Chapter 178: Hidden Among the Horde

Hidden within the endless horde, something watched the advancing Special Units. The Dark Variant’s black eyes followed their movements from among the infected. It remained almost completely still, its body concealed by the mass of creatures surrounding it. For a brief moment, its gaze shifted toward Jaxon’s distant position before returning to the squads moving toward the breach.

Its attention eventually settled on Reynold, who was leading the advance.

The Dark Variant remained motionless for another moment before slowly reaching down and grabbing a nearby infected by the torso. The creature immediately began struggling, kicking and clawing at its arm, but the Variant didn’t even seem to notice. It simply pulled its arm back and hurled the infected with all its strength.

"GRUAAAH!"

WHOOSH! The infected shot through the air, flying directly toward Reynold.

"Commander! Incoming!"

Reynold immediately turned toward the warning. His eyes widened when he saw the infected hurtling straight at him, but his reaction was almost instinctive. Both shotguns came up at once.

BANG! BANG!

The twin blasts struck the airborne infected and knocked it off course. Its body spun through the air before crashing several meters away.

Reynold glanced at the corpse, then back toward the horde. "What the hell was that?"

"Commander!" Another body came flying out of the mass of infected.

"Another one!"

Reynold barely had time to react. He twisted his body aside and fired one of his shotguns at the same time, allowing the airborne infected to pass within inches of him before it slammed into the side of a building.

"Spread out!" Reynold shouted immediately. "Don’t bunch up! Keep your distance!"

The Special Unit soldiers reacted without hesitation. Hooks fired in different directions as they scattered across the surrounding buildings, putting several meters between each other while keeping their weapons trained on the horde below.

THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!

Another infected came flying out of the horde, followed by another, then another.

The soldiers quickly changed positions as the bodies came flying toward them from different directions. Some were shot out of the air, while others were forced to dodge and swing away before the infected crashed into the buildings around them.

Reynold’s expression hardened as he watched the attacks continue. ’The infected can’t do this on their own.’

He looked deeper into the horde, searching for the source. At first, all he could see was an endless mass of infected, but then he noticed something moving between them.

One Variant grabbed an infected and hurled it toward the Special Units. Several meters away, another did the same while a third crouched among the horde, already reaching for its next projectile.

"Variants..." Reynold muttered. And he immediately raised his voice. "Keep your eyes on the horde! They’re hiding among them!"

The soldiers adjusted their positions, scanning between the countless infected as more bodies were thrown through the air.

But the infected being thrown at them weren’t the only problem. Below, the horde had begun piling over itself, with dozens of infected climbing onto the backs of those in front and forming a writhing mound of bodies. One after another, they used the pile as a launch point, leaping toward the soldiers above.

"Watch the horde below! They’re climbing up!"

Another infected came flying through the air as the Variants continued their attacks from within the horde. At the same time, several infected launched themselves from the growing mound below, forcing the Special Units to dodge attacks coming from both directions. Two soldiers weren’t fast enough as they were struck by the airborne infected and knocked from their positions.

"Get it off me!"

One soldier hit the ground hard as an infected latched onto his arm, its teeth sinking into his flesh. Another was tackled from the side, the creature biting into his shoulder as he desperately tried to shove it away.

"Help them!" a soldier shouted, but before anyone could move, another body came flying toward them.

Reynold’s expression hardened as he saw two of his men struggling on the ground.

"Fall back!" he ordered. "Get to cover and regroup! Don’t stay exposed!"

The Special Units immediately broke off their advance. Hooks fired toward nearby buildings as the soldiers scattered across the rooftops and walls, creating distance from one another.

Farther ahead, Annie and Lina had been clearing infected from the streets when they noticed the sudden withdrawal. Annie glanced back and immediately spotted several of their squad members struggling against the infected, her expression tightening as she watched them retreat.

Her gaze then shifted toward the horde. Following the path of one of the airborne infected, she finally spotted the source of the attacks. Several Variants were concealed among the mass of bodies, grabbing nearby infected and hurling them toward the Special Units whenever they found an opening.

"Those Variants are crafty," Lina muttered, her expression turning grim.

Annie raised her weapon and aimed at one of the Variants just as it grabbed another infected. "Let’s see how crafty they are."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The shots tore through the horde, but the distance was too great. The Variant quickly disappeared behind the wall of infected, leaving Annie’s bullets to strike the creatures in front of it instead.

Annie clicked her tongue. "We need to get closer."

"Annie, wait!" Lina called out but Annie was already moving.

Lina knew there was no point trying to stop her, so she quickly followed. The two women advanced toward the horde while firing at anything that got in their way, pushing deeper into the streets as they tried to close the distance with the hidden Variants.

They had barely made it several meters when something suddenly moved from the side.

Annie caught a glimpse of a dark blur just before it burst from the side of a building. A Crawler lunged straight toward Lina, its twisted claws reaching for her chest.

"Lina, dodge!" Annie’s warning came at the last moment.

Lina immediately twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the attack as the Crawler’s claws passed inches from her chest. The creature’s momentum carried it past her, giving Annie the opening she needed.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Multiple rounds tore into the Crawler’s head. Its skull snapped backward as dark blood sprayed across the street, and the creature collapsed onto the ground without another movement.

"There’s more!" Lina barely had time to recover before another Crawler sprang from the side, its claws reaching for them.

"Annie!"

Both women reacted at the same time, firing their Dual Cable Launchers toward the nearest building. The hooks latched onto the structure, and the cables yanked them out of the way just as the Crawler’s claws swept through the space where they had been standing.

They swung around the building and landed on the next rooftop, immediately turning back toward the creature.

"Take it down!"

Lina raised both Uzis and opened fire as the Crawler leaped toward them. Annie followed a moment later, adding her own shots to the barrage.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Caught between their crossfire, the Crawler twisted violently in midair as bullets tore through its body. It managed to keep moving for another second before several rounds finally struck its head, sending it crashing onto the rooftop.

Neither woman lowered her guard. Lina quickly scanned the surrounding buildings, and her expression tightened.

"This is bad. More are coming." Four more Crawlers were already moving through the area, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as they closed in on them.

"We deal with these first," Lina said, raising her weapons again.

Annie didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes had shifted past the approaching Crawlers and toward the battlefield below.

The Variants were still hidden among the horde, using the infected around them as weapons and throwing their bodies toward the Special Units whenever they found an opening.

Then a desperate voice suddenly rose from somewhere behind them.

"Robin’s down!" Gunfire followed almost immediately.

Annie’s jaw tightened. She didn’t need to turn around to know what had happened. Another one of their people had fallen.

Lina followed her gaze and understood immediately. "Annie, we can’t help them if we get taken out here. We need to deal with these Crawlers first."

Annie clenched her fists around her weapons before letting out a frustrated breath. "Yeah... you’re right."

She turned back toward the approaching Crawlers, but something in the distance caught her attention.

One of the Variants had stepped out from the horde. It stood among the infected, reaching down and grabbing another infected by the torso, preparing to hurl it toward the Special Units.

Annie’s eyes narrowed.

Without warning, the Variant’s head exploded. Dark blood and shattered flesh burst into the air as its body staggered backward before collapsing among the horde.

Annie froze, her eyes widening as she stared at the fallen Variant. "What...?"

Lina followed her gaze, but before she could ask what had happened, Annie’s attention had already shifted toward the surrounding rooftops.

"Annie, look at the breach." Lina pointed toward the massive opening in the western wall, where thousands of infected continued pouring into the safe zone. Annie followed her gaze, and her eyes widened when she saw several infected suddenly jerk backward as silent bullets tore through them.

THUP! THUP! THUP!

Infected after infected collapsed as precise shots ripped through their heads and bodies. Some were thrown backward with enough force to crash into the creatures behind them, while others simply dropped where they stood. The horde continued surging through the breach, but a large portion of the infected never made it far.

Hundreds of corpses had already piled up beneath the opening, forming a small mountain of dead infected. More bodies continued to fall on top of the pile with every passing second, steadily growing the mound as the unseen shooter cut through the horde.

"Who’s shooting them?" Lina asked, quickly scanning the surrounding buildings.

The soldiers who had been defending the breach were all dead. The Gatling gun positions had gone silent, their gunners nowhere to be seen. Blood and cracks covered the remaining sections of the wall, and abandoned weapons lay scattered across the shattered defenses.

"There shouldn’t be anyone left there," Lina muttered. "Then who’s firing?"

Another suppressed shot cut through the chaos.

THUP! An infected near the front of the horde suddenly dropped and Annie’s eyes followed the direction of the shot.

A dark figure was moving across the buildings, leaping from one rooftop to another with effortless speed. He landed lightly on the edge of a building, barely pausing before raising the rifle resting against his shoulder.

THUP! Another infected collapsed.

Annie’s eyes remained fixed on the figure. Something about the way he moved felt familiar, especially the calm way he handled the rifle.

The figure shifted slightly, giving her a clearer view of his profile.

Annie’s eyes widened slightly, and her heart skipped a beat. ’Jaxon?’