Chapter Sixty-Four: Ascend the Mountain! Let Him Never Return!

“So this is the Platinum I need to kill? I couldn’t do it outside, but here, who knows.” Gu Lang glanced at the dense horde of special zombies. Weren’t these the perfect free muscle? If he captured all of them, would he still worry about being unable to win? And then there was the Millennium Princess—she was very likely Platinum too. If the system’s quest was generous and his attempt to make contact succeeded…

“Hmph! Let’s see who’s faster!” Without further hesitation, Gu Lang charged ahead, his fist smashing seven or eight zombies aside, capturing them on the spot.

“That’s the seventieth special Bronze I’ve caught! But only five Silvers! Still far from enough!” Gu Lang looked around—among the zombie guards, not all were Silver. Silver ones were rare; among a thousand guards, there were just over a hundred. To capture them, he’d have to push deeper into the battlefield, all the way to the summit.

“Let’s go! We’re heading to the top!” Gu Lang pulled Yu Qiu-chi along, heading upward.

Liu Wenhao was utterly shocked. “What… he actually went up? Is he in that much of a hurry to die? There’s the princess up there—that’s at least a Platinum!”

Su Xing’er was even more anxious. If Gu Lang died, all his secrets would die with him—how would she complete her mission then? “Damn it! At a time like this, instead of thinking about escape, he’s still climbing the mountain? Does he really think he can take on the princess?”

She stomped her foot, gritted her teeth, and decided to follow.

“What the hell, you’re going too?” Liu Wenhao was beside himself with worry. Gu Lang was courting death, and now she was joining him? What was going on between them?

Of the three great families present, the Zhangs had become scattered like sand after Zhang Chenglong was lost, most dying as cannon fodder along the way. Only the Liu and Su families had any real fighting strength left. With both their strongest members heading up the mountain, Liu Wenhao staying behind was just awaiting death.

“Screw it! All or nothing!” He bit down, his body propelled by water as he sped after them.

...

“What the hell… that aura! It’s Platinum, it’s actually a Platinum master! Could someone really advance to Platinum in this apocalypse?”

“Of course! With so many survivors in the apocalypse, a few lucky ones are bound to reach Platinum rank. No wonder they call them Platinums—practically deities, able to fly in midair! I’m so jealous!”

“With a Platinum in play, there’s no way we’ll get any reward from the Princess’s tomb now. The three great families will probably have to give up as well.”

The crowd was in an uproar, gazing at Li Changhe hovering in midair, their hearts pounding in awe. Only the Gold ranks frowned.

“Wait, something’s off. He’s not quite Platinum—the stat gap isn’t that big. But his power is way above ours, probably a Gold at the peak, stats maxed out but not yet broken through. Only half a Platinum.”

“Hmph! Even so, we’re no match. A lower Gold fighting a mid-Gold is already a challenge, let alone a top-tier one like this—none of us here can compare.”

“But what’s a master like him doing here? The Princess is Platinum—he’s just asking for death, isn’t he?”

...

High above, Li Changhe frowned as he spotted the masses of zombies within the storm. “What’s going on? Is this outbreak because of that brat Gu Lang? With this many zombies, if I’m late, will Gu Lang be dead already?”

Li Changhe had been ordered to take over the entire Iron Fortress. On his way, he’d stumbled across the Princess’s instance. He’d intended to use his rank to extort some benefits, but unexpectedly, he spotted Gu Lang—the lord of Iron Fortress—here. He changed his mind, deciding to capture Gu Lang alive, but he also knew Gu Lang was a Gold, and a formidable fighter at that. After some thought, he planned to use the instance to trap or cripple Gu Lang first.

Now he let out a cold snort. “Go ahead! You all can enter. Take whatever you want from this instance!”

At his words, many present were stunned. What was this? Had the Platinum master lost his mind? He could have kept the instance to himself, yet he was letting others in?

But the crowd didn’t hesitate. Sensing a shift in the instance, they surged forward in excitement. Over ten thousand survivors stormed inside, including both Golds and Silvers. The Princess’s instance was thrown into chaos again.

...

Inside, Gu Lang gripped Yu Qiu-chi’s hand. Together, they unleashed a furious charge, rocketing up the snowy mountain at terrifying speed. The summit of the snow mountain wasn’t a sharp peak, but a vast snowy plateau—shaped by the Platinum Princess’s forceful alteration of the terrain. Otherwise, the snow wouldn’t have been this deep in a mere scenic area.

“Excellent, three more Silver zombies found!” With a wave, Gu Lang flung an icicle, piercing through a horde of Silver zombies. Then, he activated his skill—Imperial Presence!

A thunderous crash followed as Yu Qiu-chi hurled another punch, blasting the hidden Bronze zombies in the snow into pulp.

“Master Gu Lang, what if the princess finds us up here?” Yu Qiu-chi asked anxiously.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a quest to approach her, and anyway, we can’t get back down now.”

Gu Lang glanced back toward the foot of the mountain. Survivors were braving the storm and snow to enter, but that wasn’t what drew his attention. He looked further, seeing a figure hovering in midair outside the instance.

“That guy may not be true Platinum, but his power is about the same. There's no way we can beat him in a straight fight.” Gu Lang turned his gaze to the snowy summit. “On one side, a human survivor wants me dead; on the other, there’s a female zombie I might be able to approach. Which do you think I should choose?”

Yu Qiu-chi’s eyes lit up in understanding. “Got it!”

“But what about Liu Wenhao and that Su girl?” Yu Qiu-chi glanced back. Not far below, Liu Wenhao and Su Xing’er were already struggling to keep up.

“Heh, they’re just pawns being used. When the time comes, they can help stall my enemies.” Gu Lang’s voice was cold. “Keep climbing!”

He activated his Savage Charge again, hurtling toward the heart of the snowfield at breakneck speed. The number of Silver zombies increased along the way—from a handful to dozens.

With a flurry of icicles, Gu Lang battered the Silver zombies, leaving them barely alive, then captured them with Imperial Presence. “Almost there—already caught nearly fifty Silver zombies!”

After slaying another zombie, Gu Lang halted. He activated telepathic communication.

“Master Gu Lang, the telepathy is getting unstable. So many survivors have entered, and we’re getting farther apart. Do you need us to do anything?” Li Muwan’s voice echoed in his mind.

“Follow that Platinum master up the mountain. When the time comes, we’ll coordinate inside and out. I want to make sure he never leaves alive.” Gu Lang sneered, laying his plans.

Just then, a cold, clear voice rang out ahead of him. “Heh, little one, you’ve killed quite a few Silver zombies on your way up, haven’t you? Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

Gu Lang’s heart clenched. Not far away, a woman in ancient blue robes was striding toward him through the snow and wind.

The Millennium Zombie Princess!