Chapter 109: Adventure—Advancing Towards the “Exorcist”

She tapped Milk on the forehead. “You’re something else, aren’t you? Look at you, you must be really nourishing, huh?”

Milk bared her teeth, as if to say, “It’s just so-so.”

She had vital blood, produced a black core, and could even transform—this cat was truly something else, constantly shattering her understanding of the world. Bian Changxi studied the cat’s corpse for a while longer before putting it away. This would make an excellent research specimen; those tech types would definitely love it.

She took Milk with her to help dig out the crystal cores. With three people working together, the job was done in just a few minutes—they dug through all the mutant beast corpses and then quickly left that bloody, oppressive place.

Today was August 14th. Tomorrow, it would rain heavily, and the day after that, zombies and mutant plants and animals would get a boost as if on steroids, becoming much stronger. Bian Changxi had originally planned to leave Longyue Town today. Their plan was to take down Zombie Xiao Ai, then hurry back to pick up George and Xiao Ai and leave immediately. But when Chen Guanqing discovered the black core, their plans were inevitably delayed.

Bian Changxi asked Chu Hao to find a relatively safe house. As they walked, she mulled over her words, then spoke up: “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but every time—well, every time Xiao Ai goes berserk, it’s always after being influenced by the white cat.” Calling a zombie by name felt awkward, but to accommodate the others, she went along with it. “At first, I thought the white cat was just acting spoiled and tattling, but thinking about it now, I think the white cat was actually controlling Xiao Ai.”

Chen Guanqing immediately said, “I felt that too. My fireball had already calmed Xiao Ai down, but then that damned cat bit her, and she instantly went berserk again.” He paused. “But what does that have to do with the black core?”

“Because the black core is a very unique type of crystal core. It’s extremely rare, from what I’ve heard. Only zombies or mutant beasts with certain summoning or control abilities can produce this kind of core. And it seems that those who can use the black core’s powers also gain some kind of control ability.”

“Control zombies?” Chen Guanqing’s eyes lit up.

“That’s right.”

“So, if I absorb the energy from this black core, does that mean I could…” Control Xiao Ai? Make her normal again?

But Bian Changxi shook her head. “But the risk is enormous.”

She had mentioned before that there was a group of people who could command zombies—an unusual kind of ability. The powerful ones could even trigger zombie hordes. They were called “dark-type” ability users, but later, the capital’s editorial office gave them an even more mysterious and terrifying name: “Exorcists.”

Whether it was their own nature or the influence of this eerie power, “Exorcists” were almost all eccentric and unpredictable, with more or less anti-human tendencies. Some even dreamed of leading zombie armies against humanity and proclaiming themselves rulers of the world. She kept her distance from these ability users. When Yunhua Base was besieged by a zombie horde, she suspected it was orchestrated by an “Exorcist” at Zhu Yunhua’s behest.

That was the first risk.

Second, what kind of group were the “Exorcists” really? Were they born with this power, like the elemental ability users, or did they develop it gradually by absorbing black cores?

Bian Changxi couldn’t be sure. In the apocalypse, there were many things that couldn’t be explained by language or experience, nor could they be neatly categorized. There were all sorts of bizarre phenomena and existences—like the cunning Milk, the superhero-like transforming white cat, Gu Xu evolving into a lightning type, Chen Guanqing’s fire ability having a corrosive effect, and her own ordinary wood ability somehow gaining fire and ice attributes.

If it was an innate ability, then Chen Guanqing trying to absorb the black core would be suicidal. If it were her, it might be fine—she was a tier two, and the black core was only tier one. High-level users using low-level cores, even with mismatched attributes, faced much less risk. Plus, her understanding and control of abilities was deeper than anyone else’s; even if something went wrong, she could stabilize things at the last moment.

But Chen Guanqing was still a rookie—messing around could get him killed.

Third, even if you ignored the first risk and got through the second, did you really think controlling zombies was that easy? If it were, there wouldn’t be so few and secretive people like that in her previous life. Not to mention the fact that humanity would never accept them—what about the zombie you tried to control? Would it just stand there and let you take over? Wouldn’t it resist? And who knew what could happen during that struggle?

Bian Changxi thought the whole thing was unreliable, almost like those soul-stealing possession stories—if you weren’t careful and suffered backlash, it could be an irreversible, catastrophic blow.

“Let me be frank: I said before that we’d take Xiao Ai with us, but I do have a plan. I want to wait until we reach Su City Base, where there are more people and more information, and see if there’s a way to restore Xiao Ai to normal. After all, she can’t stay in Chu Hao’s space forever.”

Actually, her main goal was to find a few of the famous “Exorcists” from her previous life, probe their thoughts, and see if she could find a method to help Zombie Xiao Ai. In short, she was still considering the “Exorcist” route, but at least she wanted to be fully prepared.

“Why not?” Chen Guanqing immediately asked. “Miss Bian, is there something you’re not telling me?” His almost rude questioning made Chu Hao anxious, but Bian Changxi didn’t mind. She asked Chu Hao if he could find a place to rest.

Chu Hao glanced around and finally found a safe, empty house. The three of them quickly went inside and closed the door. Bian Changxi had Chu Hao bring out Zombie Xiao Ai.

The zombie had been kept in a freezer; the sack was already torn to shreds, but the vines on her legs still kept her from moving much. She just kept scratching at the freezer door, looking terrifying.

Bian Changxi used her knife sheath to brush the hair from the zombie’s face. The face underneath was swollen and deformed, lips blood-red, eye sockets bulging, but not as rotten and disgusting as an ordinary zombie. Her arms were covered in scars, but there weren’t huge chunks of flesh missing—her skin just looked dull, like a corpse that hadn’t been dead for long.

She probed with her wood-type energy. Inside the zombie’s body was a mass of black, viscous, writhing energy—very active. The moment her wood energy touched it, it tried to latch on, startling her into withdrawing immediately.

She gripped the edge of the freezer. “Look, doesn’t she look different from other zombies?”

Chu Hao took a look. “She really does. Other zombies are much scarier.”

Chen Guanqing asked, “Why is that?”

“The better a zombie looks, the stronger its abilities and the greater its potential for advancement. Some zombies can eventually become indistinguishable from humans.” She acted as if she hadn’t seen their shocked faces and continued, “As zombies evolve and advance, their bodily functions become more complete, and even necrotic tissues can repair themselves. At that point, they’ll need to breathe and eat regularly—then, space abilities won’t be able to contain them.”

Spatial ability users can only store dead things. Chu Hao could keep the zombie in his space now because she didn’t need to breathe—she was like a moving corpse.

“You mean Xiao Ai could really return to her old self?” Chen Guanqing was excited.

“It’s a possibility. That’s why I suggested bringing her along.” Otherwise, she’d have to be crazy to encourage him to spend every day pining for a zombie. Over time, who wouldn’t go a little crazy?

She figured that if it worked out, great; if not, at least Chen Guanqing would have a goal. Otherwise, he’d just keep seeking death. In her previous life, it had nothing to do with her, but now that they knew each other and had built some camaraderie, seeing him like this was just depressing.

“But before that, for quite a while, we won’t be able to hide her. She’ll need to move around outside.”

Chu Hao gasped. “But like this, she’ll be…”

“Yes. If people find out we’re traveling with a zombie, we’ll be in big trouble.” She turned to Chen Guanqing. “Honestly, if you succeed and can control Xiao Ai, making her appear normal—at least on the surface—it’ll be much easier. But if you fail, it’ll be a terrible end. So my suggestion is to wait, at least until you’re stronger.”

Chen Guanqing was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked something else: “You said zombies like Xiao Ai are easier to advance?”

“That’s right.”

He smiled. “I don’t know much about the apocalypse, but I’ve read novels before. The lower the level, the easier it is to control, right? That’s true everywhere, isn’t it?”

Bian Changxi was momentarily speechless.

He looked at Xiao Ai tenderly. “And if we start earlier, Xiao Ai can return to normal sooner, right?”

Sooner? Should I tell you that naturally evolved zombies only start to look human after three or four years of the apocalypse? That it takes six or seven years for zombies indistinguishable from humans to appear? Waiting another month or two won’t make much difference.

But she’d already said so much—if she kept insisting, not even the excuse of traveling with a big convoy would hold up.

Chen Guanqing was clearly ready to risk everything. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Don’t worry, Miss Bian. I have a good feeling about this black core. Isn’t this fate?” Suddenly, he seemed cultured and confident, the image of a successful man in control.

Bian Changxi’s heart skipped a beat. Before the apocalypse, Chen Guanqing had been somebody—not some fool. Since he’d made up his mind, why should she stop him?

“What do I have to worry about?” She told Chu Hao to put Xiao Ai away and keep watch at the door, then carefully explained to Chen Guanqing what to watch out for when absorbing the energy, and what might happen.

Bian Changxi’s experience was thorough and comprehensive—she covered every detail. Whether out of duty or personal feeling, she didn’t want Chen Guanqing to fall here.

It was like completing a mission—she knew that if she helped him through this, she’d have repaid her debt to Chu Hao and Chen Guanqing. Otherwise, if something happened to Chen Guanqing, Chu Hao might blame her, and she’d end up with another enemy for nothing. That would be asking for trouble.

Ugh, I was just packing my bags and suddenly remembered I haven’t posted the second update yet—!

I’ll be home tonight, but there’s no internet at home yet, so I’m frantically typing away and finally managed to save…one chapter! ~/~ La la la

For the next few days, either the stockpile of chapters will keep you company, or updates might be a bit unstable. But two chapters a day is still the goal (if I ever miss a day, I’ll make it up the next day, no matter what). Please be gentle! Hopefully I can get the internet set up soon. Love you all!"