Chapter Four: The Zombie Onslaught, The Boss Approaches

With a resounding clang, the massive iron gates swung open, and the earth-shaking footsteps of the monsters approaching became ever clearer. The tension among the group surged—an arduous battle was about to begin. Chen Ling hadn’t expected his first instance to be a defensive stand, let alone against a zombie horde. The difficulty was self-evident. Zhang Long, his face contorted in despair, wailed, “Is this really a beginner’s instance? GM, are you messing with us? Boohoo…”

“What are you crying for, man? You sound like a little girl. And look, even the girls over there aren’t shedding many tears! Pathetic!” Liu Wei turned away with a look that said, “I don’t know this guy…” Zhang Long glanced at Xing Ye, who immediately looked away. Chen Ling didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “Go stand somewhere out of the way!”

“Seriously? You…” Zhang Long protested, but there was no time for arguments. The group could already see zombies shambling at the front of the horde. As Chen Ling focused on the nearest zombie, its stats appeared before his eyes: Low-level Zombie—weak attack, mutated from an ordinary human. Threat level: Extremely Low.

Some of the more timid in the group were already preparing to open fire. Thankfully, their team captains stopped them—otherwise, at this rate, they’d never hold out… “Pistols first. When the zombies get thicker, rifles for support. Snipers, save your bullets for the boss, Brutal.” Chen Ling judged the timing right to offer his suggestion. At his words, the others all turned to their captains. That was exactly what Chen Ling wanted; as long as the captains agreed, everything else would fall into place, and any disputes would be between captains.

“I agree!”
“So do we!”
“I…”

Captains weren’t fools; all teams immediately consented. There was no time to waste.

“There are rewards! I just killed a zombie and got something… Battle Soul? And Soul Coins… Wait, the GM just hinted I can use coins to exchange for bullets, hahaha!” The first student to kill a zombie excitedly boasted of his gains, making his companions green with envy. Unfortunately, except for those with pistols, the rest had no opportunity for now. Behind the student, a shifty-looking man with a thin mustache overheard the mention of trading coins for bullets and instantly suspected there might be other items available too. “Heh heh…” He suppressed a sly grin, grateful he’d chosen a sniper rifle.

Chen Ling’s team had only five members, and one had already fled. Only Chen Ling had selected a weapon, so he’d have to wait his turn to earn rewards by slaying zombies. But Chen Ling wasn’t so concerned about rewards; survival was what mattered. He recalled his master’s admonition: “You can afford to lose money gambling, but never your life!” A hint of sorrow crossed his face.

Noticing Chen Ling’s odd expression, Xing Ye asked flatly, “Something on your mind?”

“No, just remembered someone and something they said.” Chen Ling steadied himself and smiled.

“Someone? Something they said? Mind sharing?” Xing Ye seized the rare chance to show interest.

“The words, yes. The person, maybe later.”

“Alright, as long as I survive this, you’ll tell me then!” Xing Ye promised, clenching his fist.

“‘You can lose money gambling, but never your life.’ That’s it.”

“A simple truth—plain yet so rarely followed…” Xing Ye nodded, falling silent.

“It’s our turn! Finally!” Seeing the zombies massing at the gates, Zhang Long could barely contain his eagerness.

Chen Ling was already set, bullet chambered, sights lined up—bang! After the shot, a zombie’s head exploded.

“Whoa! Boss, have you trained with firearms?” Zhang Long exclaimed just as another shot rang out, followed by another headshot. He stared at Chen Ling in astonishment.

“Focus!” Now was no time for idle chatter; in battle, conversation could mean death.

Seeing Chen Ling’s cold dismissal, Zhang Long stopped talking, preparing to hunt the oncoming zombies.

For now, the group managed to hold the zombies back, but after two rounds of shooting, it would be up to the physical enhancers. It was a balance of sorts—those enhanced had formidable melee abilities, their jumping power nearly three times that of ordinary people, and their speed greatly increased. Ordinary zombie scratches had little effect on them. Chen Ling watched in awe as one enhancer survived being surrounded by three zombies—an ordinary person would be doomed if even one got close, let alone three.

He felt a surge of envy, but not regret. For all their strength, enhancers were still too vulnerable, too easily injured. Zhang Long had only taken down six zombies before staggering back, exhausted and coughing blood.

Bang! Bang! “Kill them! Han Yi, I’m coming to save you! I—” The voice dissolved into sobs.

Blood and flesh flew—zombie and human alike. No matter how good their formation, casualties were inevitable. Fortunately, only three had died so far. The girls hung back, firing from the rear, with no losses among them.

Bang! Bang! Chen Ling fired his rifle in controlled bursts. The recoil was a bit much for him—his gambling skills relied on technique, not brute strength.

Despite the heavy recoil, Chen Ling kept every shot on target, though his rate of fire suffered. At least, for now, he didn’t need to fire continuously; who knows about later.

“Congratulations, humans! You’ve survived one hour. You now have three minutes to rest. Afterward, you have thirty minutes to defeat the boss, Brutal. In the next half-hour, fast zombies and Black Ape Beasts will appear. The final boss, Scorched Earth, will arrive in the last half-hour.”

“Whew!” After an hour of constant fighting, if the GM hadn’t cleared the corpses, the empty lot would be overflowing with bodies. Chen Ling was almost spent; as the zombies ceased their assault, he slumped to the ground, gulping air. If this kept up for another half hour, he might not even be able to hold his gun. He had to get stronger, physically. Chen Ling made up his mind. He activated his wristband. “GM, how many coins do I have now?”

“Current balance: 55 black coins,” the GM replied coolly.

Checking his remaining bullets, he found only five left. “GM, list items available for exchange.”

“Items you can exchange for: regular bullets, one coin each; level-one grenade, three coins each; Human-level Physique Enhancement Potion, twenty coins (unlocks main series of body enhancements); alloy gun barrel, eight coins (increases firearm power by 20%)…”

The GM certainly had a lot to offer, but Chen Ling only had fifty-five coins.

“GM, exchange for one Human-level Physique Enhancement Potion, one alloy gun barrel, one grenade, and the rest in bullets.”

“Exchange successful. Congratulations! You’ve received one Human-level Physique Enhancement Potion, one alloy gun barrel, one grenade, and twenty-four bullets.”

“Exit GM.” Chen Ling spent all his coins and closed the interface. He replaced his rifle’s barrel with the alloy one—the weapon looked far more formidable now.

Glancing at his three teammates still absorbed with the GM interface, Chen Ling quietly picked up the enhancement potion. He squinted to read the instructions: Use—drink. Simple enough.

He stood, wind tousling his hair, and shook the bottle. The liquid inside was a suspicious shade of green. Swallowing hard, he tilted his head back and gulped it down.

“Huh, not so ba—ah, damn!” Just as he thought nothing would happen, the reaction hit. Pain twisted Chen Ling’s face as his bones, set long ago, began to grow, hormones surging through his body—growth like this had to hurt.

Writhing in agony, Chen Ling screamed, “Ahhhhh!” The others, having left the GM interface, turned to look.

“What’s with him? Did he take the wrong potion?”

“Maybe he forgot his medicine…”

For a moment, everyone was abuzz with speculation, but nobody dared approach. Only Xing Ye, having exited the GM, explained, “He probably drank the Human-level Physique Enhancement Potion.”

Everyone had seen it in the exchange list, so they said no more. Watching Chen Ling suffer on the ground, Xing Ye glanced at the green potion in his own hand. A new thought took root in his mind: “GM, can I return this for a refund?”