By noon, we had finally reached the mountain's peak. The scorching sun beat down on us, but we had no choice but to grit our teeth and push forward.

  We could already see the cemetery in the distance, but Sophie—already weak—was now becoming delirious from dehydration. Still, she forced herself to keep moving. Twice, I reached out to support her, but both times she pushed my hand away.

  I looked at her and sighed. If this continued, she would collapse from dehydration before we even reached the cemetery. I, on the other hand, wasn't fully recovered, but at least I was at 80% of my strength.

  Quietly, I activated Sunflower Manual on Sophie. A wave of exhaustion washed over me, while Sophie's body suddenly trembled. She turned to look at me. I nodded at her and said, “Let's go rest under that tree.”

  Sophie weakly nodded in agreement.

  When we reached the tree, she slumped against the trunk. I scanned the surroundings and said“Sophie, wait here. I'll go find something to drink.”

  She glanced at me and nodded again.

  I took off at full speed, searching the area. But all I found was trees and grass—nowhere to get water.

  Then, suddenly… I spotted a watermelon on the grass not far away!

  What the hell? Was I so thirsty that I was hallucinating?

  I approached it hesitantly, reaching out to wipe the surface. It was real. But it was tiny—barely bigger than a grown man's fist. It looked underdeveloped.

  How the hell did a watermelon end up here?

  I didn't waste time thinking about it. Grabbing the small watermelon, I dashed back to Sophie.      She was still sitting weakly under the tree. When she saw what I was holding, she looked visibly stunned.

  Seeing such an expression on Sophie's face was rare, and I felt a surge of satisfaction. Grinning, I said, “What do you think? Pretty impressive, right? See? I'm full of surprises! Hahaha…”

  Carefully, I cracked the watermelon open. The inside was pale pinkish-white—clearly unripe. Not that I needed to check. A watermelon this small was obviously not fully grown.

  I handed both halves to Sophie. She took one, broke it apart, and started eating. When I offered her the other half, she refused.

  Frowning, I stepped forward and said, “Tilt your head back. Open your mouth.”

  She hesitated, furrowing her brows, but still followed my instructions.

  I wiped the watermelon clean with my shirt, then squeezed it with my hands. The thin trickle of juice seeped through my fingers and dripped into Sophie's mouth.

  After squeezing it dry, I tossed the crushed remains away. Out of curiosity, I sniffed my palm—an unpleasant, sour smell filled my nose.

  It was hard to imagine drinking something with that stench, yet Sophie had swallowed it all without even flinching.

  Who exactly is this woman?

  The saying "A distant mountain makes a horse die running" couldn't have been more accurate.      Though the cemetery had looked close, night had already fallen by the time we finally made it down the mountain—and we still had quite a way to go.

  Just as we neared the cemetery, Sophie suddenly grabbed my arm, her eyes fixed ahead. I followed her gaze. At first, I had only seen darkness and hadn't paid much attention, but now… I could make out countless shadowy figures moving in the distance. And there were faint, eerie sounds…

  A horde of zombies!

  Why were so many gathered here? And why weren't they growling and howling like usual? They almost seemed… disciplined.

  A deep sense of unease filled me. Suddenly, I noticed a figure standing on the steps ahead. It let out a loud roar—

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  For a moment, I thought it was a human. But no. It was another zombie.

  And what happened next sent chills down my spine.

  The moment it roared, every single zombie in the horde roared in unison. The sound was deafening, shaking the very air around us!

  One thought flashed through my mind: Leader!

  But… how was that possible?!

  Zombies were supposed to be mindless creatures, driven only by their hunger to attack and devour. But then, I remembered something—a voice in my mind from days ago. That raspy robot voice had said:"Your Sixth Domain evolves too slowly. Annotation: Sixth Domain—（the hidden power within.） The only way to force evolution… is through crisis."

  Could it be? Could zombies evolve too?

  It seemed impossible, but the scene before me left no room for doubt. This horde had a leader.

  The “leader” raised his arms and let out another command. Instantly, the other zombies fell silent.

  Sophie and I exchanged a glance. Then, we carefully started backing away.

  But fate had other plans.

  BOOM!

  I accidentally kicked a loose rock, sending it tumbling across the ground with a loud clatter.

  Every zombie turned its head toward us.

  The leader raised his arm and let out another roar.

  The entire horde charged in our direction!

  Shit, shit, shit!

  Thousands of zombies storming toward us—it was a sight beyond imagination.

  Sophie and I spun on our heels and bolted!

  In a rush, I shouted, “Once we reach the forest, you climb a tree and hide! I'll lead them away. Find a car! In twenty minutes, I'll run to the highway—we'll meet up there!”

  I wasn't worried about Sophie abandoning me. If she had wanted to leave me behind, she wouldn’t have saved me twice already. Maybe it was because I had saved her before.

  She gave a firm nod without saying a word.

  The moment we reached the woods, she leaped into the air and landed on a tree branch in one smooth motion.

  I stopped in my tracks, dumbfounded.

  What the hell?!

  That… that was some superhero-level agility! I had expected her to climb up slowly, but she had just jumped— it was that she moved with unbelievable agility—like something out of an action movie!

  I didn't have time to gawk.

  The zombies were closing in fast. I glanced back, then screamed, “OH SHIT!”

  And ran for my life.

  Up in the tree, Sophie watched me flee, the corners of her lips curving into a faint smile.

  Damn it… these zombies won't give up!

  I had been sprinting at full speed for over ten minutes, but the horde was still hot on my heels, snarling and screeching. These zombies were chasing me like their lives depended on it.

  Checking the time in my head, I figured it was about time to head for the highway. Adjusting my route, I made a wide arc and began running toward the road.

  My stamina was running low. My breaths came in ragged gasps.

  Come on, Sophie… hurry up…

  When I finally reached the highway, my heart sank.

  No car.

  Where was Sophie?!

  She wouldn't just take the car and leave, right?

  I had been watching the road the entire time—there hadn't been a single sign of headlights.

  Was she still looking for a vehicle?

  I kept running along the road, pushing through my exhaustion. Then—

  There! A car!

  It was parked on the roadside, and Sophie was sitting in the driver's seat.

  But something was off.

  A zombie was opening the passenger door… and Sophie wasn't stopping it!

  Alarm bells rang in my head. I shouted at the top of my lungs, “SOPHIE!”

  Click.

  The car door shut.

  Headlights blazed to life as Sophie stepped on the gas—racing straight toward me!

  WHAT THE—?!

  I barely had time to react. With all my strength, I flung myself to the left.

  The car sped past, its side mirror slamming into my shoulder—

  Click!

  The mirror snapped clean off.

  My right arm went numb from the scrape. Realizing she had missed me, Sophie was relentless—she reversed the car and tried to hit me again! This sudden turn of events left me completely baffled. Was Sophie working with the zombies? Impossible…

  As the car closed in once more, I narrowly dodged it, brushing past the side. I glanced inside and saw the zombie in the passenger seat—its eyes glowed with a hazy blue light, staring fixedly at Sophie. Sophie, in turn, was glaring at me with pure hatred!

  How could this be? Sophie had always been calm and collected—how could she now be looking at me with such hostility?

  Could the problem lie with that zombie? Sophie seemed hypnotized… Hypnosis! The word suddenly flashed in my mind. That’s it! Even some chosen ones who turned into zombies could still evolve! Sophie had been hypnotized, but the zombie hadn’t targeted me. That meant it could only control one person at a time!

  The approaching horde of zombies was getting closer. My heart pounded—this was my one and only chance to save Sophie!

  Sure enough, Sophie revved the car and charged at me once again. I dodged to the right at the last second, grabbing onto the driver’s side door as the momentum pulled me forward. Gritting my teeth, I yanked the door open—Sophie swung a fist at me! I caught her hand and pulled her out of the car. We tumbled to the ground, rolling several times from the impact.

  The car plowed straight into the pursuing zombie horde. Ignoring the pain coursing through my body, I rushed to check on Sophie—she was unconscious. Hoisting her onto my shoulder, I sprinted down the highway.