Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Death was so common that no one would spot anything unusual unless they were looking closely.

Jiang Nian was someone who was searching carefully, which is why he could uncover subtle clues:

If a superpowered person had gone out alone, it might have been understandable—but where could an ordinary person go in such freezing weather?

The idea that they’d gone out to seek death seemed unlikely. If they truly wanted to die, they could have just slept without blankets or worn fewer clothes—a much cleaner way to go than going outside.

Moreover, the disappearances happened every two to three days. Mixed in with normal deaths, this became obvious when you looked closer.

After reviewing several missing persons reports for regular people, Jiang Nian sat quietly and listened to the others discuss.

Everyone else, except him, focused on the deaths of the 14 night patrol members.

This was understandable—losing 14 superpowered individuals suddenly and without warning was a huge blow.

But in doing so, they got tunnel vision and overlooked minor but important details:

The killer didn’t start with the night patrol. It started with regular people. The target wasn’t the patrol team or the superpowered—it was sneakily targeting civilians.

...

By the time they returned to the safe house from the command center, it was nearly seven o’clock, and it was completely dark out.

Huang Qian and the others went to check the homes again that they hadn’t been able to inspect earlier in the day, and reported that Xiao Ya and her mother weren’t home when they arrived. They planned to try again the next morning.

Cheng Jing said nothing, just made dinner and called Jiang Nian to eat.

Nowadays, Jiang Nian always stuffed his pockets with snacks before leaving the house, constantly munching on them. As a result, he barely ate at meals—this time, he only managed half a bowl of rice and a chicken leg before wrapping himself in a blanket by the fireplace to play on his phone.

When Cheng Jing finished eating and cleaning up, he saw his hamster had already started hitting the snacks again—one bag after another, one after another.

Completely forgetting his earlier claim that he was full.

Cheng Jing wanted to remind him to eat more real food and fewer snacks, but seeing how happy he looked, he bit his tongue.

Fine. If he nagged too much, someone would complain about him acting like a dad again. He could only give a soft reminder:

“Drink more water if you’re eating snacks.”

“Got it, Brother Jing~”

Jiang Nian answered smoothly without even looking up. When Cheng Jing sat down beside him, he popped a bite in his mouth to shut him up.

Alright, if you can’t beat them, join them. So Cheng Jing changed gears:

“This is good… So, what did you find today?”

At the mention of business, Jiang Nian turned off his phone and put it aside, then looked up at him.

“The killer’s more skilled than I initially thought—and might have dual powers. One of them is likely teleportation… or there’s an unseen accomplice.”

His tone was firm. He finished off a pack of dried fish and opened a box of spicy tripe, talking while eating as he shared his findings and theories from reviewing recent Jiaheyuan death reports. He concluded:

“They didn’t just vanish normally. They were most likely taken by a superpower—like being attacked and dragged somewhere like a basement, where it’d be easier to dispose of the bodies.”

This wasn’t baseless guessing. It was based on clues and past experiences—while maybe not 100% right, it was at least 80% likely.

"......"

Cheng Jing carefully considered the situation before offering his analysis:

"That’s why the night patrol team ended up in the basement... The killer is a superpowered individual who can teleport others and possesses a lethal ability capable of delivering a single, fatal strike."

Whether it was physical or psychic attack, merely imagining it was enough to make one's skin crawl.

"Almost certainly correct. As for the killer’s motive, we don’t know yet, but we can be sure that his original intention was simply to secretly kill someone every two or three days—he didn’t intend to target the night patrol team... It’s likely they discovered his secret and were eliminated."

Jiang Nian continued, his mind racing with other possibilities, though the clues still didn’t connect. Something was missing.

"A superpowered individual killing someone every few days and taking them to the basement—what could his purpose be? Breeding zombies? But what would he gain from that? Unless he has the ability to control zombies? That would be terrifying."

The more Cheng Jing speculated, the graver his expression became. The implications were horrifying upon closer thought.

"......"

Jiang Nian followed his line of reasoning but shook his head.

"For a living person to control zombies, they’d need to undergo a viral mutation that creates psychic resonance with them—in essence, becoming a zombie while retaining their sanity... At least by the time I died in my past life, I had never heard of anyone with the power to control zombies."

He paused for a moment, then suddenly muttered to himself:

"But breeding zombies... that’s possible..."

"Who in their right mind would keep zombies? They’re uncontrollable and dangerous. Unless—"

Cheng Jing instinctively interjected, but abruptly stopped mid-sentence, locking eyes with Jiang Nian.

Prompted by each other’s thoughts, the missing pieces in Jiang Nian’s mind clicked together in a sudden realization. At the same moment, both blurted out:

"Unless they were his family members!"

*Clap!*

His thoughts suddenly clear, Jiang Nian slapped his hands together.

"Yes, exactly! That’s the only scenario where a normal person keeping zombies would make twisted sense!"

As he spoke, he tossed aside his snack bag, grabbed a tissue to wipe his mouth, and eagerly connected the dots in his mind.

"The killer’s loved ones turned into zombies, and he’s killing people to feed them. In the current situation, the disappearance of one person every couple of days wouldn’t raise much suspicion."

Cheng Jing fully agreed and took over the explanation:

"After being discovered by the night patrol team, he eliminated them and steered suspicion toward the idea that they had entered the basement on their own. Most people would speculate about their reasons for going there and naturally assume they were the first victims..."

"Once the investigation yields nothing from the basement, the case will be dismissed as them having been attacked by zombies... When attention wanes, he can resume his secret killings."

Most situations follow some kind of logic to hold water. Even an irrational madman usually has some motive or demand.

"Exactly. With so much chaos in the West District settlement every day and people dying constantly, once it’s concluded as a zombie attack, the matter will quickly be swept aside. One must admit, it’s a clever strategy."

Jiang Nian had to grudgingly acknowledge the killer’s approach. If he hadn’t been reborn with greater insight than the average college student, this case might have been prematurely closed in the current environment.

And not many would pursue it further. With new crises emerging daily, even grieving families lack the capacity to dwell on past losses. When every day is a fight for survival, who has the luxury to linger on the dead?

After a passing moment of grief, people would accept it as inevitable:

A superpowered individual falling to Superpower Zombies is just the brutal reality—it’s the apocalypse, the zombies’ world now.