Lu Yin didn't know how large the detection range of Yasta's personal connector was, but it should certainly cover a ten-mile radius.
Lu Yin pursued in the direction indicated by the combat power, gradually moving away from the toll booth.
And as the long-haired Zombie left, the previously agitated zombie tide slowly calmed down, returning to its aimless wandering state, which made Zi San and the others breathe a sigh of relief.
A pungent smell wafted from a winding ditch in the distance. In the night, green eyes occasionally emerged from the bushes, then disappeared again.
Lu Yin walked through the bushes, occasionally looking at his personal connector, which showed the location right there.
If he didn't deal with this long-haired Zombie, the path the Jinling army would take in the future would be extremely dangerous. An intelligent Zombie King could even bring disaster to Jinling.
Crunch, crunch, crunch...
A chewing sound echoed in Lu Yin's ears. Following the source of the sound, Lu Yin looked down into the ditch. There, a dark red glow flashed. The dark clouds in the sky dispersed, moonlight poured down, and a red shimmer glowed, accompanied by two crimson eyes.
Lu Yin's pupils contracted: a flame crystal? This Zombie King was devouring flame crystals?
Roar!
With a roar, the long-haired Zombie King leaped high, a claw striking at Lu Yin. Its arm glowed dark red, radiating scorching heat.
Lu Yin dodged in surprise. The bushes were torn apart by the Zombie King's strike, and at the same time, a burnt smell emanated.
The next moment, several flame crystals fell from the Zombie King's body, hitting the bushes. Immediately, flames ignited, illuminating this piece of land.
Lu Yin activated his Wandering Step, directly circling behind the Zombie King. He pulled out the iron rod still embedded in the Zombie King's back and fiercely plunged it into the back of its head.
The Zombie King stood still, then its body trembled, slowly falling. Dark red liquid poured out from within its body, and flames consumed the Zombie King from the inside out.
Lu Yin truly hadn't expected that the Zombie King could gain innate abilities by devouring various energy crystals. For humans, gaining innate abilities was one in ten thousand, yet the Zombie King could devour them. Who, then, was the result of higher evolution? Lu Yin felt a bit confused.
The Zombie King was quickly incinerated, and the surrounding flames gradually died out.
Lu Yin walked down the path in the ditch where the Zombie King had been devouring the flame crystals. There was a cave entrance there. Lu Yin turned on his light and illuminated it, revealing a vast expanse of dark red. "This is? A flame crystal mine?" Lu Yin was shocked, then excited.
Energy crystals were extremely valuable in the universe. Whether it was pure Star Energy crystals or natural energy crystals like flame and water currents, they were all very precious. He hadn't expected there to be a flame crystal mine here. Although he didn't know how much there was, it was definitely a treasure.
Lu Yin was a little excited, not expecting to gain such a harvest from chasing the Zombie King.
Thinking this, Lu Yin took some, then re-covered the cave entrance and carefully processed it to ensure no one would discover it. This place, like Zi San, was a treasure for him, a capital Lu Yin had left for the future.
Just as Lu Yin was about to leave, a dark red object appeared at his feet. He bent down, pushed aside the dirt, and saw a crimson vertical eye. It wasn't a real eye, but a crimson vertical eye made of strange material.
Lu Yin picked up the vertical eye, a chill running down his spine. He turned it over. On the back was a skull with a fake smile, staring directly at him.
Seeing the skull, Lu Yin's scalp tingled. He instinctively wanted to throw it away, but before he could, he directly put it into his Null Realm.
After putting it away, Lu Yin regained his senses, his eyes filled with disbelief. What on earth is this thing? Why is it here? It's clearly man-made. Has someone been here before? An item that could make him, in his current state, feel a chill down his spine. Lu Yin felt he had picked up something extraordinary.
Lu Yin quickly left.
Returning to the toll booth, he found that the zombie tide had retreated significantly, and many more were still slowly withdrawing.
It took another hour for the entire zombie tide to completely retreat.
Outside the toll booth, corpses were piled up, emitting a foul stench that attracted many mutated rats to gnaw on them, sending shivers down one's spine.
"Brother Lu, where did you go?" Luo Yun immediately chided when she saw Lu Yin.
Lu Yin said indifferently, "I found an intelligent Zombie King. The zombie tide was caused by it."
"What? Is that true?" Luo Yun was surprised.
Lu Yin told Luo Yun, "Immediately report to Figure Saint. The appearance of this type of Zombie King means that zombies no longer rely solely on numbers; they can also produce powerhouses. Tonight, at least fifty of our soldiers died at the hands of that Zombie King."
Luo Yun knew the situation was serious and immediately reported it.
"Boss, how are you doing?" Zi San asked. He wasn't really concerned about Lu Yin; it was just that without Lu Yin, he would have no status in Figure's Vanguard.
Lu Yin said calmly, "Deal with the rest of the matters. I'm going to rest."
"Understood, Boss," Zi San replied.
One zombie tide had resulted in nearly a hundred casualties. Though seemingly cruel, everyone had become numb. Since the apocalypse began, no one knew how many had died. Comrades beside them were replaced one after another, and soldiers had grown accustomed to it.
Lying on the roof of the toll booth, Lu Yin couldn't help but touch his Null Realm. That skull-like vertical eye inside made him uneasy. That material, that feeling, definitely wasn't from Earth. Could it be something those students brought down? Which student would carry such a thing?
Luo Yun jumped onto the roof. Her charming face was very tired. She sat beside Lu Yin. "Figure Saint wants us to quickly contact the frontline, preferably to connect the road to the capital, to report this matter to the capital."
Lu Yin chuckled, "The capital? Perhaps they already knew long ago."
"Why do you say that?" Luo Yun asked in surprise.
Lu Yin shook his head, "I don't know, just a guess. If a Zombie King can appear in Jinling, it can appear elsewhere too."
Luo Yun hugged her knees, staring blankly into the distance. The dark night sky was bottomless. Looking up, only the moonlight illuminated this sky, but it was quickly covered by dark clouds again.
"You say, when will Earth be able to restore peace?" Luo Yun whispered.
Lu Yin didn't answer. The night made one feel lonely. At this moment, Luo Yun was completely different from Luo Yun during the day, but so what? The apocalypse wouldn't end just because a lonely person was afraid. The evolution of the planet would take a long time, and the trial was just beginning. Only he knew all this. Perhaps, the seven saints also knew. That group of students were the ones who would determine Earth's fate in the future.
Yasta and Aodhan were just ordinary students from the Great Yu Empire Academy, perhaps elites, but compared to those from truly top-tier academies, they couldn't even be called elites. Any elite from a top-tier academy possessed formidable combat techniques, far beyond what these people could compare to. The so-called trial, they were the main characters.
Thinking of these things, Lu Yin touched his Null Realm and looked at Luo Yun. "Go rest. I'm on duty tonight."
Luo Yun nodded, smiling at Lu Yin. "Actually, if you had comforted me just now, maybe something could have happened between us."
Lu Yin smiled, not caring. This woman was not his type.
Luo Yun left the roof. Around them, the soldiers numbly cleaned up. Zi San was shouting in the distance.
Lu Yin took out Yasta's personal connector and turned it on.
Even though he had removed the positioning device on Yasta's personal connector, he still wasn't at ease. He had never dared to access the universal network until now. Today, he had left Jinling, so he could take a look.
A personal connector was a person's identity. For example, Yasta's personal connector contained all his information, as well as his friends, relatives, and family situation.
Lu Yin pressed to open the personal connector, connecting to the network, but he saw the words "network unable to connect."
Even though he had some suspicions, Lu Yin was still a little disappointed.
These students participating in the planetary evolution trial were all registered. Upon death, their personal connectors would be disconnected from the network, which also meant that the news of Yasta's death had already been detected.
Lu Yin exhaled, looking up at the starry sky. He wasn't worried about his killing of Yasta being exposed. The planetary evolution trial was extremely important, monitored by the Great Yu Empire Youth Council. No one was allowed to interfere with the trial. For the Great Yu Empire, Earth, though an aboriginal planet that hadn't yet ascended to the universe, was still a part of the Great Yu Empire. This trial was not only aimed at those students but also at the people of Earth.
This was a fair trial. Lu Yin killing Yasta was not strange to the Great Yu Empire Youth Council. On the contrary, it might even earn him praise. This was one of the reasons why Lu Yin killed Yasta without hesitation. He wanted to get into the eyes of others.
Any student entering Earth, besides contacting each other, could not contact anyone outside Earth. They could only watch, not speak. This was the trial, a brutal trial. Death was very normal.
Lu Yin looked at the personal connector screen. There was no useful information. Finally, in a corner, he found a few notifications Yasta had saved.
'Student Yasta, if you cannot complete the mission within three months, the Council will send in the second group of trial students. Please try your best.'
'The Universal Youth Council has decided to cancel the Great Yu Empire Youth Council. The reconstruction time is to be determined.'
'The Universal Youth Council has decided that the Tenth Starry Sky Academy will enter the Cang Lan territory beyond the universe. Wishing all martial artists prosperous fortune.'
A total of three notifications were saved, two of which concerned the Universal Youth Council.
Lu Yin looked at the screen in surprise. He hadn't expected the Great Yu Empire Youth Council to be abolished, and even more so, he hadn't expected the Tenth Starry Sky Academy to appear in the Cang Lan territory.