Chapter Fifty: The Tide of Corpses Approaches—While Others Tremble in Fear, I Am Consumed by Greed!

“Is that so?” Gu Lang’s gaze grew cold. “Three days, you say? Why didn’t you two brothers just kill him yourselves?”

Sun Tian trembled, quickly trying to explain. “No, it’s not like that! We’re no match for him. The Gold-rank has a Silver-rank with him, his very own older brother. The two of them together—even if they’re weakened, we couldn’t possibly win.”

“It’s only thanks to Lord Gu Lang’s appearance that we even have a chance to take down the Gold-rank!”

Gu Lang frowned, lost in thought. There was no flaw in Sun Tian’s words. Yet, how exactly was Sun Tian supposed to bring him a wife? He couldn’t possibly mean disguising himself as a woman, could he? And this task seemed rather treacherous. If they were to cooperate, it would mean killing the Gold-rank. That might prove even harder than the irrigation task.

But Gu Lang was used to it. The cursed system’s missions only grew more twisted and demanding.

“Very well. Let’s do as you say—but what if, once you’re out, you betray me?” Gu Lang suddenly changed his tone.

Sun Tian’s nerves stretched taut again. “Never! I want to live too. If we don’t kill the Gold-rank, we’ll die soon enough anyway. If Lord Gu Lang really doesn’t trust me, you can just kill me. You’re more than strong enough.”

He was telling the truth. If he betrayed them, Gu Lang could easily kill him in an instant.

“But…” Sun Tian hesitated a moment before continuing. “Sun Hai is a bit rigid. I’ll have to persuade him myself. After we get out, we’ll need to split up… But rest assured, Lord Gu Lang, if I betray you, you can kill me without hesitation!”

Gu Lang smiled slightly. In fact, he wasn’t worried about Sun Tian’s betrayal. The reason was simple: as long as the system’s mission remained, Sun Tian was just a side quest. Since his wife was part of the larger plan, it would never turn out badly for him.

“Very well, then. I’ll take my leave.” Gu Lang turned and strode away.

The little girl was stunned for a moment. She glanced from Sun Tian to Gu Lang. “Brother Gu Lang! Aren’t you going to kill him?”

Sun Tian nearly fainted from fright.

“No. He’s our partner now.”

A short while later, in Gu Lang’s room.

“Lord Gu Lang! Are you really not afraid he’ll betray us? The matter of the SPC is deadly enough; he might just risk everything to expose us,” Li Muwan analyzed the situation, clearly distrustful of Sun Tian.

Gu Lang shook his head. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. If I’m not mistaken, the corpse tide should be arriving soon, yes?”

“One more hour!” Li Muwan replied.

Just then, Sun Hai’s voice echoed from outside. “Lord Gu Lang! Come out and prepare. The corpse tide is almost here!”

Gu Lang’s expression turned grave.

Soon, on the rooftop of a tall residential building, Gu Lang stood with binoculars, gazing into the distance.

The first rays of dawn spilled over the horizon. In the distance, hordes of zombies marched in a straight line, surging toward the city. The sky was thick with dust, and from the scale, there were at least ten thousand of them!

“The corpse tide comes once every six months! Among them are Silver-rank zombies, and even Gold-rank ones. We have nearly two thousand survivors on our side, including you and three Silver-rankers,” Sun Hai explained, his face tense.

“What’s your plan? Just fighting the zombies head-on? No matter how many humans you have, that’s never enough,” Gu Lang said, his expression unchanged.

“Of course not. See all these apartment buildings? They’re natural fortresses. Ordinary survivors can throw stones, shoot from above, or pour boiling water down. The Chosen gather in squads—like cavalry charges—moving through the corpse tide under a commander’s orders. If we have enough strong fighters, we can weather the tide.”

“That’s how it’s always been. Of course, Silver-rank fighters usually die, which can’t be helped,” Sun Hai said, pointing at the thousands of survivors on the neighboring rooftops and buildings. They were all ordinary people, armed with guns, stones, or scalding water.

“What if a Gold-rank zombie appears?” Gu Lang asked again.

“Then we leave it to fate,” Sun Hai replied. As he spoke, a purple sphere crackling with lightning appeared in his hand. He hurled it at a zombie below.

Thunder crashed. The zombie was struck by lightning, its body charred black. It was a clarion call before battle.

The corpse tide surged forward, pouring over streets and residential complexes, charging right toward their feet. Zombies battered the building. From above, it looked like a flood of yellow water boiling past, and the building seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

Sun Hai’s face was pale. Not far away, Sun Tian was sneaking glances at Gu Lang. Everyone was tense—except for the man himself. Gu Lang’s eyes gleamed as he watched the Silver-rank zombies within the tide. One, two, three… goodness, there were already seven or eight!

All of them could become puppets! Gu Lang almost drooled at the thought. As the saying goes, be greedy when others are afraid. If he could capture all those Silver-rank zombies, wouldn’t his power grow by leaps and bounds?

“You all stay up here; I’ll take some people down and strike from below!” Without hesitation, Gu Lang led Li Muwan and his wives, leaping off the rooftop straight into the corpse tide.

Sun Hai was dumbstruck—he had been planning to manipulate Gu Lang into going downstairs, but the man had gone willingly. Was he an idiot?

Sun Tian was just as shocked. Was this the boldness of a true strongman? Still, if he could summon Silver-rank zombies, he wouldn’t be afraid either!

“Brothers! Kill as many as you can!” Sun Hai and Sun Tian wasted no words. Each used their abilities to lead the survivors against the undead. Rocks, boiling water, and abilities rained down on the zombies below, slaughtering hundreds in short order. The zombies couldn’t climb up—the stairwells were all barricaded—so the battle became a one-sided massacre, at least for now.

—

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!” Gu Lang extended his palm, launching icicle-like missiles that blasted through seven or eight Silver-rank zombies, turning them into minced flesh.

Gu Lang was now at the peak of Silver-rank. Ordinary Bronze or even Silver zombies were no match for him. He pushed deeper into the corpse tide, vanishing from Sun Hai’s sight, deliberately avoiding being watched.

“Lord Gu Lang! Should we move closer to the well?” Li Muwan pointed toward a building in the distance.

Gu Lang nodded. “I was just thinking the same. If only we could capture a few Silver-rank zombies first.”

As he spoke, he kicked aside a Silver-rank zombie that tried to ambush him and used his skill: Emperor’s Command!

Thunder roared. A green aura burst forth, but the attempt to capture the Silver-rank zombie failed. Only a Bronze zombie was ensnared. Gu Lang wasted no time, slaying the captured undead and trying again.

Thunder roared once more. Another failure.

The weakness of Emperor’s Command was its lack of precision—the target was completely random. But Gu Lang had abundant strength and stamina; he could use the skill a hundred times if needed.

Thunder crashed again. On the tenth attempt, he finally succeeded in capturing a nearby Silver-rank zombie!

Gu Lang now stood before the bloodstained courtyard of the well, far removed from the residential buildings and the main battlefield.

“Lord Gu Lang, be careful!” Suddenly, the Zombie Queen flung herself at Gu Lang, knocking him into a stone wall. At the spot where he had just stood, a shadow flickered—smashing a crater into the ground!

The shadow paused, revealing itself to be a spider zombie with dozens of arms.

“Damn! Late-stage Silver-rank!”