Rebirth before Apocalypse: My Whole Family are Bigshots!-Chapter 133: Zombie Carpenter

Rustle, rustle, rustle――

The sound of scraping wood became clearer.

It was accompanied by the heavy breathing of some kind of animal.

Leng Yebai took a large step forward, walking ahead of Bai Xiqin.

If anything unexpected happened, Leng Yebai could better protect Bai Xiqin.

He knew Xiao Niu was formidable, but he still didn’t want her to suffer any harm.

The two walked for a while and stood in front of an inconspicuous door.

The door was somewhat worn out, with white paint peeling off, revealing the wood underneath.

The sound of breathing and scraping wood came from behind the door.

Bai Xiqin tapped lightly in the air, and the white wooden door slowly opened.

The scraping sound didn’t stop; the "person" inside continued scraping the wood.

It was pitch black inside, and a shadow holding a tool could be seen faintly, bent over, working on a piece of wood.

Sawdust covered the floor, ankle-deep.

The wood was a section of a large tree that two people couldn’t wrap their arms around, yet under the "person’s" tools, it had been scraped away almost three-quarters.

A large section in the middle was hollowed out, but the ends were still as thick as the two-person-wide wood.

Rustle, rustle, rustle――

The arrival of Bai Xiqin and Leng Yebai did not distract the silhouette; it continued diligently scraping the wood.

Bai Xiqin pulled a flashlight out of her space.

With a click, the flashlight was turned on.

A beam of light shone directly on the silhouette scraping the wood.

The light trembled slightly.

Bai Xiqin took a step back.

What met her eyes was a zombie with decaying flesh hanging from its face.

The zombie was wearing a blue work suit stained with black blood.

The slightly white hair hinted at its identity; it had been a diligent old carpenter in life.

Heavy breathing came from its chest cavity.

It probably hadn’t eaten in a long time; its eye sockets were severely sunken, and the decaying flesh on its cheeks barely hung on, just a small mass.

Shriveled fingers twisted grotesquely, barely able to hold the woodcarving tool.

Rustle, rustle, rustle――

The zombie still showed no reaction, its vacant eyes fixed on the wood before it.

One stroke, then another.

Sawdust fell to the ground, where amid the debris, a pair of blackened, rotting feet could be faintly seen.

The decaying flesh barely clung to them, with sawdust stuck on, dappled with black blood, indistinguishable from the rotten flesh.

Leng Yebai’s fingertips crackled with purple lightning, ready to strike.

"Wait!" Bai Xiqin stopped Leng Yebai, her eyes fixed straight on the carpenter zombie, "Can you understand what we’re saying?"

After meeting Xiao Luo, Bai Xiqin realized that nature’s test for humanity was much more than just the apocalypse and zombies.

Zombies had hierarchies.

The higher the zombie’s rank, the more formidable it was.

In other words, the higher the rank of the zombie, the smarter it was.

There are regular zombies, First Rank zombies, Second Rank zombies...

Humans are ordinary people, Superpower Users, First Rank Superpower Users, Second Rank Superpower Users...

This is evolution.

Maybe at a certain stage of evolution, zombies could become a "Zombie King" like Xiao Luo. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Some people are born in Rome.

Others expend all their might yet never see even a glimpse of Rome.

Zombies are the same.

Some die and turn into bloodthirsty walking corpses.

Others retain their memories and thoughts, becoming the highest-grade zombies.

The zombie before her wasn’t as fortunate as Xiao Luo but was still very different from a regular zombie.

It had vague memory fragments of its previous life.

Besides Xiao Luo, this carpenter zombie was the most unique one Bai Xiqin had ever seen.

Bai Xiqin held her breath, quietly watching the carpenter zombie.

Its shriveled fingers still tightly gripped the tool, repeatedly working on the wood.

Bai Xiqin and Leng Yebai were in no rush; they just stood there observing its reaction.

A minute later, the carpenter zombie seemed to notice them for the first time.

The dry fingers paused slightly, and the stiff muscles on its face twitched ever so faintly.

The carpenter zombie tilted its head slightly, looking at Bai Xiqin and Leng Yebai as if observing small animals.

Thud, thud, thud!

Bai Xiqin heard her own heartbeat.

After Xiao Luo, she had understood that zombies were ranked.

Like opening a door, behind it lay an abyss.

Mindless, bloodthirsty zombies were already enough to leave people overwhelmed.

If advanced zombies appeared, could humans still stand at the pyramidal peak?

If one day, zombies ruled the world.

How would the Zombie King choose to deal with humanity?

Possessing human intellect and thought, it wouldn’t blindly eradicate everyone.

Perhaps humans would become farmed food, or vessels providing new zombie recruits...

The mere thought of it sent chills down one’s spine.

Likewise, humans would be merciless to zombies, to the point of mutual annihilation.

"Huff, huff――"

The carpenter zombie’s heavy cry pulled Bai Xiqin’s thoughts back.

Its decomposing feet moved slightly, staggering towards Bai Xiqin and Leng Yebai.

One step, two steps, with each step a black footprint appeared on the sawdust-covered floor.

Its rotting body emitted a faint yellow glow, interspersed with red flames; this was a Third Rank gold-fire dual-ability zombie.

This zombie did not attack Bai Xiqin and Leng Yebai, only continued closing in on them, its energy growing more intense.

This didn’t seem like it wanted to eat them, more like it was trying to drive them away.

Bai Xiqin held a steel needle in her hand, its icy edge poised to plunge into the zombie’s temple at any moment.

The steel needle flew out through the air, solid energy coiling around the small needle.

The steel needle ripped through the air, poised to embed itself into the carpenter zombie’s temple.

The zombie’s energy grew more active, terrifying pressure emanating from it.

A glint of sorrow flickered in its vacant eyes, gone in an instant.

The yellow glow intensified, enveloping its decaying body tightly.

Bai Xiqin could feel the zombie’s terrifying aura and energy, even sensing a rampaging ferocity.

Yet, she felt no murderous intent.

Even with the steel needle about to pierce its temple.

Bai Xiqin gritted her teeth, not intending to stop.

Humans and zombies were enemies until the end; what was wrong with her killing a zombie!

The frost-covered steel needle hurtled towards the carpenter zombie’s temple more sharply.

The carpenter zombie’s violent aura surged towards them, yet even so, it didn’t strike.

It merely tried to use its aura to scare the intruders away.

The steel needle was about to pierce the carpenter zombie’s temple, yet it still didn’t attack Bai Xiqin and Leng Yebai, vacantly staring at Bai Xiqin.

Within its vacant, decaying eyes, a hint of reluctance, sadness, and complexity flashed through them.

Then, the carpenter zombie slowly closed its eyes, seemingly ready to welcome its second death.

The steel needle halted at the carpenter zombie’s temple, just a millimeter from piercing its brain.

A drop of sweat trickled down Bai Xiqin’s forehead; she twitched her fingers slightly, and the steel needle returned unscathed to the little wooden box at her waist.

Leng Yebai gently clasped Bai Xiqin’s hand, his expression calm.

This outcome had long been anticipated.