Volume One, Chapter 14: The Eye of the Undead Emperor

Drip! Drip!

Qi Fengling knelt on the ground, his hands braced against the floor as droplets of liquid trickled from the corners of his eyes.

The intense pain made it nearly impossible for him to keep his eyes open. Through a blur, he could only see that the world before him had turned a deep, blood-red.

"No way! Are the gods really that vicious? The Zombie Emperor was fine after consuming so many Awakening Orbs, so why do I get punished for using just a few?"

Rubbing his eyes, Qi Fengling shouted in frustration, though his greatest fear was that he might have been blinded.

Wait!

Setting aside the pain in his eyes, Qi Fengling opened his attribute panel.

[Name: Qi Fengling]
[Race: Awakened]
[Level: Tier 1, Intermediate]
[Awakened Profession: Undead Emperor]
[Profession Grade: SSS]
[Strength: 20]
[Agility: 20]
[Spirit: 20]
[Constitution: 20]
[Inherent Skills: Undead Summoning (12/12): Can summon undead spirits from the Undead World; the level of the summoned undead cannot exceed the user's level by more than one.]
[Undead Dirge: Chant the Undead Requiem to double the attributes of all summoned undead within a 100-meter radius centered on the user; cooldown: one hour.]
[Eye of the Undead Emperor: The possessor can see the base attributes of any creature not more than one tier higher than themselves, including unique skills already used. (Ineffective against beings above Mythic grade.)]
[Undead Blood Sacrifice: Sacrifice the flesh and blood of living creatures to perform a powerful summoning; the value of the summoned entity varies based on the value of the sacrifice.]

After reviewing his full attributes again, Qi Fengling let out a long breath. A moment ago, he thought he was going blind! He hadn't expected that he had actually gained a new skill.

If that was the case, his eyes must have been replaced by the "Eye of the Undead Emperor."

Although the thought was a bit terrifying, as long as he could become stronger, Qi Fengling didn't care.

The "Eye of the Undead Emperor" was not a combat skill nor a support skill, but its utility was immense. For instance, if he had possessed this skill before battling the Zombie Emperor, he would have known all of the creature's base attributes. As for special skills, they might not be visible immediately, but they would be revealed once the opponent used them.

"Undead Blood Sacrifice?"

Seeing this skill, Qi Fengling couldn't help but frown; the name sounded incredibly bloody. It reminded him of a novel he had read, where the main villain continuously acquired such powerful abilities, only to be possessed by an evil god because he couldn't control the power.

"Why worry so much? If that day really comes, I'll drag that evil god down with me." But no sooner had this thought appeared than Qi Fengling dismissed it.

***

The pain in his eyes gradually subsided as time passed. After sitting quietly for another ten minutes, Qi Fengling stood up steadily.

"Do you guys think what they say on the internet is true?"

"It’s the apocalypse now; zombies have appeared, so I think those Awakening Orbs are real too."

"Wow! Does that mean I can cultivate like an immortal? Hahaha, I'm so excited!"

"Keep your voice down, damn it! What if there are zombies upstairs?"

"Trust me, there aren't. Yesterday, I saw someone leading a group of skeletons, killing all the zombies up there."

"Bullshit! I was terrified last night. I was hiding, and a blood-soaked zombie broke through the glass and came in."

"I thought I was dead yesterday! But unexpectedly, the zombie just ran away; it didn't even pay me any mind."

"Stop spouting nonsense! Zombies these days can barely walk, let alone jump out of buildings. You’re such a braggart."

"Damn it, why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, go check my room!"

"You think I..."

"Enough, stop arguing. Let's go up and see if we can find those Awakening Orbs first!"

Just as Qi Fengling regained his strength, the sound of human voices echoed from the staircase, growing steadily closer.

In a skyscraper this size, it was reasonable that there were people he hadn't found, but the content of their conversation piqued his interest.

First, someone had witnessed him leading his skeleton squad. Second, someone had encountered the Zombie Emperor; according to them, the Zombie Emperor had been severely wounded yesterday and, fearing that Qi Fengling would hunt him down, had fled without eating anyone. Third, they were here searching for Awakening Orbs.

To avoid startling them, Qi Fengling decisively dismissed his skeleton warriors, adjusted his demeanor, and walked toward them.

"B-big brother, look, there’s, there’s someone!"

"No shit, are you not a person? Or am I not a person?"

"No, no, Big Brother, look!" One of the men was clearly panicked, unable to speak clearly, and could only gesture toward the front.

"Hey kid, who are you? Are you human or a zombie?" The leader turned around and saw Qi Fengling walking toward them. Out of caution, the man raised the kitchen knife in his hand.

Qi Fengling ignored them and silently activated his "Eye of the Undead Emperor."

[Name: Liu Qiang]
[Race: Human]
[Level: None]
[Strength: 6]
[Agility: 4]
[Spirit: 3]
[Constitution: 4]
[Skills: None]

The "Eye of the Undead Emperor" was indeed useful; in the blink of an eye, the man's basic information was revealed to him. Liu Qiang's base attributes were quite decent, which explained how he had survived this long and become the leader of the group. If not for his own unique circumstances, this group of risk-takers might have become Awakened today.

"Kid, don't come any closer, or I’ll use this!" Liu Qiang's hand trembled, but his gaze remained firm.

"You..."

"Don't be surprised. Tell your underlings to stay calm; I am human." Before Liu Qiang could react, Qi Fengling had rushed to his side. Furthermore, the weapon that had been in the man's hand a second ago was now pressed against his own throat.

Is this the power of an Awakened? If it were his old, weak self, he would have been finished by this guy in seconds.

"Stop! Everyone, stop!" Feeling the overwhelming power of Qi Fengling, Liu Qiang dared not resist and immediately ordered his subordinates to stand down.

Under Liu Qiang's command, the four of them stood obediently before Qi Fengling.

"From now on, you answer whatever I ask. Do you understand?" Qi Fengling didn't want to waste time; he only wanted information about the area.

"Yes, yes! We will tell you everything we know," Liu Qiang replied. He was certainly one to know when to bow.

"Where do you all live? How many people are still alive in this building? How much food do you have left?" Qi Fengling went straight to the critical questions.

"Big Brother, we live on the twenty-third floor. There should still be twenty..." The man's words were cut off by Liu Qiang.

"Heh, Big Brother, listen to me. The apocalypse came too fast. Besides the four of us, there are only two women who haven't come out. As for food... uh..."

Liu Qiang’s answer was evasive, as if he were deliberately hiding something. When he mentioned food, his eyes darted away.

It was obvious—to ordinary people, food was the most precious resource. He was likely afraid that Qi Fengling would rob them. As for how many people were alive, Qi Fengling didn't care; he had only asked out of curiosity.

"Alright, that's enough. You can go," Qi Fengling said, having no desire to associate with them. He tossed the kitchen knife aside and prepared to head downstairs.

"B-big brother, did you come down from the top floor?" Liu Qiang asked proactively before Qi Fengling had taken two steps.

"Yes."

"Big Brother! Up there, did you happen to see any black orbs?" Liu Qiang asked cautiously.

"No." It wasn't that Qi Fengling was being cold; he was just a bit embarrassed, as the Awakening Orbs they were looking for had all been consumed by him.

"..." Liu Qiang was silent for a moment before saying, "Big Brother, would you like to come and sit with us for a while?"

Qi Fengling didn't notice that hidden beneath Liu Qiang's respectful expression was a flicker of malice.