Gerald closed the blinds with a slight frown.
'That woman in a red dress and that guy are really powerful.'
He was worried.
And his worries were not in any way unfounded.
If a group of people suddenly gained overpowered abilities, and the ambition to match, it would be a direct threat to any semblance of authority that still existed in this Apocalypse.
However, he quickly chuckled.
'Not my problem.'
If the sky falls, there will always be someone bigger to prop it up.
...
Day 5 of the Greatest Apocalypse
Gerald closed the door and put a green sticker on it with experienced hands.
He had finally gotten started on the third floor, and cleared three rooms without meeting a single zombie.
But he could still hear muffled roars from a few rooms.
'Trouble.'
He had noticed an increasing trend in terms of the zombies' reaction speed as time went on. This confirmed his previous thoughts...
That zombies could grow stronger.
'I can't do much, but the least I can do is to kill as many zombies as possible before they become to powerful.'
He clenched his fists with an expressionless face.
*KNOCK**KNOCK*
He knocked on room 43, and his only answer was a muffled growl.
Without wasting a beat, he kicked the door with enough force to knock it off its hinges, stepping forward in a half crouch with his bat pointed forward.
Then he saw it.
A dog the size of a young bull.
It had brown fur, stained with a few specks of blood, and a purplish black streak ran along its spine from head to tail.
It was gnawing on a few bones, glaring in Gerald's direction with intense savagery.
'How the f*ck is this a dog?!'
His entire body tensed as he entered a staring contest with the obviously mutated beast.
He saw the pile of bones from the corner of his eyes and felt a hint of anger...
Just a hint.
His emotions dulled again out of the blue, and he stared back at the mutated dog with eerie calm.
Half a minute went by, and a drop of sweat rolled from Gerald's forehead all the way to his chin, hanging precariously.
The drop reflected the situation of the entire room in a beautiful kaleidoscope. The instant it left Gerald's skin.
*SWISH*
*BAM*
Wood chips flew in every direction, and Gerald grimaced in mid air. The less-than-ten-meter distance between the two had been erased in less than a second.
*SLAM*
He flew all the way outside the room and hit his back on the door opposite it.
Thankfully, it was locked, so Gerald remained in a half kneeling position, reeling from the shock.
The wooden bat had gained four deep claw marks.
The mutated dog walked out of the room unhurried, creeping towards his prey.
Gerald stabilised his breathing, unmoving.
'It's faster than me, so it will definitely dodge and counterattack if I charge. So I have to lure it into my effective attack range.'
The gears in his head turned rapidly, as he formulated battle plans.
Suddenly, his pupils shrank.
The dog moved, turning into overlapping after images and speeding towards him at breakneck speeds.
Instinctively, he ducked, and the door behind him was hit by the great force and nearly shredded to bits.
But he wasn't to be outdone.
Battle lust in his eyes, he swung his bat upwards with all the strength he could muster.
"AOOOOOO!"
The dog let out a miserable howl that echoed through the corridor, retreating with a bleeding jaw.
The bat had hit it straight in the lower jaw, dislocating it and causing no small deal of pain.
Gerald ignored his aching wrist and rushed at the dog, pounding its forelimbs before it could recover and prompting another howl, before it swiped at him, causing him to retreat.
By now, the mutated dog was enraged, with a limp and a dislocated jaw.
'What a pity. If I had a sharp weapon I could have just skewered its head like kebab.'
He felt it was a real pity.
The dog attacked again, this time much slower, and Gerald was able to easily dodge and hit it again on its left abdomen.
Immediately after, he followed with a freestyles three hit combo, leaving it sprawling on the ground.
As he disengaged and took a few deep breaths, he glanced at the heavily injured mutated dog with a solemn expression.
'I remember this dog was a chihuahua.'
If a chihuahua became this fearsome after mutation, then just imagine what those lions and tigers would become.
He shuddered at the thought.
He walked up to the dog, and raised his hand.
It struggled to look up at him, eyes bloodshot.
A smirk appeared on Gerald's lips. He leapt into the air and...
*BOOM*
*SQUELCH*
He shook the brain matter on his bat expressionlessly.
'The main reason I was able to win that fight was because it fights like a beast. If it were a human...'
He was still worried.
Call him paranoid if you like, but worst case scenario were all he could think of when he simulated meeting other mutants.
{Agility has increased significantly}
{Physique has increased slightly}
{Gained Common Skill - [Shadow Dash]}
"Huh?"