CHAPTER 200: [THE INFINITE TRAIN] – DEGENERATE’S PART (10)

"Aurora, be careful!"

Lily shouted. Aurora held the baby tightly, grabbing Lily’s other hand and swiftly dodging to the side.

Fortunately, this monster was incredibly slow. All it could do was growl continuously, each step it took seemed agonizingly difficult. Its body swayed unsteadily, and it would topple to the ground if it weren’t careful. Still, it quickly crawled back up. Each time it fell and rose, it became slightly more agile. There was no doubt about it — it was constantly evolving, or perhaps that was simply the nature of these monsters!

Aurora pressed her lips together and gripped Lily’s hand tightly. She walked briskly and said, "We have to get out of here quickly. These monsters are likely zombies. They’re getting faster. Whatever you do, don’t let them bite you. If they do, we’ll become just like them!"

"Ha..."

"Ugh, graw..."

Aurora came to a halt, stunned by the scene before her. The entire train car had descended into chaos — whole and broken bodies tangled together, punching, kicking, and writhing in a mess of violence.

"Aaaaa!"

At that moment, a zombie suddenly sank its teeth into a woman’s neck, causing her to scream in pain and despair—fresh blood splattered at Aurora’s feet, staining her pristine white boots crimson.

The woman’s eyes rolled back as her body convulsed from the pain. The zombie continued to feast on her flesh and blood without pause.

The other zombies, drawn by the scent of blood, pounced instantly. The sound of raw flesh being torn and devoured echoed in the air. They were like a pack of wild beasts tearing apart a helpless prey. In mere moments, the woman had been reduced to nothing but bones.

"Ha... huff... huff..."

A wave of nausea surged to the top of Aurora’s head. She clenched her fists, her beautiful face twisting with revulsion.

"Aurora! Aurora!"

Lily’s voice suddenly rang like a bell at that moment, snapping Aurora back to her senses.

She let go of Lily’s hand, tightened her hold on the child in her arms, and picked up a wooden rod that had fallen to the ground — she had no idea who had dropped it while resisting.

Gripping it tightly, she said coldly, "Run!"

With that, she charged forward. A zombie with a massive head and shark-like teeth lunged at her, but without hesitation, Aurora raised the wooden rod and smashed it into the monster’s face, sending it flying to the side.

[I’m guessing Aurora awakened some strength-related ability — damn, that body is perfect for it!]

[So badass. Wifey wifey mlem mlem mlem.]

[Snapping pics like crazy — I’m getting a new body pillow now!]

[Don’t forget, the zombies are still in the early stages, so Aurora seems strong now. With that power, she’ll be zombie chow sooner or later.]

[Don’t care. Whoever’s up there, send me screenshots. It’s been ages since I’ve seen someone this hot.]

[Is no one paying attention to Lily? That kid’s running pretty fast, too.]

[What the hell is Asta doing — get over there and save the beauty already?!]

"Over fifty humans have completely turned into zombies in less than two hours. What’s worse, there are still infected people trying to hide it. The rate of infection..."

Layla furrowed her brows tightly, eyes filled with pain and despair, as she watched the number of zombies steadily grow inside the dungeon. At this rate, no matter how powerful an Esper might be, they could still get bitten to death by these zombies!

"Humanity will perish by its own hands — that’s not wrong. Our selfishness is killing us all!"

Frank slammed his fist against the wall. His eyes looked even more sleep-deprived than before, to the point of appearing almost feral.

Everyone wanted to survive. The desire to live was truly an awe-inspiring thing in humans. It could either guide them toward the final road... or be the very signpost that led them to the most reckless, foolish decisions — no matter the cost.

Just like now...

"William, are you alright?"

Nyx smiled gently at the man walking beside her — a tall, handsome fellow with an effortlessly roguish charm. It felt as if he were to hold a rose between his lips, he’d instantly become a fairytale prince galloping under the moonlight in search of his one and only princess.

He had only recently joined The Graceful Shadows, but his appearance alone had earned the approval of many guild members. The Graceful Shadows absolutely couldn’t pass up his elegant, dashing aura.

Which was why Nyx had pulled him directly into her team. What a coincidence that they had ended up in this dungeon together.

Nyx had once been quite satisfied with William — but right now...

"You don’t look very graceful right now, William," she said softly, her eyes narrowing slightly.

William flinched a little, instinctively wanting to hide his arm. But he held back, his fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his flesh.

He smiled and said quietly, "I’m just a bit tense..."

"Tense? Ha, William, as a member of The Graceful Shadows, we must remain poised and beautiful even in death. The way you’re acting now is honestly disappointing."

William could only give a weak smile, saying nothing more. The wind lifted his slightly long hair, obscuring his expression.

That’s right — the wind. Because at the moment, they were standing on top of the train.

"Vice guild leader, we’ve searched everywhere. We can now confirm that the infected individual is the source of the zombie virus. Also, the train staff... they’re not human. Looking at them... they seem like they were burned alive."

Smith, another member of The Graceful Shadows, reported to Nyx.

Nyx gazed at the distant night, as if she could see strange hands waving in the mist.

She smiled faintly and raised her hand to cover her mouth. "If we can deal with the root of all this, the zombie virus will be handled, which means we’ll have solved half the dungeon’s problem."

"Only half?" William was startled.

Nyx turned to him and smiled. "Of course, silly. How could a special dungeon only have one problem? Just look at those staff members. There’s probably a whole other mess waiting for us. The longer it takes to find it, the worse it’ll be."

William pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

Smith quickly added, "I’ll continue investigating."

And with that, his body phased through the metal roof and disappeared.

"Such a hardworking little bee." Nyx looked at the spot where Smith vanished, smiled softly, then turned back to William. "You should contribute a little too. Or answer me now — are you afraid?"

As she spoke, Nyx stepped closer to William. Her metal cane tapped against the train’s roof, producing a resonant clang in the dead of night.

William trembled. He didn’t even dare meet Nyx’s gaze. He felt like if he said "yes" right now, she would push him off the roof while smiling.

"I’m not afraid!"

He stepped back, forcing himself to remain calm and bowing gentlemanly before vanishing from the rooftop.

[Don’t be scared, Nyx is super cute.]

[Exactly! She looks like a bunny. How could anyone be afraid of her?!]

[Wait, doesn’t Nyx notice something’s wrong with William?]

[Maybe she does, but doesn’t care. She’ll sit on that rooftop until someone finds her.]

[Same.]

"She kicked you off the roof? I thought she kinda liked you."

Smith ran a hand through his hair. He did it so often that his hairline had started to recede — he was secretly jealous of William’s long, flowing locks. So elegant!

William laughed lightly and replied, "I’ve got work to do, too."

As he spoke, they continued walking — they had successfully reached the train’s records storage room.

But the door was already wide open, a clear sign someone had been there before them.