"Um..."
Tan Xinger slowly backed away, reaching for the wooden stick as she passed by the zombie on the ground. Nervously, her hand shook several times before she managed to pull the stick out.
With a weapon in hand, Tan Xinger felt a bit more confident, but still couldn't shake the chill down her spine as she looked at the headless zombie. It felt like there were eyes staring at her, not just one pair, but countless pairs from all directions, wanting to tear her clothes apart and shred her to pieces.
"Maybe I should just end it all," Tan Xinger thought to herself.
She continued to back away slowly, accidentally bumping into a shelf. Though the noise wasn't loud, fear made her shiver.
Tan Xinger glanced at the closed glass door, feeling grateful that Gu Jingyong had closed it just before he disappeared. Otherwise, those zombies with their grimacing faces would have rushed in and torn her apart.
But now, she was trapped. The headless zombie "stared" at her, slowly approaching.
Tan Xinger had nowhere else to go. Behind her was the narrow convenience store, with shelves blocking her path. The floor was cluttered with goods, a single misstep could make her fall.
She felt the murderous intent emanating from the headless zombie. Though she didn't understand why its killing intent suddenly became so strong, she knew she was in real danger.
Knowing she could respawn was one thing, but facing death was another. Suddenly, Tan Xinger didn't want to die like this. After all, she was the one in control.
In the next moment, Tan Xinger gritted her teeth, grabbed the wooden stick tightly, and charged at the headless zombie, aiming for its chest with all her might.
The headless zombie sensed her intention and dodged at the last moment.
Her attack missed, and before Tan Xinger could recover, she was sent flying as the zombie lunged at her.
She hit the ground hard, sliding several meters forward and crashing into the wall.
Tan Xinger's vision blurred, dizziness washing over her. She struggled to get up, but couldn't control her body and fell back down.
The zombie turned around and charged at her again.
At the last moment, Tan Xinger grabbed a nearby object and threw it at the zombie, buying herself a few seconds.
Then, with all her strength and ignoring the pain, she ran towards the back of the convenience store.
During the brief respite, she spotted a sliding door leading to the storage room. It was her only chance to survive.
Tan Xinger quickly planned her route, picking up objects to distract the zombie and lead it away. She made her way through the cluttered shelves towards the storage room.
Many shelves had been knocked over, making it difficult to find footing. But with injuries all over her body, she didn't care about a few more bruises.
As Tan Xinger squeezed through a gap between shelves, she saw the zombie closing in. She immediately kicked off the shelves and headed for the dead-end corner of the room.
The zombie pursued relentlessly, toppling shelves with brute force, creating a deafening noise.
Tan Xinger and the zombie chased each other, narrowly avoiding being crushed by falling shelves multiple times, a terrifying sight to behold.
In the vastness of the convenience store, there was another unknown space.
This place resembled a small dark room, with something flickering in the darkness. Standing in the center was the vanished Gu Jingyong.
His face was ashen, exuding a palpable pressure, making anyone who saw him feel a sense of dread.
In front of Gu Jingyong was a faint light screen, displaying the scene of Tan Xinger's ordeal outside.
In the light screen, Tan Xinger successfully led the zombie to a closed-off corner, then crouched down and squeezed through a gap between the wall and a collapsed shelf.
Unprepared for her move, the zombie was caught off guard as Tan Xinger emerged on its right side and pushed the shelf towards it with all her strength.
The zombie, unable to react in time, was crushed by the shelves and pinned against the wall. Despite its struggles, it couldn't manage to stand up.
Tan Xinger hadn't even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw the zombie trapped underneath violently thrashing about, causing several shelves to shake and nearly topple over.
Tan Xinger couldn't believe it. She quickly tried to add another layer of restraint by moving a nearby shelf closer.
However, the zombie's strength was evidently greater. Just as Tan Xinger bent down, she heard the sound of metal scraping against metal. Then, a shelf came crashing straight towards her.
Caught off guard, Tan Xinger hesitated for a moment before reacting. She swiftly moved backward, narrowly avoiding the oncoming shelf with her feet grazing its edge.
The shelf landed on the tiled floor, leaving deep marks as it skidded across, eventually coming to a stop against the opposite wall.
The grating noise finally ceased, and Tan Xinger's ears were finally granted some peace. But the memory of what had just happened left her feeling dazed, her heart pounding, and even experiencing auditory hallucinations.
Seeing Tan Xinger unharmed, Gu Jingyong slowly released his tightly clenched hands, a barely perceptible sigh of relief escaping him as his stiff back relaxed.
The freezing coldness surrounding him intensified. Gu Jingyong stared ahead, where several small blue stars were flickering in the darkness, gradually expanding.
"What are you trying to do?" Gu Jingyong said indifferently, his voice steady as if unaffected by any influence.
"Is he angry?"
"He's upset."
"Is it her? Is it her?"
"Don't push me!"
Strange voices suddenly filled the previously silent dark room. Some sounded like three-year-old children, others like adult women, and some like elderly men on the verge of death.
No, it wasn't just that. There were many more voices mixed in, murmuring like mosquitoes in one's ear.
"Silence."
Gu Jingyong closed his eyes slightly, his gaze filled with a chilling intent as he stared at the orbs surrounding him.
The sesame-sized dots of light had expanded hundreds of times, and fist-sized blue orbs emitted eerie light, drifting in the air like will-o'-the-wisps.
"Ugh, I can't breathe!"
A childish voice sounded, sharp and reminiscent of a playful child's scream.
Other voices chimed in, creating a cacophony, until a clear voice broke through the chaos.
"Alright, quiet down."
It was a refined male voice. As soon as he spoke, the other voices quickly faded away, and the room gradually returned to silence.
"If you're injured, it's best not to use your skills recklessly."
The refined male voice chuckled. Among the blue orbs, one stood out and slowly moved in front of Gu Jingyong. Maintaining an arm's length distance, it met his gaze.
Gu Jingyong looked at the blue orb and smirked. With a swift motion of his hand, a violent gust of wind swept through.
The blue orb was sent flying, rolling in the air before finally coming to a stop.
"Oh!"
"What are you doing?"
"He's attacking!"
Just seconds after the room had quieted down, the voices erupted once more. The orbs danced around the fallen one, buzzing with agitation.
"Don't be so impulsive. She's fine, isn't she?"
The refined male voice chuckled, seemingly unperturbed. The orbs moved again, dispersing the nearby smaller orbs, and returned to hover in front of Gu Jingyong.
"Look, she's hiding."
One of the orbs flew towards the light screen, where a tiny figure was moving a table behind the door, just one door away from the headless zombie.
The zombie was relentlessly pounding on the door, each blow leaving cracks in the glass. It wouldn't hold much longer.
Gu Jingyong withdrew his gaze from the screen and glared at the orbs, his voice cold. "Withdraw your power. I'm leaving."
"You've only just arrived, why the rush to leave? It seems she's really important to you. Not only can she lure you into the midst of the zombies using her projection, but she can also distract you."
The blue orb flickered before quickly disappearing, and Gu Jingyong's sharp gaze immediately turned towards the orbs, his murderous intent barely concealed.
With that, Gu Jingyong lost track of Tan Xinger's movements entirely.
Seemingly struck by a realization, Gu Jingyong suddenly let out a cold laugh. When he looked up, there was a hint of eerie redness in his eyes, sending shivers down one's spine.
"I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it," Gu Jingyong said slowly, raising his hand towards the direction of the orbs and clenching his fist tightly.
The air transformed into blades of Qi, smashing towards the orbs with overwhelming force, causing a sharp sound to resonate in the air.
The blue orb was split into two halves as if it were a lump of clay, twisting a couple of times before miraculously rejoining.
"Haha, useless, isn't it?"
"Hmph, you think you can bully us!"
Amidst the chaos of voices, Gu Jingyong raised an eyebrow, sneering. "Is that so?"
He then opened his palm, revealing some faint scratches, adding a touch of regret and eerie beauty.
The blue orbs floated around, emitting mocking laughter from time to time, unaware of what awaited them.
Just as the man who had spoken earlier was about to say something, the brightness of the blue orbs suddenly flickered, as if they had received a warning. Then, one of the orbs emitted a dazzling light.
Immediately after, a shout came from the man, "Stop!"
The other orbs looked surprised, but soon they knew what had happened.
Almost at the same time as the man's voice fell, the small orbs that had been making noise exploded like fireworks, scattering blue sparkles that turned into a puddle of blue stains on the ground.
"Ah!"
Along with this scene came a piercing scream of agony, echoing in the dark room before slowly fading away, as if it were all an illusion.
"Illusions, projections. You thought you could hide from me miles away, but I still control you," Gu Jingyong said, releasing his clenched fist and standing with his hands behind his back, his disdainful gaze fixed on the large cluster of blue orbs.
"Gu Jingyong, you're getting too arrogant!" The refined tone finally revealed its true nature, a rough voice like a beaten drum, hoarse yet sharp, making people dizzy.
Gu Jingyong looked at the blue orbs, clearly unstable, swaying intermittently, appearing quite irritated.
"If you want to see fireworks again, I don't mind making the effort," Gu Jingyong said impatiently, raising his hand, preparing to repeat the previous action.
The hoarse voice quickly stopped him, angrily saying, "Enough, you're going too far."
"It's just a matter of reciprocity," Gu Jingyong replied with a meaningful tone. The blue orbs naturally understood his meaning. They glanced at the blue stains on the ground but couldn't do anything about it.
All they could do was say angrily, "Then be prepared. I'm not sure if your friend is still alive."
"Hahaha."
With a laugh from the blue orbs, the room changed again. Gu Jingyong didn't hesitate to step into the light not far away, disappearing into the darkness.
"He's dead, he's dead!"
"He's too strong, we should throw him into the furnace!"
The white light disappeared, and whispers echoed in the darkness once again, chirping and chattering, intertwining.
"Enough, everyone. It's still early," the voice reprimanded lightly, finally restoring peace. In the dark room, only the blue orbs continued to flicker, gradually undergoing changes.
After flickering and twisting a few times, they seemed to grow larger and smaller, brighter and dimmer, as if something was trying to break free.
If one were to take a closer look, they would see that under the cover of light, pairs of eyes were opening and closing, blinking, revealing a piece of cloth covered with eyes.