Chapter Thirty-Nine: R3 Form

It took less than two minutes for King Humvee to catch up with the rear of the convoy, and Chen Liu let out a sigh of relief. He gave Xie Han a hard slap on the shoulder and scolded with a laugh, “Kid, you’re insane! What’s gotten into you? You could’ve just stayed in the car and waited for your share of the rations. Why the hell did you rush out like that?” Still, curiosity lingered. The risks Xie Han had just taken—leaping wildly over ten-meter gaps between high-rises—were beyond Chen Liu’s comprehension. “And you, kid, did you get your hands on something good? Is that why you were willing to risk your life?”

Xie Han had anticipated this line of questioning. There was no harm in telling the truth; after all, the gold was safely tucked away in his spatial storage—he wasn’t afraid of anyone finding out. With a sheepish grin, he replied, “There were two banks nearby, so… well, you know…” Chen Liu’s eyes widened and he swore loudly, “You must be out of your damn mind, kid! You took that kind of risk just to rob a bank? Don’t you realize cash is nothing but worthless paper now?”

Taking advantage of Chen Liu’s tirade, Xie Han smoothly redirected the conversation. “I’d heard that banks usually keep some gold in their vaults. Who knew? I finally broke into the vault, and it was all just piles of cash. I… I did all that work for nothing!” He forced a bitter, helpless smile—while inside, he was elated. With acting like his, he deserved an award.

“Damn it…” Chen Liu cursed again, pointing at the now empty ammo boxes. “All that for nothing, and I wasted all my bullets. You didn’t get a damn thing.” Still, he couldn’t really blame Xie Han. Instead, he looked proudly at the smoothly departing convoy. “Twenty trucks of high-grade flour, that’s at least seventy or eighty tons. My King Humvee should get a ton or two, even after the twenty percent cut. Damn, I’m rich now!”

Chen Liu’s optimism did nothing for Xie Han. For some reason, the R2 and R3 he’d been worrying about still hadn’t appeared, yet the sense of looming danger in his chest only grew stronger. These weren’t zombies you could measure with ordinary standards; if they weren’t mixed in with the horde, in what form would they show up? Watching the convoy about to leave the city and reach the plaza, Xie Han couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

Seeing the empty ammo boxes, Xie Han’s anxiety deepened. He turned to the excited Chen Liu, “Brother Chen, have you ever heard of R2 or R3?” Chen Liu looked confused. “What’s that? Some kind of monster?” Xie Han’s heart sank. “You really don’t know about R2 or R3? Never even heard anyone mention them?” Chen Liu shook his head. “Is there a problem?”

Now Xie Han could only give a bitter laugh. For someone like Chen Liu, who made his living hunting and had dealt with zombies countless times, to not even know about R2 or R3—something about this felt off. He thought for a moment, then explained, “If we call regular zombies R1, then R2 is an evolved form. Its abilities are seven to ten times greater than R1. And R1s are already three times stronger than a normal person. Statistically, an R2 could easily handle thirty or forty people at once, maybe even massacre them single-handedly. R3 evolves from R2 and is about ten times stronger than R2. Do you see what I’m getting at?”

Just the mention of R2 made Chen Liu’s skin crawl. Years of dealing with zombies had taught him how terrifying something ten times stronger than an R1 would be. And when he heard about R3, he nearly fainted. Not only did his hair stand on end, but cold sweat soaked his back, and a chill crept down his spine that he couldn’t shake. He swore, “Kid, don’t you dare try to scare me like that. Not me, Chen Liu.” After all, a single R3 could wipe out the entire convoy—who could joke about that?

“Brother Chen, do I look like I’m joking?” Xie Han’s face was all seriousness, even grim. Things were worse than he’d imagined. In a city crawling with millions of zombies, if no one even knew about zombie evolution, that was truly alarming. In Xie Han’s mind, he’d already written off the so-called base management as hopeless fools.

Chen Liu hesitated. “But we’ve never seen evolved zombies like that. Should I ask the others?” Xie Han said, “What worries me is how smoothly this hunt has gone. Don’t you think it’s strange? With all this noise, you think R2s and R3s would just sit still?” In his eyes, R2 was formidable but still manageable; it was R3 that truly frightened him—he couldn’t even imagine its strength.

“We’re almost out of the city now, shouldn’t be anything else, right?” Chen Liu was uncertain; the idea was too far-fetched, but better safe than sorry. “So, is there any good way to deal with an R2?”

Before he could finish, the driver of the King Humvee suddenly shouted in terror, “Boss, look behind the truck!” His voice was filled with panic, as if he’d seen something out of a nightmare. Chen Liu’s temper flared. “What the hell are you afraid of? We’ve seen enough disgusting zombies—what could scare you now?” But when he turned around, his mouth dropped open, and he couldn’t close it for a long time. At last, he yelled desperately, “Step on it! Step on it!”

No wonder Chen Liu panicked. Just a hundred meters behind them, a figure—ragged, its entire body exposed and covered in blood-red muscle—was sprinting toward the King Humvee. Perhaps it was no longer right to call it human. Its posture was like that of a professional sprinter, arms swinging like blades, feet a blur as it raced down the zombie-strewn street, moving even faster than the convoy. At its speed, it would catch them in less than thirty seconds.

“Damn it, that’s an R2…” Xie Han’s premonition had come true. This R2 was already in a late evolutionary stage—far stronger than the one he’d killed back at the gas station. Otherwise, there was no way he could have taken it out with a single blow.

Bang.

Xie Han didn’t hesitate. The Star of Detonation appeared in his hand, and he fired directly at the charging R2.

The creature paused, but only for a fraction of a second, before surging forward with renewed fury. Xie Han couldn’t believe his marksmanship—normally flawless—had only managed to hit the R2 in the chest. Clearly, its sensory system could no longer be judged by ordinary standards.

The gunshot jolted everyone into action. Chen Liu and the others grabbed their submachine guns and unleashed a barrage at the R2. “Damn, good thing I was prepared, or this monster would have eaten us!” Chen Liu shouted, as the combined fire from five or six guns wove a web of bullets behind the truck.

But like the R1s, the R2 was fearless. It shielded its head with its arms, not slowing for a second, letting the bullets punch into its body. The R2’s defenses were in a different league; the submachine gun rounds only left finger-sized holes in its flesh. Its iron-hard bones couldn’t be broken by such weak firepower. Xie Han even doubted whether these bullets could penetrate its even tougher skull.

Without a sound, Xie Han swapped in an explosive round. Only this could hope to stop the rampaging R2. Perhaps sensing danger, the R2 stopped its straight charge and began zigzagging wildly. Xie Han drew a deep breath, raised the Star of Detonation, and aimed at the R2’s head through the hail of bullets. He locked on tightly.

Suddenly, Xie Han’s heart clenched. Behind the R2’s head, a shadow flashed across the rooftops with uncanny speed. Wherever it leapt, the concrete shattered beneath its claws, leaving deep gouges in its wake. Xie Han’s pupils contracted. The shadow had a human head and a frog-like body, and with just a few leaps, it had already caught up to the convoy.

“Damn it, that’s an R3…” Xie Han’s scream was raw and desperate, echoing through the chaos.