Chapter 31: Slaying the Tier 4 Zombie, A Fruitful Harvest

A zombie over two meters tall was lunging at him with arms outstretched. Li Xingyue quickly sidestepped and retreated, while the four people in the distance rushed over, surrounding the creature.

This massive zombie had a paler complexion than the lower-tier ones, and its build was significantly larger and more robust. At first glance, one might mistake it for a basketball player.

Liu Er was astonished. "Good lord, this thing is huge. Can we actually take it down?"

Huang Ya was feeling intimidated. "If it's too much, let's just run. I don't think we can handle this."

Liu San observed it for a moment. "The zombie's speed isn't as fast as I imagined. It's likely limited by its sheer size."

"In that case, we aren't without hope. I'll fire a couple of shots to test it!" Li Xingyue said, pulling a handgun from his coat and aiming for the giant's head.

Bang! Bang!

Because the zombie was constantly moving, only one shot hit its neck, leaving a small hole oozing black blood. The shot didn't cause much damage; instead, it infuriated the creature.

"No good, its hide is too thick!"
"What do we do then?"
"Run?"
"Run my foot!"

The group exchanged quick words while dodging.

"Here's the plan: Liu Yi, you take the gun and take shots whenever you get an opening. Old Huang, the rest of us will distract it. It's tall and clumsy, so we'll hack at its legs!" Li Xingyue gave the order, and the others nodded, ready to fight for their lives.

Because the zombie was so tall, it had to stoop to grab anyone, which gave the group opportunities to attack. Whenever it bent down, the others would use their long blades to slash at its calves. However, the fourth-tier zombie's skin was incredibly tough; their blades were already rolling at the edges, and they had barely managed to cut through a small part of its joints.

"Damn it, this thing is tough as nails!"
"You're telling me? My blade is ruined!"
"Stop complaining! We have to smash its legs, even if we have to use brute force!"

They kept dodging, taking turns to draw the zombie's attention, but their weapons were now useless.

"Screw it, Old Huang, Liu San, let's lift this rock!"

The three of them combined their strength to lift a boulder half a man's height and charged at the giant.

Crash!

The heavy rock slammed into the zombie's left leg, snapping it instantly. The giant's towering frame, already unsteady, collapsed to the ground. It roared, trying to rise again, but it couldn't maintain its balance. After two failed attempts, it gave up and continued lunging at them while half-kneeling.

"Damn, that didn't work!"
"It's fine! Keep hitting the right leg!"

The zombie's mobility was even lower now, giving the group more room to maneuver. The three of them lifted the rock again, intending to aim for the joint.

"Wait, take this chance—hit it directly in the head!"

Seeing the zombie's attention wasn't on them, the three rushed to its upper body and slammed the boulder down onto its skull.

Thud! Crack!

As the rock landed, a faint sound of bone fracturing followed.

"Did we get it?"

The giant zombie stopped moving, and the surroundings fell silent. Liu San watched for a moment, then signaled the others to hold back. He walked to the side and started an SUV. After telling the others to stand clear, he floored the gas. The vehicle roared like a beast, barreling toward the zombie and driving directly over its right side.

Roar!

As soon as the car passed, the giant zombie let out a roar, its body flailing, though its movements were sluggish.

"Ha, so it was playing dead!"
"Old San is smart. If we'd gotten close, we would've been shredded."

They approached the zombie as it continued to struggle. "Guys, let's take the cars and run it over a few more times."

They searched the area and found three operable vehicles, taking turns driving over the creature. After about half an hour, the zombie finally stopped moving entirely.

"It should be dead for real now."

They exited the vehicles to check. It was truly finished. Pushing the boulder aside, they revealed the crushed, sunken skull. They pried open the basketball-sized head to reveal a pure blue crystal core inside.

Huang Ya sighed, "Oh man, that was close!"

Liu Yi nodded. "Lucky it was so big and clumsy, otherwise we might not have even been able to run away!"

Liu San looked at the blue crystal. "At least the mission is done, but our strength is still too low. Killing a fourth-tier is exhausting."

Li Xingyue rested for a moment and checked the time; it was past one in the afternoon. He told everyone to scavenge the small town for supplies. Two hours later, they regrouped with modest loot and only two functioning vehicles.

"Alright, it's been a productive day. Let's head back and turn in the mission!"

They drove out of town, retrieved their original vehicles at the entrance, and headed for Freedom City. An hour later, they arrived at the Hunter's Sub-Bureau. Liu San waved at Huang Qian in the corner.

Huang Qian hopped over, looking them over; they were covered in dirt, and their weapons were battered.

"It's alright. It was a fourth-tier zombie, after all. It's normal to struggle, and it's good that you all came back safe!" she comforted them. The group couldn't help but laugh.

Liu San pulled out the fourth-tier crystal and handed it to her. Huang Qian was stunned. "Holy crap, you guys actually did it! You killed a fourth-tier zombie!"

Huang Ya chimed in, "Man, don't even get me started. We almost lost our lives. It was lucky it wasn't very bright, though mostly it was my brilliant and heroic presence that intimidated it. Otherwise, hmph!"

Liu Er rolled his eyes. "And who was it that kept yelling 'run, run, run'?"

Li Xingyue cut the conversation short and turned to Huang Qian. "Manager Qian, let's submit the mission. Please check the goods."

They emptied their pockets of zombie crystals and led her to the vehicles. After a final tally, Huang Qian transferred 6,235 points to them. The points mainly came from the crystal and the two new vehicles; the supplies they scavenged didn't contribute much.

After the transfer, she checked the system. "Congratulations, you've been promoted to a Level 2 squad. You can now hold up to 20 members!"

The group was happy, but not overly excited, as they had no immediate plans to recruit new teammates. Just as they were about to say goodbye, Li Xingyue had a thought.

"Manager Qian, our blades are all broken. Do you know where we can buy weapons and gear?"

Huang Qian raised an eyebrow, then grinned. "Follow me!"