You're a damn zombie now!
As Yang Tian scanned the area, his gaze suddenly froze. A glimmering Barrett M95 caught his eye – Jessica must have dropped it while escaping.
"Barrett? Is it really you?" Yang Tian recognized the blood-stained rifle immediately. Ignoring his aching body, he stepped towards it, opened the magazine, and found only three bullets left. But that wasn't a problem for Yang Tian.
Sure enough, he found ammunition in the points store – 5 points per magazine.
"Great, just great!" Yang Tian's hands trembled as he touched the Barrett. It was his favorite sniper rifle from the game, now lying in his hands for real. This joy was almost overwhelming; perhaps the happiest moment since his transmigration.
"Ding! High-level item detected: Barrett M95!" The electronic voice rang in his ears. Yang Tian excitedly set up the Barrett, peering through the scope. The chaotic world unfolded before his eyes. He sighed, remembering... he was now a zombie. Who was he going to kill with this gun? More zombies?
Even though Yang Tian had become a member of the zombie race, his heart remained human. Now, with his world turned upside down, how should he proceed?
Yang Tian let out a guttural growl. The zombies around him flinched and instinctively scattered, creating a bubble of empty space around him on the rooftop.
Yang Tian looked up at the glaring sun, and then casually rummaged through the bodies, finding some relatively clean clothes. He tore them into strips and began to wipe the blood off the Barrett. After a long time, the rifle began to regain some of its original silvery sheen. With the heavy Barrett on his shoulder, Yang Tian started down the stairs. He had hoped to find a heavy machine gun left behind by the others, but it seemed the tide of corpses had swept everything away, except for the Barrett that had luckily ended up in a corner.
Step by step, enduring the pain, Yang Tian descended. The office was in chaos, bodies scattered everywhere, testament to the fierce battle that had taken place.
Yang Tian slowly approached a mirror and stopped, seeing his reflection... no, seeing the zombie in the mirror.
The once handsome face was now even paler, the stature still upright, but the only significant change was his eyes. His originally blue eyes had turned into a murky gray-green.
This was perhaps the most striking similarity between Yang Tian and other zombies. Ordinary zombies had gray eyes, but his were a strange mix of gray and green, eerie yet uniquely captivating. They were deep and alluring; the more one looked, the more chilling, yet the harder it was to look away.
"From now on... you're a zombie," Yang Tian said to the reflection, his voice trembling. Suddenly, he roared, "A zombie! From now on, that's what you are!" The hoarse shouts echoed, and Yang Tian painfully grabbed his head. After consuming the biochemical crystal, he had regained his ability to speak, but his raspy voice left him feeling frustrated.
Yang Tian swung his arm violently, as if venting something, pointing at the zombie in the mirror. "Damn you!" He stared at his reflection – the murky gray-green eyes, the bloodstained body, the wounds and decaying flesh. Yang Tian suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion. Was this form, neither human nor ghost, some sort of punishment from the heavens?
Bang!
Yang Tian punched the mirror, cracks spiderwebbing across it until it shattered, pieces falling to the floor.
Control. Control yourself.
Yang Tian closed his eyes in pain, his trembling body slowly calming. After a long while, he picked up the Barrett and started down the stairs.
Along the way, a few zombies still staggered about. Just a day ago, these zombies would have lunged at him, eager to tear him apart. But now? As Yang Tian walked down the stairs, they instinctively avoided him, fearing the aura of a higher-level being.
"Could their brains also contain crystals?" Yang Tian wondered as he held the railing, descending the stairs. Without hesitation, he acted.
He grabbed a passing male zombie, slashed with his dagger, and the zombie's head separated from its body instantly.
Since consuming the crystal, Yang Tian was no longer a slow-moving, ordinary zombie. The attributes inherited from the brood made him even faster than when he was human. Despite being badly injured from the previous battle, killing an ordinary zombie was still easy – especially one that was dazed by his aura.
Like discarding trash, Yang Tian kicked the zombie aside and examined the severed head, using his dagger to pry it open. After searching for a while, he found no biochemical crystal.
"Damn it, looks like ordinary zombies don't have them," Yang Tian muttered, tossing the head away. Looking at his bloodstained hands, he suddenly felt an urge – a craving for food.
Unable to resist, Yang Tian extended his tongue, intending to lick the blood off his hand.
The moment his tongue touched the bloody palm, a wave of satisfaction washed over him, making him crave a second taste. The lingering flavor in his mouth stimulated his appetite, and instinctively, Yang Tian leaned in for another lick.
Suddenly, his gray-green eyes focused, staring at the "delicious" sight in front of him. Yang Tian shook his hand violently, trying to shake off the blood, like a madman torn between desire and repulsion. One moment craving it intensely, the next filled with disgust.
"What the hell are you doing?! What are you doing?!" Yang Tian hugged his head, sliding down against the wall, sitting on the floor helplessly.