Morning Star

The two quickly made their way to the rooftop to assess the situation.

From all directions, a dense horde of zombies surged, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The ground was mostly filled with ordinary walking zombies, but their numbers were beyond counting.

The Glutton leaped between buildings, shattering glass and signs as it bounded through the steel jungle.

The Greedy One limped along the ground, occasionally using its blade-like arms to slice through the bodies of ordinary zombies blocking its path.

The ordinary zombies, even after being cut down, continued to crawl relentlessly in this direction.

The Butcher emerged from the rooftop of a nearby building, dragging its massive hook along the ground, sparks flying from the metal. Its grotesque eyes bulged, casting a malicious gaze in their direction.

"Boom! Boom!"

The earth-shaking footsteps of several Wrathful Ones could be heard in the distance, their presence as imposing as a landslide.

The Sloth, using invisible hands like a spider, climbed and moved between buildings, seemingly all in an "awakened" state.

All the zombies appeared to be driven by some unseen force, closing in and surrounding them.

The dark clouds pressed down on the city, threatening to crush it.

Ning Yu recalled a line from a poem that described such a scene, and the pressure from the zombie horde felt exactly like that.

The rising sun, as if sensing the terrifying aura, dared only to cast a faint light from afar.

It illuminated the rooftop of the high-end hotel where the two stood, as if this were the last light in the world.

Beyond this beam of light lay endless despair.

The building they were in felt like an isolated island, surrounded by a raging storm.

The single beam of light shone on Ning Yu's silver hair, reflecting through her strands and into her eyes, causing her to squint slightly.

"I didn’t realize I was so important," Ning Yu said with a self-deprecating smile, still managing to joke in such a dire situation.

"Big sister, things are really bad," Ning Xuan said nervously. Her prosthetic devices were fully deployed, and the thrusters on her arms and ankles were already emitting high heat, distorting the air around her.

Soon, she began to float, gently bobbing up and down.

"Can you fly?" Ning Yu asked, glancing at her. In a situation like this, anyone who wasn’t a fool would know that the best course of action was to flee.

The Blood Kite in her hand, now awakened, had never been so excited. Though it had yet to taste blood, it was already glowing faintly.

It seemed to crave devouring the flesh and blood of all the mutated zombies around them.

"I should have enough energy to fly out of this encirclement," Ning Xuan said, reaching out her hand to Ning Yu. The rising sun peeked out from behind her, too timid to offer more light.

But in Ning Yu’s eyes, Ning Xuan looked like an angel born from the morning sun, lacking only a pair of wings.

Just as Ning Yu was about to take her hand, their fingers almost touching, she suddenly froze, her pupils contracting sharply. She felt a deep, soul-crushing pressure.

Ning Yu immediately stopped her movement and swung the Blood Kite to the side.

A gray-black light, appearing out of nowhere, came hurtling toward her with the force of a thunderbolt, almost striking her.

Ning Xuan reacted quickly, deploying a preheated invisible barrier in front of Ning Yu. The gray-black light slammed into it.

However, the barrier, which had seemed indestructible, shattered after just 0.5 seconds, and the gray-black light continued toward Ning Yu, who was holding her blade.

Without a second thought, Ning Yu knew she couldn’t withstand the attack directly, so she activated [Blood Mirror].

Just as the light struck the shield formed by the Blood Kite, it was perfectly deflected and shot back toward its source.

But the direction it came from was empty, with only an unfortunate office building in its path. The deflected light pierced through the building, causing a massive explosion.

The entire floor that was hit was obliterated, and the floors above it collapsed downward before the entire structure tilted and fell.

"BOOM!!!!"

The massive debris crushed the zombies below, with only the mutated ones managing to dodge in time.

The dust that rose obscured the area, leaving the entire street a bloody mess.

[You have killed an ordinary zombie, +10 points]

[You have killed an ordinary zombie, +11 points]

...

Ning Yu’s mind was flooded with countless notifications. She hadn’t expected that even this would count as her kills.

But she felt no joy, as the power of that gray-black light had left her shaken.

If she had tried to block it with just the Blood Kite, she would have lost her life.

But now [Blood Mirror] was on cooldown. If more attacks like that came, she would have no choice but to flee in panic.

"Long time no see, Miss Fake," a soft, girlish voice suddenly rang out, echoing in the sky. The voice was ethereal and melodious, as if it didn’t belong to this world.

Hearing this, Ning Xuan froze, staring in disbelief in the direction of the voice.

From the clouds that blocked the sun, countless disconnected staircases appeared, slowly descending and rotating as if paving a path.

A girl with ash-gray hair appeared at the top of the staircase and began to descend gracefully, her movements elegant and her steps light.

Her hair wasn’t the pure silver-white of Ning Yu and Ning Xuan, but a deeper, more obscure shade of gray.

She wore a pure black, elegant gown that clung to her perfect figure, leaving no inch to spare. The gown swayed gently with her movements.

Her pale thighs were almost unnaturally white, tinged with a faint gray that added an eerie touch to her otherwise icy demeanor.

When she reached the bottom step, Ning Yu finally got a clear look at her.

The girl’s eyes were deep black, but within that despairing darkness, stars seemed to twinkle, as if they contained all the stars and planets of the universe.

Those were definitely not human eyes, yet they did nothing to diminish her beauty.

A peculiar black teardrop symbol was painted below her left eye, as if she were weeping.

But someone like her seemed more likely to make others cry.

"Chen Xing, it’s you," Ning Xuan said, clearly recognizing the girl who had suddenly appeared. Her voice was filled with disbelief as she called out her name.

Chen Xing, hearing Ning Xuan’s words, responded in a commanding and authoritative tone:

"How dare you call me by my name? You impure creature."

All the staircases that had welcomed her down disappeared, and a blood-red European-style chair appeared behind her. The chair’s back was adorned with intricate, symmetrical patterns.

The ends of the chair were carved with roses of the same color, embellishing its back.

Chen Xing elegantly sat down, and a black crown gently materialized on her head.

"Clatter"

"Clatter"

The moment Chen Xing sat down, the dense horde of zombies on the ground suddenly acted like lowly subjects in the presence of their queen.

They all knelt down in unison, even producing a collective sound as they did so.

They raised their hands high, paying homage to her.

The faint light of the rising sun had completely disappeared.

Endless dark clouds now covered the entire sky.