The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

The blade got stuck in a crevice in the rock.

The man didn't draw his knife. Instead, he loosened the handle, pulled a pistol from his waist, pressed it against the head of the rock giant, and repeatedly pulled the trigger.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Five bullets, all hitting the same spot. The bullets exploded on the rock, scattering debris and sparks. A fist-sized crater appeared on the giant rock's head, from which lava gushed out like blood.

The giant rock's arms were still waving, but the speed had slowed. Large cracks began to appear on its body, and magma seeped out from each crack, as if it were burning its last bit of life.

The man gripped the hilt of his sword again, and with all his might, pulled the blade from the rock giant's neck. Then, holding the sword with both hands, he cleaved it down from above.

The blade sliced ​​through the center of the rock colossus's head, continuing downwards, splitting open the head, neck, chest, and finally reaching the abdomen.

The giant rock statue split in two and crashed to the ground. Dark red lava gushed from the crack, pooling on the ground and sizzling as it burned the surrounding road surface.

The person stood there, panting heavily.

He was covered in blood... lava from the giant rock statue, and his own blood. His left shoulder was soaked with blood, which dripped down his sleeve. Blood was still seeping from the gash between his thumb and forefinger, and his knuckles were swollen and bluish-purple.

But he stood. He didn't fall.

Su Mu watched this scene from afar, his heart slightly shaken.

It wasn't because that person's level was high... he couldn't see that person's level; the system returned only question marks. But this wasn't because the other person's level was significantly higher than his; it was because the other person hadn't come down from the cable car, so the system didn't display it.

However, Su Mu could roughly judge this person's combat strength. It was at least equivalent to a level seven green professional, and the kind of berserker who put all their attributes into strength and physique.

He wasn't using the system's professional equipment... that battle sword and that gun were clearly not products of the system, but rather weapons native to this world. Yet, his fighting style was far more ferocious than any other survivor Su Mu had ever seen.

Trade wounds for wounds. Trade lives for lives. No dodging, no evasion, just take the hits head-on.

This kind of fighting style isn't supported by level or equipment; it's based on willpower. Su Mu had seen many people with high attributes, but they hesitated when fighting, afraid of pain, afraid of getting injured, afraid of dying. But this person was truly fearless... or rather, he put his life after the mission.

Su Mu recalled the military-uniformed corpses he had seen on the road earlier.

Five men per squad, at least six squads, more than thirty men, died in this dark zone. If those soldiers were all about as capable as this man, then what could have killed them...?

Su Mu didn't think any further.

He didn't approach the armored vehicle to speak, nor did he get close. The soldiers were clearly on a mission, and his appearance as a stranger at this time would only cause unnecessary trouble.

Moreover, with them clearing the way and drawing fire, it would be easier for him to infiltrate the area.

Su Mu withdrew his gaze, lowered his body, and quickly passed through the shadows on the other side of the street.

Behind them, the sound of machine gun fire continued.

The bullets streaked across the darkness, leaving bright trails like shooting stars before disappearing into the horde of monsters. The flashes of explosions illuminated half the sky in the distance.

Su Mu disappeared into the dark alleyway without looking back.

The further you go in, the more eerie the dark area becomes.

Su Mu noticed a strange phenomenon... The climate here is different from that outside.

He remembered clearly that before entering this area from the outside, the roadside trees were still lush and green, no different from what he had seen elsewhere in the city. But as soon as he entered the dark area, the trees changed... The leaves began to yellow, curl, and fall off, as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button, condensing the entire autumn of the year into a few hours.

The ground was covered with withered yellow leaves, which rustled underfoot. Some trees were completely bare, their bare branches stretching towards the dark sky like withered hands begging for something. The trunks were covered with black spots and cracks, and in some places, strangely shaped fungi had grown... dark red, ear-like mushrooms, densely packed together.

Su Mu looked up at the sky.

Above the dark area, there was a thin film almost invisible to the naked eye, which glowed faintly in the moonlight.

The thin membrane, like an inverted bowl, covered the entire dark area. Every now and then, something would fly in from the sky... not birds, but those fist-sized flying creatures engulfed in dark red flames... They would crash into the membrane with a soft "hiss," then stiffen as if electrocuted, and fall from the sky.

The falling flying creatures crashed into buildings, some onto rooftops, some onto walls, and some smashed through windows to enter houses. Their bodies began to burn upon impact, and dark red flames spread, charring everything in their path.

Some buildings have walls covered with these corroded marks, layer upon layer, as if they had been repeatedly burned dozens of times.

The streets were littered with severed limbs and corpses.

Not the kind of recently deceased, still warm corpses, but rotten, blackened remains, gnawed beyond recognition by something. Some were torn in half, some were gnawed down to skeletons, and some had been blown open from the inside by something, with internal organs and bits of flesh scattered all over the ground.

The air was thick with a strong stench of decay and burning, a mixture that made one's scalp tingle.

Su Mu held his breath and scanned his surroundings.

The types of monsters in the Dark Zone are completely different from those outside.

As he passed through a flooded area, he saw several puddles of black silt slowly wriggling on the road. The silt wasn't still; it was alive... like giant slugs, it crawled slowly across the ground, corroding the cement pavement and dissolving the bricks and stones into black mud wherever it went.

A passing zombie accidentally stepped into the mud, and its ankle was instantly covered by the mud.