Chapter Fourteen: Alice's Growth

Two agile figures darted through the garden of the residential complex. Leading the way was Alice, dressed in a little tracksuit, with Guo Lang following behind, his eyes widening in amazement. He had to admit, Little Tao’s analysis was spot on—Alice truly was a genius!

He himself had spent three months mastering the single-handed sword in order to advance to the knight profession, all while in various combat situations and aided by the guidance of the Technology Library system. Yet, in just three days, this young girl had already reached his level in single-handed swordsmanship. As someone from an invading plane with impure genes, the effects of potions weren’t as pronounced as they were for natives of Planet D, and his future training would be less effective, but Alice’s performance more than compensated for these shortcomings.

Her combat aptitude was astonishing, and Guo Lang had to concede to her genius. With a certain level of physical fitness, the little girl’s display was nothing short of astounding. On the very first day, she attempted to kill her first living corpse, exhibiting remarkable composure and skill—she pushed her physical limits to the utmost. Over the next two days, Guo Lang noticed Alice could adapt her techniques to various terrains, hardly resembling a beginner at all.

Her mental resilience was equally impressive. Most people suffer psychological trauma after their first kill—Guo Lang himself had vomited for half a day and his legs were weak for much longer. Yet Alice, though pale and slightly uncomfortable, requested to hunt her second living corpse just half an hour later.

In merely three days, Alice’s combat skills soared as if propelled by a rocket. Guo Lang even felt that in a one-on-one duel, he might not be her match. Beyond basic technique, he noticed the assassin talent Little Tao had mentioned.

This time, they infiltrated a villa in the southwest direction, formerly home to a large family. According to Guo Lang’s reconnaissance, there were at least five living corpses inside. Alice had requested to set out early yesterday, and Guo Lang decided it was time to test her combat prowess fully—the test was to eliminate all five corpses in an unfamiliar room.

After handing her the single-handed sword, Guo Lang gave her a dagger as well, keeping the kinetic gun for himself. The starter gear from Dark Night was of excellent quality, and Guo Lang had no intention of buying more on credit, so both used the equipment he originally received. Initially, he’d intended to train Alice in ranged combat for safety, but soon discovered her exceptional talent for close combat. She was far more attuned to cold weapons than he was, and her decisive reactions made her better suited for melee. Though it felt somewhat sly to hide behind a little girl and shoot, rational resource allocation demanded it. Their roles were clear: Guo Lang provided fire support, and the little girl handled close-quarters combat.

They held their breath, cautiously approaching the villa. Killing five living corpses in a confined space was a basic task, but their next destination—the city center—would be teeming with millions. Alice’s mother worked in an office building in the bustling downtown, with thousands of employees and a dense population. Sneaking in would be exceedingly difficult.

In the city, unlike the isolated corpses found near villas, most appeared in groups. Encountering five or six in tight quarters was common, so it was essential to have the capability to dispatch small zombie packs in any complex environment—otherwise, entering a big city was suicidal.

Lost in thought, Guo Lang suddenly realized he’d lost sight of Alice again. He scanned anxiously and finally spotted her stealthily moving ahead. Why “again”? This was the sixth time in three days he’d lost track of her. According to Little Tao, this was the assassin talent—Alice was extremely sensitive to others’ gaze and, guided by bodily intuition, could effectively evade sightlines. Guo Lang often lost visual contact without even realizing it.

This was even as her teammate. He recalled that when they hunted two living corpses to the east yesterday, Alice approached within five steps of the enemy’s line of sight before being noticed. Guo Lang was dumbfounded—after viral enhancement, living corpses had extraordinarily wide vision and acute hearing. His first encounter with a female corpse had her charging from two kilometers away. Yet Alice managed to sneak within such close range purely by instinct, without access to the Technology Library or professional training. Guo Lang could only marvel at such talent.

The room was dim, thick with the stench of rot and blood. Guo Lang followed closely behind Alice, cautiously crouching as they moved. Line-worm type corpses preferred darkness—not out of fear of sunlight, just preference. Typically, fighting indoors wasn’t wise, but their Dark Night heritage granted them night vision, so it wasn’t much of a problem.

They spotted two corpses at the bottom of the stairs, lying in ambush. Zombies didn’t need rest, but line-worms wouldn’t waste energy—usually lurking in shadowy corners.

“Remember what I told you, Alice,” Guo Lang whispered. “Be careful!”

“Mm!” Alice twirled her dagger, tucked it into her belt, and crouched forward with her single-handed sword in her right hand. Guo Lang watched her intently from the corner, readying his kinetic gun. The purpose of this experiment was to test Alice’s crowd-fighting ability—he wouldn’t intervene unless necessary.

Alice moved lightly, exploiting terrain and furniture for cover, and managed to get within three meters. As she neared the alert boundary, the corpse facing her suddenly narrowed its pupils, muscles tensing—clearly, it had spotted Alice. A flash of violet sparked in the girl’s eyes, her leg tendons snapping taut like bowstrings, producing a sharp crack in the air. In that instant, Alice lunged forward like a wild leopard, her sword slicing through the zombie’s throat faster than lightning. Using the sliding force technique Guo Lang had taught her, she redirected her momentum upward, and the sharp blade sliced the zombie’s head in half from the throat.

She executed the sliding force technique expertly! Guo Lang watched in secret admiration. The Dark Night single-handed sword was razor-sharp, but cleaving a creature’s head required more than just a sharp blade—it demanded strength. Though zombie muscles and bones weren’t yet fortified, splitting the entire head upward from the throat required considerable power. Alice cleverly harnessed the explosive force of her initial charge, a technique Guo Lang often used against monsters with reinforced muscle tissue in his previous life. As a bronze knight, without such skills, it was nearly impossible to fight those monsters.

Alice killed the first corpse in a second, but the second zombie nearby reacted instantly, grabbing for her. She deftly dodged its claws, rolled, and with minimal movement, restored the momentum of her sword arm. More snarls echoed nearby, and Alice agilely kicked off, flipping up the staircase.

Several zombies surged toward the narrow stairwell, and Guo Lang’s appreciation grew—she utilized the terrain brilliantly. Before being enhanced to sense attacks by qi, people relied on visual reflexes to respond, so theoretically, taking on a group was impossible. Even if you vastly outmatched them, being surrounded meant certain defeat. The idea of a master fighting ten opponents was cinematic—real life didn’t work like that. When attacks came from all directions, no technique could save you.

The only way was to shrink the attack range to what you could handle, avoiding blind spots. The stairwell was the perfect choice!

The battle unfolded swiftly. Alice skillfully parried attacks with her sword but never struck proactively, calmly searching for a lethal opportunity. Facing four zombies, a reckless attack risked her blade getting stuck in muscle or bone, placing her in danger.

Zombie tactics were simple—lunge and bite. For creatures with similar or superior attributes, this was a boon. Suddenly, the moment arrived. At the stairwell’s corner, where space widened, the four zombies tried to pounce simultaneously. Guo Lang frowned, raising his gun to provide cover, but then froze—he noticed no panic on Alice’s face, only a wild, almost feral smile.

It was a smile full of animal instinct, even somewhat savage. Guo Lang realized it resembled the zombies’ own expressions—a predatory grin aimed at certain prey. This strange smile kept him from pulling the trigger.

The next moment, Alice pressed her back to the corner, flipped with a bizarre motion, and drew her dagger with her left hand, stabbing it into the wall behind her. She leveraged it to swing herself out of the zombies' grasp, landing above them. Guo Lang saw all four zombies had lunged from the same direction; though they blocked much of the space, once evaded, their overlapping bodies exposed a massive vulnerability.

Indeed! As Alice flipped through the air, she used the pressure technique Guo Lang had taught her, driving her sword straight through their heads and pinning them to the floor. The force was so great the floor collapsed, impaling them to the dining room below.

Guo Lang stared in disbelief. Was this really just a little girl who’d used the original serum for three days? He felt as if his previous life had been wasted—what did it mean to be a prodigy? Some things simply couldn’t be envied.

“Papa, how was that?” Alice ran over, seeking approval, her big eyes blinking at Guo Lang.

“Ahem...” Guo Lang coughed, putting on a solemn face. “Not bad...”

“So... Shall we rescue Mom today?” Alice asked expectantly.

Guo Lang looked at her eager expression. Considering her combat abilities, he finally nodded. “Alright, let’s go back and prepare first. We’ll set out this afternoon.”

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“Sir... Where are you going?” Wick asked cautiously as he watched them return and begin packing supplies.

Guo Lang glanced at the old man and nodded. He had a good impression of Wick—the elder knew his place, never asked for anything, and understood his situation well. Guo Lang had learned from Alice that Wick had been a retired politician, a useful asset in the future. Though his aging body limited his evolutionary potential, he could serve as an early-stage management talent. Guo Lang finally smiled kindly and explained, “Alice and I are going to rescue her mother. You’ll stay here and guard the supplies. Just stay in the basement—don’t go upstairs unless necessary. There’s a secure door between the basement and the main floor, but the villa itself isn’t truly safe. If you go upstairs, you might run into wandering zombies, so just stay below.”

“I understand. Please... come back soon. Without you young ones, this old body wouldn’t survive...” Wick said.

Guo Lang thought to himself, “He’s got sense, truly a politician—no foolish promises like those idiotic bureaucrats in the movies...”

“Water, chocolate, canned food, compressed biscuits, and anti-inflammatory medicine, Papa, is there anything else?” Alice asked adorably.

“We’re not missing much,” Guo Lang replied, frowning. “Are you familiar with the route?” Over the past few days, he’d learned about these zombies—ordinary line-worm types, strong and fast in the early stages but with a weakness: they weren’t really dead, just physiologically altered. This meant their energy could run out, so they usually hid in dark corners to conserve strength.

Therefore, as long as the main roads weren’t blocked, they could travel them safely. Small side roads could pose problems, since their vehicles might not outrun zombies. However, the chaos of the past two days meant traffic patterns remained uncertain.

“I’m not familiar,” Alice admitted honestly. “I don’t usually go out.”

“I see...” Guo Lang stroked his chin. “Then let’s go to the supermarket and get a pair of binoculars.”