Chapter 207: Death Cycle (V)

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Chapter 207: Death Cycle (V)

Zombies loved the taste of raw meat and fresh blood, but as the most highly evolved of their kind, ordinary fare was no longer enough to satisfy Di Kui’s appetite.

After several days of testing, Shang Ke still had little to show for it. Whether animal or plant, nothing seemed to interest Di Kui much. He would eat whatever Shang Ke handed him and cooperate without complaint, but he almost never tried the same thing twice.

If that had been the only problem, Shang Ke would not have minded. He had plenty of patience; sooner or later he would find something that suited the Zombie King’s palate. The two could travel the world together, gathering delicacies from everywhere. It sounded almost idyllic. Unfortunately, reality was always cruel.

Once, Shang Ke gave Di Kui something spicy to taste. The instant it entered his mouth, Di Kui went berserk and slapped Shang Ke so hard that the force ruptured his internal organs.

Shang Ke collapsed into a pool of blood. He barely had time to experience the pain of dying before the exquisitely unpleasant process of resurrection began.

The scent of blood immediately stirred the nearby zombies.

Di Kui stood beside Shang Ke’s “corpse” with a vicious expression and murder in his eyes. One low growl from him silenced the surrounding zombies and stopped them from daring to approach.

As his body repaired itself, Shang Ke secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least he had avoided being torn apart again. By now, his tolerance for death had reached a level ordinary people could scarcely imagine, while his standards for an acceptable death had fallen to: as long as it isn’t too bloody or too painful…

Five hours later, the repairs were complete. This time it had “only” been ruptured internal organs, so the recovery took less time.

Shang Ke sat up with perfect calm, took a towel from his bag, dampened it with water magic, wiped the blood from his skin, and changed into clean clothes.

“All fixed?” Di Kui crouched on a stone block and looked down at him.

“All fixed,” Shang Ke replied calmly.

Murderer and victim alike displayed a remarkable, almost transcendent serenity.

“Then continue.” The irritating spicy taste still lingered in Di Kui’s mouth, leaving him in a foul mood.

“Let’s stop for today. Here.” Shang Ke handed him a piece of chewing gum. He had scavenged it from the belongings of a newly evolved zombie.

Di Kui took it, peeled off the wrapper, put the wrapper in his mouth, and tossed the gum onto the ground. A moment later he realized something was wrong, spat out the wrapper, jumped down from the stone block, picked the gum back up, and put that in his mouth instead.

Shang Ke: “…”

Zombies were hardly known for their hygiene, but even Shang Ke had trouble accepting what he had just witnessed. This fellow was the Zombie King, for heaven’s sake. Could he not show even a little of the taste and dignity appropriate to his station?

Seeing Di Kui chew happily, Shang Ke wisely kept silent and packed up the things on the ground. He would continue this murderous gourmet journey, but in his heart he decisively added “spicy” to the permanent blacklist.

In Qizhen City, near a farm on the outskirts, two modified off-road vehicles bounced across the uneven ground.

“Not a bad haul this time. Once we get back, we should be able to trade it for a good batch of supplies.” In the passenger seat of the lead vehicle, a bald man grinned at the companions behind him.

“It’s all thanks to Brother Bin.” A thin man in the back seat turned toward the brown-haired man beside him and smiled shyly, his eyes full of admiration.

The brown-haired man lounged against the seat with a beautiful blonde girl in his arms and showed little reaction to the flattery. The girl, however, smiled. “Cheng Hua, you’re pretty capable yourself. You actually managed to invite Brother Bin along. He’s one of the few Level Eight ability users in the base.”

Human ability users were divided into nine levels, from Level One to Level Nine. There were exceptions, however. This world’s “protagonist,” Huo Xuan, possessed strength far beyond Level Nine and had reached the unique rank of Human King.

“That’s only because Brother Bin was willing to do me the favor. I’ll definitely repay him properly in the future.” The thin man called Cheng Hua continued smiling modestly.

Just then, the buzz-cut man driving the vehicle suddenly warned, “Someone’s ahead.”

The conversation stopped. Everyone looked through the windows and saw a slender figure beside the farmland several hundred meters ahead. His back was to them. Sitting cross-legged before a fire, he was holding a wooden stick and carefully roasting something over the flames.

Someone was actually lighting a fire and barbecuing food in the zombie-infested wilderness. Was he trying to get himself killed?

“Slow down. Let’s see whether he’s human or zombie,” Brother Bin ordered.

The driver nodded and gradually steered toward the stranger.

The modified off-road vehicle made almost no engine noise; only the occasional thump of the wheels over the rough ground could be heard.

The person beside the field noticed their approach and turned to look. A strikingly handsome face came into view through the windows.

The bald man in the passenger seat clicked his tongue appreciatively. “Well, look at that. A handsome little brother.”

Brother Bin also looked a few extra times, but he did not lower his guard. His gaze swept the surroundings as he concentrated his mental power. A moment later, confusion appeared on his face. Strange. He could not sense a single zombie. His perception extended three kilometers; never before had he encountered an area with no zombies at all within that range.

Even a high-rank zombie with an invisibility ability could not erase the presence of every zombie within three kilometers. So was this entire area really empty by coincidence?

Or… Brother Bin’s gaze returned to the person by the field. Had he cleared out every zombie nearby?

The person grilling food was none other than Shang Ke. When the two off-road vehicles stopped in front of him one after another, anxiety immediately tightened in his chest.

“Brother, traveling alone? Want a ride?” The bald man rested an elbow on the window frame and smiled at Shang Ke.

His tone was teasing, and the invitation was obviously casual rather than sincere. Whether a stranger was actually allowed into the vehicle was not his decision to make.

“No, thanks.” Shang Ke answered coolly, while inwardly hoping they would hurry up and leave instead of lingering here.

“Tch, pretty proud, aren’t you?” The bald man looked annoyed and was about to make a few sarcastic remarks when the aroma of the food in Shang Ke’s hand distracted him.

Shang Ke was grilling fish. A certain Zombie King might have no interest in ordinary human food, but Shang Ke himself never tired of it. And after being driven to improve his cooking for Di Kui’s sake, his skills had advanced even further. No matter how simple the ingredients, he could turn them into something fit for an emperor.

The smell of grilled food made the mercenaries, who had spent two or three months living rough in the wilderness, begin to salivate.

At that moment, Brother Bin said, “Ask whether he’d be willing to barbecue a meal for us. We can trade him supplies.”

Brother Bin could plainly have asked Shang Ke himself, yet he deliberately sent the bald man, as though he wanted to make his status clear in front of a stranger.

“No time.” Shang Ke refused without hesitation. Comrades, please—while there’s still daylight, hurry up and get out of here!

Shang Ke was anxious but could not explain why. Di Kui was nearby. If the Zombie King became displeased, Shang Ke himself could die and revive, but these people would not get a second chance.

“Don’t be so arrogant!” the bald man snapped. “Do you know who’s in this car? That’s Boss Huo’s brother, Song Bin, a Level Eight ability user.”

“Song Bin”? His name sounded almost exactly like “sending someone to burial.” Just how badly had his parents lost their minds to give him something so ominous? Never mind that he was only Huo Xuan’s brother—even if Huo Xuan himself showed up, Shang Ke would still tell him to hurry up and leave!

Shang Ke thought for a moment, then replied, “So you’re Huo Xuan’s brother. My apologies. But I really don’t have time to cook for all of you. If you don’t mind, I can give you the portions I’ve already finished. Safe travels.” He still needed to find Huo Xuan later and did not want to sour his relationship with Huo Xuan’s people.

These mercenaries were not villains who bullied people with their strength. Since Shang Ke had offered a compromise, they did not make things difficult for him. They accepted the grilled fish, waved goodbye, and prepared to leave.

Before departing, Song Bin told Shang Ke, “If you ever reach the survivor base, come find me.” The promise was his way of thanking Shang Ke for the grilled fish.

A promise from a Level Eight ability user would carry enormous weight for almost anyone. What interested Shang Ke, however, was Song Bin’s relationship with Huo Xuan. Perhaps he could use Song Bin to meet Huo Xuan later.

Shang Ke watched the two vehicles disappear into the distance. When he turned around, he nearly jumped—Di Kui had appeared beside him at some point without his noticing.

“You gave my food to someone else.” Di Kui’s tone was flat, but his eyes were dark and ominous.

Be reasonable. That was my food, not yours. You don’t even like eating it!

Shang Ke complained inwardly but said aloud, “It tasted terrible anyway. I gave it away. There’s nothing to be upset about.”

“My food cannot be given to someone else even if I intend to throw it away.” Killing intent flashed through Di Kui’s eyes.

Seeing that he seemed ready to go murder someone, Shang Ke hurriedly changed the subject. “Di Kui, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask you for a while.”

“Ask.”

“Why do you kill people?”

Di Kui gave him a strange look. “Why can’t I kill people?”

“Other zombies kill humans because they see humans as food. That’s predation. But you don’t like eating human flesh, so why kill people?”

Di Kui fell silent for a while before finally coming up with an answer. “If I kill them, everything they carry becomes mine. Aren’t you helping me collect ingredients? Many ingredients can’t be found in abandoned cities, but humans are bound to have some.”

That was the Zombie King for you: so overwhelmingly powerful that rules simply did not exist as far as he was concerned.

Shang Ke continued trying to reason with him. “There are plenty of ways to obtain ingredients. You don’t necessarily have to kill anyone.”

“How?”

“The next time we meet humans, let me try. If I can successfully trade with them for new ingredients, there’ll be no need to trouble Your Majesty personally.”

“Too slow.”

“I’ll be as fast as I can!” Shang Ke’s voice was exceptionally firm.

Di Kui gave him a long, searching look, then said indifferently, “Go, then.”

Di Kui kept his word. That very night, he brought Shang Ke up behind Song Bin’s group, deposited him in an alley less than three hundred meters from them, and indicated that Shang Ke could begin.

Shang Ke wanted to cry. They could have waited until they encountered some other mercenary group! Why did it have to be this one? He had only just refused to travel with them, and now he was about to show up in front of them again. Wouldn’t he look insane?

Besides, Song Bin’s party was obviously returning to the base. Shang Ke had worked so hard to lead Di Kui in the wrong direction; the last thing he wanted was for these people to ruin everything.

Unfortunately, Di Kui had made up his mind. He wanted to see exactly how Shang Ke intended to obtain ingredients from these humans.

Shang Ke could only rub his nose, walk out of the alley, and slowly approach the mercenaries’ location while silently praying both for himself and for those unlucky people…

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