Others boasted about racing in sports cars.
What was the thrill in that?
Real men raced in heavy trucks.
Lucas Kane's wild maneuver instantly drew the attention of survivors watching from windows and rooftops. The sight of that massive armored truck had already left a deep impression on them in previous days.
"Holy crap! Look! The zombie meat grinder is back on the streets!"
"Unbelievable—he's cutting down the undead like they're stalks of wheat. Watching this is better than any upgrade!"
"Wait… why are the cars on the road suddenly cleared to the sides? Did someone actually move them?"
"Move a car? Are you kidding me? A small car weighs at least 1.6 tons. Whoever thinks they can lift that should be competing in the Olympics!"
"The Olympic record is just 183 kilos, not even close to a car's weight…"
Speculation spread through the survivor chat channel.
"But where's he heading now? Looks like all the zombies nearby are already slaughtered."
"Damn, has he turned zombies into an endangered species around here?"
"My apartment building still has a dozen downstairs. Big boss, please come clear them!"
"Stop joking. A dozen zombies are nothing for him—he only bothers with hundreds at a time!"
"Wait—look at his direction. Is he heading for Sunhaven University?"
The chat exploded.
"What? Sunhaven University?!"
"What's wrong with that place?" asked survivors farther away who didn't know.
A flood of photos appeared on the channel. The pictures showed streets choked with the undead, hordes of twisted mutants weaving among them. It was like a festival of monsters—an endless, surging sea of horror.
"God… that density… my skin is crawling just looking at it."
"Suddenly, the ten zombies downstairs don't feel like a big deal anymore. Am I losing perspective here?"
"No way even that truck survives in there. If it stalls in that swarm, he's dead for sure!"
"Why not go somewhere else? There are zombies everywhere—why charge into that?"
"What a waste of resources. If he dies in there, we won't even have a chance to scavenge his loot!"
Survivors near the university turned on their live feeds. On-screen, the heavy truck barreled down the street like a thunderbolt, heading straight for the South Gate of Sunhaven University.
"It's going to crash through!"
"He's insane!"
The tension was palpable. As the distance closed, hearts clenched.
BOOM!
The steel-barred perimeter gate crumpled like paper beneath the wheels. In the next heartbeat, the truck smashed into thousands of zombies crowding beyond.
The machine roared forward, carving a bloody path through the tide.
"Unbelievable! Look at that force—like a scene straight from a blockbuster movie!"
"But… wait. Something's different from yesterday."
Yesterday, when the truck plowed through the streets, Lucas had time to smash through, turn, and cut back. The zombies couldn't keep up with its speed, so he always had room to maneuver.
But this time, it was different. The bloody trail he carved was instantly swallowed by the horde flooding in from every side. The sheer numbers dwarfed any losses.
RUMBLE!
Black smoke spewed from the exhaust, the massive body pressing forward with relentless momentum. Instead of turning back, the truck thundered deeper, straight into the campus.
"Is he crazy? There are nearly a thousand at the gate alone—wasn't that enough?!"
"He's heading toward the Campus Field… isn't that where the monsters are?!"
Doubt and dread filled the chat, but the truck didn't slow. The roar of its engine only grew louder, pressing forward with brute force.
Inside, Lucas's face remained expressionless. He flipped on the wipers, clearing the windshield of gore and blood as zombies splattered against the reinforced frame.
Almost there. Just a little closer.
He yanked the wheel. The truck's massive frame skidded in a terrifying drift, slamming sideways into the armored mech standing at the edge of the Campus Field. Tires screamed. Dozens of zombies were hurled skyward, their skulls bursting like melons against the pavement.
For a split second, an empty zone opened beside the cab door.
Now!
Lucas shoved open the door, leapt out, and brushed his hand across the mech's steel plating.
In the blink of an eye, the colossal armored machine vanished—absorbed into his storage space.
It worked! His heart surged. The system had recognized the mech as a vehicle. With the truck outside, its slot was freed, just enough to store the armored unit.
Mission accomplished. Time to retreat.
His boots touched the ground only for a heartbeat before he sprang back into the driver's seat. The door slammed shut as pale, bloodstained hands clawed at the truck.
Lucas floored the accelerator. The heavy truck drew a wide arc across the Campus Field, then tore back through the horde toward freedom.
And then—silence.
The survivor chat froze. Three… four whole seconds passed with no one typing.
"What… what did I just see? Was I hallucinating?"
"I swear I saw him fire an energy blast from his hand—it punched clean through a mutant zombie!"
"Are you kidding me?! Like some kind of anime energy wave?!"
"One slash for each mutant, a palm strike firing blasts—he butchered them like nothing!"
"When we see a mutant, we run for our lives. He cuts them down like they're nothing!"
"What level is he already? Don't tell me he's reached Awakened in just four days?!"
"This is insane—we all started from the same line. How did he get this far ahead?!"
There was no doubt left.
"This man… he's the strongest survivor in the world. No one else even comes close!"
Amid the awe and disbelief, one faint voice piped up:
"…Did anyone else notice how damn handsome he looked while fighting?"
"Big boss, let me join your camp! Please take me in!"