Global Evolution: I Became A Zombie!

Blaze had multiple reports waiting for him when he returned to the lair. However, he didn't have the time to spend on them. Instead, he grabbed Neha by the nape and dragged her into his room.

He was planning to interrogate her, especially since the Mind Plague didn't work on her. She merely pretended to be in a trance to save herself.

How did Blaze know that?

Because his horde count remained constant.

As for why she did it, it was as clear as day. Neha knew the base was doomed and wanted to save herself. So she pretended to have fallen for Blaze's words.

"You are quite an actor," he said, rolling up his sleeves. "I almost fell for it, too. Almost."

Neha took one look at his sickly pale skin and turned away. She looked around the room, surprised at the condition it was in.

"For a zombie, you're a neat freak," she commented, ignoring Blaze's words. "Even humans don't consider hygiene to be important these days."

Smack!

Neha's head snapped sideways as Blaze's tendril landed on her cheek. She looked at him standing before her, his arms crossed.

He didn't appear to be himself, as he had even taken off his mask to confront her. Something Blaze rarely did.

"Don't bother with it," Neha scoffed, caressing her cheek. "I used to enjoy this feeling in the past. But looking at you now only fills me with disgust."

"I have no interest in your kinks," Blaze retorted. "I'm more keen to learn how you didn't fall under my submission."

Neha smiled and leaned back on the bed, propping herself on her elbows. Instead of answering, she stared at his now more pronounced muscles, which wasn't strange since Blaze's diet primarily consisted of protein.

"Always eager to improve, aren't you? I'll assume you already know what I am?"

Blaze nodded, and Neha continued, "Certain privileges came alongside my 'regression'. I got a tougher constitution than almost everyone on this planet. As for how I got it, that's a long story."

"A zombie has a lot of time on his hands."

After saying so, Blaze pulled a chair and sat across from her. His one leg was over the other, while his tendrils remained poised to attack at a moment's notice.

Meanwhile, Neha saw him and was reminded of the past… for a moment. She shook her head, and the overlapping image of Blaze's smile faded, replaced by the zombie before her.

I can't believe this is still happening…

Even after regressing, 'killing' him, and finding other partners, it was pathetic to admit, but she still wasn't over Blaze.

What's the point of reminiscing? Look at him. His crimson eyes are itching to kill me.

Meanwhile, Blaze was wondering why Neha was being so cooperative suddenly. He had kidnapped her and planned to kill her. She also knew it to some extent, so why was she so willing to tell him everything he asked?

I didn't understand women when I was alive, and I certainly don't understand them now. Marrow is much easier to deal with since I can read her mind, but her? I can only wonder what's going on there.

Both of them were thinking about the other. One was mourning the past, and the other was worried about his future.

After five minutes of silence, Neha told him everything she knew about her regression. Unlike what Blaze expected, the process wasn't instantaneous.

Instead of dying and waking up in the present, Neha lived every day of her life backwards. Technically, she watched her life play backwards until the day Blaze tried to sacrifice her to the undead.

She was made aware of every mistake, every blinding thought she had. Such a journey had a profound effect on her mind. It made her resolve, her constitution strong enough to resist any mental attacks on her.

That's why she didn't succumb to Blaze's submission.

"That's how I ended up here," Neha said, falling on the bed. "Now go ahead and kill me. I know you want that."

"Not exactly," he said, getting up. "Your death serves me no purpose."

Neha's eyes widened at such a declaration. She sat up as if she had been hit by a lightning bolt.

"The hell do you mean by that?" she yelled, getting off the bed. "Wasn't the entire motive of the attack in Phoenix to kill me? Why did you kill them if you didn't want to kill me?!"

"Kill who? Oh, you mean those humans?" Blaze asked, feigning ignorance. "I thought you already knew. I got my hands on something new and wanted to test it. It's as simple as that."

"Just… for a test?"

Blaze didn't bother answering. He just smirked, letting Neha figure out the meaning behind it herself.

She stumbled backwards, perhaps reeling with the fact that her haste to kill him had turned Blaze more monstrous, inside out.

Meanwhile, he walked outside without sparing her another glance.

"Lock the doors and make sure she doesn't escape," Blaze said, instructing the sporeforms to monitor Neha. "Though it's unlikely that she'd even think about escaping."

Whether she did or not was the least of his concerns. The fact that he couldn't break her mind already had his mind occupied. It was also why he didn't kill her.

Killing her would be a waste… I need to find another way to break her first. If more people like her appeared with resistance to Mind Plague, then my life on Earth could become very difficult.

But that wasn't all.

If he killed her, then there was no saying if she'd travel back into the past again. If that happened, then what would become of the current timeline? Will it exist or will it get erased?

Anything could happen, and he didn't want to leave it to chance.

Blaze couldn't allow everything to be destroyed in such a manner.

More importantly, I want to know how her conscience traveled into the past. It isn't listed on her status page. I can't steal an ability that isn't listed on the page.

He was wondering how to navigate this mess when a screen appeared before him. A crimson colored one, which he hadn't seen in a while.

The collective, did they finally patch the [Deceased] bug?

Blaze opened the notification, but its content was very different from what he had in mind.

[It is with deep regret that we have to shut this operation. It means there will be no updates or patches anymore. We would like to thank you for your participation in this product launch.]

[We hope that you'll enjoy the rest of the time on your beloved world before the Cleaners arrive to close the servers officially… along with what remains of you.]

[But don't be sad! Some exceptional individuals will be given a new life! So please look forward to it. Until then, keep surviving!]

"What the hell is this about?"

Blaze rushed towards the human pen. As expected, it was in chaos. The humans had just received the notification, making them wonder what was happening there.

"Operation? Product? Shutdown? What is all this about?"

It was natural that they were confused. However, Blaze realized what was happening.

The Collective were thrill seekers. They probably wanted to toy around a bit, but then, as any kid would, they got bored. The calamity proceeded to wipe most humans off the planet.

It became too much of a one-sided fight, and hence the Collective got bored, marked it as a failed venture, and decided to shut it down for good.

As for what a shutdown could possibly mean?

Extinction.

Whether that meant they'd kill all life or destroy the planet as a whole remained to be seen. Blaze couldn't chalk off either possibility.

Fuck that! If they strike, we're as good as dead!

Forget about fighting them. It would be an achievement if they could even tickle a higher-grade civilization even before the apocalypse struck. Instead of fighting, it was better to plan ways to ensure his survival.

Since the Collective has already branded me as deceased, they probably won't come looking for me. As long as I lay low and evade them, I should be safe.

But then what?

If the Collective destroyed the planet, he would die. Even if they didn't and just got rid of existing vegetation, he would still perish without food.

Hiding in his domain was the safest bet.

However, in that case, he would lose almost everything he had worked so hard for. His lairs, his horde, everything would disappear.

Even if he hid in his domain, he would have to come out of it someday. The domain would put him in the place he entered from, which again was Earth.

Repopulating the planet afterwards wasn't an option either. Especially, if they killed everything in sight.

In the end, fighting back was the obvious option.

As for how he'd fight against a higher civilization, it remained to be seen.

"…all this fucking drama, for what?"

Blaze groaned in frustration when another notification appeared before him.

[Don't worry. I won't let you die.]