Chapter 37

Chapter 37

The two discussed many details and finally agreed that Xiao Ya and her mother were undoubtedly the culprits.

The only uncertainty was which of the two was the troublesome dual-ability Superpowered.

The answer lay in Unit 1805, Building 13.

At dinner time, Cheng Jing gathered his teammates to eat, shared the truth he and Jiang Nian had deduced, and hashed out their plan:

He, Jiang Nian, and Huang Qian would head to Unit 1805 after 7 p.m., while the others would fan out around Building 13 and the basement, on standby.

Confronting Xiao Ya and her mother with too many people could blow up in their faces—their true Superpower attributes were unknown, and a larger group might just complicate things. A small, skilled team reduced the chance of tipping them off. If they misjudged, at least fewer lives would be at risk.

Of course, Zhou Li called in backup—quietly—for extra support, mainly to prevent any potential frenzy from zombies lurking in the basement darkness.

The team followed the arrangements seamlessly; they moved like a well-oiled machine.

...

By 7 p.m., night had fully fallen.

Cheng Jing, Jiang Nian, and Huang Qian arrived outside Unit 1805. Just as Huang Qian had said, the door was still deadbolted from the outside, like no one was home.

They exchanged glances. Cheng Jing placed his hand on the door and channeled his Superpower to bust the lock before swiftly slipping inside and closing it behind them.

The moment they stepped in, the reek of zombies hit them like a wall. Their masks did little to block the gag-inducing stench.

At the same time, Jiang Nian whispered a warning:

"There are three Superpower auras here."

This contradicted their initial assumption—that only one possessed dual abilities. It seemed all three family members had awakened powers.

Inside the living room, a headlamp on the coffee table cast a faint glow across the room, dim but enough to reveal most of the space.

Xiao Ya was curled up on a filthy fabric sofa, wrapped in a blanket, hugging her knees, shaking with muffled sobs.

From the direction of the master bedroom came broken, gasping pleas—and the sound of something tearing into a meal.

An icy gust swept through the doorway, making the crying girl instinctively lift her head. Her delicate, pale face, streaked with tears, appeared in the light.

Xiao Ya froze when she saw Jiang Nian and the others:

"B-Brother... why are you here... you..."

Her face went white with panic. In an instant, she leapt from the couch and made a break for the bedroom.

"Mom—!"

But before she could get far, Huang Qian, anticipating this, snapped a vine out and lashed it around the girl, yanking her back. No questions asked, she laid Xiao Ya out cold in one move.

Jiang Nian had to hand it to Huang Qian—she was scary efficient. Talk about a deadly combo—beauty and skills.

It was over in a heartbeat. No one in the bedroom noticed a thing. Huang Qian gently laid Xiao Ya back on the sofa and covered her with the blanket.

The three advanced toward the master bedroom, Cheng Jing and Huang Qian leading, Jiang Nian following closely.

A sliver of light leaked under the door. Cheng Jing jiggled the knob—locked from the inside.

After a moment, the woman's choked sobs and slightly weak voice came through:

"Xiao Ya... just hold on a little longer... once Daddy’s done eating, everything will be okay. Be a good girl, go wait in the living room... then you can send Daddy away... Please, sweetheart... this is the last time..."

"..."

Hearing this, the three exchanged glances and instantly realized—Xiao Ya had teleportation abilities.

This meant that without Xiao Ya, there was no way they could escape. No wonder the little girl had tried to rush toward the bedroom earlier.

"Ms. Lin, it's us—we're here. If you don't mind, we'll take Xiao Ya with us. She's terrified, crying uncontrollably..."

Jiang Nian spoke up. As he did, Cheng Jing had already summoned a crackling web of lightning around them.

Huang Qian also manipulated vines, ready to strike at any moment.

"..."

After a long pause, the woman's hoarse voice came from inside the room:

"It's you... you actually came..."

Then came choked, heart-wrenching sobs:

"I never wanted this either... but I can't lose him... waaah..."

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"..."

"Come out first. At this point, even if only for Xiao Ya's sake, you at least owe us some answers."

Cheng Jing's tone was sharp. He gave a signal, and the three simultaneously stepped back two paces.

Inside the room, a brief silence—then the woman suddenly became frantic:

"There's nothing to explain! My husband was scratched by a zombie while searching for supplies... but as long as he eats meat and uses my ability, he can stay with us... He remains docile—he's nothing like those monsters outside..."

"..."

Huang Qian and Cheng Jing looked confused, but Jiang Nian pieced it together:

"You have a mind-control ability. Before he lost consciousness, you hypnotized him so he would remain calm... That's also how you killed people—sacrificing someone every few days to keep him fed."

A powerhouse family indeed: the father with metal manipulation, the mother with mind control, and the daughter with teleportation.

Yet from the wet, tearing sounds coming from the room, the man had completely turned into a zombie. It was strange that the woman's power still worked on him.

Could a zombie truly be domesticated if it was family?

The woman murmured softly to her zombified husband as he fed:

"I've kept him restrained, stopped him from attacking anyone..."

"Only because you’re his executioner!" Cheng Jing interrupted coldly. "You kill people for him!"

He blasted the door with a surge of lightning, melting the lock into molten debris.

"He begged me to end his suffering... I just couldn’t do it." "People are dying like flies in this hell anyway... what’s one more death among many? If those cursed rations weren’t so scarce, he wouldn’t have had to go out! Some rotting bastard bit him—that’s where this all began!"

The woman's hysterical voice grew louder, and the previously quiet zombies also let out terrifying growls.

"Bang—"

The door was flung open, and Cheng Jing and Huang Qian's superpowers flared into action.

However, they were blocked by a massive steel plate, which then split into several sharp blades that hacked wildly at them in a frenzied assault.

Amid the sharp clang of clashing metal, Huang Qian groaned and withdrew her superpower, leaving a pile of chopped-up tendrils on the ground.

But at the same time, the blades were melted by Cheng Jing's lightning-infused flames.

The metal superpower abruptly retracted, and the protective net Cheng Jing had woven also dissipated. Yet the next moment, they were met with the woman’s ghastly face—eyes, nose, and mouth bleeding.

After a brief moment of shock, they heard the woman speak in a hoarse, hollow voice:

"Listen to me..."

Her eerie voice, laced with superpowered energy waves, seeped into their minds. Even though Cheng Jing and Huang Qian knew something was wrong, their minds began slipping uncontrollably.

It was like teetering on the edge of sleep—or worse, sleep paralysis—trapped between wakefulness and helplessness.