Chapter 117: Rising Winds and Gathering Clouds

Lin Dong returned home. The long night passed without incident, and by daybreak, no attacks had occurred from across the river. However, the gathered horde of zombies had not dispersed; they seemed restless, as if preparing for something.

Not long ago, the three kings—Bone, Cat-Face, and Ghost-Infant—had arrived at the very center of the zombie nest. Wandering about were elite zombies, and in the middle of a small plaza stood a towering figure: the fourth zombie king of the Jiangqiao District, the leader of them all, and the absolute hegemon of this region. He stood two meters tall with a hulking physique. His skin was a reddish-brown, resembling embedded, hardened rock, and his head was entirely hairless, marked by gnarled ravines—a hairstyle that clearly signaled his status as a powerhouse.

"Boss, let's strike across the bridge!" the Bone Zombie King urged indignantly.

The Red Rock Zombie King pondered for a long while, having heard about the events of the previous night. "I fear... the timing is not yet ripe."

"Why not? When will it be ripe? They’ve bullied us right to our doorstep!" The Bone Zombie King could not swallow the insult.

Red Rock raised his eyes and gazed ahead. "The opposition is not weak. Even if we win, we will suffer heavy losses, and other factions will seize the opportunity."

"How could that be? Boss, once you absorb that zombie king’s crystal core, you will remain the undisputed hegemon of Jiangbei City." The Ghost-Infant Zombie King’s shrill, sinister voice chimed in. Clearly, she also favored an all-out assault.

Red Rock liked the sound of that; it struck a chord within him, and he couldn't hear enough. "What did you just say?"

"You will remain the undisputed hegemon of Jiangbei City!" the Ghost-Infant repeated.

Red Rock nodded. "That goes without saying..."

For him, a high-level crystal core was a massive temptation, especially since he felt he had reached a bottleneck, needing only a slight nudge to break through. Seeing his subordinates so energized, he eventually relented. He calculated that even if they couldn't win, they could retreat to defensive positions, or at the very least, destroy the cross-river bridge to isolate themselves completely. By utilizing the terrain, they wouldn't suffer a total defeat.

Thus, over the next few days, zombies in the Jiangqiao District continuously converged, even absorbing smaller peripheral forces, such as the "Flappy-Ears" group.

As the horde grew, it soon reached forty thousand. Looking out, the sea of terrifying faces was an overwhelming sight, more congested than a holiday tourist rush. Lin Dong kept a close watch on the opposition, sending Brother Crow out frequently to circle and scout from a distance. Realizing the horde was not dispersing but growing, he immediately guessed their intentions.

"Let’s assemble as well."

Following Lin Dong's command, a red-eyed crow flew from the windowsill, letting out a sharp, continuous cawing. Lin Dong’s commanders grew excited. The 500-strong Ace Legion, in particular, had not tasted battle since their evolution and were now desperate for a slaughter. Zombies filed out one by one: the massive Tank, the ghost-like Little Eight, the zombie tiger Little White, and Shadow Little Black, all leading their own subordinates to gather.

The Doctor wore a scanner on his left eye. Tank looked at him and said, "I’ve had enough of those people across the river. See what their levels are—any SB-rank?"

"No need to check," the Doctor replied decisively. "Definitely not."

Lin Dong’s zombie army gathered, quickly reaching nearly thirty thousand, including five thousand elites and the 500-strong Ace Legion.

"If we're going to war, I need to call in some help..." Lin Dong sat on the sofa, picked up his phone, and messaged Cheng Luoyi, as well as the recently recruited ice-element "construction workers."

Now, with the zombies from both regions gathering, the entire City of Doom was in an uproar, with a major war imminent. Even the Tech Corporation was alarmed. They could not ignore a horde of this scale gathering in the city, and countless drones buzzed through the high altitudes to observe the situation below.

Ye Jian sat in his office, watching the images transmitted to the giant screen. "Damn! So many zombies?"

This was, without a doubt, the largest gathering of zombies in Jiangbei City since the apocalypse. Originally a city of ten million, seventy percent of the population had perished on the first day. Of the survivors, some fled, others hid in shelters, and the rest became zombies. Excluding the feral and those without combat capability, a gathering of tens of thousands was a terrifying figure.

"Boss, what are these zombies doing? They aren't going to charge here, are they?" his newly appointed female assistant asked, her pretty face showing a trace of fear. She wore a tight skirt and black silk stockings, possessing a curvaceous and alluring figure. Had Yang Hao seen her, he would surely think Ye Jian had sacrificed his own life just to get her the position.

"Unlikely. These two zombie nests are about to go to war," Ye Jian said, narrowing his eyes. The answer to who the true hegemon of Jiangbei City was would soon be revealed; it was an inevitable trend of the apocalypse.

Ye Jian began to calculate: which victory would benefit him? But no matter how he thought about it, he realized that whoever won, he remained in danger, as the victor would pose a massive threat to the corporation. The Tech Corporation had over a thousand awakened individuals equipped with technological weaponry, but it would be difficult to withstand a massive horde, not to mention the nearly ten thousand elites and the various sinister zombie kings.

"What should I do?" Ye Jian did not want them to reach such a scale. It would be best if they both suffered heavy losses, allowing him to take the opportunity to finish off the survivors. But such odds were slim.

"It seems I must request support..." Ye Jian pondered. Now was not the time for pride, so he dialed the number of his rival, Liu Baiyue.

"Ahem! Ms. Liu, didn't Mr. Wang say... you were to provide me with reinforcements?"

"Oh? So it’s Mr. Ye. I really didn't think you’d ever have a day where you’d beg me." Liu Baiyue spoke with a mocking tone, satisfied to see her rival finally bowing his head.

Ye Jian suppressed his frustration and briefly described the impending war between the two zombie nests. Liu Baiyue was indifferent; such conflicts were common.

"I deal with these things all the time. Just find an opportunity to assassinate the zombie king, then replace them with one of our own cultivated puppets, and we’ll control the situation in no time."

"But... that zombie king is not ordinary. You must not be careless," Ye Jian warned.

"Ha! Perhaps to you, no zombie king is 'ordinary'." Liu Baiyue couldn't resist a final jab. "Don't worry, I’ll send people over soon."