Chapter 003: Exoskeleton, Predator

When Li Lang awoke from his coma, it was already the evening of that day

At this moment, he realized that his zombie body seemed somewhat different from the others. Firstly, the other zombies appeared to be mindless beasts, while he still retained his previous will. Secondly, while the other zombies seemed only to know how to devour fresh flesh and blood, he seemed to desire other things as well, such as canned food.

Waking up this time seemed to have cleared his mind considerably. He glanced at the corpse of the fat zombie and felt a bit nauseous. Thinking about how he had eaten the flesh from Mr. Wang, Li Lang was overwhelmed by a strange sensation that mixed greed and disgust, as if there were two kinds of consciousness—human and zombie—within him.

He was filled with a surge of anger and, in a fit of rage, ran out onto the street with a kitchen knife, slicing off several large pieces of flesh from the fat zombie. He then rubbed them with salt and sat by the roadside, indulging in a hearty meal.

After the death of his parents, he forcibly suppressed his tears. The subsequent experiences of assassination, sentencing, execution, and now becoming a zombie—all this pressure has been deeply buried within him. However, no matter how much these events have matured him, he is still just an eighteen-year-old university student. At this moment, his inner fragility finally reveals itself in front of a group of zombies, exposed while consuming human flesh

However, Li Lang encountered a zombie on the previous street that was roughly the same size as him. This particular zombie was even more formidable than the others, with jawbone fragments that gleamed like jade, and it had already reached the speed of a normal person jogging. Li Lang was pursued by it for an entire street, and only upon arriving at his current location did he resort to his usual tactic—crawling under a vehicle.

At this moment, at the end of the street, a staggering zombie suddenly appeared. This zombie was likely hunting for prey, yet it was unaware that it had become the prey itself

On a foul-smelling street in disarray, a frail zombie boy walked along, flanked by aimlessly wandering zombies on either side; the scene was indescribably bizarre

"Oh, how has my strength increased?" Li Lang said in surprise. He suddenly realized that his strength had essentially returned to its original state, and his speed of movement was now comparable to that of an average person

At that moment, a zombie, seemingly provoked by something, charged towards Li Lang. However, this was an ordinary zombie, unlike the large, corpulent zombies Li Lang had encountered before; it was at most similar to Li Lang's previous self.

The several zombies on both sides stared at him blankly, resembling a group of obedient elementary school students

Li Lang wrapped several pieces of meat and strapped them to his back, then set off towards his home, which had become a wasteland on the other side of the city. To avoid attracting the attention of some ferocious zombies, Li Lang tried to walk along the shadows by the corners of the walls.

Thinking of this, the feeling of hunger struck again. I truly do not understand why zombies, despite moving very slowly and having little stamina, have such a strong need for food

He suddenly felt an overwhelming longing for his home, which had turned into a wasteland. It was located in the southern part of the city. Due to the incident involving a death, Mayor Zhang and General Manager Wang had halted construction, planning to wait until Li Lang was executed and a period of calm had passed before resuming work. Therefore, the area remained a scene of broken walls and the ruins of books.

Isn't that the skill of that fat zombie? He was momentarily stunned. However, despite his surprise, the kitchen knife in his right hand did not pause for a moment, and he struck down, severing the zombie's head.

Li Lang stared blankly at the cracked tooth on his left hand; it looked extremely menacing, with a sharp bone tube in the center. When it had emerged earlier, there seemed to be a subtle force at play. Following that sensation, he exerted force again, and with a whoosh, his left hand returned to its original state. As soon as he applied force, it immediately transformed back into the cracked tooth shape

Just as the zombie took a few steps forward, a sharp "whoosh" sounded, and a red rope shot out, wrapping around its waist

Right now! Li Lang leaped up and, taking advantage of the predator's distraction, sprinted down the next street!

Li Lang's left hand unexpectedly split into four segments in an instant, each segment adorned with a dozen sharp teeth. It then enveloped the zombie's shoulder. Instinctively, Li Lang exerted force, and with a scream, the zombie's shoulder was brutally torn apart.

However, the zombie with the jade bone fragment could not stop in time and actually charged forward several meters before coming to a halt

Is it to starve to death, or to rush out and fight with all one's might? ... Perhaps it is only to wait for an opportunity ...

Li Lang sat down on a nearby luxury hover car, lost in thought about what he should do next

Revenge must be carried out. Now that General Wang has been eliminated by him, there is still Mayor Zhang living freely. Although this zombie plague is spreading rapidly, Li Lang knows that given Mayor Zhang's status, it is quite normal for him to escape with his family and continue his official duties. Now that he has lost track of him, it seems he can only take it one step at a time, waiting until he can find a way to infiltrate the human stronghold.

After sobbing quietly for a while, Li Lang smashed the piece of meat in his hand onto a small zombie nearby that was staring at him, scolding with a smile, "What are you looking at?"

He glanced at the headless, plump zombie at his feet, then looked at his newly grown left hand, feeling a wave of confusion. He vaguely remembered that before losing consciousness, his left hand seemed to have sprayed something. Could it be that liquid that killed this creature? And how did his left hand grow back? There was a patch of bright white bone armor on the back of his hand, but he did not know what it was for

How did I faint again? Li Lang let out a bitter laugh. He truly had a strong constitution; every time he fainted, he managed to escape death.

Li Lang gnawed for a while, and suddenly, holding the bloody and mangled piece of meat in his hands, he began to cry silently. The pressure he had endured over the past few days seemed to have suddenly broken his last psychological defense line, finding a way to vent his emotions

With a wry smile and a shake of his head, it seemed that human thought still held the upper hand. Li Lang glanced at the supermarket by the street and pushed the door open to enter. The shelves were in disarray, but most of the goods remained. Li Lang first opened a few cans of canned meat, but found that what was once delicious had become hard to swallow. A part of the zombie within him incessantly reminded him that he should eat raw meat.

At that moment, a terrifying event occurred. A thick red rope suddenly extended from the window ahead, wrapping around the jade bone zombie and pulling it into the window. From Li Lang's perspective, it seemed as if it was being drawn into a massive red flower, and then the blood-red petals of that "flower" abruptly closed, crushing the jade bone zombie into a lump before it could even let out a scream.

Li Lang finally found the refrigerator storing the raw meat, but due to a power outage, the meat was no longer fresh, covered with flies and fresh maggots. ... The human sense of disgust prevailed once again ...

These zombies seem to enhance their strength by devouring their kind, and their common characteristic is that they all have a shiny white bone armor on their heads to varying degrees. This bone armor is either located on their faces or grows at the back of their heads, resembling the bone armor on Li Lang's left arm. Moreover, they possess the same strength and speed as ordinary people, which may not seem significant, but in a horde of zombies that are slow-moving and weak, this becomes a tremendous advantage, allowing them to be invincible. These zombies also seem to be able to sense Li Lang's differences, often launching ambushes against him.

Li Lang lay under an off-road vehicle, his gaze fixed intently on the dark window of a building ahead. He had been in this position for nearly half a day, and he was only seven or eight blocks away from where he had set out. Inside that window, there was a presence that sent chills down his spine

Thus, he now dares not move, fearing that if he crawls out, he too will be dragged in. However, as time passes, the feeling of hunger strikes again, and the meat he had brought with him has long been consumed

Li Lang decided to return and take a look, at the very least to retrieve some of his parents' belongings, and then to pay respects at their gravesite— that gravesite was purchased in a remote suburban cemetery after Li Lang sold whatever he could from his family home. After all, the tradition of honoring deceased relatives has been ingrained in the blood of the Chinese for thousands of years.

Then there was the prolonged, spine-chilling sound of bones being chewed, accompanied by the images in the book...

There must be a powerful predator among them. Li Lang originally intended to circumvent from the other end of the street. Just as he was about to act, he saw a zombie at the end of the street being dragged in by a red rope. It was then that he realized this section of the street was completely devoid of any zombies

Li Lang immediately stood up, with his left hand shielding his body and his right hand wielding a kitchen knife, prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. This zombie must have been extremely hungry and had detected the scent of blood to come charging over.

However, this thing seems to be extremely exhausting. After using it twice, Li Lang felt as if half of his strength had been drained away. It appears that there is a cost involved. However, the purpose of that bone tube is still unknown. Is it a fork for eating?

This unusual phenomenon indicates that the other zombies have been consumed by this predator

The zombie staggered towards Li Lang at its fastest speed, then leaned forward to bite him. However, in Li Lang's eyes, this speed seemed somewhat slow. He leisurely placed his left hand on the zombie's shoulder, just as he was about to exert force to push it away, a strange event occurred

This change left him utterly perplexed, yet he realized that this transformation had actually been present since he woke up; he simply had not paid much attention to it

Since stepping out of the street three days ago, Li Lang has discovered a strange and terrifying fact: almost every street has a powerful zombie that is no less formidable than a fat zombie.

However, because Li Lang has undergone a similar evolution, although he encounters several seemingly formidable zombies, as long as he runs to the next street, it suffices. It appears that each street is a territory of a particular zombie, and they do not "cross borders".