Dragon Transformation in the Apocalypse

Chapter 7 Hospital Crisis

With the assistance of Li Chenglong, a Level 3 Awakened, and Li Xue, a Level 2 Awakened, and given that it was early morning and zombies were inactive, the group easily crossed the streets and arrived at Jinghai City First People's Hospital.

"Captain Li Chenglong, I've been calling them since just now, but there's been no response from the hospital," Wang Yousheng shouted into the walkie-talkie. A bad premonition rose in Li Chenglong's heart, and he unconsciously accelerated. "Brother, I can smell blood ahead!" On the way to Jinghai City, Li Xue had told Li Chenglong about her level one and level two awakened abilities. Li Xue had awakened two level one abilities: one was a water bullet attack, essentially the same as Li Chenglong's explosive light bullet; the second was enhanced perception, which amplified her five senses when her mental focus was concentrated. Li Xue had also awakened two level two abilities: one was purification power, capable of purifying all negative statuses on a specific target, though she hadn't used it yet; the second was ice arrows, which could release a number of giant ice arrows equal to the current level, freezing the target within a certain range. The higher the awakened user's level, the larger the range and the higher the damage.

"A strong smell of blood is coming from the direction of the hospital, along with gunshots, and on a large scale. There must be a fierce battle going on there." Li Xue's pupils turned a deep blue, proof that she was unleashing her extraordinary senses.

Li Chenglong got out of the car 500 meters from the hospital and said, "Get your gear ready." Everyone cocked their guns and released the safety. Although they were still 500 meters from the hospital, they could already see the flashes of gunfire. Li Chenglong took out all the white crystals and gave half to himself and half to his sister to replenish their stamina. Then he led the charge, shouting as he ran, "Stay close to us! Don't fall behind! Support each other!"

Within seconds, they had reached a point less than 100 meters from the hospital. "Rat-a-tat-tat!" Li Chenglong fired a few bursts with his QBZ191, taking down several zombies, then tossed the rifle, now low on bullets, to Yun Qian. "Li Xue, two consecutive ice arrows!" Li Chenglong shouted. Li Xue focused her energy for five seconds, and two ice arrows shot out from the vortex she had created. Five seconds later, she fired two more ice arrows, instantly freezing approximately 20 square meters of enemies.

The siblings unleashed their supernatural abilities, "Explosive Light Bullet" and "Water Ball Impact," shattering a large swarm of zombies. The others behind them also fired intermittently, trying to headshot the zombies each time to conserve ammunition.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, screams and wails filled the air as survivors surged towards the main building. Although over a hundred military and police officers were desperately firing to provide cover, some survivors were still tackled to the ground by fast-moving zombies. Zheng Yong, the company commander of the 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion of Jinghai Base, shouted, "Alternate evacuation!" Seeing a large number of zombies beginning to surge towards them again, he grew increasingly alarmed.

There weren't many zombies around dusk, and their Second Company had already reinforced the hospital's walls and gates. Plus, it was nighttime, so there shouldn't have been many zombies. But suddenly, two enormous Level 3 Titan zombies appeared, leading countless others as they charged towards the hospital. "Damn it, how come there are already so many high-level zombies in just a few days?" Zheng Yong roared, his eyes blazing with fury.

Over a hundred soldiers formed two layers of fire, their Type 95 rifles and squad machine guns on the smaller positions opening fire. The hail of bullets from hundreds of weapons almost instantly annihilated the vanguard of the charging ordinary zombie horde; by this time, at least four or five hundred zombie corpses lay on the small square in front of the hospital. However, the arrival of two level-three zombies changed the course of the battle. Titan zombies were inherently highly armored and had high health; ordinary bullets had virtually no effect on them. Several soldiers who couldn't retreat in time were tackled by the zombies and quickly dragged into the horde. Then, an explosion rang out; it turned out that one of the soldiers had chosen to use a grenade to take the zombies down with him at the last moment.

Zheng Yong shouted, "First column, retreat! Second column, prepare grenades! Fire with a three-second delay. Throw the second batch of grenades five seconds after the first batch explodes!" Instantly, dozens of grenades were thrown, creating splashes of light amidst the zombie horde. Countless ordinary zombies were blasted to pieces, and even some level-two zombies were killed. Just as Zheng Yong was about to breathe a sigh of relief, several more level-two zombies conjured fireballs from their mouths and launched them towards the Second Company's position. The fireballs exploded upon impact, shattering into countless pieces. These fragments were like glue; once they touched a person, they were impossible to extinguish or shake off. Many soldiers watched helplessly as their comrades perished, but they had no time for grief or anger, because many more zombies took advantage of the Second Company's weakened firepower and surged forward again. Suddenly, eight fiery rains fell from the sky, instantly setting the zombies ablaze, reducing them to charred remains in less than 30 seconds.

"Company Commander Zheng, we're here." A pale-faced Yun Lan led her squad members and a dozen soldiers rushing out of the hospital building. "We've eliminated the zombies at the back gate. I left a few brothers to guard it and came right away," Yun Lan said as she walked. Zheng Yong's eyes were red: "Good, it's good you're here. Thank you for your hard work." Yun Lan's arrival slightly eased the unfavorable situation on the battlefield, but facing no less than a thousand zombies, including several high-level ones, the group still felt a sense of despair. At this moment, two level-three zombies accelerated forward. Liu Jian roared and jumped onto the armored vehicle, grabbing the heavy machine gun and firing at the Titan zombie. Countless bullets pierced the Titan zombie's body, only slightly slowing it down. Suddenly, a large bird swooped into the position. Liu Jian's attention was drawn to the Titan zombie, and coupled with the bird's extreme speed, he was instantly snatched away. "Liu Jian! You beast, take this! Flaming Slash!" Yun Lan shouted, gathering her strength in her right arm and swinging it with all her might. A flaming blade of light sliced ​​off the zombie bird's wing, then severed its head with another strike. Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo rushed over and pulled Liu Jian back, but by then Liu Jian was severely injured. His abdomen had been pierced by the zombie bird's claws, and his internal organs were spilling out.

Wu Gang hugged Liu Jian: "Liu Jian, wake up, wake up quickly! The captain will be here soon. Didn't we all agree to wait for the captain to come and then go find the team? So many brothers have sacrificed themselves, we finally made it to the end, wake up, brother. My good brother." Liu Jian's bloodless face twitched slightly, his cloudy eyes slowly opened, and he murmured, "I didn't... disgrace Xiaolong Squad..." Then he closed his eyes. Wu Gang roared a few times, wanting to rush forward and fight the zombies to the death. Yun Lan's eyes were also filled with tears. She wanted to use her superpower again, but found that her energy bar was exhausted. She felt dizzy and sat down on the steps. Their battle at the back door was not easy, and the consumption was enormous.

Seeing more and more of his brothers dying in battle, Zheng Yong's eyes turned red: "Take cover, prepare to retreat." Just as he uttered the word "retreat," several ice arrows exploded from behind the zombies, followed by several beams of white light that fell to the ground and exploded. The zombies, sensing that they were being surrounded from behind, were thrown into chaos.

Li Chenglong's arms transformed into beams of light, slashing left and right to clear a path for the group. Li Xue occasionally fired ice arrows to freeze the zombies, while the others followed, firing as they charged. In less than twenty seconds, they had surged from behind the zombies to the front. Zheng Yong, seeing reinforcements arrive, shouted, "Brothers, someone's here to help us! Give it your all!" He was the first to run to the machine gun in front, providing cover fire. Li Chenglong reached the position, and Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo immediately recognized their captain: "Captain, you've come! The brothers have all fallen, Liu Jian is dead too!" Li Chenglong saw Liu Jian's body lying to the side, his eyes filled with rage. At this moment, his spiritual sea was raging, and the three-layered Tower of Martial Power was emitting a dazzling light. Yunlan rushed over and hugged Li Chenglong, bursting into tears: "Waaah! You're finally here! I was so worried I'd never see you again." She cried even louder. Li Chenglong patted Yunlan's back a few times and gave her a few crystals, saying, "Take care of yourself and recover quickly. I'm here now, so everything will be alright." Yunlan nodded, took the crystals, and went to the back to recover her strength.

Long Ling emerged from the third level of the Martial Tower, holding a three-foot-long sword. "This sword is called the Dragon Emperor Sword," she said, "it's the inheritance of our Long Ling lineage. Normally, at only level three, you couldn't possibly unleash even a fraction of its true power. However, with my help, you can still utilize one-tenth of its strength." She then tossed Li Chenglong a scroll—the Eye of Truth—which allows her to see the status and attributes of both enemies and allies, but it won't work against those two levels higher than herself. With that, Long Ling transformed into a beam of golden light and merged into the Dragon Emperor Sword. "This is what you owe me; I'll make it up to you later." Instantly, the Dragon Emperor Sword within her spiritual sea emitted a dazzling golden light, its power terrifying.

Li Chenglong felt a sharp pain in his right eye. Three seconds later, his right eye turned blood red, and the pupil became a pale gold vertical slit. Then, Li Chenglong summoned the Dragon Emperor Sword from his spiritual sea. Instantly, it shone brightly. Although it was night, the hospital was illuminated by the Dragon Emperor Sword's light as if it were daytime. The zombie horde stopped in their tracks under this light. "You all step back," Li Chenglong's voice was soft, but everyone could hear him. After speaking, he swallowed all the remaining white crystals. The soldiers were stunned, but they obeyed the order and retreated. Li Xue wanted to go forward to help, but Yun Lan pulled her back.

Li Chenglong unleashed a horizontal slash with "Star Dragon Slash," a sword light shooting towards the zombie horde. The zombies in front were instantly cleaved in two. Moreover, due to the immense power of the Dragon Emperor Sword, the zombies seemed to be purified; although their brains weren't destroyed, they were all lifeless. After a few strikes, only two level-three Titan zombies remained on the battlefield. Li Chenglong, sword in hand, walked step by step towards the two zombies. Sensing danger, the two Titan zombies turned and fled. Li Chenglong unleashed his fastest speed: "Fierce Dragon Slash!" The two zombies were still fleeing, but chunks of flesh fell off their bodies as they fled, soon turning into piles of zombie flesh.

At this moment, the hundreds of survivors upstairs witnessed this scene and cheered, "Hooray! We're saved! We're saved! Hahahaha!" "Mommy, that brother is so amazing! I want to fight zombies like him!" a little boy said to his mother, his eyes sparkling. His mother looked down at the countless zombie corpses and said, "Wait until you grow up." Several nurses said, "That guy is so handsome and strong! If you could become his girlfriend, you'd be set for life." A man nearby sneered, "That depends on whether you have the chance. In this day and age, there are plenty of good women out there." This earned him a few eye rolls from the nurses.

After the two Titan zombies fell, the Dragon Emperor Sword slowly lost its light and flew back into Li Chenglong's spiritual sea. At this moment, Yun Lan, Li Xue, Zheng Yong, Wu Gang, and the others rushed over and found Li Chenglong motionless. Yun Lan went over to help him, but Li Chenglong suddenly collapsed, falling into her arms. "Zhanlong, brother, captain, brother Li!" everyone cried out in alarm. Yun Lan felt Li Chenglong's pulse and said, "The captain is probably overexerted. Let's take him to the hospital to rest, and it would be best if we could get him some nutritional supplements." She then carried Li Chenglong on her back and rushed to the hospital, secretly whispering a few words to Zheng Yong before leaving. Zheng Yong, upon hearing this, quickly made the arrangements.