Chapter 42 Have the Zombies Evolved?

Hearing my angry roar, Jiang Hanchuan finally came to his senses and hastily tightened his grip on the steering wheel, though his face remained plastered with a heavy sigh, as if the apocalypse had truly descended upon us right then and there.

Just as our attention was divided, a dark shadow suddenly darted out from some unknown corner, moving with lightning speed and slamming violently into our jeep.

I felt a dizzying, world-spinning sensation as the jeep was hurled into the air by a massive force, rolling over a few times on the ground before coming to a heavy halt.

The interior of the vehicle was in absolute chaos, with belongings scattered everywhere. Dazed and disoriented, my instinct for survival drove me to kick the car door open with all my might and crawl out, stumbling.

Right before my eyes, a massive figure instantly loomed over me. Subconsciously, I scanned upward from the ground, and when that grotesque head came into view, my heart nearly shattered with terror, causing me to stagger back several steps.

The zombie before me bore an identical resemblance to the Grade-D Berserker Zombies previously developed by the Jiang Corporation, and what was worse, there were actually two of these nightmares!

With a whistling roar of wind, it lashed out with a single heavy paw. In my utter wretchedness, I barely managed to dodge it by throwing my body to the side.

Immediately afterward, I took a deep breath, mustered all of my mental energy, and attempted to control it just as I had done last time. However, the moment we connected, the mental link snapped instantly, like a kite with a broken string.

These two Grade-D zombies seemed far more powerful than the previous one, and my psychic control was completely useless against them.

At that moment, the zombie tiger inside the vehicle also struggled its way out. It let out a deafening roar and lunged unhesitatingly at the two Grade-D zombies, instantly engaging them in a fierce melee.

Seeing the zombie tiger charge forward set my mind somewhat at ease, and I quickly turned back to rescue Luo Yucheng and the others. However, the car door had been severely deformed by the impact; I pulled on it for ages, but it simply refused to budge.

Overwhelmed with anxiety, I swept my gaze across and saw blood already trickling down Luo Yucheng's forehead. My heart ached as if being sliced by knives, and I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Yucheng! Yucheng! Are you alright? Wake up!"

My shouts seemed to infuse her with strength; Luo Yucheng slowly regained consciousness and began to wake up. Beside her, Jiang Hanchuan was wailing in agony, a sound that tore at the heartstrings.

Fortunately, Xu Hanfeng managed to wriggle out from the back seat, his face pale yet his gaze resolute. He helped me pull on the car door, and finally, combining our strength, we managed to wrench the door wide open.

However, because the front of the car was severely crushed, both Luo Yucheng and Jiang Hanchuan had their feet firmly wedged and were completely unable to move.

Right then, the horde of humanoid zombies behind us came rushing forward like a tidal wave, gnashing their teeth and surging with menacing momentum. Frantic with worry, Xu Hanfeng shouted, "Linyu! Hurry up and get them out, I'll cover you!"

Without a second thought, Xu Hanfeng grabbed his weapon and rushed to the front line.

The situation was critical. Flustered and clumsy, I fumbled for ages, unable to free their trapped feet. Sweat poured from my brow as my anxiety mounted like ants on a hot pan.

Meanwhile, Xu Hanfeng wielded an assault rifle in each hand, firing continuous rounds and strafing the advancing horde of zombies in an attempt to keep them at bay. Yet the zombies continued to roll in like a relentless tide, bringing us closer to grave peril every second.

With an anxious gaze, I swept my surroundings, which were littered with debris and supplies. Amidst my mental chaos, my eyes suddenly lit up when I spotted a crowbar pinned beneath a pile of clutter.

I hurriedly ducked down, grabbed the heavy crowbar, and dashed back to the car. Gripping it tightly with both hands, I wedged it in and exerted all my strength; the deformed front chassis was actually pried up by an inch through sheer force. I yelled at Jiang Hanchuan, who was trapped beneath: "Stop whining! Are you dead or not? If you're not dead, hurry up and see if you can get out!"

Hearing this, Jiang Hanchuan immediately shut his mouth. Gritting his teeth, he tried to wiggle his trapped foot—thank goodness, it could finally move! With a sudden burst of energy and a twist of his body, he managed to crawl out from the narrow gap.

We had no time to catch our breath and immediately switched to the other side of the car's front. Jiang Hanchuan braced the crowbar with both hands, veins bulging on his temples, while I cautiously leaned my upper body forward and gently lifted the semi-conscious Luo Yucheng out.

"Boss, everyone's out! Let's fall back!" I shouted loudly to Xu Hanfeng ahead while carrying Luo Yucheng on my back. Before my words even faded, I broke into a frantic sprint.

Jiang Hanchuan only had minor surface injuries and seemed to be doing fine. He quickly scooped up the scattered luggage and guns, ran toward Xu Hanfeng, and the two of them formed a front-and-rear guard, running and firing to clear the obstacles for our retreat.

"Chuan, fall back first! I'll be right behind you."

Xu Hanfeng's voice sounded exceptionally resolute amidst the gunfire. Possessing high execution capability, Jiang Hanchuan turned tail and bolted like a gust of wind the moment he heard the order, without a single shred of hesitation.

Xu Hanfeng quickly rushed over to the jeep, unscrewed the fuel cap, tore a piece of fabric from his clothes, and jammed it into the opening with the other end hanging outside. Gasoline began to drip out of the tank drop by drop.

After setting everything up, Xu Hanfeng turned and broke into a sprint as well. At that exact moment, I suddenly looked back and shouted, "Dahuang, get back here!" I saw the zombie tiger, having shaken off the encirclement of the Grade-D zombies, charging madly toward me.

Just as the zombie horde was about to reach the jeep, Xu Hanfeng abruptly hurled a grenade. The grenade traced a graceful arc through the air like a shooting star cutting across the night sky, landing with pinpoint accuracy right beside the jeep.

With a deafening roar, the grenade detonated, and the blast instantly ignited the fuel tank, followed immediately by an even more violent explosion. Flames soared into the sky, sending rolling waves of intense heat toward us.

Yet we had no luxury to mind the explosion and roaring flames behind us; we simply sprinted forward with all our might. This could only buy us a few precious moments of time, and right now, the most crucial task was to find a hiding spot immediately.

We dashed through a narrow street, rounded a corner, and suddenly found ourselves facing a wide-open plaza.

"We're done for! We're finished! There's nowhere left to hide now!"

That chatterbox Jiang Hanchuan started babbling again, his voice tinged with a hint of despair.

Xu Hanfeng and I cast sharp gazes around, rapidly scanning our surroundings in a desperate attempt to find a glimmer of survival, but just as Jiang Hanchuan complained, the plaza was completely empty without a single corner to take cover.

Right at that moment, hurried footsteps and low, rumbling growls echoed from behind—the zombie horde and the Grade-D zombies had caught up. Our hearts leaped into our throats, leaving us with no choice but to make a stand right where we stood.

The three of us quickly raised our assault rifles, pulled the triggers, and began firing in a wild frenzy. Bullets poured out like raindrops as zombies fell one after another, yet even more surged forward like an ocean tide.

I knew in my heart that there was actually another way: I could surrender myself, let a zombie bite me, and perhaps gain the ability to control them. However, whether this special ability would be effective against evolved zombies was something I had no confidence in. At this moment, hesitation gripped me, and a storm of mixed emotions raged within.

Just as the three of us fell into a desperate battle and were on the verge of being swallowed by the zombie horde, the roar of helicopter rotors suddenly shattered the air right above our heads...