Two Lickers skittered around Xu Mo like giant, four-legged spiders, moving swiftly along the walls and ceiling. Suddenly, one of them pounced from above, its razor-sharp claws—capable of slicing through metal—slashing fiercely as it engaged him in combat.
Although Lickers were elite zombies, they were not built for direct melee combat. Their preferred method of attack was to lurk in the shadows, silently closing in on their prey before executing a swift and lethal strike. However, this particular Licker was uncharacteristically persistent, fighting recklessly and trading blows as if trying to pin Xu Mo down. It was clear that it was deliberately creating an opportunity for the other Licker to ambush him.
The strategy was sound, but the problem was that the Licker had underestimated Xu Mo's current combat prowess. Just as its tongue lashed out, Xu Mo's Demon Hand shot up, seizing the slimy appendage in his grip. In the next instant, his Spartan Dagger flashed, nailing the Licker's tongue to the wall.
Blood splattered as the Licker shrieked in pain, instinctively trying to retract its tongue. But instead of breaking free, the force yanked its entire body forward—straight toward Xu Mo.
"Die!—Zero Eruption!"
The black-and-red Demon Hand ignited with a ghostly blue flame as it slammed brutally into the Licker's bald, grotesque head. It was as if a high-caliber sniper rifle had fired point-blank into its skull. In an instant, the Licker's head exploded into a gruesome spray of flesh and bone, its neck crushed inward. Its nearly two-meter-long body was sent hurtling backward, rolling violently across the terrazzo floor before finally coming to a stop at the end of the hallway.
The second Licker, still waiting for its ambush opportunity, was stunned into inaction. Its battle plan had reversed in an instant—before it even had a chance to strike, its comrade was already dead. Just as it was about to leap down, it abruptly stopped mid-motion, clutching the wall and retreating into a corner of the ceiling, refusing to descend.
Even with its limited intelligence, the Licker realized that its strategy had been a complete failure. Had both of them attacked Xu Mo simultaneously, they might not have been able to kill him, but at the very least, they could have covered each other's retreat. However, due to a critical misjudgment of Xu Mo's strength, its partner had failed to stall for long enough and was instantly annihilated. Now, it was left alone—isolated, with no reinforcements in sight.
Avoiding combat wouldn't save it either.
Xu Mo stared it down for half a minute before suddenly leaping backward. He drew his USP handgun and unleashed a wild barrage of gunfire toward the ceiling. The Licker, in a desperate bid to protect its vulnerable head, instinctively raised its front limbs—breaking its grip on the ceiling. With only its hind legs holding on, it could no longer support its own weight and plummeted downward.
Realizing the danger, the Licker twisted its body midair, adjusting its posture with feline-like agility. It landed gracefully, baring its fangs and hissing threateningly at Xu Mo.
"Tch, what an ugly sound. Just shut up forever!"
Xu Mo sneered. With a swift motion, he yanked the Spartan Dagger from the wall, casually flicking off the severed tongue still stuck to it. Then, he surged forward in a blur of speed.
The Licker attempted to leap away, but suddenly, the seemingly smooth terrazzo floor beneath its claws became incredibly sticky. Just as it pushed off, an unseen force yanked at its feet—too weak to completely immobilize it, but just enough to disrupt its balance.
Ability—Seamless Restraint!
In a battle between evenly matched opponents, a minor mistake could be fatal. And the Licker was already at a disadvantage against Xu Mo. This botched fifty-centimeter jump had just sealed its fate.
A silver flash flickered over the Licker's head before vanishing—only the hilt of a blade remained embedded in its forehead. The Licker twitched violently, its severed tongue hanging limply from its mouth, convulsing for a few moments before falling completely still.
"Phew… finally dealt with them. Looks like handling two Lickers at once is my limit. Any more, and I'd probably have to run for my life…"
In truth, in pure melee combat, Lickers weren't much weaker than Xu Mo. However, their neural reflex speed was far inferior to his, and they lacked the devastating, unpredictable abilities he possessed. That was why it seemed like he was overwhelming them.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Xu Mo reflected on the battle. If he hadn't thought to use Seamless Restraint, the final Licker wouldn't have been so easy to eliminate.
This ability wasn't an offensive skill, but its special effect was quite handy. Xu Mo tested the adhesive properties of the trap he had set with his foot. While it didn't pose much of an obstacle for his enhanced physique, an average person might struggle to even stand up after getting stuck. It was perfect for restraining enemies.
The only drawback was the long setup time—half a minute, during which the process couldn't be interrupted—significantly reducing its practical combat value.
Another notable detail was his Kevlar bulletproof vest. Though it wasn't as resilient as he had hoped against the Lickers' claws, it had still performed far better than his unprotected limbs, which were now covered in bleeding wounds. The shallow three- to four-centimeter cuts on his torso were relatively minor in comparison.
Unlike regular zombie cannon fodder, elite monsters like Lickers from Apocalyptic Mirages always left behind Apocalyptic Shards upon death. As expected, Xu Mo searched their corpses and found one red shard and one yellow shard.
However, when he attempted to fuse the red shard to heal his injuries, something unusual happened. The red enhancement-type shard merely floated silently within his Shard Space, refusing to activate no matter how much he willed it. Meanwhile, his wounds continued to bleed, showing no signs of healing.
Perplexed, Xu Mo retrieved the inactive shard from his palm, deep in thought.
Then, a realization struck him—Professor Mo had once mentioned the concept of Apocalyptic Shard enhancement limits. Could it be that his body's enhancements had already reached the limit of what red shards could provide?
The more he considered it, the more likely it seemed. To confirm his theory, he used the yellow weapon-type shard to enhance his USP handgun instead.
Sure enough, not only did the enhancement succeed—slightly increasing the weapon's firepower and doubling its magazine capacity—but his injuries also completely healed in the process. This confirmed it: he had indeed reached the maximum enhancement limit for red shards.
This meant that if Xu Mo wanted to continue improving his physique, he would need to obtain the legendary Tier-2 Apocalyptic Shards.
He recalled reading in Professor Mo's research that shards generally only appeared in Apocalyptic Mirages of the same tier. While there was a small chance of finding high-tier shards in lower-tier mirages, the probability was extremely low.
In other words, to obtain Tier-2 shards, he would have to enter a Tier-2 Apocalyptic Mirage. Yet, considering how difficult this Tier-1 Mirage already was, he could barely imagine the terrifying creatures that lurked in higher tiers.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on long-term goals. The zombie horde was still raging outside, and the theater's defenses were on the verge of collapse.
Xu Mo holstered his enhanced USP handgun and radioed a few Guardian Squad members to secure the area. Then, without wasting another second, he rushed downstairs to reinforce Du Zhizhang and Chang Zitong at the front lines.