Chapter Seven, Walking on Corpses

Suddenly, the previously motionless female zombie opened her mouth and bit down on Wang Zongchao's finger

With this buffer, Wang Zongchao leaped and bounced onto the head of a zombie, simultaneously jumping towards the exit of the research room. He took the opportunity to pull the little chubby boy, who was still trapped in the immobile zombie horde, out of this deadly space.

Wang Zongchao frowned and said: "It is not quite accurate to say that; zombies are indeed very dangerous, especially since they are caused by viral infections. Being bitten, scratched, or coming into contact with their bodily fluids on an open wound can lead to infection and transform one into one of them. You can think of zombies as venomous snakes; when killing a venomous snake, even the slightest mistake is unacceptable! Every one of my movements has been honed through rigorous and coordinated training, so I am confident that in facing such situations, I have over a ninety-nine percent chance of not making a mistake. However, you absolutely cannot achieve that, so no matter what, you must try to avoid close contact with zombies!"

As a series of mistakes accumulated, Wang Zongchao finally lost his balance and fell towards the horde of zombies

However, given the sluggishness of the zombie, how could it pose a threat to him even at such a close distance? In an instant, he tilted and shrank his head, deftly avoiding the zombie's bite. At the same time, he slightly twisted his left hand, positioning the iron hook towards the zombie's teeth, ready to knock it down and leave it searching for its teeth.

Wang Zongchao fell silent for a moment, then suddenly kicked the prone female zombie, turning her over so that her face was facing up

Each step taken with just the right amount of force not only prevents one from falling but also precisely breaks the necks of the zombies that have been stepped on

The sound produced by this strike was very faint, yet the female zombie's mouth, nose, and ears oozed a viscous, pulpy substance, as if her entire brain had been shattered into liquid brain matter by that single blow

Wang Zongchao suddenly felt a tingling sensation on the skin at the back of his neck as he was about to be attacked by the zombie. Instinctively, he shrank his neck and lowered his head to evade the attack. Although being hit by the bullet, which had already slowed down significantly, might not result in serious injury, it was still stained with zombie blood

Before these two zombies could fall, Wang Zongchao moved swiftly, as if stepping on a series of flower stakes, traversing over the heads of more than a dozen zombies

A sudden exclamation arose from outside

Suddenly, Wang Zongchao's expression changed, and he shouted: "Be careful!"

Wang Zongchao, though startled, remained composed. He extended his left hand to grip the shoulder of a zombie and used that leverage to leap upward. At the same time, he relaxed all his muscles, springing up with the force of rubber, as hard as iron, instantly shaking off the hands of several zombies that were grasping his body.

However, unexpected events still occurred

With a loud "bang," the head of the zombie that was about to bite his wound exploded completely, and the foul-smelling blood splattered everywhere. It seems that someone outside fired a gun in rescue, but with such accurate shooting, it should not be that rookie Zheng Zha.

Matthew gasped for breath, tacitly accepting Wang Zongchao's words. He then changed to a calm, consultative tone and asked, "Do you mean we can simply take down the zombies in hand-to-hand combat?"

As he had previously told the chubby boy, it is a small effort to save a life, so why not do it? Now, pulling someone out of a crowd of zombies does not seem to entail much danger.

The female zombie has a delicate appearance; apart from her pale complexion, she retains her looks from when she was alive. To an uninformed observer, this scene appears as if a perverse individual is torturing and murdering a young girl.

Wang Zongchao turned his head in surprise along with that hand, only to see Zeng Rong's face contorted in pain. He did not expect that this little chubby guy, despite lacking any abilities, was still quite loyal.

In the back and forth, at least close to 20 zombies fell to the ground, while the other zombies were temporarily blocked and unable to exit the laboratory.

With a crisp sound of a fracture, Wang Zongchao broke the cervical vertebra of the female zombie with just three fingers of one hand. Witnessing this scene, several big men around couldn't help but shrink their heads and swallow hard, while Zhan Lan had long turned her face away, unable to bear the sight.

The zombies are extremely sluggish; even when they see a foot coming down, they do not understand how to evade it. Therefore, for Wang Zongchao to achieve this is completely effortless

Furthermore, I captured a female zombie and brought her back in an attempt to obtain some information about the opponent

At that moment, Matthew's voice came through: "Return to the Flame Empress! Go back there!"

Everyone listened in silence, remembering firmly, and the respect in their eyes became increasingly evident. The few newcomers looked at Wang Zongchao with a gaze of worship, as if they were seeing God.

At the same time, a hand moved to intercept the mouth of the zombie that was about to bite Wang Zongchao's face, taking the deep bite that was meant for him. Unlike the cold, filthy blood of the zombie, the warm, fresh blood of a living person splattered onto Wang Zongchao's face

A common person would either suffer a concussion from such a fall or take a long time to get back up, but that female zombie, upon hitting the ground, immediately wobbled and propped herself up, reaching out her hand towards Wang Zongchao.

Wang Zongchao let out a "hum" and extended his left arm, pinching the cervical spine of the female zombie.

An unexpected turn of events arose, and in an instant, the reactions of everyone present revealed their respective standings. Wang Zongchao noticed it the moment the door opened just a crack, while Zhang Jie and the mercenaries were not slow to react either; they had already dodged to the side and raised their guns towards the zombies.

A martial artist who has mastered the plum blossom poles to the highest level can perform with their eyes covered, running swiftly on poles that are unevenly inserted or even completely unsupported in the ground, merely resting on the surface. They can even engage in a set of punches with another person while doing so. With such ability, they can easily run over the heads of a crowd, leaving people to realize only after their heads have been stepped on.

Zheng Zha closely followed Matthew and the other mercenaries, with Zhan Lan, Li Xiaoyi, Mou Gang, Wang Zongchao, and Zeng Rong desperately trying to keep up. Fortunately, even though he ran slowly, he was still faster than the clumsy zombies, and ultimately, he was not caught by them

Since everyone's goal is to survive and get out, let us unite and work together with the library to find a way out first. Wang Zongchao understood that, as employees of the company, they could not gain the complete trust of the mercenaries. However, since they had saved the mercenaries and the latter had not shown any malice, they were not in immediate danger.

Although his gun was always capable of shooting zombies in the head, bullets could ricochet in narrow rooms. A bullet that penetrated a zombie's skull, still with kinetic energy, bounced a few times in the laboratory and then shot towards Wang Zongchao's neck

A sudden change caused a group of people present to cry out in alarm, but Wang Zongchao would not be bitten; he quickly retracted his fingers, already having escaped the mouth of the female zombie

Once outside, Wang Zongchao saw Zhang Jie blowing smoke from the muzzle of his gun at him, looking at him with a mocking gaze. It seemed that he had just fired the gun in a rescue attempt, while also seizing the opportunity to ridicule him for overestimating his own abilities

Wang Zongchao nodded in approval and said, "Indeed, so regarding this situation, I hope everyone remembers to avoid unnecessary mistakes as much as possible! Additionally, I would like to mention that the bones of these zombies are more fragile than those of ordinary people, seemingly as a result of viral erosion"

Thereafter, Wang Zongchao continued to manipulate the female zombie's mouth, even opening and closing it, yet the female zombie showed no reaction whatsoever

Saying this, he threw the zombie in his hand down to the ground, and the zombie fell heavily to the floor with a loud "thud".

Then, with a clap of the palm, he struck the forehead of the female zombie

Wang Zongchao pondered for a moment, then tapped his toes again, this time striking the tail end of the female zombie's lumbar spine

The lumbar vertebrae were fractured, and the female zombie fell to the ground. This time, her legs could no longer move, yet she still propped herself up with her hands, dragging her legs as she crawled towards Wang Zongchao.

However, in that moment, a zombie's mouth was already inches away from his face, opening wide to bite down on him, the stench of decay enveloping his face.

After a frantic run, everyone finally arrived at the central computer room. Once they all entered, the heavy door slammed shut behind them, completely isolating the room from the outside world. At this moment, they could finally catch their breath, no longer as tense as they had been moments before. Several of them could no longer hold on and sat down on the ground. Except for Zhang Jie and Wang Zongchao, the newcomers, including Zheng Zha, were gasping heavily. They desperately inhaled air; even though their lungs were full of oxygen, the extreme fear in their hearts made it impossible for them to stop until they were nearly suffocating. It was only when they were close to asphyxiation that Zheng Zha and the others gradually stabilized their breathing.

Wang Zongchao spoke as he turned his body, already positioning himself behind the female zombie. With a swift motion of his toes, a sharp "crack" echoed as the female zombie's calf bent at an unnatural angle.

At this moment, reinforcements from outside began to arrive. Zheng Zha likely intended to repay Wang Zongchao for his earlier protection, raising his gun and shooting at the zombies in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on Wang Zongchao

This group of zombies had long noticed someone running above them, and their instinct to search for food caused them to raise their arms high, waving at Wang Zongchao as if they were a forest of trees. As Wang Zongchao fell, he was immediately grabbed by several zombies with their hands

Wang Zongchao then stood up and addressed the silent crowd, saying: "Have you all noticed anything?"

Meanwhile, a zombie lunged at the wound of his severed arm, as the scent of blood consistently proved to be the most effective lure for the zombies

Well, there is no possibility of pain or dizziness

The zombies in the research facility were packed in like sardines in a can. Is Wang Zongchao's action a death wish?

However, that fat man, Ceng Rong, did not possess any sense of crisis. Perhaps he was still stuck in his understanding of the original plot and was unprepared for the sudden appearance of zombies. Caught off guard, he was dragged in by the zombies, and the chilling screams were enough to send shivers down one's spine

However, Wang Zongchao did not fall into the horde of zombies; instead, he actually used the heads of the zombies as stepping stones. As he landed, he stepped down with both feet, instantly breaking the necks of the two zombies he stepped on, causing their sternum and ribs to fracture as well, with their entire heads nearly being crushed into their chests.

Then, he brought his finger close to the mouth of the female zombie

The door to the research facility opened silently, and dozens of zombies spilled out from within. This incident was purely accidental; due to the loss of control by the Flame Empress, the door had become manually operated, and it was likely that the zombies inside had unintentionally pressed the door opening button.

Such a sudden movement caused Wang Zongchao's center of gravity to tilt. Given Wang Zongchao's balancing ability, this should not have been a problem; however, he had already lost his right hand, which had been replaced by an iron hook. This, in turn, introduced a slight deviation in his movements.

With the cervical vertebrae fractured, the female zombie finally fell to the ground and could no longer move.

After just one round, the more than ten zombies that had once been glorious were completely dealt with. Although there were still many other zombies, their dense formation prevented them from advancing due to the immobilized bodies of their companions blocking the way.

Except for Zhang Jie and a few mercenaries, the other newcomers appeared somewhat stunned. However, Zhan Lan had already reacted and stepped forward to interject: "It is evident that, apart from the lack of pain perception, zombies control their movements in a manner similar to humans, still governed by the brain through the spinal cord to regulate bodily activities. Although attacking a zombie's limbs may not have much effect, targeting the lumbar region can paralyze the areas below the point of attack, rendering the zombie immobile. If the cervical vertebrae of a zombie are broken, it will result in a high-level paralysis similar to that of a human. However, it is important to note that the parts above the zombie's head can still move, so one should avoid bringing their body close to the zombie's mouth to prevent being bitten. Only a zombie with its brain completely destroyed is truly a corpse that cannot move at all"

But that female zombie showed no signs of feeling, treating her own lower leg as a curved prosthetic limb, limping as she turned towards Wang Zongchao

Wang Zongchao grabbed hold of Zeng Rong, who had just escaped death and was still in a state of shock, and shouted: "Let's go!"

Wang Zongchao was the first to react; he leaped into the air, astonishingly reaching a height of three meters, and descended towards the group of zombies in the research room