CHAPTER 1871: CHAPTER 1864: RETAINING

Tang Ye shook his head as he watched Xu Mengyun and the others fall silent. Then he looked at Xiang Shan, whom he had pinned to the ground. This guy had also fallen quiet upon learning that Xu Mengyun and the others would be spared. Could it be that he was okay with this outcome?

After waiting for about half a minute, Xu Mengyun finally spoke, her tone somewhat humble.

"Could you... not take him away?"

"Oh?" Tang Ye showed slight surprise. He had thought she would have a sharp argument to persuade him not to take Xiang Shan. Clearly, Xu Mengyun didn’t have a strong reason either.

"Is that all? Well, then I’m sorry, you can’t stop me."

With that, Tang Ye gently nudged Xiang Shan upward with the top of his foot. Xiang Shan’s body seemed as light as a feather, and the next moment, he was lifted entirely off the ground!

"Let’s go." After stabilizing Xiang Shan’s stance, Tang Ye patted his shoulder and was about to take him to the camp.

"Don’t think I’ll do anything for you!" Xiang Shan, feeling as if he had just ridden a roller coaster, regained his composure and shouted at Tang Ye.

"Hahaha~" Tang Ye laughed indifferently, dismissively saying, "That’s not up to you. You know about the silver-armored zombies, right? Once you become like them, whether you obey or not isn’t for you to decide. And, there are plenty of similar beings like you there. If you don’t obey, I’m not the one who will deal with you, but there are plenty who will."

"You want to change me?"

"What do you think?"

"But if that’s the case, I won’t be me anymore! What’s the point of taking me away?"

"That’s true..." Tang Ye paused for a moment. Xiang Shan’s words held some truth; a disobedient Level 8 zombie forced to obey after being assimilated raises the question of authenticity.

But Tang Ye soon shook his head. Xiang Shan’s argument wasn’t entirely logical. Turning a Level 8 zombie into a silver-armored one might not actually be a loss.

Perhaps there is a loss, but it’s more of a gain. Not only does it provide strong defenses, but multiple lives. Normally, if a zombie’s Evolution Crystal is heavily damaged or forcibly removed, it dies immediately.

But silver-armored zombies differ; they lack an Evolution Crystal. Instead, after death, their essence compacts into a blood-red crystal.

Even if their body is crushed into pulp, they can revive if their vitality is adequate!

Additionally, when a Level 8 zombie turns into a silver-armored one, its consciousness isn’t erased. Instead, it establishes a connection with the zombie that assimilated it. Overall, some freedom is lost, with their actions possibly being monitored.

For those zombies curious about others, Tang Ye doesn’t know if the Royal Court has them, but he personally rarely bothers to check in on others unless necessary.

"Alright, once you experience it yourself, you’ll understand. Stop wasting time, come with me." Tang Ye gave Xiang Shan a push from behind, prompting him to leave. But just then, a child’s voice called out.

"Brother Xiang Shan!"

Tang Ye paused for a moment, turning around to see two children running toward them, hugging Xiang Shan’s leg. It was clear; this zombie looked at these children with gentle eyes.

"Brother Xiang Shan, don’t leave us!"

As these two children approached Xiang Shan, other children followed, encircling Xiang Shan and isolating Tang Ye.

Xiang Shan crouched down, spreading his arms to embrace the two children who ran to him first. Other children reached out, wanting to hug him too, but Xiang Shan didn’t have enough arms, so he used a few tentacles to gather all the children into an embrace.

Tang Ye saw an inexplicable expression on Xiang Shan’s face. Faced with the children’s reluctance, he couldn’t say anything, and gradually, a tear rolled down Xiang Shan’s cheek.

Witnessing this, Tang Ye was taken aback. It was his first time seeing a zombie cry...

He said nothing, simply watching the touching scene unfold around Xiang Shan.

Suddenly, he seemed to understand something.

Not all zombies drift like duckweed; some have roots of their own.

Xiang Shan’s home was not the Royal Court, but that orphanage...

Soon, Xu Mengyun walked over to Tang Ye’s side and pleaded, "Li Henian, please give him some time."

Tang Ye glanced at her but did not answer, leaving his thoughts unreadable.

Surrounded by the children, Xiang Shan found their pleas to stay deeply moving. And yet, staying or leaving wasn’t his choice.

Several times, he tried to stand up, but surrounded tightly by the children, even a few climbing onto his back, he feared hurting them and could only continue squatting.

Unknown how much time passed, Xiang Shan glanced at Tang Ye, reluctantly using his tentacles to gently push the children away, then stood and faced him.

"Let’s go." He said expressionlessly, but as he said it, he glanced at Xu Mengyun and then walked ahead, trying to leave the pursuing children behind.

At this moment, Tang Ye shook his head and said, "There’s no need. If you can control yourself, you don’t have to come with me."

"Ah?" Hearing this, Xiang Shan stopped abruptly, looking at Tang Ye with surprise, doubting the authenticity of his words.

"Re... really?" He confirmed hesitantly. Tang Ye nodded, "You don’t belong to the Royal Court, and I don’t want to make things difficult for you. Go back, live your own life."

Xiang Shan remained silent, and Tang Ye said no more to him, glancing at Xu Mengyun, casually remarking, "I’m leaving. There’s nothing more for me here." Tang Ye then walked away while Xu Mengyun gratefully said, "Thank you, we will never tell anyone about your identity!"

"Hiss~"

Just when she thought he would be pleased with her assurance, Tang Ye turned back, frowning at her.

"Did you really need to remind me?"

"Uh..." Xu Mengyun felt awkward, her gaze apologetic, unsure what else to say.

She wished she could slap herself. The other party was playing dumb, so why act smart?

Hmph!

With a cold snort, Tang Ye didn’t make things difficult for her, striding forward until his silhouette vanished into the foggy night.

"He just... left like that?"

As Tang Ye departed, the others felt as if they had just awakened from a dream.

"Alright, let’s go back; it’s all over now..." Xu Mengyun sighed, staring in the direction Tang Ye disappeared until her phone rang, breaking her daze. Seeing the caller was Sugiyama Ryoko, she finally averted her gaze.