“Captain, something’s happened—Bai Qing got into a fight with someone on the side of the road!”
Gu Chi paused with his hand still holding the communicator, raising his eyes to glance at the others. A shared, unspoken suspicion passed among them.
“Who’s Bai Qing?” Xu Nian asked, frowning as she noticed their strange expressions.
Gu Chi stood. “The leader of the zombies.”
“…”
Xu Nian was momentarily stunned.
“Huh? Where are you going?” she asked instinctively as he moved.
“To the place where the two leaders are fighting,” he replied calmly. “Want to come? We might find the one hiding in the safe zone.”
__
When they arrived, Bai Qing was still fighting a burly middle-aged man in the street.
“What’s going on, Yunfei?” Gu Chi asked, watching the two locked in a brutal exchange.
“I don’t know. I was driving ahead, and Bai Qing suddenly jumped out after spotting that guy through the window…” Yunfei shrugged. “Then it turned into this.”
The two zombie leaders clashed fiercely, red-eyed and relentless. Zombie leaders instinctively rejected one another—their evolution doomed them to conflict.
But here in the safe zone, neither dared use their leader skills. Instead, they resorted to raw hand-to-hand combat.
Gu Chi exchanged a glance with Xu Nian and gave her a subtle nod.
Still piecing things together, Xu Nian muttered under her breath, “You owe me an explanation later.”
Then she stepped forward, arms crossed, and snapped at the two combatants, “What do you two think you’re doing?!”
Bai Qing, bloodied and breathless, didn’t register her words. Without access to its powers and with a lean frame, it was no match for the burly man.
Its body was bruised and battered, blood dripping from the corner of its mouth.
Seeing neither of them respond, Xu Nian signaled her subordinates.
“Orders, ma’am?” one asked.
“These two have disrupted the safe zone’s peace. Detain them and lock them up.”
“What?!” Bai Qing finally snapped back to reality, staring in disbelief.
Get arrested for a street fight?
The burly man also froze. Worry flickered in his eyes. If he was captured, would his identity be exposed?
But then… maybe not. These humans didn’t seem to know he was evolved.
A few days in lockup might actually be a blessing—especially if it meant staying under the radar while they investigated the zombie attack. It even might end up safer than being outside.
He glanced coldly at Gu Chi.
This was the man who’d ruined everything.
The memory of the snowy battlefield from the day before made him both hateful and fearful. But no matter how resentful he felt, he knew Gu Chi had the power to wipe out his kind.
He’d bide his time. When the humans left, he’d make his move.
Bai Qing, however, was anything but calm.
“I’m supposed to go to the Human Alliance for something important! If I’m stuck here, Gu Chi and the others won’t wait for me!”
It looked at Gu Chi’s team pleadingly. “Um, I… I don’t want to be locked up.”
“Tch.” The burly man snorted, clearly disgusted by Bai Qing seeking help from humans.
Pathetic.
Bai Qing clenched its jaw but swallowed the insult.
“You see…” Lu Yunfei smiled apologetically, hands clasped. “We’re on official business. We can’t bend the rules.”
Chi Ying also nodded solemnly.
Bai Qing’s hope withered.
It tried again, desperately pointing at the burly man. “He started it!”
The man glared back. “Shameless zombie…”
Xu Nian had had enough. “Take them away.”
Bai Qing’s arms were forced behind its back and locked in cuffs. As the guards began to drag it away, Gu Chi stepped forward and whispered near its ear:
“Don’t worry. I know people here. I’ll get you out.”
After all, a walking zombie leader detector like Bai Qing was too valuable to leave behind.
Xu Nian overheard and sighed.
Couldn’t they at least wait until she was out of earshot before plotting backdoor favors?
Bai Qing, hearing the promise, nearly cried again—though yesterday’s radish soup had already left its system, making “crocodile tears” a failure.
Still, it was enough. It turned and smugly raised its eyebrows at the burly man.
See? These humans value me.
The man growled lowly, eyes burning with disdain.
Traitor.
What neither realized was that the confinement room awaiting them was far from the sanctuary they expected.
__
Later…
“Are you sure it’s him?” Xu Nian asked, staring into the prison cell.
Gu Chi had already explained everything. After the initial shock, Xu Nian was now composed.
“If Bai Qing’s the leader,” she reasoned, “then this guy probably is too.”
“Try it and see.” Gu Chi looked at her. “The HQ said you used to be a prison warden. You should be able to confirm it without hurting anyone.”
“Using interrogation techniques on a zombie…” she muttered, stunned by the absurdity.
Gu Chi shrugged. “They’re not dumb—but they don’t understand people. Not yet.”
Xu Nian nodded. “Got it. I’ll handle it.”
__
Later that day
Thud. Thud.
Chi Ying stirred on the conference room table at the sound of boots approaching.
They hadn’t slept since last night’s battle, and most of the team had gone to rest. She turned to alert Gu Chi—only to find him already watching her.
“You’re awake,” he said gently.
【Hehe.】
The system snorted.
He never took his eyes off you. Don’t tell me there’s nothing fishy about that!
Just then, Xu Nian entered without expression.
“Got the result?” Gu Chi asked, unsurprised.
“That guy crumbled after a little pressure. Hysterics and all,” she replied, jaw tight with fury.
She inhaled, reigning in her anger.
“So. What do you want to do with him?”
“I assumed you’d want to deal with him yourself,” Gu Chi said.
“If it weren’t for the Alliance, I’d have killed him already.”
“We just need the crystal nucleus,” Gu Chi said. “The sooner the better—before he gathers more zombies.”
Xu Nian’s eyes turned cold. “Small problem.”
She turned and left.
Clearly, dealing with the zombie leader was her next priority—and her subordinates had very creative ideas.
__
After she left, Gu Chi picked up the communicator.
“Who are you calling?” Chi Ying asked.
He paused, then replied, “Professor Yu from headquarters. He’ll be interested in this morning’s events.”
Chi Ying blinked. “Why?”
Gu Chi smiled. “Think about Bai Qing and that other leader.”
She frowned. “They fought… Is there hostility between zombie leaders?”
“Yes. But here’s the key—Bai Qing saw the other leader from Yunfei’s car, before it got close. How do you think it recognized him from such a distance?”
Chi Ying’s eyes narrowed in thought. Sight? Sound? Smell?
Then—“The crystal nucleus?”
“Exactly,” Gu Chi nodded. “I believe leader-class nuclei can sense one another within a certain range. That reaction let Bai Qing identify the other leader instantly.”
He set down the communicator. “If we can harness that—humans might be able to develop a device to detect zombie leaders.”
Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 34.1