The soul is the divinity of humans, and the body is their ultimate vessel. When these two are linked and resonate with each other, they form the power that humans are supposed to possess.
The deeper the link, the greater the reward. It’s just like entering a holographic game battle: the higher the synchronization between the mind and the character, the stronger the reflexes, adaptability, and agility.
Awakened ones are the same.
The soul is like a player from a higher dimension, and the body is like the game character. They immerse themselves in Earth, this arena. When body, mind, and spirit unite, and the synchronization rate soars, they can fully unleash the superpower of “the soul is the true self.”
Therefore, Si Nuocheng can easily leap to the highest points, like an elf gliding lightly between towering trees. The height and fluctuation of buildings are no longer obstacles for him. Even when he jumps to the peak and gazes into the darkness, preparing to fight zombies, his soul and body both emit a contented sigh.
It feels as if he was born to stand at great heights, born to wield weapons, born to battle dark creatures. It’s an ancient, weathered feeling, like… returning?
Si Nuocheng calms his body and mind, allowing himself to link with the environment. In this moment, he transforms into rain, into strands of wind, blending with the breaths of thousands of people, settling into every corner of Juwang City.
Qi Xinli clasped his hands together and murmured a Buddhist chant.
But what was “ordinary” in the eyes of the awakened was seen as “extraordinary” by ordinary people. Especially Si Nuocheng’s three mighty leaps, which drew exclamations from the crowd, calling him a martial arts master.
Old Doctor Song wiped his glasses, shaking hands, and put them back on, muttering, “This jumping ability doesn’t fit human biomechanics… How did he get up there? That building’s over thirty meters high, he…”
No, wait, that young man looks a bit familiar, like he’s seen him somewhere before.
Finally, Old Doctor Song pulled his attention back from Zhang Yan and Ji Si, recalling the memory. People in scientific and medical fields often have a habit of focusing on one thing and ignoring the rest, only realizing later after a mental shift.
“Is he from the Si family?” Old Doctor Song slapped his thigh, then turned to Jiang Qining, “You… Jiang family’s precious grandson?”
“Huh?”
“Wait, I’ll explain later!” Jiang Qining was in a hurry to close the doors of the Eight Treasure Hall, “Quick, close the windows too! There’s a thousand-year-old tomb uncovered in Juwang City, and the zombies inside might break out and eat people. No time for chit-chat, we need to save ourselves!”
A thousand-year-old tomb uncovered in Juwang City, zombies eating people? Isn’t this what’s referred to as a prophecy online?
“Roar—” The third inhuman howl echoed outside, its sound alone making people uneasy. The group stiffened, looking down at the abnormal Zhang Yan, then recalling the strange winter thunder, their faces turned pale with terror.
They weren’t near the coast, nor at the airport, nor was there a fissure in the ground—how did they end up facing an ancient tomb? There weren’t many young people in Juwang City, but there were a lot of elderly. If zombies really came, who could withstand it?
They couldn’t help but believe now!
“No, no, we need to call them back, they’re still outside.” Old Doctor Song’s face was grim, “And Yangyang! Yangyang went to the nearby supermarket in a wheelchair, don’t lock the doors!”
“Yangyang? Yu Mingyang…”
“Yes!”
They were both from the same school and had been rivals, always bickering, but their revolutionary friendship was stronger than gold.
Jiang Qining, thinking that Ji Si was at the Eight Treasure Hall to hold the fort, courageously ran outside to find him. But just three seconds later, he suddenly turned back, shouting, “Which way is the supermarket?”
The group: …
Old Doctor Song trembled, pointing in a direction.
Jiang Qining, gritting his teeth, ran outside, racing against time. But just five seconds later, he returned again, grabbing Laki’s arm and dragging him along: “Sorry, I forgot to bring the plug-in!”
Laki: … So scared he couldn’t even look.
The group: …
The sticky rice wasn’t ready yet, but the fresh chicken blood and cinnabar powder were all prepared. Ji Si had someone bring over an inkstone, poured the chicken blood and cinnabar powder on it, and extended his right middle finger to gently grind it.
The human aura flows in and out from the left side to the right, with the left hand absorbing, and the right hand releasing. The middle finger is the longest of the five fingers, the gathering point for Yang energy and vitality. With the mixture of blood and the materials, the effect is naturally excellent. After nine clockwise circles, followed by nine counterclockwise circles, Ji Si dipped the blood-red ink and personally painted it onto Zhang Yan’s forehead.
As soon as the “Seal” was pronounced, the “Calm” followed. Both cinnabar and chicken blood have powerful protective and evil-deflecting properties, and the combination directly halted Zhang Yan’s transformation into a corpse.
Zhang Yan, whose limbs had been twitching, suddenly quieted down. His grimacing face gradually relaxed, and his murky eyes regained some focus. He stared at Ji Si, opening his mouth.
“No need to thank me,” Ji Si smiled, unfazed by the blood, patting him on the shoulder where the blood holes were. “It was you who saved yourself. If you had been more greedy, or delayed even a second, these five holes wouldn’t be the only scars you’d have.”
He would’ve probably been torn apart by the flying zombies…
Fortunately, the ancient tomb had just been uncovered, and the sinister energy had not yet activated the entire Bagua array to start rotating. Meanwhile, the zombies that had just begun moving couldn’t stray too far from the source of the sinister energy. If they did, they would feel uncomfortable, like fish out of water.
Once their prey escapes the reach of this dark energy, they would choose to observe rather than pursue. It seems this young man managed to run far enough to miraculously escape the grasp of the flying zombies.
“The flying zombies spared you because they were afraid of straying too far from the tomb and running into the exorcists and monks. But soon enough, they’ll realize that the world no longer has the ‘Heavenly Daoist’ or the ‘Vajra Living Buddha.’ Now it’s just a rich hunting ground,” Ji Si said calmly.
“Now that the sinister energy has spread this far, there’s no reason for them not to come.”
The surroundings were eerily silent. Ji Si sprinkled the powdered herbs outside the door and briefly glanced in the direction of the “fated person.” Seeing that the child was well-hidden, he turned and returned to the hall to take a seat, instructing, “Instead of daydreaming, why not notify others to be safe?”
Juwang City wasn’t too big, and everyone knew each other after living there for so long. After a quick phone call, things would likely get done!
The others snapped out of their daze, quickly calling their friends to lock doors, turn off lights, and hide in basements. Without a second thought, Old Doctor Song called the police department, urging them to start broadcasting a warning.
Unbeknownst to them, Shen Yunling’s team had already made contact with the Juwang City police, and with Old Doctor Song’s call, the broadcast began immediately.
Soon, the sound of traditional opera blaring from loudspeakers echoed through the streets, with Shen Yunling’s voice coming through: “Dear residents, do not open your windows or doors! Please take shelter in your basements or storage rooms! No matter what happens outside, stay inside!”
The message was repeated three times, scaring the residents so much that they shut off their lights.
Unfortunately, humans are naturally curious creatures. The more you tell them not to look, the more they want to see. Some of the older folks, thinking they’ve seen it all in their lifetime, couldn’t resist peeking out.
They gathered by the windows and started looking outside…
Ji Si sighed, “Humans…” They really were experts at courting death.
Since they were so eager to see, they might as well get a good look. Let them witness the terrifying face of the flying zombies up close, feel the touch of death’s hand. It would ensure that they wouldn’t sleep or eat well again, with only thoughts of cremation on their minds.
Ji Si lightly stroked his scepter, thinking to himself: It’s here.
“Clang!” A soft sound rang out as the claws of the flying zombie collided with the golden thread. The sound became tangible for the first time and echoed far through the rain-soaked night, almost reverberating over the entire Juwang City.
People turned to follow the sound, only to see a shadow darting across the high buildings, leaping from one to the other, and suddenly colliding with another figure. With the harsh sound of metal scraping, large sparks exploded in midair. The two figures separated and faced each other once more in the next second.
“What… what is that thing?”
“Two people? No, people can’t jump that high, it’s…”
Police sirens grew louder, and spotlights crisscrossed. Under the concentrated light, those with good eyesight finally saw clearly: the thing on the roof was a humanoid monster with a green face and sharp fangs!
It was eight feet tall, covered in green scales, with a robust muscular frame. Completely naked and drenched in rain, it bared its teeth at the other figure. A low, beastly growl came from its throat, full of menace.
At that moment, the lights flickered, and the police cars halted. The scent of the living reached the flying zombie’s nostrils, and its nostrils flared as its fangs instantly lengthened! It moved at lightning speed toward the police’s position, so fast that the human eye couldn’t follow. By the time the officers realized what was happening, two rows of sharp teeth were already in their faces…
The officer’s breath caught—
Just as things were happening, a faint golden-colored spear suddenly came from the upper left, stabbing toward the flying zombie. The zombie dodged to avoid the spear’s thrust but was caught off guard as the spear shaft twitched and swiftly transformed into a sharp long sword, cutting horizontally toward its head.
“Roar!” The flying zombie growled in rage, dodging and tearing off the police car door, which it swung violently toward Si Nuocheng. Si Nuocheng bent backwards, narrowly avoiding the car door, then planted his hand on the ground, spinning his leg to strike precisely at the flying zombie’s jaw.
The flexibility, strength, and agility required for such a move were second nature to Si Nuocheng. The connection between his body and soul deepened, and he felt as though his weight had vanished. His speed and agility surged once again.
He could keep up with the flying zombie’s speed!
The officer, nearly losing his life, hesitated as he watched the battle between Si Nuocheng and the flying zombie. Realizing that Si Nuocheng was human and the zombie was a monster, he quickly pulled out his gun and aimed at the flying zombie.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” The bullets were ruthlessly swatted away by the flying zombie, leaving no mark on its surface. The officers stared wide-eyed in shock, exchanging looks before swiftly holstering their guns and pulling out the electric nets.
Guns didn’t work, but surely electricity would?
The officers were reckless but fearless. They held their breath, tracking the movements of Si Nuocheng and the flying zombie. In the moment when they separated, the captain shouted, “Fire!” and the electric net shot from the gun, enveloping the flying zombie.
Si Nuocheng predicted the next move of the flying zombie. His scalp tingled as he quickly extended the golden threads toward the police’s location.
As expected, the officers couldn’t output enough electricity in time. The flying zombie tore through the electric net with ease and charged at them, only to crash directly into the golden threads. Si Nuocheng had thwarted its plans again and again, and the zombie was beyond furious.
The two of them tore through the street, starting from the police car, wrecking everything in their path—glass shattered, walls collapsed, and residents screamed nonstop.
The captain’s voice was cold: “If we keep interfering recklessly, we’ll just make things worse. Don’t trouble the young man. Since he can hold it off, we should focus on saving people!”
“Yes!” The officers rushed to dig through the rubble to rescue people, using the broken police car to shuttle them to the Eight Treasure Hall and the police station.
Suddenly, a loud “boom” rang out from behind. Si Nuocheng’s body was hurled like a cannonball, smashing through the wall and landing heavily in the rubble. Pain surged through him, but he gritted his teeth and pushed off the ground, leaping a few times to distance himself from the flying zombie. Finally, he crouched low and gathered strength in his toes, shooting upwards tens of meters.
The wind howled past his ears, tangling his hair. As the flying zombie charged from below, Si Nuocheng subtly smirked, letting it chase him closer and closer—
Suddenly, Si Nuocheng punched the flying zombie’s mouth. The golden threads wrapped around his arm and extended endlessly, transforming into a 40-meter-long sword that pierced through the flying zombie’s throat, out through the back of its neck, and plunged into the concrete below, deeply embedded.
With a forceful push, Si Nuocheng used the momentum to fly up to the roof. As the golden sword vanished, the flying zombie fell, still not dead. It glared at Si Nuocheng, showing its full set of fangs, almost mocking him…
A sense of foreboding rose in Si Nuocheng’s heart. He turned, following his intuition, and saw seven or eight black shadows darting into Juwang City.
This was bad!
…
A light blue sutra spun around Qi Xinli, wrapping around him. He sat cross-legged on the ground, his expression calm and peaceful, his chanting unchanged.
Five meters away from him, a zombie covered in fur rolled on the ground, its body entangled in the sutras, howling and thrashing. A faint green smoke rose from its body, only to be washed away by the pouring rain.
The zombie’s once-plump form gradually shriveled, as if all its strength had been drained. Even its fangs were reduced to flat teeth. Before long, it completely transformed into the appearance of a decayed corpse—rotting, withered, and decomposing.
After a long time, Qi Xinli sighed and mumbled, “It’s clear how important cremation is…”
Before he could even ponder this, he felt something was wrong. The aura behind him seemed to be torn apart, and an overwhelming chill swept through him.
Instinctively, Qi Xinli rolled forward, and in the next instant, a claw covered in green scales swiped past his scalp, ruthlessly cutting off a large chunk of his hair! The short strands of hair fluttered in front of his eyes, leaving Qi Xinli dumbfounded, his mind blank, unable to think.
Faintly, he seemed to hear Si Nuocheng’s voice: “What are you waiting for? Move!”
A faint golden arrow passed by his ear, piercing the flying zombie’s palm. The monster roared and charged at Si Nuocheng, while Qi Xinli slowly reached up and touched his head—
Smooth, cold, and completely hairless!
His hair was gone!
It was just… so bald…
As a physics PhD student, Qi Xinli cherished every single hair follicle. He was always gentle when washing his hair, carefully massaging the shampoo, and when combing, he was extra gentle. Losing one strand felt like losing a piece of his soul—every hair was precious, and each loss was painful.
His hair was so delicate, he couldn’t even bear to touch a single fiber. But today, chunks of it had been shaved off. It felt like the daughter he had painstakingly raised had been stolen by that nasty little brat next door!
He was filled with rage! He was furious!
Qi Xinli’s anger surged… No, his resentment skyrocketed, and his entire body steamed with a faint blue flame. Now that he had lost his hair, there was nothing left for him to fear! He feared nothing anymore!
The connection between his body and soul reached one hundred percent.
In the astonished gaze of Si Nuocheng, Qi Xinli slapped the flying zombie’s shoulder, forcefully turning it around, and slapped its face hard.
Flying Zombie: …
Si Nuocheng: …
“I want you to pay for my hair with your life—”
Qi Xinli let out a soul-shattering roar and grabbed the flying zombie’s neck, slamming it to the ground. He pressed his knee against its chest and furiously punched it, launching both his spirit and body into a double-mode of supreme power: “Today, I, the Buddha, will show you what the real ‘Diamond Sutra’ is!”
Qi Xinli smashed the flying zombie’s nose with a punch: “Thus have I heard, dig your own grave!”
“Good man, good woman, you dare to take hair from others? You can take my hair, but you’re going straight to hell to fry in the oil pot!”
“Today, I break the killing vow, no one can stop me!” Qi Xinli’s eyes flared with fury.
Si Nuocheng: … Forget it, the zombie’s the one in real danger here.
Qi Xinli beat the flying zombie into a blob of mangled mess, panting heavily. He turned around and saw Si Nuocheng engaged in a struggle with three zombies.
Without another word, Qi Xinli rolled up his sleeves and joined the battle. One zombie down, another to go!
…….
Gunshots rang out nonstop, and battles erupted everywhere. The sound of tiles crashing, followed by the rumbling of walls collapsing. Screams filled the air, with sparks flying from broken power lines. The police rushed from one end of the street to the other, but they couldn’t stop the overwhelming number of zombies.
There were thirteen of them!
“Did we disturb the zombies’ nest or something?” Steel Soldier shouted, “Where’s the backup? When are our troops arriving?”
“No backup!” Shen Yunling replied directly. “No signals can get through. This place feels like it’s been sealed off, and even the helicopters can’t take off! Watch your back!”
“Bang, bang, bang!” The specially-made silver bullets pierced through a zombie’s shoulder, temporarily forcing it back.
Shen Yunling pulled Steel Soldier into a street corner, reloaded his gun, and whispered, “How many silver bullets from Hai Luo Bay do we have left?”
“Thirty rounds.”
“Damn it!” Shen Yunling closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. “Aim for the head! Thirty rounds won’t last until dawn. Not a single shot can be wasted! One, two, three, go!”
They charged out, working in perfect sync. They managed to keep one fur-covered zombie’s attention and led it to a park where fewer people were around. The plan was for one to bait, and the other to kill, but things didn’t go as planned. They unexpectedly ran into three young people who had no clue how to follow the script.
One was Jiang Qining, one was Laki, and the other was Yu Mingyang, who was in a wheelchair.
At the time, Jiang Qining was pulling Laki to find someone. However, Yu Mingyang, hearing the zombies’ growls, instinctively got scared and hid in the supermarket’s storage room in his wheelchair, forcing the other two to search for him frantically.
The supermarket, obviously, was not a safe place. With constant foot traffic and windows left wide open, the flow of fresh air had attracted the attention of the zombies. A white-furred zombie locked onto the unlucky trio, its eyes gleaming with excitement as it lunged toward them.
Seeing this, Laki took the lead, charging ahead like a bull!
Without hesitation, he stood in front of the others and unleashed his full strength, hitting the zombie’s abdomen with a rapid barrage of punches, one hundred and eighty strikes in a minute, every punch landing with full force!
Jiang Qining clenched his fists, shouting, “Yes, that’s it! Go for it! Whoo—”
Yu Mingyang exhaled and joined the cheerleading squad: “Nice job! I’ve got my eye on you, bro, you’ll always be the biggest!”
A grown man’s punch could hit with half of his body weight’s power, and as a Bear-Fighting Warrior, Laki’s punches were even more terrifying. He thought that with one hundred and eighty punches, the zombie would either be dead or severely wounded, but when he looked up, the creature was staring at them with “Kazilan skull eyes,” completely unfazed.
Laki’s expression turned blank as he withdrew his hands, shaking them in exhaustion, muttering, “My hands hurt…”
The unlucky trio: …
The cheer abruptly stopped.
“Roar!” The zombie lunged at them, but fortunately, Laki grabbed a durian, shoved it into the zombie’s mouth, and bought them a little time to escape.
They ran for their lives, playing a game of “hide and seek” for five minutes, until they entered the park and saw two police officers. They rushed toward them as if welcoming long-lost family. Even though Jiang Qining remembered they were the ones who had dragged him out of the restaurant, the past grudges didn’t matter at the moment.
Until they realized the two officers were also dealing with one zombie, and those two officers had inadvertently led another zombie right to them…
Shen Yunling and Steel Soldier: …
The unlucky trio: …
The scene instantly turned into hell mode!
With no other choice, they quickly stood back to back. Laki shouted, “Can your guns hurt the zombies? I’m just asking if they can!”
“Yes!” Shen Yunling shouted back, “The bullets are made of pure silver, but we only have thirty rounds. If we can hit their heads, we’ll survive!”
Jiang Qining: “Ahhh, don’t eat me! I haven’t bathed for three days!”
Yu Mingyang: “I broke my leg and got a thick layer of plaster on it, don’t eat me, I’m not tasty!”
Everyone: …What a useless duo, so scared they couldn’t even look.
But wait! A thick layer of plaster on his broken leg?
“How thick is this plaster of yours?”
“As thick as my skin! Waa… don’t eat me!”
Shen Yunling and Laki’s eyes fell on Yu Mingyang’s leg, and then… there was no more. The two men exchanged a look of understanding and swiftly lifted Yu Mingyang’s wheelchair, carefully placing his plaster-covered leg into the mouth of one of the zombies.
Yu Mingyang: “Ahhh!”
Because Yu Mingyang was tall, the zombie’s claws could only reach his thigh and couldn’t go any further. In the next second, Steel Soldier’s gun fired, blowing the zombie’s head apart, effectively killing it!
They quickly followed the same tactic, using Yu Mingyang’s injured leg to take down the second zombie.
When they put Yu Mingyang down, the poor guy still looked a little dazed. His spirit seemed to have taken a heavy hit, and he couldn’t help but shed tears of regret.
“There was once an opportunity to go to Yanjing to recuperate, but I didn’t cherish it, and now I regret it deeply. The most painful thing in life is regret like this.”
“If heaven could give me a chance to start over, I would tell my parents: I’m coming home! And if there must be a condition, I would want it to be—having my entire body plastered before I return home!”
“Wuu…” Yu Mingyang sobbed, “The only thing that gives me security in this world now is plaster. Only it can protect me from harm.”
Everyone: …
Jiang Qining: “You really became the top underling under Brother Cheng by being so talkative, didn’t you?”
Laki: “One broken leg and two zombies killed—this must be the legendary ‘cursed foot,’ right? I kind of want to learn.”
Yu Mingyang: …
The battle continued outside, and there was still a long way to go before dawn.
Ji Si scooped up a large spoonful of glutinous rice and placed it over Zhang Yan’s blood-soaked wound. A large cloud of black smoke rose, and Zhang Yan let out an unearthly scream. The High Priest spread the rice evenly and said, “Endure.”
Zhang Yan gritted his teeth and endured the intense heat from the rice as it seeped into his wound.
After a moment, Ji Si scraped off the blackened rice and tossed it into a bronze bowl, then applied a fresh layer to the wound. “The corpse poison has already entered your bones. Even if it’s removed, some changes will remain. Stay sane, or you won’t remain human.”
Zhang Yan nodded, and the tears finally fell.
Layer by layer, Ji Si scraped and applied rice for a total of nine times. Finally, he let out a breath of relief. “It’s done.”
Zhang Yan promptly passed out.
Lastly, Ji Si instructed, “Prepare a tub of rice water and soak him in it. Also, cook some more rice. Many people will need it once dawn breaks.”
No one questioned the order, and they quickly went to carry it out. Ji Si stepped out of the Eight Treasure Hall and focused his gaze on a particular spot…
Is it coming?
There were many things he wouldn’t easily interfere with unless a monster far beyond Si Nuocheng’s strength appeared, and one that was the type he most despised.
In that case, it was no longer a problem to act.
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
PS: Zombie: This durian… it’s got a real taste to it; and this foot… it’s got the same flavor…
Laki: Don’t worry, I’ll give you a bottle of Lao Gan Ma, and you’ll really get the flavor!
Zombie: …
PS: Qi Xinli: Ji Si, what shampoo do you use? Your hair is so long, shiny, and beautiful!
Ji Si: No matter what shampoo you use, your soul is still bald… The less hair, the higher the synchronization rate.
Qi Xinli: …
