Cannon Fodder And The Protagonist Are A Perfect Match [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 16

In the fourth year of the apocalypse, it was common knowledge among survivors that zombies were blind and relied entirely on sound and scent to hunt their prey. If there was a sudden noise, there were no exceptions: it was either a hunting zombie or prey being chased.

Hearing the growing snarls from the floor below, Shan Ze gripped the long blade at his waist, flipped sideways, and leaped over the half meter railing. The tall man dressed in black landed gracefully in the corridor below. The zombies gathered at the glass door could not see his movements, but they noticed the dull thud of his landing echoing through the silent hallway.

They turned their heads slowly, but their movements froze a second later as a bolt of purple lightning pierced cleanly through their fragile foreheads. Under the flickering corridor lights, the zombies collapsed one by one.

Through the grimy glass door, Shan Ze saw a man collapsed on the clean white tiles. The man’s slender body, wrapped in a white lab coat, was curled in a ball, and his features were twisted in immense pain. Shan Ze let out a sigh of relief because pain was a good sign. As long as he could feel pain, it proved the man was still alive.

As a precaution, Shan Ze did not move forward immediately. He stood before the pile of corpses and called out from across the locked door. “Shen Mian!”

Shen Mian, or rather Yu Yan, heard nothing through the chaos in his mind. Within his burning body, there was only one thought: he wanted to eat something, perhaps a primate.

Seeing the man’s increasing agony, Shan Ze was certain he had entered the transformation phase. The transformation period for a human infected with the virus could be long or short depending on their constitution, ranging from several days to mere minutes. Once the transformation ended, a lucky few would awaken an ability, while the rest became the walking dead. Generally, the longer the process took, the more powerful the resulting ability or zombie would be.

The underground research facility had fallen precisely because an ability user who had volunteered for serum development lost control. Unsure of what Shen Mian would become, Shan Ze decided to wait at the door for the result. However, a figure hanging upside down at the end of the hallway disrupted his plans.

It was a lean male zombie with broken restraints still dangling from its limbs. Its mouth was torn open like a slit mouthed woman, constantly secreting yellow green saliva that dripped onto the floor. If not for the sound of those droplets, Shan Ze might not have noticed it.

Under the zombie’s vacant gaze, Shan Ze pushed his thumb against his sword hilt. The silver blade reflected the light. According to the base’s intelligence, the escaped subject should have been a B class fire user, not this specialized crawler.

Almost the moment the thought surfaced, another zombie with clothes scorched by fire appeared from the other side of the corridor. It limped forward with a twisted left ankle. Caught in a pincer attack with Shen Mian transforming behind the glass door and the railing leading downstairs behind him, Shan Ze drew his sword without hesitation.

The underground facility had eight floors. Floors one and two were living quarters, three and four were laboratories, and floor five was for volunteers. Everything below floor five was for experimental zombies. The appearance of these two specialized zombies meant the containment system on the lower floors had failed. If he went any deeper, he might not make it back.

Shan Ze focused on the zombie crawling like a spider on the ceiling. Fire was essentially a branch of lightning, so the limping fire zombie was of little concern. His assessment was correct; the zombie’s flames could not even penetrate the electrical layer surrounding his body. After entering the fray, the fire zombie was sent flying against the bulletproof glass door by the shockwaves of the battle.

The glass door shattered slightly under the impact, and shards fell onto the pile of corpses. Shan Ze had no time to worry about the noise. He had to finish off the small but incredibly strong crawler, especially since the gas emitted by its saliva was likely toxic.

Feeling his strength and energy fading rapidly, Shan Ze abandoned his defense. After a relentless series of strikes, he finally pressed the tip of his blade against the crawler’s blackened forehead. A zombie’s energy crystal was located there; only by destroying it could the undead truly die. New zombies had soft skulls, but they hardened over time until even bullets could not penetrate them.

The sound of the blade hitting the bone was sharp. The zombie pushed back with its head, forcing Shan Ze against the glass door. The already damaged door finally gave way, shattering into shards. As Shan Ze’s back hit a metal console, his electrified blade finally pierced the crawler’s skull.

He pushed the corpse off his blade with effort while blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. His hand trembled from overexertion. Looking at the now unprotected laboratory, he thought helplessly that if another mutated zombie appeared, he would be finished. The current used to kill the crawler was the last of his energy.

He shifted his gaze to the man on the floor. Shen Mian was still curled up, but his complexion had improved and his eyelids flickered. Shan Ze gripped his hilt cautiously; even in his weakened state, he was more than a match for a newborn zombie.

In the tense silence, Shan Ze found himself looking into a pair of crimson pupils where the whites of the eyes were replaced by black. It was the eyes of a zombie.

He raised his blade, ready to end it. The newborn zombie moved slowly, as if adapting to its new body. The man climbed to his feet and walked aimlessly toward Shan Ze. The lab was cluttered and he stumbled frequently. Watching the man’s clumsy steps, Shan Ze strangely thought he looked cute.

He tried to convince himself this was madness, but his blade stayed mid air. Only a step away, the zombie spoke in a slow, dragging voice. “Hungry. I am hungry.”

Zombies could not talk. No one could explain this, not even Yu Yan. Yu Yan only knew that the fragrance lingering in his nose was incredibly tempting. In his darkened world, he swallowed instinctively and reached toward the source of the scent.

His hands had long, sharp nails. Shan Ze dodged, but the movement pulled on his wounds. He coughed up blood. Smelling the rich scent of blood in the foul air, Yu Yan found his target. He grabbed the unknown man’s collar and, like a kitten licking milk, licked the blood from the man’s lip.

The two stood at a similar height. Shan Ze was pulled forward and the shock caused him to drop his sword. The heavy blade hit the tiles with a loud clang. Shan Ze snapped out of his daze and tried to push the zombie away. Ability users were not immune to infection; he had been infected four times before, and there was no guarantee his immune system could win a fifth time.

His weak resistance only annoyed the zombie. Yu Yan raised his other hand, pressed it against the back of Shan Ze’s head, and deepened the dangerous kiss.

Ability users typically had a lower body temperature than normal humans because their bodies reduced heat loss after the viral modification. Zombies, being the living dead, had a temperature of only 18 to 20 degrees Celsius. If the surrounding temperature was higher than the zombie’s, they became more agile; if it was lower, they became sluggish. This was why nighttime was the best time to scavenge.

Shan Ze suddenly remembered a zombie analysis report he had read at the base. It had been published three months after the apocalypse started, and the author was Shen Mian, the very man who was currently tearing at his lips like a wild beast.

The temperature between their lips was ice cold. Shan Ze moved his numbed tongue. The zombie’s teeth were sharp, and he was certain his mouth was full of small cuts. These would become gateways for the virus. He wondered if he would turn into a zombie because of this crazy kiss.

Shan Ze stared blankly at the zombie’s beautiful eyes. Then, he noticed with surprise that the black in the whites of the eyes was fading until they looked like normal human eyes.

Yu Yan pulled back after one last lingering suction and said, “Thank you.”

His voice was clear like a spring but carried a cold distance. Shan Ze ignored the strange discomfort in his chest and replied, “You are welcome.”

Yu Yan lowered his head and calmly straightened Shan Ze’s messy collar. “Are you the one sent by the Coastal Base to rescue me?” He then realized he had not introduced himself. “Oh, right. I am Shen Mian.”

It was a proud introduction, but Shan Ze felt no resentment. Under the man’s silent and questioning gaze, he spoke nervously. “I am Shan Ze, captain of the Blade Team at the Coastal Base. I am an S class lightning user and your bodyguard for the journey back.”