Injection

"I don't know. It's the first time I've ever seen a monster like that." It was also the first time Xiao Qi had encountered a monster that looked like an ordinary human and could even speak. "Haha, got you!" an excited voice suddenly shouted. Xiao Qi and Yun Yu's hearts skipped a beat. They looked up. A City of Sin player, clutching a single-shot rifle, was closing in on them with an eager grin. Bitterness washed over the two women's faces. They hadn't expected to be caught after all. Before the player could do anything, however, a blur flashed past. Before he could even react, he was dragged away into the shadows. Xiao Qi and Yun Yu stood dumbfounded, glancing around in terror. "Aaargh!" A bloodcurdling scream rang out, followed by a corpse falling from the ceiling and crashing heavily onto the floor. The two gasped in horror, a chill shooting straight to their scalps. Before they could even catch a glimpse of the enemy, the City of Sin player had been slaughtered. Then the shadowy figure lunged toward Xiao Qi and Yun Yu once more. Their faces turned deathly pale. Just as they thought they were doomed, gunshots rang out in rapid succession. The figure instantly shifted course, darting frantically to evade the bullets. "Long Ming!" Xiao Qi and Yun Yu looked over and saw Long Ming and his two companions rushing in. Relief and delight flooded Xiao Qi's voice as she called out to them. "Are you two all right?" Long Ming asked. Flanked by Johnny and Nake, Long Ming rushed to their side, warily scanning their surroundings. "We're fine, but what do we do now?" Xiao Qi asked anxiously. "Get moving!" Long Ming's expression shifted before he decisively led the group forward at a run. Yet the figure had no intention of letting them go. Catching up from behind at terrifying speed, it pounced straight onto Nake, pinning him to the floor. "Help!" Nake screamed in terror. Johnny spun around and fired immediately. *Bang!* The shadowy creature darted away at the last split second, and the bullet struck Nake squarely in the back. "You..." Nake's eyes went wide. A moment later, his breath ceased, and he went limp. Johnny's face burned with intense embarrassment. He had thoroughly humiliated himself. "Don't just stand there! Run!" Long Ming shouted, urging the rest forward in a desperate sprint. It was no use. Just as they reached the turn toward the stairwell, a figure dropped from the ceiling overhead, blocking their path. Long Ming and the others skidded to a halt. "Long Ming, it won't let us leave!" Xiao Qi warned nervously. "Then we take it down!" Long Ming replied, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. He strained his ears and tracked the target with his gaze. As the figure closed in at blinding speed, Long Ming pulled the trigger. *Bang! Bang!* Every shot missed. "Damn it, it's moving too fast! I can barely see it!" Johnny cried. He could only make out afterimages and had no idea where to aim. The blur circled around, sweeping in toward Long Ming and the others from the flank. "Look out!" An instinctual sense of mortal peril spiked through Long Ming, making his hair stand on end. He shoved Xiao Qi out of harm's way and rolled aside. *Whoosh!* The figure shot right through the space between them. Scrambling to his feet, Long Ming's expression hardened. He tapped his wristband, retrieved a Swiftness Injector, and drove the needle into his arm, pressing the plunger. When he opened his eyes, a flash of emerald light glinted in his pupils. A wondrous sensation instantly swept through his entire body. He felt weightless, his movements fluid and his reaction speed sharpening dramatically. Meanwhile, the blurry figure continued to circle them at high speed. Long Ming held his breath, eyes locked onto the darting shadow. Decisively, he pulled the trigger three times in rapid succession. *Crack! Crack! Crack!* The bullets hit their mark, forcing a hideous crawling corpse monster out of its sprint. *Buzz!* The wristbands of everyone present vibrated as a notification popped up: [Tagago (Corpse Monster)] [Note: Evolved variant.] Tagago peeled its jaws wide toward Long Ming, unleashing an enraged roar. "What a disgusting monster!" Johnny gulped hard. "Get away from me!" Long Ming warned, edging toward the right to draw the creature away from Xiao Qi and the others. It was obvious the monster had locked onto him. Tagago suddenly arced in a blistering flank, charging straight for Long Ming! Long Ming squeezed the trigger without hesitation. *Bang! Bang!* Tagago twisted with uncanny agility, dodging the gunfire. The bullets struck the floor, sending sparks flying in all directions. Johnny fired as well, but his shots went wide. In the blink of an eye, Tagago closed the distance, its razor-sharp claws slashing toward Long Ming's torso. Long Ming leaned back in an extreme dodge. Even so, he couldn't completely avoid the blow; Tagago's claws raked across his chest. Suppressing the pain, Long Ming stumbled back and glanced down at the wound. Darkened blood was already oozing from the lacerations. His face tightened as he glanced at his wristband. [Alert: Mild infection with corpsification virus. Please inject virus serum or a gene potion within ten minutes, or corpsification will occur.] A countdown timer immediately began ticking on the display. Seeing the timer, Long Ming's heart sank to rock bottom. He glared coldly at Tagago. Having missed its lethal blow, Tagago scrambled across the floor and walls, probing for another opening to strike. "Long Ming, are you okay?" Xiao Qi asked anxiously when she saw he was hurt. "I'm fine!" Long Ming replied, holding his breath as his nerves and muscles pulled taut to their limits. Seeing no immediate opening from the ground, Tagago scrambled up the wall and onto the ceiling, scuttling rapidly overhead toward Long Ming. Long Ming raised his pistol and fired furiously into the ceiling. *Bang! Bang!* Bullet after bullet tore into Tagago, punching holes through its flesh. Yet despite the damage, the monster pressed through the barrage and hurled itself down from above, savagely pouncing on Long Ming. With no room to dodge, Long Ming was tackled flat onto the ground. Tagago snapped its jaws open, lunging toward his throat. Long Ming threw his hands up and clamped onto the monster's lower jaw with all his might, the two of them locked in a desperate struggle. Johnny raised his single-shot rifle and fired at Tagago's back. *Bang!* The round struck Tagago's spine, spraying dark blood, but the monster refused to let go. "Hang in there, brother!" Johnny yelled, frantically trying to reload with trembling hands. "Ahhh!" Seeing Long Ming on the verge of being overpowered, Xiao Qi panicked and charged forward. Drawing a tactical dagger, she screamed and drove the blade into Tagago's back. Once, twice, three times! Wracked with agony, Tagago loosened its claws. Seizing the opening, Long Ming drew his own tactical dagger and plunged it deep into Tagago's heart. Tagago let out a mournful wail as its life force rapidly drained away. Long Ming kicked the thrashing beast aside. Tagago collapsed onto the floor, writhing in torment. Panting heavily, Long Ming pushed himself up. He dropped the empty magazine from his automatic pistol, slammed in a fresh one, and pumped rounds into Tagago's head. *Bang! Bang!* After taking several bullets to the skull, Tagago slumped to the floor, twitching once before going still. "Phew... Finally down," Johnny exhaled in relief. "There's another monster," Yun Yu said, her voice shaking with dread. "She's right, and that one is even more terrifying! But it was attacking the other group, so we used the chaos to escape," Xiao Qi explained, trembling slightly. "You've got to be kidding me..." Johnny said, completely dumbfounded. "Let's move!" Long Ming said decisively, leading Xiao Qi and the others away toward the stairwell. As they ran, Long Ming spotted a skeleton clad in a white lab coat lying on the floor ahead. Protruding from the breast pocket was what looked like a chain. Sprinting past, he bent down, snatched up the gold pocket watch, and stuffed it into his backpack. Yun Yu stared at him, utterly bewildered. "Long Ming, you're looting at a time like this?" "It was on the way," Long Ming replied calmly. "You're something else, brother. I'm over here scared out of my mind," Johnny muttered, giving him a thumbs-up. Long Ming said nothing more, merely leading them down the stairs as fast as their legs could carry them.