Chapter Twenty-Five: Nima, Was It You Who Led the Zombies Into the Village?

“Brothers! Retreat, quickly!”
Zhang Long’s scalp tingled with fear. The name of the Zombie Queen was infamous to him—a terror he had only heard of in rumors.
She was a zombie almost at the golden rank—just a step away from becoming unstoppable.
He wanted to escape, but it was already too late.
A guttural roar echoed around them.
From all directions, zombies began to emerge—some wild, others puppets under Dominion’s control.
They surged forward in a mass, forming a living wall that blocked Zhang Long’s way out.
Now, everyone was stupefied.
Ahead lay the Zombie Queen; behind, a horde of undead.
How were they supposed to survive this?
“Boss! Let’s run back to the village—maybe we still have a chance!”
One of his lackeys spoke up, trembling. No one wanted to face the Zombie Queen.
“Damn it! You think I don’t want to? We simply can’t run anymore!”
“There’s no other way! We have to fight for our lives—stop that guy, and we might get out alive!”
Seeing they had no escape, Zhang Long roared in fury and charged toward Gu Lang, torch in hand.
He knew the Queen was chasing Gu Lang—the hatred was fixed on him.
As long as they could hold Gu Lang and let the Queen slaughter him, they might survive.
The remaining villagers no longer hesitated and raised their machetes.
Gu Lang saw them advancing instead of retreating, and was secretly delighted.
Perfect!
I was just worrying I had no one to use as shields!
Though only a bronze rank, they could at least buy him some time.
With a swish, Gu Lang unleashed his Blade and Shadow skill.
He shot through the Zhang family’s ranks like a meteor.
Because the Queen’s hatred was locked onto him, she pursued him relentlessly.
With a clatter, the Zombie Queen spread her fingers, her nails swinging like steel blades.
Anyone she grazed was instantly torn open, bones snapping beneath her claws.
Yet Gu Lang remained unscathed, darting and dodging in the midst of the crowd.
Every time he flashed past, the Queen’s blades followed him.
But Gu Lang slipped through their grasp like an eel, impossible to catch—his terrifying hundred-point speed letting him move freely across the battlefield.
The truly unfortunate ones were the members of the Zhang family.
They became Gu Lang’s meat shields, his scapegoats—struck again and again by the Queen’s wrath.
They wanted to stop Gu Lang, but couldn’t even see his shadow.
And with the Queen unable to catch Gu Lang, her fury was unleashed upon them.
In less than a minute, ten of the Zhang family lay dead!

“Damn it! Who is this lunatic? How dare he provoke the Queen?”
Zhang Long’s face was ashen. He bitterly regretted chasing after the murderer.
It was clear now—this man was a silver rank expert!
But it was too late for regrets.
Suddenly, Zhang Long’s vision blurred—a blade flashed overhead.
The Zhang family’s squad was wiped out!
Their bodies dissolved into pale green motes of light, drifting toward Gu Lang.
Gu Lang snatched them up with delight and sprinted onward.
With the Queen’s hatred focused on Gu Lang, his wives were almost untouched.
Taking advantage of their undead nature, they followed Gu Lang unabashedly.
“Master Gu Lang! This can’t go on. The Zombie Queen seems to have formed a blood feud with us—she won’t stop until one of us is dead!”
Li Muwan’s icy expression was edged with exhaustion; she had been casting Ice Spear non-stop along the way.
Now she was panting, unable to continue.
“Gu Lang, even Dominion gets tired! I can’t keep going…”
The little girl gazed pleadingly at Gu Lang.
The intensity of the battle was overwhelming—the wives were reaching their limits.
“We can only keep using others as our weapons! Let’s go—back to Zhangjia Village!”
Gu Lang understood exactly why the Queen’s hatred was so intense.
It was all that damned system’s fault!
Forcing the Zombie Queen to duel him—this was a death match, with no chance to escape unless she was killed or crippled.
With neither side able to suppress the Queen, all he could do was borrow yet more strength.
So, the group fled and pursued, racing toward Zhangjia Village.

...

“Nonsense! You’re saying these people came from the city? The city is crawling with zombies—forget about people, even a dog would struggle to get out alive!”
In the village committee hall, the elderly village chief glared at the crowd.
He had just learned that Gu Lang’s origins were shrouded in mystery—he had come from the city itself.
The men sent to kill him had not returned.
This could mean only one thing—they had been killed by Gu Lang.
The village chief didn’t want to believe it.
“Chief, it’s the truth! I saw it myself—they came straight out of the city.”
A balding middle-aged man spoke again.
“Do you think Gu Lang might be a master, a silver rank expert?”
The chief snorted in disdain.
“Silver rank, my foot. There are hardly any silvers left in this apocalypse—only Wang Ping’an nearby.
What would make some young punk a silver?”
Just then, a villager ran in, breathless.
“Chief! Zombies are coming!”
“What!”

The old chief drew a sharp breath and stood up quickly.
“Hurry! Take me to see—gather the young men and prepare to fight!”
Moments later, at the village gates, the chief and a group of strong men froze.
There were no zombies in sight—only Gu Lang had appeared.
“What…”
The chief was puzzled, about to ask a question, when his eyes widened in shock.
Behind Gu Lang, a girl in white was closing in at terrifying speed.
“Wait…she looks familiar!”
Good heavens—it was the Zombie Queen!
This brat had lured the Zombie Queen to their village!
For a moment, the chief nearly popped his eyes from their sockets.
The villagers’ faces drained of blood in terror.
Living on the outskirts, who among them hadn’t heard the name of the Zombie Queen?
The entire village was thrown into chaos.
Only the chief managed to keep his composure.
“Everyone, calm down! Defend the village—we still have a chance!”
In an instant, over a hundred villagers gathered at the gates,
using abandoned cars to form a barricade.
Most crucially, they each gripped their homemade guns,
the barrels black as night, aimed squarely outside the walls.
Perhaps the guns lent them courage.
The chief finally had a moment to think, sneering coldly.
“Well, it seems the Zombie Queen’s target is Gu Lang—shoot him dead!”
“If he dies, the Queen might just turn back!”
At his command, a volley of gunfire rang out.
The makeshift weapons spat out bullets laced with steel shot,
instantly covering the area where Gu Lang was running.
So dense was the barrage, it formed a web of fire.
But Gu Lang was too fast; he unleashed Blade and Shadow again.
With Julie’s blessing this time, his speed soared to 140.
The villagers saw only a blur pass through the barricade—
and Gu Lang stood in the very heart of the village.
“Damn it! You brat, you’re going to get us all killed!”
The chief opened his mouth wide, wishing he could tear Gu Lang limb from limb.
But even as the villagers realized the truth, it was already too late.
A white figure followed Gu Lang in,
and every armed villager in her path was seen as a new enemy.