Chapter 30: Zombies vs. The Stitched Monstrosity

The massive creature seemed to want to attack the round-shaped fleshy creature but the frenzied zombies hindered it. They encircled the stitched creature and relentlessly hurled themselves upon it, creating a barrier that thwarted its advances.

The stitched monstrosity continued to battle against the tide of frenzied zombies pouring in from all directions. With each sweeping blow, it sent broken corpses flying through the air.

Lynn and Alice observed the stitched creature from their vantage point atop the fallen tank.

"What in the world is that monstrosity?" Lynn muttered.

The creature towered at least 10 feet tall, its hulking form composed of parts crudely stitched together. Lynn could make out the thick, muscular limbs of brawler zombies fused into the patchwork flesh. Sections of hardened bone plating from armored zombies reinforced the shoulders and forearms and many other part of zombies.

But the most disturbing part was the chest cavity. Ripped open down the middle, it exposed a mass of pulsating body parts and tissues stitched haphazardly together. And at the epicenter, suspended in the gruesome mess, was a shriveled human head.

Alice's eyes widened in recognition. "That melted and distorted head... it's unmistakably Dr. Stein."

Lynn followed her gaze. Sure enough, despite the head's deformed and deteriorated state, he could just make out the human head's features warped into a permanent scream. Strings of sinew and tendon connected his deformed cranium to the creature's body.

"It seems the doctor has become an integral part of his own creation," Alice remarked grimly.

They observed as Dr. Stein's stitched together body continued its frenzied assault against the tide of zombies rushing it. With each sweeping blow, the doctor's deformed head emitted crazed shrieks of laughter, his eyes burning with madness.

"Maybe he injected himself with samples of [Distorted Flesh] in a last-ditch effort to become a mutant to avoid the fate of becoming a mindless zombie," Alice theorized. "But instead, he lost his humanity and became... that."

She gestured at the grotesque creature Dr. Stein had transformed into. The mad doctor's deformed face let out a piercing cackle as he continued battling the endless tide of frenzied undead.

Lynn watched the scene unfolding below, his mind racing. "But why does it attack that other creature that seems to control the zombies?" he muttered.

Alice followed his gaze towards the pulsating, egg-shaped flesh mass suspended from above. The zombies all seemed protecting it, while Dr. Stein's aberration seemed intent on destroying it.

"It is strange," Lynn remarked. "That flesh mass must be linked to the calamity source that's influencing all these creatures. Yet Dr. Stein is solely focused on attacking it."

Alice nodded slowly as comprehension dawned. "Although he lost his humanity and became a monster, his plan to avoid becoming a mindless zombie seems to have succeeded," she said. "Now he is instinctively attacking the egg-like creature because this creature is in the process of evolving and fusing with the calamity source."

Just as she finished speaking, the monstrous stitched creature reared back and unleashed a mighty two-handed smash directed at the dangling flesh mass. The thunderous impact seemed to shake the entire basement lab.

The egg-shaped form convulsed violently, thick tendrils flailing. An earsplitting shriek emanated from it.

All around them, the hordes of zombies reacted to the painful scream with a collective howl, their frenzy intensifying. The creatures clawed and scrambled over each other even more desperately, trying to reach the point of origin.

Lynn clamped his hands over his ears, the intense sound threatening to split his skull. "It's trying to shield itself!" he yelled to Alice.

She gave a pained nod of agreement. "The monster's attack must have damaged it! It's using the zombies to protect itself now!"

They watched as the maddened zombie mob swarmed over Dr. Stein's monstrous form, obstructing him from the suspended flesh mass. But the stitched creature continued fighting relentlessly, smashing through obstacles with raw brute strength.

In the midst of this chaos, the egg-shaped creature suddenly convulsed violently. On its surface, bubbles of flesh were developing as if it were boiling.

Lynn, seeing this situation, warned Alice: "Alice, be ready, the creature above seems to be transforming!"

Hundreds of fleshy tendrils emerged from the egg-shaped mass of flesh. Lynn thought they would attack the stitched monstrosity formed by Dr. Stein, but instead, they lunged towards the zombies.

"What is it doing?" Lynn exclaimed in confusion.

Alice observed as the fleshy tendrils enveloped zombies and seemed to drain them dry. Realization dawned on her. "It's consuming their energy to accelerate its evolution process!"

Lynn tightened his grip on his sword, muscles tensing. He watched with dismay as more and more zombies were absorbed by the expanding mass of tendrils. With each one consumed, the egg-shaped creature seemed to grow subtly larger.

"If that thing completes its evolution, I don't think we'll stand a chance against it," Lynn muttered.

Alice nodded, her expression stern. "Our only hope may be that stitched monstrosity battling it. As horrifying as it is, that creature formed from Dr. Stein seems intent on destroying the source."

Lynn watched with growing unease as the egg-shaped flesh creature continued absorbing more zombies.

"We can't just sit here and hope that stitched monstrosity destroys it for us," Lynn muttered to himself. "Our survival can't rely on that abomination."

He slid his backpack off his shoulders, and opened it.

"Alright, let's see what I've got to work with here," Lynn muttered, rummaging through the contents.

He had been stockpiling zombie cores in his back pack for emergency situations exactly like this. Lynn grabbed a large handful of the glowing crystals containing concentrated energy.

"Hmm... looks like I have just under 100 cores here," Lynn murmured, quickly tallying them. The majority were from normal zombies, but he spotted two larger cores from mutant types mixed in.

"That thing is rapidly evolving and absorbing more power," Lynn said to himself. "I'll also need to increase my power if I want to stand a chance."

Without further hesitation, Lynn began rapidly consuming the cores, absorbing their essence one after another.

The invigorating rush of power suffused his muscles. As Lynn continued consuming cores, he felt himself transcending normal human boundaries.

Soon, Lynn heard the now-familiar notification sound.

[Ding!]

[+1 Strength]

…

[Ding!]

[+1 Constitution]

…

[Ding!]

[+1 Constitution]