Huan Tian stood still, holding his breath, doing his best to lower his body temperature. As the elevator's glowing numbers dropped steadily, the howls of the monsters gradually faded into the shaft below.
He exhaled deeply, only then realizing he was already drenched in cold sweat.
When he saw the blood-red, muscular arm, Huan Tian immediately recognized the thing below.
—It was a Tier-2 mutant.
But as for what specific type, even someone as battle-hardened as Huan Tian couldn't tell. Just the thought made him swallow hard. A Tier-2 mutant, without organized firepower, it was practically invincible. Only gene-enhanced soldiers or fully armed combat units could deal with such a behemoth.
Philie's voice had drawn him upward, but it was also thanks to the thick, fresh scent of Philie's blood that the Tier-2 mutant hadn't noticed him.
Otherwise, Huan Tian would already be dead.
"It's only been a short time, and a Tier-2 mutant has already appeared…"
"No wonder the fatality rate in this building was so unexpectedly high in the previous life. It must've been because of that thing."
Huan Tian quickly composed himself. Thankfully, the mutant had descended with the elevator. As long as he stayed cautious, he likely wouldn't encounter that monster again.
He wiped the blood off his fruit knife using the leaves of a nearby indoor evergreen plant. A notch had already appeared on the blade—probably from when it pierced the cervical vertebra of the first zombie and got caught on the skull.
Fortunately, the rest of the operation went smoothly. He arrived safely at his destination, just outside the break room adjacent to a small conference room.
The empty corridor made him wary of making even the slightest sound. He gripped the doorknob with his hand, slowly pressing it down with measured control, easing the door open by just a sliver.
Inside, it was pitch dark.
But in the next instant, a thick, iron-sweet stench of blood rushed out, setting Huan Tian's nerves on edge—
Something was wrong in that room.
Thud!
The door Huan Tian pushed slammed into something behind it. From the texture of the impact alone, he instantly knew what it was.
Almost at the same time, a terrifying roar burst out from behind the door.
But Huan Tian didn't hesitate—he summoned all his strength and rammed into the door with full force.
Bang!
The massive impact knocked the zombie behind the door to the ground.
In three quick strides, Huan Tian charged into the room. Just as the zombie began to lift its head, he stomped down hard, snapping its neck.
Then, the fruit knife plunged deep through its eye socket and into its brain.
With a sharp twist of the wrist—
A sickening crack echoed out. The zombie was completely dead.
Click-clack.
Behind him, the door slowly closed on its own.
But Huan Tian didn't let his guard down. His sharp gaze instantly locked onto the connecting door between the break room and the small conference room.
From the main conference room came bloodthirsty howls, each one more frenzied than the last.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The noise from Huan Tian's earlier impact had already drawn the attention of the zombies inside. They began pounding violently on the connecting door, each strike shaking it on its hinges.
The wooden door, already not very sturdy, was no match for the enhanced strength of the mutated zombies. Within moments, the door's center was smashed open, leaving a gaping hole.
A fat, large-headed male zombie shoved its head through, snarling as it tried to lunge at Huan Tian.
Reacting with lightning speed, Huan Tian lashed out with a kick, snapping the zombie's neck. A second kick slammed into its gut, sending the corpse crashing back into the door.
Its bulky body was impaled on the splintered wood, blocking most of the broken doorway.
The other zombies clawed and shoved behind it, trying to force their way through. But with the corpse clogging the entrance, all they could do for now was push their heads through the opening, snarling furiously.
This was exactly the result Huan Tian wanted. The fruit knife in his hand became a lethal weapon—each time a head pushed through the doorway, it was swiftly dispatched.
Even though he tried to preserve the blade by stabbing through the eye socket each time, the fruit knife inevitably became dulled and chipped. After killing the ninth zombie, the blade finally snapped in half, with a large piece left embedded in the zombie's skull.
[Ding. Killed Tier-1 Zombie: 10. Gained Demon Hunter Points: 10. Total Demon Hunter Points: 24]
"This weapon's still too fragile."
Huan Tian tore off a strip of fabric and carefully wrapped the broken fruit knife before tucking it into the makeshift backpack on his back. His top priority now was to find a new melee weapon—otherwise, relying solely on fists and feet would drain his stamina several times faster.
He grabbed a chair and kicked off one of the legs. These chair legs were square, hollow metal tubes—light yet sturdy. After removing the plastic anti-slip cap at the end, he used another chair to repeatedly crush one end of the tube into a crude cone shape.
Next, he tore some cloth from a zombie's corpse, wrapping it around the middle of the tube and bundling more cloth at the end to form a grip. The result: a makeshift short spear, just a bit longer than his forearm.
It wasn't quite a proper weapon, but it was a significant improvement over the broken fruit knife.
After dismantling one chair, he managed to create four such improvised melee weapons. Only then did Huan Tian push open the inner door.
Inside the meeting room, aside from scattered tables and chairs, there were only two bookshelves and a green potted plant. Documents littered the floor, stained with blood. The place was nearly devoid of anything useful, but at least the doors seemed sturdy.
Just then, something caught Huan Tian's eye in the darkness. He spun around instantly, drawing one of the short spears tucked into his waistband. His left hand gripped the shaft's midpoint, while his right pressed against the cloth-wrapped end. Though the point wasn't sharp, it was steady and aimed directly at the bookshelf behind him.
"Who's there? Come out!"
The shelf was no more than half a meter high, its double doors tightly shut.
But just below the door—
A small tuft of hair peeked out.
"Come out, miss. I know you're in there. If I wanted to force it open from the outside, you wouldn't be able to stop me."
As Huan Tian's calm yet firm voice echoed in the room, the cabinet doors finally began to tremble. A moment later, they were pushed open from within.
A beautiful woman in a professional outfit stumbled out in disarray.
She stood close to 170 centimeters tall, her long, silky hair cascading down her back. Her large, expressive eyes shimmered in the darkness like two gleaming stars.
Her tailored secretary uniform hugged her figure perfectly, highlighting every curve. Paired with black-framed glasses and sleek high heels, she looked like the embodiment of an office fantasy—the quintessential image of a cold, restrained beauty.
Yet her delicate, doll-like features gave her the air of a sweet girl next door. The combination of these two contrasting auras merged flawlessly within her, creating a powerful allure that could awaken the primal desire to conquer in any man.
Huan Tian recognized her instantly.
Lin Qingqing—his colleague from the secretary's department. Widely known across the company as a stunning beauty. Though Huan Tian hadn't interacted much with her, her reputation was excellent: warm, efficient, and highly capable. She was even scheduled for a promotion to the CEO's personal secretary team next month.
Judging by the situation, Lin Qingqing must have hidden herself in the cabinet the moment someone turned into a zombie. With her petite frame, she was probably the only one in the room who could fit and survive.
But Huan Tian's gaze upon seeing another human didn't carry the slightest trace of joy.
On the contrary—
A flash of cold, piercing light shot from his eyes like a blade of ice.