Chapter 97: The Zombie Beneath the Pond
Night had fallen over Green Lotus Pond, where fireflies danced among the lotus leaves. By the water, four children carried buckets and caught loaches.
A police car drove over and stopped on the road beside the pond. Zhang Kai got out of the car and shouted, "Come here! Come here! All of you, get over here!"
The four children looked up, then obediently climbed back onto shore. Zhang Kai launched into a furious scolding, then turned to Yu Xian. "I'll take them home first. You'll be fine here, right?"
Yu Xian sat cross-legged inside his bubble. He glanced at Zhang Kai, swept his gaze over the curious children staring at him, and nodded. "Go ahead. Leave this place to me."
Fortunately, none of the children had gotten hurt. Zhang Kai nodded and left with them.
Only after the group had gone far away did Yu Xian slowly float toward the Green Lotus Pond. He allowed the air from the pond into his bubble. However, his face turned green in a second. He almost vomited up the lamb he had just eaten.
Yu Xian quickly sealed the opening in his bubble. He felt awful even after a long while. The pond was a mess, filled with rotting animal carcasses, waste, droppings, and sludge, all mixed together. To others, it was merely a foul smell. To him, it was a stench beyond words.
Even so, he still managed to locate the corpse miasma amid the terrible stench. In his mind, the pond seemed to flip upside down. The corpse miasma was like tree roots, sprouting from a source underground and spreading throughout the whole pond.
This zombie is probably very high-ranked!
Since the stench interfered with his judgment, Yu Xian could only determine that this zombie was over four hundred years old. It was most likely a Tiger-rank Zombie King. He had never actually fought a zombie before, the Zombie Rabbit notwithstanding, so he had no idea how strong a Tiger-rank zombie was.
After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone to call Xiao Cheng. For safety's sake, let's call for backup!
When the call was answered, no one spoke for a moment. Then, from Xiao Cheng's side, the childish voice of a young kid drifted over.
—What do you call Daddy's daddy? What do you call Mommy's mommy?
Xiao Cheng handed the child to his wife. After a sigh, he spoke on the phone.
—Get to the point.
Embarrassed, Yu Xian quickly said, "Deputy Director, how about I call Director Yu Lie instead, and you stay home with your wife and kid?"
Xiao Cheng got up and walked onto the balcony.
—Spit it out.
Yu Xian spat everything out in one go. "It's a long story, so I'll try to keep it short. I was eating at Bamboo Sea Residence when I noticed corpse miasma on the lotus root slices. After asking around, I found out the lotus roots came from Green Lotus Pond. When I came here to check, I discovered a zombie over four hundred years old beneath the pond. It's most likely a Tiger-rank Zombie King, maybe even Dragon-rank. What should we do?"
Xiao Cheng frowned.
—Don't act rashly for now. If it really is a Zombie King, then it has probably already completed its Yin-Yang Reversal. Once it emerges, all of Silver City will be engulfed in flames. Call the Combat Police unit and have them lock the area down. No one is allowed near Green Lotus Pond. Without any living creatures to stimulate it, the Zombie King won't wake up so easily.
Yu Xian nodded. "Understood."
Xiao Cheng then added.
—Once you've made the arrangements on your end, teleport to headquarters. We'll discuss how to deal with it.
Yu Xian replied, "Noted."
After hanging up, Yu Xian immediately called Zhang Kai. Confirming that Zhang Kai had already taken the children home, he told the police officer to bring the Combat Police unit over at once and establish a lockdown one thousand meters around Green Lotus Pond. All residents within that range were to be evacuated to a nearby stadium for shelter.
About an hour later, the entire Combat Police unit had been deployed. Green Lotus Pond was turned into a restricted zone, and no one was allowed to enter it.
Having confirmed that he had not missed anything, Yu Xian teleported to the headquarters. At this moment, Xiao Cheng had also just arrived at the headquarters, so the two went upstairs together and entered the conference room.
The other higher-ups arrived one after another. Once Yu Lie, the last to arrive, entered the room, the meeting officially began.
Hua Qiang, the Chief of the Combat Division, asked, "Little Fish, are you certain the zombie is Tiger rank?"
Yu Xian nodded. "The zombie beneath Green Lotus Pond is definitely Tiger rank. I even suspect it may have already reached Dragon rank."
Xu Hebai looked around at everyone. "Then we need to confirm its rank first. After all, the gap between Tiger rank and Dragon rank is huge. If it's Tiger rank, we can activate the thirteen formations to lock down the space around it, then send people in to eliminate it. If it's Dragon rank... this may require a much larger operation."
Yu Xian gritted his teeth. "I will confirm the Zombie King's rank. Give me some time."
Yu Lie glanced at Yu Xian and smiled. "Oh? Good. Then we'll leave it to you, Little Fish. Thanks for taking this on."
Yu Xian nodded. Leaving behind a bubble in the conference room, he teleported himself into the bubble beside Green Lotus Pond. There, he looked at the sludge filling the pond, his expression turning grave. As the old saying went, a true warrior must dare face a bleak life and stare directly at bloodshed.
Now came the moment for him to face the world's foulest stench and stare straight at the traces of countless people's eating, drinking, and excreting. No matter how disgusting it was, he had to endure it.
Yu Xian took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. The next moment, he let the air into his bubble and inhaled sharply. Although he had enhanced his brain with Silver Blood, it felt as if lightning were racing through his mind. The veins on his forehead bulged, and his eyes instantly went bloodshot.
The entire history of the pond replayed in his mind, from its formation to the present day. The zombie underground had originally been an Xingtian Warrior. He had fallen from the sky into the pond, and his powerful body had sunk to its deepest point. It was not until four hundred years ago that he came into contact with a wisp of corpse miasma and began turning into a zombie.
A Xingtian Warrior!
Back when supernatural creatures first emerged, Pangu wasn't even a thing yet, much less the Combat Police unit. To protect Huaxia, a group of armed police officers had voluntarily injected themselves with the Blood of Xingtian. Wielding battleaxes, they defended the people against all kinds of supernatural creatures. Even after death, they would continue fighting until the Blood of Xingtian within them was exhausted. [1]
It wasn't until the arrival of the modern Combat Police, injected with the Blood of Pangu, that the Xingtian Warriors slowly faded from the stage of history. Yu Xian had only ever heard stories about them in his history classes.
A hero of the past has now become the source of a disaster. Yu Xian knew very well that if this Xingtian Warrior were still alive, he would rather die than become a zombie and bring calamity to others.
Yu Xian took a deep breath and bowed before teleporting back to the headquarters conference room.
Hua Qiang immediately asked, "How is it? Tiger rank or Dragon rank?"
Yu Xian's expression was grave. "Dragon rank. And there is more bad news. The Zombie King... is a Xingtian Warrior who has exhausted his Blood of Xingtian!"
Everyone's expression changed. For one thing, a Zombie King's physical body was already extremely powerful. And if the zombie was originally a supernatural being, then it would be even more terrifying.
Xingtian warriors just so happened to possess extraordinarily powerful bodies. A Xingtian Warrior who had exhausted his Blood of Xingtian still possessed an invulnerable body. One could imagine just how terrifying the Zombie King they were about to face would be.
On top of that, every Xingtian Warrior was a hero. The one they now had to face was a monster born from the remains of a hero.
1. 刑天 (Xíngtiān) is a famous figure from Chinese mythology, best known as a warrior who continued fighting even after being beheaded.
In the myth, Xingtian fought against a supreme divine ruler, often identified with the Yellow Emperor. After he was defeated and decapitated, he still refused to stop. His chest became his eyes, his navel became his mouth, and he continued wielding his shield and axe in defiance.
Symbolically, Xingtian represents unyielding will, defiance, and the spirit of continuing to fight even after defeat. ☜