NOVEL WEB Chapter 11: Police Station
William stood at the window, watching the street. With every passing minute, the city grew more crowded, but not with people.
With zombies.
The streets were filled with the living dead, moving slowly, walking in random directions, or just standing as if nailed to the spot. Sometimes they climbed on top of a car, sometimes they crashed into a shop window, sometimes they acted as if chasing a fly where they stood. But each of them was a dangerous mass that could move like an avalanche at the slightest reaction to a sound or smell.
William carefully put the bat in his bag and took out his bag. It was no longer wise to fight directly.
"If I pull even one of them in this crowd, it will be a chain reaction disaster with the others."
He also took off the belt he used to hang various items from around his waist.
He descended the stairs, taking care not to make any noise with his shoes. He no longer had his bat in his hand, but instead purchased a dagger from the system.
For silent kills.
William was impressed by its sharpness at first glance, but he didn't have much time. He had to go to the police station and return to this house before nightfall.
[Dagger Level 4]
When he opened the door, his breath caught in his throat.
There were even more zombies walking on the street than there had been in the morning.
He stepped carefully along the edge of the sidewalk because walking in the middle of the asphalt was risky. The slightest stone, piece of glass, or scrap of metal could echo.
At the first corner, he turned right and stopped in front of an old toy store. The window was broken, and the strange shapes of the plush toys inside seemed to be staring at him. One of them moved.
It was a zombie child.
He stepped onto a broken train on the ground and fell.
As soon as William saw the child zombie open its mouth, he silently lunged forward and plunged the dagger into the back of its head.
It felt like inserting a hot knife into butter; he didn't even feel any resistance.
He lifted the dagger and looked at his reflection in its mirror-like surface. "Very sharp!"
He hadn't expected the difference between the levels to be so obvious.
At the same time, a notification appeared in his mind.
[Silent Strike I: The power of undetected attacks increases. Strength +50%]
A small smile appeared on William's face.
William then quietly left the toy store.
His footsteps grew increasingly quiet. Sometimes he hid behind a car to avoid being seen by zombies, sometimes he jumped over fences into a house's garden, and sometimes he climbed to the top of a tree. But there was one thing he always did: avoid zombies as much as possible.
Sometimes he found himself in a situation where he couldn't escape the zombies' gaze. In such cases, he would approach the zombie silently from behind and quickly stab it in the brain. To prevent it from making a sound as it fell, he would hold the zombie's body and gently lay it on the ground.
Just a few kilometers later, he heard another notification while killing a zombie.
[Piercing I: The power of stabbing attacks increases. +20%]
"Another ability!" William muttered.
He was beginning to like this stealth stuff.
He took a few more steps and heard another notification. He was in the shadow of a building, and twenty meters away, there was a zombie with its back turned.
[Among the Shadows I: Detection chance in low light, shaded, and covered areas - 40%. This effect doubles at night.]
William approached a zombie as close as possible to test this ability. He was still in the shadow of the building, and even though the zombie was only a meter away, it couldn't sense him for several seconds.
William killed the zombie as soon as it moved and realized how well this ability worked.
William then continued walking. This time, he was a little freer, and the best part was that he knew his abilities had improved for every zombie that didn't notice him.
The system rewarded him for everything he did, absolutely everything.
These rewards weren't high enough to make a big difference right away, but they made William feel like he was improving and getting stronger.
William continued on his way.
He began to be less noticeable, so he began to be more courageous. Now, when he passed behind most zombies, he would stab them with his dagger, and by the time the zombie fell, he was already fifty meters away.
It was almost evening when he arrived at the police station.
During this time, he learned two more abilities.
[Silent Step: Movement speed increases, and footsteps make less noise. Movement Speed +5%, Silence -20%]
[Shadow Step: Movement speed in shaded areas increases by 30%. This effect doubles at night.]
The police station glowed orange in the sunlight. The yard was empty. There were no zombies in sight, and there were a few metal fences resembling barricades at the entrance, but the door behind them was wide open.
Several police cars and SUVs were positioned in front of the barricades as the first line of defense.
There were a lot of empty shells and zombie corpses with exploded heads, literally dead.
Perhaps some of the zombies here had lost their lives fighting, but it was impossible to tell because they were all decomposed.
William carefully approached the entrance of the police station. He tried to look through a few windows and saw no movement inside.
Then he quietly entered. After checking a couple of rooms, he saw that the entire first floor was empty.
He didn't want to go into the basement for now because he didn't have any light source with him, and the basement was already a floor where criminals were held, so he didn't feel the need to investigate.
The only thing he wanted to take from here was a working radio. Nothing else. He already had a few batteries in his bag.
As he climbed to the second floor, he heard a creak.
He immediately pricked up his ears and became alert.
He didn't want to be caught off guard, so he crouched down as much as possible and moved in the shadow of the stairwell.
When he glanced at the second floor, he saw a person.
He was almost two meters tall, wearing a police uniform, and still wearing a bulletproof vest.
William couldn't tell if it was a real person or a zombie, but he didn't need to test it for long.
His basic sensing ability worked very quickly.
[Big Zombie Lv5]
[STRENGTH: 6]
[SPEED: 1]
[PERCEPTION: 1]
[LEY: 1]
"6 STRENGTH! I can't risk taking even one hit!"
William focused his eyes and looked at his own stats.
[William Aunitidis – Level: 4]
[EXP: 1760/5000]
[STRENGTH: 4.2 (+++)]
[SPEED: 3 (+++)]
[PERCEPTION: 1 (+++)]
[LEY: 1 (+++)]
William stood in the shadows, barely breathing. Leaning against the cold wall at the edge of the stairwell, his eyes were locked on the massive silhouette before him. The sun had already set, and the dim light inside gave William an advantage. But this advantage wasn't enough to silence the panic drumming in his heart.
The system message was engraved in his mind. Level six. William had never fought anything close to this level before. Worse, it was obvious that this creature was very different from an ordinary zombie. Despite the light shining through the window, from what he could see from behind, the veins in its neck were bulging. Its skin was darkened and cracked, but still covered with thick muscle fibers. Although its bulletproof vest was torn, it still partially protected its body. Its head was tilted slightly to the side, staring blankly out the window. For now...
"I have to kill it secretly, William thought. If I attack directly... I'll probably die on the first blow."
He slowly reached for his waist and gripped his dagger tighter. He tried to stop his hand from shaking, but couldn't. Silent Strike, Piercing, Among the Shadows, Silent Step... He would have to push himself to the limit.
The bad news was that the orange spotlight of the setting sun was blocking all stealth effects. He had only one chance, and that was the big zombie's own shadow.
He began to count in his head.
'Three steps... silently... approach at shoulder height and slice behind the knees... force it to kneel... then a single blow to the brain from the back of the neck...'
Every thought in his mind was working like a calculator mixed with adrenaline. But there was no room for error in this math. One mistake meant death.
"Breathe in... silently... breathe out…"
He merged with the zombie's shadow. His eyes were focused on every muscle fiber. The slight rhythmic twitching of the zombie's shoulders... the rise and fall of its chest... it wasn't instinctive, but more controlled. This zombie was no longer a creature that had appeared by accident, but rather the result of evolution.
He took his first step. The floor didn't creak. The broken tiles under its boots crushed silently. It seemed to blend with the shadows. Though his heart still pounded as if it would burst from his chest, his hands moved with the precision of a surgeon.
Second step...
Third...
He was almost at its neck. He planned to slice just behind the back of the knee cap to make the zombie kneel. The attack was meant to be a single strike to the neck and head, killing it instantly—in theory.
William swung his arm with all his strength. The dagger bit into the large zombie's knee like a silent snake.
But…
"GRRAAAAARRHH!"
The zombie spun around wildly where it stood. The spot where William's dagger had cut behind the knee was deeply gouged, but instead of collapsing to the ground, the creature tensed the muscles in its leg even more. Its steel-like tendons had rebounded. William lost his balance. Seeing that his expectations had been dashed, William immediately took a step back.
Their eyes met. "Fuck!"
The zombie's eyes weren't completely black. There were faint blue veins running through them. William's blood ran cold at that moment. This creature was fueled not only by muscle power, but also by ley energy.
The zombie suddenly screamed and lunged at him. Fortunately, it wasn't as fast as William had thought. William easily dodged the first attack, and the zombie's clawless fist struck the wall of the police station.
"Boom!"
A single blow from the zombie collapsed part of the wall.
William opened his eyes in shock, but he didn't miss his chance.
The zombie was over two meters tall, which gave William an easier angle to attack its knees.
William bent slightly and made another cut in the same spot he had cut before. This time the cut was bigger. Almost half of the knee was cut off. William could even feel that he had hit the bone.
As William tried to catch his breath, the Big Zombie in front of him stood up again. Despite the deep wound on its leg, it was still standing. It hadn't fallen to the ground despite the dagger blow. On the contrary, its anger had grown even more. It staggered, putting weight on its wounded leg, but it was still walking toward William.
"It won't give up... it's really like a machine."
William shifted his gaze to the shadows around him. There was no place he could take shelter, hide again, or escape the zombie's perception.
So he had to play it safe. Speed was on his side.
He began to circle around the zombie. His footsteps were almost inaudible. Walking with the "Silent Step" effect, he tried to get behind the zombie at every opportunity. But the zombie turned slowly, watching him. A real dance had begun between them. The dance of death.
William attacked again in a moment of opportunity. He plunged his dagger into the zombie's armpit. But this time, the zombie only swung its left arm without screaming.
William ducked, dodged, then slid back to the side of the leg and made another narrow cut. The zombie did not kneel, but lost its balance. William immediately moved behind it, lunging at its neck, but the zombie instinctively rose with a small movement, protecting its shoulder with its bulletproof vest.
William's breath was beginning to falter. Every attack was an effort, every effort an exhaustion. His eyes were filled with sweat, his muscles were now rebelling. He tried one last strike, holding the dagger backwards. This time he jumped from behind the zombie, toward its front.
With a short leap, he pressed down on the zombie's shoulder and plunged the dagger directly into its right eye from above.
"NOW!"
The dagger entered the zombie's eye and moved toward its brain. The zombie screamed wildly. But at the same time, it swung its clenched arm at William on instinct.
William saw the blow coming, but he was too close to dodge it. A single thought echoed in his head: "Shit!"
BAM!
The zombie's arm struck William's chest with full force while he was in the air and upside down. His body was thrown several meters away. He had left the dagger in the eye, and his fingers had relaxed due to the impact of the blow. The sound coming from his chest had taken his breath away.
He hit the wall behind him with his back and then fell to the ground. His head hit the ground twice. The plaster on the wall crumbled, his spine cracked. His breath caught in his throat. Pain... real, sharp, unbearable pain.
He fell to the ground.
But...
The zombie was still standing.
One second...
Two seconds...
Then the zombie's legs trembled. The dagger stuck in his eye had moved inward, shattering his brain. His body took an involuntary step, then suddenly collapsed to the ground.
BOOM.
Silence. A sharp loneliness.
William forced himself to get up from the ground. "I did it..." he groaned. There was a drop of blood on his lips.
The system notification immediately flashed through his mind.
"You killed a Big Zombie!" [EXP+500]
William was very scared. The zombie could have taken a few more steps and crushed his head, and William had no strength to defend himself.
"I have to get up... This place is unprotected." Just in case, he immediately took one of the medicines he had brought with him and swallowed it without water. His saliva was enough to swallow the medicine.