Chapter Seventy-Nine: New Life

Ma Yi had only seen the sea clans; he had yet to speak of the ocean's true overlords lurking in the deep. These marine creatures, evolving much like the mutated beasts on land, were not as free and unfettered as their terrestrial counterparts. In the ocean, it was a relentless cycle of evolution through devouring, and those at the very pinnacle of the marine hierarchy were so formidable that even the mighty eight sea clans marked their territories as forbidden zones, strictly off-limits to all, lest any who trespassed would be left to fate.

“Come now, let’s be cheerful at home. You’ve just returned, don’t be so gloomy,” Ruhua gently extended her slender, soft fingers, smoothing the creases from Ma Yi’s brow, then wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Alright, I won’t dwell on those worries. Has the training for our two legions fallen behind lately?” Ma Yi smiled, his hand slipping mischievously onto Ruhua’s shapely hip.

“Not at all. Knowing you have much to worry about, I’ve actually doubled their training intensity recently. They never seem to tire anyway. As long as it’s not to the point of crippling them, I push them to their limits, digging deeper into their potential. As you said, constant exertion is the key to evolution,” Ruhua replied. “Now, some soldiers in both legions have begun to evolve, and others are on the very brink.” Feeling Ma Yi’s playful hand, Ruhua—now much taller than Ma Yi—rolled her eyes, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush.

“Oh? You’ve even learned to roll your eyes now,” Ma Yi chuckled, watching her flirtatious manner.

Ruhua’s progress in learning was astonishingly rapid. Were it not for the lingering differences in appearance, Ma Yi would have almost mistaken her for an ordinary human and not the queen of the undead.

“There’s something important I want to show you. Come with me,” Ruhua said mysteriously, taking Ma Yi’s hand and leading him into a snow tunnel.

“What’s this about? Why so secretive?” Ma Yi followed, curiosity piqued, as they hurried along the tunnel.

“You’ll see soon enough,” Ruhua replied with a smile.

The entrance and turns of the snow tunnels were all near the villa, so after exiting one opening, Ma Yi and Ruhua slipped into another that led down the mountain.

“Hey, brother-in-law!” Liu Xue called out, spotting Ruhua pulling Ma Yi out from a snow tunnel. But before she could finish, the two had already disappeared into the tunnel leading down. Her curiosity flared, and her mind instantly filled with mischievous, age-inappropriate scenarios, making her flush with excitement. She tossed aside the snowball she’d been playing with and hurried after them.

Ruhua knew every fork in the network of snow tunnels intimately; clearly, she spent much time inside, which explained her familiarity. More than once, Ma Yi felt dizzy from the twists and turns, but Ruhua navigated with ease, passing by countless branching passages toward their chosen path.

“In such a hurry?” Liu Xue trailed from a distance, watching as Ruhua chose the tunnel leading down the mountain. Scenes of wild escapades outdoors flashed in her young mind, making her face burn at her own imagination.

They finally emerged from the snow tunnel, but before Ma Yi could take in their surroundings, Ruhua was already pulling him into another opening at ground level—this time, descending underground.

Below ground was the domain of the undead army and those lesser zombies who had been cast out. Here, a vast subterranean world had been crafted by Little Mouse. There was no sunlight, but to Ma Yi and Ruhua, everything was clear as day—they could even see a flying insect a kilometer away in the dark.

“Shh.” Ruhua motioned for silence, slowly approaching one of the cave entrances, then signaled for Ma Yi to take a look.

Ma Yi, puzzled, crept forward and peeked inside. What he saw left him utterly stunned.

He stared, stupefied, at the scene before him: six or seven zombies were resting within the cave. These zombies were a bit plumper than average, lying sleeping—or at least resting—in utter silence. Ma Yi could even hear the faint sound of snoring, much like humans.

“Well? Surprised, aren’t you?” Ruhua’s voice sounded directly in Ma Yi’s mind—a power she’d always possessed, though she seldom used it now that she’d learned to speak. But here, in the stillness, it was just right.

Startled from his reverie by a noise behind him, Ma Yi turned to see Liu Xue tiptoeing through the underground palace, searching for something.

“How did you get in here?” Ma Yi stepped forward and pulled Liu Xue closer.

“I was just curious what you were up to, so I followed,” she replied, putting on an innocent look.

“Keep your voice down. Look,” Ma Yi whispered, shifting aside so Liu Xue could see into the cave.

“What? It’s pitch black—I can’t see anything,” Liu Xue peered into the darkness but could barely make out the walls, let alone the scene within, unlike Ma Yi and Ruhua, who could see perfectly in the blackness.

“Right, I forgot,” Ma Yi said sheepishly, recalling that Liu Xue was still human, while he and Ruhua were not.

“Ruhua, take Xiao Xue back. I’ll go in and have a look,” Ma Yi said quietly. Then, to Liu Xue, “Go with your sister Ruhua. I’ll be back soon.”

Ma Yi watched as Liu Xue followed Ruhua away, curiosity unsated. “What’s in there?” she asked, but Ruhua only smiled mysteriously.

“There’s something remarkable inside, but you’ll know in time. For now, let’s get out—stick close, or you’ll get lost in here.” The vastness and maze of branching tunnels could easily confound anyone unfamiliar; only Ruhua’s sharp senses and familiarity with the place allowed safe passage.

Liu Xue had barely managed not to lose herself on the way in by sticking close to Ma Yi and Ruhua. Now, following only Ruhua, she found every tunnel looked identical; without her guide, she’d never find her way out.

Meanwhile, Ma Yi crept into the cave and crouched before a sleeping zombie. In the darkness, every detail of the creature’s skin was clear.

Sensing something, the zombie rolled over and then sat up, startled to find the supreme leader herself squatting by her side, observing her. Flustered, she almost panicked.

“It’s alright, I’m just here to check on you,” Ma Yi tried to sound gentle, a soft smile on his face, though his gaze kept returning to the zombie’s belly.

Unlike typical zombies, this one’s abdomen was swollen and taut. Within, life stirred and wriggled. Judging by the size, the little life inside was as developed as a human fetus at eight or nine months, but Ma Yi knew that when he’d left for the Southern Base two months ago, not a single zombie here had shown any sign of pregnancy—a fact Ruhua, as commander, would have known well.

Since the underground palace had only been established a month ago, the appearance of a pregnant zombie astonished Ma Yi. He’d previously observed that both female and male zombies retained reproductive organs and functions.

When he set out for the Southern Base, Ma Yi had already theorized that zombies might continue to reproduce, contrary to movie lore where they simply dwindled away. They were evolving into a new species, and Ma Yi’s own evolution had convinced him that zombies were truly transitioning from infected humans to something entirely new.

Gazing at the pregnant zombie, Ma Yi was more certain than ever. What defines a true species? The ability to reproduce. You can take on any new form, but without propagation, you’re only a mutation, not a species. But with reproduction, this mutated form would persist, slowly becoming a true race in the annals of history.

Ma Yi reached out, placing his hand on the zombie’s belly, feeling the life within. Perhaps sensing the presence of a powerful being, the once-active little one stilled, quietly submitting to Ma Yi’s touch.

Through his palm, Ma Yi could sense the vitality of this nascent life. It confirmed his theories and, more importantly, marked the first new life he’d witnessed since the apocalypse began. Perhaps elsewhere, other such births had occurred, but in Ma Yi’s heart, this was the sole new beginning.

Leaving the underground palace, Ma Yi had also conducted a brief examination of the zombie, discovering that to fulfill the reproductive function, various female organs had adapted, much like in humans. He surmised that after birth, the little one would at least survive the neonatal period safely.

As for how the zombie had become pregnant, Ma Yi had discussed it with her. Of course, it wasn’t asexual reproduction; zombies, as evolved humans, retained male and female forms, just as he and Ruhua did. Many zombies in the palace now engaged in sexual behavior, though whether from primal instinct or reverence for strength, only the most powerful zombies—the high-level ones—had greater opportunities.

Ma Yi wandered the snow tunnels, lost in thought, and absentmindedly took a wrong turn. When he finally emerged at a villa, he realized with a start that it wasn’t his own. The Western-style villa had been tidied, presumably by Liu Xue, but three meters above the ground, a sturdy shell layer kept the outside world at bay.

A single energy-saving lamp hung from the shell, its powerful light illuminating the area as bright as midday.