After Lin Shen and Palace Master Lingyue passed through the light door, it slowly faded away.
Taking a quick look around, Lin Shen realized they had been teleported to a desolate graveyard. Lin Shen muttered inwardly: "Couldn't the System have arranged an environment that has nothing to do with the supernatural?"
Looking at the graves scattered about, Palace Master Lingyue lowered her head and quietly chanted, "Amitabha."
Seeing her bowing in prayer, Lin Shen said, "Daoist, if you feel uncomfortable, I can send you back. There is no need to force yourself."
Palace Master Lingyue shook her head. "Don't worry about me. Let's go."
The two of them wandered aimlessly for a while until they heard strange, howling cries. They immediately drew their weapons and raised their guard.
Palace Master Lingyue pointed ahead. "Young friend, look. What is that?"
Following the direction she pointed, Lin Shen could only make out a few blurry figures.
As they drew closer, they saw six or seven pale-skinned, dark-eyed figures with tattered, blood-stained clothes shuffling toward them with drooping arms.
When Lin Shen saw clearly what they were, he was utterly speechless: "The System actually brought over monsters from Left 4 Dead. I give up."
Realizing that these fiends were zombies, Palace Master Lingyue began chanting a spell, intending to purify them.
A ten-meter-square golden Buddhist symbol materialized directly above the zombies, and countless smaller golden symbols rained down from the sky.
The zombies gradually stopped moving, but that was all—they simply stopped. Before long, sensing the presence of the two humans, they lunged straight toward them.
Taken aback, Palace Master Lingyue asked, "Why isn't my purification technique working?"
Seeing the zombies closing in, Lin Shen had no choice but to grab the Palace Master and turn to run.
Because both of them had been training in a high-gravity environment for a long time, their running speed was vastly superior to before, and they quickly left the zombies far behind.
Seeing that the zombies had been left far in the distance, the Palace Master said, "Young friend, we can stop now."
Looking back and seeing no trace of the zombies, Lin Shen came to a halt.
Palace Master Lingyue asked, "Young friend, what is going on here? Why didn't my purification technique work?"
Panting, Lin Shen replied, "Dao... Daoist, you don't understand. Fiends in this... this kind of environment must be destroyed. They aren't the same as the zombies you usually deal with. Pu... purification just doesn't work on them."
"I had no idea. I've dragged you down, young friend."
Lin Shen waved a hand. "It's... it's nothing. Get ready. I... I estimate they'll catch up to us soon."
Before long, the sound of howling drew closer. Sure enough, a dozen or so zombies lunged toward Lin Shen and the Palace Master.
Lin Shen called out, "Daoist, let's take them!"
Palace Master Lingyue replied, "Alright!"
Lin Shen hurled a Fireball at the zombies first. With a loud explosion, five of them were blown away.
Palace Master Lingyue unleashed several bolts of Lightning, blasting seven or eight zombies to pieces.
As the remaining zombies closed in, Lin Shen swept a freezing cold wind across them, quickly numbing them stiff. Then he finished them off one by one with Fireballs.
At that moment, two zombies attempted to ambush Palace Master Lingyue. Glancing back, Lin Shen shouted, "Daoist, watch your back!"
Turning around and spotting the zombies, Palace Master Lingyue hastily dodged to the side. Seizing the moment, Lin Shen used his Jade Ring to transform it into a Thunder-Fire Bead and hurled it at the zombies. With a deafening blast, the two creatures were blown into fine dust.
Meanwhile, another zombie tried to ambush Lin Shen. A sudden bolt of lightning cracked down from the sky, shattering that zombie into fragments. Seeing this, Lin Shen realized it was the Palace Master's spell and praised, "Nice work, Daoist."
Palace Master Lingyue smiled and replied, "You're very strong yourself, young friend."
Looking around to make sure no other zombies remained, Palace Master Lingyue asked, "Is that it?"
"Hard to say," Lin Shen replied.
Lin Shen thought to himself: *Following the formula of Left 4 Dead, after clearing out the common infected, the special infected should start showing up. I wonder if there are any here.*
Sure enough, a moment later, a low, booming roar echoed through the air.
Following the sound, they saw a zombie approaching with one arm missing and the other several times thicker than normal. When it was less than ten paces away, it suddenly surged forward at full speed.
Fearing that Palace Master Lingyue might be harmed, Lin Shen shoved her aside, but took the full force of the zombie's charge himself, sending him flying.
At that exact moment, a sharp screech rang out, and a tentacle-like appendage several yards long shot toward Palace Master Lingyue. Dodging to the side just in time, the Palace Master narrowly avoided the strike while simultaneously firing a bolt of Lightning straight down the slender appendage.
The lightning surged along the length of the appendage, reducing the mutant zombie to powder.
By this time, Lin Shen had climbed back to his feet. Stamping the ground, he summoned two Earth-Binding Claws from the earth to immobilize the one-armed zombie, then finished it off with a Fireball, burning it to ashes.
Palace Master Lingyue hurried over and healed Lin Shen's wounds with her Qi Healing technique.
Just then, a burst of eerie, cackling laughter rang out.
A hunchbacked, short-stature zombie came bounding over from the side.
Without waiting for Palace Master Lingyue, Lin Shen leaped into the air and delivered a swift kick straight to the hunchback's face, sending it flying. Seizing the opportunity, the Palace Master struck it dead with a bolt of Lightning.
At that moment, another horde of ordinary zombies appeared. Lin Shen immediately used Earth-Binding Claws to trap them all, then incinerated them into fine dust with Fireballs.
The System prompt sounded:
"Congratulations to the host for eliminating the first wave of Infected!
Reward: 1,800 System coins!
Reward for the host: Jade Ring!
Reward for the host: Wind-Swift Dao Robe!"
Lin Shen asked, "Didn't I already have a Jade Ring? Where did another one come from?"
The System replied, "This ring can not only transform into various hidden weapons, but also into all kinds of blades. However, don't even think about guns, cannons, or rockets."
Lin Shen muttered inwardly: *I was actually hoping to test it out by turning this thing into a Dongfeng missile to serve up right in the Water Beast's face. Oh well, this one is still much better than the old one.*
With that, he swapped out his old Jade Ring for the new Jade Ring. His outfit also transformed into a pristine white Daoist robe accented with faint blue wind patterns.
At that moment, Lin Shen noticed a scroll lying near the one-armed zombie. The moment he walked over and picked it up, it vanished.
The System prompt rang out again: "Ding! Congratulations to the host for acquiring Poison Immunity!"
Lin Shen thought to himself: *The harvest from this battle is quite substantial. At least I won't have to fear enemies that use poison anymore.*
The Palace Master walked over and asked, "Young friend, are you alright?"
"It's nothing. No zombies are coming to harass us for the moment. Daoist, perhaps you should rest for a bit."
"I'm fine," the Palace Master said. "What about you? You took quite a few hits just now. Are you alright?"
Lin Shen shook his head. "I'm fine."
Pointing to the skeletal remains of the zombies on the ground, Palace Master Lingyue asked, "Is this how you've been training all along?"
"Yes, searching out fiends in different mazes and destroying them. In my view, actual combat is the best way to expose one's shortcomings. Because you can only unleash your full potential in battle—wooden boards and tiles don't move, so it's hard to achieve any real progress through them. Palace Master, are you ready? The next battle is about to begin."
The Palace Master didn't quite understand what Lin Shen meant. Lin Shen pulled out the Demon-Arousing Flute, and as a tune began to play, howling sounds filled the air once more.
Sure enough, two waves of zombies swarmed in from the front and back. Lin Shen and the Palace Master pressed back-to-back.
Facing the zombies in front of him, Lin Shen unleashed a burst of Lightning, striking down a dozen zombies before following up with a barrage of Wind Blades. The two remaining survivors were quickly beaten to the ground by Lin Shen's staff.
Palace Master Lingyue whipped up a freezing wind that instantly encased all the zombies before her in ice, then shattered them to pieces with falling rock magic.
Just as the two of them caught their breath, a piercing howl pierced the air.
Before Lingyue could react, a concealed zombie pounced and knocked her to the ground. Lin Shen instantly kicked the creature squarely in the rear, sending it flying ten feet away.
Swiftly immobilizing it with Earth-Binding Claws, Lin Shen incinerated it with a Fireball.
Helping the Palace Master up and dusting off her clothes, Lin Shen asked, "Daoist, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Thank goodness your reflexes were so fast."
At that moment, the System prompt blared: "Warning! Warning! A Boss-tier fiend is approaching! Warning! Warning!"
Lin Shen looked around anxiously. Palace Master Lingyue realized that another zombie was coming, and this one was extraordinary. The earth began to tremble, making it difficult for the two of them to keep their footing, followed by another strange, booming roar.
Looking toward the source of the sound, they saw a towering creature over three zhang tall, shirtless, covered in gore, with no eyes or mouth—only three dark, hollow voids—marching toward them step by step.
Recognizing it at a glance, Lin Shen thought to himself: *Isn't this the infamous scrapped 'Tank' from Left 4 Dead? How did it end up here? Seeing it in person really gives off a terrifying sense of oppression.*
Glancing at Palace Master Lingyue beside him, Lin Shen called out, "Daoist."
Palace Master Lingyue replied, "Young friend?"
Lin Shen asked, "Are you scared? Shall I send you back?"
The Palace Master smiled. "Young friend, don't underestimate me."
"Very well. Then let's have some fun with this fellow."
With that, they readied themselves, standing face-to-face against the Giant Zombie.
(End of Chapter 7)