Chapter 3: Infected
Just as the withered corpse froze for a moment, Su Xiao, atop the building across the street, adjusted his gun barrel, the crosshairs in the scope aimed at the withered corpse's torso.
The power of the Spider Empress was so astonishing that not only the enemy but even Su Xiao himself was quite surprised.
The result from the initial verification was that when sniping an enemy, there was no need to aim for the head; hitting the torso was the best choice.
Not to mention that the torso was many times larger than the head, but when an enemy was blown apart, it would create a strong deterrent for other enemies, like the withered corpse at this moment.
As a violator who had been in Reincarnation Paradise for a long time, the withered corpse was no stranger to corpses. He had seen those who died miserably, but he had never seen anyone as cleanly dealt with as No. 5.
After only 0.5 seconds of hesitation, the withered corpse flung No. 5's head aside, raised his right arm high, and slammed his elbow hard against the car door.
With a bang, the passenger door flew off. As the door flew out, the withered corpse scrambled out of the car, using the door to shield his body.
Su Xiao slightly adjusted his aim, confirmed the timing was right, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A burst of air expanded from the barrel of the Spider Empress, stirring Su Xiao's jet-black hair.
The bullet left the chamber, creating layers of air ripples.
The moment the withered corpse landed, a spine-chilling sense of crisis emerged.
Crack!
Pale yellow bodily fluids splattered, and the withered corpse shattered like a water balloon, splashing onto the road.
Seeing this through the scope, Su Xiao frowned. Although the withered corpse was "shattered," there was no kill notification.
The pool of pale yellow fluid gradually gathered, rose, and finally formed a human shape.
The cracks on the withered corpse's skin became more pronounced. He turned his head to look at a rooftop across the street, a strange smile appearing on his face.
"Want to kill me? Wishful thinking..."
As soon as the withered corpse finished speaking, a dull thud came from the rooftop across the street.
Before he heard the thud, the bullet had already pierced through the withered corpse's chest and abdomen, causing him to explode into a pool of liquid again.
This made the withered corpse realize one thing: at close range, he felt the bullet piercing his body before he heard the gunshot.
With a crack, the withered corpse, who had exploded into a pool of yellow fluid, did not reform. Su Xiao, however, noticed that the surrounding situation was wrong.
Within a three-hundred-meter radius, there were no screams or commotion. Under normal circumstances, after a shooting incident, the nearby civilians would definitely have reacted.
The current situation was eerie. Within a three-hundred-meter radius centered on the withered corpse, all civilians stood motionless.
This was a bustling area, with at least a hundred people within three hundred meters.
Just then, neat and monotonous footsteps sounded. The nearby civilians actually began to converge near the withered corpse. In less than half a minute, a total of 176 civilians were all standing on the road.
These people were dressed differently, their faces were blank, and their heads were drooping.
The pool of pale yellow fluid on the street churned, and the withered corpse's body reformed again.
"Kill him."
The withered corpse raised his withered arm. As he gave the order, all those hundred-plus civilians simultaneously lifted their heads, their eyes staring fixedly at Su Xiao.
If one looked closely, they would notice that the pupils of these civilians were cloudy and brownish-yellow. Their pale skin was a sign that they had been dead for a long time.
"Roar!!"
All the civilians let out beast-like roars. These people seemed to have turned into wild beasts, their muscles bulging and their fingertips becoming sharp.
Over a hundred civilians charged almost simultaneously, crossed the road, used their sharp claws to climb the vertical wall, and quickly surrounded the rooftop where Su Xiao was.
A car drove into the three-hundred-meter range of the withered corpse. The driver was chatting cheerfully with his female companion in the passenger seat.
Suddenly, his female companion showed a pained expression, her mouth wide open as if she couldn't breathe.
After a moment, that female companion lowered her head, agilely crawled out of the car, her pupils already turned brownish-yellow.
The driver looked bewildered. Suddenly, he also showed a pained expression. A few seconds later, his black pupils turned brownish-yellow.
This man and woman joined the other civilians, charging towards Su Xiao's location.
On the rooftop, Su Xiao put away the Spider Empress. A mechanical eye flew out from his sleeve. He needed to find out what was happening.
The Apostle's Eye floated in mid-air. Su Xiao didn't probe the withered corpse's information; instead, he probed the information of those civilians.
[Comparing intelligence attributes... Comparison complete. Our intelligence is higher than the enemy's, obtaining 100% of the enemy's data.]
Data as follows:
Name: Infected Type IV (Mutated Corpse)
Health: 93%
Mana: None
Strength: 32
Agility: 21
Stamina: 35
Intelligence: 2
Charm: -3
Skill 1: Infected (Passive): No pain perception, no intelligence, immune to mental-type control.
Skill 2: Corpse Virus (Passive): If it attacks the enemy's body and causes a wound, a stamina attribute check will be performed. If the check fails, the target will be infected with the Mutated Corpse Virus.
Skill 3: Death (Passive): Except for the head, damage to organs, limbs, etc., cannot completely eliminate the Infected.
Skill 4: Mutation (Passive): After becoming an Infected, there is a 3% chance of producing an elite individual.
Tip: The maximum existence time for a Mutated Corpse is 8 hours.
...
Seeing this information, Su Xiao frowned. This was essentially an enhanced version of the T-Virus. If one's stamina attribute was low, approaching the withered corpse would result in infection by the virus. This was likely an aura-type skill.
A large number of Infected climbed onto the rooftop. These Infected were different from slow-moving zombies; they moved on all fours, were agile, and could easily leap several meters.
Over a hundred Infected surrounded Su Xiao. Sensing this, the withered corpse showed a pleased smile on his face.
"Daring to snipe me within three hundred meters, you've got guts, but you're equally foolish."
The withered corpse crooked his finger, and a heavily muscled Infected approached him.
This Infected was at least three meters tall, its bulging muscles having already torn its clothes.
"Only one elite individual? My luck isn't that great."
As he spoke, the withered corpse jumped onto the back of the elite Infected. The elite Infected, now on all fours, let out a low growl, seemingly a bit dissatisfied.
"Oh? It's a mutant elite individual. No wonder there's only one."
The withered corpse pressed his palm against the back of the elite Infected's head, and a pale yellow liquid seeped into its body. After a moment, the elite Infected, which had shown some resistance, calmed down.
The withered corpse's movements were slow and deliberate. In his view, a sniper surrounded by over a hundred Infected was as good as dead. All he had to do was go to the rooftop and see if there was a Scarlet Card.
"Damn it, another No. 5 dead. The boss won't blame me, will he?"
Thinking of the boss of the Gentleman Alliance, the withered corpse's body trembled.
"Shouldn't... it was an accident... probably..."
Just as the withered corpse was agonizing over how to explain to his boss, a sky-piercing blade hum came from above. A ring-shaped blade aura dispersed, sending large pieces of limbs flying.
With a splat, an Infected, cut into three pieces, landed not far from the withered corpse. The Infected was twitching, with a faint blue light flickering at the wound.
"What is this..."
Clang!
A blade aura slashed down from top to bottom. The withered corpse's pupils contracted to their limit.