The Transcendent Zombie Master

Chapter 6: The First Evolution

The dark alley led them to a narrow side street covered in gray ash. Lain stopped behind a rusted green dumpster to check his blue screen, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.

"My tool is completely broken," Leo said, dropping the bent metal pipe onto the cracked asphalt with a dull clang. "If another group of those monsters finds us, I am completely useless."

"Take a deep breath," Lain said, his fingers tapping the glowing air in front of his face.

Current Points: 150

Zombie Inventory: 2/3 slots filled

Materials: Tyrant Virus Core (Rare), Chemical Catalyst, Advanced Medical Kit

"Lain, look at the Spiked Guard's status box," Mavis whispered, leaning over his shoulder to point at a flashing orange icon. "The system says it has reached maximum normal experience from the street fight."

Lain clicked the icon, and a new menu popped up, showing a picture of his stone-skinned helper inside a glowing test tube.

Evolution Available: Spiked Guard (Lv. 5) can evolve using one Rare Material and one Chemical Catalyst.

Option A: Obsidian Behemoth (Heavy Tank class)

Option B: Crimson Brute (Attack class)

"The spider monster is still looking for us," Leo warned, his eyes fixed on the purple clouds above the buildings. "We need more power right now."

"System, choose Option A and evolve the Spiked Guard," Lain thought, his eyes narrowing.

Consuming: Tyrant Virus Core + Chemical Catalyst + 100 Points.

Evolution process starting. Time remaining: 10 seconds.

The small icons of the red core and the blue flask vanished from his inventory screen, replaced by a bright purple progress bar. The alley grew cold, and the small puddles of water on the ground began to freeze into thin sheets of ice.

Evolution complete. New Unit: Obsidian Behemoth (Lv. 6).

"Spiked Guard, come out," Lain muttered, pointing his hand toward the empty space next to the dumpster.

A heavy wave of dark energy pushed against Lain's chest as a massive figure emerged from a flash of purple light. The helper was now eight feet tall, its body made entirely of shiny, black volcanic glass that reflected the red sky. Thick spikes grew from its shoulders, and its hands were as large as boulder rocks.

"That thing looks like it could stop a train," Leo said, his eyes widening in awe as he stepped back.

"Its cellular structure has completely crystallized," Mavis noted, touching the cold black glass of the monster's arm. "The density is five times higher than before."

A low clicking sound echoed from the roof of the building directly above them. Lain snapped his head up, his eyes catching three shadows moving fast along the concrete ledge.

Three level-two Hook Mutants jumped down into the alley, their long bone fingers scraping against the brick walls as they landed. They did not growl like normal zombies; they moved silently, their white eyes fixed on Mavis.

"Obsidian Behemoth, smash them!" Lain commanded.

The giant black helper moved with surprising speed, its heavy stone foot cracking the pavement as it lunged forward. One of the Hook Mutants tried to slice the helper’s chest, but its bone claws shattered instantly against the hard obsidian skin.

The Behemoth swung its massive fist in a wide circle, hitting two of the monsters at the same time and flattening them against the brick wall.

Enemy defeated. +20 points.

Enemy defeated. +20 points.

The third Hook Mutant realized it was outmatched and turned around, leaping toward the top of the dumpster to escape back to the roof.

"Iron Blade Vanguard, cut it down," Lain ordered, opening his second inventory slot.

The sleek metal helper appeared mid-air, its long arm blades glowing with blue energy as it sliced downward in a clean motion. The jumping monster was cut completely in half before it could reach the ledge, its body falling into the trash pile below.

Enemy defeated. +20 points. Current points: 110.

"Lain, we need to move out of this alley," Leo said, pointing toward the main street. "The noise is going to bring more of them."

"Wait," Mavis said, walking over to the fallen Hook Mutant. "Look at its head. The bone growth didn't start from the hands; it started from the base of the skull."

She used a small pen from her pocket to point at a glowing green nodule embedded in the monster’s neck. "Lain, your system can probably use this specific bone tissue to upgrade the Iron Blade."

Lain touched the green nodule, and the system immediately chimed with a clear notification sound.

Item detected: High-Density Bone Sample. Do you want to store it?

"Yes," Lain said, watching the item slide into his inventory slot next to the medical kit.

They left the alley and walked out onto a wide boulevard that led toward a large stadium. The stadium had giant concrete walls and heavy steel gates, making it look like a perfect fortress against the infected.

"There are searchlights on the roof," Leo said, shielding his eyes to look at the top of the stadium. "There are real people up there."

A loud voice boomed through a megaphone from the stadium wall, echoing across the empty street. "Stop right there! Do not step any closer to the gate!"

Lain looked up and saw three men standing behind a barricade of sandbags, all of them pointing rifles down at the road.

"We are survivors," Leo shouted back, holding his hands in the air. "We need shelter!"

"You have monsters with you," the voice on the megaphone replied coldly. "Get rid of the big glass freak and the metal one, or we will open fire right now."

Lain looked at his Obsidian Behemoth and his Iron Blade Vanguard, both standing ready to protect him. He knew that if he sent them away into his inventory, the humans might still shoot him to steal his supplies.

"Lain, what do we do?" Mavis whispered, looking at the red laser dots from the rifles painting across her jacket.

Before Lain could answer, a loud explosion rocked the back of the stadium, and the searchlights suddenly flickered and went out.