Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 153 Surprise?

Deep in the occupied zone, in an air-raid shelter.

The surroundings were completely silent, not even a mosquito or fly could be seen. As far as the eye could see, countless zombies stood motionless, like statues.

Deep within the air-raid shelter stood several beings whose limbs were clearly deformed. If someone knowledgeable about zombies came here, they would likely be plunged into utter despair. It was obvious that each of these beings was a powerful individual who was extremely close to the fourth rank, and also a mutated zombie lord with formidable superpowers.

Yet, even in such a place, broadcasts were playing.

Just as I finished hearing the phrase "the dawn of victory is near," a delicate, white hand snapped the radio shut off.

"They're coming."

The owner of the voice was a slender girl with a plain face and her long hair simply tied up. If it were before the Great Cataclysm, she would be the kind of girl who would look like a good student at first glance.

Now she sits lightly on the table, her slender legs swinging restlessly, her white socks spotless.

What should have been a perfectly normal scene, even beautiful, became exceptionally eerie in comparison to the presence of several high-level zombies around it.

Not far away, several figures were prostrate on the ground, trembling incessantly before him.

The girl glanced down at the group, her dark pupils seeming to hold a surging, blood-red ocean—a bottomless abyss. Even though the people on the ground didn't look up, they seemed to sense that gaze and instinctively lowered their bodies.

The girl spoke again, as if asking a question, but also as if talking to herself: "The people in the surrounding shelters have all been released. Perhaps soon, those nuclear weapons will land here?"

She smiled softly, making a slightly worried expression.

"Oh dear, what should we do now?"

No one dared to answer her question, nor could any zombie. She didn't care at all, jumped off the table, and landed lightly on the ground.

"So, all I can do is slink away, all alone, right?"

When she said this, her tone showed no sign of discouragement, but rather an excitement and anticipation.

"Congratulations, my lady! Congratulations, my lady!" At her feet, a woman seemed terrified by her approach, her head buried in the ground, where a puddle of water had appeared.

"Did I ask you to speak?"

The smile on the girl's face vanished abruptly, replaced by extreme disgust and ferocity. She stomped her foot on the man's head, causing his forehead to slam against the floor with a thud, letting out a scream.

"I was wrong, sir, I was wrong!"

The screams made the remaining people shrink back even more. Hearing her plea for mercy, the girl gradually reduced the force with her feet, and a smile reappeared on her face.

"Did I do something wrong? It's good that you know you did something wrong. Also, don't call me 'adult' next time, it sounds awful."

"Come on, get up quickly, let me see if you're hurt?"

She forcibly pulled the woman up from the ground; blood was seeping from the woman's forehead, and her face was covered in tears.

"It's alright, it's nothing." The girl squinted, her gaze sweeping over the girl as if she were looking at livestock to be slaughtered, not a person.

The bloodstains on the woman's head caused the surrounding zombies, who had been stunned, to turn their heads and become clearly agitated. The girl snorted coldly, and many of the zombies showed even greater fear than the humans present. They immediately lowered their heads and dared not move.

"It's not easy to have a few obedient people like you. You mustn't die now, because I'm still waiting for you to help me do something big."

As she said this, a disdainful smile curled at the corner of her lips.

“Cognitive anchors? Ha…” “Humans are such fragile creatures, why do they necessarily need to use superpowers if they really want to change things?”

"Is that so, hmm?"

The woman was being pulled by her hand, which felt like an iron clamp gripping her painfully, but she dared not say anything and just nodded repeatedly.

The girl's smile widened, and she released her grip, causing the woman to collapse to the ground like a piece of discarded trash.

"Alright, it's time to let you go. Those survivors are still moving around, which is your easiest chance to infiltrate... Heh, they probably still think they've managed to evade my notice, right?"

"Tsk, I went to great lengths to keep them alive."

The girl paced back and forth beside the kneeling men, but none of them dared to look at her toes. They either stared intently at the floor in front of them or simply closed their eyes.

"Remember, there's no need to be afraid of death. You've already witnessed my abilities. Even if I die, as long as I can complete the tasks I've given you, I will certainly keep my promise to you."

“But if you dare to betray…” Her voice took on a chilling tone, “you will not escape my punishment even if you die. Do you understand?”

No one dared to object, and they readily agreed.

"Get out! There are cars outside. Go out by yourselves. As for the reason, you can come up with it yourself. I don't need to teach you this kind of thing, do I?"

"No, no need, no need!"

Some people's legs had already given out, and they were literally tumbling and crawling as they walked out. Watching their backs, the girl's face revealed a hint of mockery.

"I heard those humans are also teaching their food, huh, really..."

The girl shook her head, turned around, and saw several high-level zombies that looked like quails. A smile returned to her face.

"Oh, there are you guys too." Facing the zombies, she felt a mix of helplessness and casualness: "You guys are obedient, but unfortunately, you're all brainless. You're just going to your deaths."

"Alright, don't rush me. I know you're getting impatient. I'll let you out right away!"

"So, you take 200,000 zombies to attack Haiqu, you take 200,000 to attack Sheyang, and you take 300,000 to Langya..."

After counting them all, she finally looked at a particularly tall figure, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Although you are the strongest, you are also the dumbest. Forget it, you can go and fight Hailing County yourself."

"Alright, go ahead... Remember to die quickly."

The zombies performed better than the living people, or rather, their intelligence was not enough to support them in taking more complex actions.

They lined up and walked out. The girl squinted at them for a while, then walked back to the table. On the table, besides the radio, there was a book, which was the survival manual that could be found everywhere these days.

The book was open at that moment, and its contents were—

'On the relationship between zombie lords and zombie hordes, and methods for dealing with zombie hordes.'

The girl's fingers gently traced the printed words on the pages. She... or rather it, it chuckled softly: "The zombie lord cannot defy the will of the zombie horde...? But I did not defy it either, did I? I just made it slow down a little, take a wrong turn, and provoke an opponent it shouldn't have, that's all."

"So please hurry up, what are you still hesitating about?"

"A reborn one... You are not a true prophet after all. Even you couldn't have foreseen my current choice, could you? But I really need to thank you properly."

"Then as a thank you gift, let me give you a little surprise before I leave..."

(End of this chapter)