Chapter 21: The Perfect Moment for Murder Isn’t Easy to Find

Chapter 21: The Perfect Moment to Kill Isn't Easy to Find

Amid the stomach-churning stench, the others in the vehicle were just as stunned by Mu Ye's move.

Yun Ying's face went sheet-white, tears threatening to spill: "C-Captain..."

Sang Mai, in the driver's seat, stared blankly into the rearview mirror at the ink-black zombie tide that had slammed shut, swallowing Mu Ye whole, utterly dumbfounded.

The zombies outside the windows had cleared out.

Shu Hanqing said calmly, "Yun Ying, pull every crystal core out of your space."

Yun Ying's mind had gone completely blank. A flash of white light flickered in the void, and with a cascade of sharp clatters, a heap of high-tier crystal cores, shimmering with iridescent light, piled up across the cramped back seat.

Shu Hanqing bent down, grabbed a big fistful, and without any hesitation, shoved the door open and jumped out alone into the reeking wind.

"Everyone stays up here—nobody moves! Look after Yun Ying."

His tall, lean frame flickered in the darkness, leaving only a command behind, and then, like a gust of wind, he charged headfirst into the surging tide of corpses toward the direction Mu Ye had gone.

"Brother Shu, come back!" Sang Mai shouted from behind, scrambling at the window.

As Shu Hanqing ran, several high-tier crystal cores in his palm cracked with sharp, strained pops in a split second, their pure energy violently siphoned off and converted into his own power.

In an instant, his water ability, nearly drained dry, erupted with a roar. Freezing mist laced with murderous intent coalesced into a massive water chain dozens of feet long, gleaming with cold light, slicing through the ruined air with a piercing shriek.

"Smack!"

"Boom!"

The water chain viciously shattered the bones of the snarling zombies in its path, hurling them backward with explosive force.

Amid the splattering gore and shredded flesh, he carved a path straight through the heart of the black, surging horde with pure brute force.

The plot system chimed in: "...Why? You've lived two lives—you clearly hate him. So why go back to save him?"

Shu Hanqing's whole right arm had gone numb from the impact, the shattered crystal shards digging into his palm, stinging to the bone.

The corner of his eye flushed red as he snapped irritably, "What, am I supposed to just stand here and watch him die?"

The plot system's flat, emotionless voice cut in: "But you'll die. Those crystal cores you brought won't last forever. These monsters can't all be killed. Shu Hanqing, you've got a white-knight complex."

Shu Hanqing: "Screw that!"

On the battlefield, there was no room for even a hint of sentimentality.

Just as Shu Hanqing used every ounce of strength to open a path, he turned back—and the corpse tide surged, sealing it shut again, black and impenetrable.

Shu Hanqing's face darkened. His wrist flicked, and the azure water chain lashed through the air in an arc, hurling a lunging zombie into the air.

"If you're not gonna help, then shut up!"

He coldly cut off the system's voice in his mind.

In his past life, at the height of his power, Shu Hanqing's high-tier water ability could conjure dozens of different lethal weapon forms at will, each one mastered to perfection.

But the one he wielded best, and was most skilled with, was always this water chain—versatile in both offense and defense, moving like an extension of his own arm.

Compared to him, Mu Ye's fire ability packed devastating raw power, but was better suited for long-range, wide-area bombardment and scorched-earth tactics.

In these cramped, narrow, completely wrecked ruins, once zombies closed in for close combat, a high-tier fire ability that couldn't be fully unleashed was the most likely to backfire badly.

The very second Shu Hanqing charged into the heart of the encirclement, a blood-soaked Mu Ye kicked a zombie lunging for his neck clean away.

"Hanqing! What are you doing here? Get back!"

"Whap!"

The water chain, trailing icy mist, lashed past Mu Ye's ear with savage force, blasting away a mutated zombie that had already opened its gaping jaws behind him.

Shu Hanqing casually tossed aside a crystal core that had been drained into a useless stone, his handsome face twisted in irritation as he barked, "You trying to get yourself killed? Don't space out at a time like this!"

Jolted by the shout, Mu Ye forced down the shock and emotion threatening to drown his chest, quickly pulling his scattered focus back together.

In perfect sync, the two turned in the dense zombie encirclement, pressing their backs firmly against each other.

They worked in perfect tandem—one defending, one attacking.

But the battle was brutally bloody, the monsters around them so numerous it made one's scalp crawl.

What made Shu Hanqing's blood run even colder was that he quickly noticed nearly eighty percent of the countless mutated zombies' attacks were aimed solely at Mu Ye.

Those in front were torn apart by the water chain, yet those behind still surged forward, desperate to devour Mu Ye alive.

His ability was draining far too fast.

In just a short span, the last handful of high-tier crystal cores he'd brought from Yun Ying had been utterly consumed under the insane overdrive.

His palms were empty, and the hideous, mutilated wall of zombies before him seemed layered endlessly, impossible to kill off.

Then, from behind him, came Mu Ye's hoarse whisper—tinged with an unprecedented satisfaction and tenderness.

Gathering the faint blue sparks in his palm, Mu Ye turned his head, greedily gazing at the smear of black blood on Shu Hanqing's cheek, and murmured softly, "...Hanqing, I'm really, really happy... to see you turn back for me."

"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, I will never let you die before me."

"RUMBLE!!"

Before Shu Hanqing could even process the near-desperate sentiment in the man's words, the ground around them seemed to ignite.

Sang Mai finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the vehicles turning back.

Rong Hua was the first to get out.

Behind him, Lei Zheng and the core members of the military's elite ability squad followed closely, fully armed and closing in from all sides.

Then they witnessed countless streams of near-pure blue flames—high-tier origin flames hot enough to vaporize steel in an instant—erupting from the cracked ground of the entire narrow alley!

It was a spectacular sight.

That was the blue-fire karma flame, only releaseable by high-tier fire abilities.

The sea of azure fire bathed the entire street in the glow of a setting sun, the searing heat distorting the air itself.

When the overwhelming tide of origin fire finally subsided with a few muffled booms, the dust settled, leaving the ground littered with charred zombie bones and scorched corpses.

Mu Ye held Shu Hanqing tightly in his arms—these flames wouldn't harm their master, so Shu Hanqing emerged unscathed.

Shu Hanqing looked up at the scene before him, like a hellish inferno, and felt his scalp prickle with dread.

Mu Ye collapsed beside Shu Hanqing the moment he pulled away.

Then Shu Hanqing saw that during the most chaotic hand-to-hand fight just moments ago, Mu Ye's back had been raked with several terrifying gashes so deep they exposed bone, still streaming with blood nonstop.

"...It's alright, Hanqing, don't be afraid."

Shu Hanqing quickly gathered Mu Ye into his arms.

As soon as he spoke, dark red blood gushed out from Mu Ye's lips and nose.

Shu Hanqing raised a hand, trying to wipe away the blood, but more kept coming, never fully clean. His voice shook as he said: "...Hang in there, Sang Mai and the others should be here any minute."

Mu Ye stared at Shu Hanqing, dazed, and trembling, he extended his blood-soaked right hand, trying to reach him.

But he was too badly injured, his throat filled with rising bloody foam. His hand dropped limply, and he couldn't even manage a single word.

When Rong Hua and the others arrived at the center of this dead zone, what met their eyes was Mu Ye, drenched in blood and barely breathing, clutched in Shu Hanqing's arms, his face cradled.

A healing superpowered individual among the group hurried forward to treat Mu Ye.

Rong Hua: "...Damn it!"

Lei Zheng surveyed the ruins around them, puzzled as to why so many zombies had appeared out of nowhere.

Not far away, Yan Shenyun watched the scene coldly, tilting his head back to look at the sky.

What a pity.

After all, a perfect opportunity for murder wasn't so easy to come by.