57: Weird Zombies

This time, the target selected by the Train Police Squad was a scrawny-looking fellow with only one left leg.

It crawled on the ground, aimlessly moving like a maggot.

When the Train Police Officers' bullets shot past, the black mist around it suddenly flashed.

Its body became semi-transparent.

The bullets passed right through it and directly hit the ground, causing it no harm whatsoever.

Stimulated, the skinny zombie scurried wildly on the ground like a beast, using both its hands and feet.

The Train Police Officers were momentarily unable to aim at it again.

It wasn't until about ten seconds later, when the black mist around it faded, that the skinny zombie stopped.

The Train Police Officers shot again, and the skinny zombie's body was forced to dematerialize, causing it to rampage once more.

When it stopped this time, the black mist around it was almost completely dispersed.

During the third round of shooting, having lost its dematerialization ability, the skinny zombie was finally hit by bullets.

With each shot to the heart, the remaining black mist dissipated a little more.

Until finally, all the black mist vanished, and it became no different from an ordinary zombie.

After its head was blown apart, it died completely.

“Respected Train Captain, it can almost be confirmed that the special abilities of those ghastly zombies are all related to the black mist around them.”

“The black mist transforms them into semi-ghastly beings; their vital point is the heart.”

“Before the black mist on their bodies completely dissipates, they are equivalent to mobile low-level ghouls. Ordinary physical methods are not very effective; Cinnabar Bullets must be used to cause effective damage.”

Lu Yang nodded, then suddenly ordered, “Yang Kui, fire ten grenades, covering the area with the most ghastly zombies, and let's see the effect.”

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~”

“Boom, boom, boom—”

The Explosive Flame Bullet fired by the Level 3 Harvester Individual Grenade Launcher could cover the impact area and maintain a burning inferno for approximately 30 seconds.

There weren't many ghastly zombies brought down into the canyon by the Giant Whale Train, only twenty or thirty.

They were mainly concentrated in the front carriages where most of the corpses were.

Under the Explosive Flame Bullet' suppression, they were like ants on a hot pan, the black mist on their bodies boiling uncontrollably, protecting them as they fled through the flames.

However, observations showed that the flames did not have a significant damaging effect on the ghastly zombies.

Aside from a small amount of black mist dissipating, it didn't cause much substantial harm to them.

Seeing this, Lu Yang ordered again:

“Machine gun fire suppression, use Cinnabar Bullets, aim at all ghastly zombies until they are all cleared out.”

Lu Yang wanted to see if these ghastly zombies would exhibit any new changes under heavy firepower.

But unexpectedly, perhaps to protect against the flames of the Explosive Flame Bullet, which might have hindered the black mist's abilities on the ghastly zombies.

This round of machine gun fire suppression was surprisingly effective.

Under a hail of bullets, except for a few ghastly zombies on the fringes who escaped the flames and struggled for a few more seconds, almost all other ghastly zombies were instantly downed, easily shredded into meat paste by the Kuangfeng I Light Machine Gun.

Lu Yang had a sudden realization, roughly understanding how to better deal with these newly appeared zombie variants.

If they encountered a large number of ghastly zombies, they should first use the Harvester Individual Grenade Launcher to unleash a round of Explosive Flame Bullet, creating a high-temperature burning field to hinder the special abilities of the black mist on the ghastly zombies.

Then, they should swiftly eliminate them directly with heavy Cinnabar Bullets.

Although this would incur significant losses, it would be the most efficient method.

However, Lu Yang's biggest concern was whether there was an intelligent being controlling these ghastly zombies from behind.

Because during the recent cleanup, these ghastly zombies behaved too clumsily.

They didn't even actively seek out enemies.

When attacked, they would only run around chaotically.

If this was all they were capable of, even with their ghastly abilities, Lu Yang didn't believe they could have easily caused a veteran Level 3 train like the Giant Whale Train to crash and fall off a cliff, resulting in its destruction and the loss of its crew.

Level 3 trains possess Ghost Shields, and even if they couldn't effectively kill, escaping wouldn't be difficult.

Severing the tail to escape is a necessary skill that every Train Captain knows.

Unless they couldn't escape even if they wanted to.

This indicated that there must be other forces at play behind these ghastly zombies.

Lu Yang suddenly recalled the special notification that appeared when the Area Timed Clearance instance first emerged.

It mentioned the ultimate Boss of the Area Timed Clearance instance—the Level 4 Ghastly Zombie King.

Lu Yang was initially puzzled as to why it was called the Ghastly Zombie King, but now, judging by the performance of these ghastly zombies.

Damn, it was literally what it meant.

That thing definitely possessed ghoul-like abilities, just like these ghastly zombies.

The emergence of these ghastly zombies was also absolutely inseparable from the so-called Ghastly Zombie King.

With this, everything made sense.

As he thought, a faint shadow fell over Lu Yang's heart.

Although the Xinhuo Train had many trump cards, facing this obviously extraordinary Level 4 Ghastly Zombie King.

No one knew what would happen if they truly encountered it.

After all, the methods of ghouls are mysterious and unpredictable.

The Knocking Ghost's mental control, the Red Wedding Dress Ghoul's ghastly dreams.

What if this Level 4 Ghastly Zombie King possessed some special ability that could bypass the train's surface defenses and infiltrate the train's interior for a massacre?

Even if the Xinhuo Train managed to escape by chance, the losses would likely not be small.

After all, the population on the Xinhuo Train, including the Kobolds, had already exceeded four thousand.

Even a slight brush could potentially cause hundreds of casualties.

He needed to find a way to prepare an emergency response plan for critical situations on the train.

For instance, if the train's defensive capabilities were only enough to protect a few carriages, how should they prioritize?

Or rather, how should they respond?

This was the worst-case scenario Lu Yang could envision.

As for the Xinhuo Train potentially being utterly defenseless against the Level 4 Ghastly Zombie King, Lu Yang simply wouldn't predict that.

Being utterly defenseless meant having no means of resistance.

In such a situation, what kind of plan would he even make?!

Wouldn't it just be waiting for death?!!!