Lux pulled open the door and stepped out of the van. With a flick of his hand, the newly exchanged Nepalese kukri appeared in his grip.
Lainne stuck her head out of the window and watched Lux's movements intently. This was the first time she had seen someone dare to challenge more than one zombie at once.
The three zombies that spotted a living human rushed toward Lux at the same time.
Instead of retreating, Lux advanced with a quick step, closing the distance with a short female zombie wearing a dress. Using only about ten percent of his strength, he casually chopped down at its head.
The Nepalese kukri easily split into the zombie's skull. With a pull, Lux withdrew the blade, bringing out gray-white brain matter.
This level of force felt just right, roughly what a normal woman could manage. Its practicality far surpassed that of a multi-tool Swiss army knife.
That said, he still preferred katana-type weapons with a wider attack range.
At this moment, the remaining two zombies rushed up beside Lux, tearing open their mouths as they lunged at his shoulders from both sides.
Lux stomped the ground and quickly retreated out of their attack range. Then, with a horizontal slash of the Nepalese kukri, two heads fell to the ground instantly.
"Oh, as expected of the Commander. Such agile movements."
UMP45 praised cheerfully.
Lianne stared at Lux in shock. This was the first time she had seen someone kill zombies with such smooth, fluid motions.
The boys who had protected her before had also managed to kill zombies, but they had done so by wildly smashing their heads with blunt weapons. Clean, one-strike kills like Lux's were rare.
It was as if three zombies meant nothing to him at all.
Lux wiped the remaining corpse fluid off the zombies and reached into their pockets to search for car keys, but unfortunately, there was nothing to be found on any of them.
Lux noticed his own changes.
When he had first been enhanced by the genetic modification fluid, he had trouble adapting to his suddenly increased strength. He often failed to rein himself in, cutting zombies apart along with their hard bones, which greatly increased blade wear. Sometimes, he even crashed into walls when running because he wasn't used to moving several times faster than before.
But after continuous combat and adjustment, he had gradually adapted to his enhanced speed and strength, and had begun to identify the most fatal weak points of zombies.
Although only a week had passed since the apocalypse began, he felt that he had changed drastically.
Not just physically, but mentally and in combat technique as well.
This was probably the survival instinct inherent in humans… or perhaps a combat instinct.
Most people, however, remained trapped in fear during the early stages of the disaster, unable to fight calmly. Before they could adapt to this instinct, they died.
Only after overcoming his fear of zombies did he gradually become aware of this instinct that allowed him to survive.
Walking over to the car, Lux glanced inside. The windows and seats were covered in dried blood.
To be honest, the car was far too dirty. Even if he could hotwire it, he had no intention of using it. He didn't want this filthy blood to stain the tactical dolls' clothes, or Lianne's, and prolonged exposure to zombie blood might even risk infection.
Lux recalled his high school biology lessons.
The human immune system, including skin and mucous membranes, couldn't block all viruses. Many viruses were eliminated only after entering the body, which was why humans weren't constantly sick.
But the zombie virus… clearly the immune system was ineffective against it. This potential danger was something he needed to avoid as much as possible.
Lux placed his hand on the car door. In the next instant, the sedan vanished into thin air, and a system notification sounded in his mind: resource points +245.
Just as Lux was about to return to the van, a sense of danger suddenly crawled up his back. He instantly drew the Nepalese kukri and slashed out on instinct, knocking an arrow straight out of the air.
Cold sweat soaked Lux's back. If he had been even a fraction slower, that arrow would have been embedded in his shoulder.
In the next second, the sound of UMP45's gunfire rang out.
"Ah!"
A man's scream rang out from the conifer forest by the roadside in the distance. Immediately after, Lux saw HK416 kick open the van door and leap out, firing short bursts as she charged toward the green belt.
"I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you…"
HK416 kept muttering under her breath as she rapidly closed in on the greenery.
"Commander, enemy numbers unknown. One target is wounded. It's unclear whether the kill was confirmed. There may be additional firing points. Please issue orders."
"Based on the noise test I conducted before reporting to you, within about five minutes, zombies within a five-hundred-meter radius will be drawn here by 416's gunfire."
"416 is emotionally unstable. You should bring her back as soon as possible."
UMP45 reported through the tactical earpiece.
The moment UMP45 finished speaking, Lux's enhanced dynamic vision clearly caught sight of an arrow flying from another direction, shooting straight toward HK416's body.
Lux's heart lurched. He instantly turned into a blur and rushed toward HK416. The air pressure around him pressed heavily against his body.
The distance of roughly ten meters between them vanished in less than a second at full speed. Lux reached HK416's side and chopped down with the Nepalese kukri, cutting the crossbow bolt in midair.
Immediately after, Lux wrapped his left arm around HK416's waist and retreated explosively.
At the same time, Sten and MDR inside the van leaned out of the windows and began suppressive fire.
"Kill him! Let go of me! I want to kill that human who ambushed Lux!"
Trapped in Lux's powerful grip, HK416 struggled wildly.
"I'm not hurt. Leave this place first, then we'll think about revenge."
The enemy's numbers and motives were still unclear, and they were hidden in the green belt. Blindly engaging in a close encounter would put them at a severe disadvantage.
As he spoke, Lux pulled open the passenger-side door and stuffed HK416 inside. Lainne, who was sitting near the door, immediately opened the rear door. Lux jumped into the van in one swift motion.
UMP45 slammed on the accelerator. With a furious roar, the van shot forward.