Awakening: God-Tier Adaptive System
Chapter 53: Claw and Corpses

Chapter 53: Claw and Corpses

She didn’t react to his joke, so he dropped it and kept moving.

He let her go first, wanting to save his transformation for later.

Unlike her, even a partial shift took a toll on his body.

He gave a quick warning.

"Don’t eat the zombies. And don’t let them bite you. I know it’s tempting, but trust me, you don’t want to become a zombie-tiger hybrid. "

Lyra didn’t even crack a smile.

They scavenged for some makeshift weapons, settling on rusty metal poles that looked like they’d been put through a spin cycle.

Not ideal, but better than using their bare hands – unless she has a way to shoot her claw like a gun.

Speaking of, he had one too, but it would make too much noise, so he decided to just strap it to his shoulder for now.

CREAK!

The moment they stepped outside the basement, a pack of zombies in tattered hospital robes stumbled towards them.

Hollow eyes locked onto their movement – then the horde charged with all the speed and coordination of bunch of middle-aged men drunkards.

Lyra reacted first, her right arm twisting and growing.

With one swift blow – BANG! – the nearest zombie’s head burst open like an overripe watermelon.

Neo followed suit, wielding his metal pole like a baseball bat.

"I’m not transforming yet," he muttered aloud. "I need to conserve my energy... "

He slammed the pole into a zombie’s skull with satisfying crunchiness.

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

Neo and Lyra cleared a path until they reached the alley.

It was packed with zombies, their arms outstretched, and mouths open in mindless hunger.

"Use their heads!!" he commanded.

Without another word, they both transformed their legs and launched themselves into the air.

But instead of jumping over the zombies entirely, they used their powerful leg muscles to propel themselves from zombie head to zombie head – treating the undead as human trampolines.

The first few jumps were awkward as they got used to judging distances between heads - there was one particularly close call when neo had slipped from an especially slippery bald one.

’Are you fucking kidding me?’

He felt like the bald jokes were getting out of hand. Good thing he had smooth hair now.

Soon enough, they reached the rooftop, where they could finally catch their breath.

"Wow, this place is really a mess now," he muttered, shaking his head in awe. "I’m glad I got stronger before heading out, or I’d already be zombie food."

Lyra stood beside him, her eyes scanning the horizon with a mixture of fascination and wariness.

"They’re getting stronger," she said quietly. "Look."

Neo transformed and narrowed his eyes and spotted one moving on all fours, climbing up the side of a building.

"Another one," she said, pointing.

A tall female zombie was walking nearby, her tongue so long it dragged along the ground.

’Yeah, normally I like long ones, but that’s pushing it...’ he sighed, his eyes fixed on the zombie’s tongue as it slithered across the ground like a snake.

Forget about reaching the deepest part of his body; it practically passed through him.

Lyra’s voice was barely above a whisper. "I think it’s sensing its environment. Maybe it can detect prey or something."

Neo’s eyes snapped back to her. "You’re really good at this. Does it come naturally?"

"Yes. I’m good with details."

Neo’s eyes lit up with understanding as he touched his chin thoughtfully.

As a true beast, she has innate abilities that allowed her to sense her surroundings and adapt to situations in ways that he could not.

For example, tigers could sense if they could win against other predators and would find creative ways to increase their chances when hunting.

Maybe Lyra’s abilities were similar, but on a more instinctual level.

As they stood there, Neo couldn’t help but wonder what other secrets Lyra might be hiding.

What other innate abilities might she possess that would give them an edge in island.

’Should I ask her to give me more of her limbs? Would that allow me to tap into her innate abilities?’

Neo shook his head, clearing his mind of the distracting thoughts. He knew that getting her limbs when she was unconscious was a completely different situation.

Instead, he focused on their current situation and the pressing need to escape.

’Right, let’s focus on getting out of here first,’ he thought to himself. ’If these zombies are really mutating and becoming more aggressive, we don’t want to stick around for too long.’

’Okay, let’s think this through,’ he said to himself. ’We need to find a way out of this town that doesn’t involve going through the main streets. Those zombies are too dense, and we’d never make it without being seen.’

He looked around, taking in the layout of the buildings and the rooftops.

’Maybe we can use the rooftops to our advantage," he thought. "If we can make our way from rooftop to rooftop, we might be able to avoid the majority of the zombies.’

But then he thought about the mutated zombies they had seen earlier.

’Those ones are too fast, too agile. They’d be able to follow us across the rooftops if they saw us.’

He wasn’t really afraid of them in direct combat, knowing his strength.

What worried him was the virus, which could infect them.

As long as he wasn’t sure they were immune to it, charging in recklessly would be stupid.

Besides regeneration, viruses and diseases didn’t mix well. He remembered a fictional character who could regenerate, even cancer cells.

Neo’s mind raced; he tried to come up with a plan that would allow them to escape undetected.

’We need a diversion. Something that will draw the zombies away from our escape route.’

He looked around again, this time noticing a small gasoline station.

’I got it,’

He gripped the gun tightly and took it from his shoulder.

Next, he checked the magazine, making sure it was fully loaded.

"Okay, here’s the plan. I’ll create a diversion by shooting those gas tanks to draw the zombies away from our escape route. Then, we’ll make a break for the outskirts of town, using the rooftops."

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