Capítulo 20: Chapter 20: Helpless
Although these Chirami were just larvae, once they parasitized an ordinary person, survival was nearly impossible.
A few infected students locked their eyes on Su Ming and his group, charging straight at them.
Su Ming instantly realized the danger and shouted to Chen Tong and Ming Ke, "Run!"
The three of them bolted to the right, but they hadn't gotten far when they saw two female corpses swaying as they stood up. The sight made them stop in their tracks.
"This way!"
Su Ming quickly scanned the surroundings and led them toward the central courtyard, which was more spacious and allowed for better maneuverability.
As they ran, Su Ming noticed Ming Ke lagging behind and turned to yell at him, "What are you doing?"
"Calling the security team, obviously," Ming Ke replied, fumbling with his phone as he dialed.
"Seriously? The entire city alarm is blaring. You think they don't already know? Stop wasting time—they're probably on their way!" Su Ming said, exasperated.
"Got it," Ming Ke said, hastily putting his phone away.
At the school gates, three armored transport vehicles came speeding in, screeching to a halt.
The doors swung open, and a towering man, nearly two meters tall and clad in a first-generation gray metal exoskeleton suit called Iron Shell, stepped out, wielding a shock rifle. He was followed by a squad of combat-ready guards in battle gear.
A humanoid parasite charged at them, screeching as it ran.
Their leader, Captain Daniel, calmly raised his shock rifle and fired.
The shot hit its target with a deafening bang, blasting half the parasite's head off and sending it crumpling to the ground. As they walked past the fallen creature, Daniel delivered a finishing shot to its chest without breaking stride.
The gunfire echoed sharply in the chaos of the night, drawing the attention of terrified students, who looked toward the source of the sound.
"The guards are here!"
Some students, paralyzed with fear moments earlier, now shouted with hope.
Ming Ke, hearing the gunfire, sighed with relief.
"Finally!"
"Let's head toward the gunfire," Su Ming said calmly.
"Got it!" both Ming Ke and Chen Tong responded.
The security forces advancing into the campus opened fire on the infected students and parasitized rats.
Each shot rang out, and the humanoid parasites were shredded, their bodies collapsing to the ground.
Although Chirami were not particularly vulnerable to physical damage, their life activity levels would drop significantly if injured enough. Once reduced below 50%, they would enter a state of death-like dormancy.
However, if left unchecked, these dormant Chirami could recover by absorbing new cell energy or merging with other Chirami, causing their activity levels to spike back above 50%. They would then reanimate, fully capable of movement and combat once again.
Therefore, combat against Chirami always required dedicated cleanup teams to ensure none were left to regenerate.
Security Captain Qian Feng felt a fleeting moment of relief seeing the guards arrive, but his optimism quickly faded when he noticed how few of them there were. Still, he didn't complain—this was likely just an advance unit.
He rushed over to Captain Daniel to report.
"Captain, you're finally here! The number of Chirami larvae at the school is overwhelming. Where should we evacuate the students?"
"There's nowhere to evacuate them right now. The infestation isn't limited to the school—the entire area is under attack. Focus on directing people to open spaces for now," Daniel said, his tone grave.
"We've already started moving them to the athletic field, but many students are still trapped in the dormitories," Qian Feng said urgently.
"There's no time to rescue them. Our priority is to protect the majority," Daniel replied.
"Understood," Qian Feng said reluctantly, suppressing his frustration.
Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream pierced the night.
Daniel and Qian Feng turned sharply toward the source of the sound, their faces grim.
A soldier clad in combat gear had been pounced on by a parasitized dog. Its grotesque body, with blackened veins protruding all over, tore at the soldier's throat.
"Damn it!"
Daniel fired his weapon, but the parasite dog dodged nimbly and leapt toward him instead.
Qian Feng raised his flamethrower, directing a stream of fire at the charging beast.
The parasitized dog's body oozed black cellular material, allowing it to barrel through the flames with little resistance. It zigzagged unpredictably, closing the distance in seconds.
Daniel finally landed a clean shot, bringing the creature down. Qian Feng immediately followed up with a blast of fire, incinerating it completely.
The relief was short-lived. More screams erupted from all around them.
The two captains scanned their surroundings and were met with a chilling sight.
Swarms of parasitized rats were converging on fallen corpses, their bodies secreting streams of black, mutagenic cells that poured into the remains.
One by one, the corpses began to rise, further transformed. Their bodies now displayed hardened black veins that emitted a faint glow, and their glowing red eyes radiated even more ferocity.
The reanimated bodies moved with blinding speed and immense strength, attacking guards, security officers, and students indiscriminately.
Casualties skyrocketed as the infected overwhelmed the defenders. Three guards had already fallen in the chaos.
Su Ming and his companions reached the edge of the battlefield, only to freeze in place as they watched the brutal scene unfold.
"This doesn't look safe anymore," Ming Ke said, his voice trembling.
"No kidding. I can see that!" Su Ming replied, his tone heavy with frustration.
"Run! They're coming for us!" Chen Tong shouted suddenly, his face pale.
Su Ming and Ming Ke turned to see several parasitized rats and humanoid infected charging toward them.
"Back the way we came!" Su Ming yelled, and the three of them took off running.
The infected creatures pursued them relentlessly.
Su Ming's lungs burned as he ran, his chest heaving. His legs felt like lead, his pace slowing with each step.
He glanced back and realized he was falling behind.
"Keep up!" Chen Tong shouted over his shoulder.
"I'm trying! Go on without me!" Su Ming gasped, his exhaustion taking over.
"Shut up! This is what you get for never exercising! Don't make me regret helping you!" Chen Tong growled, grabbing Su Ming's arm to drag him along.
Their path was suddenly blocked by two infected students who stumbled out from the shadows ahead of them.
The trio skidded to a stop, their eyes darting aro
und. In every direction, more infected were closing in.
"We're surrounded," Ming Ke said, despair creeping into his voice.
Status de energia semanal
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-- Pedra de
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