Chapter 83: The Winds Rise

“Since we know their intentions, let them leave on their own. If they wish to head east, they should be more careful and, if possible, avoid crossing the newly formed mountain range. There are more terrifying beings on the other side,” Ma Yi decided it was best not to reveal the truth about the sea tribe to these people for now; otherwise, they would be scared out of their wits.

“Alright, I’ll go tell them,” Li Li nodded and quickly walked out of the villa. Once again, she felt a sense of crisis descend upon her. She remembered the overwhelming sight of the million-strong zombie horde that attacked the southern base—it was a scene that left her in awe. Now, the advancing zombies were no longer in the millions or tens of millions; their numbers had reached into the hundreds of millions, several hundred times greater than before. Just imagining it was terrifying—if she killed five or six thousand a day, she would never finish them off in her lifetime.

When Li Li relayed the message, the members of the survivor squad from the Northwest Base looked at her in astonishment.

“There are terrifying beings on the other side of the mountain range?” one man asked, barely believing.

“Yes, that’s what my master said. He just went over there not long ago to check the situation. He came back injured,” Li Li deliberately exaggerated. In truth, Ma Yi had returned unharmed, but she wanted to scare these people away from crossing over. If these reckless fools, driven by curiosity, ran into trouble, it could spell disaster for all humanity.

“If I may be so bold, what level of evolver is your leader now?” the team captain persisted. In the Northwest Base, there were seventh-level evolvers—beings as mighty as gods.

“Let me be clear: my master is not an evolver. He’s a mutated zombie, someone who possesses the abilities of the undead,” Li Li replied coolly, her tone tinged with pride.

A cold shiver ran down the man’s spine. Zombies were always a notch stronger than their human counterparts; if this woman’s master was a level-seven zombie, even an eighth-level evolver might not be able to handle him.

“What’s more, my master is considered a being of the ‘Great Terror’ level. Using your ranking system, let me see… Green Iron, Purple Copper, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold—that’s five levels. Then, there’s Return to Simplicity, Rebirth, Terror, and Great Terror—four more. I’m not entirely sure what level Ma Yi has reached now, but I know the rankings he’s set for zombies, so let me count.” Li Li began ticking off the levels on her fingers.

“My master is at the Great Terror level, so that would be level nine. Yes, my master is a level-nine Great Terror,” Li Li said, watching as the man before her fell into a stunned silence.

The levels Li Li cited were ones even a level-two evolver like their captain could recognize. For example, those orderly, golden-hued zombies training in the distance—they were level-fours. The ones just ahead, with a duller gold, were level-fives. The hulking figures further forward, fewer in number, were level-six zombies.

“What’s the highest-level zombie you’ve seen?” Li Li asked curiously.

“Level six—those big ones over there,” the man replied, pointing toward the massive zombies training in the distance.

“Oh, well, those closer to the front, about the size of normal people, they’re level sevens. They’ve already reached the ‘Return to Simplicity’ stage—zombies that have reverted to human form. And those two bald men at the very front? They’re level eights, at the Terror stage, and all the zombies below them are their subordinates. My master is their master as well—a level-nine, Great Terror,” Li Li boasted, proud to finally speak with such confidence since the world ended. Before, she’d never felt it, but now, talking about Ma Yi, she felt an inner excitement and pride.

“Level eight!” The man stared in shock at the two bald figures leading the formation. At first, he’d thought they were human and wondered how people here could control zombies, training them like soldiers. But to learn they were zombies—strong enough to resemble humans—was unheard of.

Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Li Li sighed—perhaps she’d revealed too much at once for his mind to process.

“Thank you, I understand now. I’ll report all that’s happened here and the situation beyond the mountains to the Human United Army,” the man finally said, coming to his senses. Now he understood why the master of this place wanted him to tell the main army to keep heading east. With someone like that guarding the pass, as long as he wasn’t defeated, the zombie horde would never march further east. Level nine—few even at level ten could handle such a being.

“Alright, I’ve delivered the message. I’ll head back now,” Li Li said, seeing that the man had comprehended much, and turned to leave.

“Wait, miss,” the man called out.

“Yes?” Li Li glanced back at him.

“On behalf of the Human United Army, I want to thank your master.” With that, the man knelt down with a thud, bowing his head toward the mountain top.

“Go on. I’ll let my master know,” Li Li replied with a smile, then turned and left. She now felt an overwhelming sense of pride to have such a powerful master.

The departure of the survivor squad quickly spread news of the villa’s events through the ranks of the Human Survivor Collective on the move. The existence of such a powerful mutated zombie in a small city shocked all the upper management of the survivors.

“I believe we should try to bring this mutated zombie into our organization. With him, our already weak Northwest Division would gain significant influence within the Collective. In time, the entire United Army might heed our voice,” declared the highest leader of the Northwest Base. Even though most bases had already merged, each region still managed its own people and resources as before. Only after settling in would the United Army restructure its leadership.

“I agree, but what do we have to offer that could attract him to join us? Do you think this is still the world as it was before, where wealth, power, or women could win someone over?” asked the Northwest Military District’s chief commander, glancing at his superior. Before the apocalypse, this man had been his boss and remained so. But now, aged and perhaps a bit senile, the commander wondered if the old leader had lost his grip on reality.

“Well, don’t we have many foreign survivors? And plenty of female evolvers from minority groups here? No matter how powerful he is, if he’s male, he can’t be immune to beauty,” replied the base commander. Though long past his youth, his experience made up for it. Since becoming an evolver, his body felt as if he were back in his thirties, and despite his appearance, many female evolvers had sought him out during these chaotic times.

Recalling his recent exploits, the old general felt even more convinced of the importance of power. As long as he kept growing stronger—even if not among the very top—so long as he held authority, everything would remain under his control. His happiness would continue, allowing him to live a life he’d never dreamed possible before.

“Whatever the cost, we must win over this mutated zombie human,” the old general declared, his gaze fixed resolutely on his chief of staff, his eyes alight with unwavering determination.

As the chief of staff, he knew his superior better than anyone—even more than his children. They’d spent the most time together, and though he’d once considered taking the old man’s place, he realized his current life as second-in-command was fulfilling enough. Their long-standing camaraderie was not something he would betray for a mere power grab. Perhaps it was precisely this loyalty that made the old leader keep him close at all times.

The chief of staff nodded and left the room quickly. He needed to send people to investigate the villa master’s interests—tailoring their approach was always more effective than acting blindly.

The Human United Army was now an alliance of several major factions. News of this remarkable villa master reached the other leaders swiftly—a level-nine mutated zombie. No one cared about his true strength; they hadn’t even seen a level-eight zombie, and level-sevens were only rumored by their top fighters—they’d never faced one directly. Yet now, the villa master had already reached level nine. Each level among zombies was an extraordinary leap, and compared to human evolvers, who only reached level seven, they might barely manage to contend with a level-six zombie’s subordinate, and only in single combat, not as equals. The gap between levels seemed like three, but it was a chasm that even the entire army might not bridge. Level-nine zombies were equivalent to level-ten evolvers among humans; and level-nine evolvers were already called ‘mythic’. What, then, should level-ten be called?

It may have sounded as if the leadership was overestimating the power of a level-nine zombie, but only those who had truly witnessed the zombie wars understood: a single level-six zombie could take on an entire five-person squad of level-seven evolvers. For every additional level-six zombie, it would take hundreds of level-six evolvers to make a dent. As for level-seven—don’t even joke. If a thousand level-six evolvers died and managed to trap one, the base would consider it a huge victory. Of course, these were only estimates, based on ordinary zombies. If they knew that, like human evolvers, zombies above level four possessed special abilities, they would be even more astounded.