The sports field fell into a strange, deathly silence.
There was only the rustling of wind through the vines and Ling Chen’s heavy breathing, like a broken bellows.
Ling Chen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the dizziness and weakness from blood loss. Because he had to feign weakness, he had suppressed his injuries during the fight with the tiger cat, and with that last claw strike, he had barely managed to hold on.
But a smile played on his lips; his objective had been achieved.
The reason he wanted to capture this Corpse Ghoul alive was because he wanted to enslave her.
And he had the means to enslave her.
Bloodline Slave Seal, a special application of blood energy exclusive to Mutants, but it required the enslaver to sacrifice some cultivation.
Mutant ability users, such special existences, have an extremely low probability of appearing, especially in the early stages of the apocalypse. There is only one way to become such an existence: to awaken an ability at the same time as being transformed into a Corpse Ghoul by the chaotic spiritual energy during the outbreak of the apocalypse.
If he could have such a powerful enforcer, he would save a lot of effort in his future plans.
After a brief moment of panting, Ling Chen, without hesitation, raised his claws and cleanly and efficiently dislocated Zheng Xiyun’s arms and legs, reducing her to a human stick. It would be troublesome if she woke up halfway.
He didn't need to worry about her dying from excessive blood loss; Mutants' bodies are inherently resilient, and even like this, she could last half a day without dying.
Ling Chen no longer delayed, enduring his blood loss and dizziness, each step like treading on knife edges.
He had to race against time! Some of the enslavement techniques were very complex, and he needed to find a specific, absolutely private and safe location to perform them!
He led the stumbling, vacant-eyed Zheng Xiyun, limping and cautiously moving through the ruins, choosing the most secluded and circuitous paths.
He could not let any survivor witness this terrifying and bizarre scene!
He pushed the dark purple aura to its limit, and the faint pressure of a Corpse Ghoul barely enveloped the two (one ghoul), dispelling low-level threats nearby.
Leaving the school ruins and approaching the relatively open green park on the outskirts of the city, Ling Chen stopped.
Thanks to the meat he had eaten earlier, his injuries had recovered somewhat without suppression, and the excessively deep wounds had stopped bleeding.
Zheng Xiyun, the human stick, was now in his arms. There was still a considerable distance to Ling Family Villa, and moving with her like this was too inefficient and too risky.
He couldn't delay any longer!
He slowly closed his eyes. The two dark purple wing marks beneath his shoulder blades, as if sensing their master’s resolve, began to pulse, twist, and heat up restlessly!
Buzz...
A low, suppressed, peculiar sound, like a chick breaking out of its eggshell, came from deep within his body!
Rip—!!!
Accompanied by the crisp sound of tearing fabric!
Two structures covered in dark purple, tough membrane burst forth from his tattered back, unfurling with a roar!
Strong, heavy wing bones supported the massive wing membranes. Dark purple electrical arcs, like tiny venomous snakes, crackled at the edges of the membrane, producing a hair-raising popping sound!
This was his true strength now. If he hadn't been worried about someone seeing this scene at the school earlier, he probably could have dealt with Zheng Xiyun in an instant.
While Mutant ability users are rare and powerful, without a mind, they are nothing more than walking corpses.
The massive Thunder Wings, brimming with destructive energy waves, created a stark contrast with Ling Chen's scarred, blood-stained, pale, and near-death fragile body!
It was as if a blood-soaked fallen angel had unfurled his wings of judgment and destruction!
Ling Chen suddenly opened his eyes, the two points of dark purple abyssal lightning deep within his pupils burning to their extreme! He no longer suppressed, nor did he need to hide!
He spread his bone claws, his five fingers like iron tongs, containing the only power he could wield at this moment—the violent lightning will originating from the Thunder Wings' essence!
This will instantly permeated Zheng Xiyun's entire body through his fingertips, like electric chains, completely suppressing any potential instinctive resistance she might have!
Then, his sharp bone claws cleanly and decisively pierced through the flesh of Zheng Xiyun's lower back, grabbing her spine, and lifted her in a strange “handbag” manner.
The massive dark purple Thunder Wings on his back flapped violently! Boom!!!
A thunderclap from a clear sky! Ling Chen, carrying Zheng Xiyun's body, propelled by those giant wings that seemed to burn with hellfire, shot into the sky like a meteor fired from a giant crossbow!
Below, the ruined teaching building rapidly shrank and blurred!
The biting gale scraped across Ling Chen's blood-stained face like icy blades! A feeling of weightlessness enveloped his body!
From behind him came the ceaseless, thunderous pulsation of his wings.
Zheng Xiyun was completely suppressed by his now powerful will, her body like a stiff puppet, her empty, nightmare-like eye sockets tightly closed, allowing Ling Chen to carry her into the unknown darkness.
Ling Chen looked down, overlooking the city ruins below, like a giant, festering scar. Crimson lightning pulsed menacingly in the storm clouds nearby, as if the final backdrop of the apocalypse.
He had only one destination—deep within Ling Family Villa.
That ice cellar secret nest, capable of isolating all prying eyes and interference, and strong enough to withstand the eruption of the Bloodline Slave Seal!
He had to firmly lock this dangerous double-edged sword (Zheng Xiyun) within his control!
Dark purple electrical arcs tore through the iron-gray sky, leaving two fleeting, bloody trails in the cold, drizzling rain that had begun to fall.
Ling Chen, carrying the unconscious Zheng Xiyun, swooped down from a low altitude, finally crashing heavily onto the muddy lawn behind the villa, which had been washed by the downpour.
The speed of the Thunder Wings was too fast; even though he had experimented with so many flying devices in his previous life, he still made some mistakes.
The immense impact caused his unhealed body to suffer severe trauma again. The penetrating wound on his left shoulder and the three deep, bone-visible claw marks on his right arm simultaneously erupted with tearing pain. Blood mixed with mud and water instantly soaked his clothes.
Zheng Xiyun's body fell beside him like a broken sack, splashing a large amount of mud.
Her eyes were tightly closed, the eerie vortex in her eye sockets had vanished, leaving only two empty, glass-like red eyes, with three blood lines clearly visible at the corners.
Three blood lines proved that she had killed at least three ability users. Corpse Ghouls do not devour their own kind, but ordinary people, when harmed by a Corpse Ghoul, will transform into one within half a minute.
Within half a minute, it would be impossible for Corpse Ghouls to finish eating a person.
However, ability users cannot be infected by Corpse Ghouls and turn into Mutants, so when they are killed by a Corpse Ghoul, they will naturally be devoured by the Corpse Ghoul or Corpse Ghouls.
Ling Chen crawled up from the ground, retracted his wings, and turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Zheng Xiyun’s pale, broken face—that once vibrant outline belonging to a physical education teacher, now only dead rigidity and emptiness remained.
Rain washed over her blue-black tracksuit. On her left chest, an embroidered emblem, largely soaked in blood but still discernible as “Ling Hui Middle School Sports Department,” looked particularly glaring under the dim sky.
But he only glanced at it.
He had no time to hesitate!
The initial suppression of the Bloodline Slave Seal was extremely fragile and could collapse at any moment! If Zheng Xiyun awakened within this enclosed villa, her indiscriminate Daydream Nightmare and mental shriek would be a devastating disaster!
Even if she had been reduced to a human stick.
Ling Chen gritted his teeth, the sharp pain on his tongue stimulating his numb nerves.
Enduring the stinging sensation brought by retracting the Thunder Wings, he slowly walked forward. Every inch he moved was a drain on his will and body; too much blood energy had been expended!
Indeed, flight consumed the most energy.
The wing marks on his back felt like a red-hot branding iron repeatedly scorching him; the cost of forcibly activating the Thunder Wings was violently backfiring.
However, relying on his strong willpower, he eventually made it. His right fingertips touched the cold alloy door panel. The cold sensation was like a shot of adrenaline, slightly invigorating him. He tremblingly raised his right hand and pressed his thumb on an inconspicuous fingerprint identification area in the corner of the door panel.
“Drip…” a faint electronic sound.
Immediately after, a hidden scanning hole above the door panel lit up red, aiming at his face, covered in blood and rain, to perform a pupil scan.
“Verification passed. Welcome home, Young Master Ling Chen.” A emotionless electronic synthesized voice sounded.
“Click—whoosh—”
The heavy alloy door silently slid open inward, and a cold breath, mixed with formaldehyde, disinfectant, and old dust, rushed out, instantly dispelling the damp coldness of the rain and the smell of blood. It was like falling into an ice cave, making him shiver.
Ling Chen used his last bit of strength to grab Zheng Xiyun’s cold, stiff ankle, dragging her, and together they rolled into the darkness behind the door.
The heavy alloy door slid shut silently behind him, completely cutting off all the wind, rain, and bloody scent from outside, leaving only deathly silence and bone-chilling cold.
Inside the secret room, the sensor lights automatically illuminated, casting a stark white light that unreservedly poured down, illuminating the square space of less than thirty square meters.
The four walls and ceiling were covered with special silver-gray wave-absorbing material, and the light seemed to be swallowed by it, creating an eerie, suffocating sense of oppression. The floor was a cold alloy grid, emitting a faint metallic friction sound when stepped on.
On the operating table in the center, Mu Xi's remains had obviously been cleaned up long ago; it was now empty.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant and some kind of preservative, mixed with the scent of old dust, forming a unique, cold atmosphere like a morgue.
Ling Chen leaned against the cold wall of a constant-temperature life support pod, panting. He looked down at himself—three bone-deep wounds on his right arm, with the flesh peeled back, exposing dark red muscle tissue and faintly visible white bone fragments to the air. Blood was still continuously seeping out.
The penetrating wound on his back was even more shocking; a fist-sized blood hole pierced through the muscle below his shoulder blade, and through the torn clothes, dark red tissue could be seen inside.
Ling Chen frowned, not because of the pain, but because these injuries were too severe and would affect his subsequent actions.
He tore off his already tattered clothes, attempting to bandage the deepest wound on his right arm.
The rough fabric rubbed against exposed nerve endings, bringing waves of piercing pain. He gritted his teeth, using his teeth in conjunction with his left hand to tightly bind the cloth strip.
Blood quickly soaked through the makeshift bandage, but the rate of flow seemed to slow slightly. He was powerless to do anything about the wound on his back, so he could only try to remain still.
After treating his wounds, he walked to the life support pod.
Opening the hatch, a bone-chilling cold blast rushed out.
Then Ling Chen dragged Zheng Xiyun's body into the pod. After that, he closed the hatch and activated the low-temperature system. Cold air diffused, and Zheng Xiyun's body was quickly covered with a thin layer of frost.
Having completed all of this, he slid down to the floor, leaning against the cold pod wall, panting heavily. Fatigue and blood loss made him very weak, and his mutated and altered stomach was violently spasming due to prolonged hunger and energy depletion.
“Must… hurry…” Ling Chen whispered, his voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing.
His Soul Jade Physique operated frantically, forcibly suppressing the body's collapse signals and the craving for blood. He needed energy! He needed flesh and blood! Otherwise, let alone casting the Slave Seal, even maintaining consciousness would be difficult! Without energy replenishment, this body wouldn't last half an hour!
His gaze swept over Zheng Xiyun's lifeless, frost-covered face inside the life support pod, then fell on the three dying bats in his upper pocket. A hint of cold resolve flashed in Ling Chen's eyes.
No hesitation! He reached out his blood-stained and muddy hand and grabbed the bat closest to him.
The bat seemed to sense something, emitting more urgent, faint squeaks in his palm, its tiny crimson eyes filled with primal fear. Ling Chen was expressionless; his five fingers suddenly tightened!
Pfft!
Warm, dark purple blood with a strong metallic smell splattered on his face! He unhesitatingly stuffed the bat's broken body into his mouth!
Sharp bones and fur pricked the inside of his mouth, bringing intense pain and a nauseating sensation of fur! But he didn't care! Like the most primitive beast, he furiously tore, chewed, and swallowed with his teeth! Hot flesh and blood mixed with fragments of internal organs slid down his esophagus, and a faint but pure, alien energy unique to mutated beasts instantly surged into his parched meridians! Although this energy was impure, it was like timely rain after a long drought, instantly activating his almost stagnant blood circulation!
One! Two! Three!
When the remains of the last bat were swallowed whole, a burning sensation like fire came from his stomach! His body was like a greedy furnace, frantically refining this last “blood meal”! A faint warmth began to flow sluggishly through his cold limbs and bones, though weak, it was like a spark in the darkness, temporarily dispelling the chill of impending death.
The dark red blood pattern below his eye, like a poisonous vine that had absorbed nutrients, faintly glowed with an almost imperceptible crimson luster.
Power! Although insignificant, like a drop in the bucket, it was enough to support him through the next steps! At least, his consciousness was much clearer.
Ling Chen struggled to his feet and walked to the life support pod's control panel.
Complex dials and buttons flickered with faint indicator lights. He turned off the low-temperature system, and the temperature inside the pod slowly began to rise.
At the same time, he activated the built-in biological scanning and neural suppression devices—these were the pod's original functions used to maintain stable brainwaves in endangered creatures and prevent experimental subjects from going berserk.
A pale blue scanning beam swept back and forth over Zheng Xiyun's body inside the pod. On the screen nearby, faint electrocardiogram waveforms (almost a straight line) and brainwave activity data (extremely weak and chaotic) flickered.
The neural suppression device emitted a low hum, releasing a specific low-frequency energy field to suppress any potential residual mental resistance from her to the maximum extent.
Having completed these preparations, he took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the severe pain and weakness coming from all over his body. His long memories from his previous life suppressed all emotional fluctuations, leaving only the purest, coldest will to execute.
The memories of casting the Bloodline Slave Seal countless times in his previous life were as clear as a brand, every step, every energy node, was clear in his mind. No need to fumble, no need for a medium; this was an instinct etched into his soul.
He walked to the life support pod and opened the hatch.
As the cold dissipated, Zheng Xiyun's body was exposed to the stark white light. The thin layer of frost on her skin quickly melted, leaving wet streaks.
Her eyes remained tightly closed, her face ashen.
Ling Chen extended his right hand, and at the tip of his index finger, a point of dark purple energy, condensed with all his mental power and the recently recovered bat blood energy, glowed like a poisoned needle tip!
Bloodline Slave Seal!
Ling Chen interlaced his fingers, and a drop of blood seeped from the tip of each finger. Although there were only ten drops, Ling Chen's face turned pale. Then, his fingers changed, and his hands continuously formed seals. In an instant, the ten blood drops separated into countless blood threads, intertwining in mid-air to form a complex, rhombus-shaped pattern.
In just a moment, Ling Chen's face was pale, and the newly formed blood pattern at the corner of his right eye slowly contracted and finally disappeared!
Ling Chen's aura consequently dropped, and the rhombus-shaped blood-colored pattern immediately shrank by more than half, from its original face-size to palm-size.
However, a faint, indescribable special power was added to the originally pure blood color. Ling Chen dared not pause, and the blood pattern at the corner of his left eye was rapidly peeled away. If anyone could see his heart, they would find that Ling Chen's originally blue energy-transformed heart tip was rapidly reverting to flesh and blood, and eventually, the corner of Ling Chen's eye was empty, as if it had just mutated.
At the same time, two blood patterns appeared at the corner of Zheng Xiyun's eye.
This was not the natural control of his previous life, but a desperate gamble in the early days of the apocalypse, with himself severely injured and the target extremely special! A life-or-death operation fueled by the soul and with will as the blade!
The Bloodline Slave Seal, in essence, is to forcibly inject a part of one's cultivation, mixed with one's own will, into the opponent's body, causing the opponent's consciousness to merge with one's own. The more parts that merge, the more obedient the opponent will be after successful enslavement.
Ling Chen's fingertip, carrying the power of destruction and rebirth, slowly pointed towards Zheng Xiyun's glabella!
That was the location of the spiritual core, and also the coordinate where the Slave Seal would ultimately be imprinted! His fingertip was less than an inch from her skin!
Just at this critical moment!
Inside the life support pod, in the depths of Zheng Xiyun's tightly closed, charred eye sockets, an extremely faint, ghostly green light, like a flickering candle in the wind, suddenly pulsed!
“Ling… classmate…”
An extremely faint, ethereal voice, as if from the depths of a distant dream, directly sounded in Ling Chen's mind! It carried a gentle quality belonging to Zheng Xiyun herself, belonging to a physical education teacher, with concern and confusion!
The moment the voice sounded, Ling Chen even saw a blurry image flash before his eyes—a sunny sports field, with Zheng Xiyun in a blue and white tracksuit smiling and waving at him, signaling him to join the warm-up exercise!