The moment she fell into the zombie horde, countless arms reached toward Su Su.
Roars, the stench of foul saliva, fangs symbolizing death… Everything was identical to what she had seen before her death in her previous life.
The pain of her body being torn apart seemed to linger in her nerves. Even though she had been reborn, it did not erase the catastrophe she had once endured.
Unknowingly, two streaks of clear tears slid from the corners of her eyes into her hair.
It was neither fear nor terror—just the nerves that had long gone numb beginning to ache faintly once more.
When the zombies’ sharp claws were only a few centimeters away from her skin, Su Su suddenly let out a roar.
“Get lost!!!”
The shrill voice sounded more like the desperate struggle of someone on the brink of death.
But the zombies surrounding her halted without warning—abruptly, even unnaturally!
They no longer attacked Su Su. Like puppets bound by an immobilization spell, they stood blankly in place, awaiting instructions.
Su Su unreservedly unleashed her ability.
This was her first time controlling hundreds of zombies at once, including not only low-tier zombies but also a large number of Tier-2 zombies—and even one or two Tier-3 zombies!
Being able to achieve this was thanks to the Grade-3 crystal she had obtained from Xiao Hei’s mouth.
Before guarding the back door, Su Su had secretly swallowed it.
In a short period, she had jumped from Tier-1 to Tier-2 and then forcibly leaped to Tier-3. If not for her ability’s capability to purge excess crystal impurities, she would have already exploded and died.
Su Su was sincerely grateful for possessing this ability.
The zombies surrounding her had stopped, but the horde behind them refused to halt. They had already caught the scent of a living human, their greed for fresh flesh seemingly etched into their very bones, as they surged forward with reckless abandon.
“Stop them.”
With this simple command, the hundreds of zombies obediently turned around, biting, blocking, and fighting against their own kind.
Su Su could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But she was not truly safe yet—zombies were everywhere, densely packed, with only the one-meter radius around her remaining relatively secure.
Lying within the small “safe zone” encircled by zombies, she propped herself up into a half-sitting position.
Within her field of vision, there was nothing but zombies.
Her nerves instantly tensed. “Xiao Hei? Where are you?”
“Hiss!”
The black snake responded amidst its hectic battle. When it had fallen outside the door, it had promptly wriggled out of the human’s embrace and intercepted dozens of incoming Tier-2 zombies.
Roar!
Another burst of scorching blue flames incinerated the nearest zombie. The black snake did not linger in battle, twisting its body through the “zombie forest” until it finally slipped into the safe zone and lunged into the human’s arms.
“Hiss!”
The crimson snake tongue immediately licked Su Su’s cheek.
The pair of perpetually indifferent dark green vertical pupils flickered with a rare trace of concern. It was carefully examining this fragile human, checking if she was injured or missing any body parts.
“I’m fine.”
Su Su hugged the slightly weighty Xiao Hei tightly, instinctively rubbing its head.
Having possessed her ability for less than half a month, she was already facing such a massive zombie horde. No matter how confident she was, before actually executing her plan, anxiety and even panic were inevitable.
Fortunately, she had this black snake—one that had not accompanied her in her previous life.
Su Su tightened her arms, as if pouring all her unease and lingering fear onto it.
The black snake, which had once complained about being stuffed inside a backpack, uncharacteristically did not resist this time. Instead, it coiled tightly around the human, watching as a zombie surged forward from behind. In an instant, it opened its mouth wide and unleashed a blaze, reducing the creature to ashes.
Su Su finally composed herself.
She scanned her surroundings. This “safe zone” was like a drop in the ocean amidst the zombie horde, temporarily ensuring her survival.
Looking toward the stadium entrance, the tightly shut door stood a full three meters away.
It hadn’t been this far originally, but the zombies flooding in from all directions were pushing the “safe zone” backward. At this rate, as long as Su Su’s ability didn’t run dry, she might actually get “pushed” out of the zombie horde… or, just as likely, be trapped at its very center.
Su Su searched for Zhao Zhenyu.
She had long anticipated his treachery, but a normal person could hardly predict what kind of madness a lunatic like him would resort to. The only thing she could do was remain on high alert.
So, when she was shoved out of the door, although surprised, she reacted swiftly, immediately pulling someone else down as a shield.
Now, where was he? Had he already been devoured by zombies?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, a miserable and furious roar suddenly echoed from not far away.
“Get the hell away from me! Scram!!”
With that enraged shout, the surrounding air became noticeably humid, as though an immense amount of moisture had condensed in the area.
Peering through the gaps between the zombies, Su Su finally spotted Zhao Zhenyu!
He hadn’t had time to grab a weapon and could only form a protective water barrier behind him while slashing viciously at the zombies in front with water blades.
Zhao Zhenyu was positioned even closer to the door than she was. As long as he could cut down the dozen or so zombies within a meter of him, he would be able to reach the tightly shut entrance!
Su Su’s eyes glinted coldly—this was the perfect opportunity!
The white glow of her ability surged into the zombies surrounding Zhao Zhenyu, manipulating them into a frenzy as they lunged at him.
In an instant, Zhao Zhenyu became mired in a “swamp,” his forward momentum slowing drastically.
What was going on?
Why were these zombies growing fiercer the more he fought? And why were more and more of them flooding toward him?!
Out of the corner of his eye, Zhao Zhenyu inadvertently caught a glimpse behind him—only to spot Su Su, whom he had assumed to be dead in the zombie horde, sitting unharmed in a small clearing!
Impossible! Why weren’t the zombies attacking her?!
His mind was thrown into turmoil, causing his attacks to slow by a fraction. At that exact moment, a Tier-3 zombie lunged at him from the side!
It squeezed through the zombie horde, stretching out its head just to take a vicious bite at him.
“Ah!!!”
Another miserable scream—except this time, Zhao Zhenyu was truly bitten through the arm.
He stared in shock at his own limb. The torn fabric of his combat jacket dangled in tatters, exposing bright red muscle, while fresh blood gushed endlessly from the wound.
The scent of fresh blood drove the surrounding zombies into a frenzy.
At the same time, Su Su was holding Xiao Hei. It cleared the way with bursts of blue flames, forcibly pushing their “safe zone” another meter closer to the door.
Crash.
Right at that moment, the door was flung open, and a figure was ruthlessly kicked out.
“You bastard! Get the hell out too!”
Su Su focused her gaze and saw that the person sent flying was none other than Lin Wenzong—the one who had teamed up with Zhao Zhenyu to push her out of the door.
Even after siding with Zhao Zhenyu, he hadn’t managed to get a single Grade-2 crystal from him. Still just a Tier-1 ability user, he was instantly swallowed by the zombie horde the moment he fell into it.
Miserable screams rang out repeatedly.
Su Su only had time to glimpse a hand struggling upward before, moments later, it fell limply—completely lifeless.
“Sister Su Su! I’ll help you!”
Pang Cancan stood at the doorway, sending seven or eight massive venomous bugs burrowing into the zombies’ brains. They devoured the brain matter in seconds before swiftly tunneling back out, diving straight into the next zombie’s ear canal. Wherever they passed, no zombie was left standing.
With such seamless coordination, Su Su quickly advanced another meter.
Just one last meter left!
A desperate, frenzied roar suddenly erupted from behind.
Zhao Zhenyu crawled out from a pile of corpses, his eyes bloodshot. He flung away the zombies gnawing at him and, seizing the pathway Pang Cancan had cleared, recklessly charged toward the door.
“Fuck!”
Pang Cancan cursed but couldn’t spare the effort to deal with the bastard who had just barged in. He remained fully focused on clearing a path for Su Su.
Meanwhile, Le Rui, after realizing his ice ability was ineffective at killing zombies, shifted his stance. He turned his back to Pang Cancan, keeping a vigilant watch on everyone still inside the stadium, ensuring no one dared make another move against them.
Fortunately, after what had just happened, the two other ability users inside were already scared out of their wits.
As for Zhao Zhenyu…
He lay sprawled on the ground, covered in blood, panting heavily, too exhausted to cause any more trouble—for now.
Su Su finally reached the door!
The zombie horde that had pursued her was held back by the hundreds of zombies she had controlled in the opposite direction. In a shocking display of carnage, the creatures tore into their own kind, locked in a vicious struggle!
Everyone inside the door gaped in astonishment.
“T-This… What’s going on?”
Su Su turned back to look. The intense white glow enveloped a radius of several dozen meters—her absolute control limit.
So this was the power of a Tier-3 ability user?
Then what about Tier-4? Tier-5? Tier-6 and beyond?
The heavy metal door slammed shut again. Through the narrow gap, the gruesome sight of zombies slaughtering each other was still visible.
Boom.
With a dull thud, the door sealed shut completely.
Su Su’s heart surged with an unprecedented exhilaration—only to settle into absolute calm at its peak.
It was only at this moment that she truly realized—she now possessed the power to command life and death.