The monster slowly slithered out from cover, its red eyes locking onto the two familiar figures.
Its form was an abomination—thin limbs, a starved torso, and disturbingly flexible muscles that let it move like a snake.
"Rarh!" it hissed, extending a long blackened tongue as its bald head rose slowly.
Then it recoiled, the sunlight searing its skin and bare eyes.
"Too eager for death, aren't you, sewer monster?" Dmitri leveled the MP7A1 at its head and squeezed the trigger.
Three bullets zipped through, hitting its forehead, nose, and mouth in succession. The creature staggered, seemingly unable to comprehend how it had been struck down so easily.
It let out a shrill wail, thrashing violently before collapsing—killed by its own curiosity.
"That wail should have..." Dmitri's thoughts were cut off as a few zombies nearby began drifting toward them.
Then he heard soft thuds echoing up from the darkness below.
"More of them are coming!" Dmitri realized the problem and slightly turned around, "Switch your weapons. Fire on my command!"
"Rex, go take care of them!" He knelt down and patted Rex.
The dog sprinted across the parking lot and arrived in front of a zombie. It growled, trying to scare the dog.
Rex shifted side to side, then lunged and clamped down on the zombie's right leg. Rex used its momentum to tumble the zombie down and had its head bashed by the hard cement.
"Grrr!" Rex let go of the zombie and ran to another one, doing the same exact technique.
Lunge, bite, drag with momentum, smash its head using concrete. After killing the next zombie, the dog woofed, seemingly having fun.
Dmitri narrowed his eyes, amazed by the dog's intelligence, power, and speed. With Rex taking care of the approaching zombies, Dmitri turned his eyes back to the opened manhole.
Another bald head popped up, and Dmitri fired four shots, targeting not only the vital areas but its neck too.
You want to shout? Not a chance!
Its corpse fell, dragging the rest of the slimy zombie monsters down. Dmitri considered using a frag grenade as he looked on the dark environment underneath.
Too risky. The gas could be combustible...
Another howl echoed underneath. The red eyes glowed quietly in the dark until Dmitri shot between them, puncturing another four holes on the monster's face.
The underground went dark and silent after. Dmitri stepped away from the manhole and then glanced around while pointing his MP7A1's muzzle.
Rex had taken most of the zombies that were drawn, and only a few were left around. Their groans weakened as Rex tore through them one lunge at a time.
Never mind, let the dog have fun for a while.
Not long after, Rex came back to Dmitri, trotting—quiet proud of its recent accomplishment. Dmitri patted its fur, "Good job boy."
Rex barked in reply, sticking its tongue out.
The situation has been controlled, and the drawn zombies had been taken care of. Dmitri inspected the underground situation once again and found nothing out of place.
Thus, he grabbed the manhole cover and pushed it. The grating sound of metal clashing against concrete resounded, but no zombies nearby were attracted.
Damn it, how did that monster push this aside so easily?
Not only were those guys skinny, they looked as if a single punch could blow their muscles the wrong way. Yet Dmitri, having that toned and powerful muscle, dragged the manhole cover with such difficulty.
After locking the cover back on its place, he dusted his hands and looked at his subordinates, gesturing for them to come close.
"Sir, what should we do?" Ryan inquired, switching back to his combat knife.
"Continue with the operation, then dispose of the bodies." Dmitri answered, then his eyes lingered at the monster corpse, "As for this, Team B will carry it back to the base, now. Move."
He retreated to the sides, disposing of any zombies attempting to enter through the parking lot entrance. A single shot to the head reaped one zombie at a time, preserving his bullets with the highest efficiency.
Though the integrated silencer severely suppressed the MP7A1's noise radius down to at most twenty meters, a few zombies on the sidewalks were still drawn by its sound.
Dmitri stayed inside the parking lot, his finger never stopping as it pulled the trigger again and again. He fired another shot then took the mag on his back, pulled out the empty magazine on his gun, and inserted the fresh one.
All done in one swift motion before he started gunning the zombies once again.
The others could only look in jealousy, knowing that the system has given them their loadout and couldn't do much about it. They could only rely on their combat knives for silent kills, and even that presented a slight risk.
Nevertheless, a single blade sent another zombie down to the next life. The team moved from the third apartment building to the fourth one.
The zombies here were quite many, hindering the team's rapid progress.
Dmitri hadn't scouted this area due to the fact that the curved nature of the highway blocked his line of sight from the rooftop. Now, seeing the situation, he wasn't as tense as before.
"Line up in formation, and spread your positions," he ordered.
The team followed, approaching the area from the rear end. Since too many zombies were around, it was hard to tackle them without bundling together.
"Team B and C, move in front. Team A, position at the rear," Dmitri ordered. "Move once you're ready."
Adam stared at his companions who looked back to him as well. They nodded at each other then slowly strode forward.
Ethan hacked his combat knife and slew a zombie blocking the way. Its body fell, thumping hard and drawing the attention of nearby zombies.
A small swarm suddenly walked into their formation, but the team snorted and hacked their way in. Their star promotion rates quickly increased, with Adam almost on the verge of 2-star promotion as well.
Dmitri ruffled Rex's fur while keeping his gun by his side, not waiting for an accident to happen. However, the conscripts, together with Ryan's well-rounded close quarter combat training as an army soldier, proved too much against these mindless zombies.
Not long later, the last section of the parking lot was cleared.
Ryan wiped his combat knife clean, recovering his breath after the continuous assault. Nadia observed him from the sides, thinking that the man was indeed a bit handsome.
A whistle cut through the air, pulling them both out from their own trances. Ryan turned to Nadia and patted her shoulders, "Good work today. Let's go back."
Nadia nodded and followed after him. A small blush crept to her face but quickly shook her head and took a deep breath.
The entire team gathered around Dmitri. Though most of his body was covered, they could see through the clothing's mask that he was joyful of the operation's results.
"Operation finished. Rest for ten minutes, then return to base." Dmitri ordered.
The parking lot was really wide, stretching more than a kilometer from edge to edge.. Fighting was already strained them, and moving without rest would prove fatal should an accident occur.
The team scoured the cars and zombies for any valuable belongings, making use of the resting time to scavenge materials.
Their bags became heavier as they swooped through the fourth area.
Dmitri, seeing that time was alright, whistled for the team to fully retreat. Any areas not looted would be looted tomorrow.
For now, they had no choice but to end the day.
The sun had already begun to set, and casted an orange glow on the horizon. The team passed through the area near apartment building number three.
A cold wind suddenly blew, sending a chill down their spines. A faint voice whispered into their minds, its words incomprehensible yet chaotic.
Dmitri realized that something had gone wrong, remembering those horrific meteorite shards that had struck this apartment building!
"Move! Don't look to your left, just move!" Dmitri shouted. Everyone's muscles tensed, worsened by another blow of cold wind from the west.
The groans had grown louder, yet the vision in front of them had become darker. Spending another second here meant their death.
Dmitri urged his team to go even faster. His body hair had already stood on its ends, and the road ahead had somewhat become a little blurry.
At that moment, Rex howled, pulling them all out of their tranced state. The dog barked repeatedly, slowly repelling the atrocious aura away.
A howl?! From Rex?! Dmitri blinked, his mind clearing. That wasn't just noise, but force, very powerful and effective against these strange mental attacks.
"That's my good boy! Now, move you all, don't dilly dally there!" he urged and the team picked up their pace once again.
When Dmitri's right foot stepped out of the parking lot, the drowsy sensation vanished instantly. He looked back and saw that his team somewhat managed to follow through as well.
"Rest for a minute." he ordered, panting with his hands to the wall. His eyes fell onto Rex who approached each member with a sniff. It then sat on the ground, staring—teary-eyed.
Damn it, is this dog not affected?!
Dmitri cursed. Never did he think that a dog could even be better than him when it comes to mental resilience. Aside from that, it also dragged them out of the brink of death.
What kind of shit are those meteorite shards? Damn it, we might have to change our schedules.
Everyone's face was drained and out of sorts.. Even Dmitri wasn't spared from the suffering.
The team spent another ten minutes resting on the parking lot entrance.
Then, they limped away from the area, and returned to the apartment building number one's entrance.