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Cloud Raising Little Zombies: Chapter 27
ZOMBIE EMPEROR CULTIVATION
27. Zombie Emperor Ye You launches zombie siege…A City Base changes hands.
Su Zi’an took advantage of Ji Xuelin’s standoff with Ye You to break free from the alloy restraints that bound his hands, feet, and waist, freeing himself from the platform.
As soon as he gained his freedom, Su Zi’an heard the base leader talking about some kind of gift. He looked up, and—oh no, zombies. Lots of zombies.
Unlike Ye You, who only ever slightly raised the corners of his mouth when he smiled, Su Zi’an laughed out loud without holding back.
“Hahaha, five B-level zombies, ten C-level zombies, and so many D-level zombies—this gift from the base leader is truly generous.”
Su Zi’an didn’t have Ye You’s mental abilities, so he couldn’t see the size of the crystals in the zombies’ brains. However, by sensing the energy emanating from the zombies, Su Zi’an could roughly determine their levels.
In front of his Ge, releasing zombies that were lower in level than him was nothing short of presenting a gift.
【F*ck (a type of plant) 1, I didn’t know you could do that. Learned something new today.】
【The game doesn’t directly display levels for characters. I thought these were just regular zombies, but there are actually B-level and C-level zombies? This gift is really something.】
【This is the first time I’ve seen a villain so eager to meet their end quickly.】
【What villain? Show some respect! Quickly type “The base leader is a good person” in the chat.】
【Sending little brothers from afar—the gift is light but the affection is heavy. Don’t worry, base leader, we’ll always remember your kindness.】
【Thanks to the base leader for sending us “grapes,” “grains of rice,” “red beans,” and “peanuts.” Thanks for tipping our You Zai. He will keep working hard~】
【Where’s the admin? Quickly, get the base leader a VIP seat for tipping.】
Ji Xuelin, who had turned into a black mist, didn’t understand Su Zi’an’s humor at all.
Watching as the zombies emerged one by one from behind the walls, Ji Xuelin snorted coldly:
“Laugh all you want. When the zombies tear you apart, you won’t have a chance to laugh anymore.”
Even as he said this, the blaring alarms made Ji Xuelin feel a strange sense of unease.
He wasn’t particularly worried about the safety of the base. Even if the base was overrun by zombies, with his abilities, he wouldn’t have any trouble finding another base willing to take him in.
What puzzled Ji Xuelin was why a zombie siege would occur at this moment.
Aside from intelligent zombies, lower-level zombies have a strong tendency to obey higher-level ones. As the apocalypse progresses, zombie sieges become more common. But the timing of this siege was unusual.
It was too early. The apocalypse had only been going on for half a month, and B-level zombies were still extremely rare. How could zombies organize a siege?
A zombie horde capable of threatening a base would either need five or more B-level zombies or tens of thousands of ordinary ones. Only with the emergence of an A-level zombie, known as a Zombie Emperor, could such a horde be organized to besiege a base.
An A-level Zombie Emperor?
How could that be possible?
He had consumed nearly half of the base’s crystal energy just to reach A-level. The mutated crow managed to ascend to A-level by snatching crystals, but how could a non-intelligent zombie possibly evolve to A-level so quickly?
Wait a minute, intelligence… Could it be that an intelligent zombie has emerged?
Intelligent zombies are not intimidated by higher-level zombies and possess a certain degree of control over zombies of the same level. A B-level intelligent zombie alone could organize a zombie siege.
Ji Xuelin was inwardly alarmed and only wanted to quickly finish off Ye You and Su Zi’an so that he could use Su Zi’an’s ability to escape this place.
Yes, with the remote destroyed, there were only two ways to get out of here. The first was for someone outside to open the door from the control room. The second was to turn Su Zi’an’s time-based ability into his own, alter the time of the door, and leave.
Ji Xuelin saw the zombies advancing towards the two of them and felt that everything was going according to plan.
He maintained his black mist form, ready to watch the two get torn apart by the zombies.
But then, the plant-based ability user named Ye You said something. Hold your breath? Or was it propylene?
Just as Ji Xuelin was wondering, he saw a B-level ice zombie turn around and roar loudly in his direction.
The temperature plummeted.
A layer of ice formed on the metal floor, and the cold spread everywhere.
Even in his black mist form, Ji Xuelin felt the biting chill.
He finally understood what Ye You had said: “Ice.”
Why was this ice zombie listening to that ability user? Why was it attacking him?!
Ji Xuelin couldn’t figure it out. He was in black mist form, while over there were two living beings with blood and crystal nuclei!
The flow of his ability energy started to slow down.
If this continued, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his black mist form at all.
Ji Xuelin didn’t have time to ponder the reason and quickly drifted to the other side of the room.
Ye You: “Water.”
“Roar—”
Another zombie roared, and a column of water appeared out of thin air, rushing toward the black mist.
Before Ji Xuelin could react, he was thoroughly soaked by the water.
The impact of the water did him no harm, as he was just a wisp of black mist.
But there was still an ice zombie here, actively using its ability.
The water froze, trapping the black mist within an ice pillar.
Frozen solid, Ji Xuelin couldn’t move, though his consciousness remained clear.
How did it come to this?
Through the ice pillar and the cold mist, Ji Xuelin saw Ye You and Su Zi’an approaching him, followed by a group of quiet and obedient zombies.
As the hallucinogenic effect of the morning glory began to fade through the ice pillar, Ji Xuelin saw Ye You’s true form: black hair, red eyes, crimson pupils…
He wasn’t just any ability user; he was a zombie! A rare intelligent zombie!
Ji Xuelin almost choked on his own blood.
If he had known earlier that the other party was an intelligent zombie, he would never have released zombies to deal with him.
He would have torn off Ye You’s disguise the moment he tried to enter the base and led all the enforcers to hunt him down!
“Ge, should we smash him to pieces?” Su Zi’an asked Ye You as he stood before the ice pillar encasing the black mist.
“No need. He’s almost dead.”
Ye You calmly observed the frozen black mist.
The moment Ji Xuelin was encased in ice, his fate was sealed. In the extreme cold, Ji Xuelin’s ability slowed down, making it impossible for him to maintain his black mist form. The moment he reverted from black mist to human form would be the moment of his death.
If Ji Xuelin’s physical body had the strength typical of an A-level ability user, he could have broken free from the ice pillar when returning to his human form. But his body had only the strength of an ordinary person.
When Ji Xuelin created the crystal nucleus converter, allowing ability users in the base to advance painlessly, he too chose the painless method of leveling up.
Blood stained the ice pillar, which then shattered and collapsed with a thunderous crash.
【It’s all pixelated now; I can’t bear to look. This has to be the most ridiculous way a villain has ever died.】
【With such a weak body, he couldn’t have lasted long, even as an A-level ability user.】
【Base Leader: I led the enemy into my stronghold. I told the enemy how I was going to kill him. I even gave the enemy some minions. Conclusion: I killed myself.】
【Please, give us more villains like this.】
【From another perspective, our Zai Zai is the real big villain here.】
Ye You crouched down and picked up a small, ash-gray crystal nucleus from the blood-stained ice shards. Just as he was about to stand, something caught his eye, causing him to pause.
After a moment, Ye You reached down again and retrieved a transparent card from the ice shards. Blood and ice slid off the card, leaving no trace.
“What is this? An ID card?” Su Zi’an leaned over, peering at the card beside Ye You.
On the transparent card, text seemed to be etched inside the material. Su Zi’an read the words aloud, one by one:
“Infinite World: Apocalypse Realm, Challenger: Ji Xuelin, Status: Deceased, Stages Completed: 0.”
Su Zi’an was full of questions. “What kind of weird thing is this?”
Ye You, however, looked toward the floating screen on his right, visible only to him. In the upper left corner of the screen were two lines of text in different sizes.
Infinite World: Apocalypse Realm
Challenger: Ye You
【Isn’t “Infinite World: Apocalypse Realm” the name of this game? So the Base Commander was also a beta tester?】
【Oh ho, killed a player.】
【The NPCs in this game are so lifelike that you can’t tell them apart from real people.】
【Across all the streaming platforms, only You Zai is broadcasting this game. There aren’t any other videos about it online, so I thought You Zai was the only beta tester.】
【Maybe the beta contracts are different? Other beta testers might have signed a non-disclosure agreement, while Xiao Zi is officially recognized by the developers.】
As Ye You read the discussion on the screen, a sense of doubt began to rise within him. The presence behind the screen insisted that this was a game.
Ye You turned to look at Su Zi’an.
Su Zi’an quickly blinked and smiled, asking if Ye You knew what it was.
He was too vivid, too full of life.
If Ye You were truly the player, as the comments suggested, and Su Zi’an was merely an NPC, how could an NPC be more vibrant than the player?
“I don’t know, let’s just treat it as an ID card.”
Ye You handed the grape-sized crystal nucleus to Su Zi’an while slipping the card into his own pocket. He had a vague feeling that the card would be a useful item, though unfortunately, it came with no instructions on how to use it.
Su Zi’an thought his brother was showing him the crystal nucleus to broaden his horizons, so he happily accepted it. Holding the core and examining it closely, Su Zi’an marveled, “It’s really the size of a grape, much larger than the B-level ones that are like peanuts.”
Ye You, thinking Su Zi’an might be worried about swallowing it, said, “It melts in your mouth.”
Su Zi’an found that reassuring and reached out to return the crystal nucleus to Ye You. “Now you can take a break, Ge, no need to keep hunting for crystal nuclei.”
Ye You didn’t take it back and instead locked eyes with Su Zi’an. After a few seconds of silent staring, Su Zi’an finally realized, “This is for me?”
Ye You confirmed with a simple “Mm” and added, “I’ve already leveled up to A-level with two crystal nuclei. This one won’t do much for me.”
Su Zi’an was unsure if he should accept it, but Ye You had already turned and started walking toward the door. Instinctively, Su Zi’an followed, glancing at the crystal nucleus in his hand and then at Ye You’s back, before grinning foolishly and pocketing the core.
Ye You stopped in front of the alloy door.
After securing the crystal nucleus, Su Zi’an quickly stepped forward and said, “I’ll use my ability to rewind this door…”
Before he could finish, Ye You pushed both hands forward, sending the entire alloy door flying with a loud “bang.” The door crashed into the wall of the corridor opposite, leaving two clear handprints on its surface.
“What were you saying?” Ye You asked, turning back.
“Nothing… haha, the alarm’s been blaring outside for a while. Let’s go check on the battle,” Su Zi’an chuckled awkwardly. How could he forget that his brother was already as powerful as Godzilla when he was at B-level? Now that he was A-level, he was like Godzilla to the nth degree.
Ye You didn’t pay much attention to what Su Zi’an had said. Using his psychic sense, he found the quickest way out and led Su Zi’an and the group of zombies away.
With Ji Xuelin dead, Ye You no longer had to worry about his psychic power being discovered. As he freely spread out his psychic sense, he uncovered many hidden places within the building. He had to admit, Ji Xuelin had hoarded a lot of crystal nuclei. Several secret rooms were filled with boxes of them.
Ye You’s eyes lit up, wanting nothing more than to claim all the crystal nuclei for himself. But remembering that a zombie siege was still underway outside, he refrained from going on a core-collecting spree.
Ye You led Su Zi’an and the zombies to the rooftop of the central building. The wind tousled Ye You’s hair, bringing with it the scent of blood and decaying corpses.
Now that Ye You had reached A-level, his vision was incredibly sharp. Even from across a large part of the city, he could clearly see the vast, seemingly endless horde of zombies outside the base.
【Terrifying!!! My trypophobia 2 is acting up!】
【The first time I saw a zombie siege, and I’m this excited—Is this the joy of being in the zombie camp? I love it.】
【With Zai Zai’s charisma, he could totally claim the title of Zombie Emperor, right?】
【Absolutely, no problem.】
【Now, let me introduce to you all, the Zombie Emperor who embodies coldness, beauty, and is endearingly silly—You Zai!】
“Whoa…” Su Zi’an’s mouth dropped open, utterly shocked.
He knew his brother had orchestrated a zombie siege, but the sheer number of zombies was terrifying. Su Zi’an couldn’t help but mutter, “It looks like zombies from the entire province are here.”
“No,” Ye You replied, pulling the red-eyed crow from his pocket, “there’s still more than half on the way.”
Su Zi’an gasped. Could there really be zombies from the entire province coming? How did his brother manage to mobilize so many zombies?
With so many zombies outside, plus the five B-level zombies that Ji Xuelin had ‘generously’ contributed, the base would be easy to take down with such an inside-outside coordination. But after the zombies took over the base, what would happen to the human residents inside?
Su Zi’an opened his mouth, wanting to ask Ye You but hesitated to voice his concern. Zombies and humans were natural enemies. Zombies consuming humans was like humans eating grain. Hmm… though zombies didn’t necessarily need to eat humans, like his brother, who was very picky and only ate crystal nuclei.
Su Zi’an recalled the zombies he had seen in the past. It seemed that for zombies, crystal nuclei were more attractive than flesh and blood. If only crystal nuclei could be farmed like grains, just like the mutated plants his brother grew…
The red-eyed crow perched on Ye You’s shoulder, cawing to assert its presence.
Ye You ignored it and glanced at Su Zi’an, who seemed to be lost in thought. He then gave orders to the zombies behind him:
“Head to the southern and eastern gates of the base. Don’t engage with the ability users—just open the base gates as quickly as possible.”
The zombies were still gathering; only some ordinary zombies were testing the base’s defenses. The ones with abilities hadn’t made a move yet.
The southern and eastern gates of the base faced the sea. While they weren’t directly at the city gates, they were only a dozen kilometers from the ocean. Most of the zombies had come from the north and west, making the defenses in the southeast the weakest.
Opening the southeastern gates would be the easiest, and it would cause the least damage on both sides.
The group of zombies obeyed and left.
Ye You raised his hand, letting the red-eyed crow perch on his arm. He said, “Go find Director Lin and Lin Yinyin, and tell them about the plan I just made.”
Ye You could use mental control to communicate with the zombies, but he didn’t want to waste his mental energy on Director Lin’s side, so he left it to this temporary messenger.
The red-eyed crow let out a long caw and took flight.
Finally, Ye You looked at Su Zi’an. Su Zi’an happened to be looking at him too, with an expression that suggested he wanted to say something but was hesitant.
Ye You assured him, “After we take over the base, the residents inside can choose to either leave or stay. Those who stay will enjoy the same treatment they had under Ji Xuelin’s rule.”
“Is that really possible?” Su Zi’an believed his brother would keep his word. He was happy for a moment but then became anxious.
“What if some of the people who stay have other motives and end up being a threat to you…”
Ye You was controlling a portion of the zombie horde to move quietly and asked nonchalantly, “How could they be a threat to me?”
Su Zi’an was momentarily speechless, remembering his brother’s strength. With his current power, it would take a group of A-level ability users to stand a chance against him. And even then, that “group” couldn’t be too small, or they’d just be delivering themselves to him.
Seeing Su Zi’an go silent, Ye You put on a serious expression and said, “After today, the base will be yours to manage. You can work with Director Lin; you can do whatever you want, but there’s one thing you must remember.”
“Go ahead, Ge!” Su Zi’an responded like a dutiful student.
Ye You continued, “All the crystal nuclei Ji Xuelin collected belong to me.”
“Huh?” Su Zi’an was surprised. This wasn’t what he expected—they were just talking about humans and zombies a moment ago, weren’t they?
Ye You shot him a cold look.
—What’s with the ‘huh’? I already gave you an A-level crystal nucleus. Are the rest not allowed to be mine?
Su Zi’an quickly nodded obediently. “They’re all yours, Ge. However many crystal nuclei you want, I’ll find them for you.”
Only then was Ye You satisfied and focused on controlling the zombie horde.
Su Zi’an glanced at the distant zombie horde. The zombies and the crow already had their tasks, and it was clear that his brother was using his mental abilities for something too, leaving Su Zi’an with nothing to do.
He quietly moved closer to Ye You and asked if there was anything he could do at the moment.
Ye You casually replied, “Go find something that can reduce casualties.”
Whether it was a power struggle or the apocalypse itself, it was brutal, and casualties were inevitable. Ye You could calmly watch zombies and humans slaughter each other. Even if both sides were wiped out, it wouldn’t stir much emotion in him.
But human emotions were far richer than those of someone like him, who had become a zombie. Su Zi’an and Director Lin probably wouldn’t want to see their fellow humans dying one by one.
Ye You thought to himself gloomily, Humans are such a hassle. Not only do they need a variety of foods to sustain them, but they also require emotional care.
Su Zi’an pondered for a moment, then stood up and said, “I’m going to drag Ji Xuelin’s body out and whip it.”
With that, Su Zi’an quickly ran downstairs.
Of course, Su Zi’an didn’t actually intend to whip Ji Xuelin’s corpse. He planned to spread the news of Ji Xuelin’s death and expose all the things Ji Xuelin had secretly done to the entire base. There were still electronic screens on some of the buildings in the base, and he didn’t want to waste them—he’d make sure the videos got broadcasted as well.
After Su Zi’an hurriedly left, Ye You lightly tapped his toes and leapt off the central building.
【I can’t bear to watch this leap of faith from such a height.】
【Don’t worry! Our Zai can fly, and it’s super cool!】
As the wind ruffled Ye You’s clothes, a rose petal flew out of his pocket. In the next instant, a massive vine phoenix spread its wings and took flight.
Ye You crouched on the phoenix’s back, guiding it as it ascended, heading towards the northern gate of the base where the zombies were most concentrated.
·
New Century Year One, September 21st.
Zombie Emperor Ye You launched a zombie siege, and the A-City base fell into new hands.
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