Watching the Gray-skinned Zombie lunge again, its target was the unsteady Da Mi Tao!
Zuo Feng roared, "Get lost!"
He rushed in front of Da Mi Tao in a single stride, holding up his Space Shield, and took the zombie's sharp claws head-on. The shield's surface glowed, and Zuo Feng's arms trembled, but he didn't back down.
This time, neither the man nor the zombie retreated. Their strength continuously collided in a stalemate. The runes on the Space Shield flashed more intensely, as if about to ignite. Zuo Feng's veins bulged on his forehead, and he gritted his teeth, resisting with all his might.
Through the Space Shield, Zuo Feng could see deep gray patterns appearing on the bone spurs of the Gray-skinned Zombie's spine. The patterns wriggled like living things, and the bone spurs actually grew longer again. The zombie's strength suddenly increased, and Zuo Feng felt a huge force assault him, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"Uh ah—!"
Zuo Feng let out a low growl, his potential erupting. The Space Shield's light suddenly became scorching, and the veins on his arms bulged and writhed like earthworms, as he stubbornly resisted the zombie's furious impact.
Zuo Feng gritted his teeth, his voice squeezed out from between them: "Crazy woman, get the hell away from me."
Zuo Feng's arms trembled even more violently, sweat dripping from his forehead, and the runes on the shield's surface flickered like stars.
Da Mi Tao currently had no combat ability whatsoever. If she remained next to him and the zombie, she would accidentally be caught in the crossfire.
Da Mi Tao's face was pale, a hint of emotion flashing in her eyes, but she said nothing. She bit her lower lip, moving her feet with all her strength, slowly retreating.
She had miscalculated. According to her calculations, the impact of the last arrow should have allowed the second arrow to penetrate the zombie's skull, but she had overlooked the material limitations.
As a result, she now didn't even have the strength to escape, and that Da Hundan, who could have abandoned her and fled, chose to stay and protect her. This resolute act filled her heart with an indescribable emotion.
Thump! Zuo Feng's knee slammed heavily onto the cold floor tile, and the shockwave from the shield made his throat taste sweet and metallic.
Suddenly, through the zombie's shattered eye socket, Zuo Feng saw the zombie's grayish brain. Da Mi Tao's three arrows, though they didn't kill the zombie, had shattered its entire eyeball, exposing its brain. This was the zombie's fatal weakness!
A resolute glint flashed in Zuo Feng's eyes, "I'll risk it!"
Zuo Feng suddenly retracted his Space Shield, sidestepped the zombie's claws, and drew his tactical knife from his waist. The Gray-skinned Zombie, due to the inertia of its force, lunged forward and fell. Zuo Feng seized the opportunity to close in. As the fallen zombie was about to struggle to its feet, the tactical knife in Zuo Feng's hand flashed coldly. Fortunately, the zombie's brain defense hadn't been strengthened, and the knife accurately pierced the exposed brain. The blade twisted, and the Gray-skinned Zombie twitched a few times before finally ceasing to move.
Zuo Feng panted heavily, slowly stood up, and looked back at Da Mi Tao, anger in his eyes, "Crazy woman, if there's a next time, I'll definitely leave you and run, understand?!"
Da Mi Tao's lips curved slightly, her eyes filled with complex emotions. She could hear the deep concern in Zuo Feng's words. She hadn't expected this Da Hundan to choose such a risky method to kill the zombie, nor had she expected Zuo Feng to stay to protect her. It seemed like a simple kill, but even the slightest mistake, with Zuo Feng having removed his Space Shield, would have meant his death under the zombie's claws. And what if the tactical knife couldn't break through the zombie's brain defense? However, this Da Hundan was quite reliable in critical moments! Plus points!
Zuo Feng, dragging his utterly exhausted body, slowly walked to Da Mi Tao's side and slumped to the ground without any regard for his image, leaning against the wall, panting heavily.
Although his ability hadn't been significantly depleted, the physical exhaustion made it almost impossible for him to stand.
Da Mi Tao didn't speak. She gently sat down next to Zuo Feng, pressing close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, slowly closed her eyes, and felt Zuo Feng's heartbeat and breathing. The sense of security in her heart gradually relaxed her taut nerves.
In this brief tranquility, the two seemed isolated from the dangers of the outside world.
Zuo Feng turned his head and caught sight of the exhaustion on Da Mi Tao's face. His heart softened. He wasn't truly angry with Da Mi Tao; he was just worried about her safety.
He let Da Mi Tao lean against him. Feeling that Da Mi Tao had fallen asleep, Zuo Feng gently adjusted his posture to make her more comfortable, his gaze scanning the surroundings, his vigilance undiminished.
Zuo Feng knew that Da Mi Tao, with her abilities exhausted, could easily fall into a deep sleep. She had entered a deep sleep twice this morning after exhausting her abilities, and he estimated she would wake up in about an hour.
Zuo Feng gripped the knife handle tightly, his ears catching any subtle movement, ensuring that during this time, they would not be threatened.
Fortunately, the two of them had cleared all the zombies on the third floor. Looking at the sleeping Da Mi Tao, Zuo Feng really wanted to give her a good smack, but in the end, he just sighed softly and shook his head helplessly.
He shifted his gaze, warily observing his surroundings, and slowly began to summarize his understanding of zombies from today:
Ordinary Gray-skinned Zombies moved slowly, and their defense was not strengthened.
Zombies with one horizontal bar had a speed comparable to a human jogging, but their strength was slightly greater. Their eye and skin defense was comparable to wood, and their bone hardness was comparable to solid rock.
Zombies with two horizontal bars were faster and incredibly strong. Their eyes and skin were as hard as rock, and their bone hardness was comparable to steel, making them almost impossible to destroy with conventional weapons.
Zombies above two horizontal bars were even more terrifying than those with two horizontal bars. They had improvements in all aspects, and their forms had begun to mutate. Today's zombie with two and a half horizontal bars even had bone spurs growing from its spine. Zuo Feng wasn't sure if zombies above two horizontal bars had even higher-level forms, but he was certain that their threat level was continuously increasing.
As for variants, special abilities, Zuo Feng speculated that a variant with one vertical bar could kill a zombie with three horizontal bars; however, he had never seen a complete three-horizontal-bar zombie, so he could only infer based on the zombie's evolution trend.
An hour later, Da Mi Tao slowly woke up. Her eyes slightly opened, and seeing Zuo Feng still gripping the knife handle, guarding her, a smile involuntarily curved on her lips. She slowly raised her head and sat upright. After an hour of deep sleep, Da Mi Tao's abilities had recovered.
Zuo Feng felt Da Mi Tao's movement, turned his head, and softly asked, "Awake? How's your recovery?"
Da Mi Tao nodded slightly, "Much better, my abilities have recovered. Let's go, we should head back quickly."
She stretched her shoulders, stood up. This wasn't a safe place, so it was best to leave early.
"Okay, let's go." Zuo Feng stood up as well, stretched his muscles and bones, and took out the loss crystal from the two-and-a-half-horizontal-bar zombie. He glanced at it; the crystal's surface also had two and a half circles of patterns, confirming his speculation that the zombie's loss crystal was directly proportional to the number of horizontal bars on the zombie. The more horizontal bars, the more patterns on the loss crystal, and the stronger its energy.
Zuo Feng put away the loss crystal, warily scanned his surroundings, and after confirming there were no anomalies, walked with Da Mi Tao into the safe stairwell passage.
Carefully avoiding zombies, the two exited XX Square along the original path. Zuo Feng got on his motorcycle, the engine roared, and they quickly drove away from this dangerous area. Da Mi Tao wrapped her arms around Zuo Feng's waist, pressing close to him, a faint smile always on her pretty face.
Speeding along, the two quickly returned to Kaitian Community. Zuo Feng stopped the motorcycle, looked around, and after confirming it was safe, walked into the community with Da Mi Tao.