Chapter Thirty-Five: Like a Condom

A harsh ripping sound echoed through the night just as I was about to charge at the Corrupted to avenge Fourth Master. Suddenly, an eerie transformation overtook its body—two jagged bone spurs jutted out from its decaying shoulders, and its entire frame began to swell grotesquely. In quick succession, seven or eight segments of horrifying bone spikes, slick with brownish blood, burst forth.

I glanced up at the moon. Damn it—the moonlight had strengthened it.

Tonight’s ordeal reminded me unsettlingly of those days spent fleeing the Nightmare Beast—a suffocating sense of powerlessness. Now, with its whole body bristling with spikes and only a short knife in my hand, killing it head-on was laughable.

“Huo Bing! Does the war vehicle have enough power left to activate the rooftop guns?”

“No! Both vehicles are out of energy! They can only crawl forward at a slow pace!”

I cursed inwardly. With no external support, I would have to face this thing head on.

“But I still have one last high-explosive grenade. Here!”

Relief swept over me as I caught the small device she tossed, but even with it, my odds were slim—unless I could somehow plant it directly on the creature.

With a guttural roar, the mutated corpse lunged for me, its claws slashing through the air like ten razor-sharp daggers. I dodged aside in a flash, forced to evade its onslaught for now.

Covered in spikes as it was, getting close would be suicidal—I’d be skewered through and through.

Missing its first strike, the corpse hurled itself at me again, its body contorting grotesquely, upper torso nearly scraping the ground, claws sparking as they raked across the pavement.

Twisting away at the last second, I narrowly avoided its claws slashing at my legs and countered with a spinning kick aimed at its head—but it was futile. As if it had eyes in the back of its head, it shielded its skull with its hands, my kick landing with a jarring clang as if I’d struck rebar.

Taking advantage of its defensive posture, I drove my elbow hard into its back, carefully avoiding the protruding spikes.

A dull thud reverberated, and I sent the creature sprawling face-first into the ground.

Quick as lightning, I raised my knife to stab its head.

A heavy grunt escaped the corpse. Its lower body was still prone, yet its upper half twisted around unnaturally, white eyes streaming brown blood glaring at me up close. Its ten claws shot toward my chest, aiming straight for my heart.

Shit!

I released my grip and narrowly dodged the deadly strike, my knife clattering to the ground.

The corpse sprang up, jaws snapping down on my fallen blade—crunch!—it bit the weapon to pieces.

Now all I had was the lone high-explosive grenade in my trembling, sweat-drenched palm.

“Hungry…”

“You still dare try to talk? Hungry, my ass! Go eat shit!”

Thinking of Fourth Master’s uncertain fate, rage flooded me and I charged the monster again.

Another grunt. Its ten claws whipped frantically before it—no way to approach from the front. One slip, and it would run me through, tear me apart.

I circled it, keeping on the move. Its eyes followed my every step, giving me the chilling sense it could react to me from any angle in an instant.

Do or die.

It would never tire, never breathe, but I would. Even with my enhanced body, I was no match for this sensationless, tireless brute.

I rammed into the creature, watching in terror as its talons closed in on my chest and head.

With a sudden drop, I slid beneath its legs, hugging the ground. As I passed beneath it, I yanked at its clothes and shoved the grenade up its backside.

The corpse, confused, reached back with its rotting hand, as if thinking—what on earth did that guy just shove up there?

I scrambled away, leaping into the nearby bushes.

A deafening explosion ripped through the silence.

Chunks of flesh rained down beside me, the fetid, half-liquefied meat nearly making me retch.

Fighting down the nausea, I scrambled to my feet. Seeing nothing standing behind me at last, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Brother Cao! Are you all right?” Huo Bing rushed over, her face pale in the aftermath of the blast.

In a low voice, I asked, “Why didn’t you say you had such a trump card left?”

She flushed with embarrassment, head lowered. “Those are rare in the settlement. Even though my family was wealthy before the Cataclysm, we never dealt in weapons. I only got that last one from my father just in case.”

I didn’t press her—it made sense she’d keep her ace in the hole.

“No worries. The armory should have plenty, unless it’s been cleaned out.” I patted her shoulder. In her place, I wouldn’t have handed over my last weapon either. Human hearts are mysteries, after all.

“Woof woof…”

I stared in disbelief as Fourth Master came bounding toward me, tail wagging. I’d thought the dog was done for, but here he was, lively as ever.

“Fourth Master, you scared the hell out of me! I thought you’d met a hero’s end!” I scooped him up, giving him a hearty rub, while he tried to lick my face affectionately.

I quickly turned away—no way I’d let him lick me after he’d been chomping on corpse flesh.

A sudden snort made me tense up. I set Fourth Master down and peered warily at the spot where the Corrupted had fallen.

“Damn! Get down!”

I tackled Huo Bing to the ground just as a razor-sharp bone blade whistled past us. If I hadn’t kept an eye on the corpse, both of us would have been sliced in two.

The mutilated corpse, now just an upper torso, lay sprawled on the ground—the explosion hadn’t finished it off. At the last moment, it must have shielded its upper half with some desperate maneuver—those vicious bone spikes provided formidable defense.

I watched in horror as it ripped a spike from its own body, hurling the bloody weapon straight at me. That was far too close.

Huo Bing, dazed from the fall, almost knocked herself out. As she struggled to regain her senses, I sprang up, vaulted over the barricade, and charged the monster.

“Die, damn you!”

It glared up at me, face twisted in a final snarl, white eyes rolling back. Fury surged in me as I stomped down on its head.

Its fragile skull burst beneath my foot, brains spilling everywhere—just like when I’d taken down that level-three corpse before.

At least this time I didn’t have to stomp its crotch—the thing only had an upper body left.

“Pah!” I spat on the corpse, cursing, “Look at you, wallowing in the mud like a used condom!”