“In the Apocalypse, I Only Make Contracts with Super-Hot Male Gods” - Chapter 23

Halfway there, Chu Yesheng suddenly stopped Jiang Changyi.

“What is it?” Jiang Changyi asked.

“The corpses.”

“They’re gone.”

Chu Yesheng kept his arm out, blocking Jiang Changyi, while his sharp gaze swept over the surroundings.

Jiang Changyi looked around as well and indeed saw that there were only bloodstains on the ground—no bodies.

Zombies had no intelligence compared to the insect race, so it was impossible for them to move corpses away. Nor could they have eaten them so cleanly that not even bones remained.

That left only two possibilities: insects or some other kind of monster.

But why would they take corpses away?

Did they eat them all—or because they couldn’t finish, they… packed them up to take away?

If it was the former, then what kind of terrifying creature could devour so many corpses?

If it was the latter… could that mean there was a monster nest nearby?

“God, whichever it is, the situation looks really bad…” Jiang Changyi’s scalp prickled, a chill running down his back.

Chu Yesheng didn’t answer. Instead, he formed several hand signs and summoned eight dogs: “Please, help investigate the situation nearby—the cause and destination of these disappearing corpses.”

Jiang Changyi: “???”

My summon… can summon other summons?

Why does this feel like some endless nesting doll situation?

But the leading dog didn’t summon anything else. Instead, it rumbled in a deep voice: “This place… carries a very ominous aura.”

Chu Yesheng nodded slightly. “Be careful.”

The eight dogs of varying breeds and colors dispersed, while the two continued toward the Xingfu Jiayuan residential community.

Not long after, Chu Yesheng’s expression darkened. “Four kilometers east of where we were just now, there’s an insect nest. That area is extremely dangerous. My spirit beast had to return to its original world in an emergency retreat.”

“An insect nest…”

Jiang Changyi chewed over the words, his face growing grim.

“The situation I dreaded most has still come true. The insect monsters really do have intelligence—but I didn’t expect they could even build nests.”

Chu Yesheng shook his head. “Not just that.”

This was where his experience and sharp deductive skills shone—facing complex situations, he could always follow the clues outward.

He carefully explained:

“From the insect monsters we’ve encountered along the way, they don’t seem to possess high-level intelligence themselves. Rather than them being intelligent, it’s more likely there’s a higher being controlling and directing their actions.”

“In our world, there are sorcerers who can control insects, raising and commanding them with secret arts. And in nature, many insects already have strict social hierarchies, like bees and ants.”

“So, most likely there’s a queen insect there. That’s why they need to haul the corpses back to the nest as food.”

Well, that was great. Not only a powerful insect queen, but a whole nest—two dangerous possibilities rolled into one.

Anxious about his mother and sister at home, Jiang Changyi said, “Let’s hurry back. Forget the monsters on the road for now.”

“Alright.”

Chu Yesheng nodded.

The two pedaled in silence, but both stopped abruptly at an intersection—

The street ahead was jammed full of zombies, and they were consciously gathering toward the center, doing who knew what inside.

And the zombies were so focused they didn’t even notice Jiang Changyi and Chu Yesheng’s presence.

The numbers were impossible to count—if they rushed forward, the sheer crush could squeeze the two of them to death.

In perfect sync, they turned back the way they came, then pedaled away as fast as they could, speeding up the farther they got.

Only when they reached an open stretch along the lakeside road did they finally slow down.

Thinking back on the number of zombies they had just seen left them both shaken.

With their current strength, they couldn’t possibly deal with a horde of that scale.

Staring at the calm lake water, Jiang Changyi’s heart remained restless. Suddenly he said:

“Wait.”

“I just thought of another possibility.”

“Why can zombies and the insect race coexist peacefully?”

“Their prey is both humans, so shouldn’t they be competing instead?”

“Zombies have no rationality, yet they somehow refrain from attacking insects. Meanwhile, the insects clearly have a queen, yet don’t attack the zombies for competing over food?”

“Unless…”

“Unless there are also rulers among the zombies who can control their kind—and they’ve made some kind of pact with the insect queen!”

Jiang Changyi’s heart pounded violently, his eyes wide, his whole body trembling from the terror of such a wild idea.

Because the thought was far too bold—if true, humanity’s survival crisis was even more dire.

As the saying goes, “It’s not scary if a thug can fight; it’s scary if the thug is educated.”

If zombies were merely mindless monsters, humanity could just kill them. But if these fearless, pain-immune, tireless creatures gained the ability to strategize and command troops, how could humans withstand their assaults?

Even if a zombie king’s intelligence wasn’t that high yet—humans could evolve through awakening, so why assume zombie kings or insect queens couldn’t?

Sensing Jiang Changyi’s panic, Chu Yesheng pushed back his drooping forehead guard, revealing his scarlet heterochromatic eye.

Strange patterns swirled and blossomed within it, radiating immense magical power.

“As long as I live, no one will harm you, Master.”

“Haha.” Jiang Changyi just gave a small laugh.

A handsome man’s comfort worked only as a momentary balm—he knew full well that the only real strength was the kind in his own hands.

If he had a choice, he would rather have awakened to a combat class like Chen Yonglong.

The two continued their detour, encountering several groups of fleeing people along the way.

Curious, Jiang Changyi stopped an uncle and asked, “Uncle, where are you all heading? Aren’t you afraid of monsters attacking if you run out here?”

The man, bold and warm-hearted, explained he had just been trapped outside on a weekend outing: “Didn’t you see? This morning, the monsters all marched off in groups. Don’t know why, but it’s a rare chance. If I don’t get home now, I won’t know how my wife and kids are doing.”

Jiang Changyi didn’t press further. “Thanks, uncle. Stay safe on the road. Oh, and don’t head toward the city—there are monsters everywhere there.”

Because according to Chu Yesheng, the insect horde was about at the city center.

After parting with the uncle, Jiang Changyi and Chu Yesheng exchanged a glance.

“Whatever the zombies and insects are planning… this is without doubt the best time to evacuate our families.”