Chapter Seventy-Seven: Top Secret

This man was, of course, Yang Hao. His heart was gripped by utter terror. Lin Dong had deliberately spared his life, thinking he might still be of some use.

At that moment, hearing footsteps approaching, Yang Hao raised his head, trembling, and saw Lin Dong’s cold, indifferent face. Behind him followed Tank, Little Eight, and the Doctor, each exuding a menacing aura.

Yang Hao immediately felt a hot wetness in his trousers—he had been frightened into wetting himself once more.

“Don’t kill me! Spare my life! I... I can work with you,” he pleaded.

“Work with me?” Lin Dong cocked an eyebrow, curiosity piqued.

Yang Hao stammered out an explanation. “I... I know a lot of Tech Corporation’s secrets. If you let me go, I’ll tell you everything!”

“Very well, go ahead,” Lin Dong replied, watching him with interest.

Yang Hao’s lips were dry; unconsciously, he swallowed hard. He fumbled in his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and placed it to his lips with trembling hands. Just like last time, he struggled to light it as his hands refused to cooperate. After several failed attempts, finally, with a faint snap, a small flame danced to life.

But Lin Dong casually blew out the flame with a breath.

“No smoking in public places,” he said.

Yang Hao was speechless, but he forced himself to calm down and began to speak.

“Tech Corporation intends to cultivate zombies.”

“I already know that,” Lin Dong replied.

Yang Hao nodded. “The Z-virus you obtained last time was just the first stage—it enhances cell activity and reaction speed. In fact, the experiment has a second stage, the Q-virus, which can strengthen the bones of zombies.”

As the assistant to Director Ye Jian, Yang Hao was part of the management and knew more than most.

Lin Dong found this information quite useful. “Where is the Q-virus?”

“It’s at the company’s headquarters. It’ll be transported here in ten days,” Yang Hao replied, looking up.

Lin Dong pondered for a moment. The Q-virus, like the Z-virus before, would be brought by helicopter. If he could get his hands on it, his ace zombie army would evolve even further, reaching a truly terrifying level of power.

This also revealed the profound resources and advanced technology of Tech Corporation’s headquarters.

“Is there anything else?” Lin Dong pressed.

“There’s more...” Yang Hao hesitated, then gritted his teeth and revealed a secret known only to the upper echelons. “Not only does Tech Corporation use ordinary people for human trials, but they also experiment on some Awakened individuals.”

“According to reports from headquarters, they have already achieved initial results—they can transfer, graft, or concentrate Awakened abilities onto a single person. We call them ‘Reconstructed,’ essentially the second generation of Hunters.”

“Reconstructed have no will of their own. They act entirely according to programmed instructions.”

Lin Dong mused—these Reconstructed must be formidable, possessing multiple abilities at once. Wouldn’t that mean... they also had multiple crystal cores?

Yang Hao gathered his thoughts. “Actually, the headquarters’ support for cultivating zombies is all about acquiring bizarre abilities to then transfer into Reconstructed, creating true killing machines!”

“In addition... headquarters has already formed special squads dedicated to hunting monstrous zombies. These teams are composed entirely of Awakened ranked A or above, and are equipped with extremely expensive Reconstructed warriors. Their strength is immense.”

“I see...” Lin Dong nodded. Tech Corporation was not to be underestimated; though he was growing stronger, so too were they advancing rapidly.

Yang Hao, having said all he needed, glanced up to test the waters. “So... can I leave now?”

“Yes, go ahead,” Lin Dong said casually.

But Yang Hao felt uneasy. Why did that sound so unconvincing?

“You... you really won’t kill me?”

“Really. If I say I won’t kill you, I won’t,” Lin Dong replied, his tone more serious.

Yang Hao finally believed him, a glimmer of hope for survival lighting in his heart.

“Then I’m going,” he said, scrambling to his feet. Eager to escape this wretched place, he hurried toward the street.

But before he’d gone more than a few steps, he felt a sudden rush of wind. With a sickening squelch, a sharp pain tore through his lower back, and blood gushed out.

“You...” Yang Hao’s eyes widened in shock, his whole body trembling. Realization dawned as he slowly turned his head, first seeing Little Eight’s grinning face.

Lin Dong stood behind him, observing him with calm indifference.

“I didn’t kill you,” Lin Dong said.

Yang Hao was speechless as blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth. His consciousness grew dim.

“In your next life... never trust a zombie’s word...”

With a heavy thud, Yang Hao’s body collapsed to the ground.

...

Thus the battle ended. In truth, after Snake Eyes died, the remaining zombies under his command had already given up resistance. After all, they hadn’t evolved to the point of loyalty.

The giant pythons, too, scattered—those that could escape did so in panic.

The zombies set about clearing the battlefield, devouring flesh and gathering crystal cores.

Cheng Luoyi walked over slowly.

“It’s over before I even got to use my strength?” she remarked.

“If you’re bored, I’ll call you next time,” Lin Dong replied.

“What are your plans now?”

“Nothing much,” Lin Dong answered. He had no grand ambition to rule the world. As a ‘mere little zombie,’ he simply wanted to live peacefully, untroubled by hunger or thirst. That had always been his plan, even before the apocalypse.

But life in the underworld rarely goes as one wishes. If he hadn’t killed Snake Eyes, trouble would have found him, so he had been forced to swallow up his rival’s territory.

Cheng Luoyi looked at him, her eyes thoughtful.

“Now that your territory’s grown, how about letting me scavenge through it?”

“Trade for crystal cores,” Lin Dong said bluntly.

Cheng Luoyi’s large eyes spun with mischief. “Next time, for sure...”

With that, she strode off, leading Sun Xiaoqiang, Chen Ming, and the others away, their figures receding into the distance.

“Crazy woman...” Lin Dong muttered as he watched her disappear.

Just then, the sun broke through the clouds, shining once more upon the earth. The lingering scent of blood in the air tinged the sunlight red, as if slender crimson threads hung vertically from the sky.

Blood pooled on the ground, reflecting the eerie scarlet light, adding a vivid stroke to the apocalyptic city’s tableau.

Lin Dong stood in the midst of it all, the three kings behind him, commanding a horde of countless zombies.

“Let’s go home,” he ordered.

At his command, the zombie army surged forward.

“Caw—caw—caw, home...” A flock of crows swept overhead, blotting out the sky.

At the rear, another group of zombies lingered—Little Black and his ragtag band of brothers.

“Boss, what should we do?” one minion asked.

“Hmmmm...” Little Black pondered for a moment. After this battle, he was completely in awe of Lin Dong. Most importantly... there would still be meat to eat.

“Follow the big boss home!”

...