Chapter Twenty-Nine: Escape from the Hospital

The zombie hound moved with astonishing speed; for it, turning to counterattack was but the blink of an eye. There was no time to aim again—Zhao Qiang spun and charged directly at the Crusher.

Seeing Zhao Qiang rushing towards it, the Crusher’s grotesque face seemed to contort into a savage grin. In its eyes, no human had ever faced it head-on; every person who dared to challenge it had met a grisly, shattered end. The Crusher appeared to grow ever more excited, its already massive upper body muscles bulging further, its drooping hands clenching into fists.

Simple-minded brute! Zhao Qiang took in every nuance of the Crusher’s transformation, sneering inwardly. He was even faster than the zombie hounds; was he to be killed by these dull-witted creatures?

The Crusher’s enormous fist slammed into the ground with a thunderous blow, accompanied by a shriek as two zombie hounds were crushed directly into the earth by its mighty punch. But Zhao Qiang, quick as lightning, had already slipped between the Crusher’s spread legs as it swung its giant fist—leaving the two unfortunate zombie hounds to occupy the spot where Zhao Qiang had just been.

Turning swiftly, Zhao Qiang fired two shots in rapid succession; the bullets flew straight into the back of the Crusher’s knee as it paused to inspect its handiwork. Without delay, Zhao Qiang crouched low and, with his left hand, swept his knife upward, slicing open the belly of a zombie hound that leaped overhead.

But something unexpected happened. The two zombie hounds, nearly flattened by the Crusher, did not die immediately; instead, they writhed and howled in agony on the ground. The remaining three zombie hounds suddenly abandoned their pursuit of Zhao Qiang and turned, hurling themselves at the Crusher.

Interesting! Zhao Qiang darted behind a pillar, observing the sudden betrayal of the zombie hounds. So, they still retained some pack instinct: seeing their companions attacked by the Crusher, the other zombie hounds ignored their human foe and revolted against the higher predator.

To ordinary people, a zombie hound’s fangs were the stuff of nightmares. But against the Crusher—impervious even to bullets—their teeth were as useless as sharp stones. The three hounds clung to the Crusher, which now could only kneel, one knee shattered by Zhao Qiang’s bullet.

Though their fangs could not harm the Crusher, how could a creature of superior rank tolerate an attack from its inferiors? The Crusher instantly became frenzied, letting out a wild roar. With its enormous hands, it seized two of the hounds biting into its flesh. With a powerful twist, it tore the heads from their bodies. Blood poured madly through its fingers, but even decapitated, the hounds’ jaws remained locked on its body.

The last hound was the unluckiest of them all. After dealing with the first two, the Crusher, now like a frenzied gorilla, pummeled the third hound with its fists. The pitiful creature didn’t even have time to howl before it was smashed into a pulp, its blood and flesh plastered across the Crusher’s massive torso.

Zhao Qiang smiled. The most troublesome zombie hounds had been dispatched so easily; the remaining two Crushers were now only a matter of time. Stepping out from behind the pillar, Zhao Qiang prepared to deal with them. The simplest way to defeat a Crusher was to shoot out its joints. Their strength was terrifying, and their regenerative abilities far surpassed ordinary humans. But if the bones of their joints were shattered, no amount of regeneration could save them; without functional joints for support, they were no more than heaps of foul meat.

In theory, this was simple. Aim for the joints, shoot, and then torment these seemingly invincible Crushers. But in reality? Faced with a Crusher charging like a runaway train, how many people could remain calm under the shadow of those ever-larger fists, carefully aiming for the tiny, constantly shifting joints?

Zhao Qiang couldn’t do so either, but he had other methods. Though the Crushers possessed some intelligence, compared to humans it was laughably simplistic. A few evasive maneuvers were all it took to enrage these brutes—sometimes, even a condescending smile would drive them mad.

It was Zhao Qiang’s mocking grin that now infuriated the Crushers. With all the troublesome zombie hounds dead at their hands, Zhao Qiang could not suppress his amusement. He had to admit: the combination of zombie hounds and Crushers was an almost perfect meat grinder—provided they didn’t turn on each other.

Both Crushers were now enraged by Zhao Qiang. The one with intact legs leapt from the doorway, its massive fist whistling through the air towards him. The other, crippled but undaunted, dragged its huge body forward using its arms.

No new tricks? Zhao Qiang snorted. Though he had little respect for the Crushers’ crude tactics, their formidable power was not to be underestimated. Nimbly dodging the leaping Crusher, Zhao Qiang took advantage of its momentary pause upon landing to fire a bullet into its elbow joint.

The enormous arm fell limp. Roaring in fury, the Crusher lunged again. It was unthinkable—this tiny human, whom it could crush with one hand, remained unscathed, while it was losing its own limbs! At the wound, the Crusher’s veins writhed like living snakes, muscle torn by bullet and bone regenerating with visible speed. Even the bone began to knit, but pitifully, the humerus fused directly to the ulna and radius, with no new joint forming.

Soon, the two Crushers stood like stone monuments, rooted to the spot, unable to move. Their vacant eyes glared in helpless rage as they let out despairing howls.

“May your souls find peace.” Zhao Qiang murmured a brief requiem, then fired, sending both Crushers back to hell.

No sooner had the gunshots faded than a figure rushed through the gate.

Zhao Qiang started, lowering his raised gun. “Master, what are you doing here?”

It was Wei Tao. Entering, he saw Zhao Qiang ending the fight and quickly took in the corpses of Crushers and zombie hounds strewn about. It wasn’t hard to deduce what kind of battle had just taken place. “Was this your doing?” Wei Tao asked coldly, though he couldn’t hide the pride in his tone.

Zhao Qiang nodded, still bewildered. “Master, why are you here?”

Wei Tao looked up. “Zhang Yongming said you were in danger. He saw you being chased by a pack of zombie hounds and Crushers and asked me to come support you.” As he spoke, he hefted the police crossbow in his hand. This crossbow had once been an ordinary cold weapon, but its bolts had been specially modified by Wei Tao, fitted with TNT high explosives—deadly against a Crusher, one shot was all it took.