To the Start of a New World

2.7

An ethereal human being stood in the clearing. It was a tall and slender man with a somewhat delicate appearance, like a piece of beautiful and ornate lace which could be ripped apart if pulled too hard. His skin was nearly as white as the fog, and his hair was so dark it was like looking into a pit. He wore a simple long-sleeved shirt and slacks, and his back faced Lu Hao.

In front of this man were several corpses stacked atop each other, and the man's hand was covered dark red from the blood and flesh he pulled from the human bodies.

When Lu Hao came into the clearing, the man ignored his presence for the first few seconds. Only after he had finished eating did he turn around.

His facial features were beautiful, as if carved from sculpture, and if weren't for the pitch-black sclera of his eyes, it would be impossible to tell he was anything other than human.

The zombie stared at Lu Hao with a piercing and assessing gaze. Lu Hao knew, deep in his gut, that this creature in front of him had an intellect and fighting capability far greater than any other zombie he had ever encountered, and for the first time, Lu Hao's instincts screamed at him to run.

Sweat broke over Lu Hao's back. He stood his ground.

"...Who are you?"

The zombie didn't answer. It just stared, eerie and unmoving.

And then-

-In the blink of an eye, it was in front of Lu Hao.

Lu Hao didn't even have time to react before a claw gripped his throat, choking him. The zombie began to lift Lu Hao in the air, and the second Lu Hao's feet left the ground, his instincts finally caught up. A burst of electricity coursed over Lu Hao's body, snaking down the zombie's arm. Yet even though this burst of energy would be enough to smash a building to smithereens or explode a thousand level 10 zombies, the energy dissipated when it reached the zombie's shoulder.

Lu Hao was left helpless in the zombie's grasp.

"Bastard...!" Gritting his teeth, Lu Hao tried to pry the zombie's fingers from his neck. The air around him crackled and sparked with energy, but nothing budged the zombie. It just tilted its head, and seemed almost... disappointed.

Then, something seemed to change around the zombie.

Like an aura coming to life, the air pressed down, suffocating Lu Hao. Every inch of his body felt immovable, almost like he'd been dropped into cement. He could hardly breathe, and he could feel his chest weakly squeezing around his heart.

The zombie dropped Lu Hao to its feet. It looked down at him, solemn and expressionless, and though Lu Hao struggled and tried to move, tried to speak, tried to do anything-the zombie simply walked away, its feet lightly brushing against the crisp and dewy grass.

Lu Hao was left there, helpless and bound, staring up at the unnaturally clouded and foggy sky.

Though the girl who carried Hong Sheng was small - far shorter than Hong Sheng, who was not that tall himself - she was surprisingly strong and quick. She quietly crossed a distance of two hundred meters in a few minutes. By that time, Hong Sheng had begun regaining some control of his body, and he attempted to lift his feet to walk.

He wanted to propel himself away from her, but the girl clutched onto him and shook her head, forcefully dragging him along. She was mouthing words at him, but Hong Sheng didn't know how to read lips and could only stare at her blankly.