Chapter 210

Chapter 210

"Finally, how did you control him?"

Yang Kai slid the dagger into the gap between the bones of Second Brother Qi's right wrist, satisfied by his screams.

"..."

Second Brother Qi knew that continuing to hide the truth would only bring more suffering, so he decided to spill everything:

"After the chaos, I awakened my Superpower quickly too. We found him when we were seizing the infirmary. He was still on an IV drip, and that’s when I realized he was the mysterious person next door to me."

"Because of the drugs, his body was weak and his mind wasn’t clear. I originally wanted to kill him, but I discovered he could make the infected and zombies unable to see us. And I could block his power within a certain radius, preventing his influence. That’s it."

"Twenty seconds."

Yang Kai pulled out the dagger and stabbed through his other hand.

"Ah!"

Second Brother Qi’s voice grew weaker as he finished speaking:

"We used drugs to control him, weakening his mental resistance, and then used some people as threats… forced him to create illusions to our advantage. We only kept women and children among those we lured in, having them interact with the newcomers..."

"And so the cycle continued, luring people in to be killed."

Zhao Lei gritted his teeth and added, "Exactly. Nothing in the world is more vicious than the human heart. Our fellow humans are often the most terrifying."

Second Brother Qi no longer denied it:

"Right. But half a month ago, after his Superpower advanced, the drugs became ineffective on him. He started hunting our Superpowered members, sparing ordinary people and never leaving the basement… So, I escaped with some people to wait for rescue."

"..."

Yang Kai was relieved. After advancing, Gao Xuyang became completely immune to drugs that affect ordinary humans, gained his freedom, and officially became the Zombie King—yet he still protected humans. That meant he might be negotiable.

This was hope they might avoid a fight to the death.

If Gao Xuyang, after advancing, had been intent on slaughtering humans… then no matter how much personal stake Yang Kai had, he couldn’t risk protecting him. They’d have had to kill Second Brother Qi and then die together.

Seeing Yang Kai silent, Cheng Jing stepped in to ask:

"Roughly how many Superpower Zombies are there? Where are they gathered?"

Second Brother Qi answered truthfully:

"There are about two hundred Superpower Zombies… They’re with Gao Xuyang and the ordinary survivors in the basement. Though I'm loath to admit it, it seems he deliberately let us send for outside help. Do whatever you want to me… just spare my wife and child."

Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but gasp. Two hundred Superpower Zombies meant two hundred Superpowered—several times their number.

A Zombie King leading over two hundred Superpower Zombies, plus thirty hostages… Under normal circumstances, any team encountering this would face a straight-up nightmare scenario!

"Ahhh—!"

Second Brother Qi let out another sudden scream as Yang Kai withdrew the dagger and used his Superpower to shatter the bones in all four of his limbs:

"The truth is clear now. We’ll settle the score later! As for your family… that depends on your performance!"

With that, he kicked the man unconscious, then got a sack from Chu Yi to cover most of his body.

"Do me a favor, don't let him die."

Chu Yi nodded:

"Don't worry, he won't die."

With that, he tossed Second Brother Qi into a dark cell within his spatial dimension.

With Second Brother Qi temporarily dealt with, Yang Kai quickly composed himself and laid out his position:

"Everyone, if Gao Xuyang hasn’t killed those regular survivors, please let me keep him. If he has killed them, then let me be the one to end him myself. After that, whatever I do..."

"Don’t even think about it. We won’t let you die with him."

Knowing his intentions, Cheng Jing cut him off, and the teammates all nodded in agreement, refusing to let him do anything stupid.

Yang Kai frowned helplessly and was about to continue when Cheng Jing stated authoritatively:

"Being able to make humans and zombies unable to perceive each other simultaneously, Gao Xuyang’s original intention was to protect humans. It was Second Brother Qi and his group who exploited his ability for evil. He’s not at fault—hell, for a zombie, he’s done exceptionally well."

Chu Yi added:

"Exactly. According to Second Brother Qi, after his advancement, he regained his freedom but still didn’t harm ordinary people—he only settled his own scores. Besides, even if those ordinary people are already dead, we should still bring Gao Xuyang back."

"Let the professors with mental evolution examine him and get to the bottom of the incident at that experimental base. I suspect the professors, like Second Brother Qi, forgot about Gao Xuyang’s involvement in the Guan Shan Prison incident due to some illusion."

Tang Ji stroked his chin and nodded:

"I agree with Brother Chu’s approach and reasoning."

The others also unanimously agreed that no matter what, they would bring Gao Xuyang back.

Not only was he Yang Kai’s long-cherished unattainable love, but even if they didn’t know him, unless he resisted, they would choose to capture him alive.

A Zombie King could maintain an unrotted body—this was possible only by possessing self-healing abilities and immunity to the zombie virus. The research potential alone made him invaluable.

"..."

Yang Kai paused briefly, then smiled:

"Right... Thank you, everyone."

It was a sound and valid reason. Though he would inevitably have to cooperate with lab research, the Southern City Base didn’t use cruel methods. It was acceptable, and he could still see his still-conscious beloved.

Only after everyone had reached a consensus did Jiang Nian speak up:

"Also, don’t you guys want to know if my Purify can turn the Zombie King back into a human?"

The moment he said it, everyone’s faces brightened. There wasn’t a single person who didn't want to know—they were dying to know.

Theoretically, as long as one could withstand the Purify’s cleansing, retained normal consciousness, and their body hadn’t rotted... it was possible.

"..."

The hope in Yang Kai’s eyes blazed to life, his eyelids slightly reddening as he stared at Jiang Nian and said slowly and deliberately:

"Jiang Nian, if my Gao Laoshi (Teacher Gao) can return to normal, we’ll get married, and you’ll sit in the place of honor at our wedding."

'Gao Laoshi' was how he had addressed him since they first met at school—he’d never stopped.

"Alright, as expected of Bro Kai. It's a deal then."

Jiang Nian agreed, mutually making empty promises—sure, sounds good!

That little back-and-forth lightened the mood.

"..."

Once the team agreed to keep Gao Xuyang and take him back to base, they began planning their descent into the basement.

The basement was cramped—aside from the 30 regular survivors, it was packed with Superpower Zombies. Plus, if Cheng Jing kept using his superpower, he’d probably level up.

Considering the worst-case scenario, too many people would just make things harder to control, increasing the risk of accidental injuries and unnecessary casualties.

Thus, the team decided to leave the entire army Chu Yi had brought stationed aboveground, pulling back outside the main gate to wait. Only the 12 of them would go down.

Tang Ji’s shielding, paired with Jiang Nian’s Purify, would break the illusion while simultaneously disabling the superpowers of any affected Superpower Zombies. The others could handle the rest.

Even if the shielding had no effect on Gao Xuyang, Jiang Nian’s Purify could still neutralize his illusions—no big deal...