Chapter 216: Death Cycle (XIV)

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Chapter 216: Death Cycle (XIV)

Shang Ke successfully joined the Shadowmoon Mercenary Group. After resting for two days, he left the temporary base with the rest of the team.

Shadowmoon had recruited nearly thirty ability users at Level Six or above for this expedition. Their goal was to eliminate two General-class zombies roaming nearby. Ordinarily, two General-class zombies would not warrant mobilizing so many experts, but each had established territory in an abandoned city and was hunting humans and livestock throughout the surrounding area. Their forces were expanding rapidly, and humanity had to wipe them out before they grew into something larger.

“According to our intelligence, the two General-class zombies are in Huaiqu and Baonan, more than a hundred kilometers apart. To make absolutely sure, we won’t split our forces. We’ll concentrate our strength and take them down one at a time.” Bai Mu, leader of the Shadowmoon Mercenary Group, pointed at the electronic map as he briefed the new recruits.

“Do we know roughly how many zombies there are? What about their strength?” asked a heavily muscled middle-aged man.

“There are a little over five hundred near Huaiqu and more than seven hundred around Baonan. Most are low-rank zombies. There should be fewer than fifty high-rank zombies.”

“Then which one are we hitting first?”

“Huaiqu.”

Shang Ke did not take part in the discussion. He leaned alone against an armored vehicle, his gaze moving over the crowd until it settled on a man in his early thirties standing on the steps. The man had short reddish-brown hair, ordinary features, tanned skin, and slightly worn outdoor gear. He carried an air of weary wildness mixed with the distinctive appeal of a mature man.

Although Shang Ke had already decided that Di Kui was his lover, that familiar aura still allowed him to recognize this man at a glance. The fact left him uneasy and once again made him question his own judgment.

How could two different people possess the same aura? It could not be mere coincidence. The bond between him and his lover came from the Crimson Skyfire and the profound emotions accumulated through countless reincarnations. People could resemble one another, but every soul was unique. Shang Ke was confident he would not mistake one for another.

But…

Huo Xuan, disguised as an independent mercenary, seemed to sense Shang Ke’s stare. He turned his head, paused when he saw him, then gave him a faint smile.

During introductions earlier, Shang Ke remembered him calling himself “Yang Rui,” a Level Seven ability user from a small town in the south.

Shang Ke then glanced toward Zuo Xian nearby. With Huo Xuan concealing his identity, Zuo Xian was now the strongest and highest-ranking person in the group. Shang Ke wondered whether Huo Xuan had told him about the disguise.

“All right, that’s everything we know for now. Get a good night’s rest. We enter Huaiqu territory tomorrow, and once we do, we may not get another chance to sleep.” Bai Mu put away the electronic map, gave a few final instructions, and led the companions beside him into an abandoned building.

The others gathered their belongings and followed inside one after another.

Shang Ke slung on his backpack and brought up the rear.

“Where’s your companion?” Huo Xuan strolled over and asked casually.

“No idea.” Shang Ke shot him a cold look and instantly switched into hatred-building mode.

“I noticed you watching me earlier.” Huo Xuan kept pace beside him. “Do you know me?”

“No.” Shang Ke quickened his steps while looking around for a suitable place to rest.

The group leader had ordered everyone to stay together on the second floor so their fighting strength would not be scattered.

Shang Ke soon found a reasonably clean room and walked straight in. He was about to shut the door when he discovered that Huo Xuan had somehow already appeared in the middle of the living room. With one foot, Huo Xuan righted an overturned sofa, dusted it off, and casually tossed his pack onto it.

One hand braced against the doorframe, Shang Ke said to the uninvited guest, “Sorry. This room is mine. Please leave.”

Why was this guy just like Di Kui, teleporting around whenever he felt like it?

“We’ll sleep together,” Huo Xuan replied calmly.

Sleep together, my ass! Shang Ke glared at him, debating whether to throw him out with domineering flair or graciously remove himself. Either way, he absolutely could not stay in the same room as Huo Xuan. If Di Kui came back and found them together, things would become far too entertaining.

By nature, Shang Ke preferred to take a step back and keep the peace; he had always treated people kindly. But since he was supposed to antagonize Huo Xuan now, he needed to act a little more overbearing.

So he strode over aggressively, grabbed Huo Xuan by the T-shirt, and tried to drag him toward the door.

With a ripping sound, Huo Xuan did not budge—but his T-shirt tore clean in two, revealing a sharply defined eight-pack.

Huo Xuan looked down at his ruined shirt. “You tore my clothes,” he said mildly.

Shang Ke stared wordlessly at the scrap of fabric in his hand. You’re the leader of humanity. Would it kill you to wear something of decent quality?

“So?” Huo Xuan looked at him as though ready to discuss compensation.

Shang Ke took off his backpack, dug out a T-shirt, and threw it at him. “There. I’ll compensate you for the shirt, and you can have the room too!”

As it turned out, he simply had no talent for playing the villain. Or perhaps he just could not bring himself to be ruthless toward this man.

“Stay.” Huo Xuan’s voice came from behind him. “The other rooms are already full. Traveling inevitably comes with inconveniences. We can make allowances for each other.”

Shang Ke’s steps paused, but he still left. After circling the hallway, he discovered that the second floor truly was full. He had no choice but to head to the third floor. Bai Mu had told everyone to stay together on the second, but Shang Ke was already planning to play an antisocial nuisance, so he hardly needed to worry about what the others thought.

Night fell. The zombies hiding in the darkness emerged one after another, occasionally releasing beastlike howls.

There were not many zombies in this area—only a few dozen scattered about. Shadowmoon sent out just two members, and they quickly cleared the surroundings.

Shang Ke lay on the bed, as sleepless as ever.

A little after one in the morning, Di Kui slipped silently into the room, pounced onto the bed, and pulled Shang Ke into his arms. A heavy stench of blood mixed with the acrid reek of corpses hit Shang Ke full in the face. Frowning, he hauled Di Kui up and dragged him into the bathroom.

The abandoned city had no power supply, so Shang Ke could only use his water magic to soak a towel and slowly wipe the grime from Di Kui’s body.

Di Kui stared intently at the person in front of him, his golden eyes gleaming in the darkness.

“What did you go out to do?” Shang Ke asked.

“Take a walk,” Di Kui answered casually.

You went for a “walk” and came back covered in blood? Shang Ke gave him a sidelong glance but did not press the issue.

Di Kui braced one hand against the wall, lowered his head, and captured Shang Ke’s lips, licking and sucking at them slowly. The murderous aura clinging to him gradually faded until only heat remained.

Di Kui behaved almost normally in front of Shang Ke, but the urge to kill that churned inside him was enough to make his blood boil and was difficult to control. He often disappeared for stretches of time mainly to seek prey and vent the violence in his heart.

Before, he had never cared. Now, however, he did not want to see even the slightest trace of fear or disgust in Shang Ke’s eyes.

“Don’t… Everyone downstairs is an ability user.” With the perception of a Level Six ability user, they could easily detect movement from the floor above.

As if Di Kui cared about a few ability users. He lifted Shang Ke into his arms and strode toward the bed…

The next day, Shang Ke and Di Kui gathered in front of the building with the other Shadowmoon members. They divided into vehicles and set out for Huaiqu.

The group reached a small town on the edge of Huaiqu around dusk. The moment they entered, they encountered more than a dozen zombies. None were high-rank, and Shadowmoon dispatched them with ease.

They had already entered the territory of a General-class zombie, however. An attack could come at any moment, so everyone had to remain especially alert.

Bai Mu sent three agile ability users skilled in concealment toward central Huaiqu to scout the situation. Everyone else remained in the town for the time being and prepared for battle.

By nightfall, none of the three scouts had returned. The mercenary group’s previously relaxed mood turned grim.

Everyone crowded into a small building, watching the zombies wandering back and forth outside with dark expressions.

“There are more of them than we estimated,” Song Bin said quietly as he lowered the curtain.

“We don’t know whether the scouts are alive or dead, and we still can’t accurately judge the situation in central Huaiqu.” Bai Mu looked toward Zuo Xian, who was seated on the sofa. “Zuo Xian, I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble you to make the trip personally.”

Zuo Xian nodded. “I need a partner.”

“No problem.” Bai Mu smiled. “Choose anyone here.”

“Then him.” Zuo Xian pointed toward a corner.

Everyone followed the gesture and saw a handsome young man—Shang Ke.

Shang Ke: Seriously? Shot while lying down. Couldn’t they just let him quietly be a handsome man?

“Your name is Shang Ke, right?” Bai Mu said gently. “We’ll leave this scouting mission to you and Zuo Xian.”

Before Shang Ke could answer, Huo Xuan suddenly spoke. “I’m coming too.”

“You?” Bai Mu clearly did not know Huo Xuan’s disguised identity. He hesitated. “This mission is dangerous. Don’t force yourself if you aren’t confident.”

The man calling himself “Yang Rui” was supposedly a Level Seven ability user, but no one had ever seen him fight, so the group knew little about his actual strength. Shang Ke was different. Someone whom Huo Xuan and Zuo Xian both regarded unusually highly was unlikely to be weak.

“I know.” Huo Xuan’s tone was flat, but his eyes carried an arrogance that left no room for doubt.

Bai Mu looked to Zuo Xian for his opinion. “What do you think?”

Zuo Xian did not even glance at Huo Xuan. “Whatever.”

He rose to his feet, left behind a curt “Keep up,” and vanished from the room.

Those final words were clearly directed at Shang Ke and Huo Xuan. Judging from his reaction, did Zuo Xian not know Huo Xuan’s identity either?

Shang Ke followed Huo Xuan outside while secretly studying him from the corner of his eye.

“You’re staring at me again,” Huo Xuan suddenly said.

Shang Ke: “…”

“Stay close to me once we’re out there.” Huo Xuan’s figure flickered and disappeared into the night.

Shang Ke stood in the doorway of the small building with the cold night wind blowing over him and wanted to say to those two experts: Do you think everyone in the world knows how to teleport…?

Just then, an arm suddenly tightened around his waist and pulled him into a familiar embrace. The scenery blurred past at high speed, and in the blink of an eye they were a few kilometers away.

Hehe, his Zombie King was back. Shang Ke wrapped both arms tightly around the man’s neck and pressed his face to his chest, his entire body relaxing like a docile cat as he let the man carry him wherever he pleased.

A little over ten minutes later, the two stopped on the roof of a high-rise.

“We’re here?” Shang Ke looked around. All he saw were rows of ruined buildings at uneven heights.

The man behind him said nothing. One strong arm remained wrapped around Shang Ke’s waist.

Shang Ke turned around. He had assumed the person behind him was Di Kui—only to find himself staring at Huo Xuan!

“Huo Xuan? Why is it you?” Shang Ke abruptly stepped back. He could not believe he had mistaken him for someone else. At such close range, he had still mistaken him!

Their builds were similar, both had cool body temperatures, and both carried that familiar aura—but one was a zombie and the other a human. There was no conceivable way Shang Ke should have confused them!

“What’s wrong?” Huo Xuan stared quietly at him, his eyes as deep as midnight.

“N-No. Nothing.” Shang Ke looked away and forced himself to steady his breathing.

“You did recognize me after all.” Pleasure colored Huo Xuan’s voice.

Even Zuo Xian, who spent day after day at his side, had failed to see through the disguise. Yet this person had recognized him at first glance.

Shang Ke felt stifled. “No. I mistook you for someone else.”

Di Kui and Huo Xuan—just which one was his man? He was going insane! Could someone just give him a straight answer already?

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