However,
Blade Tyrant did not immediately end Ma Cheng's life.
Instead, alongside Tyrant,
They dragged the barely breathing, near-death Ma Cheng, resembling a lifeless dog, to the villa, seeking to present him to their leader—Zhang Yang!
For Zhang Yang had stated,
Should any humans trespass into their territory, they were free to handle the matter themselves, leaving a single survivor to be brought before him for interrogation.
Ma Cheng,
Was the sole survivor left by Blade Tyrant.
Inside the villa,
"Boss, we've brought you a prisoner. Please, have him interrogated,"
Blade Tyrant respectfully lowered his head.
Tyrant, on the other hand, roughly tossed the crippled Ma Cheng—whose legs had been severed and whose life hung by a thread—onto the ground, eliciting a pained scream.
Yet, Ma Cheng gritted his teeth and raised his head to look at the 'boss' mentioned by the two first-tier zombies.
What a shock it was upon seeing him!
Ma Cheng saw a pale, handsome young man, elegantly dressed, casually reclining on the sofa. He was watching a movie on the television while leisurely swirling a goblet filled with red liquid.
One word: elegance!
"Is this the so-called boss of the two zombies? The true king of this territory? He's... really a zombie?!"
A wave of shock after shock crashed over Ma Cheng's heart.
He couldn't help but swallow, feeling a growing sense of despair for humanity's future.
At that moment,
Tyrant kicked the imprisoned human, causing Ma Cheng to cry out in pain, before Tyrant barked:
"What are you waiting for? Speak! Tell us everything!"
"Ha ha ha! To the victor goes the spoils, to the defeated the punishment. I, Ma Cheng, have fallen into your hands, so death is inevitable. You won't get a word out of me!"
Ma Cheng laughed, defiant to the end.
His wife and children had perished at the hands of zombies, fueling his intense hatred toward them.
Seeing this,
Tyrant prepared to strike,
But Zhang Yang intervened, calling out to Tyrant:
"Stop."
At the command of the king of the undead, Tyrant hesitated and slowly lowered his arm, still radiating an aura of dominance.
Zhang Yang, with an amused glint in his eye, turned toward Ma Cheng, observing him.
The goblet of blood in his hand ceased to tremble.
In an instant,
A terrifying pressure descended, as if a mountain had fallen upon Ma Cheng. The weight was unbearable.
A mental force materialized as a field of pressure, crushing Ma Cheng to the point where he felt his bones were about to shatter, his breath nearly impossible to take, as if he were plummeting into hell!
Zhang Yang's voice, slow and deliberate, echoed:
"In the apocalypse, human life is the least valuable thing. Death happens constantly, but the manner of death... the pain endured in the process varies greatly."
"For instance, I could have Blade Tyrant sever your head cleanly, ending your misery swiftly."
"Or, I could have Tyrant crush every bone in your body into dust, making you suffer in agony, struggling like a worm until you die from asphyxiation."
"Just saying it probably doesn't do justice to the pain. Tyrant, let this human experience it first."
Zhang Yang, like a ruler atop his throne, casually issued the command.
Tyrant, who had been eagerly waiting, wasted no time, nodding eagerly:
"Alright, boss. I'll start by breaking his arms!"
Crack! Crack!
The powerful fists, imbued with Tyrant's aura, landed with precision, controlling the force so that the outer body remained intact, while every bone in Ma Cheng's arms was pulverized.
The arms could no longer be lifted, instead flopping like useless appendages, and Ma Cheng screamed in excruciating pain, his face turning as pale as death, teetering on the brink of unconsciousness.
"How about now? Will you talk?"
Zhang Yang pressed again,
Offering a promise:
"Cooperate, and I'll give you a quick end."
Before Ma Cheng could respond,
Zhang Yang, without waiting for a reply, prepared to order Tyrant to break Ma Cheng's remaining legs.
Desperate for an end to the torment,
Ma Cheng, too weak to resist, quickly gathered the last of his strength, crying out:
"I'll speak! I'll tell you everything!"
He immediately divulged everything about the 9th Search Team, and even the general situation of the Rongfeng District shelter, detailing it all without leaving out a word, trembling as if he were rattling a sieve.
The official authorities had been expending vast amounts of manpower, resources, and funds, establishing shelters throughout the area, in both large and small districts,
Collecting survivors and defending against the mutated creatures, while working to reclaim lost territories.
Rongfeng District, where Zhang Yang resided, had been one of the earlier-established shelters.
The population there was around 8,000, with 2,000 being military personnel, and 300 evolved individuals across first and second stages, with the rest being ordinary people.
But the situation in Rongfeng District was dire.
The shelter was cramped, overcrowded, and severely lacking in supplies. The refugees were demoralized, with forced robberies and violent incidents occurring frequently, while the higher-ups could do little, turning a blind eye.
At the same time, search teams, composed of both evolvers and regular citizens, were continually sent into dangerous areas to gather resources or rescue trapped survivors.
There were a total of thirteen such teams.
The team led by Ma Cheng, number 9, ranked in the middle in terms of overall strength.
Not only that,
Ma Cheng had heard rumors of some notorious anti-social elements, even before the apocalypse, who, upon the world's collapse, grew even more audacious, banding together to form an underground faction known as the Black Sha Association.
This group of scoundrels not only fought zombies and mutated creatures but also turned their blades against their fellow humans, with many in the shelter falling victim to their merciless hands.
The rivalry between these two factions was one of extreme hostility.
Such information, known only to those within, piqued Zhang Yang's interest.
"The Black Sha Association?"
He mused, a slight smile tugging at his lips:
"I look forward to meeting these individuals."
At last,
Ma Cheng had spilled all the information he knew, with not a single detail withheld.
He seemed to seek redemption,
Crumpled on the ground, barely able to move, he pleaded desperately:
"I've told you everything I know! Please, end it quickly—I can't take much more..."
"Grant him his wish,"
Zhang Yang, ever the man of his word,
Signaled Blade Tyrant with a glance.
The latter, understanding immediately, unsheathed his oversized broadsword and cleaved downward.
With a single stroke, Ma Cheng's head was severed, granting him the release he had sought.
Blade Tyrant then reached into the corpse's chest and extracted a translucent, crystalline energy core—a rare treasure for evolvers. He carefully stored it, preparing to present it to their master, Zhang Yang.
Tyrant, having retrieved his own prize, approached Zhang Yang alongside Blade Tyrant.
"Boss, here is your offering!"
"Good,"
Zhang Yang responded, appreciative of the gesture. He accepted the two energy cores, then gestured for the bodies of the search team members to be dealt with as the subordinates saw fit.