Chapter 14: You Guessed Right—I’ve Been Bitten by Four Corpse Kings

Just moments ago, Li Xingyue stepped into the Zombie Hunting Division’s office, followed closely by a burly man who slapped him hard on the back, causing him to stagger and crash into a table.

Seeing Li Xingyue had entered, the burly man gritted his teeth and quickly dashed back to the alley he came from.

Feeling a scorching pain on his back, Li Xingyue frowned in frustration.

“Who told you to come in? Get out!”

Looking up, Li saw a young man around his age shouting at him.

“I’m here to join the Zombie Hunting Squad!” Li declared firmly.

The young man frowned. “What’s your rank?”

Damn, not this question again.

“I haven’t injected the evolution serum yet. I have no rank,” Li answered honestly.

The young man sneered contemptuously. “Hmph, I doubt you even can inject it. Another worthless bastard.” But despite the disdain, he handed Li a piece of paper.

“Here, fill out these details and wait for tomorrow’s preliminary test.”

Li took the paper silently. There were only three fields to fill:

[Name]

[Gender]

[Evolution Rank]

Li Xingyue, Male, None.

After filling it out, he handed it back.

“Come back here tomorrow morning to register. Someone will guide you to the testing area. Now, get lost!”

Without another word, the young man pulled out a cigarette and smoked with an indescribable allure.

The scent of smoke stirred Li’s craving.

Sigh, he wondered what kind of people these Enforcers and Zombie Hunting Division members were — all seemed to be living comfortably.

Li Xingyue left the division office and watched the bustling street; this place truly was a blend of apocalypse and civilization.

Not daring to wander, he sat on the steps outside, planning to wait out the night until morning.

***

The next morning, Li Xingyue opened his eyes to daylight, stretched, and yawned repeatedly.

He hadn’t slept much — not for lack of tiredness, but because sleep was impossible.

Robberies, fights, gun battles — the chaos never ceased.

At first, Li tried to count how many people died, but soon gave up; the numbers became meaningless.

After waiting on the steps for over an hour, the division’s door suddenly swung open. Li hurried inside and saw the same young man from yesterday.

“Brother, when does the preliminary test start?” Li asked eagerly.

The young man yawned, then squinted at Li. “Damn, you’re so eager to die? Relax, the examiner will be here soon.”

Li didn’t understand the meaning behind that comment, but had no other choice.

After a while, more than twenty people of all ages and genders trickled in. By listening to their conversations, Li realized these were all candidates for the Zombie Hunting Squad’s preliminary test.

Among them were six women, mostly filthy and disheveled.

Only one woman, about thirty, looked somewhat better—her figure was full and well-shaped, attracting the gaze of the surrounding men.

Even the young man from before couldn’t help but glance at her, then joked with a classic line from “Liang Kun Crying Barbie.”

After a while, the young man lit another cigarette.

Nearby, a scrawny youth with clothes even more ragged than Li’s approached, flashing a mouthful of yellow teeth. “Brother, what evolution rank are you?”

In just two days, Li had been asked this countless times.

“Eighth rank!” he replied with a smirk.

The yellow-toothed youth was momentarily stunned, then realized Li was joking and laughed without anger.

“Brother, you’re funny. By the way, judging by your look, you must have escaped from somewhere else too. I only fled to Freedom City six months ago.”

“Yeah, I came from Starsea City,” Li said truthfully.

The yellow teeth youth pondered, “If you came from Starsea City, that means you arrived years ago, huh? That makes you an old-timer here.”

“No, no, I only came from Starsea City three days ago.”

This time, the youth stopped laughing. “You don’t tell the truth, huh? Starsea City was just massacred by the Zombie Overlords a few days ago. Don’t tell me you escaped from their clutches!”

Li chuckled. “You guessed right. I was bitten by four Zombie Overlords, but I didn’t die.”

***

Their conversation was loud enough that the twenty or so people nearby all turned to listen, their faces filled with disdain.

“That kid sure can brag. Bit by Zombie Overlords and survived? Next, he’ll say he drank with them.”

“Yeah, even the acting city lord of Freedom City wouldn’t dare claim that.”

“This brat doesn’t know his place. Those are eighth-rank Zombie Overlords! No one except the highest-tier human warriors can survive against them!”

“Wait and see. This kid will be crying and pissing his pants during the test.”

The crowd mocked Li loudly, as if afraid he might not hear.

Yellow Teeth clapped him on the shoulder. “Brother, you gotta be realistic! We’re all just ordinary folks without talent. Killing low-level zombies and collecting evolution serums—that’s a full life if you can reach second rank!”

“Better to find a job with the Enforcers when the time comes, right?”

“Stop daydreaming about drinking with Zombie Overlords. If it were me, I wouldn’t even dare dream that.”

“See? I told you the truth, but you just don’t believe me!”

Li returned the gesture, slinging his arm around Yellow Teeth’s shoulder. “You’re right, brother. I’ve decided to mend my ways and start anew.”

They chatted casually. Someone asked the young man when the examiners would arrive; he said he didn’t know, but they seemed late.

About half an hour later, a man in his sixties came in through the door. His clothes were dirty; he held a bottle of liquor in one hand and a cigarette in his mouth.

Behind him trailed a middle-aged man, around forty, with an unpleasant face.

The young man immediately stood up when he saw the elder. “Yo, Old Chen! Didn’t expect you’d come this time. Please, have a seat!”

Old Chen spat smoke in the young man’s face. “Damn it, no time for sitting! You all come with me.”

With a wave, he beckoned everyone to follow. But when he caught sight of the woman from earlier, he stopped and walked over to appraise her.

Then, nodding with satisfaction, he said, “Hmm, not bad. Remarkable bone structure. A promising candidate.”