[367] A Shiny Zombie?

Zuo Zhengzong stared intently at the rift from which zombies kept tumbling out, searching for the right moment to slip inside. At the foot of West Gemini Mountain, Zhang Shou waved the staff in his hand. A dense shower of green seeds flew forth, and in the blink of an eye, colossal vines erupted from the ground, forming barricades that halted the zombies' charge. Then he cast another skill. Massive tentacles materialized out of thin air, plugging the gaps between the vines. Any zombie that attempted to force its way through was wildly thrashed by the flailing limbs. At present, Qilin's new generation rested on three pillars: Gong Qian, Zhang Shou, and Cheng Pi. After obtaining her Star Ring, Gong Qian had posted numerous videos of her daily training onto Crescent Bay's network. With the income earned, she was able to purchase Crescent Bay cultivation methods and techniques. Her progress had advanced by leaps and bounds, bringing her exceedingly close to Dragon-rank. Zhang Shou, likewise thanks to the Star Ring, had found a cultivation method suited to the Tier-2 Forbidden Fruit he had consumed. Now specializing in the life element, he had not only managed to overcome some of the side effects, but his overall strength had surged drastically. He was already Qilin's premier combat healer, not far from reaching Tiger rank. As for Cheng Pi, his advancement was entirely owed to Yu Xian. After being turned into a Shiny Vampire by Yu Xian, he inherited part of the innate talents of the Shiny Vampire species. His power grew at an astonishing pace, and he had already become a Dragon-rank powerhouse. However, because his speed was so fast that he could provide backup to teammates at sub-light speeds, he was now practically always on his way to support allies or actively in the middle of doing so—utterly swamped with work. "There are too many zombies," Zhang Shou said, raising his staff. "At this rate, no matter how fast we kill them, I'm afraid we won't hold out for long." Instantly, an orb of green light shot into the sky, bursting into a shower of luminous rain that fell over his comrades, mending their injuries and restoring their stamina. Perched atop a vine, Gong Qian threw a punch. A large swathe of zombies was sent flying into the air, their bodies vibrating violently until they crashed down with every bone shattered to pieces, their flesh and blood reduced to tatters like worn-out rags, without a single inch intact. Hearing Zhang Shou's words, she frowned. "Call for reinforcements. Isn't Salty Fish at home anyway?" "Don't count on Salty Fish," Zhang Shou sighed. "He's busy dealing with the source of this disaster. He has no time to back us up here." Naturally, Yu Xian had been the first person Zhang Shou thought of. He had already contacted Yu Xian before speaking up, and Yu Xian had bluntly sent him a video feed, which was how Zhang Shou learned what was actually causing this zombie outbreak. "Did Salty Fish say how long it'll take him to deal with the source?" Gong Qian asked, startled. Zhang Shou shook his head. "I have no idea. We'd better not disturb him. Let's just hold out for as long as we can." "Then should we call for backup?" Gong Qian immediately asked. The moment she spoke, a brilliant flash of light burst across the sky. Hovering midair, Cheng Pi grinned and called down, "Qianqian, Old Zhang, backup has arrived! Surprised? Shocked? Moved to tears?" He had just returned to Qilin headquarters when he learned that zombies were running amok again at West Gemini Mountain. The moment he heard Gong Qian and the others were here, he decided to rush over to check things out. "Quit goofing around," Gong Qian said helplessly. "Hurry up and clear out the zombies around us. If any team members are in mortal danger, give them a hand." Cheng Pi dropped onto a vine and laughed. "I'm not the only one who came this time—even Xiong Da is here." "Then we should be able to hold out until this whole incident is over," Gong Qian said, breathing a sigh of relief. Though Xiong Da's strength was inferior to hers, he had one major virtue: extraordinary endurance. He was now astonishingly fat, and his defensive power was just as terrifying. Simply lying on the ground and rolling around could crush swathes of zombies. With him barricading the foot of the mountain, the zombies wouldn't be able to get down at all. Just then, what looked like a black warhead came blazing through the sky draped in flames, accompanied by an ear-splitting sonic boom. "Lord Xiong Da has arrived!" Xiong Da roared from afar before his massive frame plunged downward like a falling meteor. *Boom!* The earth shook violently, and countless zombies across West Gemini Mountain were bounced into the air by the shockwave. Zuo Zhengzong could not actually gauge who was stronger or weaker; he could only judge from appearances. Xiong Da's meteoric impact thoroughly shocked this frog in a well. He could scarcely fathom just how tough a body had to be to pull off a stunt like that. *This won't do. More and more experts are showing up. I have to get out of here right away.* Zuo Zhengzong's heart clenched in anxious calculation, terrified that lingering any longer would turn him into a target for Xiong Da and the others. Those people wouldn't care what kind of zombie he was, or whether he possessed self-awareness. In this boundless sea of zombies, if he were slain here, he would likely become nothing more than a statistic—and an utterly insignificant one at that. "Rocket Cannon Fist!" Flame erupted from Xiong Da's fists as he threw punch after punch in a frenzy. Every forward strike inflicted damage comparable to a rocket launcher, blowing vast numbers of zombies to pieces on the spot. The sight made Zuo Zhengzong's eyelids twitch violently. Conveniently, fewer zombies were tumbling out from the spatial rift at this moment. After all, on the other side, Zhang Buyao was on a slaughtering spree, refusing to let any zombies draw near the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon. The massacre over there greatly relieved the pressure on the "zombie mountain," causing the cascade of tumbling corpses to thin out. *Now's my chance—charge!* Gritting his teeth, Zuo Zhengzong immediately leaped toward the spatial rift. Because the zombies were so numerous, he did not stand out. Blended into the horde, no zombie paid any heed to this oddity among their kind, allowing him to approach the spatial rift without a hitch. At the foot of the mountain. Having finished casting his skills, Zhang Shou sat in meditation to recover. Once he had rested enough, he opened his eyes and gazed up at West Gemini Mountain. There were simply too many zombies. They blanketed the slopes and foothills. Watching the zombies continuously leap downward, Zhang Shou stood up, preparing to cast another mass protection buff. Yet as his gaze swept across a cluster of zombies, he frowned and looked back. He seemed to have caught sight of something out of place. Patiently searching the horde, he finally locked onto Zuo Zhengzong, who was pushing his way upstream against the flow. All the other zombies were rushing down; only this single zombie was heading back up. "Qianqian, I found a Shiny Zombie!" Staring at Zuo Zhengzong, Zhang Shou immediately shouted to Gong Qian, who was relentlessly attacking up ahead. *A Shiny Zombie? What on earth?* Gong Qian rolled her eyes at Zhang Shou in exasperation. Thanks to Cheng Pi, everyone knew Yu Xian's race was called Shiny Vampire. "Seriously, look over there! All the zombies are running down, and only that one is running back up. It's totally bizarre," Zhang Shou insisted, pointing at Zuo Zhengzong when he saw she didn't believe him. Following Zhang Shou's finger toward the mountainside of West Gemini Mountain, Gong Qian indeed spotted a zombie pushing against the current amid the boundless sea of undead. Sure enough, while every other zombie was leaping downward, only that one was leaping upward. Something was definitely off. Gong Qian fixed her gaze on Zuo Zhengzong. Seeing him getting closer and closer to the spatial rift, she said, "I'll go take it out!" With that, she kicked off the ground with tremendous force, shooting toward the slopes of West Gemini Mountain like a cannonball. *Damn it, they've spotted me!* *Faster, move faster!* As Zuo Zhengzong pushed upward, he suddenly sensed a terrifying whistling roar cutting through the air behind him. Glancing back, he saw Gong Qian staring right at him as she closed in at alarming speed, sending chills tingling down his scalp. He exerted every ounce of strength to leap upward madly, but compared to Gong Qian's speed, he was far too slow. *It's over!* Zuo Zhengzong came to a halt. Realizing there was no way he could outrun her, his eyes filled with despair. He had finally become a transcendent creature with so much effort. Before he could even begin his magnificent, legendary life—before he could become the Progenitor of Zombies—was he really going to perish right here?