Wen. As soon as he entered, he noticed his wife—and the bloodstains on her. Pointing, he drew everyone’s attention to Mu Siyu’s bloodied shoulder. They remembered how she had been pinned by the zombie beast, and though Wood had rescued her in time, she had still been injured. Mu Siyu’s face turned deathly pale. In the life-or-death struggle earlier, she hadn’t noticed her wound, her focus instead on Wood’s battle. Now, as Fan Wen called out, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, accompanied by a tingling that seemed to penetrate all the way to her lungs.

Wu Feng’s face darkened as he raised his gun, only to have it forced down by Wood’s strong arm.

“Brother Wood, what are you doing? Don’t you know that anyone scratched or bitten by a zombie or zombie beast will turn? I’m just helping her find peace,” Wu Feng said angrily.

Wood replied calmly, “I was injured too,” gesturing to his own shoulder.

“You’re different—you’ve evolved, you won’t be infected,” Wu Feng retorted.

Wood looked at Mu Siyu. He truly didn’t want to see such a beautiful and kind-hearted woman die, but Wu Feng had a point: once she turned, she would lose all reason and attack those around her. No one wanted a ticking time bomb in their midst, especially since those infected by a Type II zombie beast were said to be even more dangerous.

Only her younger sister, Mu Siqing, rushed to her, sobbing, “No! My sister won’t turn into a zombie! Fan Wen, you beast, you threw her in harm’s way! Brother Wood, you’re a powerful man—you must have a way to save her, right? Please!” Her tearful, pleading gaze moved Wood’s heart with pity.