At the sight of Jiang Tao, Jiang Congwen grew visibly excited. He immediately grabbed both of the young man’s hands, letting out a heavy sigh of relief upon seeing he was uninjured. “It’s good that you’re back—just good that you’re back. Don’t go pulling reckless stunts like this ever again!”
Jiang Congwen had never allowed Jiang Tao to head out on field missions; this time, Jiang Tao had taken a squad and slipped away entirely on his own.
His display of genuine concern fell full into Jiang Ran’s eyes.
Jiang Ran’s dark gaze remained completely devoid of emotion, placid as a pool of stagnant water.
As if only just noticing Jiang Ran, Jiang Tao lifted his chin high, speaking with a touch of arrogant pride: “Dad, I heard about what happened at the base. Don’t worry—I have a solution.”
The statement sent a shockwave through the room.
Every esper in the base turned to stare at Jiang Tao—except for Jiang Ran.
Jiang Tao swept his gaze across the crowd, thoroughly enjoying the intense eager anticipation filling their eyes.
With absolute confidence, he announced: “On this trip, I brought back Dr. Yang, a leading biologist, along with several test zombies. Dr. Yang has already developed a drug that, once injected into a zombie, forces a rapid mutation and evolution into a super-high-tier entity. Under Dr. Yang’s chemical control, these monsters will obey commands from us humans. And super-high-tier zombies can naturally command the lower-level hordes.”
For the base, this was indeed a earth-shattering piece of good news.
It meant they would no longer have to clash head-on with the undead.
No more putting their lives on the line.
They could even drive these controlled monsters to wipe out the ordinary hordes before eliminating the controlled ones at the very end—eradicating every last zombie without sacrificing a single soldier.
Xu Feiyan was the first to step forward in support of Jiang Tao: “Fantastic! Chief, with a drug like this, our base can not only eradicate the zombies and reclaim human territory, but we can also force every other base to bow to us! If the zombie threat is extinguished through our research, our base will become the supreme ruling authority of the post-apocalyptic world!”
To become heroes and rulers over all of mankind, completely liberated from the constant dread of turning into monsters—wasn’t this the kind of power ordinary people like them couldn’t even dream of before the end times?
Drawn in by the glorious vision Xu Feiyan painted, Jiang Congwen’s eyes sparkled brighter by the second.
“Good, good, good! As expected of my son!” He looked at Jiang Tao with glowing approval, filled with immense anticipation for the plan. “Then I’m placing this matter entirely in your hands. I hereby announce that starting today, everyone in the base will follow Group Leader Jiang Tao’s orders and fully cooperate with him to produce this drug in bulk!”
Amidst the crowd’s cheerful agreement, Jiang Ran alone remained motionless as a mountain.
His tone was icy and thin: “The higher a zombie’s tier, the closer its cognitive ability approaches that of a human. No conscious entity will ever remain a submissive puppet. If you plan to round up ordinary zombies just to force them into super-high-tier monsters, be careful not to play with fire and burn yourselves to ash.”
Jiang Ran hated zombies—despised them to his very core—and everyone in the base was well aware of it.
Hearing his warning, the crowd simply assumed he was unwilling to stoop to relying on monsters.
Several neutral squad leaders chimed in: “Group Leader Jiang, please rest assured. We only intend to use zombies to fight zombies. Once those unruly hordes are wiped out, we will immediately execute the ones controlled by our drug. Not a single monster will be left alive to threaten humanity.”
Jiang Tao, however, saw it differently.
He was convinced Jiang Ran was simply bitter that he was finally about to achieve something monumental—surpassing his prestige—and was spewing poison just to undermine morale.
“Dr. Yang has already run countless tests,” Jiang Tao declared proudly. “These controlled zombies follow his commands to the letter—if he tells them to head east, they won’t dare march west. All we lack right now is a large supply of raw medicinal materials to manufacture the drug in bulk. Our only duty is to gather resources and assist Dr. Yang.”
With that, he clapped his hands, oozing supreme confidence: “Bring it in!”
Everyone turned their eyes toward the door.
Two base esper guards stepped inside, escorting a towering zombie whose flesh was utterly decayed yet physically massive.
To everyone’s shock, its eyes were a deep, mesmerizing blue.
Those dark blue pupils resembled an endless ocean, instilling an instinctive chill of terror in anyone who caught their gaze.
A super-high-tier zombie. This was a monster none of them had ever encountered in person.
Yet rumors among the espers claimed that anyone who ran into a super-high-tier entity ended up dead—or turned into one of them.
The team leaders in the conference room involuntarily recoiled, stumbling back several steps in sheer fright.
Jiang Tao laughed smoothly: “Don’t be afraid, everyone. Right now, this creature obeys my every command.”
He clapped his hands once more, turning his gaze toward Jiang Ran: “Since my dear elder brother remains skeptical, why don’t you help us demonstrate?”
He pulled out a silver handbell, gave it three crisp shakes, and issued a direct order to the monster: “Go pouring a cup of tea for my big brother.”
Everyone in the base knew how deeply Jiang Ran despised zombies, and Jiang Tao was no exception.
Jiang Ran cast a frigid glance at Jiang Tao, a smile on his lips that failed to reach his eyes: “Did I ever tell you to stop being an eyesore in front of me?”
Seeing Jiang Ran’s rising ire, Jiang Tao offered a light, mocking smile: “Don’t be angry, Brother. Am I not just venting your frustration for you? You hate zombies, so I’m making one submit to you, serve you, and grovel at your feet.”
Jiang Ran offered no reply. The tea station sat right near the entrance, and the blue-eyed zombie had already glided over to the water dispenser.
With surprising dexterity, it poured a cup of water, turned around, and walked toward Jiang Ran.
Those deep blue eyes looked cold and blank.
Holding the cup in both hands, it arrived before Jiang Ran, dropped to its knees, and raised the water high above its head, offering it with complete reverence.
The crowd gasped in absolute amazement.
They could actually control zombies—and a super-high-tier one at that!
It was as if they were already staring at the dawn of victory—a world where the undead were wiped out, the apocalypse was brought to an end, and they stood as supreme rulers over all mankind.
Yet Jiang Ran didn’t miss the sinister, malicious gleam that flickered across the monster’s eyes the very second it dropped to its knees.
He stared down at the creature and reached a hand out, appearing as if he meant to take the cup.
It was precisely at that split second that Jiang Tao subtly gave the bell a light, unnoticeable shake.
And it was also at that exact instant that crackling arcs of violent lightning exploded from Jiang Ran’s palm, blasting straight into the blue-eyed zombie’s chest.
A deafening crackle and pop reverberated through the conference room, scattering the panicked crowd.
The sheer pressure of raw electrical energy was so intense it made everyone’s hair stand straight up.
The zombie stiffened and collapsed to the floor. Before it even hit the ground, Jiang Ran effortlessly snatched the cup from its fingers, stood up, and strode menacingly toward Jiang Tao.
His sudden strike left everyone too stunned to react.
No one had anticipated that Jiang Ran would abruptly obliterate their sole test subject.
The crowd stared at him in utter disbelief, assuming that had been their one and only specimen.
Xu Feiyan couldn’t contain his rage and roared: “Jiang Ran, you’ve gone too far! That was our only hope! You’re turning yourself into an enemy of the entire base!”
Jiang Congwen’s face darkened with fury as he glared at Jiang Ran: “You had better give me a satisfying explanation for this!”
Jiang Ran approaches Jiang Tao, casually tugs open his collar, and pours the ice-cold water down his shirt. As the chilling liquid drips down Jiang Tao’s neck, Jiang Tao clenches his fists in silent fury. Before his anger can erupt, Jiang Ran tightly grips his throat and lifts him off his feet, choking off his breath despite Jiang Tao’s desperate efforts to pry his hands away.
Fearing that an enraged Jiang Ran might destroy the entire base before any zombie threat can, Jiang Congwen hastily steps in, adopting a cautious and pacifying tone to plead for Jiang Tao’s life. Jiang Ran holds Jiang Tao near the point of suffocation before violently throwing him against the wall. Spitting up blood, Jiang Tao collapses in a disheveled heap. Jiang Ran glares at him with utter contempt, reminding him that he only breathes because of a promise made to their grandfather, and warns him to stay far away if he values his life.
Paralyzed by Jiang Ran’s overt lethal intent, no one dares to provoke him further. They are reminded of his utter ruthlessness—recalling how, three months prior when he first arrived at the base, he shot his own mother without a moment’s hesitation the instant she turned into a zombie.