Chapter Seventy-Seven

Chapter Seventy-Seven

They had more pressing matters to attend to. Granny Wu led the others forward. Xu Fang, upon realizing he had been controlled by the zombie, vehemently denied it, claiming it impossible. They had no recollection of the event, only remembering running into a dense white fog and then seeing Granny Wu.

Lin An glanced at Shen Xiuzhe beside him, who had been silent since regaining consciousness, different from the others who had been controlled. Lin An wondered if Shen Xiuzhe remembered what had just happened.

He hesitated to ask, fearing Shen might find the memory embarrassing and prefer not to revisit it.

Yet, Lin An was curious, restlessly glancing at Shen Xiuzhe, quickly lowering his gaze whenever Shen looked his way, then sneaking peeks again.

"Do you have something to ask?" Shen Xiuzhe, aware of the obvious glances.

"You...never mind, I won’t ask," Lin An backed off.

"Ask."

"Oh, do you remember what happened earlier?"

"What happened?"

It seemed he didn't remember. Lin An felt relieved. Previously, when Shen Xiuzhe was out of his senses, he kept demanding compensation. Lin An didn’t know what to offer and had resorted to making empty promises, feeling guilty about it now.

Since he doesn't remember, it's best left that way.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Lin An immediately shook his head.

Shen Xiuzhe gave him several long looks, then said no more.

Strangely, the closer they got to the meteorite, the fewer zombies there were around.

Lin An, sensing the meteorite's presence, knew they were nearing it, but his sense of impending danger grew stronger. He gradually slowed down.

The others were also tense, a stark contrast to the earlier relaxed atmosphere. They felt the oppressive aura, a sign of powerful zombies nearby. Even though nothing was yet in sight, it felt like a heavy stone pressing on everyone's heart. So, when Lin An made a move, everyone immediately noticed.

"What's wrong?"

Lin An took a deep breath: "I'll go the rest of the way alone."

Ouyang Dong frowned: "We've all come this far together, let's continue as a group."

"No, you must have felt it too. The zombies near the meteorite are too strong for you to handle. I'll go alone; I'm a zombie too, so I won't be in danger. Once I get the meteorite, I'll come right back and then Xiao Duo can immediately store it in her space," Lin An was rarely this adamant.

Wu Duo: "I'll go too. As soon as I see the meteorite, I can put it in my space. And if we encounter a strong zombie, I can temporarily store it too, to minimize the fight. Isn't that what we agreed upon earlier?"

Xu Fang: "Let's go together, we're not afraid of death."

Wu Shuangxue: "Actually, Lin An is right. We would only be a hindrance."

Lin An looked at Shen Xiuzhe. In the team, if he and Granny Wu made a decision, no one else would object.

His dark, phoenix eyes stared intently at Lin An. He knew that despite Lin An's introverted and socially anxious appearance, he was actually very stubborn, as he had seen in the incident at Mo Wu City.

"Let's go together."

Lin An lowered his eyes.

"As we get closer, we won’t go further. You'll go alone to get the meteorite. If the zombies there don't attack you, we won't act. But if they do, we'll hold them off to buy you time," Shen Xiuzhe continued.

This plan was agreed upon by everyone.

They walked a short distance further. Although it wasn't far, each step was heavy, as if the air had solidified into a tangible weight, making every step burdensome as if carrying hundreds of pounds, making it difficult to move.

They finally left the streets and reached the central square.

The square was deserted, devoid of zombies or corpses, desolate as if no one had ever set foot there.

Yet, at the very center of the square lay a huge crater, and everyone knew that the meteorite was inside that pit.

The others stood still as Lin An slowly approached.

As he neared the large pit, he finally saw its entirety.

The pit was funnel-shaped, its top nearly a quarter of the square's size, but it narrowed considerably towards the bottom.

Lin An couldn't see the meteorite; instead, he spotted a zombie within.

Now a zombie himself, Lin An theoretically lacked normal human physiological responses; after all, his heart no longer beat. But at the sight of that zombie, his scalp tingled, and he felt as if struck hard in the chest, unable to utter a word.

That zombie was hideously ugly.

Horrifically, inhumanly so.

Its body resembled a fusion-type zombie, flesh-red and tumor-like, but elongated like a centipede. Its underside was covered with dense hands and feet, and its head region had numerous heads, some human, some zombie.

At that moment, the zombie was coiled up in the pit, sleeping, with all the heads' eyes closed.

Anyone with trypophobia would faint at first sight.

Lin An didn’t have trypophobia, nor did he faint, but he knew he couldn’t defeat this zombie.

It was too powerful, even more so than the zombie trees he had encountered before, which never gave him such an intense sense of oppression.

In the presence of this zombie, he felt utterly insignificant, any attack would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

He would die.

Lin An knew this clearly.

The mere presence of this one zombie guarding the meteorite kept others at bay. Other zombies didn't dare approach and just wandered around the town, and any zombies or humans that came close were likely devoured by it. Its body, with all those hands, feet, and heads, seemed like trophies, merged into its form.

Lin An wanted to run, to leave this place far behind and never return, but he still had a task to complete.

He needed to retrieve that meteorite, a promise he had made to everyone.

The zombie was long, coiled twice in the pit, but there was one spot with only a single coil. If he could step over it, he would reach the center. The meteorite should be right below.

Though uncertain why the zombie hadn’t devoured the meteorite, it was apparent that the energy emanating from the meteorite nourished it, making it incredibly powerful.

If zombies had ranks, this one would undoubtedly be the true king of zombies.

Lin An slid down the crater's side, careful not to make the slightest sound.

As he descended, the sight of countless hands and feet on either side of the zombie's body revealed the difficulty of crossing over. Worse, the flesh-red tumors on the zombie’s body were oozing yellow pus, disgustingly.

Lin An, appalled, turned his head away and closed his eyes for a moment, fighting nausea and discomfort. This wasn't about being squeamish anymore; repulsive or not, he had to move on.

Turning his head back, he cautiously placed one foot between two of the zombie’s “feet,” then slowly lifted his other foot to step across, toes landing between another pair on the opposite side.

It looked like he could succeed.

Planting his foot firmly, Lin An looked ahead and could now see the meteorite. Beneath the zombie, a hint of red was visible, and he knew instantly that it was the sought-after meteorite.

Just as he prepared to lift his other foot, Lin An cautiously glanced at the zombie and froze in an instant.

Embedded in the zombie’s head were numerous heads, one of which, a pale-faced human male, was directly facing Lin An, its expressionless face and unfocused black eyes wide open.

It was the only head among them with eyes open.

Lin An was certain that all eyes had been closed just moments before, but now one pair was unmistakably open.

He had been discovered!

Almost at that thought, all the eyes on the zombie’s body opened. Stared at by countless pairs of eyes, Lin An immediately thought of grabbing the meteorite and escaping, but the next second, the zombie’s massive “tail” swung towards him.

“Boom!”

The spot hit by the “tail” melted away, its yellow pus revealing a strong corrosive property, causing the soil to cave in and turn pitch black.

But Lin An was no longer there.

In the nick of time, he had transformed into mist, successfully escaping, now standing on the other side in a panic.

"What's happening?" Hearing the noise, his companions hurried over.

“Don’t come over,” Lin An urgently yelled.

The Zombie Emperor ignored the humans above, focusing first on dealing with the zombie daring to invade its territory.

All the limbs on either side of its body began to move, crawling like a centipede, using countless human limbs to navigate the pit. What was once a spacious pit now seemed incredibly narrow, forcing Lin An to repeatedly transform into mist to evade.

This can't go on; he needs to get the meteorite.

Lin An activated his special ability, attempting to absorb the moisture from the zombie's body.

This was his strongest move.

But he failed. The zombie was like a rock, a piece of deadwood, utterly unyielding a single drop of moisture. Despite its body oozing pus, Lin An's ability had no effect on it.

The zombie's numerous eyes blinked rapidly. Lin An felt the moisture in his body rapidly depleting, and although he quickly compensated with water from the air, he was shocked to find the zombie using the same ability as him, something he had never anticipated.

He tried his ability again, attempting to freeze the opponent, but just as he thought he had succeeded, the Zombie Emperor broke free from the ice.

It reared up like a snake, its myriad eyes looking down on Lin An. One of the human heads, that of a woman, slowly opened its mouth and spewed fire, not only melting the ice on its body but also directing the flames at Lin An.

Lin An dodged in disarray.

His hitherto invincible abilities were utterly ineffective against this zombie.

Only then did Lin An realize that the zombie possessed all types of abilities, with each head, or several heads, capable of using the same powers. He guessed during his evasion that perhaps the people and zombies eaten by this Zombie Emperor endowed it with their abilities.

If that were true, he stood no chance.

Blocked by earth abilities, scorched by fire, assaulted by lightning, and mentally tormented, Lin An was covered in dirt, unable to attend to his filth, merely focusing all his effort on evasion.

He was like an insect, playfully toyed with by the opponent, awaiting the moment of utter exhaustion and despair before being devoured.

Lin An had already foreseen his end.

Until now, he had not sought help from his companions. This zombie was too strong; others couldn’t handle it. They should leave quickly, go far away from here and never return.

Lin An wanted to convey this message, but he had no time. The Zombie Emperor was much faster. He could only scatter as mist, fleeing for his life, only to be trapped and frozen by the opponent with the same ability.

Lin An couldn’t escape; he was sealed in ice.

In a clash of identical abilities, the higher-level zombie had absolute control.

Just like a block of ice, both Lin An and the zombie could melt it into water or make it harder, but the decision to transform the ice into water or something else was dictated by the higher-level Zombie Emperor. Lin An had no power to resist.

The Zombie Emperor's limbs slid and crawled closer to Lin An. Encased in ice, Lin An saw countless heads near the block of ice, their mouths agape as if to gnaw on the ice.

They intended to devour him, assimilating him into a part of the Zombie Emperor.

Lin An wanted to cry, but his current state wouldn't allow it. He didn't want to die or be eaten. This zombie was too ugly and filthy. He yearned to live, to then take a clean bath.

The ice block, being gnawed at, crackled loudly and was about to reach Lin An.

Just then, Lin An heard voices from above; his companions were calling him.

"Lin An!"

"Where are you!"

"Damn, this zombie is hideous! Can't believe such an eyesore exists in the world."

"Where is he? Can't see Lin An below. Don't tell me he's been eaten."

"Shut up! That's impossible."

In his current state, Lin An could see several heads peering over the edge of the pit above. He wanted to warn everyone to run, but he couldn't speak.

Wu Duo looked down with a grave expression. She noticed only one zombie below and tried to encapsulate it in her space, but found it impossible.

Although she didn't know why she couldn't collect it, Wu Duo assumed the meteorite could still be gathered. Her gaze firmly fixed below, she searched for the red meteorite everywhere.

At that moment, the meteorite was completely obscured by the zombie. Wu Duo couldn't see it, so she couldn’t bring it into her space.

Shen Xiuzhe scanned the area below and, not seeing Lin An, felt a chilling aura envelop him, his face turning grim as if he was about to kill.

However, noticing the ice block being gnawed by the zombie, he remembered how Lin An could transform into a liquid form in the dungeon, instantly realizing that the gnawed ice block could very well be Lin An.

The next moment, he charged down with his sword drawn.

The blue blade struck the zombie, splattering yellow pus everywhere. Shen Xiuzhe, with ample combat experience, immediately dodged the pus, but his blade became rusted.

Shen Xiuzhe's sword, forged from special metal, wouldn't be damaged even by the hardest materials, but today, just one strike had rendered it useless.

The struck Zombie Emperor immediately redirected its focus, with numerous heads turning towards Shen Xiuzhe.

The area Shen Xiuzhe had just struck had already healed.

Glancing at the sword in his hand, Shen Xiuzhe tossed it aside and shouted upwards, "Wu Duo!"

Wu Duo immediately took out all the metal in her space.

A large amount of metal scattered near the pit, ready for Shen Xiuzhe to use at any time.

With a slight movement of his fingers, the metal above flew towards him, morphing into the shape of a sword. Shen Xiuzhe attacked the Zombie Emperor again, this time striking one of its feet.

The severed foot, belonging to the zombie, immediately oozed dark blood.

The flesh-colored body couldn't be cut due to its strong corrosiveness. It was estimated that a human would dissolve into water upon mere contact. However, other parts, like the numerous feet and heads, were cuttable.

Leveraging his agile form and combat experience, Shen Xiuzhe severed the zombie's feet one by one, while slowly shifting his position during its attacks, eventually moving next to the ice block.

"Lin An?" Having switched several swords, Shen Xiuzhe fought the zombie while asking the ice block behind him.

Lin An was currently unable to speak.

Suddenly, flames ignited below the ice block, melting it, and Lin An finally could revert to his human form.

"Run, this zombie is powerful, it has all types of abilities," Lin An shouted immediately upon transforming back, his voice trembling with fear from his near-death experience.

Without turning, Shen Xiuzhe reassured, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Lin An wanted to cry but restrained himself, biting his lip and nodding.

Wu Duo yelled from above, "Lure the zombie away a bit, I've spotted the meteorite!"

Shen Xiuzhe continued to sever the zombie's feet, but this time, the zombie didn't let him continue unchallenged and began attacking with various abilities.

Soon, Shen Xiuzhe was covered in wounds, but he kept attacking. The swords he used piled up, corroded, broken, and damaged by abilities. This zombie was indeed extraordinarily strong.

But Shen Xiuzhe remained calm, positioning Lin An behind him for support. Whenever the zombie used an ability, Lin An's ice abilities could at least provide a momentary barrier, brief but enough for Shen Xiuzhe to react.

He calculated the zombie's length, the positions it moved to, and the timing, continuing until he was injured again. Suddenly, Wu Duo shouted from above, "Success!"

Wu Duo, not daring to blink, focused on the spot covered by the zombie, watching as the red of the meteorite slowly revealed itself.

As soon as the zombie's body completely moved away from the meteorite's location at the bottom, Wu Duo immediately activated her ability, pulling the meteorite into her space.

Fortunately, the meteorite could be taken in, and she succeeded.

A small, circular pit the size of a head immediately appeared at the bottom.

"Run!" Shen Xiuzhe suddenly shouted.

Wu Duo, Wu Shuangxue, Xu Fang, and Ouyang Dong, without hesitation, immediately turned and fled.

The next moment, Shen Xiuzhe, wrapping his arm around Lin An's waist, hurriedly left the pit with him.

As they fought, the metal above gradually transformed into a shape identical to the pit, matching the size of the space it could accommodate.

Just as Shen Xiuzhe and Lin An climbed out, the metal above plummeted, sealing the pit tightly.

A dull thud echoed in their ears, with dust swirling around them. Lin An, trembling, looked at the metal that filled the pit beside him.

At that moment, he cared neither for the dust and grime on their bodies nor the unpleasant smell emanating from Shen Xiuzhe, and asked in a shaky voice, "Is it, is it dead?"

Shen Xiuzhe didn’t know either, but at least the meteorite was taken out.

"I just told Granny Wu, as soon as we got the meteorite, to let them run first. The car is still parked in the same place; by now they must be ready to leave the town, leaving just you and me." Shen Xiuzhe tore some cloth from his clothes and bandaged his more severely bleeding wounds. "Are you scared?"

They might have to wait until the zombie was completely dead before they could leave. With the meteorite taken, the extraordinarily strong zombie and the others in town would leave for more populated areas.

They could indeed just walk away, as the meteorite was in Wu Duo's space and its scent wouldn't be detected.

But the people of the Eye of the Desert would suffer.

If this zombie didn't die, everyone in the Eye of the Desert would become nourishment for the zombies.

Having taken the meteorite, they had to ensure the aftermath was handled; they must eliminate this zombie before leaving.

Lin An was actually very scared. He had experienced few battles, and had nearly died just moments ago, now terrified beyond measure.

He looked at Shen Xiuzhe, "Have you been here all along?"

Shen Xiuzhe replied, "I am here."

"If you're here, then I'm not afraid."

Although Lin An kept urging everyone to hurry, and he thought the same, deep down he still hoped Shen Xiuzhe would stay with him.

Perhaps their fate was sealed when he dragged Shen Xiuzhe home as food.

When Shen Xiuzhe saved him, comforted him during his despair, accompanied him into the dungeon, and during the sorrowful news of his parents' death, he had always relied on him. He was afraid of his own ghastly appearance, neither human nor ghost, yet hoped someone would accept him as he was.

Shen Xiuzhe did just that.

Now that he wasn't alone, he wasn't afraid anymore.

The metal nearby kept trembling; that zombie wasn't so easy to kill after all.

Lin An wiped his tears with his sleeve, smearing dirt over his face like a patched cat, but his eyes were firm, no longer trembling.

Shen Xize stood up, his expression grave. He could sense the melting of metal around him. The zombie, though pinned down by the sudden attack, possessed abilities across all elements, including metal.

Soon, a large hole appeared in the metal, and the zombie emperor slowly crawled out.

Pus flowed continuously from its body, one-third of which was crushed. Yet, the zombie’s anger had reached its peak.

It had never suffered such severe injuries before, and most importantly, its treasure was missing!

The same expression of fury was mirrored on all of its heads. Countless eyes stared intently at the two people below, as if all the malice in the world was concentrated in its gaze.

“Give it back to me! You... insects, give it back!!!”

All of the zombie's mouths opened simultaneously, and a cacophony of angry voices of different tones filled the air.

“Aaaaah, I will... kill you, eat you!”

The shrill, piercing screams echoed through the sky, reaching even the ears of those waiting outside Dune Town for backup, chilling them with their terrifying sound.

Shen Xiuze and Lin An, being the closest, faced the enemy's attack head-on. It turned out the enemy possessed a sonic ability, capable of shattering one's composure with just its sound.

Both of their ears rang incessantly, with Shen Xiuze's even bleeding.

Propping himself up with a knife, Shen Xiuze smiled at the monster in front of him: "I'm not giving it to you, what can you do about it?"

His taunt further enraged the beast, who roared and lunged at them.

Ou Yangdong, who had been sitting on the ground, was perplexed: "Why did Lin An's last attack work?"

Shen Xiuzhe pushed Lin An aside and advanced with his knife, plunging its tip into one of the zombie king's heads, then forcefully gouged it out.

The neck, connecting the head to the body, was laced with blood vessels and meridians. The severed head let out a piercing scream, its expression twisted in excruciating pain.

In extreme agony, the zombie lashed out at Shen Xiuzhe with its regenerating tail, a strike Shen Xiuzhe didn't evade. His back took the full impact.

Coughing up blood, he persisted in removing the head.

Only when the head fell to the ground did he roll off the zombie king and lay on the ground, seemingly unable to move.

The zombie king, seizing the opportunity, furiously charged at him, intent on devouring his foe.

A thick wall of ice instantly appeared in front of the zombie king, as Lin An rushed to Shen Xiuzhe's side.

"Shen Xiuzhe!" Lin An shouted in panic.

Meanwhile, the ice wall shattered, and the zombie's head, now very close to them, had shifted all its heads to one side for easier biting and swallowing of its two enemies.

Countless mouths on the heads, crowded on one side, roared, mocked, and screamed like demonic spirits from hell, snapping at the two men.