Chapter 506: The Key Point
Zhang Yi lay on the bed, his mind in turmoil.
At this moment, he was certain—Yuan Kongye was the source of Tianhai City's chaos!
But what was her connection to the zombie crisis?
Even with superhuman abilities, it was impossible for her to control the countless zombies spread across the entire city.
And from the way the Bronze Armored Flying Corpse attacked the cathedral that night, it was clear she didn't have direct control over the undead. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have exposed her ability to wield multiple powers so easily.
That meant the zombies weren’t under her command.
Was someone else working with her?
Zhang Yi rubbed his temples, unable to make sense of it all.
Something about Li Jian’s words had given him a vague suspicion.
But he had personally verified that the Blood Vine contained no trace of the zombie virus.
If it had created the undead, there would have been evidence.
With these unanswered questions lingering in his mind, Zhang Yi gradually closed his eyes.
After fighting relentlessly for so long, he was truly exhausted.
It was easy to fall asleep once he lay in his own bed.
Yet in his dreams, Zhang Yi found himself back inside that abandoned building.
The towering Blood Vine before him was even larger than in his memory, stretching for over a thousand meters!
That was strange—he clearly remembered it being just over a hundred meters at most.
But as the blood-red mist dispersed, he witnessed an astonishing sight.
Beneath the vine, its tangled, sprawling roots burrowed deep into the ground—
And embedded in those roots, like peanuts in soil, were countless zombies.
Their bodies were pierced by the vine’s tendrils, constantly absorbing a steady flow of crimson nutrients.
"So that's how it is!"
Zhang Yi’s eyes widened. He finally realized what he had overlooked—
The roots of the Blood Vine!
The zombies lived underground, perfectly adapted to the damp, shadowy depths.
In the haze of his dream, a shadow appeared overhead.
As the vision zoomed in, Zhang Yi saw his face clearly—
Li Jian, the man with the Sacrifice ability.
Li Jian approached the Blood Vine, slashed open his wrist, and let his blood flow into its ravenous roots.
The vine greedily absorbed every drop—
And then, its roots flourished even more. The zombies hanging from it swelled, their bodies brimming with energy.
"Li Jian… so he’s the key!"
Everything clicked into place.
Just then, the countless zombies entangled in the roots abruptly opened their crimson eyes, locking their gaze onto him.
Zhang Yi jolted awake.
He gasped for breath, swiping a trembling hand across his forehead. His skin was cold with sweat.
Yet, the tangled web of clues in his mind had suddenly unraveled—
Everything was clear now.
"I understand. I finally understand everything!"
His eyes gleamed with newfound clarity.
He had found the thread buried within the chaos—
Now, he only needed to follow it to piece together the full picture.
Zhang Yi climbed out of bed, grabbed a notebook from the bedside table, and hurriedly recorded his thoughts while his mind was still sharp.
"The zombie crisis erupted 21 days ago, when all five major factions of Tianhai City were attacked simultaneously."
"Li Jian was taken to the Followers of the Snow God a month ago."
"That means, before that, zombies hadn't appeared in Tianhai City because the Blood Vine's power was too weak."
"But once it absorbed Li Jian's 'Sacrifice' ability, it could rapidly produce a large number of mature hosts."
"That must be the origin of the Zombie King."
"Once the Zombie King emerged, it could inject the virus into suitable bodies, mass-producing more undead."
"But even among the horde, the Zombie King and the Bronze Armored Corpses are different from ordinary zombies. They possess true life… even intelligence."
"The Zombie King is the horde’s brain, while the Bronze Armored Corpses are its muscle."
"Yuan Kongye can control the Blood Vine and command the Zombie King, but she cannot directly control the horde."
"The Zombie King’s intelligence is limited. It can only follow simple orders. This explains why it had to slowly learn human behavior."
"Which also explains why the Bronze Armored Flying Corpse attacked Yuan Kongye."
"As for why I couldn't find any useful information from the Blood Vine—
That must be because, before we reached the Followers of the Snow God, they had already hidden the most crucial evidence."
"They even left behind false leads to misdirect us and dispel our suspicions."
Finishing his notes, Zhang Yi tossed his pen onto the desk and let out a long breath.
"Finally, everything makes sense. This has to be the truth."
His gaze sharpened, all traces of confusion replaced with certainty.
"As long as I understand the root cause, I can figure out how to counter it."
Zhang Yi stroked his chin.
"If the zombie tide is under Yuan Kongye’s control, there’s no way she’d allow her greatest weapon to be destroyed so easily."
"Which means… it’s all just an act."
"Not for us, but for the Jiangnan District Investigation Team!"
"They fear Jiangnan District’s strength, so they must make the investigators believe that Tianhai City's zombie crisis has been resolved—"
"Only then will they leave."
"But the moment Bian Junwu’s team departs… Yuan Kongye will make her move against us."
"No matter how many superhuman abilities she has absorbed, no matter how terrifying her power has become—"
"She can't wipe out every faction alone."
"So… she must have retained a significant portion of the zombie horde."
"Possibly even more than what we saw outside the Followers of the Snow God’s base!"
The deeper Zhang Yi thought, the more he grasped the true horror of Yuan Kongye.
He had seen her before—
A young woman in her early twenties, cold and expressionless.
Yet beneath that youthful face hid an incredibly meticulous mind.
The realization sent a chill down his spine.
But as he reconsidered, he found her strategy entirely logical.
If he possessed her abilities, he would have done the exact same thing.
"The situation is extremely dangerous now. The first priority is to keep Bian Junwu and his team from leaving Tianhai City."
"But… she has already absorbed so many superhuman abilities and immense power."
"Even if we expose her true nature… who can kill her?"
Zhang Yi fell silent, lost in thought.
If it came down to an all-out confrontation, he had no confidence in taking Yuan Kongye down.
Perhaps Bian Junwu could fight her—
But given his current condition, another battle against a top-tier superhuman would surely accelerate his decline.
Would he even agree to fight?
As Zhang Yi mulled over this dilemma, a knock came at his door.
From outside, Yang Xinxin’s voice called out.
"Zhang Yi-gege, can I come in?"