Huaisi was firmly trapped inside a sturdy large net. With lightning-fast reflexes even before his mind could fully process it his zombie physique had already sprung into action ahead of time. However, it was all to no avail, because the adversary had clearly prepared beforehand, lying in wait specifically for his arrival.
Even at the exact moment the net dropped, sensing the danger, his zombie body tried frantically to leap out. Yet the net seemed woven from a special material; once it made contact, it could not be shaken off. As he struggled, he felt a wave of numbness ripple from the net. This tingling sensation instantly coursed through his entire body; his spine arched backward, his neck stretched straight, and his chin tilted upward. For a split second, his mind went completely blank as a flash of blinding light crossed his vision, rendering him entirely incapable of making any further moves. Every time he renewed his struggles, the net automatically tightened, sending wave after wave of that bone-deep tingling sensation washing over him.
“Roar!” He clawed at the meshes of the net with both hands and jerked his head up, provoking his vertical pupils to narrow and transform completely into a golden-yellow hue. They stood out with striking clarity in the dark night, radiating a feral, berserker beast-like glow. In this agitated state, he roared with his mouth wide open, his sharp teeth rapidly lengthening, breaking through his gums and emitting an unbearable, grinding clack-clack sound. In the blink of an eye, elongated fangs protruded, while razor-sharp claws simultaneously sprouted from the hands he was using to grip the mesh. His pale, handsome face was filled with furious rage, his vertical pupils brimming with murderous intent as he glared viciously at the group of people standing before the net!
“Director Cheng really calculated correctly; this zombie actually came back.”
“I’ve never seen a zombie like this! It really doesn’t look like those other ordinary zombies, it’s quite good-looking, and I heard it can even speak!” A group of inspection team members, who had followed instructions to spread the net and wait for Huaisi to take the bait, hid behind Zhai Ziyan the sole Esper present at the scene. They pulled out illumination tools, observed Huaisi with intense curiosity, and even brought the light source closer, chattering and discussing him as if he were a rare exotic animal.
Standing at the front of the net, Zhai Ziyan stared at Huaisi, his expression growing increasingly gloomy. He couldn’t help reaching out to touch his empty left sleeve; seeing Huaisi made him recognize the zombie from that day and brought back memories of what had happened.
If not for the events of that day, he wouldn’t have inexplicably lost his left arm. He believed that the loss of his limb was caused by the ability of the man who had suddenly appeared back then. He remembered Huaisi; he was the high-level mutant zombie taken away by that man. Unable to find that man, seeing Huaisi now meant he undoubtedly poured all that lingering resentment straight onto Huaisi. His expression darkened further, and his remaining right hand instinctively curled into a claw-like posture unmistakably a stance preparing to strike. At that moment, he felt a strong urge to slice open this variant zombie right before his eyes.
“What should we do now?” someone asked, inevitably looking toward Zhai Ziyan, the only person present who could call the shots.
With a dark expression, Zhai Ziyan reached out toward Huaisi. Like a wild beast sensing danger, Huaisi glared fiercely at him, his narrow vertical pupils locking onto him tightly. Even though he was being electrocuted by the net, he still tore desperately at the mesh, every muscle in his body taut in an aggressive stance.
“According regulations, zombies can all be killed to extract their crystal cores,” Zhai Ziyan said coldly.
The others looked at Zhai Ziyan. After all, he was the only one with an Esper ability present, but some among them remained timid and couldn’t help chiming in.
“The Director seemed to say that we can’t kill it yet, and he hasn’t given any other instructions. Leader, shouldn’t we wait for the Director to return and handle it?” the person said cautiously, watching Zhai Ziyan’s reaction.
Noticing Zhai Ziyan’s ominous expression and recalling how their numbers had drastically plummeted following the recent zombie incident at the refuge, having barely escaped with their lives only to walk on thin ice ever since they certainly didn’t want Zhai Ziyan taking his anger out on them. Someone immediately changed the subject.
“Besides, what about this mother and child? They’re the ones the Director brought back last time.”
Only then did everyone notice that there were actually people in the corner: a mother and child huddled together in the shadows beyond the reach of the light. The petite woman held her child tightly in her arms, pressing into the darkness without a sound, making everyone momentarily forget they were even there.
They were the ones the Director had brought back when he returned last time. Zhai Ziyan still remembered how surprised he had been at the time. In his impression, that man shouldn’t have any sympathy to spare even though other departments in the main base claimed that everyone in the inspection team was devoid of human warmth, and he himself knew many people called them emotionally detached bystanders who could watch suffering with cold indifference, he knew the Director was the most emotionless of them all. The Director seemed completely devoid of emotional fluctuations, which was why he was best suited to run the inspection team’s affairs; in his eyes, everyone was simply divided into those with value and those without. That was why, during inspections, he would never hesitate to abandon valueless refuges.
Yet last time, he had actually brought back a pair of mother and child a fact shocking enough in itself.
Feeling the gazes of the crowd, the mother and child shrank even further into the corner, but their backs were already pressed flat against the wall with nowhere left to retreat. The mention of them by one of the men had drawn everyone’s attention, leaving Cai Yongfang at a complete loss. She had automatically curled up in the corner ever since she arrived a habit formed over the course of the apocalypse.
While the others had only just noticed the mother and child, Huaisi had spotted them the very instant he was trapped under the net. Right now, his gaze shifted from Zhai Ziyan over to the pair. His vertical pupils turned beast-like, overflowing with golden-yellow murderous intent that surged directly toward them.
Why? Why is it like this? Were all those reactions from earlier just lies? I thought I finally found a human who didn’t hate me was it all fake, too?!
Just because I’m a zombie now, does that mean nothing about me will ever be believed anymore?!
Too terrified to make eye contact, Cai Yongfang could only clutch her son tightly, pressing his head against her chest to shield him with the last shred of childlike innocence a meager refuge she wished to provide as a mother, futile though it might be in this apocalypse. Lowering her head, hugging her child in the gloom where details blurred, the woman shook uncontrollably, curling her body into as small a ball as possible.
Zhai Ziyan paid them no heed; to him, they weren’t a problem, holding no more weight than dust. He reached out toward Huaisi once more, consumed entirely by a desire for revenge.
Yet the moment he extended his hand, a flash of white light cut through the air. He yanked his hand back instinctively, but a chunk of flesh on the back of his hand had already been shaved off by the razor-sharp blade light, blood gushing forth profusely!
Appalled, he immediately looked for the newcomer. Right at the edge of the net, a man’s tall figure had silently materialized, casting a towering shadow without a single person noticing his approach. Bending forward slightly with his head lowered, he showed no fear of the berserk Huaisi, bringing his face dangerously close until they were mere inches apart. With his head tilted down, his profile bathed in the soft ambient lighting looking tender and affectionate almost like a lover leaning in for a kiss he locked eyes with those vertical pupils, closely examining the trapped Huaisi.
“Director!” Zhai Ziyan turned pale with fright, his lost reason snapping back into place in an instant, utterly banishing his earlier anger over his wounded hand.
There was no room for anger only terror.
That move just now had held zero restraint. If he hadn’t reacted in time, his entire hand truly would have been severed. The person who delivered the strike clearly hadn’t bothered to consider whether his hand would be cut off, because upon entering, he hadn’t even spared him a second glance.
“Director, we’ve already caught it and were planning to”
“I said it cannot be killed. What were you doing just then?” Cheng Chui had already straightened up. His gaze remained fixed on Huaisi as he spoke leisurely to Zhai Ziyan.
“I just thought it was being too noisy, and feared it might”
“Regardless of your reasons, if there is a next time, I will still cut off your hand.” Cheng Chui’s voice carried no inflection. Staring at Huaisi, he found this development somewhat unexpected yet within his calculations; ever since this mutant zombie escaped, he had been wondering whether this high-level zombie possessed independent consciousness, so bringing this pair of mother and child back on a whim might yield some unexpected utility anyway. At any rate, letting them play out their final bit of value wouldn’t hurt.
He swept a glance over the pitiful mother and child huddled in the corner. Behind his lenses, his eyes held no trace of sympathy just a casual glance, like sweeping past weeds on a roadside. He simply said, “They’re too much of an eyesore here. Throw them out.”
The others immediately carried out his orders, grabbing the mother and child and dragging them outside.
Watching Huaisi’s struggle against the net, Cheng Chui fell into contemplation. Observing Huaisi closely, a flash of confusion darted rapidly through his eyes before he remarked, “Interesting. You seem to have independent consciousness? Why did you come looking for that pair of mother and child?”
Yet Huaisi gave him no reply. At that moment, a powerful wave of tingling numbness coursed through Huaisi’s entire body, clouding his judgment and short-circuiting his thoughts, leaving him to thrash about like a cornered wild beast.
The scent of an Esper’s flesh hung heavily in the air. Especially after Zhai Ziyan’s hand was injured, the fresh blood leaking out released a rich, coppery aroma that drove him to the brink of madness.
Drawing his blade, Cheng Chui brought the blue-glowing edge close to Huaisi, resting it right against the pale, lean skin of Huaisi’s chin to force him to lift his head. Looking down at Huaisi from his superior vantage point, he wore the expression one might reserve for an inanimate object.
Yet Huaisi could only see the reflection of his own face in the gold-rimmed glasses, unable to make out the man’s features.
“Still can’t speak?” The man’s tone rose in a questioning lilt, though it held no real query merely tossing the question out into the air.
The blade glowing with rippling blue light lifted Huaisi’s chin, casting a gorgeous sheen across his pale skin. His uplifted face looked flawless, bearing no resemblance to the half-shorn visage left by his previous encounter with the blade. Without hesitation, Huaisi suddenly reached out and grabbed the edge of the blade, ignoring the piercing shocks of electricity as he grasped it firmly. The blade sliced straight through his palm, blood flooding the entire weapon and dripping crimson drops that had no time to fall before they abruptly reversed direction, surging straight toward Cheng Chui.
However, Cheng Chui was no longer standing in his original spot. Having shifted instantly to another location, his gaze remained calm, though the blue-glowing blade was no longer in his hand.
Huaisi’s eyes turned entirely golden, his vertical pupils locking dead onto Cheng Chui. He launched “Blood” to pursue Cheng Chui’s figure, still gripping that blade tightly despite the net’s electric shocks.
As more and more “Blood” attacks were unleashed, Zhai Ziyan and the others inside the room could not escape unharmed. A cut opened up on Cheng Chui’s arm, soaking his shirt in blood. He glanced at the wound without pausing to bandage it; with a blink, his figure vanished, reappearing right in front of Huaisi. Through the mesh of the net, his left hand clamped around Huaisi’s neck while his right hand gripped the hilt of the blade. His hand enveloped Huaisi’s hand which was still clutching the weapon, their blood mingling as the blade cut into both palms Cheng Chui’s bright red blending with Huaisi’s darker hue, merging like two distinct streams of crimson into one.
With a sudden burst of strength in his left hand, Cheng Chui tightened his grip inch by inch. His large hand brushed against rough threads, lingering to stroke the needle and thread sealing the wound on that slender white neck. His large hand completely encircled the pale neck, which was so thin it looked like it could snap with a single bend. A flash of fleeting surprise crossed his eyes. With the base of his thumb pressing hard against Huaisi’s throat, he applied pressure that forced Huaisi’s head to tilt backward. Even though Huaisi didn’t need to breathe, the action of constricting his neck entirely checked and balanced him, forcing his head back like a drowning person gasping for air near the surface of water a bizarre, harrowing aesthetic of cruelty etched vividly across his slender, pale jawline and the scarred skin of his neck.
It evoked the image of a taboo-breaking demon punished by the gods, experiencing an agony in its final moments that stirred a deep, primordial sense of pleasure within the divine mind much like the peak sensation that floods every cell of a human body facing imminent death, when both adrenaline and sympathetic nerves reach an extreme state of excitation.
Huaisi’s vertical pupils began to tremble uncontrollably, his entire body shaking alongside them. Electric currents coursed through his frame, and the mortal threat of having his throat tightly clamped brought tears unbidden to his eyes. Red trails streaked down his pale cheeks not born of sorrow or physical pain, but generated by the sheer, ecstatic pinnacle of near-death danger, an ultimate sensation that could not be casually triggered, attainable only when teetering over a collapsing cliff edge that plunged into a bottomless abyss.
With his head tilted back, his lips parted slightly, and his vertical pupils unfocused, a white flash tore through his mind again, leaving him unaware that a certain release had broken loose somewhere within his zombie body.
Instinctively raising his free hand, Huaisi clawed at Cheng Chui’s left hand, razor-sharp nails tearing through Cheng Chui’s skin. At that touch, Cheng Chui’s lightning-fast motion of withdrawing his blade paused for a fraction of a second, and a look of open astonishment crossed the eyes behind his lenses. The moment Huaisi’s hand touched him, an unfamiliar sensation surged straight into his body, racing up his bones to his spine and cascading downward especially when the back of his hand was scratched open, turning that sensation into something deeply uncanny.
It felt as though a sacred taboo had been shattered.
It brought a man of his habitual composure to the verge of losing his grip entirely.
With a deafening explosion, gunpowder smoke filled the air and a wall collapsed inward. The spot just battered by the blast was empty; in the blink of an eye, Cheng Chui had already shifted elsewhere, his right hand gripping the blue blade while his left hand released its hold. Huaisi, still bound inside the net, tumbled to the floor by his feet with a dazed expression on his face. His bewildered vertical pupils registered Cheng Chui’s gaze, and he looked up like a lost, fur-bearing wild beast.
Without lingering, Cheng Chui snapped his gaze away toward the newcomer. Meeting an incoming strike head-on, he hastily cut down his linear distance to a nearby table, yet still took the blow squarely, slamming into the wall before sliding downward. Wiping away a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, he gestured toward his temple, making the shape of a gun pointing right at it like an executioner pulling a trigger, and delivered the same refrain:
“Anger makes people lose their reason, Xie Shouchan. You’re making it far too easy for me to kill you right now.”
Xie Shouchan pulled his gaze away from Huaisi trapped inside the net. Originally filled with worry, the moment he saw Huaisi’s condition, his expression turned pitch black. Crimson slowly bled across his eyes, sharp as a blade poised to eviscerate someone, vowing to grind Cheng Chui completely to dust.
“Then come and try, let’s see whether you tear me to pieces first, or you kill me first.”