Apocalypse: I'm Bound to a Mobile Lottery Shop

Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Lily Hart’s Blood

The Zombie King couldn’t help but grin. ’Looks like this woman is actually considerate of me after all,’ he thought, ’knowing I’d be bored cooped up here all by myself.’

But her next words wiped the smile right off his face. "Don’t get the wrong idea. They’re my underlings."

The Zombie King scoffed, snorting in disdain. "With me here? You think they’ll even look at you?"

Lily Hart shook the bell in her hand, producing a crisp TING-A-LING, and the Zombie King’s expression soured. He fell silent.

Still, he had to put up a little resistance, boasting shamelessly, "I bet that bell is useless as long as I’m around."

"Want to test that?" Lily Hart said. Though her tone was perfectly normal, it sounded like a provocation to the Zombie King.

"A test it is, then!" His dignity as the Zombie King was on the line!

The two of them went to the rear of the horde. The dozen or so humans who had been at the front had already been dealt with by the Zombie King offhandedly.

The zombie army was now leaderless, growing restless within a small area and on the verge of returning to their usual state.

Lily Hart immediately started ringing a bell. Afraid that one wouldn’t be enough, she took out another and began shaking one in each hand.

The zombies in the area immediately became dazed. Their arms hung limply at their sides, and even their heads drooped down.

Meanwhile, the Zombie King stood to the side, holding his breath and concentrating, trying to use their unique zombie brainwaves to control them.

It was no use. He couldn’t connect at all.

Instead, their attention was completely captivated by the bells in Lily Hart’s hands.

Refusing to give up, the Zombie King continued trying to establish a connection, but it was as difficult as searching for a companion in an endless, dark night.

’It’s like I’m blind!’

While he was still trying to build the connection, Lily Hart was already playing around, gradually figuring out how to use the bells.

For example, two shakes meant "walk forward," and three meant "walk backward." There had to be a pause of a few seconds in between, and they would stop if she didn’t shake the bells at all.

Lily Hart was having a blast, muttering to herself, "No wonder they walk so slooowly~"

The Zombie King gave up. Watching her play made his hands itch to try, so he sidled up to her. "Let me have a turn."

Lily Hart reluctantly gave him one of the bells. "Alright, let’s lead them to that skyscraper over there."

’Returning them to nature? Impossible. We can’t have them going out and wreaking havoc on people.’

’It’s better to keep them in the skyscraper for all eternity. We can even pull them out to use as cannon fodder when needed.’

’Perfect.’

"Fine." The Zombie King was quite satisfied with this plan. As long as the woman wasn’t planning to kill his kin, he was good with it.

One bell could only control a limited number of zombies—five hundred at most—so the two of them worked together, running back and forth to lure the horde into the skyscraper.

Lily Hart skillfully walked over to the hole from before, where the Stephania erecta was. She reached out and patted it.

The Stephania erecta immediately gave a cheerful response. The moment they touched, Lily Hart felt as if she could instantly sense its emotions.

It felt happy and cheerful, with even a hint of intimacy. Lily Hart tried to communicate with her.

She wanted her to guard this horde of zombies, just shaking the bell from time to time.

The Stephania erecta readily agreed, but on one condition: it wanted a drop of her blood.

When Lily Hart heard that, she thought, ’That’s all?’ and readily offered her hand.

The Stephania erecta extended a vine that wrapped around her finger. It then presented a round leaf and carefully used it to make a small cut.

Fresh blood welled up, coalescing into a single bead.

The Zombie King was still inside the skyscraper when his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked toward Lily Hart’s position and, in a flash of excitement, rushed over.

It wasn’t just him. All the zombies inside the skyscraper began to stir restlessly for no apparent reason. Their dazed expressions vanished, replaced by their usual bloodlust.

Even the nearby plants began to awaken, their branches squirming toward Lily Hart’s location.

In an instant, a hundred flowers bloomed.

Mutated animals were jolted from their sleep by an incredibly alluring scent that filled the air. Not to be outdone, they began rushing in Lily Hart’s direction.

With the skyscraper as the epicenter, all living things within a five-hundred-meter diameter began to stir in unison. Anything that could move rushed toward the source.

Lily Hart was still oblivious to all this. She watched as, once the blood had formed a bead, the Stephania erecta eagerly pressed a leaf against it.

The bead of blood was quickly absorbed. Lily Hart watched, wide-eyed, as the Stephania erecta’s slender vines began to thicken.

What were originally as thin as chopsticks had, in the space of a few short breaths, grown thicker than her wrist.

And they showed signs of growing even thicker. Lily Hart pulled her hand back, utterly dumbfounded.

The Zombie King appeared silently beside her, his gaze burning as he stared at the small cut on Lily Hart’s finger.

While Lily Hart was still too shocked to react, the Zombie King bent down slightly, grabbed her finger, and popped it into his mouth.

"?" By the time Lily Hart snapped out of it, her finger was already in his mouth. He seemed to be sucking on it, and the sensation was cool and icy.

She struggled, trying to pull her hand back, but then she saw his expression of pure enjoyment—his eyes were slightly closed, his features softened and gentle.

A chill ran down her spine.

Lily Hart gave him a hard shove, finally wrenching her hand free. She wiped it disgustedly on her clothes over and over, cursing, "Are you sick in the head?"

The Zombie King had a look of pure contentment on his face. Although he’d only gotten a few drops of her blood, it was more than enough to satisfy him.

He could even feel his internal energy overflowing. He had touched the very edge of the Ninth Rank, and he knew that with just a little more effort, he could advance tonight!

As a result, he was in an excellent mood. Even as Lily Hart cursed him out, he just grinned foolishly. Her blood was just too delicious.

The energy it contained was immense, like an Energy Liquid that had been concentrated ten million times over.

Seeing his expression, as if he actually enjoyed being yelled at, only made Lily Hart angrier. She was about to let loose a few more curses to vent her frustration.

But he raised a single finger to his lips. She instinctively fell silent and looked around cautiously.

She wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t looked, but the sight made her jump. Countless mutated plants and animals were swarming toward them.

They were coming from all directions, a tide of them. Lily Hart could clearly feel the predatory hunger radiating from them.

And it was directed at her. Of that, she was certain.

’Is it because of my blood?’

She didn’t have time to think any further. An arm wrapped around her waist, and the Zombie King’s calm voice sounded in her ear. "Hold on tight."

Lily Hart instinctively threw her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him completely.

The Zombie King tapped his toes lightly on the ground. Her vision blurred, and she felt the sensation of soaring through the air.

When she opened her eyes again, they were already far from the skyscraper, standing atop a five-story building a hundred meters away.

"Don’t go back to the RV yet," Lily Hart said. The night wind howled, scattering her words.

Lily Hart had to squirm up a little and bury her face in his neck. He, in turn, held her with one arm around her waist and the other supporting her thigh.

She wasn’t afraid of falling. Thankfully, she was still wearing her jacket; otherwise, she would have caught a cold in this wind.

"Alright." The Zombie King’s voice reached her ears perfectly, completely unaffected by the elements.

Having lost their target, the mutated plants and animals were momentarily stunned, milling around the skyscraper in a desperate search.

The Zombie King carried Lily Hart in circles around the city district, not returning to the RV until it was nearly dawn.

Inside the RV, the two sat on their chairs, looking travel-worn. Lily Hart sipped her water as exhaustion and sleepiness washed over her.

The Zombie King, in contrast, was still full of energy, showing no signs of having been on the move all night without a wink of sleep.

’So this is the difference between us...’