Chapter Fifty-Two: Frugality

Cheng Luoyi possessed formidable strength, yet unlike Lin Dong, she lacked a certain elegance. Her methods were brutal and bloody, leaving “soup” splattered everywhere. She turned her head, watching Lin Dong approach with steady steps and an indifferent expression, instantly understanding his intention. She retreated a few paces, yielding the battlefield to him.

Song Yang squinted, watching intently. His heart skipped a beat; the fierce battle had left him dizzy, and for a moment, he had forgotten the most dangerous figure present. Lin Dong had not made a move from start to finish. No one knew what his awakened ability was.

Song Yang dared not take him lightly. He forced himself to stay alert, focusing all his attention on Lin Dong, who continued his advance, the distance between them shrinking rapidly.

“What does he mean by this?” Song Yang wondered, watching as Lin Dong drew near. At this point, he was forced to act.

“Die!” Song Yang roared, his voice grinding like steel, swinging his heavy fist at Lin Dong.

In that instant, Lin Dong’s eyes flashed crimson—he activated the Domain of the Dead.

A powerful pressure enveloped Song Yang, and, thanks to Lin Dong’s recent evolution while hiding at home, the Domain was even stronger now. Song Yang felt his body grow heavy, as if he had been plunged into the depths of the sea, immobilized by the crushing force.

Lin Dong sidestepped Song Yang’s fist, slipped past him, and, with a swift motion, drove his five fingers into Song Yang’s skull, penetrating it and extracting his crystal core.

The entire sequence was fluid and clean, as effortless as picking up an object—no resistance at all.

Song Yang’s face contorted in horror as his life drained away; his metallic skin faded, revealing his original form. His body arched backward and crashed to the ground—dead.

His eyes remained wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling, unable to comprehend what had happened even in death.

It had all taken place in the brief moments it took Lin Dong to walk a few steps. Retrieving Song Yang’s crystal core was as easy as reaching into a sack.

Chen Ming and the others were dumbstruck, witnessing this killing technique for the first time. Song Yang’s body appeared untouched, yet his crystal core was gone. It was uncanny—utterly uncanny! Fear welled up inside them, raising goosebumps, and they grew even more certain that Lin Dong was the mysterious Corpse King, able to kill without a trace.

Song Yang’s three subordinates were left staring in shock. Their leader had died so inexplicably—what had just happened?

Taking advantage of their stunned state, Sun Xiaoqiang swung his fist at one of them, shattering the man’s bones and silencing his cries.

“Damn!”

The remaining two realized the battle was lost; resistance was futile. Their will to fight collapsed, and they were soon dispatched by Sun Xiaoqiang.

Thus, the entire battle came to an end.

Silence reclaimed the surroundings. The KTV was a scene of chaos, bodies strewn everywhere—three hostages, thirteen members of the Black Scorpion gang—all dead.

“Lin Dong, you’re incredible! You took down that metal man so easily!” Sun Xiaoqiang exclaimed, eyes wide with awe.

“You’re pretty impressive yourself,” Lin Dong replied, genuinely surprised that Sun Xiaoqiang’s intelligence had produced such an ability.

Sun Xiaoqiang burst out laughing. “Ha! You figured it out!”

The others busied themselves cleaning up the battlefield. Cheng Luoyi approached the corpses of the three hostages, gazing down at them with regret, lamenting that she hadn’t been able to save them.

She crouched, drove her fingers into their skulls, and deftly extracted their brain cores.

“Treasure the enemy’s crystal cores, but don’t waste your own comrades’ brain cores,” Cheng Luoyi muttered, a habit born from years of hardship—she was thrifty, a diligent and frugal girl.

Meanwhile, Chen Ming and his companions reported to the shelter headquarters with their communicators.

“Uh... the Black Scorpion members have been eliminated. Total number of criminals: thirteen. Total kills: sixteen.”

...

Lin Dong now adopted a “thrifty” approach as well, making rounds upstairs and downstairs, collecting the sixteen corpses into his storage space.

Sun Xiaoqiang watched in bewilderment and quickly asked, “Where did the bodies go? Did you store them?”

“Yes, packed up to take home for dog food,” Lin Dong replied offhandedly.

“Good heavens!” Sun Xiaoqiang scratched his head, feeling odd—was this a banquet or a takeout party?

Aside from that, Cheng Luoyi and the others found the stolen supplies. There wasn’t much: five boxes of instant noodles, a few bags of dried noodles, two sacks of rice, and one bag of flour. There were also some canned fruits, chocolate, and other snacks, but most were expired, and the gang had already consumed a good portion.

It was clear the shelter was severely short on supplies.

For such meager goods, they had dispatched Cheng Luoyi, serial number 001, and Sun Xiaoqiang, number 002—proof of how precious these resources were.

“Alright, let’s head back,” Cheng Luoyi said.

Sun Xiaoqiang’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Heh, we finally have something to eat!”

Behind them, Chen Ming and the other four played the role of porters, lugging sacks of rice and boxes, looking somewhat bedraggled. Moreover, they were terrified of Lin Dong, never daring to get close, trailing behind from a safe distance.

“Lin Dong, come back to the shelter with us,” Sun Xiaoqiang invited.

“No,” Lin Dong shook his head.

Sun Xiaoqiang looked puzzled. “Why not?”

“I have no need to hide,” Lin Dong replied.

“Oh...” Sun Xiaoqiang nodded uncertainly.

They soon reached the street where they had first met, the moment to part ways.

Cheng Luoyi gazed at Lin Dong with her big eyes. “When will we meet again?”

“If the shelter runs short of food, you can trade crystal cores with me,” Lin Dong thought for a moment and answered.

“Alright.” Cheng Luoyi agreed readily, establishing a mutually beneficial partnership.

They exchanged contact info online so they could chat anytime.

With everything settled, Lin Dong bid them farewell.

“This is where we part. Until next time.”

“Mm, goodbye,” Cheng Luoyi said, walking away without looking back.

Chen Ming and the others, burdened with boxes and sacks, avoided Lin Dong, hurrying to catch up to Cheng Luoyi.

“Bye, Lin Dong! We’ll chat online!” Sun Xiaoqiang waved goodbye and turned to leave.

The sun was setting, its golden light stretching their shadows long across the street. Cheng Luoyi and her group gradually disappeared into the distance.

Lin Dong watched them until they vanished at the end of the street.

Then, one after another, fierce zombies began to emerge from alleys, lanes, and buildings—Tank, Little Eight, Doctor, and the rest—gathering in orderly ranks behind Lin Dong.

“Boss, are those your friends?”

...