TIC 91

 Chapter 91

At this point, turning tail and fleeing was no longer an option for Xiao Yan.

The zombie clearly had its jaws wide open, aiming to sink its teeth into Xiao Yan’s neck; yet, in a split second, it shifted its attack, swiping its clawed hand toward his chest instead. Xiao Yan clamped down on its arm and twisted violently to snap it; the creature yanked its limb back with sudden force, denying Xiao Yan the chance to completely sever its wrist.

It panted heavily, emitting a deep, guttural sound.

The two special forces soldiers were already at a disadvantage; if Xiao Yan didn't dispatch the creature before him immediately, those two soldiers would likely have their heads bitten clean off.

These things were learning; they were absorbing various combat and killing techniques from the special forces soldiers. Xiao Yan knew that if he intended to kill this one, he had to succeed in a single strike—he couldn't afford to give it any opportunity to learn from him.

Combat technique was never the most critical factor; rather, speed and decisiveness were what determined victory.

Hein’s image flashed instinctively through his mind. Xiao Yan lunged abruptly toward the zombie, which pounced forward in eager response. In that precise instant, Xiao Yan dropped low, sliding beneath the zombie’s body. Pivoting suddenly on his knee, he clamped a fierce grip around the zombie’s legs and hurled it violently against the wall. With a loud *crack*, the creature’s skull split open.

It staggered back to its feet, appearing to have lost its balance. Without a second thought, Xiao Yan delivered a side-kick that smashed its head against the wall, crushing it completely.

The moment he turned around, another zombie was already right in front of him. Its greedy eyes and expression of gleeful anticipation were terrifyingly vivid at such close range.

It was over!

The distance was far too close; all it had to do was lower its head to sink its teeth into Xiao Yan’s carotid artery.

Like a phantom, the zombie’s head was knocked aside—moving with a velocity akin to a laboratory centrifuge. It slammed into the wall, then lunged back with ferocious aggression; but a blade flashed with ruthless finality, and the zombie’s head tumbled to the ground. Hein Burton stood before him, his brow furrowed in cold fury. "They told you to leave—why didn't you listen?"

Xiao Yan parted his lips, but before he could utter a word, Hein had already spun around. His blade plunged into the eye of a lunging zombie; sensing the immediate danger, the creature recoiled instantly. Its eye healed at a speed far exceeding anything Xiao Yan could have imagined.

At that moment, a chilling, guttural roar echoed down the corridor—more zombies were heading their way.

Hein and two special forces soldiers swiftly dispatched the remaining pair of zombies. They had no intention of lingering to fight; instead, they sprinted toward the direction of Xiao Yan’s laboratory.

"Let's hope that guy Lauren hasn't left yet!"

"He hasn't gone anywhere."

Suddenly, Hein yanked Xiao Yan toward him and shoved his head down violently just as a blade flashed overhead. It turned out a zombie had been hanging upside down from a junction in the corridor ceiling.

It nimbly dodged Hein's attack, while the horde of zombies from behind closed in fast.

Beside them stood a laboratory with its sliding doors wide open; as if struck by a sudden realization, Xiao Yan bolted inside.

"Xiao Yan!" The zombie followed him in hot pursuit.

Hein moved with blinding speed; wherever his blade struck, it either cleaved through a zombie's shoulder or slashed across its abdomen. However, now endowed with intelligence, the creatures constantly guarded their necks to prevent Hein from severing them.

Xiao Yan dodged the pursuing zombie relentlessly, searching for something specific. Just as he tripped over an object on the floor, the zombie lunged straight for his face. Xiao Yan delivered a powerful kick to the creature's abdomen, sending it flying into the air. The force of its initial dive had been formidable—a threat not to be underestimated—but in that precise instant, Xiao Yan raised his wrist. Clutched between his fingers was a cryogenic pistol; the moment he pulled the trigger, the zombie's head exploded in mid-air. Xiao Yan rolled his body, tucking his head safely between his arms, as the creature's headless torso crashed to the floor beside him.

"Xiao Yan!"

Hein's voice rang out—a sound of immense relief and encouragement. Xiao Yan snatched up two more cryogenic pistols, tucked them into the waistband of his military fatigues, rushed to the doorway, and opened fire. The first shot struck a zombie in the thigh; instantly, its entire leg went limp and shattered, whereupon Hein decisively severed its head. With Xiao Yan’s assistance, the speed at which they broke away from this small cluster of zombies increased dramatically.

Hein grabbed Xiao Yan’s wrist and dragged him along as they sprinted furiously down the corridor.

Xiao Yan’s heart pounded—not from the tension of having his life hanging by a thread, but because of the figure of the man before him.

Beneath his combat suit, those powerful shoulders seemed to cleave through the very air with every stride; Xiao Yan knew that even if their final moment had arrived, this man would never let go of his hand.

Just then, the unexpected occurred: seven or eight mutated zombies came charging toward them.

Xiao Yan raised his Cryo-Gun, took aim, and fired—all in one fluid motion. Two zombies were taken down in quick succession, but then the gun’s coolant reservoir ran dry.

“Damn it!”

Hein tightened his grip on his twin blades, his wrists executing a subtle rotation. He glanced back at Xiao Yan, his gaze as steady and unshakeable as a mountain—devoid of even the slightest trace of fear.

Xiao Yan nodded, having instantly grasped the unspoken message in his eyes.

If this pack of zombies knew how to coordinate their attacks, then Hein and Xiao Yan could do the same.

Just as the first two or three zombies lunged within striking distance, Hein delivered a fierce kick to send one flying and brandished his blades to fend off another. Simultaneously, Xiao Yan clamped a hand onto a zombie’s shoulder and drove his knee upward; the impact was so brutal it forced the creature’s internal organs to rupture and spill out. In that precise instant, Hein pressed the blunt spine of his blade against the back of Xiao Yan’s neck, executed a swift pivot, and thrust the blade directly into the zombie’s throat; with a twist of the hilt, he snapped its cervical spine.

Abruptly withdrawing his blade, Xiao Yan pressed down on Hein’s arm and executed a sudden backflip, driving his heel down with crushing force onto the skull of a zombie that was lunging at them—decapitating the creature with a single, brutal kick.

The two special forces operatives had dispatched one of the zombies, yet the remaining three showed no inclination to retreat; instead, they circled around the pair, appearing to size them up as if calculating the best way to capture their prey. Suddenly, all the zombies surged toward Xiao Yan. Three of them appeared simultaneously right above his head. Xiao Yan’s eyes widened; raising his fist, he smashed and shattered the jaw of one of the zombies. Meanwhile, Hein swung his blade, intending to cleave another one in half at the waist—but to his astonishment, the creature suddenly grabbed hold of Hein’s blade, spun around to seize his shoulder, while a third zombie lunged viciously at Hein’s head, snapping its jaws.

It turned out that their attack on Xiao Yan had merely been a feint—a diversion designed to distract Hein!

At that moment, even more zombies swarmed in to surround them.

The two special forces operatives could barely hold their ground; two of the zombies had now hemmed Xiao Yan in from both the front and the rear.

These were no ordinary zombies; every single second of the encounter was fraught with extreme peril.

Out of the corner of his eye, Xiao Yan kept a constant watch on Hein. The zombies had clearly realized that Hein was the most formidable opponent among them, for they began to converge upon him en masse. Hein kicked one away, only for another to immediately lunge at him; from both the front and the rear, zombies ceaselessly attempted to sink their teeth into his neck. The zombie lurking behind him, in particular, proved incredibly cunning; no matter how Hein tried, he simply could not land a hit on it.

Just as Xiao Yan was being forced back against the wall by the two zombies pinning him down, Hein raised his wrist without a moment’s hesitation. He plunged his blade deep into his own abdomen, driving it straight through his body until it impaled the zombie standing behind him. The zombie let out a piercing shriek; Xiao Yan felt a sudden surge of terror, yet—restrained by the two zombies holding him back—he was utterly unable to rush to Hein’s aid.

“Hein!”

Hein executed a swift, clean motion to yank the blade free; blood spurted into the air, staining Xiao Yan’s vision crimson.

Yet Hein appeared to feel almost no pain; before his body even had a chance to begin healing, he spun around abruptly and sliced ​​off the zombie’s head. Then, with a mighty thrust of his thigh—his muscles tensing into lines so taut they seemed to throb with raw power—he sent another zombie flying with a ferocious kick.

Immediately thereafter, he pivoted back around and leaped into the air, hovering momentarily with an aura of sheer, overwhelming dominance. With perfect, wordless coordination, Xiao Yan ducked low; Hein’s knife hilt smashed violently against the back of one zombie’s head, while Xiao Yan surged upward, gripping the jaw of a second zombie with his palm. With a swift twist of his body, he cleanly snapped its neck.

“Hein!”

Xiao Yan cried out in horror. A zombie’s hand had brutally plunged into the wound in Hein’s abdomen, attempting to rip out his internal organs.

Every cell in his body seemed to vibrate with intensity. Summoning a burst of speed and strength from some unknown source, Xiao Yan clamped down on the zombie’s shoulder and—in a single, instantaneous motion—ripped its entire arm clean off. The zombie let out a wailing shriek as it fell backward, and Xiao Yan smashed its head with brutal force; brains splattered outward, oozing onto his face.

Hein leaned against the wall, blood trickling down the exposed, severed zombie limb still protruding from his body.

Xiao Yan rushed to his side, his emotions reeling at the gruesome scene before him. Had it not been to rush back and save him in time, Hein would never have needed to impale his own body in the first place.

“There’s no time left. Leave—now.”

Hein shoved Xiao Yan away with all his might, sending him stumbling backward.

“Hein Burton! What do you take me for? Is our relationship nothing more than that of protector and protected?”

“I am a man. You have no reason to feel ‘indebted’ to me.”

Hein’s expression remained impassive. He raised his hand to swat away an incoming zombie—his movements still powerful, forceful, and lethally effective.

Xiao Yan said nothing; instead, he walked directly up to Hein and spoke in a cold, steady voice: “First, I need to reopen your wound—which has already begun to heal—to separate the zombie’s fingers from your internal organs, and then extract the severed limb.”

Having said this, Xiao Yan flexed his fingers—producing a series of sharp, cracking sounds—and positioned himself directly in front of Hein. He knew he had precious little time; he had to be fast, precise, and decisive.

Xiao Yan reached out to take the blade from Hein’s hand. Hein gripped the hilt tightly, but as he looked down at Xiao Yan—who was kneeling before him with an expression of absolute, unyielding resolve—he had no choice but to loosen his grip. Xiao Yan’s lips pursed into a tight, deeply suppressed line; his fingers parted the torn fabric of the combat suit, and as the blade sliced ​​through the muscle surrounding the severed limb, Xiao Yan reached his hand inside.

The two special forces soldiers finished off the remaining zombies and took up defensive positions beside Hein and Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan’s fingertips brushed against Hein’s internal organs—warm and moist to the touch; he could even feel the rhythmic beating of the man’s heart. Xiao Yan located the zombie’s fingers, pried them apart one by one, and carefully extracted the severed limb.

Hein’s breathing remained remarkably steady throughout the entire ordeal, as if he were simply ignoring every sensation of pain.

Xiao Yan cast aside the severed limb. Hein’s abdominal cavity was already beginning to heal, leaving no time to verify the process, for the faint sound of movement could once again be heard echoing down the corridor.

“Go!” Hein grabbed Xiao Yan and sprinted toward the research lab.

Inside, Lauren remained completely immersed in the data restoration process, utterly oblivious to the desperate pounding on the lab door just outside.

As the zombies drew ever closer, Ritz—seething with rage—cursed out every prominent figure in the entire city of Shire.

Then, in a sudden instant, Lauren finally completed the data restoration. As he disconnected from the terminal, the reality of the chaos unfolding outside the door finally dawned on him; he looked through the glass window and saw the research supervisors staring back in sheer terror. Acting on pure instinct, he threw open the sliding door. Everyone surged inside, but just as Lauren moved to seal the door shut, a single zombie burst through the opening.

Panic ensued as everyone scattered in all directions; the once-secure research lab instantly transformed into a gruesome banquet table for the invading zombie.

“Damn it! If you’d opened the door sooner, none of this would be happening!”

The zombie pinned Ritz to the floor. Just as it was about to sink its teeth into his shoulder, a sharp *bang* rang out. A liquid round from a cryogenic gun grazed the zombie’s cheek and slammed into the wall behind it; the projectile burst upon impact, instantly freezing a circular patch of the wall—roughly five centimeters in diameter—into solid ice.

Shaken by fear, Lauren’s aim went wild; his next shot nearly struck Ritz instead. “Who the hell are you aiming at, kid?!”

Sensing the threat, the zombie lunged violently toward Lauren. Lauren fired shot after shot, but the creature dodged every one. The surrounding research supervisors scrambled to crouch down, shielding their heads in terror, terrified they might get hit by Lauren’s stray fire.

The zombie was now right in front of him. Lauren gritted his teeth and covered his eyes; at that very instant, the sliding door slid open, and a special forces soldier’s blade flew through the gap, piercing the zombie’s skull.

Lauren slowly lowered his arms and glanced toward the doorway. Xiao Yan walked calmly up to Lauren and stepped onto the zombie’s head. The creature wasn't quite dead yet; it thrashed about, attempting to rise, but the entire left side of its body had already gone limp.

Through Lauren’s eyes, the image of a grim-faced Xiao Yan raising his blade and bringing it down came into focus. The zombie’s severed head rolled to a stop right beside Lauren, leaving the young man’s face ashen with shock.

Hein and two other special forces soldiers had successfully retreated into the research lab. The sliding door slammed shut and locked tight; the remaining zombies gathered outside, pounding relentlessly against the door and attempting to shatter the reinforced glass panel.

“What do we do... Will they get in? ...What on earth is going on?”

Xiao Yan walked over to Lauren with an air of cool composure. He took the hand holding the cryo-gun and pointed it toward the glass. “If they manage to crawl their way in, you open fire. Don’t tell me you can’t even hit a target at *this* range.”

Lauren took a deep, steadying breath. His initial panic subsided as the reality of their situation finally sank in: they were all trapped inside this research lab.

Still reeling from the shock, everyone in the room turned their gaze toward Hein Burton.

Xiao Yan handed the two spare cryo-guns kept in the lab’s armory to Ritz and Loch. “We’ve already taken down over a dozen zombies just getting this far. Even if we’re forced to fight our way out of here, I’m confident we can make it out alive. But there are simply too many people in this room...”

“We understand. I’ll do my absolute best to ensure Ritz doesn’t slow you down,” Loch replied with solemn earnestness. “What do you mean I’m dragging you down? You’d better explain yourself—and clearly! You bastard! If the system you designed was truly as flawless as you claim, how could the Surge Organization have overrun it so easily?”

Given the gravity of the situation, the fact that these two arch-rivals could *still* find the energy to bicker made Xiao Yan want to bash their heads together.

“Can someone—*anyone*—please tell me what the hell is going on right now?” Lauren was the only one who hadn’t yet fully grasped the reality of the situation. Although the military ranks displayed on the shoulder boards of the research supervisors before him were staggering, Lauren felt absolutely no sense of awe toward them at this moment; everything that had just transpired had happened far too abruptly.

Aside from Lauren, the only others left in the dark were Lieutenant General Averell and Major General Gordon, who were currently in the midst of discussing how to handle the “Witch,” Claire.

“What? An emergency meeting at the Central Academy of Sciences? Why wasn’t I informed?” Averell shot to his feet in astonishment upon learning that the Central Academy’s systems had been breached and locked down, trapping nearly every research supervisor inside.

“Where is Xiao Yan? Is he trapped in there, too?” Major General Gordon asked, a sudden realization dawning on him.

“...Xiao Yan... I can’t reach him at all right now!” Averell began to panic. The fact that someone had managed to bypass his authority to summon all the research supervisors to a conference room—coupled with the failure of the Central Academy’s main control system—indicated a crisis of the highest magnitude. “And where is Colonel Burton?”

Gordon attempted to contact Hein, but when he discovered that the data signal was untraceable, he frowned. “He should be with Xiao Yan... He never lets Xiao Yan stray beyond the effective range of his abilities.”

That was the only small comfort to be found in their current predicament.

Just then, Lieutenant General Averell received an urgent report: every holographic display screen throughout Char—both official government monitors and commercial billboards alike—had been maliciously hijacked. A new feed popped up on his communicator, displaying the government announcement screen located in the Central Plaza.

On the screen stood a man; his elegant features and charismatic aura compelled everyone in the plaza to crane their necks and gaze up at him.

“Good afternoon, citizens of Char. It is a pleasure to meet you all here.”

The crowds murmured amongst themselves in confusion, speculating wildly: Was this the prelude to the presidential election? Was a candidate about to deliver a campaign speech? “Tomorrow marks the anniversary of Char’s accession to the Federation. I fully understand the joy and the overwhelming sense of happiness you all feel deep within. After all, Char is a warm, tranquil, and peaceful place—so idyllic, in fact, that it allows you to completely forget the true nature of the world outside.”

Watching the man’s lips move on the screen, Aivel stiffly turned his head to meet Gordon’s gaze. “That is… Valentine Sheehan…”

Without a second thought, Major General Gordon immediately contacted Wynn and Ling Xiao.

“Ling Xiao! Proceed to the Presidential Palace at once and secure all key military and government officials! Wynn, take your unit to the Central Academy of Sciences—I don’t care what methods you have to use! Even if you have to level the entire Academy to the ground, you *will* get Xiao Yan out of there!”

The Military Command attempted to shut down all the display screens, but their efforts were in vain.

“Char’s…”

"Little lambs, enjoy your revelry while you still can—before the firmament comes crashing down."

No sooner had these words been spoken than every screen—much like a cinematic feature—began broadcasting everything unfolding within the Central Academy of Sciences. Mutated zombies were attacking the research supervisors inside the Academy; the scientists struggled desperately on the razor's edge between life and death, scrambling frantically through the corridors. With a mischievous flourish, Valentine zoomed in for a close-up on the figure of Xiao Yan. Each time he narrowly dodged a zombie's lunge, the moment was heart-stopping; the watching public gasped in collective alarm, until—just as a zombie came within a hair's breadth of severing his neck—the feed abruptly cut out, as if deliberately designed to leave everyone hanging in suspense.

"Xiao Yan!" Upon witnessing this scene, Aivel clenched his fists and lunged forward impulsively.

"Aivel—" Gordon gave chase, simultaneously issuing a command to Maya.

Maya grabbed Aivel and yanked him back. "Your Excellency! Please, calm down!"

"Calm down? How can I possibly calm down? Xiao Yan... he might already be dead!"

Suddenly, Gordon landed a sharp punch squarely on Aivel’s face. "Xiao Yan isn't dead! If he really were, Valentine Sheehan would have broadcast the entire gruesome finale. He would have paraded all of Xiao Yan’s achievements before the public—letting everyone know that the genius who solved the flaws in the X-virus had met his end right here in the Central Academy. That is the only way he could truly sow the seeds of terror in the hearts of every citizen in Char! We all know that Hein Burton would never let Xiao Yan die! And Xiao Yan isn't some frail, helpless researcher, either! Do you really have so little faith in your own subordinates?"

Aivel locked eyes with Gordon; his breathing gradually steadied, and he regained his composure.

"Valentine Sheehan must have a specific objective behind all of this. This man has been bottling up nearly two centuries of madness; his so-called 'falling firmament' must hold a far deeper, more sinister meaning!"

At that very moment, the space overhead shuddered violently. The holographic displays showed explosions erupting across the sky as something plummeted rapidly downward, slamming into the ground below and gouging out a deep crater. Judging by the sheer scale of the destruction and the volume of the falling object, its density had to be immense.

"It looks like... it looks like... the high-density titanium alloy supports for the dome..." Aivel’s eyes widened in horror as he stared at the scene unfolding before him.

"What?" "How could high-density titanium possibly come crashing down?" Major General Gordon asked, utterly incredulous.

At that moment, a craft hovered brazenly overhead; countless dust-like particles rained down, refracting the artificial sunlight into a shimmering sea of ​​stars. After engaging the intruder for over ten minutes, several military patrol craft finally succeeded in shooting it down.

"This is what Valentine called the 'Falling Sky'… Those are particulate bombs… They rapidly infiltrate the titanium… and then detonate…" Avel took a half-step back just as another deafening explosion rang out. A section of the dome smashed violently down toward the Special Operations Headquarters; the ceiling of the corridor collapsed in that very instant.

Avel stared upward, dumbfounded.

"Avel…" Gordon reached out his arm, only to be yanked back by Maya.

The entire space shuddered violently; the corridor twisted and buckled, as if unable to bear the immense weight.

"Sir! We must leave!"

"I order you to rescue Lieutenant General Avel! Now! Immediately!"

The corridor collapsed even further as Gordon glared at Maya, his eyes burning crimson.

"I’m sorry… My mission is to ensure *your* safety."

"You can no longer protect me, Maya."

More and more sections gave way. An urgent message arrived from Ling Xiao: the Presidential Palace would soon be unable to withstand the falling titanium and was on the verge of total destruction; Ling Xiao requested permission to evacuate the President from the palace immediately.