During Su Yao and Cai Dajiang's discussion, Lu Zhang walked back to the reading area, his heart beating calmly.
He stepped on a zombie's corpse, looking at it without a change of expression, before he realized.
This was the very same zombie he had killed at the very beginning.
ㅤ
"Did you choose this spot on purpose?" Lu Zhang asked. The mutant zombie growled as it realized his presence, turning it's large body towards him with effort.
Lu Zhang whistled, "Did you get even fatter?"
The Blob growled again, and the meat on its body began undulating in waves, bouncing up and down. It roared as a chain of arms was spewed from its mouth, cutting off it's own roar as it sped towards an unmoving Lu Zhang.
He looked at the biological chain moving towards his head, barely swaying his torso as he let it slide past his cheek. He raised his hand, placing it on one of the rotting, yet surprisingly durable arms that made up the chain.
ㅤ
[Empty Fang]
ㅤ
The chain shattered, a line of black blood erupting as Lu Zhang dashed forward, dragging the energy projection of the fang through the entire chain, splitting the arms in half, the sudden strike culminating in an uppercut that sliced through the zombie's fat stomach briefly.
More flesh rushed to fill in what was carved out, the zombie roaring as it rolled around trying to catch Lu Zhang, to no avail.
A shadow flit by the corner of it's eye. The Blob turned to catch a glimpse, moments before its entire right eye was gouged right out of it's reinforced head.
Lu Zhang looked at the eye he had torn out, standing on the zombie's shoulders as he proceeded to crush it.
"You are... painfully mediocre?" He seemed confused. "I didn't even level up that much. So why-"
The zombie tried to bite one of the feet Lu Zhang had placed near its head.
"-are you disappointing me like this?" Lu Zhang kicked it's head back.
ㅤ
The zombie gurgled something incoherent, before it's body began undulating again.
Suddenly, Lu Zhang's feet sank into the Blob's shoulders! Anchored within the mountain of flesh, he couldn't dodge the next move as the zombie opened it's mouth wide open, another arm crawling upwards within it's maw.
ㅤ
"It isn't here anymore."
[EmptyFang]
One of Lu Zhang's feet was suddenly bathed in the pale blue glow of the Fang manifesting into reality, tearing through the undead's flesh with a wet squelch.
Lu Zhang used the Fang-clad foot as he tore a gaping hole through the Blob's chest to it's jaw. Even the zombie's reinforced head snapped back, it's jaw shorn in half down the middle.
"Grahh-"
Lu Zhang used his remaining anchored foot within the zombie's right shoulder as he fell backward.
[Empty Fang] buzzed into reality as it tore the zombie's right arm off entirely, Lu Zhang ripping his foot out as he performed a handstand and leapt away.
ㅤ
"I suppose this isn't a bad feeling either though~" He teased as he sat on a library chair.
Lu Zhang grabbed the book he had been reading before this apocalypse began, and threw it at the zombie's face, it's hard cover providing a deep thud as it collided against it's skull.
The Blob roared again, as it released a lightning fast chain of arms from it's mouth towards the seated Lu Zhang, who simply spun out of the way as the arm lodged itself into the floor.
An Empty Fang infused kick shattered the chain again, as Lu Zhang blurred forward.
The blob swung it's large arm, aiming to swat him into meat paste with it's size.
ㅤ
'Too slow~'
Lu Zhang slid underneath the arm, barely missing it by a few centimetres as he skid to a stop right under the zombie.
He braced his arms to the ground, springing upwards with a kick as a Fang shimmered into being around his lead foot, slicing through the zombie's fat stomach and scratching it's reinforced head as it screamed.
ㅤ
"I don't want to play with you anymore." Lu Zhang leapt back onto his feet as the giant zombie staggered backwards, it's belly bisected down the middle as organs and limbs poured out, arms and legs which had no purpose inside a body.
Deep within the confines of it's flesh, a dark heart was visible, pumping madly as it tried to knit the zombie's flesh together to hide once again.
Without a second of hesitation, Lu Zhang leapt forward, stabbing forward with his hand coated in an Empty Fang.
The Fang pulsed in its blue glow, as the destroyed heart tried to beat again in vain.
ㅤ
The zombie let out a groan as it collapsed backwards, shuddering weakly as it's remaining arm pawed helplessly towards Lu Zhang.
Lu Zhang let the Empty Fang fade away, as he started leaving the zombie's corpse behind, not interested in the rotting pile of meat any longer.
ㅤ
Thump.
'Hmm. There's no death message yet...'
Thump!
'Tsk, it's probably a second phase...'
THUMP!
The final heartbeat was so loud, Lu Zhang could hear it even as far as he was.
ㅤ
And when he looked back, he saw the Blob rise again. Or rather, a smaller zombie arose from within its steaming corpse.
It looked human in every way, except if a human had been dipped in acid briefly, it's skin strangely reflective. There was a hollow where it's heart should have been.
ㅤ
[A Lord prospect has begun to awaken]
ㅤ
The new zombie created from the Blob took a hesitant step towards Lu Zhang.
"D-"
It collapsed, dead.
ㅤ
ㅤ
[Ding!]
[Level 5 Blob (Lord Prospect) killed!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
'Lord Prospect?' Lu Zhang wondered as he walked over to the rapidly decaying corpse of the smaller zombie.
His eyes were drawn to the empty space where it's heart should have been, and then back at the Blob's corpse, where he had destroyed the black heart.
ㅤ
'Just to be safe...'
Lu Zhang used the Empty Fang to stab the heart multiple times, crushing it into paste and smearing it around. He did the same to the 'new' zombie- as well as the Blob's- heads.
He was rewarded for his efforts by a familiar sight. A crystal embedded in the Blob's head clattered to the floor after it's reinforced head was cracked open, it's light pink hue shimmering against the dark blood covering it.
'?'
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[Name: Lu Zhang]
[Level: 6]
[Strength: 8-> 14]
[Speed: 22-> 28 ]
[Intelligence: 10-> 16]
[Endurance: 9-> 15]
[Stat Points: 10]
[Mana: 160/160]
[Skills: Inspect lv 3, Empty Fang Lv 5]