Chapter 113: Save the Saviour (19)
In the end, Ren Zhu still didn’t force-feed the zombie blood to the woman. No matter how cold-hearted he felt, he couldn’t bring himself to kill someone. However, Ren Zhu’s inability to act didn’t mean others couldn’t. After everyone had been thoroughly inspected and entered the original base city one by one, the leader of Xuanwu Base, Takeda Takeshi, stepped forward again. He directly broke one arm and one leg of Mizuki.
Even with Mizuki’s resentful eyes, looking as if she had been poisoned, Takeda Takeshi said, “You don’t need to look at me with that expression. I don’t feel the slightest remorse. When you determined to use us as a stepping stone, targeting the lives of over six hundred thousand people in the original base city, you should have known that this day would come. Moreover, I’ve been lenient on you.”
Mizuki cried out bitterly, “You call it leniency to break my leg and arm?! Why didn’t you just kill me?!”
Takeda Takeshi’s face remained devoid of expression, “Ah Feng’s team intended to kill you. If you want to die, I can give you a quick death right now. Just say the word. Do you want to die or not?”
Mizuki’s voice abruptly stopped. She stared at Takeda Takeshi in disbelief and then chillingly realized that he wasn’t joking. As long as she said she wanted to die, this man in front of her would undoubtedly strike her down with a single blow. Mizuki trembled, her lips quivering. In the end, she didn’t utter the words expressing her desire to die. She left silently. Yet, in that moment of turning away, she vowed that one day, she would return and kill all those who had bullied and humiliated her!
No, how could she kill them? Becoming a zombie was the best destination for them!
Yi Xiao and Ren Zhu stood on the city wall, watching the fading figure, their expressions unfathomable.
“Why didn’t you let me kill her?” Yi Xiao was rather discontent.
Ren Zhu shook his head, “Shall we follow them later? Can you lead me without being noticed by anyone?”
Yi Xiao quickly understood his partner’s intention, “You want to find that psychic zombie?”
Ren Zhu nodded, “That fellow’s existence is getting more dangerous. If it weren’t for your sensitivity to zombie blood today, we would have let Mizuki into the base. But the consequences would have been unimaginable. Although the original base city has escaped this time, I don’t believe that the psychic zombie will suddenly start behaving well. Its targets will surely shift to other major bases. With one Mizuki, there will be a second, a third Mizuki. Humans are strange creatures; they often feel that those outside their group are different and reject everything. Yet, they can also be incredibly inclusive.”
“To prevent bigger chaos, it’s better to just eliminate the advanced psychic zombie. Now that it’s so intelligent, if it advances a few more levels, humans probably won’t be enough to satisfy its playtime.”
Yi Xiao nodded, then reached out to embrace Ren Zhu’s waist. The next second, the two of them soared into the air. The sight stunned the onlooking sentries on the city wall. It took them a while to realize they had let two major guardians go and they hurriedly contacted the five leaders in the base, asking if they should chase them back.
Clearly, those who managed to become leaders weren’t lacking in intelligence, let alone the senior ones among them who had lived for so long. Shortly, they received a reply:
“Don’t worry about them. They must be off doing something important. They’ll be back once they finish. Before they return, strengthen the guards at the city gate and perform checks. Everything needs to be screened for the zombie virus, including anything bottled or packaged.”
Receiving the order, the gaurds felt a bit rueful, recalling the events that had occurred at the city gate this morning. It was indeed too dangerous.
Two days later, Ren Zhu and Yi Xiao were eating meat buns on a rooftop. With the space bracelet, survival in the apocalypse had become much easier for Teacher Ren. No need to carry a large bag filled with food and weapons; it was incredibly convenient. Moreover, he could store goods anytime, anywhere. No wonder most protagonists in post-apocalyptic novels had an ability related to “space.” It was truly essential for survival.
“It’s strange. Mizuki walked from the original base city to here all by herself. Surprisingly, she wasn’t attacked much by zombies along the way. Even if she’s an ability user, losing an arm and a leg should make her an easier target for zombie attacks,” Ren Zhu remarked, unsure whether to be amazed by her determination or her luck.
Yi Xiao took another bite of the meat bun and said after swallowing, “There’s an aura of a high-level zombie on her. Carrying that package of blood has somewhat deterred them. However, the zombies in this city wouldn’t proactively attack her. This is probably the nesting place of the psychic zombie.”
Ren Zhu’s expression turned serious. They had followed Mizuki for two days, and during the first two days, they did encounter zombies attacking her, but she managed to fend them off. However, upon entering this city, it seemed that the zombies stopped attacking her proactively. Yi Xiao’s analysis was likely correct—the intelligent psychic zombie was likely here.
“Hey, she’s faster now!”
Yi Xiao glanced over, “She’s heading for that big hotel up ahead.”
Looking at the second tallest building in the city, Ren Zhu was surprised. It looked magnificent and expensive. If this were the normal world, he probably wouldn’t set foot in such a hotel more than once a month. But then, he looked more closely and was even more astonished, “Am I seeing things? There are zombies standing guard at the entrance of that hotel?!”
When did zombies start forming groups to stand guard? Weren’t they brainless creatures without intelligence?
Essentially, they were reanimated corpses controlled only by their central nervous system. But now, they were standing guard?!
Yi Xiao narrowed his eyes, “Quite interesting… looks like some kind of failed experiment in zombie-making, or… a parasite?”
As soon as the word “parasite” came out, Ren Zhu’s heart skipped a beat, “The way you say it, it gives me a bad feeling.”
Yi Xiao turned his head, and Ren Zhu extended a finger, “After watching countless post-apocalyptic movies and novels over my life, if this apocalypse is brought about by extraterrestrial meteorites, apart from carrying a virus, it’s very likely to involve some kind of parasite that our technology can’t comprehend. If that’s the case, I’m going to be disgusted.”
Yi Xiao looked at his partner’s rather unpleasant expression, then paused.
He sighed and said, “Not confirmed yet, let’s go check it out.”
Ren Zhu sighed. He really hoped that this post-apocalyptic world was just a result of a virus, not some strange extraterrestrial beings that could infiltrate human brains, control them, and take over their bodies. Otherwise, just imagine the proliferation of zombies all over the world! Once they united, it would be like an apocalypse in hell!
Yi Xiao quickly brought Ren Zhu to the middle of the hotel building and entered through an open glass window. Ren Zhu had Yi Xiao conceal his presence and activated his class teacher’s camouflage skill.
Relying on the scent, Yi Xiao easily found the room where Mizuki was. However, there were zombies guarding outside the room. So, Ren Zhu and Yi Xiao entered the adjacent room. Yi Xiao directly cast a spell on a glass of water in the room, revealing a visual from the neighboring room’s water surface.
Ren Zhu: “…”
If zombies can practice magic, it’s enough to make all the Daoist practitioners die of frustration!
“Dao Lian! I finally see you again! I’ve missed you so much. Why didn’t you come to help me this time?” Mizuki sat in a chair, facing a handsome young man in a black coat with golden hair, fair skin, and an extremely attractive appearance. Ignoring his crimson eyes and black fingernails, he hardly seemed different from a human.
The youth named Dao Lian sneered at her words, “Mizuki, you messed up the important task I entrusted you with, and you still have the audacity to ask for my help? Didn’t you say you’d give your all for us to be together? But what now? All I see is your failure and foolishness.”
Mizuki’s face turned pale, and Ren Zhu, too, had a changed expression. He almost blurted out an expletive, stopping himself after a struggle. However, he still appeared very surprised. Could this zombie still be called a zombie? He seemed more like a cunning human! He was nothing like the other zombies, who lacked any intelligence. Those creatures couldn’t even make a sound, let alone speak fluently and divert attention.
This zombie was indeed strange, very strange.
“He’s not a zombie.” Just as Ren Zhu was pondering the oddity of this zombie, Yi Xiao, next to him, made a very certain judgment.
Ren Zhu’s face turned dark. Could this really be an alien?!
“Dao Lian! I didn’t want this either! Listen to my explanation! Everything was going well, but then I encountered a very strange person! With a single command, he can make all the zombies stop and control more than five hundred of us! He’s extremely powerful, Dao Lian, you must be careful around him. He’s definitely your biggest enemy!”
Dao Lian’s face showed a hint of interest at Mizuki’s words, “He can command all the zombies in an instant? Including humans?”
Mizuki quickly nodded, “Yes, that’s right! Isn’t it strange? How could someone possess such an ability? His powers are so unusual, ah!!”
Before Mizuki could finish speaking, a long object pierced through her head, leaving her in a state of shock. She never anticipated that the man she admired, despite their racial differences, would treat her this way. Unfortunately, she would never know the answer.
After Mizuki’s death, Dao Lian let out a light snort. He turned his wrist, and a small red stone with a hint of black appeared in his hand—a stone that felt very familiar to Ren Zhu. Then, Ren Zhu witnessed a deeply unsettling devouring scene unfold before him.
Dao Lian pushed the red stone into Mizuki’s brain. About half an hour later, the deceased Mizuki opened her eyes again. She moved her limbs and head and, with a look of disdain, said, “This body is really trash.”
Dao Lian laughed, “Be content. This is the body of an evolved ability user from this side. It’s much better than the bodies of those stupid zombies.”
As Ren Zhu watched this scene, he felt a chill in his heart.
**Translator’s notes**
ZhuZhu’s dread came true…
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