Lu Dongnuan was already well-acquainted with this method.
Every time she controlled the zombies, she found that she always had the strength to spare to control a few more.
Lin Mo told her that this was the virus evolving.
The virus was evolving every moment, and as long as she could resist the urge to eat people, she still had a chance to live.
As if she would ever eat humans.
She had high standards for food.
When she played as a jungler in video games, she would rather clear the minion wave than take the tower plating.
She would clear the lane and leave immediately.
If she got caught in all three lanes, she would laugh while farming; if her jungle was invaded, she would cry and shout, maintaining her status as a high-quality youth of the Rift.
With a wide wave of her hand, all the zombies marched out of the buildings in unison.
Those in good positions walked out quite elegantly, while those in bad positions were a bit slow and prone to dislocating joints.
The zombies on the higher floors suffered even more.
They fell apart, dropping like dumplings, though they were unable to speak.
Lu Dongnuan raised her hand again, and the zombies began to run forward at the fastest speed of their lives.
However, some zombies were faster than others.
The fast ones would crash into the backsides of the slow ones, leaving a scattered and miserable sight.
She found the scene strangely romantic.
They did not dare to run freely while alive, but in death, they could run so recklessly.
It was like chasing a dead romance under the setting sun.
“You, in the third row on the left! Yes, you, the one in the red boxers!”
Seeing that no one was around, Lu Dongnuan simply shouted out loud, “You’re out of step! Switch legs… Ah, forget it, just keep going.”
She enthusiastically tried to make them line up, but the zombies ended up in a heap.
They stepped on each other’s feet and bumped into each other’s waists.
A few whose skulls were incomplete even started spinning in place.
“Attention!” Lu Dongnuan immediately exerted her authority.
The Zombie Horde was in an uproar.
Some managed to stand straight, some fell over completely, and others tremblingly tried to raise their arms in a salute.
“At ease!”
After a chaotic sound of shifting, most of the zombies ended up standing on one leg like a golden rooster because they did not know where to put the other leg.
“Very good, better than last time.”
She nodded in satisfaction and then let the zombies wander further away.
Tang Kezhi lowered her binoculars, her hands shaking slightly.
She silently pulled out a treasured cigarette and took a deep drag, trying to use the nicotine to calm her nerves.
In the view of the binoculars, Lu Dongnuan had her hands behind her back like a retired official inspecting military training.
She “nodded in satisfaction” at the group of lopsided, awkwardly posed zombies.
Then, like students who had been granted a pardon, the zombies stumbled and pushed each other as they drifted away.
“This is just…” Tang Kezhi cursed in a low voice, “What a damn waste…”
In the hands of anyone with ambition and ruthlessness, this ability could quickly raise a terrifying Undead Legion to conquer cities and rule the land.
But in Lu Dongnuan’s hands?
What was she doing?
She was teaching zombies how to stand at attention and at ease, correcting their marching form, and she was actually enjoying it.
It reminded Tang Kezhi of a child playing with toy soldiers.
However, complaints aside, her mind was racing.
Lin Mo said this ability was still evolving, which meant that what Lu Dongnuan was showing now might only be the tip of the iceberg.
If she could control more, with more precision, or even give the zombies more complex instructions…
‘No wonder he didn’t choose to kill Number Two,’ Tang Kezhi rubbed her brow.
Lin Mo was an intelligent but mad individual.
‘It’s not just to deal with that thing; in this world, she could exist like a local king.’
She composed herself, straightened her collar and expression, and walked toward Lu Dongnuan.
‘A person like this can only be a friend, never an enemy.’
As she drew closer, she saw Lu Dongnuan squatting on the ground.
In front of her were several broken dolls salvaged from the ruins and a few stones.
The “tactics” were clearly designed around the characteristics of zombies, filled with a deep “tolerance” for their lack of coordination and low intelligence.
“Dr. Lu,” Tang Kezhi spoke, trying her best to keep her voice calm, “Are you busy?”
The girl on the ground looked up.
Her face was expressionless, her eyes calm and even revealing a hint of distant coldness.
The morning light fell on her face, outlining a beautiful profile — a total ice beauty.
“Oh, it’s Young Tang.”
The tone was so natural, and the attitude was so peaceful and calm, as if Tang Kezhi were not there to discuss a life-threatening mission, but rather to report on the neighborhood’s trash sorting.
In that moment, Tang Kezhi felt a powerful aura hit her, a mix of old tea, newspaper ink, and the feeling of a heart-to-heart talk with a veteran official.
It almost made her lose her footing.
Many years later, after Tang Kezhi had struggled through countless life-and-death situations and witnessed all kinds of monsters and legends, she would still clearly remember this sunny afternoon where zombies ran wild.
She would remember Lu Dongnuan using that ice-beauty face to give the most old-fashioned leadership speech.
‘She’s really into the role…’
There was no choice but to go along with it.
Looking at Lu Dongnuan’s face, which screamed “retired official inspecting the grassroots,” Tang Kezhi felt a bizarre sense of duty to play along.
She cleared her throat, immediately stood at attention, and gave a salute, adopting a sincere reporting attitude.
“Report, Dr. Lu! I was just looking for you to discuss our battle tactics.” Her voice was loud and full of emotion.
“The initial plan is to split into two squads. One squad will perform a frontal feint to draw fire, while the other squad loops around the abandoned cableway on the side to catch them off guard. What do you think…”
Tang Kezhi’s emotional and standard salute, along with that forceful “Report, Dr. Lu,” hung in the air like an echo.
She maintained her saluting posture, her face saying “see how sensible and cooperative this subordinate is,” as she waited for Lu Dongnuan’s commentary or at least an official-style nod of approval.
Lu Dongnuan looked at her, her beautiful eyebrows furrowing slightly.
Her cold eyes clearly reflected the ridiculous figure of Tang Kezhi standing at attention and saluting.
She didn’t speak, but just watched quietly.
Her gaze was a mix of confusion, scrutiny, and a hint of undisguised disgust.
Time seemed to freeze for two seconds.
Then, Lu Dongnuan slowly spoke in a tone that suggested “did a zombie kick you in the head?”
“Are you sick?”
Tang Kezhi: “…”
Her saluting hand froze in midair, and the “loyal subordinate” expression on her face instantly cracked.
Lu Dongnuan seemingly felt it wasn’t enough.
She looked Tang Kezhi up and down while she was still at attention, giving a particularly long look at her saluting hand.
Her brow was furrowed enough to crush a fly.
She added another sentence, her tone even more disgusted: “Why are you acting like a soldier? Can’t you just talk normally?”
Tang Kezhi felt the muscles in her face twitching.
She… she was just cooperating with this ancestor’s “old official” role-play!
How could she be disgusted by a teammate being too immersed in the role?!
She sheepishly lowered her hand, trying to salvage some of her image with a dry cough, “Cough… Dr. Lu, I was just… showing respect.”
“Respect?” Lu Dongnuan tilted her head.
The morning light danced on her face, but it didn’t soften her look of someone watching an idiot.
“The way you acted just now reminds me of when I played house as a kid. My cousin used to force the neighbor’s dog to act as a horse and insist on shouting ‘giddy-up’.”
She paused and then delivered a precise critical hit: “Immature. You’re such a drama queen. You’re a grown adult; you could learn anything, but you choose to act like a child playing make-believe… It’s so tacky.”
‘So tacky…Tack…acky…’
Those words were like a demonic sound ringing in Tang Kezhi’s ears.
She, Tang Kezhi, a leader who lived by the blade in the Apocalypse and led a group of men to survive, was being called immature and a drama queen.
‘Weren’t you the one who started calling me “Young Tang” and acting like an old leader?! Why am I the one who’s sick and a drama queen just because I played along?!’
‘Are you seriously looking down on your own kind?!’
‘Damn it, Lin Mo is definitely a tough guy. How can he stand staying with her every day without chopping her up?’