Chapter 106: The Last Survivor

Chapter 106: The Last Survivor

As Xia Zheng held Carol in his arms, he acquired her powerful handgun. Although it likely contained only five bullets, it was still better than being unarmed. At this moment, he was just an ordinary SWAT officer.

Boom!

Behind him, the Peijier Police Station erupted in an explosion, sending thick smoke billowing into the sky. Whether it was Carol or Jim who had detonated a grenade or some other device, Xia Zheng dared not dwell on their fate.

Returning to the street, the fog had mostly lifted, revealing once again the city veiled in red vascular-like tendrils—a scene reminiscent of an apocalypse. The previously deserted streets were now swarming with zombies of all ages and genders. Fortunately, none appeared to be mutated—at least for now.

Xia Zheng had no clear escape route. With his current skills and combat prowess, he feared that even ordinary zombies, when in great numbers, could overwhelm him.

He had no choice but to keep hiding, moving stealthily in the direction he had come from.

Suddenly, his radio crackled to life, and a familiar voice came through.

“Beta Squad… is anyone… still alive?” Dirot Wood gasped.

Xia Zheng froze, nearly moved to tears. It had been a long time since he had experienced a bioweapon crisis from the perspective of an ordinary human.

“Uncle… I’m… still alive,” Xia Zheng replied.

Dirot was silent for a moment before coughing and then laughing bitterly. “Thank God, Benson, you’re still alive. That’s a relief.”

Xia Zheng concealed himself in a nearby corner and relayed the situation of Beta Squad to Dirot.

Dirot said, “Benson, something terrible has indeed happened here. And I suspect it’s not limited to Peijier alone. Other satellite cities may also be affected, spreading to Eternal Night City. At first, I thought it was some kind of disease or plague, but after encountering it firsthand, I realized these are not just illnesses—they are a dreadful species opposing humanity, whose sole purpose is to consume humans. You once mentioned rumors of a blood clan appearing in the North. Perhaps those rumors are becoming reality.”

“Uncle, where are you now? How is Alpha Squad holding up?” Xia Zheng asked, still clinging to a flicker of hope despite knowing he might be the sole survivor.

Dirot smiled wryly. “We were attacked by a mysterious gigantic creature in the storm. Our plane crashed. Kelly and Jonas died instantly. Only Jeremy, Eleanor, and I survived, though lightly wounded. We were near that massive red, blood-like wall.”

After a pause, Dirot continued, “Our radios were intermittently jammed, making contact with you impossible. We wanted to order you to return immediately, but now it seems it was too late even for warnings. Fortunately, I know of an obscure tunnel leading directly into the city. The three of us entered quickly, but the thick fog forced us to scatter. Then I was attacked by many strange and inexplicable monsters. When I found the other two again… they had been torn apart.”

Finally, with a resolute tone, Dirot said, “Benson, I’m about to fall as well. As the only survivor of our two squads, you must leave here and return to Eternal Night City as soon as possible to deliver all the intelligence we’ve gathered. I’ve stored all Alpha Squad’s intel, including audio and video evidence, inside the tunnel. The entrance is about ten kilometers southwest of Peijier Police Station, in the storage room of a convenience store at the intersection near a gas station. Benson, you have to survive. The future rebuilding of the Special Operations Group depends on you…”

A chilling roar echoed through the radio, followed by Dirot’s manic laughter—a sound of one who has accepted death.

Boom!

The distant explosion came from the northwest, several kilometers away. Xia Zheng knew then that he was the last survivor of both squads.

Before his eyes appeared faint, translucent white words:

“As the sole survivor of the Eternal Night City District 7 Special Operations Group, you must escape this hell and return to Eternal Night City by all means necessary.”

An invisible force surged back into his body. The device made from the magic-forbidden stone lifted some of the restrictions, and Xia Zheng’s spiritual awareness swiftly recovered to more than eighty percent.

Taking out his compass, Xia Zheng plotted his route on the map relative to the police station—several kilometers away.

“Is this the beginning of the nightmare?” Xia Zheng gazed up at the blood-red sky, a wave of oppression washing over him. The city had been fully infected by the blood clan; the living were mere experiments for them.

His spirit projected dozens of dripping swords, which hovered around him.

No longer hiding, Xia Zheng pressed forward along the shortest, safest path.

Howl!

Soon, ordinary zombies spotted him and surged forward—fifty or more.

Xia Zheng controlled the dripping swords to form a two-layered killing formation, an encircling sword shield.

The first zombie to approach was shredded the moment it touched the sword barrier; the second, the third followed in rapid succession.

Xia Zheng moved as if strolling through a satellite city, his heart brimming with murderous fury, eager to shred every zombie in the city. Yet he knew that to clear this trial, he had to keep his wits.

The screech of metal scraping and sparks flying filled the air. After dispatching over a hundred zombies, the mutated ones arrived.

A towering giant zombie, nearly three meters tall, charged roaring. A massive eye sat at its front—whether it was its navel or head, no one knew. Its limbs were especially muscular.

The sword shield felled its massive arms, but it quickly regrew them—clearly a creature with remarkable regeneration.

“Try this!” Xia Zheng shaped his spirit into a bow and arrow stance. Protected by the sword shield, he grasped the ethereal bow with his left hand, forming a fiery arrow in his right. Gritting his teeth, he aimed at the giant’s glaring eye.

“Fire!”

He released. A blast of energy surged forth, the fiery arrow piercing the giant’s enormous eye.

The creature’s scream shook the heavens. The eye was its weak point. Once pierced, the giant writhed as its entire body began to swell.

“Trying to self-destruct?”

Sensing danger, Xia Zheng unleashed his psychic power, generating a strong repelling force that hurled the giant into the air, a hundred meters away.

Then it exploded violently, its body bursting into a foul-smelling green and yellow ooze, followed by a toxic mist spreading over fifty meters. Any ordinary zombies touched by the poisonous fluids melted into a gooey mass.

Protected by his sword shield, Xia Zheng pressed onward, slaying relentlessly. In this moment, his remembrance of his fallen comrades was expressed through this unyielding carnage.