Chapter 243: It’s Not Easy Being a Zombie
’Swallowing it, I can actually feel the energy that’s been sealed away inside me for so long starting to stir! It’s been ages since I’ve felt this!’
’I’ve been stuck at the Seventh Rank Peak for far too long!’
Even if it was just the slightest shift, it was enough to make him ecstatic.
’Is this energy coming from this tiny fingernail clipping? It’s incredible! I want more!’
His right eye blazed, shining as if a light bulb had been installed inside it. He excitedly grabbed Owen Warren by the shoulders. "Is there any more?! Give me some more!"
Owen Warren shrugged off his hands in annoyance. "I can barely stand to eat it myself! And you think I’m going to give you more?"
The other zombies piped up, asking, "What does it taste like?"
The one-eyed zombie said profoundly, "The taste isn’t what’s important. The important thing is that it helps you level up!"
All of them widened their eyes. Their already grayish-white pupils looked especially terrifying and unsettling when stretched so wide.
One zombie was skeptical. "For real? It has such an amazing effect? You’re not trying to trick us, are you? I don’t believe it! Not unless I get to try some!"
Owen Warren scoffed. "Believe it or not." With that, he turned to leave.
The one-eyed zombie hurriedly pulled him back. "Don’t go! Just give me a little more. I barely got a taste! Hey, hey, hey!"
He couldn’t hold Owen Warren back; in fact, he ended up being dragged along by him.
Seeing this, the other Zombie Kings called out, "Why are you grabbing him? The man wants to go home and sleep!"
The one-eyed zombie yelled frantically, "Come on, that stuff can really help you level up! How long has it been since any of you ranked up? Seriously! You’re all pathetic!"
A smirk touched Owen Warren’s lips. ’The plan is halfway complete.’
He didn’t intend to clash with them head-on, nor did he want to let Frost Shaw and the others pick them off one by one. They were all zombies, and he knew how difficult it was to reach the Seventh or Eighth Rank.
Besides, Frost Shaw and the others stood little chance against these Zombie Kings. It was better to avoid a slaughter among their own kind.
After hearing the one-eyed zombie’s outburst, the other zombies also crowded around, grabbing at Owen Warren. "Brother, let us have a taste, huh? We won’t take it for free!"
Owen Warren glanced at him. "Then what do you have to trade?"
That zombie patted himself down all over, but came up with nothing.
Owen Warren had to suppress a laugh. Usually, in a situation like this, it was difficult for a Zombie King to concentrate on controlling their minions, and nearly impossible to call for new ones.
’Just need to hold on a little longer. I have to trust Lily Hart.’
"Alright, alright. Out of the kindness of my heart, I’ll let you have a taste." Owen Warren took the opportunity to sit down.
The other zombies immediately surrounded him, afraid he’d run off again.
"Hands out. One piece per zombie." Owen Warren spoke to them as if they were schoolchildren, and they obediently fell in line.
Although a zombie’s intelligence increases the more it evolves, a First-rank Zombie is only as smart as a three-year-old child. Higher-rank ones aren’t necessarily much brighter.
Zombies like Owen Warren were a rarity.
The majority were still a bit dim, zombies who only knew how to eat people.
The Zombie Kings obediently held out their hands. Some were missing a finger, others had only a palm with no fingers at all. Each one told its own sad tale.
Owen Warren took out his small clippers as usual and did a quick calculation. ’If I divide this among five zombies...’
"Hey, not you. You just had some!" he snapped at the one-eyed zombie.
The one-eyed zombie glared at him, but it was no use.
The other zombies ate their pieces of fingernail with great anticipation. A moment later, they let out the distinctive zombie roar, "GHRROOOOARRR!"
It was a roar of excitement.
Owen Warren crossed his arms, glancing at them with an air of smug certainty. "Well? What do you feel?"
The missing-finger zombie exclaimed, "It’s real! It can really help you level up! It’s just too small, not nearly enough. If I had a big chunk of it... I’m sure I would’ve ranked up!"
’A big chunk, my ass! I had to beg Boss Hart just for this tiny piece!’
’Boss Hart’s nails grow fast, so she has to clip them every few days. When I found out, I had to beg and plead before she finally agreed to save the clippings for me.’
’She even puts them in a little bag for me. I can’t bear to eat them all at once, so I only allow myself a little bit each day.’
After they had all finished, they looked at Owen Warren with expressions of pure adoration and asked sheepishly, "Is there... any more?"
Owen Warren refused flatly, his tone laced with indignation. "It’s all gone! You think this stuff is easy to come by? I nearly died getting it, you know that?!"
"We know, we know!" the Zombie Kings chorused. Even with what little brains they had left, they could figure out that this stuff must be incredibly hard to get.
After all, a zombie’s evolution was a solo journey. Once you got stuck at a certain rank, you were stuck. But this stuff could actually help you from the outside, stimulating a breakthrough. It was just too incredible!
And way too useful!
Owen Warren spoke nonchalantly, his eyes full of contempt. "By the way, are you all gathered here making trouble just for some annual tribute? For nothing more than fresh human meat? Is that all the ambition you have?"
"Sigh, brother, it’s not easy being a zombie these days," the one-eyed zombie lamented with a sigh.
The missing-finger zombie chimed in. "Yeah, brother! Where do you get that stuff? Take us with you! We can go get it together! Then you won’t have to risk dying for it alone."
Owen Warren shook his head internally. ’No way. If I took you guys to Lily Hart, she’d beat me to death. There are only enough of her nails for me.’
He continued his deception. "The place is really far away. Besides, I don’t even know if there’s any left. Someone else might have taken it, or maybe it’s just gone for good."
They listened, stunned. "So... we’ll never get to eat it again?"
"It’s possible," Owen Warren said with a sigh, putting on a regretful expression.
’I wonder how the fight is going over there,’ he thought. ’I can’t keep talking to these guys! Maybe I should just lead them away.’
A Zombie King’s control over its minions had a limited range.
"Oh? Did the person who sent you say how far you needed to go?" Owen Warren asked tentatively.
Having tasted the fingernail clipping, the one-eyed zombie was now completely fixated on it and eager to please. "He just told me to control my minions to attack that base. Nothing else. Basically, just attack."
The others chimed in, "Yeah, he didn’t give us any other instructions."
"Oh, right. He also said there was a car outside the base, and that we should take care of the people inside it, too."
Owen Warren’s brow twitched. ’They’re talking about Lily Hart.’
He pressed on. "Did he say how long you have to keep attacking? I was thinking of taking you guys to look for more of that stuff. It’s always better to have company. But since you’re busy, I guess we can just schedule it for another time."
With that, he made a show of getting up to leave.
The one-eyed zombie instantly forgot all about the orders he’d been given. He lunged forward and threw his arms around Owen Warren. "Don’t go, don’t go! I’ll go with you!"
Owen Warren feigned reluctance. "I don’t know about that. What about your duties here? Are you just going to abandon them?"
"To hell with my duties! The others are still here anyway. Me being gone won’t make much of a difference. Let’s go, let’s go now!" The one-eyed zombie was desperate.
The feeling of that energy surging wildly through his body had been intoxicating. He couldn’t wait to experience it again—preferably long enough to break through to the Eighth Rank in one go!
The other Zombie Kings looked at each other, clearly tempted but still hesitant.
Owen Warren saw their hesitation. He grabbed the one-eyed zombie and started to walk off. "Alright then, the two of us will go look. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to reach the Ninth Rank~"