Victor's expression hardened as he was already judging the individual capacities of these new opponents.
From what he could see, they were not much stronger than the previous ones; they were also fewer, roughly a hundred.
But he feared something entirely different.
Their coordination.
He had no idea how good it was—he only hoped it wouldn't be too much for his teammates, whose faces had paled at the realization that a new type of enemy awaited them.
Victor then wondered if Anna and Melissa's reactions had been nothing but a façade from the beginning—a mask they used to stay unnoticed.
He received confirmation when he caught the discreet wink Anna sent him.
It relaxed him slightly; knowing he wasn't the only reliable one was a good thing. Although it was equally dangerous for obvious reasons, it still lightened his burden.
The undead were now only a few dozen meters away when Mary shouted:
« We'll rotate. Me, Daniel, and Victor will take the first round. Anna and Melissa, you take the second. Do you think you can handle it? »
She was asking mostly for the two sisters who—despite their impressive synergy—were only two.
Their faces suddenly filled with determination as they nodded seriously.
Victor couldn't help but admire their acting talent.
It was really impressive—he himself would have been fooled even knowing they were at least as bad as him at pretending.
They were probably thrilled, eager to let loose at last.
These women enjoyed killing itself, regardless of the reason.
But Victor wasn't the same; he only enjoyed killing when it brought him something.
Or so he believed.
After all, killing those men in the apartment had allowed him to grow—if only a little.
If that hadn't been the case, would he have felt that same strange pleasure back then?
It was a question that would remain unanswered for now.
« Alright, we're up first. Stay in the back! »
The two brunettes obeyed, slipping into the surveillance room and leaving the other three alone before the horde.
« Be ready. »
Victor didn't reply, pulling out his long hunting knife, still stained with the blood of his latest victims.
Daniel did the same, gripping his large axe with both hands.
Mary mirrored them, slipping into a martial stance—one foot forward, one behind, her hands ready to respond to the slightest attack.
Victor dashed forward. He certainly wasn't going to wait for these undead to strike first.
He moved at a speed impossible for the naked eye to follow, appearing beside the closest zombie and cleanly slicing off its head.
The body collapsed just as quickly, hitting the floor with a dull thud.
Victor was already gone, moving on to the next. He plunged his blade into its brain.
Daniel and Mary's eyes widened slightly.
They had never witnessed the boy's true speed. He was eliminating each zombie as if they were nothing more than cattle.
Despite their numbers, without the speed to react, any resistance was pointless—each strike ended with a body dropping dead.
The situation was entirely one-sided.
Mary, who had worried earlier about their survival, suddenly felt a wave of relief.
If this boy was this strong… then it wasn't impossible, right?
They might survive and get out of here.
She herself felt motivated watching him and doubled her efforts, crushing the undead's bones while avoiding as many potential injuries as possible.
Though some scratches managed to reach her, they were minor—easily tolerable.
Daniel was doing worse; his thick, bulky body was a prime target for these things, which sought only to devour as much flesh as possible.
But the man refused to yield. His axe sliced through the rotting bodies like a hot knife through butter.
It was brutal—he only stopped to take a breath before continuing with renewed force, taking a hit and giving back two.
Victor watched them secretly from the corner of his eye, keeping track of any mortal threat hovering above their heads.
Thankfully, they were oddly managing. Victor then wondered why all the complications during the previous wave.
He tore off a putrid jaw.
Why use firearms when fighting would have been much easier?
A horizontal slash decapitated his next opponent.
Was it to conserve their stamina? Or because they were still exhausted from the previous day?
He delivered a kick, crushing the zombie's skull into mush—parts of it splattering across his new clothes.
Perhaps the overwhelming number had intimidated them earlier; after all, there had been at least three times as many during the previous round.
Victor grabbed an arm and threw its owner into its allies with force, pushing back a dozen undead and killing a few in the process.
Or maybe his active participation and display of strength had motivated them?
Only around forty creatures remained—the rest had been reduced to pulp.
Victor slowed down, making his way toward Mary, who was surrounded by four zombies.
The boy disposed of them without trouble, prompting a sigh of relief from the blonde whose face was already red from effort, marked by fatigue.
« We should switch. »
Mary glanced at the man with the axe, who was faring much worse than her—his wound had reopened for the second time, staining his shirt with fresh blood.
His body was covered in small scratches, and a deep bite mark was embedded in his left shoulder.
The woman nodded. Immediately, Victor rushed toward Daniel, eliminating his attackers who could only try to guess where Victor was while he decapitated them without the slightest emotion.
The group formed a semicircle, retreating toward the metal door while defending against the ravenous monsters in front of them.
Mary shouted as loudly as she could.
« Switch! »
Almost instantly, the door swung open as two shadows emerged, rushing to their aid, allowing the three others to breathe again.
Even though Victor barely felt any fatigue after only a few minutes of fighting, he was still glad to catch his breath as he headed toward the surveillance room without even looking back.
He knew they would be fine—and even if they weren't, it wasn't his concern.
He mainly wanted to keep those two alive—they were clearly the highest-ranking members of this small survivor camp, and therefore the most relevant for his plans.
Between two labored breaths, Daniel couldn't help but ask the question that had been haunting him for an entire day now.
« How did you get that strong? »
Victor raised an eyebrow.
« Isn't it obvious? »
The man let out a dark chuckle.
« The cube? »
« No. The cube only gave me a skill that's useless to me for now. »
He certainly wasn't going to tell them about his magical ability—not for the moment. It wouldn't do him any good.
And it wasn't technically a lie—after all, his decay element was utterly useless against creatures whose bodies were already decomposing.
« Then… ? »
Victor didn't answer. Was the man doing this on purpose? Or was he just stupid?
The boy approached the control console with curiosity; there were numerous buttons and about twenty small black screens—everything was off due to the lack of electricity.
He turned to Mary.
« Is there a way to turn the cameras back on? »
The woman hesitated a moment before shaking her head.
« Maybe, maybe not. Some buildings have a backup generator, but I don't know if this one does. »
Barely three minutes had passed when the door opened again, revealing the two brunettes—out of breath and scratched in several places.
Victor narrowed his eyes.
That was fast.
Their hearts were beating as slowly as possible.
It was an act again.
They were very dangerous.
And they were making sure he knew it.
« Already? »
Mary couldn't help letting out a cry of surprise.
They had left them with about forty zombies after all—it was abnormal for them to have finished so quickly.
« We got lucky. »
« They started disorganizing themselves and getting in each other's way. After that, it was easy."
« But tiring. »
It was all lies, but Victor couldn't detect the slightest change in their heartbeat.
As expected.
These two were nothing but snakes.
Vipers.