Chapter 204: Death Cycle (II)

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Chapter 204: Death Cycle (II)

Shang Ke left the city and traveled as much as possible through sparsely populated outskirts. Along the way, he picked up several decent weapons. Unfortunately, most firearms and other ranged weapons were useless without ammunition or energy, leaving only cold weapons such as long sabers. He had also considered finding a car, but abandoned the idea for the same reason: no fuel.

At dusk, Shang Ke found several processing plants on the outskirts. A river ran nearby, and its water was surprisingly clear. After years without industrial waste or wastewater pouring into it, the river had apparently recovered through its own natural purification.

Shang Ke bathed in the river and washed everything in his backpack, then slipped into one of the factories wearing only his underwear. He hung the cleaned clothes by a window. It was summer; one night should be enough for them to dry.

He made a rough sweep around the factory but found no zombies. Perhaps they had all gathered in the city, or perhaps they were simply hiding. To be safe, Shang Ke chose a secluded room that also offered an easy escape route and settled there for the night.

Night fell quietly. Mosquitoes and flies buzzed around him, yet strangely, none seemed willing to drink Shang Ke’s blood. He leaned against the wall, completely sleepless, watching them swarm through the air. Even more strangely, though there was no light in the room, his vision was unaffected. He could make out even the cobwebs in the corners with perfect clarity.

Had Shang Ke looked in a mirror just then, he would have seen his eyes gleaming dark gold in the darkness, like those of a leopard lying in wait.

Since sleep refused to come, Shang Ke decided to test his capabilities. He worked methodically through his coordination, flexibility, strength, magic, Daoist arts, and everything else he could think of. The martial arts he had learned in previous worlds still came naturally apart from a little rust. Magic and Daoist techniques were less promising: they seemed restricted by the world-essence shard within his body, allowing him to use only simple techniques such as conjuring a tiny flame or applying a lightness spell.

The result was not ideal, but if he remained careful, protecting himself should not be a problem. Besides, he still had an undying body. He simply had no desire to experience death again unless absolutely necessary.

Faint zombie cries drifted through the night like ghosts wailing and wolves howling. A few low-rank zombies also wandered outside the factory. They had no intelligence and dull senses; as long as he did not make too much noise, they were unlikely to notice him.

And so Shang Ke trained silently in the darkness, accompanied by the distant cries of zombies.

Time slipped by as he trained. Before he knew it, dawn had arrived. When the first ray of sunlight entered through the window, the outside world also fell quiet.

Shang Ke put on his now-dry clothes, shouldered his pack, and carefully listened for movement around him. Only after confirming there was no danger did he cautiously leave the factory.

The air in the outskirts was much fresher than in the city. Broken bones and rotting flesh still appeared from time to time, but at least they were rarely piled together.

“Who’s there?”

As Shang Ke traveled onward, a wary shout suddenly came from a nearby thicket.

He looked toward the sound and saw five figures emerge one after another: four men and one woman, ranging in age from roughly twenty-five to forty.

The five froze briefly when they saw Shang Ke, then relaxed a little, though they maintained a basic level of caution.

“Little brother, where did you come from? Why are you out here alone?” asked the sturdy man in his thirties who appeared to be their leader, sizing Shang Ke up as he spoke.

“I got separated from my companions, so I’m heading back to the base on my own.” After answering, Shang Ke asked, “Where are you going? If we’re headed the same way, could you give me a ride?”

The sturdy man studied him for a long moment. “We’re returning to the base as well. We can take you with us, but first we need to check your body and make sure you haven’t been bitten by a zombie.”

Shang Ke was silent for a moment, then smiled at the only woman in the group. “Then I’ll have to trouble this big sister?”

The woman did not answer. Instead, she looked toward the sturdy man leading the group.

The man curled his lips into a smile and folded his arms. “Xia Di is a woman. It wouldn’t be convenient for her to examine you. I’d better do it.”

With that, he started walking toward Shang Ke.

Shang Ke caught the ill intent in his eyes, while the other men let out suggestive chuckles.

Just as Shang Ke was about to order him to stop, a dark shadow burst from the woods and lunged straight at the sturdy man’s face.

The man sprang backward with impressive agility and dodged the lethal strike.

As Shang Ke drew his long saber, he finally saw what had attacked. The creature was small, no larger than an eight- or nine-year-old child. Its skin was dry and shriveled, every bone stark beneath it, and unfocused white eyes stared blankly at the group.

The simplest way to judge a zombie’s rank was by eye color: low-rank zombies had gray eyes, intermediate-rank white, high-rank red, General-class purple or green, and King-class gold.

The one in front of them was an intermediate-rank, white-eyed zombie.

“White-eyed zombie! Everyone, be careful!” The sturdy man and his companions drew their weapons. Four carried firearms; only one wielded a long saber.

Before he even finished speaking, the zombie charged him again. Several more zombies rushed from the woods behind it.

The group was soon locked in battle with the zombies. Strangely, however, not a single zombie took the initiative to attack Shang Ke.

Shang Ke did not believe he had somehow acquired a special no-aggro buff. If he had, he would not have been torn apart by zombies before.

So how was he supposed to explain this? Was it really just coincidence? Had the zombies decided to kill those five first and deal with him afterward?

The sturdy man seemed to notice the anomaly as well. While fighting, he gradually edged closer to Shang Ke, clearly hoping to redirect some of the pressure onto him.

Yet even when only five or six meters separated them, the zombies continued attacking the man alone. Worse, the zombies that had been fighting his companions also converged on him. Instead of spreading the attacks around, he had succeeded only in concentrating every last one on himself.

The sturdy man cursed inwardly. What the hell was going on? Was he carrying something that attracted zombies?

“What are you all standing around for? Get over here and help!” he roared from inside the encirclement.

The others snapped out of their daze and rushed back into the fight.

Shang Ke took a step back instead of joining in. After watching for a moment, he ultimately decided to leave. The way those men had looked at him earlier made their intentions obvious; traveling with them would be anything but wise.

As he turned away, a sharp pain pricked the back of his hand. Looking down, he saw that a thorn on a branch had scratched him.

Shang Ke paid it little attention. He quickened his pace and ran out of the woods, putting distance between himself and the fight.

What he failed to notice was that the instant he was scratched, every zombie attacking the five-person group abruptly stopped. They turned in unison toward the branch stained with Shang Ke’s blood. One zombie even bit the entire branch off before joining the others in a chorus of howls and racing after him.

The five survivors were promptly forgotten. The zombies had discovered something far more “delicious.”

Shang Ke had not even run a few hundred meters before realizing something was wrong. When he glanced back, he was stunned to find the zombies that had been surrounding those five people now chasing closely behind him.

Weren’t you refusing to attack me just now? Why are you chasing the second I start running? What are you, dogs? You see someone run and automatically give chase?!

Shang Ke poured strength into his legs and tore across the open ground like a gale, the horde hard on his heels. Their howls rose one after another, drawing in still more zombies from the surrounding area—including several red-eyed ones.

Now it was Shang Ke’s turn to curse. If he kept running, he would only attract more zombies. He had no choice but to slow down, choose a defensible position with difficult approaches, and prepare to fight the horde head-on.

He might not possess an ability, but his combat ability was far from weak. A few dozen low- and intermediate-rank zombies were well within his capabilities.

Standing on the high ground, Shang Ke drew his long saber and met the charging zombies in battle.

Silver arcs crisscrossed through the air as Shang Ke efficiently harvested zombie heads, never allowing a single one to get close.

Half an hour later, he cut down the last zombie and brought the battle to a temporary end.

More zombies could already be seen approaching in the distance. Shang Ke did not dare linger. He leapt down and fled toward the edge of the woods.

He had taken only a few steps when a large hand appeared out of thin air and, without warning, punched straight through his body from behind.

Shang Ke lowered his gaze to the hand protruding from him. Its fingers were powerful, its nails sharp, and his blood gleamed coldly across them.

The hand slowly withdrew—and took his heart with it.

Shang Ke turned his head stiffly and saw a tall, powerfully built man. He had cold golden eyes, bronze skin, and messy black hair scattered over his shoulders. At first glance he looked almost human, but his gaze and skin told Shang Ke exactly what he was: a zombie, and the one and only King-class zombie.

More precisely, he was one of the two people Shang Ke had been desperate to find—the Zombie King, Di Kui.

A bloody hole had been torn through Shang Ke’s torso, yet his consciousness remained perfectly clear.

Di Kui carried a trace of the familiar presence Shang Ke knew so well, but it was extremely faint, too faint for Shang Ke to be certain of his identity. Nor was there a mole on the palm of the right hand that had just pierced his body.

Shang Ke watched helplessly as Di Kui crushed his heart, casually tossed it aside, and turned away without hesitation, leaving the zombies racing after them to surround Shang Ke, tear him apart, and devour him…

Shang Ke endured the agony of being dismembered as tears rolled from his eyes. He could no longer tell whether he was crying from the physical pain or from that zombie’s ruthless indifference.

He isn’t my man… Shang Ke repeated to himself.

After so many worlds, there was no way he could fail to recognize his own man. The thought made him feel a little better. Unfortunately, the agony of being ripped apart and chewed continued to torment every nerve, and he did not even have the luxury of fainting. Fully conscious, he watched the zombies fight over and consume his body.

Dozens of minutes later, the zombies finally dispersed one after another, leaving behind only a beautiful human head amid scattered chunks of flesh and splintered bone…

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