僵尸觉醒：从行尸走肉到传奇

Chapter 4: The Mercenary Squad

Three days later...

A young man was cautiously walking along the street, holding a sharp knife in his hand. From time to time, he would twirl it unconsciously in a series of familiar moves. This was our protagonist, Nathan Yang!

During the past few days, Nathan had found some useful items, such as a map and the knife he now wielded. He had also killed several zombies, bringing his total points to 9, though the exchange system still remained locked.

At this moment, Nathan's brow was tightly furrowed. Over the past few days, he had fought zombies, rapidly mastering various gun techniques, knife techniques, as well as footwork and body movements. But... as the days passed, the number of zombies had been decreasing!

Today, as he scanned the entire street, he didn't see a single zombie! The scene was bizarre—those wandering zombies that once roamed like lost souls had vanished!

Even though he couldn't see any zombies, Nathan still moved carefully, trying to avoid detection. His destination was a supermarket. According to the city map, this mid-sized supermarket was the closest one to the house where he had crossed over. Although he had found some canned food in the house to stave off hunger, it had run out. Nathan had no choice but to risk a trip to the supermarket. But, just as he had observed from the second floor of the house over the past few days, the number of zombies had dwindled, and now, none were in sight. While Nathan was relieved, he was also deeply puzzled—there had been so many zombies in the city! The night when the entire city erupted in roars was proof enough of that!

Suddenly, Nathan froze, standing perfectly still. He felt a burning sensation at the back of his head. Slowly, he raised both hands. The knife in his hand, gleaming in the sunlight, was gradually raised, before he opened his fingers and let it drop to the ground with a crisp sound.

From a distance, behind the scope of a sniper rifle, a cold pair of eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of surprise flashing through them. The heavy Barrett sniper rifle remained locked onto Nathan's head.

"Boss!" Jessica suddenly spoke. "It's a human!"

"Huh?" The leader, Lion, raised an eyebrow. A lone human dared to walk so openly down the street? And where had all the zombies gone?

...

The burning sensation at the back of Nathan's head faded. He let out a sigh of relief, picked up the fallen knife, and discreetly patted the Five-Seven pistol tucked into the back of his waistband. In the distance, three cars were speeding toward him...

The cars slowed to a stop, and the doors opened. A young mercenary jumped out, mockingly saying, "Hey! Enjoying some sunshine? How's it feel?"

Nathan didn't respond, his heart racing. These were the first humans he had encountered since crossing over!

"Hey! Kid! I'm talking to you! You scared stiff by what I'm holding?" Hound waved his M4A1 with a taunting smirk, which Nathan found irritating.

"Maybe," Nathan shrugged, glancing at the well-equipped mercenary before him and rolling his eyes slightly.

"Hello! I'm the leader of this mercenary squad, codename Lion. Looks like you haven't been doing too well," Lion said, smiling as he noticed Nathan's blood-stained white vest.

"Yeah, well, staying alive is what matters. The human survival instinct is pretty strong," Nathan replied casually, sizing up the mercenaries. His gaze suddenly locked onto something that caught his eye—a sniper rifle, and perhaps the source of the burning sensation he had felt earlier.

Following the arm holding the rifle, Nathan's gaze traveled upward to a cold but stunning face. A beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair and icy blue eyes was holding the weapon. Tall and curvy, she was strikingly attractive.

After a couple of seconds, Nathan shifted his focus back to the gleaming silver Barrett sniper rifle in her hands!

"Hey! Kid! Watch where you're looking, or I'll make sure your eyes stay in line!" Hound snapped angrily as he saw Nathan staring at Jessica.

Nathan paid him no mind. He was too focused on the Barrett in Jessica's hands! This was his favorite sniper rifle from the game—Barrett! Nathan had once called it "the cannon" in his previous life, because the heavy sniper's destructive power was simply astonishing!

"Barrett M95, uses five .50 caliber rounds, bolt-action with single-shot firing, ensuring unrivaled accuracy. The long recoil system effectively reduces the kickback, allowing the full destructive power of the .50 caliber rounds to be unleashed..." Nathan mumbled, reciting the information from the electronic interface in his mind as he gazed at the sleek, gleaming sniper rifle. He couldn't help but whisper excitedly, "My god... what a beauty... I just want to hold you..."

"Shut your filthy mouth, punk!" Enraged, Hound stepped forward, reaching out to grab Nathan.

"Hound! Stand down! He wasn't talking about Python!" Lion stepped in quickly, easily catching Hound's outstretched hand.

"Boss! Didn't you hear him flirting with Jessica?" Hound protested, his eyes dark with malice.

"He was talking about the gun," Lion replied with a frown. Hound had always been the most problematic member of the squad, often clashing with the others, both because of his overbearing personality and his arrogant attitude.

"Is that true, Jess?" Hound turned to Jessica, hoping she would say otherwise, giving him a reason to punish Nathan.

But he found that Python, Jessica, was curiously watching Nathan, completely ignoring the confrontation. For the first time, her eternally cold, indifferent eyes showed a flicker of interest. This only fueled Hound's resentment toward Nathan.

Jessica had heard Nathan murmuring detailed information about the Barrett M95 in her hands. She didn't understand how this man could be so familiar with her sniper rifle!

Yet, this wasn't what caused Jessica's frosty demeanor to shift. The real reason was... when Hound had moved to strike Nathan, everyone's attention had been on the conflict between Lion and Hound. However, Jessica, who had been silently observing Nathan, had noticed something in that fleeting moment...

When Hound swung his arm, Nathan's left hand deftly twirled the knife into a reverse grip, his body tensing ever so slightly. In that brief second, a subtle but unmistakable killing intent radiated from Nathan. Just as quickly, Lion had stopped Hound, and Nathan's grip on the knife relaxed. His body returned to its normal posture, as if nothing had happened.

Recalling that this man had been able to sense her killing intent from so far away, and his lightning-fast reaction just now, Jessica instinctively narrowed her blue eyes, her mind racing with thoughts.

In fact, it wasn't just Python, Jessica, who noticed this. Another member of the squad had seen it too. A quiet, unassuming man with an average build, but piercing eyes like a tiger. When he sensed Nathan's brief killing intent and saw him grip the knife in reverse, the man—codenamed Snow Leopard—had instinctively gripped his own rifle stock.

Although Hound was disliked by most of the squad, they were still teammates.

As Nathan returned to his casual demeanor, Snow Leopard didn't relax his hold on his rifle, and a tense, eerie atmosphere began to spread among the group...