The Apocalypse 14
Tang Xi was genuinely starting to feel afraid. The way his poop scooper looked at him… it was as if he wanted to swallow him whole.
He quickly organized his thoughts and put on a pained expression. “I was just too young and naive back then.”
He was now experiencing firsthand the suffering of taking the blame for the original host’s mistakes.
Lu Mang: …
He suddenly chuckled, though it seemed more like a laugh born out of frustration.
Rubbing the back of Tang Xi’s neck once more, his voice took on a dark edge. “You see? Only I can protect you. So don’t be afraid of me… Otherwise—”
Who knows what I might do.
Tang Xi made a conscious effort not to look at the terrifying mess on the ground. Instead, he abruptly threw his arms around Lu Mang, silencing whatever he was about to say next.
In a soft voice, he whispered, “Thank you.”
Yu Chengye was dead. The original host’s grudge had finally been avenged.
Lu Mang’s expression softened, and he returned to his usual considerate self. He reached out and gently ruffled the small tuft of hair at the back of Tang Xi’s head.
The only reason he hadn’t killed Yu Chengye sooner was to avoid alerting any potential accomplices within the team—or to catch whoever was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Even though Lu Mang was humanity’s most powerful offensive ability user—hailed as the last hope of mankind—there were still plenty of higher-ups who wanted him dead.
Fools.
Now that Yu Chengye was dead, so be it. Lu Mang didn’t care. He simply took Tang Xi and returned to the group.
. . . . .
After several more days of travel, aside from a high-level zombie attack, they rarely encountered any zombies along the way.
Yet, instead of relief, a heavy tension hung over the entire team.
Because this wasn’t good news.
At least, not for humans.
It likely meant that the zombies had started following the orders of those few intelligent ones—and were gathering.
And soon enough, they found themselves face to face with a zombie horde.
A massive, unstoppable wave—stretching as far as the eye could see.
From this distance, the zombies had already sensed them.
Each and every one of them was fresh, living prey.
The horde surged forward in a frenzy.
Someone in the team shuddered in fear. Everyone’s eyes widened in sheer terror, unable to make a sound.
There were too many.
Enough to wipe out an entire base in a single day.
Yet, no one retreated.
Because Lu Mang was standing at the front.
With a serious expression, he raised his hand—
And immediately, a barrage of bombs was launched into the zombie swarm, exploding like they cost nothing.
Amid the thunderous explosions, Tang Xi shoved past everyone and stepped up beside Lu Mang.
Lu Mang’s face darkened. He roared, “Where the hell is Huang Yuanmiao?! How was he watching him?!”
Tang Xi tugged at his sleeve and shook his head. “I slipped away on my own.”
Try keeping up with a cat’s agility.
Lu Mang sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair before roughly ruffling Tang Xi’s black locks. “Stay close.”
At least zombies wouldn’t actively attack Tang Xi.
But no matter how many bombs they had, they would eventually run out and there were simply too many zombies.
Even after the smoke cleared, their numbers remained overwhelming.
The team had set up an ambush in advance. Ice and earth ability users had constructed a high vantage point—giving them the advantage.
The ability users only needed to launch their attacks downward.
Lu Mang clenched his jaw, his gaze fixed on the zombies behaving strangely within the horde.
At first, the theory had been that a few zombies had mutated to develop intelligence.
But as he watched them move in eerie synchronization—yet still oddly discordant—he discarded that idea entirely.
A much more absurd thought crossed his mind.
Only one zombie had developed intelligence.
But that one zombie had command over all the others.
The Zombie King.
Without warning, Lu Mang grabbed Tang Xi and kissed him.
His voice took on a cocky, bandit-like edge as he grinned. “Stay put. I’ll be right back.”
Tang Xi could only catch the corner of his sleeve as he lunged forward.
He watched, wide-eyed, as his poop scooper leapt straight into the zombie horde.
Someone screamed.
Shouts and zombie growls clashed, creating a chaotic, ear-piercing symphony of war.
Tang Xi’s first instinct was to chase after him.
He bit down on his own lip, hard enough to draw blood, forcing himself to stay put.
From where he stood, he could see Lu Mang moving with terrifying precision—cutting through the horde with purpose.
He wasn’t fighting aimlessly.
He had a target.
Various abilities erupted around him, each one different—yet all infused with an eerie black energy.
Even the metallic blades conjured by him were tainted with that strange black aura.
Someone gasped. “H-he… Just how many abilities does Captain Lu have?!”
To the people back at the base, Lu Mang was known to have only fire and ice abilities.
Tang Xi suddenly understood.
[1551… The poop scooper’s ability is actually mimicry, isn’t it?]
Or rather—disguise.
1551: [Correct.]
Fire, ice, metal—it was all a lie.
Lu Mang’s true ability was that black energy.
And it could mimic any offensive ability.
For example, a normal fire user could conjure flames.
Lu Mang’s fire wasn’t real fire at all.
It was black energy—merely imitating the appearance and heat of flames.
By the same logic, support type abilities like spatial and healing powers couldn’t be mimicked by altering the nature of the black energy. That’s why he only copied offensive type abilities.
No wonder the system had said back then that Lu Mang’s ability was similar to devour.
It was indeed an overpowered cheat.
As Lu Mang slaughtered zombies, the black energy protected him. He didn’t care that his body was drenched in their rancid blood—he just kept pushing forward through wave after wave of undead, heading straight for the Zombie King.
Sensing a human approaching, the Zombie King suddenly tilted its head back and let out an eerie sound.
A towering three-meter-tall zombie abruptly emerged. It had been crouching among the horde, but now that it stood up, its massive form became apparent. Rather than a single entity, it looked more like multiple corpses fused together.
Several human faces were embedded in its torso, each howling in a different direction.
Its limbs were thicker than a person’s waist. It grabbed a zombie and hurled it straight at Lu Mang.
Lu Mang braced his hands against the ground, rolling twice to dodge.
Tang Xi’s heart clenched. [He’s hurt, isn’t he, 1551?]
Amidst the sea of zombies, a deep gash marred Lu Mang’s thigh, torn open by something sharp.
The scent of blood agitated the zombies, drawing even more toward him.
Lightning crackled down from the sky, enveloping Lu Mang entirely.
The stench of charred, rotting flesh filled the air.
Frustrated, he gathered a sharp ice arrow and launched it straight at the Zombie King, who was hiding within the horde.
For all its intelligence, the Zombie King wasn’t quite smart enough.
Up until now, Lu Mang had deliberately avoided using ice abilities, so the Zombie King had no idea that his “ice power” was fundamentally different from that of an ordinary ability user. Lu Mang’s ice wasn’t just ice—it was black energy in disguise. It could change direction.
The Zombie King dodged the arrow, straightening up and letting out another roar—only for the sound to cut off abruptly.
The ice arrow had curved back, piercing straight through its brain.
Foul-smelling fluid oozed from the wound. The once-dominant ruler of the horde collapsed instantly, and the surrounding zombies slowed in unison.
The ability users seized the opportunity, unleashing their powers without restraint.
Cheers erupted among them.
“Captain Lu won!”
“Captain Lu! You’re humanity’s hope!”
They didn’t know exactly what had happened. They only saw Lu Mang dive into the horde and unleash chaos, and then, suddenly, the zombies weakened.
A battle that had once seemed unwinnable had turned in their favor.
Tang Xi struggled onto his tiptoes, finally catching sight of the tall, unwavering figure.
He knew Lu Mang had succeeded.
Even through the distance, with hordes of zombies between them, Lu Mang still sensed that gaze—pure joy mixed with deep concern.
He turned toward Tang Xi and smiled.
But the moment his eyes landed on the person standing behind Tang Xi, his expression twisted in horror.
[Host, behind you!] 1551 warned urgently.
Tang Xi barely had time to turn his head before a sharp pain struck the back of his neck. Darkness swallowed him whole.
The last thing he saw was Jiang Wenshu’s expressionless face.
. . . . .
[Beep beep beep, rescue value is rapidly declining. Tasker, please take appropriate measures.]
[Beep beep beep.]
The cold, monotonous system alert continued until it finally woke up Tang Xi completely.
1551 cautiously asked: [Host, are you okay?]
There was no pain at the back of his neck anymore—the healing ability had already repaired the damage.
Tang Xi’s eyes suddenly widened, and without warning, a single tear slipped down his face.
He didn’t understand why he felt like crying, so he curled into a ball and asked, [1551, where’s the poop scooper?]
1551 didn’t answer.
Tang Xi panicked and called out, “Where’s Lu Mang?!”
Looking around, he realized he was in a temporary shelter. Outside, he could hear the sounds of people arguing.
Perhaps someone had overheard him, because Chen Yao pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Tang Xi looked up at her in a daze.
Her eyes were swollen—like she had just cried a lot.
Why couldn’t he understand what she was saying?
Hadn’t Lu Mang already defeated the Zombie King? Then why… why was he dead?
Chen Yao’s nose tingled with emotion as she looked at Tang Xi. She gently pulled him into a hug. “Don’t cry, don’t cry…”
But in reality, she was crying even harder.
Huang Yuanmiao entered the room as well. He looked like he had just been arguing with someone, his eyes still carrying suppressed anger.
But when he looked at Tang Xi, the sadness in his gaze was unmistakable.
Suddenly, Tang Xi seemed like a completely different person—calm and composed. He reached out and gently pushed Chen Yao away, then said slowly, “I want to be alone for a while.”
Chen Yao opened her mouth as if to say something but ultimately left without a word.
Huang Yuanmiao also left, leaving Tang Xi alone in the room.
He was unnervingly calm. [System, show me the playback.]
1551 hesitated. [Are you sure you’re okay?]
Tang Xi blinked. [Of course I’m fine. I haven’t been forcibly kicked out of this world yet, which means the poop scooper is still alive, right?]
But the trembling of his fingers betrayed him.
With a sigh, 1551 played the footage.
The playback was from an omniscient perspective, clearly showing how Jiang Wenshu had appeared behind Tang Xi and launched an attack. It also showed how Lu Mang, thrown into disarray, had been fatally impaled through the heart by the not-yet-dead Zombie King.
A sharp pain stabbed through Tang Xi’s heart.
[Jiang Wenshu… why did he do this?]
Fury surged through him as he clenched his fists, itching to confront Jiang Wenshu immediately.
But the battlefield had been too chaotic. Everyone’s attention had been on Lu Mang, surrounded by the zombie horde.
No one had noticed Jiang Wenshu knocking Tang Xi unconscious. They had simply assumed he had fainted from witnessing his lover’s brutal death.
1551 sighed.
[He was sent by the base.]
The butterfly effect had completely distorted the original plot. Even 1551 hadn’t been aware of this development until after Tang Xi had lost consciousness.
The original protagonist shou had always been written as an emotionless character. In the original storyline, his love for the male lead wasn’t genuine at first—it was only later that he was truly moved.
Actually, even 1551 didn’t understand why Jiang Wenshu had only knocked Tang Xi unconscious. Maybe even Jiang Wenshu himself didn’t know why he had hesitated when he saw those innocent cat-like eyes turn toward him, abandoning his intent to kill.
At that moment, everything had been in his favor—he could have easily silenced Tang Xi. Lu Mang would have still gone berserk and gotten himself killed in the process.
Jiang Wenshu was a smart man. He had used Lu Mang’s love for Tang Xi, calculating just how much he cared.
And he had kept his cool, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Right now, Tang Xi didn’t even have the standing to confront Jiang Wenshu directly.
[The poop scooper isn’t dead. I’m going to find him.]
1551 hesitated. [But he’s already…]
A normal person couldn’t possibly survive after being pierced through the heart.
Tang Xi was firm. [I’m going to find him.]
He emptied most of his stored supplies, leaving a note behind for Chen Yao and the others.
In their eyes, Lu Mang was already dead. Judging by their actions, they had even given up on retrieving his body and were preparing to return to the base. The group had already moved some distance away from the battlefield.
The argument outside earlier had probably been about this.
If Tang Xi suddenly claimed that Lu Mang was still alive and that he was going to look for him, they would surely think he had lost his mind.
So he chose to leave on his own—especially with Jiang Wenshu, that cunning schemer, still lurking nearby.
Jiang Wenshu was the Child of Fate. His abilities were definitely formidable.
Tang Xi wasn’t ready to face him head-on.
He placed the note somewhere obvious, then transformed into his cat form.
“Meow.”
Letting out a small cry, the tiny golden British Shorthair, no bigger than a palm, struggled to climb out the window with the system’s help.
His fluffy tail flicked once before he scurried away without looking back.
On the other side of the city—
The newly awakened Zombie King slowly opened his pitch-black eyes.
Beneath him, tens of thousands of zombies prostrated themselves in devotion.
Their frenzied, reverent growls filled the air.
Pledging their undying loyalty to their new ruler.
Ooohh I can imagine the zombie king and his kitty wife! I did not expect even the protagonist shou is a bad guy just like the gong. Can’t wait for their comeuppance!