Chapter 84: Zombie King x Ex-Girlfriend (6)

Lyra shuffled into formation among the ranks of recruits, craning her neck just to see over the sea of broad shoulders.

She looked up at the towering figures lining the training grounds, her dark eyes wide with utter disbelief. BRUH! Why is literally everyone in this world built like a skyscraper?! I am so ridiculously short compared to these giants! She kept hopping up and down on her toes, trying to catch a glimpse of the front line, her ponytail bouncing furiously.

High on the central observation platform, Kael’s cold, emerald-green eyes flicked over toward the small, hopping figure. His jaw remained set.

Beside him, Senior Sister Claire let out an audible scoff, crossing her arms over her chest. "Look at her," Claire muttered disdainfully, shaking her head. "She can’t do a single thing out here. Keeping someone like her in this base is just a complete waste of our precious food supplies."

Kael didn’t answer. He turned his head slightly, leaning down to whisper a brief instruction to a tall officer standing beside him.

A moment later, the officer marched down the observation steps, stopping right in front of Lyra. "You! Lyra Vance! Step out of the back row and stand directly in the front center!"

Lyra huffed, blowing a stray lock of hair off her forehead as she stomped forward to the very front of the formation, right under Kael’s piercing gaze.

He just wants a front-row seat to watch me get tortured! Lyra screamed frantically inside her mind, glaring up at the high platform. That petty, grudge-holding Zombie King!

"BEGIN!" the officer’s harsh command echoed across the courtyard!

The endurance training kicked off with brutal intensity. High-speed sprint laps, heavy sandbag carries, and high-impact physical conditioning drills were slapped onto the recruits without a single second of rest!

Within thirty minutes, Lyra was panting like a dying fish, her small chest heaving violently, her legs shaking like wet noodles.

Jeez! They are infinitely more heartless than those flesh-eating zombies out on the streets! Lyra wailed internally, her soul rolling around on the dusty concrete floor in agony. SYSTEM!! HELP ME!! DO SOMETHING!!

Ding!

[ I CAN’T DO ANYTHING, HOST! ] the System’s digital voice chimed back, flashing a helpless, sweating emoji panel. [ PHYSICAL ENDURANCE DRILLS ARE CLASSIFIED AS NATURAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS! THE SYSTEM CANNOT INTERFERE OR GRANT STAMINA BUFFS WITHOUT TRIGGERING REBELLION DETECTION! ]

Lyra wiped a hand across her forehead, her stomach letting out a painful rumble. She was so insanely hungry! She hadn’t eaten a single bite of food since waking up this morning. Senior Sister Claire had practically dragged her out of bed by the collar and thrown her straight onto the training field!

High-tier ability users could easily endure days without normal human food because their bodies absorbed pure bio-energy directly from zombie crystal cores. But what about her?! She was a 100% normal, fragile, human cannon-fodder!

Sweat soaked through Lyra’s black tactical jacket, making her hair cling to her burning skin. Hot drops of sweat dripped from her sharp chin, splashing onto the cold concrete below. Her fair cheeks were flushed a deep, rose-red color, her vision swimming with bright yellow spots.

Kael stood at the edge of the platform, his dark eyes fixed dead on her trembling, fragile figure.

"Three more laps," Kael commanded, his deep, raspy voice echoing through the courtyard with zero room for negotiation.

Lyra’s dark eyes bulged out of her head in absolute horror!

THREE MORE LAP?!!!! I LITERALLY CAN’T! UGHHHH! Lyra groaned inwardly, her mind screaming in absolute despair!

Gritting her teeth, Lyra forced her trembling, numb legs to move forward. Step by heavy step, she dragged herself around the perimeter track. But with every single step, the world around her tilted more violently.

The bright sunlight dimmed. The voices of the surrounding recruits turned into muffled, distant echoes.

Shit... Lyra muttered under her breath, her eyelashes fluttering weakly as dark red static filled her vision. My body is giving up... Don’t tell me I’m actually going to die of physical exhaustion in a zombie workout routine...

Her knees completely buckled beneath her! Her small body lost all balance, tilting forward toward the hard, gravelly ground-

SWOOP!

Before her face could slam into the dirt, a broad arm reached out with incredible speed!

A powerful hand wrapped firmly around her slender waist, scooping her up into the air before she even touched the ground!

Kael lowered his dark head, his cold emerald eyes locking onto her pale face. The rosy, flushed pink on her plumpy lips had completely faded, leaving them a ghostly white. A sudden flash of volatile ice erupted deep within his green eyes.

Without uttering a single word to the stunned recruits on the field, Kael effortlessly flipped her small body over his broad shoulder, picking her up like a light sack of potatoes, and marched straight toward the medical wing with long strides

Meanwhile, far back behind the whispering crowds of recruits, a pair of clear, bright eyes stared intently at the two disappearing figures.

Senior Sister Claire turned her head toward the platform, her eyebrows furrowing into a tight, deeply suspicious knot as she noticed that both Kael and Lyra were completely missing from the field.

Inside the quiet, sterile medical room...

Dr. Richard finished checking Lyra’s vitals, pulling back his stethoscope and letting out a long sigh as he looked up at Kael, who was standing beside the bed like a towering, dark sentinel.

"It is severe physical exhaustion combined with acute hypoglycemia," Dr. Richard explained, shaking his head. "She hasn’t eaten a single calorie since yesterday. Her physical constitution is that of a normal, unawakened human girl- extremely fragile. She has zero bio-energy reserves in her system. It will take her significant time to recover, and she absolutely cannot participate in heavy combat training like this."

Kael stood completely still, his face an unreadable, icy mask as he listened to the doctor’s diagnosis.

Two hours later...

Lyra’s heavy eyelashes fluttered open slowly. The moment her vision cleared, she caught sight of a tall, dark figure standing right beside her bed, holding a metal food tray in his hands.

Lyra pushed herself up into a sitting position against the pillows, her dark eyes fixing onto Kael’s cold, handsome face.

Kael set the metal tray down onto her bedside table with a sharp CLANK!

On the tray rested a bowl of hot, steaming beef soup, two fresh white mantou buns, and a bottle of clean water.

Kael looked down at her pale, delicate face, his voice sounding flat, raspy, and completely devoid of human warmth

"Eat this and leave. You are of no use to this team. Like I said before... we don’t hold any place for a useless free slacker."

Lyra’s dark eyes flared with instant, volcanic outrage! She sneered coldly, glaring straight up into his arrogant, handsome face!

"Didn’t you explicitly promise that I could stay until I fully recovered?!" Lyra barked back, her voice ringing with defiant indignance. "It is completely inhuman to force a weak, unawakened body through five miles of extreme military training without even feeding me breakfast! My collapse was entirely bound to happen anyway, you heartless monster!"

Kael listened to her rant in absolute, stone-cold silence, his emerald eyes remaining fixed on her expressive, angry face.

BANG!

Suddenly, the door of the medical room burst open

A high-ranking scout officer, covered in dark dust, rushed into the room, dropping onto one knee! "Captain! Emergency report! A massive horde of mutated Level 2 and Level 3 zombies has breached the perimeter near the northern outpost base! We must depart for the containment mission immediately!"

Hearing those words, Lyra’s dark eyes lit up like bright searchlights! Her ears practically stood on end!

"TAKE ME WITH YOU!" Lyra shouted, her voice full of sudden determination as she looked at Kael. "I will definitely prove my worth to your team this time!"

Kael didn’t even acknowledge her plea. He turned his shoulders, preparing to sweep out of the room alongside the scout.

Seeing him ignore her completely, Lyra’s brain short-circuited!

SNATCH!

With a dramatic move, Lyra ripped the IV cannula out of the back of her hand, threw off her hospital blanket, jumped out of the medical bed, and stomped right in front of him, blocking his path with her arms spread wide!

"I TOLD YOU I WILL SHOW YOU MY WORTH!" Lyra declared fiercely, glaring straight into his cold emerald eyes!

Kael stared down at her small, stubborn frame standing in his way. Without saying a single word, he simply reached out his large hand, grabbed her shoulder, and casually shoved her off to the side, sweeping past her and marching out the door

Lyra stumbled back two steps, her jaw dropping in absolute shock!

TSK! THIS ZOMBIE KING MALE LEAD IS REALLY TESTING THE ABSOLUTE LIMITS OF MY PATIENCE! Lyra roared inside her head, her inner soul stomping its feet in madness!

She turned around, glared at the hot food resting on the bedside table, and snatched up a warm white mantou bun. She pulled the tray into her lap and began furiously stuffing her face with the beef soup and buns, her cheeks puffing up like an angry, adorable little squirrel as she chewed aggressively.

System, Lyra called out in her mind, her dark eyes narrowing into a sneaky, scheming glint. Send me the exact GPS coordinates of that northern outpost base right now!

Ding!

[ RIGHT AWAY, HOST! ] the System chimed back instantly, flashing a glowing golden directional compass on her screen!

Lyra swallowed her food, taking a big gulp of water as a delightfully sneaky smirk slowly spread across her rosy lips.

"Heh... Hehehe..." Lyra chuckled under her breath, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I am definitely going to jump into that battle, save his arrogant Zombie King ass again, and force him to take me into his elite team!"

The System’s floating screen flickered wildly, displaying a deeply concerned emoji as it stared at Lyra’s cracked, unhinged smile.

[ ...Host? ] the System asked nervously in a small digital whisper. [ Did you... lose your mind in this crazy apocalyptic world? ]

"Shut up, System! We have a Zombie King to conquer!"