Apocalypse Gachapon

Ye Zhongming appeared furious—both outwardly and inwardly—but he knew his inner rage wasn’t as intense as it seemed.

Since his rebirth, the area where he felt the most improvement, aside from his combat prowess, was his mental fortitude.

To any observer, he was currently facing a hopeless dead end.

Nine level-nine beings had surrounded him. Though one lay severely injured on the ground, he wasn’t dead—his companions had fed him healing medicine, and there was no telling when he might rise again.

On his side? Only two people. One had a broken arm and, after colliding with the little girl earlier, his breathing remained erratic—a clear sign of internal injuries.

Trapped in this mucous prison, afflicted by an unknown but undoubtedly severe curse, burdened with an injured comrade…

Every single factor was stacked against him.

Yet, having lived two lives, Ye Zhongming found himself eerily calm beneath the anger.

He was analyzing—how to kill.

That’s right. Ye Zhongming wasn’t thinking about fleeing immediately. He wanted to kill.

Could he slaughter all nine enemies here at once? Obviously not.

But he still wanted to kill.

His reasoning was simple.

Since their hatred was irreconcilable, a life-or-death struggle was inevitable. Even if he escaped now, it would only be temporary. The only solution was for one side to be completely wiped out.

Ye Zhongming didn’t want to die. So, he had to find a way to make them die instead.

“Seize!”

Aimusi, standing to the side, seemed to share Ye Zhongming’s mindset. Amid her stream of curses, she suddenly spat out a single word.

Ye Zhongming’s head suddenly felt heavy—and then, the world fell into absolute silence.

Not just quiet. A soundless void, as if all noise had been erased from existence.

Ye Zhongming immediately understood: his hearing was gone.

“Hahaha! Ye Zhongming, how does it feel? The King of Naka’s curse will strip away your five senses, one by one. Each day, I can erase another. Which one did you lose today? Let me guess, let me guess—you’re still looking at me, so it’s not sight. What a shame, that would’ve been the most useful!”

Aimusi cradled Adam’s corpse, her once-beautiful eyes now alight with a twisted mix of excitement and hatred.

“You’re still gripping your weapon, no strange movements—so it’s probably not touch either. Otherwise, you’d be checking your gear or body.”

“Then which is it? Smell? Taste? Or… hearing?”

Among the five senses, vision was the most critical in combat, followed by hearing and touch. Taste and smell were far less essential.

Ye Zhongming moved.

He had to. If these people realized he’d lost his hearing, they’d have countless ways to exploit it.

A massive shadow descended from above, forcing the surrounding enemies to look up. The colossal silhouette of a mountain loomed over them, its range encompassing them all.

Mountain’s Crushing Shadow!

One of the Mountain King Crown’s abilities!

A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Ye Zhongming’s mouth.

The Mountain King Crown, Sea King Crown, and other ruler-grade equipment were unique. Once obtained, they fused directly with their wielder, and their cooldowns could be forcibly reset—but at a steep cost, draining both mental and physical energy.

Using Mountain’s Crushing Shadow twice in one day was pushing even Ye Zhongming’s Beautiful Heavenly Body to its limits.

Especially since he’d been fighting nonstop all day.

The Netherworld Starbeing floated in the air, his robes billowing as strands of white energy surged from his body. Within seconds, they wove into a dense net, intercepting the descending mountain shadow.

Meanwhile, the Tearhound Ghost tribesman controlling the mucous prison made his “creation” pulsate rapidly. The membrane vibrated at high frequency as the bone framework stretched it outward like countless loaded slingshots ready to fire.

“Ye, if you don’t think of something fast, we’re really done for.”

Ye Zhongming couldn’t hear, of course—but he could see. He knew the enemy’s attack was imminent.

This was their assault… but also his opportunity.

He’d hoped to use the mountain shadow to shatter the prison. But now, it seemed the prison’s own attack mechanism might break it open preemptively.

Ye Zhongming decided to gamble. His already-moving body veered toward one side—where the mucous membrane’s “surface” was thinnest due to the irregular shape of the cage.

Stretched to its limit, the membrane rebounded with a series of booms, sending vibrations shooting toward Ye Zhongming and Jie Kui from all directions.

“Save yourself!” Ye Zhongming shouted (though he couldn’t hear his own words) as his Black Earth Armor materialized. Simultaneously, seeds he’d planted earlier sprouted wildly, forming barriers in front of and behind them.

He’d said to let Jie Kui fend for himself—but the Cloud Peak King wouldn’t let a comrade die so easily.

The membrane fired shockwaves of compressed air—and as Ye Zhongming predicted, it shattered upon release.

The prison’s purpose had been to trap Ye Zhongming and Jie Kui, preventing their escape. That goal was achieved. Whether it remained intact now hardly mattered.

To these enemies, the two were already trapped prey with no way out.

The plants Ye Zhongming had grown provided meager defense against the shockwaves, crumbling almost instantly—but they bought just enough time for both men to dodge. They split, each lunging in opposite directions.

Seeing the mucous prison break, Jie Kui didn’t hesitate. He activated Arc Shadow Shift again.

One advantage of skills learned in the celestial realm was their lack of cooldowns—as long as the user’s body could endure the strain.

This time, Jie Kui wasn’t targeting the little girl. He was fleeing for his life.

His body traced a wide arc, flashing through the broken cage toward a gap in the enemy formation—and bolted outward.

“I’ll handle him.” This was an easy job—chasing down a severely injured man with minimal risk and a chance to earn points. Compared to staying here, where they could only attack but not kill Ye Zhongming, it was far more appealing. Both the hunched long-armed creature and the little girl spoke simultaneously.

Hawkins nodded at the long-armed being, signaling him to go, and motioned for the tracking-specialist Tearhound Ghost tribesman to join.

The two of them were more than enough to handle one wounded man. The rest would stay to ensure Ye Zhongming didn’t escape.

“Give me ten extra points.”

The little girl seized the chance to negotiate.

“If you can beat me when this is over, I’ll give you twenty.”

Ye Zhongming had moved at the same time as Jie Kui, charging toward the two humanoid enemies. As Aimusi shut down the little girl’s demand, she rewrapped Adam’s corpse, slung it over her back, and followed her husband into the fray.