Gunfire echoed through the street, loud bursts mixed with Jaxon's quieter shots.
Then, click, click.
The young guy's weapon was empty. He pressed the trigger again and again, but no bullets came.
"Shit!" he yelled.
Before he could reload, one of the infected tackled him to the ground. His screams filled the air, followed by the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart.
The middle-aged guy tried to pull his friend away, but before he could, a huge zombie, at least six feet tall came out of nowhere and slammed into him, sending him flying.
This one was different. It didn't just bite like the others. It actually shoved away the other infected that were trying to get to the guy, like it wanted him all to itself.
The guy groaned, slowly lifting his head. His eyes went wide when he saw the huge zombie standing over him, its mouth twisted into a sick grin. Then, instead of biting, it threw a punch right at his face.
Crack.
It didn't stop there. Like a crazed beast, the zombie kept punching and kicking him over and over, each hit breaking bones and sending blood flying. The guy screamed, but the sounds faded into gurgles as his body was being destroyed. And it didn't just punch, it watched between each blow, like it was studying the pain it was causing.
"Stop it, you goddamn freaks!" Jaxon hissed, fury building up inside him as he fired shot after shot.
Thup! Thup! Thup!
He tried to aim for the big one, but the other infected kept getting in the way.
Minutes passed before the cries finally stopped. The street went quiet except for the groans of feeding zombies. Jaxon pulled back from the scope, his stomach twisting. He leaned to the side and threw up.
'What in the rotten hell was that…' he thought, wiping his mouth with a trembling hand.
Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and looked through the scope again. Most of the group had already turned into infected, their bodies twitching on the ground. Only the middle-aged man's corpse remained, half-eaten, surrounded by the feeding horde.
'He didn't turn? What's going on?' Jaxon thought, his eyes narrowing. Confusion quickly turned into anger as he started firing at the infected gnawing on the man's body.
Thup! Thup!
The zombies dropped one by one, but then Jaxon saw it, the big one. It slowly lifted its head, its mouth covered in blood and bits of flesh. For a second, it just stared right at him through the scope. Then, its lips curled into a sick grin, showing rows of teeth stained with blood.
Jaxon's breath caught in his throat. The thing was smiling at him.
Then, it stood up and started running straight towards him.
'That bastard saw me!' Jaxon cursed under his breath and steadied his aim. It was about two hundred meters away, but the thing was moving crazy fast, weaving back and forth. His first few shots missed.
Thup! Thup!
'Alright then, come on,' Jaxon thought, forcing himself to stay calm. He slowed his breathing and waited for the right moment instead of just rushing his shots.
One hundred meters... eighty... fifty… Thup!
Missed again.
Thirty meters... twenty... Thup!
The bullet tore through the zombie's shoulder, making it stumble and roll across the street. It got back on its feet, hissing… then Thup!
A clean hit. The bullet went right through its forehead, leaving a huge hole as the body fell to the ground.
(10 EXP, 15 coins, and 0.10 stamina obtained from the zombie)
(You have Leveled up to 1.)
Jaxon let out a sharp breath, finally exhaling. He'd been holding it in the whole time he was sniping, like someone diving deep underwater. His hands were still shaking a little, a mix of anxiety, tension, and fear running through him. He'd felt for the first time what it was like to be hunted by those things.
He wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"That was a weird one," he muttered to himself. "In novels and games, zombies always mutate... are they actually starting to mutate for real?" Even though that zombie didn't seem physically different, the way it tortured that guy before killing him was something else.
He adjusted his scope and looked back at the middle-aged guy. The remaining zombies tore at his body, leaving almost nothing but bones.
'That was about 200 meters away, and that thing spotted me when the others didn't. It wasn't just strong and fast, it had crazy good eyesight too,' he thought, making a mental note to remember it for the future.
He glanced down at his clothes and looked around his room. 'I need to blend in better. Snipers are always camouflaged in the movies... maybe there's something I can use from the system shop, I should check that out later.'
He turned his attention back to the zombies in the distance. 'It's not just that big one that was weird. Before that, that one infected that spotted the group earlier, leading to all this... it acted strange too, like its sense of smell was way better than normal.' He thought back to it.
But Jaxon shook his head, clearing his thoughts. 'Doesn't matter what they are now, I just need to get stronger fast.'
He went back to sniping, taking out the rest of the infected that were still eating the guy's body. Eight more dropped under his shots, their heads exploding quietly in the distance.
A few minutes later, the street was empty. Any infected he hadn't killed had wandered off, moving around restlessly like they always did.
Jaxon finally let himself breathe. He relaxed his shoulders, which were starting to ache, and opened his status window to check his progress.
…..
Name: Jaxon Hawk
Level: 1 (28/110)
Age: 24
Strength: 8.61
Speed: 7.18
Agility: 6.10
Intelligence: 8.01
Stamina: 8.27
Vitality: 5.11
Stat points: 1
Passive Skill:
Marksmanship (F+): Gains instinctive knowledge on how to hold, aim, and fire a gun with minimal recoil and better control.
Coins: 43
…..
He was a little surprised that leveling up didn't automatically boost any of his stats. The only gains he'd gotten were from actually killing zombies.
'So it's not like the games after all,' he muttered, clicking his tongue in annoyance. Still, to make himself feel a little better, he had gotten one stat point. "Guess the system's not that generous, huh?"
"I've still got a long way to go. But at least my Marksmanship skill went up to F+. Can't complain too much about that."
For now, he decided to ignore the new items in the system shop. His body was aching all over, and he needed sleep more than anything else.
He went over to his bed and flopped down. As soon as he closed his eyes, darkness took over, falling into a deep, heavy sleep.