CH 136

Chapter 136: Black talisman

As Huo Zaiyuan's interdimensional space contains a lot of items, the bag of food he takes out can be considered very luxurious now, at this stage of the apocalypse. A bag of five instant noodles, three cup noodles, five loaves of soft bread and a few bottles of milk tea and fruit juice.

"Heavens ah, I haven't eaten such soft bread in a long while. How in the world did you manage to get hold of this?" Cradling the loaf in his hands, An Mingxi reverently takes a bite out of it.

When the apocalypse began, although the safe zones in the top five cities were swiftly established, wasting no time to bring in survivors and scavenge supplies, bread is still a perishable good with a short shelf-life. There is no stopping it from becoming mouldy after a few days. Thus, with the passing of time, even instant noodles have become a rarity, let alone bread.

"On the way from Z City to A City, little Yuan and I came across a few shopping malls and manage to find materials for baking cakes. Once we returned to A City, we met a baker and gave him materials to bake with," Long Zhanye answers without hesitation.

Naturally, what he said was all a lie. Huo Zaiyuan has all sorts of food within his space, don't say a few loaves of bread. However, this explanation wouldn't make one doubt his ability to produce such soft and delicious bread from seemingly nowhere.

"So good." An Mingxi's eyes shine with happiness before a trace of regret seeps in. "I don't have such luck being able to meet a baker or whatever, and also don't know how to bake. Not long after Judgement Day, most shopping malls were already looted clean. Now, only select places with many zombies still hold a lot of goods. But, of course, one will need to risk their lives when looting those places."

"If you follow this older brother, even if the food is not very appetizing, at least you wouldn't go hungry." Seated to one side, Long Hongjian declares even as he contentedly devours a cup noodle.

"Uhuh, older brother Hong, don't worry. I wouldn't abandon you and follow eldest brother Long just because he has soft bread." An Mingxi comforts with a smile.

"Un, so well-behaved."

The short interaction between cause the others to laugh out loud. In this cold, dim house, it provides everyone within with a blanket of warmth and comfort.

After their meal, everyone settles down in the hall to rest. Huo Zaiyuan sits cross-legged before the coffee table and takes out the black talisman folded into a square.

"Junior Martial Uncle, what are you planning to do with it?" An Mingxi slinks over, staring inquisitively as Huo Zaiyuan begins to unfold it.

Overhearing An Mingxi's question, Long Zhanye who is laying on the sofa sits up and leans forward. Long Hongjian also approaches, and Ah Shou and Ah Gong's gazes fall on Huo Zaiyuan.

Slender fingers flip the black paper over, nimbly unfolding it before smoothing it out on the table, displaying it for everyone to see. A series of characters are written on the paper with a strange purple ink, which emits a chilling aura that causes one's hair to stand on end.

"What…what sort of rune is this? Junior Martial Uncle, you…have you come across this before?" An Mingxi turns to Huo Zaiyuan, asking in a small, cautious tone.

For some reason, he feels this talisman is really weird and eerie…

"I have never come across this rune before, but I do recall seeing something similar," Huo Zaiyuan replies, then pulls the backpack of food towards him. Reaching in while pretending to search for something, he takes out the Zhang family's ancient text from his space.

An Mingxi's cultivation is still pretty low, and the others do not understand Taoist Arts. Thus, they will only be able to feel the chilly aura emitting from the talisman when they look at it. For Huo Zaiyuan who is already at the fourth level and meditate every night, however, he is extremely sensitive to demonic aura and evil energy. Thus, not only can he feel the evil energy seeping out of the rune, he is also able to see the faint aura of death permeating this talisman.

Flipping through the book, he quickly finds the page he is looking for. Then he lays it flat on the table for everyone to read.

"Charm for expelling the dead?" Long Zhanye frowns as he glances at Huo Zaiyuan for further explanation.

"If you simply look at it as a charm for expelling the dead, then you probably wouldn't be able to see the connection between this and controlling zombies. On top of that, if one only hears the name of this charm, they will think it is a simple spell to exorcise the dead. But what if I bluntly call it "overtaking corpses"? What sort of connections will you make after hearing this?" Huo Zaiyuan sweeps a glance over the gathered men.

"Un, I know this. When I was with my old platoon, we went to a place where the phrase "overtaking corpses" is deeply integrated into their culture. According to the shaman or priest or whatever he was, this method is used to retrieve dead bodies of those who died in a foreign land due to war or some other cause, bringing them back to be buried in their homeland." Ah Shou speaks up.

"But that's all a scam. They mentioned this on TV before." Ah Gong waves a hand in dismissal.

"There are some things in this world that science cannot explain ah," An Mingxi says. "Just like how Junior Martial Uncle and I are able to utilise talismans. If this is still before the apocalypse, our abilities would be dismissed as lies created to cheat people."

"Right, right." Ah Shou nods.

"Eh…whether or not this matter of "overtaking corpses" is a scam, we will not investigate too deeply. Let's all take a look at the rune on this page and compare it to the one drawn on the talisman." Afraid that they will stray too far off topic, Huo Zaiyuan interrupts them and shifts their attention to the table.

"They do look different, but I feel there's a resemblance somewhere. Either way, I don't understand what's being written." Long Hongjian is evidently an individual with no innate talent for runes if this is what he says after a few seconds of scrutiny.

"I can't make sense of it either. It's all just one big undecipherable drawing." Ah Gong admits defeat too.

"The head of the rune is identical, but the end seems to have been altered." Long Zhanye has watched Huo Zaiyuan draw runes countless times. Once, when he had given in to his curiosity, he asked Huo Zaiyuan to explain the basics of rune-drawing. Fundamentally, he understands that runes are divided into three parts: the head, body and end. Scanning through the two runes and comparing them, the difference is clear.

"Mhm, eldest brother Long is correct. The end of the rune has clearly been altered by someone." An Mingxi nods in agreement. "Junior Martial Uncle, could it be this rune was specially altered to fit the zombies?"

"Quite possibly," Huo Zaiyuan replies.

"In other words, this mysterious organisation is extremely dangerous. If they are able to plant a talisman on each undead they come across, wouldn't they be able to control a large swarm and have them attack the safe zone?" Ah Shou's expression turns grave.

"That's unlikely." Huo Zaiyuan shakes his head. "Doesn't matter if this person uses Taoist Arts or sorcery, there is definitely a limit to how many one can control. Also, the more targets to exert influence over, the more energy will be consumed. When the person's power is exhausted, they will most likely experience a bite-back, which means the zombies under their control will turn on them."

"Hang on, little Yuan." A thought seems to strike Long Zhanye. "You said that when a person controls a large swarm of undead, they will waste a lot of energy. So what if amongst this group of controlled zombies, there happen to be an evolved one?"

A short while back, the safe zone's research institute made a comprehensive list of different kind of zombies, allocating ranks to classify them. So far, there are four different ranks of undead.

Ordinary/common zombie: the kind that wanders around the streets, in the wilderness, loitering within buildings. These are ones you can see everywhere. Acute sense of smell and hearing, their manner of attack is very basic. Scratching, biting, taking advantage of numbers to surround a prey. Danger level of 0 stars. An ordinary person will be able to kill it simply by removing its head.

Rank 1 evolved zombie: Can be seen occasionally amongst a swarm of common ones. Acute sense of smell and hearing. One physical aspect (speed, strength, endurance, etc) will be higher than average. Manner of attack consists of pouncing, scratching and biting. Danger level of 1 star. Someone with better reflexes will be able to kill it by removing its head. (Supplier of information: C City's Shan Ling[1] squad.)

Rank 2 evolved zombie: Only one will appear in a moderate-sized colony of undead. Acute sense of smell and hearing. High reaction speed. Higher speed, strength and endurance than Rank 1 zombies and possesses longer claws. Manner of attack is clawing, biting, ambushing. Danger level of 2 stars. One should not act impulsively when faced with this kind of zombie. Ideally, surround and attack in unison with squad members. Can be killed once the head is removed from the body. (Supplier of information: Long Zhanye.) [The zombie they met in Z City's garage is a Rank 2.]

Rank 3 zombie: Only one will appear in a large-size colony of undead. Increased sense of smell and hearing. Superb reaction speed and knows how to plan attacks. Speed, strength and endurance are even higher than Rank 2. Claws are long and razor-sharp. Manner of attack includes pouncing, clawing, biting, controlling common zombies to surround preys. Able to regenerate via consuming brains of its kin. Danger level of 3 stars and above. Ideally, surround and attack in unison with all squad members. First, dismember all four limbs before chopping of the head. Priests are to burn the corpse immediately after. (Supplier of information: E City's commando squad.)

Special mutant zombie: Only one will appear in a large-size colony of undead. Place of discovery: hospital. All physical aspects are stronger than Rank 3 zombies. Capable of enormous destruction. Long fingernails are razor-sharp and extremely durable, able to tear through defence arrays. Possesses a mouthful of sharp teeth. Even if the head is separated from the body, it is still capable of moving. Danger level: very high. Will chase preys until injured or dead. Method to kill it: Behead and burn immediately with spiritual fire. (Supplier of information: Long Zhanye.)

"Are you saying this person is controlling a zombie Rank 3 or above and thus has control over the common zombies too?" Long Hongjian looks at Long Zhanye.

As the commander of B base, he naturally memorised every information regarding the zombies.

"Correct." Long Zhanye nods. "You unexpectedly managed to bring down a Rank 3 zombie, therefore, you got your hands on this talisman."

Footnotes:

[1] Shan Ling (山岭) = Mountain ridge