Global Devourer: I Survive by Slaughtering Beasts

Chapter 5: The Master's Command

The three dead bodies slowly stood up from the cold floor. Their pale, milky eyes turned a faint purple color, matching the dark energy pulsing in Kai's hand. They did not roar or attack. Instead, they dropped to their knees and bowed their heads before Kai like loyal soldiers waiting for an order.

Behind the wooden barricades, the survivors gasped in absolute terror. The rich boy dropped to his hands and knees, scrambling backward until his back hit the cold brick wall.

"He is controlling them!" a girl shrieked, covering her mouth with trembling hands. "He is controlling the monsters!"

Kai paid no attention to their screaming. He closed his eyes, focusing his mind on the faint thread of energy connecting his brain to the three dead bodies.

[Skill Active: Undead Command (F-Rank)] [Current Limit: 3 / 3 Low-Level Undead] [Control Distance: 500 Meters]

With a single thought, Kai commanded the first zombie to walk forward. The dead body instantly stood up and marched five steps, stopping right where Kai wanted it to. He thought another command, and the second zombie picked up a heavy iron chair and held it like a wooden shield.

Kai smiled softly. These three zombies were completely mindless, but they obeyed every thought in his head without delay. They would not ask for food. They would not complain. They would not stab him in the back like Sarah and Brandon did. They were the perfect meat shields and scouts.

Kai turned around to face the group of surviving students. His face was completely calm, but his eyes were so dark and cold that no one dared to make eye contact with him.

"Listen to me carefully," Kai said, his voice echoing clearly through the ruined study hall. "The ground floor belongs to me. If you want to sleep here without being eaten, you will earn your keep right now."

He pointed his blood-covered pipe toward the broken main entrance and the shattered glass ceiling.

"You three," Kai said, pointing at the rich boy and two other students. "Move those heavy wooden tables and block the front doors again. Chloe, take the rest and board up the broken window frames with iron sheets from the maintenance closet. If I see anyone sitting down or slacking off, I will throw you out to join the horde."

"You cannot treat us like this!" the rich boy cried out, his voice shaking with anger and tears. "My dad is a high official! When the rescue team comes, I will make sure you go to jail for this!"

Kai did not waste words. He flicked his wrist, and the three purple-eyed zombies turned their heads together, stepping toward the rich boy with their sharp claws raised.

"Say one more word," Kai said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "And my guards will eat your fingers for lunch."

The rich boy turned dead pale. He shut his mouth instantly, scrambled over to a heavy wooden desk, and began dragging it toward the entrance as fast as his weak arms could move. The rest of the students did not wait for another warning. They rushed to grab tools and materials, working with frantic speed to fortify the perimeter.

Chloe walked past Kai, carrying a armful of wooden boards. She stopped for a second and looked into his eyes.

"They are terrified of you," Chloe said softly.

"Good," Kai replied, without looking at her. "Fear keeps people alive. Pity gets people killed."

Chloe did not argue. She knew he was right. She turned around and began directing the students, making sure every single entrance was blocked tight with metal and heavy furniture. Under Kai's strict supervision, the ground floor of the library was transformed into a fortified fortress within two hours.

While the survivors were busy working, Kai sat down on a soft armchair near the center of the hall. He closed his eyes and summoned the third zombie thrall to stand beside him.

This zombie was a dead student wearing a torn track jacket. It was lighter and faster than the other two. Kai placed his hand on the zombie's forehead, sending a clear picture of Brandon and Sarah into its dead brain.

"Go up to the second floor," Kai ordered in his mind. "Find Brandon and Sarah. See where they went."

The track-jacket zombie turned around, moving silently up the wide marble staircase. Through the mental connection, Kai could see everything the zombie saw, as if he were walking behind it.

The second floor was completely dark and quiet. Torn papers and broken laptops covered the floor. The track-jacket zombie moved past the locked office doors, following the bloody footprints left on the carpet.

The footprints led all the way to the back exit of the library, which opened up to the high footbridge connecting the library building to the campus sports complex. The heavy iron door leading to the bridge had been chopped open with an axe.

Kai directed his zombie scout to step out onto the rain-slicked footbridge.

The purple rain was still falling heavily outside, but the zombie felt no cold and no pain. It crept quietly along the metal walkway until it reached the large glass windows of the sports complex gymnasium.

Inside the gymnasium, bright emergency lights were glowing. Dozens of cardboard boxes packed with canned food, bottled water, and medical kits were stacked high against the back wall.

Kai narrowed his eyes as his vision focused through the zombie scout.

Standing in the center of the gymnasium was Brandon, holding a cup of hot water. Leaning against his chest was Sarah, drinking from a juice box and laughing happily.

Standing right beside Brandon were five large men wearing black tactical uniforms and bulletproof vests. They were the university's private security guards, led by a tall man with a dark scar across his left eye. These guards were armed with heavy iron batons, riot shields, and hunting crossbows.

The scout's vision fed back a disturbing sight: Brandon has already allied with the corrupt campus security team, forming a brutal mini-gang that is hoarding all the university's emergency rations.