After climbing up the passage, the two found a spot where they could take a breather.
This place didn’t seem like a passage with metal ladders installed; instead, it appeared to have been haphazardly dug out with crude tools.
However, it conveniently allowed them to look down and observe the situation ahead.
“They’re coming.”
Ning Yu whispered in an extremely soft voice. The two were standing close enough that Shen Yiyue could just barely hear her.
From their vantage point, they looked down at the area below. At the center was an empty mechanical base, with some lighting equipment, steel materials, and storage containers piled up in the corners.
As Ning Yu spoke, several groups of figures began pouring in from various entrances below.
The two of them stared intently for a moment, both startled by what they saw.
Those figures weren’t living humans—they were zombies!
But what was strange was that they didn’t seem frenzied or aggressive. Instead, they were neatly lined up in rows, all wearing identical uniforms.
Each of them was carrying or dragging various materials. Their bodies were severely hunched, yet they somehow managed to bear the weight of their loads.
At regular intervals, fully armed soldiers stood guard, holding firearms.
What was going on?!
Neither Ning Yu nor Shen Yiyue had ever seen zombies like this before. They looked like oppressed slaves, with fresh human flesh right beside them, yet they showed no sign of resistance.
They simply carried their materials, silently moving forward—true walking dead.
Ning Yu narrowed her eyes, focusing on the zombie at the front of the line.
“Something’s off. These zombies are... strange.”
“What do you mean?”
Shen Yiyue turned to her, about to set up her machine gun, but Ning Yu gently stopped her.
“Look at their skin.”
Ning Yu pointed to the zombie she was observing.
It appeared to be a young male zombie, with hair dyed blond during his lifetime.
His skin still had the grayish hue typical of zombies, but it was noticeably different from the rotting flesh of ordinary zombies.
Upon closer inspection, his skin was surprisingly intact. By this stage, a regular zombie’s body would have already begun to decay, with flesh hanging loose and bones exposed.
This one had dark circles under its eyes, and its mouth was tightly shut, unlike the gaping maw of a typical zombie, forever craving flesh and blood.
If not for the eye dangling from its socket and the characteristic zombie shuffle, one might mistake it for a living person with an odd skin tone.
The most peculiar thing was its expression, which seemed to carry a hint of exhaustion—something never seen in zombies.
Ning Yu scanned the rest of the laboring zombies, her sharp eyes taking in every detail.
Not a single one had the bloodthirsty, frenzied look typical of zombies.
“They... seem like they’ve gained consciousness,” Shen Yiyue whispered, exchanging a glance with Ning Yu.
Ning Yu nodded, agreeing with the observation.
The two of them remained hidden in the shadows above, unnoticed by those below.
Soon, the area around the empty mechanical base was densely packed with laboring zombies carrying materials.
Was this some kind of post-apocalyptic cotton plantation, with zombies as the enslaved laborers?
As Ning Yu watched the soldiers scattered around the corners, guarding the laboring zombies with their guns, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of absurdity.
The zombies looked like they had been on the move for a long time, with some even having bones protruding from their lower backs. Yet, they showed no signs of resting.
Immediately, they began working diligently around the mechanical base.
Some were hammering nails and tightening screws, while others passed materials back and forth.
The scene was hard to believe—these creatures, once mindless beasts that only tore into their prey, were now cooperating like humans.
It was both astonishing and deeply unsettling.
These tireless, painless monsters had developed the intelligence to work together, and among them were the terrifyingly powerful mutated zombies.
This was truly...
Suddenly, a minor incident occurred in the center.
A short male zombie lost its grip on a thick steel plate, causing it to fall to the ground. The plate landed on its leg with a loud thud, bending it at an unnatural angle.
The zombie tried to straighten its leg, but the bone was already broken, leaving it flopping around at odd angles.
“What are you doing?!”
The nearest soldier quickly approached to assess the situation.
The zombie had just managed to push the steel plate aside and was trying to stand up shakily when it lost its balance and stumbled toward the soldier.
“Damn it!”
The soldier reacted swiftly, kicking the zombie away. Unfortunately, the kick tore the already unstable leg completely apart.
The zombie let out a howl, as if it could feel pain.
“Stop howling! Get back to work! Now!”
The soldier, visibly annoyed, raised his gun and aimed it at the zombie’s head.
Another short female zombie, seeing the gun pointed at its companion, dropped the materials it was carrying and rushed over to help the injured male zombie.
But the male zombie could no longer stand, so it hobbled on its one good leg, trying to keep both feet at the same level.
The soldier spat on the ground and cursed,
“Great, another useless one.”
He didn’t lower his gun, and the female zombie immediately dropped to the ground, prostrating itself and kowtowing repeatedly.
It looked like it was begging for mercy!
This scene left Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue utterly shocked. These weren’t zombies—they were acting like living humans.
“Hahaha, it’s bowing to you for the New Year,” another soldier nearby joked, the cigarette in his mouth bobbing as he spoke.
The soldier called Old Yu kicked the female zombie, causing it to stagger.
“Get back to work, or I’ll put you both out of your misery.”
“Stop wasting your breath. They can’t understand you.”
Just as Old Yu was about to pull his leg back, he realized it was stuck—the female zombie had grabbed it tightly.
“You’ve got some nerve!”
He raised his gun to shoot, but suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Ahhh!!!”
The female zombie had bitten down hard on his leg, tearing through the flesh.
That scream was like a battle cry.
In the space below, all the laboring zombies suddenly dropped their materials and turned in unison, locking their gazes on the soldiers who had been watching them.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
