OPTC Chapter 192 - The Gravely Injured Old Man
"Sorry, old man, my cat thought you were a zombie." Zhang Da Ye hurriedly apologized while taking out a first aid kit, cleaning the wound on the man's forehead, and bandaging it up.
Tom quickly hid his baseball bat behind his back and stood beside Zhang Da Ye with an awkward smile.
"It's fine, I'm used to it already. My name is Spoil. Because I look too much like a zombie, people often attack me, so I frequently end up badly injured. That's why I'm known as the gravely injured old man." The poor man sat there introducing himself, and his story was enough to make anyone feel heavy-hearted.
"You've been through a lot." Seeing him like this naturally reminded Zhang Da Ye of T Bone, the navy officer who looked terrifying but was gentle inside. If he ended up on this island, he'd probably be mistaken for a zombie too… but at the rank of zombie general.
The fact that this old man had survived this long was impressive. Artoria and Shark Chili both looked at him with sympathy.
Ye Yan didn't have time for sympathy—he was busy giving the dozens of unconscious zombies their "scheduled hammer strikes."
"We're travelers who happened to stumble upon this island. We were planning to 'visit' that castle in the middle." Zhang Da Ye put extra emphasis on the word visit.
"You must not go there!" Spoil lifted his lantern again and glanced at their feet. "Just as I thought… your shadows are still with you. Look at me—my shadow was stolen by the castle's master."
Everyone looked down. Sure enough, despite the lantern's light, Spoil had no shadow.
"I saw some of your fight earlier. You are strong, yes, but those zombies you defeated were just ordinary soldiers. Inside that castle are zombie generals far more terrifying. And even if you manage to defeat them, you will never be a match for the castle's master. Because that man is none other than one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea… Gecko Moria!"
The air went silent for three seconds. When Spoil saw how little their expressions changed, he repeated nervously: "That's one of the Seven Warlords! Aren't you afraid?"
"Oh, so it's a Warlord." Zhang Da Ye and Ye Yan, who had just finished his hammer routine, gave him flat, perfunctory expressions of fake surprise.
"Hehehe… honored guests, welcome to the island." A stitched-up zombie with a human head and bat wings fluttered down in front of them. "Doctor Hogback invites you all to the castle as his guests. The carriage will arrive soon."
Spoil panicked. "It's Hilton! Once he's spotted us, it'll be hard to get away. Quick, follow me!"
"Hm? What are you babbling about? Shouldn't you be—wait, you're not a zombie!?" Hilton had expected cooperation, but then realized Spoil was actually a shadowless human.
"Ah, I am the gravely injured old man," Spoil answered instinctively before turning to run. "Quick, this way into the forest! They'll have a harder time finding you there!"
"You! Don't even think about running!" Hilton flapped his wings and lunged at him.
"Soul-Calming Hammer!" Ye Yan flung his hammer straight into Hilton's head. In the Ye family, throwing accuracy was a core part of training, and Ye Yan was the best of them all. At this distance, his throws never missed.
This throw, in his normal state, was only a physical attack. Only in his "Dominating Night" transformation did the hammer have its soul-crushing effect. Unfortunately, Ye Yan had no memory of ever transforming and had no idea how to enter that state again.
Hilton, struck squarely on the back of the head, plummeted to the ground. Ye Yan ran up and unleashed a flurry of hammer blows, pounding him ten more times.
"Finally done. My wrist is actually sore from all this hammering today."
"You're impressive, but don't stay here. Stronger zombies will be coming soon. Before they arrive…" Spoil lifted his lantern and swung it in a few circles toward the forest.
From the trees rushed over twenty ragged figures. "President!"
"Quick, drag those zombies away!" Spoil ordered. "These guests defeated them. Bring them to our base for safety—pursuers will be here any moment!"
"Yes, President!" The group immediately hauled the zombies away, dragging them by arms and legs.
"President?" Ye Yan twitched at the word. Were all presidents people who looked this terrifying?
Shark Chili, if he'd heard that thought, probably would have protested—after all, the "Little Storehouse" he knew was also a president, and looked perfectly normal.
"I am the president of the Victims' Association," Spoil explained. "I'll tell you more once we're safe."
"Alright." Zhang Da Ye nodded. Meeting these shadowless people was actually a step they had been hoping for.
The group followed Spoil through the forest until they reached a crude encampment. In truth, it was more of a village—clusters of grass huts with fire pits still warm from cooking.
"New zombies caught! Come identify them!" one of the men shouted.
Excited cheers erupted. Dozens of people poured out of the huts and from the woods, eyes glowing as they stared at the zombies.
Tom's fur bristled. Their hungry stares reminded him of himself at his hungriest.
"What are they going to do?" Zhang Da Ye frowned, worried they were about to do something grotesque.
"They're looking for their own zombies." Spoil explained how zombies were created. "We hide here, waiting for the day we can find the zombies holding our stolen shadows, so we can take them back!"
Shark Chili asked, "So this Victims' Association exists just for that?"
"Exactly." Spoil nodded. "Some people, after losing their shadows, fled the island entirely. They thought it was fine to just avoid the sunlight forever. But those of us unwilling to give up formed this association, determined to reclaim what was ours."
Zhang Da Ye watched the shadowless people take turns inspecting the zombies. "Are all the victims here?"
"Yes. Apart from a few like me who go scouting, everyone else is here. Whatever our former identities—pirates, merchants, guards—on this island we are all just victims. In a place crawling with monsters, only by gathering together do we stand a chance of success."
Speaking of it, Spoil looked proud. Uniting people from so many different backgrounds toward a single goal truly felt like an accomplishment.
"Scouting?" Zhang Da Ye frowned.
"Yes. We need more information about the zombies. And we also need food. But at night, the zombies roam freely, so the scouts should be back soon."
"Let's hope they return safely," Zhang Da Ye said sincerely, then gave his companions a subtle signal.
Ye Yan nodded and quickly pulled a conflicted expression. "Um… excuse me, but where's the toilet? I really need to go."
"Just find a quiet spot in the forest," Spoil answered casually. "Remember to bury it with dirt."
"Got it." Ye Yan jogged away and vanished from sight.
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