021 Zombie rebirth, Evacuate

"What happened?"

 "Where did the gunfire and alarms come from?"

 The sudden blaring of alarms and the sharp sound of gunfire made Anirudh and the others, who had been deeply concerned about the curse of Sadako, snap to attention. They were all filled with confusion and shock.

 Given that the situation in C City had recently stabilized, with police and military forces stationed everywhere and the heavy fog dissipating, it seemed unlikely that anything would go wrong. So, where were the alarms and gunfire coming from?

 More importantly, in the city, the range of gunfire was typically limited to about a thousand meters, especially with the alarm sounding. This would further reduce the effective range of sound. Yet, they could hear the gunfire so clearly. This could only mean one thing—the source of the gunfire was within the National Defense University!

 No, not just the gunfire!

 In the next moment, along with the intense gunfire and alarms, a series of terrifying screams mixed in, reaching Anirudh and Chandan's ears.

 But the source of the screams was so numerous. Not only did they come from the neighboring dormitory buildings, but even from the dormitory building where Anirudh and the others were located!

 "Damn!"

 Hearing the screams from all directions, Anirudh was startled. He immediately pushed open the window and looked in the direction of one of the screams.

 He saw, not far from them, a blood-soaked figure struggling to climb to the balcony of a dormitory building, seemingly trying to jump down to escape from something terrifying. But in the end, he didn't succeed. Two staggering figures pounced on him on the balcony and began to tear into him savagely.

 Then, with a series of piercing screams, a massive amount of blood erupted from the person's body, quickly staining the entire balcony red!

 "Zombies?!"

 Seeing this, Anirudh's pupils shrank.

 How could zombies appear in the National Defense University? And how could there be so many of them all of a sudden?

 "Because the true world-changing event has already begun!"

 Just as Anirudh was shocked by the appearance of the zombies, a long-awaited mechanized voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "Not long ago, the spiritual tide reached its first peak, and the spiritual mist condensed into spiritual rain. This not only increased the abundance of spiritual power in the world, but it also triggered many mutations in the world. Just like the vengeful spirits you encountered before, and the sudden outbreak of zombies right now!"

 "System, you're awake?!"

 The system had finally awakened, but Anirudh didn't feel much joy. Instead, a deep sense of worry rose within him. "Are you saying the zombie virus has mutated to the point where even healthy, strong soldiers are being re-infected and turning into zombies?"

 "No, it's not the zombie virus that has been strengthened, but rather, it's the humans themselves."

 However, the system gave a different answer: "The spiritual tide reached its peak, allowing spiritual power to pour into the human body. This is harmless to humans and even beneficial, as it strengthens the body over time."

 "The problem is, since everyone has different aptitudes, their efficiency in absorbing this spiritual power varies, which leads to completely different results."

 "People with good aptitudes absorb spiritual power quickly, and even without any cultivation methods, they can integrate this spiritual energy into themselves, enhancing their abilities. This is what you call superpowers or special abilities."

 "But for those with poor aptitude, they can't absorb the spiritual power in time. As a result, this power gets absorbed by the zombie virus in their bodies, further enhancing the virus, breaking their immune balance, and eventually turning them into zombies!"

 At this point, the system's mechanical voice carried a serious tone: "Heaven and earth are indifferent, treating all things as mere grass. In the face of this world-changing event, whether it's humans, other life forms, or even the zombie virus itself, all of them are given the same opportunity and danger. Only those who can seize this opportunity will be the final winners, while the losers will have only one fate—death!"

 "Damn!"

 It was only at this moment that Anirudh truly understood the cruelty and horror of this apocalypse.

 With the realization that everyone in the city could potentially turn into zombies, even the soldiers were not exempt, Anirudh's heart sank.

 If they had relied on the military to stabilize the situation before, now that the military was struggling to survive, who could save C City and its millions of people?

 "Brother, what's going on? Why are there suddenly so many zombies here?"

 While Anirudh was communicating with the system, Chandan also saw the zombies and his face turned pale. "What should we do now?"

 "It seems the zombie virus has undergone some kind of mutation, causing even healthy individuals to transform into zombies."

 Anirudh took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Now that even the National Defense University is in chaos, things will only get worse outside. It looks like C City is doomed!"

 Anirudh's eyes flashed with a trace of determination. "We have to retreat. Our only option now is to preserve the living and leave here. C City has too many people and too few soldiers. The reinforcements from New Delhi haven't arrived yet. Staying here would be a death sentence!"

 "What... about the others in C City?"

 Upon hearing Anirudh's words, Chandan's face turned even paler.

 "We can't worry about them!"

 Anirudh shook his head and said with difficulty, "No one knows how many people have been turned into zombies because of the virus mutation. Plus, it's the middle of the night, the time when people are least prepared. So..."

 Anirudh didn't finish his sentence, but Chandan understood what he meant.

 In an effort to prevent the spread of the zombie infection, all residents in C City had been confined at home under military control. This meant that if even one person in a family turned into a zombie, the entire family could easily be infected.

 No one would have thought that the restrictions meant to prevent zombie infections would become the zombies' greatest ally.

 Ding-ling-ling!

 Suddenly, Chandan's phone rang. When he saw the name on the caller ID, he quickly answered the call and said, "Dad, are you okay?"

 "I'm fine. Your mother and I were at the command center with some senior officials when suddenly some people turned into zombies. Fortunately, many of us have guns, and there are guards, so we managed to deal with them."

 Chandan's father's worried voice came through the phone. "What about you? Are you okay? And your colleague..."

 "We're both fine!"

 Chandan knew his father was worried about Anirudh turning into a zombie, so he immediately said, "Dad, what should we do now? Anirudh says the virus has mutated. C City probably won't hold. Is that true?"

 "Yes, the latest information I got is that nearly one-third of the people at the university and in the military have turned into zombies, which is why everything's in chaos now. If it's the same outside, then C City is definitely doomed!"

 Chandan's father's voice became even heavier as he spoke. "Given the situation, we can no longer spare forces to save you. We're organizing a retreat. Stay put, and I'll send someone to get you!"

 If the outbreak had occurred during the day, the military forces at the National Defense University might have been able to hold their ground. But unfortunately, the outbreak happened in the early morning when most soldiers were still deeply asleep, and their weapons were locked away in armories. In this situation, a third of the soldiers turning into zombies was enough to destroy the remaining forces of the university.

 "Alright."

 After hearing his father's words, Chandan took a deep breath and said, "I'll wait here for you... Dad, please be careful!"

 "I know."

 His father's voice sounded heavy, then the call ended.

 "Don't worry, Boss. We'll be fine."

 After hanging up, Chandan gave Anirudh a forced smile and said, "My dad will be here soon to pick us up."

 "Mm."

 Anirudh nodded at Chandan's words, but at the same time, he asked the system, "System, is there any way to lift the curse on me?"

 "The system cannot remove the curse, but you can."

 The system replied: "With the current concentration of spiritual power, even though vengeful spirits have formed, they will not be very strong. As long as you advance the Ancient Body Tempering Technique one more step within seven days, you will be able to initially harness spiritual power. At that time, the system will help you deal with the vengeful spirit."

 "So how do I advance the Ancient Body Tempering Technique? Do I just kill zombies again?"

 Hearing that the system had a way to deal with Sadako's curse, Anirudh breathed a sigh of relief and asked in anticipation.

 "To advance the Ancient Body Tempering Technique, you must kill at least 300 zombies to accumulate enough power."

 However, the situation was not as simple as Anirudh had hoped. The system's voice sounded again in his mind: "And even after killing 300 zombies, that will only push your cultivation to the limit of the small success stage. If you want to break through the limit, you must kill a monster much stronger than the average zombie and absorb its powerful energy to break through the bottleneck."

 "Are you saying that just killing 300 zombies isn't enough, and I have to kill a powerful creature like the Tongue-Licker or the Tyrant?"

 Anirudh's heart sank when he heard this: "Then you might as well just tell me to go die!"

 He had seen the power of the Tongue-Licker and the Tyrant firsthand, and using his small body to fight against these two big monsters, wouldn't that be asking him to die?

 "It's indeed a bit difficult, but if you want to make further progress within seven days, this is the only way."

 The mechanical voice of the system sounded so cold and ruthless to Anirudh at this moment: "Or the host can kill more than 3,000 zombies, so that he can break through the bottleneck bit by bit through slow and steady work."

 "hehe..."

 However, after hearing what the system said, Anirudh just wanted to sneer.

 Three thousand zombies? Even if they stood still and let him kill them, he couldn't possibly kill them all in seven days!

 Well, it seems that now we can only take one step at a time.

 Buzz!

 Just when Anirudh was having a headache because of the "impossible task", Chandan's mobile phone received another message.

 "What?"

 However, after reading the message, Chandan's expression suddenly changed, and then he gritted his teeth and said to Anirudh: "The person my father sent to pick us up was killed by a group of zombies that suddenly jumped out. Now other senior officials have not allowed him to continue to disperse forces to rescue us, so we can only rely on ourselves now!"

 "Damn it, there are so many zombies now, how can the two of us kill them all?!"

 At this point, Chandan was so angry that he punched the door, making a dull sound.

 Bang, bang, bang!

 But before Chandan could say anything next, the door of their house suddenly began to shake violently, as if someone was banging on the door from outside!

 At the same time, a hoarse and unpleasant roar sounded from outside the door!