Chapter 18: Help, There is a White Bone Demon Here!
Song Yuqing held Little Meat Bun’s paw as they made their way down to the basement level. They moved carefully, stepping around the decaying zombie corpses and sticky pools of bodily fluids littering the path.
As they passed the mall’s public restrooms, Song Yuqing caught a faint rustling sound.
Maybe it’s a trapped zombie struggling? she thought.
Inside one of the stalls, a living skeleton was huddled in the corner. With a mournful expression, he was picking up the bones that had been shattered by the panda’s earlier roar, desperately trying to piece himself back together. Hearing footsteps outside the door, he instantly froze in terror.
He was trapped in a miserable state—unable to die, but no longer able to live as a normal human. Rather than risk being torn apart by some superhuman outside, he figured it was better to just hide and live out the rest of his days inside this six-square-meter restroom.
Song Yuqing finally arrived at what used to be the largest supermarket in Chen Town. It was completely unrecognizable. Its former prosperity was gone; the entire space had been stripped bare. There were no goods, no shelves, and even the light fixtures had been torn from the ceiling.
It looked like the place had been thoroughly looted.
Sighing, Song Yuqing turned to leave. Suddenly, a fierce blast of fire shot straight toward her.
Before she could even react, Little Meat Bun shoved her out of the way. Opening his jaws wide, the giant panda lunged directly at the flames.
“Little Meat Bun!” Song Yuqing cried out in alarm.
But the panda remained completely unfazed, charging firmly into the fire. I should come up with a majestic name for this move, he thought to himself. Song Yuqing reached out to grab him, only to watch in awe as the panda swallowed the fireball whole and landed steadily on his paws.
Song Yuqing was stunned. So this was the unique devouring ability of the mutated panda species! She was learning more every day.
In fact, she was about to learn even more. Little Meat Bun raised his head proudly, puffing out his chest as he waited for his well-deserved praise.
Seeing that Ah Hu’s fireball attack had been completely ineffective, Lin Han shoved his lackey aside. He closed his eyes, moving his arms in a fluid motion reminiscent of Tai Chi. A small, swirling black hole materialized between his palms.
Lin Han’s eyes snapped open, and he thrust his hands forward, launching the black hole toward Song Yuqing. The anomaly expanded rapidly as it flew through the air, acting like a violent whirlpool that sucked in all nearby debris.
Song Yuqing and Little Meat Bun spotted Lin Han and the approaching vortex at the exact same time. A fierce glint flashed in the panda’s eyes. Taking a massive breath, Little Meat Bun rapidly expanded in size and charged straight toward the destructive anomaly.
Song Yuqing broke into a cold sweat.
Across the room, Lin Han smirked, his expression dripping with disdain. He called this ultimate ability Devour. And what it devoured, of course, was people—anyone who stood in his way.
Lin Han sneered. He knew exactly what Song Yuqing was up to; he had figured out her little scheme. She was stealing his business! Since she had crossed that line, she couldn’t blame him for being ruthless. Lin Han’s intentions were crystal clear. Even Ah Hu knew that the only reason his boss had endured the insult of losing customers was that he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to eliminate Song Yuqing once and for all.
But as he watched the cute giant panda simply open its jaws and swallow the vortex black hole whole, the smug smile froze on Lin Han’s face.
Ah Hu was equally terrified. If that panda can eat a black hole, it can definitely eat people! he realized. I need to get out of here!
The moment Little Meat Bun landed back on the ground, Ah Hu grabbed his boss by the collar and bolted out of the supermarket. Thanks to his physical enhancement, his speed and strength far exceeded Lin Han’s—which was a mixed blessing. His boss had deliberately treated him like garbage, but right now, Ah Hu was his only ticket out.
Ah Hu was confident that as long as he dragged Lin Han back to the base safely, his boss would reward him with a few extra meals.
“Chase them! Catch them!” Song Yuqing ordered.
Little Meat Bun immediately bounded forward, hot on the heels of Lin Han and Ah Hu.
With countless zombies blocking the path ahead and a “man-eating” panda beast right behind them, Ah Hu was desperate. Ignoring Lin Han’s frantic scratching and struggling, Ah Hu took advantage of a sharp corner to break out of the panda’s line of sight. He kicked open the restroom door and dragged his boss inside to hide.
Rounding the corner, Little Meat Bun skidded to a halt, completely confused. How did they disappear so fast?
Song Yuqing hurried over to join the bear. She scanned the corridor warily, fully anticipating another sneak attack. She suspected Lin Han had ambushed her the moment he saw her because he knew she had been secretly selling supplies outside the base. Even though she let her customers keep their crystal cores while Lin Han hoarded them for his own supermarket, her actions had still directly threatened his monopoly and authority.
Suddenly, terrified screams erupted from the men’s restroom—and it sounded like more than one person was screaming.
Just as Little Meat Bun prepared to bust the door down, a literal skeleton came sprinting out in an absolute panic, its bare bones clattering and creaking wildly against each other.
Startled, Little Meat Bun quickly scrambled back to Song Yuqing’s side. I have never seen a human that looks like that!
Forcing herself to stay calm, Song Yuqing leveled her kitchen knife squarely at the skeleton.
“Help! There’s a White Bone Demon in here! @￥#￥#@#!” Inside the restroom, Ah Hu was so frightened he had collapsed to the floor. It took him a few seconds to regain his senses and start screaming again, but Lin Han quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.
Out in the hall, the “White Bone Demon” tremblingly raised its skeletal hands in a gesture of surrender.
Watching this unfold from the doorway, Lin Han’s mouth twitched. A wave of bitter resentment washed over him. Why does she, a mere woman, get to act like a badass hero while I’m hiding in a bathroom?
Smoothing his jacket, Lin Han cleared his throat and confidently stepped out of the restroom. “Song Yuqing. Long time no see.”
Song Yuqing kept her knife aimed at the skeleton, but gestured pointedly toward Lin Han with her free hand. Beside her, Little Meat Bun took a protective step forward, narrowing his beady black eyes at the rival boss.
“It has been a while,” Lin Han said smoothly, though his polite smile hid a deadly edge. “I thought I’d treat you to a demonstration of my newly evolved superpowers!”
“Well, an ultimate trump card like that must drain a lot of energy. You should probably use it with caution,” Song Yuqing replied, matching his forced, sarcastic smile.
“We were coworkers just a month ago,” Lin Han challenged. “Why are we acting like bitter enemies now?”
“I should be asking you that!” Song Yuqing shot back. She wasn’t particularly good at arguing, but she remembered the golden rule of any debate: never waste time defending yourself; immediately turn the blame back on the other party.
Caught in the middle of this standoff, the skeleton stood trembling between Song Yuqing and Lin Han. Clearly, neither of these people were to be messed with!
“I’m not a zombie, I swear! Can you please let me go?” The skeleton’s voice was hollow and ethereal, drifting out from its jawbone.
Song Yuqing, Little Meat Bun, and Lin Han all stopped and stared at the talking bones. Even Ah Hu crawled out from the restroom to gawk.
The skeleton seemed a bit shy under the intense scrutiny. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m just incredibly unlucky. The zombies stripped me bare and ate my flesh, but for some reason, I just can’t seem to die.”
Oh? So that’s what happened?
Song Yuqing slowly lowered her kitchen knife. She suddenly wanted to sit down and have a proper chat with this “White Bone Demon.” Anyone who could survive being eaten alive by zombies—even if it meant existing as a literal skeleton—represented a profound kind of hope.
Lin Han, however, couldn’t care less about the talking bones. Holding his hands behind his back, he made a subtle gesture, silently ordering Ah Hu to launch a sneak attack. If his ultimate spatial ability wasn’t stuck on a massive cooldown, he would have gladly done it himself.
Now, while Song Yuqing and the panda were distracted by the skeleton, Ah Hu channeled his power and unleashed a roaring fire dragon from his palms, sending it hurtling toward Song Yuqing’s back.
The blazing fire dragon swept directly past the skeleton, leaving its bare bones slightly scorched but entirely unharmed. Just as the flames were about to engulf Song Yuqing, the giant panda leaped into the air and swallowed the fire dragon in a single, massive gulp.
Little Meat Bun rolled his eyes in exasperation. These two humans are complete idiots! They already saw me eat their superpowers, yet they still try the exact same trick! I’m already full!
Whirling around, Song Yuqing hurled her kitchen knife straight at Lin Han. He barely managed to dodge it, the heavy blade clattering loudly against the floor tiles. Seizing the distraction, Ah Hu grabbed Lin Han by the arm, and the two of them sprinted away, fleeing the scene for good.
Hoping the terrifying woman and her panda would chase after the two men, the skeleton tried to stealthily edge away into the shadows.
He didn’t get his wish.
To Song Yuqing, tracking down Lin Han wasn’t nearly as important as understanding the living skeleton standing right in front of her.
“Ah!” The skeleton let out a startled yelp as Song Yuqing firmly grabbed his bony arm.
Flashing him a polite, entirely unfazed smile, she said, “Why don’t we get to know each other?”
