Chapter 247 The Shock and Guesses in My Heart

"Since... since I've already decided, I'll see it through to the end."

She turned her face slightly away, her voice dropping low.

"From this moment on, the Zombie Clan and I are mortal enemies. Instead of being secretive and ending up pleasing no one, it's better to lay all my cards on the table from the start."

Su Ze nodded, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"Very smart."

He paused, then changed the subject.

"However—haven't you forgotten one thing?"

Shi Yetang was taken aback and looked at him blankly.

Su Ze stood with his hands behind his back, his tone flat.

"You're mine now, so shouldn't you make up for previously preventing me from annexing The Mansion area?"

Shi Yetang's expression instantly shifted to realization, and she nodded hurriedly.

"No problem! Those unconscious players were actually just a ruse I set up. They aren't truly comatose; I just used a little trick to make them fall into a temporary deep sleep. They should be waking up soon."

She paused, her expression darkening slightly.

"The only trouble is... the person I secretly nurtured and sent away. As long as he's still alive and belongs to The Mansion area, you won't be able to complete a total annexation."

"Then how do we solve it?"

"Kill him," Shi Yetang said.

Su Ze raised an eyebrow.

Shi Yetang quickly explained.

"I mentioned before that I have a Base near the Zombie Clan. The player I sent away is following a route I specified, and his destination is the nearest Zombie Clan Outpost."

"I've only just defected, and the Zombie Clan doesn't know about it yet. Before they can react, I can use my existing communication channels to have my kin at the Base take action."

She glanced at Su Ze's expression and tentatively added.

"That player was forced by me to cross the Dark Zone, losing at least half of his attributes and health. He'll be in a crippled state by the time he reaches the Base. Even for a low-level zombie there, dealing with him will be easy."

Su Ze was silent for two seconds.

He didn't hesitate.

Before that player was sent away by Shi Yetang, he had already been her pawn.

After being forced to cross the Dark Zone, his attributes were permanently reduced by more than half. Even if he were lucky enough to return, he would be a cripple.

More importantly—

If he wanted to bring that person back, the price he would have to pay would likely be greater than simply killing him.

The cost of crossing the Dark Zone back and forth, plus the dangers on the road, and the fact that the person was already crippled...

All things considered, killing him was the simplest solution.

This way, there would be no players with independent affiliation left in The Mansion area, and he could complete the annexation immediately.

"Alright, do it," Su Ze nodded.

Shi Yetang immediately began the operation.

To Su Ze's surprise, she not only sent the contact message quickly but also proactively made her Communication Panel fully public, displaying it before him.

The chat content was visible at a glance.

Su Ze looked at the contact list on the panel, marked with symbols unique to the Zombie Clan, and nodded inwardly.

This female zombie was certainly practical and knew how to adapt to the situation.

She proactively shared everything, leaving no room for concealment.

While it couldn't be ruled out that she had other hidden means of communication, she had at least gone to extremes in terms of her attitude.

After sending the message, Shi Yetang looked up at Su Ze, about to say something—

Suddenly, her heart trembled.

That feeling of her strength being suppressed by the rules changed once again.

460... 400... 350... 300...

It dropped all the way to 230.

Then it stopped steadily.

230.

Shi Yetang felt this number blankly, a complex emotion welling up in her heart.

230 points of basic combat power.

That's right, this was Su Ze's true strength at this moment.

A number so low she wouldn't have even spared it a glance before.

If not for the restriction of the rules, and if she hadn't wanted to uncover the secret of Su Ze's rapid rise...

Or rather, if they had met in a special area, she could have used different methods to insta-kill someone with 230 basic combat power at least ten times in a single second!

Unfortunately, there were no "ifs," and Su Ze was different from others.

As a result, she—a dignified member of the Zombie Royalty with 720 points of basic combat power and decades of accumulated combat experience and techniques—had been subdued by a newcomer with only 230 basic combat power.

And it wasn't through being beaten.

It was through being intimidated.

Shi Yetang suddenly felt a bitterness in her mouth, as if she had chewed a handful of Coptis.

Even if it were repeated a hundred times, the result wouldn't be any different.

The speed, power, and pressure of that punch... were not something 720 points of basic combat power could withstand.

She accepted it.

She accepted it completely.

But then, another thought emerged from the depths of her mind, causing another layer of goosebumps to rise on her back.

What kind of bizarre method was this ability of Su Ze's that could increase basic combat power multiple times?

From 230 to 460, to 920, and then to that terrifying peak whose specific value she couldn't even discern.

Every doubling was a genuine surge in combat power.

And after it ended?

She stole a glance at Su Ze standing beside her.

His breathing was steady, his expression normal, and his hands didn't even tremble.

There were no side effects.

It was as if that terrifying Burst just now was as effortless as stretching after waking up.

This wasn't right.

This was very wrong.

Shi Yetang had lived for decades and seen countless powerful experts use amplification-type abilities.

Without exception, all of them came with a price.

The mildest cases resulted in weakness for several days, the more severe ones in permanent damage to combat power, and the most extreme ones in immediate death after the battle.

But Su Ze—he was perfectly fine.

Could a human player in his Novice Period achieve such a thing?

The more she thought about it, the more alarmed she became.

This was absolutely not an ability or method a newcomer could obtain on their own.

The previous speculation flashed through Shi Yetang's mind again.

It was highly likely that a top-tier human player stood behind Su Ze!

Of course, other races were also possible...

Otherwise, how could a newcomer who had only recently entered the Survival Game manage this?

Su Ze didn't care about her thoughts; he was currently checking his System Panel, ignoring Shi Yetang's shifting glances.

Although his basic combat power had dropped back to 230, once the Intimate Link was performed, his Stamina attribute would be permanently doubled, meaning his endurance in battle would double.

As for Pain Adjustment...

He would have to wait until the Bond was activated before finding an opportunity to test it.

Just then, a private message popped up.

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: Su Ze, the unconscious players at The Mansion have all woken up. They're mostly fine. Wang Meng has already taken people over to take charge. Should we have them join immediately?]

Su Ze replied with a single word.

[Private Chat · Su Ze: Add.]

Jiang Yuwan's reply was almost instantaneous.

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: Received.]

Jiang Yuwan's side was very efficient.

About three minutes later, several join notifications popped up on Su Ze's System Panel.

Immediately afterward—

[Ding! It has been detected that there are no longer any independently affiliated players within the Global Financial Center area.]

[This area has been completely occupied by the Jinghai University faction.]

[For occupied areas, you may choose to merge or annex. The final decision will now be made by the Jinghai Commander, Su Ze...]