Chapter 8: You Said Your Boss Is an Eighth-Rank Corpse King?

Inside the tall building, a gaunt, pale young man spoke up, "Big brother, why aren't the zombies attacking him?"

Next to him stood a burly middle-aged man with a somewhat fierce appearance.

The burly man was equally puzzled. Under normal circumstances, the zombies should have pounced long ago. How could they just ignore him?

"Forget all that for now. Stick to the plan. His backpack should have plenty of supplies—enough for us to eat for a while!"

"But boss," the young man said, "look at him. He's so clean, and he’s carrying so many supplies. He must be pretty powerful. We might not be his match!"

The burly man sneered after hearing this. "What’s there to be afraid of? This kid doesn’t look like a high-level at all. He’s probably just lucky. At most, he’s first or second tier, about your level. I’m third tier—I can take him down easily."

The young man’s confidence surged but hesitated briefly before saying, "Uh, boss, once this is over, can I keep him? I think this kid still has some charm."

The burly man was genuinely surprised but then lowered his head to think for a moment. "Fine, but you only get to use your mouth. That part stays with me!"

"What? Big brother, you?" The young man’s expression grew even more astonished.

The burly man snorted, "How long has it been since I’ve seen a woman? You’re allowed to envy me, aren’t you?"

Though reluctant, the young man forced a smile. "Understood, big brother. Whatever you say!"

...

Li Xingyue held a kitchen knife and advanced cautiously.

He wondered to himself why the zombies didn’t attack him even though he was just three or five meters away.

Could it be...?

But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation.

As he was pondering, he suddenly noticed a furtive figure near an open space to his right front.

It was a thin man, filthy from head to toe. He had clearly noticed Li Xingyue as well. His face first showed surprise, then quickly filled with joy as he waved repeatedly.

A survivor!

This was the first human Li Xingyue had met in this world, and he felt excited, quickly running over. He stopped at a safe distance before speaking: "Brother, what are you doing here?"

The thin man touched his nose. "Hello, brother. My name is Zhou Hao. I just went out to scavenge supplies and happened to see you. You must be hungry. I have some food. Come with me—we can’t stay here long!"

Li Xingyue’s first reaction was that this man was a kind-hearted soul like himself. He prepared to go with him.

But the next moment, something felt off. Normally, in an apocalypse, food is the most scarce resource. Even if someone had no intention to harm others, they would at least be wary of strangers—especially after ten years of this nightmare.

Besides, this man was so thin, obviously starving. Who would be kind enough to give away the hard-earned supplies?

That thought sent a cold sweat down Li Xingyue’s back.

Damn, he had let his guard down. Having lived long in peace, he hadn’t endured the harshness of the apocalypse; his vigilance was still too low.

If he had foolishly followed just now, who knew what disaster might have struck!

The more he thought, the more convinced he was. Li Xingyue immediately stopped.

"Hmm? Little brother, why aren’t you moving? It’s dangerous outside. If a high-level zombie comes, we won’t be able to run!" the thin man said anxiously, glancing back at Li Xingyue.

Li Xingyue inwardly sneered at the man’s acting skills.

Time to show you what a real veteran actor looks like.

He clutched his stomach, turned his feet inward, and groaned, "Ah, Brother Zhou, I’ve got a bad stomach. You go ahead. I’ll just take a moment and catch up soon."

Without waiting, he turned and ran toward Freedom City.

The thin man was stunned for two seconds, then quickly realized the act was up. He hurriedly gave chase.

Li Xingyue ran fast but was still just an ordinary man. After only a few steps, the thin man blocked his way.

"Hmph, kid, running? Why stop now?"

Seeing that the other man moved much faster, Li Xingyue realized he was likely someone injected with some serum. There was no way he could outrun him.

"Brother Zhou, you must be joking. I’m not running. Here, all these things in my backpack are yours. Please let me go."

He took off his backpack and threw it down.

"Haha, I’d like to let you go, but you have to ask my boss first!"

"Yeah, Brother Hao did well!"

Huh? Li Xingyue heard a voice from behind and turned to see a burly middle-aged man with a fierce look, who hadn’t been there moments ago.

The middle-aged man was in a good mood. Times had been tight lately, and he was worried about where to find supplies. Now a fat lamb appeared, carrying enough for them to eat for a while. From what he saw earlier, this kid was clearly a useless low-tier.

An easy target—he could squeeze him however he wanted.

Li Xingyue’s heart sank completely. Surrounded by wolves and tigers, he couldn’t defeat any one of them, let alone all three. It was like the empire’s founder was halfway through his endeavor before dying suddenly.

His mind was blank, unable to find a solution.

"Listen, big brother, all the stuff is yours. I don’t want anything. I’m worthless. Please have mercy on me."

The middle-aged man laughed heartily. "Kid, don’t say that. Your body is a treasure. We want your stuff, but we want you too. I like having options, hahaha!"

Damn it, I hate having options!

Is this the end? Wait, maybe I can try something!

Li Xingyue decided to play his last card. "Big brother, you might not know who I am. My boss is very powerful. I have a mission. If you kill me, my boss will be very angry."

Both men felt a flicker of doubt. This town was close to Freedom City. Maybe he was connected to some big shot or an elite zombie hunter team.

If that were true, ten of them wouldn’t be enough to kill him! But if he was lying, then why act so meek and weak?

After some thought, the middle-aged man decided to ask directly, "Kid, what does your boss do in Freedom City? What’s his name?"

"Uh, well, my boss is called Tyrant. He’s not from Freedom City."

"Tyrant? Hahaha, never heard of him. You must be lying!"

The middle-aged man relaxed and laughed.

But Brother Hao was deep in thought. That name sounded familiar.

Wait...

"Boss, isn’t Tyrant the name on the wanted poster for the corpse king we saw earlier? I remember now! He’s an eighth-tier corpse king!"

The middle-aged man was stunned, then recalled something. There were four corpse kings in total: Tyrant, Asura, Nun, and Blood Moon.

Actually, it wasn’t surprising they didn’t know much. As low-level survivors long separated from the main forces, they paid little attention to the outside world, focusing only on scavenging supplies from small shops.

Now the middle-aged man felt like he’d been played. "You’re saying your boss is the eighth-tier zombie king Tyrant?"

They definitely knew the name!

Li Xingyue nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, my boss is the corpse king Tyrant!"