Chapter Ninety-Two: Astuteness

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Night had fallen. This place was somewhat less bustling compared to the vibrant areas of Chengdu, yet many people still seemed to gather around at night. Thanks to the police helping to disperse the crowd, the fire had already been completely extinguished by the afternoon.

“Master, are you really going to face that female zombie alone?”

I couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Was I not enough on my own? Besides, that zombie was merely a minor player. The real threats were Lina Li and the corpse-burier who had vanished somewhere. Those two posed the greatest danger. The street-walking female zombie was just a simple one; handling her shouldn’t be so difficult.

“What’s wrong, Tu? Do you sense something?”

Tu slowly nodded, then whispered, “Master, I sense something significant will happen tonight. I fear this zombie isn’t as simple as it seems!”

I was speechless. If this zombie wasn’t simple, then what else could make it different?

When the surrounding light dimmed, I quietly slipped into the laboratory, which was already badly damaged by the fire. At that moment, I could almost sense a terrifying stench of death lurking deeply within the dreadful laboratory. There was no sign of any other presence. Could it be that this female zombie had survived the fierce blaze during the day?

If that were true, then she was indeed far from ordinary.

I swiftly entered the abandoned building. Although a police cordon had been set up, I had been hiding inside all along. At this point, I couldn’t care about much else. If this terrifying female zombie escaped tonight, chaos would truly erupt. It wouldn’t be just one zombie, but many.

I held my breath and moved toward the source of the deathly aura. This laboratory had once been an old factory. Thanks to the firefighters’ prompt arrival earlier, water was everywhere now. As night deepened, the oppressive aura only grew stronger.

This kind of ominous energy could actually help the female zombie restore her powers. According to Tu, this zombie had lost her soul and spirit fragments, so when she bit someone, she would absorb the victim’s mind and consciousness to replace them. In other words, it depended on who she bit first.

“Was the first bite on Xiao Jie?”

I thought back to what we saw earlier. Although Xiao Jie, who was on the outskirts, had been bitten, he still retained his consciousness. So, he wasn’t the first.

That made me think of Link.

At that moment, my phone rang. Luckily, only a few police were guarding the perimeter; otherwise, the sound might have given me away.

“Yang Dong, any updates on your end?”

I smiled bitterly and replied there was nothing much—just a strange feeling that something was off, hard to pin down. Then I asked Zhang Li if they had found Link.

Her answer shocked me. Zhang Li said they hadn’t found Link, and he seemed to be inside his own laboratory. That meant there was an eighty percent chance he had already turned into a zombie. Unless there was a basement there, it was almost certain Link had become one.

Zhang Li went on to share some research about Link that made my blood run cold. He was the type who didn’t believe in ghosts or gods because he spent his time studying human anatomy and physiological reactions.

Moreover, they had known each other since university. Link had always pursued her, but no one really knew what kind of person he was. Zhang Li knew clearly: he was highly utilitarian and wicked. Even back then, he had a strong passion for anatomy and excelled at it.

...

I couldn’t listen any further. Worry gnawed at my heart. If the woman’s first victim was Link, this situation wouldn’t be so easily resolved. Such a terrifying person was hard to fathom.

A forensic expert?

I slowly ended the call. We agreed to contact each other immediately if anything happened. Honestly, cooperating with Zhang Li seemed somewhat reliable.

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Pocketing the phone, under the moonlight and aided by my yin-yang vision, it was easy to see the surroundings. Still, I clearly sensed something odd about the deathly aura, though I couldn’t quite place what made it strange.

Step by step, I approached, the eerie stench growing stronger.

Rotten smell!

Such a vile stench it was, almost unbearable.

“Master, be careful!”

I nodded. At this point, I didn’t even need Tu’s warning. My whole body instinctively crouched low, gripping the peach-wood sword tightly as I carefully advanced.

Closer and closer.

I kicked away a door panel damaged by the fire and entered a small room. In the darkness, only the moonlight illuminated the scene before me.

There stood a woman—not just any woman, but the female zombie who had transformed that very morning. What shocked me most was that she was pinned to the wall, her body already slashed open with a bleeding wound.

I stepped forward slowly. The female zombie’s body was rotting all over.

Step by step I moved closer.

“Master, this zombie is just an empty shell!”

Empty shell?

My face changed instantly. To be honest, I only approached because I saw no threat from her. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare get this close to a zombie.

“Yes, Master. This female zombie is almost ruined. All her organs have been removed. Take a closer look at her body!”

Tu’s words made me shudder. I stepped up and stood before her. In the moonlight, her appearance nearly made me stumble backward.

This female zombie was no longer the same as the one I saw in the morning. She looked so emaciated. When I tentatively touched her shriveled belly, my complexion turned pale.

Her insides were almost completely hollow. Eyes staring at me with a look I couldn’t decipher—half resentment, half confusion, and bitterness.

“Oh, what a sin has been committed!”

I was speechless. I could clearly feel the zombie’s aura now: she was truly an empty shell, meaningless and powerless. Once the surrounding deathly aura dispersed, this zombie would vanish entirely, leaving behind not even soul or spirit fragments.

“Master, it seems there’s another zombie nearby!”

I was slightly shaken. That meant Link must have turned into a zombie. Given his cruel nature, he would be far stronger than ordinary zombies.

“Let me send you on your final journey!”

I shook my head slowly, bit my middle finger, and drew a talisman in the air before this female zombie’s forehead. The talisman’s purpose was to subdue zombies thoroughly, dissipating their deathly aura completely.

Ssssss!

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Just as I finished sketching the talisman and touched the female zombie’s forehead with it, the entire space suddenly trembled with a terrifying wind. Under this hurricane-like pressure, the female zombie howled incessantly.

Her eyes, once gleaming blood-red, gradually dimmed. Under the moonlight, she became a corpse that would never awaken. No next life—this world was her end.

At that moment, Tu suddenly transformed into a cloak, shielding me from behind.

“Master, watch out behind you!”

Shing!

I turned around to see a man in a blood-stained white coat standing there, his whole demeanor savage and bloodthirsty, sharp fangs bared.

It was indeed Link, turned into a zombie!

Just as I prepared to call Zhang Li, my phone rang again—this time it was Zhou Ming.

“Master Yang! Master Yang!”

“What’s wrong...?”

Before I could speak, Zhou Ming screamed for help repeatedly, shouting, “She’s coming! She’s coming!”

No need to guess—Zhou Ming was terrified of Lina Li.

I turned back and faced Link. Tonight, something serious was definitely unfolding.

He grinned wickedly.

I was frustrated. Just a newly turned zombie, yet he dared look at me like that? Damn it, I’ll finish you off right now!

Thinking this, I stood right in front of Link.

Focus!

I bit my middle finger again, drawing another talisman in the air.

But Link, seemingly afraid, didn’t fight. Instead, he turned and fled. I hadn’t realized zombies could run so fast.

Moreover, this Link-zombie was unlike any I’d seen before. His body wasn’t as stiff as ordinary zombies—a strange feeling lingered.

“Damn!” I cursed silently, gripping my peach-wood sword and giving chase...