Aberration Extraction

With a gunshot, the four people on the third floor were immediately alarmed. Halsey's expression changed, and he slightly raised his head, giving a signal with his eyes to the awakened person beside him. Another awakened individual drew two pistols from his waist, creating an elegant flourish of gunfire before heading downstairs.

The distance of the third floor was nothing more than a blink of an eye for the awakened. Soon, he saw a zombie dressed in a red down jacket continuously roaring. Because its eyes were crimson, Darell couldn't recognize it at first glance.

What was even more surprising was that the guard remained in place. Instead of doubting, he opened his mouth and asked, "What's going on?"

The zombie controlled by Shaun still had its back turned towards him, and it pointed to the other zombie with its left hand to indicate the situation. Darell furrowed his brows slightly, feeling puzzled.

How could there suddenly be zombies in the neighborhood?

Before he could think too much, the zombie unexpectedly lunged towards him. Bang! Gunshots rang out, and Darell accurately hit the zombie's leg joints.

Losing its support, the zombie fell to the ground but continued to crawl forward. Darell smirked, pulling out a combat knife. He approached, ready to finish off the zombie directly.

However, just as he got close to the zombie, a burst of gunfire suddenly erupted. Bang! Bang! Bang! Seeing the awakened individual with his back turned, Shaun decisively grabbed a rifle and started firing.

The powerful recoil made it difficult for him to control the rifle, but fortunately, the distance between them was close enough. Though most of the bullets missed, two shots hit Darell.

"Munoz... you!" Darell gritted his teeth against the pain, turned around, and simultaneously kept firing. His face held a hint of shock as he realized that the guard, Munoz, had turned into a zombie.

He had been deceived by a zombie?!

And this zombie could even use a firearm!

In an instant, Darell felt like his worldview had been shattered. Shaun didn't care about what was going through Darell's mind; he picked up the rifle and continued shooting. He wasn't afraid of death; after all, the zombie he controlled was just an ordinary one.

To him, as long as he was safe, anyone else could be discarded.

Despite the difference in weapons—handgun versus rifle—the outcome was clear. Most of Shaun's bullets missed, while Darell's marksmanship was precise.

It seemed that the zombie controlled by Shaun would be the first to die.

"Be careful!"

"Ah!"

Just then, a cry of agony and a flash of a blade coincided.

Halsey had descended the stairs as soon as the gunfire started. The simultaneous sound of rifles and pistols signaled the presence of a formidable enemy. But when he reached the bottom, the sight surprised him greatly.

His own people were fighting each other?

Standing behind Shaun, he couldn't ascertain his identity. However, as brothers, Halsey naturally believed Darell first.

He drew a machete and directly killed the zombie controlled by Shaun. Meanwhile, on the other side, having received orders early, the four had stealthily approached Darell using their camouflage abilities.

One of them opened his mouth and bit down without making a sound.

Halsey naturally noticed this and tried to warn. But it was too late!

"Damn it!"

Halsey was furious, and after dealing with the zombie controlled by Shaun, he pulled out a pistol from his waist, ready to deal with the fourth person. He also recognized that the fourth person was the one who had tried to infiltrate their group.

But he could never have imagined that the fourth person was a zombie!

And that it had come inside the compound!

His mind was in shock, sensing that this wasn't a typical zombie attack but rather something deliberately planned.

Everything had become too eerie and strange!

Since the death of that zombie, Shaun's will had returned. However, he saw the potential crisis with the fourth person. He initiated another will transfer and controlled the fourth person. In Darell's astonished gaze, a zombie unexpectedly drew a handgun and confronted him. Neither side fired a shot! The situation seemed to have reached a stalemate.

Bang! The sound of a gunshot shattered the impasse. A bullet pierced through Halsey's head, instantly killing an awakened individual. But the zombie on the opposite side hadn't fired; the gunshot came from the side.

Halsey's eyes still held shock, but he couldn't fathom who had fired the shot.

Shaun himself walked slowly out of the nearby bushes, blowing on the muzzle. Unexpectedly, this shot had been a direct kill. If he had failed, he would have sacrificed the fourth person. He had mastered the skill of will transfer to an extraordinary degree!

First, he used a newly controlled zombie to attract the guard's attention and silently infected it. Then, he disguised himself as the guard and inflicted severe injuries on an awakened individual.

Using the disguised guard, he diverted Darell's attention, allowing the fourth person to infect him while he was unguarded. Utilizing the fourth person, he captured the attention of another awakened individual.

Meanwhile, Shaun emerged from the bushes, resolving the situation once more! He holstered the handgun and rifle and retreated back into the bushes.

At this moment, Darell had been infected and turned into a zombie, with Shaun re-establishing control over him. But what surprised him was that Darell had become an ordinary fifth-tier zombie!

Awakened individuals, upon infection, would start at a higher level than ordinary humans. However, they wouldn't inherit the skill of precise marksmanship. The zombie Darell entered the building and headed straight to the third floor.

Doctor Gavin was currently in a room, a hint of fear in his eyes. Gunshots echoed, interspersed with zombie roars. Were zombies attacking?

Bang! Bang! A sudden knocking on the door broke the silence. Gavin looked towards the door, only to find Darell standing there. However, Darell had his right hand covering his head, unintentionally shielding his pupils.

His face was somewhat pale, as if injured. The knocking was urgent, and Gavin didn't overthink it. There was only one reason: ordinary zombies couldn't infect awakened individuals! The level of the zombie virus in their bodies was too low. Once inside an awakened individual, their mysterious energy would cleanse it.

However, the fourth person was an elite zombie, on the same level as Darell, and therefore capable of easily infecting him. For this reason, Gavin hadn't considered that Darell could be infected. Naturally, he opened the door without a hint of wariness.

In a short span of time, a cold, electronic sound resounded in Shaun's mind. "Ding! The zombie controlled by the host has successfully infected one person, Evolution Points +2.5!"

...

"Ding! The host has completed a random mission, interrupting the rescue mission!"

"Reward distribution in progress..."

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for acquiring the skill: Aberration Extraction!"

"Aberration Extraction: When you kill a human awakened individual or a mutated beast, there's a chance to obtain one of their talents or skills!"

Shaun was stunned. He hadn't expected to be rewarded with such an incredible skill! He could directly plunder an opponent's talent or skill!

If he had awakened this skill earlier and seized control of the abnormally mutated spring vines' corpse, it would have been terrifying. Just think about it – controlling the bodies of more mutated beasts. Shaun could practically stride across the world now.

However, the corpse manipulation would likely have limitations. Yet, the Aberration Extraction was undoubtedly an amazing skill, potentially on par with the Control talent.

Although Shaun had accumulated a variety of talents and skills, far surpassing those at his level, he had always known that every talent and skill was incredibly precious and could greatly enhance his strength. Without the system, he wouldn't have so many talents and skills.

Only when advancing to an elite zombie would he be able to completely comprehend a skill. Each advancement of an elite zombie came with a chance to learn a skill. For instance, Shaun's Heavy Strike Kill was such an instance, although the chance of such an event was undoubtedly small.

The Aberration Extraction now gave him the chance. By killing more mutated beasts or human awakened individuals, he could gain more skills and talents. The system's reward was a tempting offer that he doubted anyone could resist.