Chapter 292: Joint Action

The air in the stairwell became viscous, like a kind of not‑yet‑solidified gel, and inhaling it into the lungs required some effort.

Su Ming hunched his shoulders, trying to look like a startled quail, staying tightly within the Special Forces' core circle. His gaze seemed to dart anxiously in all directions, but in fact he was rapidly assessing the surrounding environment.

The building is coming to life.

The steps beneath his feet were no longer the hard cement feel; they were soft and spongy, and occasionally even seeped a little warm, pale‑yellow liquid.

The handrail, originally stainless steel, now felt like a biological skin texture, and beneath it one could even sense an extremely faint pulse.

If an ordinary person, they'd probably be terrified enough to wet themselves by now.

But Su Ming only clenched the homemade "mop spear" so tightly his knuckles turned white. He was acting, performing for the Captain Lei Yu ahead of him.

Because now he had to act together with the Special Forces.

"Don't look around, don't touch."

Lei Yu led at the front, his tactical rifle constantly held in a ready stance, the tactical light on the barrel cutting through the murky fog.

His voice came through the loudspeaker, carrying an unmistakably cold hardness, "This building has been heavily contaminated and is forming an independent domain. Any abnormal object may be hostile."

Su Ming hurriedly nodded, "C… Commander, what exactly is happening? A zombie outbreak? Or a biochemical crisis?"

"It's not zombies, and it's not that simple."

Lei Yu didn't look back, while directing his men to clear the fleshy overgrowth on the fire doors, and quickly explained, "In this world there are Fierce Ghosts and strange tales; we collectively call them Weird, and our Federal Weird Investigation Bureau is the organization that deals specifically with the Weird."

"Places where the Weird congregate like this are what we call a Weird Domain—extremely dangerous; an ordinary person caught inside has a one‑in‑nine chance of survival."

"Investigation Bureau…" Su Ming muttered the term, pretending it was his first time hearing it. In fact, in his previous life he had dealt with these people.

This is a group of lunatics trying to maintain order in this desperate world—worthy of respect, yet prone to causing trouble.

"The current Red Light Frequency causes inanimate things within the Weird Domain to become active," Lei Yu said, pointing at the wall.

Su Ming followed his gaze.

On the wall that had originally been painted stark white, the damp, moldy spots were slowly moving and reconfiguring. Within a few seconds those mold patches assembled into twisted human facial outlines. Their eyes were closed, mouths opening and closing, as if silently devouring the air.

"Did you see that? This is the contamination," Lei Yu's voice was flat, "Our mission is to escort the unmutated survivors out to a temporary safe zone. You're lucky; if you stay in the building much longer, your room will become this thing's stomach."

Su Ming swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

The squad advanced to the topmost vacant floor.

It wasn't open‑air, but the space was large enough to feel safe.

Here gathered a dozen or so survivors.

Seeing the fully armed Special Forces, these people seemed to have seen their own parents, each shouting for mother and father and rushing forward.

"Everyone stay still!"

Lei Yu bellowed, raising the barrel half an inch, "Maintain distance! Everyone undergo scanning! Anyone who tries to breach the line will be shot dead on the spot!"

The residents, accustomed to rolling around and causing trouble, instantly fell quiet when the dark barrel pointed at them.

The scanning was quick. Fortunately, this floor had no Infected yet.

"Take them and withdraw," Lei Yu ordered.

The squad became bulky.

The originally lean tactical unit now had a bunch of dead weight squeezed in the middle. Some couldn't move because their legs gave out; others were wailing over bankbooks they hadn't managed to bring out of their homes.

Su Ming lingered at the edge of the crowd, hearing the noisy complaints around him, and sneered inwardly.

This is why he insists on going solo. In the apocalypse, such a hastily cobbled "weak alliance" is a walking buffet.

Negative energy spreads faster than a virus, and it always fails at critical moments.

"Ah! My foot!"

A young woman in high heels let out a sudden scream.

She stepped on a protruding flesh lump on the step; the thing bulged like a toad, spitting out a stream of acid that ate a large hole through her stocking.

"Shut up!" the Special Forces member beside Su Ming growled, "You trying to lure those things?"

Too late.

From the shadows below the stairwell, a sudden burst of dense sounds like a Nail scraping a blackboard rang out.

It was the noise of bone rubbing against the cement floor.

"Enemy attack! Three o'clock direction! Below the stairwell shaft!"

Lei Yu reacted instantly; almost as soon as the sound fell, his rifle spat a tongue of fire.

Clack clack clack clack!

The specially made psychic bullets traced several streaks of light in the dim space.

A few monsters whose entire skin was purple‑black and limbs twisted backward clambered up from the stair handrail. They lacked facial features; each face resembled a vertically split chrysanthemum, filled with fine, barbed teeth.

"It's a Scavenger! Everyone fall back!"

Gunfire roared.

But these monsters moved with extreme agility; they could walk on walls and ceilings as if on level ground. Although the Special Forces' fire network was fierce, in such a narrow, obstacle‑filled stairwell it was hard to achieve full coverage.

Pfft!

A Scavenger was blown apart in midair, its purple blood splattering all over the walls. The moldy human faces on the walls, upon contact with the blood, immediately emitted a grotesque laugh like a baby's night cry, sending a shiver up one's scalp.

"Ahhh! Help!"

The survivor crowd panicked; these people were brainless, not taking cover behind the Special Forces when danger struck, but crashing around like headless flies, instantly breaking the defensive formation.

"Don't run around! Damn it!" Lei Yu cursed furiously.

At that moment, a slightly smaller Scavenger seized the chaos, slipped past the front‑line fire suppression, and slid along the ceiling like a gecko.

Its target was clear— the high‑heeled woman who had just screamed, and Su Ming standing beside her.

The foul wind slammed into their faces.

The monster descended from the sky, its gaping maw directly covering the woman's head.

The woman was already terrified into a stupor, unable to even scream, and could only watch helplessly as that mouth grew larger.

Lei Yu was dealing with two elite monsters head‑on and had no time to send reinforcements. The other teammates' lines of fire were blocked by the scattered crowd.

Su Ming squinted.

He didn't want to rescue anyone, let alone be a hero.

But there was no other way.

In the instant the monster was about to clamp down, Su Ming moved.

He didn't retreat; instead he stepped half a pace forward, yanked the woman's collar backward with his left hand, and thrust the seemingly crude "mop spear" in his right hand like a poisonous snake.

But he wasn't stabbing the monster.

He first drove the spear into the writhing tumor on the adjacent wall!

Poof!

The tumor was filled with highly corrosive pus and the lingering resentment of dead Mutants. The spearhead instantly became coated with the yellow‑green fluid.

The next second, Su Ming's wrist twitched, and the spear, bearing a foul wind, drove hard into the open maw of the Scavenger!

There was no technique, only sheer ferocity.

Creek—!!!

The Scavenger let out an extremely mournful scream.

If it were just a normal knife wound, this low‑grade Weird wouldn't care. But the spear was coated with the pus of a "dead thing".

In this world's rules, only Weird can counter Weird.

It is a mutual repulsion in the rules, like pouring boiling oil into ice water.

The monster's mouth instantly emitted white steam, and the violent rejection reaction froze its movement for a second.

That one second was enough.

Su Ming didn't linger in battle; after landing the hit, he let go and rolled to the stair corner.

Bang!

A muffled gunshot.

Lei Yu turned, and the spare pistol in his hand precisely blasted the rigid monster's head.

The fight ended quickly.

After a dozen seconds, the corridor was left only with heavy gunpowder smell and the survivors' sobbing.

Lei Yu strode over, first glancing at the high‑heeled woman collapsed on the ground, then fixed his gaze on Su Ming, who was leaning against the corner, gasping.

He had seen that scene clearly.

This young man was too calm.

In that situation, an ordinary person would either clutch their head and flee, or swing weapons wildly. Yet this kid knew to first soak the spear in the wall's pus?

That was obscure knowledge only senior Investigation Bureau agents possessed—using Weird to counter Weird.

Lei Yu walked to Su Ming's front, looking down at him.

Su Ming looked still shaken, his hands trembling, as he picked up the spear still dripping foul liquid.

The acting was on point.

But Lei Yu was clearly not so easy to fool.

He gave Su Ming a deep look, didn't expose him, but his scrutinizing gaze contained a hint of something else.

"Nice skills." Lei Yu said, sliding the pistol back into its holster, his tone less cold and a bit more approving, "Are you familiar with the terrain around here?"

Su Ming was momentarily stunned, then nodded, "Familiar… I live in this area; I could walk with my eyes closed."

"Alright."

Lei Yu didn't waste words; he tore a spare communication earpiece from his Tactical Vest and tossed it into Su Ming's chest.

"You're being temporarily conscripted," Lei Yu said, his tone leaving no room for refusal, "From now on, you follow me and guide the way. In exchange, I'll give you Highest Priority Order safety guarantees—so long as I don't die, you won't die."

Su Ming, holding the heavy earpiece, muttered a curse under his breath.

This damned butterfly effect.

Being reborn shifted the timing of his departure from the apartment, causing him to run into the officials. It could have been avoided; this was his blunder.

Now he can only look for a chance to break away from the official camp, since the Investigation Bureau will keep causing trouble later.

Su Ming's face showed a startled, even tear‑filled gratitude.

"Thank you! Thank you, sir! I'll definitely guide the way!"

Su Ming hurriedly put on the earpiece, like a civilian finally finding an organization.

Lei Yu nodded, turned and shouted, "All units! Forget the luggage! Anyone who doesn't want to die, follow! Target: First Floor lobby, charge!"

The squad moved again.

Su Ming stayed half a step behind Lei Yu, his fingers lightly tapping the spear shaft.

Since he was already strapped to the battle tank, he had to make good use of that status. The officials' fire network was a decent shield, perfect for clearing obstacles on the road to 'that place'.

Waiting for that place…