NOVEL NEXT CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 17: Marked for Death
The tide of zombies surged forward, a relentless wall of decay and hunger, threatening to engulf Wang Xiong and his companions. They clung desperately to the scant cover the terrain offered, but with each passing moment, the dream of escape grew more distant, more impossible.
Behind the advancing horde stood the colossal zombie, towering over the mindless mass like a general surveying his troops. Its head held high, pale eyes gleaming with dark intelligence, it seemed to mock them, silently voicing a cruel truth: "Did you really believe your pitiful ruse would fool me?"
Ironically, this desperate struggle for survival unfolded mere meters from Lu Ming’s sanctuary. Through the narrow observation hole, he witnessed the battle play out in real-time, the fate of Wang Xiong and his companions hanging in the balance. He could do nothing to help.
Stepping into that chaos would be suicide. The sheer volume of undead was overwhelming, and his own power, though growing, wasn’t enough. “I don’t have that kind of strength,” Lu Ming reminded himself bitterly. He was a spectator, not a savior.
His gaze shifted to the massive zombie commanding the horde. Ordinary undead posed no threat—his reinforced concrete walls were more than enough to keep them at bay. But this hulking creature was different. It was an unknown quantity, and Lu Ming wasn’t sure if his defenses could withstand it.
The creature stood over two meters tall, a grotesque display of raw muscle and pale, glistening skin. Its bald head gleamed ominously, and its eyes, pale and empty, seemed to pierce the gloom with unsettling awareness. “It’s strong,” Lu Ming thought, his stomach tightening with dread. “This thing is dangerous.”
Then, something happened that sent a chill down his spine. As if sensing his gaze, the colossal zombie turned its head, locking eyes with him. Even from this distance, Lu Ming felt its attention—cold, malevolent, and focused entirely on him.
Unlike its mindless minions, this evolved zombie possessed more than just brute strength. It had other abilities, ones that made it far more dangerous. Its physical power was undeniable, but its true advantage lay in its capacity to command the horde, orchestrating their movements with a grim precision. But that wasn’t the most disturbing part.
The giant zombie’s senses were far sharper than those of ordinary undead. While common zombies relied primarily on sound, this one had human-like sight and smell. Most unsettling of all, it seemed to possess an extrasensory ability—it could detect the presence of living humans, even those hiding behind walls.
The moment Lu Ming peeked through the observation hole, the creature had sensed him. Its pale, vacant eyes zeroed in on his face, and for a brief, terrifying moment, it felt as though the creature was staring directly into his soul.
A low, guttural snort rumbled from the giant zombie’s chest, and it bared its jagged teeth in what could only be described as a smile.
“Don’t worry,” that grin seemed to say. “After I finish with them, you’ll be my next meal.”
For the giant zombie, the flesh of an Awakened was a delicacy, but even ordinary humans like Lu Ming weren’t without value. To the creature, he was just another course in the feast, and it seemed certain it could breach the sturdy walls that protected him.
With a deafening roar, the giant zombie bared its teeth in a violent gesture toward Lu Ming, marking him as its next target. The message was clear—Lu Ming was next.
A wave of panic swept over Lu Ming. "It saw me," he realized, heart pounding in his chest. "It knows I’m here… and it wants to eat me."
The thought of becoming prey unsettled him deeply. For all the talk of zombies feasting on human flesh, nothing had prepared him for the visceral fear that came with being hunted. His body tensed with anxiety, the looming threat sending chills through his veins.
But even as fear clawed at him, something else stirred inside—determination. Would his home hold against such a creature? He wasn’t sure. But there was one thing he knew for certain: hiding wouldn’t save him.
Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Lu Ming forced the fear down. His eyes hardened with resolve. He grabbed his slingshot and a handful of steel balls from the table, his movements quick and deliberate. With a swift motion, he threw open the iron grilles and cracked the window.
A rush of cold, blood-soaked air flooded into the room. Strangely, the stench of death steadied his racing heart.
The giant zombie, still focused on Wang Xiong’s group, had yet to notice him. This was his moment.
I’ll be damned if I let that thing devour me, he thought, gripping his slingshot tight. With practiced ease, he loaded a steel ball and drew the band back as far as it would go.
He aimed carefully, his target clear—right between the giant zombie’s gleaming, bald forehead.
“You think you’ll eat me?” Lu Ming’s eyes narrowed in determination. “I’ll kill you first.”
This wasn’t just any slingshot. It was a powerful weapon, crafted from titanium alloy with a quadruple-layered power band, capable of launching projectiles with tremendous force. The steel balls he loaded—9mm in diameter—were designed to deal serious damage.
Pulling the band taut, Lu Ming held his breath and aimed. His Slingshot Shooting skill was at Level 7, and his arm was strong enough to handle the strain. The slingshot creaked under the pressure, but he held firm.
With a sharp snap, the steel ball shot forward, slicing through the air. It connected with a sickening thud
, striking the giant zombie squarely in the skull. A spray of bone fragments burst from its head as grayish-white brain matter spilled onto the ground.The zombie staggered its massive form momentarily stunned by the force of the blow.
But its attention wasn’t on Lu Ming. To the giant zombie, he was still insignificant. It had far more pressing concerns—Wang Xiong was right there, the prize it craved above all.
Just as it readied itself to strike, something changed. A deep, unnatural cold crept into its mind, a sudden disorientation clouding its senses. Its huge hand instinctively reached up to touch its head, only to find something soft and yielding—a mass of shattered bone and torn flesh.
For the first time, the giant zombie felt something close to fear.
Its vision blurred, and its movements slowed. Somewhere in the fog of its mind, it knew that something was terribly wrong. Another sharp sound—a crack—cut through the haze, followed by a bright glint of metal.
Then, pain.
Two of its massive fingers were sliced clean off, tumbling to the ground. Gray matter oozed from the wound, blinding it in one eye. In desperation, the creature turned toward the house, sensing the true source of the attack.
There, on the second floor, stood the young man who had dared to strike it down. Lu Ming’s slingshot was already drawn back, another steel ball loaded and ready.
With a final crack, the ball shot forward, hitting its mark. The giant zombie’s head exploded in a shower of gore, its body crumpling to the ground.
Even in death, it seemed confused. In its last moments, it couldn’t comprehend how it had been bested. If it could turn back time, it would have warned itself: Don’t fixate on that house.
Lu Ming, breathing hard, lowered his slingshot. The battle was over, but the tension lingered in the air. The giant zombie’s demise hadn’t disrupted the horde—they continued their relentless march, drawn by the primal need to feed.
As the adrenaline began to fade, Lu Ming gazed down at the advancing undead, a fierce resolve settling over him.
“Zombies can evolve,” he whispered, his eyes narrowing. “If there was one giant zombie, there would be more.”
The threat was real, terrifyingly so. But Lu Ming wasn’t one to back down.
Reloading his slingshot, he aimed at another zombie, one of the countless faces in the horde.
Pa!
The steel ball struck home, and the zombie collapsed.
“I’m not just killing zombies,” he muttered under his breath, his grip tightening on the slingshot. “I’m eliminating every last one of them. Because if I don’t, they’ll kill me.”
End of Chapter 17