Chapter 148 Killing a Level 5 Zombie
The psychic zombie was in the eye of the thunderstorm. It had to devote most of its mental energy to fighting against the all-pervasive lightning attack. A distorted mental energy shield appeared on its body, fiercely fighting against the lightning and emitting a teeth-grinding hissing sound.
Its continuous mental attacks and commands were suddenly thrown into great chaos and interrupted.
It was that moment of confusion and distraction!
Ruan Ning condensed a spiritual blade, and taking advantage of the moment when the opponent's spiritual shield was unstable, he suddenly stabbed it in!
"puff--!"
A silent explosion resounded from the spiritual realm.
The mental energy of the zombie suddenly dimmed and cracked! It let out a shrill scream that directly affected the minds of all living beings, and staggered backward, clutching its shattered head, thick black blood flowing from its seven orifices.
It completely lost control of the zombie horde and suffered severe damage itself.
Ruan Ning would not let this opportunity slip by. She suppressed the dizziness that was once again causing her to exert tremendous energy, and ice crystals gathered beneath her feet as she instantly closed in on the mental zombie.
Tang drew his sword, its blade covered in highly compressed water blades, and without any fancy moves, thrust it straight at its head!
The tip of the knife pierces through and shreds it.
The shrieks of the mentally-based zombies abruptly ceased, their dark eyes lost their luster, and they fell backward.
With its death, the zombie horde's attack became visibly chaotic. The zombies no longer had unified command and coordination, turning back into a disorganized mob. Although they remained frenzied, their threat was greatly reduced.
Ruan Ning leaned on her knife, panting heavily, her vision blurring. The series of attacks she had just unleashed had exhausted almost all of her strength.
Despite being covered in wounds, Da Huo stood guard majestically by the side, growling at the chaotic horde of corpses.
Shen Yan also broke free from the entanglement, clutching his wound as he moved closer, his eyes filled with shock and a hint of admiration as he looked at Ruan Ning.
Ruan Ning looked at the fallen corpses of the psychic zombies, then at the chaotic yet still terrifying horde of zombies. She dug out the jet-black, fifth-tier crystal core, which emanated powerful mental energy, and held it tightly in her hand.
With the psychic zombies killed, the horde lost its unified command and descended into chaos. However, their numbers remained enormous, and the battle was far from over.
The defenders on the city walls seized the opportunity and launched a counterattack under the command of their commander.
Firepower was concentrated to clear out the zombies near the city walls, while the superhumans worked together to kill any remaining special mutants. Although the zombies, now without a leader, remained ferocious, they were fighting individually, greatly reducing their threat.
After a short rest, Qin Li and Ruan Ning rejoined the battle.
Qin Li's lightning was highly effective at clearing large areas of zombies, while Ruan Ning used water-based abilities in conjunction with other ability users to precisely eliminate the troublesome mutants. Although Da Huo was injured, his fourth-tier aura and flames were still very intimidating to ordinary zombies.
Shen Yan also retreated to the city wall. His metal-type superpower was extremely powerful and was specifically designed to deal with those tough-skinned guys.
The battle continued for most of the day until the sun set again, the last wave of attacks was repelled, and the remaining zombies finally began to instinctively scatter backward and disappear into the twilight-shrouded wilderness.
The city walls were a scene of utter devastation. Corpses piled up like mountains, and blood flowed like rivers. The stench of blood and burning flesh lingered in the air.
Everyone collapsed to the ground, too exhausted to even cheer. Only the relief of surviving a catastrophe remained.
Soon, the base's orders were issued via broadcast and messengers: all wounded personnel should immediately proceed to the medical station for treatment; those who were still mobile, including superhumans and soldiers, should assist in guarding the area and clearing the top of the wall; the inner city would organize a team of ordinary survivors to leave the city at dawn to deal with the battlefield.
Ruan Ning, Zhou Min, and Lin Yan helped each other down the city wall. Each of them had sustained serious injuries.
Ruan Ning was severely exhausted, suffering from a splitting headache and numerous abrasions and scratches on her body. Zhou Min was deathly pale and swayed as she walked. Lin Yan's arm was broken and temporarily slinged in place. Da Huo followed behind, limping, his wounds so deep they exposed bone.
Qin Li also came down with his men. He was pale, had a laceration on his left abdomen, and his lightning powers were clearly exhausted. He saw Ruan Ning and the others and walked over.
“The medical station is over there, follow me.” His voice was hoarse.
They were taken to a makeshift field medical post set up in the inner city. It was already overcrowded, filled with wounded soldiers and busy medical personnel. Medicines and bandages were clearly in short supply.
Ruan Ning told Zhou Min and Lin Yan to treat their wounds first, then went to a relatively quiet corner. She took out three bottles of diluted spiritual spring water and handed one to each of them: "Drink these; they will help with recovery."
Then she walked up to Qin Li, who was being bandaged, and handed him another bottle: "Yours."
Qin Li took it, unscrewed the cap, and an extremely cool and pure scent wafted out.
His eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at Ruan Ning, said nothing, and tilted his head back to drink. The water entered his throat, and his fatigue and pain subsided at a noticeable speed, while his parched powers and spirit were also nourished.
He gave Ruan Ning a deep look, held the empty bottle in his hand, and whispered, "Thanks."
Ruan Ning nodded, went back and drank some herself, and then carefully fed Da Huo half a bottle.
After a simple cleaning and bandaging, Ruan Ning and the other two returned to their lodgings to rest.
The next day, just as dawn broke, a pungent, acrid smell wafted in. Large numbers of ordinary survivors from Al-Qaeda, under the supervision of soldiers and the protection of those with supernatural abilities, began to leave the city to deal with the battlefield.
The scene was suffocating. Beneath the city walls, the corpses of zombies were piled up in layers, almost reaching halfway up the walls. Human corpses and dismembered limbs were also mixed in, making them difficult to distinguish.
The survivors, wearing makeshift masks and gloves, used various tools to separate the corpses. Human remains were carefully carried out and temporarily gathered aside to await further processing. The zombie corpses, however, were roughly dragged together.
The earth-elemental ability user dug several huge pits in the distant wasteland.
The zombie corpses were dragged to the edge of the pit in batches, where the survivors used tools to pry open their skulls and search for the crystal cores.
The excavated crystal cores were collected and handed over, with some reportedly distributed as rewards to the participants. The corpses were pushed into a large pit, doused with fuel, and set ablaze. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky, lingering for a long time.
The cleanup operation lasted a full week. The stench of burning corpses lingered in the air throughout.
The base leadership quickly released preliminary casualty figures: over 1,300 soldiers killed and over 2,000 seriously wounded; over 200 registered superhumans killed and over 400 seriously wounded or missing. The city walls were damaged in multiple locations, and weapons and ammunition were consumed in great quantities.
The heavy price paid was enough to repel the zombie horde. But a shadow was cast over everyone's heart.
After Ruan Ning recovered, she took out the crystal core of the fifth-tier mental zombie. It was as black as ink, with a vortex seemingly flowing inside, radiating a powerful and dangerous mental fluctuation.
“I need to absorb it,” Ruan Ning said to Zhou Min and Lin Yan. “This time, the expenditure was too great, and we also exposed a lot of things. The research institute, the ‘Business Alliance,’ and the eyes hidden in the shadows will not let us go. We must become stronger as soon as possible.”
Zhou Min worried: "A fifth-order mental crystal core has too violent energy and still has residual consciousness."
“I know the risks,” Ruan Ning gripped the crystal core tightly, “but I have no choice. You will protect me.”
She went into the second-floor room and closed the door. The fire stood guard at the doorway.
After entering the space, she sat cross-legged, looking at the black crystal core in her hand. It contained not only immense energy, but also the chaotic, cold, and controlling mental imprint of the zombie.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her fifth-order spiritual power slowly extended out, enveloping the crystal core.
Absorption begins.
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