Chapter 84 - 79: Ghost Slave

Chapter 84: Chapter 79: Ghost Slave

A familiar location.

A familiar scene.

Paper money danced in the air, funeral banners swayed, and the sound of soft sobbing could be heard.

"Holy shit!"

"It’s just like before!"

The man with hemorrhoids suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. Driven by fear, he strode away, wanting to get as far away from this bizarre place as possible.

Xia Yu didn’t waste words and followed right behind him.

Zhu Fangfang and the others followed close behind.

Soon.

Following the sounds, the group saw Zhao An and his people fighting a large number of Mutants in front of a courtyard, armed with sharp tools like hoes and a pig-killing knife.

They all hid in a corner, not daring to get closer for fear of being targeted by the monsters.

"One, two..."

"A total of four people."

’So few people survived?’

Xia Yu’s delicate brows furrowed.

On the battlefield, a total of 12 bodies lay on the ground. Six of them had been gnawed to shreds, leaving only bones. The other six were Mutants, each with a hole pierced through its forehead.

"Hey, beautiful."

"Let’s help them kill these monsters."

Zhao Huan said, looking at Xia Yu.

But he didn’t make a move himself.

The others also looked at Xia Yu expectantly, hoping she would step in and save the day again.

"I used up too much energy just now. I’m exhausted."

Xia Yu refused without hesitation.

’Based on my previous observations, Zhao An is terrified of death, so why is he daring to fight back now?’

’He even managed to kill three Mutants!’

’Are these people really that strong?’

She was filled with questions. Coupled with the pervasive strangeness of this village, she knew she couldn’t afford to act rashly.

Besides, while Xia Yu could currently kill a Mutant instantly in a one-on-one fight, there were a total of 18 Mutants here. If she got surrounded, it would still be extremely dangerous.

"Well..."

Hearing this, the group paused. They recalled how Xia Yu had single-handedly slaughtered so many monsters earlier and figured she must have used a lot of stamina. They couldn’t really ask for more.

Zhao Huan said weakly, "Let’s all go together. There’s strength in numbers, we’ll definitely win."

Xia Yu took a step back and reminded them, "You have to hit their heads for a fatal blow."

Zhu Fangfang took two steps back and said, "I sprained my ankle. It’s no use for me to charge in."

The man with hemorrhoids took three steps back and said, "My hemorrhoids are acting up. It’s so itchy it’s driving me crazy."

Zhao Huan didn’t bring it up again, able only to watch worriedly as his brother, Zhao An, fell into greater danger.

Just then, a shocking scene unfolded before their eyes: the Skull Men lying on the ground got back up. At first, they moved like string puppets, but they soon began moving freely, no different from ordinary people.

"Ah!"

The man with hemorrhoids was so scared he almost screamed.

Xia Yu reacted instantly. With a flick of her wrist, her Blood Butterfly was pressed against his mouth. She hissed in a low voice, "Shut up, or I’ll kill you!"

The man with hemorrhoids flinched, threw his hands up, and hastily promised, "I’ll shut up. I swear."

In that moment, the group’s reverence for Xia Yu grew even stronger.

Only the man with hemorrhoids felt a sense of resentment toward her.

「On the other side.」

Those Skull Men actually picked up the Weapons from the ground and charged at the Mutants.

"Ghost Slaves!"

Xia Yu’s eyes narrowed, staring intently at these ’risen from the dead’ Skull Men. She had a guess about their identity.

Ghost Slaves, slaves of the Ghost Clan, controlled by them through special means.

A creature that becomes a Ghost Slave is very similar to its original self—you could even call it a Weakened version. When not being controlled, it acts entirely according to its own habits. When controlled, it completely follows its master’s commands.

If a human becomes a Ghost Slave, their physical condition will be significantly worse than their original self’s, and they will also suffer partial memory loss. Normally, they only know how to act based on their old habits or lingering attachments.

When controlled, they completely obey the ghost’s commands.

Mutants cannot become Ghost Slaves because they have no souls.

’In other words, there’s likely a... Ghost here!!!’

Xia Yu’s expression became extremely grim, and she grew even more cautious.

An unknown ghost.

Unknown power.

Unknown killing pattern.

Unknown killing method.

Everything was an unknown. Even she didn’t feel very confident.

"They’re fighting!"

"Now Zhao An and his group are saved."

Zhao Huan clenched his fists, both scared and excited.

The others were also incredibly tense. Although they didn’t know why these Skull Men had stood up, seeing the man-eating monsters get killed was, on the whole, a good thing for them.

’Saved?’

Xia Yu didn’t think so.

These Skull Men just lacked flesh and blood, so they wouldn’t be targeted or attacked by the Mutants. However, their strength was comparable to that of an ordinary person, and the Weapons in their hands were hardly divine artifacts. Killing Mutants wouldn’t be that easy.

Sure enough, after using the element of surprise to kill 12 Mutants in succession, the Skull Men were either dismembered or had their bones shattered. All of them lost the ability to fight.

They were immobilized.

Meanwhile, two more people had died on Zhao An’s side.

And that was only because the Ghost Slaves knew the Mutants’ weak spot was their heads. Otherwise, the results would have been even worse.

After that, Zhao An turned and ran, leaving another person behind.

To slow the monsters down.

Soon, the person left behind was pounced on and pinned to the ground by the Mutants.

The feeding began.

In just over a minute, the three who had died became skeletons. They rose to their feet and began attacking the Mutants.

"These monsters are too strong. We should get out of here."

"Yeah, if they find us, we’re screwed."

...

Zhao Huan and the others all wanted to leave as soon as possible, having lost any thought of helping.

But at that moment...

SWOOSH!

Xia Yu shot forward without any warning.

By the time Zhu Fangfang and the others snapped out of their daze, she was already ten meters away.

"Why is she fighting again?"

"That speed is... it’s too fast, isn’t it?"

"Is she some kind of sprinter?"

It was only in this moment that they finally realized how powerful Xia Yu was.

The man with hemorrhoids broke out in a cold sweat. ’I actually dared to hold a grudge against her just now?’

’So brave of me!’

He had to admire his past self’s audacity.

"Didn’t she say she was out of energy?"

Zhao Huan blurted out.

A glint appeared in Zhu Fangfang’s eyes, but she said nothing.

The man with hemorrhoids and another person started to speak, but thought better of it and fell silent.

Only then did Zhao Huan realize what was going on, and he snapped his mouth shut in fear.

With Xia Yu’s participation, the few remaining Mutants were quickly killed. Moreover, under her deliberate control, the three Skull Men were also disabled, losing their ability to fight.

The battle was over.

She searched for Crystal Cores.

"Phew."

Seeing this, everyone let out a heavy sigh of relief. "The monsters should all be dead now, right?"

A voice full of pleasant surprise came from behind them. "Zhao Huan, you’re still alive? That’s great!"

WHOOSH!

Everyone jumped, whipping their heads around to stare warily at the newcomer.

Zhao An?

Phew.

The group breathed another sigh of relief.

Zhao Huan and Zhao An began to talk, while the others listened from the side.

Xia Yu’s eyes flickered as she kept her gaze fixed on Zhao An.

The man was panting, struggling even to stand and needing to lean against a wall. He looked completely drained.

However, she couldn’t determine whether he was a Ghost Slave based on this alone.

He had just been in a fight, and she didn’t know how long he’d been fighting. If the battle had been long enough, even someone who wasn’t a Ghost Slave would be in a terrible state.

’Just in case, I’ll assume he’s a Ghost Slave.’

A chill entered Xia Yu’s eyes. ’Should I kill him?’

"ROAR."

From a nearby alley, the roar of a Mutant sounded again.

In that instant, Xia Yu made a decision.