Chapter 46: Breakdown

"Phew, Zoe was quick to show some 'love' to those guys, ending their pain in a snap. Watching body after body drop, that's the price of invasion, folks.

Over a hundred humans, gone in just a couple of minutes, all chomped up by Zombies.

That took care of the humans in the middle.

Finally, the Red-faced Zombie Overlord and his crew ran into Zane.

"Roar—"

The Red-faced Zombie Overlord was livid, having suffered heavy losses just to face Zane today. It was like a grudge match, and boy, were they seeing red.

His remaining Zombie minions roared along with him.

For a moment, the air was filled with furious zombie roars, shaking the ground, an epic scene.

The showdown was about to explode!

Of course, Jake, Zoe, and their elite Zombie squad were all about that fight life. Seeing the challenge, they weren't even mad, just pumped.

"Let's roll."

At Zane's command, his crew charged.

Two fierce zombie hordes sprinted at each other, but Zane's guys were like pro football players charging at amateurs.

The clash was instant, and they sent the other side flying with a crackle and pop.

Especially Jake, loving the fight, he smashed through the zombie crowd like it was nothing.

But up on a high building, the human-faced rat 'Violet', squeaking weirdly, spotted the enemy who had offed his wife, filled with resentment.

He unleashed his freaky power again, mind control!

A faint black mist began to drift, spreading towards Jake, Zoe, and the others.

Meanwhile, in a nearby alley, Nathan was watching sneakily, his eyes cunning. Maybe because he was smarter, Nathan didn't rush in like Jake but was more sly.

Now Nathan had awakened a new ability: [Mental Penetration].

He hadn't used it much in this fight, but now he targeted the human-faced rat, taking advantage of its scattered mental energy.

Nathan focused, and 'snap!' he launched a surprise attack!

His mental force, like a steel spike, shot straight at the human-faced rat.

"Ow~ow~~~"

After being hit, the human-faced rat felt intense brain pain, couldn't help but howl miserably, then flipped over, foaming at the mouth, body convulsing wildly, dead or alive unknown.

"Violet!"

The Red-faced Zombie Overlord was furious, realizing his side was no match for Zane's; their evolution was just too advanced.

His trusted lieutenant, a monkey, then leaped onto Jake's neck.

It opened its fierce mouth, aiming to bite his scalp.

But Jake reached out a big hand, shoved it into the monkey's mouth, gave it a deep throat, grabbed its upper jaw, and with a shoulder throw, slammed it hard onto the ground.

"Trying to bite my head??"

Jake was ticked off, stomping hard on the monkey a couple more times.

Zane's crew, with overwhelming force, flipped the opposing zombie horde, hardly taking any hits.

The Red-faced Zombie Overlord was beside himself.

"You all are gonna die!"

He pushed his hands forward, his arms swelling, veins bursting out like countless tentacles, sweeping across the street.

Immediately, a bunch of Zombies got pierced by his veins.

But Zane's crew, fearless, opened their mouths and bit into the veins, some even more ferocious, completely ignoring their pierced bodies, still pushing forward with all their might.

Like fierce wolf pups, even in death, they'd rip a chunk of flesh from their enemy.

"Roar—"

Jake let out a roar, seeing his crew getting wiped out by the other side, he couldn't stand it anymore. With a mighty leap, he was right next to Red-face, ready to throw a punch.

But, with his strength, he was no match for Red-face.

Suddenly, Red-face's chest split open, and countless blood vessels burst out, wrapping around Jake and piercing into his body, starting to suck his blood and flesh.

Jake felt the pain, screamed, and struggled violently. But those blood vessels lifted him into the air, his feet dangling, making it impossible for him to exert any force.

"Everyone's gonna die!"

Red-face, having absorbed a lot of blood, had even redder skin, and his facial veins bulged, looking terrifying.

But just as he was getting cocky.

Suddenly, a dark cloud drifted over from the sky, which turned out to be a flock of large crows, cawing strangely, their red eyes flashing menacingly.

Then, the crows dove down like cannonballs, their sharp beaks screeching against the blood vessels. Their beaks, like scissors, easily snipped the blood vessels.

Blood spurted out in streams, the stench overwhelming.

"Damn crows!"

Red-face couldn't withstand the crows pecking, his body in severe pain, and quickly retracted his blood vessels.

Jake, who had been controlled, finally broke free.

He looked up and saw the red-eyed crows, the very 'little black bird' he had wanted to catch before.

Jake didn't expect it to come to his aid.

The little black bird returned kindness for the capture, not blaming him for trying to catch it, but instead saving his life, which deeply moved him.

"Little black bird, you're the best, I promise... I'll never catch you again!"

"Big dummy... big dummy..."

The crow flapped its wings and flew away, just like last time.

Jake: "...."

With the help of the crows, Red-face lost his trump card, filled with rage, but when he looked up, he saw a dense crowd of Zombies surrounding him.

These were all Zane's elite, extremely powerful.

"It's over..."

Red-face suddenly had a bad feeling.

....

At this moment, Zane, in a flash, used his "Dead Zone" ability to phase through the walls and entered the building where Silas was hiding.

This place used to be a hotel, now a total mess, with marble tiles stained with blood everywhere.

When the Apocalypse hit, the hotel had many people, making it a disaster zone.

Now, the hotel's walls, fortified by Silas and others with their powers, were a whopping ten meters thick.

"This kind of power, wasted if not used in construction..."

Zane muttered to himself.

Since it was a sealed space, it was pitch black around, no sunlight could enter, only a few beams of light flickered in the distance, those were the tactical flashlights of the armed personnel.

Silas and the others were sitting on the ground, resting.

"We need to take this chance to recover some energy, we spent too much earlier." Silas said.

"Yeah."

Harper nodded, feeling smart about ducking inside.

"Since Zombies can't get in, we've got all the time in the world. I feel totally drained after blocking that human-faced rat's mind control."

"Harper, maybe don't talk about it..."

The female Awakener looked worried, her face gloomy.

She had seen the Zombie Overlord's power earlier, utterly eerie, killing Robert in what seemed like a casual stroll.

She had read reports about Ghost Corpses before, and once you encounter them, even for Awakeners, the mortality rate is as high as 80%!

"Who the heck gathered this intel! Calling this place a one-star corpse nest?" The woman was on the verge of a breakdown.