2025-07-05 03:55:32Jonah stood still, listening closely. A faint cry for help echoed from somewhere nearby, bouncing off the cracked walls and blood-smeared tiles of the fifth floor. He didn’t recognize the voice, but he didn’t need to. Someone needed help. That was enough.
He tightened his grip on the axe. “Where are they?” he muttered under his breath, stepping carefully over a torn backpack and shattered glass. His eyes scanned every corner, every door, every dark hallway.
Oddly, he felt light on his feet, faster, stronger than before. He was covering ground easily, moving almost without effort. It felt strange, like the building itself had shrunk or he had become something... more. Each step came with speed and balance he didn’t remember having before.
Jonah looked down at his hands, then back at the hallway. “I’m changing,” he whispered, half to himself. “But I’m not stopping now.”
He rounded a corner and halted. Just ahead, a group of zombies stood outside a half-open door. They twitched, their heads jerking in unnatural ways as they sniffed the air. Their skin was pale and stretched, with dark veins crawling up their necks. They hadn’t seen him yet.
His fingers curled around the axe. “Let’s test this again,” he said, narrowing his eyes.
This time, he would control it, whatever it was that gave him the edge before. He didn’t want to black out again or lose control. He needed to master it.
He charged.
The first zombie didn’t even flinch before its head flew sideways, cleanly severed.
The second tried to swing at him, but Jonah spun beneath the arm and cleaved through its chest.
His body moved without hesitation, like he was dancing through death. Left, strike. Right, dodge. Leap, slice. Again and again.
He was a storm of motion, swift and unstoppable. The seventh and last one fell at his feet, a pool of black blood spreading beneath it.
Jonah stood panting, his shoulders rising and falling. He looked down at the bodies, then up the hallway. A larger group waited farther ahead, maybe a dozen, maybe more.
And he grinned. “I never thought I’d say this… but I’m actually happy to see more zombies.”
With a wild shout, he dashed forward like a bull chasing red.
The fight was faster than he expected. He didn’t count, not until it was over and his axe dripped thick with gore.
Around him were scattered bodies, arms, legs, heads… at least forty in total. Some still twitched, some groaned softly before going still.
Jonah stood in the center, blood on his face, chest heaving. He wasn’t tired.
He was thriving. “What level am I now?” he asked out loud, half-joking.
The system’s voice rang in his head like a whisper made of metal.
System Analysis: Level upgraded. You have unlocked skill use – Level 1.
Jonah blinked. “I unlocked something already?” His voice trembled with excitement.
You can now use powers enhanced by the system. For beginners: ‘Shock Blast’ and ‘Weapon Cry’ are available.
“Shock Blast? Weapon Cry?” He smiled again. “This is like a game. Except…” He glanced at the torn bodies around him. “There’s no respawn if I die.”
Suddenly, the voice cried out again, louder now. “Please! Someone help us!”
Jonah spun toward the sound and followed it down the hall. It led him to a small janitor’s unit tucked in a corner.
He stepped up to the door and knocked. “Are you guys okay?”
A pause. Then a voice, cautious and firm, answered.
“Are you human? Or one of them that just… knows how to talk?”
Jonah blinked, unsure whether to laugh or feel insulted. “Pretty sure zombies don’t hold conversations.”
Another pause. Then the voice replied, “Okay. I’ll open the door. Don’t attack us when I do.”
“I promise,” Jonah said softly. “I’m not a zombie. Just a human... trying to help.”
The door handle wiggled. Slowly, the door creaked open.
Out stepped a woman.
Jonah stared for a moment. She had golden-blonde hair tied back in a messy ponytail, with soft freckles on her cheeks and worried eyes. In her arms, she held a small boy, no older than seven.
He looked frightened, burying his face in her shoulder.
“You’re... a person,” the woman said, sighing with relief. “I didn’t think I’d ever see another human again. Not after today.”
Jonah nodded. “I understand. No need to explain. You were protecting yourselves. I’d do the same.”
“I’m Lisa,” she said, her voice soft now. “And this little one is Kelvin.”
Jonah looked at the child. “He’s your son?”
Lisa shook her head. “No. I found him… holding on to his mother.”
Jonah frowned. “Where’s she now?”
Lisa looked down. Her voice trembled slightly. “She was hurt. I thought I could help her. But the wound was… it turned her.”
Jonah lowered his eyes. “She turned?”
Lisa nodded. “I didn’t even have time to react. She attacked us, and I had to…” She clutched Kelvin tighter. “I couldn’t let him get hurt.”
Jonah didn’t speak for a moment. He watched Lisa’s hands trembling. The boy hadn’t looked up.
“You’re brave,” Jonahh said finally. “You didn’t run. You stayed to protect someone else.”
“I just did what anyone with a heart would do,” she whispered.
“No. Not everyone would.”
Lisa looked at him closely now. “And you? What’s your name?”
“Jonah.”
She smiled faintly. “You’re strange, Jonah. But I don’t see anything scary in your eyes. I’ll follow you.”
He returned the smile. “Then let’s get out of here.”
But as they turned to leave, a sharp bang echoed from below, then another.
Footsteps. Fast. Heavy. And not human.
Jonah pushed Lisa and the boy behind him, his grip tightening on the axe once more. “Something’s coming,” he whispered.
And this time, it didn’t sound like a normal zombie.
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Chapter 665
The camp was safe. The survivors stood in the snow, breathing heavily. They looked at their bloody weapons. They looked at each other. And then, they began to cheer. "We did it!" Marcus laughed loudly. He hugged Elena. "We broke them!" a young man yelled, raising his iron pipe into the air. Jonah rested his heavy hammer on his broad shoulder. He walked slowly through the cheering crowd. He walked through the open steel gates. He stepped into the warm, pure blue light of the concrete building. Lisa was sitting in her wheelchair near the fire. Her face was pale, and she was coughing softly, but she smiled a beautiful, wide smile when she saw him. "You look terrible, giant," Lisa whispered. She looked at his bloody, torn gray shirt. Jonah smiled a tired, gentle smile. He walked over and knelt down on one knee beside her wheelchair. He gently took her small, cold hand in his massive, scarred fingers. "I am standing," Jonah said softly. "And you are breathing. That is a good day."
Chapter 664
In twenty minutes, they reached the tall, dark pine forest. They drove through the trees. They climbed the steep, rocky mountain path. Through the falling gray ash, Jonah saw the pure blue light of the Echo Seed shining brightly. The safe bubble was still there. But as they got closer, Jonah saw the danger. The Sanctuary was surrounded. The wild zombies in the valley had smelled the humans inside the camp. Without the computer code telling them to wait, thousands of monsters had rushed up the mountain. They were crowding against the heavy steel gates of the Sanctuary. The zombies slammed their rotting bodies against the metal doors. They hissed. They moaned. They were completely mindless. They climbed on top of each other, trying to reach the top of the concrete walls. "There are too many of them!" Silas panicked in the passenger seat. The dictator pressed his back against the seat. "They will eat the trucks!" Jonah did not slow down. He gripped the steering wheel tightly. "The
Chapter 663
The massive explosion was over. The mountain was quiet. Jonah stood on the edge of the smoking crater. The freezing wind blew his torn gray shirt. It blew the white snow and the gray ash across his broad, scarred chest. The thick, dark iron scars on his skin were totally cold. He was just a human man again. He looked down into the deep, black hole. Outpost Echo, the massive underground military base, was completely vaporized. The Black Broadcast was dead. The relay tower was gone. "Dad," Kevin whispered. Jonah turned his head. He looked at his son. Kevin was standing in the deep snow. The young giant held his custom-made iron mace in his good left hand. His right arm was still resting. He was breathing heavily, but a bright, beautiful smile spread across his face. Kevin pointed his finger down the mountain, toward the dark valley. "Look," Kevin said. His one good blue eye glowed with a faint, magical light. His Scout System was reading the world far away. Jonah looked. Miles
Chapter 662
Jonah ran behind them. He grabbed General Silas by the collar of his white coat and dragged the weeping dictator along the ground. He was not going to let Silas die here. Silas had too many answers. Silas knew where the "Lords" were hiding. They ran up the steep tunnel. The ground shook so violently they could barely keep their balance. [00:20... 00:19…]The heat behind them was rising again. The servers in the basement had reached critical mass. The virus code was igniting. They saw the gray sky ahead of them. They saw the falling white snow. "Keep going! Don't look back!" Jonah roared. They burst out of the tunnel. They ran out into the freezing, howling whiteout blizzard. They ran across the deep snow on the high plateau. [00:05... 00:04…] "Jump!" Kevin yelled. They dove forward. They threw themselves flat into the deep, soft white snow, covering their heads with their arms. [00:01.] [00:00.] The world went silent for a microsecond. Then, Outpost Echo ceased to exist. T
Chapter 661
The heat was becoming absolutely lethal. In a few more minutes, their skin would melt off their bones. The human body cannot survive baking in an oven. The threat to Jonah’s family was absolute. It was immediate. It was lethal. Jonah closed his dark brown eyes. He did not fight the heat. He stood in the center of the hallway. He opened his massive arms wide. He waited for the magic. Deep inside the darkest, quietest corner of Jonah’s brain, the System recognized the fatal danger. The machine recognized that Kevin and Elena were about to burn to death. The unbreakable rule of the Mythic skill was triggered. [FAMILY IN LETHAL DANGER.] [SKILL ACTIVATED: UNDYING WILL.] Jonah opened his eyes. The dark brown color was instantly burned away. His eyes turned into blinding, brilliant, freezing pools of solid silver light. The thick, dark iron scars on his chest, his stomach, his shoulders, and his arms ignited. They glowed with pure, white-hot fire. Jonah let out a massive, terrifyin
Chapter 660
Silas tapped his fingers on the buttons. He typed a long, complex code. He pressed the green 'ENTER' button. The keypad flashed. [ACCESS DENIED.] Silas frowned. He shook his head. "I must have mistyped it. The cold is making my hands shake." He typed the code again. Faster this time. [ACCESS DENIED.] "Open!" Silas shouted. He typed another code. A secret emergency code. [ACCESS DENIED.] [USER 'SILAS' HAS BEEN REVOKED.] [ACCOUNT DELETED BY ADMINISTRATOR.] Silas stared at the red letters on the small screen. His pale blue eye went wide. His shoulders slumped. He fell to his knees in the black slime on the floor. "They deleted me," Silas whispered in pure, absolute horror. He stared at his hands. "I served them for three years," Silas wept. His smooth, hypnotic voice completely broke into pieces. "I built their army. I slaughtered millions for them. And they deleted my password like I was nothing." The truth was a heavy, crushing rock. The "Lords" in the clean white rooms di
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