Chapter 10
The zombie teacher was currently the highest-ranking and most intelligent zombie in this temporary base.
Yet, even he couldn’t determine the curly-haired little zombie’s level.
The zombie teacher fell silent, then, imitating human contemplation, pushed up his glasses.
“Tonight, a small boss-level zombie is coming to our base. Curly-haired little zombie, you’ll come with me.”
Then he could further verify the little zombie’s background.
Was he related to the Zombie King, or…
was he a different kind of monster altogether?!
Had he infiltrated their ranks with ulterior motives?!
The curly-haired little zombie, Xing Nuo, shrank his neck, not daring to say anything, and nodded, his curls bouncing.
The black-haired little zombie had somehow approached and was now standing in front of Xing Nuo, tilting its head.
It was about the same size as Xing Nuo, looking to be around three or four years old. Its pure black eyes were large and round, staring with a stiff, unsettling intensity.
The black-haired little zombie bared its small fangs, seemingly happy, and let out a soft “Ah.”
“Xing Nuo.”
It accurately pronounced Xing Nuo’s name, its voice like rusty gears grinding together, jerky and broken.
The zombie teacher, looking down on this low-level zombie, shooed it away.
“Go back. Class is starting again.”
After a lesson on human imitation, Xing Nuo’s cough worsened.
He had caught a chill when he was brought back earlier and couldn’t stop coughing.
Xing Nuo didn’t know if zombies coughed. Smaller than a zombie’s leg, he stood among the horde, covering his mouth with his hand, his face flushed and sickly.
Unable to hold it back any longer, he coughed softly a couple of times.
After coughing, he quickly looked around, sneaking glances at the other zombies, afraid of being discovered.
A not-so-bright zombie, its mouth half-open, growled and looked down at the small, curly-haired zombie at its feet.
Smelling the faint boss-level monster scent emanating from Xing Nuo, its eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and it quickly scurried away.
The other low-level zombies, even more afraid of the scent, also kept their distance.
This gave Xing Nuo some breathing room. He patted his chest, coughed a few more times, and his flushed face returned to its usual paleness.
After class, the zombies dispersed, going to their dark corners to stand idly.
It was still daytime in the city, and the low- and mid-level zombies were usually active after dusk.
Xing Nuo also went to hide behind a large pillar, concealing his small form.
He peeked out, making sure no other zombies were following him, and let out a long sigh, slowly sitting down and hugging his knees.
Xing Nuo sat there for a while, fiddling with the fluff on his bunny slippers, feeling down, lost, and miserable.
He sniffled, missing his dad and brother terribly.
Where am I? When can I go home?
I don’t want to be a little zombie anymore. It’s not fun at all.
Xing Nuo’s chest ached, and a tear rolled down his cheek, leaving a small wet mark on the dry ground.
He wiped his wet face, his eyelashes clumping together, his vision blurring.
Through his tears, he saw the black-haired little zombie walking towards him with an expressionless face.
Xing Nuo wiped his tears even faster, lowering his head, avoiding the little zombie’s gaze.
The black-haired little zombie walked stiffly to Xing Nuo and stared at him, unblinking.
After a long moment, it suddenly pulled its lips back, revealing its small fangs.
“Xing Nuo, wipe.”
It offered a small pack of tissues it had gotten from somewhere, roughly pulling out a sheet with a cartoon bear print.
Smelling the sweet floral scent of the tissue, Xing Nuo looked up at the little zombie.
The little zombie seemed happy, tilting its head, not minding Xing Nuo’s direct gaze.
“Xing Nuo…why…not happy?”
The little zombie’s voice was strange, different from the usual zombie stiffness, more like a rusty machine grinding, making his ears hurt.
But somehow, listening to the little zombie, Xing Nuo felt a strange sense of trust.
Maybe it’s because we’re both children?
Even if it was a zombie, being so small, it didn’t seem threatening, and Xing Nuo wasn’t afraid.
Wiping his tears with the tissue, Xing Nuo’s voice was still slightly nasal.
“Miss Daddy…Big Brother…wanna go home.”
The little zombie tilted its head again, as if processing the slurred words.
After a long moment, it seemed to understand, its eyes flickering, and it bared its fangs again.
“Tomorrow…I take you…back.”
Xing Nuo stopped wiping his tears, his hand frozen.
“You know…way back?”
Even now, Xing Nuo still didn’t realize he was in a different world.
He thought he had just gotten lost and couldn’t find his dad or his way home.
As long as he found the way, he could definitely go back.
The black-haired little zombie nodded, then shook its head.
“No road…here. I take you…back.”
There was no road leading back to reality from the dungeon world, but the little zombie had a way.
Xing Nuo’s mouth fell open slightly, his eyes lighting up.
“Really?”
He could go home?
The little zombie nodded firmly. “Really.”
Then, it extended its hand.
Its small fingers were thin and stiff, its movements clumsy. It hesitated for a moment before gently touching Xing Nuo’s soft skin.
It wasn’t a zombie; it didn’t rely solely on scent to identify its own kind.
Feeling Xing Nuo’s slightly cool but soft arm, sensing the flow of blood beneath his skin, the little zombie bared its fangs again.
“Xing Nuo…is human.”
A living, breathing human with a heartbeat and blood.
The little zombie seemed happy. Its vacant, dark eyes seemed to flicker with a spark of human emotion.
Before the little zombie could say more, the zombie teacher’s voice sounded nearby.
“Curly-haired little zombie, come here. I’ll take you to meet a higher-level zombie boss.”
Unlike the low-level zombies who were simply afraid of Xing Nuo’s scent, the zombie teacher, although also afraid, could suppress his fear with his higher-level power.
He had developed intelligence and didn’t rely solely on instinct. He pondered the situation, his slow mind working.
Since he couldn’t determine the curly-haired little zombie’s identity, he would take him to a boss-level zombie.
The Zombie King had recently been cracking down on the human imitation classes and had dispatched several boss-level zombies to various cities to inspect the progress.
A higher-level zombie was coming to their city tonight.
Hearing this, Xing Nuo lowered his head, his face pale, his arms and legs feeling weak and heavy.
He was already frail, and after today’s ordeal, he seemed to have developed a fever.
The zombie teacher, seeing Xing Nuo, grabbed his clothes and dragged him away.
The black-haired little zombie, still clumsy on its feet, saw Xing Nuo being taken away and tried to follow.
But it stumbled and fell, its chin hitting the ground, covered in dirt and grime.
The zombie teacher scoffed at the little zombie and stopped to shoo it away.
“Get out of the way.”
High-level zombies had a natural dominance over low-level zombies. Logically, the little zombie, suppressed by the zombie teacher, should have cowered on the ground like the others.
But the little zombie, instead of being afraid, got up and charged at the zombie teacher.
Baring its fangs, its dark eyes fierce and crazed, it lunged before the zombie teacher could react.
The little zombie bit the zombie teacher hard.
Instantly, the little black fluid within the zombie teacher oozed from the wound.
The zombie teacher’s eyes narrowed like a beast’s, staring at the little zombie that had bitten it.
Unable to free its hand, it let go of Xing Nuo’s collar, throwing him aside, and tried to shake off the small zombie.
But the little zombie was persistent. Despite being thrown several times, it kept getting up and biting the zombie teacher’s neck.
The little zombie knew where a zombie’s weak spot was and relentlessly attacked the zombie teacher’s neck.
The zombie teacher thought the little zombie was overestimating itself.
Its face expressionless, its glasses having fallen off during the struggle, revealing vacant, blood-red zombie eyes.
Suddenly, the high-level zombie unleashed its mental power, sending out invisible waves that knocked all the surrounding zombies to the ground, their guttural growls filled with fear and weakness.
But the little zombie seemed unaffected, continuing to charge and bite the zombie teacher’s neck.
The zombie teacher’s usually infallible mental power had no effect on the little zombie!
In that moment of distraction, the zombie teacher felt a sharp pain in its neck.
Zombies were supposed to be immune to pain, but at this moment, the zombie teacher felt a searing agony.
It growled, its blood-red eyes wide, and collapsed to the ground.
The little zombie, panting, stood up and stumbled towards Xing Nuo.
Its face was bruised and scratched. “Xing Nuo…go.”
The zombie teacher wasn’t dead yet. They had to leave quickly.
Xing Nuo’s eyes were wide, his slightly feverish head still hazy.
But seeing the little zombie’s outstretched hand, he felt no fear.
Under the darkening, grayish-white sky, the two “little zombies” ran out of the dark, sinister building.
