Chapter 128.2 – Life-and-Death Marathon (19)
◎ Dirty Chin: Please call me Erwuzi ◎
“Braided Head, where are you taking us again?” Xu Xing’s clear voice inquired.
Song Ke and the others had originally been heading towards the TV tower. However, they lost track of the Zombie King midway. Without a better plan in mind, Braided Head was making noises and volunteered to guide them.
Braided Head rested its chin on its hand, pondering for two seconds, then suddenly sensed a familiar aura. It was like a struggling student unexpectedly finding cheat notes during an exam. Its eyes brightened up instantly, excitedly making noises and darting down a side path.
“Hey, should we really follow it? Is Braided Head reliable?” Lin Youyou looked skeptical.
“Braided Head won’t deceive us!” Xu Xing crossed his arms confidently.
Lin Youyou was speechless. Where did this inexplicable trust between a person and a zombie come from?
However, Song Ke intervened, saying, “Let’s go and see.”
So, just before Dirty Chin and the other Fallen were about to be overwhelmed, Braided Head, with V587 in tow, coincidentally arrived at the scene.
Song Ke spotted the Zombie King and thought, ‘Wow, Braided Head is really awesome. What a big fish!’
“Bang—”
She leaped from the rooftop, landing at the center of the battle, kicking up clouds of dust. But upon seeing the scene in front of her, she became somewhat stunned.
What… what’s going on? It looks like they’re already fighting?
“Song Ke, they’re fighting among themselves!” Zhuang Qingyan discerned the situation at a glance and shouted aloud.
Though the idea of zombies fighting among themselves seemed far-fetched, it presented an excellent opportunity for V587. Song Ke’s spirits lifted, and together with Su Cha, they attacked. With the Zombie King isolated and surrounded only by several dozen mutant zombies, Song Ke was confident they could defeat it.
Braided Head swiftly ran up to Dirty Chin, frantically making noises around it in agitation.
Dirty Chin appeared heavily injured, with a deep gash across its body. Despite Braided Head’s concern, Dirty Chin couldn’t care less and emitted several short, urgent commands. The remaining Fallen rushed toward the spatial zombie hiding in the back.
Thick fog arose, blades spun, and Lin Youyou initiated her sole attack, the mist blade.
Confused about the situation, Xu Xing froze the place in ice and snow. He asked in a bewildered tone, “Braided Head, what’s happening? Why is your brother at odds with the Zombie King?”
Braided Head didn’t have time to explain by drawing pictures slowly. Its stiff hands pressed against Dirty Chin’s wound, growling in distress.
Braided Head: “Ah? Ahh!!”
Dirty Chin: “…Ahh.”
Braided Head shook Dirty Chin’s shoulders: “Ahh!! Ahh!!”
Dirty Chin started coughing violently: “…Ahh.”
Braided Head immediately stopped, not daring to move recklessly. Just then, a faint dark light appeared at Dirty Chin’s feet, growing brighter, enveloping its entire body. Soon after, a black vortex formed, and one by one, level 3 zombies crawled out from it.
Braided Head looked at Dirty Chin dazedly, surrounded by an unsettling premonition.
As if foreseeing something, Dirty Chin retrieved a pendant from its pocket, awkwardly put it back around Braided Head’s neck, then—gently patted its head.
Murky tears streamed down Braided Head’s hollow eye sockets, dropping one after another onto the ground.
“Ahh!! Ahh!!” Braided Head screamed in disbelief.
“Ahh!!” Almost simultaneously, there was a sudden roar from the Fallen behind.
Braided Head swiftly turned around to see two of its kind biting onto a hiding mutant zombie, emitting clear radiation fluctuations.
Spatial… transmission… mission…
As if struck by lightning, Braided Head had a sudden epiphany. All the missed details flooded back into its mind. Baring its sharp teeth, it angrily charged forward.
Kill it, kill it!! That was the only thought in its mind.
“Braided Head, don’t run around!” The situation on the scene changed rapidly, and Xu Xing, still confused about why Braided Head, who had been fine, was displaying such aggression, dashed toward the direction of the Zombie King. What was happening? Was it also becoming erratic?
Amidst the spatial zombie’s panic, unexpectedly displaying humanoid intelligence, attempting to escape, Braided Head unleashed an astonishing burst of combat strength, biting down on its neck.
As more and more level 3 zombies appeared, Lu Xiaoyu raised his hand, and the 101010 code flew out. A deep red crosshair mark struck the head of the spatial zombie Braided Head was attacking.
“Marked the spatial zombie! Let’s kill it first!” Zhuang Qingyan reminded in time.
This time, Xu Xing finally understood—Braided Head was helping them kill the zombies!
Song Ke and Su Cha changed their attack targets, striking toward the spatial zombie.
The Zombie King evidently understood the importance of the spatial zombie. Its black blood vessels squirmed rapidly, and its fleshy wings struck Braided Head forcefully. Braided Head grunted but surprisingly wasn’t thrown off. It bit ruthlessly, severing half the head of the spatial zombie, yet it remained alive.
The Zombie King, in a fit of rage, charged forward, slashing at Song Ke, affected by Su Cha’s toxic mist. Its sharp claws pierced Braided Head’s back, tearing it away. With a pull, Braided Head was ripped in two from the right shoulder to the thigh and flung heavily!
“No!! Braided Head!!” Xu Xing cried out with tears in his eyes.
Dirty Chin lying on the ground swelled, its murky eyes bulging, emitting faint sobs from its throat.
Braided Head’s body flew backward in a Y-shape, landing on the ground motionless.
The remaining level 3 zombies rushed to assist while the Zombie King prepared to retreat.
“Braided Head…” Xu Xing’s tears fell uncontrollably.
The intense radiation made his internal magnetic field extremely unstable. His awakened energy crackled like an out-of-control silver snake, making static-like sounds. Coupled with the heightened emotions, Xu Xing once again experienced the uncontrollable manifestation of Fools Wharf.
His curly hair fluffed up, the unstable blizzard around him gathered into fine, dense needle-like forms, pouring out in front.
These empowered ice needles dominated the entire space, leaving no room for escape. The power of wide-range attack abilities was unquestionably showcased in the narrow alley.
V587 and the others turned in shock to look at Xu Xing.
This was… A-level awakened energy.
Xiao Xing had broken through.
A torrent of ice needles pierced the severed neck of the spatial zombie, instantly freezing its head. With a final thud, the already weakened head collapsed, and the black vortex instantly halted. Dirty Chin’s body stopped swelling and slowly returned to normal.
The Zombie King attempted its usual tactic, wrapping its fleshy wings tightly around itself. However, despite the minuscule size, the power of those ice needles remained unabated. They quickly froze its wings, rendering them too heavy to lift.
Song Ke’s gaze sharpened as a sharp bone-cutting knife materialized.
Grandpa used to say this knife was great for chopping chicken wings.
“Cover me!” She yelled and charged toward the Zombie King.
Su Cha abruptly turned, confronting the level 3 zombies and mutant zombies that had been teleported.
Song Ke leaped onto the rooftop, wielding her blade towards the Zombie King’s wings. The Zombie King emitted a deafening roar, shattering the entire four-story building. Concrete and debris rained down, but Lu Xiaoyu’s six mechanical arms extended, forming a basket shape, catching all the falling debris.
“Ding—”
Like a missile, Song Ke rammed the Zombie King into the rubble, brandishing her bone-cutting knife. In a swift motion, she chopped at the frozen, brittle flesh, displaying the posture of chopping ribs. In just a few seconds, she had hacked off more than thirty slashes, cleanly severing the half-clawed section of its wing!
The Zombie King writhed in agony, rolling around, yet it managed to conceal its head.
As Song Ke prepared to swiftly continue chopping the other wing, a sudden change occurred—the Zombie King disappeared from her sight!
She was startled. Another spatial ability?
No, Song Ke swiftly turned around. Xiao Xing had already taken down the spatial zombie, leaving it thoroughly dead.
She sprang up from the rubble.
Five seconds later, the Zombie King, looking bedraggled, reappeared a hundred meters away, causing a parked bus by the roadside to collapse under its weight.
On a distant rooftop, a ghostly figure emerged from the black mist. Song Ke glimpsed countless empowered beings and a stern-faced elderly man.
Spatial displacement… Mr. Xiang… “Shunxing Teahouse”…
Why did they want to save the Zombie King? Were they crazy? She almost managed to take down that monster just now!
The Zombie King reacted swiftly, jumping multiple times, disappearing in V587’s view. The people from “Shunxing Teahouse” quickly followed.
Zhuang Qingyan sighed softly, “I said it before, humans are always selfish.”
Song Ke tightened her grip on the knife handle, understanding now. “Personally” killing the Zombie King was the sole condition for victory. So, Mr. Xiang let the Zombie King go, regardless of the consequences, to deny her that chance.
“Hey! Stop chatting and think of a solution quickly.”
Lin Youyou, shielded by the dense ice needles, huddled behind Lu Xiaoyu. “Make Xiao Xing stop!”
No matter how much she called out, Xu Xing seemed oblivious, eyes tightly shut, his awakened energy surging madly.
“At this rate, we’re all going to freeze!”
The blizzard’s range expanded, turning the Fallen into ice sculptures. Lin Youyou and Fang Zhixu shivered uncontrollably.
It was only now that Song Ke felt the bone-chilling cold. Rubbing her reddened fingers together, she slowly retreated under pressure. Finally arriving behind Xu Xing, she was about to strike at his exposed neck but hesitated, opting instead to give him a firm shake.
“Xiao Xing, wake up!”
Xu Xing, dazed from the blow, finally regained control, retracting his powers.
The ice needles and blizzard dissipated. Xu Xing staggered toward Braided Head’s almost severed body, crying inconsolably.
“Don’t die, Braided Head… I’m so useless, I couldn’t protect you.”
In the midst of his tears, he suddenly turned to Fang Zhixu.
“Uncle Fang, please save Braided Head… I won’t tease you anymore, won’t secretly freeze your shoes, or use your shaver on Taotao’s fur…”
Fang Zhixu: “You did what with my shaver?!”
Xu Xing, sobbing, pleaded desperately, “Please, Uncle Fang…”
Under the condemning gazes of everyone, Fang Zhixu struggled to respond, “Me??”
Having been a doctor for half his life, he was adept at saving lives, but rescuing a zombie? He really had no experience with that!
**TN
Erwuzi – traitor within an organization (usually a criminal organization); spy; informant; mole
