Chapter Nineteen: Zera's Ambition

Ye Hai led the way, with the others following behind him, weaving swiftly through the dense forest at night. Normally, the nights on Zombie Star were never truly pitch-black—for no matter the wind or rain, six moons hung in the sky, each casting their light from different angles. But tonight, clouds smothered the heavens, and though the downpour had not yet come, five of the moons were hidden. Only a single moon, barely above the horizon, cast a faint red glow over the forest at the edge of the Radiated Zone.

This red moon was the dimmest of Zombie Star’s six suns. When it alone shone, the entire land was bathed in an eerie, dark crimson. Under its light, visibility stretched only a meter or two. Yet Ye Hai, intimately familiar with the terrain, pressed on without slowing; the occasional cry of a zombie crow overhead guided him, ensuring their pace remained steady.

After roughly ten minutes, the path began to slope steeply. “There’s a natural cave just up ahead on the mountainside,” Ye Hai announced. “The entrance is narrow, but the interior is spacious—a perfect place to rest. Aside from me, some other corpse hunters occasionally make camp there.”

Zela spoke coldly, “I’ve never understood why you corpse hunters keep capturing zombies. As far as I know, the virus labs on other planets don’t have such a massive demand. They mainly buy advanced mutants for their experiments. Yet your organization seems indiscriminate, snatching even the lowest-grade ordinary zombies. What use are those?”

Ye Hai smiled mysteriously. “Trade secret.”

Zela’s lips curled in a frosty smile. “Does it have something to do with those zombie crows? Or those things in your villa?”

Ye Hai stopped abruptly, his gaze icy as he stared at Zela, a cruel murderous intent emanating from his eyes. The virus labs of other planets had spent years searching for ways to control mutants and found nothing. The fact that Ye Hai could control zombies must remain hidden; exposure would invite frenzied pursuit from every world. He hadn’t expected Zela to have already discovered the Licker. That certainly explained Zela’s willingness to use the Queen Ant virus to control him.

Seeing Ye Hai’s expression, Zela was instantly gripped by a chilling dread, a dense shadow of death enveloping him. He quickly waved his hand, saying, “Don’t look at me like you’re about to eat me. Being able to control mutants isn’t such a big deal. These days, every planet is cultivating its own bio-soldiers—even if no one’s yet cracked the secret of controlling mutants. Besides, gene evolution serums are widespread now; the demand for mutant control isn’t what it used to be. Maybe this brings you some risk, but the profits are greater still. You corpse hunters manufacture these biological weapons, and I use my underworld channels to sell them for you. My channels are free—I just take a cut. It’s a good deal, isn’t it?”

Ye Hai was slightly taken aback. So this was Zela’s angle. This damn trafficker was, compared to Ye Hai, a pure merchant. As long as the profits were high enough, he’d risk the wrath of the whole star system.

Seeing Ye Hai silent, Zela pressed his advantage. “Brother Ye Hai, Zombie Star is what it is—unless the star system unites, nothing will ever really change here. But with enough wealth, you could live on any planet in the system, spend your days as a wealthy man, enjoying life. That’s what people in our position ought to think about. You’ve heard of Tidal Wave Planet, haven’t you? But I bet you’ve never been there, never seen its dazzling beauty. Ninety-nine percent of its surface is covered by pale blue ocean. There’s only one island, less than a hundred thousand square kilometers! A villa there could buy an entire barren planet. Own a villa on Tidal Wave’s land, and any bank in the system will offer you unlimited credit. The island’s tycoons can even influence political decisions on other worlds. Status, money, power—everything you could want. Imagine living on Tidal Wave, owning a luxurious villa thousands of square meters wide. Golden steps, walls adorned with gemstones from Giant Tree Planet, beds soft as velvet from Sea Wolf Planet. Your maids are the most beautiful women from every world, and you could even ask them not to wear clothes—hahaha! Eating the finest steaks from Lanty Star, sipping top-grade coffee from Lyle Star. Now that’s the life of the elite. And your corpse hunter organization now holds the keys to such wealth. Since Crow trusts you enough to hand over those delightful little things, you deserve a paradise like that!”

“When the matter in the Radiated Zone is settled, I hope to meet Crow in person, have a face-to-face talk!”

Ye Hai gaped at Zela, intoxicated by his own fantasies. This man might well be one of Zombie Star’s most moving figures. His speech was certainly passionate and persuasive. Yet the golden steps and gemstone walls Zela described—Ye Hai couldn’t help but find it all too tacky. A classic nouveau riche. The only part that tempted Ye Hai was the idea of beautiful, unclothed women from every planet.

Suddenly, a thought struck Ye Hai, and he asked, “After you buy your villa on Tidal Wave, are you planning to spend your days naked with your fat pig queen?”

Zela’s face contorted as if he’d swallowed a giant, disgusting fly. Ye Hai chuckled, “But your proposal—I’ll report it to my boss.”

Zela’s face lit up, looking at Ye Hai as if he’d already succeeded. Ye Hai had his own plans; he’d considered trafficking organic bio-weapons before, but the yield from the T-virus was too low, and costs too high, to make it viable for trading. Now things were different. He carried an NE-α parasite, and the breeding technology wasn’t particularly complex. If, as the system predicted, the second-generation NE-α parasites could control mutants on Zombie Star, he could indeed begin trading biological weapons. Weapons and energy were always immensely profitable, wherever and whenever. Now he had both. It was time to act.

At last, the group crept up to the cave. From a distance, they could see sentries at the entrance. Ye Hai fixed a cold stare on the two guards. In the next instant, two long tongues dropped from above, swiftly wrapping around the guards’ necks, silencing them completely.

…