Chapter Twenty: A New Breed of Zombie

Although Liu Xue was quite unwilling, she obediently listened to her older sister. So, every day, Liu Wen took Liu Xue to train, while Ma Yi studied various fighting techniques from movies. Ma Yi’s marksmanship was decent—after all, he had practiced for a while before—but considering how tough zombie skin had become, he doubted even a spear could pierce it, so he abandoned that approach. After several close encounters, Ma Yi realized that hand-to-hand combat was now more effective than anything else.

However, Ma Yi was a complete novice when it came to close combat. As everything evolved, his body was still growing, but his agility and reflexes were also improving. He felt a real need to learn. From classic Hong Kong action films of the ’90s to Hollywood’s tough-guy blockbusters, Ma Yi watched and learned, picking up practical moves and teaching them to Liu Wen and Liu Xue. With Liu Xue, he was always proper, but with Liu Wen, there were more accidental touches and playful moments—both tacitly understanding, as they were, after all, considered a couple now.

The sisters Liu Wen and Liu Xue were speed-type evolvers with strong physiques, so Ma Yi taught them techniques similar to Tai Chi, using an opponent’s strength against them. To teach well, he had to delve deeper himself, which sped up his own progress; he no longer needed to rely solely on brute force.

Liu Wen’s mother, Chen Fang, would watch Ma Yi instruct the sisters whenever she had free time. Dressed in sportswear, she looked barely older than Liu Wen, her figure and height exceptional, even among women. Ma Yi would have Liu Xue and her mother spar as well, but since both were beginners, their moves were often clumsy, so he had to correct them, which led to the occasional accidental bump or touch. Ma Yi sometimes felt awkward, but his future mother-in-law was always easygoing, laughing off any mishaps.

Tie Zhu now couldn’t beat Ma Yi at all. Among everyone Ma Yi knew, only Tie Zhu could spar with him without getting hurt. But after picking up some new fighting techniques, Tie Zhu lost more miserably each time. Still, when Ma Yi personally demonstrated and encouraged him to practice, Tie Zhu would finally grin and agree.

Ma Yi wasn’t sure if it was because he himself was a zombie, or because Tie Zhu would always listen to him ramble about his fears, grievances, or happiness, but Ma Yi genuinely regarded Tie Zhu as a good friend rather than a subordinate. Of course, when hard labor was needed, Tie Zhu was always the one Ma Yi sent to the front lines. As for what Tie Zhu thought, Ma Yi didn’t know, but it didn’t matter—so long as Tie Zhu was willing to follow him, Ma Yi would let him do so for life.

After two or three months in the apocalypse, Ma Yi did not feel his life was unhappy. On the contrary, he felt almost too blessed: a gentle, understanding woman; a mischievous, clever sister-in-law; a stunning mother-in-law; a chatty, sociable father-in-law; and a seemingly simple-minded but shrewd Tie Zhu as his little brother. Ma Yi felt his life was full and content.

But today, Ma Yi encountered a new zombie—a zombie both breathtaking and terrifying.

Setting out without Tie Zhu for the safety of the villa, Ma Yi planned to look for fresh meat in the countryside. Animals, perhaps due to the thick fog, were also evolving, making fresh meat easier to find and tastier than vacuum-packed rations. But as soon as he entered a small village, he saw a woman—no, a female zombie—two meters tall.

This female zombie was much taller than the others, though still small compared to Ma Yi's own nearly three-meter height. But body size aside, Ma Yi felt an immense sense of danger from her. Even before he got close, his heart pounded and his blood raced, his body instinctively preparing for whatever might come.

She resembled a female fitness model, with defined abs and a toned figure, but not as intimidatingly muscular as a bodybuilder. That was the difference between fitness and bodybuilding. Unlike the J-type zombies, who were simply giant musclebound monsters, this female zombie had features beyond human: from the back of her head sprouted thirty-centimeter tentacles, smooth and flexible, reminiscent of both hair and octopus limbs—like a mythological Medusa crowned with serpents.

Her neck was long, and her two-meter height didn’t look odd—instead, her proportions were exquisite, to the point of perfection. But her silver-white skin and eyes hinted that she was at least as evolved as Ma Yi, perhaps even more so, judging by the threat he sensed. From her tailbone extended a long tail, segmented like a human spine, ending in a scorpion-like bony blade, gleaming cold and sharp even to the naked eye.

When Ma Yi spotted her, she noticed him as well. Her face broke into a disturbingly human smile. A blood-red tongue flicked out to lick her lips, sliding sensuously over her teeth—at least ten centimeters long, enough to make one’s skin crawl.

Yet, despite her inhuman aspects, Ma Yi found her stunning—like a character sprung from a comic book, impossibly beautiful.

As Ma Yi observed her, she studied him in return, silver eyes brimming with the excitement of a child discovering a new toy.

“Surrender to me.” The words echoed in Ma Yi’s mind, though he hadn’t seen her lips move.

“Damn, this zombie is creepy,” Ma Yi thought, his mood shifting from delight to terror. Without another glance, he turned and fled. This was no ordinary encounter—her voice had entered his mind without her even speaking. Ma Yi was already fast—faster than Tie Zhu or Hammer, the J-type zombie now in the city—but this female zombie was even faster, her speed rivaling that of an S2 zombie, an evolved form of the S-type.

“Oh, hell,” Ma Yi cried out as her tail pierced through his calf, sending his massive body tumbling more than ten meters before crashing into a brick house, which promptly collapsed under the impact.

“Surrender to me, or I’ll devour you,” the voice continued to echo in his mind—a childish, almost innocent sound, though her mouth remained closed.

“Like hell I will!” Ma Yi snapped, realizing escape was impossible. He knew he’d encountered a real threat—if he didn’t fight for his life, he wouldn’t survive the day.

Determined, Ma Yi steeled himself. If death was the price, so be it. Still, he regretted never having truly been with Liu Wen as husband and wife.

Suddenly, the female zombie halted her attack and slowly approached, her towering form still somehow dwarfed by Ma Yi’s own, though he lay sprawled on the ground.

With a ripping sound, Ma Yi’s clothes were torn away by her. His mind blanked out at the sight.

What is she trying to do? Ma Yi clutched his chest protectively, feeling as vulnerable as a girl cornered by a lecherous stranger, terror shining in his eyes as he stared at the bizarre female zombie.

“What is this? Why is your tail in the front? Why do I sense something strange from you?” she wondered, her tail coiling curiously around Ma Yi’s private parts, as if she were a child exploring a new toy.

Seeing his most sensitive part grasped by her razor-sharp tail, Ma Yi shivered. That tail was lethally sharp—his defense had reached the level of a J2 zombie, but even so, her tail had pierced clean through his calf. One slip, and he might become the world’s last eunuch—perhaps even the first eunuch zombie in history.

“What do you want?” Ma Yi tried to grab her tail, but she pinned his arm with one foot; no matter how he struggled, she was stronger. He cursed inwardly—how could this relatively petite figure have such monstrous strength? He forgot that, though shorter than Tie Zhu, he himself was no weaker.

“You’d better not move, or I’ll kill you. It’s just as fun to play with a corpse.” Ma Yi was instantly subdued. Play? This female zombie was actually playing with him. Indeed, at this moment, she was curiously examining the differences between their two “tails.”

She tried to make Ma Yi’s “tail” stand up, but failed several times. Puzzled yet persistent, she bent closer, studying it with a mix of understanding and confusion that made Ma Yi silently curse his fate.

Finally, as if recalling something—or perhaps by instinct—she stroked it with her hand, even leaned in to sniff. Ma Yi was so terrified that he couldn’t react at all. Frustrated by the lack of response, she bit down with her mouth.