Ch 35: The Third Transformation
“What exactly happened?!”
Li Jingru smoked, his expression grave. Of a 10-person elite squad, only two remained, including a major combatant and even a higher-up from the base.
Cui Zixuan merely lowered her head, a troubled expression on her face.
“After we found that the Steel Whip Zombie wasn’t at its previous location, we checked the monitoring. We followed the direction the Steel Whip Zombie left in, but we encountered a powerful Zombie. It could kill them all in an instant.”
“I used my Special Ability to bring Du Ling back, but I didn’t have a chance to save the others.”
Li Jingru exchanged a glance with the person beside him, who subtly nodded in response.
Cui Zixuan knew that there was an Interrogator beside the Leader; it was said his Special Ability could sense if someone was lying.
Therefore, she and Du Ling only shared unimportant, truthful information to avoid suspicion.
“Du Ling, did you tell your Captain that you knew who took the Steel Whip Zombie, and that you took the initiative to lead them to search for it?”
Li Jingru’s gaze was terrifying, as if he were looking at a traitor.
“Ye-yes… While I’m not entirely sure, I seemed to have seen the SUV in the monitoring, so I led everyone towards the SUV.”
“I just didn’t expect to encounter such a powerful Zombie. The team members attacked it, but they were eliminated in an instant.”
“My Special Ability doesn’t have much offensive power, so I was always positioned towards the rear. Zi Xuan brought me back…”
Du Ling carefully considered his words, ensuring that all the information he shared was true.
“Powerful Zombie, what are its characteristics?”
Li Jingru narrowed his eyes. Another powerful Zombie? Recent events were giving him a terrible headache.
“It releases rock-type Special Abilities, quickly enveloping and crushing people with several rock slabs. Rock spikes can precisely pierce a person’s vital points.”
“Where did you encounter it?”
Du Ling looked to Cui Zixuan for help. Revealing Ji Chuan’s exact location would undoubtedly upset him.
“It was in the direction the SUV drove off in the monitoring; that should be Xinghe District.”
Du Ling breathed a sigh of relief. He noticed the Interrogator’s subtle nod, seeming to approve of their answers.
Li Jingru waved them away. He needed a new plan to quickly solve this problem.
…
Ji Chuan’s head felt heavy; this was the worst he had ever felt.
Previous transformations were merely nightmares, but now he felt like he was in reality.
He was still that Otaku, but before him stood a terrifying Zombie. Ji Chuan stared blankly at its decaying face, unable to approach.
“Who are you?”
Ji Chuan slowly backed away; the grotesque Zombie filled him with immense unease.
“You use my power; I use your body.”
“Are you the Zombie King?”
“That’s right.”
“What is your purpose?”
“To create a kingdom of Zombies and wipe out all humanity.”
Despite its lack of skin, Ji Chuan could see a smile on the bizarre Zombie’s face. After speaking, it walked toward Ji Chuan.
Ji Chuan ran in the opposite direction, “Don’t come near me!”
It was the instinct of a human facing terror.
But after running for a long time and turning around, the Zombie still maintained its close proximity.
Ji Chuan gasped for breath.
“It’s useless; you can’t escape.”
The moment the eerie voice finished, the Zombie appeared out of nowhere in front of Ji Chuan, blocking his path.
“I am within you. Don’t reject me; we are one.”
“I’m not a monster like you!”
Ji Chuan tried to use his Special Ability to attack, but there was no response. He was just an ordinary person at this moment.
He faced the same despair as when Liu Hao threw him out of the villa.
The eyeballs on the bloody face wildly twitched, seemingly excited at the sight of prey.
“You’re afraid of me.”
The decaying muscle fibers curled into a grotesque arc. The three rows of teeth in its huge mouth were exceptionally sharp. It lowered its head and carefully observed Ji Chuan, showing intense interest.
Cold sweat streamed down his forehead. Ji Chuan backed away, trying to escape the monster before him.
But a cold sensation came from behind, accompanied by a low growl, like a wild beast.
At some point, Zombies had surrounded him, completely blocking his escape route.
“You can’t escape; we’ll meet again.”
Ji Chuan felt the stench emanating from the huge mouth. It extended its withered, sharp claws toward his head.
This was the fear of facing death. Ji Chuan had no doubt that those claws could tear him apart instantly.
“No, don’t!”
Ji Chuan frantically dodged backward, but the Zombies behind him grabbed his arms, torso, and legs.
He was completely immobilized.
The claw touched Ji Chuan’s head.
“Ah!”
Ji Chuan woke up with a start, gasping for air.
Before him were Gu Yunxi, looking worried, and Zhang Yun, covered in sweat.
“You finally woke up. This time it lasted a long time.”
“How long has it been?”
“Three days.”
Ji Chuan couldn’t believe he had been unconscious for three days. Seeing the exhausted pair, Ji Chuan felt warmth. Was this what it was like to have companions?
He seemed to have had a long nightmare, a dream with something important in it, but the awakened Ji Chuan couldn’t remember anything.
“Ji Chuan, your forehead…”
Gu Yunxi looked at a deep fissure on Ji Chuan’s forehead, like a closed eye.
Ji Chuan raised his hand to touch his face; he also felt the abnormality on his forehead.
But there was no sensation, no connection, just like a scar.
But Ji Chuan felt it wouldn’t be that simple.
This time, he had consumed 7 Advanced Level Crystal Cores. He felt a tremendous change in his body, even able to directly sense all lifeforms within the administrative area.
He could even share the vision of every Zombie in each area if he wanted.
He knew Xiao Mei was kneeling on one knee in the courtyard facing him.
He could observe nearby humans through the Zombie’s vision.
He tried to further strengthen his connection with the Zombies in the area.
While sharing their vision, he began to control the corresponding Zombie’s body.
He succeeded!
A strong sense of excitement filled Ji Chuan’s heart. He could now control the Zombies in the area and act from their first-person perspective!
He tried to activate his Special Ability, but failed. He remembered that it was the Crystal Core that activated the Special Ability, and Zombies without Crystal Cores naturally couldn’t activate the corresponding Special Ability.
Ji Chuan wondered whether he should leave some Zombies with Crystal Cores for possession, not all of them could be used for eating walnuts.
“I’m fine, you go rest. You’ve worked hard.”
Ji Chuan smiled at Gu Yunxi and Zhang Yun.
Gu Yunxi nodded. She and Lin Lulu had each stayed up for a whole day, and Yun Jie had been guarding here for three days with very little sleep.
She always felt her Special Ability was useless, hoping to minimize Ji Chuan’s suffering while he was unconscious.
Ji Chuan went downstairs and called Zhu Zhu; it was time to replenish supplies.
With his current abilities, Ji Chuan could easily find supermarkets that hadn’t been looted yet.
To avoid attracting attention, Ji Chuan didn’t drive this time.
He flew to his destination with Zhu Zhu at night, saving a lot of time. Zhu Zhu was exceptionally excited and seemed very happy all the way.
Entering the supermarket, Ji Chuan easily lifted a shelf and emptied it into Zhu Zhu’s mouth. He found that this transformation had greatly strengthened his abilities.
He even wanted to go see the Esper Base immediately.
