His eyes locked on the grotesque head of the Meatball, the swollen fatty tissue hiding the brain, pulsing grotesquely with each weak breath. Sid dodged forward, stepping lightly, letting the creature overreach and slam its bulk against the floor.
"Come on… come on… not today, buddy. You're going out like a big, dumb balloon!"
He darted under a sagging shelf, using it as cover. The creature swung its tiny limbs, clumsily but with the weight of its grotesque body behind it. Sid sidestepped carefully [A], then [D] dodging just in time. With a deep breath, he sprinted forward [Shift + WASD] with the knife in his right hand.
Timing it perfectly, he plunged the blade [Right Mouse Button] deep into the soft, fatty head. There was a wet, squelching sound, then silence as the knife reached its target, piercing through to the brain. The Meatball twitched, spasmed, and collapsed in a horrific heap.
Sid let out a long, shaky breath, dropping the flashlight for a moment to brush sweat off his brow.
"Yes… finally."
He wiped his hands on his jacket, eyes scanning the aisles, and then froze. From the shadows behind him, another shape lurked… another Meatball, but this one could stand. Its bloated form swayed as it balanced on surprisingly strong legs, and before Sid could react, a thick arm clamped down on his shoulder.
"Q… hold Q! Come on, come on, don't kill me yet!"
He muttered through gritted teeth, kicking out and twisting until the massive grip released him. Sid [Ctrl + Space Bar] and rolled to the side, landing on his knees but keeping his knife ready.
The second Meatball moved faster than the first, limping but with unnerving speed, swinging its mass toward him. Sid gritted his teeth, feeling a rush of adrenaline.
"Okay… smart. Smart, Sid. Don't panic. Use your head, use your tools… don't get killed by a walking meatball."
Sid backed up, letting the second Meatball swing its grotesque weight toward him. Unlike the first one, this creature seemed to understand its own bulk, leaning into momentum, using its bloated body like a battering ram.
"Oh… oh no, you learned some tricks! Great. Super smart walking apocalypse buffet. Fantastic."
His eyes darted around, noticing broken cans, toppled shelves, and stray objects littering the aisle. With [Combat Vision] active, glowing keys appeared over potential tools: a dented can of beans, a half-crushed soda bottle, and a jagged piece of shelf wood.
"Alright… Sid, think. You're not just a knife-wielder here. You're the master of improvised murder. If you touch that stomach, it's game over. But hey… objects are your friends. Look at these… oh yeah, yeah, you see what I see?"
He snatched the dented can with [E] and launched it with precision [Left Mouse Button while Aiming]. The can flew across the aisle, bouncing off the Meatball's bloated shoulder, sending it flailing sideways.
"Yes! Yes! Eat that, you oversized snack pack!"
Sid didn't wait. Sprinting forward [Shift + W], he dodged a swinging arm [A + D], crouched under the arch of a broken shelf [Ctrl], and circled the creature like a predator studying prey.
"Come on… come on… don't get greedy. Timing… precision… one shot. Remember the first Meatball. Slow, calculated, legendary rank."
Another can tumbled from a top shelf. Sid grabbed it mid-roll [Hold E] and shoved it with all his weight [W + Left Mouse Click] straight into the zombie's face. It staggered, distracted, chowing down on the junk object, gurgling in frustration.
"Perfect… perfect. That's your snack now. You want food? Here's food!"
Sid's eyes glinted, following the glowing key over the Meatball's head, indicating the strike point.
"Okay… knife. Big swing. Head only. Nothing else. Don't pop the belly."
He lunged forward [Shift + W], knife poised in his right hand, dodging another flailing hand with [Ctrl + Space Bar]. His right knee wobbled slightly on the landing—he'd misjudged the angle but he forced it to bend, gritting his teeth.
"Arggh, sh*t!"
With a precise arc [Right Mouse Button], he drove the blade into the creature's temple, piercing through the fatty layer straight to the brain.
The Meatball spasmed violently, gurgling as its bloated body wobbled like gelatin. Sid rolled back [Ctrl + Space Bar], almost faltering as the pain shot through his knee, but he caught himself just in time, landing lightly on his feet.
"Yes… holy hell. Legendary rank moves saves the day… again. One wrong touch and that belly would have ruined everything. But precision… precision wins. Always precision. But dammit, my knee…"
He wiped sweat from his brow, breathing hard, flashlight shaking in his free hand. His knee throbbed, a sharp, searing reminder that his body wasn't invincible. Sid shook it off, scanning the aisles for more threats, grinning despite the pain.
"Man… you think grocery shopping in apocalypse is boring? Nope. Not when you're dancing with Meatballs and rolling through the undead buffet. Gotta love RNGesus for giving me brains and reflexes today."
After he collected his knife and stepped carefully forward to loot the remaining sections, a jolt of sharp pain hit his knee, forcing him to stumble slightly. He cursed under his breath, rubbing it, knowing this battle had just left him limping more than usual.
"Ugh… okay, gotta keep it together. Can't let a busted knee slow me down now. Focus… just one step at a time."
Sid's eyes tracked the gruesome trail of slime and fluids that the fallen Meatball had left across the floor. The slick, sticky line snaked toward a distant section of the store, leading him almost instinctively to what looked like a storage area.
"Ugh… seriously? You leave a mess even in death?"
As he limped carefully, flashlight in one hand and knife in the other, he noticed a bright, white outline sparkling faintly at the end of the aisle. His heart gave a small jump. The glowing outline formed the unmistakable shape of a bottle.
He sprinted forward as much as his aching knee would allow, dodging toppled shelves and scattered cans. At the far end, a full rack of sealed water bottles gleamed under the flashlight beam.
"Finally… water. Blessed, blessed water!"