Showdown

The sealed fourth floor of the mall was dimly lit. Clark and Lynn carefully avoided the bodies underfoot. Despite their thorough search, they hadn't found any signs of [The Stitcher]. The dense zombie horde made it difficult to traverse, forcing them to move slowly along the mall's corridors.

"Watch out for the lower floors, and be cautious. I sensed that some massive creature is on the move, likely [The Stitcher]," Clark warned with a serious expression. He focused his attention on the surroundings for a moment, utilizing his Judgment Eye. His psychic power surged out in a circular wave, covering nearly half of the mall.

After a moment, the data was relayed back:

"Ding! Detected zombie count: 27,899"

"Mutant count: 1(? ??)"

"Player count: 24"

Clark was surprised to find that there were still players surviving in the mall, although their exact whereabouts were unknown. As for the mutant with uncertain status, it appeared that the tremors he had sensed earlier were likely caused by [The Stitcher]. With his current level of Will attribute, only monsters like [The Stitcher] could suppress his attributes, making it difficult to obtain accurate information.

Lynn nodded, her face pale. Nearby, a few zombies crouched on the ground, greedily feasting on a severed hand.

As they crossed over the zombies, the severed hand being held by one of the creatures suddenly dropped at Clark's feet with a clatter.

"Clang!" Clark didn't have time to dodge, and the broken hand was inadvertently crushed under his foot.

The sound of crushed bones triggered the nearby zombies. The one that had been gnawing on the severed hand suddenly stood up, roaring and becoming agitated. There was only a few centimeters between the humans and the zombies, and Clark could even smell the putrid breath coming from the zombie's mouth.

This sudden change in the situation made both Clark and Lynn tense up. Not far away, the dense horde of zombies seemed to respond to the roaring and started to go berserk.

"Roar! Roar!"

In an instant, the entire mall was filled with the cacophonous roars of zombies. Clark's heart sank; the zombies' roars were likely to expose their location.

"Damn it!" Boom! Suddenly, a massive shadow burst out from under their feet. It tore through the marble-covered, reinforced concrete structure like a heavy artillery shell.

Power Surge! A pale golden aura enveloped Clark's entire body, boosting all his attributes. His muscles bulged, and he entered a peak state he hadn't experienced in a long time. There was no choice but to dodge; if he didn't, he would die!

"Step!" With his psychic power highly concentrated, time seemed to slow down for that split second. In less than 0.1 seconds of reaction time, Clark forcefully propelled himself upward and changed direction.

"Boom!" The enormous shadow pierced through the second floor without any hindrance after tearing through the second floor. Flying rubble shot out like bullets in all directions.

A blade-like, violent air current grazed his body. A sense of impending death rushed over him as smoke and dust billowed. The entire second and third floors of the mall collapsed under the force of the impact.

Clark landed in a hall 5 meters away after that forceful maneuver. His surroundings were a scene of devastation.

The once-hard, 40-centimeter-thick floor had been completely destroyed, and where he had previously stood was now a massive black hole.

As the dust cleared, the massive shadow appeared under Clark's Judgment Eye.

"Ding! Detected second-tier mutant (Peak) [The Stitcher]!"

"Danger rating: Terrifying."

"Lynn, hide! Activate mental sharing when I need it!"

"Arnold! Come at full speed!"

Clark quickly issued commands in the team's channel, his eyes firmly fixed on the suddenly attacking yet strangely motionless monster. 

The monster before him stood at five meters tall, its entire body covered in a multitude of pale, dead-white muscles, resembling severe burns. Three heads crowded together on its tank-like armored shoulders, with the central one belonging to a male head with closed eyes, and two female heads forcibly stitched together. 

Its massive body had two strong arms crossed over its chest, while over a dozen baby-sized hands floated around it like tendrils, moving slowly. The force of that last attack was definitely more than 30 points! Its speed was at least over 35 points!

Clark's heart raced. If he hadn't reacted quickly, the monster's sudden attack could have shattered him. Its pure physical strength rivaled a tank's main cannon, with an instant burst speed approaching 300 meters per second—close to the speed of sound! He felt a sinking sensation; [The Stitcher] was already displaying power beyond his expectations.

His psychic barrier had been breached by [The Stitcher], and thousands of zombies in a nearby mall instantly turned their heads, their crimson eyes madly rushing towards him. He couldn't delay any longer!

0.5 seconds later, Clark decided to launch an attack himself. Since the plan for the ambush had been disrupted, he might as well go on the offensive!

Charge forward! The floor cracked beneath Clark's feet as he dashed towards [The Stitcher] like a black shadow.

"Leap and Strike!" Bone spikes whistled through the air, breaking through the resistance of the atmosphere, emitting a sharp howl as they aimed directly at the central head. [The Stitcher], originally motionless, suddenly raised one arm to counter.

Explosive muscles swelled, and a fist filled with terrifying force collided with the bone spikes. [The Stitcher] countered with a side swipe!

"Crack." Glass shattered. Clark's expression hardened, and he bit and crushed the potion he had pre-loaded in his mouth.

"Ding, Strength +1, Constitution +1, Agility +1."

"Ding, Explosive power increased by 10%, endurance and resistance to blows increased by 30%, attack speed increased by 20%."

With another increase in strength and speed, his overall power surged by 20%, making him even more formidable!

As the punch approached, Clark quickly changed direction at the last moment, sidestepping the direct strike. 

Slash! The sharp bone spike, like lightning, instantly struck at the right female head of The Stitcher.

The sharp blade pierces the flesh, and the power, amplified to 28 points, successfully breaks through the monster's defense.

Like bursting a pustule, the eyes of the woman, who had tightly shut eyes, suddenly opened wide, emitting a piercing and venomous scream.

A streak of blood extended from her head to The Stitcher's waist, revealing the continuously writhing muscle tissue inside.

"Roar!" The monster let out a painful roar. It didn't expect Clark's instant increase in speed to evade its powerful punch.

The severed head that Clark had chopped off didn't seem to cause him much harm, but instead completely enraged him.

The Stitcher's arms moved at a speed exceeding the limits of the naked eye, fiercely smashing toward Clark. There was no escape. At such close range, Clark had to desperately dodge to the side, using the bone spurs in his hand to counter the terrifying strike.

"Boom!" Bones shattered, and the right hand that was supposed to obstruct the massive punch was instantly snapped, hanging limp like noodles on one side of his body. Clark narrowly avoided being hit, but his right side was already a mess of blood and flesh.

This power...! Can't confront it head-on! The residual force of the huge punch continued to strike the ground where Clark had originally stood, completely penetrating the entire floor with a single blow.

Before he could catch his breath, The Stitcher launched a second attack. The thin arms on The Stitcher's body shot toward him like those of a toddler and bound him in place.

The massive fist rose from the ground, continuing to strike Clark's head like a lingering shadow. Power surging! In order to activate the brief recovery effect after the power surge, Clark attempted to break free from the restraints of his ongoing skills.

"Open up for me!" he roared in anger, breaking a few of the arms binding his upper body, but it was only a delay of 0.1 seconds.

The colossal fist was about to land, but the bindings from the arms were too powerful. Even with his strength pushed to the limit, he could only barely evade the impending blow to his head as thousands of zombies had already roared towards him.

"Clark!" Arnold, who had turned into a black bear at a high place, had eyes on the verge of splitting, and he jumped directly from the fourth floor regardless of the cost.