At the exact moment the cloaked zombie suddenly surged forward, trying to escape—
A blinding blue-purple bolt of lightning tore through the air, like a coiled serpent suddenly striking, piercing its chest with pinpoint precision!
“Pfft—”
Accompanied by the sizzling sound of burning flesh, the violent electrical energy exploded in front of its chest, creating a bowl-sized hole.
Wisps of blue smoke curled from the charred edges, and through this terrifying cavity, the swaying wild grass behind it could even be seen clearly.
Its heart, which had already stopped beating, completely vaporized the instant it was struck, leaving nothing but emptiness.
The zombie felt no pain.
Its twisted mouth even curled slightly into a mocking sneer.
Heart?
This foolish human actually thought the heart was its weakness.
Even with its chest scorched by lightning, it could still move freely.
A high-level lightning user?
What about a dual-ability master?
In the end, could they truly kill it—
Before the thought even faded, a tremendous force suddenly lifted it into the air.
Thick vines, writhing like living snakes, coiled around it, binding it tightly.
A golden dagger pressed steadily against its forehead; the cold touch made its psychic core tremble violently.
Zhou Wangye controlled the water flow, infused with fine electric currents, completely paralyzing the zombie’s last struggles.
“Dig!”
With this cold command, He Sheng drove the golden dagger into its forehead without hesitation.
Accompanied by the crunch of skull bone, a crystalline, high-level core was precisely extracted, refracting strange light under the sun.
The fierce gleam in the cloaked zombie’s eyes instantly vanished, leaving in its final consciousness only the looming figure above it—and the core now in its fingertips, which belonged to the zombie.
Lin Ran, sitting in the back of the business car, watched the entire battle unfold.
She had to admit—the male lead’s power was terrifying.
The once-feared zombie king was killed in just a couple of blows.
Gu Xiangwan, now fully awake, looked at him with even greater admiration.
President Zhou, one day I will stand openly by your side.
But the next second, that admiration was replaced by jealousy.
Because a column of water lifted the core directly to Lin Ran.
She examined the psychic zombie core carefully.
About the size of a quail egg, its color was mostly transparent with a hint of white.
Set against the water column, it gleamed brilliantly.
It was hard to imagine such a thing had grown inside a zombie’s brain.
Zhou Wangye noticed her pause and reminded her: “It’s your core.”
Lin Ran didn’t reach for it immediately. Stammering, she said, “Big brother, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have fussed over this zombie core and nearly caused you to get hurt. I was wrong…”
Please don’t hold a grudge, don’t throw me into a pile of zombies.
She truly hadn’t expected the early-stage zombie king to be so powerful.
She had only wanted to see if she could alter the story.
Now that the zombie king was dead ahead of schedule, it proved the plot could indeed be changed.
Could that mean her fate as the malicious side character could also be altered?
Zhou Wangye had seen her like this before.
Droopy and feeble, like a sick Persian cat—pitiful to look at.
He cleared his throat: “I decided this. It has nothing to do with you. Take it quickly—we still have another place to go.”
Lin Ran looked up, seeing Zhou Wangye’s expression strangely indifferent.
In some ways, the male lead was very reasonable.
She couldn’t help but gain a bit more respect for him.
Seeing Lin Ran regain her composure from just his words, Zhou Wangye thought: Does she love me that much?
He sighed. “I’ve already given you the zombie core as you requested. From now on, you must behave and not cause trouble again.”
Lin Ran happily took the core in her hands. “Mm-hmm, I’ll listen! If you tell me to go east, I won’t go west.”
Zhou Wangye turned his face away, watching her: “You’d better mean it.”
At that moment, Gu Xiangwan approached. “Sorry, President Zhou. Just now I was controlled by the zombie and nearly hurt you. It’s because I wasn’t strong enough… From now on, I will—”
Zhou Wangye cut her off decisively: “It’s not your fault. That psychic zombie is already at the peak of high-level. It’s normal that it could control you.”
Everyone knew this was just a comforting remark.
After all, Zhou Wangye had just advanced to a high-level lightning user himself.
But when the boss speaks, there’s no room to argue—you take the hint.
Gu Xiangwan added: “Miss Lin Ran is impressive—she wasn’t controlled by the cloaked zombie at all and stayed conscious in the car.”
Lin Ran immediately retorted: “What do you mean? Are you saying I should have gotten out and helped? I did try, but He Sheng held me in the seat—what could I do?”
He Sheng, having been mentioned, stayed silent but nodded to Zhou Wangye to confirm the situation.
Zhou Wangye cast a look of appreciation at He Sheng—well done.
Thankfully, Lin Ran hadn’t gotten out to cause chaos; otherwise, his plan might have failed.
Curiously, he looked at Lin Ran—another high-level spatial user. Even Gu Xiangwan had been temporarily controlled by the zombie, but Lin Ran stayed fully conscious, her mental strength nearly matching his.
Of course—the daughter of Aunt Meng couldn’t possibly be weak.
“Big brother, what kind of look is that?” Lin Ran asked preemptively, not wanting her spirit spring water secret exposed.
She raised her right hand, showing the bloody mark on her tiger palm, speaking boldly: “Your bodyguard did this. When I was about to be controlled by the cloaked zombie, he squeezed my hand hard, keeping me conscious.”
“Waaah, my hand is broken!” she cried, pretending to sob.
He Sheng scratched his head awkwardly. “Sorry, President Zhou. I had no other choice. I wanted to knock Miss out like you did with Meng Yan, but couldn’t reach—so I had to squeeze her tiger palm. My grip was too strong, that’s why it bled.”
Secretary Wang looked on sympathetically—he truly pitied He Sheng. The young lady had an exceptional memory for grudges.
Zhou Wangye said: “You did very well.”
Though his eyes held a trace of apology—He Sheng would likely be tormented by Lin Ran for a while.
He Sheng, however, was unbothered. He saw the young lady’s antics as harmless play, nothing serious.
At most, she’d put laxatives in cups, insects in blankets, or mustard in ointment—trivial matters.
The only caution was that she wouldn’t truly endanger anyone.
Zhou Wangye pulled Lin Ran up. “Alright, don’t cry. Let me see your wound.”
Lin Ran, ever resourceful, stretched her right hand forward.
On her fair, slender hand, a deep purple fingernail mark was imprinted on the tiger palm, the flesh broken and bleeding, standing out sharply against her smooth skin.
The grip had been strong, but there was still some mercy.
He Sheng saw it and gasped.
He hadn’t realized the young lady’s skin was so delicate and quickly retrieved the first aid kit from his back: “My ex specially reminded me to bring this in case she got hurt.”
He picked up a cotton swab to treat the wound, but Zhou Wangye raised his hand to stop him.
“I’ll do it.”
The moment the alcohol-soaked swab touched the wound, Lin Ran shivered violently but bit her lip, making no sound.
She remembered—they were outdoors in a post-apocalyptic world, and she didn’t want to attract more zombies.
But she was truly afraid of pain; in her past life, she had always dreaded it.
Tears pooled in her eyes, but she blinked rapidly to endure.
Zhou Wangye watched her silently endure the pain, feeling an inexplicable tightening in his chest.
The little girl who used to cry for candy had now learned to bear silently.
He eased his movements, softening his voice as he coaxed her like in childhood: “Hold on a bit longer, it won’t hurt soon.”
Sniffling, Lin Ran replied softly, “Alright.”
Zhou Wangye saw the bruising on her arm, probably caused when he had dragged her.
Unexpectedly, Lin Ran hadn’t even flinched.
He lowered his gaze, a flicker of tenderness in his eyes.
Outside the perimeter, Gu Xiangwan quietly watched, focusing on Zhou Wangye’s concentrated profile and the gentleness in his eyes that had once shone toward her.
Her nails dug deep into her palms, but she felt no pain at all.