C11 He Had Escaped Death(1)

Willett gasped for air, a deep and instinctive habit whenever he faced danger. He would take deep breaths to steady his nerves. But this time, no matter how he tried to calm himself, his heart raced uncontrollably, and he couldn't shake the ominous feeling that something was terribly wrong.

He had never felt anything like it before. His surroundings were clear, yet he couldn't escape the sensation of malevolent eyes watching him, sizing him up, perhaps even yearning to consume him. This unsettling feeling left him anxious and oppressed.

"Whoosh!"

A faint noise suggested something was swiftly moving near him, too close for comfort.

In his heightened state of alert, he remembered the protagonist from the "Path of Survival" series and how they dealt with wild beasts and venomous snakes in the forest. He knew he had to act to confront the unseen threat.

Willett crouched down, mimicking the stance David took in the documentary, lowering his center of gravity, steadying his heartbeat, and slowly drawing the short spear from behind with his left hand. In the face of this enigmatic peril, he trusted in the spear skills he had honed over time.

As his breathing evened out, so did his thoughts. The spine-tingling sensation persisted, but he was now able to face it with composure. Some people find extraordinary strength when pushed to their limits, and Willett was one of those people, though he hadn't yet come to that realization.

Clutching the long knife and short spear firmly, the chill of the metal instilled a flicker of reassurance. Whatever was out there, if it saw him as prey, he was ready to fight tooth and nail.

Suddenly, a red blur streaked past him from behind. Before he could fully react, he heard a ripping sound, and his back felt oddly lighter. Glancing over his shoulder, he broke out in a cold sweat. His massive backpack had been slashed in two, its contents strewn across the ground. A skinless red creature was now gnawing on a rice bag from his pack. Silently, he shed the backpack, eyeing the grotesque monster, and raised his weapons, ready for whatever came next.

"Licker!"

Before him stood a mutant zombie nearly identical to the Lickers from Resident Evil, known as an L-shaped zombie.

This Licker wasn't likely the same one he had encountered before. It was noticeably smaller, with claws not yet fully formed and a tongue less than a meter long. It appeared to have recently completed its evolution and had not yet stabilized. Fortunately for Willett, if this had been the colossal L-shaped zombie he'd seen on the rooftop before, he might have lost all will to fight.

Just then, the L-shaped zombie shredded a bag of rice to pieces, realizing it wasn't suitable food. It lifted its eyeless head, sniffing the air with its grotesque nose before turning towards Willett.

Willett's grip on his weapon tightened as sweat began to bead on his forehead. He kept his eyes locked on the L-shaped zombie, motionless. He breathed slowly, lowering his stance, positioning the short spear and long knife before him in an X formation, ready to counter the L-shaped zombie's impending attack.

As time ticked by, the L-shaped zombie edged closer, and Willett's vigilance intensified. His left hand angled the spear, targeting the zombie's exposed brain.

The rain poured down harder, blurring Willett's vision but also dampening the L-shaped zombie's sense of smell. The intermittent thunderclaps further impaired its hearing, leaving it disoriented and locked in a standoff with him.

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes...

Eventually, the rain began to ease, a troubling sign for Willett. He knew that once the rain stopped and the L-shaped zombie's senses sharpened, he would be in grave danger, perhaps even facing certain doom.

Taking another deep breath, Willett realized he could no longer afford to hesitate. He slowly pulled the long-inoperative phone from his pocket. After a moment's pause, he steeled himself and hurled the phone across the street.

With a loud "crack!" the phone collided with the glass of the fast-food restaurant across the street, shattering into several pieces. In that instant, the Licker seemed to notice the noise from across the way. It turned and leapt agilely onto a nearby tree, charging toward the location of the demolished phone.

"Now's my chance!" Willett quickly grabbed the two bottles of white wine disguised in mineral water bottles and sprinted toward the supermarket, hoping to find a safe haven before the Licker caught on, allowing him a chance to escape.

As he reached the supermarket entrance, a thunderous explosion echoed from across the street. He glanced back to see the fast-food joint in ruins, demolished by the Licker. And at that perilous moment, he realized something even more disheartening—the rain had stopped!

Across the street, the Licker lifted its fearsome head high, sniffing the air vigorously. After a moment, it slowly turned its gaze toward Willett, who was poised at the supermarket's threshold.

"Damn, that was quick!" Willett swore under his breath as he watched the Licker bound onto a large tree at the roadside and vanish from sight. He knew the Licker was surely on his trail, not one to pass up a potential feast.

Willett dashed through the gaping entrance of the supermarket and inside, intent on finding anything to fend off the Licker. His mind raced with all the information he had on the Lickers and their vulnerabilities.

From what he knew, Lickers were muscular and immensely strong. Unlike typical zombies, they weren't sluggish; they possessed a primal hunting instinct and moved with astonishing speed, making them formidable adversaries. Yet, these creatures had their Achilles' heel—a delicate brain and a keen sensitivity to smell and sound.