Tank.
A classic monster from the game Left 4 Dead. Its hulking green form, thick with muscle, bore an uncanny resemblance to a certain comic book character known for his practically invincible trunks.
It boasted immense strength, thick hide, and massive health pools. Its combat style was brutally simple – no matter the tricks or tactics thrown its way, it relied solely on overwhelming force to bulldoze through everything.
Encountering one was a guaranteed headache for any player squad.
Though both Ross and Safi knew the Highschool of the Dead simulation contained pseudo-boss elite monsters like the Tank, they never imagined they'd hit such a colossal stroke of bad luck.
Fortunately, the dense horde ahead had bogged the Tank down, forcing it to wade through the sea of corpses like trudging through mud. For now, aside from occasionally hurling "corpse projectiles," it couldn't directly threaten them.
Luo Jie returned to the motorcycle shop with the two members of the "One-Winged Angel" squad. Hearing the commotion, Jūzawa Shizuka rushed over. Worry etched on her face, she used a towel to wipe the grime and blood from Luo Jie's cheeks. "Xiao Ye, I heard such a huge noise! What happened?"
Jūzawa Shizuka's sudden intimacy caught Luo Jie slightly off guard. This level of closeness far exceeded that of just close friends. It seemed the goodwill rewards from the previous side quest had truly allowed him to break through Jūzawa Shizuka's notorious "80-point curse."
NPC goodwill was much like real-world romance. The leap from 80 points (close friend) to 90 points (romantic affection) was incredibly difficult, but climbing from 90 (romantic affection) to 100 (true love) was surprisingly easy. Especially for NPCs like Jūzawa Shizuka, with her dependent, "little bird" personality. Completing the "confession" step would cause her affection to skyrocket to the maximum in almost no time.
Of course, this was decidedly not the moment for romance.
"Shizuka-sensei, help me," Luo Jie said, crouching by the bed. He hoisted the still-unconscious Miyamoto Rei onto his back. Jūzawa Shizuka helpfully secured Rei using a nylon rope – tying her with practiced efficiency.
"Huh? That tying method looks familiar..." Ross suddenly piped up. "Wait, Jūzawa-sensei, why did you gag Miyamoto-san?"
"Ah! Sorry, force of habit!" Shizuka tapped her head cutely, looking sheepish. "Rika always ties people up like this..."
Ross's eyes widened. He felt he'd just stumbled upon some unexpectedly... interesting... character traits.
KABOOM!
The deafening blast came from outside. A green behemoth, easily over ten feet tall, erupted through the flaming wreckage of their makeshift car-wall barricade. It roared its fury at the sky.
"Shit! Too late!" Ross yelled in panic.
"The back door!" Luo Jie shouted back.
"Are you kidding?! There is no damn back door!" Safi screamed, grabbing his hair in frustration.
Luo Jie snatched the long-handled spiked club (Kanabō) from Safi's grasp. He swung it with all his might against the shop's rear red-brick wall.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Driven by Luo Jie's double-normal strength, the heavy blows rained down on the aged bricks. A hole large enough to crawl through rapidly appeared amidst the crumbling mortar and dust.
"There is now."
Luo Jie tossed the club back to the dumbfounded Safi, his expression utterly calm. He brushed the dust from his hands, adjusted Rei on his back, and crawled through the opening first.
Behind the shop lay a quiet one-way street. The main horde drawn by the earlier explosion was still clogging the main road ahead, leaving this back alley eerily deserted. Only two ghouls, completely disoriented, mindlessly bumped against a wall.
Seeing Ross and the others scrambling out behind him, Luo Jie wasted no time. He summoned the [Avenger 100 Series Amphibious All-Terrain Vehicle] from his storage space. He carefully deposited the unconscious Rei into the rear passenger compartment and vaulted into the driver's seat.
The others piled in after him, cramming the already snug cabin to capacity.
"Go! Go! DRIVE!" Ross and Safi yelled in unison.
Luo Jie needed no urging. He'd already gunned the engine. The powerful motor roared, and the eight massive tires churned, launching the heavy vehicle forward with a lurch.
CRASH! SMASH!
The wall they'd just emerged from exploded inward in a shower of debris and dust. The massive green form of the Tank burst through, scanning its surroundings before unleashing another earth-shaking roar of pure rage.
The two unlucky ghouls bumping the wall met an instant end. The Tank seized them by their necks, one in each massive fist, and hurled them like fleshy cannonballs after the fleeing ATV.
"HOLD ON!" Luo Jie bellowed.
His 400-point Spirit stat surged, his mind calculating trajectories and impact points in a split second. He wrenched the steering wheel hard left, then right.
Tires screeched violently. Everyone inside screamed as they were thrown sideways. The ATV leaned precariously, carving a sharp S-turn across the asphalt. It missed the plummeting ghouls by mere inches.
Undeterred, the Tank charged on. It smashed through trash cans like toys, its thunderous footsteps shaking the ground even from dozens of yards away. The relentless pursuit continued.
"Damn it! Why won't this thing give up?!" Safi yelled in frustration. She leaned out, firing her [Remington M870] shotgun repeatedly at the pursuing giant. The devastating firepower that tore through normal ghouls seemed utterly useless against the Tank, absorbed without effect by its thick hide. It didn't even slow its charge.
"Yèyàn! Can't you make this damn thing go any faster?!" Safi screamed over the wind and engine noise.
Could he? Absolutely. If Luo Jie had 24,000 points right now, he could instantly upgrade the [Avenger 100], doubling its speed and leaving the green monstrosity in the dust.
Did he have 24,000 points? The answer was a resounding no.
So Safi's shout was just useless venting.
WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP!
The nimble ATV weaved and bounced, dodging obstacles as it sped down the narrow street.
Behind them, the Tank continued its grim harvest. More unfortunate ghouls were snatched up and hurled like artillery shells, crashing down perilously close to the vehicle's path. Several scraped the sides with sickening thuds.
"Yèyàn!" Safi yelled, clinging to the roll bar. "If we don't lose that thing soon, one of those things is gonna hit us dead on!"
She was out of ideas. Her only hope now lay with Luo Jie, whose strength far surpassed hers and Ross's combined.
Luo Jie hadn't been idle. He did have ways to deal with the Tank. The problem earlier had been the massive horde trailing behind it – he could handle the pseudo-boss, but not the Tank plus thousands of zombies. Now, the main horde was far behind.
It was time to swat this persistent fly.