C18 Encountering the Intelligent Zombie

Under a leaden sky, amidst crumbling structures, Fei Liang reappeared in the same alley he had vanished from before. The number of Zombies this time wasn't as terrifying as the last, but with dozens present, it was far from a negligible threat.

The Zombies quickly took notice of Fei Liang, their excited howls piercing the air as they lunged toward him, seeing him as nothing more than a tasty morsel.

"Looking for death?" Fei Liang bellowed, summoning his battle blade and charging into the fray.

With a few swift "Chi! Chi!" sounds, several Zombies hit the ground. Incapable of matching Fei Liang's prowess, especially those not even at Yellow Level, they stood no chance. Even the occasional K2s were swiftly decapitated, their heads rolling as if they were mere vegetables on a chopping board. In that moment, Fei Liang was an unstoppable force, a tiger fiercely descending the mountain.

"Ha, perish!" he growled, sidestepping an onslaught. His blade danced, flashing repeatedly, and in short order, another dozen Zombies lay defeated.

"Ah, the perks of increased strength," Fei Liang mused with a grin, advancing on the remaining Zombies. He recalled how, in the past, such a massacre would not have come so easily, and he might have even sustained injuries. Now, as Zombie after Zombie fell, Fei Liang remained unscathed.

"Hey!" His blade sliced through the air once more, and seven or eight Zombies collapsed, their vile blood splattering him.

The Zombies howled furiously, swarming him in droves.

"Meier, activate the Level-2 protective shield!" Fei Liang commanded, his brow furrowed at the sight of the tainted blood on his body. He had no desire to be grazed by those maggot-infested, decaying claws. The Level-2 shield had an added feature—it could be triggered autonomously.

"Right away, Mr. Fei," Meier responded, and within a second, the shield sprang to life, rendering the Zombies' attacks futile. Fei Liang's primary goal was to harvest Realm Energy, not to train, so the use of the shield was permissible. Yet, the steep maintenance cost of thirty crystals per hour meant he had to maintain peak efficiency.

Fei Liang had a purpose now; he was on the hunt for K2.

"Ha!" With the activation of the protective shield, Fei Liang swiftly appeared among the horde, targeting specific zombies. His blade danced, slicing through the air as black blood sprayed everywhere. Aside from his targets, the collateral damage left swathes of zombies falling. Yet, they continued to advance without fear, lacking any sense of self-preservation – a natural trait for creatures devoid of thought or consciousness.

The relentless patter of zombie claws – not hands – against the shield produced a series of muffled thuds. Inside the safety of his Level-2 protective barrier, Fei Liang was untroubled, methodically eliminating one K2 after another.

Half an hour later, with the aid of his formidable external tools, not a single zombie remained in his vicinity – not even the regular ones. The ground was littered with the bodies of over two hundred fallen zombies.

"Meier, shut down the protective shield!" Fei Liang commanded, his voice grave. There was no sense in wasting resources.

"Right away, Mr. Fei," Meier replied, and the shield deactivated the following second.

The quiet lasted mere minutes. As Fei Liang moved on, the howling of zombies intensified.

In no time, a handful of zombies had emerged before him, quickly swelling into dozens, then hundreds. Fei Liang braced for the onslaught.

"Meier, reactivate the protective shield!" Fei Liang instructed, his expression grim. With such a multitude of zombies, going without protection could be fatal.

"Understood, Mr. Fei," Meier acknowledged.

"Excellent. There you are again, K2!" With the shield back up, Fei Liang's confidence surged. Spotting K2 again, he couldn't help but smile.

"K2, here I come. Just you wait!" Fei Liang couldn't contain his excitement upon locating K2, and he dove into the zombie horde. After all, the power K2 could provide was incomparable to that of K1.

Meier shivered upon hearing Fei Liang's words, as they could easily lead to misinterpretations.

With a swift "Chi La!" Fei Liang's blade cut through the air, transforming everything in its path into world energy. He struck the defensive K2, carving a gaping wound into its form.

The K2 let out a thunderous howl and lunged at Fei Liang with reckless abandon.

"Hmm, it didn't split in half? True to its nature, the defensive K2's durability might rival that of an ordinary Profound Level Late Period Expert. But what's stopping me from trying another slash?" Fei Liang mused. Putting more force behind his next move, he brought his blade down again, and this time, the K2 was cleaved in two without any doubt.

"Shua! Shua! Shua!" After several more decisive cuts, Fei Liang noticed something amiss as he took down a few more K2s.

"Hmm? What's with these zombies?" Fei Liang observed an unusual increase in their numbers. It wasn't unusual for zombies to multiply, but what really puzzled him was their sudden display of intelligence. Groups of about twenty zombies would assault him and then, in less than three seconds, another wave would take their place in a relentless rotation. It was as if they were employing a tactic of attrition. Could these zombies actually understand the concept of a war of attrition? That was astoundingly unnatural.

"Mr. Fei, a smart K2 has joined the horde and is directing their battle strategy," Meier's voice clarified in Fei Liang's mind, dispelling his bewilderment.

"Where is it?" Fei Liang asked, his body tensing with the revelation. No wonder the battle had taken such a turn. This was his first encounter with an intelligent K2.

"It's positioned at a 47-degree angle to your left, 153 meters out. Look for the one with the sinister red glow in its eyes," Meier instructed.

"Got it!" Fei Liang scanned the area, but it was swarming with zombies, obscuring any sight of the red-eyed, intelligent K2. Steeling his resolve, he charged in the indicated direction.

"Gotcha!" After a swift eighty-meter dash, Fei Liang finally spotted the intelligent zombie Meier had mentioned and charged at it with renewed vigor.

The clever K2 zombie took notice of Fei Liang as well, commanding its horde to strike back while it retreated.

"Not so fast!" Fei Liang's ferocity was unmatched by the zombies. Not even the K2 could halt his relentless march. He pressed forward, cutting down fifty zombies before finally cornering the intelligent K2 just shy of the small square.

With no escape, the intelligent zombie let out a defiant howl and lunged at Fei Liang.

"Bring it on!" Fei Liang stood his ground fearlessly, saber in hand, ready to face the oncoming zombie. He was more worried about it getting away than anything else.

To his surprise, the zombie didn't engage in a direct confrontation with Fei Liang, instead using their brief skirmishes to probe his defenses.

"True to its reputation as an intelligent zombie, but today you meet your end!" Fei Liang quickly assessed the K2's capabilities, noting it was on the verge of evolving into a K3. But what truly stood out was its cunning; no ordinary zombie would think to test him or command others to attack.

With a battle cry, Fei Liang's blade arced through the air, cleaving the bothersome zombies summoned by the intelligent K2 in half.

These zombies were a real nuisance, offering little resistance but causing significant irritation, much like an unwanted burden. Without their interference, Fei Liang would have already dispatched the K2.

In the end, the outcome was inevitable. Three minutes later, Fei Liang seized the moment to sever the creature's claws and then decapitated it with a swift strike.

"Damn, that was tough, almost as challenging as a K3." After dispatching the intelligent K2, Fei Liang grumbled, "I'd rather take on a K3 than deal with such a pest." The battle with this particular K3 had taken him over ten minutes, longer than any previous K2 encounter.

"Mr. Fei, you really have a way with words," Meier remarked with a wry expression. "There's a K3 about 4,700 meters away, heading straight for us. I suggest we take cover in the building cluster 600 meters to our left."

"Damn," Fei Liang muttered, his eyes wide and jaw slack with shock. He let out a curse under his breath and made his way to the left.