Chapter 31: Courting Death

Ying Shu drove her car to escape, but high-level zombies and undead were in hot pursuit. If she let this continue, they would undoubtedly catch and kill her within a minute. She quickly pulled out a deck of playing cards, but just then, a Level 3 zombie launched a wind-based spell at her. Seeing this in her rearview mirror before she could even draw a card, she instinctively dodged and resisted. In the next second, supernatural energy surged within her, and she suddenly remembered that she, too, possessed powers.

Ying Shu hurriedly controlled the nearby vegetation to obstruct their movement and used a mental assault to strike their brains.

"Roar—"

The Level 3 zombie, which had been flying on the wind, let out a miserable shriek and plummeted from the sky.

Ying Shu sneered. "I haven't even used my 'Crow's Mouth' or 'Contemptuous Finger' skills yet. I’ll use you all as test subjects today." She had wanted to experiment with these skills the night she drew them, but lacking both a subject and a safe place to practice, she had refrained for fear of harming others. She commanded, "Make these corpse-brothers trip and fall flat on their faces."

Immediately, the pursuing low-level undead and zombies stumbled and crashed to the ground, causing a chain reaction that tripped those behind them as well.

"It actually works!" Ying Shu exclaimed with delight. "Now, make their powers malfunction."

The zombies and undead that possessed supernatural abilities found themselves unable to use them, staring at their own hands in bewilderment. It seemed that because her skill level or her own rank was still low, the Crow's Mouth had no effect on the higher-ranked creatures.

"Then let's try the Contemptuous Finger." Ying Shu raised her left hand and studied it. "How do I use this?" Logically, it had to mean giving them the middle finger. She aimed her middle finger at the pursuing horde.

"Roar, roar, roar—"

The zombies and undead suddenly surged forward, their combat power spiking off the charts.

"You've got to be kidding me." The Contemptuous Finger hadn't brought them down; it had only enraged them. This was nothing more than a blatant aggro-pull. Ying Shu hurriedly accelerated while using her wood-element powers to attack them.

"Roar—"

A more majestic and intimidating roar echoed from behind the pursuing pack. Ying Shu felt a sharp pain in her head. Could an even higher-level zombie or undead be on her tail?

She knew she couldn't possibly handle such a threat. Just then, five men descended from the sky ahead of her. "Who dares to cause trouble in the territory of Rebirth City?"

"A living human? Are you trying to hide in our Rebirth City?"

"Since you are alive, you must respect our rules. In these extraordinary times, you must pay ten thousand underworld coins to enter the city for refuge for the night."

Ying Shu, who had been on guard, was stunned to hear they only wanted money and not her life. "Underworld coins?"

The man grew impatient. "If you don't have underworld coins, get lost. The zombies and undead are still waiting to tear you apart."

Ying Shu looked at the approaching horde and pulled out the paper money she sold at home. "Is this enough?" This stack of paper money had a face value of ten billion per note, with twenty notes in total; surely that was enough to pay for shelter.

The leader flew into a rage. "You brat, how dare you mock us! You're courting death." The man to his right drew a whip and lashed out at her.

Ying Shu’s expression hardened. She quickly controlled a nearby tree, forcing its trunk to grow rapidly and act as a shield. Meanwhile, her mind raced. The paper money she brought wasn't "underworld currency." What exactly was it? Did it have to be burned to the afterlife to count? She didn't have anything like that. Wait—could the paper money she received from the system’s lucky draw be the currency they wanted?

Ying Shu quickly pulled out a note provided by the system. It emitted a faint green glow in the night. The five men paused, their eyes widening in excitement and respect as they recognized the item. "Since you possess actual underworld currency, my lady, why didn't you say so earlier? We wouldn't have been so rude."

Ying Shu was surprised that a single note had made them so respectful. "Is this enough?"

The leader stared at the ten-billion-value note with greed. "Enough, more than enough! You may hide in the city for as long as you wish. You could even pass away in Rebirth City if you wanted to."

Ying Shu: "..." *Disgusting.* Who would want to pass away here?

Just as she was about to hand over the money, a loud *thud* echoed from behind her—something heavy had slammed into the ground. She turned to see a man standing twenty meters away. His face was hideous: half of it was the face of an undead, the other half a zombie.

"A Corpse King?"

The five men looked terrified. "Corpse King, this is the territory of Rebirth City. You must not act recklessly, or our Ghost King will never forgive you."

Ying Shu, hearing he was a Corpse King, quickly steered her vehicle back toward the five men. The Corpse King ignored them and looked directly at Ying Shu. "Courier." His voice was raspy, as if his throat had been burned, and sounded truly horrific.

Ying Shu blinked. "You? You are Wu Yu?" She had hoped it was the Wu Yu she knew, and a wave of disappointment washed over her. She didn't notice the excited glimmer in the Corpse King's eyes.

"Come here," he said.

Ying Shu didn't even think. "You want to kill me, so I'm not coming over." Even if the mission failed, it was better than losing her life.

The men from Rebirth City spoke up: "She is under our protection now. Even you, Corpse King, cannot harm her."

The Corpse King spoke gently: "Killing the courier serves me no purpose."

Having been chased all the way to the city gates, Ying Shu didn't believe him.

"We are returning to the city," the Rebirth City men said.

Ying Shu started her engine.

"Xiao Shu," the Corpse King said urgently.

Ying Shu shuddered and slowly turned back. "You..."

The Corpse King whispered a few key phrases: "Sports school, Xiao Qi, Hu Cui, Xiyue Street..."

Ying Shu’s expression became increasingly agitated. The men from Rebirth City looked at the Corpse King in confusion. Suddenly, Ying Shu turned her vehicle and drove toward him. The men from Rebirth City instinctively chased after her, but the Corpse King leaped before them, tearing them to shreds with his sharp claws. He then grabbed Ying Shu and her electric scooter, fleeing the territory of Rebirth City at top speed.

Only when they reached a safe place did he put her and the scooter down. Ying Shu stared at him, asking, "Are you Xiao Yu?"

Wu Yu nodded. "I died after being hit by a car while saving a child. After I died, I transmigrated into this world."

Ying Shu grabbed his arms, her eyes reddening. "It really is you, Xiao Yu. I never thought I’d see you again."

Wu Yu said, "I never thought I’d see you either. How did you become a courier?"

"I should be asking you how you became a Corpse King! And why did you turn into a man..."

"That’s a long story, I..."

[Ding—]

[Employee, please note: Your mission will time out in one minute.]