A familiar basement.
Su Su stepped into this corridor for the second time.
The animals she had seen last time—some were still there, while others had left behind only empty cages.
She didn’t want to look again and shifted her gaze forward to He Heng. “Where are you taking me?”
“To the place where I store my experimental equipment.”
Su Su’s gaze narrowed slightly.
She said nothing more and silently followed behind He Heng until they entered a completely new space.
Various experimental instruments were piled up here, but the most shocking sight was a wall shelf filled with glass jars.
Inside each jar were different parts of animals.
The scene was too horrifying… Su Su abruptly turned her head away.
“Can’t stand it?” He Heng raised an eyebrow. “I originally thought we were the same kind.”
“Who’s the same kind as you?”
Su Su’s tone was so cold and firm that it seemed she utterly disdained being associated with him.
He Heng remained indifferent. “Denying it is useless. From the moment you agreed to my request, we became the same kind.”
“I did it to save someone.”
“Really?” He Heng smirked mockingly and raised a hand to point at the python in her arms. “Why don’t you ask it if it believes you?”
Su Su instinctively lowered her head.
The black snake in her arms cast a cold glance at her.
That expression clearly harbored resentment.
Su Su choked up. “Xiao Hei…”
Pa!
The snake’s tail lashed heavily against Su Su’s arm, leaving a glaring red mark.
“Hiss—!”
The black snake bared its fangs, its expression showing its unwillingness to listen to any further justifications.
Su Su remained silent for a long moment, as if realizing that her decision had already caused irreversible harm to her battle companion.
But she had to save Granny Niu.
Gritting her teeth, Su Su pulled out a package from her backpack. “These are the scales and flesh that Xiao Hei shed when treating its wound.”
He Heng took the blood-soaked plastic bag.
Inside, there were indeed several pieces of nearly rotting flesh and charred scales.
He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You prepared this in advance? Looks like you had already decided to make this deal with me. Well, it makes sense—if things can be resolved peacefully, why resort to unnecessary conflict?”
Hearing this, the coldness in the black snake’s eyes deepened.
Su Su ignored his remark. “I’ve already given you what you wanted. Now, release Granny Niu.”
“What’s the rush?”
He Heng slowly put on a pair of rubber gloves and rummaged through the pile of flesh for a moment before frowning in dissatisfaction.
“These pieces are almost rotten. I need something fresher.”
“Impossible!”
He Heng and Su Su locked eyes for a brief moment before he sighed with regret. “Alright then, since you’re unwilling, we have nothing more to discuss.”
He moved as if to return the plastic bag to Su Su.
There was no room for negotiation.
Su Su bit down hard on her lower lip. “It has to be fresh?”
“Yes.”
He Heng’s firm and unwavering tone caused an intense internal struggle within Su Su.
“…Fine.”
Her agreement was barely audible, but the black snake in her arms still heard it.
It stared at her in disbelief.
Su Su was overwhelmed with guilt. “Xiao Hei, I’m sorry. I only need a little… just a little bit.”
Hiss!!!
The black snake flung her arm away in fury and bolted from her embrace.
In the blink of an eye, the heartbroken battle companion disappeared without a trace.
“Xiao Hei!”
Su Su took a few steps forward in pursuit but failed to catch up.
“Looks like it no longer wants to listen to you.”
He Heng’s footsteps drew closer.
But Su Su was still reeling from the shock of Xiao Hei’s departure and failed to notice that he had already moved behind her.
A strange fragrance filled the air.
Caught off guard, Su Su inhaled deeply.
The next second, her steps grew unsteady, and her vision spun wildly.
Just before she lost consciousness, the laboratory door suddenly slammed shut.
He Heng’s surprised voice seemed to echo from afar—
“…I didn’t expect this to work just as well on ability users.”
Her consciousness completely faded.
Her thoughts drifted in a chaotic sea of awareness, rising and falling unpredictably.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before she finally managed to open her eyes with great difficulty.
She found herself lying on an operating table, her limbs bound tightly. No matter how much strength she used, she couldn’t break free.
“Don’t waste your energy.”
Hearing He Heng’s voice, Su Su’s expression darkened. “What did you do to me?”
“Just a little aromatherapy.”
At some point, He Heng had already changed into surgical scrubs and was leisurely putting on medical gloves.
“A new invention from the Northern Base. They say it’s extracted from the residual impurities in crystal stones and can make anyone who has consumed a crystal—or even battle pets—fall into unconsciousness.”
Su Su froze.
The Northern Base? Extracted from the residual impurities in crystal stones?
The apocalypse truly produced all sorts of remarkable individuals…
“Do you really have time to be thinking about all that right now?” He Heng chuckled mockingly. “Someone outside just informed me that your battle pet has already escaped from the villa. No one knows where it went.”
“No… that’s impossible… Xiao Hei wouldn’t leave…”
“So, you never fully tamed it after all. Just a little flesh and blood, and it dares to turn its back on you.”
Su Su’s face turned pale, as if she had suffered a heavy blow.
He Heng lifted his hand and brushed it against the beautiful woman’s cheek. “How pitiful, abandoned by your own battle pet.”
Even now, she stubbornly resisted. She turned her head away, avoiding his touch.
“I don’t understand.”
He Heng smirked. “What don’t you understand?”
“Xiao Hei has already escaped. Are you keeping me here because you think it will come back for me?”
For some reason, this question struck He Heng’s funny bone.
He suddenly burst into laughter.
Listening to his laughter, Su Su’s expression grew even uglier.
After laughing his fill, He Heng wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. “Miss Su, you really aren’t very bright.”
“I would never believe that a cold-blooded animal would come running back for someone the way you would.”
“From the beginning, I was never after your battle pet.”
Su Su froze. “What do you mean?”
Seeing that she was still completely in the dark, He Heng patiently explained, “A Tier 5 battle pet? As long as I feed enough crystals, I’ll eventually raise one myself.”
That giant python was nothing more than a momentary novelty to him.
As for the ability to change size at will, some of the battle pets he raised had already tripled in size once they reached Tier 3.
It was easy to imagine that once he nurtured a Tier 5 battle pet, size manipulation would no longer be exclusive to just one creature.
“I’ve had my eyes on you all along.”
He Heng’s palm forcefully cupped Su Su’s face.
Even through the layer of surgical gloves, he could feel the delicate smoothness of her skin.
“Your ability to control zombies—if it evolves further, could it also control battle pets?”
Essentially, they were all mindless creatures. If zombies could obey commands, why couldn’t battle pets?
Su Su’s heart sank.
She hadn’t expected He Heng to be so perceptive. Even though she had never displayed it openly, he had still managed to deduce the direction her ability was evolving toward.
She could only be thankful—he hadn’t figured out that she could also purify impurities.
He Heng saw no change in Su Su’s expression.
Perhaps she truly didn’t know, or maybe she was simply good at maintaining her composure.
It made no difference either way—she was already in his hands.
He Heng sighed. “I’ve always believed in sincerity for sincerity. Maybe that’s how you won that giant python’s favor.”
“But that was a coincidence. I want certainty.”
And what was certainty?
It was his ability to study Su Su’s power, experiment with integrating it into himself, and mass-produce obedient battle pets.
When that time came, he wouldn’t have to worry about maintaining his position or waste effort currying favor with the base’s elite squads.
He alone would be an entire squad.
Su Su found it utterly ridiculous. “For this, you think it’s worth sacrificing half the ability users in the base? Aren’t you afraid they’ll unite and rebel against you?”
“That’s exactly why you’ll never be in my position.” He Heng smiled slightly. “Sacrificing the interests of some will naturally win the loyalty of others. And as for those bottom-feeding ants… they’re still struggling to survive, barely getting enough to eat. Do you really think they have any opinions that matter?”
He had divided the base into the Southern and Northern Districts precisely to create an insurmountable hierarchy.
No, it wasn’t even a true hierarchy yet.
Abilities weren’t inheritable. Once he completely controlled an army of battle pets, even if someone awakened an ability and clawed their way out of the slums, they would only end up as another pawn under his command.
A chill ran through Su Su’s heart.
Suddenly, she remembered—perhaps in her past life, the Southern Base had been heading in exactly this direction under He Heng’s vision. Even Si Zhe and Lin Weiran had merely been his enforcers.
After indulging in his grand vision, He Heng returned to reality.
He gazed down at the woman bound to the operating table.
This was a face that could captivate anyone, especially those eyes. If she cried… she would be utterly bewitching.
It wasn’t just her looks, but the innate allure she carried as well.
She wasn’t a qualified ability user. With looks and charm like hers, she should have been hidden away in luxury—bullied, crushed, and broken apart piece by piece.
To be honest, He Heng still harbored a few traces of a man’s interest in Su Su.
“How did you win that snake over?”
The conversation circled back again, and Su Su had no desire to answer.
But He Heng didn’t let her off. “I’ve never seen a cold-blooded creature so clingy. The way it looks at you—it’s as if it sees you as its mother snake.”
“Have you mated with it?”
“How did it fit inside your stomach?”
“Can you tell me?”
His palm slid down toward Su Su’s lower abdomen, as if he were touching a place that had once pleased some disgusting creature.
It should have been repulsive.
Yet, unexpectedly, He Heng found himself exhilarated.
Su Su could even see the evidence of his excitement.
For the first time, that baby-faced man revealed the lust of a fully grown male.
Su Su’s eyes were filled with pure disgust. “He Heng, you’re disgusting!”
Her insult was completely disregarded. He Heng’s hand continued its descent.
They had plenty of time. Right now, he wanted to see for himself—had she truly been intimate with that snake?
The scalpel in his hand moved to slice through the sturdy fabric.
Su Su bit her lower lip hard.
She had already endured to her limit. There was no way she would allow him to do something this revolting.
A scream was about to burst from her throat when—
The intercom finally crackled to life.
After a burst of static, a panicked voice reported—
“City Lord! A zombie horde—another zombie horde is charging toward the base!”
“Leading them are more than twenty Tier 4 zombies! But within our base, we barely have ten Tier 4 ability users fully recovered and battle-ready!”
How were they supposed to stop that?!
The scalpel in He Heng’s hand abruptly halted.
His first reaction was disbelief. Never before had a zombie horde launched a second attack within a single week.
Given the current state of the base, they were bound to be overrun!!
His mind reeled from the shock, and his gaze instinctively swept toward Su Su—
A flash of white light.
Why was there a white glow in her eyes?!
Could it be just the reflection of the incandescent light…?
He Heng’s consciousness wavered, caught off guard, plunging him into a brief moment of disorientation.
“Xiao Hei!”
At the command, the black snake hidden in the rafters struck with lightning speed.
The infamous Blue Flame Arrow Feathers, which had once crippled Si Zhe, shot forth once more.
This time, the attack was even fiercer, even more enraged and ruthless—so swift that it pierced straight through He Heng’s heart in an instant.
Blood splattered across Su Su’s face.
He Heng died within mere moments, not even having the chance to reach for the detonator.
In the final half-second of his fading consciousness, Su Su whispered softly—
“I don’t care what you were after.”
She truly wasn’t that clever, nor did she have any interest in figuring out He Heng’s ultimate goal.
These power-hungry, scheming people—no one could ever fully predict the depths of their depravity.
Bang!
He Heng collapsed to the floor, eyes wide open in death.
The last thing he ever heard was the gentle voice he had always dismissed with contempt.
——“He Heng, I just wanted to kill you.”