Those fiery red pupils were filled with incomparable greedy desire. He could even hear the swallowing sounds the zombie made from hunger, as well as the sticky saliva dripping from its mouth due to excessive secretion. The zombie was walking toward Qi Yue step by step, yet Qi Yue remained completely unaware, head lowered as he fiddled with the snacks.
He wanted to shout, but no matter how he yelled, no one could hear his voice. Severe overuse of his abilities left his body exhausted as he lay on the ground, watching helplessly as the zombie walked toward Qi Yue. His line of sight was blocked, and tears would not stop falling.
Yan Bin did not tell the others that what he saw using his ability was very bad. It was exactly as Qi Yue had said: even if they did not go over, that zombie would definitely chase them. They had to strike in one decisive blow and eliminate the high level zombie that could see Qi Yue.
Before setting off, several of them packed some small steamed buns from Qi Yue’s space, to be used for recovery when their abilities were overdrawn. They had no clear idea how strong that zombie really was. This was the first time they had encountered a zombie of such a high level.
They could not rashly enter a camp packed with zombies, so they chose to clear it from the outside inward. When attacking, one person handled the main assault while the others assisted. When the main attacker’s abilities were used to about half, they would rest, and someone else would take over.
Most of the zombies in the camp were below level three or four. They blocked the main gate and launched abilities at the zombies coming out from inside. The clearing process was relatively easy.
***
Flame barrage. Han Fei released a fire ability group attack, and a row of zombies was burned into rotten sludge, forming a pool of foul water on the ground.
After releasing four or five times in a row, Han Fei stopped, sat down on the ground nearby, and ate Qi Yue’s food.
As Qi Yue’s abilities improved, the food he made restored spiritual power faster, with better effects.
Before long, they discovered that those little zombies that had just been toddling around had stronger explosive power in their abilities. The little zombies were good at jumping, able to leap two or three meters at a time. Because of their small size, they were really hard to deal with.
Plant binding, perfectly looping around the feet of the little zombie that had jumped up.
Pa da. The little zombie was yanked to the ground by the plant roots. Seeing itself trapped, it let out a sharp scream.
With one wind blade, the little zombie’s head was directly separated from its body.
An extremely strong sense of oppression came head on. The female zombie they had seen the day before, the one lying in Qi Yue’s former residence giving birth, walked out of the camp. The level of decay on this female zombie was not very deep, and the impression it left on them the day before was very strong. Moreover, ability users had extremely accurate judgment, so they recognized it at once.
The oppressive feeling did not come from the female zombie, but from the little zombie that had just been born and was beside her. The little zombie was held in the female zombie’s arms, staring at them with blood red pupils, its facial expression even more sinister and terrifying than those larger zombies.
The few of them showed astonishing tacit understanding. All their abilities were unleashed at once, the scene dazzlingly magnificent.
At the same time, a huge curtain of water shot out from the zombies’ direction, suppressing their abilities within the mist.
After several exchanges, Tang Ke and the others discovered that the infant zombie had an extremely strong sense of rhythm in using its abilities. Every time it released an ability, it precisely suppressed theirs, and it did not need to expend much energy itself. On the contrary, Tang Ke and the others had to consume large amounts of spiritual power to launch attack after attack. Han Fei’s fire ability completely lost its effect, turning into nothing but a wasteful drain on spiritual power.
They had to find a way to change the previously discussed attack strategy. From simultaneous ability release, to taking turns one by one. From single abilities, to simultaneous attacks. From initially releasing abilities in sequence according to their effects, to finally releasing them almost chaotically without order.
Unexpectedly, this change produced surprisingly good results. Because the attack order kept changing, the little zombie misjudged. It continuously let out sharp, questioning shrieks.
Seizing the moment when the infant zombie opened its mouth to scream, Lin Yuze shot a wooden spike that pierced through the water ball released by the little zombie. Yan Bin followed up immediately with a bolt of lightning, striking the arm of the female zombie holding the infant zombie.
Pudong一一
The little zombie, together with the half rotten arm holding it, fell to the ground.
Seeing this, the mother zombie let out low growls. The half arm that had fallen off slowly grew back at a speed visible to the nak3d eye.
What kind of ability was this? The urgent task was to eliminate one of them first.
The opportunity was rare. They gave the zombies no chance to breathe. Han Fei released a wall of fire at the little zombie’s position. Yan Bin launched a lightning net from above. Lin Yuze used plant roots to bind the little zombie in place. Tang Ke detonated an air bubble in front of the little zombie. A seamless chain of cooperation, as smooth as if they had practiced it tens of thousands of times.
The larger zombie had already fully regenerated its severed arm and was about to bend down to pick the little zombie back up.
Bang!
With a loud explosion, the rotten limb, along with surrounding dirt, sand, and stones, was blasted apart by the tremendous force, scattering everywhere. A small crater appeared in the once flat ground, and a crystal clear white crystal core lay inside it.
Only one?
Searching around, they saw that in an inconspicuous clump of grass nearby, a grotesque rotten skull covered in hair was lying there.
By the time Tang Ke and the others found it, the mother zombie was using spiritual power. Along the tattered head, new rotten flesh was gradually growing out, followed by the neck and chest.
Yan Bin sent a bolt of lightning that shattered the zombie’s skull.
Han Fei went over, picked up a branch from the side, and lifted aside the pile of messy hair left by the zombie. It was a pitch black crystal core, faintly flashing with an unusual light.
There was no time to study this strange crystal core. The group searched all over the large camp for the zombie they had seen in the house the day before.
The camp was not large, and compared to those they had encountered before, the number of zombies here could be considered pitifully small. Yet these zombies were far harder to deal with than any they had met previously. Clearing out the camp truly took a great deal of effort. By the end, while it might not be complete ability exhaustion, they were very close to empty. The ability restoring buns and snacks Qi Yue had made were all eaten up.
They turned the camp inside out four or five times. After several rounds of abilities, not only were all the zombies eliminated, but it was estimated that the land in that area would be barren for the foreseeable future before they finally stopped. All the zombies they had seen the day before were accounted for, including the newborn little zombies, every single one eliminated. Only one was missing. It was gone, and this made them uneasy.
They searched around the camp once more, but still found no trace of that zombie. With no other choice, they could only return first and make further plans later. By the time they returned to the spot where they had exited the space earlier, the sky had already begun to darken. They could exit Qi Yue’s space, but only Qi Yue could bring them back in by using spiritual power. They could not enter freely on their own. At this hour, Qi Yue might not have woken up yet. After all, they had worn him out badly the night before.
Qi Yue was so tired that his eyelids kept drooping. In the end, he really could not keep them open and fell into a deep sleep. While sleeping in a daze, he suddenly shivered violently and snapped awake, sitting up. His eyes searched around for that gaze, that gaze that brought him immense pressure.
Was he having a nightmare?
The space was very quiet. The others were not nearby. He did not know whether they had gone to play ball or left the space. Looking at the familiar surroundings, even he was not sure anymore. The space was exactly as it always was: hot spring, kitchen, open ground, fruit trees in the distance, small hills. Nothing had changed. It must have been a nightmare. He mocked himself. Just because he had seen a slightly higher level zombie the day before, he had gotten scared into this state. It seemed his mental endurance really was not very good.
Qi Yue lay back down on the bed. The instant his body touched the bed, he suddenly bounced upright again.
It was back. That oppressive feeling was back.
A cold gust rushed straight at his face. Qi Yue instinctively dodged to the side, rolling and scrambling off the bed and onto the ground. By reflex, he used spiritual power to take out the kettle from the space and drank.
The figure disappeared一一
Qi Yue chewed the food in his mouth while observing his surroundings.
Holding his breath, his eyes did not blink as he stared straight ahead.
The large bed was covered with white sheets, and the quilt was light blue, looking comfortable and clean.
He saw that one corner of the springy large bed sank deeply, forming a depression the size of a footprint. Beside it was another depression. They disappeared, and the bed returned to its original state. Two pitch black footprints appeared in the same spot as before, followed by another footprint.
The footprints extended all the way from the bed to the bedside, then completely vanished. The bed no longer showed any abnormalities.
It came down. That thing came down from the bed一一
It was pure intuition. He could not explain why, but Qi Yue just knew. It was the red eyed zombie he had seen by the bed the day before. He knew it. That zombie would definitely come looking for him. He just had not expected it to be this fast.
Qi Yue’s entire body tensed. It had been many years since he felt like this. He had been reborn so many times, lived so many more years than others. He had had enough. In the past, there were many times when he had easily given up his life on his own. But now he did not want to. He wanted to live. He had not lived enough yet. He could not bear to die so early.
Wiping the sweat from his face, Qi Yue used his ability to take out the blade from the kitchen, the one sharp enough to cut through iron, and held it tightly. Right now, he needed to keep distance from this zombie. If he got too close, the zombie, being at a higher level, could detect his spiritual power. Qi Yue quietly moved toward the small hill, his mind racing nonstop.
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