Apocalypse Survival Guide for a Beta [GB] - Chapter 62

“Are those things outside… zombies?”

Tang Mary’s exclamation made everyone look up warily. Through the glass walls of the office, they saw seven or eight zombies with pitch-black pupils baring their teeth as they approached.

Their exposed skin wasn’t severely decayed and they were wearing white lab coats. If not for their completely black eyes, lacking even whites, and the sharp fangs in their mouths, they would almost look like normal humans.

But they quickly did something no normal human would, manifesting supernatural abilities to attack the office walls while drooling hungrily in their direction.

It was only then that the group realized they were lucky. After they had entered, the office door had automatically sealed shut, leaving only the transparent glass walls providing a view outside.

“Ability-powered zombies?!” Bai Chuan’s eyes widened. He had encountered plenty of zombies before but that was the first time he had ever seen ones with supernatural abilities.

Tang Mary and Bai Chuan instinctively prepared to defend themselves but then they noticed that their attacks weren’t breaking through Xiao Hehua’s office walls. Half-relieved, they cautiously lowered their guard.

“So your teammates weren’t joking when they said they saw ability-powered zombies!” Bai Chuan recalled hearing Zhou Yu and the others mention them before, but he hadn’t taken it seriously. Now that he was seeing them firsthand, he realized it was real.

Taking advantage of the fact that the zombies couldn’t break through the walls, Bai Chuan stepped forward to observe them more closely. “Damn… these things are terrifying. They actually have abilities now…”

Seeing that the zombies couldn’t enter for now, Elena, Lin Bai, and Lou Tiannan silently sped up their search. No one knew how long the walls would hold.

Lou Tiannan entered the laboratory, searching among the numerous safes. Finally, he found one marked with the same symbol as the unknown metal. He used it to unlock the safe and inside, he saw a palm-sized flat box with a data sheet attached. His eyes scanned the text rapidly until he found the three words he was most concerned about.

Primal Blood Vaccine.

Was that the vaccine that could prevent the zombie virus?

Lou Tiannan didn’t have time to examine it further. After confirming the storage conditions, he unzipped his combat suit, his fingers trembling slightly as he picked up the box along with the data sheet and placed it securely against his chest, the safest spot on him.

He had to bring it back to the Federation. It was the hope in the apocalypse.

Elena also found an envelope signed by Xiao Hehua on her desk, addressed to her.

Bai Chuan, staring at the ability-powered zombies outside, said uneasily, “Hey! I’m just asking, have you guys found what you need? Because I swear there are more of those damn things now…”

It wasn’t Bai Chuan’s imagination because they really were increasing. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls of the office, they could see more and more zombies appearing. The weakest among them were red-eyed third-tier zombies, while the rest were black-eyed ability-powered ones. With so many rotting corpses staring at them, it was downright eerie.

Inside the office, they were like lambs waiting for slaughter.

“How the hell are we getting out of here?” The elevator was definitely not an option and the hallways were swarming with zombies.

Tang Mary asked, “Elena, your teacher’s office doesn’t have some kind of secret passage or something?”

“No.” Elena thought for a moment and shook her head. A hidden room or escape tunnel wasn’t allowed in a public research institute.

“We need to figure out another way…”

The four of them started looking for an exit but among them, Lin Bai stood out. She was still rummaging through things, making her particularly noticeable.

Lou Tiannan turned to her and asked, “Lin Bai, what exactly are you looking for?”

“Something that will save my life,” Lin Bai answered casually, her hands never stopping. She had practically turned the entire office upside down but still hadn’t found what she needed. She frowned.

That’s not right.

Standing in the office, her sharp gaze scanned every corner. Still nothing. She couldn’t help but wonder, had Clair taken it?

But she quickly dismissed the idea.

No, impossible. If Clair had taken it, he wouldn’t have kept injecting her with stimulant drugs to wake her up. He would have just used it directly.

It had to still be in the office. But where?

Bai Chuan’s voice trembled, “Uh… is that wall about to give in?”

They all turned to look where he was pointing. Outside the glass wall, four ability-powered zombies, three metal-based and one fire-based, were attacking the same exact spot in unison. From inside, they could clearly see the cracks spreading wider and wider.

“Not only do these zombies have abilities but they’re actually smart enough to focus on one weak point?” Tang Mary exclaimed.

“Smart or not, I only know one thing. We better get ready to fight!” Bai Chuan barely finished his sentence before the reinforced glass finally shattered under the last explosion from the ability zombies, breaking into countless shards.

The four zombies, sensing the rich scent of ability users’ flesh and blood, lunged at them with insane ferocity.

Bai Chuan immediately summoned wind blades to strike the closest zombie. Hundreds of wind blades sliced through the air, yet all they did was tear the zombie’s clothes.

Before Bai Chuan could curse, Tang Mary had already shouted, “What the hell?! Why are their skulls so tough?!”

With ordinary zombies, one swing of her spiked club was usually enough to splatter their brains everywhere. But the one in front of her only had a tiny dent in its skull after two full-force swings.

“Ability-powered zombies have extremely tough bodies and they most likely have intelligence. Be careful.” Lou Tiannan punched a metal-based ability zombie to the ground. Before it could get back up, he followed up with another flaming iron fist.

The high-temperature black flames burned right through the zombie’s iron-like defenses and pierced its head.

Tang Mary watched in awe. “Bai Chuan, look at how Captain Lou handles zombies. The difference between people really is astounding!”

Bai Chuan responded sarcastically, “Yeah, President Tang. Both of you are Alphas, so why is the gap so huge?”

The alpha Tang Mary was furious and swung her spiked club. This time, a solid thud echoed as the zombie was hammered to the ground, its skull caving in slightly.

Bai Chuan clicked his tongue. “Human potential really is limitless.” Even as he spoke, he nimbly dodged a zombie’s claw.

“Less talking, more thinking about how to get out of here!” Tang Mary was still struggling to finish off the ability-powered zombie when she spotted more figures in the distance. It was already tough handling one. If seven or eight came at once, she’d be stuck there for good!

Fortunately, the walls weren’t interconnected, so the zombies on the other side couldn’t get in just yet. But it wasn’t going to last forever.

After taking down his opponent, Lou Tiannan turned to help Elena.

Just a few exchanges made it clear that the ability-powered zombies were much harder to deal with than ordinary ones, even the third-tier red-eyed zombies.

Boom!

A fireball crashed into a display case, blowing a hole in it. Some of the items inside caught fire.

Tang Mary groaned, “Ah! My classic Tang family jewelry!”

Lin Bai glanced at the burning cabinet, momentarily dazed. The display held many gemstones, mostly classic and new collections from Tang Jewelry. They were finely crafted, colorful, and stunning. Under the high-temperature flames, the gemstones’ colors kept shifting.

Lin Bai couldn’t help but stare until her eyes suddenly lit up.

So that’s where it is!

Without waiting to put out the fire, she reached for the burning cabinet but Elena grabbed her wrist. “You—”

Before Lin Bai could finish speaking, Elena reached into the cabinet with her left hand and pulled out a ruby necklace, offering it to Lin Bai. “Is this what you want?”

“No, the amber one!”

Without hesitation, Elena reached in again and retrieved the amber necklace Lin Bai had specified. Lin Bai snatched it and casually said, “Thanks.”

The amber was already partially melted from the heat and the patterns of insects within it shimmered vaguely. But the moment Lin Bai held it in her hand, she knew that it was what she was searching for.

Tang Mary glanced at Elena and Lin Bai, sensing something strange in the air between them.

Lou Tiannan also noticed a subtle change in Elena’s attitude toward Lin Bai.

However, they had no time to dwell on it, as more zombies flooded in. They were forced to focus on fighting.

As they fought, they retreated from the office, hoping to find another exit in the hallways. But when they finally reached the 16th floor, they discovered even more zombies waiting for them.

They were now caught in a full-on zombie siege.

Bang!

Bai Chuan kicked a zombie away, only for two more to attack him with fire-based abilities. Struggling to fight them off, he shouted, “I can’t hold on! These fire-based ability zombies are too much! I’m about to get roasted alive!” His lips were cracked and his body was covered in burn marks.

As they fought their way down from the 17th floor to the 16th, they became certain that the ability-powered zombies were intelligent.

Otherwise, how else would the earth-based ability zombies specifically target Lou Tiannan, a fire-based ability user, while the fire-based ability zombies focus on Bai Chuan, a wind-based ability user? Even Tang Mary was entangled with wood-based ability zombies, leaving her unable to break free.

Only Elena fared slightly better with her ice-based ability, but not by much.

Lin Bai stayed close to Lou Tiannan, assisting him while simultaneously charging up energy. The two of them had already developed a battle rhythm, working together to withstand the waves of attacking zombies.

Elena supported Bai Chuan and Tang Mary but there were simply too many high-tier zombies.

Thud!

In a split second of distraction, Tang Mary was struck by a flying iron brick, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Lin Bai, standing nearby, quickly pulled Tang Mary behind her and Lou Tiannan. However, three zombies seized the opportunity to launch ability-powered attacks at them. Lou Tiannan immediately stepped in front, shielding them from all three attacks.

Bai Chuan’s green hair was soaked in sweat, clinging to his forehead in damp strands. Tang Mary, drained of strength, leaned against the wall.

Everyone bore injuries on their faces and bodies.

While supporting Bai Chuan, Elena scanned the surroundings and frowned. “We can’t go any lower. The zombies are everywhere. Every floor is packed with them!”

Lin Bai suggested, “We should retreat back to the office. The lab is sealed off, so it can block our scent.”

“Good idea! Fall back!” Everyone agreed with Lin Bai’s plan.

The endless waves of zombies were wearing them down.

Tang Mary braced herself against the wall and barely managed to stand. She swung her spiked club in a wide arc, temporarily forcing the zombies back a few steps. Then she shouted, “Run!”

The five of them immediately sprinted back to the 17th floor.

Stepping over the corpses of the fallen zombies, they returned to the office. Lou Tiannan took out the unknown metal and unlocked the lab door. One by one, they rushed inside. As the pursuing zombies closed in, Lou Tiannan cast a wall of black flames, cutting them off. With a final step, he dashed into the lab.

The door shut tightly behind him.

Lin Bai quickly tapped on the control panel, activating the lab’s light-blocking mechanism. Thick black curtains fell, cutting off visibility between the inside and outside.

Deprived of their prey’s scent, the crazed zombies gradually lost their frenzy, reverting to their usual mindless wandering.