The creature sniffed the air, its grotesque nose twitching as if tracking a scent. Its four claws dug into the side of the building, even gripping the smooth concrete as it climbed. Then, suddenly, its head snapped toward the rooftop. In an instant, its limbs moved like lightning, propelling it with terrifying speed.
Jaxon didn’t dare to watch it any longer. He pressed himself lower under the soaked blanket, letting the creature’s guttural, distorted roar echo around him. The monster sniffed the air a few more tis before leaping away, vanishing from sight.
Jaxon waited, barely daring to breathe. Only after several tense monts passed without a sound did he cautiously raise his head, scanning the area. Seeing nothing, he slowly stood, keeping the blanket draped around him.
"Let’s move... quickly," he whispered.
But before they could take a single step, Na-rin’s voice cut through the tense silence. "Jaxon!"
A huge shadow suddenly erged from the street below. It was the creature from before, its malford body lunging straight at him.
Ti seed to slow. Jaxon’s instincts took over. In a blur of motion, a sheet of cloth appeared in his hands, and he threw it directly at the creature’s face. At the sa ti, he twisted his body to the side and drove a powerful kick into its flank.
Everything happened in a heartbeat, the throw, the twist, the kick, but it was enough to buy him a fraction of space. The creature screeched, clawing blindly at the blanket that obscured its vision.
Cindy and Na-rin held their breath behind him, frozen in shock.
As the creature was knocked to the side, Jaxon’s rifle appeared in his hands. "Now!" he shouted.
The creature ripped the cloth off its face with a violent shake. But the mont it did, a storm of bullets was already flying toward it.
Jaxon fired first, and Cindy and Na-rin followed a heartbeat later as the three of them unleashed a continuous barrage.
With three fully upgraded weapons, the creature stood little chance. Its massive body only made it an easier target.
Each bullet tore into its flesh with brutal force. Chunks of rotten at burst apart, bones splintering under the impact as the rounds ripped through its torso.
Yet the creature kept screaming. The horrifying sound like a man, woman, and child crying out together continued even as bullets shredded its body.
Jaxon narrowed his eyes and adjusted his aim, firing directly into its face and open mouth.
But the noise didn’t stop. Then he realized sothing.
The sound wasn’t coming from its mouth. It was coming from its belly.
The creature’s abdon pulsed grotesquely as that twisted chorus of voices continued to howl, echoing through the surrounding streets.
Jaxon’s expression hardened. "Finish it!"
The three of them kept firing until the monster’s body finally collapsed under the relentless barrage. Its horrible cries slowly faded, replaced by a heavy silence.
Then a notification flashed inside Jaxon’s mind.
(150 EXP, 150 coins, and 1 Agility obtained from the infected)
Normally, that would have been good news. But Jaxon’s heart sank instead.
That last scream... A bad feeling rose in his chest. He could already imagine what it had done.
"Run!" he shouted.
Before either girl could react, Jaxon grabbed them both, hoisting Cindy over one shoulder and Na-rin over the other like sacks of grain.
Then he jumped. Cindy and Na-rin squeezed their eyes shut as he leapt from the three-story building.
A mont later... BOOM.
Jaxon landed hard on the street below, the impact echoing loudly through the empty road. But he didn’t slow down. Without missing a step, he broke into a full sprint.
Behind them, faint sounds were already rising from the city. Growls, footsteps, the distant screeching of infected.
Jaxon’s ears twitched as he listened while running. They were coming.
Only a few seconds later, a sharp, insect-like roar echoed through the streets behind them. Then more followed.
Cindy and Na-rin twisted their heads to look back, and their faces imdiately drained of color.
Several grasshopper infected were bounding toward them with terrifying speed. Their elongated legs propelled them forward in huge leaps, covering ground far faster than normal infected.
Fear appeared on both girls’ faces as the creatures rushed toward them.
"They’re fast!" Cindy gasped.
Jaxon had already heard them. The pounding rhythm of their leaps was impossible to miss. He glanced back once and imdiately understood the danger. There were dozens behind... and more were still pouring into the street.
He stopped holding back. "Hold on!"
His legs surged with explosive strength as he pushed himself harder. His strides grew longer and faster, his body moving like a blur through the street. The sudden acceleration made both girls jolt slightly on his shoulders.
Na-rin gritted her teeth and twisted her upper body enough to aim behind them. She raised her pistol and began firing.
So shots missed as the infected zigzagged through the road, but several bullets struck their targets, staggering a few of the creatures and slowing their montum.
anwhile, Cindy fumbled with a radio in her hand. "Natasha, we see you yet?!" she spoke urgently into it.
Jaxon kept his eyes forward, searching for the fastest path out of the street maze.
Then... CRACK!
A sharp rifle shot sliced through the air past Jaxon’s side, and one of the chasing infected’s head exploded as it collapsed mid-leap.
Jaxon imdiately looked ahead. There it was. The familiar Hilux pickup was racing down the street toward them. Isabel was behind the wheel, steering aggressively through abandoned cars.
And standing through the roof hatch was Natasha. She fired again, calm and precise despite the speeding vehicle.
CRACK! Another grasshopper infected dropped.
Her shots ca one after another, each one perfectly tid as she thinned the pack chasing them. But there were still too many.
"Na-rin," Jaxon said quickly, "hold tight to ."
Without hesitation, she wrapped both arms around his neck, locking herself firmly against his back.
(140 coins spent. Frag Grenade successfully purchased ×2.)
Two grenades suddenly appeared in Jaxon’s hands.
Without slowing down, he hooked the pins with his teeth and yanked them free. In the sa motion, he twisted his torso and glanced back for only a split second. Then he hurled both grenades behind them.
"Grenades!" he warned.
A heartbeat later... BOOM! BOOM!
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