Infected individual number 2

Beside the heap of various household waste and construction materials that made up the garbage hill, two men dressed in Law Enforcement Bureau uniforms fanned the air discontentedly.

"Why is Captain Alexander so concerned about this when we can leave it to the police to handle?"

"Well, you don't understand Captain Alexander. He's the type who looks for trouble even when there's none, and if he comes across a case, he wants to get involved. He used to be a detective, after all."

The two conversed easily, clearly having a good relationship with Alexander; otherwise, they wouldn't dare discuss their superior so freely here.

The four bodies lay scattered at the foot of the garbage hill. Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous pit within the hill, a slender, delicate-looking girl was crouched down. Monica patiently fixed her gaze on the two men not far away, feeling a touch of self-reproach. If she had acted a bit faster, maybe she could have avoided their attention. She had just undone the cloth and rope binding the captives when she heard distant voices, causing her to quickly hide.

But she also heard their earlier conversation. If Alexander, who was a genuine awakened individual, was also coming next, she feared that she wouldn't be able to keep hiding. After all, Alexander was a true awakened being.

Just then, from a dozen meters away, a series of faint noises suddenly reached her ears. Monica cautiously peeked out, and her black pupils contracted sharply.

A "human" over two meters long, creeping forward like a lizard, was spitting out a purplish-red tongue as it used all four limbs to quietly approach the two chatting enforcers.

While its head was unmistakably human, its mouth stretched almost to its ears, and its pupils had a pale yellow hue. Yet, the two individuals below were entirely unaware.

Monica froze, her body tensing. Intense foreboding caused a hint of pale purple to tint her eyes again. She weighed the options in her mind—whether to warn the two men or not. If she alerted them, her position would undoubtedly be exposed. If she didn't, the two enforcers would likely become corpses very soon.

The two enforcers continued to chitchat, while the humanoid lizard-like creature blended into the junk hill like a chameleon, its color merging with the surroundings. It was nearing a distance of twenty meters from them.

Suddenly, there was a "clang," and an old, broken radio tumbled down from the garbage hill. Both enforcers turned towards the sound. At that moment, the humanoid creature also froze for a second, obviously aware that the noise didn't come from itself.

The gazes of the infected creature and the two enforcers met for a moment. Then, the infected creature launched itself like a missile towards the two enforcers.

"Captain Alexander, Infected #2 has appeared! Coordinates at the garbage hill." One of the enforcers almost shouted into the radio. But before he could finish his sentence, the radio was struck by the arm of the infected creature, which had a length of more than a meter and was covered in spikes.

Splat! With just one collision, the two men suffered serious injuries. Monica, hidden on the garbage hill, didn't miss this scene. Her heart raced, and she had intended to warn the two men to save them. But she hadn't anticipated that this infected creature's power would far exceed her imagination!

Never mind the two enforcers, she herself was now exposed due to transmitting the information. Now she had to flee! Like an agile cat, Monica quietly slid down the garbage hill. By this point, the battle below had ended. The two enforcers had only managed to fire a single shot before collapsing by the roadside, covered in blood. However, the infected creature didn't immediately consume them.

Zone C's slums had just over ten thousand inhabitants, and the garbage hill wasn't far from the dilapidated church. Even without the radio, in the tranquil late night like this, Alexander could hear his subordinates' urgent shouts.

At this moment, Alexander was truly regretting his decision. Though he had led squads to hunt down infected individuals before, cases involving First-Level infected individuals like this often ended in avoidance. That's why he had confidently taken Martha with him and followed Duke to inspect Infected #1's corpse.

However, unexpectedly, the infected individuals from the other side of Zone C took the initiative. They ran at high speeds and soon arrived near the garbage hill, where the blood on the ground indicated a recent intense battle. The infected individuals and the two team members were nowhere to be seen.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

Other team members also arrived one after another, a total of eight individuals. Except for the two who had been attacked earlier, everyone else had gathered.

"Search everywhere, be quick, or they'll get eaten. But don't spread out too much. Everyone, arm yourselves." Alexander's expression nger the affable image from before. Other team members took out firearms and cautiously searched the area around the garbage hill. While the enforcer team was stronger than the police, not all of them were awakened individuals.

Except for the leader, Alexander, and his deputy, Martha, the threshold for other team members was an original force value exceeding 150. They couldn't awaken, but they were much stronger than ordinary people. For them, firearms were still the most effective weapons, sufficient to deal with second-level and below infected individuals.

Suddenly, on the rooftop of a nearby house behind Alexander and the others, Duke lay quietly, nearly blending into the darkness. He had heard the scream too, but when Alexander had picked up the pace, he couldn't keep up and had trailed behind, taking quite some time to arrive.

"Awakened individuals are really fast," Duke sighed, then noticed that Alexander and his team were searching for something. His tension escalated. Could Infected #2 be Monica? That was his greatest concern.

Just then, his gaze swept over a few corners of the garbage hill. He and Monica often came here to search for old objects. This place wasn't just where the slum residents dumped their waste; sometimes, even the city's sanitation workers would lazily dump some urban trash here, avoiding the hassle of transporting it to a remote waste disposal site.

Because of this, Duke and Monica occasionally tried their luck here. Sometimes, they could even find slightly old but still usable appliances, like the television they used at home.

At this moment, as if sensing Duke's gaze, a small head emerged from a garbage pit. At this moment, both Duke and Monica breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Infected #2 wasn't referring to Monica. However, now the problem was that sooner or later, Alexander and his team would find Monica's location.

"Captain, found something!" Suddenly, a team member exclaimed. Duke and Monica both turned their attention towards the source of the sound.

Alexander and his team had discovered two team members on the garbage hill. They were barely alive, covered in blood, with puncture wounds on their arms from the spikes. Fortunately, their chests were still rising and falling, showing signs of breathing. Others gathered around, including Duke, who stood on a distant rooftop, squinting as he observed.

"Aren't infected individuals supposed to have instincts for killing and consuming? Why didn't that infected individual eat them?" Alexander's mind was filled with doubt.