Chapter 128 Battle in the tunnel.

Chapter 128: Chapter 128 Battle in the tunnel.

"Who got bitten?"

Still, no one answered her. The zombies continued clawing through them, snapping their jaws and throwing themselves at anything that moved. Luna’s heart pounded violently as she searched for a way to end the mess before it became even worse.

Then she saw someone staggering. A sharp gasp escaped him. He stumbled sideways before crashing against the opposite wall with a loud thud.

Luna’s eyes immediately locked onto him. "Kai!"

Kai was struggling to breathe. His usually playful expression had completely disappeared, replaced by one of pure exhaustion.

Luna’s eyes widened when she saw his arm. A jagged bite mark was carved deeply into his flesh. But that wasn’t the worst of it. His leg had a gaping hole in it, as though a huge chunk of flesh had been ripped away. Blood covered his uniform.

For a moment, Luna couldn’t breathe. Kai was the one who had been bitten. Her eyes bulged as panic nearly overwhelmed her. "No, no, no!" She shook her head violently. "Not you! Not you guys!"

Something inside her snapped. She didn’t even realize when her system activated the weapon. A strange firearm appeared in her hand, its structure glowing with destructive energy. Luna pulled the trigger.

BOOM! The explosion tore through the tunnel. Several zombies were blown apart instantly, their bodies thrown backward as pieces of brain matter and decomposing flesh splattered against the walls.

BOOM! Another explosion. More zombies were reduced to bloody pieces.

Luna didn’t stop. She fired again and again, each blast clearing another section of the horde.

"Luna!"

Adrian saw Kai’s condition and immediately rushed toward him. A zombie lunged at Adrian. He swung his hand, and a portal opened directly in front of the creature. The zombie disappeared into it and was instantly thrown into another section of the tunnel. Adrian grabbed Kai before he could fall. "Come on!"

Kai tried to push him away. "I’m fine."

"You’re bleeding everywhere!" Adrian tightened his grip. "We’re getting you out."

"Let’s go!" Luna ordered. "We have to get out now. One of us is already down!"

Rowan, who had been trying desperately to keep the horde away from them, glanced around. He knew Luna was right. They couldn’t stay. The zombies weren’t decreasing. If anything, they seemed to be multiplying. Every time they killed a few, more appeared from the deeper sections of the tunnel. It looked as though they were being summoned from somewhere nearby. And if they stayed even one minute longer, someone else would get bitten.

Rowan turned and tried to run. He barely took two steps before several zombies jumped on him. "Get the fuck off!" He fought desperately, trying to keep their teeth away from his body. One of the creatures clawed at his shoulder. Another reached for his neck. Rowan twisted violently and tried to throw them off. He didn’t know what he was doing anymore. He simply reacted.

Then his power surged. A snake emerged from the holes in the wall. At first, Rowan wasn’t even sure whether the creature was alive. Its body slithered forward, growing larger with every second. "What the hell?"

The snake continued expanding. Its massive body twisted through the narrow passage. Then its tail suddenly whipped around. It wrapped around the legs of several zombies. The creatures were lifted from the ground.

Rowan’s eyes widened. The snake threw them one by one. CRASH! One zombie slammed against the wall. Its skull cracked open. Another hit the ground so hard that its skin blistered. Another landed against the stone and part of its already-decaying body simply melted away into a disgusting puddle.

Rowan stared for half a second. "Good job."

The snake continued attacking. It wrapped itself around several more zombies and sent them flying. Rowan used the opening to escape.

Meanwhile, Ethan was having his own problem. The creatures attacking him weren’t even the zombies anymore. Skeletons were crawling across the floor. Handless skeletons. Some had no arms at all, yet somehow they were still trying to claw into his skin. One skeleton lunged toward his face. Ethan slammed it into the ground. Another immediately crawled over it.

"What the hell are you things?" He kicked one away. It came right back. Ethan drove his weapon through another skeleton and threw it aside. But it didn’t stay down. It rose again. "You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!" He slammed another one into the floor. It crawled back toward him. He repeated the same thing. Again. Again. Again. Every time he knocked them down, they returned. Their jaws gnashed dangerously close to his face. Their bony fingers scratched against his uniform.

Ethan’s breathing became frantic. "I swear I’m going to lose my mind!"

More hands grabbed him. One wrapped around his leg. Another grabbed his arm. A third clawed toward his face. Ethan struggled desperately.

Then—CRACK! A wave of ice slammed through the skeletons. They were thrown away from him instantly.

Ethan looked up. Kai was standing several feet away. His entire body was trembling. Ice covered his hands.

"Kai!" Ethan shouted.

Luna immediately rushed toward him. She crouched beside him. "Stop using your powers!"

Kai looked at her. "I’m fine."

"No, you’re not." Luna grabbed his shoulder. "Stop using your powers. It’s not advisable to keep burning yourself out, especially when you’re badly wounded."

Kai stared at her.

Luna’s expression was serious. "Your body is already trying to heal the damage. If you continue forcing your powers out while you’re injured, your organs can begin to reject your own cells."

Everyone knew what she meant. Awakened people sometimes faced that terrifying consequence when they became too overwhelmed or overused their abilities. The body was supposed to heal itself. But when an awakened person’s powers were pushed beyond their limits while they were severely injured, the healing process could go wrong. Their own body could turn against them. Small injuries that should have been survivable could suddenly become fatal.

Kai lowered his eyes. "You know that’s impossible."

"It’s not."

"I am going to die, Luna." His voice was quieter now. "Zombies bit me. There’s no cure for that. This is fatal." He looked at the wound on his arm. "It’s either I transform into one of those things..." He swallowed. "...or I die."

Luna’s expression tightened. "I won’t let either happen."

Kai gave her a faint smile. "But if I do turn, I don’t want to become one of them. So I’d rather die naturally." His eyes softened. "And while I’m dying, I want to save you guys. I can’t let all of you die here with me."

He tried to stand. "Go." Luna stared at him. "Go out with the others. Leave me here." He tried to push her away. "I don’t want you guys infected too."

Luna immediately slammed her palm over his mouth. "Just stop trying to be a hero."

Kai blinked.

"Because I won’t be here while you’re dying." Her voice shook with anger. "No cure or not, we’re going to find one." She grabbed his face. "Even if it means hunting the whole fucking earth for one, that’s what we’re going to do."

Kai stared at her. Luna’s eyes were burning with determination. "You are not dying here."

Before Kai could respond, he suddenly coughed. A thick blackish substance came from his mouth.

Luna’s expression changed. "Kai..."

The wounds on his arm were already beginning to darken. Black veins slowly crawled beneath his skin. The infection was spreading.

"Fuck." Luna clenched her fists. "Aren’t you guys listening? We’re leaving." Her voice became cold. "Now."

But Adrian, who was still fighting for his life, suddenly shouted. "It’s not that simple!"

Luna looked at him.

"The formation has gotten tighter!" Adrian opened another portal and sent several zombies flying away. "They don’t want us to leave!"

The zombies were attacking with even more force now. They were closing in from every direction.

Rowan’s giant snake was still fighting. But suddenly several zombies jumped onto its massive body. The creature twisted violently. Its tail whipped across the passage, smashing several zombies aside. But more climbed onto it. Then the skeletons joined them. Bony hands dug into the snake’s torso. Their fingers pierced through its thick skin. The snake violently twisted and hissed. Its body shook as it tried to throw them off.

Rowan watched it struggle. "Hold on!"

The snake fought harder. But the horde continued climbing over it.

Rowan gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to leave his summoned creature behind. But he had no choice.

"Now!" He ran toward the others. "Go!"

They all moved together. But when they reached the other end of the narrow passage, Luna froze. Skeletons were already crawling toward them from that side. They were completely surrounded. The squad had nowhere to go.

Luna’s breathing became heavier. She looked at Kai. His face was pale. His wounds were turning darker.

Something inside Luna snapped again. She didn’t understand why she was supposed to keep running. These creatures had nearly killed Kai. They had attacked her people. They had dragged them through this horrible place. And now they expected her to simply escape?

No. Absolutely not.

"They’re paying for this shit." Luna’s voice was low. She glared at the horde. "They’re going to pay until they’re rotted into the ground."

The others had retreated behind her. But even now, there was no escape route. The zombies were closing in. Their growls filled the tunnel. Hundreds of rotten mouths opened. They wanted Luna. They wanted all of them.

But Luna stepped forward. Her system suddenly displayed a weapon she had seen previously. She stared at it. Then a slow grin appeared on her face.

"Fine." Her finger hovered over the activation button. "This is it."

The weapon appeared in front of her. The system displayed a warning.

[Automatic nuclear bomb explosion triggered.]

Luna grinned. "Let’s see how you like this."

She was about to activate it when a skeletal hand suddenly reached her. The creature grabbed her. Its fingers immediately moved toward her eye.

Luna’s eyes widened. "Get off me!"

Before the claws could reach her—BOOM! The ground shook. Kai staggered forward. He slammed his foot against the ground. Then his fist crashed into the floor. A massive wave of power spread beneath them. The entire ground transformed. Stone erupted upward. The zombies froze. Every single one. The skeletal hands stopped.

Kai stood there, barely keeping himself upright. His breathing was ragged.

Luna stared at him. "Kai..." He had used his power again. Despite everything she had told him. But this time, he had saved her.

Adrian suddenly stepped forward. His portal began pulsing violently. He rolled his hands in circles. The space around them twisted. The ground beneath their feet turned into a heavy, thick vortex. Adrian looked toward Luna. "Here’s the portal." He pointed. "Let’s go!"

Luna stared at the frozen horde. Then she looked at Kai. She immediately dropped the nuclear bomb weapon. There was no time. She grabbed Kai and pulled him toward the portal. "Move!"

They jumped. Luna dragged Kai through first. Ethan followed immediately. Rowan jumped after him. Adrian remained behind for one final second. He looked toward the frozen horde. Then toward the collapsing tunnel.

"Come on!" He jumped into the portal.

The moment he passed through—the portal sealed.

The zombies suddenly began moving again. They charged toward where the humans had disappeared. But they were too late.

The frozen zombies exploded. BOOM! The blast tore through the tunnel. The remaining creatures were thrown into the air. The walls cracked. The ceiling collapsed. Stone and debris came crashing down. The entire passage began tumbling apart, crushing e

verything inside it into millions of pieces.

And far beneath the ruined supermarket, the mysterious tunnel disappeared under the weight of the collapsing earth.