Zombies Apocalypse: Too Late To Run!

Chapter 9: Frozen And Earth Transmutation Of Energy.

The passage of five days felt as if the sun overhead had frozen in the sky, never setting, as if the Earth had ceased its rotation. Hubert slowly opened his eyes from his meditative position, his state of "sleep" allowing him to perceive everything happening around him. He knew five days had passed, yet the zombies hadn't discovered their hideout. He glanced at Jacob sitting beside him, the aura radiating around him in intense hues of red and orange, sweltering and relentless, coupled with the blinding sunlight, causing the sweat to stream down, soaking his recently changed clothes. The wounds Jacob had, were healing as well.

After five days, a gnawing sensation of hunger made its presence felt, and he reached for some food again.

Rising, Hubert approached the railing, peering down at the ground, using his enhanced vision to survey the surroundings. Zombies were everywhere and evolving, growing agile, some even progressing to peak level one and, astonishingly, level two. The ones reaching level two began to display advanced cognitive abilities, sensing danger or the presence of higher-level zombies. Zombies moved in hordes, dividing themselves into factions, much like humans.

The more powerful a zombie horde, the larger territory it claimed, even posing threats to weaker herds or coercing them into joining. The hordes here were nascent, and the truly powerful zombies were where the meteorite had fallen. Too far for Hubert to see clearly, yet he observed the zombies congregating and then dispersing from there. Was Theodore among them, he wondered?

"Hubert, what are you looking at?"

Jacob's voice cut through his train of thought just in time. Hubert turned to see him approaching, his circulating energy visibly more vibrant than it had been a few days ago. Jacob had advanced again.

"Did you level up again?"

"Yes, I leveled up."

Hubert nodded before expressing his regret:

"If we hadn't had to flee so hastily yesterday, we could've harvested the fire-type zombie's nucleus. Your special ability's energy would have become stronger."

"It's alright, and we'll have more opportunities. What about you? Have you advanced yet?"

Hubert shook his head. His experience appeared to exceed Jacob's far. He hadn't felt any increase in energy. Five days had passed, but his accumulated energy was still less than a tenth of what was needed to level up. The previous game system had explained that because he was a seven-star body, his cultivation was slower than others, but in terms of extraordinary energy, it was more dominant. Hubert nodded to himself, and it was acceptable to be slow as long as he wasn't falling behind. With Jacob's current cultivation speed, he could rely on him.

"Ah, help!"

Suddenly, Hubert heard a distant cry for help. Upon listening more intently, he realized the call emanated from the street below, indicating he hadn't suppressed his sharp hearing. Once again, Hubert leaned over the railing to observe below, where two young women were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with more than a dozen zombies, one fighting upfront while the other hid behind, both crying and screaming.

"Quickly, get on the helicopter. There are people below!"

After speaking, Hubert swiftly jumped onto the helicopter, Jacob trailing behind. Jacob took the pilot’s seat and began to start up the aircraft. With a humming sound, the helicopter lifted into the air and was soon directly over the two women. Seeing the plane was like spotting a divine savior to them, particularly the woman hiding behind, who shouted.

“Sister, it’s a helicopter!”

Hubert opened the helicopter door, threw down a rope ladder, and adeptly swung himself down.

“Both of you climb up first, and I’ll hold them off.”

As soon as Hubert jumped onto a car roof, he released his psychic energy. The woman, “sister,” immediately picked up her younger sibling and climbed the rope ladder.

“You go up first!”

“But what about you, sister?”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

After speaking, she turned around, using her power to fire. Hubert’s water bullets, meeting with the woman’s ice ability, immediately froze, causing the approaching dozen zombies to halt. Hubert grinned widely.

“Good coordination!”

“Shoot water at their feet.”

“Okay.”

Hubert followed her words, firing water bullets at the ground, instantly creating a puddle up to their knees. The woman used her ice ability to fire again, immediately freezing the approaching zombies’ legs and preventing their movement. Seeing the ease of the situation caused the woman to lower her guard momentarily, and one of the zombies unexpectedly managed to avoid getting frozen. It lunged at the woman.

“Watch out!”

But Hubert was too far from her, leaving her no way to dodge. Just as the zombie’s claws were about to reach her, a fire suddenly burst forth, burning the low-level ice zombie to a crisp. Hubert looked up, seeing it was Jacob who dared to let a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl fly the helicopter while he stood at the helicopter door assisting him. After removing the zombie, Jacob returned to the pilot’s seat, lowering the helicopter slightly. Just as Hubert was about to climb up, a few strands of green and white light appeared within the pile of ash. It was the crystal of the ice system.

“Pick it up.”

Hubert signaled the woman to pick it up. She didn’t hesitate to collect it, and they both climbed the rope ladder. Before leaving, Hubert used his ice ability to freeze the entire zombie group below, which shattered into pieces after a few seconds. Although ruthless, if they allowed them to evolve further, humans and mutants would face countless unpredictable dangers.

Upon reaching the helicopter, the woman with the ice ability lay down, panting heavily without reservation. She tossed the crystal to Hubert.

“Absorb it. Consider it a repayment for saving our lives. I won’t be this great next time we get a core.”

Hubert grasped the core, it was in his possession, but presently, he wasn’t capable of assimilating it. This was due to his unique physiological difference from the rest.

Ordinarily, for others, be they dual elementalists or triple elementalists, an evolution of one of their elements consequently triggers the rest. But the seven elemental constructs of his body differed, currently, only his metallic element had evolved to the second tier. Any audacious attempt to absorb the energy from this core could result in an overload reminiscent of past experiences. His ice and water elements, still at the base level, would be affected. Hubert tossed the core back to the girl.

“I haven’t ascended to the level of an elemental manipulator yet, incapable of assimilation. It’s yours to take.”

“Hmph. That’s acceptable.”

The girl subsequently sat up, clutching the core and scrutinizing it for a while, then she looked at her younger sister standing next to Jacob and said,

“My name is Lucia, an evolved ice element manipulator, and that’s my sister, Bella, an earth element manipulator.”

Hubert nodded in acknowledgment as earth, and wood elements were most commonly seen. It was not surprising that he’d been encountering these two elements recently. Jacob then inquired:

“Lucia, you seem quite proficient in using your elemental powers. Have you evolved?”

“Indeed, at a high level of tier one.”

So, she was on the same level as Jacob. As Lucia spoke, she started absorbing the core. After about ten minutes, she was finally done. The streaks of blue and white energy covering her body gradually disappeared. Hubert didn’t cease to praise:

“Lucia, your mastery over elemental power is impressive, and you seem to know more than us.”

“Because my parents work in an elemental research institute. I’ve read some projects they stored in a secret room. Luckily, they’ve proven useful now.”

Hubert nodded. Now his team had a powerful control ice element manipulator who also could cause harm. What more could they ask for? The rescue operation and the search for their relatives would be much easier.

“As for Bella, has your elemental power manifested yet? Or you just felt it?”

Bella had been standing next to Jacob the entire time. She seemed somewhat scared by Hubert’s decisive zombie-killing actions. After a moment, she responded:

“I can feel the energy circulating within me, and I can sense my energy linking with the ground beneath my feet. But we’re high now, so I can’t deploy my elemental power.”

Hubert nodded, beckoning Bella to sit next to him. Despite being engaged in piloting the helicopter, Jacob was sneakily observing every little action. Bella hesitantly moved over and sat beside Hubert, as per his instructions, placing her hand on his. Since Hubert was also capable of utilizing Earth’s elemental power, he could sense the energy within her body. The energy source was minimal, and it seemed to have just emerged. To ascend it would require a substantial amount of time.

“The energy source within you is too small to nourish your elemental power. Once we land safely, I’ll teach you ways to cultivate more swiftly.”

Afterward, Hubert looked toward Lucia and remarked:

“You’re only focused on advancing yourself, not giving any guidance to your little sister.”

“Hey, it’s just that the kid is too timid to follow my training method. I’ll be relying on you from now on. But I don’t even know your name or... the pilot’s.”

Hearing Lucia refer to Jacob as a pilot made Hubert smile slightly. He stole a glance at him and then responded:

“His name is Jacob, a fire element manipulator. As for me, I’m Hubert Wang, and as you’ve seen, I’m also an Elementalist.”

“Hubert Wang! Your name is Hubert Wang?”

“Yes, it is. Why do you ask?”

“Wait, why do you seem so different from when you’re live streaming? I’m a fan of yours. I’ve played all the games you’ve played.”

Hubert didn’t expect to encounter a fan in this post-apocalyptic time. He grinned:

“Is that so? Then we must help each other out more in the future.”

“Of course, whatever you need, Wang, I’ll do my best to help.”

“You don’t have to go to that extent!”

Hubert scratched his head and ear. He was not used to interacting with women much, but Lucia was excessively enthusiastic and not at all hesitant in establishing closeness with him. That’s fine. The more companions, the more strength he had, and he could find his father and family sooner.