Chapter 421: SOS From The Dragon Group (2)

"What’s going on?" Li Xiaofei was a bit bewildered.

The entire Corpse Whisper Plains had descended into chaos out of nowhere. He casually smashed the head of a grade five zombie, dug out its star core, and continued forward.

He hadn’t expected zombies to be categorized among star beasts. Five hundred years ago, zombies were depicted in movies as man-made creatures. Now, they had become a class of star beasts that posed a threat to humanity.

Could there be some connection?

Li Xiaofei continued to hunt high-grade zombies in the spirit of scientific curiosity. Indeed, beyond the humanoid zombies, he encountered animal zombies and even the infamous Crawlers. Many of these zombies looked exactly like those from old movies.

Surely, that isn’t a coincidence?

Li Xiaofei fearlessly advanced through the corpse tide. Wielding the Six Meridian Divine Sword technique, he unleashed waves of sword qi, felling zombies like a harvester mowing down wheat.

Suddenly, he heard a scream ahead. It was a woman’s voice that sounded somewhat familiar. Li Xiaofei’s heart skipped, and he quickly employed his movement techniques to rush forward.

He arrived to see a young woman in a White Deer Academy blue robe, trapped on the roof of an abandoned gas station that had been in ruins for hundreds of years. She was battling a horde of zombies that were swarming her.

Her body bore several injuries and she was clearly struggling to hold on. A lizard-like zombie had clamped its jaws around her left shoulder, violently shaking her. She was about to be overwhelmed by the oncoming wave of zombies...

Li Xiaofei raised his hand and pointed.

Whizz, whizz, whizz.

His sword qi sliced through the air. The zombies surrounding the woman fell one by one like wheat under a sickle, their heads rolling across the ground, every last one decapitated. The zombie lizard was also cut in two. In an instant, the area was cleared.

***

Lin Wan was desperately swinging her sword on the roof of the gas station. Her technique had only grown more erratic as she fought through her wounds. She had resigned herself to her fate, hoping only to take down a few more zombies before her body was torn apart.

But suddenly, the sound of zombies roaring around her vanished. She blinked and suddenly, she was surrounded by the corpses of fallen zombies. In the blink of an eye, all the zombies that had been besieging her had been decapitated.

What happened?

Confused, she scanned her surroundings. The red dust storm obscured her vision, preventing her from seeing far. But she couldn’t see anyone. A wave of exhaustion washed over her. She collapsed weakly onto the rooftop of the gas station as her vision darkened.

Looking down, she saw deep bite marks on her neck, left chest, and right thigh. The wounds had reached to the bone. When she saw them, Lin Wan felt a crushing sense of despair. The corpse poison had entered her body.

It’s over.

As a human warrior, Lin Wan had always known there was a chance she might die fighting star beasts. That was the fate of many human warriors. She accepted the idea of dying heroically for humanity.

But she never imagined it would come so quietly and unexpectedly like this. She didn’t know she would die like this, with no one knowing. She slowly collapsed onto the rooftop, gazing up at the sky. But then..

A pair of eyes appeared in front of her. They were clear and bright, like the brightest stars shining in the dark night. A tall, broad-shouldered figure was standing beside her, his face obscured by a strange mask that hid most of his features. She hadn’t even noticed his arrival. Startled, Lin Wan struggled to sit up.

“Don’t move.” A deep, magnetic voice came from beneath the mask. The tall figure knelt beside her, placing a hand on her neck. “The corpse poison has penetrated too deep. We need to remove it quickly.”

Lin Wan wasn’t foolish. When a strange, cooling sensation spread from the wound on her neck, replacing the intense burning of the corpse poison, she immediately understood.

“Did you save me just now?” She couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes.” The masked man replied calmly.

Lin Wan said, “Thank you. My wounds...”

The masked man said, “They can be healed.”

A wave of joy surged through Lin Wan. If one could live, who would choose to die?

“Senior, may I ask who you are...?” She ventured to ask.

“Just passing by.” The masked man kept his words brief.

He withdrew his hand from Lin Wan’s neck and, without hesitation, placed it on her left chest, pressing firmly on the wounded area.

“Ah...” Lin Wan instinctively let out a soft gasp.

It was the first time such a sensitive area had been fully touched by a man, a stranger, no less. She felt a surge of indescribable emotion. But she forced herself to stay still, suppressing her body’s reflexive urge to pull away. She knew he was trying to save her.

A cool energy spread from the masked man’s palm, radiating through her chest, and the sharp pain from the corpse poison invasion gradually subsided. He removed his hand, and Lin Wan exhaled in relief.

But in the next moment, his hand reached through her torn robe and pressed down on the wound on her inner thigh. Her face flushed as she bit her lip, remaining silent. Just then, shadows flickered through the distant sandstorm. Several grade five zombies burst from the dust, lunging aggressively toward them.

“Watch out!” Lin Wan’s eyes widened in alarm as she called out.

Without turning, the masked man flicked his left hand.

Whizz, whizz, whizz.

The force from his fingers shot through the air like sharp weapons. The heads of the approaching grade five zombies exploded midair as if they were mere birds caught in the wind.

It was a Finger Flick Technique! A mist of dark-red blood lingered in the air. Several bright star cores shot out from the shattered skulls of the grade five zombies, scattering into the air. The masked man spread the fingers of his left hand and contracted them. An invisible force immediately pulled all five star cores, flying in different directions, directly into his hand.

The entire maneuver was seamless and impressively graceful. Lin Wan watched, feeling a shiver run down her spine. What level of strength was this to instantly annihilate several grade five zombies? This masked man’s cultivation was unfathomable!

“All done.” The masked man withdrew his right hand.

“Huh? Oh.” Lin Wan snapped back to reality.

When she examined her injuries again, she found that the piercing pain from the three wounds had completely vanished, and the corpse poison had been fully purged.

“Take this.” The masked man extended his palm, offering her a pale green pill.

The pill was as clear as jade, emitting a faint herbal aroma.

"What is this?" Lin Wan asked.

The masked man replied, “It’s a Detoxifying and Vitality-Replenishing Pill. It will help cleanse any lingering poison from your blood, restore your strength, and replenish your inner qi. If you don’t trust it, you don’t have to take it.”

“I wouldn’t dare doubt you, Senior.”

Lin Wan quickly took the pill, her lips parting slightly as she swallowed it. Immediately, a cool, tingling sensation burst in her mouth, spreading down her throat to her stomach, and finally circulating through her entire body.

Her strength returned in an instant. All discomfort vanished, and she felt herself restored to peak condition.

“Thank you, Senior,” Lin Wan expressed her gratitude again.

The masked man said nothing, his gaze shifting toward the sandstorm in the east. Lin Wan noticed his expression and felt a trace of confusion.

Just then, the distant sound of zombies’ guttural growls came through the dust and wind. Moments later, a vast horde of zombies surged through the sandstorm like a dark tide. Their numbers were seemingly endless.

“This is bad,” Lin Wan gasped in horror.

A corpse tide of this scale was far beyond anything humans could withstand.