Chapter19：Fighting a lion

"Bro, are you okay?" Jack whispered, not daring to draw his gun for fear of attracting attention. "I feel like we need you to recover before we can truly face them."

"I can feel the effect of the drug is much stronger than before," Bob said, his voice tinged with pain. "I still need one more minute. Can you hold on?"

"One minute?" Jack frowned. "In one minute, I'll probably lose an arm and two legs!"

No sooner had he spoken, a small lion pounced at him. Jack reacted quickly, sliding on the ground and slashing his steel knife at the lion. The blade tore into its flesh, leaving a huge gash. Blood spilled everywhere. Another lion let out a furious roar, licking the wound on the small lion's side, which was turning its eyes white in agony.

"Damn, its father's mad!" Jack realized his strike had been too fierce. "This is like hitting a top horse with a lowly one!"

He slapped Bob's shoulder. "Old bro, how are you holding up? I feel like I'm gonna get killed in one hit!"

Bob didn't answer but instead kept slamming his head against the ground, trying to ease the pain.

"Run, hold on a bit longer," Bob forced out between gritted teeth.

Before Jack could react, the lion lunged again, but missed. Jack, not wanting to hurt Bob, quickly moved away from him.

"Take it easy, I can't beat you. Just wait for my buddy for a bit. He'll fight you soon." Jack tried to communicate with the lion, but it was already in full rage mode, not even hearing him.

The lion kept charging, and Jack's heart raced as the atmosphere grew tenser.

"I'm here!" Bob grabbed a steel knife and slammed it into the ground, standing between Jack and the lion. Jack immediately collapsed on the ground, and his gun slipped out of his pocket, rolling away.

Several soldiers from above noticed the gun, instantly pointing their weapons at Bob and Jack, making the situation even more tense.

Just then, the lights suddenly went out, plunging the entire arena into darkness. Panic spread through the crowd. Bob quickly yanked Jack to the side, pressing him against the wall. "Don't move, wait," he said, his mind still in a fog, but he managed to keep his cool.

Then, the sound of a heavy iron door being slammed open echoed. A flood of zombies surged into the arena. The aristocrats above, once calm and composed, now panicked. A horde of zombies flooded into the rooms, tearing into the crowd. Most of the aristocrats were ripped apart, though a few bodyguards managed to protect their masters. The beautiful women, however, screamed before losing their voices forever.

Meanwhile, the two lions, in their attempt to escape, were suddenly caught in a trap, sliced in half with blood spilling everywhere.

"This way! This way!" Lily's voice came from below. Jack saw a secret passage open, and a hand reached up, grabbing his arm. It was Lily, who had found the passage with John.

The group hurried through the tunnels, finally emerging onto the surface, only to be blocked by another squad of soldiers. They had walked right into a tiger's den and had no way to fight back, so they surrendered quietly. But just as they thought there was no hope, another group of zombies barged in, throwing the entire arena into chaos. The scene turned into a full-scale brawl, and no one could tell who was friend or foe. Jack and his group stood in the middle, ready to shoot or fight anyone with hostile intent, human or zombie.

Amid the chaos, Jack spotted Leo standing in the center of the zombie horde, seemingly controlling them. The zombies surrounded Jack, attacking ferociously. As the number of zombies grew, all human voices were silenced, and only a few managed to flee in cars, leaving behind a sea of corpses.

Bob, still not fully recovered, had one eye completely white, and his fingers were withering, revealing a hint of bone. John stared at Leo in amazement, since they had been searching for someone like him for months—someone who could control the mind even after being infected and command the zombie horde.

Jack and the others fled in their car, leaving the zombies to scurry around aimlessly, ripping apart whatever bodies remained.

"You guys are here?" Jack exclaimed, both surprised and delighted. "Leo! I'm so glad to see you again."

This time, Leo's gaze was more mature. He smiled and replied, "Hello, Jack."

"Did I tell him my name?" Jack wondered aloud.

"No," Tom chuckled, "he asked about you after we left. With his abilities, we decided to come help."

"Let me introduce our new friend, Soldier!" Lily patted John on the shoulder. "His name is Soldier, and he'll be with us from now on."

Soldier smiled and nodded at the group, clearly unfazed by the chaos around him.

"Let's count off!" Jack shouted.

"One!" he called out.

"Two!" Lily followed.

"Three!" Tom joined in.

"Four!" May added.

"Five!" Soldier chimed in.

"Six!" Leo quickly blended in with the group.

"Seven!" Finally, Bob weakly called out.

Jack glanced at Bob, his worry still present. "How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice tinged with fear. After all, Bob's eye was completely blind.

"He fought a lot of zombies at first, then got a dose of the drug. After the second fight, he got another dose. This is the third one." Soldier said solemnly. "No one's been through this before, so we don't know what'll happen."

Bob, struggling to speak, muttered, "I feel like my mind is being overtaken by another personality, like a bloodthirsty one."

Soldier looked at Bob with slight caution and said, "There are many possibilities with these mutations, but we can't give up on him."

"I know a biologist in Stone City," Soldier added. "She's a kind person. Maybe she can help Bob find a solution."

Tom took out a skull-shaped iron trap from his bag. "This can be used to prevent zombies from attacking humans. I was thinking of putting it on Bob, but we need everyone's approval."

Bob grabbed the device without hesitation and placed it on his head. He tried to open his mouth, and though he could breathe, he could only open it about one centimeter. "I'll keep this on until we find a solution."

The group exchanged solemn glances, knowing that their journey ahead was uncertain, but at least they had each other.