Deep Within the Living

Chapter 61: Battle

Half a year ago, during the winter break,

the Zombie Blade absorbed the cranial blood of the Spider Woman, allowing its zombie pituitary—despite being relatively young—to grow, matching at least a year-old Impersonator pituitary in maturity.

The machete it was bonded with also gained distinct zombie characteristics, perfectly aligning with Luo Di’s peculiar fascination for B-movie aesthetics.

However, while Luo Di loved the blade's appearance, he still had to evaluate its practicality.

The two baby teeth embedded along the blade’s surface initially struck Luo Di as having potential alternate uses. He pondered whether the teeth could be repositioned or even grown in greater numbers to seamlessly integrate with the blade’s structure, unlocking their true functionality.

Over the few months of the second semester of senior year,

the Zombie Blade behaved like a growing child. New teeth sprouted on their own, becoming sharper and more mature over time.

Through Luo Di’s daily post-school training sessions with the blade, his nighttime runs, during which Mr. Lofi shared insights about using "Cornerized Tools," and countless nights practically sleeping with the Zombie Blade by his side,

Luo Di developed the ability, in the final month before graduation,

to transmit his consciousness into the blade’s pituitary. This allowed for basic communication and even the ability to "request" the pituitary to induce changes in the blade's form.Eventually, the seven misaligned teeth scattered across the blade shifted their positions through subtle movements of the material, now rearranging themselves according to Luo Di’s thoughts.

How could he maximize its destructive potential?

Luo Di didn’t deliberate for long before arriving at the answer. His thoughts drifted back to the supermarket where he first met the Class Leader, Xiaogao (Gao Yuxuan), and Anna. He recalled the brand-new chainsaw the Class Leader had purchased at great expense.

The chainsaw had been incredibly useful, whether in wilderness survival or fighting zombies, though it ultimately broke under the strain of a zombie’s hardened body.

If Luo Di could arrange the teeth on the blade like the teeth of a chainsaw, it might replicate a similar cutting effect—perhaps even better. This design could also inflict corpse poison while slicing through enemies, making it especially lethal against blood-and-flesh-type adversaries.

Now, on the track field,

Crack!

The Mutated Arm was completely severed, and the neatly aligned teeth along the blade’s edge sank into Gong Xin’s shoulder joint.

The two were engaged in a brutal, point-blank exchange.

This rare opportunity for close combat left Luo Di no room for hesitation if he wanted to survive.

Pulling back the blade and raising it high,

Luo Di imagined himself as a slasher villain from the movies—a role he had been working towards physically embodying for over a decade.

Lowering his center of gravity,

gripping the blade with both hands,

he delivered a powerful overhead strike.

It was his most forceful and devastating move.

Under the dim lighting of the track field,

a dark shadow slashed diagonally downward.

Hiss!

With overwhelming power, the strike cleaved through Gong Xin’s entire skull, continuing downward until it stopped at his sternum.

Gong Xin’s entire brain was crushed by the blade’s teeth, leaving the hypothalamus completely destroyed. From any perspective, this was a definitive kill against an Impersonator.

But—

Before Luo Di could even exhale in relief, a grotesque, distorted voice emanated from Gong Xin’s abdomen.

“Unbelievable! That No. 4 High School could produce a monster like you... far superior to any student I’ve seen during my time there. Truly remarkable. Principal, did you see this? This student is stronger than the average PE teacher—utterly incredible.

If I hadn’t prepared in advance and absorbed so many students and teachers, I might have actually been hurt by your blade.”

A twisted, maniacal face bulged out from Gong Xin’s abdomen.

Danger loomed.

Click.

The echoes of tongue-clicking spread through the air.

Luo Di instinctively sensed the danger, immediately pulling back his blade and leaping backward. Chapters first released on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

However,

Gong Xin’s cleaved head rapidly regenerated. The split halves morphed into two separate whip-like structures. The fractured skulls were polished and sharpened, converging at the whip tips to form razor-sharp blades.

Like two blood-and-flesh whips tipped with blades, they rose high,

swiftly and forcefully whipping toward Luo Di!

Luo Di could barely block one side of the attack with his Zombie Blade,

but the other side was wide open...

[Gymnasium]

As Mr. Guo had pointed out, the Seam enveloping the school largely centered around the gymnasium, confining the students and teachers gathered there.

The moment Li Xiaoying entered, she felt disoriented, as though she was about to get lost.

This wasn’t the gymnasium she remembered—it was a completely unfamiliar, high-level labyrinth full of intersections. The narrow passages allowed at most two people to walk side by side, with numerous forks appearing every ten meters or so. There were no landmarks to use as reference points.

It was a perfect hunting ground for blood-and-flesh predators.

'Which way should I go? If I run blindly, even if I find the teachers, I might not remember the way back.

But if I take time to mark my path at every turn, I’ll waste too much time. Luo Di definitely won’t hold out that long!'

Just as Xiaoying was caught in this mental dilemma, footsteps echoed from an intersection ahead, accompanied by the sounds of discussion. The voices were familiar.

"Vice Rep!"

Gao Yuxuan was the first to appear at the corner, having carefully analyzed the situation and successfully located the gymnasium’s exit.

Following behind him were three PE teachers, including the class advisor, and a group of remaining students from their classes. Most of the students' eyes were filled with fear.

As minors who had never encountered anomalies before, the overwhelming power disparity, coupled with the sight of their peers being absorbed alive in front of them, left very few capable of regaining composure in a short time.

"Li Xiaoying!"

Class Advisor Ruan Zhijun immediately noticed his student standing at the exit and hurriedly asked, "Where are Wu Wen and Luo Di?"

"The Class Leader lured an Impersonator with a skin attribute to the security office in the academic building. Luo Di is currently stalling a blood-and-flesh-type Impersonator on the track field. As for Mr. Guo, he hasn’t harmed us."

Xiaoying summarized the situation quickly and concisely.

Hearing that Luo Di was holding off such a monster on his own, even Ruan Zhijun struggled to keep his emotions in check, nearly charging out in impulse.

But recklessness would only lead to defeat.

Now that they had clarity on the situation, it was time to devise a plan of action.

"Students ranked in the top twenty for PE scores, with no visible signs of fear, confidence in their reflexes and speed, or those equipped with prosthetics or special protective gear—come with us! Everyone else, stay in the gymnasium."

Only two students stepped forward.

One was Gao Yuxuan, whose prosthetic left arm could effectively resist absorption by blood-and-flesh entities, and who also had some combat experience.

The other was Cheng Hao, nicknamed "The Beast" among his peers. Standing at an impressive height of 2.1 meters, he was pushed to second place in PE scores by Luo Di. During his senior year, Cheng Hao had performed outstandingly in simulated practice, earning himself a customized set of metallic exoskeleton armor tailored to his physique.

"I’m coming too..."

Li Xiaoying bit her lip, determined. Her PE score, thanks to the Class Leader’s help and her own hard work during the final semester, had risen to the top fifty in her grade.

However, she had neither experience nor equipment.

Her only weapon was a claw blade designed for close-quarters combat, which not only lacked the ability to effectively harm the target but also risked turning her into nutrient fodder with a single mistake.

The class advisor gently patted Xiaoying’s shoulder. "Stay here. You’ve done well just to remain unaffected by the Seam."

"...Alright."

When Ruan Zhijun and the other four stepped out of the gymnasium,

the sight that greeted them on the track field hit them like a heatwave, igniting their blood and flooding their brains with adrenaline.

"Luo Di is actually holding his own against a monster like that!"

At the center of the field,

a nearly fully zombified Luo Di was locked in fierce combat, wielding the Chainsaw Blade.

With crimson veins running through his eyes,

Luo Di had entered a state where he was performing at 120% of his usual capacity. Immersed completely in the frenzy of battle, his every move was nearly flawless.

He had forgotten pain,

forgotten tonight’s graduation exam,

forgotten the concept of buying time,

and even forgotten his severed left arm lying over ten meters away, oozing rotting fluid from its sliced stump.