Apocalypse Gachapon

It was still the underground cavern beneath Yakutsk, but Ye Zhongming had Xia Bai by his side this time.

They carried several individuals in their hands—Achinas, Pei Jia, Donis, Rustig, and Hollander’s corpses.

The black cat glanced at Ye Zhongming as he entered, its eyes revealing a trace of relief.

Earlier, when Ye Zhongming had left, it hadn’t known what he was planning. If he had simply abandoned them, there would have been nothing it could do—except stay here with its master, clinging to the faintest sliver of hope.

When Xia Bai saw the situation inside the cave, even her perpetually expressionless face showed a flicker of emotion.

Even though Talking Lady was a zombie, she had previously fought alongside Cloud Peak. Seeing a former comrade imprisoned in such a manner didn’t sit well with her.

Ye Zhongming first surveyed the cave, confirming nothing had changed, then tossed Hollande’s corpse toward the white filaments in the corner.

The body bounced a few times on the threads before settling on the ground.

The two humans and the cat watched from the entrance.

At first, the white filaments didn’t react, as if they had no interest in dead matter. But after a moment, a single thread extended from the vicinity of the demon crystal, slowly creeping toward the corpse. After prodding it tentatively, it coiled around the body.

The same protrusions that had pierced Red Hair’s flesh now gradually penetrated Hollander’s corpse.

A few seconds later, the entire network of white filaments in the cave began to tremble faintly.

Ye Zhongming, Xia Bai, and the black cat took a step back.

This thing was on the verge of evolving to level nine. After absorbing nutrients, who knew if it might attack them?

Hollander’s body was quickly drained. The white filament seemed unsatisfied, moving back and forth over the now-desiccated corpse as if searching for any remaining morsels.

Ye Zhongming kept his eyes fixed on the demon crystal, noting that its silver hue had deepened slightly.

At the same time, he observed Taling Lady’s condition, watching for any opportunity that might arise.

Having witnessed what just happened, the black cat seemed to grasp Ye Zhongming’s intentions. Its eyes gleamed as it looked at the other severely wounded but immobilized captives.

Aside from the unconscious Apudu, the other prisoners were fully awake. Seeing this horrifying lifeform beneath the city, witnessing Ye Zhongming cooperating with a level eight mutated black cat, and realizing they were trying to rescue a level eight zombie, their minds reeled, unable to process such complex relationships.

But one thing was clear: they were nutrient vessels, meant to feed these white filaments.

Fear gradually consumed them.

Perhaps they weren’t afraid of death. When killing others, they had all imagined, to some extent, that they might one day be killed as well.

From the very first day of the apocalypse, they had been prepared to die.

But! That didn’t mean they were willing to die like this!

Being drained into withered husks, enduring unimaginable agony before death—the mere thought was unbearable.

They struggled, but their broken limbs allowed only feeble movements. They stared at Ye Zhongming, pleading with their eyes.

After resetting his jaw, Achinas spoke weakly, “Perhaps… we can offer many, many things… in exchange for our lives.”

This wasn’t an uncommon practice in medieval Europe. Faced with such a horrific death, the leader of the human alliance just wanted to survive.

“We… we have things you couldn’t even—”

“You mean these?”

Ye Zhongming cut off Rustig, holding up several spatial accessories.

They had been looted from these men—after defeating them, it was only natural to take everything of value.

Spatial accessories bore the mental imprints of their users. It sounded impressive, but it was merely an application of mental energy—a small, exclusive contract between the user and the item, preventing others from opening it.

When mental energy was weak at lower evolutionary levels, spatial accessories could be forcibly opened by those with higher strength or stronger mental power. However, the spatial gear of the high-level evolved could generally only be accessed by its owners.

That was the bargaining chip they had hoped to use.

At their level, they undoubtedly possessed some valuable items.

Yet, under their stunned gazes, Ye Zhongming effortlessly opened their spatial accessories, retrieving items that had once belonged to them.

“Seems… unimpressive.”

Their faces turned ashen. They couldn’t fathom how this man had easily bypassed their mental locks. It also meant they had lost any leverage for negotiation.

Valuable items were always kept on one’s person.

“We—we’re faction leaders. We can give you… many, many benefits.”

Donis forced out the words with difficulty.

Ye Zhongming remained expressionless, his attention fixed on the white filaments and the Talking Lady.

Nothing had changed after all this time, at least to the naked eye.

He was disappointed.

“You’re an Eastern leader, too. You should—”

Donis was still speaking when Ye Zhongming suddenly kicked him into the cave, sending him crashing onto the white filaments.

This time, the reaction was far quicker. Almost the instant Donis landed, several filaments lashed out, coiling around him. Donis screamed in terror, thrashing with what little strength he had left—but it was useless. Soon, the protrusions extended, piercing his body.

Gradually, his cries weakened, and he slipped into unconsciousness, just like Talking Lady.

A living eight-star evolved was clearly more appealing than a dead one. Five filaments eventually latched onto him, almost all of the remaining threads near the demon crystals did.

After a moment’s thought, Ye Zhongming grabbed Pei Jia and hurled him as well. Mid-flight, he used a healing crystal on him.

As expected, the white filaments ensnared Pei Jia, too.

Ye Zhongming then used another healing crystal on Donis.

“You… you devil!”

By now, Achinas fully understood why Ye Zhongming was healing them. He let out a hoarse, almost tearful roar.

Annoyed, Ye Zhongming kicked out, shattering the handsome man’s jaw before tossing him into the cave as well.

Naturally, he used a healing crystal on Achinas, too.

And so, Ye Zhongming methodically hung each “nutrient vessel” on the white filaments, continuously healing them to sustain their bodies—but with their limbs broken and bound by the threads, escape was impossible.

All that remained was to observe the filaments’ reaction.

Then, at last—

One of the threads wrapped around Talking Lady… loosened.