Chapter Sixty-Five: Drawn Out

The three dormitory buildings were thoroughly searched, and during the process, they encountered five more ghouls hiding in cabinets, all of whom were easily dispatched by Shen Qingdai. However, no clues regarding Huang Chao were found in any of the three buildings. Shen Qingdai then turned her attention to the production workshop.

Standing before the first workshop, gazing into the darkness behind the main gate, Li Changqing was reminded of that black handkerchief. Uncle Yun said to him, “You go first.”

“Boss Shen, I…”

Uncle Yun reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you with Boss Shen. What are you afraid of?”

Damn it, Hu Xiong liked to protect from the shadows, and now Uncle Yun insisted on guarding from behind too. If you’re so capable, why not take the lead yourself? Uncle Yun was well aware that this place was far from ordinary and preferred caution. If anything unexpected happened, both he and Shen Qingdai would have a better chance of escaping in time.

Shen Qingdai didn’t agree with Uncle Yun’s excessive caution, but she didn’t voice any objection. Li Changqing felt resigned as he picked up his flashlight and helplessly stepped into the pitch-black workshop. This should be his third time here.

Inside, it was eerily quiet, the only sound being the rustle of weeds under Li Changqing’s feet. He glanced back—Uncle Yun and Shen Qingdai followed about ten meters behind him. Their posture made it clear: they weren’t so much ready to protect him as they were prepared to turn and run at the first sign of trouble.

“Uncle Yun, is it really necessary to be this careful?” Shen Qingdai muttered in irritation, “It’s just a few ghouls. Does that warrant such caution?”

“Miss Shen, better safe than sorry…” Uncle Yun replied. Shen Qingdai knew this was his duty, and she simply shook her head slightly.

They continued to follow Li Changqing, their flashlights scanning the surroundings. “Why do you think Huang Chao would come here of all places?” Shen Qingdai mused. The place was thick with sinister energy—a strange convergence of corpse energy, demonic aura, and wicked yin.

Suddenly, Li Changqing sensed a rustling in the grass to his left. He shone his flashlight into the darkness. A pale, human face grinned at him from within the grass, laughter echoing eerily.

Li Changqing quickly retreated. “Something’s up.”

The laughter multiplied, coming from all around in the undergrowth. One, two, three… More than twenty ghouls rose from the weeds in the workshop yards.

“So many?” Even Shen Qingdai’s face showed a hint of shock.

At that moment, a ghoul lunged at Li Changqing, both hands reaching for his throat. Li Changqing dodged swiftly, but then, curiously, he clutched his own throat as if strangling himself.

“Is he crazy?” Uncle Yun was baffled by Li Changqing’s self-strangling act. But before he could ponder it, the swarm of ghouls rushed at him and Shen Qingdai, leaving no time to worry about Li Changqing.

With a low growl, Li Changqing instantly transformed into his zombie form. The next ghoul pounced, and Li Changqing punched it square in the face, knocking it to the ground.

A bestial snarl rumbled from Li Changqing’s throat.

“A zombie?” Shen Qingdai and Uncle Yun exchanged glances, both startled to see Li Changqing’s transformation. So, this guy was actually a zombie all along.

Right then, Li Changqing engaged two ghouls in close combat. His fighting was wild and unrefined—no technique, just brute force. But the ghouls themselves were mindless, knowing only how to lunge, strangle, or bite, sometimes attacking with their hair or tongues.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingdai transformed into a half-fox, half-human form. Her fox tail swept the ghouls aside, and with a leap, she soared three meters into the air. Spreading her arms, she summoned balls of foxfire, hurling them at the ghouls below. Those struck by the flames rolled on the ground, burning to cinders, including the ones wrestling with Li Changqing—he barely managed to dodge the fire himself.

“Be careful!” Li Changqing shouted as he scrambled out of the way.

At that instant, a deep growl echoed from the depths of the workshop.

A shadow shot out, hurtling straight towards Shen Qingdai.

“So the real master finally shows up,” Shen Qingdai sneered. With a flicker, foxfire erupted around her as she leapt towards the shadow, striking at it with her palm.

In midair, palm met palm.

With a muffled thud, Shen Qingdai was sent flying like a kite, tumbling across the ground, blood trickling from her lips.

“What on earth is that?” Shen Qingdai trembled, staring at the shadow in disbelief.

“A Corpse King—run, now!” she cried, panic-stricken. She scrambled to her feet and bolted.

The Corpse King stood where it was, its icy gaze following the fleeing trio, but it didn’t give chase. Instead, it turned and melted back into the darkness.

The three of them escaped from the abandoned factory. Uncle Yun drove off in a hurry. Shen Qingdai collapsed onto the sofa, gasping for breath, her face pale and unsettled, with black corpse energy writhing beneath her fair skin.

“Miss Shen, are you all right?” Uncle Yun turned to glance at her, his expression darkening. “There’s a heavy corpse energy within you.”

“I can’t suppress it much longer,” Shen Qingdai replied through gritted teeth, her face contorted with pain. The surging corpse energy inside her was wreaking havoc; if she couldn’t contain it, it would destroy all her internal organs.

Li Changqing, who had been secretly lamenting her escape from the factory, perked up at this sight. As expected, the abandoned factory never disappoints.

Uncle Yun quickly pulled the car over and looked at Li Changqing. “You’re a zombie, aren’t you?”

“Then go, draw the corpse energy out of Miss Shen.”

“Me? Suck it out?” Li Changqing stammered. “That doesn’t seem proper. I mean, we’re of different genders, and even though Boss Shen is a demon and I’m a zombie, still…”

He hesitated, thinking how cliché this scenario was. Was he really about to lose his first kiss like this?

Seeing his reluctance, Uncle Yun pulled him over and produced a knife, slicing open Shen Qingdai’s wrist. Fresh blood flowed.

“Hurry up and suck! What are you standing there for?”

Realizing he was supposed to draw the energy from her wrist, Li Changqing still hesitated. Even Shen Qingdai couldn’t withstand this overwhelming corpse energy—could he? Besides, though he was a zombie, he’d never drunk blood before. He remembered from zombie movies that as long as a zombie hadn’t tasted blood, there was still hope of being saved. Once he drank blood, he’d be a zombie forever.

So he’d always resisted, refusing to drink blood, clinging to the faint hope that he might one day turn back into a human.

Now he hesitated—should he do it or not? That was the question.