With Duanmu Huai's help, Claire managed to find all three medallions and activate the secret passage hidden beneath the police station's main hall.
Marvin, however, refused to go with them. He'd been bitten, and he knew exactly what that meant. So, Duanmu Huai and Claire descended alone into the underground passage via elevator, leaving Marvin behind.
"Honestly, I can't imagine what kind of police station would have something like this built under it," Duanmu Huai muttered as he led the way, hammer in hand.
"Who knows?" Claire shrugged. "Maybe I'll ask my brother—if I ever see him again."
As she spoke, Claire suddenly grabbed Duanmu Huai's arm. "Wait. Did you hear that?"
He raised a brow, halted, and listened. A moment later, faint footsteps echoed from a tunnel above them—rapid, deliberate taps.
That was definitely not the sound of zombies.
"There's someone else down here," Claire whispered.
"Let's go."
Of course, Duanmu Huai already knew who it was. But there was no need to spoil the story. He continued forward with Claire until they reached another room at the tunnel's end. A toppled filing cabinet blocked their path. Duanmu Huai pressed one hand against it and, with a casual shove, pushed it upright.
"Phew…"
Claire let out a small sigh of relief. "Thanks, big guy."
"No problem."
But before they could move on, a small shadow darted past them. Claire quickly raised her flashlight toward the corner—and a blonde-haired little girl peeked out timidly from behind a crate.
"Hey there," Claire said gently, crouching down. "It's okay, don't be scared. We're not going to hurt you."
The girl didn't answer. She looked nervously at Claire, then at Duanmu Huai. Feeling her gaze, Claire glanced back at him and smiled reassuringly.
"Don't be afraid. This uncle might look scary, but he's a good man."
Uncle? Call me big brother, damn it.
Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes. He was barely in his twenties—right in his prime. How had he suddenly become uncle material?
But the girl didn't seem convinced. She trembled, her eyes wide with fear.
"C-careful…" she whispered. "I-it's still here…"
"What?" Claire asked.
"It's coming."
At that, Duanmu Huai turned sharply toward the passage behind them. Claire followed, flashlight in hand. Moments later, heavy footsteps echoed in the dark—and in the beam of her light, a massive creature stepped into view.
It still resembled a man, but its right side had completely mutated. Its arm was grotesquely swollen, almost as thick as Duanmu Huai's torso. On its shoulder bulged a red, pulsating eye, larger than its head, glaring directly at them.
"Oh my God… what is that thing?" Claire gasped.
Duanmu Huai placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Take the girl and find somewhere safe. Leave this thing to me."
"Are you sure? It doesn't look easy to kill…"
"Neither am I."
He tightened his grip on his hammer and rolled his neck, eyes narrowing. He already knew what this creature was—the scientist who had created the G-Virus, and the father of that blonde girl. But there was no need to say that now. Whoever or whatever he used to be, all that remained was a monstrous abomination.
And as an Inquisitor, Duanmu Huai had only one duty:
Fight. Destroy. Purge.
"Go! Leave this to me!"
The monster roared, raising an iron pipe as thick as a tree trunk and swinging it down toward him. Duanmu Huai stepped forward, shouting back as he lifted his hammer to meet the blow.
Clang!
Metal struck metal, the force shuddering through the air. The suspended catwalk beneath them couldn't handle their combined weight. Steel groaned—then collapsed. Both combatants plummeted to the floor below with a thunderous crash.
"Damn it," Duanmu Huai cursed, looking down at the splintered handle of his hammer. It wasn't his usual weapon—just a heavy sledgehammer he'd grabbed from the toolshed earlier. Wooden handle, iron head—fine for zombies, but against something like this? Not a chance.
Still…
Did that mean he couldn't fight?
Not a chance.
He rose to his full height, towering over the creature. Even with all its grotesque mutations, the beast was still shorter than him—like a 1.8-meter man looking down on someone barely 1.6.
"Grrrhh… grrraaah…"
Sensing the killing aura radiating from Duanmu Huai, the monster let out a low, fearful growl, clutching its pipe tightly.
[Target has entered the Aura of Fear.]
[Target is making a Will Save… Failed!]
[Target has entered Berserk State!]
"ROAAAAAAR!!!"
Driven mad by terror, the creature charged, swinging its steel pipe wildly.
"Die!" Duanmu Huai roared back.
Instead of dodging, he lunged straight at it, grabbing its mutated right wrist in his left hand like an iron vise—and snapped it backward with a single wrenching motion.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!"
The monster screamed as its massive arm bent in the wrong direction, bones shattering like glass. Before it could recover, it swung its unmutated left hand in desperation—only for Duanmu Huai to seize it as well and twist sharply. The limb broke like a pretzel, hanging uselessly at its side.
Then Duanmu Huai rammed his forehead forward.
CRACK!
The headbutt would've split an ordinary man's skull wide open. This creature, though tough, still staggered back, its growls turning weak and whimpering.
"God…"
Up on the second level, Claire gasped and instinctively covered the little girl's eyes. She'd known Duanmu Huai was strong, but this—this was on another level. Watching him brutalize the monster, she could easily imagine him taking on a whole gang of thugs in the street and leaving nothing but corpses behind.
…Wait. Was that why he got arrested?
One look at him was enough to tell—this man was dangerous. Whatever he was, he wasn't normal. Even monsters couldn't stand against him.
Was he even human at all? No ordinary man could be this massive… this terrifying…
"Die!"
As the monster staggered back in panic, Duanmu Huai roared and drove his fist forward—straight into the huge red eye on its shoulder.
SPLAT!
The fragile orb burst like a water balloon, spraying blood and viscous fluid everywhere. Duanmu Huai's arm punched clean through the creature's torso. It shrieked in agony, stumbling backward, desperate to flee.
But he wasn't finished.
Grabbing hold of its mangled bones, he ripped the entire mutated arm off its body, as easily as tearing a drumstick from a chicken.
"ROOOOAAAAARRRRR!!"
Howling in unbearable pain, the creature fled, leaping over the railing and vanishing into the depths below, its screams fading into the darkness.
"Hmph. Trash."
Duanmu Huai tossed aside the severed arm with a cold snort. With his current physique—well past level 40—fighting monsters like this wasn't even a challenge. He wasn't quite at JoJo-tier biology yet, but shrugging off bullets wasn't out of the question. Even if he stood still and let that creature hit him, it probably wouldn't have broken his skin.
"Hey, big guy…"
Claire's voice called from above. Duanmu Huai looked up to see her and the little girl leaning over the second-floor railing, watching him nervously.
"Are you… okay?"
(End of Chapter)