Chapter 26 - 25 Blind Bat
Lin Wu made a split-second decision to bolt, and the moment he moved, rapid guttural sounds followed him, occurring two to three times per second. Lin Wu drew his double-barrel shotgun and headed onto the highway, with Wind Stinger collapsing to the ground after sprinting for three seconds, only to see a shadow-like creature pounce on him from five meters away.
This creature had a layer of black crystal covering its body, resembling a whale barnacled with sea acorns, making it difficult to discern whether these crystals were foreign objects or growths. It lacked eyes, and its mouth, which appeared particularly massive on its face, was incredibly grotesque. Using the Quick Gunner skill, Lin Wu pulled the trigger; the shotgun blasted dozens of steel pellets out, hitting the creature’s body all at once. It was like steel clashing, the tough shell blocking most of the pellets, but still, a few penetrated the creature’s body. Hit hard by the shot, the creature flew several meters back and, in pain, rolled twice on the ground before leaping into a dark area to the left and disappearing into the darkness.
Lin Wu stood up, raised his gun toward the dark area on the left side of the highway, listening to the rapid guttural sounds, his eyes desperately searching for the creature’s presence. Due to the gunshots, nearby zombies started converging towards the highway; Lin Wu, finding nothing after a short wait, had only one option left—to flee amidst the encircling zombies.
It was more than 700 meters from the commercial district to the base, with not a single light in sight. As Lin Wu entered the darkness, he heard the guttural sounds pursue him, closely on his heels. In no time, Lin Wu had opened up a 15-meter gap, and the guttural sounds accordingly weakened. The loss of 15% morale at the barracks and the death of Cotton decreasing morale by another 20% resulted in a drop in Lin Wu’s attributes; at the same speed, his physical strength consumption increased significantly, and using Wind Stinger and Quick Gunner depleted 35% of his stamina. Lin Wu’s stamina meter was bottoming out.
Chewing a piece of gum was better than nothing; he slowed down to reduce stamina consumption. Once he slowed, the guttural sounds caught up again. Holding steadfast to a do-or-die mindset, Lin Wu stopped and turned with his shotgun in hand as his stamina began to recover. Facing the darkness, he listened to the urgent guttural sounds, eyes fixed on the stamina meter. When it reached 15%, Lin Wu decisively used Quick Gunner, firing off a shotgun round that struck like hitting a wall, sending off sparks as a creature heavily fell to the ground. Damn the headshot rate.
Lin Wu fired another shot guided by the sound, but this bullet whizzed past, missing the creature entirely.
Lin Wu’s shotgun had only one bullet left, quietly waiting its turn; the creature likely spooked by the gunfire, kept pacing on Lin Wu’s left without immediately rushing forward, looking for the perfect opportunity. Monitoring his stamina meter, Lin Wu intended to take another shot when his stamina returned to 15%, but realizing that wouldn’t be possible by the sound of the gutturals, he, full of determination, pulled the trigger again. As expected, this shot was also a miss, but it did frighten the creature, who retreated five meters. Yet, it immediately resumed its approach toward Lin Wu.
Holding his empty shotgun, Lin Wu listened quietly to the guttural sounds. When they reached three to four times per second, he knew it was time to run. During this standoff, Lin Wu used his last bullet to gain time, recovering 20% stamina. He had figured out the creature’s speed and was trying to reduce his own speed as much as possible to conserve stamina. As he ran, Lin Wu took out a lighter and lit a skyrocket from his backpack.
When the base personnel spotted the skyrocket, they quickly assembled near the intersection, soon seeing the beleaguered Lin Wu. Lin Wu shouted, "Fire behind me."