28: Chapter 28 Survivors

Lin Yan smashed the skull of the zombie in front of him with a single punch, and foul blood splattered onto his bone tumor breastplate, trickling down its dark green veins.

He shook his hand, dislodging the bits of flesh and bone fragments embedded in the gaps of the burrowers grasp's scales onto the ground.

He silently recited a number in his mind—97.

Aside from dropping Dimensional Crystals, these zombies also dropped a material called Zombie Crystal Cores.

Nearly three hours had passed since he first landed.

Ninety-seven zombies had fallen under his fists, with each requiring four punches to take down.

His attack power was only 260 points; striking a normal zombie with 40 points of defense resulted in approximately 240 points of actual damage per normal attack, while a Level 6 Infected had around 800 health points.

The zombies' attack power was only about 130 points, and when striking his 225 points of physical defense, the actual damage was less than 20 points after factoring in the damage reduction formula.

Once the fixed reduction from Hardened Skin was applied, the damage dropped to zero.

Occasionally, a few zombies would bite from a tricky angle, dealing single-digit damage, but in a health pool of 32,000 points, such damage didn't even register as a ripple.

What he really needed to worry about wasn't how much health he lost, but the infection.

As long as a zombie's attack broke his skin, there was a chance for toxins to penetrate his body upon contact, stacking a layer of "Corpse Poison" status.

Corpse Poison was an abnormal status that couldn't be ignored just because of high defense.

If the stacks grew too high, a burning sensation would seep from the surface of his skin into his bloodstream, causing continuous health loss and sluggish movement.

Throughout the fight, the Corpse Poison had stacked to a maximum of 6 layers, but it dissipated on its own in less than twenty seconds.

Lin Yan walked down the empty street; most of the glass display windows of the shops on either side were shattered, and dark brown handprints remained on the rolling shutters.

Five or six more zombies appeared ahead, their bodies hunched as they moved slowly at the end of the street.

Just as he was about to step forward, the corner of his eye caught another group in the alley to his right—at least a dozen, crowded together and wandering slowly in the narrow passage.

The two groups of zombies totaled nearly twenty. He stood at the entrance of the alley, stepped forward with his left foot, and clenched his right fist.

The first few zombies in the alley raised their heads almost simultaneously, their greyish-white eyeballs rolling frantically, and their previously dragging pace suddenly accelerated.

Hoarse roars squeezed out of their rotting throats, echoing through the narrow passage as they trampled over the corpses of their companions to lunge at him in a chaotic rush.

The first, the second, the third.

The Corpse Poison stacks flashed in his mind: 3 layers, 4 layers, 5 layers.

A slight wave of dizziness washed over him, so he quickened the rhythm of his punches.

By the time he hit the fourteenth, the Corpse Poison had stacked to 7 layers; a strange burning sensation welled up from deep within his blood, and his muscle reactions slowed by half a beat.

Fortunately, the Corpse Poison began to recede after lingering at 7 layers for a moment; his constitution's resistance had overwhelmed the toxin's rate of spread.

When the twenty-third zombie fell, the alley fell silent.

Lin Yan shook the sticky, foul blood off his gauntlets and let out a long breath.

On his system panel, the kill count jumped to 120; he only needed to kill 380 more, and he was close to leveling up.

In the distance, at the end of the street, the hoarse roars of zombies rang out again, overlapping and blending together; the number was clearly greater than any previous wave.

A dense swarm of at least a hundred zombies poured out from the end of the street, emerging simultaneously from the depths of shops, underground parking entrances, and collapsed building frames, their roars merging into a low, rumbling drone.

The ground vibrated faintly under the trampling of countless feet, and the stench of rotting flesh in the air suddenly intensified several times over.

Lin Yan stood motionless—there were over a hundred zombies.

Just twenty-something had brought him to 7 stacks; if hundreds swarmed him at once, the Corpse Poison stacks would definitely exceed his previous limit. While he didn't know what would happen if it went higher, it certainly wouldn't be good.

He quickly scanned the surrounding terrain: the alley entrance was narrow and could accommodate at most three or four zombies at a time. If he blocked this opening, he could divide the hundreds of zombies into smaller chunks and handle them in batches.

However, if he held the position alone, the Corpse Poison stacks would still get too high during continuous combat.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from behind.

"This way! Go around through here!"

It was a woman's voice—hoarse, but filled with vigor.

Lin Yan turned his head to see three figures rushing over from the other end of the alley.

Leading them was a woman in her thirties with short hair and an old scar on her left cheek, wielding a modified fire axe.

The axe handle was welded from metal pipes, and the blade was stained with dried, dark red blood.

Close behind her was a stocky man holding a riot shield welded with iron spikes.

Bringing up the rear was a young woman with a low ponytail; her palms were glowing with two orbs of pale blue frost. She had sweat on her forehead and her lips were slightly pale, clearly showing she had exhausted much of her ability.

All three bore clear signs of combat, and their gear was a hodgepodge of salvaged items: the fire axe with the welded pipe handle, bracers made from car springs, and high boots wrapped in several layers of duct tape.

There were no standardized items produced by the System; everything was improvised from scavenged materials.

Lin Yan realized instantly that these three were not Awakened; they were indigenous survivors within this Dungeon.

"I'm Chen Ying, just call me Sister Chen!" the scarred woman said, rushing up to Lin Yan and speaking at a rapid pace.

She paused the moment she saw Lin Yan; the material and craftsmanship of that dark green breastplate and dark red boots were unlike anything any weaponsmith in Winter City could produce.

But with hundreds of zombies approaching, she didn't have time to dwell on it. "It's too late to retreat! Zhao Ming, Shield Formation! Shen Bing, prepare to block the path!"

"Wait," Lin Yan said. "What exactly are your abilities?"

Sister Chen was taken aback; the stranger's reaction was far too calm.

He wasn't paralyzed with fear, nor was he panicking; instead, he was asking about their abilities.

But she didn't waste time pondering his words; now was not the time to analyze a stranger's personality.

"I have a melee ability—my axe blade inflicts armor-piercing effects. Zhao Ming is a defensive type; his shield can reflect attacks. Shen Bing is Ice-type, specializing in mid-range freezing."

Ice-type, freezing. Lin Yan made a quick judgment; this was exactly what he was missing.

It wasn't damage output or defense he needed, but a means to control large numbers of zombies.

The zombies couldn't bite through him, but the risk of Corpse Poison stacking too high remained.

If someone could help him slow or freeze them, and split the horde into smaller chunks, he could clear them out in batches without the Corpse Poison stacks exceeding a safe limit.

"Help me control the crowd; you don't need to take the hits head-on," he said, his voice quiet but steady.

"Use your Ice-type ability to split the horde into smaller groups and let a few through at a time. Zhao Ming and Sister Chen, guard the flanks and finish off any that leak through. Leave the front entirely to me."