In his mory, he clearly recalled that the Tianguang in Yong’s hand had been cranked up to its maximum output, amplifying its power but requiring the user to pay a corresponding price!
The shot that Yong fired earlier in the car had overwheld his physical endurance, leaving him barely conscious. When he awoke, the three of them were practically buried in the dirt. Their exoskeletal battle suits showed varying degrees of damage, and the wreckage of the monstrous off-road vehicle was a testant to how dire the situation must have been.
Even if you gave it the benefit of the doubt, the recoil from that single laser fired at Tianguang’s maximum output didn’t kill Yong outright. But it was also impossible for him to appear now with no visible injuries at all!
In front of him was an exoskeletal suit, shrunken, damaged, and twisted—looking like a ball of crumpled paper aggressively wrung by soone. It was a pitiful sight. Brother Shi fell into silence, turning to glance at Ghost Head and Crooked Neck. The two were chatting with Yong, apparently unaware.
Previously, Brother Shi had deceived himself into believing Yong was just incredibly lucky, allowing him to repeatedly survive the claws and fangs of a Level 7 zombie. But this ti, he couldn’t help but suspect there was far more to Yong than what t the eye!
Was he really just a Level 2 New Human? It seed highly likely he was a high-tier New Human pretending to be weak, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. But such behavior felt almost incomprehensible in the grim reality they lived in. Was there really any need for this charade?
To Brother Shi, such an act seed excessive and pointless. And Yong himself was peculiar—acting dumb and slow—pretending to be weak didn’t seem like sothing this blank-faced guy would pull off.
Apart from the possibility of Yong disguising himself as a high-tier New Human, there was another, more unsettling one: Yong might not even be human. What he presented on the surface might not be his true self.
The re thought of this made Brother Shi shiver. The more he dwelled on it, the more convinced he beca—Yong was simply too suspicious!
Starting with his speech and behavior: though he rarely spoke and mostly responded through body language, whenever he did talk, it was awkward, like a child babbling as they grasps language for the first ti. His words felt clumsy, as if he didn’t even know how to string them together properly.
In that mont, Brother Shi instinctively wanted to confront Yong and demand answers. But rationality swiftly intervened, repressing the impulse rising in his chest. He glanced again at Ghost Head and Crooked Neck; perhaps the two had already started doubting Yong too. No one naïve enough to survive this long could still be so blindly trusting. Compared to them, Brother Shi could see and understand more—he also needed to exhibit more restraint.
He took a deep breath, abandoning the idea of confronting Yong. After all, from the mont they’d t Yong, he had shown no malice toward them. Whatever his motives, they were nothing more than Level 2 New Humans. They had little of value to offer; their lives were perhaps the most "expensive" possessions they had.
If Yong had wanted their lives, he could have claid them long ago, back when they escaped together. There was no reason to wait until now.
"Leave it at that..."
Brother Shi murmured to himself, then stood up. His gaze t the others’, and a smile spread across his face. Limping slightly, he made his way to the Level 7 zombie’s corpse, acting as if nothing was amiss. Pointing at it, he casually asked, "Is it dead?"
His tone suggested he was confirming sothing. The group silently assud he was directing the question at Yong, who cooperated by nodding in agreent.
"Finally dead after all that effort!" Brother Shi replied with exaggerated relief. Ghost Head and Crooked Neck smiled as well; whether their reactions were genuine or rely for show remained anyone’s guess.
The three inspected the corpse of the Level 7 zombie, their eyes brimming with astonishnt. Even Brother Shi, despite harboring his suspicions, couldn’t help but stare. In this post-apocalyptic world, this was their first contact with a Level 7 zombie’s corpse. The most powerful zombie they had encountered before was only at Level 5. Their expressions betrayed their inexperience and awe.
After taking a direct hit from Tianguang’s maximum output blast, the Level 7 zombie’s head was missing nearly two-thirds of its structure. Its body turned a dark hue, resembling what it was before death. However, from the front side, the interior of its body was visibly hollowed out. The at walls inside were blackened, covered in blister-like protrusions, resembling lted and re-solidified plastic. The hollowed section stretched from its cracked skull all the way to a few centiters above its tailbone—its death was as grotesque as it was grueso!
The sight also gave the group a vivid appreciation of the sheer destructive power unleashed by Tianguang at full output!
"Incredible. We’ll be bragging about this zombie for generations!"
"Let’s take a picture to commorate."
Ghost Head eagerly pulled out his phone, but due to the damage to his exoskeletal battle suit, he struggled to retrieve it. After much effort, he fished it out from an exposed tear in his waist area. However, when he pressed the power button, his expression turned awkward—his phone had been rendered inoperable by the damage to his suit.
"Let do it." Brother Shi offered, pulling out his phone and snapping a few pictures. While taking the photos, he asked Yong, "Did you grab the Evolution Crystal inside yet?"
Yong shook his head, indicating no. After casually taking so shots, Brother Shi handed the phone to Ghost Head to evaluate his photography skills, then set about retrieving the Evolution Crystal from the Level 7 zombie.
A single Evolution Crystal from a Level 7 zombie could easily fetch at least 18,000 Yajin on the market. That kind of wealth could secure them a lifeti of luxury at any survivor base—it was out of the question to leave it behind.
Brother Shi shoved his hand into the hollowed section of the body, rummaging through chunks of rotting flesh. After so effort, he finally fished out a dark bluish-green crystal with faint traces of blood near the neck area. Its surface shimred brilliantly under the fading sunlight.
The crystal’s shape was irregular, but the luster was striking. And since this thing was linked to money, its aesthetic appeal was enough to capture anyone’s interest. The group couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
But ti was short. Before they could admire it for too long, Crooked Neck grew restless and urged, "Let’s find a place to stay for the night first. Standing here wasting ti isn’t smart."
Hearing this, Brother Shi and Ghost Head didn’t protest. Regardless of what Yong thought, they understood Crooked Neck’s perspective—he wasn’t just fending for himself; he had a wife and kids waiting for him.
"Alright, let’s first find shelter for tonight. As for these Yajin, we’ll split them evenly when we reach Bai Ling," Brother Shi said, storing the Evolution Crystal. Upon hearing this, Ghost Head and Crooked Neck—except for Yong—looked visibly eager. Turning all their collected crystals into Yajin and then splitting the loot would afford them an ample fortune. Their thoughts drifted to the lives awaiting them once they arrived at Bai Ling Base.
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