Loud Conspiracy

The woman's eyes were wide open, still holding the shock and terror from before her death. Her pupils slowly dilated as her body crumpled to the floor.

"Xiao Jing!"

In the darkness, Chen Li hurriedly turned her head and happened to see a figure plunge a dagger into the girl's skull.

Her heart filled with horror, her eyes nearly splitting apart.

The monster had appeared!

A chilling aura radiated from Chen Li. Her awakened ability was frost-based; as she clenched both hands, ice crystals condensed, extending into two sharp ice spikes.

Then her body flashed forward, charging straight at Lin Dong.

She was incredibly fast, like a cheetah pouncing on prey. The ice spikes tore through the air with successive sonic booms, carrying even greater destructive power than bullets.

Lin Dong had no intention of taking the attack head-on. He dodged backward and vanished directly into the wall.

"Ah? What..."

Chen Li instantly lost her target and was completely bewildered.

Where had he gone?

But just as she hesitated—

A dagger slashed out of the wall again, stabbing directly toward the crown of her head.

That dagger was simply too fast.

Chen Li had no time to react.

By the time she tried to dodge, the blade had already sunk into her skull and hooked out her Crystal Core.

Another corpse fell to the ground...

Everything had happened in an instant.

"Xiao Jing! Chen Li! What happened to you two?"

At that moment, anxious shouts came from the entrance to the corridor.

It was Li Nan and the others. Having noticed something was wrong, they had rushed over, but unfortunately, they were still one step too late.

When they arrived, only two corpses remained.

There were no wounds on their bodies either, yet their Crystal Cores had been dug out.

Their deaths were exactly the same as those of the previous five!

An intense sense of strangeness spread through their hearts.

Two more people had died...

"Where's the monster? Where did the monster go?"

The remaining five scanned their surroundings, their expressions extremely grave, afraid that they too would be ambushed.

But the area had fallen silent again, as if nothing had happened. If not for the two corpses at their feet, they would have thought they were hallucinating.

It was far too bizarre!

This also made them realize that the monster had not left and was still lurking in the darkness.

As long as someone relaxed their guard even slightly, he would kill them.

Li Nan thought of another issue. Of the two hundred survivors in the mall, not one had been harmed so far. That meant... his targets were only awakened ones.

Perhaps Xiao Jing's intuition had been right. That monster had been following them all along...

At this moment, Xiao Liu's eyes were bloodshot, and he panted heavily. The immense pressure in his heart was driving him insane.

"Where's the monster? Get the fuck out here! What kind of skill is using dirty tricks? Come out and fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts!"

But no matter how he shouted, the corridor remained filled only with echoes, darkness, and dead silence. He received no response.

"Xiao Liu, calm down!"

Li Nan advised him in a low voice. "This won't accomplish anything. Rather than wasting time, we should analyze how the monster killed them."

"Brother Nan, did you notice anything just now?"

A female awakened one beside him asked. She was also the only woman left among the five.

Li Nan nodded.

"Yes, I did notice a few things."

"Oh?"

Their eyes flickered as they quickly turned toward him, waiting for him to continue.

Li Nan narrowed his eyes.

"Don't you find where Chen Li died rather strange? She was facing the wall, which means... before she died, she had been preparing to attack the wall!"

"Attack the wall?"

The others found it strange, but soon an absurd thought emerged. "Could it be... the monster was inside the wall?"

"No. He wasn't inside the wall. He had the ability to pass through objects—human flesh included, of course."

Li Nan analyzed.

The other four found it very reasonable. Otherwise, the dead would not have been without wounds while their Brain Cores had been removed.

Actually,

they had considered this possibility long ago, but they found it too unbelievable.

"Could such an ability really exist?"

"Of course. And he could move huge amounts of supplies in a short time. Combining those two things, he should be a spatial-type creature. He may have even awakened a domain."

"What? A domain?"

The four were shocked again.

The Tech Company had researched the apocalypse, capturing large numbers of zombies and mutated beasts for samples and experiments.

They had discovered that a very small number of them could awaken bizarre abilities.

Domains were among them.

Monsters with domains could appear and vanish unpredictably, killing people without leaving a trace. Some researchers had classified such zombies as "Wraith Zombies."

"Could we have encountered a Wraith Zombie?" Xiao Liu's gaze was filled with horror.

"Yes, and it's obvious this zombie is highly intelligent and skilled at hiding and evading. This type of zombie has terrifying destructive power. We have to kill it before it grows into a Zombie King. Otherwise, it will become an unsolvable threat!"

Li Nan said with a firm gaze.

The others drew sharp breaths, finding it utterly terrifying.

Xiao Liu seemed to recall something and spoke to reassure them.

"Everyone, there's no need to be too afraid. The researchers said that zombies with domains are generally physically weak. That's their fatal weakness."

"Oh, then that's fine... No wonder it didn't dare show itself and only dared launch sneak attacks from the shadows."

They relaxed slightly.

Xiao Liu nodded.

"The most important question now is how to find it!"

"Indeed. With our current strength, if that zombie doesn't want to come out, we may never find it."

Li Nan analyzed the situation, but then changed the subject. "However... perhaps we can use a strategy. No matter how intelligent that zombie is, it certainly can't be smarter than humans."

Humans had survived on Earth for millions of years by relying on wisdom. For example, if they could not catch a wild rabbit while hunting, they could set a trap to capture it.

Then,

after the five discussed it, they came up with a plan to lure the enemy.

First, one person would serve as bait and pretend to get separated, drawing the zombie out. Then they would attack it together.

But being bait carried a certain amount of risk, so it had to be someone strong.

Li Nan was quite willing to take responsibility.

"I'll be the bait. In a moment, I'll go to the first-floor lobby. You'll stay on the sixth floor. The view is good here, so the moment you spot the target, launch an attack."

"And remember, zombies with domains have weak bodies. Try to engage it in close combat so it doesn't escape again!"

"Brother Nan, it's too dangerous for you to be the bait alone. How about I go with you? The zombie will attack if it sees two people as well." A tall, burly man was still worried.

Li Nan nodded.

"Alright, Li Tao and I will go to the first floor as bait. Xiao Liu, lead the others and keep watch upstairs. The three of you must not split up."

"Got it. Don't worry, Brother Nan!"

Xiao Liu patted his chest.

They had been led around by the monster all this time, losing seven teammates, and he had felt stifled with frustration. Now, they had finally sounded the horn of counterattack!

Then,

with their fighting spirit soaring, they began to act.

What they did not know was that Lin Dong was right next door, less than thirty meters away from them.

With a zombie's sharp hearing, he could hear everything clearly.

Li Nan's plan to lure the enemy had reached his ears without missing a word.

"A rather good loud conspiracy..."

Lin Dong's figure flashed, and he reappeared in the corridor where they had just left.

He thought these people had some intelligence... but not much.