TL: Moonlit

“Boom, boom, boom—!!!”

After a round of bombings, the bombers circled back and dropped all their ammunition until empty.

The stationed area had already been flattened, without a living creature in sight.

The bombers aimlessly hovered in the air, and suddenly, the accompanying fighter jets launched an attack. They shot down one bomber after another and engaged in dogfights, colliding and creating a massive burst of fire in the sky.

The Central Metropolis was in chaos. Those with vehicles hurriedly got in, while those without vehicles tried to find or hitch a ride. If they couldn’t, they could only rely on their own two legs to escape. The faster they ran, the better. They left through the West Gate, as if delaying for even a moment would make it impossible to leave.

The generals were well aware that there were too many survivors in the Central Metropolis to evacuate them all in a short time. Besides the survivors eager to leave, there were some who clung to the hope of staying hidden within the city. They believed that going outside meant certain death and insisted on not leaving.

The people organizing the retreat didn’t have time to wait for them, nor would they spend time persuading them. Whether to go or not was their choice, and whether to live or die was their own decision. Even if they retreated with the military, it didn’t guarantee their safe escape. The outside world was more dangerous than the metropolis, that was beyond doubt, but it was also full of vitality.

Compared to being trapped in the metropolis and wiped out, there were more opportunities for survival outside. Even if they left the group and found a safe place to hide, they could re-emerge once the danger passed.

Some people were reluctant to leave, so the military couldn’t withdraw completely. They left them behind to face death, and Xiao Jiang wanted to stay to hold back the impending wave of zombies, buying time for their escape.

Old Xue strongly disagreed. He wanted Xiao Jiang to leave with the others and stay behind himself to block and intercept.

Xiao Jiang also refused to agree. The two of them were about to argue when Xia Jiang timely intervened, saying, “Stop arguing. You go, and I’ll stay behind with a team to obstruct and intercept.”

Xiao Jiang was about to refuse but was stopped by Xia Jiang. “Stop arguing with me. I have nothing holding me back. My only nephew, Yunhan, is currently in Wen Qingling’s base. If you manage to survive, I hope you can take care of him.”

Xia Jiang looked at Xiao Jiang with a complex expression. “Xiao Jiang, you are more important. Your son, Xiao Hen, is the only person who can communicate with Wen Qingling. The survival of the Chinese survivors rests solely on Xiao Hen’s shoulders.”

Xiao Jiang was Xiao Hen’s father, and only by protecting Xiao Jiang was there a possibility of softening Xiao Hen’s stance. It was also the only way to ease the conflict between humans and Wen Qingling. Until this moment, they finally understood that if they hadn’t torn their face with Wen Qingling and the civilized city, Xiao Hen would definitely come back to help. Regardless of whether Wen Qingling was human or a zombie, as long as he harbored no ill will towards humans and could be of assistance to them, humans could accept him. But now, all chances of peace were destroyed.

In front of all the generals and high-ranking officials, Old Xue finally said the words he had been holding in for a long time, “Xiao Hen has already warned me not to antagonize Wen Qingling. He might be humanity’s last refuge…”

In the end, they still embarked on the path of enmity with Wen Qingling, even though Old Xue vehemently tried to stop them. It led to the current situation.

Xia Jiang smiled. “Try to ease the situation. The outside is no safer than the metropolis. It’s dangerous everywhere. Take care of yourselves and strive to survive.”

The ground beneath their feet trembled, rumbling as if a giant was approaching. There was no time to delay anymore. Everyone got into their vehicles and left the metropolis at the fastest speed possible. Xia Jiang immediately ordered the closure of all city gates and had Earth elemental ability users seal the gates from the inside to minimize the risk of the zombie tide breaking through.

The night outside the city was pitch black, illuminated only by the slow-moving convoy on both sides. The survivors, protected in the middle, ran frantically. Trucks followed closely behind, and when someone couldn’t go on due to exhaustion, they would be pulled into a vehicle to rest for a while. They took turns like this, trying to rescue every single person.

Those with vehicles followed behind the advance team, forming a long convoy. Armored vehicles and armed helicopters provided protection as they headed west.

This direction had relatively fewer zombies, but they were not absent. The mission of the advance team was to clear the zombies and pave the way for the survivors behind. Occasionally, zombies would emerge from the roadside and pounce on the crowd. Some would be blocked by the outermost vehicles and killed on the spot, while the ones that managed to get past the vehicles would be dealt with by the soldiers walking on the outskirts of the survivors.

Layer by layer, they protected each other. As soldiers, they were fulfilling their final duty, doing their best to let the survivors live on. Even if they were occasionally dragged away by zombies, the formation remained intact.

Injured survivors and soldiers were rescued and brought along, with the hope that they could still be saved. They had developed antidotes and vaccines, the result of research conducted by the Chinese people. Even though there was a conflict between the Central Metropolis and the civilized city, they were all still Chinese people. Even if they were zombies, they were Chinese zombies.

Perhaps, just perhaps, their relationship with the civilized city could be eased. In that case, the wounded and infected would still have a chance, and they would still have hope of survival.Gigantic shadows moved through the night. Their destination was the Central Metropolis. The remaining soldiers guarding the city could feel the ground shaking, and everyone was tense and fearful.

Facing death, no one was without fear. They only hoped that when they died, it wouldn’t be too painful. They fought to buy time for the departing convoy, hoping that their deaths would have some value.

The rumbling sound grew closer. Just when they thought the creatures were right outside the city walls, the vibration suddenly stopped. Everyone tightened their grip on their weapons.

In the next moment, with a thunderous impact, a section of the hundred-meter-high city wall collapsed. A massive “head” emerged from the collapsed area, straining to look inside the city1Attack on Titan vibes? HAHAHAHHAH.

Everyone’s hair stood on end. They had never seen such a massive zombie before.

Xia Jiang gave the order, “Open fire!”

All the artillery shells aimed at the giant head and bombarded it. The head staggered back, letting out an angry roar. The thunderous impacts continued, and the hundred-meter-high city wall trembled and threatened to collapse.

The soldiers who remained behind knew their fate. Their only belief was to delay as much time as possible.

The battle intensified, and suddenly, two figures appeared at the initial breach. They were silhouetted against the moonlight, making it hard to see their faces, but one was tall and the other slender.

Xia Jiang’s mind started to go blank as the words relayed by Xu Guang echoed clearly in his mind…

“I see two individuals. One has black hair, black eyes, and a black windbreaker. He’s an adult man, accompanied by a teenager. The teenager has black hair and red eyes, around fifteen or sixteen years old. His appearance is exactly like Wen Qingling’s…”

“They… are not human…”

Xia Jiang stared fixedly at them, murmuring, “The Zombie King… That’s the Zombie King…”

The man roared, and all the zombies that had been blocked outside the city grew restless, joining in with their own howls, shaking the heavens.

The man held the young boy’s hand and leaped down from the high wall. Instead of entering the city, they chased after the departing large convoy.

The giant zombie that had been hitting the city wall suddenly displayed higher intelligence. It no longer got stuck in the breach but started grabbing zombies and throwing them into the city. Zombies fell from the sky, instantly disrupting the defense formation. Close combat soldiers rushed forward to fight the zombies thrown inside, protecting the artillerymen and continuing long-range attacks.

Inside the civilized city, everyone was awakened by the roar of planes. They had expected a fierce battle, but it never happened. After dropping a round of bombs, the planes departed.

The civilized zombies and the new humans waited for a while, but when they didn’t see the planes return, they went back to sleep with relief.

Wen Qingling knew that the foreign intruders with ill intentions had been dealt with. Tonight, the civilized city wouldn’t face any danger anymore.

He thought for a moment and said, “Go and bring Kui Bao back. We can’t leave it outside all the time.”

Xiao Hen said, “Alright.”

Xiao Hen asked, “Where should we go?”

Wen Qingling replied, “The Central Metropolis.”

Xiao Hen was taken aback. He thought Wen Qingling would go directly to Yunjing City, but he hadn’t expected the Central Metropolis.

Wen Qingling explained, “Those zombies have already left Yunjing City.”

Xiao Hen understood. He embraced Wen Qingling tightly, and when he let go, Xiao Hen had already disappeared. He reappeared in a distant city after multiple teleportations, finally inside the Central Metropolis.The Central Metropolis had already turned into ruins. The hundred-meter-high city walls had been breached by the giant zombie, and zombies of all sizes poured in through the gaps, searching the entire city for fresh flesh.

Frowning at the sight of the devastated Central Metropolis, Xiao Hen muttered to himself, “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

And with that, Xiao Hen disappeared from where he stood.

Wen Qingling didn’t follow him. He knew what Xiao Hen was going to do. Even if he turned into a true zombie, as long as he retained his intelligence, he wouldn’t be indifferent to his bloodline relatives. Wen Qingling himself couldn’t be cold-blooded towards his own family, let alone Xiao Hen.

Wen Qingling scanned the area with his spiritual power. This place wasn’t a dead city; there were still surviving humans. They hid in enclosed spaces, each of them covering their mouths and noses, trying to make their breathing sound as quiet as possible.

Standing there, Wen Qingling saw the zombies in disarray respectfully avoiding him. Even though Wen Qingling had concealed all his aura, facing a king, these zombies instinctively feared him.

Wen Qingling’s gaze fell ahead, where many soldiers in military uniforms roamed the streets as zombies. Judging from their wounds and fresh bloodstains, they were soldiers of the Central Metropolis who had recently turned into zombies.

Among these soldier zombies, one was different. Its abdomen was half gone, covered in blood, and the military uniform’s original color was indiscernible. Half of its face was also a bloody mess, heavily gnawed upon, but the remaining half had minimal decay. Wen Qingling could recognize it at a glance—it was Xia Jiang.

Xiao Hen reappeared, his eyes filled with coldness. “The people from the Third District have disappeared. I can’t find Xiao Jiang and Old Xue.”

Although he had a cold demeanor, he hadn’t reached the point of being completely heartless. Old Xue, who was his blood relative and had taken care of him since childhood, he couldn’t just stand by and watch them die, even though his relationship with his father wasn’t good.

Xiao Hen followed Wen Qingling’s gaze and also recognized Xia Jiang among the group of soldier zombies.

Wen Qingling’s gaze remained fixed on these soldier zombies, and he asked Xiao Hen, “What do you want to do?”

Xiao Hen replied, “Bring them back to the civilized city.”

To become a new human, one must first be a zombie. Only then can they undergo reorganization after the zombie virus has destroyed human genes, obtaining a stronger physical constitution and power than humans.

Wen Qingling smirked. “Just as I thought.”

Wen Qingling particularly liked recruiting soldier zombies. These soldier zombies were obedient and followed orders. They often became the sacrificial pawns in power struggles. When they were ordered to die, they could only go and die because they didn’t have a choice. As soldiers, they had a duty to protect the lives of citizens.

Wen Qingling didn’t have any issues with soldiers; his grievances were with the selfish higher-ups.

Wen Qingling said, “They have already left. Xia Jiang should have stayed behind to intercept the zombies, but the entire army was annihilated.”

Now, there wasn’t a single living soldier in the Central Giant City. They had all died in battle, eaten or converted, giving their all until the very end.

Wen Qingling scanned with his psychic power, gathering all the soldier zombies within the Central Giant City. He instructed Xiao Hen to first send these soldier zombies back to the civilized city while he went to chase after the wild Kui Bao.

Xiao Hen could use spatial displacement to transport these soldier zombies, but the distance was too far, requiring several shifts.

Xiao Hen didn’t object and left with the soldier zombies.

Wen Qingling followed the army of zombies, heading towards the wild Kui Bao.

Author’s Note:

Thank you all for your support, kisses~~

PS: Xiao Hen is now a pure zombie, following the example of Wen Qingling as a pure zombie. Although he claims to have little emotion, it doesn’t mean he has no feelings at all. His emotions are just very faint. When it comes to his loved ones and friends, he still has a protective instinct. Xiao Hen is the same. He has become cold and ruthless, but he won’t ignore the danger faced by his loved ones and friends. He hasn’t lost his memories; it’s just that apart from love, his other emotions aren’t as intense.

During his evolution, what he feared the most was becoming a pure zombie like Wen Qingling, who didn’t understand emotions. He didn’t want to forget his fondness for Wen Qingling. Therefore, after his evolution, the affection he feels for Wen Qingling is much stronger than any other emotion.1Attack on Titan vibes? HAHAHAHHAH