The Journey of Resident Evil

“Are we going to die here? It’s almost…” Ye Xiang wailed as he watched the approaching horde of zombies. Shen Wei was clutching her shotgun, her whole body trembling. Ye Ling was tirelessly trying to restart the car’s engine, while Xueqi had already taken down two of the leading zombies with her bare hands. Liu Yonglin was on the roof of the car, comforting the sobbing Xueyang, while I quietly held Qimeng.

I stroked Qimeng’s hair and whispered into her ear, “We might be dying together.” “Tiankuang, I…” “Don’t speak, just let me hold you. I’m tired.”

“Okay.”

But the dismemberment we imagined never happened.

“Roar-! Roar-! Roar-!”

The zombies were only inches away from us, but suddenly stopped their attack for some unknown reason. They were howling chaotically and shaking their heads, looking around, but eventually began to retreat. They seemed to be afraid of something. Within a matter of minutes, the zombies had completely withdrawn. Although we didn’t understand the reason, at least we were safe for now until their next attack. It was like a dream-escaping death!

“Why are the zombies retreating?” Ye Xiang seized the opportunity to quickly retrieve the steel spike he lost in the battle.

I hurriedly carried Ling Qimeng, who was still in my arms, back into the car and handed her over to Ye Ling for care, then said, “I have no idea, I only know we’ve survived for now!

But Ms. Ye said the car’s engine won’t start for some reason. Maybe the drifting earlier damaged it.” Liu Yonglin, having comforted Xueyang, jumped down from the roof of the car and said, “Let me check the engine.”

While we were worried about the Hummer’s engine, two figures in riot suits emerged from a corner behind the electric net. They both wore riot helmets, so their faces were indistinguishable. The taller figure said, “Lady, should we go over?”

The shorter one, referred to as Lady, replied, “No, Dan Hancai, look at that thing on the roof over there.”

The person called Dan Hancai looked up at the nearest building’s roof and seemed to see something terrifying. “That… that is…”

“You see it, right? That thing seems very interested in them, which is why it made the zombies retreat. If I’m not mistaken, it wants to handle them itself,” said the woman known as Lady, coldly watching the thing on the roof.

“But if something happens to the young miss…” Dan Hancai expressed concern.

“If that happens, I’ll take action personally. Even if I can’t win, escaping won’t be a problem. You go back and report to the Mr.”

“Yes…”

…

Liu Yonglin tinkered with the engine for a long time without any progress, frustratingly plopping down on the ground, saying, “Ms. Ye, you sure drive a bit too aggressively. Not only is the engine busted, but some parts of the chassis are almost done for too. It’s a miracle this car didn’t stop in the river.”

Ye Ling shrugged innocently, “There’s nothing I can do, that’s just the road condition.”

Shen Wei raised an eyebrow and said, “Liu Yonglin, don’t blame others. I think it’s just you not being capable enough!”

Liu Yonglin, agitated, replied, “What do you mean not capable? Saying that to a guy is quite damaging to his self-esteem!”

I stepped in to mediate, “Alright, Shen Wei, don’t blame Liu Yonglin. We’re still some distance from your place. I’ll go look for a usable car nearby. Ye Xiang, hand me the steel spike. I’m more used to that.”

Ye Xiang suggested, “Tiankuang, let me go with you.”

I shook my head, “You all used up a lot of energy fighting the zombies hand-to-hand. Liu Yonglin still needs to stay and fix the car. I’ll go by myself.”

Ye Xiang didn’t insist and handed me the steel spike, saying, “Be careful. Those zombies probably haven’t gone far.” I nodded, took the steel spike, glanced at Qimeng who was lying in the car, and then walked towards another street. What I didn’t notice was that when I turned around, Qimeng looked at me deeply, a tear glistening at the corner of her eye. Meanwhile, the thing that had been watching us from the roof skittered along the walls, following me as I moved to another street, like a lizard staying close to the surface.

…

“Dammit, another car without keys!” After confirming yet again that a car parked by the roadside had no keys, I couldn’t help but curse. The main road I was on wasn’t far from where Ye Ling and the others were, just about 100 meters away. Strangely, there wasn’t a single zombie in sight here, but there were many cars abandoned by the roadside. After searching for quite some time, I found that none of them were usable.

I was just about to turn and lean against the car for a rest when an intense feeling of danger made me duck instinctively. I heard a slicing sound, “whoosh-!” as a cold gust swept over my head. The German-made Mercedes behind me was not so lucky; its entire roof had been cleanly sliced off!

As I crouched, I turned to look behind and saw a humanoid giant monster, its whole body a fleshy pink color. Its muscles were as large and hard as buns, with every muscle fiber clearly visible, as if it had been skinned. It was at least three times the size of a normal person, clinging to the exterior wall of an office building, staring intently at me.

Its long, coiled tongue flicked out like a snake’s, and its lips were wrinkled like an old person’s, giving it an appearance somewhat akin to a gorilla. Its forelimbs were slightly longer than its hind limbs, and its hands resembled a human’s. However, its fingers had evolved into claw-like appendages, reflecting an intimidating glint in the sunlight. They were obviously razor-sharp, and had just sliced through the reputedly tank-like German car as if it were tofu!

This was a monster!

Moments before, the monster’s right claw had swiped just over my head. If not for that sudden surge of danger prompting me to crouch, my head might have ended up like the Mercedes-split open! The thought made cold sweat trickle down my back.

Though I had dodged the giant monster’s ambush, the situation was still highly unfavorable. I had nothing truly powerful to defend myself with-no gun, just a steel spike! But I couldn’t go back to the others now; recklessly returning would only bring Qimeng and the rest into danger as well because, although they had a gun, they didn’t have any bullets! In these circumstances, a gun without bullets was less useful than a trusty steel spike.

Besides, this giant monster, despite its massive size, moved with astonishing agility, leaping from wall to wall like a gecko. Even if I had a gun, with my mediocre shooting skills, hitting it would be unlikely, unless I miraculously had a B51 in my hands.

I gripped the steel spike tightly, keeping my eyes locked on the giant monster as it darted around the exterior of the building. Its eyes were so narrow they seemed almost nonexistent, and I doubted whether it even had eyes. It didn’t take long for the answer to become clear-yes, it did, and they were huge!

After a dizzying series of leaps, the monster bent its knees and launched itself from the wall with tremendous force, catapulting toward me. It raised its massive hands, each embedded with five steel claws, and its previously slit-like eyes suddenly widened to resemble large lanterns. The pupils were narrow and cat-like, outlined with thick red veins.

Faced with such a powerful attack, I didn’t think I could withstand a direct confrontation. So, timing it just right, I rolled forward beneath its body, right before its claws could strike.

“Bang-!”

The car behind me was sliced cleanly in two by the monster’s sharp claws. Seizing the moment before the monster could turn around, I quickly crouched and thrust the steel spike with all my might into its lower back. Only then did I realize that what I expected to be soft, pliable muscle was as hard as stone! My full-force stab merely pierced the monster’s outer skin, creating a small hole from which a few drops of green “blood” trickled out. To my shock, the wound began to heal rapidly before my eyes, with new muscle fibers pushing the steel spike out!

Damn, this strength, this speed, this powerful regenerative ability-it’s as if it’s on steroids! As I stared dumbfounded at the rapidly healing wound, the monster swiped its whip-like tail at me. It struck me hard in the chest, sending me flying through the air.

“Boom-! Crash crash crash!”

I smashed through a thick pane of glass and landed in a small supermarket by the roadside, only coming to a stop after toppling three or four shelves. Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth as I touched my aching chest and struggled to catch my breath.

“Crack!” I heard the sound of bones breaking. At least three of my ribs were fractured! My internal organs had also taken a beating from the impact.

I wiped the blood from my mouth and looked at the giant monster outside the supermarket, taunting me by waving its claws. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel an ounce of fear. Instead, a strong fighting spirit welled up inside me. I grabbed an energy drink that had fallen nearby, opened it, and took a big swig. “Acting all high and mighty, huh? Just wait till I’m pumped up with energy!”

Our eyes locked in a stare-down, each of us trying to gauge the other. The monster seemed to sense something from me and didn’t rush to attack. Its steel claws scraped the ground, making the concrete crack and sending chips flying. Its skin turned an even darker shade of purple, with muscle fibers becoming more pronounced. But I didn’t care about any of that. I drained the drink, tossed the empty can at the monster’s car-sized face, and went on the offensive. The monster instinctively raised a claw to swat the can away.

“Here’s my chance!”

The moment the monster’s claw blocked the can, its own move temporarily obstructed its view. I seized this brief opening, grabbing the steel spike and charging at the monster! So, your skin is hard? Let’s see if your big eyes are as tough!

The monster seemed to sense my intent and swung its raised claw toward me. But I had anticipated this, leaping over its attack with a strong jump. Still in mid-air, I gripped the steel spike with both hands and aimed it straight for the monster’s lantern-sized eye.

However, a blur passed before my eyes, and I heard a loud “thud!” The steel spike didn’t pierce the monster’s eye as planned; instead, it was blocked by its swiftly raised left arm. My full-force attack hit a surface as hard as steel, the impact jolting my arms with such intensity they felt sore and pained, nearly splitting my grip open. I hadn’t expected the monster to react so swiftly.

“Roar-!” The monster let out a long howl and tried to fling me off by shaking its left arm. But I used its arm as a springboard, pushing off forcefully and, with a swift flip aided by the steel spike as leverage, landed on the monster’s back. In the same motion, I managed to pull the steel spike free.

The monster’s skin wasn’t as rough as I had imagined. Instead, it was surprisingly smooth, almost slimy, but equally disgusting!

The monster clearly became enraged, feeling someone standing on its back.

“Roar roar roar-!”

With a series of ferocious roars, it began shaking violently, trying to throw me off its back. But I wasn’t going to let that happen! I wrapped the steel spike around its neck from behind and held on tightly. Though I was thrown around in mid-air, I managed to hang on without falling off.

When the monster realized it couldn’t shake me off, it started sprinting rapidly between the buildings, sometimes leaping up and down the walls, other times racing down the street, crashing into countless cars. Even so, I clung firmly to its back! However, I was bumped and tossed around by all the debris, leaving me dizzy and my strength slowly waning. Meanwhile, the monster remained as vigorous as ever. If this dragged on, I’d be the one to die.

Summoning strength from I don’t know where, I freed my left hand and gripped the monster’s bulging muscles tightly. Although the slime on its skin almost caused me to lose my grip several times, I held on. With my right hand, I raised the steel spike high and stabbed fiercely at the monster’s lantern-sized eye. But all I heard was a “thud!” as the spike met the monster’s eyelid, not damaging its eye at all! The monster quickly squinted its eyes again.

Damn it, I can’t pierce the eyes, and the skin is as hard as steel. I can’t fight it head-on, and I can’t run. What should I do?

Screw it! I’m going all out! I lifted the steel spike and began stabbing wildly at the monster’s back. Although its healing was quick, this frenzied attack was nothing short of torture for the creature. However, its physical structure prevented it from reaching me on its back! The pain only made it run and crash around more frantically.

Under my relentless assault, the monster’s dark green blood spurted out in streams, some even splashing into my mouth. It tasted like green tea…

At this moment, I didn’t realize that my face wasn’t expressionless and cold as ice, but smiling-a devilish smile. My once-dark eyes had turned blood-red, the color of fresh blood. A violent energy surged through me, assaulting my rational mind. My body began moving on its own, beyond my control. My hands couldn’t stop, but it wasn’t my will-it was instinct? Or perhaps… who knows.

My body was growing hot, restless, as if only shedding more of the monster’s blood could calm the turmoil. I even started to bite into the monster, drinking its blood! As I continued to consume the creature’s blood, I felt strength slowly returning to my body-even my broken ribs began to mend. My hands, in particular, were filled with a powerful, explosive force. My nails grew longer and sharper!

“Die!” I roared internally.

I clamped my legs tightly around the monster’s waist, raised the steel spike high, and drove it down into its head.

“Sploosh-! Bang-!”

Half of the steel spike plunged into the monster’s head, but the other half snapped off!

Despite the devastating blow, the monster didn’t die. Instead, it became even more frenzied, jumping into the air, trying to crush me beneath its weight!

But I merely scoffed, “Insignificant creature.” Using my sharp claws, I plunged my hands into the shredded mess I had made of its back with the steel spike! Black tendrils, smooth yet metallic and incredibly hard, erupted from my arms like vines! These tendrils wrapped around my arms like surging electricity, then swiftly enveloped the upper part of the monster! They pierced its skin mercilessly and began absorbing it! The monster couldn’t even let out a scream; its body began to wither at an astonishing rate until it completely vanished!! Before I hit the ground, the massive monster had entirely disappeared without a trace!!

I landed steadily on the ground, and “clang!” the steel spike that had embedded itself in the monster’s head fell from the sky, landing in front of me.

I felt utterly exhausted, yet my hands brimmed with unexpected power. It seemed I had gained something. I let out a deep growl, and my arms were instantly covered again with the gleaming black tendrils. Half a second later, my arms transformed, becoming dark and powerful, marked with muscle patterns similar to the monster’s, but with a metallic sheen. Strangely, my hands had turned into sharp, gleaming claws!

I stared blankly at what used to be my arms, now utterly transformed, and muttered in shock, “Am I… a monster?”