Lex immediately rushed toward the voice without hesitation as his footsteps echoed down the corridor.
The desperate cries only grew louder with every second!
As Lex moved, several translucent system messages abruptly flashed in front of his eyes, stacking over one another for a brief moment before beginning to fade.
[You have gained Level 1 zombie's existence codex.] x10
[Agility +1, Strength +2] x4
[Agility +2, Strength +1] x6
[You have reached Level 4.] [You have acquired 3 status points to distribute freely.]
[You have reached Level 5.] [You have acquired 3 status points to distribute freely.]
Lex barely acknowledged them.
The moment he reached the doorway, his attention was completely stolen by what lay inside. His steps slowed as his eyes widened slightly.
The room was packed from wall to wall with zombies, their decayed bodies pressing together so tightly that there was barely any space left to move. Rotting arms flailed blindly, jaws snapped in the air mindlessly, and the smell was thick with the stench of decay!
"Please save me, please!"
The shout rang out again in Lex's ears, sharp and panicked.
Lex leaned forward and scanned the room, his gaze moving quickly as he searched for the source of the voice. At first, he saw nothing but zombies, which only deepened his frown. But then he finally lifted his gaze upward and froze for a moment in disbelief!
Hanging from the ceiling fan was a young boy...
The kid's black hair covered most of his eyes as he clung desperately to the fan's support, his arms and legs wrapped tightly around it like a frightened animal.
He looked no older than ten, and he was screaming at the top of his lungs without any restraint. His voice echoed through the room as if he were determined to summon every zombie on the floor!
Lex stared at the sight for a second before letting out a short chuckle. The question of how the kid had managed to climb up there crossed Lex's mind briefly, though it was quickly replaced by a much clearer realization as his eyes swept over the crowded room.
'No wonder there weren't many zombies in the hallway,' Lex thought calmly. 'This kid turned himself into the greatest bait imaginable.'
Then, Lex stepped into the room.
The zombies reacted instantly to the noise, with a dozen heads snapping toward him.
The mass of bodies surged forward in an uncoordinated rush. But Lex moved just as fast, cutting into them without hesitation as the blood weapon around his arm tore through them!
The additional stats made a noticeable difference, allowing Lex to move more smoothly and strike with greater precision.
Yet Lex didn't become prideful, fully aware that these zombies were nothing more than weak opponents compared to the monsters he would eventually face outside the hospital.
To Lex, they felt more like practice targets, as within minutes, the room fell silent. It was laughable how he was struggling to kill even a single one of them just an hour ago!
Broken bodies littered the floor, thick dark blood pooling beneath them as the last zombie collapsed lifelessly. Nearly a dozen zombies had been wiped out, leaving behind nothing but destruction.
Lex straightened slowly and looked around the room, making sure there weren't any that were left.
After confirming that the room was truly clear, Lex slowly lifted his gaze toward the boy still clinging to the ceiling fan and spoke in a calm, steady voice that hid how drained he really felt.
"It is safe now."
The moment those words left Lex's mouth, the boy let go of the fan without a second thought.
Samuel dropped straight down, landing clumsily against Lex's chest just as Lex released his blood manipulation completely.
The crimson weapon dissolved instantly, flowing back into liquid form before disappearing. The sudden loss of excess tension made Lex's knees nearly buckle. He staggered back a step, barely managing to keep himself upright as a wave of dizziness washed over him.
Fifteen minutes.
That was all it had taken.
Lex could feel it clearly now, the emptiness spreading through his body like cold water poured into his veins.
His mana had dropped from twenty-seven to a single fragile point, and the sensation was deeply unpleasant, leaving his limbs heavy and his thoughts sluggish. If it had dipped even a little lower, Lex was certain he would have blacked out on the spot.
His head throbbed faintly, his breathing shallow as he forced himself to remain standing, refusing to show weakness in front of the kid he had just saved.
Samuel, completely unaware of Lex's condition, looked up at him with wide, sparkling eyes, his earlier terror completely replaced by excitement. "Thank you, Big Bro!" the boy said quickly, his voice overflowing with relief and gratitude. "My name is Samuel! Thank you for saving me!"
For a brief moment, the room felt lighter. But then, Samuel's gaze shifted.
The boy's eyes flicked past Lex's shoulder for just a fraction of a second, and the change was instant!
The excitement drained from his face as if someone had flipped a switch, his expression twisting sharply as his body stiffened in Lex's arms. Fear flooded his eyes, replacing the joy so abruptly that it made Lex's instincts flare.
Slowly, carefully, Lex also turned around and what he saw truly shocked him.
The doorway was no longer empty.
A massive green zombie stood there, its bulk nearly filling the frame, forcing the metal door to hang crookedly on its hinges as if it had been bullied into submission.
Its skin was a sickly shade of dark green, stretched tight over swollen muscles. The thing was tall enough that its head almost scraped the ceiling, and its presence alone made the air feel heavier!
Then Lex noticed the arms.
One! Two! Three! Four!
Four massive arms sprouted from its torso, each one thick and corded with power, ending in hands large enough to crush a human skull without effort.
Its body was covered in old scars and half-healed wounds, giving the impression that this thing had fought, survived, and grown stronger because of it.
A translucent system panel flickered into existence at the edge of Lex's vision.
[Mutated Zombie – Level 15]
"Of course," Lex muttered weakly, forcing humour into his voice despite the pounding in his head. "The world had to give him an extra pair of arms to beat me black and blue."
The zombie tilted its head slowly, its eyes locking onto Lex's direction with unsettling focus, and then it smiled, if the way its mouth split unnaturally wide could even be called that.
Thick saliva dripped onto the floor.
Lex swallowed hard, his mana sitting at one, his body still trembling from overuse!