Cloud Raising Little Zombies: Chapter 32

ZOMBIE EMPEROR CULTIVATION

32. [The Birth of the Zombie Emperor] Countless zombies halted their movements and bowed low in the direction of Y City in Xiazhou. They were pledging their loyalty to the first and only Zombie Emperor of Xiazhou, submitting to his rule from that moment on.

As they entered within a hundred miles of the Y City Base, Ye You could feel the temperature rapidly rising.

Both he and Su Zi’an were A-level ability users, their bodies strong and resilient, unaffected by the high temperatures.

Lin Yinyin and the mutant animals also showed no reaction.

However, the few accompanying enforcers and Director Lin couldn’t handle it and retreated into Ye You’s vine ship for shelter.

It was at this point that the enforcers truly realized the gap between themselves and ability users whose bodies had been tempered by crystal nuclei.

Lin Yinyin, though only a C-level ability user and just a little girl, had directly consumed crystal nuclei, which had tempered her body and flesh. She could still play and frolic in the heat, while the enforcers were drenched in sweat, barely managing to endure with the vine ship blocking the heat and the ice-type zombie general cooling them down.

Su Zi’an, noticing this, felt it wasn’t right and approached Ye You, saying, “Ge, those ability users are too weak. If we take them to the Y City Base, they’ll only drag us down.”

Ye You never expected much from the enforcers anyway.

The reason he brought them along was to help them get used to working with the mutant animals. If they actually faced off against A-level zombies, they’d be melted in an instant.

Ye You said, “Once we reach the outskirts of the base, we’ll drop them and Director Lin off.”

They could practice and get accustomed to each other by playing around with the low-level zombies on the outskirts and keeping an eye on the other ability users trailing behind.

When they left the A City Base, Ye You had already noticed that some ability users from the northern base were following them.

Those people were cautiously flying helicopters, maintaining a distance of about half a city from them.

But Ye You’s mental power could cover an entire province, so no matter how stealthily they tried to follow, they were as exposed as if they were running around naked in his perception.

The Y City Base was located on a plain, with almost no cover in the surrounding area.

The ship landed outside a few houses that had long been abandoned.

The ice-type zombie general helped the humans off the ship, and before leaving, even placed a large block of ice inside the house they chose.

The enforcers were moved to the point of tears, almost wanting to give the zombie lady a hug.

Director Lin said his goodbyes to his daughter, reminding her to stick close to Su Zi’an and not to ride a mutant animal into the horde of zombies alone.

As for why she should stick with Su Zi’an instead of Ye You, it was because Ye You would definitely be fighting the most dangerous Zombie King, while Su Zi’an’s opponents would be relatively weaker.

Moreover, Su Zi’an had time-reversal abilities and could serve as a healer.

If Yinyin got injured, Su Zi’an could help heal her.

Lin Yinyin said, “Don’t worry, Dad. Xiao Bai(Little White) and Cici Qiu(Thorn ball) will protect me.”

Xiao Bai was a B-level wind-type white peacock that, under the influence of its abilities, could fly very high and fast.

Cici Qiu was a B-level earth-type spiny lizard, resembling a walking golden rose stem, covered in spikes with formidable offensive and defensive capabilities.

One specialized in aerial combat, the other in ground combat; one was for long-range, the other for close combat.

The combat strength of a beast tamer was largely reflected in the mutant animals that followed her.

Although Lin Yinyin was only a C-level ability user, the mutant animals that Ye You had raised using crystal nuclei were of high levels.

“Roar——”

In the distance, the base echoed with the roars of zombies, as if the entire base’s zombie population had been awakened by some presence.

Lin Yinyin quickly said goodbye to Director Lin and ran back to the ship.

The ship took off, with the white peacock spreading its wings in the wind, soaring around the vessel.

The Zombie King within the base had already sensed the arrival of Ye You and the others, so Ye You didn’t hold back.

His mental power spread out like a tide, vying with the Zombie King for control over the zombies within the base.

The Y City Zombie King was soon shocked to discover that the intruder was actually seizing its subordinates right before its eyes.

Could it tolerate this?

Of course not!

“Roar——” The Y City Zombie King let out a sharp screech, and its powerful mental force rushed towards the plant ship hovering over the base.

However, that mental force did not attack Ye You directly. Instead, in an instant, it invaded the minds of the B-level water and ice-type zombie generals.

The mental power, strong enough to subdue all zombies below A-level, commanded them to attack Ye You.

At the same time, Ye You’s own mental power invaded the minds of the two B-level zombie generals.

The zombie generals were about to be torn apart.

Both kings were giving them orders simultaneously—who should they obey?

It was enough to make a zombie’s head spin.

The zombie generals didn’t stay “torn apart” for long, as Ye You’s mental power completely crushed the Y City Zombie King’s mental force.

He even constructed a “barrier” in the minds of the two zombie generals, directly blocking any further mental invasions from the Y City Zombie King.

These two zombie generals were his fire extinguishers—there was no way he would let the enemy take control of them.

The Y City Zombie King’s mental force repeatedly assaulted the barrier Ye You had built, but the barrier remained intact.

The Y City Zombie King was furious.

Its most prized mental power had actually been defeated by this intruder who had trespassed on its territory.

The confrontation between Ye You and the Y City Zombie King happened in a split second. Besides them and the two zombie generals, no one else was aware of it.

Su Zi’an and Lin Yinyin only heard a roar from the north side of the Y City Base.

Amid the roars of the other zombies, that roar stood out, and as it echoed, a serpent of fire shot into the sky, heading straight for the ship.

Without needing Ye You’s command, the pale, swollen water-type zombie released a stream of water.

The ice-type zombie, with long flowing hair and a body that showed almost no signs of decay, followed up with its ability.

Using the water stream provided by the water-type zombie, the ice-type zombie easily created an ice wall.

The fire serpent swerved around the water stream and slammed into the ice wall.

The ice wall melted, leaving a circular hole, and the now shorter fire serpent charged towards Ye You on the ship.

“Chirp chirp——”

The white peacock cried out, positioning itself between the fire serpent and the ship, flapping its wings to create strong winds.

The fire serpent surged forward, but the wind pushed it back. The opposing forces canceled each other out, causing the fire serpent to momentarily stall in midair.

The Y City Zombie King tried to gather more energy to unleash a stronger flame.

But then came the sound of shattering glass, “crack,” as a black-haired, red-eyed boy smashed through the window of the hotel where the Y City Zombie King was located, landing on the floor.

The livestream viewers also caught sight of the Y City Zombie King.

It actually appeared as a young girl, seemingly only a few years older than Lin Yinyin.

Its body was entirely intact, showing no signs of decay. If not for its pair of blood-red, crazed eyes, anyone would have thought it was just an ordinary human girl.

【Whoa, does this game make the zombies more attractive as their level increases? It’s been a while since I’ve seen an uncensored zombie.】

【Measuring strength by the amount of censorship—interesting concept.】

【My Zai is the true high-definition, uncensored zombie! The peak of zombie beauty!】

Ye You reached out towards the Y City Zombie King, and countless rose vines surged toward it.

In an instant, the Y City Zombie King was wrapped into a ball by the rose vines.

Ye You tried to control the rose vines to enter the Y City Zombie King’s body and parasitize it, but he failed.

The Y City Zombie King’s skin was tougher than the red-eyed crow’s, and the rose thorns couldn’t penetrate it.

Perhaps they could enter through the mouth or ears.

With this thought, the rose vines sprouted new buds.

In the next moment, the temperature inside the rose vines suddenly spiked, and flames erupted.

The small body of the Y City Zombie King was engulfed in flames, which began to burn the rose vines wrapped around it.

Despite being highly heat-resistant, the rose vines, as plants created by an ability, could still be ignited by open flames.

The Y City Zombie King was wrapped in multiple layers of rose vines. The inner layers withered and burned, while the outer layers remained lush and green.

Ye You continuously injected energy into the vines, causing them to grow more branches and leaves.

The vine ball grew larger and tighter, almost completely sealing the zombie inside.

The Y City Zombie King had a fire-type ability that could generate flames, which could continue burning by consuming its energy.

However, fire also needs oxygen to burn, and the tightly wrapped vine ball nearly cut off all air.

The Y City Zombie King kept consuming energy, but its flames grew weaker and weaker.

Realizing it couldn’t burn its way out, the Y City Zombie King used its mental power to manifest a long sword. It slashed fiercely at the vines surrounding it with the physical sword.

The vine ball was split open, and bright light streamed in.

Flames flared around the Y City Zombie King as it shot out at high speed before the vines could regrow.

Seeing a ball of fire rushing towards him, Ye You condensed his mental power into a needle and stabbed it towards the colorless crystal nucleus in the Y City Zombie King’s brain.

The Y City Zombie King’s movements paused for an instant.

Ye You seized the opportunity, facing the Y City Zombie King head-on, and punched towards the location of the crystal nucleus.

“Roar——”

The Y City Zombie King let out a roar of extreme fury.

Half of the zombies in the base began charging toward the hotel where the battle was taking place—these were all zombies controlled by the Y City Zombie King.

Ye You didn’t continue to fight for control over the zombies with the Y City Zombie King.

Instead, he held the dagger formed by his mental power and stabbed towards the crystal nucleus within the flames while commanding the zombies under his control to block and attack the others.

Two flaming arms grabbed Ye You’s hand, and his clothes immediately caught fire.

【Ahhh! My Zai is on fire! Call the fire department!】

【Wait, his skin isn’t burning—only his clothes.】

【Zai Zai’s skin seems to be fireproof?!】

【Ah ah ah, I’m all for this!】

【Does Zai Zai really need those clothes? Burn them all! Oh no! Why is there a nosebleed on my screen? Wipe it off, quick!】

【Upstairs, what are you thinking? Is this livestream’s mosaic vegetarian or what?】

【Put out the fire quickly! Zai Zai’s hair mustn’t burn!】

【Hmm?! Hurry up, get some water! A head can be broken, but hair must not be singed!】

“Boom——”

A loud explosion was heard as a column of water burst through several floor-to-ceiling windows.

Cool water surged into the hotel room like a wave, dousing all the flames on Ye You and the Y City Zombie King.

Ye You was drenched from head to toe. He turned his head to look outside and saw Su Zi’an and two zombie generals on a distant high-rise.

Couldn’t they be a bit more precise with their firefighting?

He nearly lost his grip on the Y City Zombie King when the water wave hit.

Rose vines began growing in the water again, once more wrapping around the Y City Zombie King.

The Y City Zombie King also saw the human ability user on the distant rooftop.

That ability user was an A-level too.

The Y City Zombie King hesitated.

It wasn’t much weaker than this plant-type Zombie King, and if it fought to the death, it might even win and claim his crystal nucleus.

But that A-level ability user was on the plant-type Zombie King’s side.

Once that ability user finished dealing with the B-level zombies, they would both gang up on it.

With this realization, the Y City Zombie King suddenly broke free from Ye You’s grasp and, like a slippery little animal, wriggled out of his control.

Carrying the rose vines wrapped around its arms, it dashed across the waterlogged floor and leaped out of the shattered window.

“Escaped?” Ye You was a bit surprised.

He had never encountered a zombie that ran away in the middle of a fight.

As long as their crystal nucleus isn’t extracted, zombies are virtually immortal, which is why they love fighting to the death.

Realizing that the Y City Zombie King was genuinely trying to flee, Ye You immediately gave chase.

He jumped out of the window, stepping on a rose vine as he pursued the Y City Zombie King, who had dived into the zombie horde below.

【Chasing on vines is so cool! Coach, come out, I want to learn this!】

【Wuwuwu, my motherly love for Zai Zai has turned into something else, I’m sorry, Zai Zai.】

【How many months until You Bao ¹ comes of age? It’s time to develop some girlfriend fans.】

【Upstairs, see this five-dollar check? Take it and get lost! Don’t ever show up in front of my Zai again.】

【How could I give up my love for a measly bit of money?】

The base was packed with zombies.

The Y City Zombie King charged through the zombie horde, glancing back to see that the opponent riding a vine was getting closer.

It rechanneled its ability energy, flames surging up, and all the nearby zombies caught fire.

The northern district of Y City Base was engulfed in a sea of flames.

Ye You, tracking the two A-level crystal nuclei through his psychic sense, ignored the flames and continued pursuing the Y City Zombie King.

On a high-rise building, Su Zi’an used his ability to hold off all the B-level zombies trying to attack Ye You.

Su Zi’an kept a close eye on Ye You, and as soon as he saw Ye You’s clothes catch fire, he called for the water-type Zombie General to put it out.

The water-type Zombie General was in the middle of a fight with a B-level zombie from Y City, hesitating at the command.

It could send out a stream of water, but if it hit the King and disrupted his pursuit, it would be in trouble.

With its eight-year-old intellect, the Zombie General thought for five seconds before deciding to make it rain.

Water vapor gathered in the sky above the base, and a torrential downpour began.

The flames burning in the district weakened slightly but continued stubbornly to burn the zombies’ clothes and hair.

Lin Yinyin, riding on the back of the white peacock, guided it to whip up a storm with strong winds, trying to hinder the Y City Zombie King’s movements.

The Y City Zombie King nearly got swept away by the wind, quickly ducking into a nearby alley to steady itself.

It immediately summoned a fire serpent to attack the white peacock in the air.

“Swish—”

A rose vine made a sharp turn, diving into the alley.

Ye You jumped off the vine, launching a prepared psychic attack into the Y City Zombie King’s mind.

This time, the attack targeted the red fire-type crystal nucleus.

Taking advantage of the fire-type zombie’s momentary freeze, Ye You thrust his psychic-formed dagger toward the scar on the Y City Zombie King’s forehead.

Once, twice, on the third stab, a powerful psychic force lashed back at Ye You.

The plant-type crystal nucleus was under attack, and Ye You momentarily lost focus.

The Y City Zombie King seized the opportunity, grabbed Ye You’s dagger, and looked at him with greed and desire. It raised its hand high, aiming a deadly strike at Ye You’s head.

【Zai!】

【I can’t watch anymore, is Zai Zai still alive?】

【Wuwuwu, I’m going to drink mineral water and join him in death.】

【Wait! Hold on, it seems like it didn’t go in!】

【Then it’s fine, You Zai is so strong, no way two grapes would be enough to take him down.】

A few strands of hair were sliced off, but the blade didn’t pierce at all.

The defense of an A-level zombie’s body was too strong.

Just as Ye You struggled to break through its head, the Y City Zombie King found it equally challenging to take Ye You’s crystal nucleus.

Seeing that Ye You was about to regain consciousness, the Y City Zombie King bolted.

Ye You’s eyes cleared as he picked up the fallen dagger but didn’t rush to chase. Instead, he commanded the rose vines to grow rapidly throughout the base.

Using the vines, he silently herded the Y City Zombie King toward a park.

The base, built on the remnants of a pre-apocalypse city, had preserved the original park after becoming a base.

The park was full of lush plants, but under the extreme heat brought by the Y City Zombie King, most of the vegetation looked withered.

Ye You stepped onto a rose vine, reaching the park at the same moment the Y City Zombie King entered.

The moment it stepped into the park, the Y City Zombie King sensed something was wrong. It turned to leave, but the rapidly growing rose vines swiftly coiled around it.

The vines coiled around the trees outside the park, looping over and over, and with the help of the surrounding plants, they wove into a massive cage that trapped the Y City Zombie King within the park.

Ye You stood on a rose vine, staring down at the Y City Zombie King.

He didn’t rush to attack. Instead, he infused his ability into all the plants in the park, controlling them to continuously reinforce the “cage.”

The Y City Zombie King was enveloped in flames. It looked up at Ye You, who was floating in mid-air, as the fire on its head gradually receded.

It grinned at Ye You and said, “We’re both zombies, so why fight each other? Humans are our true common enemy.

“Humans are so deceitful. You and that A-level ability user might be allies now, but once he’s done using you, he won’t hesitate to kill you and dig out your crystal nucleus.

“I’ve seen this happen so many times.”

“Let’s work together,” the Y City Zombie King said, spreading its arms wide:

“We can kill that A-level ability user together, and his crystal nucleus will be yours. I can even give you half of Y City. You can be the king, and I’ll be your second-in-command.”

【Shocking! The second zombie that can speak after Zai Zai.】

【Trying to sow discord between Zai Zai and Er Zai? Say goodbye to your grapes!】

【A power bank using You Zai, and then digging out his crystal nucleus after using him up? That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all year.】

【Honestly, I’ve always wanted to have a conspiracy theory about Su Zi’an, but with the way he’s such a fanboyl & a brainless fan in front of the streamer, I just can’t make it work.】

【Want to be Zai Zai’s zombie queen? Just a five-year-old like you? Have you asked our million mommy fans?】

Ye You’s response was a psychic stab.

“Roar—”

The Y City Zombie King clutched its head in pain, the pretense of goodwill completely torn away. Its gaze towards Ye You was filled with naked killing intent and desire.

The other wanted to take its crystal nucleus, but didn’t it also want the other’s crystal nucleus?

It didn’t believe the other’s alliance with the human ability user was all that stable. When that human really arrived here, who would he strike at first?

With this in mind, the Y City Zombie King ordered its zombie minions to stop attacking the human ability user and to let the A-level ability user come through.

As the Y City Zombie King was passing on the order, it suddenly caught a glimpse of a flash of red light.

There was no time to dodge. The red light pierced through its right eye.

“Roar—”

Where did this attack come from?!

The Y City Zombie King looked with its remaining eye towards the source of the red light and saw a red-eyed crow perched on a tree branch.

Although the eye had been pierced, it didn’t touch the crystal nucleus, so it wasn’t a significant injury for a zombie.

But the Y City Zombie King was still furious.

With one less eye, its field of vision was reduced by a third.

Although it could use its psychic power to compensate, compared to another zombie king, its ability energy consumption would be much higher.

Flames surged up as it decided to first take out that crow.

Ye You controlled the rose vine to attack the Y City Zombie King from its right side.

The zombie king, missing its right eye, didn’t react in time and was struck by the vine.

A rose vine took root in the Y City Zombie King’s eye socket, drawing energy from it and beginning to sprout.

As the Y City Zombie King struggled to tear the rose vine out of its eye socket, it simultaneously drained all its fire-type energy, instantly forming a massive fireball, which it then hurled fiercely at Ye You.

The moment Ye You saw the burst of flames, he pushed off the rose vine with his toes, accelerating to his limit as he leapt to the side.

Still, he wasn’t fast enough. The fireball grazed his left leg, charring it instantly.

Ye You didn’t feel any pain, but he could clearly sense that his control over his left leg had become extremely weak, to the point where he couldn’t even make it stand upright.

Ye You knelt on one knee on the ground.

Ignoring his leg, he focused all his energy on controlling the rose vine that had parasitized the Y City Zombie King’s eye socket to continue growing.

After narrowly missing Ye You’s leg, the fireball struck the plant “cage,” burning a hole through it.

The Y City Zombie King, also tormented by the parasitic vine, couldn’t even stand up straight.

But when it saw the A-level plant ability user through the burnt hole in the cage, it couldn’t help but smile.

Feigning weakness, it collapsed to the ground.

With its only remaining eye, it saw the A-level ability user’s gaze flicker between it and the other zombie king. Then, that ability user used his power against the opposing zombie king.

As for the other zombie king, it was solely focused on letting the rose vine drain its energy and steal its crystal nucleus, completely oblivious to the attack coming from behind.

The Y City Zombie King almost laughed out loud.

But in the next second, its smile froze on its face.

It saw the other zombie king’s charred left leg instantly regenerate.

That ability user was actually healing the zombie?!

Such a perfect opportunity for a backstab! And you don’t take it, instead, you help with healing!

With his left leg restored, Ye You instantly appeared before the Y City Zombie King.

He concentrated his psychic power into a needle, aiming it at the colorless psychic crystal nucleus.

At the same time, the dagger in Ye You’s hand plunged into the Y City Zombie King’s eye socket, prying out a crystal nucleus the size of a grape.

Having obtained the first crystal nucleus, the second one was much easier to deal with.

The Y City Zombie King had exhausted all its fire-type energy and couldn’t use any more abilities, so Ye You easily extracted the second crystal nucleus.

The Y City Zombie King was completely dead.

One red and one colorless, the two crystal nuclei fell into Ye You’s palm.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ye You swallowed both crystal nuclei at once.

As always, they melted in his mouth with a grape-like flavor.

Although the two crystal nuclei were only the size of grapes, their energy was much richer than that of the red-eyed crow’s crystal nucleus.

It was clear that the Y City Zombie King, having occupied an entire base, was never short on crystal nuclei to consume.

The energy from the two crystal nuclei was fully absorbed by the psychic crystal nucleus in Ye You’s mind.

Ye You felt the shape of the crystal nucleus begin to change.

No longer a gaseous crystal nucleus, no longer a liquid state of white mist, but transformed into an invisible, colorless gas—perhaps even a soul-like form.

It seemed to exist within Ye You’s mind, yet also in another dimensional space.

Ye You carefully sensed the lychee-sized gas cluster in his mind, feeling the vast and mysterious energy contained within it.

If a grape-sized crystal nucleus was A-level, then what level was this lychee-sized gas cluster?

Above A-level, there is S-level.

A-level corresponds to a Zombie King.

S-level is… a Zombie Emperor.

Ye You’s psychic power gradually expanded, enveloping the entire Xiazhou.

Countless zombies halted their movements, bowing and prostrating towards Y City in Xiazhou.

They offered their loyalty to the first and only Zombie Emperor of Xiazhou, submitting completely.

Ye You sensed through his psychic perception, “seeing” one zombie after another bowing to him.

At the same time, a screen floated before him.

The screen had only appeared twice before: once for purchasing “Mosaic,” and once for a lottery.

Was it time for another lottery?

Ye You looked at the screen.

【Your points have exceeded 50,000. Would you like to spend 50,000 points to move to the next world?】

【No/Yes (Automatically confirmed after 3 seconds)】

“Ge!”

A voice called out from behind.

Ye You turned around to see Su Zi’an, panting, standing among the red rose vines.

Su Zi’an, holding the somewhat exhausted Lin Yinyin in his arms, smiled brightly and ran towards him.

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Translator Notes

1. Jewel, treasure, precious[↩]