Chapter 13: Volume One and Two: Chapter 13: This Is Our Combo Move!

Damn it… Who could have guessed there’d be two Mutants peacefully coexisting down here?

Linglan had expected to lure away the vines, find the Mutant’s main body, and finish it off. She hadn’t counted on a second one guarding the way.

What is this, some kind of Soulslike game?

The steel slug had drawn the Mutant’s attention. It immediately charged at Linglan.

Fuling ignored the pain in her chest and used her ability again, appearing beside the Mutant. She swung her entrenching tool and severed its tendon.

The Mutant hit the ground with a thud. A crushing force of gravity pinned it in place, leaving it unable to move.

Fuling dropped her flashlight, gripped the entrenching tool with both hands, and brought it down hard on the back of the Mutant’s head.

Clang!

The blow sparked brightly. The blade could have broken a cow’s bones, yet all it did was dent the helmet.

Fuling stared for a moment at how tough it was. Gritting her teeth, she reached for the flare gun clipped to her vest.

No… I can’t hold it!

Even a second of suppressing the Mutant left Linglan utterly drained.

The Mutant began to tremble more violently. Its right hand suddenly shot toward Fuling.

“Ah!”

Fuling jumped in fright and hurriedly tried to dodge, but Linglan forced the Mutant back under her control.

Seizing the opening, Fuling pulled out the flare gun and rushed toward the crack in the Mutant’s visor.

Just as she squeezed the trigger, the Mutant’s right hand finally broke free. It grabbed Fuling by the ankle and yanked hard. Her balance went, her body tensed, and the flash from the gunshot briefly lit the Han tomb.

The bullet struck the ceiling, throwing off a shower of sparks.

Linglan’s strength gave out. She dropped to her knees and could only watch as Fuling was lifted like a doll and slammed toward the ground by the towering Mutant.

Her small body arced through the air, limbs curling with the momentum before she plummeted toward the floor—

The instant her head was about to hit, Linglan’s eyes contracted.

No!

Fuling vanished from the Mutant’s grasp along with its right hand. A moment later, she stumbled into view beside Linglan, her feet scraping loudly against the ground. Once she slowed down, she crumpled to her knees.

The Mutant’s severed hand still clung to her right foot, which shook uncontrollably.

Her cheeks were flushed. She looked at Linglan’s eyes, on the verge of losing control, and gave a sad smile.

“Sorry… I couldn’t make the most of the opening you gave me. I think I dislocated my right ankle.”

Tears poured from her eyes. Fuling’s expression crumpled.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. If I’d been better at using my ability, I could’ve smashed through its helmet.”

Huff…

Linglan’s body slowly rose again, lifeless as an empty shell.

Ah… Right. Ling is out of energy. She’s back to how she was before.

At the sight of Linglan’s bloodthirsty eyes, Fuling shakily got to her feet, too. She would rather die in the arms of the person she loved.

But Linglan slowly turned away.

Twenty Acceleration Rings lit up on the back of the Mutant’s head, like a target marker in a game.

Linglan said nothing. She answered with action instead—

Keep fighting!

The zombies behind them were closing in. The six armored zombies were steadily squeezing the space they had to move.

So this is it. We’re going to die here.

Fuling gritted her teeth, desperately trying to find the spark that would let her activate her ability again.

Think. What was happening each time I used it?

Her exhausted mind raced. In a daze, Fuling looked at Linglan.

Linglan was staring intently at the charging Mutant. Her fearsome face seemed to overlap with the one she’d worn three years ago during the defense of the base. No matter what kind of enemy she faced—even an A-Rank Mutant—she always stood there, cold and proud.

Even when everyone behind her had fled, leaving her alone before a tide of zombies, she had still unleashed the most magnificent storm of her life without hesitation.

I want to be someone like her. I want to stand at her side.

I want to keep going with Ling!

This isn’t where we’re supposed to die!

Without realizing it, the world around Fuling began to slow.

Her gaze hardened. Her body instinctively lowered as she gathered her strength.

Then—

She exploded into motion!

Fuling pushed off with both legs. In that instant, the pain in her chest and ankle crashed over her consciousness like a towering wave, swallowing a lone boat whole.

But when the waves passed, she was already gone.

She had leaped behind the Mutant, her right hand holding the entrenching tool high as she aimed for the Acceleration Rings.

Her body arched backward with the force of her swing. Fuling’s eyes blazed.

Compared to what Ling goes through, what’s a little pain like this?!

The entrenching tool came down at speed, then accelerated again inside the rings.

Bang!

The terrifying force tore at Fuling’s right arm, wrenching it from its socket. Guided by the Acceleration Rings, the entrenching tool struck the old wound with perfect precision. Its blade punched through the heavy helmet and buried itself halfway inside, spraying black blood and green fluid.

Completely spent, Fuling collapsed across the Mutant’s back. The two bodies fell together. Before she lost consciousness, she saw Linglan sprinting toward the depths of the tomb…

When Linglan came to, both her hands were buried in the chest of a uniformed man with two bars and a star on his shoulder. She had drained him dry, leaving nothing but a desiccated corpse.

The man rested peacefully against a steel door. Countless green vines sprouted from his back, stretching in every direction and spreading beneath the museum.

Fibers poured from the surface of a teddy bear in a cute outfit. They stretched and swelled, tendrils snaking outward, twisting and breaking apart. In the end, the vines swallowed the toy whole.

Linglan watched in silence as the vines, now free of their controller, climbed over the major’s body and greedily consumed his flesh.

She reached out and smoothed his rumpled uniform. Then she turned toward the Han tomb and found Fuling beginning to stir.

“Ling…” Fuling murmured weakly, her gaze unfocused.

Good job, baby.

Linglan crouched and stroked her cheek. Then she lifted Fuling onto her back and headed toward the shelter’s final section.

Within the beam of her flashlight, the out-of-control vines grew wildly. Their strange rustling made the place feel all the more unsettling.

Linglan stopped for a long while in front of the steel door, watching countless vines reach through the cracks. With Fuling on her back, she bowed deeply to the door.

By the time they returned to the surface, the foul smell was gone. Fuling found it much easier to breathe.

The greedy vines had already covered the survivors’ belongings in the dining area. Before long, this place would be overrun, too.

“Even after he died… he never touched those people’s things. He kept protecting this place.” Fuling felt her heart grow heavy.

This was the first time she had seen two Mutants of the same rank coexist peacefully without a High-Tier Mutant guarding them.

Linglan let out a low call and followed Fuling to the second floor of the café.

Using gravity to reach through the crack in the door, she unlocked it from the other side. The museum shelter’s storage room lay beyond.

The entire room was a mess. Most of the crates had been opened, and torn packaging littered the floor.

After a quick look around, Linglan spotted several crates that had not been opened.