031 : Several dozen kilometers away, three vehicles were advancing at a steady pace. As evening approached, the dark red sun hung low on the horizon, its lingering rays still scorching the earth. Amid the roar of engines, the heat distorted vision into blurry silhouettes. Luo Yesheng twisted open a bottle of mineral water and drained it in one long gulp. After setting the empty bottle aside, he squinted and studied the vehicle ahead. To ensure the mission's success, Feilong had deployed nearly its entire force, determined to capture the two high-level zombies. Recalling his conversation with Feng Leijie, the corners of Luo Yesheng's mouth curled into a cold smile as his thoughts drifted back to an hour earlier. Feng Leijie was extremely enthusiastic, immediately calling him "brother"

upon meeting, brimming with sincerity. He then stated that after killing the level-four zombie, if the resulting level-four crystal happened to match Luo Yesheng's attribute, it would belong to Luo Yesheng. Otherwise, it would go to Feng Leijie. If neither matched, the final ownership of the crystal would be decided by drawing lots. This was suggested by the scar-faced man beside Feng Leijie; such a childish approach, when spoken by him, seemed remarkably reasonable. Luo Yesheng said nothing, simply nodding in agreement. With their cooperation secured, they set off immediately after some discussion. Glancing up at the rearview mirror, he saw a truck following behind him. Feng Leijie was riding on that truck; at departure, he had invited Luo Yesheng to share the vehicle, but Luo Yesheng had declined. Luo Yesheng insisted on driving his own car. Feng Leijie said nothing, but citing Luo Yesheng's unfamiliarity with the address, arranged for him to take the second position.

It seemed as though this was for his benefit, yet with Feilong's people positioned both ahead and behind, should Feilong suddenly turn against him and launch a pincer attack, the geographical situation would be far from favorable. Logically, Luo Yesheng should have refused; unexpectedly, however, he complied with Feng Leijie's arrangements without hesitation, as if placing immense trust in his so-called "partner."

Or perhaps he was simply confident in his own strength, utterly unafraid of any underhanded moves by Feilong's people. Luo Yesheng's gesture made Feng Leijie treat him with even greater courtesy. …… Withdrawing his gaze, Luo Fusheng gently turned the steering wheel to avoid a jutting stone pillar, his mind flashing back to the young man who had boarded the truck alongside Feng Leijie at departure. That individual was clearly a lowest-tier ability user, possessing almost no combat capability; what purpose could Feng Leijie possibly have in bringing him along? Luo Yesheng tapped his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He had encountered countless instances of black preying on black; since he dared to accept Feng Leijie's proposal for cooperation, he naturally feared none of these people. With a casual flick, he turned on the truck's speakers, and a blazing DJ track swept into the ears of everyone inside the vehicle, carried by the hot wind.

"Brother Jie, that Luo Yesheng doesn't seem nervous at all,"

Zhang Wenxi on the truck said in disbelief.

"He's being so flashy; isn't he afraid of attracting zombies?"

Feng Leijie's expression darkened, his thoughts unreadable. After a moment, he picked up the walkie-talkie—he had given one to Luo Yesheng just before departure.

"Brother Luo, although there are no zombies around, please turn off that music. We're here to hunt zombies, not to go sightseeing."

He suppressed the anger rising within him; if only he didn't need Luo Yesheng's alliance to deal with the Level-4 zombie…

"My apologies, Captain Feng. I got a bit too excited thinking about the upcoming battle and accidentally turned on the music without realizing it. I'll turn it off right away."

The music ahead abruptly ceased, yet Feng Leijie's expression grew even darker.

"Brother Jie, we have Wenxi on our side,"

Tie Zhi spoke up at just the right moment, patting Zhang Wenxi's shoulder, causing the latter to flinch slightly. Feng Leijie didn't notice this. Recalling Zhang Wenxi's special ability, his grim expression gradually softened. It was as if he already held a level-four crystal shard in his hand, with Luo Yesheng's corpse lying beneath his feet. Just endure it a little longer.

　　*

Xiu Jin's first thought was of the dungeon instance, which was understandable; after all, a group of ability users hunting two zombies was akin to farming monsters in an online game's dungeon. Only after the system's explanation did he realize this was so-called "plot necessity."

Xiu Jin: "…"

Fine, he couldn't be bothered to complain.

"How do I drive that group away?"

After a while, the system slowly responded:

[The only way is to release Lu Yu and Zhu Yuan.]

Xiu Jin: "Can those two handle that group?"

System: [Difficult.]

Xiu Jin: "Then if we let them out, they'll just die in vain? That won't do."

His precious daughter would surely cry her eyes out. The system grew irritable; it lacked the authority to forcibly log Xiu Jin out and bring another father online. Even if it were to ask Xiu Jin to log off now, there's no guarantee he would comply; and even if he did, the other two might not be logging into the game at this moment. It also lacks the authority to force them to log in. Moreover, given Xiu Jin's personality, asking him to log off would only make him dig deeper for answers. Besides, no game system proactively asks players to log off. Xiu Jin is no fool; what if he notices something amiss… The system is practically bald from stress. After calculating every possibility, it never accounted for Xiu Jin logging into the game at this very moment and kicking the Magician offline. Worse still, Xiu Jin holds Account Number One, which grants him absolute "login"

priority—meaning that once he logs in, whoever is currently online will be immediately disconnected, no exceptions. Xiu Jin asserted arrogantly, "Open the weapon section. Can't I just buy weapons with money?"

System: [No!]

"Wait."

Xiu Jin suddenly recalled something.

"I remember you mentioned in the backstory that high-level zombies can summon low-level ones, right?"

The system remained silent.

"Release Lu Yu and Zhu Yuan, let them gather the low-level zombies. A horde of zombies against a group of ability users—I'd like to see who comes out on top."

Bianbian had no idea what was happening. Just moments ago, she wasn't sure if she had heard System Daddy's voice, but now, she was certain she had— "…I must have been so furious that I didn't think of this myself; it absolutely wasn't because of Number One's reminder."

Bianbian was utterly bewildered. She wanted to call out, but remembering System Daddy's warning not to reveal him in front of the uncle she couldn't see, the little girl could only lower her head in confusion and start whispering softly to her teddy bear instead. Faced with the option [Release Lu Yu?], Xiu Jin tapped [Yes] without hesitation. Then, sliding the knife across the screen, he moved it to the leather straps binding Zhu Yuan's limbs from behind; a few swipes later, the straps were severed. Just as Zhu Yuan regained his freedom and rolled over, trying to get up, the prepared Xiu Jin forcefully swiped him toward the window, sending Zhu Yuan flying out with a "biu."

Shaking his slightly sore fingers, Xiu Jin was highly satisfied with the result—he had previously worried that he might fail to fling him out. Because Xiu Jin moved so quickly, and the fruit knife had been positioned in a corner blind to Bianbian's view, by the time Zhu Yuan was thrown out with a loud thud, Bianbian turned around at the sound only to discover that Uncle Zhu Yuan had vanished from the corner. The little girl hadn't yet realized this was Xiu Jin's doing; instinctively, she ran toward the window, but suddenly the ground beneath her feet lurched violently, as if struck by a powerful earthquake, making her lose her balance. Fortunately, before her small body could hit the floor, Xiu Jin, swift-eyed and quick-handed, caught her mid-air.

"ROAR!!!"

A deafening howl erupted from upstairs. Bianbian had never heard Grandpa make such a tremendous sound before. The building shook with unprecedented violence, like a lone sailboat caught in a stormy sea,随时 capsized by towering waves. Bianbian's little face turned pale with fear as she stumbled toward the door, desperate to see what had happened to her grandfather. But she couldn't move; Xiu Jin had grabbed hold of her.

"Uncle, let me go! I need to check on Grandpa!"

After experiencing this many times, Bianbian had learned to recognize the situation and understood that an invisible uncle was blocking her path. She struggled fiercely, her chubby, fair cheeks scrunched up from the effort, while her big, grape-like eyes filled with fearful tears born of urgency and worry. Xiu Jin tried his best to ignore his precious daughter's soft sobs; a father couldn't afford to be soft-hearted at a time like this. Lu Yu was a zombie—if he let his little girl run out and confront him…

[Intimacy -50]

The cold, blunt words shattered Xiu Jin's train of thought. Deeply hurt, he looked at Bianbian with grievance, only to find the little girl even more aggrieved than he was. Golden teardrops finally spilled from her eyes as she burst into loud sobs: "I… I don't like you anymore… *sob*… I want Grandpa…"

Xiu Jin saw a bubble appear above Bianbian's head, displaying an image of an old man lying motionless on the ground. In a flash of realization, Xiu Jin understood: his precious daughter thought something had happened to Lu Yu, which was why she was so anxious and frightened.

Just then— The zombies' sudden roars vanished, the building stopped shaking, and everything fell into an eerie silence. Half a minute later, a loud crash echoed as something tumbled down the stairwell, followed by heavy footsteps approaching from afar, as if something was slowly making its way from the upper floors down to the ground level. Bianbian also stopped struggling, her long eyelashes glistening with tears as she looked wet-eyed at the door.

"Heh heh."

The next second, a hoarse, inhuman sound came from outside the door, followed by vigorous pounding.

"Grandpa, it's Grandpa!"

Bianbian wiped away her tears, her pale little face regaining its color as she whispered softly, "So Grandpa is okay."

She tried to move her body but found she still couldn't. The little girl pressed her rosy lips together and reached out with both small hands, feeling around, yet she touched nothing. She couldn't see where Uncle was.

[Intimacy Value -5+5-5+5-5…]

Xiu Jin: "…?"

He forced himself to ignore the prompts and turned his gaze toward the door. As he watched, he suddenly realized something was wrong—the four corners of the door were visibly contracting inward, instantly shrinking its size. …Lu Yu was melting the metal on the door; he intended to break in!