Chapter Ten: The Sorrow of Human Nature

Under the tidal onslaught of mutant beasts, the First Defense Army of Arbortree Star will inevitably counter these monsters with even more formidable firepower. Yet, the increasingly frequent use of high-energy weapons will, in turn, attract even greater numbers of mutant beasts and zombies. It's a vicious cycle, drinking poison to quench thirst—if they have no alternative, Javier’s hundred-strong squad will be worn down to death. Now that swarms of zombies and mutant beasts have been drawn out from the irradiated zone, the interior stands exposed and vulnerable.

Let us hasten our pace; skirt their route, avoid direct confrontation with the mutant beasts, slip into the irradiated lands, secure what I seek, and withdraw at once. After observing for a while and confirming that the First Defense Army was utterly trapped in an endless cycle of slaughter, Zella’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she spoke.

Ye Hai agreed. “In that case, let’s detour from the east. There shouldn’t be any real obstacles along this path.” After all, Zella was the boss—whatever she said went!

Though Ye Hai remained somewhat curious about Zella’s true purpose in the irradiated zone, he was more focused on using Dark Current’s network to take care of his own business after he’d seen her mission through. This man, who so blatantly lived off a woman, was becoming more and more pleasing in Ye Hai’s eyes. Ten years surviving on Zombie Star, and he still hadn’t secured a stable off-world channel—yet Zella, despite her recent rise, already possessed a complete one. Truly, behind every successful man stands a formidable woman… Perhaps, Ye Hai mused, with his looks, he didn’t need to struggle so hard after all.

“I’ve already uploaded the route to the irradiated zone into your navigation systems,” Zella announced. “You three go on ahead—I need to remove the high-energy radiation crystal from the Star Tail 7. If it accidentally activates, it could draw mutant beasts, and that would be trouble. I drive fast; I’ll catch up soon.”

Zella frowned, clearly skeptical that Ye Hai would linger simply to dismantle a crystal. Still, she didn’t dwell on it; regardless of his motives, he would eventually seek her out. On Zombie Star, Zella believed, anyone fighting to survive would find her terms hard to refuse.

After watching Zella depart, Ye Hai’s lips curved in a faint smile. Liana climbed out of the vehicle, now fully dressed in clothes patterned exactly like the blanket that had wrapped them earlier—a testament to the resourcefulness of Zombie Star’s women. With Zella gone, Liana allowed herself a slight sigh of relief. Toward Zella, she harbored a fear that ran to her very bones.

She had seen Zella lead her people into her small survivor settlement, take away anyone worth plundering, and cruelly break the limbs of any who dared resist, feeding them to the zombies. Such shadows would haunt her for life.

“Are you really going to catch up with Zella later?” Liana asked hesitantly. “Working with someone like her is like making a pact with a tiger…”

Before she could finish, Ye Hai cut her off coldly. “If you want to survive, learn to judge the situation and know your place. Zombie Star never cares about one more dead fool.”

These words sent a chill through Liana’s very marrow. In their brief acquaintance, Ye Hai’s laid-back manner had led her to believe he was an easy-going man. The truth, however, was different. On a world steeped in virus and vice, anyone who thrived was far from gentle; calling them a pack of fiends would not be an exaggeration. And those dubbed forbidden figures by such fiends—each had hands steeped in blood.

Since crossing into Zombie Star, Ye Hai never bullied the weak as Zella did, but those who crossed him all ended up as live test subjects for his virus experiments. Liana’s hope of using Ye Hai to escape Zella’s control was, evidently, wishful thinking. A man who survived the abyss and was revered as a forbidden figure would never be swayed by a woman so easily.

After calling the other two from the car, Ye Hai slid back into the driver’s seat and addressed the three startled women. “Stay here. Don’t run. As long as you obey, you’ll be safe.”

Liana startled. “Where are you going alone?”

Ye Hai grinned wickedly. “Someone blew up my villa for no reason—I have to settle the score, or I’ll be at a loss!”

With that, he started the hovercar and sped away toward the First Defense Army’s battlefield.

Moments later, one of the girls asked Liana, “Sister Liana, should we run? This is our best chance!”

Coming to her senses, Liana glanced in the directions Ye Hai and Zella had gone, gritted her teeth, and nodded. “I saw a pickup truck outside the blown-up villa. Let’s double back and escape by car!”

Without hesitation, she led the two girls running toward the villa. But they had barely taken a few steps when a blood-red tongue lashed out from behind like lightning, coiling around Liana’s neck and dragging her down.

All three girls screamed in terror. Looking back, they saw a grotesque Licker had appeared where they’d just stood.

Compared to other mutants on Zombie Star that still resembled humans or beasts, the hideous Licker was a shocking sight. The three women shrieked in terror. The other two, without a second thought, abandoned Liana and bolted into the dense forest. Witnessing this, Liana’s heart turned to ashes.

The two fleeing girls were Su Ling and Ollia, both captured by Zella from the survivor camp, just like Liana. Before Zella stormed into their lives, Liana had cared for them like a true sister, always saving a scrap of food for the girls no matter how hungry she was. Even after their capture, she continued to protect them. When Zella threatened Su Ling with an unknown red syringe, Liana, suppressing her terror, rebelled for the first time—taking Su Ling’s place as the host for the original Ant Queen virus, without a hint of regret.

But now, faced with an attack from an unknown monster, the two girls she’d so carefully protected did not hesitate to abandon her and run for their lives. Since the destruction of their camp, Liana’s only purpose had been to survive with her two sisters on this hopeless planet. Now, even that last conviction crumbled away.

As the Licker approached, despairing, Liana closed her eyes and waited for a miserable death. The disgusting tongue that had wrapped her neck released its grip, and she could feel the Licker’s icy breath against her cheek. Eyes shut tight, she awaited death’s arrival—but after more than a minute of silence, nothing happened.

At last, forcing herself to overcome her terror, Liana cracked open her eyes. Before her squatted the blood-red, skinless frog with a human brain—a Licker—that now sat before her like a puppy, head tilted as if scrutinizing her.

Paralyzed, Liana sat there, locked in a silent staring contest with the Licker for five full minutes. Over time, she realized it had no intention of killing her. In that moment, she found the sight of this eyeless, head-tilted, monstrous creature… strangely endearing in its ugliness.

Summoning her courage, Liana timidly asked, “Did Ye Hai send you to protect me?”