*Puff!*
Bai Ye stepped forward and pulled Ning Shuang from the zombie's head, splattering gore.
Bai Ye was sick of his frail body from ten years ago.
Fortunately, he had acquired the T-virus. Once he got the vaccine, he could inject himself to improve his physique. Moreover, the sudden appearance of zombies had given Bai Ye an idea.
Zombies were essentially walking corpses, hence the strong stench of decay.
However, the smell wasn't that potent if one kept a distance. The reason was simple: this was an underground base.
Underground bases required excellent ventilation. Since many researchers would be working here long-term, Umbrella Corporation's underground bases had a superior air circulation system, which naturally included numerous interconnected ventilation ducts.
Bai Ye mused as he quickly entered the restroom and found a ventilation shaft. After removing the grate, he tested it; the space was sufficient for him to crawl through.
Twisting his body, Bai Ye began to climb through the ventilation duct.
At each grate he reached, Bai Ye would look down to ascertain his position before continuing.
"Quickly pass through the office area; the virus storage room is behind it."
Bai Ye took a deep breath and refocused on crawling forward. Just then, he felt something sticky.
Looking down, Bai Ye discovered a pool of viscous liquid in his hand, carrying a faint, foul odor.
"No way!"
Bai Ye felt a sense of dread.
The next instant, a whimpering sound emanated from ahead in the ventilation duct.
"Alright!" Bai Ye sighed. "It seems bad luck truly strikes when it wants to!"
Around the bend of the ventilation duct ahead of Bai Ye, a hound slowly emerged.
The hound was not alive but long dead, transformed into a zombie dog due to the virus infection. Its fur was gone, leaving bare skin, and a chunk was missing, revealing bone with scraps of flesh.
Man and dog stared at each other for half a second before the zombie dog suddenly bolted towards Bai Ye.
"Ning Shuang, Sword Control!"
The Ning Shuang sword, floating in front of Bai Ye, immediately turned into a silver streak and flew forward, piercing the zombie dog's head.
The zombie dog howled and thrashed against the duct walls but soon fell silent.
However, just as Bai Ye breathed a sigh of relief, the silent zombie dog began to move forward again.
How could this be?
Bai Ye was momentarily stunned. Zombies were supposed to stop moving after their heads were pierced. He looked closer: the zombie dog's limbs were not moving; the corpse was being pushed forward by something.
Bai Ye understood immediately...
There was more than one zombie dog!
The zombie dogs from behind were still running forward, pushing the corpse.
"Ning Shuang!"
Bai Ye quickly commanded, but the Ning Shuang sword, embedded in the zombie dog's head, trembled a few times and refused to return.
The Ning Shuang sword was stuck!
"Is this what they call one misfortune after another?"
Bai Ye cursed, drawing his pistol and firing forward.
*Bang, bang, bang...*
Gunshots echoed, leaving bloody holes in the zombie dog's corpse as black blood sprayed out.
But...
It was useless!
The bullets were insufficient to penetrate the corpse and hit the zombie dog behind, and even if they could, they might not hit its head.
At that moment...
The corpse was finally pushed to Bai Ye's front.
The ventilation duct could barely accommodate Bai Ye's crawling. In this situation, Bai Ye couldn't turn around and could only push the corpse away with his hand.
And in that instant...
A canine bark. From behind the corpse, a second zombie dog suddenly poked its head out, lunging towards Bai Ye's wrist.
Bai Ye reacted swiftly, raising his right hand and smashing the zombie dog's head with his gun stock, crushing it.
But it was only for a moment. The zombie dog twisted its head back, relentlessly attempting to bite Bai Ye again.
"Ice Bulwark!"
As Bai Ye shouted, the Ning Shuang sword, still lodged in the zombie dog's head, suddenly emitted a silver-white glow. The temperature plummeted, and a thick frost appeared, freezing the surroundings. An ice wall, perfectly fitting the ventilation duct, materialized before Bai Ye.
*Bang, bang, bang...*
The zombie dog from behind, stepping over its companion's corpse, repeatedly slammed into the ice wall, creating dull thuds.
"There's no other way!"
Bai Ye took a deep breath. It was difficult to proceed further in the ventilation duct.
The ice wall grew larger, causing the ventilation duct to warp. Finally, with a resounding "boom," the ventilation duct exploded.
Bai Ye fell from the aerial duct.
As he landed, a circle of zombies closed in on him.
Bai Ye's expression was not one of great surprise. The commotion in the ventilation duct would surely attract zombies in this area.
Bai Ye quickly got up and, raising his pistol, resolutely pulled the trigger.
*Bang, bang, bang...*
At such close range, Bai Ye couldn't miss. With each shot, the zombies fell one by one.
After emptying his magazine, Bai Ye leaped onto a table, creating distance while rapidly reloading.
Simultaneously, the Ning Shuang sword reformed from the ice wall back into a flying sword.
"Sword Dance of Frost and Illusion!"
Sword Dance of Frost and Illusion: The sword transforms into frost, randomly inflicting freeze, frostbite, or slow effects on targets within a 3-meter radius.
Under Bai Ye's command, the Ning Shuang sword rapidly dissolved into frost and descended into the zombie horde. A burst of silver-white frost erupted.
The surrounding zombies were instantly coated in frost, their bodies freezing and their movements slowing.
*Bang, bang, bang...*
Bai Ye seized the opportunity, raising his pistol and continuously firing.
Bloody flowers bloomed on the zombies' heads, and with each shot, they fell.
But at that moment...
*Crack!*
A grate from a ventilation duct above Bai Ye suddenly dropped. Immediately, a zombie dog leaped down, landing on Bai Ye.
After knocking Bai Ye to the ground, the zombie dog bared its fangs and lunged for Bai Ye's head. Fortunately, Bai Ye reacted quickly, ducking his head. The zombie dog bit into the ground.
Then...
*Zzzzt!*
The sharp sound of electricity suddenly erupted!
...