Edward did not currently have the strength to chop off a zombie's head. And even if he did, he would not do such a stamina-consuming action. Instead, he stabbed the creature's head. Dr. Frey started waving her weapon wildly, which distracted one of the zombies.
Edward used this opportunity to kill the remaining two zombies, effectively saving Nate. However, Dr. Frey was still panicking with her only zombie. Edward and Nate were about to help when Booth said, "There are still three left. Go deal with them."
They looked at Dr. Frey and left without saying anything else. They returned a few seconds later to see the doctor with blood and entrails all over her body. The doctor's face was also pale, and she was trembling. Booth coldly looked at her. "Remember: this mission will be the easiest it gets."
He looked at everybody. "There is a large compact SUV about twenty meters away. I can hotwire it." Booth walked away. Nate and William followed. Edward helped Dr. Frey up, but the corner of his eye was on William.
'This man has an excellent talent for assassination,' he analyzed. Booth's purpose was to train this group, which is why he treated Dr. Frey so harshly. However, the latter seemed to have ignored him. At first, Edward thought he might just be sexist and thought the only woman in the team needed tough love.
But with his extra senses and experiences, he could tell that William just had the ability to decrease his presence. Moreover, this guy is a little too quiet for his liking, so he decided to keep an eye on him.
The group sneaked up to the car, and Booth broke open the window to unlock the doors for everyone. As he sat on the driving seat, he reached out underneath to find the ignition wires before connecting them.
"After you pass this mission, you will be an official member of the Samsara Hall with a rank of Soldier," Booth explained. "Soldier missions are still within the realm of mortality, meaning that certain skills, like car hotwiring or gun shooting, are valuable. You may want to invest a few dozen points to buy them."
"Soldier rank implies a hierarchy. What's higher, and how do we raise our tank?
"Pay me and I'll tell you," Booth answered as he started driving."
"Huh."
"Knowledge is valuable since it can save life. My mission is to give you a basic training course, not to give you valuable information."
Booth's attitude was clear, so no one asked any further questions. The team's drive was pretty smooth for half the journey, but as they approached the university, they encountered a small horde of zombies.
"Shoot," Booth yelled. He did not ask twice as Edward and Nate hopped into action. They used the machine gun to annihilate more than ten zombies each.
"Not bad," Booth praised. It's one thing to hit the zombie while in a moving car, but another thing to hit their heads. Edward paid him no mind as he looked at his watch. He now had 50 points for killing ten zombies.
"Can I buy from the hall during a mission?" Edward asked.
"Give me the 50 points you just made and I'll answer," Booth replied.
"Forget it," Edward waved his hand. He could deduce that it was possible, but the Lord God would not make things easy for these people. Therefore, it would likely require players to purchase an expensive pass to enjoy this privilege, or they must first reach a certain rank.
Booth shrugged before frowning. "Upcoming large-scale group. Do you guys know how to use grenades?" Nate and Edward were the only ones who nodded.
"You know what, I can't trust you with something like that," Booth suddenly said. Then, he casually took out a grenade hanging on his military vest and removed the pin. A few people panicked, but Booth remained calm.
While driving with his right hand, he threw the grenade with his left. The thing flew perfectly straight before embedding itself inside a zombie's mouth and exploding. The flame and explosion enveloped the horde, dispersing the group.
"Such power and accuracy," Nate muttered with shining light in his eyes.
"This virus is a mockery to life," Dr. Frey said as she watched the aftermath of the explosion. The shrapnel from the grenade hit a few zombies' heads, killing them. However, the rest were still moving despite the burn or severe injuries.
Edward looked at these zombies. 'I wonder if they have a soul.' If these zombies have a soul— even if the soul is weak or broken — this world would be a paradise for Necromancers.
With Booth's skills, the team successfully navigated this troubling city. Edward's eyes shone brightly when he saw the university in the distance. His plan was one step closer to success.
Boom!
The car suddenly shook, followed by an intense swerve. If not for Booth's reflexes, the car would have flipped. "What just happened?" Dr. Frey asked, her voice trembling.
"Something hit us," Nate said.
"It's a licker," Edward said as he looked through the back window. "And there is more than one."
"How many are there?" Booth asked.
"Besides the one that hit us, there are two more," Edward answered.
"Three lickers are beyond my ability," Booth frowned. His mind worked on overdrive as he had an idea. He suddenly accelerated the car. These creatures were fast, but not fast enough to outrun this car at its top speed. As expected, one of them jumped on top of the car after realizing it was losing its track.
Edward started shooting the roof, and Nate followed. However, that meant nothing since none of their attacks hit the creature's head. Meanwhile, Booth continued accelerating, not stopping for even the other zombies rushing in. Then, when he was in an open area, he hit the break.
The sudden declaration sent the licker flying from the car, but Booth was ready. While the licker was still in the air, he used his quick reflexes to point his gun and blow its brain out.
"Run," Booth yelled as he immediately left the car as soon as it stopped. Nate was in the front seat with nothing blocking him. So, as soon as he heard these orders, he ran. William sat in the left back seat, and being quick-witted, he took off running. Unfortunately, Dr. Grey was in the middle, not giving her time to react. Edward should have been one of the fastest to exit this car, but he remained for some reason. In fact, he even jumped into the front seat.
So, when the two lickers hit the car with enough force to flip it over, these two were still inside. The worst part is that no one had time to take care of them since the lickers were their priority. A licker jumped toward Booth, forcing the latter into a close combat confrontation.
Meanwhile, the licker targeted Nate and William. Edward positioned himself to survive the crash. His ears were bleeding, and he had numerous cuts on his body, but he didn't care. He immediately went for the car's radio.
Lickers were weird creatures with no eyes, and they could only detect things through sound. Edward's plan was to rewire the car's stereo to release an intense burst of sonic waves; in other words, he would turn the car's stereo into a sonic weapon.
It was hard for him to work while being upside down and bleeding, but the advantage of synchronizing with this clone was his high willpower. So, he persevered through the pain until the car released a booming sound that almost destroyed his eardrums. Then, he heard the licker roaring as if in pain, followed by a gunshot.
Edward grunted as he slowly escaped through a small crack in the window. Dr. Frey had passed out, so he yelled for help, but no one came. Finally, Edward had to figure out how to get her out on his own and carry her over.
"Why did no one come to help?" He complained as he struggled to carry her. "No, what's with the intense atmosphere?" However, he answered his own questions when he saw the wounds on Nate's shoulders and William's face.
"Are they infected?" Edward asked.
"Unfortunately," Booth said with his hand resting on his gun.