Chapter 134: Where It All Began

The metal door slid open silently.

Chen Yu carried Li Qing out of the unit, step by step. His pace was steady—so steady that it hardly seemed like the gait of a man who had just lost his beloved. There was no expression on his face; his tear tracks had long since been replaced by a terrifying calmness.

Outside the door, two guards in pink suits stood like lifeless statues. As Chen Yu emerged, they showed no reaction, though their gazes, hidden behind dark sunglasses, fell upon the cold body in his arms.

Chen Yu stopped and gently laid Li Qing down on the grass. He carefully smoothed her disheveled hair and straightened the folds of her clothing with extreme tenderness. Only when he had finished did he slowly stand up and face the two pink-clad brutes.

"Bury her... properly."

With that, he did not look at Li Qing again. He knew that one more glance would cause him to collapse.

One of the brutes mechanically raised his hand, seemingly intending to request instructions via his comms. Chen Yu did not give him the chance. In the split second the guard moved, Chen Yu struck. He lunged forward instantly.

A clean, decisive back-throw!

*Thump!*

The giant, over six feet tall and weighing well over two hundred pounds, was hurled to the ground like a sack of trash. The second guard reacted with lightning speed, reaching for the pistol at his waist. But to Chen Yu, his movements were as slow as a film in slow motion.

A blur flashed by.

*Snap!*

The crisp sound of a wrist breaking echoed through the air. The pistol flew from the guard's hand and was caught firmly by Chen Yu. The dark muzzle was pressed hard against the forehead of the first guard, who was still pinned to the ground. The entire sequence was as fluid as flowing water, executed in less than three seconds.

"I want to speak with him!"

Chen Yu’s voice was devoid of all human emotion. The guard under the gun was struck dumb, and the other, clutching his broken wrist, stood frozen.

At that moment, a voice filled with frivolous amusement drifted from the nearby shadows. He had been there the whole time, enjoying the brief performance.

"Oh? Brother Zombie, what is it you want to tell me?"

Shen Feng stepped out of the darkness with a leisurely gait, wearing that nauseating smile. His gaze swept over Chen Yu and finally settled on the gun in his hand, his eyes filled with approval.

Chen Yu did not turn around, the muzzle of his gun still pressed firmly against the guard's skull. "I want to start the final round early!"

His voice was cold as ice. "I can't wait."

Chen Yu turned his head slowly, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Shen Feng. "I can't wait... to see how you die!"

"Hahahaha!"

Hearing this, Shen Feng let out an exaggerated laugh, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Brother Zombie, my dear Chen Yu! I must say, sometimes I really think we are the same kind of person!"

He laughed, walking step by step toward Chen Yu, completely ignoring the gun that could go off at any moment. He leaned in close to Chen Yu’s ear, whispering in the tone of someone sharing a secret:

"Look, you are a man of deep sentiment, aren't you? Although I’ve investigated and know there is more than one woman in your life, you seem to have invested genuine emotion into each one. I truly admire this polyamorous heart of yours!"

"And, you also love playing games, don't you?" Shen Feng’s smile grew even more radiant. "With your current abilities, killing these guards and escaping this island shouldn't be difficult, right? But you didn't. You chose the most interesting path. You chose... to keep playing."

He reached out and patted Chen Yu on the shoulder, his tone creepily intimate. "I really, truly like you!"

"Shut your filthy mouth! You sick pervert!" Chen Yu spat, his voice filled with undisguised disgust.

The comment made Chen Yu’s stomach churn. He had no interest in men, least of all being the target of a psychopathic madman. "I asked you: can we start the final round early, or not?" Chen Yu pressed the muzzle of the gun down harder.

"Yes! Absolutely!" Shen Feng agreed without a moment's hesitation, his smile even more sincere than before. "To be honest, I’ve long been impatient as well! Those losers didn't even have the courage to make a choice; their deaths were completely devoid of entertainment value."

He spread his arms in an exaggerated, theatrical bow. "The final round begins now!"

Chen Yu gave him a long, deep look. Then, he tossed the pistol back to the guard holding his broken wrist. He turned and walked back through the open metal door. Just before the door closed, his eyes fell one last time on that pale, serene face on the floor.

*Goodbye, Li Qing. Wait for me... until I kill everyone here and avenge you.*

The metal door closed slowly.

...

Twenty minutes later.

In the primeval forest at the heart of the island, Shen Feng led the way, wielding a machete to hack through the vines blocking their path with great enthusiasm. Chen Yu followed behind him, expressionless.

Behind Chen Yu followed the last survivor. The man, who looked quite robust and muscular, now resembled a frightened quail, trailing at the very back and not daring to breathe too loudly.

Chen Yu had initially been curious. According to the rules of the "Eat Well" side-game, with six people paired off, three should have survived. But a moment's thought gave him the answer.

*Heh, idiots.* Chen Yu sneered inwardly. The other two pairs must have been so selfish that neither was willing to consume the unknown capsule, hoping the other would be the fool. As a result, when time ran out, the entire group was judged to have failed the mission. They were then executed on the spot by those pink-clad brutes like garbage.

*They truly... died without any cause for grievance.*

The air in the jungle was muggy and humid, the scorching sun overhead filtered through layers of canopy until only dappled spots of light remained on the ground.

After walking for some time, near midday, the view ahead suddenly opened up. Two solitary brick houses appeared before them.

The moment Chen Yu saw those two houses, his pupils contracted violently.

At the same time, the live-stream of the death game, which had captured the world's attention, focused clearly on the two eerie structures. The live chat, which had been silent for a moment, erupted like a volcano.

[Holy sh*t! What is happening? Am I seeing things?]

[These houses... aren't these the murder scene from the Luo Xiangdong case?! They’re identical!]

[My god! The place where the dream began! I became a fan of Brother Zombie when he became famous in that secret room!]

[All members of the Zombie Corps, stand up! Something big is coming!]

[Damn, this mysterious person really knows how to play, right? Setting the final round here? What kind of hellish sense of ritual is this?]

[Starting from where it began, ending where it began... does anyone else feel like Brother Zombie is in trouble? How much psychological trauma must this place hold for him?]

[Bullsh*t! Our Brother Zombie is invincible! This is a revisit to the scene of his triumph—the King returns! Just wait and see how he twists that pervert's head off!]

The chat room scrolled wildly, the adrenaline of millions of viewers across the globe ignited in an instant.

For here, standing before them, were two houses identical to the secret room where the police had found the remains of entrepreneur Luo Xiangdong in an abandoned house on the outskirts of the city. It was from that very room that Chen Yu, without any outside help, had staged a bizarre "resurrection" to escape, becoming an overnight sensation and earning him the moniker "Brother Zombie."

This was where it all began.

Shen Feng watched the subtle changes in Chen Yu’s expression and nodded with satisfaction, his smile as bright as the midday sun. He spread his arms wide, as if embracing the entire world.

"Let everything begin at the origin, my dear Brother Zombie!"

"This is the stage that made you who you are." His voice was filled with frantic glee. "And so, it shall also become... the place where you are buried forever!"

"Let us begin this familiar and thrilling game!"