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Chapter 23: Swallow It 

 

The queen's bloated body housed a crystal core. 

 

A white crystal, roughly the size of a yo-yo, lay hidden within its massive eye. 

 

The sight was gruesome, and Chu Muge fought the wave of nausea as she used her tang dao to cut open the eye. Reaching inside, she extracted the core. 

 

As she pulled it out, the core dripped with green, thread-like veins of blood. Without a flicker of emotion, Chu Muge severed the tendons connecting it, clutching the crystal in her palm. 

 

With the queen's death, the insects it controlled began to lose their vitality, like machines shutting down when their power source fails. 

 

Bai Moxue turned, her cold gaze fixed on Chu Muge. 

 

Chu Muge, holding the crystal, walked toward the two of them. 

 

Gu Yao couldn't help but stare at the white crystal in her hand. The immense energy radiating from it made every cell in her body scream with longing. A voice in her mind urged her: Eat it. 

 

Swallow it, and you'll achieve the next stage of evolution. 

 

Chu Muge noticed her gaze and smiled faintly. "Senior, it's a bit dirty now. Once we get out of here, I'll clean it up and feed it to you. How about that?" 

 

Gu Yao was silent for a moment, then shook her head. 

 

Chu Muge froze, momentarily confused. "Alright, then... should I give it to you now? You can hold on to it, but don’t eat it until we clean it later..." 

 

Gu Yao shook her head again. 

 

Now Chu Muge was genuinely baffled. 

 

Gu Yao looked at the white crystal for a moment, then took out a sticky note and a pen from her pocket, the only items she always carried. 

 

With deliberate strokes, she wrote a message and handed it to Chu Muge. 

 

I’m not eating it. 

 

She refused. 

 

Eating the crystal would grant evolution, but it would also strip away the remnants of her humanity and emotions. 

 

Gu Yao already felt less and less like herself. Even Chu Muge’s face was starting to blur together with others. She couldn’t bear to imagine what she might become. 

 

Chu Muge stared at the note, her lips pressing into a thin line. Glancing at the crystal in her hand, she murmured, "Then maybe we—" 

 

Boom! 

 

An ice pillar suddenly shot up from the ground, slamming Chu Muge into a wall. 

 

Frost crept over her body, sealing her in place. 

 

The white crystal spun midair before Bai Moxue caught it. 

 

"Swallow it," she said, smiling. 

 

Gu Yao’s eyes widened in shock. Before she could react, she felt a tight grip around her neck as Bai Moxue’s cold hand lifted her off the ground. 

 

Though zombies didn’t need to breathe, the sensation of being choked was still deeply unpleasant. Gu Yao’s hands clawed at Bai Moxue’s wrist, her sharp nails leaving bloody marks. 

 

Bai Moxue remained expressionless, meeting Gu Yao’s panicked gaze. 

 

"Why won't you?" she asked, voice calm but threatening. "Swallow it." 

 

Her pale blue eyes glimmered with an unreadable emotion. She tilted her head slightly, holding the crystal close to Gu Yao’s lips, preparing to force it in. 

 

Just then, the sound of something slicing through the air shattered the tension. 

 

A tang dao hurtled toward Bai Moxue’s head. Surprised, she released Gu Yao and stepped back. 

 

The blade spun, slicing through a few strands of her hair before embedding itself into the fleshy wall nearby. 

 

In the blink of an eye, Chu Muge appeared before Bai Moxue like a vengeful ghost, her eyes burning with rage. Without hesitation, she swung her fist straight at Bai Moxue. 

 

The speed of her movement was almost supernatural. 

 

Ice spikes formed and shot toward Chu Muge, but she dodged them effortlessly, landing a solid punch on Bai Moxue’s abdomen. 

 

Bai Moxue coughed up blood, her eyes widening as she stumbled backward. 

 

At the same time, another ice spike emerged from the ground behind Chu Muge. She kicked it, breaking it off at its base, then caught the spinning shard midair and hurled it toward Bai Moxue. 

 

Gritting her teeth, Bai Moxue rolled to the side. The shard grazed her cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood. 

 

"Hey, hey! That’s enough! Stop!" Bai Moxue coughed, raising her hands in mock surrender. "Calm down, just kidding! It was all a joke." 

 

Sitting up partially, Bai Moxue glanced at Gu Yao with a sly smile. 

 

"Right?" 

 

Gu Yao stared at her in silence for a moment, then nodded. 

 

Chu Muge furrowed her brows and stopped when she noticed Gu Yao signaling something. She shot a glance at Bai Moxue before calmly walking over to retrieve her tang dao from the fleshy wall. 

 

The crystal core was tossed her way by Bai Moxue. Chu Muge caught it and asked flatly, "What was that about?" 

 

Bai Moxue ignored her question. Instead, she stood up and turned to Gu Yao with a smile. "You really picked a dangerous one." 

 

Feeling Chu Muge’s gaze, Bai Moxue finally looked back at her and frowned. "It’s simple, really. I just wanted your... pet zombie to grow stronger." 

 

She patted herself on the chest. 

 

"I’m from Singalore," Bai Moxue said. "They’ve already discovered that these crystal cores can accelerate zombie evolution and even grant special abilities." 

 

She shrugged nonchalantly. "So, I’m helping you, aren’t I?" 

 

Seeing that Chu Muge was still staring at her, Bai Moxue rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine, I get it. I won’t do that again." 

 

After a pause, her gaze shifted to Gu Yao, and her voice turned thoughtful. "It’s just... I’ve never seen a zombie that doesn’t hurt people and refuses to evolve." 

 

What a strange one. 

 

When the three emerged from the nest, Bai Caixie’s car was already waiting for them outside Central Park. 

 

The ground was littered with insect corpses, blackened, writhing masses that covered the earth like a suffocating fog. The eerie sight made the entire area feel oppressively sinister. 

 

Inside the car, Bai Caixie brightened at the sight of them. He waved enthusiastically. "Over here! Over here!" 

 

As soon as Chu Muge and the others got close, he couldn’t contain himself any longer. "Oh my god, you guys have no idea how intense it was! Bugs everywhere, front, back, all over! I was like Zhao Zilong from the Battle of Changban! Seven charges through the enemy lines! Pure ‘Fast & Furious’ action, if they don’t cast me in the next one, it’s a crime!" 

 

Chu Muge opened the back door, glanced at him, and nodded. "Impressive." 

 

She rarely praised anyone, except Gu Yao. 

 

After complimenting Bai Caixie, she couldn’t help but turn to Gu Yao and add, "Senior was amazing, too." 

 

Gu Yao, caught off guard, blinked in confusion. After a moment of thought, she raised both hands, index fingers extended, and pressed them to the corners of her lips, pulling them up into a makeshift smile. 

 

Gu Yao: -v- 

 

She couldn’t smile naturally, so she pretended. 

 

Chu Muge chuckled, genuinely amused. 

 

The group decided to rest at Bai Moxue’s temporary base. 

 

The place was small, with only two rooms. 

 

The siblings, Bai Caixie and Bai Caiwei, offered to sleep in the living room. With a couch available, it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable. 

 

Outside, the insects were all dead, and the zombies had likely been devoured by the swarm. The only remaining threats were the two flying mutants hatched from the queen. 

 

As they approached the base, Chu Muge suddenly turned to Bai Moxue. "Your squad members, all of them have abilities, right?" 

 

Bai Moxue paused for a moment before replying, "Yeah, why?" 

 

The White Eagle Squad was composed entirely of ability users. 

 

Chu Muge narrowed her eyes slightly but didn’t say anything further. 

 

She was curious. 

 

Those insects, while numerous, weren’t individually powerful. With a team of ability users, careful coordination should’ve been enough to avoid total annihilation. 

 

So... what had happened? 

 

After their deaths, the city had become a desolate graveyard. 

 

Ruined. Silent. 

 

Up ahead, a fallen utility pole blocked the road. Chu Muge calmly adjusted the steering wheel, maneuvering around it. 

 

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