Chapter 17: Mutated Zombies
Clutching a faint glimmer of hope, Xiao Yi slowly ascended the wide marble staircase. To his astonishment, he spotted two blood-smeared handguns on the steps, along with three M16 rifles lying in pools of blood—standard-issue weapons from the U.S. military. Excitement surged through him!
Unfortunately, all the guns were out of ammo.
He slung one relatively clean M16 over his shoulder and pressed on upstairs.
With this many firearms around, the villa's owner clearly wasn't ordinary. There might even be an armory inside.
Xiao Yi didn't dare hope for much, but if he could find ammo for a rifle and pistol—or even a rifle itself—that would be perfect!
Of course, any survivors could help him scour this luxurious villa for what he needed.
The floors were littered with zombie corpses and gore, so he moved cautiously, step by deliberate step.
When he reached the second-floor hallway, horror filled his eyes. Even with his hardened psyche, he nearly retched.
A thick stench of decay hit him like a wall. Swarms of black flies buzzed everywhere, and amid the corpses, clusters of writhing white maggots squirmed disgustingly.
What the hell happened here? Why so many zombie bodies?
Xiao Yi pinched his nose and muttered to himself.
And who the hell owned this place?
These zombies had clearly been gunned down. Some were even blown to chunks by explosives.
Just eyeing the carnage, Xiao Yi could imagine the ferocious battle that had raged.
The half-collapsed hallway, charred walls smeared with blast residue—it was obvious they'd unleashed a hail of gunfire and grenades!
What kind of person had access to so many guns, bodyguards, and even SEAL Team involvement?
Guns were legal in America, but grenades? Those were strictly controlled military contraband!
How did they get their hands on grenades? And what were they protecting?
Xiao Yi frowned in thought for a moment, then pinched his nose tighter and gingerly stepped over the corpses toward the room where he'd heard the noise.
Passing down the hall, he noticed a portrait on the gold-embossed wallpaper. He didn't recognize the man, but the caption below was familiar: William Jefferson Clinton.
The name rang a bell—Clinton, at least, was unmistakable.
But what did this painting mean here?
No time to dwell. Xiao Yi moved on. The villa reeked of mystery everywhere.
From the layout to the bullet-riddled zombies, the owner was no ordinary figure!
"The door's ajar!" At the room where the sound had come from, he heard rustling inside. The door hung slightly open, unlocked.
"Anyone in there?" Xiao Yi rapped softly.
No answer.
The rustling stopped.
The air grew thick with unease.
Gently, he prodded the wooden door open with his spear. It creaked with a long screeech.
Suddenly, a shadow flashed! A hulking figure lunged at him!
"ROAR!!"
No time to think—Xiao Yi yanked back his spear and thrust it viciously at the shadow.
This time, he met real resistance. The massive impact nearly tore the spear from his grip; he stumbled back two steps, barely avoiding a tumble into the corpse pile.
Now he saw it clearly: a zombie! Towering and burly, covered in flab, with a sagging, oversized jaw lined with razor teeth. Gray-white face veined with worm-like blue lines—utterly grotesque.
The military dagger on his spear had sunk only halfway, lodged in the zombie's iron-hard skull. A first for him!
Screeech—another door sound.
"ROAR!!!"
Before he could wrench the spear free, a roar erupted behind him.
Heart pounding, Xiao Yi yanked hard—but it stuck fast in the skull.
A foul wind rushed at his back. No time to think: "System! Handgun!"
The instant the pistol materialized, he spun and fired at the shadow!
Bang! The bullet punched straight into the zombie's gaping maw, exploding out the back of its skull in a spray of blood and brains. Its lunge faltered, letting Xiao Yi dodge the killing blow.
The gunshot echoed through the hall, followed by muffled, rasping growls.
"Urgh... urgh urgh..."
"ROAR! ROAR!"
"Shit!" Xiao Yi realized: more zombies lurked in the villa!
The shot had roused the dormant ones. And these were tougher than the ones outside—who knew what horrors they'd endured?
"System! Recall handgun! Summon modao!"
The pistol vanished; a gleaming modao appeared in his hand.
In close quarters like this, guns were a last resort!
Meanwhile, five burly zombies waddled out from a room—potbellied with greenish guts, gnashing jagged teeth as they shambled toward him.
Two clutched rotting heads; one chewed a black, dangling intestine.
Xiao Yi whirled to flee—but the stairwell now crawled with over a dozen pint-sized freaks. Green-skinned, sparse white hair, naked and hunched, they crept upward with shrieks, claws like evil goblins from a movie.
"Damn it! Trapped!"
He gripped the modao tight, sweat beading on his brow.
He'd been too reckless, too eager!
Shouldn't have rushed up without clearing the first floor.
Five bruisers ahead, a dozen goblin-zombies behind with their talons.
No way out!
"Gotta fight through! Down the stairs!" He clenched the modao, gritted his teeth, steeling for the desperate break.
Slim odds, but better than waiting to die!
Screeech—suddenly, a door opened behind him in the hall. A woman's head poked out, urgently whispering, "Here! Quick! Hide in here!!"