Chapter 17: Steely Determination

Sarah's heart suddenly tightened. She instinctively pressed the switch of the living room light next to the door. "Click!" No response, the light was broken again. The voltage in this rundown apartment was unstable, and electrical damage was common. Just as her gaze focused on the figure behind the curtain, the streetlight outside the street continued to flicker. It felt as though the furniture shadows in the room were suddenly elongated in intermittent light. The light and shadow of the electric light kept flickering. The next second, as if unable to withstand it any longer, the streetlight emitted a crackling electronic wail. Immediately, most of the light in Sarah's house disappeared, leaving only the night breeze blowing in through the open window, lifting the curtain.

In the early hours of the Gotham City's Upper East Side, perhaps there were still brilliant lights elsewhere, but in this bordering district between the slums and the bustling city, it appeared dark and quiet everywhere, and the windows seemed to have turned into the mouths of voracious beasts that selected their prey.

Just as Sarah had softly called out, there was no response from the other side. She could only be certain that the figure behind the curtain was definitely not a hallucination.

"Whoosh, whoosh—"

The other person's breathing was heavy and hoarse, which stirred up Sarah's inner fear of the unknown and her terrifying imagination of the indescribable. A chilling sensation shot from Sarah's spine to the back of her head, causing goosebumps all over her body. She didn't need a mirror to know that her face had turned pale.

The only thing that prevented her from turning and running was the silhouette that resembled her own.

Without approaching, she slightly bent her knees, ready to leap out of the door behind her. She called out softly once again, "Dana, is that you?"

This time, the other person finally responded.

"Sa...rah..."

A voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar, sounding less like a response and more like a desperate howl.

This wasn't her sister's voice!

Why did it sound more like... her own voice?

Sarah blinked her eyes, discreetly switching her handbag to her left hand, and her right hand reached for the crowbar that had been hanging behind the door for years.

In this rundown apartment, she had encountered drunken wanderers knocking on doors in the middle of the night more than once.

Sarah's heart pounded wildly, and nervousness accelerated the flow of blood in her veins. She tried to steady her breath, widening her eyes.

Just when she needed it the least, a gust of wind blew into the room, lifting the curtain. Incredibly coincidental, the moonlight also peeked out from behind the clouds.

In the somewhat bright moonlight, Sarah finally saw that 'person'.

No! She could no longer be considered a person.

Ignoring her pale, bloodless face, Sarah's entire attention was drawn to the completely rotten right half of her face.

What a terrifying face it was!

"Her shamelessness had completely vanished, replaced by dried-up eyeballs like dead fish eyes, darkened cheek muscles, and a nauseating toothless dental ridge that had lost a few teeth.

Her left chest had already decayed completely, not only revealing a horrifying cavity but also vaguely showing the light and shadow from behind through her body.

A zombie!?

Most absurdly, this female zombie with half of her intact face was none other than her, Sarah Lance!

"Ah—" Despite possessing decent combat skills and even living in Gotham City with its daily dose of violence and death, this version of Sarah was ultimately just an ordinary person.

The terrifying visage immediately triggered her fight-or-flight response. With a forceful kick of her left foot, she sent a round stool placed near the entrance flying towards the creature. Whistling, it hurtled towards her target.

However, as the stool, which would be enough to crack an ordinary person's skull, flew in front of the female zombie, the monster suddenly swung its bone-exposed left claw, slapping the wooden stool into smithereens!

A rush of fear filled Sarah's chest. She could fully envision that if she didn't do something, in the next round, this damned zombie would tear her body apart and feast on her flesh.

Without even half a second of hesitation, as the female zombie lunged at her, Sarah pulled with all her might, flinging the 1.5-meter-high shoe cabinet near the entrance outside.

"Bang!"

Another hit that shattered the shoe cabinet.

At least the unfortunate demise of the cabinet bought Sarah a precious second. She exited the room without looking back, not toward the stairs but leaped through the window at the end of the corridor. The window was barely half a meter wide, and she soared through it, performing a mid-air adjustment of her posture after jumping from the third floor. Upon landing, she smoothly executed three front flips.

Turning her head around, she saw the zombie getting stuck in the window frame, its misaligned limbs crashing heavily against it, producing a massive sound.

Lights in several rooms of the apartment building turned on, only to extinguish rapidly.

In the Gotham City slums, your neighbors are the most unreliable.

No one knows whether any loud noise in your room results from a terrible domestic dispute or a bloody gang purge, or perhaps a botched police arrest.

In any case, they'll do everything except provide substantial help to save your life.

Apart from yourself, the only ones to rely on are your closest kin.

Seeing that the zombie couldn't catch up for the moment, Sarah dialed her sister's number while sprinting and screaming, "Pick up! Answer the phone! You idiotic sister—"

Sarah was on the verge of tears.

She knew that her sister had tagged along with that mysterious rich guy to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in Dubai. Regardless of whether her sister ascended to new heights or not, just the fact that her sister had mentioned the possibility of the Black Mask having a hand in it made her sister a lifeline.

Just then, a second loud crash echoed from behind Sarah. The female zombie had actually smashed through the apartment building's third-floor window and leaped down from the window ledge.

Amidst the raining debris of wood and glass, many pieces embedded themselves in the zombie's body. Yet it remained oblivious, landing heavily on the ground, even breaking several old pavement tiles.

Seeing Sarah, who was now more than a hundred meters away, the female zombie chased after her with somewhat clumsy steps.

Hearing the sound, Sarah abruptly turned her head, discovering that the monster was relentlessly pursuing her. Her fear intensified.

Finally, the call was picked up at the other end.

"Sarah? What a coincidence, I just got off the plane," Dana was left bewildered by her sister's scream as she answered the call.

"Sister! Hurry and save me! There's a zombie that looks just like me chasing me! That thing can say my name; it's probably after me."

Sarah's panicked scream transmitted through the Black Canary phone.

Normally, Ang wouldn't interfere.

As a time traveler, he keenly sensed the enormous crisis concealed in Sarah Lance's words.

Black Canary saw Ang approaching her with a serious expression, instantly realizing something and raising her voice."

"Sarah, are you not kidding?" "Kidding my ass! Fxxk! If you don't come to save me soon, get ready to collect your little sister's body. Oh my god! Those are zombies, and who knows, if I get bitten, I might turn into one of those monsters. For the love of our mom, hurry and save me!" Sarah screamed loudly.

"Where are you?" "I was just at home. I couldn't wait for the police, and I have no idea how to contact Batman. How about I lure that creature to the old hiding spot we used to play at? You bring your invincible boss over here." Sarah spoke rapidly, punctuated by her gasps. In the background, there were sounds of destruction not far away, and occasionally eerie low growls.

Ang grabbed the phone from the Black Canary: "This is Ang."

"Boss! Save me! If you save me, I'll do anything!"

"Alright! I'll be there in ten minutes."

"So fast!?" This time, even Sarah was astonished.

After ending the call, Ang's gaze fell on a helicopter preparing for takeoff not far from the Gulfstream jet.

Without hesitation, he and his team went directly there.

"I'm commandeering this plane!" Ang opened the cabin door and got in.

The pilot was taken aback, but being a professional pilot with principles, integrity, and professional ethics, he said, "I'm sorry, sir, but this plane was reserved by Mr. DuPont. You have no authority..."

Before he could finish speaking, Louis next to Ang quickly and alertly opened the chained briefcase in his hand. Ang effortlessly took out two stacks of Franklin bills and threw them onto the pilot's face.

"Alright, Boss, where are you going?"

What professionalism stands a chance against Benjamin Franklins!

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