26. Fierce Battle
Fu Yunong stood frozen in place, watching helplessly as the horde of corpses surged toward the shore from the frozen lake like a rising tide. She braced herself, preparing to fight back, when Shi Dong suddenly shouted, "Not good!"
Fu Yunong turned around abruptly and saw dozens of swift walkers that had somehow circled around to the back of the car, their long, twisted limbs crawling on the snow, silently approaching.
Our escape route has been cut off!
"Get out of the car! Don't break formation!" Shi Dong pushed open the car door and quickly gave instructions, "Lin Songsong, shrink the shield and only protect the four of us. Don't worry about anything else, just hold on! Xiao Linfang, give us the buff! Yu Nong, you just focus on harvesting the crystal cores, don't get distracted!"
As soon as he finished speaking, arcs of electricity suddenly flashed in Shi Dong's eyes, and his palm crackled with electricity. The previously clear sky instantly darkened, thunder rumbled from the depths of the clouds, and countless thunder dragons seemed to surge within them, their surroundings radiating blinding electric light.
Fu Yunong glanced at it briefly and was startled. This lightning bolt was thicker than the last one!
"Fall!" Shi Dong roared, and the thunder dragons in the clouds swooped down, their thick lightning bolts crashing down on the horde of zombies with earth-shattering force. Several deafening booms followed, and the zombies within range were instantly engulfed by the lightning, leaving only charred marks; even the ice and snow were mostly melted.
But the zombies in the distance seemed to have been paused, frozen in place and no longer moving forward, just shaking their heads and "watching".
Shi Dong frowned, his mind racing. These zombies were mindless, acting only on instinct. The fact that they stopped could only prove…
"Yu Nong! See if there are any high-level crystal cores nearby!" Shi Dong shouted urgently.
Upon hearing this, Fu Yunong hurriedly searched through the dense markings, her vision blurring as she looked...
"Yes! Two hundred meters to the northwest! A level four zombie!" Fu Yunong's voice tightened. Level four! This was the highest-level zombie they had ever encountered. Did they have any chance of winning...?
Shi Dong's face darkened, and she made a decisive decision: "You all stay where you are and wait for me to come back!" Before she finished speaking, she had already gripped her military knife and rushed out.
"Shi Dong!"
With the help of her boots, her figure left a trail of afterimages in the snow. With a lightning ball in her left hand and a military knife in her right, the zombies that rushed towards her were either blown to pieces by the lightning ball or had their heads pierced by the military knife before they could even open their mouths. She charged forward in a fierce direction to the northwest.
The level four zombie was a large-bellied zombie, its body covered in dark green slime that dripped onto the snow, melting small pits in the ground. It seemed to sense the danger, letting out a roar, and the surrounding zombies immediately surged towards Shi Dong like madmen, forming layers upon layers to protect it.
Shi Dong saw it from afar and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "Found you."
A flash of electricity appeared in her eyes as she unleashed several lightning whips, lashing out in all directions. Wherever they struck, zombies were instantly electrocuted and charred, unable to get close to her for a moment. But the number of zombies was simply too great; one wave fell, and another surged forward. Gradually, Shi Dong's movements slowed, fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her breathing became rapid.
She gritted her teeth, took out a few level-one crystal cores from her pocket, and absorbed them. The energy of the crystal cores instantly spread throughout her body, and although her strength was quickly restored, this was not a long-term solution.
She immediately changed her strategy, no longer confronting them head-on, but instead weaving nimbly through the gaps between the zombies, avoiding their attacks while gradually approaching the bloated zombie.
As the bloated zombie saw her getting closer, it roared again, and several dark figures suddenly darted out from the zombie horde.
They are a group of fast runners!
They slid across the snow on all fours, lunging at Shi Dong from all sides. Shi Dong quickly dodged one and lashed out with a bolt of lightning, but another pounced, forcing her to fight back.
She was tightly bound and unable to gather thunderclouds at all. She smiled bitterly to herself: What a pity. If she had brought Fu Yunong with her, she wouldn't be in such a passive position.
Just then, the roar of a car engine came from behind, along with Fu Yunong's shout, "Shi Dong! Hang in there!"
Shi Dong didn't have time to turn around, but she could feel the familiar protective shield enveloping her. The next second, with a muffled bang, the car directly smashed into a group of zombies surrounding her. The car door opened, and Fu Yunong, Lin Songsong, and Xiao Linfang quickly got out and shielded her in the center of the protective shield.
Fu Yunong glared at Shi Dong, but didn't say anything. She immediately opened the system panel, her fingers flying across the screen as she focused on harvesting the zombies around her.
With the protection of the shield and the enhancement of Xiao Linfang's superpower, the situation instantly reversed: Lin Songsong held the shield up tightly, and the zombies' claws couldn't touch them at all; Xiao Linfang's eyes flashed with a faint blue light, and she continuously transferred her superpower to Lin Songsong; Fu Yunong was responsible for clearing away the approaching zombies, and the harvested crystal cores were directly stored in her space.
The group worked in perfect coordination, advancing step by step towards the bloated zombie. Fu Yunong, having harvested for so long, began to feel dizzy and swayed uncontrollably. Seeing this, Shi Dong immediately took her place, unleashing a series of lightning orbs from his palm to clear away the zombies blocking their path. Lin Songsong also manipulated metal fragments from time to time, weaving through the zombies like bullets, accurately piercing their heads; Xiao Linfang's wooden needles also struck unexpectedly, reaping the lives of many zombies in a flash.
Although the process was difficult, they were getting closer and closer to the bloated zombie. The bloated zombie was clearly panicked and slowly retreated, about to turn and run away. But Shi Dong had been watching it closely for a while. A small thundercloud had formed above its head at some point. Seeing it move, Shi Dong raised his hand and waved it. A thunder dragon as thick as a water bucket roared down from the thundercloud and struck it squarely.
With a shrill roar, the bloated zombie was instantly engulfed by lightning. When the lightning dissipated, only a pool of smoldering black slime and a deep red crystal core remained on the spot.
Without the control of the high-level zombies, the remaining zombies immediately fell into chaos. Shi Dong took a deep breath and condensed thunderclouds again. This time, the thunderclouds were a size larger than before. Silver-blue arcs of electricity exploded in her pupils, current gathered in her palms, and the thunder was deafening.
"Boom!!!" Countless bolts of lightning poured down, turning the remaining zombies into charred ashes.
Lin Songsong and Xiao Linfang stared blankly at this scene, their faces expressionless, but their hearts were in turmoil.
My God... Is this power that humans can possess?!
A moment later, the thunderclouds dissipated, leaving only a few fish that had escaped the net by the frozen lake. The group harvested them casually and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Shi Dong! Are you crazy?" Fu Yunong turned around, hands on her hips, glaring at her, her tone full of lingering fear. "A level four zombie, and you just charged in alone? What kind of hero are you trying to be? Or do you simply not trust us?"
Shi Dong paused, looking at Fu Yunong's reddened eyes, then glanced at Lin Songsong and Xiao Linfang who were nodding in agreement. His tense brows gradually relaxed.
She lowered her eyes and said softly, "It was my fault this time, I won't do it again next time."
Fu Yunong was stunned. Wow, she actually saw Shi Dong bowing her head and admitting her mistake in her lifetime! Seeing that Shi Dong's attitude of admitting her mistake was good, her anger subsided by more than half. She snorted and said, "That's more like it! Hurry up and put away the crystal cores and find a place to rest. I'm exhausted."
Shi Dong smiled and agreed, picking up the crystal core and handing it to her. The group walked side by side toward the car. The crystal cores were all on the lake surface; they could easily find them by car.
The lake was large and wide, and the ice was thick enough; otherwise, the car wouldn't have been able to move after the ice cracked. It took quite a while to clean up the mess, and they had only managed to collect less than half of it. Only a faint glimmer of light remained on the horizon.
The group didn't dare linger, and with a roar of the engine, the car sped away from the frozen lake.
In the darkness, the wheels crunched over the frozen snow. Shi Dong gripped the steering wheel, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. Fu Yunong leaned against the passenger seat, her eyelids already heavy with sleep. Hua Hua nestled on her lap, snoring softly. Lin Songsong and Xiao Linfang in the back seat also yawned from time to time, clearly exhausted.
Finally, the group found a village house that was half collapsed, finally having a place to stay. The car stopped at the door, and the group got out one after another. A gust of cold wind made Fu Yunong shiver, and her drowsiness dissipated. Shi Dong held a dagger and checked the house around, making sure there was no danger before beckoning to the group, "This will do."
The village was in a mess, with broken bricks and dust scattered on the ground. Only one house still had intact walls, but the window had a large hole, letting in a howling wind. Shi Dong skillfully found a wooden board and nailed it to the window, while Fu Yunong propped a heavy stone against the door.
After starting the fire, Fu Yunong pulled a thick mattress out of her spatial storage and laid it on the ground. The group sat around the brazier, letting out a long sigh of relief as a sense of relief at surviving the ordeal welled up in their hearts.
Fu Yunong leaned against the cushion, feeling pain in every bone in her body. She didn't even have the strength to take stock of her spoils. She bought two five-packs of instant noodles and a box of lactose-free milk from the system, and took some flour from her space and handed it to Xiao Linfang. "Sister Lin, thank you for your trouble. Please have something to eat."
Xiao Linfang solemnly accepted it, smiling and nodding, "Okay, you wait, it'll be ready soon."
She set up a pot on the brazier, poured in purified water, and once the water boiled, she unpacked the dough and seasoning packets one by one and put them into the pot. Before long, a rich aroma filled the room. She also made milk porridge for Hua Hua. The four people and the cat were starving, and they wolfed down their food as soon as it was ready.
After finishing her instant noodles, Fu Yunong couldn't hold on any longer. She wrapped herself in the blanket and fell asleep within minutes. Xiao Linfang whispered to Shi Dong, "I'll keep watch tonight. You've had a long day and you have to drive tomorrow."
Lin Songsong immediately sat up straight. "Sister Lin, I'll take turns keeping watch with you, otherwise it'll be too much for you to do alone." Xiao Linfang nodded with a smile. "Okay, you can get some sleep first, I'll wake you up when it's time."
The village house was far inferior to the apartment building she had lived in before; it was drafty from all sides. Xiao Linfang, wrapped in a thick quilt, sat by the brazier, adding charcoal every now and then, careful not to let the flames go out. As night deepened and the wind outside grew stronger, she dared not relax for a moment, her eyes fixed on the fire with vigilance.
She stayed up until late at night, when Lin Songsong came to relieve her, and Xiao Linfang quickly fell asleep on the cushion.
The next morning, the group had a simple breakfast, refueled the car, and set off for the ice lake again.
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