“Madness, pure madness!”
As if a switch had been flipped in their bodies, all the zombies reverted to their former frenzied state, launching a fierce assault on the soldiers.
Using the cover provided by construction materials and their overwhelming numbers, the zombies began to encircle and trap the soldiers.
The trained soldiers were no pushovers, however. They quickly regrouped, shielding each other’s backs and firing at the oncoming horde.
“What on earth is going on?”
The scene descended into chaos, and Shen Yiyue, who had been observing from a distance, found herself utterly baffled by the situation.
These zombies were already strange enough. Initially, it seemed they were being escorted by the soldiers to complete some task.
But once the work began, the situation took a sudden turn as the zombies started attacking the very soldiers who were escorting them.
They acted like a group of oppressed rebels who had long planned an uprising, displaying a level of intelligence that was completely unlike what one would expect from zombies.
Soon, despite many falling under the soldiers’ relentless gunfire, the zombies, far outnumbering the soldiers, completely surrounded them.
With their advantage of distance lost, the soldiers were left in a state of panic.
“What the hell is this?! What’s the word from headquarters?!”
“We need to break through in one direction... Ah!!!”
It didn’t take long for the horde to overwhelm all the soldiers, devouring their flesh and blood.
Ning Yu noticed a peculiar detail—the communication devices on the soldiers’ bodies were taken by the zombies and systematically crushed.
“This doesn’t seem like zombies at all. It’s more like a disciplined army of the undead.”
Ning Yu muttered to herself as she watched their coordinated movements.
The soldiers’ equipment was also looted, with nearby zombies donning their helmets and bulletproof vests.
After completing these tasks, the zombies, as if following a prearranged plan, moved toward the pile of materials that had been discarded earlier.
They began reassembling the device on the mechanical base, but this time, their approach was different. They first dismantled some parts of the base and then began setting it up in a new configuration.
About half an hour later, a square structure resembling an altar was erected, with a recessed groove at its center.
Something began to gather and flow into the groove, causing it to emit a faint white light.
A zombie wearing a soldier’s helmet stepped forward, pulling an octahedral object from a backpack.
The object was entirely transparent and, as if drawn by some invisible force, slowly floated out of the zombie’s hand and flew directly into the center of the altar’s groove.
The white light gathered in the groove immediately seemed to find its target, converging on the octahedron and charging it with a dazzling brilliance.
Suddenly, numerous pathways lit up on the ground, like interconnected circuits, gradually illuminating the entire space.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz.”
The [Long-Range Disposable Communication Device] in Ning Yu’s pocket began to vibrate.
It was a signal from Ning Xuan, who had made contact.
Ning Yu immediately stopped observing the zombies’ activities, slowly retreating a few steps with Shen Yiyue before taking out the device.
“Sister, are you alright?”
Ning Yu also took out an earpiece, plugging it into the device, and soon heard Ning Xuan’s voice.
“We’re fine. Any progress on your end?”
Ning Yu handed one earpiece to Shen Yiyue and then replied in a very soft voice.
“Someone is willing to help us. She gave me crucial information.”
Ning Xuan’s voice came through again.
“Who is it?”
Ning Yu was also curious about who Ning Xuan had managed to enlist for help.
“It’s... Lacy.”
Ning Xuan mentioned a name that Ning Yu knew all too well.
“Her? How is that possible?”
Ning Yu recalled that stormy night at Tianshen Elementary School, when the blue-haired mechanical girl had split her sword in two with her massive blade.
Why would someone like that help her?
“She didn’t give a reason, but I suspect it might have something to do with a conflict with Chen Xing.”
Ning Xuan briefly recounted her encounter with Lacy in the lower levels of Eden. After listening, Ning Yu furrowed her brow.
“Alright, let’s focus on the information about Chen Xing first.”
Ning Yu knew that now wasn’t the time to dwell on this. As long as Lacy’s goals didn’t align with Chen Xing’s, she could be used.
Regardless of her motives, the priority was to break free from the deadly trap Chen Xing had set.
“The man who wants to capture you alive is named Leon.”
Leon? So this was the name of the mysterious “master” who had been mentioned countless times?
Ning Yu found the name unfamiliar. Based on the information Lin Hao had extracted from the virus, she had expected it to be “William.”
“He’s currently occupied with the critical phase of an underground project related to the so-called Final Ritual and can’t spare any time.”
Underground project?
Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue exchanged glances. They were currently beneath City A, where they had encountered a large group of strange “zombies.”
“This is also why Chen Xing dares to make her move to kill you now.”
“Using her ability to control zombies, she’s been making small moves under Leon’s nose, all leading up to this moment.”
After hearing this, Ning Yu still felt puzzled.
“Then why does she want to kill me?”
“I asked the same question. Lacy said that beneath City A, there’s a similar project. You can access the underground through these structures.”
Ning Xuan sent over a list of building addresses, unaware that Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue were already there.
“As for the reason, she said you’ll understand everything once you reach this location underground.”
Ning Xuan sent over a set of coordinates.
“If you come across a mechanical structure on your way, something that looks like an altar...”
She continued, but Ning Yu interrupted her.
“Does it have a glowing octahedron in the center, and after a while, does it start emitting black flames?”
When Ning Yu heard the word “structure,” she quietly returned to a position where she could observe the scene below.
The octahedron was spinning faster and faster, but as if tainted by something, black flames began to rise from the groove in the center.
The flames, like liquid, overflowed from the groove and slowly spread outward.
The surrounding zombies knelt around the altar, bathing in the flames as if receiving a baptism.
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
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."
