A sharp dagger ended the man’s life painlessly. When the red crystal nucleus was removed from his viscous brain, no one felt any joy.
In the past, when they killed a certain zombie and obtained a red crystal nucleus, they would applaud each other in celebration.
But now, all that lingered among them was inexplicable sadness.
What they had just killed was not a mindless zombie, but a living being with self-awareness and rigorous logic. He had been here for fifty years, longing for an end.
The long-haired ability user stared at the bearded man, who was holding the red crystal nucleus in his hand, with complex eyes.
He leaned heavily against the wall and gasped, asking hysterically, “If the zombies appeared because of the experiment’s rampage, then what distinguishes us from the zombies? What is the difference?”
“What kind of beings are we ability users?” His established worldview collapsed rapidly, and he pounded his chest, asking, “Who are we?”
Everyone fell into silence because they didn’t know how to answer the long-haired ability user.
“Let’s leave this place first,” Dr. Sang silently glanced at Bai Lixin. “Now is not the time to reconstruct our worldview. This man just said that after the laboratory explosion, many subjects escaped, and it’s very likely that there are still experimental subjects hiding here.”
The bearded man tried to lighten the mood by pinching the red crystal nucleus. “Yes, fourth brother, I’ll accompany you to figure things out once we get out of here. If we really exist like zombies, you won’t be alone. We’ll be there with you.”
The long-haired ability user seemed to realize his mistake. He took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m sorry for losing my temper. Let’s go.”
Afterward, silence hung over the heads of the group as they continued on the road.
During their search, they discovered the experimenter’s office. The shelves were mostly empty, and the remaining scattered papers only contained date information of no special value.
While rummaging through the cabinet, Bai Lixin stumbled upon an epaulette. The metal material on it was rusted, but it could still be used to determine the nationality of the former participants in the laboratory.
“Come and see this! There are photos here!” Naia’s voice echoed in the dilapidated laboratory. Bai Lixin wrapped the epaulettes in a piece of cloth, put them in his backpack, and followed the voice.
Using his telekinetic power, Naia carefully retrieved a damaged and weathered photo from a narrow cabinet.
Due to the material, the surface of the photo had faded, with crisscrossing lines and mottled patches. Apart from the clothes worn by the individuals in the photo, their faces had become indistinct.
Fearful of causing further damage, Naia held his breath and placed the photo carefully on the table.
The photo depicted a group of people, but the upper part of the photo was mostly invisible. However, based on their crisp clothes and white coats, it could be deduced that this group belonged to a certain official organization.
But they weren’t fools. If this laboratory could be established near a nuclear power plant, it couldn’t be a secret non-governmental organization.
The photo simply made it clearer.
What truly drew everyone’s attention in the photo was not the military uniforms and white coats, but the figure at the center.
That person was naked, and though the photo had faded, it was still possible to discern their fair complexion through the overexposed white areas.
“He” was exceptionally tall, with the position of his shoulders reaching near the chests of ordinary people.
“His” arms were bound by sturdy chains. Despite appearing pale and thin, the blue veins bulging on the back of his hands still convey a sense of strength.
His arms hang naturally, modestly covering his private parts.
Covering “his” pale body are mysterious black patterns, forming a circle.
For a moment, Bai Lixin recalled the zombie king he had encountered in Dr. Sang’s spiritual realm.
Although the chest and above were not visible in the photo, the creature in the picture beares resemblance to the Zombie King in terms of body shape, body patterns, and skin color.
Bai Lixin discreetly glanced at Dr. Sang. Although Dr. Sang maintained his expressionless face, his slightly flickering eyes revealed his surprise.
Dr. Sang blinked, noticing the other person’s gaze shifting towards him. Sensing this, Bai Lixin quickly averted his eyes.
The bearded man pointed at the figure in the middle and spoke, “Usually, these scientists only take photos with valuable research subjects. With so many people in this photo, this creature might be the root cause. Someone on the ark can restore the photos. Perhaps we can uncover the original appearance of the root cause for this world disaster.”
He cautioned Naia, saying, “Be careful not to damage it.”
Naia acted with greater caution and carefully enveloped the photo, which could easily scatter in the wind, using his telekinetic power. He placed it in a transparent bag and placed it in his backpack.
Dr. Sang surveyed the surroundings and said, “Let’s go. It seems this is all there is here.”
The bearded man looked at Dr. Sang with suspicion and asked, “Dr. Sang, what were you searching for here? It seems like you’ve already obtained what you wanted.”
Dr. Sang, without batting an eye, replied, “I came here based on information I found in a predecessor’s notebook. I wanted to see if there was anything useful for future research, something that could assist us.”
“Only after arriving did I realize that the trip was truly worthwhile.” He maintained his indifferent tone, but his sarcasm was evident to everyone. “What a delightful surprise it was.”
The bearded man glanced around the dilapidated office and thought about the tormented experiment subject they had encountered. He sighed and said, “Let’s go, let’s retreat.”
As they made their way back, they passed by that room again.
The once “lavish” room had now completely withered.
Countless low-level crystal nuclei fell from above, scattered carelessly, resembling autumn jujubes, and no one bothered to pick them up.
The deceased experiment subject’s body rapidly shriveled. In just half an hour, his body turned into cracked, whitish ashes.
A gust of wind would turn it into countless powders, dispersing them in the air.
The surroundings lacked color, filled only with solitude, pain, and the long dark night.
Bai Lixin sighed inwardly, silently reciting the player’s name in his mind before turning away.
He knew that, in reality, another human had vanished into thin air without reason.
That player could never return.
Everyone glanced around briefly, then quickly averted their gazes. Even in helplessness, life had to go on.
———————————
Inside the live broadcast room, the previous humorous comments had disappeared. Everyone silently observed the lonely corpse and began typing messages on the screen.
[A moment of silence.]
[May our comrade rest in peace and have a smooth journey ahead.]
[I’ve noted down his name and address. If, by chance, I return to the real world with my memories intact, I’ll make sure to look after him.]
[Safe travels, good brother.]
————————-
The return path was clear, a long and narrow corridor.
The lights above flickered more intensely than when they had arrived, and the electrical sounds of “stab, stan, stab” seemed to resonate throughout the entire laboratory, reaching every corner.
With the aid of dim lighting, they caught a glimpse of the elevator in the distance.
As he passed by a hospital bed, Bai Lixin once again felt the sensation of being watched. This time, he was certain it wasn’t an illusion.
His shoulders tensed abruptly, and he instinctively grabbed Dr. Sang’s wrist, shielding him while vigilantly scanning the ward.
The pristine white bed cover that should have concealed the dried corpse was lifted, and the corpse had long since vanished.
Suddenly, a black shadow darted across above their heads, prompting the bald man to shout, “Be careful!”
The group immediately armored up to shield Bai Lixin and Dr. Sang, crouching down and vigilantly directing their attention towards the ceiling.
With a crisp “bang,” one of the lights above went out completely, and countless shards rained down from the corridor ceiling.
Darkness descended abruptly.
In the darkness, Bai Lixin heard the bearded man shout, “Naia, open the mind barrier!”
After about a second, the bearded man suddenly shouted again from overhead, “Naia, open the mind barrier!”
Reacting like a soldier, Naia almost instinctively opened a gap in the barrier wall that he had just created.
But the moment he opened it, the bearded man shouted again, “That’s not what I said! Damn it, quickly close it! This monster can imitate our voices!”
Naia was about to close it, and the bearded man’s voice rang out again, “That’s not what I said earlier! Damn it, this monster can imitate our voices!”
Due to being more than ten floors underground, as the lights went out, complete darkness enveloped them.
Someone tried to take out a flashlight, but upon reaching for it, they realized the flashlight was gone.
“Two captains” had assigned different tasks. Naia pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, and only created a force field around Bai Lixin and Dr. Sang. “My force field can resist almost all external attacks. As long as you remain within the barrier, you’ll be safe from harm.”
The black shadow outside seemed to move at incredible speed, darting from one side to another in an instant.
In this pitch-black darkness, the act of opening or closing one’s eyes held no meaning for Bai Lixin.
Glowing blood-red threads emanated from his surroundings. As soon as the red threads appeared, Bai Lixin realized that there weren’t just one or two white dots hovering above them, but five or six.
Though the white spots appeared small, the moment he activated his spiritual domain, his body froze.
Behind them, within the mind barrier, a large white spot had silently approached without them even realizing it.
It stood motionless behind him and Dr. Sang, its presence going completely unnoticed.
In the darkness, Dr. Sang gently released his hand from Bai Lixin’s grip and took hold of it himself.
His cold and rough fingers tightly held Bai Lixin’s hand, and his index finger lightly traced over Bai Lixin’s palm, writing the word “don’t move.”
Dr. Sang keenly sensed the changes in Bai Lixin and gradually transferred his strength to him.
Then, Dr. Sang wrote a few more words: “Split.”
Split.
Bai Lixin was momentarily stunned, but he instantly understood the meaning behind the words.
The ability of this monster is to split.
As expected, the bearded man followed the voice and attacked the monster in the darkness. However, the white dots didn’t disappear; they multiplied from one to two, and then from two to four.
Force alone couldn’t eliminate them; it only increased their numbers.
Dr. Sang wrote a few more words: “Capture the king.”
To capture the thief, you must first capture the king.
But was the monster behind them the king?
The monster behind Bai Lixin stood silently, showing no intention of making a move. He strained his ears and heard faint struggling sounds.
Bai Lixin glanced towards the man concealed in the darkness, relaxing his shoulders and smiling inwardly.
Ah, it seemed that the monster behind him had already been under the man’s control for quite some time.
He only maintained the façade of an “ordinary person” and didn’t reveal himself.
From this perspective, the person behind him couldn’t be the “king,” or else the man wouldn’t have said what he did.
If not, then the “king” must be somewhere else.
Thinking this way, thousands of radiant red threads spread out in an instant, winding around every corner of the laboratory.
In the hospital bed, within the floor, ceiling, and sewer, all spaces fell within the reach of the red threads.
Finally, Bai Lixin discovered a bright white spot in a corner of the sewer.
This white spot was about the size of a human body and could be the zombie he had seen the previous night.
Bai Lixin proceeded cautiously, directing all the red threads towards the white light.
The speed was so fast but just as the red threads were about to pierce the white spot, it suddenly shrank and disappeared from Bai Lixin’s spiritual realm in an instant.
Simultaneously, all the struggling sounds ceased abruptly, as if objects were falling from above and hitting the ground with a heavy “thud.” Alongside this, the sound of metal hitting the ground could be heard.
“It seems to be flashlights,” the voice of the long-haired ability user spoke in the darkness, followed by the rustling of clothes. The next second, the flashlights were turned on, and with the return of light, everyone finally saw the scene before them clearly.
It was a swarm of small winged zombies, densely packed together. They had deformed bodies with pointed heads and were lying on the ground like bats.
Due to their small size and the cover of darkness, they had easily snatched the flashlights from everyone.
One by one, the group retrieved their flashlights, and the Naia looked at Bai Lixin with concern. Just as the light turned, they heard a loud thud as something hit the wall.
Following the sound, a slightly larger bat-shaped zombie was embedded in the wall, it stumbled and then fell to the ground.
Dr. Sang quietly withdrew his foot and remarked expressionlessly under the flashlight’s glow, “Oh, my foot slipped.”
Everyone: “…”
Bai Lixin: “…”
Do you feel like you’re getting old and humorous?
————————-
In the live broadcast room:
[Hahaha, my mask has been lifted. Is the boss a hidden comedian?]
[“Oh, slippery feet,” as expected of a big boss. God Xin is slightly inferior compared to you.]
[No way, unless God Xin reveals himself.]
[Laughing so hard, spread the word, the big boss is shameless.]
[No, the big boss is not only unbothered but may even think irritably, “Why do you need excuses when you’re like me?”]
[Hahaha.]
———————
Although it was unclear why they stopped attacking, the ability users were completely taken aback.
The speed was so fast that Bai Lixin, who was stunned by Dr. Sang’s cold humor, didn’t have a chance to react.
Contrary to expectations, the bat-shaped zombie didn’t die after being severed. It lacked a crystal nucleus, and its body visibly healed rapidly, splitting into two identical bat-shaped zombies.
