Chapter Eighty-One: Taking It Seriously Means Losing

“Hiss…”
The crowd’s faces twisted in shock as they drew in sharp breaths.
What was this bizarre ability?
In theory, Lin Dong had indeed succeeded—he had snuffed out the life of the bearded man. But now, Feng Yan and the others realized—they had been played.
“That bastard! Kill him!”
With a furious roar, Feng Yan’s muscles swelled, his skin taking on a stony brown hue. He was clearly a body-strengthening Awakened—his power, Petrified Flesh.
Lin Dong met him with a punch of his own, and the Corpse Domain erupted at the same time.
Boom!
The two collided with a thunderous impact. Even with his stone body, Feng Yan was no match—he was sent flying ten meters, crashing into the wall, cracks spreading out like a spider’s web.
The others around them were plunged into the Corpse Domain, a suffocating pressure bearing down on them.
But the Black Scorpion Awakened were all vicious and violent by nature.
“Die!”
Clenching their jaws, they forced their powers to the limit, lunging at Lin Dong in a mad assault—fire roared, blades of wind howled, and waves of destructive energy surged forth.
Lin Dong had no intention of taking on all their attacks head-on—he retreated swiftly.
Rumble!
All the unleashed energy exploded, the shockwave shattering pillars in the hall and filling the air with thick, choking dust.
With the sound of rocks tumbling, dust rained from the ceiling, and the entire underground hall began to shake.
“What’s going on?”
“Damn! The building above is going to collapse!”
“Where did that guy go? Did he die?”
The Black Scorpion Awakened searched frantically for Lin Dong’s figure, but aside from the falling dust, the place was empty—he had vanished without a trace.
Everyone’s brows furrowed, a sense of unease crawling through their hearts.
That man was too strange!
At that moment, a mental-type Awakened, face grave, cast out his spiritual senses, searching carefully.
Soon, he detected a strange presence.
“He’s next to you, Zhao!”
“Hm?”
A middle-aged man’s expression darkened. Flames ignited in his palm and, with a sweep of his hand, a wall of fire rose before him.
“So, I’ve been found…”
Lin Dong reappeared, the terrifying power of the Corpse Domain surging like a hurricane. In an instant, the wall of fire was swept away, and a fist followed close behind.

Amidst the shower of sparks, a fist appeared before the man’s eyes, growing larger in his pupils.
Bang!
Despite his energy shield, his skull was shattered.
A crystal core flew from the wreckage.
As the brutal fighting raged on, the crumbling building grew ever more unstable, chunks of masonry crashing down, threatening to bury them all.
Lin Dong looked up, then disappeared with a leap.
This time, the Awakened saw it clearly—Lin Dong vanished into thin air, as if evaporating.
“Damn! This guy is unbelievable!”
They cursed under their breaths, but fear gnawed at their hearts, as if they had seen a ghost.
Feng Yan gnashed his teeth in hatred.
“Where did he go?”
“It seems… he’s already left!”
The mental-type Awakened was still sensing.
Debris kept tumbling down, the ground trembled relentlessly—there was no way to stay here.
“Let’s get out too!”
Relying on their powers and strong bodies, the Awakened scrambled up through the rubble.

From a distance, the Furniture City tower had completely collapsed into ruins.
Amid the swirling dust, a massive stone slab was pushed aside.
Coughing, covered in grime, the Black Scorpion Awakened crawled out from the wreckage.
“Damn it, where did that guy run off to?”
“I’ll risk my life to take him down today!”
“Yes! Let’s finish this with him!”
Their curses were laced with rage and frustration.
“Wait…”
Feng Yan suddenly realized something was wrong. With all that noise, the zombies nearby should have been drawn by now—why was it still so quiet?
But as the dust settled, he saw terrifying faces appearing on the streets, rooftops, and abandoned vehicles.
Some zombies even climbed the walls like spiders.
The crowd’s eyes widened in horror.
They realized they were completely surrounded by an ever-growing horde of zombies.

“Caw—caw—caw! Humans… there really are humans here.”
Hundreds of black crows with red eyes circled above, a chilling sight.
And among the zombie horde not far away, a white figure stood out, flanked by a towering, brawny zombie, its beady eyes flashing with hatred.
“Brother Yan, he… he’s the Corpse King???”
One Awakened’s jaw nearly hit the ground.
Those who had wanted to fight Lin Dong were now paralyzed with terror, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Surrounded by such a force, terror overwhelmed them.
Feng Yan finally understood.
His “baiting operation” had reeled in something he could never have imagined.
Only Xu Lu’s face showed not just horror, but also disappointment and sorrow.
“You… you’re the Corpse King of this region?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Lin Dong nodded calmly.
“No wonder…”
Xu Lu finally understood. She remembered when he said he trusted her, and claimed never to have killed anyone—clearly, it had all been lies.
“So you were lying to me…”
“Aren’t you lying to me too?”
“But I…”
Xu Lu faltered. At one point, she had truly believed him, didn’t want Lin Dong to die, and was even willing to offend Feng Yan for his sake.
“Actually, I wasn’t lying. I really did come to look for supplies.” Lin Dong paused, sweeping his gaze over them. “Because… you are the supplies.”
“Roar—”
His final words tolled like a death knell. Tank let out a thunderous roar, leading thousands of zombies in a charge.
“How could there really be humans in my territory?”
Tank’s hatred for the humans was palpable—he had failed his patrol, and only by tearing them apart could he make up for his mistakes.
As the frenzied zombies surged forward, Feng Yan and the others were paralyzed with fear. Any thought of resistance was futile.
Most of these zombies were elite soldiers—there was even the ace corps, their strength terrifying.
Feng Yan and his group were swept away before they could even make a ripple.
Especially Xu Lu.
Despair filled her heart—she put up no resistance at all, feeling there was nothing left in this world to hold her.
“If there’s a next life, never trust anyone too easily. The moment you take it seriously, you’ve lost…”
That was her final thought before death claimed her.

…