"What are those things…"
Su, who had never seen the zombies and Honkai Beasts before, found his worldview—which had already been shattered by the attack of the strange tree—was once again subjected to a new shock when he saw the rampant monsters in the city.
The pale humanoids and beasts were devoid of any malice, possessing only a pure urge for destruction.
"…I'll handle them." Ragna, who had once served in the Fire Moth, was clearly extremely familiar with them. Her expression unchanged, she didn't even ease up on the accelerator, driving the car straight into the zombie in front and sending it flying.
Ordinary zombies were not much different from the zombies in movies, being slow-moving and having singular actions. Even a normal person, given enough courage, could easily evade and defeat them.
But unfortunately, the ordinary zombies during a Honkai event usually only accounted for 70% of the total zombie population. That is, for every ten zombies , three of them would be special zombies .
The situation caused by this ratio was that… the movie trope of ramming zombies with a vehicle wouldn't work for long at all.
"Bang!"
The sudden, jarring noise on the car roof could not be a hallucination. Ragna's hair stood on end, and long-ago knowledge came into play at that moment. She drew her pistol and fired three shots towards the roof, but after the bullets pierced the car roof, the foreign object did not seem to be hit.
The next moment, a desperate howl sounded, and three scarlet giant claws permeated with blood ripped through the car roof. A zombie that looked half-human and half-beast with savage fangs bit down towards one of the unconscious patients.
"Claw Zombie!" Ragna recognized this speed-specialized zombie individual, but still driving, she only had one hand to hold the gun and no time to aim at the zombie !
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah!"
Just then, Su placed one arm horizontally in front of the patient. The zombie's mouth full of fangs readily accepted, immediately piercing Su's arm with its teeth. Blood splattered, and Su let out a piercing shriek of agony.
But at the same time, he gripped a surgical scalpel with his other hand. The moment the zombie bit down on his arm, he, with bloodshot eyes, plunged the scalpel into the back of the zombie's head.
However, whether it was due to his insufficient strength or the zombie's unusually resilient physical structure, the Claw Zombie did not die instantly. Its biting force gradually increased, and the harrowing pain prevented Su from pushing the scalpel in further.
Seeing that his arm was about to be severed in two by the zombie's mouth, Director Fal in the passenger seat grabbed the arm of the Claw Zombie that was bracing itself on the car roof, forcefully pulling it down. He then used one hand to brace its head and the other to push the scalpel further in.
The bulging veins on Fal's forehead and arm showed that he was exerting all his strength, yet the creature's toughness far exceeded his imagination. Even with the scalpel half-buried, it still looked full of vigor.
"Oh!"
Director Fal bent over from the passenger seat and kicked the scalpel. The surgical scalpel finally embedded completely into the zombie's brain, and its savage movements ceased.
"Hah… Hah… Hah…"
Fal and Su both heavily pressed the air out of their lungs. They slumped back into their respective seats. Only Ragna remained composed, driving the car towards the hospital in Nagazora City, but a closer look would reveal that the hand gripping the gun was also trembling slightly, her stiff fingers unable to let go.
Su wanted to pry open the zombie's mouth to retrieve his hand, but his limp fingers and the creature's terrifying bite force meant he couldn't pull it out, even using all his strength.
"I'll help you."
Fal used another scalpel to cut the zombie's masseter muscle, then used both hands to pry open the Claw Zombie's mouth, allowing Su to withdraw his blood-soaked hand.
"Stop the bleeding quickly. Honkai energy will erode the injured area and make you more susceptible to Honkai Sickness," Ragna instructed, taking out gauze and bandages from beside the driver's seat. "You shouldn't go near the operating room later for the surgery."
"Alright…"
Su nodded. In just that short time, he had already lost all feeling in his left hand.
But they were close now. There might still be these monsters at the hospital, but the chance to save lives allowed him to temporarily forget the injury to his hand.
"Waaah—"
He widened his eyes, nearly jumping up and out through the broken car roof.
"What's wrong?" Ragna noticed his startled reaction.
Su anxiously looked at the changing environment outside the car. He stated with certainty, "I heard a child crying."
"Crying?"
The desolate city and the monsters' wails filled their sight and hearing. A child's cry was the least likely sound to appear here. Even if there had been one, it could only have been in the past.
No child could survive ten minutes in this environment.
"You're hearing things. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, we'll be there soon," Ragna said, simultaneously dodging an attack from a Scythe Zombie , which sliced off the car's rear-view mirror with a single blow.
"No, I really heard a child crying!"
Every pore on Su's body tightened with tension. The crying sound was a frantic, clawing agitation in his heart. He nervously scanned his surroundings, but all that met his eyes were blood, fire, and death.
It was as if nothing else remained in this world.
"Waaah—"
"Let me out quickly! There's a child there!" This time, Su clearly heard the source of the sound. He roared and flung open the car door. Ragna was forced to slam on the brakes, stopping the car abruptly.
Dragging his battered left hand, Su stumbled out of the car. He sought the source of the sound, shouting over his shoulder to the two still inside, "You two hurry to the hospital to save him! I'm going to find that child!"
Ragna saw zombies approaching, gritting her teeth and aiming at the head of the leading special zombie . "Su, come back!"
"No… Doctor Ragna, to stand by and watch death is murder," Su's eyes showed no trace of confusion. After a brief assessment of the environment, he immediately found a small path next to a burning building.
"Su…"
"Doctor Ragna, let's go." Director Fal stopped Ragna's shouting. He grimly stared at the approaching living dead. "Trust Su. He is more exceptional than us."
"…Did you hear it too? The child crying."
"No, but I believe Su heard it. He has always been sensitive to the sound of children crying. During night shifts, he often heard the cries of children afflicted with Honkai Sickness."
"…Hmph, alright." Ragna shouted quickly, "Su!"
Su turned his head. A gun was thrown at his feet.
"After you find the child, come to the hospital to meet up if you can, or hide in a safe place. Don't engage with those things."
"I understand. Thank you, Doctor Ragna."
"Thank you…" Ragna smiled bitterly and shook her head. "It's been a long time since I heard that."