56 Time Perse

It became extremely quiet.

The rhythmic sound of gunshots was gone. The shrieks and moaning of the infected stopped. The tense shouting of the people. All of them disappeared.

Jun stared at the hulking infected in front of him.

Its stinky mouth was only a few inches away from him. The veins on the whites of its eyes were red. The yellow irises shaped like a gem looked savage.

A few seconds have already passed, yet the Destroyer wasn't moving, still holding him up with his bulky left arm.

'The time stopped.' Jun thought.

He slightly turned his head to the side but noticed that the infected in front of him inched a bit closer. He returned to his initial position, and the Destroyer's face came even more closer.

Jun widened his eyes when a sudden realization hit him.

Time really stopped!

But only when he's not moving?

Thankfully, breathing and blinking don't resume the time.

What is this? What's happening? Is this because of that voice? Jun pondered.

If he moves, he will surely get bit and die. And it's impossible to stay like this forever because he can feel his energy being drained at one energy per second.

Jun closed his eyes, trying to think of a plan, anything that could help him. When suddenly, his vision became elevated. He looked around and saw his immediate surrounding.

Marianne was stuck at a running pose. Evo was aiming in his direction with a rifle on his hand. Edward was half-lying on the ground, pointing his hand towards him. Adrian was gunning down a Hunter that jumped down from the firetrucks roof. He looked down and saw himself dangling in the air.

Usually, anyone in this situation wouldn't have time to look around their surroundings or wouldn't have the time to think of a plan. But thanks to his new ability, he was able to do so. He knew what the people around him were doing and probably thinking.

Jun knows that Edward will use a barrier, and probably his last one, before passing out due to energy depletion. Evo will take the risk of him being accidentally hit and chose to shoot the Destroyer.

With this information, Jun formulated a plan.

Jun runs the plan on his head one more time before opening his eyes. He noticed that the Destroyer's face was slightly closer. He kept in mind that time also passes even if he's not moving.

Jun took a deep breath and calmed himself. He let go of the baseball and formed a fist with his now empty hand. He felt that a chunk of energy was drained after that movement.

Sweat appeared on his forehead.

At this rate, his energy would get depleted, and he would fall unconscious, causing his death.

Jun gathered energy on his fist and willed for time to resume. From his experience, any interaction with the system needs the user's will as a confirmation, while items need energy for interaction.

The Destroyer resumed its biting motion but was blocked by a yellow barrier. Jun punched the infected in the jaw, then used Threaten. The Destroyer flinched. With the dizziness from the punch and the effect of Threaten, Jun managed to break free from the infected's grasp. The infected shook its head and touched its jaw.

As he fell down, he quickly took out the M60 machine gun from his dimensional storage. He could feel his arm burning due to the tight grip of the infected. Ceaseless gunfire shot from behind him and rained down on the infected's body. Most of the bullets ricochet and almost hit him, but luckily, some of them hit the burnt skin and went deep inside the infected's body.

The Destroyer groaned and stepped back a bit—an action that gave hope to all of them. Compared to the earlier battle, the situation finally turned to their side.

Jun knew that shooting the body wasn't that effective, so he chose to fire at the Destroyer's face. He slowed the passage of time at the cost of some energy. This time, he aimed at the eyes of the infected.

Jun isn't used to shooting guns, and he knew his aim sucks. He was bewildered when his vision suddenly zoomed in to the Destroyer's face. He felt his energy consumption increase and quickly fired before he passed out.

He pressed the trigger and resumed the time. He didn't remove his hand until his magazine run out. The infected's head shook, and most of the bullet went through its eyes. His aim suddenly became good.

In reality, all of this happened within three seconds. He used energy and Threaten to make the infected stunned so that he could break free. He then took the machine gun from his dimensional storage and bombarded the infected with gunfire.

All of this was possible because he knew that Edward would use a barrier, and Evo would provide some cover fire.

Thankfully, his energy didn't run out. Maybe he should use every energy stone he gets, to increase his energy pool.

It's probably past noon.

The burning sun appeared directly above him as Jun watched the three-meter tall infected fall towards him. He hurriedly dodged to the side and heard the rumbling sound when the infected's body fell down. The ground shook a bit, and dust flew away from the body.

Suddenly, his vision tilted, and he was forced to take a step to the side to balance his body.

A soft sensation coupled with a fragrant scent came from his sides, followed by a sniffing sound filled with sadness.

He turned and saw Marianne hugging him.

Jun asked. "Are you okay?"

Marianne shakes her head repeatedly like a little kid.

Jun felt something hot seeped-in on his shirt but chose to ignore it. He didn't say anything and let her hug him.

Jun looked around.

Edward was unconscious on the floor. Adrian was looting the Hunter while looking at him. Evo stood from afar, smiling. There's something identical with the two of them. Both of them looked awestruck at Jun. They couldn't help but do so after watching a fast-paced scene like that. Adrian was awestruck because of his reaction time, while Evo was really impressed with his decision-making skills. Both of them didn't know that it was because of Jun's newly gained skill.

'Time Perse.'