There Was Another One

Lu Heng took a step forward.

He reached into his Wristband and took out the Insect Armor Sword. He hadn't used it during the chase because it was inconvenient to hold. Now that the battlefield had temporarily stabilized, he gripped the hilt firmly, calmed himself, and prepared for a strong attack.

Lu Heng drew his sword and charged straight at the Silver Zombie, intending to launch a close-quarters attack.

The Silver Zombie anticipated the attack. Instead of taking it head-on, it suddenly reached out, grabbed the nearest living person in the cage, and pulled him directly in front of it to shield itself.

Lu Heng's momentum was unstoppable.

Using the momentum of the charge, the Insect Armor Sword slashed down, its blade cutting into the man's body, cleaving him diagonally from the shoulder and neck.

Warm blood splattered on half of his face.

A chill ran through Lu Heng's heart.

He stared at the Silver Zombie, his gaze darkening. This monster wasn't just about brute force—it knew how to use the living as shields, using the conscience of its enemies as a defense.

The remaining people in the cage watched this scene, their eyes losing their light.

No one screamed, no one cursed. They huddled in the deepest part of the cage, some biting their lips tightly, some burying their heads in their knees, and some raising their heads, their gaze shifting back and forth between Lu Heng and the Silver Zombie, before slowly lowering them again.

They dared not utter a sound.

Only one thought remained in my mind: let them fight, let them fight until they are both badly injured, and let neither of them survive.

The Silver Zombie seized the moment when Lu Heng paused.

It pounced suddenly, moving so fast that it left a blur, its sharp claws aimed straight for Lu Heng's face.

The Bone Demon blocked the Silver Zombie's attack with its claws, the bone armor scraping together with a grating sound.

Lu Heng drew his sword and followed, thrusting the Insect Armor Sword straight at the Silver Zombie's ribs. The blade pierced the flesh, but the resistance was much lighter than expected— the Silver Zombie's sidestep was a beat too slow.

wrong.

Lu Heng frowned.

This monster had swallowed four people, its wounds healed, and its strength restored, so it should have been even more troublesome. But after several exchanges, something felt off. Its attack rhythm had flaws, its movements were occasionally out of focus, and its gaze was wandering, as if its attention was being diverted by something else, making it unable to fully concentrate on the battle at hand.

The sluggishness was not caused by the injury.

It was more like something unseen was pulling at and interfering with its consciousness.

It went so smoothly it was abnormally easy.

Lu Heng did not sheathe his sword; instead, he intensified his attack. The Bone Demon pressed forward from the front, unleashing a series of bone claw strikes that forced the Silver Zombie to retreat step by step.

Strangely, every time the Silver Zombie retreated, it subconsciously veered towards the cage.

As if fleeing from something, or as if being pulled by an invisible force, they involuntarily approached that cage.

The doubts grew stronger in his mind, and Lu Heng dared not judge based on his naked eyes alone. He suppressed some of his resistance and quietly spread his mental energy to explore his surroundings.

Telepathy

The view changed instantly.

The hall was still the same hall, but a thin layer of pale gray fog had appeared in the air, so thin it was almost invisible, clinging to the walls, ceiling, and floor. A shadow was visible within the fog.

It stood right above the cage.

It's not Zombie.

The thing had no fixed shape; it resembled a crumpled black cloth, suspended in mid-air, its edges constantly writhing and oozing tiny tentacles. The tentacles drooped down, one end plunging into the back of the Silver Zombie's neck, and the other end plunging into the heads of the survivors in the cage.

It's inhaling.

It feeds on the murderous intent of the Silver Zombie, and on the fear of the survivors.

The moment Lu Heng's mental energy touched it, the dark shadow abruptly stopped.

It looked over.

Although he had no eyes, Lu Heng clearly felt a cold gaze fall upon him. There was no anger or hostility in that gaze, only an indifferent scrutiny, as if appraising prey.

Lu Heng raised his Wristband at the dark figure.

Identification.

[Name: Nightmare Eater]

[Rank: Silver Tier]

[Synopsis: A mental monster born from despair]

Silver Tier.

However, Lu Heng could sense that the energy emanating from its body was far less intense than that of the Silver Zombie before him. If they were to clash head-on, it wouldn't even be able to withstand the Bone Demon.

But it's a mental system.

This kind of thing can't be measured by conventional combat strength. It doesn't need to defeat you; it just needs to make you think you've won.

Lu Heng's eyes turned cold.

His spiritual power suddenly condensed, transforming into an invisible spike that pierced straight into the core of the Nightmare Eater.

The Mind Spike

The Nightmare Eater's body shuddered violently, the black mist churning as if pierced by a red-hot iron rod. It let out a sharp, inhuman screech, and its suspended body suddenly sank, its tentacles twitching wildly and detaching from the heads of the Silver Zombie and survivors.

The illusion shattered.

The moment the restraints disappeared, the Silver Zombie's body shuddered violently, and its long-unfocused eyes gradually regained their clarity, with a surge of dark red light in their depths. It let out a roar, no longer the mechanical growl of before, but a roar filled with obvious rage.

Only now did it realize that the cold aura that had been lingering around its neck and quietly stealing its senses had disappeared.

The Silver Zombie suddenly raised its head, its dark red eyes fixed on Lu Heng.

It couldn't see the Nightmare Eater, but it could feel the chill that had slowed its movements dissipate with the human's attack. It growled and slammed its claws into the ground, cracking the concrete with spiderweb-like patterns.

The Nightmare Eater retreated to the ceiling on the other side of the hall.

The black mist thinned considerably, but it didn't escape. It hovered there, its tentacles drooping down again, this time no longer plunging into the Silver Zombie, but hovering above its head like a whip that could fall at any moment.

The Silver Zombie looked up and glanced blankly at the ceiling, then turned to look at Lu Heng.

It didn't know what the unseen thing was, but it instinctively sensed that this human, and the dark shadow hiding above, were both threats.

It growled, and both of them were doomed.

The Nightmare Eater did not attack the Silver Zombie.

It lowered its tentacles again, one end hovering above the Silver Zombie's head, the other slowly turning towards Lu Heng.

Two monsters. One is a symbiote whose top is invisible, and the other dares not engage in direct physical combat. But at this moment, their target is both locked on Lu Heng.

The Silver Zombie attacked again.

This time, it held nothing back. Its claws tore through the air, slamming head-on at Lu Heng with such speed that it left afterimages. The Bone Demon roared as it met the attack head-on. Bone claws collided with the claws, sparks flying everywhere. The Silver Zombie's power far exceeded its previous strength, forcing the Bone Demon to retreat half a step.

At the same time, the Nightmare Eater on the ceiling stirred.

It dispersed its black mist, enveloping the entire battlefield from above. The illusion struck again—distorted shadows flashed at the edge of Lu Heng's vision, whispers rang in his ears, and the ground beneath his feet seemed to have turned into an abyss, as if he were about to fall in the next second.

He gritted his teeth, forcibly calmed his mind, and swung his sword to sever the two tentacles that were wrapping around his ankles. The sword blade sliced through the black mist as if cutting into cotton, with strange resistance. The parts of the Nightmare Eater's body that were cut open quickly wriggled and healed, and more tentacles wrapped around it from all directions.

It doesn't attack head-on, it only disrupts.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Silver Zombie lunged forward, its claws grazing Lu Heng's shoulder and tearing a bloody gash. Lu Heng dodged to the side to avoid a fatal blow, and swung his sword at the Silver Zombie's neck, but it blocked his attack with its arm frame.

Lu Heng glanced at the cage out of the corner of his eye.

The survivors, drained of the Nightmare Eater's spirit, collapsed to the ground, their eyes vacant, drool slowly dripping from their mouths.

He gritted his teeth.

A Silver Zombie launching a full-scale attack, and a nightmare lurking in the shadows, continuously creating illusions to disrupt the Nightmare Eater.

The two monsters have formed a bizarre alliance.