The man with the slicked-back hair's mouth gaped uncontrollably, his jaw practically hitting the floor. He rubbed his eyes fiercely, unable to comprehend. How could so many offensive ability users among them fail to deal with Li Xiaotian? How could someone be pinning down that zombie with just flying thumbtacks? Who had such incredible strength?
He whipped his head towards the direction the weapon had flown from. Behind Li Xiaotian's dancing flames, a frail figure stood defiantly, hand still in the pose of throwing something. It was... Luo Xiaole? Impossible! The slick-haired man felt like he must have had too much to drink tonight. He frantically rubbed his eyes, convinced it was a hallucination.
"Ah! Don't come near!" Behind him, Nie Yuan was suddenly pounced upon by a lurking stalker, slammed to the ground. His face was about to be torn apart by the zombie's claws! Luo Xiaole suddenly looked up, three thumbtacks flying out in unison.
"Awoooo..." A thumbtack instantly pierced the zombie's forehead. It then lurched forward, falling onto Nie Yuan, its eyes wide open, utterly still and lifeless.
"This..." Witnessing Luo Xiaole's terrifying ability firsthand, the slick-haired man felt his worldview shatter. Just an hour ago, he had considered Luo Xiaole the weakest of all the teams. Yet, when faced with a threat that all ability users struggled against, she had taken down the stalker with a single tack. Had she been hiding her strength all along?
The thought sent a cold sweat down his spine. He had been so openly disdainful of Luo Xiaole. He had even considered taking her outside to die. Had he made many wrong decisions...
"Are you just going to stand there and let the stalker have a buffet?" Luo Xiaole's voice, slightly different from usual and tinged with annoyance, suddenly cut through the air. He snapped back to attention. He saw another stalker in the distance, which, after devouring one of their male teammates, turned its attention to him, a glint of greed in its eyes. It immediately lunged towards him.
"Ah! Big shot, save me!" The slick-haired man's voice was filled with desperate hope. In those brief few seconds, he had witnessed Luo Xiaole save two lives. He instantly placed all his hope in her.
Luo Xiaole watched him from across the flames, shaking her head with an air of hopelessness. "You have weapons! You have the ability users' weapons!" she shouted, emphasizing her words. She had been busy clearing the zombies rushing towards them with Luo Shu, so she hadn't immediately assessed the situation of others. By the time she regained her senses, she saw the scene of devastation before her. Within minutes of the stalkers breaking through, the team full of ability users had lost almost half its members. Why?
The moment they realized their abilities were ineffective against the agile stalkers, they had fallen into despair, believing they had lost their greatest weapon. Few were willing to pick up the weapons in their hands and make a final stand against the stalkers. Their weakness, even with their abilities, had made them cowards. Their prized abilities had become their biggest vulnerability, causing them to abandon their even more potent weapons and lose their last hope of survival.
"...But... that weapon is effective against normal zombies, but the stalkers are too fast... I... I can't..." the slick-haired man murmured in despair.
"If you want to live, get up and fight yourself," Luo Xiaole said quickly, dropping the bombshell. "I'm too lazy to help those who won't help themselves."
With that, she turned away, continuously pulling thumbtacks from her pocket, her eyes never relaxing, using the sheer number of thumbtacks to attack other stalkers.
Hearing her words, Nie Yuan bit his lip and shoved the dead stalker off him. Together with Yang Lin beside him, they picked up their weapons, back to back, wildly hacking at the approaching stalkers. One of the stalkers even had an arm severed by their frenzied attacks! It worked!
Their timidity seemed to vanish in an instant. They looked at the small, yet still fighting figure in the distance, and courage surged into their hearts. The two stayed close, hacking as they moved towards Luo Xiaole and the others, trying to consolidate their forces.
Luo Xiaole watched them, their wild attacks felling a stalker. She smiled slightly and nodded in satisfaction.
"Ah! Mo Chen, Mo Chen save me!" Seeing Li Xiaotian approaching them, Zuo Ran turned towards Mo Chen with hopeful eyes, calling for help. This afternoon, she had hoped Mo Chen would protect her in the future, and Mo Chen had surprisingly agreed. He would definitely save her!
She hadn't expected Mo Chen to still be by Luo Xiaole's side. Occasionally, when a stray zombie lunged towards Luo Xiaole, Mo Chen, with his remaining intact arm, would deliver a precise slice at the last moment. Just one strike, right at the neck. He refused to waste any more energy. With every exertion, his face grew paler. The wound on his other arm felt like it was tearing, and blood began to seep out.
Zuo Ran looked at him and Luo Xiaole with despair and resentment. A surge of bitterness welled up within her. Why? Why would he rather protect that skinny bean sprout than her? What was so good about that dark, skinny bean sprout! She didn't deserve it!
"Li Xiaotian, it wasn't us who harmed you. When we found Luo Xiaole, it was Luo Xiaole! She told us to abandon you!" Zuo Ran's eyes were filled with unwillingness as she shrieked hysterically at the nearby Li Xiaotian.
"...Luo... Xiao... Le..." Li Xiaotian's pallid eyes seemed to have lost all consciousness. Hearing Zuo Ran's accusation, he violently shoved her against the wall again as if venting his rage. Then, filled with fury, he turned and charged towards Luo Xiaole.
Outside the store, the people in the camp, hearing the commotion, also rushed over. Seeing the devastated state of the cabin and the stalkers still rampaging, their brows furrowed.
"We must cooperate today and take care of these stalkers, otherwise, everyone in the camp might not survive..." They reached a silent agreement, each taking out their weapons.
"You guys hurry, hurry and get out! We'll cover you!" they shouted. The space inside was too limited, and charging in was too dangerous. Luring the stalkers outside would allow everyone to fight together!
Including the slick-haired man, the others, hearing the shouts from outside, managed to evade two stalkers in fear and trembling, then scrambled out of there in abject terror. This time, they didn't spare their former idol, Zuo Ran.
Seeing that no one was coming to save her, Zuo Ran's eyes filled with viciousness. She took the opportunity to shove Xu Lingyan aside and bolted towards the exit.
"Ah... Zuo Ran... You can't just ditch me like this!" Xu Lingyan was instantly pounced upon by a nearby stalker. She conjured an earthen wall, struggling frantically. But the earthen wall could only block up to her chest. Seeing the path ahead blocked, the stalker moved upwards, sinking its fangs into her neck. Her head was instantly severed in two... Her eyes were still fixed on Zuo Ran fleeing outside. In fact, if she hadn't used her ability, the reinforced clothing Luo Xiaole had enhanced for the entire team could have protected her for another ten minutes... Sadly, this was probably her fate.
Inside the store, as the number of people dwindled, the remaining stalkers turned their gazes towards the few survivors, closing in like a pack of hunters.
"Oh god, Mo Chen, don't move, please don't move!" Luo Shu shrieked like a slaughterhouse pig as she caught sight of Mo Chen's wound starting to bleed.