Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

Chapter 67  The New Zombie

The following day, Shane was roused from slumber at an early hour by Cloud, his A.I. assistant in the form of his wristwatch, who alerted him to the impending Zombie threat. In recent days, the A.I. had consistently absorbed every sample of Zombie Blood that Shane managed to gather, augmenting its ability to detect Zombies. At this juncture, detecting their presence within a 150-meter radius was no longer a formidable task for the A.I.

[ Five Unknown Zombies have been detected ] Cloud's warning left Shane momentarily stunned. Peering through the narrow openings of the church's windows, Shane confirmed the lingering darkness outside, with Cloud confirming that it was only 5 in the morning.

'I have a bad feeling about this,' Shane thought. He knew that it wasn't the time for the Walker and Crawler Zombies to arrive yet. Because of that, a sense of unease settled over him, and he wasted no time rousing the others as Lucky, their loyal dog, erupted into a frenzy of barking, as if echoing Cloud's warning.

'Unknown Zombies, huh... If my hunch is correct, they're likely to be the Flasher Zombies or the unencountered Crusher Zombies…' Shane mused, retrieving his sunglasses despite the dim light. Yes, he grabbed his sunglasses. It was an odd choice in the darkness, but it was a necessary shield against the blinding abilities of Flasher Zombies.

"Gene… Gear up, you will come with me... For the rest, stay here in the church…" Shane instructed, mindful that the others might fall prey to the Zombies. They weren't combatants in the first place. Furthermore, the church provided shelter, and he had armed Anna with a revolver for their protection. However, with only two pairs of sunglasses, he could only bring Gene with him to face the Zombies.

"Sunglasses?" Gene raised his brows inquisitively.

"I have a feeling that our Zombies this time are the Flasher Zombies. If I'm right, these sunglasses will be our salvation." Shane explained while preparing his revolver and hatchet. "So there's something like that…" Gene nodded in understanding, readying his blade.

As anticipated, five Flasher Zombies emerged, confirming Shane's suspicions.

From behind their fences, Gene was able to see the figures of the Zombies with the help of the torches that they had. The looming figures that materialized in the darkness were not the familiar, lumbering silhouettes of the Crawler, Walker, and Runner Zombies that had plagued the area. As Shane and Gene braced themselves for the impending confrontation, the air was filled with tension, and their uneasiness mounted as they caught their first glimpse of the approaching Flasher Zombie. "Is that even a Zombie?" Gene was the first one to comment, while Shane could only nod after seeing the Zombie in front.

It was a grotesque sight to behold, a nightmarish abnormality that defied all their conventional understanding of the Zombies.

The Flasher Zombie, devoid of humanoid semblance, was a ghastly fusion of warped flesh and an orb of disorienting light. Its disfigured form was a grotesque testament to the cataclysm that had befallen the world. 'I guess that the serum that the World Government made continued to mutate with different people or animals being affected…' Shane muttered as he readied his weapons. He just couldn't imagine that the serum that was supposed to make some sort of super soldiers had turned into this kind of mistake.

Lurching forward on contorted limbs, it lacked the familiar human appendages yet possessed a haunting, ethereal presence that sent a chill coursing through Shane and Gene's veins.

Apparently, the creature's grotesque form bore no arms, but its disproportionate feet propelled it forward with an unsettling, lurching gait. "Sir Shane… That one is filled with fat… I don't think my sword can kill it in a few strikes." Gene commented.

"It's fine… It should have a weakness and you only have to target it." Shane replied as he confirmed that the Flasher Zombies was something out of horror.

Its abnormality extended to its outrageous maw, a gaping, cavernous orifice that served as its stomach!

Indeed! The Flasher Zombie's mouth was its huge open stomach!

Then, where a head should have been, there instead existed a flickering orb, emitting an otherworldly light that cast an eerie, pulsating glow in the misty surroundings. The orb, flickering intermittently, held an enigmatic allure, but its disorienting radiance instilled a sense of dread within the two survivors.

They had no idea where its eyes… As they waited for the Zombies to get closer, Gene unconsciously stepped forward after seeing the flickering right. Thud!

Then, at this time, Shane noticed that Gene had already dropped his weapon!

"You--" Without any hesitation, Shane immediately grabbed Gene, and thankfully, the latter's attention was removed from the light!

"Wear the sunglasses now!" Shane shouted as he already guessed that the light, though it failed to charm him, worked effectively on Gene! Of course, Shane also wore the sunglasses very quickly!

Gene was startled by Shane's voice, but he immediately followed his command!

"Damn… Did I get hypnotized just now?!" Gene asked in terror as he wore his sunglasses.

The few moments that he failed to recall scared him!

"Most likely… My Perception is probably quite high, so I didn't get affected…" Shane said as he believed that if he continued to remain clueless from the effects of the flickering light, he would've undoubtedly been hypnotized by these Flasher Zombies that had a trait similar to Anglerfish!

Glug~ Glug~ Glug~

As the disfigured monstrosity drew near, their figures became clearer, and Shane and Gene were confronted with a sight that transcended the bounds of horror they had previously known. "I don't even want my sword to touch that thing…" Gene muttered as he felt that his sword would be violated if he tried to slice that Zombie!

The dissonance between the creature's unnatural form and the pulsating orb that served as the eerie semblance of its consciousness made Shane and Gene want to vomit…

'There are no disgusting creatures like this in A.I. Rebellion… The Fairy Realm collision may have some disgusting things as well, but this Zombie would top it all!' Shane couldn't help but comment.

Nonetheless, they had to kill these abominations! As they steeled themselves for the impending skirmish, a surge of determination washed over them… They knew that they had to kill these five even without their low visibility because of the sunglasses!

***

As the five Flasher Zombies advanced menacingly, their erratic movements and disorienting flashes of light emitted from their bodies created an otherworldly spectacle. Shane and Gene could even tell that the flickering light was getting stronger and stronger! 'I hope the others would not look at these lights…' Shane thought as he recalled that the others may be watching.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Shane started shooting the Zombies with imbued Ice Effect…

However, the bullets were stopped by their flesh, and the frostbite barely lasted for three seconds before dissipating!

Shane didn't panic and swiftly changed the Special Effect into Fire or to be exact, Burn Effect!

Bang! Bang!

He accurately shot the flickering orbs once again, but for some reason, it was also immune to Fire!

'Elemental Resistance?' Shane frowned at this realization. Nonetheless, he had to do something.

Instead of imbuing some effects, he simply relied on the bullet's piercing power! n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Bang! This time, he continued firing until he emptied his bullets. Thankfully, it may have failed to destroy even one of the Flasher Zombie's orbs, but Shane realized that it wasn't immune to physical attacks! The orbs were certainly chipped by the gunshots!

'So normal rounds would be more useful, huh…' Shane thought as he considered pulling out another revolver.

However, his actions had probably infuriated the Zombies as the nearest Flasher Zombie lunged forward with surprising agility! 'So quick!' Then, its orb continued to try and disorient Shane with blinding flashes! However, Shane, undeterred by the dazzling display, countered with a calculated strike from his hatchet, severing the creature's outstretched tongue with a swift, decisive blow. Sssaakk---

The Zombie emitted an otherworldly screech as it recoiled in agony, its flashes momentarily subdued!

Meanwhile, Gene knew that he had to play his role!

He deftly maneuvered through the fray as his blade sliced through the flesh of the Flasher Zombies. He had indeed moved outside the fence and engaged in close combat!

Gene was a true warrior, and although he felt a bit terrified of the creatures, he was still brave enough to focus on his duty! Gene realized that the flesh of the Zombies was tough, so he decided to slowly bleed them to death with the small wounds that he was making.

During this time, he skillfully dodged the Zombies' stomach mouths, while his sunglasses shielded him from the debilitating effects of the flashes.

Gene swiftly closed the distance to one of the zombies and delivered a deft strike to one of the zombie's ankles, or what he believed were ankles. Thud!

It was actually effective since the Zombie's balance was messed up! Just like that, he incapacitated the Flasher Zombie with a precise blow.

"Alright… Let's target their ankles."

Shane said as he realized that his hatchet could only cleave a part of the Flasher Zombie and not kill it! He couldn't even hit its orb as it was too quick!