Chapter 56: Zombie Apocalypse (XIV)

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Chapter 56: Zombie Apocalypse (XIV)

Having secured Yue Jiuchun’s promise, Zhang Yang naturally fulfilled his own pledge to bring the three great families of H City under his rule—in his own way. His methods were simple and ruthless. In this day and age, true authority belonged to whoever possessed the greatest strength. By crippling a handful of each family’s most powerful ability users, he forced them to bow their heads. They might not have submitted willingly, but none of them dared defy his commands.

Without powerful ability users to anchor them, even the largest families held little influence in H City. As a result, the Yue family, whose ability users had emerged completely unscathed, naturally rose to become the city’s most powerful family. Even so, it was merely the strongest family and not the only one with any real power.

Zhang Yang had no intention of allowing that situation to continue, and Yue Jiuchun was no fool either. The two quickly reached an understanding. On the surface, Yue Jiuchun carried on cooperating with the other families as though nothing had changed. In reality, regardless of how those partnerships had operated before, the Yue family now held the dominant position in every one of them.

Afterward, Zhang Yang proved his determination to become Miao Lichen’s one and only test subject through his actions: he took Miao Nianling away with him. In the entire world, he was probably the only person capable of forcibly removing Miao Nianling from Miao Lichen’s side, leaving even the “Mother of Ability Users” utterly powerless to resist.

A new passcode lock was installed on the door to Miao Lichen’s laboratory, and he alone could enter it. Every time Zhang Yang went on a mission, he brought Miao Nianling with him. As a result, each mission became more dangerous than the last, yet he never once considered leaving her behind at the base.

Zhang Yang had absolute confidence in his own abilities, as well as in the acupoint-sealing techniques of ancient martial arts. But when it came to Miao Lichen, he refused to tolerate even the slightest chance of failure. He knew that once he made his move, he would have only a single opportunity. It wasn’t that he had never considered the possibility that Miao Lichen might possess a way to further enhance his own ability. Even so, he chose to stake everything on one desperate gamble. If Miao Lichen truly possessed the same ability as he did, then perhaps perishing together would not be such a bad ending after all.

Zhang Yang glanced at the little girl beside him. Miao Nianling’s eyes were filled with unmistakable displeasure toward him, but there was no hatred. Perhaps he could still allow himself a little comfort. Miao Nianling was Miao Lichen’s lifework and the person who cared about him most. There was no resentment in her eyes—didn’t that mean Miao Lichen hadn’t truly blamed him either? After all, he had never interfered with the experiment Miao Lichen treasured above all else.

A faint smile tugged at Zhang Yang’s lips. He really was a strange man. The moment he made his choice, he had already resolved that even if Miao Lichen came to hate him, he would still keep him where he could always see him. So what more was there for him to ask for? As long as Miao Lichen remained by his side, that was enough. He knew Miao Lichen would never understand love, and he had no intention of forcing him to learn. Love was often said to be something shared between two people, but to Zhang Yang, it could just as easily be a dance performed by one.

Even he couldn’t explain why, aside from that single day when he took Miao Nianling away and crossed the line with Miao Lichen, he had behaved as though nothing had happened, treating him with the impeccable courtesy reserved for a gentleman. He certainly didn’t think he possessed any exceptional self-restraint. If he truly did, then a fleeting touch or even one of Miao Lichen’s unintentional movements, wouldn’t have been enough to stir his desire. He really was absurd. He had decided to drag the man down from the heavens into the dust, yet he alone stubbornly insisted on preserving the last of his own boundaries.

After having her acupoints sealed, Miao Nianling was no different from an ordinary child. Yet her ability to summon zombies seemed to be innate. Those little creatures born from her power, could be put to death with a mere thought if they refused to obey her commands. Miao Nianling looked up at the ink-black clouds gathering across the horizon. She knew it was wrong, but if sacrificing a few of her little ones was the only way to return to her father’s side, she didn’t mind the loss. After all, her father’s test subjects had no need for weaklings.

“Captain Zhang Yang, the weather’s getting worse. It looks like it’s about to rain, we need to find shelter,” one of the men said anxiously. They were still a long way from the base, and judging by the sky, there was no chance of making it back before the storm broke. Taking cover out here would expose them to even greater danger.

The rain, laced with the virus, acted as an evolutionary catalyst for zombies. It could also enhance the abilities of ability users to a certain extent, but too much exposure had the opposite effect, carrying the risk of turning an ability user into a zombie instead. Those were among the precautions the researchers had repeatedly emphasized, and conclusions drawn from painstaking professional analysis.

“It won’t rain before we get back to the base.” There was absolute certainty in Zhang Yang’s voice. The proud smile on his lips never faded, making it strangely easy to believe him. “Because A’chen is still in the laboratory. If I don’t make it back today, he’ll have a problem with dinner.”

“…” When the ability users heard the first half of Zhang Yang’s words, the panic in their hearts eased somewhat. After all, he was the pillar that held the entire team together. But… what was that last part supposed to mean? Since when did the weather care whether someone had eaten dinner? The group couldn’t help twitching at the corners of their mouths. They had accepted that their captain refused to hunt far from the base because of a single person. For reasons none of them could explain, their harvests near the base were just as plentiful anyway. But believing he had abandoned his brains for that same person? That was something they found much harder to accept.

“You don’t need to know why. You only need to believe what I say.” Zhang Yang calmly swept his gaze over them. “As your captain, my words are orders. No matter how absurd they may sound, they are simply facts.” As he spoke, he drew Miao Nianling into his arms. The little girl would never allow him to fail to return to the base. Miao Lichen, after all, was the person she treasured most as well.

The group made their way back to the base at an unhurried pace. Just as Zhang Yang had said, not a single drop of rain fell before they crossed the gates. Yet only moments after everyone had entered, the rain began to pour, growing heavier with each passing minute. The entire sky turned a murky gray beneath thick storm clouds, and the sun, which had reappeared only a few days earlier, vanished behind them once more.

Zhang Yang sealed Miao Nianling’s acupoints again before tossing her into Yue Yingying’s care. Without another word, he headed straight for the laboratory. He had walked the path to Miao Lichen’s laboratory countless times; every step was second nature by now. After entering the lengthy passcode sequence and completing the familiar unlocking procedure, he opened the reinforced door. The moment it swung open, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

Miao Lichen was not immersed in an experiment as Zhang Yang had expected. Instead, he was seated with a stack of documents, quietly reviewing their contents. Having shed his white lab coat in favor of simple casual clothes, he looked far less austere and carried the vibrant energy of youth. Though he was already in his thirties, few people would ever guess his true age based on his face.

Zhang Yang set several crystal cores beside him. Through the energy converter they had developed, the power contained within the cores could be absorbed even by ordinary people with no abilities, increasing their chances of awakening one. For ability users, the converted energy strengthened their existing ability and improved the likelihood of breaking through to the next level. Every crystal core Zhang Yang had brought, without exception, was ice-type.

After straightening the dining table that looked oddly out of place in the middle of a laboratory, Zhang Yang waved a hand. In an instant, it was covered with steaming dishes. Even before the apocalypse, such a lavish meal would have been considered extravagant, let alone after the apocalypse. Only someone like Zhang Yang, who possessed the jade pendant’s storage space, could afford such luxury.

“You’re back? You returned quite early today.” Miao Lichen set the documents in his hands aside. The papers contained the latest findings from other research teams. Although he was unable to leave the laboratory, he could still access information through its computer system. He kept himself informed about matters such as the research direction of H City’s laboratories and the overall condition of the city’s ability users. The level of authority granted to his laboratory was, for all practical purposes, equal to that of the heads of H City’s three great families.

“Mm. It’s raining outside. Come eat first. Whatever it is, we can talk about it after the meal.” Zhang Yang began serving food onto Miao Lichen’s plate with practiced familiarity. Although they had shared countless meals across the same table, Zhang Yang still couldn’t discern Miao Lichen’s preferences. So each time, he served a little of every dish, afraid of leaving out something he might like.

Miao Lichen nodded. He naturally understood what the rain meant in this apocalyptic world. Miao Nianling had been away from him for fifteen days. To him, fifteen days was hardly a long time. But for the Miao Nianling he had created, it was already the limit of her endurance.

Miao Nianling’s life originated from him. It was more than a matter of her existence. Every instruction encoded within her cells had been given by him. Fifteen days was the absolute limit. Once that threshold was crossed, the Miao Nianling separated from Miao Lichen would fall into a state of confusion, and as time passed, that confusion would gradually descend into madness. But now, she had no way of returning to his side. That left her with only one choice: to forcibly accelerate her own development, pushing herself rapidly into maturity so she could free herself from her dependence on her “father.”

That meant this rainfall was certain to be very different from the last. Miao Lichen paused with his chopsticks halfway to his lips. If the little one matured this quickly, then the lingering obsession bound to this body’s would finally be fulfilled. And once that happened, he would be able to leave. The so-called evolution of the world, in truth, required only one thing: Miao Nianling reaching adulthood. The difference between the adult Miao Nianling and the child she had been was nothing short of transformative.

Her body would become completely indistinguishable from that of an ordinary human, yet her abilities would undergo a qualitative leap. The question was whether this world could bear the consequences. A full month of unending rain, even if the survivors escaped the virus carried within the rainfall, many would still starve to death while hiding in the places they believed were safe.

It was an evolution, but it was also a sacrifice. The only offerings upon the altar would be the remnants of the old human race, sacrificed so that a new species could be born. The zombies would replace humanity’s place in the world, because Miao Lichen would restore them to the very beginning of their evolutionary path and reconstruct their genetic order from the ground up.

A faint smile curved Miao Lichen’s lips. He set down his chopsticks and looked toward the gloomy, overcast sky, his eyes filled with simple, unfeigned delight. “Zhang Yang, if you don’t have anything to do right now, take a walk with me around H City.”

“Of course.” Just a walk? A sharp glint flashed through Zhang Yang’s eyes as an uneasy thought crossed his mind. He could only hope… that it really was nothing more than a walk.

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