Chapter 16 Iron Arm
Upon seeing this peculiar arm, William widened his eyes suddenly.
He had seen it countless times before his rebirth.
It was a Second-Level mutated zombie, Iron Arm!
In his previous life, William, like many survivors, complained about the unfairness of the apocalypse, one aspect of which was the huge difference between human evolution and the evolution of other life forms.
Although humans could improve and manufacture evolution elixirs below Three-Star a few years later and even create genetically modified humans and even powerful modified warriors, human evolution ultimately depended on the Doomsday Roulette.
Evolution relied on the elixirs in the Roulette, but it only made your body stronger. To gain special abilities, humans still needed to gamble their luck on the Roulette.
It could be said that Roulette ultimately constrained human evolution. This magical thing was human hope but also a shackle.
But it was not the same for other life forms. Their evolution seemed very natural. While strengthening their basic attributes, they also developed some special abilities.
Compared to human reliance on the Doomsday Roulette, the evolution of other life forms was more in line with the laws of nature.
Survivors had once self-deprecatingly said that humans were the true eliminators of the apocalypse.
Just like the strange zombie that suddenly attacked William now, its body maintained the proportions of its past life, and the skin of its limbs was far better than other zombies. It moved swiftly, with great strength, no less than a One-Star Evolver. What's even more terrifying was that this evolved zombie, now at Second-Level, gained the ability, a massive iron arm as hard as steel!
In the apocalypse, people called this kind of zombie Iron Arm.
With one swing or one heavy punch, it could severely injure a same-level evolver!
William could not have imagined that just a few hours after the apocalypse began, a zombie had evolved to Second-Level, and it was the well-balanced offensive and defensive Iron Arm zombie!
It reminded him of the body with an emptied brain in that building in the neighborhood before. Obviously, some zombies or mutated animals and plants had found a shortcut to evolution.
The Second-Level zombies had regained some of their intelligence, and they had a natural talent for hunting. Previously, it didn't know where to hide, but it waited until William and the ordinary zombies had been fighting for a while before suddenly launching a surprise attack, surpassing the stage where lower-level zombies relied on instinct.
This rapid evolution brought William the greatest crisis after his rebirth.
At this moment, it was too late for William to defend against it with a machete or the fire axe on his back. His peripheral vision caught sight of the black arm approaching his spine, and in that critical moment, William unleashed a powerful ability.
He exerted force with his legs, pushing off the ground, propelling himself forward with such momentum that he flew forward like a fish leaping. Still, unlike a soccer move, as his body flew out, there was a brief pause in the air, his legs slightly bent after leaving the ground. He kicked back forcefully, hitting the Iron Arm zombie in a forward motion, not only stopping its attack but also propelling himself forward even faster.
The black iron arm that was about to strike him whistled past his back, and William could clearly feel the chilling wind it brought.
Narrowly avoiding the blow, William rolled on the ground, distancing himself from the Iron Arm zombie. Still, his knife did not stop, swinging upwards twice, cutting the terrifying faces of two ordinary zombies approaching him into halves, their brain fluids spilling on the ground.
The Iron Arm zombie behind emitted a hiss similar to that of a snake, its forehead, now a white Second-Level Magic Crystal, faintly exuding a strange halo. Its attack, which had been lying in wait, failed to kill its target, leaving it feeling angry. With some intelligence now, it sensed clearly that by consuming this man's brain, it could gain even greater strength! It would be much stronger than consuming the brains of dozens of humans before.
A zombie staggered to the side of the Iron Arm zombie, which only wanted to eat people and had no goodwill toward its kind. With a swing of its black arm, the Iron Arm zombie smashed the head of the ordinary zombie.
While William heard the commotion behind him, instead of turning around to confront it, he charged into the group of ordinary zombies, swiftly dispatching these monsters.
He knew that a battle with the Second-Level Iron Arm was inevitable today, but before that, he needed to rid himself of any concerns or worries.
The scene became eerie as William leaped and rolled into the midst of the ordinary zombie group, then rose and struck backward. The Iron Arm zombie pursued from behind, killing any obstacles in its path as if they were cooperating, each swiftly eliminating half of the ordinary zombies. Once all the ordinary zombies had fallen, they faced each other head-on.
The Iron Arm slightly bent its waist, realizing the difference in this human and sensing an instinctual danger, displaying a caution different from that of ordinary zombies.
William, too, was gathering strength, facing the Second-Level zombie while ensuring he wasn't injured, a challenging task for him.
As they stood facing each other in the corridor filled with bodies, the people in the classroom held their breath, hearing the sounds of battle but unable to guess what was happening. Only one door was barricaded with desks and a podium, and no one dared to approach the door or peek through the small window to see outside.
"Is it the person who killed many zombies alone coming?" a woman asked weakly, her only wish at the moment.
At the sound of gunfire, they all thought rescue had arrived. But looking through the other window, they saw no group in familiar uniforms, only two blurry figures moving swiftly.
Hope dimmed quickly but was reignited by the agility and strength of one of the figures. Their demands lowered. They no longer sought rescue from the military or police but anyone to save them.
The fluorescent lights in the classroom suddenly flickered twice, followed by a deafening roar in the distance, the ground shaking violently. In the midst of their shock, the entire classroom, the entire campus, and the entire city suddenly plunged into darkness. The power was out.
The sudden darkness plunged the students into panic, screams filling the air as if high-pitched sounds could offer them safety. Many in the city reacted similarly, the disappearance of light erasing their last shred of hope.
Years later, many in the city would recall this moment as the time they fully accepted the arrival of the apocalypse.
From this moment on, darkness shrouded the world. And at this moment, the confrontation in the corridor between William and the zombie launched into full attack!
The Iron Arm swung its arm forward, looking somewhat clumsy. But in the narrow corridor, this movement covered almost all the area in front of it. The only way to attack it was to directly collide with its iron arm. But until humans gained more powerful abilities or skills or better weapons, the Iron Arm of the Second-Level zombie was virtually invincible.
William, who had been charging forward, suddenly stopped about thirty feet from the Iron Arm zombie. The machete in his hand had been transferred to his left hand, and in his right hand, which had been holding the machete, there was now a black object.
