Chapter 22: The first appearance of the zombie king (2)
A cold hand squeezed Chi Xin’s tight shoulder and she almost reflexively turned around and stabbed the hero.
Jing Xiubai’s face was slightly pale and despite the tense situation, he still reached out and pushed his glasses first. Yu Xiang had once said that if Jing Xiubai didn’t push his glasses first, the matter must be very serious.
Jing Xiubai looked at the Zombie King and calmly analyzed: “The highest level of zombies known to mankind is level four. Level four have basic intelligence, a relatively normal appearance, and the ability to command lower zombies.”
The Zombie King nodded as if he was encouraging him to continue.
“That’s not what you are.” Jing Xiubai concluded, “Who are you?”
“Should I thank you for asking me who I am instead of what?”
“No need.”
Chi Xin recalled that when the hero had seen the Zombie King for the first time in the movie, he had barely been alive. He had been at his weakest point and had encountered his strongest opponent, yet he had also calmly questioned the Zombie King and fought for himself and his companions.
But perhaps because the current team was still complete and Chi Xin had transmigrated, Jing Xiubai’s expression was calmer than it had been in the movie and he stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with her.
The Zombie King narrowed his slender eyes as if he was only noticing him. His cold gaze sized him up with a chilling smile.
Everything that was happening was conflicting with Chi Xin’s knowledge and she stared back at the Zombie King. He met her gaze abruptly and the emotions in his eyes were almost overflowing, stunning Chi Xin. She wanted to explore the meaning behind them but the Zombie King retracted his gaze.
Jing Xiubai’s pupils shrunk for a second. He stayed silent but a cloud of cold air slowly condensed around him.
“You have always been the best product among us.” The Zombie King gave a fake laugh, “Your ability was the strongest but you were also the fastest to adapt. All day long, I was tied to the operation table… I was very jealous.”
The last sentence was said with a joking tone but his mood was grim. Jing Xiubai’s gaze became sharper and the Zombie King’s humming became hoarse.
“You also have memories of this place, don’t you?” He whispered, “It’s a place even worse than Hell. All the people who came out were no longer humans.”
His eyes were dark and fixed on Jing Xiubai.
Chi Xin looked at Jing Xiubai. The corners of his eyes were red, like a beast cornered. His lips were tightly pressed and his muscles were tense.
“Wait, wait.” Yu Xiang suddenly raised his hand and his carefree voice broke the strained atmosphere.
“This… sir. Seeing you can breathe and talk, let’s call you sir first.”
He paused and added after a while: “You keep talking like a movie villain, then can you answer what we already asked— Who are you?”
His question attracted the Zombie King’s attention and his gaze moved to him, his eyes flashing. Yu Xiang was stunned and his mouth twitched: “What? For the record, I like girls, I’m not interested in guys.”
The Zombie King ignored his crazy words and glanced at Chi Xin again, an unreadable expression on his face.
Her internal alarm hadn’t stopped for a moment and she could feel evil attention coming from behind her. Her stiff hands and feet moved a little and she held her army knife in an oblique angle.
She was very dissatisfied with the Zombie King’s ability to beat around the bush and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“The Zombie King is supposed to be the most powerful of your kind. This… is kind of embarrassing.”
When her words fell, everybody’s eyes widened. Chi Xin stared at the Zombie King and added: “High-level zombies are not so psychotic, they just don’t have emotions anymore. They do not play and kill humans for fun.”
Now that she knew the enemy’s identity, Chi Xin did not back down despite the anxious mood. Jing Xiubai turned his head to look at her, a sudden light in his eyes.
“If I didn’t guess wrong, your ability should be mind control. I am guessing you commanded Han Yiyi to bring us here, am I right?”
Jing Xiubai’s expression calmed down as if he had finally realized what was happening.
“You are right, I am a monster. But I am different from those zombies and I am different from you. If you want revenge, you have come to the wrong place; the fault of those people should not be borne by the innocent.”
Jing Xiubai had wondered the same thing for so long. He had endured those cruel experiments and when the end of the world had come he had not felt so different from those monsters who looked like people. Numb, dead inside, just like those zombies. Their only difference was his human shell.
But now he had realized he was different. He was human, perhaps also a monster but with a beating heart, feelings, and hope.
His eyes became brighter as the Zombie King’s scowl became darker.
“We are the same, we both crawled out of the same place. You are simply pretending to be alive.”
Like in every movie, the villain took a cool pose to say his villain words and the Zombie King was no exception. He gave a low laugh, his voice almost inaudible.
“Revenge? No, these poor and ignorant human beings are not worth it.” He closed his eyes and opened his arms with enjoyment, “Kill.”
The now familiar stab of pain in her head struck again and Chi Xin frowned. She noticed Jiang Congyun was already looking pale and except for Jing Xiubai, the others looked greatly affected.
Only Han Yiyi’s eyes were blank and the plants around her began to move. The branches and leaves became thicker and bigger and sharp thorns grew on them.
Chi Xin and Jing Xiubai looked at each other and she wasn’t sure if she was reading him right. But at the same time, hoarse roars came from all directions and the zombies approached. Without the time to think, Chi Xin held her knife and suddenly moved.
She turned around and kicked Han Yiyi in the chest. Her body twisted agility and she cut the plant at the roots.
At the same time. Jing Xiubai released his accumulated power and cones of ice appeared everywhere in the sky and above the Zombie King, before stabbing him in the eyes and ribs.
He also divided his energy and protected Yu Xiang and the others with a thin layer of ice. When the shield of ice condensed, the group’s faces turned blue until they got better again.
Jiang Congyun stood up with the help of Chen Xing’s tall shoulders. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and a pale light suddenly appeared on everybody.
Chi Xin was enveloped by a warm feeling and instantly felt more energetic. While her actions were no different, her headache gradually eased.
“Cough…”
Han Yiyi did not have a system-enhanced body and had been kicked unceremoniously by Chi Xin. She lay on the ground and spat a mouthful of blood. Her eyes seemed less vacant and the leaves beside her wilted.