Chapter 1797: Chapter 1790 The Most Exhausted is the Emperor
"You all didn’t see her?" Tang Ye had already guessed something, but he didn’t immediately confirm his suspicion. Instead, he continued to ask. Before he was completely enveloped by the cocoon and entered the illusion, he had seen Lu Xiaojie voluntarily enter the illusion from outside the cocoon. Surely, after entering the illusion, no one would immediately go to the battlefield center to look for the cocoon, right?
And his men were the first to arrive around the cocoon to investigate. Logically, they should have been able to find Lu Xiaojie outside and detach her from the cocoon, at the very least maintaining her bodily functions.
But when it came to his question, Gong Xiao and his group exchanged glances, then shook their heads in unison and looked at Ha Zhen and his team. When it came to the initial circumstances, Ha Zhen and Li Man were the first on the scene at the cocoon.
"When we arrived, there was only that lump of a cocoon, and we didn’t see Lu Xiaojie?"
"Ha Zhen, you were the first ones to arrive. Did you see Lu Xiaojie?" Chang Jinlun asked Ha Zhen, but Ha Zhen instinctively shook his head and then suddenly remembered something. Just as he was about to speak, Li Man spoke up first.
"We didn’t see Lu Xiaojie, but when we reached your side, we saw a withered corpse hanging outside the cocoon. Ah! I almost forgot, we placed that withered corpse in a hospital in Linhai City, which was our temporary base. We planned to ask you about the corpse’s situation once you came out."
"A withered corpse?" Tang Ye’s eyebrows furrowed instantly. His intuition told him that the withered corpse Li Man and the others found was very likely Lu Xiaojie!
"What did the withered corpse look like? Did it resemble Lu Xiaojie?" Tang Ye continued to ask, but Li Man’s face suddenly twisted as if he was constipated, seemingly struggling to find the right words to describe that withered corpse.
"How should I put it... It’s hard to tell. It was all curled up, you couldn’t see the face at all, just like... beef jerky? Right! Just like beef jerky! Crispy, a bit puffed up, and we didn’t dare to touch it, afraid it would fall apart!"
"Is that so... Alright then..." Tang Ye sighed, reflecting. Without Lu Xiaojie, given his understanding of the illusion, he would still be trapped inside until death. Lu Xiaojie owed him nothing but died because of it. Even if Tang Ye wanted to do something, he had no leverage, and all he could do was give Lu Xiaojie’s body a proper burial.
He recalled the elderly woman’s silhouette in the last moment the world completely turned white, sighed again, and muttered to himself, "Have a good dream..."
"Boss, that withered corpse can’t really be Lu Xiaojie, can it?"
"I don’t know, but it’s very likely. She helped me a ton. Without her, I’d still be trapped inside, confused about what I was doing... Ah, forget it. I’ll go confirm it first. Either way, take it back to the Royal Court, and make sure it doesn’t get damaged. Once it’s back, find a good location for burial with the highest honors."
"Okay, Boss."
"By the way..." Tang Ye nodded, but after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and asked, "Did you bring back all those things released from the Mother Nest?"
"Huh?" At this, everyone was dumbfounded, and the air froze. The expressions of everyone were peculiar.
There were a total of seventeen zombies and humans besides Tang Ye, some bowing their heads in silence, others turning their heads to feign ignorance. Tang Ye immediately glanced at the crouching Abeng. Despite his small stature, Tang Ye could spot him in one glance!
After about a minute of silence, Gert stepped forward with a forced smile and said, "Um, Boss... It was the first time... I got a little nervous, and accidentally... let out too many..."
Upon hearing such a response, Tang Ye’s face darkened. Let out too many? Who knows how much "too many" means!
"How many did you release?" Tang Ye asked again, and after hesitating for a long while, Gert finally spoke up, "About... half...?"
"Half!"
"Boss, it’s not my fault. Go after Abeng. He was in charge of this section!" Seeing Tang Ye looking a bit angry, Gert, who had just sold out Abeng, took a few steps back to hide behind Gong Xiao.
As soon as these words were spoken, Abeng, who appeared child-like, jumped up excitedly!
"Nonsense! Damn it, who were the ones who came to me that night? Now that something’s happened, you’re all dumping the blame on me!"
"You’re the one who released them!"
"Damn!" Abeng was filled with rage, especially after Jiema said, "You were the one who released them." Abeng nearly lost his breath.
Just when he was about to lose control and curse aloud, Tang Ye interrupted him sternly, "Abeng!"
Upon hearing his voice, Abeng could only lower his head and gloomily approached Tang Ye.
"What’s going on?" Tang Ye questioned sternly. The zombies in the Mother Nest were the lifeline of all zombies in the Royal Court! If half of them were released, and the Mother Nest’s internal ecological cycle was disrupted, the consequences could be dire!
According to the last data Tang Ye checked, about half a year ago, there were over two hundred Level 8 zombies in the Mother Nest, and by now, there should be even more. Releasing half of them would mean releasing at least over a hundred!
"Speak!"
Abeng awkwardly laughed, "Khan, you have to let me explain. It wasn’t a decision I made alone! The night before we left the Royal Court, Jiema, Gert, and Li Man, and also that bastard Hong Heixin—he’s not here, but you can’t forget him—those few! They came to me that night to discuss how many zombies to release. We knew we were facing formidable opponents like you, Khan, and were worried about being short-handed. So after some discussion, we decided to release half, and as a result..."
Abeng was a bit embarrassed. He wouldn’t tell Tang Ye that they had underestimated the number of Level 8 zombies around the Nightmare Zombie King, and that too many zombies had been released from the Mother Nest. So when the battle started, most of them were in two-on-one situations, rarely one-on-one, and some even grouped together in invincible clusters!
Moreover, before the battle started, the "Hungry Ghosts" released from the Mother Nest had devoured most of the Devil Sound Zombie Tide, which was why they were able to resolve the battle in a very short time and repel the Devil Sound Zombie Tide.
After listening, Tang Ye shifted his gaze forward, scanning the grotesque faces. This immediately made him laugh out of anger. So in this battle, was he, the Emperor, the only one who was exhaustingly overworked?
"You guys did well!"
"Boss, don’t be mad. We really didn’t know..."
"So? None of those released from the Mother Nest have returned, right?"
"Uh..."