Rookie Zombie, One Star Rating?
The soldiers in the hall who witnessed the scene burst into laughter.
Kelly couldn't help but chuckle as well, then turned and walked through a door. Inside the room, a few mercenaries were already waiting.
"After I leave, keep an eye on Jessica! Don't let her cause any trouble!" Kelly ordered one of the tall mercenaries.
"Got it, boss. I'll take care of her!" The tall mercenary replied firmly, though his tone was a bit stiff, clearly lacking confidence.
Jessica the Python had quite the reputation at the base. Known for her strength, beauty, and cold demeanor, keeping her under control was no easy task.
Kelly sighed helplessly, then spoke to another mercenary, "Notify Team One to assemble immediately!"
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Yang Tian's head was spinning, his blurry vision gradually coming into focus.
Am I... still alive?
Yang Tian rubbed his forehead, feeling sharp pain all over his body. He looked down and found himself covered in blood, looking utterly miserable. The bright red blood appeared particularly striking under the sunlight.
What he didn't know was that when he killed the brood zombie and roared to the sky, the infection had already taken hold. He had become a zombie. The other ordinary zombies, seeing their leader killed and a stronger zombie appearing, scattered in fear. Without their leader's command, they wandered aimlessly.
"Does this mean I've turned into a zombie? That's why they didn't eat me?" Yang Tian thought with lingering fear. He tried to speak, but could only produce a hoarse growl.
Yang Tian clutched his head in shock. Had he really turned into a zombie? The raspy growl sounded unbearably harsh.
He stayed dazed for a while, then slowly got up. Looking around at the river of blood and the devastation, he noticed that the wandering zombies had disappeared. Yang Tian tried to take a step forward but suddenly lost his footing, falling hard into the pool of blood, gasping in pain.
He rubbed his wounds, tears welling up from the intense pain. After a while, he staggered over to the brood zombie's corpse. Staring at the dead creature, a flash of hatred crossed his eyes. It was this thing! It had turned him into this monstrous state!
Yang Tian grabbed the dagger still embedded in the brood's head, yanked it out, and stabbed it again with force.
"Damn you! Damn you!!" Yang Tian shouted hoarsely as he stabbed repeatedly. "I am human! I want to return to the human world! I'm not one of these mindless creatures! I don't want to wander here!"
He kept stabbing, purely out of frustration. He didn't know how many times he had struck until exhaustion forced him to stop, his wounds aching even more. Looking at the now-destroyed head, a strange feeling came over him.
Mentally, Yang Tian found the dismembered flesh disgusting, enough to make anyone vomit. But physically, he craved that blood-soaked meat, driven by an urge to devour it.
"Damn it!" Yang Tian cursed angrily, stabbing the brood again in frustration. Despair and anger mixed within him. Was he really going to eat this stuff like them? No! He wouldn't!
He threw the dagger aside in annoyance, not daring to look at the flesh and blood, afraid he might lose control and take a bite.
"Yang Tian, listen! You can do this... you're not an ordinary zombie, you can fight this..." Yang Tian muttered to himself, but the constant smell of blood was an unrelenting assault on his senses.
Suddenly, Yang Tian noticed something inside the destroyed head of the brood – a crystal.
His hand trembled as he reached for the crystal, trying to suppress his hunger, and slowly picked it up.
"Ding! Biochemical crystal (L) detected. Consumable. Effect: Increases hidden attributes, among other benefits. Further development left to the host."
"Hidden attributes?" Yang Tian murmured, quickly opening his character template to see his stats:
Character: Yang Tian
Status: Low-level Zombie (One Star)
Points: 331/631
Exchange list unlocked (incomplete). Currently open for items below 630 points.
Skill: Slaughter Blade (Level 1)
Skill Description: Maximizes damage of melee weapons, capable of dealing fatal damage to the target. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 day. Upgrade method: Unknown.
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Yang Tian stared blankly at the information, hardly able to believe that he had turned into a one-star, low-level zombie.
The crystal in his hand pricked his palm painfully. Yang Tian looked at it, then closed his eyes tightly and shoved the crystal into his mouth, swallowing it.
"Ding! Consumed biochemical crystal (L). Skill obtained: Frenzied Acceleration! Hidden attribute: Partial inheritance of brood attributes, left for the host to develop."
Yang Tian felt a surge of energy throughout his body. He noticed a new skill had appeared beside Slaughter Blade: Frenzied Acceleration.
Skill Description: Temporarily increases movement speed, grants partial immunity to minor injuries. Duration: 10 minutes. Upgrade method: Unknown.
"Frenzied Acceleration?" Yang Tian whispered in surprise, suddenly realizing that after consuming the crystal, he could speak again. Though his voice was still a bit unclear, it was much better than the previous growls.