hotmtlnovel Chapter 34 The Way to Break the Deadlock
Chapter 34 The Way to Break the Deadlock
The elite zombie had already snapped off the other zombie's arm, but it hadn't stopped.
It grabbed the zombie's severed arm and yanked it sharply towards itself. The zombie lost its balance and tumbled headlong towards the elite zombie.
The elite zombies continued their attack, not tearing at the ground randomly, but targeting the head.
He slammed his fist into the helmet with all his might. With just one blow, the helmet shell made a muffled thud and a crack appeared on its surface.
The helmet began to shatter with the second blow, clearly indicating that it was determined to kill the zombie on the spot.
Lu Chen had no choice but to control the captured zombie to fight back desperately while simultaneously ordering the other zombies to accelerate their attack, hoping to rescue the zombie from the elite zombie.
Erzhu's dagger pierced the back of the elite zombie's neck, Sanzhuang's cleaver slashed at its side, and Tiezhu charged forward, his cleaver aimed at the zombie's head.
However, the elite zombies' defenses have also increased significantly under the amplification of the red light. The cleaver that could previously cut 2 centimeters in can now only leave a shallow cut of less than 1 centimeter in its muscle.
Its recovery speed is also faster; the red light at the edge of the wound moves wildly, and small wounds begin to heal in just over ten seconds.
Even while enduring attacks from the horde of zombies, its movements never faltered.
He punched the zombie's helmet three times in a row. Finally, the helmet couldn't take the pressure and cracked in two, falling off the zombie's head.
The elite zombie's claws then stabbed down, its five fingers like five iron nails, piercing into the skull from the temple and twisting violently.
The zombie's struggle stopped instantly.
During this process, the elite zombie continued to dodge and move around, dragging the zombie's body as cover and using the narrow space at the corner of the stairs to limit the angle from which the zombie horde could surround it.
When the zombie was killed, the elite zombie had only been stabbed 5 times, all in the back and sides, places that did not affect its frontal combat.
Seeing this, Lu Chen's heart sank.
The sacrifice of one zombie resulted in only five superficial wounds on the enemy.
With one less zombie attacking, the horde's encirclement has a gap, easing the pressure on the elite zombies and making them more comfortable to deal with.
This is a vicious cycle: the more zombies it kills, the fewer zombies there are in the horde, making it easier for it to kill the next one.
When only Iron Pillar and Two Pillars remain, what will they use to block?
"Lu Chen, what should we do?" Shen Qingci, who was standing to the side, naturally realized the seriousness of the situation.
She stood two meters behind Lu Chen, her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes, her nails turning white from the force.
Her special ability is detection and perception. She can clearly sense how terrifying the surge of energy fluctuations from elite zombies is, but her ability is useless in battles of this level.
Lu Chen's mind was racing.
While maintaining command of the horde of zombies, he rapidly eliminated all possible solutions in his mind.
A direct confrontation? No way!
In its red-glowing state, the elite zombie's attack, defense, and speed completely overwhelm any of his other zombies, making a one-on-one fight entirely unrealistic.
A war of attrition? That won't work either!
Previously, he had the advantage in a war of attrition because he had more zombies. But now, with the elite zombies unleashing their red glow, every attack is fatal, and he simply can't afford to lose.
Defense? Obviously not!
If he doesn't attack, the opponent will. When the elite zombie is in its red glow state, any attack from it can penetrate deep enough to see the bone.
In other words, it was fighting zombies, which were immune to pain. If it were a human, it would have collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
"No, if we're afraid of casualties, the zombie horde will get injured even faster." Lu Chen gritted his teeth and quickly analyzed in his mind.
He watched helplessly as the elite zombie tore through the cotton-padded clothes and flesh of the four strong men with a single claw, watched as the two pillars' right legs developed a deep, bone-revealing wound and their movements slowed down, and watched as the cleaver in Tie Zhu's hand was smashed away by the zombie's punch.
His horde of corpses is being gradually eroded by the enemy.
"Damn it, I still don't have enough zombies under my control," Lu Chen thought with frustration. "If I had more, even cannon fodder would be enough..."
As the word "cannon fodder" flashed through his mind, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
It works!
His eyes lit up instantly.
"Go back now!" he shouted abruptly, turning to Shen Qingci beside him. "Get someone to bring the zombies from the fourth floor down to me, and hurry!"
"Huh?" Shen Qingci was taken aback.
The zombies on the 4th floor were all locked up by Lu Chen as reserve forces. There were 30 of them in total. Originally, they were intended to be used to expand the team after Lu Chen broke through the bottleneck of his superpowers.
So what are we going to do with these zombies now?
Shen Qingci was a smart woman; she was stunned for a moment, but then she immediately realized what was going on.
Lu Chen's control quota was indeed full before, but the slots became vacant after zombies died on the battlefield.
The vacant spots can be immediately filled by the bound zombies on the fourth floor.
The control limit of 10 zombies remained unchanged, but he could treat the 30 reserve zombies as a pool of manpower to be replenished at any time. If one died, he'd replace it. If another died, he'd replace it again.
This isn't 10 against 1. This is 40 against 1.
"Okay, I'll go right away!" Shen Qingci turned around and ran upstairs.
"Remember to bring your weapons too!" Lu Chen added as he watched her retreating figure.
At the same time, he turned his gaze back to the battlefield, his eyes instantly becoming sharp.
With cannon fodder arriving immediately to replenish the ranks, the situation will change. He no longer needs to fear attrition, nor does he need to keep Tie Zhu and the others in a defensive posture.
He can fight freely, sacrificing the horde of zombies to heal the wounds on the elite zombies.
It was his turn to fight back!
Meanwhile, Shen Qingci rushed back to the 5th floor as fast as she could. When she pushed open the fire door, everyone in the corridor turned to look at her.
Of the 20 survivors, none returned to their rooms. They all stood in the corridor, some clenching their fists, some clutching weapons, and some praying silently.
They couldn't see the details of the battle downstairs, but the dull thuds, the roars of zombies, and the clatter of metal kept traveling up the stairwell, each sound making their faces paler.
When Shen Qingci returned, everyone's eyes were focused on her.
"All field personnel!" Shen Qingci glanced at everyone and changed her mind, "No, all men, come with me."
Without explanation or preamble, the order was given directly.
Gao Yuan was the first to step forward. He shoved the notebook in his hand into Sister Sun's hand and strode over to Shen Qingci.
He waved to the others, shouting, "Hurry up, keep up! Don't ask why, just keep up!"
The other five men who went out on fieldwork exchanged glances. Zhao Yongqiang was the first to grit his teeth and walk out, followed by the other four.
Then several more men who had been assigned to logistics also stepped out of the crowd. No one questioned them, and no one backed away.
Although instinctively unwilling to face danger, there are no fools here.
Everyone knew the level of threat posed by the monster downstairs from the increasingly frequent collisions.
If even two superhumans like Lu Chen and Shen Qingci can't stop them, they will all die.
The group moved quickly. Shen Qingci led the group down to the fourth floor, pushed open the fire door, and headed straight for the rooms where the zombies were being held.
The zombies were bound hand and foot with nylon ropes, their mouths stuffed with strips of cloth, lying on the ground like piles of goods.
But each one was a size bigger than a regular zombie, and the muscles on their arms stretched the ropes taut.
"Move! Move it quickly!" Shen Qingci urged.
Gao Yuan was the first to bend down, grab the knot on the shoulder of a zombie, and pull it out with all his might. Zhao Yongqiang and the other two also each pulled up one.
Others grabbed helmets, cotton-padded coats, and knives. These items had been prepared long ago and piled up in the corner of the fourth-floor corridor, originally intended for use when the zombie horde was expanded.
Less than half a minute later, the first batch of five bound zombies were dragged to the corner of the stairs on the third floor.
Also brought along were a helmet, scarf, thick cotton coat, and several sharpened kitchen knives.
In those short two minutes, the battle situation changed again.