They barraged her with attacks, forcing her to unleash her full arsenal to keep up. Shielding the boy was a juggling act, so she stashed his body in a safe spot and launched a desperate counterattack, seeking escape. Her energy dwindled rapidly; holding her own against four men was a minor miracle thanks to her turbo-charged speed.
The mental abilities guy was the hardest to shake. He zeroed in on her like a hawk, a mental homing device making evasion tough unless she broke their encirclement and took him down, then teleported away. But teleportation was a once-a-day, short-distance ration, demanding perfect timing. Her escape chances dwindled as the lightning guy neared level 3, eager to claim her zombie core.
She grinned slyly at the four men. The two in front furrowed their brows, sensing something amiss—a bad feeling. She'd remember this. Next time, revenge would be sweet. She felt no pain; death meant rebooting like a video game character. She glanced at the girl standing safely away. Heroine? Maybe. She sensed the girl was lucky, possibly the world's darling. So what? She remembered her face: the girl who beaned her with a bag in her first life, before her powers awakened.
This time, her ability to detect powers had leveled up, or the girl triggered it. If she was the heroine, why the bad vibe? Was it her zombie nature? They always clashed like oil and water—a bad omen from the novels she'd devoured. Those who clashed with the heroine often met a grisly end. Heh? If she took her down, would her rebirth cycle end? She thought a lot, but only seconds passed.
Realizing she was running on fumes, she surprised the girl. She was a goner anyway, but she'd take some compensation. The men were caught off guard as she teleported face-to-face with the girl, snatching her necklace with a jade pendant—sensing the power of space within. A spiritual space to plant and raise animals, like in novels—a treasure trove! Priceless, enough to make up for the battering. But the girl still needed to pay for the bag incident.
Luckily, she had the backpack with supplies for the boy—though he wouldn't get them now. No tiny bag meant the girl was unlucky today. They were both having a crappy day. A lightning bolt slammed into her back, but she grinned, whacking the backpack on the girl's face. She was running on empty, so the force wasn't intense, but the bottled water and canned goods wouldn't be pleasant. The girl might look like a Picasso painting, but she had healing abilities, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad?
Then fire, mental, and ice attacks rained down, but she kept grinning like a maniac. Finally, she destroyed the pendant and exploded her zombie core. No one would get it. If she couldn't rebirth, best-case scenario, at least no one could use it. And that's how her life three ends.
In her fourth life, she sought adventure, aiming to solve her zombie issues and boost her powers. She trekked into the mountains, battling zombie animals, mutant creatures, and deadly plants. She found that mutant plant and animal cores were like magic potions, making her stronger than zombie or human cores.
Becoming a formidable zombie, she traveled the world, dabbling in human and zombie affairs. She never imagined being a globe-trotter as a zombie, but life surprised her. Ten years of travel and truth-seeking ended when the world burned again. This time, she died smiling, content and fulfilled. It was her best life yet—maybe she'd slack off next time.
In her fifth life, she gained invincibility! Each rebirth brought a new superpower, a consolation prize. First, she had devouring and ability-detecting powers. Second, super speed. Third, super strength. Fourth, a space ability. Now, with invincibility, she could experiment freely.
She hunted the protagonist group from her third life, wondering if killing them would impact the world. She spent the first year getting stronger, then began her "protagonist-killing operation," ensuring painless deaths, like a zombie assassin with a conscience.
As a mountain hermit in her last life, she discovered a mutant plant that induced peaceful sleep instead of pain—a natural, sinister anesthetic. She abducted it young and nurtured it in her space. After giving her victims a happy death, she sensed their luck dissipating. But nothing else happened, so she traveled, finding more lucky people. How many "God's children" were there? She killed them whenever she found them, waiting for the world to end after the last one died.
But nothing happened. Maybe there were more? She searched, but never found any before the world ended again. She learned that killing "God's children" had no impact, and she couldn't absorb their luck. What was the point? It was hard work to find and kill them peacefully. She wasn't a killing machine! But she gained valuable information.
In her sixth life, she became the ultimate villain, creating a zombie army and crowning herself the Zombie Queen, or Zombie Ice Queen. She gained ice powers, creating a zombie snowman army. She brought havoc, and the world responded with fear and hatred. Mission accomplished!
She wanted to bear all sins to break the rebirth cycle. She schemed to unite the "God's darlings" against her, creating a legendary battle. She enacted her heroic death, letting them launch a final attack, delivering her dramatic final words: "Even if I die, I will make the whole world join me in endless pain and agony!"
Her hatred value soared, but it still failed. Bummer. In her seventh life, she took a break. The last life drained her. Playing the villain was exhausting! She had to be vicious, cruel, and hateful, but she didn't develop a dual personality. The last life wasn't good for her pure heart.
Commanding her zombie army to kill, she closed her eyes and ears to the heart-wrenching scenes. She secretly protected the good people. 70% of her army's victims were bad guys, and she brutally killed only those who committed unforgivable sins. As a Zombie Queen, she had to show cruelty, but she wasn't heartless.
This life, she slacked off but still gathered clues, stalking the "God's favorite children." Thanks to invincibility, she easily stalked them, gathering information on their abilities, golden fingers, and how they got them. It would be useful next life.
She slacked off, listened to gossip, and collected data, like a zombie detective waiting to strike. This life also failed, but at least she had fun stalking the "God's darlings"!