19 Zombie Experience Cards 19

If time could rewind to ten minutes earlier, Cai Gang and his companions would never have chosen to raid that wooden warehouse.

They had been pursuing Zhao Su and Zhen Qian, observing for two whole days, convinced they had uncovered a key clue. Believing they were at a safe distance, they dared to open that particular wooden warehouse.

At the moment of making that decision, their minds were filled with thoughts of treasures that could make them overnight millionaires.

Even if the bow inside turned out worthless, they believed they would suffer no harm.

At least, that was their mindset ten minutes ago.

But ten minutes later, events spiraled far beyond their imagination.

The first to appear were the tendrils of the creeping ivy.

Like living creatures, the ivy tendrils sealed off all their escape routes; there was no way for anyone to flee.

Then came the frenzied red-eyed rabbits, quickly rooting themselves around along with the cockleburs.

Something lurked in the shadows, and their companions died silently one by one.

Every so often, the pervasive sound of meowing echoed, somehow “stimulating” the plants and animals.

It wasn’t just the rushing flora and fauna; Cai Gang and the others felt their minds being affected as well.

Each time the cat’s cry sounded, their brains ached as if pricked by needles.

Under this relentless assault, Cai Gang and his group were utterly powerless.

In his ears, Cai Gang could only hear the sickening sounds of his comrades being pierced, accompanied by brief, terrified screams.

He tried to curl up in a corner behind obstacles, hoping these mad monsters wouldn’t notice him.

At first, his strategy seemed to work.

Until all his companions fell silent, and the ivy tendrils, which had been blocking out the light, withdrew.

A clear sound of footsteps echoed on the rubble.

—The building that Cai Gang and his group had occupied had collapsed halfway due to the earlier destruction.

The remaining half was entirely held up by the ivy tendrils.

It was then that Tian Yi descended.

The ivy tendrils still anxiously coiled around Tian Yi’s hair and clothes.

From the restlessness of the surrounding tendrils, it was clear that killing the threat was far more to their liking than just hiding Tian Yi away.

Cai Gang’s survival was thanks to Tian Yi.

Tian Yi had called for a halt just in time.

The very spot where Tian Yi stood was clearly outside the ivy’s territory.

Due to the battle’s noise, many ordinary zombies attracted by the sounds had died, but a large number still gathered at the base of the building.

Nearby higher-level zombies had quietly hidden and watched cautiously.

Beyond this point, aside from the mindless ordinary zombies, no one dared venture further.

The ivy now commanded such fear that no one dared act rashly.

It was truly capable of indiscriminate slaughter—

As long as it sensed any threat to Tian Yi.

Not just the ivy, but also the little ginger cat, Nainai, and the rabbits.

Tian Yi gently patted the ivy tendrils crawling on him, took in his surroundings, and casually counted the dead.

Including bodies buried beneath the collapsed building, there were more than twenty victims, leaving only one man trembling under a table, clutching his head.

With his increasingly sensitive sense of breath, Tian Yi could confirm that this was the last surviving human attacker.

He sighed softly, a trace of regret in his voice.

Tian Yi scooped up the little ginger cat, whose fur was still bristling, scratching at the scattered rubble with its claws.

After several strokes on the cat’s head, its fierce eyes gradually softened.

It nestled close to Tian Yi’s body, letting out whimpers of fear and grievance.

Despite having decimated those who attacked, the frightened little ginger cat still hadn’t fully recovered.

Tian Yi tenderly stroked the cat’s head twice more, watching its fur settle, before turning toward the trembling Cai Gang.

The sound of footsteps on the rubble was now strikingly clear.

Every time Tian Yi took a step forward, Cai Gang visibly trembled under the table.

The fear of the approaching reaper was almost unbearable.

Tian Yi stopped a few paces away.

This silence only deepened Cai Gang’s unease, forcing him to lower his hands from his head and look forward with wide eyes.

And what he saw was Tian Yi—who they had imagined should have died beneath the sniper’s wooden warehouse.

They had observed the ivy’s territory for two full days.

From a distance, Tian Yi’s freedom within the ivy’s domain made it clear that he was no ordinary person—perhaps not even human.

Yet, he appeared simply as a clean-cut young man.

With pale skin, wearing neat clothes, riding a bicycle daily through an empty city.

He seemed kind-hearted, keeping a cat and a group of rabbits, even watering the roadside plants.

He had shown no extraordinary powers.

But the Tian Yi standing before him now—

Though outwardly unchanged, the terrifying creatures around him behaved as if tamed.

The ivy tendrils writhed like extensions of his own body.

More dangers lurked in the shadows.

How could this be an ordinary human?

Why had they thought it possible to kill such a being?

The fear nearly consumed Cai Gang entirely.

If Tian Yi hadn’t spoken—

“You’re very afraid.”

A statement, not a question.

Behind Tian Yi, the ivy wove itself into a chair.

He sat back smoothly.

The ginger cat curled up on his lap.

The rabbits gathered quietly at his feet.

All this made Tian Yi seem like a villainous boss, despite never having made a single aggressive move.

Cai Gang looked up at him, his survival instinct finally breaking free from the suffocating fear.

Yet at this moment, he dared not even think of fighting.

He crawled out from under the table, pushing the sniper’s wooden warehouse forward.

Then he uttered words of desperate plea, words he himself barely believed could be answered.

“Please... spare me.”

The ivy tendrils wrapped around the wooden warehouse and easily crushed it into scrap iron right before Cai Gang’s eyes.

Against such powerful mutated flora and fauna, victory was near impossible without thorough preparation.

This misjudgment only underscored the problem.

Before the ivy struck, Cai Gang and his group had thought the ivy’s territory belonged to the rabbits and cockleburs.

Now, Cai Gang completely surrendered.

Tian Yi had no taste for torturing prisoners, yet he held no mercy for those who tried to kill him.

A faint smile curved his lips as he softly said, “I can give you a chance to live.”

If you can seize it.

...

Cai Gang’s companions’ bodies were left behind.

Once the ivy tendrils left the “battlefield,” the collapsed building lost its support and crumbled with a roar.

Ordinary zombies gathered below were buried under bricks and stones.

Nearby, hidden high-level zombies quietly slipped away.

Bound by the ivy tendrils, Cai Gang was dragged back as a captive.

With him came Tian Yi, the little ginger cat, Nainai, and the rabbits.

Perhaps due to the overwhelming display of power, even outside the ivy’s territory, no high-level zombies or mutated flora dared cause trouble.

...

The cockleburs left behind by the rabbits had spread extensively.

Zhao Su and Zhen Qian had witnessed the entire scene from the start and even exchanged glances with the captured Cai Gang.

Though bound and silent, Cai Gang’s eyes clearly begged for help.

Zhao Su and Zhen Qian sensed his despair, but neither spoke.

They simply watched as Cai Gang was dragged deeper into the ivy’s domain.

A place neither had ever ventured.

After all the commotion faded, Zhen Qian finally spoke in a dry voice, “Maybe he’ll die.”

“He will definitely die,” Zhao Su corrected. “Do you want to save him?”

Zhen Qian shook his head.

They knew Cai Gang had been sent to hunt them, but what surprised them was that Cai Gang hadn’t come for them directly—he had attacked Tian Yi instead.

“Do you think it’s over?” Zhen Qian asked.

Zhao Su gave him a strange look, said nothing, and turned to look at his mother.

Perhaps it was the change of environment, or Tian Yi’s provision of ample food and clean water, but his mother’s condition was improving.

For that alone, Zhao Su didn’t care what Tian Yi might do to Cai Gang and the others.

Besides, Cai Gang and his group had been the first to strike.

Zhen Qian laughed softly, realizing he’d asked a foolish question.

But...

That man was truly terrifying.

...

Tian Yi had not lied; he indeed gave Cai Gang a chance to live.

He left Cai Gang on the southern mountain of the city, telling him that if he could find the river in the south, he would be allowed to go.

To improve Cai Gang’s chances, Tian Yi provided weapons, food, and drinking water.

Moreover, he covered Cai Gang with cockleburs.

If Cai Gang could use them well, his odds of survival would increase.

Tian Yi even shared information about the dangers lurking in the area he had already scouted.

Cai Gang agreed on the surface, then immediately set off with the supplies in what he believed was a safe direction.

—After he thought Tian Yi had left.

Unfortunately, beyond the ivy’s territory and near the southern mountain, there was no truly “safe” zone.

Cai Gang’s death was no surprise.

His boldness even helped Tian Yi expand his catalog of dangers around the southern mountain.

The supplies Cai Gang failed to consume were recovered without hassle.

No need to lament the rapid consumption of pawns.

The next wave of pawns was already coming.

They were still under Cai Gang’s former boss’s command.

Because the total annihilation of Cai Gang’s group required further investigation, and due to the misinformation sent before their deaths, this boss believed he could reap significant benefits.

Thus, this time, more people came, better prepared.

To fight mutated plants and animals in the apocalypse, fire attacks had become a common tactic.

For most mutated flora and fauna, fire was indeed effective.

But not on the ivy’s territory.

So Tian Yi gained more pawns.

Yet, compared to dealing with these pawns, Tian Yi’s aftereffects from the attack were still worsening.

First, let’s talk about our little ginger cat.