The zombies used all their strength against their own kind.

Teeth and claws simultaneously acted on each other, tearing off chunks of rotten flesh and swallowing, without hesitation, the decaying meat they never cared for.

Sharp fingernails pierced the opponent’s temple, forcibly digging out their crystal core.

None of the zombies flinched when faced with fingers about to pierce into their brains.

While desperately harming each other, they also accepted their own fate.

In just five minutes, tens of thousands of zombies fell into the black blood.

The blood pooled into a black stream, flowing towards the lowlands.

The last "living" zombie was the highest-ranking one among them.

It was already a Fourth Rank Zombie.

This zombie’s eyes were not vacant, looking at the ground full of rotten flesh with a moment of sorrow.

It had developed some cognition, able to understand "living" and "dying."

Under Wang Ge’s rule, the zombies were doing alright.

Alright meaning they could eat flesh and blood every few days.

It never cared about Wang Ge’s attitude towards them; for a zombie, it couldn’t understand so much, having flesh and blood to eat was enough.

Now Wang Ge ran away, and a ruler they must unconditionally obey had come.

The ruler ordered them to die.

They had to obey.

Looking at the ground covered with rotten flesh, a human-like emotion appeared in the Fourth Rank Zombie’s eyes.

Sorrow.

This was probably true death.

The Fourth Rank Zombie did not participate in the mêlée because it had a task.

Its stiff body slowly moved, stepping into the blood on the ground, the stiff body bent down slowly, picking up one crystal core after another from the shattered rotten flesh on the ground.

All around, the rotten flesh was shocking to the eye, and hidden within the flesh lay one beautiful crystal core after another.

Rotten fingers gently cradled the beautiful crystal core, as if holding the most precious treasure in the world.

Rotten eyes slowly swept over the rotten flesh on the ground, and a heavy sigh came from its decayed throat.

Perhaps it was the first zombie to feel such sadness seeing its kind die!

It had forgotten who it once was, only knowing that it grew step by step by devouring humans.

At first, its understanding of the world was quite vague.

Gradually, its consciousness began to awaken, no longer only knowing to devour flesh and blood, and its body became more nimble than ordinary zombies.

It could even understand the traps set by humans to catch zombies.

When it saw its kind being dissected by humans to pluck out the crystal core, it started to feel anger.

Perhaps it was because it became angry from zombies dying that it was later brought back by Wang Ge.

No zombie can refuse an opponent with brainwaves stronger than their own.

Likewise, facing Wang Ge, whose brainwaves surpassed its own by a mile, it chose to obey.

With Wang Ge, it underwent many experiments, and each time, all sorts of strange potions were injected into its brain.

Perhaps because of this, its understanding of the world grew clearer.

It understood, without a crystal core, a zombie is essentially "dead."

Humans, to it, were food.

It couldn’t understand why the incredibly mighty ruler would protect the food, nor why after protecting the food, the ruler would still have them all "die."

The ruler’s command was one that had to be obeyed.

The Fourth Rank Zombie’s rotten fingers continuously picked up one crystal core after another from the ground, finding a somewhat clean piece of cloth, and placed them all together.

The deceased zombies numbered in the tens of thousands, picking them up one by one would take a lot of time, let alone its stiff body was not as agile as a human’s.

It nearly reverently picked up one crystal core after another, carefully stowing them away.

To others or other zombies, the ground full of rotten flesh was garbage, a filthy sight one would turn pale at.

To it, this was its kin.

The emotions of high-rank zombies were cold, except for this one, which became so sentimental.

Sunlight cast on the zombie’s decayed face, and on that twisted face seemed to hang a bellyful of grievance and sorrow, yet there was no one to speak to.

No humans or zombies could understand its feelings.

When a zombie gains emotions—

Those born the Zombie King would instinctively consider themselves human, longing for a human life, yearning to become human again.

Whereas those zombies without any consciousness only had a bloodthirsty instinct, driving them to madly devour flesh and blood.

Those who became high-rank zombies by consuming flesh and blood, some would yearn to be human, while others would continue obeying their instincts, devouring flesh and blood.

But all zombies inherently lacked sympathy.

Those who grew by consuming flesh and blood, whether towards humans or zombies, had no emergence of "sympathy."

Only it was so "affectionate."

It was neither the first nor the last one.

The reason why a species, a race, could pass down on Earth consistently is because the whole group depended on each other, complementing one another.

When zombies could never become human.

When zombies gradually had "emotions."

When zombies and humans would forever be enemies.

How would this world provide them a corner to live on?

The scorching sun fell on the face of the decaying zombie, but it did not feel the warmth of the sun, only an endless sorrow from the depths of its being.

...

Zombie Emperor Zhang Yiming followed a few steps behind Bai Xiqin, quietly watching the girl he hadn’t seen for a long time.

Bai Xiqin helped middle-aged Bai Zhengxuan to a clean spot by the roadside, letting him sit on a clean stone.

"Grandpa, could you please give some clean water?"

Bai Xiqin glanced at the bloody wound on middle-aged Bai Zhengxuan’s arm and looked at Bai Zhengxuan.

"Sure!"

Bai Zhengxuan nodded, and a large amount of clear water instantly flowed from his fingertips.

The water washed away the blood on middle-aged Bai Zhengxuan’s arm and the black blood splattered on him.

Afraid of the black blood flowing into the wound, Bai Zhengxuan washed it twice.

Leng Yebai already brought clean bandages and some medicine for treating wounds from the bus.

"Let me do it! I happen to be a doctor too."

Middle-aged Liu Jing took the bandages from Leng Yebai’s hands, half-kneeling in front of middle-aged Bai Zhengxuan, beginning the preparations.

She spread out the bandage, took a look at the wound, and judged the depth of the injury.

Hm, not fatal, this isn’t the cause of death...

Bah!

No, wrong!

Middle-aged Liu Jing patted her head, the occupational habit slipped in again, always wanting to treat the other as a corpse.

Bai Xiqin’s healing emitted a green glow, the green light covered the wound, and the red blood oozing from it visibly lessened.

Middle-aged Bai Zhengxuan watched Bai Xiqin with a kind expression, feeling a surge of impulse, wanting to tell him and his spouse’s experiences.

But seeing Xiao Niu getting along so well with the Bai Family, he forcefully suppressed the impulse in his heart.

Why bother!

Even if they knew, it would only add to their sadness!

Middle-aged Bai Zhengxuan let out an almost imperceptible sigh, quietly watching Bai Xiqin, Bai Anhai, and the others, remaining silent.

After Bai Xiqin used the Wood Ability to almost finish the treatment, middle-aged Liu Jing rolled up middle-aged Bai Zhengxuan’s sleeves and began to bandage him.

"Eh? Uncle Bai’s scar on the arm is the same as my grandfather’s scar!"

Bai Yifan was surprised for a moment, looking at the old scar next to the wound on middle-aged Bai Zhengxuan’s arm.