They exchanged grave glances. Zephyr, as the tactical point man, raised his weapon first and cautiously pushed open the ajar metal door.
The scene behind the door made everyone suck in a sharp breath.
It was an enormous, circular central laboratory. Countless sophisticated instruments and petri dishes were neatly arranged on lab benches. The floor was polished to a spotless shine, even reflecting the light from the emergency lamps on the ceiling. And in the very center of the lab stood a massive cylindrical glass cultivation tank, filled with a dark red, viscous liquid resembling blood. Suspended in the center of this liquid was a colossal mass of flesh and metal wires interwoven, resembling a giant heart. It was pulsing slowly, rhythmically, and with each beat, it emitted a dark red glow that illuminated the entire laboratory.
A man stood with his back to them, in front of the giant "heart." He wore an immaculate white lab coat, his posture upright. Gold-rimmed glasses were perched meticulously on his nose. He looked like a dedicated researcher engrossed in his work, a stark contrast to the bizarre scene around him.
As if sensing their arrival, the man slowly turned. He appeared to be in his early thirties, with a refined face, but the eyes behind his lenses were a lifeless, metallic grey, devoid of any human emotion.
"New experimental subjects… have finally delivered themselves to my doorstep," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. His voice was steady and indifferent, as if stating a foregone conclusion.
This was the Zombie King! A terrifying entity that had retained its pre-mortem intelligence and awakened powerful abilities!
Before his words even faded, without any superfluous movement, he simply raised a hand. All the metal objects in the laboratory—surgical scalpels and forceps on the lab benches, metal pipes on the walls, even the metal supports in the ceiling—began to vibrate violently!
"Watch out!" Elara shouted sharply.
In the next second, countless sharp metal blades materialized out of thin air, like an all-consuming storm of steel, hurtling towards them from all directions!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Zephyr and Cassian attacked simultaneously! Zephyr's wind blades formed an invisible barrier, managing to deflect some of the metal blades' trajectories. Cassian, meanwhile, instantly conjured a thick water curtain in front of them. Countless metal blades plunged into it, their speed drastically reduced, emitting dull impact sounds.
"His target is that 'heart'! That's his power core!" Elara's space-time perception instantly captured the invisible energy connection between the Zombie King and the pulsating mass of flesh. She yelled out immediately.
"Understood!" A sharp glint flashed in Cassian's eyes. He no longer remained on the defensive but launched an offensive! He manipulated the massive water curtain, as if controlling a raging water dragon, and sent it surging forward, engulfing all the metal blades, then hurled it back towards the Zombie King!
Seeing this, a flicker of displeasure crossed the Zombie King's face for the first time. He clapped his hands together, and an enormous shield, compressed from various metal fragments, materialized in front of him.
"Now!" Elara seized the fleeting opportunity!
This was her moment to shine! She didn't choose a head-on confrontation but pushed her space-time abilities to their absolute limit! Her figure abruptly vanished from her spot, and in the next second, as if teleporting, she appeared directly at the Zombie King's side! The movement was so fast that even Zephyr couldn't fully track it!
Her target was not the Zombie King himself, but the massive glass cultivation tank beside him! Her dagger, imbued with the fierce energy of distorted space, stabbed viciously towards the control panel connected to the tank!
The Zombie King clearly hadn't anticipated Elara's speed or the uncanny nature of her movement! He let out an enraged roar, forced to relinquish control of the metal shield, and swung a massive metal blade towards Elara!
Elara's attack missed. She immediately retreated, narrowly avoiding the fatal slash.
Although she hadn't succeeded in destroying the cultivation tank, Elara's surprise attack had successfully disrupted the Zombie King's rhythm and created an opening for Cassian and Zephyr!
Attacks of ice and water clashed with the interplay of wind and blades, colliding fiercely within the laboratory. The Zombie King's metal manipulation abilities were exceptionally strong; the entire lab seemed to have become his arsenal. Sharp metal spikes periodically jutted out from the metal floor, and the metal pipes on the ceiling twisted and struck like venomous snakes, forcing them to scramble.
The battle reached a stalemate, even tilting slightly against Elara and her group.
"Jorah!" Elara yelled at Jorah, who was cowering by the doorway, his face deathly pale, while dodging a barrage of lethal metal blades. "Don't cower there like a coward! Use your powers! No matter how strong he is, he's still flesh and blood! Use your plants, trap him! Even for just one second!"
Elara's shout jolted Jorah. He looked at the others fighting desperately in front of him, then at his own trembling hands. Extreme fear flashed in his eyes, but also a spark of defiant bloodlust that had been ignited!
He remembered the helplessness and despair of being trapped in the "cocoon," Amily feeding him that life-saving sip of warm water, and Vespera's gaze, which was even stronger than his own!
"Ahhhhhh—!"
Jorah let out a roar laced with sobs. He pulled out all the plant seeds from his pocket and, with all his might, flung them towards the Zombie King!
This time, his power was no longer an unconscious, passive defense. It erupted with his strong, active will to survive and his desire to attack!
The seeds, landing on the hard metal floor, didn't wither powerlessly as before. Instead, as if infused with limitless life force, they forcibly broke through the hard surface! Countless thick, thorny, dark green vines, like demonic claws reaching from hell, grew at an incredible speed, instantly and tightly ensnaring the legs of the Zombie King, who was currently engaged with Cassian and Zephyr!
The Zombie King was stunned by this sudden turn of events. He tried to sever the vines with metal blades, but they were exceptionally resilient. When cut, they regrew even faster, coiling tighter and even beginning to creep up his body!
Opportunity!
"Kill!"
Zephyr, Cassian, and Elara launched their strongest attacks simultaneously!
Zephyr's longsword whistled through the air with tearing sharpness, Cassian's water blades condensed into a high-pressure water jet, and Elara's spatial blade silently locked onto the Zombie King's neck!
"Squelch—"
Amidst a sickening cutting sound, the Zombie King's head was cleanly severed by Elara's spatial ability. It flew high into the air, his face still frozen in an expression of incredulous shock.
With the Zombie King's death, the giant, pulsating "heart" instantly stopped beating and rapidly withered and decayed. All the metal objects in the laboratory simultaneously returned to a state of calm.
The battle had ended, surprisingly without any major casualties.
Everyone was gasping for breath, exhausted. And Jorah, who had successfully delivered the crucial blow, simply rolled his eyes and, due to power depletion and extreme mental strain, promptly… fainted.