That night… it was her.
Gu Chi didn’t remain dazed for long. As he felt the steady stream of supernatural energy flowing from Chi Ying’s palm into his, realization struck—his earlier excitement had been nothing more than wishful thinking.
He quietly let go of her hand, though an inexplicable sense of loss lingered in his chest.
Chi Ying, unaware of his thoughts, assumed he hadn’t absorbed enough and pushed harder, trying to transfer more.
“Enough,” Gu Chi said softly.
But he still hadn’t released her hand.
In his left palm, the fading ice-blue power surged back. Stagnant frost resumed its spread, crawling across the other half of the safe zone.
At the top of the wall, a supernatural ability user observing the battlefield below suddenly shouted, “Command! The zombies… they’ve stopped moving!”
The woman in charge responded coolly, “I see.”
“Commander, what happened?”
“It’s someone sent by headquarters. As far as I know, there’s only one person capable of executing an ice ability attack at this scale.”
She plucked the cigarette from her lips, her icy expression finally easing.
“A senior commander from the institute. Fortunately…”
They had narrowly escaped destruction.
“Everyone, focus fire on the zombies scaling the wall. There’s support coming from below,” Xu Nian ordered.
She clenched the cigarette pack tightly, hiding the tremble in her fingers.
She flicked away the cigarette butt. When its ember touched the zombie-made ladder, it exploded into searing flame. Blackened bodies peeled from the wall like rotting scabs.
It was a fire ability—one at the peak of level five.
Many lower wall defenses had already been breached by the undead.
Xu Nian watched as her comrades’ blood dripped from the slits in the wall, falling on the swarming puppets below. A raging fire kindled in her eyes—hatred burning unchecked.
That thing… it better hope I never find it.
__
An hour later.
The ceaseless gunfire that had shaken the safe zone finally fell silent. Only heaps of corpses remained beneath the iron walls—both human and undead—alongside a frozen expanse of white zombie statues.
“Captain…” Lu Yunfei’s voice came through the communicator.
“Did you find it?” Gu Chi leaned against a tree, his energy spent.
Even as a level-seven ability user, deploying such a massive amount of power had taken its toll.
“No. Not a single zombie showing signs of autonomy. And none with characteristics suggesting leadership.”
“Even though they’re frozen, the skin patterns are clear—no corpse spots missing.”
“What about the others?”
“I’ve asked. Same result. Too many bodies—we can’t search them all immediately. But Xu Nian said she’ll send people to help.”
“Help?” Gu Chi frowned. “For what reason?”
The headquarters had kept information about the zombie leader tightly contained. The fewer who knew, the better. He worried Xu Nian might share too freely.
“She said it’s to collect crystal nuclei. To recover consumed energy.”
That was a reasonable explanation. Unlike regular zombies, a leader’s nucleus was distinct. If the leader was dead, the nucleus would confirm it.
“Fine. Let me know if anything turns up.”
He ended the call.
“No sign of it?” Chi Ying asked, gripping a large mall-bought blade as she eyed the frozen corpses nearby with anticipation.
“No.”
Gu Chi sat down, leaning against a dead tree. A bad feeling settled in his gut.
If they found the leader, it would be over. But if not… this was only the beginning.
They had more searching to do.
__
“Commander Gu.”
Xu Nian greeted them at the gate, rifle slung over her shoulder. She gave a slight bow in gratitude.
Unlike most military leaders, Xu Nian wore a fitted black suit and carried herself with a sharp, rakish edge. She was older, her maturity adding to her formidable presence.
“I’ve dispatched teams to collect the crystal nuclei. You can rest inside the safe zone for now.”
“Thank you.”
“No vehicle?”
“It’s outside. A few team members went to fetch it.”
“Results should be in soon. We’ll know then.”
She didn’t speak the rest aloud, but both of them understood.
They were waiting on an answer about the leader.
__
In the emergency meeting room of Zone 9:
“All zombies have been inspected,” Xu Nian said grimly. “No abnormal nuclei detected.”
“So…” Song Shi narrowed his eyes, “the leader’s not among them?”
“Correct. And that’s exactly what I was afraid of. The area outside is vast—how are we supposed to search every inch? Finding the leader like this is practically impossible.”
“If it regroups and attacks again without backup from headquarters, we won’t survive it,” she added.
Gu Chi fell silent.
“There’s something else,” he said. “Why did it target Zone 9?”
“Geography,” Xu Nian replied. “Zone 9 is central to surrounding urban areas. An ideal target.”
“Which raises another issue…” Gu Chi looked at her. “The leader’s influence is limited. Yet the zombies came from all directions. Where do you think it gathered the most from?”
Xu Nian’s expression shifted.
“You’re suggesting… it’s inside the safe zone?”
“Possibly nearby. But I think it’s most likely already within.”
Zhang Bin. Bai Qing. Both arrogant. Both liked blending in with humans, as if trying to prove they were smarter.
It was entirely possible this new leader shared that trait.
“Do you have a registry of all recent entries into the zone?”
“Yes. But there are a lot. I’m not sure we can—”
“Start narrowing the range. We need a list.”
“Understood. I’ll have it compiled.”
Gu Chi looked down, a hollow nausea twisting in his chest.
They had no way of identifying the enemy…
__
Later, in the Ministry of Information:
Xu Nian scanned the list. “In the past two weeks, 278 people entered the zone. Only three are definitely clear.”
She looked up at Gu Chi.
“If I gather them all, how will you find the leader?”
If headquarters had a method, surely they would’ve shared it already.
She sat back, silent for a long time.
“I can’t just… drive them all out.”
That would just push the leader out of sight, not eliminate the threat.
Xu Nian laughed bitterly. “The only option left… neither of us can bear to carry out.”
Chi Ying lifted her head.
What option?
Gu Chi clenched his fists.
The only way… was to kill indiscriminately. Sacrifice over 200 lives to ensure the leader didn’t slip through.
Silence hung heavy between him and Xu Nian.
Then—
Bzzz.
The communicator lit up.
Gu Chi answered.
“Captain, something’s wrong here.” Lu Yunfei’s voice came through, surrounded by chaos.
“Yunfei?” Gu Chi’s eyes narrowed.
Lu Yunfei and Lin Xun had gone to retrieve their vehicle. The threat should’ve passed.
Then came shouting—two people arguing, curses overlapping.
“Bai Qing started a fight on the roadside!”
Author’s Note:
Bai Qing: The walking zombie leader detector—reporting for duty!
Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 1