Chapter 238: The Corpse Tide is Coming
The crowd of gawking customers finally erupted into the first real roar of laughter of the day.
Frank O’Malley grew frantic. "What are you laughing at?! What’s so funny?!"
He was so furious his eyebrows were practically flying off his face, but he forced himself not to lash out.
These people weren’t Lily Hart; they couldn’t take a hit. A single fireball the size of a fingernail from him...
...and a whole swath of them would die.
"Get up! Get the hell up!" Frank O’Malley shoved the person off him and scrambled to his feet, dusting himself off.
Even from this distance, he could practically hear Lily Hart’s mocking laughter. It was like a demonic curse, echoing in his head, impossible to shake.
Frank O’Malley fled in disgrace.
What he didn’t expect was that someone had filmed the entire thing and posted it on the Human Social Sphere.
The people of Cathaya just love their drama.
Frank O’Malley sped back to the old family estate, planning to rest for a bit before getting his big brother to help him get even.
But as soon as he stepped through the courtyard gate, a fireball came flying at him, and he dodged on instinct.
More fireballs shot toward him one after another, like a torrential rain. Frank O’Malley had no time to think; he could only dodge.
Still, his hair and clothes got singed. Just as he managed to evade the last one, a furious roar echoed out.
"Are you trying to completely disgrace The Mysterious Clan?!"
Upon hearing that voice, Frank O’Malley instinctively dropped to his knees with a THUD, head bowed, not daring to look up.
"See for yourself!"
Frank O’Malley cautiously raised his head. A screen appeared before him, showing the scene in front of the lottery shop.
It was the video of the human domino chain, with him crushed at the very bottom. Frank O’Malley couldn’t bear to watch.
’How could I be so pathetic?’
But the video wasn’t over; it kept playing.
"I’m Frank O’Malley! Ever hear of The Mysterious Clan? The O’Malley Family is the most ancient of them all!"
The incredibly arrogant words and tone, paired with Frank O’Malley’s fearless, devil-may-care attitude...
...were so potent they practically leaped through the screen to slap him in the face. He suddenly felt a surge of shame and anger.
’Who the hell filmed this stupid video?!’
"Watch! Don’t look away! See how you’ve completely disgraced the O’Malley Family!"
Frank O’Malley had no choice but to focus on the screen. The line "I’m Frank O’Malley" had been turned into a memetic soundbite.
It was played over the clip of the people falling down; every time a person fell, the phrase was repeated.
"..." Frank O’Malley’s face was beet red.
The video was neither long nor short, but it managed to include every single one of his embarrassing moments from the day, leaving nothing out.
It even had the clip of Lily Hart shoving the cap into his mouth. ’Oh, god,’ Frank O’Malley thought, unable to watch any longer.
And yet, the elder relentlessly forced him to watch.
After being forced to watch it a full five times, the agonizing torture was finally over.
Frank O’Malley’s knees were aching. Just as he was about to get up, the elder’s furious bellow came. "Stay on your knees! Who said you could get up?!"
Another elder roared, "And you were planning to ask Ash to help you get even? Don’t even think about it! You’re not going anywhere!"
Frank O’Malley didn’t dare make a peep. When the elders spoke, it wasn’t his place to interrupt.
The O’Malley Family had extremely strict rules; tarnishing the family’s reputation was absolutely forbidden.
This time, he had really screwed up big time.
’This is all Cheryl Rivers’ fault, telling me to get revenge. If I’d known this would happen, I never would have gone!’
Kneeling on the cold floor, Frank O’Malley cursed Cheryl Rivers from head to toe in his mind.
Then he cursed out the men he had brought with him that afternoon. Finally, he started cursing Lily Hart.
But after a moment’s thought, he realized there was nothing to blame Lily Hart for. She was just defending herself normally.
Frank O’Malley’s knees grew tired, and he wanted to get up, but the men guarding him on behalf of the Fourth Elder were watching him intently.
So, he gave up...
...
"AHAHAHAHAHA—" Inside the lottery shop, Lily Hart let out a huge burst of laughter.
’What kind of genius made a video this hilarious and perfectly on point?’
’If I ever find out who it was, I have to give them a huge reward.’ Lily Hart dragged the progress bar back to the beginning and watched it again.
She had no idea that Frank O’Malley was currently suffering because of this very video.
...
「In the bamboo forest.」
Rose Rhodes’s fingers twitched. Oak noticed immediately and said in delighted surprise, "She’s waking up! She’s waking up!"
At one point, Rose Rhodes’s breathing had grown so faint that the two of them thought she wasn’t going to make it...
But somehow, she had pulled through, and after only taking a single pill.
Rose Rhodes slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a canopy of verdant bamboo leaves as voices grew louder in her ears.
"Rose? Rose?" Leafy whispered.
The men in black were still standing guard nearby, so the two of them hadn’t dared to move her, afraid of worsening her injuries.
"Leaf... Leafy." Rose Rhodes turned her head slightly. Seeing their faces, she felt a sense of relief.
"I’m here!" Leafy cried tears of joy, gripping Rose Rhodes’s hand. It was cold.
The wounds on her body were no longer bleeding, but her internal injuries would still take a long time to heal.
"Back... to base," Rose Rhodes said, forcing herself to stay conscious. After saying this, she passed out again.
Oak pulled a stretcher out of his dimensional space, and he and Leafy carefully lifted Rose Rhodes onto it.
The men in black didn’t stop them. The Family Head had only said they couldn’t give her medicine; he never said she couldn’t be moved.
’Wait a minute. How am I supposed to know if they give her medicine once she’s back at her base?’
The man in black was just about to speak when he saw the two of them had already carried Rose Rhodes a good distance away.
’Forget it. Better to leave some goodwill.’
...
「At the lottery shop.」
Everyone gathered for dinner. Roman Rowe said excitedly, "Seeing that punk get what was coming to him this afternoon almost made me die laughing!"
When Frank O’Malley had shown up, Frost Shaw and Roman Rowe had watched the whole thing from the convenience store. But knowing Boss Hart didn’t need any help, they hadn’t stepped in.
Instead, they had filmed it. Roman Rowe posted the video online, but he never expected someone would give it a second edit.
It had become the talk of the town among the survivors of Central Command.
’Finally did a good deed,’ he thought.
"I gotta say, that guy is too dumb. He’s nothing like someone from The Mysterious Clan," Lily Hart said, smiling at the memory.
He completely shattered her stereotype of The Mysterious Clan.
She had assumed they were all shrewd, formidable people with ulterior motives, who only thought about causing trouble.
She never expected a refreshing current of pure, unadulterated idiocy to exist among them.
Suddenly, they didn’t feel so... mysterious anymore.
After dinner, everyone stood or sat around chatting for a while. Suddenly, an alarm blared from the System in Lily Hart’s mind.
[A massive zombie horde is approaching.]
[A massive zombie horde is approaching.]
[A massive zombie horde is approaching.]
Lily Hart shot to her feet. Everyone turned to look at her, asking, "What’s wrong?"
She said bluntly, "Zombie horde." She trusted the System wouldn’t be wrong about something like this.
"A zombie horde?" the others said in surprise, choosing to believe her without hesitation.
Leo Colby looked down and tapped on his Light Brain. "The hotel’s main gate is already closed. The guests can’t get out. With the Protective Shield, it won’t be a problem."
Frost Shaw and Seth also swiped a few times on their Light Brains, closing the doors and evacuating the remaining customers.
Nowadays, every building under Lily Hart’s name was equipped with a Protective Shield, so there was no need to worry about attacks.
However... Central Command.
Lily Hart sent a message to Elder Shaw, Yael Lowell, and Logan Holland, including the specific time the zombie horde would arrive.
This was also information from the System, which could detect large-scale zombie gatherings and track their movements.