The Apocalypse 11
Tang Xi opened his mouth several times but couldn’t find the words. He heard his own voice trembling.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to deceive you.”
He lowered his eyes, as if awaiting judgment.
That report was never supposed to be in his backpack.
Anyone with a sharp eye would immediately recognize who he was just from the information listed inside.
His mistake wasn’t just lying to his teammates—it was knowing full well that their mission to infiltrate that zombie-infested base was futile, yet still lacking the courage to tell the truth.
Tang Xi had already braced himself to be resented, but Lu Mang’s reaction was completely unexpected.
Lu Mang raised an eyebrow slightly. “Why are you apologizing?”
Tang Xi stared at him blankly. “Because I lied.”
Lu Mang let out a low chuckle, casually setting the precious report aside. Then, he reached out, grabbed Tang Xi’s waist, and pulled him onto his lap.
When he first saw the report, he felt many things—understanding, heartache, a mix of emotions—but surprise was not one of them.
He had realized from the very first day that zombies didn’t attack Tang Xi. And he had known since that moment in the research facility that Tang Xi’s familiarity with the place was far too natural.
Probably, the only one who naively believed he had hidden it well was Tang Xi himself.
He thought that as long as he obediently stayed by Lu Mang’s side, no one would notice the ways he was different from ordinary people.
Originally, Lu Mang had wanted to wait for him to confess on his own. If Tang Xi hadn’t woken up just now, he would have simply put the research report back. He wasn’t ready to expose his obsession so soon.
But since he had already been exposed, he could only brush past it for now.
“You did the right thing. It’s good to be cautious around others,” he murmured, rubbing his nose against Tang Xi’s cheek.
Warm breath brushed against his skin, and Tang Xi’s face turned red. His train of thought had been completely derailed.
He no longer had the energy to question why Lu Mang had entered his room in the middle of the night or why he was on his bed. His full attention was being led by Lu Mang, step by step.
Trembling slightly, he shrank into Lu Mang’s embrace.
Lu Mang coaxed him gently, “You don’t have to be afraid anymore. From now on, you don’t have to guard yourself against me.”
“You trust me, don’t you? Hmm?” His voice deepened, eager to hear the answer he wanted.
His palm roamed across Tang Xi’s smooth skin, just like every night he tormented him.
Only this time, the one being tormented was fully awake—or perhaps, not entirely lucid.
Dazed, Tang Xi nodded. “I trust you.”
Lately, he had been tormented too much in his dreams, bullied too much. The more he resisted the monster in his nightmares, the more ferocious it became.
Now, being held like this, the difference in size completely engulfed him, just like in his dreams when the monster pinned him down and tormented him. He couldn’t tell if this was reality or just another nightmare.
His eyes turned red, afraid to resist, looking utterly bullied.
And in this state, Lu Mang both tormented and coaxed him, luring out every truth from his past.
Still in a daze, Tang Xi spilled everything.
Even the truth about who had betrayed the original character.
Lu Mang’s face was hidden in the darkness, his expression unreadable.
Tang Xi tilted his head up, wanting to see his expression.
But the moment he did, Lu Mang covered his eyes.
Lu Mang’s voice softened. “Don’t look. Just sleep.”
His curled eyelashes brushed against Lu Mang’s palm.
If Tang Xi had been able to push his hand away, he would have seen the vicious, murderous expression on Lu Mang’s face.
Rage surged in his eyes.
Lu Mang didn’t want Tang Xi to see him like this—his face twisted with violence and fury. So, he kept his hand there, covering his eyes, until the person in his arms finally drifted off to sleep.
The room was filled with swirling black mist, a manifestation of its owner’s anger.
1551 trembled in fear, shrinking into the shielding zone, too afraid to make a sound.
. . . . .
The next day, as Tang Xi walked through the streets, he noticed something had changed. People’s expressions were now filled with panic.
He went to see Xue Shuirong and Xiao Jian, who were working for the base.
When Xiao Jian saw him, he excitedly jumped up and ran over to grab his hand.
Xue Shuirong quickly stood up. “You’re here! I’ve prepared enough water for the team to last a month.”
With a small movement of his fingers, Tang Xi stored away the massive water barrels, each taller than a person.
Then, out of nowhere, Huang Ziyu appeared.
With an inexplicable familiarity in his tone, he approached with a smirk. “So, you really are a high-tier spatial ability user.”
Tang Xi was startled, immediately becoming wary.
He never liked this protagonist gong.
So, he hesitantly raised his hand. “I don’t know what happened.”
Chen Yao looked over in surprise and spoke disapprovingly. “Boss, you didn’t tell him what happened this morning?”
Lu Mang: “No.”
He reached out and intertwined his fingers with Tang Xi’s, his posture possessive and casual.
From the start, he had never planned to let the young man know about such dark matters.
But now, he had been dragged into it anyway.
Yi Feng pushed up his glasses with a frown. “Captain, you can’t protect him forever.”
He could see what Lu Mang was thinking and couldn’t help but remind him.
Lu Mang replied in a deep voice, “I can.”
Normally, he would have been irritated by this point, but now, holding the soft and warm Tang Xi in his arms, he felt unusually calm.
The frustration from dealing with the base’s higher-ups earlier had completely dissipated.
Tang Xi asked, “So… what exactly happened?”
Chen Yao organized her thoughts before explaining, “This morning, our base received devastating news. At 4 AM, the He Mei Base—the closest one to us—was overwhelmed by a zombie horde. It didn’t hold out and has been declared de
Huang Yuanmiao added, “Zombie waves are becoming more frequent.”
They were starting to gather at an accelerated rate.
“Our researchers believe that the zombies have undergone individual mutations. These changes aren’t just physical or behavioral; they involve cognitive evolution as well.” Huang Yuanmiao tapped his temple.
Tang Xi’s heart skipped a beat. The thought of zombies developing intelligence was terrifying.
And now, just hearing the words “base researchers” instinctively filled him with dread.
Lu Mang patted his hand reassuringly. He had spent a long time comforting Tang Xi last night, whispering reassurances until he finally lowered his guard and trusted that Lu Mang wouldn’t turn him over to the base’s research lab.
Tang Xi rubbed against him lightly, signaling that he wasn’t afraid.
In reality, if his body truly held the key to closing the Pandora’s box of the apocalypse, he and his original host wouldn’t mind cooperating with human research efforts—so long as it didn’t violate human rights.
But 1551 had made it clear: even if the original host was fully studied, humanity still wouldn’t find a way to resist the virus.
Because this wasn’t just a simple virus mutation—it was a pivotal moment in the world’s evolution.
Humans were the only ones turning into zombies, but everything else in the world was advancing. Zombies were merely the result of a failed evolution.
This was the world’s predetermined trajectory. That’s why, despite the original host’s special physique, he was never destined to be the “chosen one”—just another disposable pawn. His existence was ultimately meaningless.
Tang Xi: [1551, what happens if humanity fails to evolve?]
1551: [A new intelligent species will emerge. Maybe beastmen, maybe merfolk from the sea. Humanity will simply become a relic of the past, just like dinosaurs once were.]
In the original story, after the protagonists got together, there was no further explanation—so he had no idea what the world’s ultimate fate would be.
1551: [You are just a passerby in this world.]
At this moment, 1551 finally displayed a hint of the cold indifference that was inherent to all systems.
Lu Mang stated, “It’s just individual mutations. We find them and kill them.”
His words sounded arrogant, but no one questioned them—because that was simply the way things were.
Huang Yuanmiao cracked his knuckles. “I’m actually curious to see what a zombie with intelligence looks like.”
Xue Shuirong looked at the group and let out a bitter laugh. “Looks like I was worried for nothing.”
She then shared everything she had overheard today.
The base had essentially decided to dispatch an elite force to eliminate the intelligent zombies.
However, the personnel for the operation had yet to be finalized.
Lu Mang nodded. “The higher-ups are clueless. They still want to bury their heads in the sand, but when the zombie horde arrives, none of them will escape.”
Beneath his calm tone lurked a storm of suppressed rage.
He briefly summarized the meeting’s discussions and the factions involved. These explanations were mainly for Chen Yao and the others—Lu Mang knew exactly what they wanted to hear.
Sure enough, the moment they heard about the meeting, they started cursing.
Huang Yuanmiao scoffed. “I hate those people who sit back and do nothing like it’s none of their business. If it weren’t for Boss supporting him back then, that so-called leader wouldn’t even be in power.”
Who would’ve thought that after taking office, he’d become so obsessed with self-preservation? He managed the base well, but when it came to dealing with zombies and mutant beasts, all he did was shout empty slogans.
1551: [Your poop scooper attended the meeting today just for this matter. His main argument was that the intelligent zombies must be eradicated in advance—they can’t be allowed to grow stronger.]
Tang Xi: [So, will he be leading the team?]
1551 paused for a moment to process. [Probably not. Given his current status in the base, he can just oversee things from behind the scenes. There’s no need for him to step into danger personally.]
But on the day before departure, they discovered that things had taken a completely different turn from what 1551 had predicted.
Not only was Lu Mang leading the operation—he was at the very front lines.
Right before they set out, Tang Xi and Lu Mang had a heated argument.
Well, more accurately, Tang Xi was the only one who was angry.
Lu Mang just wanted him to stay behind at the base.
But in the end, Tang Xi still managed to tag along. He didn’t run to the front lines—just hid quietly at the rear of the elite ability-user battalion, sneaking along in secret.
He listened intently to the conversation between two ability users ahead of him.
None of them knew they were potentially up against intelligent zombies. They thought they were just dealing with a regular horde.
The two ability users in front happened to be Lu Mang’s followers, eagerly praising how powerful he was.
Tang Xi was enjoying the discussion when suddenly, another voice joined in—arrogant, condescending, and forcing its way into the conversation.
The moment Tang Xi heard that voice, his whole body started trembling uncontrollably.
He came to an abrupt halt, his eyes widening in disbelief as he turned toward the source of the voice.
[1551! That person… weren’t they already dead!?]
A deep, primal fear from the original host’s memories sent violent tremors through Tang Xi’s body. The scent of blood-soaked recollections flooded his mind, drowning out reality.
His vision blurred, his hearing distorted—he was no longer in the present. The past had consumed him whole.
Until—
A hand patted his shoulder.
The familiar scent and voice instantly pulled him out of his torment.
Lu Mang’s voice was low and steady. “What’s wrong?”
Author’s note:
The clueless little kitten got tricked again—its poop scooper sneaked in at midnight to mess with it, and now the poor thing is having nightmares.
Same thing here also and then it fixes itself in the later parts of the chapter. For some reason, there’s parts where text are bolded and cut off only for the chapter to repeat itself and it’s fixed T^T
Fixed too! ❤️
I think I edited this and previous chapter while half asleep 🤣