Listening to David’s words, Duane watched as he turned to leave. At this moment, he realized that this young man in front of him was not the one controlling the Second Red Light. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spoken those words. So, who could it be? Duane’s mind was filled with doubt once again.
Just then, a chaotic noise suddenly came from the entrance of the abandoned factory. Upon hearing the sound, David paused, and his eyebrows furrowed instantly. He wasn’t the only one; the team members and Duane also heard the sound and immediately became tense.
They knew that this piercing sound came from the zombies. The sound grew closer and louder, indicating that a considerable number of thirty or so zombies were approaching, and there even faintly echoed the powerful growl of a high-level zombie in their midst.
“What’s going on? How did so many zombies suddenly appear?” Charles’s expression tightened as he spoke.
Duane approached at this time, looking puzzled as he gazed toward the faint sound coming from the factory entrance. Seeing Duane approaching, Arnold’s face immediately darkened. They hadn’t encountered any zombies on their way here, so how did so many suddenly appear when they arrived? Arnold believed that this matter must be related to Duane. Perhaps he had set up an ambush, waiting for them to enter.
At this moment, Duane also sensed Arnold’s icy gaze. He quickly said, “I didn’t summon these zombies, and besides, I don’t have the power to summon so many zombies.”
Hearing Duane’s words, Arnold hesitated for a moment but remained vigilant. Meanwhile, David pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, “It has nothing to do with him. It seems that some esper has summoned them here!”
David knew that Duane indeed didn’t possess that kind of power; otherwise, he would have noticed during their previous clash. Summoning such a large number of zombies required a powerful psychic esper with awakened abilities, and none of them had that kind of ability. David furrowed his brow. In the void, he seemed to catch a glimpse of the manipulator behind the zombies.
“Who could it be? What does he want?” David’s mind raised a question. ．
At the same time, the sounds from outside the factory grew closer, and the chaotic figures slowly appeared at the entrance. Soon, thirty to forty zombies stood at the entrance, fully exposed to everyone’s view. These zombies rotated their eyeless eyeballs, hungrily fixating on the group, seemingly eager to pounce on them as their next meal. The group quickly took a step back upon seeing this.
However, David stepped forward and stood in front of everyone. Arnold, Duke, and Charles also surrounded Sophie and Sally, assuming a fighting stance. Duane, without hesitation, also took a step forward, standing side by side with David. David didn’t say anything to this unfamiliar man, simply glancing at him before looking back at the group of zombies.
Suddenly, a fiercely enraged growl erupted from the zombies! Then, a skeletal figure, about two meters tall, completely devoid of flesh except for a white skeleton, emerged from the zombie horde. It held a bone knife in its hand. Its skeletal frame was unusually large, not resembling the typical shape of a zombie, and the aura emanating from within its skeleton was several times stronger than that of an ordinary zombie. It raised the bone knife, sneering coldly at the people in the factory. This immediately made everyone’s hearts tighten!
“skeletal zombie?” Duane blurted out immediately, his expression becoming particularly grave. The only remaining knife in his hand was tightly clenched. David was puzzled upon hearing Duane’s words because he had never heard of zombies with that name before.
“This is a mutated form of a high-level zombie. I’ve seen it in the guidebook before, but I never expected it to suddenly appear. If I remember correctly, the skeletal zombie is a highly skilled attacker. It can match the speed and strength of a Level 5 esper. Due to the lack of brain and physical constraints, it can continue fighting without pause. Just that alone is enough to exhaust any esper who battles it,” Duane explained, addressing David’s confusion by relaying the information he had read in the guidebook.
“Oh? An attack-oriented zombie?” David said, suddenly understanding after Duane’s explanation.
Duane nodded, his expression serious. “You could say that, but its attack power is beyond our imagination.” From the former team captain, Duane had heard rumors about the skeletal zombie’s strength, which could even nullify some esper abilities. Once engaged in combat, it wouldn’t stop. It was an eternal fighting machine. He couldn’t understand, however, why this high-level zombie, the skeletal zombie would appear at this moment.
Meanwhile, in a house five kilometers away from the abandoned factory, an old man rubbed his cane’s dragon head handle before watching a seal inscribed with the word “pardon” slowly turn to ashes in the air. The old man then slowly moved his feet, leaning on the cane. Sparks suddenly appeared behind him. When the sparks extinguished, the old man’s figure disappeared from the spot.
“If you’re sending a gift, you must show sincerity,” a voice floated lightly from the void.
The zombies at the factory entrance twisted their bodies and started squeezing through the door. Their eyes gradually became blazing hot as they waved their severed limbs, constantly snarling and making piercing noises at the group. The skeletal zombie held its bone knife high, seemingly giving orders.
Seeing this, Duane became tense as he remembered that this was the sign of the skeletal zombie launching an attack. As soon as the bone knife fell, he would immediately enter a state of battle. He quickly assessed the factory environment and said to David, “We’re probably going to fight this guy. I’ll try to hold him back while you take your team and leave as soon as possible. I can hold him off for a maximum of one minute. If, within that minute, you can’t lead your team out of here, we will all die.”
After speaking, Duane swiftly took out a black iron box from his pocket and crouched down on the ground. David looked at Duane with a faint smile. He didn’t know what tricks this guy had up his sleeve to restrain the fighting machine, but listening to his words filled him with admiration. Curiously, he watched as Duane opened the black iron box.