I am the Zombie King of the Apocalyptic World
Chapter 1449 - 1444: The Raven of Redemption

Chapter 1449: Chapter 1444: The Raven of Redemption

Before long, the boy was the first to cave in, vomiting with a "wah" sound—apparently having eaten nothing during the day, he threw up a pile of yellowish gastric acid that almost splashed all over Tang Ye, and a sour stench began to waft through the air.

Tang Ye frowned. He felt nothing about what the two described. Before the Apocalypse, he had seen many bloodier scenes. Even a normal person, after seeing such scenes enough times, would have thrown up all they could and wouldn’t change a shade in their face, let alone actually witnessing it in reality—it was mere hearsay, and what were these to Tang Ye, a Level 9 Zombie King?

"I have a question," Tang Ye asked the girl. "You just woke up from a nightmare, and if it’s against the rules to open your eyes after the hours of restriction, then surely someone will eventually wake up startled from a nightmare like you did. How does that get dealt with?"

"That... I seriously wonder if you’re a transmigrator, not knowing even that?"

"To you, are nightmares a common occurrence? Forget it, I should tell you, we do not have nightmares...nor are we awakened by them."

"Oh?" Tang Ye nodded, thinking to himself that the potential bugs in this system were indeed tightly plugged, simply preventing people from having nightmares—a straightforward solution.

Lu Xin, continuing the girl’s narrative, said, "We don’t have nightmares. Once someone has a nightmare, it means they will die within three days, and die horribly at that!"

"Nightmares lead to death? Just now, she..."

Hearing Lu Xin’s words, Tang Ye instinctively looked towards the girl; both of their faces now painted with bitterness.

"We’ve already violated the regulations, and that was two days ago. We didn’t do as required by the rules, and then..."

"If you kill the school bully from two days ago now, would that resolve anything?"

"No, it’s not stated in the rules, but one must kill the aggressor on the spot in case of school bullying. If it wasn’t done at that time, there’s no making up for it later."

"That...then would the aggressor suffer any consequences?"

"Not at all. If an aggressor is seen during school bullying, they would be killed by someone, but if they aren’t killed before bullying ceases, nothing happens to them."

"One will die either by following the regulations and killing the aggressor or by being indifferent in the face of school violence. We intervened then, but failed to kill the bully, hence we were cursed. Those cursed only have at most three days left; some may die on the same day. Waking up from a nightmare counts as breaking the rules, hence cursed people simply cannot continue living."

"I see. So today, your visit to the zoo to steal a crow, it was because..."

"You’re pretty close. We stopped the school violence, we stopped the bullying onto the victim, but only just. The curse granted us some time, and in the little remaining time, there’s another way to save ourselves."

"So crows can save you, but if you’re just borrowing it for one day, is there a reason it wouldn’t be lent to you?"

"Have you heard of a legend?"

"What legend?"

"Crows are the embodiment of the night, the incarnations of the gods of the night, kin to ghosts and deities, yet unlike those spirits, they possess a different kind of kindness. They protect those who are suffering, in any event, certain non-human entities do not attack crows and anything around them. But you’re thinking too simply, how could crows possibly be borrowed for just one day? Our original plan was to steal the crow and then make a quick escape."

"So you were planning to borrow it and never return it."

"That’s the idea. If one has nightmares, it means death isn’t far off. But there’s still time, at most three days, possibly one, but death isn’t immediate; at least there’s time to prepare."

"What’s the use of the crow?"

"If someone cursed has a crow at their side when they sleep at night, the curse vanishes. In simple terms, the cursed will have nightmares, and nightmares lead to death within three days at most. But with a crow, it’s different. The crow prevents nightmares, and also increases the odds that those who have a crow, even after breaking the rules, won’t necessarily suffer consequences. But, if it’s due to the nightmare curse that one needs the crow, once obtained, it might be tied to that person for life; they must always carry it."

"So you went to the zoo to steal a crow?"

"Yes, we had no other choice. We’re still young... We never know when death might come..."

Once more, their faces took on a sorrowful expression, their eyes filled with the fear of death.

"The market price for a crow starts at over three million at the cheapest, a sum beyond what an ordinary person could earn in a lifetime, completely unaffordable. And that’s the lowest price—most are priceless, and the most expensive crow can cost a staggering hundred million!"

The two began airing their grievances to Tang Ye. But in such a world, where a crow possesses this kind of function—equivalent to an unlimited, permanent ’get-out-of-death-free’ card—it made sense it was so expensive. Since ancient times, killing has been easy, saving lives difficult; who has ever seen life-saving items come cheap?

"Don’t you have families?" After they finished, Tang Ye asked.

"Yes, but we heard that being cursed can pass the curse onto those near us, so we ran away from home."

"And you didn’t consider your parents’ opinions?"

"What good are their opinions? My dad’s just a workshop foreman, and the most he could scrape together is enough to pay off some of the mortgage. As for the rest, spending hundreds of millions would be beyond our family’s reach."

"My family’s situation is similar, so we left too."

Subconsciously, Tang Ye felt something was off, and quickly, he remembered and asked Lu Xin, "If that’s the case, crows must be incredibly valuable, able to save lives. It shouldn’t have been possible for you to steal one, right?"

Tang Ye had a firm grasp of monetary concepts before the Apocalypse. This casually expensive item, worth tens of millions, represented more than just a string of numbers—if an ordinary person earns five thousand a month and the cheapest lifesaving crow is worth three million, then it would take at least forty years for an ordinary person to afford one without eating or drinking, ensuring they stay healthy and don’t buy clothes, among other things!

Judging by the couple’s tone, the cheapest crow priced at three million was practically unavailable, the common price probably upwards of eight million, no wonder they had given up and opted for the most dangerous method: theft.

And then the question arises, how could such valuable items, seemingly beyond the reach of students who had not even graduated high school, be susceptible to theft? Before the Apocalypse, a necklace worth over a hundred thousand might even need bulletproof glass protection.