The Tenth Starry Sky Institute

Lu Yin didn't know the exact range of Asta's personal terminal, but it should cover an area of about ten miles.

He followed the direction indicated by his combat device, gradually moving away from the toll station.

With the departure of the long-haired zombie, the previously agitated zombie horde slowly calmed down and resumed aimless wandering. Xu San and the others sighed in relief.

A foul-smelling ditch wound into the distance, and glowing green eyes occasionally appeared in the night grass before disappearing again.

Lu Yin walked through the grass, occasionally checking his personal terminal. The indicated position was right here.

If this long-haired zombie was not dealt with, the future of the Jinling army passing this route would be very dangerous. An intelligent zombie king could bring disaster to Jinling.

Crack, crack, crack...

Chewing sounds reached Lu Yin's ears. Following the sound, he looked toward the ditch below, where a dark red glow flickered. The clouds parted, moonlight shone down, and a flash of red appeared, accompanied by two scarlet eyes.

Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. Flame crystals? Was this zombie king eating flame crystals?

Roar!

A roar erupted as the long-haired zombie king leaped high, swiping at Lu Yin. Its arm turned dark red, emitting a scorching heat.

Lu Yin dodged in surprise. The grass was torn apart by the zombie king's swipe, producing a burnt smell.

Next, several flame crystals fell from the zombie king, hitting the grass and igniting flames that lit up the area.

Lu Yin used his evasive footwork to circle behind the zombie king, pulling out the iron rod still embedded in its back and stabbing it into the back of its head.

The zombie king froze, then its body trembled and slowly collapsed. Dark red fluid gushed out as the flames engulfed it from the inside out.

Lu Yin was astonished. The zombie king could develop abilities by consuming various energy crystals. For humans, gaining abilities was extremely rare, but a zombie king could simply eat them. Who was the higher evolutionary being? Lu Yin felt a bit confused.

The zombie king quickly burned to ashes, and the surrounding flames gradually extinguished.

Lu Yin approached the ditch where the zombie king had been eating flame crystals. There was a hole. He shone a light inside and saw a dark red space. "Is this... a flame crystal mine?" Lu Yin was shocked and then excited.

Energy crystals were very valuable in the universe, whether they were pure star energy crystals or natural energy crystals like flame and water. He didn't expect to find a flame crystal mine here. Even though he didn't know how much was there, it was definitely a treasure.

Lu Yin was thrilled. He didn't expect such a reward from chasing a zombie king.

He took some crystals and then covered the hole, ensuring no one would find it. This place, like Xu San, was a treasure—an asset for his future.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw a dark red glint at his feet. He bent down, dug in the soil, and found a scarlet vertical eye, not a real eye but made of a strange material.

Lu Yin picked up the eye and felt a chill down his spine. He turned it over, revealing a grinning skull staring at him.

The sight of the skull made Lu Yin's scalp tingle. He instinctively wanted to throw it away but didn't, instead placing it into his spatial ring.

After putting it away, Lu Yin came to his senses. He couldn't believe what he had found. What was this? Why was it here? It was clearly man-made. Had someone been here before? This object made him uneasy. He felt he had stumbled upon something significant.

Exhaling, Lu Yin quickly left.

When he returned to the toll station, he found that the zombie horde had retreated significantly, with many still leaving.

An hour later, the horde had fully retreated.

The toll station was littered with corpses, emitting a stench and attracting many mutated rats, making people uneasy.

"Lu Yin, where did you go?" Luo Yun immediately scolded upon seeing him.

Lu Yin replied calmly, "I discovered an intelligent zombie king. The horde was drawn by it."

"What? Really?" Luo Yun was shocked.

Lu Yin said, "Report this to Xing Sheng immediately. The appearance of such a zombie king means that zombies are no longer just about numbers. They can also produce powerful individuals. Tonight, at least fifty soldiers died at the hands of that zombie king."

Understanding the gravity of the situation, Luo Yun promptly reported it.

"Boss, how are you?" Xu San asked, not out of concern but because without Lu Yin, he had no status in the military camp.

Lu Yin responded indifferently, "Handle the rest. I'm going to rest."

"Got it, boss," Xu San replied.

The zombie horde brought nearly a hundred casualties. Although it seemed cruel, everyone had grown numb to it. No one knew how many had died since the apocalypse began. Soldiers were used to seeing their comrades replaced one after another.

Lying on the toll station roof, Lu Yin couldn't help but touch his spatial ring. The skull eye inside made him uneasy. The material and feeling were definitely not from Earth. Did those students bring it down? What kind of student would carry such a thing?

Luo Yun climbed onto the roof, her charming face tired. She sat beside Lu Yin and said, "Xing Sheng wants us to contact the frontline as soon as possible, preferably connecting to the capital to report this matter."

Lu Yin chuckled, "The capital? They probably already know."

"Why do you say that?" Luo Yun asked, surprised.

Lu Yin shook his head. "Just a guess. If Jinling can produce a zombie king, other places can too."

Luo Yun hugged her knees, staring blankly into the distance. The night sky was endless. She looked up, and only the moonlight illuminated the sky, but it was soon covered by clouds.

"When will Earth regain peace?" Luo Yun muttered.

Lu Yin didn't answer. The night was lonely. At this moment, Luo Yun was different from her daytime self, but what did it matter? The apocalypse wouldn't end because one person felt lonely or scared. Planetary evolution had a long way to go, and the trials had just begun. Only he knew this, perhaps the Seven Saints did too. Those students were the ones who would determine Earth's fate.

Yasta and Oden were just ordinary students of the Great Yu Empire's academy. They might be elite, but compared to the top institutions, they were nothing. The true elites of top institutions possessed powerful combat skills, far beyond these students. In this so-called trial, they were the main characters.

Thinking of this, Lu Yin touched his spatial ring and looked at Luo Yun. "Go rest. I'll take the watch tonight."

Luo Yun nodded and smiled at him. "If you had comforted me just now, something might have happened between us."

Lu Yin smiled indifferently. This woman wasn't his type.

Luo Yun left the roof. Soldiers numbly cleaned up, and Xu San shouted orders in the distance.

Lu Yin took out Yasta's personal terminal and turned it on.

Although he had removed the terminal's tracking device, he still wasn't at ease. He hadn't dared to access the universe network while in Jinling. Now, he could check it.

A personal terminal was a person's identification, containing all their information, including details about their family and friends.

Lu Yin connected to the network but saw a message saying the network was unavailable.

Despite his guess, Lu Yin was still disappointed.

These students participating in the planetary evolution trial were all registered. Upon their death, their terminals would be disconnected from the network, indicating their death had been noticed.

Lu Yin exhaled, looking up at the stars. He wasn't worried about his killing of Yasta being exposed. The planetary evolution trial was important and monitored by the Great Yu Empire Youth Council. No one could interfere. To the empire, Earth was just a primitive planet, but still part of the empire. The trial targeted both the students and the Earthlings.

This was a fair trial. Lu Yin killing Yasta wasn't surprising to the council. On the contrary, he might be praised. This was one reason why Lu Yin killed Yasta without hesitation—he wanted to get noticed.

Any student entering Earth could only contact each other, not the outside. They could only observe, not report. This was the trial, a brutal trial where death was common.

Lu Yin scanned the terminal. There was no useful information, but he found a few saved notifications from Yasta.

"Yasta, if you do not complete the task within three months, the council will send a second batch of trial participants. Please make an effort."

"The Cosmic Youth Council has decided to disband the Great Yu Empire Youth Council. The reorganization date is to be determined."

"The Cosmic Youth Council has decided that the Tenth Institute of the Starry Sky will enter the outer space of the Canglan Territory. We wish you all good luck."

There were three notifications, two involving the Cosmic Youth Council.

Lu Yin was surprised, staring at the screen. He didn't expect the Great Yu Empire Youth Council to be disbanded or that the Tenth Institute would appear in the Canglan Territory.