Chapter 2: Deadly Game, Zombie Invasion!

At that moment, the sky outside the window suddenly darkened, and a storm, along with thunder, erupted, causing the windows to shake. Memphis was first stunned, then, feeling a premonition, looked up at the sky.

There, a gigantic skull had appeared from nowhere. The skull, surrounded by swirling black clouds and lightning, seemed to stretch from a distant void, taking up half the sky.

Memphis's face froze in terror. What... what the hell was that?

Before he could think further, the skull opened its enormous mouth and spoke in a booming voice that seemed to pierce through his eardrums:

"Lowly ants, your days of leisure are over. From today, I will make you taste my wrath. Get ready to face my fury, join my game, and make me pleased, ha ha ha ha..."

As soon as the skull finished speaking, countless beams of light shot out from its eye sockets, entering the atmosphere from different angles. Memphis's eyes widened as he watched one beam head straight for him, hitting the top of his head with no chance to dodge.

Immediately after, a mechanical, emotionless voice echoed in his mind:

"Countdown 3… 2… 1… The game begins!"

With the end of the countdown, Memphis's entire body suddenly trembled, and in the next moment, a vast amount of information was crammed into his head.

"Host Memphis Jackman - Purebred Human.

Occupation: Commoner.

Level: 1 (Exp 0/5)

Strength: 7/10

Agility: 6/10

Stamina: 7/10

Intelligence: 9/10

Recovery: 7/10

Resilience: 7/10

Burst: 2%

Active skills: None

Passive skills: None

Skill points: 0

Potential points: 0

Equipment: Baseball bat"

Memphis finally regained his train of thought. At first, he was stunned, and then a surge of fear quickly rose within him.

What the hell just happened, and what are these pieces of information?

He looked at his hands, and somehow, a heavy black baseball bat had appeared, with a blood-red skull pattern on its tip.

What kind of freakish object is this?

"Kheeze... Heh heh..."

Before Memphis could think further, a chilling hissing sound echoed beside him. He quickly turned to see a rotten, pus-filled face with a mouthful of slimy white teeth slowly biting towards him.

"Damn it! Hughie, what's wrong with you? Get away from me."

Memphis recognized the owner of the rotten face. It was Hughie Kyle, his colleague, just a few seconds ago!

However, this colleague seemed to have lost all sense, moving instinctively towards him, trying to bite Memphis's neck with his white teeth.

Terrified and horrified, Memphis kicked out, sending Hughie Kyle sprawling to the floor.

But the person seemed to feel no pain, clambering back up to continue the attack, with no trace of clarity in his dull eyes.

Seeing this, a word involuntarily appeared in Memphis's mind: Zombie!

Hughie had turned into a zombie.

A zombie just like in the movies and novels.

"Aah... Help..."

A cry for help came from Memphis's right. He glanced over to see his colleague Jonny, also holding a black baseball bat, using it to block a bloodied mouth.

Jonny was being attacked by Hector Duffy, who had also turned into a zombie.

Without time to think too much, Memphis quickly recalled the zombie novels he often read, making a swift decision: Kill the zombie Hughie. And above all, don’t let him bite.

Even though he had never witnessed it in real life, the consequences of being bitten by a zombie were clear. That outcome was extremely dangerous and could even result in him turning into a zombie.

"Hughie, I'm sorry, I want to live."

Whack!

Memphis swung the baseball bat forward, hitting zombie Hughie's chest. Hughie's body, seemingly long decayed, collapsed inward at the chest, flying against a wall.

Despite such damage, the zombie felt no pain, quickly bouncing back and charging at Memphis like a maniac.

"Maybe the head is their weak point!"

Memphis quickly came to a conclusion, the baseball bat whooshed once more, striking the zombie's temple.

Thud!

A horrific cracking sound echoed. The zombie Hughie, hit by that swing, had its forehead shattered, revealing a dark, sticky substance oozing out from the inside. With its skull broken, Hughie immediately collapsed like a robot out of battery, falling to the floor, utterly lifeless.

As soon as he fell, two more zombies appeared from behind: Gustavo Cramer and Miley Cramer, the twin siblings with rotting, pus-dripping faces who, just half a minute ago, had been Memphis's colleagues.

His eyes widened, forgetting the fatigue in his arm, he stepped forward and swung the bat at Gustavo Cramer's skull, smashing it to pieces.

"Kheezee..."

Miley Cramer, seeing her brother being killed, felt no sorrow and still instinctively lunged to bite. Memphis, having just struck a blow, didn't have time to retreat, and could only bend down to dodge, getting hit in the back by Miley Cramer's hand.

Ugh!

He groaned in pain; the zombie's monstrous strength was comparable to a punch from an adult human.

Suppressing the nauseating pain, Memphis jabbed the baseball bat upwards from below, with a thud, shattering the zombie's jaw.

But such an injury was not enough to kill it, only exposing a maw filled with half-red, half-black mushy flesh, its tongue grotesquely mutated, bristling with flesh and teeth. Memphis stifled his nausea and swung the bat, smashing Miley Cramer's head.

"Aaahhhh..."

Just as he finished off the three zombies, a painful, agonized scream from Jonny rang out from the table beside him.

Memphis hurriedly looked over, only to see the zombie Hector Duffy grabbing Jonny's arm, its sharp teeth biting off a piece of flesh, chewing and swallowing it.

Without thinking much, he quickly grabbed the baseball bat, leapt onto the table, and swung down from above, smashing the zombie's head, sending blood and flesh flying.

Hector Duffy was dead too.

"Aaaah. Hurts... hurts so much, Memphis, save me."

Jonny collapsed to one side, clutching his arm, his face pale with pain, tears and snot streaming down.

Memphis was about to rush over to help him but felt a shiver in his heart, turning to run towards the door.

Click... Click...