Su Li noticed that this corpse was more flexible than the female corpse from earlier in the day, nearly matching the agility of an ordinary person. If it had chosen to retreat back at this point, Su Li wouldn't have been able to strike it.
Then Su Li discovered the second flaw of this zombie-like monster: it wasn't very bright.
An ordinary person in this situation, facing Su Li armed with a cleaver and hammer, would definitely think to pull back first and then find a way to attack later.
But this zombie, after having its arm smashed by Su Li's hammer, was still desperately trying to crawl inside, quickly getting half its body through the window.
Seeing this, Su Li swung the cleaver in his left hand repeatedly, flesh and blood flying everywhere. Two strikes hit the arm, and three more landed on the head and face, while the hammer kept falling. By the time the corpse finally got half its body through the window, it lay there motionless, its head nearly crushed by Su Li's hammer.
Watching the zombie stop moving, Su Li felt a strange sense that it had willingly offered itself up.
As the corpse lay on the window, the layer of white fuzz on its skin retracted and disappeared. Soon, from the bloody mess of its head and face, a white fuzzy ball the size of a fingertip emerged, shot up, and flew straight at Su Li's face.
This time, Su Li didn't resist. In fact, he couldn't dodge it—it was too fast.
It struck his forehead again. He reached up to touch it but found nothing. Then he felt a surge of heat, like electricity, coursing through his body. It lasted only a few seconds before vanishing, but a new strength began to grow inside him.
Earlier in the day, smashing the female corpse's head had left him panting and exhausted. But now, swinging the cleaver and hammer repeatedly didn't tire him much. And with this new surge of power, he felt even more at ease wielding them, to the point where the hammer now seemed a bit too light.
He had a vague sense that his strength had increased by at least several dozen pounds.
A new piece of information appeared in his mind, as if it had always been there.
"Spirit Source: 2/5."
Sensing this new message in his thoughts, Su Li was no longer surprised.
"So that's it. This thing really is called Spirit Source. I dealt with two reanimated corpses and got two Spirit Sources. But what does the 5 mean? Do I need to get five? And what happens when I do..."
Su Li thought back to the corpse's transformation, the white fuzz covering its body like the legendary white-haired zombie. He felt a flicker of fear, worried that when his Spirit Source reached 5/5, he might grow white fuzz and turn into a zombie himself.
Lost in thought, Su Li was about to lift the corpse off the window and toss it out when he heard a loud "bang" on the security door, followed by a series of "bang bang bang" sounds—someone was pounding on it with great force.
Su Li tightened his grip on the cleaver and hammer, turning to face the door. The pounding was strong, but the door was sturdy, making it hard to break through. That gave him some relief.
"Who are you?" Su Li stared at the door. Though he suspected the one pounding was another zombie, he still couldn't help but ask. Against all odds, he hoped it was a survivor, not a monster.
As soon as he spoke, the pounding stopped. Silence returned. Then, from his bedroom, came the sharp sound of glass shattering.
"Damn it!" Su Li's face changed, and he rushed toward the bedroom.
When he burst in, he could barely make out a dark figure climbing through the bedroom window in the dim light. The window glass was already broken.
The figure landed and immediately lunged at him, moving fast.
In the faint moonlight, Su Li could see it was another zombie, likely a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties. The corpse was bloated from water, but unlike the others, its surface showed no signs of being gnawed. Its mouth was slightly open, its face covered in fuzz, and its white eyes faintly glowed.
Watching it charge at him, Su Li felt a chill.
From the stiff female corpse in the morning to the more agile one he'd just killed, and now this third one moving even faster, Su Li realized these zombies seemed to evolve—each one more terrifying than the last.
But he had no way out. He gritted his teeth and charged forward, relying on his weapons and the boost from the second Spirit Source, which had increased his strength.
This zombie, not truly human, knew no fear or pain. It lunged, letting Su Li's cleaver slice into its arm as it tackled him, slamming him hard to the ground.
Su Li hit the floor, his back and buttocks aching from the impact. Then the monster's hands clamped around his neck, cutting off his breath.
His mouth gaped, eyes bulging, Su Li used all his strength, swinging the cleaver and hammer wildly at the zombie on top of him.
In moments, he'd struck it five or six times with the cleaver and four or five times with the hammer. But the zombie felt no pain, straddling him and squeezing his neck with relentless force.
Su Li's face turned purple. He knew he was in trouble. His position made it impossible to hit the monster's head, and even the worst wounds on its body wouldn't stop it. With his neck crushed, he couldn't breathe, his brain starved of oxygen, and he was on the verge of passing out.
On the brink of death, his throat clamped shut, his chest felt like it would burst. His head spun, ringing loudly. Summoning some unknown strength, he let out a guttural "Hah!" and used his core and legs to hurl the zombie off him.
With a loud "bang," the force sent the monster crashing into the TV hanging on the wall.
A sharp "crack" followed as the TV screen shattered, the device falling onto the zombie with a clatter.