by Tai Baiyang
Zhang Mu stared at the Obsidian Beetle and slowly moved backwards because he didn't know if it would suddenly give up the corpses and attack him instead.
Zhang Mu's heart was bleeding as he looked at the Obsidian Beetle eating the zombie's crystal.
However, there was nothing he could do. He had to comfort himself with the thought that he just exchanged the crystals for his life. He worried would the Obsidian Beetle notice him, but it seemed that he still had time to run away.
However, the moment Zhang Mu turned around, the creepy chewing sound stopped.
Zhang Mu froze. He turned around, looking at the Obsidian Beetle again.
Are you kidding me? I was so careful, why did you still notice me?
The Obsidian Beetle had released the zombie's skull, looking at Zhang Mu up and down. It thought that Zhang Mu's flesh and blood should be more delicious.
Its small wings started flapping at high speed. Zhang Mu knew that it was going to attack.
What should he do now?
Run!
Zhang Mu immediately ran away.
However, the Obsidian Beetle's speed wasn't inferior to Zhang Mu’s. Running through one street after another, it still chased after Zhang Mu. Some zombies were attracted by them, but quickly lost their trails.
Why don't you give up?
Why are you still chasing after me?
Why don't you eat these zombies? You just want to eat me? You’re too picky, you bastard!
He must stop, otherwise, he would collapse sooner or later. He turned around and saw that the Obsidian Beetle's teeth were close to his face. He immediately stopped and rolled on the ground. The Obsidian Beetle's sharp claws scraped at Zhang Mu's face, cutting of a strand of his hair.
Zhang Mu lay on the ground and touched his face. He let out a sigh of relief after realizing that he wasn't hurt.
You bastard. If I'm disfigured, I will tear you to pieces!
Before Zhang Mu spoke out more curses, the Obsidian Beetle had turned back and flew at him again.
...Wait. Why didn't I see other Obsidian Beetles?
There is only one Obsidian Beetle?
If so, why have I had to run away?! Beetle, you are dead! I will kill you!
Zhang Mu felt like he was tricked. He, Zhang Mu, was just chased by a first-ranked little bug and almost disfigured? What a humiliating shame!
The Obsidian Beetle stopped three metres away from Zhang Mu, staring at Zhang Mu with its compound eyes. This prey... it felt something unusual from Zhang Mu.
It knew what level it was at. No matter whether it was human or zombie, they were all its food, However, this prey's speed wasn't inferior to it. It hesitated and didn't launch an attack immediately.
They stood facing each other.
Zhang Mu felt nervous in his heart.
What did he see? He saw an emotion named "confusion" in the beetle's eyes. Even if it was a first-ranked Zerg, it was still a lower-level monster. It shouldn’t have intellect!
What was this beetle?!
Chapter 18: Become the Beetle's Master
Zhang Mu still felt confusion and hesitation, but the Obsidian Beetle became impatient. It flapped its wings at a high speed, about to launch a new round of attacks.
Zhang Mu was speechless. The beetle actually dared to face him alone!
However, he wasn’t going to attack the beetle first. He had run for a long time and felt very tired. Under such circumstances, his explosive speed wouldn't be faster than the beetle’s.
His best tactic was to counter attack when the beetle approached.
Finally, the beetle raised its body and flew towards Zhang Mu at an incredible speed.
Zhang Mu squinted. Did the beetle finally give up on playing "Cat and Mouse"?
However, the beetle didn't have any companions now. Zhang Mu didn't think that he was the mouse. He was the cat and the beetle was the mouse!
Zhang Mu quickly stepped back, enticing the beetle to follow him.
As he had expected, the beetle let down its guard after seeing him trying to escape. Its flying speed slightly declined.
Now! Zhang Mu leaned to one side and jumped up, leaping over the Obsidian Beetle and landing on its head, riding on its body.
The Obsidian Beetle was truly resilient. Even though Zhang Mu put his whole weight on its back, it hadn't fallen to the ground and zigzagged at a low altitude, trying to shake Zhang Mu off. However, Zhang Mu tightly grasped its shell, making the beetle’s efforts completely useless.
Zhang Mu held onto the beetle's shell with one hand, while he clenched his other hand into a fist and punched at the Obsidian Beetle's head.
The Obsidian Beetle screeched painfully. Its head was its weak point, but normally, ordinary people wouldn't be able to approach it since it was so nimble. Zhang Mu's punch really hurt it.
In his past life, Zhang Mu wouldn't dare to do this, since Obsidian Beetles lived in groups. However, for some reason, this one moved alone.
Zhang Mu sneered, looking at the Obsidian Beetle's useless struggle. He increased his strength.
Weren't you very aggressive? Do you realize who the prey is now?
One punch after another, they were as quick as the wildest wind and as violent as the strongest storm. The Obsidian Beetle tried to swing him off, but Zhang Mu stayed on its back persistently and didn't give it any chance to escape from his fists. Finally, the Obsidian Beetle was bruised and exhausted, falling straight from the sky to the ground with dust rising in clouds.
"What a tough beetle. Damn dust, I choked."
Zhang Mu coughed and jumped down from the Obsidian Beetle's back.
As Zhang Mu lifted his Tang sword and was going to chop off the Obsidian Beetle's head, its body suddenly jumped up, trying to run away.
Zhang Mu was flabbergasted. The beetle was playing dead?
How could a first-ranked Zerg have the brain to play dead?!
Zhang Mu subconsciously rubbed his eyes and followed the Obsidian Beetle. The Obsidian Beetle's speed wasn't fast. Soon afterwards, Zhang Mu had caught up with it. He aimed at the Obsidian Beetle, throwing his Tang sword. The sword pierced through one of the Obsidian Beetle's wings and pinned it to the ground.
This time, Zhang Mu observed the Obsidian Beetle's head with interest.
Interesting. The Obsidian Beetle was different from the ones he saw in his past life. It had dark gold lines on its head. He didn't notice these lines because there were too few and were so thin that you could barely see them.
Zhang Mu patted the beetle's head. This made the beetle tremble like a leaf in the wind.
No matter how special it was, it was still a Zerg. Undue delay may bring trouble, I should just kill it. Zhang Mu thought, then lifted his sword.
The beetle realized something. It suddenly struggled and knocked its head on the ground, scraping the ground with its two paws.
"Are you going to surrender?" Zhang Mu asked.
The Obsidian Beetle immediately kowtowed at a higher speed after hearing him.
Zhang Mu didn't know if he should feel amused or annoyed.
This insect could understand his words and knew to surrender to him?
Unbelievable! He knew that some evolvers could control mutated animals in his past life, but he wasn’t one of them. Moreover, the Obsidian Beetle was surrendering to him on its own initiative.
How could it be possible?!
"How can you prove that you really want to surrender to me?"
Zhang Mu asked the Obsidian Beetle.
The Obsidian Beetle raised its head after hearing Zhang Mu's words. It spat out a mouthful of golden blood, splattering Zhang Mu's arm. Zhang Mu was scared, but the golden blood didn't corrode his skin like he worried. Instead, it transformed into a golden, lightning-like scar on his arm.
Instantly, the Obsidian Beetle wearily lowered its head. A circle of light suddenly appeared around its body and slowly spread in the air.
Dong!
Zhang Mu felt his mind link with t
he Obsidian Beetle's mind and naturally understood that he could control the Obsidian Beetle's and even controlled its life and death.
That wasn't the end. What happened next made Zhang Mu freeze in surprise.
The Obsidian Beetle shrunk, turning into a small beetle that wasn't any bigger than Zhang Mu's palm, then flew to Zhang Mu and rested on his shoulder.
"Master."
Zhang Mu was frozen from what he just saw and heard. He answered the beetle subconsciously, "Are you the Obsidian Beetle?"
"Yes, my master."
"Are you a Zerg?"
"I don't know."
"Where are you from?"
"I don't know."
Ok, it knew nothing.
Zhang Mu shrugged his shoulders. He looked at the beetle on his shoulder and asked, "How did you know how to surrender? And what is this golden scar?"
The Obsidian Beetle hesitated for a while, then answered, "Because I saw some humans doing this before I ate them. I thought that it meant 'surrender' so I did that. As for the scar, I don't know what it is, but my instinct told me that I should do that. Besides, something on your body attracted me."
Zhang Mu felt more confused after hearing its words.
"Nah. You don't have a name, don't you? Then I will call you 'Little Black'."
"No, master. I have had a name. My name is Golden Scale!" The beetle answered.
Zhang Mu waved his hand with disdain. "Golden Scale? Which part of your black body is golden? Your name is Little Black!"
The Obsidian Beetle thought for a while, then yielded to Zhang Mu.
"Ok. My name is Little Black now, but master, I need to refuel my energy."
Zhang Mu said casually, "No problem. There are still a lot of food in my backpack. Eat what you like."
Little Black immediately flew inside the bag.
Zhang Mu immediately regretted after hearing the "Crack! Crack!" from his backpack. He screamed, "Oh, no! Little Black, get out of my backpack! Stop eating my crystals!"
Chapter 19: Squeeze Upon the Poor Beetle
Zhang Mu was so sad he could cry. He touched his backpack and felt like going crazy. The eight crystals had all been eaten by the Obsidian Beetle.
However, when he looked at the Obsidian Beetle whose wings had recovered after eating the crystals, he very reluctantly bore the loss because it was his fault. If he knew that the Obsidian Beetle would surrender to him, he wouldn't have hurt its wings.
Moreover, with the Obsidian Beetle's help, he would finally be able to put his plan into motion.
After the Obsidian Beetle surrendered to him, his instinct as a merchant immediately started analysing the benefits he could obtain from it and soon afterwards, he had made a plan with the Obsidian Beetle as the core.
...
Looking at the empty gas station, Zhang Mu stretched himself and yawned. He said slowly, "Finally, we are here. We can start now."
Looking at the oil tanks, which were half buried into the ground, Zhang Mu shrugged his shoulders. The Obsidian Beetle immediately flew up into the air.
Dong!
Waves of light appeared around the Obsidian Beetle again. It turned back into its original size in the air, looked back and tried to act cute in front of Zhang Mu.
Zhang Mu was disgusted, which made Little Black feel very aggrieved. It turned around and flew to the oil tanks. It landed on the nearest oil tank and started to gnaw on the iron sheet.
Zhang Mu thought that amongst all first-ranked monsters, the Obsidian Beetle should be the one who had the sharpest teeth for his Little Black could even eat his crystals with ease.
Actually, crystals were a currency that were known for its hardness. Most of the mutated animals could only assimilate crystals with their special digestive juices.
Thus, it could be seen how sharp the Obsidian Beetle's teeth were.
Chomp! Chomp!
The Obsidian Beetle gnawed, chewed, and swallowed, repeating the three steps again and again.
After five minutes, the oil tank had been broken. Zhang Mu could smell the thick scent of diesel from it.
So the Obsidian Beetle's teeth could open the oil tank. If there was only himself, stupidly trying to do it with his Tang sword, who knows till when he would be at it.
Zhang Mu got excited smelling the pungent flavor. He rejoiced in his luck of having Little Black.
"Go on. Make the diesel oil flow out."
The Obsidian Beetle increased its speed after hearing Zhang Mu's words, because Zhang Mu had promised that after it got the substance in the big cylinder out, he would reward it with enough crystals to fill its belly.
Evolution! Evolution! Evolution!
Its instinct urged it to obtain more and more energy. For crystals, Little Black tried his best to open the oil tank.
Gradually, the oil tank's thick shield layer was gnawed through.
Bang!
Diesel oil flowed out from the crack like waterfall, pushing the Obsidian Beetle a few metres back.
The Obsidian Beetle scratched its head with its paws, trying to wipe off the disgusting liquid from its body, but to no avail.
As a mutated animal who was just born in the world, it had learned something from Zhang Mu.
Eww, the diesel oil is too disgusting. I deserve more energy from my master!
Zhang Mu didn't know what the Obsidian Beetle was thinking. He just watched the diesel oil with excitement. After the diesel oil had covered half of the gas station, he urged the Obsidian Beetle to gnaw open the remaining five oil tanks.
Combining threats with incentive, Little Black finally flew up and started to gnaw on the other oil tanks.
"I’m counting on you, my friend." Zhang Mu held a stereo in his hands as he ran towards the city center.
He ignored the zombies near him and stood in the center of the street. He grinned, then turned the stereo on and started to run again.
A loud sound echoed on the streets nearby the oil station.
"Go go go, move on! Go fast rush B! My friends rush B with me! Take P90 blyat! Fast go B, don’t stop! If you stop, I’ll flash you!"
His voice was like a stick that stirred up a hornet's nest. Instantly, the whole area became noisy.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Some people quietly opened the windows of their houses, then saw an unforgettable scene.
A man in black was running on the street with thousands of zombies on his trail. Due to the rules in the debugging period, zombies couldn't search for prey by themselves. They had already been starving for half a day. Finally seeing a human, they naturally chased after him striving to fill their hungry stomachs.
Of course, their intelligence was roughly zero. They wouldn't doubt why the food in front of them always kept the same speed and distance with them.
When the zombies nearly reached Zhang Mu, he would increase his speed; when the zombies were stopped by debris, he would stop and wait for them in case they lost their goal.
If one looked down from the sky, one would see the thrilling scene of a man running away from innumerable zombies.
When Zhang Mu finally reached the oil station, he smiled, looking at the diesel oil on the ground.
Well, the Obsidian Beetle sure can be of some use.
He stopped, turned back and threw a coat soaked in diesel oil at the monsters chasing him, then turned back and kept running. After a few seconds, he took out a candle, ignited it, and threw it backwards.
Shuffle!
Flames licked the zombies running at the front of the army. They were set aflame, but they didn't know pain. They just roared and chased after Zhang Mu.
Zhang Mu immediately accelerated to his full speed. Soon afterwards, he had thrown the zombie away, but the loudspeaker on his waist was still guiding the way for them.
After a while, Zhang Mu saw Little Black listlessly laying on one of the oil tanks. He ordered it to put the loudspeaker in the middle of the oil station, then hid behind a wall well away from the oil station together.
Even the Obsidian Beetle was slightly scared after seeing the undead army. It did treat them as food, but there were too much!
The zombies frantically rushed to the middle of the oil station, where the sound was coming from the loudspeaker.
"Amazing!"
Zhang Mu smacked his lips, then stroked Little Black's head and said, "Look, we are going to be rich!"
The Obsidian Beetle nodded, not fully understanding. It quietly shrunk and stood on Zhang Mu's shoulder, looking at the zombies in the distance together with Zhang Mu.
Chapter 20: Wipe Out the Zombies
The scent of diesel oil spread in the air, but the zombies only heard the sound from the loudspeaker. They ignored the repulsive smell, still rushing forward with no fear.
There were no humans on the streets. All the survivors were hiding in their homes now, waiting for the never-arriving help from the army or the police. Due to the rules during the debugging period, these zombies couldn't go after the humans who weren't within their hunting range, so they had been starving for half a day. Zhang Mu was the only living human they’ve encountered, so they were all chasing after him frantically without any other thought.
Therefore, as Zhang Mu and the Obsidian Beetle watched them quietly and calmly from a distance, the zombies had rushed into the oil station which had been covered with a layer of diesel oil.
Three!
Two!
One!
Explode!
Zhang Mu counted the time according to the zombies' speed.
Boom!
The zombies in the first row had been ignited by Zhang Mu before. As Zhang Mu had expected, the flames on their bodies ignited the gases in the air. A streak of firelight suddenly rose into the sky with a loud bang. The zombies in the first row were instantly consumed by flames, but this wasn't the end.
The flames moved along the diesel oil on the ground, flowing to the zombies in the back row.
Boom! Boom! Boom! In several places, the density of diesel oil in the air had also reached the point of explosion. The loudspeaker had been blasted to pieces because the music had stopped. There was only the sound of fire and explosion.