Chapter 147: Mutual Benefit

The black rain fell in a steady, dreary drizzle. Through the shattered expanse of the glass dome, the ash-grey sky offered no hope and no future.

Lu Yu was drenched. The black rain slid across his fair skin, seeping deep into his pores.

It acted like a potent medicine, healing his previously almost-severed body at an astonishing rate.

A continuous stream of power flooded his mind and body. The sensation was addictive, making it hard to maintain his self-control.

He was surrounded by a circle of zombies.

They were all greedily bathing in the black rain, their bones rattling audibly as many underwent visible mutations.

No one would refuse power, but Lu Yu was different.

He shifted his steps, trying hard to conquer this instinctive dependency.

He vaguely understood a principle: everything must be done in moderation, even power. If it exceeded what one could bear, the body would likely collapse under the strain.

Right now, though he craved power, he also held a deep reverence for it.

In this world of the undead, he was merely a newborn. Even with the fragmented memories of his past hosts, he did not want to be obliterated by mere carelessness. Utmost caution was required in all things.

As he moved, the zombies stepped aside one by one, their postures respectful. This scene felt both unfamiliar and familiar to Lu Yu.

It was his first time interacting with these low-level undead minions, but the Crawler and the Lurker had made ample use of them in the past. Knowing how to issue commands to ordinary zombies was as natural to his subconscious as turning a page or writing a word.

Lu Yu had no desire to get entangled with them just yet. He planned to find a quiet place by himself to sort out his thoughts.

Earlier, he had incapacitated Yi Chen with an electric shock and had every opportunity to finish him off, but at the very last moment, he held back.

Some unclear and indefinable emotions were mixed into that decision, and he needed to figure them out.

Yi Chen was undeniably a formidable threat. If he wanted to survive and develop further, eliminating Yi Chen at the earliest opportunity was the smartest strategy.

Lu Yu found a spot on the steps at the entrance of a shop and sat down. Consciously, he glanced at his reflection in the glass storefront and began searching his pockets, hoping to awaken certain suppressed memories in this brain through his personal belongings.

Regrettably, he only had a smartphone with a shattered screen and an exquisite short flute; everything else had been lost in battle.

He had some recollection of how to operate the phone. After tinkering with it for a moment, it actually powered on and still worked.

In the call log, the last name listed was Yi Chen.

Tapping on the number, the contact entry even featured a photo—a snapshot of the two of them eating grilled skewers together just a few days ago.

A ripple stirred in Lu Yu’s spiritual world.

So that was how it was... He closed his eyes, and fragments of memory came flooding back.

They used to be very close friends.

If he still possessed a human heart, a heavy tightness would surely grip his chest, but now, his chest cavity was occupied by the "flesh tumor" that symbolized his identity as a monster.

What should he do if he encountered Yi Chen again? In Lu Yu’s mind, cries for battle warred with a vague sense of reluctance.

Since he was "alive" in this current guise, he had to maximize the interests of the zombie legion.

It was an instinct, or perhaps a drive born from the days of the Crawler. Although the "flesh tumor" had changed several hosts, the core purpose driving every new body to act remained unchanged and intensely strong.

As an anomaly among the zombies, a king-like existence, the territory he needed to operate in next required more minions and a more structured organization.

As for Yi Chen... The world was vast, and there was no need to become endlessly entangled with him for now, Lu Yu thought, taking a step back.

His injuries had healed considerably. He stood up and walked toward the smoking helicopter wreckage ahead.

There was still someone half-dead inside, and he recognized that person's aura.

Ouyang Hong had no idea how long he had been waiting with his eyes closed.

His wounds and tattered clothes had matted together and scabbed over, and pain wracked his entire body. If not for an exceptional will to survive, he would have long since collapsed and lost consciousness.

Several zombies had been scratching at the helicopter wreckage for over half an hour without managing to reach him, coming up completely empty-handed.

Initially terrified, Ouyang Hong had eventually resorted to treating the noises made by the zombies as a kind of eerie background music.

His lower body was nearly paralyzed and completely immobile, leaving him with zero means of defense. Although these zombies had been strengthened considerably by the secondary infection of the black rain, they still lacked intelligence.

They lacked teamwork and had no idea how to employ strategy, simply grinding away mindlessly at the metal plating.

Yet Ouyang Hong knew that if things continued this way, death was the inevitable outcome.

His injuries were severe. Although he had administered first aid to himself, he would die without rescue within a certain timeframe.

Furthermore, those zombies were still bathing in the black rain, and their strength was still growing. There was no telling when they might tear through the shell of the helicopter wreckage and drag him out to be devoured!

At that moment, he heard heavy footsteps splashing through the water, and his spirits lifted.

He had studied zombies for a long time and understood them thoroughly. That sound was not made by a zombie.

"Help..." he managed to utter with difficulty, his throat feeling as though it were about to crack. Whoever it was, he had to try!

The few zombies suddenly halted their movements in unison and retreated beyond a certain boundary.

Ouyang Hong realized something was wrong—what was approaching was not an ordinary human!

Had Yi Chen tracked him down here?

Having struggled this far, Ouyang Hong felt a wave of discouragement. If the newcomer was Yi Chen, he certainly wouldn't survive either.

Still, in his half-dead state, it hardly mattered anymore. He prepared to accept his fate calmly.

Boom—the helicopter wreckage was effortlessly lifted away by a single hand belonging to the newcomer. Ouyang Hong forced his eyes open, only to be met with an unfamiliar face.

"Ouyang... Hong, you're still alive." Lu Yu articulated the words stiffly.

What was going on?! For a split second, Ouyang Hong thought oxygen deprivation in his brain was causing hallucinations.

Judging by his appearance, the entity should undoubtedly be dead, yet his body showed no lividity, setting him apart from ordinary zombies. Calling him a monster wasn't quite right either, as his form differed very little from a human, save for his peculiar eyes—the pupils and whites were inverted, exuding a fierce aura.

Crucially... he could speak human language! In all of Ouyang Hong's research materials, no such exception had ever appeared!

Was it the influence of the black rain? Had the black rain caused a new variant among the zombies?

Lu Yu pointed at his own chest and spat out simple words: "Here... Lurker, alive."

Human language was truly awkward; his tongue refused to bend properly. But if he wanted to communicate with Ouyang Hong, this was the only way.

In an instant, Ouyang Hong understood everything.

That flesh tumor capable of detaching from the Crawler and parasitizing elsewhere was essentially the monster's second brain, capable of controlling the body's actions.

Because it had subsequently resided in the Lurker's chest, he had named it the "core" for convenience in his research notes. Presumably, the Lurker and Yi Chen had fought and failed, forcing the entity to seize a new body out of necessity, surviving once more in a brand-new identity.

It truly was an undying cockroach!

"You help me, I save you." Lu Yu's pitch-black eyes stared straight at him.