Chapter 27: Fresh Crucian Carp and Tofu Soup

The moment Su Su fell into the zombie horde, countless arms reached out toward her. The snarling, the foul-smelling drool, the fangs that symbolized death—every sight was identical to what she had seen before her death in her previous life. The pain of her body being torn apart seemed to linger in her nerves; even though she had been reborn, the catastrophe she had endured had not been erased.

Unknowingly, two lines of clear tears slid from the corners of her eyes into her hairline. It was not out of fear or terror, but because her long-numbed nerves had begun to ache faintly once more. When the sharp nails of a zombie were only centimeters from her skin, Su Su suddenly let out a roar.

"Get away!!!"

The piercingly sharp cry sounded more like a death rattle. But the surrounding zombies stopped without warning, abruptly and unnaturally! They ceased their attacks on Su Su, standing motionless like puppets under a binding spell, waiting blankly for orders.

Su Su poured her ability out without reservation. This was the first time she had controlled hundreds of zombies simultaneously, including low-tier zombies, a large number of second-tier ones, and even one or two third-tier ones! Achieving this level was all thanks to the third-tier crystal she had snatched from Little Black’s mouth. Before guarding the back door, Su Su had secretly swallowed it. In a short span, leaping from the first tier to the second, and then forcibly to the third—if not for her ability to purge excess impurities from the crystals, she would have surely exploded and died. Su Su felt genuinely grateful for possessing this power.

The zombies nearby had stopped, but the tide behind them would not. They had caught the scent of a living human, their greed for fresh flesh carved into their very marrow, and they continued to push forward regardless.

"Hold them back."

The simple command caused hundreds of zombies to turn around obediently, biting, blocking, and tearing into their own kind. Su Su was finally able to catch her breath. However, she was not truly safe; the area was densely packed with zombies, and only the one-meter radius around her remained secure. She lay within this small "safe zone" formed by the zombies and pushed herself up to a sitting position. Within her field of vision, there was nothing but zombies.

Su Su’s heart tightened instantly. "Little Black? Where are you?"

"Hiss!"

The black snake responded in the midst of the chaos. When they had fallen outside the door, it had promptly slipped from her arms and blocked dozens of incoming second-tier zombies.

Roar!

With another burst of searing blue flame, it incinerated the nearest zombie. The black snake didn't linger; it twisted its body through the "zombie forest," finally slipped into the safe zone, and lunged into the human's arms.

"Hiss!"

A crimson tongue flicked against Su Su’s cheek. Those usually indifferent, ink-green vertical pupils flashed with a rare hint of concern. It was observing this fragile human, checking to see if she was injured or missing any limbs.

"I'm fine."

Su Su hugged the slightly heavy Little Black tightly, subconsciously nuzzling its head. Having possessed her powers for less than half a month, facing such a massive zombie tide—no matter how prepared she felt, she could not help but feel anxious and fearful before actually executing her plan. Fortunately, thankfully, there was this black snake, who had not been by her side in her past life.

Su Su tightened her arms, as if to pour all her unease and lingering fear into it. The black snake, which used to complain about being cramped when stuffed into a backpack, offered no resistance. It coiled tightly around her, watching as a zombie approached from behind and opening its mouth to incinerate it to ash with a burst of fire.

Su Su finally calmed down. She looked around; this "safe zone" was like a drop in the ocean amidst the zombie tide, providing her with temporary protection. She looked at the gymnasium gate, which was tightly shut, a full three meters away. It hadn't been that far originally, but the incoming zombies from all sides were pushing the "safe zone" backward. At this rate, as long as her energy did not run dry, she might be "pushed" out of the tide... but it was equally possible she would be trapped in the very center.

Su Su was looking for Zhao Zhenyu. She had long anticipated his treachery, but a normal person could hardly guess what madness such a maniac might commit, so she had to remain vigilant at all times. That was why, the moment she was pushed out the door, she had been surprised but reacted quickly, immediately pulling him out to serve as a buffer.

And now? Had he died in the jaws of the zombies?

Just as she thought this, a miserable roar suddenly erupted not far away.

"Get away from me! Get lost, you bastards!!!"

With this roar, the surrounding air became exceptionally humid, as if a large amount of water vapor had condensed locally. Through the gaps between the zombies, Su Su finally spotted Zhao Zhenyu! He hadn't had time to grab a weapon and could only conjure water curtains to protect his rear while swinging water blades to savagely decapitate the zombies before him.

Zhao Zhenyu was closer to the gate; as long as he could hold out and kill the dozen or so zombies within a meter of him, he could reach the closed gate!

Su Su’s intent shifted—this was the perfect moment! Her gaze turned cold as the white light of her ability surged into the bodies of the zombies surrounding Zhao Zhenyu, controlling them to attack him with renewed, frenzied intensity. In an instant, Zhao Zhenyu was stuck in the "mire," his forward progress slowed to a crawl.

What was going on? Why were these zombies fighting harder, and why were there so many more of them? His peripheral vision caught a glimpse of his side and rear, and he discovered that Su Su, whom he thought had died in the tide, was sitting unscathed in a small clearing!

This was impossible! Why weren't those zombies attacking her?!

The overwhelming confusion distracted Zhao Zhenyu, and his attacks slowed. Just then, a third-tier zombie lunged from the side! It squeezed through the horde, stretching its head forward to take a vicious bite out of him.

"Ah!!!"

Another scream, but this time, Zhao Zhenyu had truly been bitten through the arm. He stared in shock at his limb, where tattered strips of his windbreaker hung, exposing raw muscle, with fresh blood gushing continuously from the wound.

The scent of fresh blood sent the surrounding zombies into a frenzy. Meanwhile, Su Su was holding Little Black; it used its blue flames to clear a path, forcing their "safe zone" a meter closer to the gate.

Clatter.

The gate opened at the perfect moment, and a figure was kicked violently out of it.

"You bastard! Get out there yourself!"

Su Su looked closely and realized the person thrown out was Lin Wenzong, the one who had conspired to push her out. Even after joining Zhao Zhenyu, he hadn't received a single second-tier crystal from him. Being only a first-tier ability user, he was completely swallowed the moment he fell into the zombie horde.

Screams rang out repeatedly. Su Su only caught a glimpse of an arm struggling upward before, a moment later, it hung limp and lifeless.

"Sister Su Su! I'm here to help!"

Pang Cancan stood at the gate. Seven or eight large venomous insects darted rapidly into the brains of the zombies, devoured them, and zipped back out, crawling into the ears of the next victims. Wherever they passed, zombies fell without exception. With this coordination, Su Su quickly advanced another meter.

Seeing only the last meter left, a desperate, struggling roar sounded from behind. Zhao Zhenyu crawled out from a pile of corpses, his eyes bloodshot, shaking off the zombies gnawing at him. Leveraging the "path" that Pang Cancan had cleared, he lunged toward the gate as if his life depended on it.

"Damn it!"

Pang Cancan cursed but couldn't spare the energy to deal with the bastard who had just rushed in, focusing entirely on paving the way for Su Su. Le Rui, on the other hand, finding that his ice abilities couldn't kill many zombies, turned his back to Pang Cancan, watching everyone still inside the gate vigilantly to prevent them from striking again. Fortunately, after this ordeal, the other two ability users inside were terrified out of their wits, and as for Zhao Zhenyu... he lay on the ground covered in blood, gasping for air, having no energy left to cause further trouble.

Su Su finally reached the gate! The trailing zombie horde was blocked by the hundreds of zombies she was controlling in reverse, creating a shocking scene of internal slaughter! Everyone inside the gate had their mouths agape.

"Wh-what is going on?"

Su Su looked back; a strong white light covered a range of dozens of meters, which was the limit of her control. Was this the strength of a third-tier ability user? Then what about the fourth, fifth, sixth tiers, or even higher?

The metal gate closed again. Through the narrow gap, one could still see the zombies slaughtering each other.

Boom.

With the dull thud of the gate closing completely, Su Su’s heart was filled with unprecedented excitement, which then turned into extreme calm. Only at this moment did she truly realize—she possessed the power to command life and death.