119: Chapter 119 The King of Pretension, the Black-Robed Man

Hearing that name, the atmosphere in the car became a bit tense.

Qian Dong subconsciously gripped the weapon beside him; he hadn't forgotten the loss he suffered at Yanqi Mountain before.

Tian Zining was trying to lead them to the Yanqi Mountain headquarters; no wonder he was so fearless.

Qi Yin's tone remained relaxed, but upon closer inspection, her eyes had already turned cold.

“It seems we'll have to go to the host's house for this meal.”

That was fine too; it saved them the trouble of searching for the way everywhere.

At a corner, Tian Zining glanced at the off-road vehicle flashing by in the rearview mirror, a successful smirk curling his lips.

The road conditions were already poor, and taking advantage of being 'home,' Tian Zining twisted and turned through the shattered streets like a loach, specifically picking incredibly narrow alleys to dive into.

However, how could such a small trick stump Xiao Sinian? Back in the day, he had also participated in the Mount Haruna Racing God Competition, alright?

He followed unhurriedly, but the feeling that something was wrong grew stronger in his heart.

“Is this grandson leading us on a tour of the back alleys?” Lu Yanxiu, nearly motion-sick from the shaking, couldn't help but curse.

In this gods-forsaken place, even the weeds were twice as tall as him.

Who would build their 'hometown' in a place like this? That grandson Yanqi Mountain is simply an oddball.

Immediately after, the car slowly drove into an extremely dilapidated area; judging by the various trash left behind, it should be a slum.

It was very quiet here, an unnatural kind of quiet.

Qi Yin twitched her nose; a strange scent drifted in the air, a somewhat familiar cloying sweetness mixed with the strong stench of rotting meat, so pungent it made her nose run.

“The smell isn't right.” Xiao Sinian's brow furrowed tightly as he slowed the car down.

Qi Yin knew; she was just about to pick up the tracker and monitor to check Tian Zining's specific location.

Suddenly, *Zzzzt—*

She quickly covered her ears, nearly having them blown out by the piercing static sound.

Glancing down, Xiao Sinian's tracker and her monitor both glitched simultaneously, turning into classic static snow and completely losing signal.

Qi Yin's fingers tapped incessantly on the computer, but under everyone's expectant gazes, she shook her head.

It wasn't a program issue; it was destroyed by external force.

In those few seconds, the van that had been swaying in their sight just now vanished like a ghost behind a trash-filled corner ahead.

It seemed the person behind Tian Zining intended to make a move.

“Stop the car!” Qi Yin barked.

Xiao Sinian decisively slammed on the brakes; the off-road vehicle's tires screeched against the gravel ground before coming to a halt next to the trash heap.

The inside of the car fell instantly silent, leaving only the sound of several people's breathing.

Qi Yin and Xiao Sinian's brows were tightly knit; something was wrong, very wrong.

However, before they could get out to investigate, a dull rumbling sound suddenly came from beneath their feet, approaching from a distance.

The group exchanged looks; the sound was somewhat like a large-scale animal migration.

Before they could think further, a dense mass of black figures surged out from behind the surrounding ruins.

“Holy crap, so many zombies!” Lu Yanxiu couldn't help but shout a curse.

Qian Dong was dumbfounded: “This is... way too many.”

Qi Yin stared intently at the approaching figures and nudged Xiao Sinian's arm.

“Do you see that?”

Xiao Sinian's voice was deep: “Yeah.”

These zombies were not the slow-moving ordinary kind.

Compared to ordinary zombies, their movements were swifter, their muscles knotted, the crimson in their eyes more violent, and their skin displayed an unnatural bluish-black hue.

—They were all Quasi-Third-level Zombies on the verge of breaking through from Second-level.

Even more hair-raising was that the horde was interspersed with twisted, writhing Mutated Plants; giant Man-eating Flowers held their tooth-filled maws wide, waiting for their food, not to mention various restless grasses.

Qi Yin clicked her tongue; what on earth had they done to deserve this kind of treatment?

With this quantity, they were clearly aiming to tear them to pieces.

“Damn it, that son of a bitch Tian Zining, don't let me run into him.” Lu Yanxiu cursed as he picked up a Stinger.

Qi Yin reached out to stop him, putting the Stinger into her space: “The situation isn't clear yet, don't use it for now.”

Every shot from the Stinger consumed a lot of energy; to avoid uncontrollable situations later, it shouldn't be used unless necessary.

The group quickly got out of the car, backs against the doors, calmly scanning the surrounding movements.

Strangely, while these monsters had been baring their fangs and claws just a moment ago, they all stopped in unison twenty meters away once the group exited the vehicle.

Blood-red eyes watched them like trackers, and unpleasant roars issued from their throats, but they didn't move.

Qi Yin was completely baffled; what were these monsters waiting for?

Just then, atop a three-story building that had half-collapsed ahead, a blurry black shadow shrouded in dark energy slowly materialized.

It took nearly half a minute before Qi Yin could clearly see the person's figure.

It was a tall figure wearing a voluminous black robe and a silver rose mask; judging by the physique, it should be a man.

He raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, and to everyone's jaw-dropping surprise, the noisy zombies below fell silent instantly.

Qi Yin: ...

His attire was somewhat out of place in this environment.

Qi Yin couldn't help but shiver; it wasn't fear, but rather that this dark mass was too damp and cold, a sticky feeling that caused discomfort.

The aura on him made one feel even more uneasy.

Strangely, her Spiritual power Supernatural Ability seemed to have no effect on this person; she could only see that he was an Ability User, but couldn't detect what his ability was.

She didn't much like this feeling of being on the defensive.

However, this outfit, this entrance, and this crowd-control ability made her realize that the Black-Robed People they had encountered before were just minor grunts compared to the one on the building.

At the very least, he was a mini-boss.

“Oh my god, what an Arrogant King!” Qi Yin curled her lip; her voice wasn't loud, but her teammates nearby could hear her.

Xiao Sinian stood halfway in front of her, his eyes dead-locked on the black shadow above, saying in a low voice: “We haven't even reached the Yanqi Mountain headquarters, and we're already being 'entertained' here.”

Qi Yin arched an eyebrow and flexed her wrists, the cold mist of ice swirling at her fingertips.

“If they want to entertain us, let them. Don't we have a saying? Oh right, 'since we're already here,' we can't let their good intentions go to waste, right?”

In truth, she was only being lighthearted verbally; she knew the opponent came prepared and could control a large-scale horde of zombies and Mutated Plants—this tough battle was unavoidable.

However, she didn't feel much fear; to put it bluntly, having experienced the Apocalypse twice, a Fourth-level Supernatural Ability was absolutely top-tier combat power in the current era.

With her and Xiao Sinian working together, plus Lu Yanxiu and the others as three experienced Third-level Ability Users, even if this was a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, they might just be able to break through.

Qi Yin took a deep breath, looked at Xiao Sinian, and curled her lips: “One word!”

Xiao Sinian understood and placed a hand on her shoulder: “Fight!”