Published: February 5, 2025
"Three o'clock direction!" Xia Lei shouted, her gun spewing flames as she continuously fired towards that direction.
Cheng Ze and Little Tiger followed suit, shooting in unison to knock back the mutated rats that were rushing from that side, temporarily alleviating the crisis at the window.
"Over here, Xiao Ye, come help me!"
Cheng Ze, a towering figure, felt that his shooting skills, which he prided himself on, were utterly ineffective at this moment.
The corpse ape was too large; it was so massive that aiming was unnecessary. However, that was not the issue; the problem was that even when hit, it seemed completely unfazed. The only attacks that had any effect were from a sniper above, forcing it to guard its head and face, while the attacks from others, including Cheng Ze's, posed no real threat.
Yet, they had no choice but to continue this futile shooting; at least it could slow down the corpse ape's advance. Otherwise, if this creature reached the front of the building, retreat would be their only option.
But retreat meant the collapse of their defensive line, and such mutated creatures and zombie hordes would directly threaten Captain Ye's rear. At that point, it would be impossible to even think about seizing treasures at Pearl Lake, let alone ensuring their own survival.
Seeing the other three suppressing the rapidly advancing rat horde, Cheng Ze called out to Mo Ye for help. Just as he finished speaking, a grayish-white arm suddenly stretched out from below the window, seemingly about to grab his hand!
That was the claw of a zombie, covered with viruses. If it even grazed him, it would spell disaster; losing a hand might not be the worst of it, he could end up becoming one of those monsters.
In a moment of panic, Cheng Ze was still aiming his gun, and there was no time to dodge. This zombie, which had crawled here with only half its body, was akin to the Grim Reaper, about to snatch the police academy instructor.
In a critical moment, a hand suddenly swung in to block this deathly grab for Cheng Ze.
"Xiao Ye!" Cheng Ze's eyes turned red. Due to the positioning, Mo Ye had no time to pass him her gun and could only use her near side hand to block. But Mo Ye was flesh and blood, and although she managed to push the zombie's hand away, the sharp nails still grazed her skin.
In Cheng Ze's teaching career, Mo Ye was his most outstanding female student. He had put in considerable effort to nurture this promising talent, so although they were nominally a student and a coach, their relationship was more akin to that of a mentor and disciple.
During holidays, when her parents were out of town, Mo Ye would spend them with Cheng Ze, and the bond between the old and the young was incredibly deep.
This teacher-student relationship made Cheng Ze willing to die rather than let anything happen to Mo Ye—she was like his daughter!
But at this moment, his heart sunk to the depths of despair, filled with regret for his carelessness. Otherwise, how could his beloved student have taken this hit for him?
"Xiao Ye, what are you doing!"
The old instructor's eyes widened, and he pressed his gun directly against the zombie's head, feeling that emptying the magazine wouldn't even satisfy his anger as he yelled at Mo Ye.
He resented Mo Ye for being so foolish—wasn’t this akin to dying for him?
But to his surprise, Cheng Ze's profound sorrow and regret earned Mo Ye's unbothered smile in return.
"It’s fine, Master, I won’t be infected."
"Nonsense! Just because you say you won't be infected doesn't mean you won't! I don’t need your comfort right now!"
Cheng Ze's emotions boiled over, and he began cursing, not at Mo Ye, but at himself.
The others in the room were equally alarmed at this scene. Among them were two of Mo Ye's team members and her senior sister, who usually had a good relationship with her. Seeing Mo Ye's hand bleeding from the zombie's grasp left them all at a loss.
"Mo Mo, hurry, cutting off that hand might save you! Being disabled is better than being dead!"