In a secret experimental base deep in the Far East, Cobra sat in his chair, totally absorbed in some wild calculation. He scribbled and tapped away on the touchscreen, occasionally glancing at all the "cells" where his bizarre experiments were underway.
Cobra pressed the intercom button, sending his voice into one of the test cells: "You know, Swallow, I'm really torn right now."
He spun around in his chair, resting his chin in his hand like a middle schooler stuck on homework, looking all gloomy: "I've always wanted to know—if a pregnant woman gets infected with the zombie virus right before giving birth, is the baby a zombie, a human, or some new kind of mutant? But at the same time, I'm dying to know—if a pregnant woman crosses into another world and gives birth there, does the kid naturally become a Chosen One and hitch a ride back on the Void Ferry, or do they just settle down in the other world? Ugh, I'm so torn, both experiments sound fascinating! Which one do you think I should do?"
On the surveillance feed, Swallow was strapped naked to the rack, completely motionless, looking as if she were dead.
"Well, looks like you can't give me any advice. Oh! Suddenly, I just had another idea—a great one!" Cobra clapped his hands, as if a lightbulb had popped on over his head. "If I inject the zombie virus directly into the kid in your belly, everything'll be clear, since normal people can't get infected!"
He raised his hand, miming an injection, smiling faintly, his eyes narrowed to slits so you couldn't see his pupils: "Just one shot—either nothing happens to you both, or you both turn into zombies, or your kid claws its way out of your belly to embrace this beautiful world. See? One idea, three open endings. I'm a genius screenwriter, aren't I?"
Swallow's body gave a violent shudder, and she slowly lifted her head. She said nothing, just stared fiercely at the surveillance camera above. Her tangled, filthy hair obscured her face, but couldn't hide those lifeless, hate-filled eyes burning with madness.
That hatred was so bone-chilling it could make anyone's spine tingle. But Cobra just laughed, as if he'd found the perfect snack to go with his drink, slurping up a mouthful of old pickled sauerkraut noodles, looking absolutely delighted.
Ring ring ring! The emergency call suddenly blared. Reluctantly, Cobra set down his chopsticks and picked up the phone, answering lazily: "Hello? Oh, it's you. I'm busy eating instant noodles right now. Let me finish and take a nap before—wait, what did you say?"
In an instant, the lazy Cobra jolted upright as if electrocuted. Chopsticks flew, noodle soup spilled everywhere, but he didn't care. Like a snake suddenly provoked, his smile vanished, his single eye radiated icy menace, and his voice was filled with pressure—totally unlike his usual self: "Did you just say—the Black Death Emperor—grabbed—two—destroyers?!"
"That's right, it happened just ten seconds ago! The battle report is already on the top leader's desk, and now every commander in the Pacific, plus all their countries' advisors and think tanks, are losing their minds!"
Cobra stared blankly for three whole seconds, then muttered, "Keep watching. This isn't over..."
It really wasn't over.
On the Pacific Ocean.
"Quick, cut the steel cables!" The destroyer commander was the fastest to react, and every crew member on both ships was on the verge of panic. They prayed to every god they could think of while running desperately through the violently tilting cabins.
They had to cut the cables, or both ships were doomed!
On the other side, at the alloy crate that stunned everyone, even the toughest locks couldn't withstand the massive force. With a series of snaps, the steel cables and locks broke apart, sending flying metal shards—one even struck a Chosen One who couldn't dodge, making him spit blood and tumble through the air.
Creak—creak—on the back of the alloy crate, a human-shaped lump slowly bulged out as it cracked. Even Zade House's high-tech crate couldn't withstand this terrifying pull. Judging by the lump, it was clear—the Black Death Emperor inside was dragging two massive destroyers, probably without even realizing it.
A sleepwalker accidentally grabbing two warships, like squashing two ants without trying—now that's what really drives people crazy!
Everything has inertia; you can't just stop on a dime. War's no exception.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—supersonic missiles streaked in from afar, but the stunned American captain forgot to give the intercept order, letting the missiles speed straight to their target.
Boom boom boom—the ship's cannons roared with fire. The gunners, clueless about the situation, just kept following the last attack order. Since the dazed commanders hadn't said when to stop, the ships kept unleashing massive destruction.
Thud thud thud—the destroyers took hit after hit. Crew members scrambling to save themselves were turned into charred corpses, and in a blink, both ships became burning coffins adrift on the sea.
Flames from the explosions shot skyward. In that blaze, the deadly missile dove down, barreled through every obstacle, and exploded right next to the alloy crate.
"Aaaah!" The Chosen Ones who forgot to dodge were hit head-on by the shockwave—countless died or were wounded instantly. Even those hiding in the water were coughing up blood, badly hurt.
Blazing fire spread across the sea, scorching winds swept everything, wreckage from the destroyers flew everywhere, and an unquenchable fire raged on the surface.
This was the power of modern war, the power of human technology—but in this era, these aren't the most powerful weapons anymore.
The lucky Chosen Ones who survived surfaced, coughing up blood or water. But before they could escape, they suddenly felt like frogs being stared down by a snake, frozen in place.
So stiff—their muscles were all locked up, they couldn't move at all, as if both body and soul were frozen solid!
But it wasn't the cold—it was killing intent!
The Chosen Ones were terrified, practically scared out of their wits.
How could there be such powerful killing intent? How is this even possible?!
Is it the Black Death Emperor?
No, it's not—the alloy crate is still quiet, so it's not the Black Death Emperor.
It's coming from somewhere else!
That killing intent was overwhelming—like a meteor from beyond the sky, bringing ultimate disaster and cruelty, rushing in at unimaginable speed! The Chosen Ones' senses far surpass ordinary people, but their sensitivity only made them more defenseless against this incredible killing intent.
"Look—over there—what is that?!" A sharp-eyed Chosen One pointed at the eastern sea, his voice shrill with fear.
Eighteen kilometers away, Gaia Blackshot was trembling all over—his eyesight was excellent, so he saw more and sooner than anyone else.
There was a basketball-sized white light orb speeding this way at an incredible velocity. It was so fast that the sea it pierced left a long hollow, and even for someone with Gaia Blackshot's reflexes, the gap in the water would only close long after the orb had passed.
At this speed, even the laws of physics seemed to stop working.
Gaia Blackshot stared at the light orb, his voice hoarse: "Is this—the number one shot in the Heavenly Top Thirty?"
Whoosh—the light orb sped along, in an instant passing three early warning ships and leaving a huge molten hole in a cruiser, then kept racing toward its target.
"Attack target—" The distant AI finally calculated the result: "Black Death Emperor."
Boom—just as the result came in, leftover fuel on both destroyers exploded, sending flames fifty meters high, spreading far and wide. At that moment, the light orb smashed through everything, slamming into the heart of the explosion.
General Ross stared with bloodshot eyes, speechless along with the other commanders. No one attacked anymore, no one cared about World War III.
The most mysterious weapon known—the light orb—had just sniped the strongest known individual: the Black Death Emperor!
What happened?
Now, all anyone could do was wait.
The world was silent.
Two hundred kilometers away, the Number One Shot grinned. The white man next to him had already been blasted to bits by the recoil, but the shooter didn't need witnesses—the Global Observation Bureau had its own supernatural ways to monitor everything. He spread his arms wide, shouting to the sky, to the world.
"My shot is invincible—the best in the world!"
Boom—the cruiser pierced by the light orb sounded a shrill alarm, slowly sinking, as if marking the Number One Shot's rise to the top.
But after three wild shouts, the Number One Shot suddenly went quiet—frozen. Something was off, seriously off. He couldn't say what, but the sky, the sea, the wind, the water—everything seemed wrong.
He wasn't just being paranoid—his mental alarm bells had never rung so hard. Something unexpected had definitely happened!
The Number One Shot snapped his eyes wide open, scanning everything with his proud eyesight.
Oh, finally he spotted it! With a gun this powerful, no matter the target, the commotion should've been massive—towering waves, shockwaves, ripple effects, collateral damage everywhere.
But in his faster-than-light vision, that patch of sea was eerily calm. From the island to there, the waves and aftershocks were normal, but at the impact point, everything was unchanged! Flames still burned, wreckage still drifted, and even some weaklings were still struggling nearby?!
This can't be right—something's definitely wrong! What's going on?!
It was as if that super-powered shot had just vanished—right there, without a sound.