Zheng Zha’s internal energy and vampire essence were now more than double what they had been when he first obtained the Spear of Judgment. The change in his internal energy was particularly qualitative; thus, even though he channeled only about half of his available power this time, its destructive force was absolutely equivalent to the full might he possessed when first acquiring the Spear. This desperate throw—the golden light released almost instantaneously—was like a miniature sun. The zombies, busy draining blood in the distance, instantly burst into flames. Only the brown-haired youth remained untouched by the light, but as the Spear of Judgment pierced the space barrier and struck his chest, his formidable body offered almost no resistance; he vanished into nothingness. The power of the Spear continued its trajectory, piercing through his head, his upper body, his lower body, and even the ground beneath his feet before embedding itself deep into the earth. It then shot downward, breaching the floor and continuing its flight. By the time Zheng Zha regained his senses, a gaping hole over thirteen meters in diameter marred the ground. Looking through it, he realized the attack had pierced entirely through the skyscraper. The sheer destructive capability was utterly staggering.

Zheng Zha gasped, struggling for air. That single strike had consumed nearly half of his internal energy and half of his vampire essence; even with his physical conditioning, the drain was immense. But, he supposed, eliminating that monster made it worthwhile...

(Wait! There are no system prompts. He isn't dead... Was it because only a few scraps of his flesh remained from the hotel incident? Then I’ll tell Chu Xuan and the others to use fire to incinerate those scraps...)

The thought flashed through Zheng Zha’s mind, but before he could consciously reach out to Chu Xuan and the others, a large mass of flesh began to writhe slowly in the pool of blood. These were chunks of flesh emerging from the surrounding corpses and the charred fragments of the incinerated zombies. They squirmed in the blood, slowly coalescing. By the time Zheng Zha snapped back to attention, the mass had formed a rough human shape. Then came the torso and the head, and within seconds, the brown-haired youth stood once more in the blood-soaked wreckage.

The brown-haired youth surveyed the massive hole in the floor. “What terrifying power. If I were only a high-level being in the village, I certainly would have been instantly obliterated by you. Hahaha... I am constantly evolving, constantly transforming into a higher life form. That massive hole in the floor is proof of that. You cannot kill me, hahaha. No one in this world can kill me...”

Zheng Zha questioned, baffled, “Why? Did you manage to dodge the moment I threw the Spear of Judgment? Impossible. That attack couldn’t be evaded even by me in my ‘explosion’ state—how could you possibly evade it? It’s impossible!”

The brown-haired youth chuckled. He approached a living man pinned to the wall. Under the man’s look of utter terror, he plunged his finger into the man’s abdomen. Then, the man began to wither slowly, only to rapidly inflate moments later. Within seconds, the victim transformed into a giant zombie, which, upon being ripped from the wall, immediately resumed the ghastly task of draining blood. This action made Zheng Zha’s brow furrow in disgust.

The brown-haired youth licked the blood from his finger. “I sustained terrible injuries when fighting you in the plaza earlier. Although I can supplement my body with flesh from other bodies, I still required a massive influx of energy. These people died because of you, hahaha! All because of you!”

Zheng Zha sneered, “Bullshit! Don’t pin your abominations on us. I could just as easily say it’s all your fault—if we had killed you back then, these people wouldn’t be dead. You disgusting monster!”

The brown-haired youth glanced at his own arm. “A disgusting monster? Am I truly so repulsive? Hahaha. Lower life forms cannot comprehend the sensations of higher beings. Every time you suck a person’s blood into your body, feeling them become your nourishment, you experience an unparalleled pleasure—it is tens of thousands of times more blissful than climax, hahaha! And do you know why I survived just now? Because I have already achieved invincibility!”

The brown-haired youth erupted into maniacal laughter, shouting uncontrollably. At his feet, several more masses of writhing bone and flesh began to rise. Each pile of gore twisted and grew, eventually taking on the exact likeness of the brown-haired youth—all appearing as monstrous copies of him.

Zheng Zha felt a chill of alarm, though he deliberately maintained a cold smile. “Stop trying to fool me with those zombies. Can you really transform into multiple individuals? Screw you! As long as I retrieve the Spear of Judgment, I can still instantly vaporize you!”

The brown-haired youth shook his head. “Foolish, low-grade life form. You actually believe those are fake? How ignorant! With the abilities of a high-level life form like myself, every zombie I personally infect carries my cells. As long as one zombie survives, I will never truly die, hahaha! And those people bitten by the zombies—they too will carry my cells once they turn. Do you understand now why I say you cannot kill me? Because my physical forms—tens of thousands of them, perhaps more—already exist throughout this entire city, and they are continuously creating more victims. What you don't even know is that as one of my forms grows stronger by fighting you or absorbing your essence, my cells located in even the most distant zombies also evolve and strengthen simultaneously. So don't delude yourself into thinking you can stop my continuous evolution by destroying just the one of me that got stronger. Hahahaha... Do you grasp it now? I am the strongest, the highest life form. I am the symbol of invincibility!”

Zheng Zha’s heart sank. He didn't know if the monster’s claims were true, but if they were, he and his companions were in grave danger. This creature was virtually unkillable, an unstoppable monstrosity unless eliminated before it could fully evolve. Otherwise, the only option was complete evasion. No wonder this sub-plot mission had no time limit—this must be the reason.

Seeing the shift in Zheng Zha’s expression, the brown-haired youth continued with a cold smirk. “Don’t even think about escaping. The boy you are carrying also harbors my cells, although they are currently dormant. Once ten days pass, those dormant cellular buds will sprout, and the boy will become a new zombie... My terms are simple: hand over that massive diamond and the gold fragments, and I will spare the dozens of you. In truth, I have no need to kill you; this city has ample humans for me to evolve and grow upon. I only wish to continue my evolution into a more powerful and perfect life form. We really don't have much conflict, do we? How about we strike a bargain?”

Zheng Zha kept talking because stalling for time was his absolute priority. He needed the approach of dawn, or the sooner arrival of Imhotep. So, he replied with a cold laugh, “Stop trying to deceive us. You claimed your evolution had stalled, which is why you attacked me and tried to drain my blood, correct? But now you suddenly offer to spare us if you can just kill other humans? Do you think anyone would believe that? Moreover, you are already this brutal; what will you become when you reach a higher state? Will you not extinguish the entire human race? Not a chance!”

The brown-haired youth sighed and shook his head, then declared with a ferocious expression, “Truly stubborn! Originally, I intended only to turn you into my personal guard-zombie and let the others live a little longer. It seems I have no choice but to eliminate you now! As the future lord of the entire world, you will serve as my personal vanguard, hahaha—take pride in that!” With that, the brown-haired youth exerted himself, and a pair of black, bat-like wings slowly sprouted from his back. The other similar brown-haired youths performed the same action simultaneously. Suddenly, five figures bearing black, winged appendages floated into the air, taking Zheng Zha completely by surprise.

The initial brown-haired youth soared upward, laughing wildly. “This is all thanks to your life essence! Not only has it greatly evolved my body, but it has granted me the power of flight... Although I would soon be able to fly freely, the taste of early flight is intoxicatingly exciting, hahaha! This feeling is simply magnificent... Oh, and don't worry about your companions. The zombies in the city are already converging on them. If they kill too many zombies, another body like mine will manifest there, and once a high-level being like me appears, they will certainly perish, hahaha...”

Despair began to settle in Zheng Zha’s heart. Seeing the five brown-haired youths flying toward him, he had no choice but to turn his hoverboard and speed toward the location of Zhan Lan and the others. He continuously broadcast the message in his mind to them: flee as much as possible, and try not to kill too many zombies, as that would only multiply the monster.

Just as Zheng Zha fled and the five winged youths gave chase, a yellow sandstorm suddenly rolled in from the distance. As the dust cloud swept past him, Zheng Zha distinctly heard Imhotep’s voice. The handsome, bald man spoke, “That’s pathetic. You’ve defeated me before, yet you run from these five little bats?”

As the words faded, the yellow sandstorm vortex engulfed the five brown-haired youths. Zheng Zha stopped, a mixture of shock and joy on his face. Yet, his relief swiftly turned to despair. As the sandstorm swept toward the five, he saw several more winged brown-haired youths flying in from a nearby location... It seemed the monster had not lied; perhaps he truly was an invincible creature...

An invincible creature, flawed in its very nature... leaping toward him.