Inside an abandoned building, Mi Xiaobao curled up, filthy and huddled in a quiet, dark corner, his red-rimmed eyes staring pitifully at a zombie not far away.
As if sensing Mi Xiaobao’s gaze, the zombie turned his head and let out a roar at him. There was not the slightest trace of human emotion in those blood-red eyes, only the savage brutality of a beast. The skin exposed on his body was covered with densely packed black veins, making him look terrifying and horrifying.
The zombie’s roar made Mi Xiaobao shrink back. His dirty little hand wiped at his red-rimmed eyes as he pursed his lips, refusing to cry.
After going without food for a long time, the zombie was extremely hungry. The violent and restless aura surrounding him grew heavier and heavier. Looking at the ‘food’ in the dark corner, the bloodlust in the zombie’s eyes became increasingly intense. One hand gripped the wall tightly, leaving a deep mark in it.
Suddenly, the zombie let out an angry roar. His entire body shot forward, and he darted to Mi Xiaobao in the blink of an eye, pinning him to the ground. He opened his mouth and was about to bite Mi Xiaobao’s neck.
“Zhelang!!”
A loud shout made the zombie’s movements stop instantly. His blood-red eyes looked at Mi Xiaobao beneath him with a little more confusion.
“Zhelang…” Mi Xiaobao stretched out his chubby little hand timidly and grabbed Zhelang’s collar, his lips pursed as he cried.
Seeing Mi Xiaobao’s tears, the zombie inexplicably found them irritating. He reached out a hand, wanting to wipe them away, but when he saw his own horrifying palm and sharp fingernails, he suddenly stopped.
Mi Xiaobao’s skin, though dirty, was still delicate and tender, forming a stark contrast with the zombie’s terrifying body. The zombie immediately became somewhat agitated.
Suppressing the urge in his heart to devour the person beneath him, the zombie slowly loosened his grip. Step by step, he carefully moved away from Mi Xiaobao, as though afraid that if he was not careful, he would leave a wound on him.
The zombie retreated to the doorway. A suppressed roar came from his mouth as he took one last deep look at Mi Xiaobao and turned to leave.
“Zhelang!” Mi Xiaobao cried out in alarm and stood up. Forgetting his fear, he ran to the zombie’s side and tightly grabbed his arm with both hands. “Zhelang, where are you going?”
With his arm restrained, the zombie roared at Mi Xiaobao, yet he did not dare push him away with any force. Although he did not know why, there was always a voice in his mind telling him that he could not do this. If he did, this ‘food’ would definitely get hurt.
The moment he thought about this little thing in front of him getting hurt, he could not suppress the urge to go berserk.
“Zhelang, are you… are you hungry?” Seeing Zhelang’s savage and terrifying expression, Mi Xiaobao seemed to think of something and asked tentatively.
“Zhelang, if you’re hungry, you can eat me.” Seeing that Zhelang had stopped roaring, Mi Xiaobao thought he had guessed correctly. He steeled himself, closed his eyes, and offered his arm to Zhelang.
“Roar!”
Zhelang opened his mouth and roared. Suppressing his agitation, he carefully pulled his hand away and, ignoring Mi Xiaobao’s cries, jumped out through the broken window.
“Zhelang!”
Mi Xiaobao chased him to the window. Looking at the place where Zhelang had disappeared, he bit his lip tightly and said nothing.
After remaining silent for a long time, Mi Xiaobao slowly returned to the corner. He hugged his arms and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor.
That day, Zhelang had turned into a zombie. He had originally thought that he was definitely going to die, but unexpectedly, Zhelang had not eaten him. Instead, he had left the building.
Mi Xiaobao stayed inside the building for an entire day. Fortunately, as a food lover, he had stored quite a lot of delicious food in his spatial device, so he would not starve to death for the time being.
Just when he had begun to despair, Zhelang suddenly returned. However, he never approached him and merely stood far away.
Mi Xiaobao did not understand why Zhelang would not eat him. He had even gone so far as to clear out all the surrounding zombies to protect him, sustaining injuries all over his body in the process.
Mi Xiaobao had also tried talking to Zhelang, but the response he always received was Zhelang’s roars and attacks. Although his attacks always stopped at the critical moment, Mi Xiaobao understood that Zhelang no longer remembered him.
The sky gradually darkened, yet Zhelang still had not returned. Mi Xiaobao curled up in the corner, buried his face in his arms, and began to cry.
Darkness enveloped the surroundings. From the distance came one roar after another from zombies, occasionally mixed with several explosions.
In a daze, Mi Xiaobao felt as though he were the only person left in this world. In the silent room, the only sound he could hear was his own shallow breathing. Mi Xiaobao curled his cold body into a ball and let out suppressed sobs.
“Bang!”
The sound of something heavy hitting the ground made Mi Xiaobao raise his head in panic. Through his tear-filled eyes, he vaguely saw a figure slowly approaching him.
The zombie stopped one meter in front of Mi Xiaobao. Looking at the ‘food’ with tear-streaked cheeks, the zombie’s good mood after having just eaten suddenly became somewhat irritated again.
“Zhelang, you… you’re back?”
Mi Xiaobao wiped away his tears. When he saw who had arrived, his eyes widened, and his voice, thick with nasal congestion, contained a hint of joy.
Zhelang slowly crouched down. He opened and closed his mouth at Mi Xiaobao, making a ‘kekeke’ sound.
“Zhelang, you… you ate people.”
Unable to ignore the bloody stench coming from Zhelang’s mouth, Mi Xiaobao suddenly felt cold and looked at Zhelang tremblingly.
Dissatisfied with seeing this expression on Mi Xiaobao’s face, the zombie roared at him. A hand covered in black veins reached into his pocket and fumbled around for a long while before pulling out a crystal core still stained with blood and bits of flesh.
The blue crystal core emitted a faint, eerie glow from his hand, illuminating the dark room and looking exceptionally beautiful.
“An energy core?”
Mi Xiaobao stared blankly at the crystal core in Zhelang’s hand, unable to recover for a moment.
The zombie wanted to hand the crystal core to Mi Xiaobao, but when he saw Mi Xiaobao’s chubby little hands, he shook his head.
After thinking for a long time, he held the crystal core and slowly rubbed it against his body until the dirt on it had been wiped clean. Only then did he hand it to Mi Xiaobao.
“For… for me?”
Mi Xiaobao held the crystal core, somewhat at a loss.
Seeing that Mi Xiaobao did not understand, the zombie called out. Then he took another crystal core from his pocket and, under Mi Xiaobao’s astonished gaze, put it into his mouth and chewed it with loud ‘crack, crack’ sounds.
Watching the incredibly hard crystal core being treated like a piece of candy in Zhelang’s mouth, chewed several times and swallowed, Mi Xiaobao was dumbfounded.
After swallowing the crystal core, the zombie called out several times at Mi Xiaobao. Mi Xiaobao froze, then stared blankly at the crystal core in his hand.
“You… want me to eat it?”
“Kekeke…”
“No!”
Mi Xiaobao decisively shook his head, stuffed the crystal core back into the zombie’s hand, and then took a packet of cookies out of his spatial device.
“I’ll eat this.”
The zombie watched Mi Xiaobao open the cookies and eat them with great relish. He called out several times, seemingly deep in thought.
“Zhelang, is this what you eat?”
After learning that Zhelang had not eaten people, Mi Xiaobao was very happy. “But where did you get so many energy cores?”
The zombie watched Mi Xiaobao open his little mouth and chatter endlessly, yet he could not understand a single word. He immediately became agitated, quickly stood up beside Mi Xiaobao, and darted out of the room.
“Zhelang! Where are you going again?!”
Although he did not know what use these stones had, every time he ate them, he felt very comfortable. He was not as hungry, and he could better suppress the urge to hurt the little chubby one in front of him.
His body’s instinct told him that this little chubby one in front of him was his food, yet there was always a voice in his heart constantly telling him that he could not eat him. If he did, it would be extremely painful.
He did not understand anything Mi Xiaobao said about what he was doing, but he discovered that every time he ate these stones, he could think about more things.
He had to find more stones. Once he ate them, perhaps he would be able to understand what this little chubby one was saying.
Then, whatever this little chubby one wanted from him, he would be able to understand.
However, the little chubby one did not seem to like eating stones. The thing he had just been holding—he would find some of that too while he was at it.
To ensure Lian Qiguang’s safety, Xiahou Zhong had made thorough preparations. By the time all the instruments and equipment were ready, it was already the third day.
Lian Qiguang lay on the bed and was pushed into the operating room by the doctors. Xiahou Shaoxuan stood beside Lian Qiguang, tightly holding his hand.
That normally resolute and cold, hard face was now filled with panic and unease. Where was even a trace of the decisive and ruthless general he had once been?
“Major General, please go outside.”
Murong Qing came in after changing into his surgical clothes. He turned on the lights around Lian Qiguang and gestured toward Xiahou Shaoxuan.
“Wife…”
Xiahou Shaoxuan looked at Lian Qiguang reluctantly, his face somewhat pale.
“Major General.”
Murong Qing walked over to Xiahou Shaoxuan and teased helplessly, “The scene in a moment is going to be rather bloody. To ensure everyone’s safety here, you’d better go outside first.”
Bloody!?
A chill flashed through Xiahou Shaoxuan’s eyes as he swept a cold, severe gaze toward Murong Qing. His aura instantly pressed down on everyone in the room, making them feel somewhat unable to breathe.
“If anything happens to him, none of you will survive.”
“Shaoxuan.”
Lian Qiguang opened his eyes and patted the back of Xiahou Shaoxuan’s hand.
“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen. Go outside first.”
“Wife, I’ll wait for you outside.”
Knowing himself that staying any longer would not help, Xiahou Shaoxuan lowered his head and kissed the corner of Lian Qiguang’s lips before whispering,
“Mm.”
Lian Qiguang obediently nodded.
Xiahou Shaoxuan stood up, cast a warning look at Murong Qing beside him, and turned toward the door.
Watching the door slowly close, the pressure vanished. Murong Qing breathed a sigh of relief, then shook his head and laughed helplessly.
“Who would’ve thought our iron-boned, decisive Major General would have such a tender side.”
“Begin.”
Ignoring Murong Qing’s teasing, Lian Qiguang closed his eyes and spoke calmly.
“You don’t need to be nervous either.”
Seeing Lian Qiguang’s seemingly calm face, Murong Qing stepped forward and gently loosened his tightly clenched hands, smiling warmly.
“There’s no need to be nervous. Have a good sleep. When you open your eyes again, you’ll be able to see the child.”
Lian Qiguang’s eyelashes trembled slightly. After remaining silent for a long time, he quietly answered,
“Mm.”
Seeing the instruments connected to Lian Qiguang’s body settling into a steadier rhythm, Murong Qing turned and signaled to the assistant beside him. A blue liquid was slowly injected into Lian Qiguang’s body.
As the liquid entered his body, Lian Qiguang first stiffened. Once he realized what was happening, although his heart still resisted, his body gradually relaxed and stopped resisting.
Less than three minutes after the liquid was injected, Lian Qiguang felt his consciousness becoming increasingly blurred, and finally, he completely sank into darkness.
At that very moment, Xiahou Shaoxuan stood outside the door, both fists clenched tightly. His body was rigid and straight, while his dark, deep black eyes stared directly at the tightly closed metal door, as though he wanted to see through the door and observe what was happening inside.
Xiahou Zhong sat nearby. Although he appeared calm, his tightly pursed lips still revealed the turmoil in his heart.
Because this was the center of the military base and access was highly restricted, An Ruxin and Lian Yucheng were unable to enter. Thus, the only two people waiting here were Xiahou Zhong and Xiahou Shaoxuan.
Time passed second by second. Xiahou Shaoxuan’s cold, hard face grew increasingly colder, while the aura around him sank lower and lower. His tightly clenched fists trembled slightly, and his knuckles had turned an alarming bluish-gray.
Before this, he had secretly found some books and videos about extracting children from pregnant men and watched them. Although it all seemed quite simple, Lian Qiguang was different from ordinary people.
Besides, the pregnancy had already put him through so much. Wouldn’t the extraction be even more dangerous?
If not for the last shred of reason reminding him to hold himself back, Xiahou Shaoxuan would have already torn down the door and charged inside.
What unlucky child? Forget about having it!
“Marshal! Marshal!!”
A burst of hurried footsteps approached. A lieutenant colonel ran over in a panic, his face filled with fear.
“What are you shouting for?! Get lost!”
Xiahou Zhong was already on edge, and the sudden shout nearly made his heart stop. His face immediately darkened, and he cursed the man from head to toe.
“Marshal!”
The lieutenant colonel stopped in front of the Marshal and saluted. Without caring whether Xiahou Zhong was angry, he took out a computer and directly handed it to him.
“Marshal! Please take a look! Something’s happened.”
Seeing that the lieutenant colonel did not appear to be exaggerating or putting on an act, Xiahou Zhong’s heart sank slightly, and a bad premonition arose from the depths of his heart.
Xiahou Zhong opened the computer. The moment he saw the image on the screen, he immediately sucked in a cold breath.
Centered around District One, densely packed zombies had gathered from all directions. They formed a dark, overwhelming mass that stretched as far as the eye could see, sending chills down one’s spine.
Not only that, the entire sky above District One was filled with circling mutated birds, like dark clouds enveloping District One.
“Marshal, I don’t know what happened just now. The network suddenly returned to normal, and then this video inexplicably appeared in every district.”
Xiahou Zhong’s hand holding the computer trembled slightly. He murmured in a low voice,
“There are so many… Could it be that all the zombies from the various districts have mobilized?”
“Marshal! We don’t know why these zombies suddenly gathered here. If they launch an attack, I’m afraid District One will be completely overrun in less than three hours.”
Xiahou Zhong looked at the zombies surrounding the city. His lips moved, but the words reached his mouth and yet he could not utter them.
Suddenly, the previously stable computer emitted a ‘zzzt, zzzt’ sound. The screen began flickering, making the image impossible to see clearly.
The situation lasted less than a few seconds before the image stabilized again.
A cleanly and neatly dressed man appeared on the screen. However, his pair of blood-red eyes clearly told everyone that he was not one of their kind.
Xiahou Zhong stared blankly at the man in the video, his mind completely empty and buzzing.
At this moment, there were only four words repeatedly echoing inside Xiahou Zhong’s head.
‘Super Intelligent Entity!’
The man slowly raised his head. His pair of scarlet blood-red eyes carried a cold, bloody aura of slaughter.
“Within one day, hand over Lian Qiguang. Otherwise, not a single one will be spared!”dead