OPTC Chapter 193 - The Plan in Motion
Zhang Da Ye watched as the crowd eagerly inspected the captured zombies. From time to time, someone would shout with joy, "It's mine! This one is mine!"
The others would look on enviously as that person dragged the zombie away. After a strange series of actions, they would pull the shadow free and return it to their feet, merging seamlessly with it again.
The man who recovered his shadow jumped and spun under the lantern light, posing in every way he could think of. "I have my shadow back! My shadow returned! It moves exactly like me!"
He bent backward, hopped on one foot, did push-ups, and even posed like a bodybuilder. Tom eagerly imitated him, copying every pose. To him, it was no effort at all.
"How do they do that?" Zhang Da Ye asked. He only knew salt could release a shadow but didn't understand this method.
"We caught zombies before and studied them for a long time until we figured out how to extract shadows," Spoil explained. Then he quickly added, "But since you haven't lost your shadows, it's useless for you."
"What about the zombies nobody claims?" Zhang Da Ye asked. "And the ones who get their shadows back—do they leave immediately?"
"The unclaimed ones are kept for more research. Why release them and let strangers profit?" Spoil said with a shrug. "As for those who recover their shadows, they don't leave right away. They usually wait until one or two more people reclaim theirs first, as repayment for the care they received from companions here."
The man who had just regained his shadow ran up to Zhang Da Ye and the others, bowing gratefully. "Thank you all for defeating these zombies. Because of you, we can live under the sun again! We're forever grateful!"
Suddenly—crack!—a hand wrapped in bandages shot up from the ground.
"A zombie! A zombie!"
"The zombie army has caught up to us!"
The Victims' Association members panicked, especially those who had just gotten their shadows back. The fear of losing something again was even worse than never having it at all.
Another five hands burst from the ground. Along with the first, six bandage-wrapped monsters climbed out, cackling hideously.
Tom grabbed his bat and started scraping the dirt with his feet, eager to play whack-a-mole, but Zhang Da Ye pulled him back. Just one look told him these were allies. Clearly, Tom hadn't listened to the plan at all.
These six strange bandaged zombies were actually Ye Yan's six Flag Fiends in disguise. When he excused himself earlier to "use the toilet," he had taken them aside to disguise themselves, then sent them tunneling back to stage this attack.
Sneaking underground was second nature to them—they often helped Ye Yan conceal the Huang Demon Flag or Soul-Calming Gong this way.
Once the six Flag Fiends made their entrance, Zhang Da Ye, Artoria, and Shark Chili put on a show, clashing with them briefly before collapsing to the ground as if defeated.
Zhang Da Ye had warned Tom to play along and pretend to faint, but Tom's acting was atrocious. Who in the world jumps straight up and then falls stiff as a board when fainting?
Luckily, no one cared enough to notice the details of how a cat faints. The Victims' Association members backed away in terror.
"They're that strong?" Spoil gasped. He had seen Zhang Da Ye's group fight before and knew their power. For them to fall so easily meant these zombies had to be terrifying—at least zombie general level.
Amid the chaos, the six Flag Fiends knocked out more than thirty people with single punches, even Spoil himself, the poor old man still covered in wounds.
Soon someone shouted, "Don't panic! There are only six zombies. We have three hundred people! Fight them together!"
And so, deep in the forest, chaos erupted. Three hundred against six looked like overwhelming odds, but in truth, numbers meant nothing against such power.
To make things worse, people in the back lines were suddenly collapsing for no reason.
No one noticed the real culprits—two floating bricks coated in invisible ink Zhang Da Ye had given Ye Yan. Ye Yan used them to strike from afar.
The Watchman's timed hammer ability didn't require a hammer—it could be activated with bricks, sticks, or any blunt weapon. It simply required extremely precise control. Not wanting to expose himself, Ye Yan had chosen bricks.
This was all part of their plan. With everyone knocked out by "zombies," when they woke tomorrow, Gecko Moria would already be gone. None of it would be connected to them.
---
Meanwhile, aboard the Amber, not long after Zhang Da Ye's group had left—
Rui Meng Meng kept a cautious watch over the surroundings, while Brook was happily playing cards with Lu Da Shan and Ma Lao Wu, two of the Flag Fiends.
"Should you really be so relaxed?" Rui Meng Meng asked nervously.
"Don't worry, Miss Meng Meng. Even while I play, my nose is always working. If anyone suspicious comes near, I'll smell it right away. Pair of tens." Ma Lao Wu reassured her while laying down his cards.
"Yohoho! Mr. Ma is truly reliable. Pair of queens." Brook had been alone for decades, so when the Flag Fiends suggested a game, he couldn't refuse. The chance to play with others was far too tempting.
"Pair of aces! If the master is on the job, the boss here will be handled soon. Then no one will dare attack us." Lu Da Shan worshiped the Ye family blindly.
"Alright… I just hope the others are safe." Rui Meng Meng sighed.
The words had barely left her mouth when the Amber suddenly shook violently. The water beneath surged, dragging the ship rapidly in one direction.
"What's happening? Didn't we drop anchor?" Ma Lao Wu fell flat on his butt, scattering cards everywhere.
"My four twos!" Lu Da Shan cried in anguish. "Who the hell picked now to mess with us?"
"Yohoho, what a shame," Brook chuckled as he calmly picked up his cane. If he lost, he had to scrub the deck—unreasonable for someone his age. Of course, he had no idea these two monsters were at least a few centuries old themselves.
"The anchor… it's been thrown onto the deck!" Rui Meng Meng gasped. During the shake, she noticed the anchor had been hurled up, smashing a hole in the planks. "No! I promised the boss I'd protect the ship!"
"We're doomed." Ma Lao Wu and Lu Da Shan instantly realized they were in trouble. If they didn't catch whoever had damaged the ship, they'd definitely be punished.
Especially Ma Lao Wu. He was the one who suggested the card game, swore he could smell danger right away, and yet here they were—ambushed.
"Which bastard set me up!"
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