Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Two-Headed Corpse King

“Master, that woman?” As a woman herself, Li Li could clearly sense Ma Yi’s mood shift—from intending to go over and take a look, even seeming a bit happy, to now returning visibly downcast.

“How should I put it… Though I’m reluctant to admit it, she’s truly a woman who stirred my heart. She used to be my superior and took good care of me. In the office, you always look for the tallest among the short, pin your hopes on someone.” Ma Yi sighed. To be strict, there really hadn’t been much emotional entanglement between him and Liu Jing—just a familiarity with each other’s bodies, a way to vent and expend energy.

“Oh.” Li Li nodded. She now understood: this woman wasn’t Ma Yi’s favorite, but she was the first to inspire genuine longing in him. If Ma Yi cared so much for a woman he only once hoped for, then as long as she served him well, he shouldn’t treat her badly either. Li Li secretly resolved once more to serve Ma Yi wholeheartedly and take good care of his daily needs.

The car started again, the distance to home shrinking. Ma Yi, having shaken off his earlier gloom, was now suddenly tense. Despite his breakthrough, he still hadn’t recalled the things he once forgot—like the faces of the Liu sisters or Ru Hua. Their features in his mind remained blurred, as if covered in a layer of mosaic. Sometimes he seemed to remember, but any attempt to recall left his mind blank. Ma Yi feared that perhaps everything was just a fantasy conjured by his own mind. Why hadn’t he asked Chen Yuanshan and the others about it when he ran into them?

The only thing Ma Yi remembered was that Liu Wen was a generous, discerning woman who never objected to anything. Yet in Ma Yi’s heart, the name Liu Wen held a place no one could shake—not even the voluptuous Li Li, nor the stunning Queen of the Undead. For them, Ma Yi merely thought “not bad,” but deep in his memory, Liu Wen was the name that lingered most.

Watching the small marker on the map grow closer, Ma Yi could almost hear his own heartbeat. Even in battles involving millions, even facing death, he’d never lost control of his emotions like this.

Li Li glanced at Ma Yi in surprise. His heartbeat was so loud and powerful that, if she hadn’t known he already surpassed humanity, she might have thought something was wrong with him.

“Nervous?” Li Li looked at him and smiled. She thought only she would be nervous to meet the woman Ma Yi always missed, but even Ma Yi himself seemed afraid. Why? Was the woman fierce? Or did Ma Yi feel guilty about his romantic escapades?

“I just can’t remember their faces. Even though I miss them, it’s only natural to feel a bit excited.” Ma Yi curled his lips, refusing to admit he was nervous.

Come on, he thought to himself, I’m a top-tier corpse king now—how could I be nervous? He silently tried to bolster his confidence.

“But Master, your heart’s beating even faster now.” Li Li laughed, covering her mouth. Ma Yi’s nervousness made her relax a little.

“It’s excitement—the excitement of a wanderer returning home.” Still refusing to admit his nerves, Ma Yi tried to convince himself that it was just the eagerness to return, like a wayward son coming back after months of disappearance, about to reenter his own safe haven.

Conflicted, Ma Yi wondered how the world had changed in his absence. Were they well? Had they been hurt or moved on? In terms of looks or ability, he’d never been the best—would someone else have taken advantage of his absence?

He knew nothing for certain. He just moved forward, driven by a deep-rooted longing for home. He feared returning to an empty house, or that after so long, everything would be different. Since the apocalypse, he’d seen too much harsh reality: in this world, propriety and shame meant nothing compared to survival. Parents would sell their children to live, brothers would break bonds over food, friends would betray each other for profit. There were good people, too, but most relationships were built on mutual exploitation, just to survive another day.

Suddenly, Ma Yi looked up at the sky in confusion. The once-clear sky had turned gloomy, a sense of oppression hanging in the air—as if something was watching everything below. Ma Yi felt that gaze sweep across the earth, moving swiftly. When it passed over him, it paused for three seconds. Three seconds seemed short, but compared to the speed of that gaze, it was a long time.

“What is that?” Ma Yi stopped the car and stuck his head out the window, peering at the sky. The darkness above was moving fast. With his vision, he could see everything at ten thousand meters, but that shadow was still higher, much higher.

“What’s wrong?” Compared to Ma Yi, Li Li’s senses were worlds apart. To her, the sky had just darkened for a moment and then cleared up again; she felt nothing else.

“Something was just watching me,” Ma Yi said gravely. At his current level—an eighth-level corpse king—he hadn’t encountered anything on the ground that could outmatch him. Yet just now, he had felt an instinctive dread and fear. But what exactly was he dreading? He hadn’t even seen what it was. Was it a raptor flying at forty thousand feet? Or something else entirely? He didn’t know.

“Master, you have invincible power now. What could possibly dare to watch you?” Li Li was startled. Human seventh-level evolvers were like insects before him—he could wipe them out with a gesture. To her, Ma Yi’s strength was already unsurpassable. If there was something that even he dreaded, how terrifying must it be? If such a being existed, it would be god-like.

Ma Yi glanced up at the sky, now bright again, and said, “I’m just at a higher level, that’s all. Who knows what the end point of evolution is? This world is vast and full of wonders. There must be things even stronger. The apocalypse has only lasted a year. I think I’ve evolved quickly, but out of billions of people and countless trillions of life forms, there must be some who have evolved faster—we just haven’t met them yet. Anyway, who knows if it’s friend or foe? No need to overthink it. We’ll deal with it as it comes.”

“No use worrying about the future. When the boat reaches the bridge, it’ll straighten itself out.” Ma Yi shook off his worries and continued driving.

“Mhm, I believe in you, Master.” Li Li gazed at him adoringly, her eyes full of stars.

“Alright, I’m not nervous anymore. As long as I can get home safely, nothing else matters.” Ma Yi comforted himself, eyeing the last two hundred miles.

As Ma Yi sped home, outside the villa district of P City stood a strange zombie—nearly ten meters tall, with two heads. Its aura made even Tie Zhu, who was already a purple-gold corpse king, wary. Behind the two-headed zombie stretched a horde that seemed endless, all moving toward the villa district. The front lines were already engaged in battle.

Zombie versus zombie battles were unlike those of humans—no smoke, no gunfire. Apart from the occasional snarls and cries at the front, the battlefield was eerily quiet. Where the two armies met, it was like two giant millstones grinding away at the zombies caught in between. When one died, more would take its place.

Currently, the battle favored the villa side. Compared to the two-headed king’s horde, the villa zombies were of much higher rank and had even learned martial arts—all thanks to San Pang’s constant training. But in numbers, the villa was at a distinct disadvantage. The two-headed king’s followers were so numerous they filled every visible corner—at least hundreds of thousands.

“How’s it looking—can we hold out?” Liu Wen stood before the queen of the undead. She now wore a unique beast-hide coat, crafted specially for them by Ru Hua from the hide of a bull king, impossibly tough. Only Ru Hua’s tail-blade could pierce it, and even Chui Feng, a purple-gold level zombie with razor claws, struggled to scratch it. There were only three such suits—anything below purple-gold could not cut through. They’d been set aside, but now they were finally useful, ensuring the safety of Liu Wen and Liu Xue. Before Ma Yi left, he had specifically told Ru Hua to protect them at all costs.

“We can hold. Don’t worry. Why are you out here? Get back inside—it’s not safe.” Ru Hua glanced at Liu Wen, irritation on her face. The two-headed corpse king had come all this way, sacrificing many of his own, solely for her.

Looking at the horde below, and the grotesque king among them, Ru Hua wondered if there had been some mistake. The twin-headed, obese creature was staring up at her with undisguised desire, making her uncomfortable. After spending so much time with Liu Wen and Liu Xue, even Ru Hua’s aesthetic sense had changed—she now preferred zombies who looked more human. Even though this two-headed king was a little stronger than her, she couldn’t stand the sight of him.

The two-headed king stood amid his horde, gazing up at Ru Hua, drool dripping down his fat belly as both heads stared without blinking, guttural noises coming from his throat.

“I wonder how that heartless man is doing…” Liu Wen tried not to dwell on the possibility that Ma Yi was dead. Her fate had been rough: married for less than a month before her husband turned into a zombie, then only a few months after meeting Ma Yi, he vanished too. Sometimes she wondered if she was cursed to be alone forever.

“Don’t worry—he’s tough. He was already formidable when he left. Unless something’s holding him up, he should have been back by now,” Ru Hua comforted her quickly. “Maybe he’s off somewhere charming another pretty wife.”

Truthfully, Ru Hua was also trying to reassure herself. She was only half hopeful that Ma Yi was still alive—he’d been gone so long, maybe something had happened, especially remembering the serious, affectionate way he’d left.

“As long as he’s alive and knows to come home, let him charm whoever he likes. He was never exactly well-behaved at the villa.” Liu Wen thought about it and felt more at ease. That man was just that lecherous. She herself was no saint. As long as he could come back safe, it didn’t matter if he charmed other women.

“He should be back soon.” Ru Hua didn’t even know how many times she’d said that to Liu Wen; even she felt it was too many.

“You’d better get back inside. I’ll keep watch here. There’s nothing you can do out here—you’ll just worry yourself.” Ru Hua had seen those zombies in the enemy horde who threw javelins. If Liu Wen got hurt, she’d never be able to explain to Ma Yi.