Before Ian could study it closely, a car he had slashed in the distance exploded, triggering a chain of smaller blasts that finished off the two zombies that hadn't quite died yet.
Soon after, Ian noticed that the percentage of Interdimensional Energy had appeared again—only now the rate of increase was visibly slowing down.
"0.000001%… 0.000002%... At this pace, I'd have to kill tens of millions of zombies just to max it out!" Ian calculated grimly.
"Forget it. Slow and steady—there'll be plenty of chances later." He shook his head, temporarily giving up on grinding Interdimensional Energy.
What interested him more was the newly unlocked "Zombie Awareness" mod. If it only made the monsters stronger, that wouldn't mean much to him now—it would be neither a challenge nor particularly useful.
According to the mod's description, this mod gave monsters in Minecraft awareness. They could use and mine blocks, and would be drawn to the scent of blood, sound, and light. More monsters would also spawn at night.
"Isn't this basically One Hundred Days of zombie Apocalypse?" Ian muttered. He'd played quite a few of those modpacks before, so he was familiar with the concept.
"I wonder if this mod will affect Chloe and Anna…" he thought, feeling a little worried about the two.
With that, he quickly opened a portal back to Minecraft to check on them.
——
Minecraft, Skyblock.
As soon as Ian appeared, he saw Chloe and Anna standing in front of the "luxury three-story villa," pointing and muttering—faces full of… disdain?
"Ahem. What are you two doing?" Ian coughed twice, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Boss, you're back!" Chloe's eyes lit up when she saw him. Then she pointed at the matchbox-looking house and said, "We were just studying your… art piece."
The way she emphasized "art piece" made it clear what she meant.
Ian's lips twitched. Of course he understood her tone.
"Fine. To accommodate you two poor souls who can't appreciate art, I brought a detachable two-story villa for you."
With that, Ian took out a detachable villa from his Transmutation Tablet—one he had picked up on the roadside while killing zombies and then sold to the Tablet. After assembling it, a simple two-story small house appeared before the trio.
"There, satisfied now, you unrefined—"
"We're satisfied! Totally satisfied! Thank you, boss!" Before Ian could finish, Chloe had already grabbed the little witch and dashed inside.
"Hmph. No taste at all. Fine, I'll build something grander myself just to prove how good my aesthetics really are." Ian snorted, then placed an even bigger, more luxurious mansion on an empty patch of sky island.
Just then, a strange noise reached his ears.
"Hsss… raargh…"
Wait—that sound was way too familiar.
Ian froze, then spun around.
Near the Mob Farm, several zombies had spawned!
"You've got to be kidding me—they're here already?"
However, just as he was about to make a move, those few zombies suddenly stopped.
But before he could attack, the zombies suddenly stopped moving.
The one leading them suddenly slid to its knees right in front of Ian.
"???" Ian blinked in confusion.
What the hell was happening?
"R… revered… mighty one… please… accept us…" the zombie rasped, its voice hoarse and awful—but filled with… reverence?
Ian was completely dumbfounded.
This zombie could talk?!
"You… what are you?" he asked, frowning.
"We… are… Smart Zombies… the… higher species… of this world," the zombie said haltingly. "We… have… our own… thoughts … and can… eat… other kinds… of food!"
"Smart Zombies?" Ian raised an eyebrow. "And what's the difference between you and those brainless 'raaargh' zombies?"
"Of course… there's a difference!" The zombie seemed offended. "We… are … thoughtful! We… have… dignity! We—"
"Stop, stop!" Ian quickly cut him off. "Get to the point!"
"We... have... come... to seek... your protection!" the zombie said. "We... have sensed... your power… and wish… to follow you!"
Ian: "…"
"Follow me, huh?" He eyed the kneeling zombie suspiciously.
The creature's body was half-rotted, stinking, with random chunks of meat hanging from it—it was grotesque.
"With that appearance of yours, you think you're worthy to follow me?" Ian said in disgust.
"Mighty one… please… don't… judge us… by appearance!" it pleaded. "We… may look… ugly… but… we're useful!"
"Oh? How so?" Ian asked, curious.
"We… can… fight for you!" it said. "We… can… gather resources! We… can… do anything… you command!"
"Sounds… not bad." Ian stroked his chin. "But why should I believe you?"
"Because… we… Smart Zombies… are born… of this world," the zombie said. "We… understand… power… and know… who truly… rules this land!"
"Alright, I'll believe you for now," Ian nodded. "But first, I need to understand your situation."
"Ask… anything!" it replied.
"What's your name?"
"I… am… Zambo."
"Zambo?" Ian almost burst out laughing. "That sounds like the name of a village dog."
"It's… our tribe's… tradition," Zambo explained. "Every… leader… is named… Zambo."
"Your tribe? How many of you are there?"
"Our tribe… now has… less than… one hundred individuals," Zambo said, "but… our shells… are endless."
"What do you mean?" Ian frowned.
"Our… consciousness… cannot die," Zambo explained. "When… the body we… inhabit… is destroyed… our minds… will transfer… to another… zombie shell."
"So basically, you can respawn infinitely?" Ian realized.
"That's… one way… to put it," Zambo said. "But… our shells… are limited… we need… a steady supply… of bodies…"
"Alright, enough, I get it." Ian sighed. "You way of talking hurts my brain." (T/N: mine too…)
"So your tribe only has a hundred zombies? Because it looks like you've got way more than that behind you."
"We... can... only... control... a certain number... of zombies... The ones behind me... are all... me."
"How many can you control?" Ian asked.
"I… am… the strongest… among us… I can… control… over… ten thousand… zombies," Zambo said proudly. "So… I'm… the leader."
"Ten thousand?" Ian was impressed. "Then your tribe as a whole could command hundreds of thousands of zombies?"
"Theoretically... yes," Zambo said.
"Alright, I accept your allegiance," Ian said at last. Zombies that could dig and build? Perfect laborers for construction.
"But I have conditions."
"Please… tell us!" Zambo replied.
"First—you must not harm my friends." Ian pointed toward the villa. "Two of my friends live there. You are never to go near them."
"No problem!" Zambo said immediately.
"Second—you follow my orders. Whatever I tell you to do, you do."
"Understood! Your… will… is… my command."
"Third—you keep yourselves clean." Ian gestured at Zambo's rotting flesh. "I'm not turning my world into a dump."
"That... is a bit... difficult," Zambo said. "Our... bodies... are... zombies. They... will... naturally... rot."
"Then keep it as clean as possible! At least cover yourselves—here, take these armors." Ian waved his hand, and piles of gold armor clattered onto the ground.
"Alright… we'll… do our best," Zambo said.
"Good." Ian nodded. "From this moment on, you're my subordinates."
"Thank you… master!" Zambo said reverently.
"By the way, what do you usually eat?" Ian asked.
"We… can… eat… anything," Zambo said. "Even… human… food."
"That's good." Ian said, "I will provide you with food. You won't have to worry about going hungry."
"Thank you… master!" Zambo said again.
Ian looked at the obedient zombie before him, a satisfied grin forming.
"Looks like taming this tribe of Smart Zombies was the right move," he thought. "With them, I can gather Interdimensional Energy way faster."