There's no retreat

"What on earth is this?" Anthony's pupils suddenly contracted, and he quickly pulled back, muttering to himself, "Eye of Data, activate!"

"Beyond scanning range, unable to activate." A line of text suddenly appeared within his field of vision.

"Unable to scan?" Anthony was shocked again but quickly realized. The Eye of Data's scanning range was limited to second-order and lower anomaly data. This particular anomaly couldn't be scanned, likely a second-order or higher anomaly.

Anthony even speculated that the recent commotion on YangHe Street might be related to this zombie. In any case, he needed to observe first.

But in the next moment, the zombie suddenly opened its eyes and looked in Anthony's direction, startling him into pulling back. Had he been noticed?

Anthony's heart raced nervously. He pressed tightly against the rooftop, not daring to make a sound. After a few minutes passed with no movement, he cautiously peered out, raising his eyes and meeting another pair of eyes staring right at him.

"Human," the enormous zombie grinned, sniffed the air deeply, and suddenly its expression changed, turning agitated. "Human... it's you." As it spoke, its eyes turned bloodshot and fixed on Anthony, muttering, "Can't be wrong, this scent can't be wrong, it's him, he killed An'an." With that, it pointed toward the rooftop and roared, "Capture this human!"

Roaring, the five first-order Reapers surrounding the giant zombie charged forward, and the three first-order Smashers beside them leaped as well.

"Damn it!" Anthony saw several first-order zombies coming at him and quickly drew his blade. He hadn't expected the first-order Executioner he had killed to have a connection to this massive zombie.

With that thought, a first-order Reaper was already upon him, its massive scythe swinging swiftly toward him. Anthony's gaze sharpened, and he gripped his Tang knife, slashing it through the air.

Boom! In an instant, a scythe struck the school cafeteria's roof, creating a large dent. While the first-order Reaper screamed in pain, Anthony's wrist turned, and the Tang knife cut through the air, tracing a horizontal U-shaped arc, aimed straight at the first-order Reaper's head. The head flew up, and the first-order Reaper crashed onto the roof, then rolled off the eaves toward the ground. Another two first-order Reapers attacked from behind.

Without turning his head, Anthony kicked off the ground, somersaulting over the two first-order Reapers while wielding his Tang knife in a horizontal slash. Two eight-petal mouths flew into the air. Boom! Just like the previous first-order Reaper, they tumbled down from the cafeteria roof.

"Human!" The giant zombie stared directly at Anthony, its teeth grinding audibly. It hadn't expected that in just a brief encounter, this human had dealt with three of its subordinates. With a roar, the remaining five first-order mutants immediately halted their attack and began to retreat.

Seeing the opening, Anthony didn't hesitate. He didn't even bother to retrieve the zombie crystal. He tapped his toes and leaped over the back gate of Yanghe School, heading toward the Yanghe River embankment behind the high school section.

Verna, Dash, and the others were still near the Yanghe residential area. If he ran back to the base, Dash might be able to escape, but Verna and Cheryl would be in danger. He had to shake off this monster. With his Agility attribute of 20.6...

In the blink of an eye, Anthony reached the back entrance of Yanghe School. Just as he was about to leap out, a voice rang in his ears, "Human, where do you think you're going?"

Anthony's pupils contracted, and he instinctively rolled to the ground. Bang! A tremendous force swept past him. When he looked up again, the three-meter-high, four-meter-wide iron gate of the school had been flung outward.

"If that had hit me, even with a Level 1 Venom Armor, I'd probably be dead!" Anthony thought involuntarily. Determination surged within him, and without hesitation, he shouted, "Zero, come out, stop the guy in front of us!"

"Yes, Master!" The mechanical voice echoed.

The metallic bracelet on Anthony's wrist quickly fell away, forming into a humanoid shape that lunged at the giant zombie.

"What's this?" The giant zombie looked puzzled as the strange creature approached. What was this silver figure, devoid of any sign of life? Before it could comprehend, Zero was already upon it, forming a spear-like arm and thrusting it straight toward the giant zombie's chest.

"Foolish thing!" The giant zombie sneered at Zero's attack, swiftly grabbing the incoming spear with its arm and yanking forcefully. Zero was immediately pulled towards the giant zombie, and the situation seemed dire.

Anthony darted towards the embankment. This wasn't the place for a battle. He needed to lead the monster away from the YangHe residential area as far as possible.

"Trying to escape?" Seeing the human fleeing, the giant zombie lifted its hand and firmly gripped Zero's waist. It then lunged after Anthony. Ten seconds later, both man and corpse had reached beneath the YangHe Bridge.

Anthony halted abruptly, pivoting 180 degrees with the help of his toes. In an instant, he retrieved a doomsday bomb and hurled it toward the giant zombie.

"What's this again?" The giant zombie caught the bomb and inspected it with curiosity. In the next moment, a boom! A fireball erupted in its palm, and the resulting explosion pushed the giant zombie back several steps.

As the fireball dissipated, the giant zombie looked at its charred hand, its expression turning fierce.

"Cunning human!" It muttered under its breath, then lifted the transformed Zero in one hand and held onto one of Zero's legs with the other.

With a mighty roar, the zombie exerted force with its powerful arms, tearing Zero into two pieces at the waist. But it didn't seem satisfied; it grabbed the torn halves of Zero and pulled again.

Finally, the shredded pieces of Zero were hurled toward the nearby YangHe River. A splash followed, and the fragments immediately sank. Hidden from view in the river's depths, a massive mouth gulped down the pieces.

"What a terrifying creature." Zero had been torn into pieces.

Witnessing this scene, Anthony's heart sank. He flipped his wrist, summoning a Level 1 Doomsday Submachine Gun, and without hesitation, he squeezed the trigger. Bang! Bang! The tongue of fire spat out, bullets propelled by gunpowder exploded towards the giant zombie.

Plomp! With the rapid barrage, the bullets unmistakably penetrated the giant zombie's body, leaving finger-sized holes. However, upon closer inspection, the bullets merely pierced the surface, causing minimal harm to the giant zombie.

Five seconds later, all twenty bullets had been expended. Seeing that the giant zombie was only slightly injured, Anthony grimly stowed the submachine gun back into his spatial ring. He then raised his Tang knife steadily, assuming a combat stance. There was no escape now. His firearms were depleted, and his only chance was to fight with all his might for a slim chance at survival.