“A Tier 7 zombie has appeared in S City.” A hoarse, aged voice drifted through the air.
Si Zhe, who had hurried back, fell into brief contemplation before saying, “I’ll go kill it.”
This statement did not receive an immediate response.
He furrowed his brows and asked again, “Sage?”
Only then did the Sage slowly shake his head. “No need for you to go. I’ve already discussed with the remnants of the S City base. Four Tier 6 ability users will be sent to assist them.”
Four Tier 6 ability users, plus the remnants of S City base, whose strength was completely unknown and likely useless?
Si Zhe disapproved. “They can’t defeat a Tier 7 zombie.”
“A single person can’t, but they can besiege it.”
“But there are more zombies than humans in S City. If a fight truly breaks out, it’s hard to say who will be besieging whom.”
After being repeatedly refuted, the Sage fell into a long silence.
After a while, he finally spoke in a faint tone, “Si Zhe, you’re getting stronger and stronger.”
His words carried significant weight.
Si Zhe pursed his lips slightly. “I just don’t want the guild to waste manpower for no reason.”
At present, all the Tier 6 ability users in the guild were under his command. Wherever they went, they were an unshakable force.
In just two short weeks, his inherent toughness had begun to show.
“Is that so?” The Sage did not get angry, his tone remaining indifferent. “In your view, exchanging a few ability users for the long-term submission of the S City base is not a worthwhile deal?”
“No, I just think that relying on them alone is not enough to reclaim the fallen S City.”
The Sage: “So you want to go there yourself?”
“Yes.”
The Sage chuckled, his sharp, spirited gaze fixed on Si Zhe, exposing all his hidden thoughts in one sentence: “You want to snatch that Grade 7 crystal while helping those idiots reclaim S City, isn’t that right?”
The former could be used to nurture high-level ability users loyal to himself, while the latter would allow him to secretly ally with other bases inclined toward his faction.
Slowly expanding his own power, eating away at the territory belonging to the Research Guild…
Give him some more time, and even the Sage himself might end up as nothing more than a captive, supplying the crystal in Si Zhe’s body.
Si Zhe lowered his head. “You’re overthinking it.”
The Sage’s laughter echoed through the spacious room.
He was not angry.
Long ago, when he treated Si Zhe, he had already seen through what kind of person he was—ruthless, unwavering in his chosen path, capable of climbing upwards with decisive efficiency, using everyone around him as mere tools.
He had only lacked a good opportunity.
Once that opportunity arrived, he would definitely rise above all others.
“Si Zhe, oh, Si Zhe… Even the small tasks I assigned you, you failed to complete. Those remaining battle pets are still bouncing around in some remote corner, completely unaccounted for. And you, after leading so many people in pursuit for a whole two weeks, you’ve achieved nothing but seriously injuring that whale… Tell me, how could I possibly entrust S City’s mission to you?”
Si Zhe had no way to refute those words.
In this post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, where evolution had become the norm in recent years, his informants hadn’t even reached the southern base, let alone infiltrated the city to investigate whether any battle pets had defected.
With no leads and completely blind to the situation, how could he possibly find them?
But Si Zhe did not give up. He simply changed direction. “The news of a Tier 7 zombie appearing in S City has already spread. Those hiding in the shadows won’t let this opportunity slip by. Maybe I’ll run into them directly while I’m there.”
The Sage merely shook his head with a smile.
“This mission, I will assign to someone else.”
“Tell the Tier 6 ability users under you to pause their tasks. Sending four of them will be enough.”
His tone allowed no room for argument.
Si Zhe hesitated for a few seconds before lowering his gaze. “Understood.”
The Sage didn’t bother looking at his expression.
Sliding his wheelchair toward the office’s resting quarters, he spoke as he moved. “Didn’t you want to go to the desert to find Weiran? Now that you’re free, it’s the perfect time to take a trip. Bring something back for me while you’re at it.”
Behind the old man, Si Zhe clenched his fists.
His lowered eyes flashed with anger and resentment.
After two weeks, the last bit of wishful thinking in his heart had completely vanished—Weiran was truly dead.
And when he had most wanted to look for her, he had been trapped here, working like a pawn for this old man. Now, when he had no need to go, he was being mercilessly sent back to the desert.
Si Zhe took several deep breaths.
Not yet—the time wasn’t right. He told himself this.
Then he turned and strode out of the office.
Inside the dimly lit resting quarters—
Deputy Zhang stood by the door, tilting his head to listen to the sounds outside. “…He’s gone.”
“Mm.”
Compared to the Sage’s leisurely posture, eyes closed in quiet repose, Deputy Zhang appeared much more anxious. “What if he refuses to go to the desert and runs off to S City instead?”
Si Zhe was already a Tier 7 ability user. If he got his hands on another Grade 7 crystal and gained the support of S City’s base… then everything the Research Guild and the Sage had worked for would amount to nothing but a gift-wrapped advantage for him!
“He won’t.” The Sage’s tone was calm.
“Why not?”
“Because I told him that the implanted artificial crystal in his body—if mishandled—might just explode.”
Bang.
The Sage made a hand gesture, mimicking a firework bursting in the air, and chuckled. “Not as spectacular as dying from excessive crystal consumption, but at the very least, it would blow off the lower half of his body, leaving him to crawl forward in a pool of his own blood using only his hands.”
Deputy Zhang swallowed hard.
He didn’t dare imagine such a scene, yet he still let out a visible sigh of relief. “Sage, Si Zhe is too difficult to control. You’re using him as a blade, but if his ambition grows beyond our grasp… Shouldn’t we find a replacement? Or perhaps cultivate a second Tier 7 ability user?”
That wasn’t so easy.
All this time, only Si Zhe had succeeded.
The Sage had been resting with his eyes closed for a long while. When he finally opened them again, he saw that Deputy Zhang still looked uneasy, as if he couldn’t settle his nerves.
He even regretted it. “It would’ve been better to use Weiran instead. At least she was obedient—she did whatever she was told. The only problem was that she wasn’t very bright. If she had even a third of Si Zhe’s ruthlessness…”
The Sage chuckled. “Enough.”
Si Zhe… Just an ambitious and ruthless cripple. Sooner or later, he would be discarded.
“When he brings back the old items from the base, bring them to me. I want to take a look.”
The Sage still hadn’t let go of his doubts.
He had a lingering feeling that there was something hidden in Si Zhe’s desert trip that had yet to be discovered.
“Understood.”
—
Compared to when she had first arrived, many of the large and small bases occupying the eastern city had disappeared.
This time, there was no need to take detours. Occasionally, when passing through a city, the people inside would carefully and cautiously open the gates to let her through smoothly.
They must have learned their lesson after suffering quite a few beatings.
About a dozen kilometers after leaving the city, Su Su found a flat patch of grass and decided to stop for lunch.
As she was setting up the boiler, Xuan Mang that had been slithering around her was suddenly nowhere to be seen.
“Ah Xuan?”
“Ah Xuan?”
She called out several times. By the time the water in the boiler had started to boil, the bushes finally rustled, and from within emerged a large python that she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Two weeks after leaving the desert, Xuan Mang had finally regained the ability to freely shift forms the night before.
Since their journey took them through many towns, he had refrained from taking on his half-snake form during the day—not because he feared attracting too much attention, but because he disliked how unimpressive it looked. Instead, he had returned to his pure-blooded giant python form.
At this moment, the majestic giant python was elegantly gliding toward her, holding more than a dozen freshly uprooted wildflowers in his mouth.
“Hiss~”
His intention to present a gift was too obvious.
Su Su was both surprised and delighted. “Where did you learn this?”
He actually knew how to give flowers!
She took the wildflowers, picked the prettiest one, and tucked it behind her temple. Then, she deliberately turned her head to show the side with the flower. “Does it look nice?”
Beautiful.
Xuan Mang slithered around her in circles, flicking his tongue to express his amazement.
In the animal kingdom, many males build nests decorated with bright flowers and mushrooms to attract females.
This was his first time giving flowers.
Seeing how happy she was… Next time, he could build a nest with more flowers.
Su Su kept one flower in her hair and didn’t let the rest go to waste. While the porridge was cooking, she wove them into a flower crown and placed it on the python’s head.
Ferocity and adorableness coexisted.
Su Su couldn’t help but imagine—what would Ah Xuan look like wearing a flower crown in his half-snake form?
As the thought crossed her mind, her cheeks flushed slightly. “Don’t lose it. Wear it for me tonight so I can see.”
“Hiss~~~”
Just as the human and snake were enjoying their moment, the sound of an approaching vehicle came from the bend in the road. Soon after, six or seven more cars followed behind.
Su Su’s first reaction was to look down at her feet—
Xuan Mang had already vanished without a trace. In his place, a small black snake, about the length of an arm, was lazily slithering into her backpack, its tail even hooking the flower crown and pulling it in with him.
Screech—Tsss—
Seven or eight vehicles came to a halt right in front of her.
Su Su’s gaze turned icy as she looked at the people in the surrounding cars.
From the passenger seat of the leading vehicle, a plump, fair-skinned head popped out.
It was a man with a rather prosperous physique. When he smiled, his fat trembled, and his small, mung bean-like eyes were filled with flattery.
His appearance wasn’t outright repulsive, but it was certainly unpleasant to look at.
Having approached so abruptly, the man was clearly worried about being attacked, so he quickly introduced himself. “Miss, my name is Guo Yingjun. I’m the lord of the base you just passed through.”
He was overly talkative and still hadn’t gotten to the point, which made Su Su frown impatiently.
Noticing this small reaction, Guo Yingjun immediately sped up his speech. “I could tell that you’re incredibly strong, and since you’re heading toward S City, I assume you’re going there for that Tier 7 zombie, right?”
“What a coincidence! We’re also going to reclaim the fallen base. Why don’t we team up and travel together?”