Deep Within the Living

Chapter 62: Defying Death

On the track field,

Gong Xin, one of the creators of the Seam, had revealed his inhuman, blood-and-flesh form.

Having absorbed over a hundred students before the battle, his reserves of flesh and blood were nearly endless. He was confident he was the strongest being on the campus.

In the nearly three years he had spent in disguise before this event, he had only absorbed about ten individuals.

But now, this large-scale massacre was the opportunity he had long dreamed of—a chance to transform into his most "perfect form" during the process of slaughter.

Gong Xin’s "Fear Manifestation" stemmed from a foreign horror film he had watched with his father as a child. It was his first exposure to a bloody, horror-themed movie: The Thing.

After watching it at the age of seven, Gong Xin experienced prolonged physical fear, often dreaming that his own body was undergoing similar mutations.

Currently,

his form was as follows:

"Head": His original head had been replaced by two scythe-shaped flesh tendrils. Gong Xin’s actual head was mobile, never fixed in one location. It typically resided in his abdominal region, occasionally protruding his facial features outward to express emotions. This mobility ensured the safety of his pituitary gland."Limbs": His legs remained unchanged and appeared human.His right arm had undergone stacked growth, granting it the ability to deliver long-range, wide-area strikes and perform assimilation.

His left palm had grown a sharp, sword-like bone, half a meter long with extremely high density, capable of cutting through various hard materials.

"Abdomen": His bloated belly had completely split open, with four flesh tendrils growing from within. Each tendril ended in a sharp spike and could secrete acid.Even in this grotesque form, Gong Xin was still unsatisfied. He craved to absorb more people, striving for an even more perfect form. His confidence as the sole survivor of this "selection" was unshakable.

In stark contrast to Gong Xin’s increasingly "perfect" state,

Luo Di’s condition was deteriorating rapidly.

His body was covered in countless cuts and gashes of varying depths, along with some puncture wounds that reached his internal organs. Without his zombie skin, he would have already been reduced to chunks of flesh.

But the worst injury was his severed arm.

His entire left arm had been cut off. Although he had used his zombie skin to cover the wound immediately, the loss of the limb was severely debilitating.

His offensive capabilities had been drastically reduced, forcing him to change his initial attack patterns. He now relied on combining slashes with kicks, and in desperate situations, he even resorted to biting his enemies.

Even so,

even with Luo Di pushing himself beyond his usual limits, achieving a flow state, the gap between them remained insurmountable.

His stamina was nearing its limit, and his movements were starting to slow.

His tongue could already taste something familiar—a taste he had encountered before, one that could only be called "death."

Previously, this taste hadn’t been particularly bitter. It carried a trace of sweetness,

because Luo Di had never feared death. He had long ago come to terms with it and was ready to embrace it.

But today,

facing the taste of death once again during his graduation exam,

Luo Di found it overwhelmingly bitter, with a nauseating tang of iron and rot. It triggered a violent, visceral rejection within him.

I… can’t die.

For the first time in years, such a thought burst into Luo Di’s mind. For the first time, he actively resisted the idea of dying.

Slash!

Another acid-secreting spike tendril pierced through Luo Di’s abdomen, intensifying the taste of death on his tongue. The bitter flavor overwhelmed his senses, digging deep into his brain and pulling out cherished memories from the depths of his mind.

He remembered being invited by the Class Leader to participate in a simulated practice, the first time he had made what could be called "friends."

He remembered dining out with others for the first time.

He remembered doing push-ups with Xiaogao (Gao Yuxuan) during breaks, starting with discussions about academics and eventually chatting about life itself. By the end of the day, they had exchanged more words than he used to speak in an entire month.

And in the final moments,

from the depths of his consciousness, small bubbles rose and burst, releasing a familiar, gentle voice—a voice like soft fingertips brushing against the palm of his hand.

“Luo Di~”

It was winter break, early morning. Sitting on the steps outside,

the Class Leader, with her scarf pulled high over her face to shield her frost-bitten cheeks, was waving at him, calling out with a cheerful greeting.

Luo Di had to survive the track field. He had to keep his promise to meet the Class Leader at the academic building.

Slash!

Four sharp spike tendrils struck simultaneously.

Despite being nearly at his limit, Luo Di executed flawless slashes, severing each tendril as they came.

But in the very next second,

Gong Xin’s arm, with its razor-sharp bone blade, swung straight at Luo Di’s head.

The distance was less than thirty centimeters—too close to dodge.

As the blade closed in, poised to decapitate him—

Bang!

Gong Xin’s arm was blasted apart at the wrist, sending the bone blade flying.

Someone had intervened!

Gong Xin’s facial features protruded from the side of his abdomen, his rapidly swiveling eyes locking onto the intruder behind him. His expression twisted with rage.

It was Class Advisor Ruan Zhijun, standing in a textbook shooting stance, holding a Magnum handgun. The large-caliber bullets were capable of dealing significant damage to blood-and-flesh entities.

He fired again, the bullet piercing straight into the protruding face on Gong Xin’s abdomen and breaking his two legs, which he relied on for standing.

Although the shots seemed effective, Ruan Zhijun felt no joy of victory. He knew all too well how difficult it was to kill the Impersonator before him.

"Luo Di! They’ll take you to the infirmary. Leave this to me… You’ve done well holding him off for so long. Rest now."

Before Luo Di could respond,

a metal arm wrapped tightly around his abdomen, lifting him onto a shoulder. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel·fiɾe·net

Looking down, he saw it was none other than Vice Rep Gao Yuxuan.

Gao Yuxuan unleashed his full speed, retreating toward the academic building.

Behind them, Xiaoying, who hadn’t been allowed to leave the gym earlier, had now followed them out. She quickly picked up Luo Di’s severed arm from the ground, ignoring the potential "Corner Influence" the zombie arm might exert on her. Without hesitation, she ran after Gao Yuxuan toward the exit.

The arm, if properly preserved, could potentially be reattached using the infirmary's advanced equipment.

Spurt!

As Luo Di relaxed slightly on Gao Yuxuan’s shoulder, he coughed up a large amount of blood. His injuries had reached a critical level.

Even so, his gaze remained fixed on the center of the track field.

There, Gong Xin, whose legs had been blasted apart by the Magnum bullets, had sprouted multiple grotesque limbs from his back, flipping his body into an inverted position. To everyone’s horror, his speed seemed to have increased.

Not only that,

Gong Xin’s body underwent further mutations in response to his current predicament. Numerous retractable flesh tendrils sprouted from his form, and layers of bone grew across his surface to shield against bullets.

"Luo Di, don’t worry about them." Gao Yuxuan’s voice was calm yet urgent.

"Earlier, the chaos broke out because it happened so suddenly. A large number of students mutated under the Seam’s influence, and the scene was complete mayhem. Plus, no one knew this Impersonator’s abilities at the time. The fact that he could assimilate flesh-and-blood through mere physical contact caught everyone off guard, leading to the current crisis.

"But now, the teachers are prepared. They’ll definitely suppress him.

"Focus on quickly explaining how you ended up at the sports center and what issues the Class Leader mentioned. I’ll analyze the situation and figure out the best course of action moving forward."