"Guess it couldn't be too easy," Jay muttered, crouching next to the corpse.
It was all dry and brittle. He could probably snap it apart with a little force.
"How did he turn into a mummy?" Angela asked, eyes wide with a mix of horror and fascination.
That was a question none could answer.
"Whatever did this is strong. There was no fight at all." Jay traced the desiccated neck. Five finger-shaped marks curled around it, ending in five puncture wounds. There were no signs of damage anywhere else on the corpse's body.
"It won't have it easy if it faces us." Lexie checked her gear once again, her face turning into a cold mask of focus.
"Let's go." He stood up and moved forward, accompanied by the low hum of still-working machinery. On the way to the storage area, they passed more corpses, dried out in the same brutal fashion. But the culprit was still nowhere to be seen, and there were no zombies in sight.
The storage zone was a grid of tall, metal shelving units dividing the space into tight aisles. They got to work in silence. With Angela's guidance, everything went smoothly, and their bags were soon filled with more than enough to take care of Alex.
"Nice haul. Now we just need the blood," Lexie said, visibly relieved.
Angela nodded and led them on. They reached the blood bank soon after—only to find it wrecked. Shattered machines and more husks.
What stopped them, however, was the figure standing in the middle of it all. Her back turned, head bowed, tangled red hair matted with blood, a shredded lab coat clinging to her shaking frame.
Then she turned.
The face that met them was striking, stunningly beautiful. Unnaturally flawless. Her ruby-red eyes shimmered with fear and desperation.
"Carolina?" Angela called, instinctively moving towards her.
Their blood ran hot. Pity rose, a subtle pull, urging them to help her.
Jay snapped his arm in front of her. "What did I say?"
"But it is one of my interns. We have to help her…" she insisted trying to force her way past him.
Carolina raised her hand and walked hesitantly towards them. For a moment, even Jay felt that she was just another panicked survivor.
"She's dangerous." Jay's voice dropped, cold and certain. The urge to go forward and help the girl was too unreasonable.
Besides, the overwhelming stench of blood surrounding her was just too much. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't simple. And it sure as hell wasn't human.
Lexie was already moving, setting her bag down, eyes narrowed. "Angela, go. Now."
Angela hesitated—but something in her instincts finally screamed loud enough. She backed away and left the room without a word.
The creature's expression shifted. It dropped the act, and a bloody grin stretched across its face.
"Who were you trying to fool?" Jay took a stance and bolted toward it.
His blade cut deep, but something was wrong. The creature didn't move to block. It didn't even flinch.
Instead, the blade sank in like he was cutting through water, not flesh. Blood spurted. It didn't gush out but bloomed in a controlled way. Then, like it had a will of its own, it accelerated and sprayed towards him.
He twisted away, but several droplets still hit his cheeks and his forearms.
The effect was immediate. White smoke hissed from his skin as if acid had touched him.
Jay cursed and leapt back.
Without hesitation, Lexie fired. Her shot cracked the silence, and the bullet hit dead center in the creature's forehead.
Its head jerked upward with the impact, and it staggered back. But it didn't fall.
A moment later, the creature snapped its head forward, its grin widening unnaturally.
Then, under Lexie and Jay's stunned gaze, the bullet fell from its forehead with a soft clink. The gash in its skull sealed shut, followed by the wound Jay had left with his blade. Its skin knitted perfectly, as if nothing had happened.
"Resistance to physical damage. High-speed regeneration. Corrosive blood. Blood manipulation." Jay exhaled slowly, eyes flicking to his scorched arm and the pitted edge of his weapon. "Just that."
"This is going to suck," Lexie muttered.
Without warning, the creature's hands twisted, morphing into claws, each finger like a curved crimson blade glinting under the flickering lights.
With a feral screech, it lunged at Jay.
He met it without flinching. Their blades clashed, sparks flying. Then Jay drove a knee into its gut and kicked it back. While it staggered, he moved in fast, cleaving through its arm in a clean arc.
Got you. He watched the limb fly.
But the creature wasn't done. Blood surged from its stump like grasping tendrils, snatching the severed limb midair and reattaching it in seconds.
"Tch."
Still, Jay didn't let up. He charged again, blade flashing in a relentless flurry. Every slash landed. Every counter from the creature was crushed before it could start. He gave it no room to breathe.
The creature was tough, but Jay was more skilled.
And yet, it wasn't enough. Each cut, each devastating blow… gone. Repaired in an instant.
And worse…
Poisoned. His knees buckled slightly. He gritted his teeth, wiped blood from his lips, and steadied his stance. The world tilted for a second, and he had to do his best to fight off the nausea assaulting him.
Helpless, he had to split his attention for a second to check his event log.
{Fehl (Lv. 9) has poisoned you. Constitution and Mystery check passed. You have resisted.}
{Fehl (Lv. 9) has poisoned you. Constitution and Mystery check passed. You have resisted.}
...
{Fehl (Lv. 9) has poisoned you. Constitution check passed. Mystery check failed. You have resisted.}
{Status Effect – Poisoned: You will lose 1 HP per second for the next 2 seconds.}
{Fehl (Lv. 9) has poisoned you. Constitution check passed. Mystery check failed. You have resisted.}
{Status Effect – Poisoned: You will lose 2 HP per second for the next 5 seconds.}
Shit. It is stacking.
"Jay, let's pull out," Lexie said sharply. "This fight isn't worth it."
She was right. The blood bank was trashed. Whatever they came for, it was likely gone. Green Hunter was falling apart. The XP alone wasn't worth the risk. Worse, he couldn't damage the Fehl meaningfully, and if it came down to endurance… he'd lose. Still, something inside him was unwilling to give up.
"Okay," he muttered.
Lexie was already slinging her pack over her shoulder. But the Fehl had no plans to let them walk away.
With a shriek, it lunged for Jay again.
This time, what met it wasn't a blade. It was the cold muzzle of Jay's Ripper.
BANG. The shotgun roared. The blast tore into the creature, blasting it backward.
BANG. Another shot. Dozens of pellets shredded flesh. The Fehl crashed against a wall.
For a moment, Jay's eyes lit up. Maybe they could push it to its limits.
But then the Fehl let out a shriek that rattled the walls and spiked in his skull. His knees buckled.
The creature's body exploded outward, skin and bones liquefying, ballooning into a massive boiling mass of red sludge.
"Shit!" Jay slung his bag on and sprinted for the door without any more thoughts.
Lexie's voice cut through the chaos. "Jay, it's bad!"
"What…" He burst through the doorway and stopped cold.
From the far end of the hall, dozens of naked, corpse-pale figures staggered toward them, emerging from the morgue. Their skin shimmered faintly, frost hanging in the air around them like fog.
His stomach dropped.
They wouldn't make it back to the stairs in time. And with the Fehl morphing behind them into something even worse, fighting whatever those icy newcomers were would be suicide.
"The central supply," he barked and continued without stopping. Luckily, they reacted in time and reached the supply door first. They bolted in, and Lexie slammed it shut behind them just as the first frozen corpse hit it.
"It won't hold long," she cursed. The metal groaned under each relentless blow.
"We're not staying holed up anyway," Jay muttered, leaning back against the wall, catching his breath.
Angela stared at the denting door, pale. "What are those things?"
"Trouble," Jay said flatly. "As if a world full of mindless undead wasn't bad enough. Now we've got corpses rising again."
Worse, he couldn't shake the feeling that the Fehl had lured them. Those frozen corpses hadn't shown up by chance. The timing was too coincidental.
He coughed hard in his hand.
Lexie caught his shoulder. "Jay?"
Angela too looked at him, worried.
"I'm fine," he said, blood smeared across his palm. "It was the poison. I resisted most of it… but it still did some damage."
Angela shot him a sharp glare but said nothing and walked into the shelves, hunting for supplies.
Lexie's eyes lingered on him. "You sure you're good?"
"Yeah. Just some HP loss," Jay nodded, wiping his mouth. Then he paused. "Is it just me… or is it getting cold?"
"I don't feel anything."
"Huh." He exhaled slowly, watching the puff of vapor. "It started when those things showed up."
"I've got ice affinity. That could be why I don't feel a thing," Lexie said thoughtfully.
"Oh! Suppose affinity would work that way," Jay sighed, growing more curious about his spirit affinity and the magical side of the system. "Think about it; that's the fourth time we've seen creatures using supernatural abilities."
"Yeah, it's getting weirder by the minute." Lexie sighed. Their means were slowly falling to keep up.
Angela returned, arms full of medical supplies. She knelt beside him.
"There's no ne…" Jay started. Her glare shut him up immediately.
Lexie chuckled as he sighed in defeat and let Angela get to work.
"So, any idea how we deal with those things?" Lexie asked.
"Yeah. The Fehl just needs to be hit with overwhelming damage. If it wasn't for the poison and corrosive blood, it'd be manageable."
"But we don't have time to play whack-a-mole with something that heals every hit."
"Exactly," Jay nodded. "Especially now that it turned into that slime form… I'm betting it has a core. If we find it and break it, it's game over."
Angela spoke up, "What if you expose it to liquid nitrogen? I doubt that regeneration will work if we turn it into a block of ice."
Jay's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea."
Their enemies had magic and bizarre biology, but humans had tools. No need to fight like cavemen and give up their biggest advantage.
Lexie raised a brow. "Wouldn't that help our frozen friends outside too?"
Jay smirked. "Don't worry. We'll deal with them first."
He stood up, a wild grin spreading. "This time, we're going in hot."
"All right. Let's freeze that bitch."