PSW - Chapter 98
Chapter 98
The moment she was submerged by zombies, Chu Yi was almost certain she was going to die here.
In that instant, so many things flashed through her mind, so many images appeared—of Humanity's Light, of the shelter's ability users, of her friends… And in the end, the last thought in her head was, "I still haven't finished the scallion pancakes Yun Lingjian made for me."
It was in that same instant that the pouring rain suddenly "stopped."
Before Chu Yi could even see what had flashed past, the zombie closest to her was suddenly torn limb from limb, its head directly crushed, and it tumbled from the metal staircase as a pile of rotten flesh.
Scorching flames followed immediately, incinerating the mangled remains. Though the downpour continued, the fire showed no signs of being extinguished. It burned with a passionate, searing heat, as if it could never be quenched, blooming and spreading as it swept through the entire zombie horde.
All of this happened in a single moment.
Chu Yi regained some of her senses. Rain washed the blood from her face as she took off her glasses and let the water rinse the lenses. Through the blur, she saw Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi arriving.
Was that Zheng Yi? This person… looked so unfamiliar.
Chu Yi put her glasses back on, just in time to hear Zhu Lanyuan's trembling voice. "Is-is it you?"
Who?
Soon, none of it mattered.
The strange zombie let out a shrill scream, as if terrified, and a sharp wave of mental energy rapidly washed over them. Its enormous head glowed even brighter, especially conspicuous in the heavy rain. Then, a scene Chu Yi could never have imagined unfolded—countless zombies surged toward Zheng Yi. Even the horde that had been attacking Humanity's Light Shelter abruptly retreated. And that special zombie, after its piercing scream, actually turned and fled!
Panic, fear.
Within the sweeping mental tide, Chu Yi actually identified such emotions.
What was happening? How was this possible?
She stared blankly at the person strolling leisurely through the rain. It seemed to be Zheng Yi, yet it was not the Zheng Yi she remembered at all. The person steadily closed in on the fleeing special zombie, the boundless rain now under her control. The downpour transformed into what could only be described as a terrifying "water dragon," complemented by razor-sharp, high-pressure water blades. Any zombie that approached her was instantly reduced to a pile of shredded flesh.
Was-was this still human? Was this a level an ability user could reach?
"I'll go play with it. You stay here and watch over them," Zheng Yi said gently to Yu Yinan. Amidst the curtain of rain, sheets of solid ice appeared abruptly under her feet, turning back into rainwater the moment she stepped off them. Between condensation and fragmentation, Zheng Yi rapidly pursued the special zombie.
"How naughty~" Her slightly doting sigh echoed softly in the rain. Chu Yi pinched her own thigh hard, but the dual sting of physical and mental pain still couldn't convince her that this was reality.
The endless zombie horde swiftly followed the special zombie's retreat, desperately trying to intercept Zheng Yi, to block her pursuit with their bodies and buy the special zombie time to escape, but… to little effect.
"Are you okay?" A gentle voice sounded above Chu Yi's head. She looked up to see Yu Yinan, the rain still beating down on her face, a burning pain sweeping over her body. Chu Yi looked at Yu Yinan, opened her mouth, but hesitated.
"You… you guys… she… this… I…" In that moment, Chu Yi seemed to have lost the ability to form coherent sentences.
"It's okay, Zheng Yi will handle it," Yu Yinan said gently, the trust and smile on her face unmistakable when she spoke of Zheng Yi. She reached out and pulled Chu Yi to her feet. Though she was also soaked in the rain, the pain didn't seem to affect her much anymore. "You all should rest and recover. When Zheng Yi gets back, we'll return to the shelter together."
"…That's Zheng Yi?" Chu Yi still found it hard to believe. "Zheng Yi… isn't Zheng Yi your younger sister? Is she… is she your sister? Zheng Yi? That cute, well-behaved, kind, and incredibly naive Zheng Yi who doesn't seem to understand anything? That's Zheng Yi?"
"What on earth did you two encounter out there?"
"She is Zheng Yi. The Saint, Zheng Yi." Zhu Lanyuan and Lian Langxi approached, supporting each other. Neither of them looked well; after all, they had been hit by that massive mental tide twice, on top of their ability exhaustion… and now they were soaked to the bone in the stinging rain. The only ones who could still chat and laugh in this situation were probably Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi. Zhu Lanyuan looked at Chu Yi and confessed, "She's the one who killed Yang Zhengming that night, who massacred that small base… the Saint."
"Wha-" Chu Yi was momentarily speechless. Her mind was a mess, and her memory of Zheng Yi's appearance blurred. She looked at Zhu Lanyuan in utter disbelief. "You knew all along?"
"After they left, when you told me about Zheng Yi, I only had a suspicion," Zhu Lanyuan said with complete honesty. "That night, I went downstairs and heard Yang Zhengming screaming things like 'Zheng Yi is the Saint.' I didn't know what those sounds meant then, not until you said the name 'Zheng Yi,' and then I learned her codename was coincidentally 'Saint.' Also, that time you went to the base, Zheng Yi was there too."
"And about Yu Yaozu leaving the base and disappearing… Yu Yaozu is your younger brother, right? Your relationship wasn't good, you could even say it was terrible… For him to suddenly abandon his mother and run away, it seemed unusual no matter how you look at it. But if Zheng Yi is that Saint, and you're involved, I guessed that maybe Yu Yaozu's disappearance was related to you two?" Zhu Lanyuan looked at Yu Yinan, then suddenly smiled sheepishly. "These were just my guesses. I only truly confirmed that Zheng Yi was that person… just now."
"Yu Yaozu?" At the mention of that irritating name, Lian Langxi couldn't help but frown. She glanced at Yu Yinan. "So, you killed Yu Yaozu?"
"Yes," Yu Yinan said softly. "Yu Yaozu was deeply sinful. Zheng Yi purified him, delivered him from his suffering, and allowed him to be reborn."
"…" Lian Langxi was struck speechless. She looked at Chu Yi and saw that she, too, was in a daze.
Was Yu Yinan like this before? Why… why was she acting so strangely spiritual now? The two of them had just gone on a trip, just spent one high-temperature period outside. How had they become like completely different people?
Chu Yi sighed deeply. She covered her face with her hands, burying her head, and it took a long while for her to accept this reality.
Regardless, Zheng Yi had saved them. They had survived. And judging by the special zombie's reaction… the shelter's crisis should be… probably… resolved, right?
It was too dreamlike. This turn of events was simply too dreamlike.
Chu Yi gazed toward the other side of the rain, in the direction the special zombie and the horde had fled. She swallowed hard and asked, "Zheng Yi… is she really going to be okay chasing after it all by herself?"
Yu Yinan blinked. She followed Chu Yi's gaze toward the retreating horde and pursed her lips with a hint of worry. "It's fine. Zheng Yi is very strong. If she says she can do it, she can do it." Her firm belief in Zheng Yi didn't conflict with her concern for her in the slightest.
"Come on, let's go back to the car and rest for a bit." Yu Yinan supported Chu Yi, then looked at Zhu Lanyuan and Lian Langxi. "You're both in bad shape. Even if you want to rush back to the shelter to check on things, you should recover a little first."
"…Okay." Zhu Lanyuan and Lian Langxi exchanged a look and agreed. "We drove here too. We just parked on that street over there."
"Alright, let's go then."
Terror, fear, dread, distortion. The special zombie's mental power was highly developed and sensitive. It could sense danger, even glimpse Zheng Yi's terrifying nature. The light from its head had turned almost completely blue, like a blue lightbulb hopping from rooftop to rooftop as it fled in panic.
The mental waves it constantly emitted broadcast its various emotions. If translated into human language… it would be screaming as it ran.
Why why why does something like this exist why is this human so terrifying why isn't she like a human why does she look just like food but is so horrifying why can't I shake her why is she chasing me why why why can't I shake her
"Run a little faster~ My dear, if you keep holding back like this, I'm going to catch you~"
Ahhhhhhh!
The special zombie screamed silently, countless pleas for help and mercy rippling out in layers. don't don't don't don't catch up
Just from a brief, distant contact with Zheng Yi's mental power through the rain, the faint, deeper aura the special zombie sensed was enough to make it tremble with fear. For the first time, it hated its own vast sea of consciousness. It was too sensitive, too perceptive, so much so that even a faint trace of that aura—even though this person's current mental power wasn't at a terrifying level—was enough to completely destroy its will to fight.
It shouldn't have fought with those damn pieces of food! It should have fled immediately! Why… why did she arrive so quickly? Was it the prey all along? How could such an existence take a whim to hunt something as weak and insignificant as itself!
It possessed intelligence, but not enough to fathom Zheng Yi's thoughts or devise an escape plan. It could only flee without stopping, run without rest. Countless enhanced zombies, some even with special abilities, threw themselves at Zheng Yi one after another, trying to block her path. But no matter how many zombies swarmed her, Zheng Yi continued to follow it at a leisurely pace.
There was no escape. It couldn't escape.
Just as it leaped, intending to jump to another rooftop platform, an ice wall suddenly appeared in mid-air. It slammed squarely into the wall, and the entire zombie plummeted from the sky.
It's over… it's over…
It scrambled to get up, surrounded by the endless zombie horde. But in that instant, all the zombies around it, soaked by the rain, turned into ice sculptures. The terrifying existence landed lightly and gracefully, giving it a gentle, kind smile.
She said, "Caught you~"
She said, "Your head is so bright. You don't mind if I open it up to see what's inside, do you?"
She said, "Can you understand me? It's okay if you can't~ I won't let you die. It's just… a little experiment."
It stumbled to its knees, mental waves rippling out. The zombies that had been surrounding and desperately protecting it scattered in an instant, the horde fleeing Pujie like a torrent of water.
It was saying: Run.
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