Chapter 107: The Licker
Sizzle... sizzle...
In the hospital corridor, the lights on either side flickered intermittently.
The entire hospital was unusually quiet, and Mord hadn't encountered a single zombie along the way, which was highly unusual.
In the empty hallway, only the echo of Mord's footsteps reverberated.
Tap.
Mord suddenly halted.
The lights ended here entirely. From the darkness ahead came faint, intermittent breathing sounds, like those of a wild animal.
Mord's right hand rested on the Zanpakutō at his waist. In his perception, a shadow had just flashed past in the darkness ahead, but it was too fast and too far away for him to make out more than a rough outline.
This wasn't a speed ordinary zombie creatures could possess. Though he didn't know exactly what it was, it was likely some kind of monster.
Probably a product of evolution or mutation.
Considering the absence of any ordinary zombies in the hospital, perhaps they had all been devoured by this creature.
Mord's expression remained unchanged as he gripped his Zanpakutō and walked into the darkness, until his entire form was swallowed by the shadows.
"It's here!"
Through his En perception, Mord accurately sensed something rapidly approaching from behind.
Without a second thought, Mord drew his Zanpakutō and spun around, slashing!
"Ah!"
Black blood splattered through the air.
A piercing scream echoed throughout the hospital. The monster, its arm slashed, let out an eerie howl of pain before leaping up and clinging to the ceiling with all four limbs.
It then opened its bloody maw wide at Mord.
Whoosh!
A crimson tongue nearly eight meters long shot out from the monster's mouth like an arrow, darting straight toward Mord.
Mord sidestepped effortlessly, dodging the attack.
Bang!
The next instant, the spot where Mord had just been standing was pierced through by the red tongue. The solid rock shattered as easily as tofu under its force.
Missing its strike, the monster swiftly leaped onto the adjacent building, scaling the walls rapidly as it searched for another opportunity to attack.
But in the next moment, a flash of electricity cut through the darkness, instantly arriving above it. With a single slash, the monster was severed and sent plummeting.
Crash!
Head separated from body, the two halves of the monster fell from the fourth floor, slamming hard onto the ground with a deafening impact.
As the electric light faded, Mord's figure became visible. He gazed at the now completely lifeless monster before him.
Its body was skinless, covered entirely in a terrifying blood-red hue. Its four limbs were thick and muscular, each ending in long, sharp claws, while its brain and heart were exposed to the open air.
But the most striking feature was undoubtedly the several-meter-long crimson tongue protruding from its mouth.
Licker?
Mord's expression tightened slightly. In different times and spaces, similar creations had coincidentally emerged. However, in his previous life, such monsters existed only in films and video games—now, one was right before his eyes, alive and real.
...
Federation of Ochima Military Base.
Colonel Stephen stared at the footage transmitted on the monitor, his face filled with shock.
The Licker was already a product of secondary mutation, its combat power capable of instantly killing elite soldiers in the military. Although its destructive power was insufficient—a weakness—its speed surpassed that of ordinary Nen users...
Especially since it had been in darkness just moments before, the Licker's vision had completely vanished, replaced by acute hearing and touch. Darkness was entirely its domain.
He was also a Nen user, but he believed that if roles were reversed, he could never achieve the same clean, swift efficiency as Mord.
Particularly noticeable on the surveillance display was that not a single drop of sweat beaded on that man's forehead.
Watching all this, Colonel Stephen fell silent for a moment, then took out his phone and dialed one of the numbers.
For Mord, the only thing he needed to be careful of was not to get injured by these monsters.
If he got infected, it would truly be game over.
Currently, the only thing that could save him, Benihime, had yet to unlock Bankai.
Thus, even though Mord's strength far exceeded that of these Lickers, he dealt with them with extreme caution.
The Lickers were indeed fast and highly agile, capable of climbing freely between walls and floors.
Aside from their fangs and claws, special attention had to be paid to their tongues—a highly penetrative ability that the Ren of novice Nen users might not be able to defend against.
As Mord ventured deeper into the hospital.
He encountered several more Lickers in quick succession. Fortunately, these creatures lacked much intelligence and had no concept of tactical coordination, attacking purely on instinct.
With a swift raise and fall of his blade, Mord added four more Licker corpses to the count.
[NO ENTRY!]
Mord glanced up at the half-fallen sign and continued inward.
Upon entering this area, it immediately brightened up again.
What lay before him resembled a biological research institute more than a hospital.
Mord casually forced open a locked door, but instead of the expected horrific scene, the entire room showed no signs of damage. Even the desk, chairs, computer, filing cabinet, water dispenser, and other items remained in their original positions.
If not for the two cold corpses serving as a reminder, anyone entering would never suspect anything amiss.
Judging by their attire, they were likely researchers here.
Both had died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head, and based on the bloodstains on the floor, they had been dead for several days.
On the desk lay a blood-stained diary.
Mord flipped through it. The contents roughly stated that these people were employed by the Federation of Ochima to conduct a biochemical experiment aimed at developing a panacea capable of curing all terminal illnesses.
The initial sample was provided by the Federation of Ochima, and the researchers had indeed detected vigorous vitality in the sample fluid, as if it contained boundless life force.
After a period of research, they finally produced a test product.
They began experimenting on terminal patients in the hospital.
Monitoring revealed that the drug they created could rapidly eliminate the original pathogens in the patients' bodies, but it also severely damaged their brain stems.
Turning them into irrational monsters.
Later, the researchers found that patients injected with the drug began to crave blood and flesh, biting anyone they saw, while possessing immense strength and complete insensitivity to pain.
When they reported their research success to the Federation of Ochima, the other party was overjoyed and immediately sent personnel to retrieve the research results.
This made the researchers feel deceived, while simultaneously, some patients injected with the medication escaped from the hospital.
As days passed, more and more infected individuals appeared in the city, and the situation spiraled out of control.
In the end, the researchers chose to commit suicide to atone for their actions.
This was the truth behind Tolgon City becoming a dead city.
Mord then put away the diary.
Elsewhere.
A military attack helicopter took off from the Federation of Ochima's military base, heading toward Tolgon City.