《Apocalypse King: Recruiting S-Tier Beauties With My Ruler System》 Chapter 1: Generic Start! Generic End! Chapter 1 - Generic Start! Generic End!A Generic clich¨¦. If anything could describe my existence, it was those two words. Born to a beautiful but naive mother who fell for the charms of an American businessman, he was nothing more than a result of a fleeting romance. A romance that shattered the moment reality hit. Because the man was already married. My mother, left to fend for herself, raised me with dreams too big and resources too small. I could never live up to my mother''s standards. Maybe it''s because of my dual heritage, but apart from my looks, I seem to take after my father, which might sound good. A rich and successful tycoon? Sign me up, most people might say. But once I started studying, it turned out that I resembled my mother. Instead, I sank into mediocrity, spending most of my school days more focused on fighting in the park than studying. By the time I reached high school, the only way I could have entered college was to get a sports scholarship. But even that slipped through my grasp. And Now... I was about to lose my job. ¡ª The office cafeteria buzzed with noise¡ªsalarymen stuffing food into their mouths like prisoners on borrowed time, trying to finish before their beepers summoned them back to the grind. I, however, refused to rush. Why should I rush my food and suffer from indigestion? I took my time, savouring each bite of bland sweet-and-sour pork as if it were my last meal. "Oi, John! You hear about that weird sickness?" Yang Ping, my co-worker, asked through a mouthful of rice, his nose scrunching as he picked at a mole on his face. I barely spared him a glance. "Sickness? Do we get sick pay? No? Then I don''t care." "Ah, come on, man. This one''s serious! People are losing their minds¡ªattacking others in the streets! They say it spreads like crazy."''Yang Ping isn''t a bad guy, but the mole on the tip of his nose makes me want to grab it with scissors and slice it off.'' My eyes rolled at this familiar scene. "Great. Another pandemic. Should I start stockpiling toilet paper?" Before Yang Ping could continue his rambling, the news broadcast blared from the cafeteria television. ¡ªBreaking News! Authorities urge citizens to remain indoors. Symptoms include fever, coughing, and extreme aggression¡ª My attention faded out as the voices mumbled about scientific things. I thought it might be another media scare¡ªjust like the flu pandemic scare a few years ago. Nothing to worry about, right? "Hey, John, you should really..." I couldn''t hear Yang Ping properly because the newscaster caught my attention, the way her tight blouse accentuated her bountiful assets. ''Forgive me, brother. But she has double Ds!'' Unfortunately, before I could properly admire the view, the cafeteria grew cold. A heavy presence loomed over me. John looked up. Mu Qinglan. My boss. My Tyrant. My personal workplace nightmare. "Assistant Manager Wang," she said, voice clipped, arms folded. "Would you care to explain why you''ve been ignoring my messages for over thirty minutes?" ''What does she mean?'' Shit. I instinctively reached for my beeper¡ªonly to find nothing. ''Where the hell is it?!'' A sinking feeling settled in my gut as he slowly looked up at her unreadable, ice-cold expression. I couldn''t hold back the looming feeling of terror. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Mr Wang, follow me to my office, we need to discuss your future." Oh shit, it''s over. ¡ª The elevator ride to Mu Qinglan''s office felt like a death march. I became stiff, as if to hide my presence beside her, stifling. The scent of her expensive perfume did nothing to calm my nerves. Even though she was a tyrannical boss, nobody could deny her S-Tier beauty. Tall, slim waist, plump hips and long legs. Black hair cascaded over her shoulders, with a sleek pair of glasses resting on the bridge of her delicate nose. If only she smiled more, maybe she wouldn''t be known as the Ice Queen of the marketing department. Unfortunately, I would never see that smile again. "Assistant Manager Wang, do you know what happens when a client loses millions in profit because of your incompetence?" Ah, here it is. I exhaled slowly. I knew where this was going. It''s not my fault the product failed," I said with a steady and calm voice. "I told them before we launched the marketing campaign that it would flop. They ignored me." For a moment, Mu Qinglan''s brow twitched. Maybe¡ªjust maybe¡ªshe agreed with me. Before I could find out, the elevator doors slid open, revealing a group of employees standing outside, ready to kiss her behind. They looked at us with curiosity before immediately starting to whisper. "Ah, it''s this idiot again. He''s going to get fired, isn''t he?" "Hehe, I heard he lost the company millions." "What a loser." I clenched my teeth, biting down, curling my fingers into a fist. Before I became overwhelmed with anger, Mu Qinglan spoke out. "Enough." The air became sharp, slicing through the murmurs like a blade. "Get back to work," she commanded, her tone leaving no room for argument. "I don''t pay you to gossip." The crowd scattered like scared mice, leaving Me staring at Mu Qinglan, shocked. ''Did... she just defend me?'' I lacked the time to process everything. She was already walking ahead, with heels clicking against the marble floor. "Come along, Assistant Manager Wang. We need to discuss your future." Inside her office, Mu Qinglan sighed. A long, exhausted sigh. I had seen her angry, frustrated and even sarcastic. But this? This was new. "As I was saying," she continued, leaning back in her chair. "Regardless of whether you were right, the company has decided to terminate your contract." Her fingers flicked a pen between the gaps as if struggling to calm down. Well, I expected as much... But hearing it to my face still felt like a punch to my gut. I swallowed. "No severance?" "No references either," she added. Ah. So they were screwing me over completely. I clenched my fists under the desk, frustration boiling beneath my skin. All these years of hard work, of grinding away at this company despite knowing it was soul-sucking garbage¡ªall gone. And for what? Because Gu Tianhao, Mu Qinglan''s fianc¨¦, decided I was getting too close to her? That petty bastard. I forced a breath through his nose. "I see." Mu Qinglan tapped her fingers against her desk. Then, after a long pause, she said, "I''ve spoken to some contacts in other companies. They might consider hiring you." I blinked, astonished. "Wait, what?" She shrugged. "I can''t promise anything, but... send me your resume. I''ll forward it." For the first time in forever, I became speechless. Was this pity? Was she secretly a good person? Or was it just guilt? Either way, I wasn''t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Thank you," I said quietly. Mu Qinglan exhaled, rubbing her temples. "Don''t make me regret it." Then, in a move that almost gave me a heart attack, she grabbed my phone from the table and started tapping on the keypad. "You should change your pin... four zeros how... so foolish." Then handed it back to me. I looked down and saw the new contact added notification. [Mu Qinglan] She gave me her number... what a miracle! "Don''t overthink it," she muttered, already turning away. "Now, get out of my office." However... I couldn''t help but notice her slightly red cheeks. Dazed and confused about the sudden events, I left the office without another word. By the time I stepped outside of the office and the reality of being fire set in, the world had already started falling apart. As if to make my suffering look pathetic. Sirens. Screams. Chaos. And then¡ª The first government alert hit his phone. "Confirmed: mass infection turning violent. Authorities are unable to contain the outbreak. It''s spreading faster than predicted." I stared at the message, unblinking. Then looked up. People were running. Not away from something. But someone. A man covered in blood, his eyes milky white, charging at full speed. My stomach dropped. ''No way. This is a joke, right?'' The first screams split the air. Then the first bite. I... John Wang witnessed it all. A familiar premise. A common trope. But this time¡ª It was real. Chapter 2: Please Help Me... Chapter 2 - Please Help Me...A figure lurched toward me with outstretched hands. Unsettling bloodshot eyes lingered in my mind, along with a sickly complexion and unnatural movement. The world as I knew it was collapsing. What was once a simple infection had become a nightmare. I stumbled back, trying to escape, with my heart pounding. No superpowers or sudden awakening appeared. Just me, a regular unemployed guy. "Shit! Get away from me!" The freak snarled after missing, before lunging again, crashing into the wall with a disgusting crunch. I didn''t wait. No, I couldn''t! I dashed towards the glass doors. A symbol of protection and safety. Thud! An agonising pain like touching a burning flame shot through my hands after I slammed the window several times. What a cruel joke. The door clicked shut, locking me out. "Let me in for fucks sake! You fuckers!" I pounded the glass, ignoring the stinging sensation of torn skin and dripping blood. I could see them inside. Terrified eyes watched me from safety, doing nothing. Not one of them moved. And then I heard a damning sound¡ªclick! I turned just in time to see an old friend... someone I had just spoken with in the canteen Yang Ping pressed the shutter switch with tears running down his face. "No... NO! You can''t do this to me!" The steel barrier slid down, sealing me out. And the words that fool kept repeating like a broken toy made my blood boil. ''You''re sorry?'' There was no leeway for me to accept his apology, nor did I have the time to care anymore. "Damn it! We''re both human!" My voice cracked. The words felt hollow, even to me. Because deep down, there wasn''t any doubt I would have done the same. The same zombie appeared like an old friend and reunions, trying to remind me of how amazing their business is and to buy something from them. It snarled with a broken nose, crushed when it hit the wall, clawing forward and almost slicing my chest. I lashed out with all my strength, rage and anger. The blow felt heavy, and a sickening crack followed. Scared more would come¡ªI turned and started running. Yes, I ran. Like a child seeking his mother. Screaming. Wailing. I wanted this to be a dream¡ªthe city''s screams echoed back, following me with shouts, crashing noises and the wails of the dying. I whispered Forgive me. I cannot save you! To keep myself sane for each child or mother I saw and ignored. Shockingly, Looters were already smashing car windows, trying to escape only to be pulled from the glass and torn apart. "This isn''t a damn movie...!" My breath hitched. My lungs burned. My legs felt like lead, but I kept pushing forward. Survival. That was my focus. Get home, prepare myself and lock the doors. My apartment wasn''t too far, just a little more, and I could seal the first floor and hide, preparing myself for what might happen. Though I was afraid now, if the army came or we somehow gained power, then maybe... I deluded myself. The park was up ahead¡ªa shortcut. I sprinted across the grass, feeling like this might be a record pace for me, with my heart hammering in my ears. But I reached home! Nothing could stop me... Until something moved, and I barely had time to react before it stumbled towards me. Not just any shape or thing. "Mary?" The woman I used to buy fruit from. She gave me free apples or potatoes when I was low on money. Yet now, her vacant eyes glimpsed at me like prey, locked onto me and refusing to let me escape. "SHIT!" She staggered towards me. I couldn''t avoid her well and tripped over, falling onto some old boxes and rusted tools, the pavement scraping my back. Cold sweat trickled down my spine as I grasped at thin air, desperate for anything¡ªanything to fight back and survive. My fingers wrapped around something solid. Cold. Hard. It was a crowbar. I didn''t hesitate and swung. Crunch! She kept moving. I swung again. Crunch. Again. And again. Until only silence remained. A wet, sticky sensation splashed over my fingertips. Mary''s blood¡ªthe blood of the woman I just dealt with. Unable to accept reality, my vision became blurry. I dropped the wrench and almost fell. The world started to spin¡ªguilt, fear, and dread merged into one as my stomach lurched. Unable to hold back the urge, I vomited don''t he spot. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Hrrk..." My breathing ragged and raspy as I wiped my mouth, staring at the lifeless body with a mangled face. "I... I just killed someone." No. After a moment of logical thought, my brain kicked in. Not someone. Something. Groans echoed in the distance, and I knew it signalled more of them, thousands, millions and eventually billions. Forcing myself to move, I climbed the old warehouse steps with blurred vision. My limbs felt numb, and even the burning pain in my hands faded. I barely made it inside the small garage before collapsing against a crate. My whole body trembled as if I were in a frozen wasteland. Then¡ª A whisper. A voice that sounded soft and reassuring. At first, I thought it might be a dream, the distant sound like a radio signal barely coming through. Then, words formed in my mind... and I realised it wasn''t a human language. [You Have Been Chosen.] [There is a path to survival. But you cannot walk it alone.] [You are the only hope.] I blinked, slowly recovering from my mental break. A blue square hovered in my vision, glitching like a half-loaded internet image... not an old 90s style role-playing game on the SNAS or Superdrive. My pulse spike. A system? No, no, no, this is insane! While focused on the screen, something moved in the corner of my eyes. I turned sharply with a tense body, grasping for the wrench. Then I noticed it was different, although she limped on one leg and staggered into the warehouse. She wasn''t undead. She was alive. Long black hair, a tight blazer, a pencil skirt barely clinging to her torn stockings. A baseball bat dangled from her trembling fingers. Blood smeared her pale skin. Her pink lips had turned pale blue. Mu Qinglan. I knew her. The untouchable ice queen of the office. The woman who never spoke to anyone unless necessary. Her eyes locked onto mine. "I need your help." The moment she spoke, something inside me snapped. A surge of electricity jolted through my brain. Followed by a burning sensation spread across my skin. And then¡ªmore text. [Recruitment Available.] [Subject: Mu Qinglan (S-Tier)] [Press to Confirm.] A glowing button floated before me. I hesitated. Then, slowly, I reached out. [Recruitment Complete.] ¨‹ Mu Qinglan''s attributes are now visible. + 100 Experience. + Leadership: Level 1 + Random Skill from Mu Qinglan [Rank Up!] ¨‹ Rank: Loser ¡ú Partner + Attributes Increased | Subject Cap: 2 A burning heat surged through my body, filling my muscles and veins like molten iron. I curled my fingers in agony, digging them into my palms while trying to endure the moment of extreme pain. Mu Qinglan stepped towards me, almost falling as she held her abdomen with furrowed brows. "What''s wrong?" And then¡ªher name and stats appeared above her head. Her level. Her condition. And an affection meter. I swallowed hard. "This... just became a game." Chapter 3: Even While dying she’s a beauty! Chapter 3 - Even While dying she''s a beauty!The ice queen of our office. Both my worst enemy and greatest benefactor. If Mu Qinglan hadn''t accepted my job application, I might have fallen into depression¡ªbecome a NEET out of despair. Before I entered the company, those were the worst moments of my life. Though her fianc¨¦ caused me to suffer and hate myself... ''Could I leave her to die like this?'' A glowing bar flickered in my vision, displaying her current state. Despite her face being a little pale, she still looked like the Mu Qinglan I knew¡ªsharp, untouchable, and perfect. But that was a lie. She was dying. And I could see it. Until now, I had barely processed the strange screens appearing before my eyes. But now, it had fully translated into something I could understand. A pale blue interface with crisp, clean text. [STATUS]Name: Mu QinglanRole: ¡ª¡ªAffection: 62/500 (Recruitable)Health: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ð¡ð] 60%(Injured, Infected)Morale: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ð¡ð¡ð] 40%(Breaking) Strength | 0.7Physique | 1.2Agility | 1.1Spirit | 1.5 [SKILLS]Leadership [Level 4]Risk Management [Level 3]Charisma [Level 4]Business Management [Level 4]Fitness & Nutrition [Level 4]Self-Defence [Level 3]Driving [Level 3] ¨‹ Recent Actions? ¡ª¡ª None of this mattered¡ªexcept for the words hovering beside her health bar. My stomach churned. ''Infected.'' This beautiful woman... My secret crush. Mu Qinglan is going to turn into one of them. Biting my teeth so hard my ears started to ring, unable to breathe properly because of self-induced anger. "Mu Qinglan...?" She groggily snapped her head up. "W-What''s wrong, Mr.Wang?" Her voice wavered slightly¡ªbut I caught it. She clutched her side in pain while leaning against a wall with ragged breaths. Trembling with each movement or word. Beads of sweat dripped down her face and mixed with the blood on her cheeks. How long until she turns? Does a cure exist? Can I survive in this hellhole alone? [The system detects the user''s mental state declining rapidly] [Analysing current state: 0%... 5%... 20%...] The blue screen kept showing random images and words, all telling me what I could already understand and feel. I swallowed the rising panic, but my mouth felt dry as if I had wrapped my tongue in cotton. "Uh, I..." What the hell was I supposed to say? That she was infected? That she was going to die? That the world just went to complete shit, and I somehow had a game interface floating in my vision?! SMACK! A sharp sting exploded across my cheek. I staggered back. "Huh...?" Mu Qinglan''s palm lowered, her fingers trembling slightly before she parted her lips. "Calm down, Mr. Wang." I blinked. She slapped me. She actually slapped me. My skin burned from the impact, the sharp pain bringing clarity. "Ugh... Don''t hit me." "Forgive me." She looked up at me while rubbing her wrist. "You looked like you were about to faint." The situation felt so absurd that I began to laugh, unable to stifle the low chuckle¡ªit grew into an almost maddening fit of laughter. A zombie apocalypse, and my boss''s response to my panic attack was violence. Yet I found her nervous face when I scolded her cute. Classic. I forced a smirk. "Who would panic when they have a beauty with them?" Mu Qinglan arched her thin brows. "Beauty? Are you talking about me?" I scoffed. "Obviously." But Qinglan seemed oblivious and just gazed back at me. Her cheeks reddened a little when I nodded, which seemed to embarrass her further as she turned away and averted her gaze. But there was no time to waste on that. I leaned against the cold warehouse wall and thought about the situation and how to move forward. Getting to my apartment alone wouldn''t be difficult. But... I looked at Mu Qinglan again. Her health bar had dropped. Two orbs. Not good. [Analysis complete!] [Tutorial Mode Activated!] The system''s pop-ups were becoming more frequent. A little annoying, but this one seemed useful. But it didn''t matter. Because Mu Qinglan was bleeding. A dark, wet stain spread across her blazer. And now her skin looked too pale. "Forget it." I exhaled sharply. "Would you like to come to my apartment? At least we can figure out a plan." She stiffened. Qinglan seemed to understand her current state, and with her eyes becoming more bloodshot, I knew this could be a foolish action. Her fingers trembled before she exhaled and looked at me with an odd look. "...That sounds good." But the moment she moved, a pained gasp left her lips. Her knees buckled. I lunged forward, catching her waist. Soft. Warm. She winced, her breath ragged. "Hnnng... It hurts..." "Endure it," I said, lifting her slightly. Her weight pressed against me, her heat seeping through my shirt. She wasn''t heavy, but the feverish warmth rolling off her skin was alarming; this couldn''t be a normal temperature. Her breath hitched, sweat dripping from her temple. I felt her fingers curl weakly against my back. Mu Qinglan was strong. She wasn''t the type to show weakness. But now? She could barely stand. I needed to get her inside¡ªfast. We staggered toward the door. Then¡ªsomething changed as her fingers dug into my back. Hard. Painful. "Ngh... damn it." "Mr. Wang..." Her voice was passionate, sultry and wrong... this wasn''t the Mu Qinglan I knew! My heart palpitated the moment her grip tightened. A hot breath fanned my neck as she faintly touched me with her hot, juicy lips. Dripping with saliva. I turned my head¡ªand froze. She parted her lips slowly. Drool glistened on her teeth and her pupils shrank to thin slits as a red glow flickered in her irises. She was going to bite me. BANG! Desperate. I slammed Mu Qinglan into the wall twice, and a stifled gasp escaped her lips. Her health dropped again. One orb left. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She was about to turn. "Hngh... Thirsty... Hungry..." Her breaths became sensual and short. She lunged. [Warning! Your follower is infected!] [Spend 1000 ZKP to cure the infection?] "YES!" [Error! You are broke.] FUCK YOU. [Tutorial Hint: Purchase imperfect cure for 100 ZKP?] YES, DAMN IT! A syringe flashed into my hand. "Mu Qinglan¡ªforgive me." She snapped forward with a vicious bite. I jabbed the needle into her neck. Her jaws clamped shut¡ª ¡ªmillimetres from my throat. Then¡ª She slumped. Her weight collapsed against me, her ragged breaths warming my skin. A weak, trembling whisper left her lips. "John..." I shuddered. Well... This was way too close. Chapter 4: Living Dead, but Still a Beauty! Chapter 4 - Living Dead, but Still a Beauty!A smashed window. The sound of breaking glass cut through the hallway like a gunshot. My breath hitched. ''Why did I have to jinx myself?'' I didn''t have time to panic, but my body betrayed me¡ªmy hands trembled as I drove the last dregs of the imperfect cure into Mu Qinglan''s neck. The warmth of her breath tickled the back of my neck, and it felt pleasant and hot. However, the reality that if she bit any harder, I might have died weighed on my mind. I swallowed my saliva to try and wet my dry throat. The hammering beat of my heart mercilessly slammed against my ribcage. Then¡ª Crk! A brittle crunch echoed behind me. Something shifted across the shattered glass, the tiny shards scraping like fractured ice beneath its weight. Cold sweat beaded at my temple. The sound caused my body to freeze, ignoring my mind completely. I pushed against Mu Qinglan, trying to break free from her grip. My hands sank into her curves, her soft, feminine warmth pressing against me. In any other situation, this would''ve been heaven. Right now? A nightmare. She grabbed me tight with hands like iron shackles. I couldn''t move. "Hnnng..." A soft, needy moan escaped her lips. Then¡ªwarmth brushed my neck. First, just a breath. Then... her tongue flicked across my skin. My eyes widened at the pleasurable sensation. ''Huh? What the¡ª?'' At first, it was just a weird, ticklish sensation. Then a tingling warmth spread across my neck, almost pleasant in a way. But then her teeth sank into my flesh. The dull pressure grew sharper, a cold shiver running down my spine. Then she bit down harder. Pain lanced through my neck. A sharp, burning sting¡ªlike needles digging into flesh. "M-Mu Qinglan?! Stop!" She groaned with a deeper and more violent tone as her hot breath licked my skin. Qinglan''s grip tightened, her breathing excited. "Hungry..." she whispered. Her voice¡ªthat sultry, breathless tone which made my brain short-circuit. I felt it again¡ªher tongue sliding across my skin, as if tasting me, letting out a warm snort from her nose as she did. ''Damn it¡ªwhy does it feel so good?!'' ''Focus, you idiot!'' She was going to eat me alive, and her I was getting hard! I thrashed against her hold, my fingers digging into her waist as I tried to pry her off. She didn''t budge. The soft, supple flesh beneath my fingers didn''t match the terrifying strength holding me in place. Her body trembled. Then¡ªshe bit down again. Harder. "QINGLAN, STOP IT!" I bellowed, voice raw with pain. My vision flashed white. The sharp, tearing agony lit my nerves on fire. Was this how I died? [Vaccination Complete.] [Mu Qinglan gained the Role: Living Dead.] My breath came in rough, shallow gasps. Did I fail? Did I just... create a zombie boss instead of saving her?! My hands tightened around her hips as a bitter frustration swelled in my chest. ''What chance did I have alone?'' ''Could I survive this hellish world without someone like Mu Qinglan?'' ''What if the entire world was already gone...?'' Then¡ªthe pain vanished. The pressure against my neck eased. Mu Qinglan''s fingers, once digging into my back like claws, slowly went limp, stroking my neck... a gentle caress that made me shudder. A heavy silence stretched between us. I swallowed hard before mustering up the courage and flicking my eyes toward her half-lidded gaze. Her swollen lips glistened, parted slightly. A thin string of drool mixed with blood trailed from her mouth. ''Shit, she really did bite me...'' ''...But why does she look so erotic right now?'' Mu Qingland seemed to be waking from a long dream. "Nn..." A low hum escaped her soft lips as she lifted her gaze to face mine, fluttering her long lashes with a curious look. "J-John...?" She slurred her words as if drunk. Then her gaze appeared as if lost in a dream, but why did she call my given name? Mu Qinglan''s eyes then snapped open, and she shook her head, seeming to have realised what she did and said with a deep red colour on her cheeks. My stomach clenched, hoping this was all over. Her voice sounded normal. Not guttural. Not monstrous. Just... Mu Qinglan. Relief hit me like a tidal wave, but before I could react¡ª ¡ªCrack. The sound of crushed glass echoed, and of course, the guttural moan that I was thinking of slithered through the air from behind us. I turned. A rotting corpse dragged across the floor and focused its empty gaze on me. The crawling zombie ignored Mu Qinglan entirely. ''What''s going on?!'' [Tutorial Help: Mu Qinglan is Living Dead. Zombies don''t eat corpses!] ''Wait, WHAT?!'' I risked my life to save her, and she gets a god-tier immunity buff?! Meanwhile, I was still one bite away from game over. [Tutorial Help: A Ruler grows stronger through the actions of his followers!] ''So I don''t get stronger by myself?'' [Tutorial Help: You do, but this is faster. So do your best!] The zombie dragged itself closer, its yellowed teeth clacking together as it swiped at my ankle. I stepped back, almost falling as I balanced Qinglan in my arms. Mu Qinglan tilted her head and watched the zombie with her strange gaze. "Hm. It''s quite slow, isn''t it?" "Mu Qinglan, HELP ME!" Her cold gaze flickered with amusement. "Why should I?" Somehow, she started flirting with me¡ªher giggle and laugh might have been something I wanted to see before the world ended. But, now I wanted her to help me! "BECAUSE LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY NECK!" Her eyes traced the visible bite mark on my skin. She let out a small huff before shifting her weight, letting her lips brush against the inflamed wound as she whispered something that I didn''t quite hear and dropped to the ground. The zombie lunged. I tensed, lifting my leg to kick it away¡ª Bang! Mu Qinglan''s foot smashed its head in mid-motion, sending it rolling across the floor with a sickening crack. I barely had time to react before¡ª ¡ªThud. A brick. A huge, twenty-kilogram building block came crashing down onto the zombie''s skull. Squelch! Bones crunched. And blood sprayed. The sickening wet pop of a skull imploding filled my ears. I barely held in my nausea. ¨‹ Mu Qinglan has killed a Stage 1 Zombie! + 5 ZBK + 10 EXP "We... won?" Mu Qinglan exhaled with a long breath, looking at me with a slight smirk while brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Mm. It seems so." Her voice seemed to return to the usual cold, detached tone, but there was a slight playfulness and warmth to it now. I could feel that she didn''t look at me the same. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She studied me, her blue eyes slightly narrowed. "...Can you explain now?" "Huh?" "I want answers." I stared at her disbelievingly. Did she really just crush a zombie''s skull with her bare hands and then demand answers like a CEO at a meeting?! [Mu Qinglan is struggling to accept what happened. Comfort her at your apartment!] ''This system... it''s really starting to feel like a dating sim mixed with a death game.'' I sighed, dragging a hand through my dirty hair. "Let''s get somewhere safe first. I think we can block off the second floor." "...Fine." Mu Qinglan huffed and walked ahead of me. The moment she turned, my gaze instinctively dropped lower. My former boss¡ªnow a living dead¡ªstrode ahead, her movements elegant despite what she just did. Even in a zombie apocalypse... She was still a goddamn S-tier beauty. Chapter 5: The First Day Ends Chapter 5 - The First Day EndsThe apartment filled with a rumbling echo of steel snapping into place, likely attracting many of those freaks downstairs. I locked the barrier door, which had been built in the past when other nations threatened to invade us. ''A true relic of the past.'' "Haa..." My lower back ached from the running and constant action of leaving work today as I leaned against the cold steel, and let my breathing recover. "What are you doing, Wang?" ''Honestly... I am tired physically and mentally, please give me a moment princess Qinglan!'' Without knowledge of the situation, everything felt so strange¡ªlike the first day of college in another city, when you don''t know anybody on your course and your dorm mates seem to be absent the moment you arrive. The atmosphere might be perfect without the distant screams. ''But, when did they get so loud, anyway?'' [Tutorial Hint: Your body has been improved, all senses and abilities have surpassed the average human!] I really wanted to take more time, but the piercing blue gaze beside me stopped any semblance of peace. ''At least she forgot about me feeling her up...'' "Let''s head to my apartment and think about what to do from here..." "Ah... of course." Her voice became oddly soft when she gazed at my neck. Maybe even the ice queen can feel guilt for her actions. Though I don''t mind, the pleasure and memories I got from the exchange, including system things, making it completely worth it. "Does it hurt...?" "Huh?" I turned back to find her walking behind me. Her face was strangely emotionless, yet her fingers rubbed together. "Oh, the bite?" "Yeah, it looks bad." "Well..." Because of the system''s mechanisms, I didn''t intend to make her feel guilty. Should her affection become zero, she might leave my side and take the benefits. Thus, my policy became to make her feel comfortable without bowing down to her too much. ''There''s no need to become a little bitch and simp for her now that the world is ending.'' "Don''t worry about it, I enjoyed the situation." "Eh?" Her voice hitched as she stopped following, but I continued walking until I arrived at my familiar red door, with the scratches and slight marks. "You pervert!" A cold voice sounded as I placed the key in the door. ''Well... it seems I pushed too far.'' Click! The sound of my door opening and the jingling of keys helped my mind recover, but a slight throbbing pain remained from the stress that lingered. I turned to face my boss but noticed that Mu Qinglan''s face looked a little strange. ''Hmmm... so even an ice beauty can blush.'' "I know it''s nothing special, but I keep it clean, and nothing embarrassing is lying around." "Embarrassing, what do you mean, but you''re right, it''s surprisingly clean." Mu Qinglan removed her shoes, before I closed the door, and locked the three bolts shut, one lock built in and two metal shafts that I welded myself. ''When I first moved in it was a dangerous area, Mu Qinglan''s company didn''t exist here yet.'' I invited her into my modest living room, which had two large sofas that I luckily found in the nearby skip when a resident moved out. I paid $400 to have them both cleaned and refilled, and now the shiny L-shaped black leather seats in each corner look great. ''As if it could match her standards though...'' "These are quite good, the cushioning is firm and the view... well, it might have been beautiful in the past." Mu Qinglan''s reactions made me feel strange. She didn''t seem shocked or terrified. Instead of reading business documents or arranging meetings, she started looking through my apartment and checking each room. ''Is this because of her being a living dead?'' "It seems you shopped well, there''s a lot of fruit, vegetables and milk, not to mention the cupboard of dried noodles and MRE''s... why do you have so many things like that?" ''How to explain...'' A year ago, I got hooked on an MRE MeTuber. He would try the ones from the USA and other countries, so I bought as many of the modern meals as he gave amusing taste reactions to. I didn''t realise just how filling one meal could be. ''Not to mention they are bland!'' "It''s just a hobby, I guess? The food might be bland, but doesn''t it mean we will be okay for a while?" [System Hint: You can store items that might rot or go out of date in the System Inventory, which costs 1000 ZKP to purchase!] ''What''s ZKP?'' I asked the system as Mu Qinglan took a can of beer from my fridge, took off her blazer and name badge, before throwing herself onto the sofa, lay looking at the sky with a dazed look. ''She looks like a fallen angel...'' [ZKP ¡ª Zombie Killer Points gained through killing zombies!] [Tutorial Hint: You and your subjects can earn those points to purchase things from the System Shop!] "Wow..." "Hmm?" Pshhh! Mu Qinglan grunted toward me as she opened the can with one hand. Bubbles and suds spewed from the top as she placed the cold can against her lips. ''Why does she make drinking look so hot...'' Her throat bobbed as she gulped down half of the drink, then put it down on the side table without a coaster. ''I guess that doesn''t matter anymore...'' She leaned back again and stared at the sky. "Thanks for saving my life, John." Mu Qinglan''s words shocked me. As she turned to look at me, she curled her lips into a crescent smile. The madder red sky shining across her face and blue eyes made her look almost ethereal. It might have been the first time I''d ever seen her smiling like that since we met several years ago. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ''I never thought I would see her like this... It''s like she''s a different person.'' I stood there blankly for a moment, grabbing the entire pack of six beers and stepping into the room with a sigh. I couldn''t forget Mu Qinglan''s fleeting look of peace, so I threw myself on the other sofa and watched the clouds in the sky. "Do you think the world is done for, Qinglan?" Somehow, I didn''t want to call her full name, but it was still offensive... and even though she glanced at me, she seemed to accept it. ''Well that''s good...'' "If it is, what did I work so hard for?" A cloud travelled across the window, blocking out the sunlight and sending a ray of red light across my apartment. "I''m sure there will be survivors, but for now, we should focus on ourselves." "You''re right, maybe I''ve worked too hard today, it feels like forever since I woke up." Mu Qinglan looked at me, her eyes narrowing as she lifted her beer and chuckled, before downing the rest with a loud burp after she finished¡ªa different side of the perfect ice beauty I knew. ''Perhaps this is how she is dealing with the situation?'' While my eyes traced across the system''s tutorial screens, I noticed her moving and shuffling, before a warmth leaned against my shoulder, and the scent of alcohol and Mu Qinglan''s perfume filled my nose. "..." "You smell nice... John." She didn''t speak after that and just stroked my arm with her cold fingertips. Silently, we watched the sun setting over the city and drank the beers as the moon emerged. Like this, the first day of the apocalypse ended. Chapter 6: Nightfall - The World Transformed Chapter 6 - Nightfall - The World Transformed"Hnng?" Suddenly, I was awoken from my long sleep by a cold weight pressing on my chest. I noticed Mu Qinglan''s softness pressing against me. ''Is she sleeping?'' However, the moment I showed signs of movement, her red eyes shone in the darkness, eerie lights that focused on me. She silently peered without a single word. "..." "Qinglan?" "..." The woman I called intelligent and skilled tilted her head, confusing me before her hands stretched out, and my body shuddered on reflex when the memory of her biting my neck resurfaced. What if the cure failed? I thought in a daze. Her hands cupped my cheeks, squishing and caressing my flesh... a low groan escaped her throat, causing my spine to tingle. ''This isn''t a human!'' was the message I received from my instincts and mind. Yet... after opening my scrunched-up eyes. I noticed the difference. Mu Qinglan''s eyelashes fluttered as she leaned close. My breathing increased and became sharp as I endured the icy sensation of her fingers brushing against my cheeks. ''What''s happening?'' I thought while enjoying the beer-scented breath blowing against my face. The fear gradually faded as we stared at each other in the darkness, car alarms and distant gunshots echoing through the once-busy nighttime in the city. A dull ache throbbed through my neck¡ªbecause her fingertips poked at my neck. "Nnn...." "What''s wrong Qinglan? Ugh..." My back ached after running and sleeping in such an awkward position. She continued to rub against my neck, causing a whisper in the back of my mind that I ignored for now. Instead, I placed my hope in the system. ''Come to think of it... what do her attributes look like as a zombie?'' My eyes flicked across the system, quietly enjoying the current state of Mu Qinglan. She didn''t speak or complain, but I was only a man. I never claimed to be perfect or thought that my actions would be fair or legal in normal times. However, the world''s current situation and the sensation of an enchanting woman rubbing against me right after I woke up created a delightful yet strange situation. Her meaty thighs squeezed my little brother aggressively with her firm muscles, which made it difficult to stop myself from taking advantage. ''Sorry... but a lowly virgin cannot resist this S-Tier fighting power.'' "Tsk..." I clicked my tongue after closing her attributes page. Thankfully, the system had an eye-tracking feature, which allowed me to open my profile despite being pinned down by Mu Qinglan. Then he noticed the glowing box beside my name at the top. When I focused on it... the gift box suddenly popped up with the sound of party poppers in my mind. ? You can choose 1 of Mu Qinglan''s special skills ''Hmm... the most appealing...'' sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "S-Stop that..." Mu Qinglan''s silky lips, covered in drool pressed, touched my neck. Her teeth sinking gently into my throat distracted me for a moment before I browsed her skills. In truth, it scared me at how calmly I could act... despite a zombie chewing on my neck. ''This wasn''t because of the heavenly sensation down below!'' I closed my eyes and chose the most useful skill for me right now, which lacked knowledge and the ability to protect myself. Because even though I spent so many years studying and training, there weren''t any skills listed. ''Let''s go with...'' ? You have gained Mu Qinglan''s Self-Defence & Agility Skill! Immediately afterwards, my back... thighs... chest... abdomen and arms started to cramp and tighten at rapid intervals, causing me to suddenly cry out... the force and movement seemed to spook Qinglan... as she bit me¡ªwith her full force! "Nnngh!?" A mixed sensation overwhelmed me... like molten lava being poured into my limbs and muscles before the painful, sharp agony from her bite caused me to convulse the moment the cramp and tension faded. "Argh... S-Stop..." I tried to lift my arms, heavy like lead and push her off me... but my fingers just threaded through her silky black hair, sliding down her back... ''Damn it!'' Her teeth sank further as I gasped for air while suffocating, drowning as the oxygen failed to reach my organs... my vision became blurry, and I clawed at Qinglan''s body... in a desperate attempt for survival. ''Stop...'' The pain surpassed my limits as I called out. "Stop it, Mu Qinglan!" "???" The pain of my muscles cramping subsided¡ªbut the most important thing was that Mu Qinglan, who stared at me in silence, tilted her head. A living dead. Her glossy lips were painted crimson with my blood, yet even that carried an eerie beauty as she remained still... her shallow breathing the only sign that she lived. ¡ª [STATUS] Title: ¡ª¡ª Rank: Partner [1/2] ¨N S-Tier: Mu Qinglan [85/500] Name: John Wang Role: ¡ª¡ª Health: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ð] 80% (Bloody Neck, Tender) Morale: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ð¡ð] 60% (Horny, Worried) [Attributes] Strength | 1.5 Physique | 1.8 Agility | 1.8 Spirit | 1.5 [Skills] [Leadership: Level 1] [Self-Defence & Agility: Level 1] (+0.3 Agility and Physique) [Currency] Zombie Killing Points [ZKP]: 5 Experience: 10 ¡ª ''Wait... blood? Did I get infected by her?'' [Tutorial Hint: Do not worry¡ªanyone under your control cannot infect you.] [Additional Hint: Mu Qinglan isn''t a zombie, but a kind of hybrid closer to a living human!] After the two sudden messages faded, a series of texts appeared showing the details of Mu Qinglan''s new race. [Living Dead] Someone who has touched the other side, thanks to taking the incomplete cure, has successfully avoided death and evolved with a 25% chance of failure. Immune to all other diseases and venom, these creatures have a unique trait. While in the sunlight, they are filled with energy, becoming enhanced versions of their previous self with less fear and more room for growth. However, in the darkness... their ''Dead'' trait becomes active. The person becomes a skilled hunter, able to see in the dark. Their senses are enhanced even further as they become docile and more instinctive. During their night phase, they might become a little submissive and follow basic orders. But the more they evolve, the more intelligent their Night phase becomes. A Living Dead only needs to eat minimal human food and survive mainly on the first blood type they taste. However, they do not eat flesh like a typical zombie and seem to share more in common with the fantasy vampire. Warning: May attack humans if provoked or starving. ¡ª¡ª ''I see...'' My gaze slipped from the information panels. I observed Mu Qinglan, who remained still¡ªher eyes slowly blinking at me as if waiting. ''Isn''t this unfair to Qinglan... what if someone orders her to do something that would make her want to die or disgrace her?'' The issue I faced was that... I didn''t trust myself to resist this kind of action. How could I deal with an apocalypse and remain the same kind and chivalrous gentleman I was before, even with the system doing something to my fear and terror levels? To my mental questions and worries, the gentle voice sounded again. ''Huh, gentle... wasn''t it mechanical before?'' [Tutorial Message: The Living Dead remains sentient in their Night mode and cannot do anything they wouldn''t be willing to in their Day Cycle.] [Additional Message: Mu Qinglan can only accept orders from John Wang!] "I see... Qinglan, since you don''t attract the undead, will you do something for me tonight?" My gut wrenched, but only she could do this... Her eyes shone with a red light, and the movement of her pupils examined my face for a few seconds before she nodded. ''It seems the world has transformed...'' I didn''t hesitate to send this woman to hunt for my benefit... As I felt this twang of guilt, a cold hand grabbed my hand as Mu Qinglan nodded. "O...K..." She made a sound¡ªlike a low groan¡ªbefore stepping towards the window and flipping the lower switch. In the darkness illuminated by the Ardent moonlight... Mu Qinglan looked like an Angel of Death. Chapter 7: Prowling the Night Chapter 7 - Prowling the Night? Mu Qinglan POV Clack! John helped me climb out the window as I hopped down onto the wooden ledge facing the city and shopping district. "Be careful, don''t get yourself hurt... promiseme, Qinglan." "..." My throat wouldn''t move like I wanted, but I lifted the metal baseball bat in my hand, hoping that he understood me. John closed the window behind me. His presence somehow comforted me, and although I knew it wasn''t normal, somewhere deep inside me, I welcomed the comfort his presence offered. ''He asked me to venture into the city and find some supplies, and practise killing zombies...'' A strange request, or at least my mind thought so at first... yet strangely, I didn''t feel the same gripping fear and terror that almost claimed my life. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ''That''s right, John might have lacked education, but he worked harder than anyone else... He didn''t complain when I asked him to stay late.'' Those long days and nights must have ruined his private life... otherwise he wouldn''t have been so hard dealing with an old woman like me. ''It was big... and hot... but somehow I didn''t mind him feeling that way.'' My foot stepped off the window ledge, hopping across the wooden boards that linked the small garage where I had met John earlier. Thud! The cheap steel rattled and dented under my feet as I rolled forward to reduce the stress on my joints. ''Hmmm...'' ''Today was the worst day of my life...'' As I pulled myself from the crouched position and stepped across the roof, I realised that John''s words were true. After they shambled closer, hearing the noise, none of the roaming zombies paid much attention to me. But strangely, I didn''t feel any disgust towards them either¡ªnot even the ones with missing limbs or guts hanging out. ''Let''s see, John seems to need food, and he told me I will also need small amounts.'' Rustle The massive rucksack on my back smelt a little musty, but the faint scent of John''s body helped calm me¡ªit also had another effect, but I won''t focus on that. "Mmm..." I tried to speak, but all that came out was a rather erotic moan. Unlike the other zombies, I seem to be an existence called Living Dead. I couldn''t tell John, but since he injected me with that serum, I could see a strange panel in the corner of my eyes. The information on it revealed all my skills, weight, and height, and it claimed I became John''s follower or subject. ''Not that I mind...'' ''He seems to have become something special. It''s like those novels I used to read before my father died, and I had to take the reins of the company.'' My legs tapped the ground as I jumped off the roof and fell to the ground. The moment I was airborne, a sense of glee filled my body. A strange feeling overwhelmed me as my stomach fluttered and felt like it lifted off the ground. Clack! I landed with a lot of noise, the zombies around me swaying and groaning as they looked at me, before turning away, likely bored. I wonder how the old me would have reacted. A woman who couldn''t reject an engagement to an annoying playboy, because of the company and my father''s wishes. Somehow, I felt something boiling inside me. My arms trembled as I started grinding my teeth. This uncontrollable heat couldn''t be simply anger¡ªit was surely rage¡ªa seething rage! The surrounding view turned red¡ªthe figures of those undead fuckers. How could they do this to me, Mu Qinglan! I did everything to help the company grow, bowed before grandfather and obeyed his every order. Crunch! A comfortable sensation travelled along my arm, the tingling sensation almost like when I rubbed myself against John before he woke up. ''Ah, I can''t stop myself!'' Once again, I flicked my wrist, the metal bat cutting through the air as it smashed into another man''s face. Thud! Thud! I became like a crazy bitch. My bat swinging with reckless abandon as if I wanted to aim to be a professional. The crunch of their bones... the squish of their meat. All of it made me want to scream in delight. ''Have I become a pervert?'' Thud! Maybe I knew them in the past, but I didn''t care... I swung my bat, crushing, mincing and beating the fire burning in my stomach, turned from rage, to pure bliss, if this is what it feels like to kill, why does everyone say it''s wrong? "More~ I want more." ''Was that my voice?'' I asked, a little confused about how strange and sensual it sounded. My abdomen still burned, but the heat was no longer unpleasant. But why¡ªwhy does John''s face come to mind? While confused, the vision before me showed a small elderly lady with her head caved in. ''I did this?'' When my mind became clear, I found myself kneeling in a circle of corpses, my bat dripping with blood, a soaking wet crotch and a familiar tingling afterglow. ''I see...'' However, as I recovered from my massacre-induced climax, a strange white mist from the corpses penetrated my flesh, seeping into my organs and warmed my aching muscles. I instinctively knew. This mist would improve my strength. ''I should tell John, when we meet.'' In the dark city, filled with silent death. I roamed the streets, my body now covered in the mixed scent of blood, sweat, and love juices. Hopefully, I won''t lose control like this for too long. ''While conflicted I found a small convenience store with the door opened.'' At first, I thought there might be nothing left. At least, until I saw two zombies lingering at the counter. The pair gazed at me with their glassy, pale eyes. I used to buy my morning coffee from this couple before I became a CEO. Yet why couldn''t I muster any semblance of sorrow? One day, even these memories would fade along with any traces of my humanity, guilt, or sadness. To ignore the strange situation, I pretended to be shopping alone. ''I want to return to John...'' Chapter 8: Survivors? Chapter 8 - Survivors?Mu Qinglan jumped off the roof because I had sent her to search for supplies. The moment she faded from my sight, the rain started falling with a pitter-patter, and the darkness swallowed the moonlight. ''Should I have gone with her?'' Those thoughts echoed in my mind. Just because Mu Qinglan wasn''t human didn''t mean she wouldn''t suffer or be in danger. The world wasn''t friendly before zombies existed. ''Has that changed?'' ''Would people still be the same?'' Co-workers, friends, family. I didn''t have the confidence to state that they wouldn''t change. "No..." Questioning myself was a fool''s errand. So, I started looking through the drawers for items that might help me. I found bandages and bottles of whiskey and vodka, though I wanted to drink. Their usage when suffering wounds and injuries might come in handy. Maybe I could barter in the future. However, to do that, I would need to survive and meet more people, which would bring my feelings full circle. "What''s in here... oh? A knife!" I went through an embarrassing phase of collecting knives and swords from anime and other media, though it seemed useless. Thankfully, the actual craftsmanship of this hunting dagger was good. ''Hm?'' A sound suddenly played in my mind. [Mu Qinglan has killed a Stage 1 Zombie!] + 5 ZBK + 10 EXP Then, the sound repeated once, twice, and three times. By the time it reached ten, I was irritated and tapped the mute button. "I should have a whetstone somewhere... ah, here!" While using the portable whetstone to sharpen the blade, I started sorting the items and placing important items that might go bad or rot in my inventory. However, when I checked, a Rank 2 could only store up to 20 items. ''Food can be stacked up to five times... bottles of water twice.'' Two hours passed while I prepared, but Mu Qinglan showed no sign of returning, which made me nervous. The clock showed a glowing blue at 04:34 a.m. "Well, since I''ve collected anything useful, and made space what else can I do... maybe check the internet?" Shiing! A spark of silver flew from the whetstone, the blade of my knife now sharp enough to be classified as an illegal weapon if bought online. The weight of this large hunting blade felt comfortable, maybe because the system improved my body. In the past, it was a little too heavy for normal use. Click! I placed the hunting knife in its sheath and fastened it to my belt. ''This knife was probably the best $450 I ever spent!'' Tap! Tap! Tap! Dah! "Haa... Haa... Haa..." My right fist smashed into my punching bag. It swayed with the chains jingling, with a deep indentation from the blow''s explosive force. I flicked off my gloves and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from my brow. ''I''m stronger, faster and my stamina is much better.'' Thanks to Mu Qinglan''s [Self-Defence] detailed knowledge of basic boxing stances and form, even the shape and snap of my jabs and hooks became refined. "HELP~~~!" A scream echoed from the open window, causing me to frown. The voice didn''t sound familiar¡ªrather, my hearing picked it up from the distance. ''Who the fuck is causing so much noise?'' Filled with curiosity, I stepped to the window and gazed outside. "Oh god, they''re so dead." I saw a group of five people rushing across the road, escaping from a small group of zombies. The situation seemed manageable, with two men holding iron bars and a woman in a police outfit using cool martial arts weapons for self-defence. ''Was it a tonfa?'' However, because one of the other women screamed after she fell, the horde started to grow with zombies from different directions. ''Do I have a reason to save them... Otherwise, let''s leave them to die.'' "Hurry! Towards that building!" The short female officer''s wavy brown hair swayed in the rain as she gazed around and noticed a place to escape. But the building she pointed to was mine! ''Don''t come here, you''ll fucking die! I sealed the second floor...'' I didn''t recognise her face, not that I had met a lot of police in the past, but watching them struggle made me grit my teeth. With Mu Qinglan''s constant stream of murder, my ZKP increased quite fast, and soon it was over 200, giving me a chance to check the shop for the first time. [System Tutorial: Would you like help with the Shop?] ''Yes, but keep it brief!'' I watched the group struggle. The two men didn''t seem bad, but they fought horribly. One wore an office suit, while the other was someone close to my age wearing a cheetah jumper and loose jogging pants. However, even though I could add anyone to my system when I could only recruit two people, and I was unlikely to consider them. "Ain''t wasting my precious slot on anyone but that hot police officer." [Opening Rank 2 Shop!] ''Tsk...'' While my eyes left the system, the policewoman''s brown eyes locked with mine, and her mouth was agape. "Please help." She mouthed to me while hitting another zombie, breaking its skull but not enough to kill it. Honestly, because she didn''t shout, I felt a sense of appreciation, and so when I flicked my gaze to the shop, I nodded to her and headed to the other window. ''The things I do to get laid...'' I hastily ripped off my dirty clothes, the suit pants that smelled like alcohol and ash, then found a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top before throwing a brown leather jacket over my shoulders and taking the knife from my desk. The moment I unlocked the window, the system shop flicked to the tab I needed. "ARGH!" Another scream echoed through the early morning, as the other female screamed in terror. The third male, a slightly obese man who didn''t fight and just accepted the other''s protecting, rolled on the floor as two zombies bit at his neck. ''I should be feeling disgusted, but I just feel that it''s a shame, nothing more.'' The moment my feet touched the wet ledge, my shoes lost their grip, and I almost fell to the ground. Even with my improved body, I would have died... I gazed at the two skills in the system basket and nodded before I jumped out of the window and down to the metal roof below. Bang! S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Over here!" The noisy woman shouted and rushed towards me while the officer beside her staggered, and the zombies now focused on her because of the annoying blonde woman. "Thank you..." Yet the officer just thanked me for saving the other woman? "Huh...?" ''I ain''t here to save the useless woman.'' Well, whatever... I tapped the purchase tab, and suddenly, a warmth flowed through my body, and my mind became clearer. Chapter 9: Jiang Roulan! Chapter 9 - Jiang Roulan!I didn''t have any notion of being a superhero, nor did I want to save these people, but there was something about this woman with a pair of tonfa. Not only that but her movements and confidence showed a capacity far beyond a normal person. ? You have purchased Iron Will ? You have purchased Dash The moment my feet hit the ground, the messages that echoed in my mind reinforced the sudden changes I could feel in my body. I felt faster, and my mind was clear. "Die!" Before the zombies could react, I gripped my blade tight and lunged forward, stabbing the zombie with an upward thrust, piercing the one about to bite her neck and penetrating its pale throat. Shlck! sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Blood poured from the wound, a sharp and visceral cut severing its existence. [You gained 5 ZKP] I didn''t receive any experience as per the system''s rules, but thankfully, killing myself would grant me the Zombie Killing Points, which helped me survive. The sensation of cutting through a human''s flesh felt strange. I could feel the soft and springy sensation of flesh through the knife''s vibrations. ''Damn, I feel weird...'' "T-Thank you! Hmph!" A fierce blow of her tonfa smashed another zombie''s cheek¡ªshattering its jaw as the female officer thanked me. Although I could see her eyes watching me with curiosity and doubt, neither of us could afford to stop fighting as several zombies were chasing the screaming blonde. [You gained 5 ZKP] [You gained 5 ZKP] We fought together desperately. Her harsh breathing became worse with each kill. The female officer panted as she leaned against my shoulder while trying to recover, the blood and stench of death mixed with her lightly sour sweat. "It''ll be fine, I''ll make sure you survive." My words automatically came out as I plunged my knife into another zombie''s face, slicing its nose made my stomach churn for a moment. Then, a strange feeling washed over me, a little distorting, but it washed away my disgust and dulled my fear. "Y-You... Haa.... Who are you?" "Call me John, John Wang." I turned back with a smile and noticed a zombie crawling on the floor behind her. Without thinking, my arm extended and yanked her towards me, almost trapping her with the force as she fell into my chest. "Ack?! What?" "Be careful." I stomped down on the crawling female zombie, crushing her cranium, causing her body to convulse and flounder like a beached fish as I destroyed the zombie''s brain. Crack! [You gained 5 ZKP] ''Wow! She''s packing a heavenly rack.'' However, they looked like shit, their clothes dirty and full of blood and messy flesh, while I held the hips of the female cop, enjoying her bountiful curves. "T-Thank you... I can''t believe we managed to survive." She suddenly crouched down beside me, placing her hand on the floor while taking deep breaths. I observed the situation and found the fat male''s corpse torn apart a few yards from us. Meanwhile, the blonde woman survived using our efforts and slowly crept back after we dealt with the zombies in the area. The other males struggled to survive but slowly escaped the swarming undead. They seemed apprehensive of me and stood a distance away before one of them called out to me in a strange tone. "Who are you, and what are you doing with Jiang Ruolan?" ''Who is this little moron?'' I couldn''t stand the short kid in a stupid animated t-shirt with a cheetah speaking to me in a strange, possessive tone as she looked at Jiang Roulan, who still leaned against my shoulder while recovering her breath. "Haven''t you heard of manners, tell me your name first." ''I don''t need to take his shit, come and move me if you''re a jealous bitch.'' Because of the years I spent working at my previous job, I developed a sixth sense for men who disliked me. After being hurt several times in the past, backstabbing, insults, and the like stopped having the same effect on me. Maybe that''s why my spirit was so high at first. Yet, he looks at me with a shocked expression, as if I''ve done something wrong. ''He''s around 5ft 5" (1.65 metres) tall, his curly black hair looks disgusting, and he''s wearing jogging pants outside, how tragic.'' "Ah... that''s, I am Wang Jun as another Wang... can''t we get along?" I hated how these cowardly fools hide behind a pretentious idea of kinship. Yet, the moment it becomes inconvenient for them, they turn their backs. What WANG clan, you''re nothing to do with me or my mother. ''Where was this kinship when my mother suffered from depression after losing everything?'' My anger almost exploded, but thanks to the moment of silence, I noticed that the female officer had finally recovered. "I''m sorry. Please forgive this boy. He''s a little immature. I am Jiang Roulan... from the capital. It''s a pleasure to meet you..." "John Wang, like I said before. However, you can call me John, since I don''t want to be confused with Wang Chump over there." "Haha... Oh my." The blonde woman laughed at my words, which improved my opinion of her. I knew my humour was offensive or a little dry, but that''s who I was, and nothing could change that. ''I''ve got so many ZKP points... Qinglan must be working hard.'' "Who are you calling a c-chump?!" The young male stepped forward, but because I stood properly and revealed my height, the little bastard recoiled instantly. ''Thanks for the amazing gene''s dad.'' The only positive thing he ever gave me, mind you. "Boys... boys... we should find somewhere better to hide, no? Nice to meet you John, I am Fang Lei, feel free to call me Old Lei." The older male with short black hair and average looks stood between me and the crying baby, who seemed jealous of my looks, or maybe it''s because he''s fat and a coward who avoided the zombies while this older male dealt with the majority. "No problem, Old Lei." There wasn''t any reason to antagonise the old man. His tanned skin and hands with rough skin covered with scars and cuts, likely a hardworking man who rose from a shitty job to become a businessman. ''I respect this kind of man.'' "But Old Lei... he''s being rude, and could have helped us sooner! He just watched as Qin Jie died! Don''t you agree, Yifei?" The young man called out to the blonde female, who joined their circle a few metres from my apartment. "Is Qin Jie the fat guy?" "Yes, he was too gentle for this kind of thing." Jiang Ruolan seemed to be a little sentimental about the dead male, and so I didn''t push it further. I glanced at the blonde, though she wasn''t helpful. Her pretty face and clothes, which suggested she might visit the club, made her type obvious, and I instantly removed her from potential subjects. However, the next moment a familiar voice sounded from behind me followed by the low thud of something hitting the ground. "John?" Chapter 10: Unwelcome Guests... Chapter 10 - Unwelcome Guests...The moment Qinglan returned, my heart tightened. I worried she might still be in her strange state and cause an issue with these humans because the only reason she didn''t attack me was due to me being her king... ''She looks different, a little less agitated.'' "Oh, welcome back Qinglan." I tried to smile, but the adrenaline from fighting remained. And I could feel the edges of my lips twitch, so it might have seemed awkward. "I''m back, who are these people?" Her cold, emotionless voice wasn''t new to me, so I didn''t mind. But the others seemed a little offended. Wang Jun watched Qinglan with a lustful and disgusting gaze while Fang Lei merely narrowed his eyes and shook his head, doubting her abilities. I noticed that Jiang Roulan didn''t show any judgment and merely observed Qinglan. "Who''s this woman?" The blonde Shen Yifei pouted, her dress covered in dirt after she fled like a coward, but the fact she avoided death impressed me. Even the most cowardly deserve a chance to survive, right? ''Not that she has anything to do with me.'' "Who is this woman, John?" "I dunno." There wasn''t much connection between the blonde and me. I observed Shen Yifei for a moment earlier and noticed her Tier wasn''t bad. But a B-Tier wasn''t something exciting that made me want her. ''Qinglan''s eyes are blue, it seems she''s back to normal.'' "I see... then let''s go back." Mu Qinglan didn''t seem to have any desire to hang around with these people either, so I nodded and stepped towards her. Only to feel a soft hand grasping my wrist. Jiang Roulan asked me to stop¡ªher eyes filled with insecurity. "Please don''t go, can you not help us?" The others then joined her argument, and honestly, because I wanted to know her more, it was difficult to ignore her. [Unable to Recruit Jian Roulan: Affection Rating Too Low!] ''Huh? But the message didn''t show for Shen Yifei.'' This made me believe Jiang Roulan might be an S-Tier. This message popped up each time I kept my gaze on Jian Roulan for too long. It made me a little confused. How did saving her life not increase it enough to recruit her when Mu Qinglan, someone who used to hate me, could? A silly thought echoed in my mind, a hopeful and foolish little dream. ''Maybe... I am wrong about Qinglan?'' "W-Wait, are you just going to leave us?" Wang Jun directed his voice to me like a little bitch¡ªhe clearly just wanted to remain closer to Qinglan. Somehow that pissed me off, and I found myself wanting to hit him. It wasn''t like I loved her or anything... But because of the closeness we shared over the past twenty-four hours made me attached to her strange and terrifying antics. It was Fang Lei who made me want to help them¡ªhe never showed interest, and well, he seemed a bit too old to focus on those desires. The 5ft 4" old man was smaller than Wang Jun who seemed around 5ft 5" in height. "Sorry to be leeches, uhm, John, I appreciate your help." Old Lei bowed to me before he continued, his eyes wet and the dark circles under his eyes telling that there weren''t any lies in them. "But could you at least help us find somewhere to rest? We''ve been running all day and struggled to get any rest even now." I turned to Qinglan, who looked at me with her glowing azure orbs before she tilted her head and nodded. "I''m going back to the bedroom. Come upstairs when you''re done, John." The group seemed a little cautious of Mu Qinglan despite her walking with a slight limp, probably because she appeared from nowhere and without a group, covered in blood. Mu Qinglan hopped onto the garage roof before turning back. Her eyes became sharp as she gazed at someone. It was Jiang Roulan, not me. ''Did she feel some sort of danger from her?'' I couldn''t understand my strange, living, dead partner and just shrugged my shoulders. It was only then that I noticed the deformed metal bat in her hands and realised that I had never asked if she was all alright. ''I''m a moron...'' She was my partner¡ªin the future. I needed to be more careful. Somehow, Qinglan seemed strange from the moment she noticed me with other humans. Does it bother her that she''s become a living dead? Maybe there''s something I don''t realise and have been overlooking. "I can help you find somewhere to rest, but... you better not bother me and Qinglan, or I''ll have to kick you out." My words sounded colder than usual. I noticed Wang Jun visibly recoil while Old Lei nodded to himself¡ªJian Roulan wasn''t an issue. She just showed a smile as if relieved to find somewhere to sleep, while Shen Yifei just watched my face, quietly. ''Her gaze makes me skin crawl...'' In the end, I guided them into the building but never told them how to unlock the barrier on the second floor and with a frustrated scowl of Qinglan. The ice queen ignored the others and lay on the sofa again, drinking a bottle of whiskey. I guided them through my room and opened two of the other empty apartments. ''Thank god... there are basic items in these places.'' "Ugh, they''re so dirty and dusty." "It''s better than the floor, Shen Yifei." "Hmph, you''re used to living like a poor police officer, I am not!" "Well, get used to it." The four people started to adapt, with Old Lei being the easiest. He dropped onto the bed after dusting the room lightly and fell into a deep sleep. Wang Jun seemed to peek at my door, which increased my desire to kill him. Shen Yifei shared a room with Jian Roulan, and the two men slept at the end of the corridor, away from everyone else. "What''s that strange door at the end?" "It''s a broken barricade. The landlord seems to have locked it before they left, and now we cannot access the first floor. So zombies will struggle to get up here." "I see..." Jian Roulan seemed interested in the little things as she cleaned her room and asked to borrow some basic food and amenities, which I didn''t mind sharing. Though the evil glare from Quinlan made my spine shudder, I couldn''t lose my humanity in a single day. And meeting survivors taught me that I wasn''t some murder hobo like in the novels... at least, not yet. ''However... Trust was a completely different beast. I trusted nobody, even Mu Qinglan.'' S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 11: Sneaking in the night! Chapter 11 - Sneaking in the night!The early morning sun vanished with the swish of my blackout blinds closing. However, I wanted to spend this time while the light appeared to hunt for things. Truth be told. I was exhausted and in no state to go out there. ''Qinglan, why do you keep staring at me?'' Each time I gazed into the mirror, her red eyes would appear, almost scaring me to death. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "I''m going to sleep." I took a quick shower because we could lose water and power at any moment. As the hot beads of water dripped down my body, I spent the time going through the system, checking out the shop and various rules and conditions. To my surprise, the usual lewd items and different things I saw in novels appeared, but those were useless to me right now. ''Although I am lonely, I''m not that desperate.'' Not only that, but I found my mental state changing, becoming a little clearer compared to the day before. A lot of my chaotic and stupid thoughts faded, becoming muted and more regulated. [System Hint: This is a side effect of your mind adapting to the improvements in Spirit!] ''I see...'' I swiped across the panel while laying on my bed with a black pair of cotton boxers. To my surprise, this system could access my phone''s apps, contacts and messaging service. With this I could probably contact my friends from college, but I felt fear, worried that they might never respond to me and that everyone vanished forever. Unable to just abandon or forget them, I sent a message to our dead group chat, something we used back in college as a method of choosing our activities and meals. ''Maybe, in the future, one of them might respond.'' The news sites all reported similar articles as if they were all copied and pasted from an AI service with little to no human live streams appearing. Even the cockroach king''s broadcast, and Metube lacked any updates two hours ago when he just made a post of a blank image titled. "I am dead this time..." A sense of warmth melted the cold as I wrapped myself in the quilt. Click! "Hm?" I noticed the door handle moving to our shared apartment, which caused my stomach to sink. Reaching out for my knife, I slipped to the edge of my bed and stepped on the cold wooden flooring. ''Who?'' Creak! Once the door opened. A loose dress flowed from a rather attractive figure with blonde hair floating on the woman''s shoulders. Shen Yifei popped her head inside. Once again, an annoying system prompt appeared in my sight. [System Hint: Would you like to recruit Shen Yifei?] Maybe because of my improvements, I could see in the darkness as I watched her search for something in the kitchen. Though she didn''t take anything, instead lifting a few items and placing them down, she finally entered the bathroom, sneakily opening the door. ''What''s she looking for?'' Shen Yifei quickly left the bathroom and closed the door before turning her gaze towards my room. It seemed she couldn''t see me well in this darkness, so she quietly crept towards me with a strange smirk on her lips. ''Let''s see what she''s after first, then apprehend her.'' My eyes narrowed as I accepted the system''s prompt to view her current status. That''s when I wondered if she might be useful in the future. ¡ª [STATUS] Name: Shen Yifei Role: ¡ª¡ª Tier: B Affection: 185/500 (Recruitable) Health: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% (Thirsty) Morale: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ð] 80% (Irritated, Curious, Worried) [STATS] Strength | 0.7 Physique | 1.3 Agility | 0.8 Spirit | 0.6 [SKILLS] [Cooking Level 4] [First Aid Level 5] [Intuition Level 2] ¡ª ''Well, isn''t that interesting...'' It seemed that because I showed my strength and current abilities, her affection increased quite significantly, surpassing even Qinglan. However, that might be affected by my looks and other things. I couldn''t deny that a Tier B might not be the best woman to recruit. ''However, what if it takes too long to recruit Jian Roulan?'' My current limit might be two people, but my experience is close to reaching a new Rank. I also noticed that I could purchase Tier Upgrades. The lower-tier ones are more affordable, but a single upgrade from B Tier -> A Tier would only cost me 1,000 ZKP. That was cheap compared to the one that instantly made someone a Tier A, which cost 10,000 ZKP, or the S-Tier one, which would cost 100,000 ZKP. Cooking and First Aid are expensive skills in the shop. If I made her my subject, one of those might become mine. Ignorant of my thoughts, Shen Yifei entered my room, slowly opening the door further before striding inside with light steps. Because she couldn''t see her arms waving in the air as she examined the room. I found it amusing to watch her almost kick the wooden dresser before finally falling don''t the soft bed and panicking. "Kya?! What''s happening!" ''...'' Shen Yifei rolled and punched out while wrapping herself in my quilt more and more, causing my head to hurt as she made too much noise. If she wakes Qinglan, I''ll kick her out right now! [System Hint: An Upgrade Potion also improves the subject by washing blood and marrow!] ''Huh...?'' ''System what does that mean?'' [The upgrade will improve the subject''s body, muscles, skin and organs and expel all impurities; it also has a minor beautifying and dieting effect!] ''I see...'' Not everyone would become a living dead like Mu Qinglan, so I needed people to be the fodder for death if something happened, forcing us to escape. ''The skills are tempting...'' ''System, will my number of followers increase when I reach Rank 3?'' [System: Error, classified!] [Tutorial Hint: Your number of subjects will reach 4 upon hitting Rank 3!] The only consideration now was the fact that he would need to hunt all night tomorrow to reach the right amount of ZKP, and convincing her to fight and kill zombies might be difficult compared to Mu Qinglan, who had become a living dead. [Tutorial Hint: Different Roles are available for 50 ZKP. You can assign a role to your subjects and gain experience from related tasks!] ''Oh? But does that mean they get nothing from killing zombies?'' [Tutorial Hint: They would only grant you ZKP from killing zombies, not Experience. [However, their role would provide an experience just the same!] This sudden discovery made me nod and choose my next action. However, because I spent so long focused on the system panel and planning the future, I didn''t notice that Shen Yifei had disappeared from the room. With a click, the door closed. And silence returned. ''Damn...'' Chapter 12: Red Eyes In the Night Chapter 12 - Red Eyes In the NightBecause of Shen Yifei''s disturbance, I needed something to drink, be it coffee or whiskey. The earthy scent of the machine filled the small kitchen attached to my living room the moment I flipped the switch, creating a low hum and bubbling noise. ''This won''t wake her up, right?'' I turned to check the couch but noticed Mu Qinglan wasn''t sleeping on the couch, barely able to outline the two chairs with nobody on them. Strange... But my attention returned to the coffee machine as the liquid gold started bubbling into my special mug. Shuffle Step... A noise sounded behind me, but I remained focused as the last drips of coffee plopped into my cup before I added the creamer and sugar. "This might be my last coffee, so I cannot afford to rush it." Ignoring the movement, I couldn''t stop my yawn disguised as a sigh, and the stressful day finally hit me. Sniffing the sharp scent of the ground beans helped me recover a little. But it reminded me of how dull and depressing the future might become. The thought of a world without power, electricity, or my smartphone sounded like hell. As an introvert, it really concerned me! "Well, let''s enjoy every moment." I swiped the half-empty bottle of my favourite John''s whiskey and sat on the veranda just outside my living room with an old pack of black star cigarettes. [Tutorial Hint: The Host is immune to most natural and deadly diseases from before the apocalypse, so enjoy this last moment of peace.] Smoking wasn''t a good pastime of mine, but when things got too tough. I didn''t have anything else but this and gaming to calm myself. Though I am good-looking... thanks to past issues, I struggle to meet and speak with new people. ''Today was fine because I could play the part of a ''handsome saviour'' and this was how I managed to work so hard.'' I would act out parts when leaving the house, an embarrassing but genuine issue. There was the work of John, who acted like an extrovert and worked hard to be noticed. The shy yet handsome neighbourhood boy who didn''t have a mother who shopped at the local supermarket for the best deals. Many of my faces were like masks... to hide my pathetic and lonely self. Click! With a snap of my fingers, the rough flint scraped my thumb and reminded me of why I hated smoking in the first place. An ember lit up the room, and for a moment, I thought something appeared in the reflection of the glass, but I shook my head. "A nostalgic scent." I brought the cigarette with a black shade to my lips, took a slow drag, and savoured the brief warmth that filled my lungs. The smoke tickled my chest, but I let the smoke out slowly, in a steady stream, curling my lips to form small circles in the air. "I regret this, but my mind feels so much clearer now..." Inside the room behind me, I heard shifting around, but Qinglan would probably not cause trouble, according to the system. She wouldn''t betray me unless her affection reached the negatives. ''Thank god, but... I want to become strong, too.'' A slight jealousy towards her abilities made me suck on the cigarette harder, the tip brightly burning as it illuminated the early morning sky. Knock Knock! I watched zombies roaming around as I enjoyed drinking and smoking until the door sounded and caused me to snap out of my strange daze. "Who is it..." I muttered, annoyed that the sound caused the zombies to gaze towards this building and started to groan in a horrible tone, which annoyed me. They no longer shuffled and roamed around like people on their way to work in the morning. The moment I opened the door, a surprising woman stood there in light clothing and sleepy eyes wrapped with dark rings. "H-have you seen Yufei?" ''Hm?'' S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When she came to my room, that must have been at least an hour ago. Did she go somewhere else? Maybe she tried to sleep with one of the other guys. I didn''t know her well, but the system would tell me if she did. "Miss Jiang, I haven''t seen her, and..." He noticed the policewoman''s state and couldn''t ignore her trembling shoulders. "Do you want to come in first? It''s cold in the hallway because they don''t have heating." ''Since my physique increased the hot and cold started affecting me less.'' "I don''t want to intrude on you, isn''t the other girl here?" Jiang Roulan made a slight rejection, but her foot remained inside the door, and maybe a slight push and offer were all she needed. I didn''t think that Qinglan would mind since we rarely spoke together before yesterday, anyway. "It''s not intruding, come inside. I can''t leave a woman in the cold, my mother''s ghost would beat me with a stick." "Haha." I heard Jiang Roulan''s laugh for the first time as I turned away, walked back into the living room, and picked up another cup, ready to make a second coffee. "Eh?" It was at that moment he noticed that Shen Yifei was sleeping on the couch, causing his face to twitch. He turned back to Jiang Roulan, who just smiled after seeing the naked blonde wrapped in a thin quilt with her clothes tossed across the room. "I couldn''t see her earlier¡ªwhen did she sneak in?" Jian Roulan didn''t doubt me. Instead, she stepped close to me, and her natural scent flowed into my nose¡ªa calmer and more soothing scent than Qinglan''s. ''Was it when I saw someone reflected in the glass?'' "Don''t worry, I know you''re not that type of guy, otherwise you wouldn''t have given us the keys to the doors." ''You''re wrong. I just snagged them on the way back inside earlier...'' "Can I get a cup of John''s too?" Jiang Roulan tapped the bottle I almost finished and smiled at me... different from the girls I met on dating apps in the past. It was a mature and rather welcoming smile. Her eyes didn''t glow with lust or obsession but a calm appreciation. "Then, will you join me on the balcony watching the sunrise, until we can sleep?" I asked while stirring the two mugs and grabbing a second bottle of Johns''s sweet honey whiskey. "Don''t mind if I do~ haha." Maybe it''s because of how tired I was, but somehow Jiang Roulan seemed so easy to get along with as she told me about her days leading up to the apocalypse, and I mentioned getting fired, which she seemed to find hilarious. What shocked me most was... I found myself smiling for the first time in a long while. "Hm?" While filling my cup with more whiskey, I could have sworn a pair of red eyes glared at me in a reflection. However, when I turned around, there was nothing... but a swaying blackout blind. Chapter 13: Affection Rating Chapter 13 - Affection RatingThe chat with Jiang Roulan lasted until the sun lifted above the horizon, and I noticed the sounds of people scavenging in the daylight. "We should try getting some rest..." It would be troublesome if more people noticed this building, and thanks to the damaged lower floor, most would ignore it. At least, that was my hope. Jiang Roulan turned to me, her eyes fluttering as if her eyelids were filled with sand, and nodded before slipping back into the living room. I don''t think she made it to her room because there was a dull thud a moment later. "Haa..." I didn''t want to sleep. It wasn''t because of lingering thoughts or emotions affecting me¡ªI just didn''t feel sleepy. ''The mental exhaustion is real, though.'' Suddenly, as I cleared the table while watching the streets for groups of people or stragglers, a sudden voice echoed in my head. [System Tutorial: Would you like to activate Affection notifications?] "Damn it... scared me half to death!" I scolded the damn machine. ''What''s that?'' Although I guessed what it meant, my mind wasn''t working at full capacity. [System Tutorial: The system will notify you whenever a person of interest''s affection or loyalty towards you increases or decreases to avoid troubles] ''I see...'' This system would be great, as long as it wasn''t annoying... oh? The moment I tapped the plus sign beside the affection tab, it brought up options for me to mess with. I could make it show singular points or in the tens or hundreds. [You have gained 10 Affection Points with Jiang Roulan] This style was the format I chose in the end¡ªalthough it could show the reason for their increase. It felt a little excessive, and the voice would eventually annoy me if it kept telling me they were happy that I was considerate. ''Well, I still can''t recruit her, so let''s sleep and consider recruiting Shen Yifei; at least she can help build points in another way.'' The thought of giving her a role suiting her skills, like cook or nurse appealed to me. I checked the room and noticed Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan had taken both the black couches¡ªit couldn''t be helped. So I snapped the double locks and went into my bedroom. The shape of Mu Qinglan was obvious, and to avoid her anger in the morning, I climbed onto the other side of my king-sized mattress. "Goodnight." My voice echoed in the dark room. To my surprise, the moment I touched the pillow with my head... I fell into a deep sleep. Rustle! The rustling of sheets broke me free of the darkness. I tried to swallow and couldn''t help but cough. "Ugh..." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. My throat burned and felt like rubbing sandpaper against it. Not to mention, the prickly heat made my body damp with sweat, and I became angry. The summer heat could be unbearable, but this was ridiculous! "Damn it!" A shout of frustration escaped my lips, and someone seemed shocked, creating a bang. As I rolled out of bed, I noticed that Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan were looking into the room while chopping things in the kitchen. ''Did I leave enough food to make a meal... huh, and where''s Qinglan?'' I covered my face and headed to the kitchen. "Kya?! What is that... a weapon?" Shen Yifei''s face turned red, and she turned away, acting stupid, like usual. "Oh my." Jiang Roulan gazed at me with a strange glint in her eye. "What are you talking about?" She then pointed towards me with a knife¡ªat first, I tilted my head and mouthed "What?" trying to understand her, but then she lowered the knife, and I looked down. Then I noticed something strange... ''Why is my cock out?'' I went to bed in a black pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Confused by the situation, I grabbed a pair of cotton boxers and quickly wore them, and only then did I notice Mu Qinglan sitting on the couch. She gazed at me with the most proud smirk I had ever seen. Qinglan''s eyes narrowed as she lifted her chin before turning away with a fwip. "It was you?" With the traitor found, I shook my head and gave up. Although I couldn''t beat her right now, the future was on my side. From this point onward, I lowered her upgrade priority in my mind. "Do you want something to eat, John?" Qinglan asked in a bright tone. "What are you cooking? I think Yifei should choose what we eat." Maybe shocked by my words, Shen Yifei''s head popped up from the counter, but the red colour of her cheeks remained. ''Is she really the type to sleep around with this level of innocence?'' "Ah, Yifei found ingredients in the fridge about to spoil, so she''s making a hot pot... is that alright? We sent Qinglan to wake you, but you were like a dead pig!" Qinglan didn''t seem to mind the other two women as she stared outside at the fading sunlight, only turning to glance at me a few times. I''m still angry with you, zombie girl! "Yeah, I''ll have some if Yifei made it. Also, what about the other two?" "Ah!" Shen Yifei suddenly lifted her hand and pointed at me with her cheeks puffed out. "The door is locked, and we couldn''t find the key!" "Did you look for it properly?" "I searched everywhere and only found useless things!" Shen Yifei said in a sharp tone. "What? How is that possible? I am sure it should have been¡ª" I gazed at the usual place where all my keys might be, and only the spare window keys dangled. All the others vanished. The amount of panic I felt made my stomach drop. ''Hmm?'' Then I noticed the flashing Key Ring in the top-right corner of my view¡ªall the keys to my house, the apartment and even a strange key I found as a kid were stored in there. ''Did I do this last night?'' The image of me taking the keys and storing them replayed through my mind as I couldn''t help but cover my face and attempt to hide my smile. "Okay, I''ll go and see if they are alive." Thus, I pretended to enter my bedroom and grabbed the ''Front Door Key'' before opening the two bolts and putting it back in my pocket. "Where were they?!" Shen Yifei seemed really curious about the keys, or maybe she was just curious about me. "John Wang, don''t you ignore me, or see if I spit in your food!" "Haha, then why don''t you just do it directly into my mouth, idiot." Somehow, it was fun to antagonise Shen Yifei. When pushed like this, Yifei showed her true personality. She huffed and puffed out her cheeks before turning away, muttering to herself about me. [You have gained 10 Affection Points with Shen Yifei] ''What, is she a pervert?'' My gaze narrowed, watching her cautiously as she cooked. Chapter 14: Second Member Chapter 14 - Second MemberShen Yifei finished making the hot pot and left it cooling on the table. Meanwhile, I went to the restroom, and before leaving, the door behind me suddenly closed. Bang! It wasn''t an accident because a moment later there was a shadow against the shower curtain. ''I see. Do you want to die or be my slave?'' Mu Qinglan stepped forward, and the shower curtain clattered in a rapid sound, opening before me. The light hit her pale skin from head to toe. "What do you want?" She asked me while tilting her head as if meeting in the restroom was normal. I couldn''t help but gawk at her body because anyone would admit that her beauty was truly flawless. ''She really does look like a doll.'' Her hair draped across her shoulder, with some wisps of black hair left hanging. The blackness contrasted her white skin and large, round chest. Her delicate shoulders led down to a flat stomach with a navel that made men want to kiss it. My eyes couldn''t help but follow her lower abdomen down to her fluffy mound... and those beautiful hips. The best part about her was those thick, meaty thighs, packed with muscle from her constant exercise and weight lifting. "If we met you under normal circumstances, would we still have this type of relationship?" "Impossible." She replied instantly, but I didn''t mind. This honesty was why I didn''t mind her scolding back at work. Because everything she said helped me improve, but thinking of that place now made my stomach churn with anger. "Have you seen enough?" Once again, I noticed how muted her reactions became¡ªmaybe a living dead doesn''t have the same intense emotions or shame. But she didn''t react at all. "Yup, thanks." Although I didn''t know if I should be honest or perverted, I decided to match her attitude and show her that I appreciated her beauty. However, this response seemed to shock her quite a bit because Qinglan''s brows twitched, and her hands lowered from her chest. Her cheeks became red, and it was quite an enjoyable sight until I saw her lifting before she snapped at me like a whip from an angry master, "Get out!" Bang! My back hit the door, but I only smiled, and as I left the bathroom, my eyes couldn''t help but check one last time before gazing back into the living room. ''We need to go out and hunt for more food, but will the others be willing?'' To become a leader, I had to choose a path and style... would I become a tyrant, an overlord who rules with domineering charisma and power? Potentially, I could become worshipped as a wise lord or king who treats people well. However, isn''t that selfish? Would I become a tyrant overlord? No... It would be better to create a new style and path of my own. Something that takes the best parts of a tyrant and overlord and the things which make kings and emperors great. ''This... is the first step!'' This world needs someone strong and capable. ''I cannot rely on Mu Qinglan alone!'' What if she isn''t here? I would be dead. I shouldn''t become arrogant until I can back it up. So, only recruiting S-Tier beauties will lead to my death while still weak. I watched Shen Yifei and noticed that her affection almost tripled Mu Qinglan''s. [Would you like to Recruit Shen Yifei?] ''Yes.'' Because she could serve as a different type of support, her cooking and first aid skills must be a help to the group. Once I reached the next rank, I could think about recruiting Jiang Roulan. [You Have Recruited: Shen Yifei (B-Tier)] ? Shen Yifei''s attributes are now visible ? You have gained 50 Experience ? You have shared Shen Yifei''s [First Aid] skill. [B-Tier Subject recruited!] ? You have gained 500 ZKP! ''Huh?'' The moment I noticed the subtle changes in Shen Yifei''s eyes and her attributes floating above her head, part of me expected to choose a second skill. However, I received some ZKP instead. [Tutorial Hint: Because the Ranking of Shen Yifei wasn''t S-Tier, you only gained a ZKP] ''Are there more rewards for higher ranks?'' Although it was understandable that an S-Tier was special, the thought of not gaining ZKP from recruiting her made him feel a little salty, but he couldn''t remain like this. Well, sometimes you lose. It''s a common fact. ''I can just put it towards her Rank-up Potion.'' When he scanned her attributes, compared to Mu Qinglan, he really couldn''t see her fighting that often, but it wasn''t like he wished for her to die or anything, so he stopped and took a breath. ''Show me available Roles for Shen Yifei!'' [Roles Available] ? Maid ? Chef ? Nurse ? Housewife ? Companion ? Lover ? Poacher ? Mascot The moment the list appeared, it almost made me spit out blood. I couldn''t understand why a few of the classes seemed a little wild or even completely inappropriate, like Housewife, lover, and companion. ''Is this some type of power fantasy, where I fuck every woman and leave none spared?'' No... Until she reaches S-Tier, let''s keep my little brother safe from any infections or diseases! ''System, do any of these roles give her attributes a boost?'' [System: Cannot Answer!] [Tutorial Hint: There are roles which give a bonus to many skills, like Maid and Housewife, which encompass several skills.] "What''s the matter?" Shen Yifei gazed at me with confusion. "Nothing, just thinking of something. Oh, and don''t spit in my food." "...Why the hell would I spit in your food?!" I watched the short blonde stomping on the floor. Today, she tied her hair into twin tails, and it suits her. If Mu Qinglan is a peerless beauty, like those kung fu novels. Jiang Roulan is the hot police sister from next door with a dynamite body. Then Shen Yifei is the annoying younger woman, who you can''t help but get a weird boner for at the worst moment. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Hmph..." She flicked her hair and turned away, but I couldn''t help but feel mischievous. ''Give her the Maid Role!'' [Shen Yifei''s Role set to: Maid] ? Cooking will grant system experience. ? First aid will grant system experience. ? Amusing ''Wang John'' will grant system experience. The moment I changed her role, the pretty blonde shuddered, her hands grasping the counter as she turned back with a strange expression covering her lips. "Hnnng?!" A subtle moan escaped from her pink lips as she almost collapsed. Of course, I just watched, curious about the change. [Shen Yifei has become more conscious of your gaze] ¡ª [STATUS] Name: Shen Yifei Role: Maid Rank: B Affection: 192/500 (Recruitable) Health: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% (Healthy) Morale: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% (Confused, but happy) [STATS] Strength | 0.7 --> 0.8 Physique | 1.3 --> 1.5 Agility | 0.8 --> 0.9 Spirit | 0.6 --> 1.2 [SKILLS] Cooking: Lv.4 ¡ú Lv.5 First Aid: Lv.5 ¡ú Lv.6 Intuition: Lv.2 ¡ú Lv.3 Cleaning: Level 1 Inspect: Level 1 Manners: Level 1 ¡ª With the second member, I wondered if it was time to go outside and hunt down some zombies with the group... Staying at home was a little boring. And thanks to Qinglan, I discovered how to get stronger! Chapter 15: Longwan Mall Chapter 15 - Longwan MallLongwan. Known as Dragon Bay by the foreigners. The second-tier city that I have lived in since birth. Longwan was once a mid-tier trade hub, a city of industry and commerce that thrived on shipbuilding, manufacturing, and black-market trade. Nestled between dense forests and winding rivers, it connected the rural provinces to Xiansheng''s massive megacities, acting as both a gateway and a dumping ground for the ambitions of larger powers. Imagine how difficult and unfair a city ruled by the rich might be for the weak and poor. I could only be grateful that the Mu family carried a semblance of respect. However, the same couldn''t be said for clans like the Gu family, who were nothing more than a glorified mafia. [Shen Yifei has cooked a meal and cleaned up: Gained 50 Experience] ''Eh?'' I turned to face her as she tossed the trash into the bin while acting naturally. The fact she could help me in this fashion instantly made my sour feelings vanish. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Qinglan, Miss Jiang, we should probably head out before it gets dark." "You''re right, we should." Jiang Roulan gazed out into the orange sky. She seemed a little reluctant to leave the apartment, but that couldn''t be helped. Shen Yifei didn''t speak and instead folded the cloth she used to dry the dishes and sat beside me, her delicate hand brushing along the leather cover. Though I wanted to discuss our plans for the future, there was something more important with a growing team. Not to mention, when I ranked up to a certain level, there would be huge benefits from the system. I could create a [Base] or [Safe Zone] that nobody I didn''t trust could enter. As I was distracted by the system panel, the three girls gathered before a knock came to the door. When I gazed up, Mu Qinglan looked at me with her vibrant blue eyes, seeming to ask me what to do. "Can you get the door, Qinglan?" "Sure." Without delay, Qinglan opened the door and greeted our *guests* who turned out to be the males from the other apartment. Old Lei looked quite healthy, with a bright complexion. However, the other guy, Wang Jun, looked at me with a hostile gaze while rubbing his right arm. I couldn''t help but feel sick looking at him. I knew he would become troublesome, but so soon after meeting, he seemed attached to Shen Yifei, or maybe it was Jiang Roulan. Did the kid think he was some kind of protagonist and would awaken a magical system? Well, not like I could say anything there... "Morning, Old Lei," I called out, trying to break the weird atmosphere. "Morning, well... I guess you could call it that. I wanted to suggest something." "About going out?" Because Old Lei didn''t cause issues, I tried to be more considerate. People who helped the group should eat, after all. "Yes, do you have any locations or thoughts?" Jiang Roulan and Shen Yifei didn''t speak and gazed at me out of the corner of their eyes. Meanwhile, Mu Qinglan remained silent and sat on the black sofa, which she filled with things at some point. "I was planning to take it slowly to avoid unnecessary danger, but maybe we should strike somewhere like the Dragon Mall first and get as much as we can before the gangs and thugs take over the city." I noticed Old Lei''s eyes shine, and something about my words made him nod and smile. "Good, good. Then let''s head towards the Dragon Mall today and see how it looks." "How about everyone else?" Old Lei asked while leaning against the kitchen table. "I think that''s the right choice, but we should be careful." Jiang Roulan answered while avoiding Wang Jun''s gaze. There seemed to be a dynamic around me and Old Lei, which made it a little difficult. However, for now, it just meant I needed to grow and improve as a leader. Old Lei didn''t look at me like competition but like a prot¨¦g¨¦. "We should try to find some kind of weapons too..." I turned to face the voice and became quite shocked. It was Shen Yifei! To hear that Shen Yifei considered this made me feel like the improvement to spirit attribute made a wonder of difference! Unable to resist the temptation... I stretched out my hand and stroked her hair. To my surprise, she didn''t resist me or pull away¡ªinstead, with a huff, she swayed on the spot and seemed to enjoy my touch like a tsundere cat. "See, I am not useless..." [You have gained 10 Affection Points with Shen Yifei] ''Eh?'' Despite her glaring at me with puffed cheeks, her affection for me increased. Was this the class difference between a B-Tier woman and an S-Tier? Good looks were enough to charm them... or maybe there''s something I haven''t noticed. Let''s keep observing what helps improve affection. "Haa... she has a good point, so what do you think, Jiang Roulan, Old Lei?" Because of my past, there wasn''t much I knew about those things in this city, although I could purchase a weapon from the system store. ''Why would I do that in front of these people and expose myself?'' "How about the police station?" Old Lei gazed at Jiang Roulan, who shuddered, returning a sharp gaze as she grasped the holster at her waist. "You know I cannot do that... there were hundreds of those things out there." "What about a sports store or a pawn shop... that one near the mall should have something interesting, right?" "You mean the Fallen Noble?" Old Lei responded to Wang Jun. I was surprised that Wang Jun could actually help us and refrained from commenting. The sooner we got weapons, the easier I could have Qinglan and myself farm points to make myself and Shen Yifei stronger. ''I wonder if Yifei can get points normally.'' [Tutorial Hint: Shen Yifei can earn ZKP but not Experience for killing zombies!] "Since we''re wasting time right now, let''s grab whatever can be used as weapons here and leave. If we take too long, what happens if everything is gone?" I didn''t want to waste more time speaking about what we could do, so I grabbed my knife and gazed at Shen Yifei and Qinglan before rushing to the window. "I''m heading out¡ªthe Z''s are already crawling around." To the others, I might have seemed a little blunt and cold, but in my mind, was the system stored with my current points. I wanted to arm myself and Qinglan with the best possible items. Because I saw something about Shen Yifei in her status... I positively considered her, too. Though the apocalypse only started a day ago, this city fell apart more than ten years ago with the crash of our kingdom''s economy and military might... And was the reason for my Father leaving. Chapter 16: Choosing Weapons! Chapter 16 - Choosing Weapons!The moment I jumped out of the window and landed on the steel sheet, I rolled and slipped into the garage while the others started preparing to follow. I needed to get some weapons and struggled to find items that would be useful and not cause doubt. Qinglan seemed to like using the baseball bat, but her strength ended up destroying it... [Purchase - Ultra Strong Metal Bat?] I felt something different from the basic bat; however, I didn''t want to risk spending points on something that wasn''t useful. The weapons lacked any attack or damage attributes. However, this ultra-strong baseball bat came with an interesting note: "Almost indestructible." The cost wasn''t so bad and so I purchased it almost instantly, tapping the accept button that appeared in the centre of my vision. ¨‹ You have purchased an item! ZKP: 200 ¨‹ Ultra Strong Metal Bat ? Regenerates durability to the original state once a day. ? Durability 200/200 S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ? Cost: 200 ZKP "Oh? it''s so smooth and light..." *Woosh!* The moment I gave it a swing, the air burst apart like a broken jar. Satisfied with the test swing, I stored the bat in my bag while browsing through the tools and items for Shen Yifei and myself. To avoid people''s eyes, I looked for simple-looking weapons that didn''t look special or amazing. Imagine I showed up with a super cool sword or something, and they just attacked me for that. It would suck and become annoying. At first, I considered a sword or machete, but a single bite would turn me into a zombie. So, I instead browsed for safer items. In the future, maybe Jiang Roulan will use metal or specially reinforced tonfa, so what could the maid Shen Yifei and I use? There wasn''t much time as I heard Mu Qinglan hop onto the roof above me and walk around; it almost sounded like she sniffed the air for a moment... ''Is she searching for me?'' I swiped through the list of items. A gun might be cool. Not that I have the luxury to buy one right now, when even grenades cost 1000 ZKP! So I switched to the cheapest tab with simple and training weapons. [Tutorial Hint: Basic weapons have moderate durability and can be repaired using ZKP] [They also help in learning skills related to their weapons (Limit - Level 2)] ''So... if I chose a basic weapon, I would gain Sword, Spear or Weapon skill easier... but only until reaching level two.'' ¨‹ Basic Sword ? Durability: 100/100 ? Cost: 300 ZKP The cost to repair it fully was only 10 points... ''not bad.'' Instead of the sword, I noticed the simple spear, not the soft type used by Eastern martial artists but an iron spear that looked more like a sharp pole sharpened at the tip with winged blades. Despite being a shorter spear, only 170cm long. I thought it was ideal for fighting zombies. It seemed like a good item. ¨‹ Basic Sharpened Pole ? Durability: 80/80 ? Cost: 150 ZKP Although it looked crude, this could be a believable weapon, but the biggest bonus was the second feature it came with... not the basic feature but the fact it was solid iron or some strange material. [Training Weapon] ? This weapon is heavy and will slowly improve a person''s Physique and Strength! ? Minimum Physique 1.5 My finger tapped the screen twice as two sharpened poles landed on the ground beside me with a loud clang. The next moment, Mu Qinglan hopped down with an icy calm face, looking at the rolling spears; she then noticed the bat in my hand. So I offered it to her. "I got it for you¡ªit won''t break forever, so keep it with you." Mu Qinglan tilted her head before grabbing the metal bat. She swung. A low howl of wind sounded. Her smile grew. She swung again. Another howl. After repeating this process several times, she finally nodded with a wide grin. Mu Qinglan seemed curious about the other items. "What are they for?" "Well, one is for me¡ªit''s something to keep me safe and train my body." Her face remained blank, with a slight hum. "The other?" "It''s for Shen Yifei; she''s going to be our chef and cleaner for the time being, so this weapon that can double as a mop and brush is pretty cool, right?" It came with a detachable mop and brush head! "..." Mu Qinglan didn''t seem to be impressed. To me, it was awesome. A weapon and training item in one. I also thought it would make Shen Yifei more disciplined. With these weapons, we should be good... I hoped. We left the garage and found everyone waiting on the road. They seemed a little tense, but their faces became more relieved when they saw me and Mu Qinglan come out of the garage. "Yifei, this is for you." *Woosh!* I tossed the metal bar towards her. Wang Jun tried to grasp it... But the moment he grabbed did. The weight of the pole dragged him to the ground. Wang Jun rolled along the floor, making a noise like a slaughtered pig, while Old Lei helped him up with an odd smile. "Wow, well, the kid shouldn''t try and take away someone else''s weapon, right?" "T-Thank you!" Shen Yifei blushed while lifting the spear. At first, she struggled to lift it with one hand. But the moment both hands grasped the pole, her atmosphere changed a little. *Stab!* With a simple thrust, she pierced the air, creating a small gust of wind. ''Maybe the Maid role affects things like this?'' I thought. The roles each had a small catchphrase, with Maids having: Always elegant. Wang Jun seemed upset about what happened. But nobody cared. We made our way towards the pawn shop down the eastern street, avoiding the main road and taking a back street. Unaware of what might await us. I could only hope for no humans or surprises to follow. Chapter 17: Reaching the Pawnshop! Chapter 17 - Reaching the Pawnshop!The number of zombies decreased upon leaving the main road and although we avoided them up to this point. I didn''t have confidence we could continue to have such luck. But the moment we entered the back streets. I could sense danger. "Be careful." Old Lei''s voice sounded from behind. Mu Qinglan stood beside me, rubbing the bat on her palm. I felt the weight of my spear¡ªholding it with a single hand strained my entire upper body. "Keep quiet. Check the side roads and alleyways." There won''t be any mistakes. Distant groans and the low shuffling of feet echoed in the silent city. A far cry from what we were all used to. A small cat sat on a wall, licking itself, almost like living in two worlds. As we crossed its path, my eyes lingered on the little creature. It jumped up with a hiss, then fled into the distance. "Grr..." A low moan sounded before something started banging on the wooden gate beside where the cat slept. Bang! Something wanted to reach us, a zombie. Even though I steeled myself, there was still a sense of apprehension. I mean, one bite, and it was all over right now. I gripped the cold black steel of my spear, a bitter cold filling my lungs with each breath, forming a small cloud of breath. The ache of my muscles throbbing from the weight of my spear kept me focused and alert. Crack! "Haa..." A long breath, exhaling as I lowered my body two steps from the wooden door. Mu Qinglan stood opposite me, while Shen Yifei stood to my right, her eyes filled with fear, yet she held her spear without being told. I couldn''t see Old Lei or the others from here. "Relax, Yifei, it will be fine." Machoism or bravado. I just wanted to help myself calm down. Bang! The wooden door cracked, revealing two faces... not quite rotten but deformed and caked in dried blood. ''Does the infection accelerate decomposition?'' [Tutorial Hint: The effects seem random, depending on genetics and other factors!] Another fine answer disturbed my focus as I shifted closer, narrowing my gaze and preparing to strike my breathing rapid. Bang! With another ram, the two zombies broke half of the fence, bending the metal lock and almost fell into the alley, getting caught and flailing with their heads exposed. Now! I thrust the heavy spear. The tip penetrated the old zombie, with half his jaw missing. Qinglan''s bat swung with a howl of wind. And crushed the second zombie''s face with a brutal crunch. Smash! The two zombies flung back one with half its skull missing, the other with a gaping hole through its eye socket. A sense of adrenaline flowed through my body, excitement and a thrill causing my heart to pound. ¨‹ You have killed a stage one zombie +5 ZKP ¨‹ Mu Qinglan killed a stage one zombie +5 ZKP +10 EXP "Damn..." I met eyes with Qinglan and noticed the change in her expression. She must have felt that sudden rush. The moment my spear pierced the cloudy eyeball, a rush made my spine quiver and made me feel aggressive. "Let''s continue, they seem to be getting more active." My voice echoed in the empty alley. We needed to clear at least four hundred metres to get to the pawnshop and double that to get a visual on the mall. The distance always seemed so much shorter in Novels. A horde could easily wipe us out if one appeared. These tight spaces with many small paths led to dead ends, perfect for the zombies to overwhelm someone. After ten minutes of slow creeping brought us near the shop, the distant growl and groaning of zombies became unsettling. "Stop here." Old Lei stepped forward, almost jogging as he gazed to the left. The opposite direction from the pawnshop was a small house with old-fashioned architecture and a rather dull style. But obviously, someone maintained it well and from the nervous look on his face. "Old Lei?" I suddenly felt a sense of dread, and my stomach dropped... because I knew what was about to happen. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "...My wife and son are in that house." He turned to me with a nervous smile. "You guys should continue, but I need to do this." Old Lei''s raspy voice echoed in my mind, and I just acted before I thought. "I''ll go with you." But after saying this, I felt regret. We might take one or two more zombies, but many could have broken into a household. What if his wife and son turned, and he stopped me from killing them or insisted on joining them? "You... do you mean that?" His eyes looked at me in shock. After speaking for two days with this man, I believed Old Lei could be trusted. At the very least, despite wanting only women around me, it wasn''t possible. I needed skilled men to build a base and protect it. "What do you mean?" Mu Qinglan whispered in a voice filled with judgment, but she didn''t continue. I didn''t have time to explain the benefits of having Old Lei, who was reliable. "Take Shen Yifei and the others to scavenge for some items." She looked at me with her cold blue eyes and snorted. "Don''t die." "I will be back here within two hours." I noticed Shen Yifei glance at me as our groups split in two and winked at her. She turned away from me, puffing her cheeks. It seemed Yifei also disliked the fact I would be leaving them. My gaze scanned across Roulan''s face, but she smiled back at me. "Be careful. We will wait for you here." "You too. Be careful." I looked away from them. It wasn''t time to think about the girls. Because going into this house would be definitely be a mistake. Step by step, me Old Lei and separated from the group. The Nanchang road was famous. It had two shops that would be beneficial for our survival, but the back streets and mixed houses could only be called a nightmare. How many families live in this small area? How many humans or, rather... How many Zombies? Chapter 18: Goodnight, Sleep Well Chapter 18 - Goodnight, Sleep WellThe moment we split off, my gut became heavy with a sense of insecurity or lack of confidence after becoming alone. Although I could face anything life threw at me in the past, this wasn''t something I could face with the same confidence. My hands ached from the heavy steel weighing my hands down. Yet a sense of excitement throbbed at the back of my head, like an unwanted migraine that refused to go away. No points came through, meaning that the others were also safe. For now, I could relax. With each step, we grew closer to his home. Old Lei''s breathing became more strained as his eyes welled up with tears. I didn''t speak because my words wouldn''t help. Step. The gritty streets remained silent. Step. A loud noise sounded from behind us, followed by a woman shouting. Creak... We reached his back gate, the latch easily unfastened as Old Lei took a deep, lingering breath, almost choking as he sucking the surrounding air. "Old Lei... are you good?" My nerves became a little more sharp¡ªafter that shout the surroundings stirred and became more lively. I could hear them groaning as if watching us sneak through the alleyway. Stalking us with their cloudy grey eyes, just waiting for us to make a mistake. "I''m fine, this is the place. Come on, my wife makes the best coffee." He seemed to have noticed that, unlike most Asians in this country, I preferred coffee to tea. Quietly, we shifted through the back gate, the overgrown garden filled with the sweet and bitter scent of overturned earth and fresh flowers. It seemed his wife might have a habit of gardening. Maybe Old Lei himself? Squeak! Suddenly, the moment the gate opened, the hallway''s rusted hinges made a loud and grating sound that made me gasp. The sound was clearly something that Old Lei tried to avoid, with how slowly he pushed open the door. "Old Lei?" I called out to him in a whisper, but he just remained still, turning back to face me, his face pale as if he saw a ghost. "John... are we safe?" He seemed out of it. I didn''t have the time to keep dealing with this. Maybe Old Lei couldn''t hear because he hadn''t increased his physique... or maybe normal humans couldn''t. It was a question I didn''t want to waste time on. So I pushed him into the garden. The middle-aged man staggered, slipping on the dirt path. He looked up at me in shock, as if I was some kind of monster. So I pushed the door closed with a sense of urgency. Clack! Sealing the bolt and locking the gate, I finally released my suppressed sigh. A distant groan echoed through the air, and just like I thought, the zombies were now on the move, hunting. Once the sun lowered, it became dangerous. ¨‹ Mu Qinglan has killed a Stage 1 Zombie! +5 ZBK +10 EXP ¨‹ Shen Yifei has killed a Stage 1 Zombie! +5 ZBK "..." My body froze. Not only did Mu Qinglan fight, but Shen Yifei got her first true kill. Although this made me feel happy, something inexplicably made me feel wrong. "Old Lei we cannot waste more time, let''s go." However, when I turned back he was gone, the back door ajar. "Damn it!" I won''t trust humans overwhelmed by emotions again. Without knowing the layout, I could only lower my body and shift through the garden, the tall grass hiding my figure, but something passed the second-floor curtains, causing it to sway, though I thought it might be Old Lei... But something told me I was dreaming. Creeping through the garden of a stranger felt bizarre, as did the small trinkets and broken toys that signified family memories, a half-buried doll in the dirt, an old bike from thirty years ago covered in rust, and a missing chain. I felt like I learned more about Old Lei''s life with each step. "Haa..." The kitchen door swayed slightly in the breeze. Old, tatty curtains covered the glass window, and countless cow trinkets and small china plates stacked on a wall rack came into my view through the gap. I pushed my ear close to hear anything to keep myself safe, rolling the metal spear in my hand. ''Quietly, calmly. Don''t get bit!'' Silence. ''Wait...'' I held my breath, counting to five. Nothing... My heart pounded against my chest as I stepped into the kitchen with measured half-steps and keeping my body low, jerking my head from side to side, ready for anything. Like a common thief, I crept through, sliding my hand across the floor, squatting with a slight bounce to keep enough momentum to pierce forward. Thanks to the self-defence skills Mu Qinglan gave me, I could do this without pain or aches in my joints. Step... I moved towards the inner door, a cheap brown door with missing paint. My breathing was now extremely slow, and the constant messages from Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei distracted me almost enough to miss the figure swaying ahead of me. Small. Maybe just over five feet tall. A woman with dark hair swayed while facing away. My blood suddenly surged as if it froze from the sudden terror and adrenaline that pumped through my body. A flight-or-fight response caused me to act before I full understood the situation. My heavy black spear felt comfortable in my hand. Thrust! I lunged forward, my left foot slipping as the spear''s tip pierced Squelch! Blood spurted like a terrible movie as my spear pierced the woman''s throat from behind. The feeling of my spear gouging her flesh... transmitted through the black steel. My stomach became heavy and churned. ''Endure it!'' Though I wasn''t like before, the second day of the apocalypse hadn''t instantly made me immune to murdering former humans just yet. ''Old Lei...?'' I checked around after seeing the notification that she was a zombie. He didn''t seem to be downstairs, but from the looks of things. The entire house was a mess. A broken glass table covered in blood, chunks torn from the sofa, with fluff and foam spread across the room. And a television locked on a static station, with a buzzing echo that made my head hurt. BANG! "Ugh... stop... Yan''er!" Suddenly, something happened above. I could hear shuffling, and Old Lei grunted... he seemed to grunt and struggle. I rushed up the stairs, ignoring the front door, the broken banister, almost sprinting up the narrow staircase, hearing a series of loud thuds and a sudden wet crunch. "OLD LEI!" Bursting into the small room at the back of the house, where I saw the curtains moving, I found Old Lei sitting on the ground. He looked haggard, pale and void of all emotions as he visibly shook, hugging a small pair of shoulders. I watched in silence. A scene that I wanted to avoid¡ªdeath was something I never managed to overcome. But here it was, rearing its ugly head. "Sorry..." The middle-aged man, who seemed indestructible, sounded weak. His breathing heavy and desperate as if gasping through a tube for oxygen, at the same time he noticed the small human in Old Lei''s arms. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Short black hair tied into pigtails, pictures across the house showing her smiling face. Her eyes were grey and lifeless. ''Old Lei...'' I could do nothing more than stand in silence. He turned to me with a face pale like a zombie. The way his cheeks sagged made it look like he aged ten years in five seconds. His eyes were red and welling up. "My... Princess... it''s okay, I''m here. It''s your dad." He tried to speak as calmly as possible, but his words came out as almost a broken whimper. As he spoke, he tried to wipe away the blood from her lips with the back of his sleeve, staining the dirty white shirt. "Old Lei..." I wanted to help him... but my body felt like something glued it to the floor. My heart raced, my head became dizzy, and my stomach stirred. "Wake up now... I''m a little late, but I''m back now!" I couldn''t bear to watch this scene. I wanted to leave, but my legs refused to budge. ''He''s dead... face reality.... Kill him!'' Words that seemed to be a stranger''s whispered in my mind. Yet I knew these were my true feelings, dark and dirty. I couldn''t understand empathy or compassion, or maybe it was just that my brain didn''t understand how to process them... My hand gripped the heavy steel in my hand. There was no need to continue this act, a shame of a loving father. I leaned my head back, wiping the rain from my eyes. The weather was a little strange right now. My body lowered, and I thrust my spear twice with all my might to ensure a quick and painless end. Turning my back... I left this godforsaken house. Today, I killed an entire family. "I want to see Qinglan..." Chapter 19: Rank 3 Unlocked! Chapter 19 - Rank 3 Unlocked!The moment I reached the garden, my mood started to recover. Honestly, I just wanted to thrash around, fight, and get rid of this dirty feeling. As luck would have it... The undead came to serve themselves on a platter for me. Groan... The guttural noise slithered from beyond the walls. Hoarse, wet, suffocated, as though they gargled on their own blood. Some wails held a shrill pitch¡ªlike infants whining in the dark. At least ten. Maybe more. But that didn''t matter. Not yet. With a deep breath, I felt a sense of release. I rolled my shoulders to prepare for the coming fight, and my fingers tingled while grasping the black spear. A clear image appeared in my mind. The zombies, delighted to find a new meal, start to move happily. Click! My thumb unlatched the gate, the cold steel biting against my palm. A destructive impulse throbbed in the back of my mind. A burning anger, clawing at my ribs like something feral, eager to burst free. It lingered, simmering, threatening to consume me. The gate squeaked open. And I smiled. The first zombie was a rotting mess with a stupid expression. It leaned to the side, swaying because of a broken leg, unaware of me. The monster''s lips peeled back in revealing sharp, broken teeth, inhuman and too jagged. Its breath smelled like fermented blood and wet decay. I didn''t give it time to react. Crack! My fist drove into its temple. Bone crunched. Its head whipped sideways, body stumbling as the force of my blow sent it staggering. Another one lunged. I pivoted, twisting my body, and slammed my knee into its gut. Something inside ruptured with a sickening pop. The impact sent it reeling, but I didn''t let up. A quick step forward¡ªheel raised¡ªthen I stomped down. Squelch. Its skull caved in beneath my foot, brains and fluid splattering across the dirt. But I wasn''t done. Not nearly. The others had noticed me now. Their vacant eyes snapped to my moving form, jaws quivering as they groaned louder, more desperate. "Come on." I rolled my shoulders, feeling the tension loosen. "Let''s play." The first wave rushed in. One. Two. Three. The closest lunged at me, arms outstretched, fingers curling like talons. I sidestepped, caught its wrist, and yanked. The momentum sent it spinning, and I used its own weight to slam it headfirst into the garden wall. Crunch! It slid to the ground, twitching. Another staggered toward me¡ªa woman, half her face missing, one eyeball dangling loosely by a cord of flesh. I ducked under her swipe, seized the back of her skull, and drove it down¡ªsmashing her face straight into my knee. Her teeth shattered like glass. A gurgled shriek escaped her broken mouth, but I twisted my grip and threw her aside, sending her lifeless body into the dirt. More were coming. Blood pounded in my ears, adrenaline surging. My body felt light. Too light. Almost as if I wasn''t even tired. That thought barely had time to settle before the next zombie reached me. This one was faster. It lurched forward¡ªI barely had time to react. A blur of movement, rotten fingers closing in¡ª S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. My fist shot out. Boom! A direct blow to its chest sent it stumbling backwards before it slammed to the ground. I blinked. ''What the hell...?'' I''d hit people before¡ªbut never like this. [Tutorial Hint: The rush in your body was a side effect of ranking up!] [You have Reached Rank 3!] A grin spread across my face. Well. That explains a lot. "Let''s finish this." With my mind clearer, no longer filled with those messy emotions, I noticed everything seemed a little clearer, my hearing, sight and sadly, even my sense of smell. Grasping my spear, I faced the zombies rushing at me with a faint smile. Even though the zombies became easier to fight, I still didn''t become complacent like earlier stepping back. I used the garden gate to keep the zombies from attacking one or two at a time. Seven remained. I swallowed my thoughts and thrust my spear... *** A while passed¡ªthe fight didn''t take long, but maybe pushing myself to a constant level of concentration caused my spirit to deplete. I probably needed some rest. "Let''s head to the pawnshop..." To keep myself focused, I needed to speak out loud. The last hour I spent killing zombies until even my hands became numb. I needed a break, but out in the open, this would be impossible; the pawnshop wasn''t far, only a few hundred metres. If I could get there, then I might just have a place to rest. Mu Qinglan and the others would be waiting for me there. I gripped the black spear tightly in my hands and stroked the smooth surface. It felt heavier now. Not physically¡ªjust the weight of it. Of what I''d done. Of what I''d have to keep doing. Shaking the thought away, I tightened my grip and turned toward the street. The city was silent. Too silent. The occasional groans still drifted from alleyways, but something about the air felt wrong. Like something was watching me. I stepped onto the cracked pavement and scanned the surrounding abandoned cars and darkened buildings. The pawnshop was less than two hundred metres away. I could easily make it. A low growl rumbled from the shadows. Not human. Not undead. Something else. I stopped walking, prepared for anything. I saw a flicker of movement in the corner of my vision To my left, a narrow alley, swallowed in darkness. Something shifted. A shape. Low to the ground. Feline. But a little familiar, but before I could check... In a single motion¡ª It pounced. Chapter 20: The Lunar Beast!? Chapter 20 - The Lunar Beast!?I stepped back, the flash of white passing my eyes, before a small jingle sounded followed by something soft rubbing against me leg. "Prrrr... Prrrr..." The threat turned out to be the small cat from earlier. It''s dirty body covered in grime and dirt, but the little thing seemed quite happy to nudge against me... Somehow, its presence was quite soothing. Maybe it wasn''t the best idea... However, I reached out and brushed the whispers on its cheeks. The small cat gazed at me with its blue eyes as if thinking, deciding if I was someone it could trust. "Are you hungry little guy?" "Meow!" Instantly, after I offered it some food, a blue screen appeared in my eyes, stunning me completely as it started scratching against the wall. For a moment, I doubted my eyes because it was so bizarre... [Recruitment Available.] [Subject: Unnamed Ragdoll (S-Tier)] [Press to Confirm.] ''This filthy rat... is an S-Tier?'' I almost coughed blood at this new information. The little guy seemed to be male, tilting its fluffy little head, mewing at me. ''Well, I did offer it some food...'' To make this cat my partner, what could I expect from this cat except needing to feed and take care of its waste? "Meow!" But that lovely call caught my attention. Lost in the cat''s beady eyes. Trapped in this grey, wet and depressive world all alone. ''What if I leave the cat here?'' There isn''t a kind old lady around to feed him or help take care of him. I didn''t have a pet when growing up, but I''ve always loved cats and dogs. "If you come we me, you have to behave..." [Do you want to recruit Ragdoll (S-Tier)?] "Ha..." Behind me, the low grunts of zombies echoed, likely at a further distance than I thought because, after my evolution, my hearing became much stronger. It wasn''t all benefits, though. My sense of smell also improved, and the scent of death and other foul city scents made my stomach churn with today''s breakfast... "Come here, do you have a name?" "???" The cat turned away, looking around, making me feel stupid, before it slowly, cautiously approached me with a sniff. *Sniff* *Sniff* "Meow..." The small grey cat looked a little wild¡ªhis long ears flickered as I instinctively rubbed under his chin. A low, groaning purr vibrated as we met eyes. "Wang Yin..." [You have successfully recruited Wang Yin (S-Tier)] ¨‹ Wang Yin''s attributes are now visible. + 200 Experience + 100 Bonus Experience (First S-Rank Male) + 5000 ZKP for reaching Maximum Friendship with Wang Yin! + Your Dash skill reached Level 3! + You can choose one bonus skill from Wang Yin''s List! + Title Earned: Harbinger of the Lunar Beast At first, I couldn''t focus on all the blue pop-ups in my vision, and Yin didn''t like it when I swiped the air and hissed. So, I started reading them in my mind and noticed something bizarre. His affection reached the maximum and gave me a strange title! Yin''s eyes seemed to flicker with a silver light as he suddenly jumped onto my shoulder... and brushed up against my face... Although he was a little dirty, somehow it didn''t bother me and something else took me by surprise. I couldn''t suddenly speak cat language, but I could sense his emotions, desires, and the subtle movements now contained a slight meaning. "You want to eat something good?" "Miao!" ''Huh¡ªwhy is it suddenly meowing in Chinese?" Since my newly found cat companion happily kneading my shoulder muscles. I checked my current limit and realised I couldn''t collect more animals like this. ¡ª [STATUS] Name: Wang Yin S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Title: Lunar Beast Role: ¡ª¡ª Affection: 500/500 (Meow!) Health: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ð¡ð] 60% (Dirty) Morale: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% (Meow!!) [STATS] Strength | 0.2 Physique | 0.5 Agility | 3.5 Spirit | 1.2 [SKILLS] Dash [Level 6] Danger Sense [Level 3] Agile [Level 2] Charisma [Level 8] Stealth [Level 2] Leap [Level 2] ¨‹ Recent Actions ? My owner died, and I am hungry. ? A strange human picked me up¡ªhe smelled good and offered me food. But will he die too? I hope not... "Damn... there are so many amazing skills!" I couldn''t help but drool at these skills. Some of them really would help me grow and survive in this hell. Yet, I could only choose one for now, and the most useful one was clearly right in front of my face. [You Gained Danger Sense Level 1] However, I wasn''t sure how it would reveal itself to me because there wasn''t any small text written besides the skill when I focused on it. "Let''s go, Yin." With all my business finished, the painful cramps in my muscles from reaching rank three and then learning all the new skills thanks to Yin made me struggle to walk... Though I''ve suffered thigh cramps and groin cramps before and almost cried. The cramps from the upgrades felt random, even when I tried to prepare my mind. It felt like they chose parts I couldn''t even think of... ''I need to work on my Kegels...'' *** Not long after recruiting Yin, I started jogging to warm up my dull muscles, avoiding any combat because of the lingering aches and cramps. Through the dark and winding back streets, I finally reached the location. But what I found made me want to shout. A group of men held baseball bats and machete blades towards Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan... And of course, the fat waste Wang Yun was their hostage. Jiang Roulan looked awkward. It seemed like she was trying to negotiate with the five men wearing black clothes that covered their entire bodies and faces. ''What to do...'' I could feel a slight twang of pain in the back of my head, along with the distant groaning of zombies coming closer. At that moment, a plan came into my mind as I crouched beside a black sedan. "Yin... shall we lure some bait, so we can fish?" "Meow?!" (Fish?!) Before I could turn back, a sudden tingle shocked my back, and instinctively, I lifted my spear and lunged forward... Woosh! I struck the empty air while breathing faster... even my heartbeat quickened. Luckily, none of the humans noticed. That''s when I noticed that Mu Qinglan was also hiding behind a car, and she was quickly sneaking towards me. The fact they hadn''t caught her was likely because of her superior abilities. ''The sudden moment of instinctive fear... was it because she bit me in the past?'' I noticed her eyes starting to turn red. The outer rings looked crimson from this distance, but what amazed me more was that I could see them from here. It was at least 500 metres, but I could see Qinglan as if she stood right in front of me. "..." "..." When she reached the car beside me, the zombies also started coming faster, in a larger group because I ran around them on purpose earlier. Not to test my new speed and physique but to clear the route back home. I curled my lips into a smirk. Mu Qinglan just stared at me with a confused expression, tilting her head. "Qinglan. I am going to lure the zombies. Can you distract those humans and get me some time to bring them closer?" The moment I asked, my spine filled with a cold chill. Because of the terrifyingly twisted smile on her face as she gazed at me with glowing red eyes and the way her cheeks blushed at this request. "It''s my pleasure, John." And with that, she shifted closer to me, sniffing my neck for a moment as her hand pressed against my chest. A sense of danger pricked the back of my mind as this predator assessed me for her next meal! "Don''t die." With a fleeting smile, she vanished from my view... a waft of her natural scent and perfume lingered in her absence. "Why does her zombie phase make her so flirtatious...?!" Chapter 21: Cat and Mouse! Chapter 21 - Cat and Mouse!Because Mu Qinglan doesn''t attract the attention of zombies, it forced me to finish the plan on my own. Though she might attract them... because her blood wasn''t appealing enough, it would lack the same certainty compared to this! Shlick! I used the tip of the spear to cut into my palm. A bloody mess started to ooze from my hand, dripping onto the ground. Though I could have slit my wrists to be faster, it all relied on my slowly gathering more and more zombies to kill those idiots and earn as many points as possible. "Yin there''s a road leading around the back, you know the way right?" "Meow." (Of course) "If any others are hiding, let me know!" Thanks to his speed and small size, most of the zombies only grunted when he rushed past them. He zigged and zagged before looking back. "Meow!" (Coast Clear!) Because I couldn''t quite understand him word for word, the sense that came through was a feeling of calm or safe. At least, that''s how my mind interpreted his current signals. I heard banging from behind me and smiled to myself. Mu Qinglan started her action, and now all I could do was hurry through the back streets, wrap around... and then end this game of cat and mouse. "What are you doing, you bitch!" A man''s low voice echoed... and was my signal. Instantly, using the dash skill. It boosted my running and jogging speed to more than double the usual. "Ugh..." However, the burden on my muscles and body increased with each step. It grew from a small amount of muscle ache, which became a cramp and then an agonising searing pain that spread through my sides and forced me to stop using the skill because it became harder to breathe and take in enough oxygen. "Haa... Haa..." My mind began to fog up. I twisted to avoid a zombie''s lung. My hips lowered as I sensed something coming from behind. The spear lashed out without grace or elegance. Only a brute force attack that used the strength of my physique to its fullest. Bang! The jaw of the zombie cracked, sending it to the ground with a thud... and increasing my points. "Shit... I need to buy some armour." I noticed Yin watching me and shook my head, focusing on the task at hand. If I arrived too slow, the others would struggle even with Qinglan fighting beside them. ''Because Jiang Roulan and Yifei are still too soft.'' This event will be an excellent lesson for both of them. I just hope Wang Yun does something stupid. Slam! As if on cue, three zombies slammed over some garbage bins to rush at me. "Heh! Come on you undead fools!" I flicked the blood from my palm across their faces, and just like Qinglan, their eyes became crazed, shimmering a yellow colour instead of pale white. "Run!" And like this, I used fences and other garbage in people''s gardens to avoid, coax and tease over fifty zombies to chase me down the road, which would lead to the group threatening the girls. "Phew... I''m not even tired little guy!" I brushed the soft fur of Yin''s face because it was the only clean part of him. "Meow!" (They are fighting... danger?) "It''s alright... give the zombies a little time to catch me up, here have this piece of sausage." Taking some of the meat from my inventory, it was a little warm due to me lacking the upgrade that cost 1000 ZKP, but Yin wolfed it down like a savage beast. I could see the reason for his brutal title. ''I''ll get that upgrade when we return. Yin deserves a fresh snack.'' "Grr...." "Arrr...." Here they come! A constant flow of adrenaline pooled in my body. The scent of copper, rust and rotting corpses filled my nose, which irritated me as it overpowered the last wisps of Mu Qinglan''s perfume. "Just give it up, woman... you''re pretty good so if you surrender we''ll let you go." An unfamiliar voice sounded as I crept towards them. My hand touched the floor as zombies followed a few dozen metres behind me. I forcefully scraped the wound against the shoddy concrete pavement to aggravate the wound, blood prints forming with each step I took. ''Keep coming... little kittens.'' The thought that I might have lost a bit of my humanity in doing this crossed my mind. But once I saw them ganging up on Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei with six men on two women, those kinds of thoughts vanished, replaced with pleasure. I wanted to watch them scream and cry. To hell with humanity¡ªthe world is ending! *** Clang! S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. One of the men''s blades struck Qinglan''s metal bat, forming sparks. He tried to push her down, his muscles bulging as his face turned red, with veins popping out of his neck. Woosh! She tilted her head, avoiding another metal bar, and smashed her knee into the first guy''s crotch, crushing his nuts. "Hah!" Shen Yifei''s metal bar thrust at a male with the butt end of the spear. Smack! It hit him straight in the face, but he stopped its full force with his machete and used his strength to push the spear to the side, knocking her off balance and then¡ª "Take this, bitch!" A man with a knife lunged at her exposed torso, but before I could panic. Jiang Roulan dashed into the fray, leaving Wang Yun alone with a bloody nose and black eye. She caught the blow with her wooden tonfa, twisting the blade using her natural agility and technique and smashed the man''s nose, causing a low crunch as he staggered back groaning in pain, with blood pouring from his nose. "Yifei stand up!" I grasped my spear ready to throw it at the leader who attacked Qinglan with two others. Behind me, the zombies were about ready to tear me apart... Taking a moment to calm myself, I started a slow run, accumulating my pace before launching the metal bar like a javelin. The metal bar left my hand with a low howl. I used the Dash Skill and sprinted after the spear. My body burst into an Olympic pace run. Past the first man, then the second and the moment it was about to pierce the leader''s thigh, I threw my left fist at his face! He was the one who threatened Qinglan and called her a bitch. So I aimed to shatter his orbital lobe. "Here comes the Cat¡ªRat!" Chapter 22: A Stange Zombie... Chapter 22 - A Stange Zombie...Crack! My knuckles crushed into his face, his skull rattling from the force¡ªbone splintering as his orbital lobe caved in. A garbled, inhuman scream tore from his throat. I felt a sense of euphoria at the sensation beneath my fist... crushed bone and flesh. Then¡ª Schlick! The spear followed. Its black tip shredded his muscles, tearing his thigh and almost severing half his leg in an instant. The male collapsed like a sack of rocks, blood gushing as the zombie horde closed in on our group. Drawn to the scent of fresh meat. "Qinglan pull back and help the others to get to a safe distance, then join me." Despite my tone sounding commanding, she didn''t speak back. Qinglan just stared at me with her luminescent crimson eyes, pulsing with desire for blood, and it made my neck throb. It seemed I tamed two interesting beasts... Step... I moved towards the convulsing human. He looked pale like a sheet of paper, arms tense and above his head from the sudden cranial shock. Honestly, things like this used to make me feel sick or a little nauseous. Now, it just made my stomach churn with butterflies. ''Was I becoming something else, something that wasn''t human?'' The zombies weren''t far now... I couldn''t afford to mock the male who insulted Qinglan, so I ripped my spear from his thigh, which took more strength than I expected. A spurt of blood bubbled from his thigh as the man squealed, catching the notice of most of the zombies heading this way. There were at least thirty. "Phew..." Walking towards the pawnshop, I flicked my wrists and adjusted to the weight of the spear in my hands¡ªit''s cold steel, my only comfort. Mu Qinglan darted through the zombies, unphased, ignored. They really didn''t seem to care for her and instead focused on the bleeding members of the masked gang, shambling towards them. "P-please... help... me...!" "It hurts... It hurts... It hursssss! PLEASE STOP!" Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan trembled on the spot, terrified. Both watched the men that attacked them, swarmed by the zombies and torn apart. Blood, screams, and the wails of the fallen became my background music. I twirled my spear faster and faster. The low whistle gained the attention of two zombies, who rolled their heads and noticed me with their red eyes. I wondered if they could still think or use their brain. "Qinglan, let''s fight." A mutter quiet enough to be called a whisper, yet she nodded and curled her lips into a smile like a psychopath as she rolled her metal bat in the air. "I should get started too." Unlike her, I needed to plan every encounter, avoid any scratch or bite. So, when the closest zombie approached, I stepped back and thrust upward, piercing its throat. Black blood spurted all over my hands, but I ignored the sensation and twisted my spear before kicking it down. "Haa..." There couldn''t be anything better than the sight of +5 ZKP with each kill I made. It also helped that I had Qinglan at my side. My body lunged forward, stabbing into the second zombie and piercing through its eye socket. More blood splashed onto my face as the corpse fell back. "Phew..." In the time I killed two, Qinglan crushed the skulls of five or six. However, I could feel the danger if we didn''t have some help. I flicked my gaze towards Jiang Roulan, Yifei and Wang Yun... only to find he crawled away halfway down the street now. ''So much for his love for Yifei or Jiang Roulan...'' The pair noticed my gaze before a zombie lunged at me, forcing me to block its arms and throat with the pole of my spear. I could barely feel the weight of the corpse and heavy spear... ¨‹ Your Skill has improved! You Leaned: Spear Mastery [Level 1] Suddenly, I could feel basic movements, styles and stances forming in my mind. Instinctively, I knew what action to make as I twisted my hips and flung the zombie to the ground, and smashed the butt of my spear into its forehead. My foot tapped the ground as I made more distance, maintaining two metres between me and the zombies. This distance was my ideal range with the shorter spear. ''I see... I was fighting wrong.'' Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Thrust! A sharp, more accurate and stable thrust burst through the back of another zombie''s skull. Four of them dead in a few seconds. Although not related to spearmanship, the term "Measure" used in fencing came to mind. Now, there was a sort of mental area ahead of me in a wide angle, which was my strike zone, with the proximity being a danger zone while using the spear, instinct, knowledge and skill. These benefits are what the Spear Mastery skill gave me at Level 1. "Phew..." Exhaling, I cracked my neck, preparing to take another zombie, when I noticed one twitching in the pack. Its eyes didn''t look at me. Instead, it focused on something elsewhere. [Tutorial Hint: Danger! Stage 2 Zombie detected!] ''Stage 2?!'' The back of my neck became cold... as if an executioner stood behind me holding an axe. Able to feel the cold skin as it wobbled. It reminded me of those strange Titans from that anime I watched years ago. It looked emaciated, dry... Different from the other corpses, with white eyes, rather than creamy or cloudy. "QINGLAN, AVOID IT!" I just screamed. The tingling was something I realised to be my Danger Sense Skill, and the moment I did, as if waiting for a signal. The slim zombie launched at her like a jumping spider. Its face spread apart, revealing a huge mouth filled with hundreds of jagged teeth. Qinglan''s head snapped towards the zombie, her eyes bright red as she suddenly growled and swung her bat at full force, smashing into the zombie. "Good!" I hopped back, avoiding a crawling zombie''s attempt to drag me down, while celebrating. However! The most impossible sight appeared before me. With one hand, the zombie stopped Qinglan''s full-powered swing, and it was curiously gazing at the bat while pushing her back. Mu Qinglan''s face tensed, her neck and forehead veins bulging. ''She''s struggling...'' Woosh! I crushed the frontal lobe of another zombie, sweeping my spear across the ground, crippling another... +15ZKP But I didn''t feel released because the strange zombie just kept its head tilted, stroking the bat as it trembled from the zombie''s immense strength. It was the first time I saw Mu Qinglan struggling since the end started, although only two days... it felt like an eternity. The sudden realisation that she needed help destroyed my plan. "Shen Yifei! Jiang Roulan, help kill these zombies now! Wang Yun get back here!" Whatever it is, whoever it was, I need them! "Eh?" My blood froze. After I shouted, the zombie''s neck snapped, gazing at something.... "Shit..." And that something was me! Chapter 23: Stage Two - A Moment of Terror! Chapter 23 - Stage Two - A Moment of Terror!The danger sense skill would not only teach me of incoming danger through a prick or tingling sensation in my mind. It would also slow my sense of time for a short duration from the moment this effect started. To give time to think. I could feel Yin''s fear, his thoughts of regret flowing between our link. It seemed he noticed the strange zombie but didn''t understand its danger. ''How could I blame a cat?'' Tk-Tk! A brittle, unsettling click scraped from its throat¡ªas if something was lodged inside, like cracked joints grinding together, wet and uneven. Its dark grey skin stretched over a deformed and emaciated body. The moment I blinked, a huge mouth appeared in the air... less than a metre from me. It jumped with a twisting motion, lashing at me with its tongue. "Shit!" I cursed and threw myself to the side, not caring if I damaged or hurt myself. A cold feeling ran through my body. Bang! Crack! My head crashed onto the pavement, but I survived with minimal damage, a slight ache and blood oozing down my cheek. But now the zombies were behind, and that thing ahead of me, buried in a car after smashing through its window. I surrounded myself like a cat caught in its own trap. Dragging the spear from the ground, I shifted back, trying to get to a safer position. The image of its pale white eyes and huge mouth filled with teeth, too realistic and unsettling, different from games and media. Even Mu Qinglan looked spooked¡ªand she was in her zombie phase! "Qinglan, that thing is dangerous!" I called out, stabbing another zombie, hearing the creak of metal as that monster stretched and bent it with ease. ''I need more strength. If I survive... I will pour my money intoPOWER!'' Honestly, speed was also cool, but right now I couldn''t win in speed or strength! Dodging would only tire me out. I couldn''t abandon Qinglan. The others... ''Hah!'' My mind raced because of nerves and fear. I thought too much, speaking to myself, trying to weaken the mental breakdown that was impending from this monster. But it taught me what I wanted to know. I was STILL human. Qinglan didn''t reply but lunged forward as I started moving. Her metal bat swung recklessly at zombies that moved towards me, as if in a daze. All of their eyes glowing with a slight yellow hue. She''s like a hurricane. A song started playing in my head at that moment. The system didn''t speak, and I realised that a Stage Two might be above the limit or threshold of a Tutorial. So I tried to cheat... ''System, is there anything that can boost my attributes, permanently and temporarily, with my 4000 points?'' Mu Qinglan started steamrolling the zombies, my points and experience increasing greatly, while Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan snapped out of their terror from seeing that Stage Two zombie. Crreeeeak! The car roof started to deform. Its long, deformed arms were so powerful despite being nothing but bone and atrophied muscle¡ªits lean physique likely why it moved so fast. With each smash, the metal dented, and I lost confidence. ''Tell me you shit system, or your host will die forever!'' [Tutorial Hint: Please don''t threaten the System... I will help!] For a moment, it seemed to be sentient. Though that didn''t matter, the zombies down to roughly twenty started to wane, but within seconds, that bastard would be back. ¨‹ Suggested Items! Hero Tonic: 3000 ZKP Temporarily triple all Attributes and gain a temporary level boost to all skills. However, the extreme side effects will leave the host weakened for 10 hours. Power Elixir: 1000 ZKP Increases Strength permanently¡ªeach usage decreases the effects and increases the cost. Speed Elixir: 1000 ZKP Increases Agility permanently¡ªeach usage decreases the effects and increases the cost. [Tutorial Hint: The Hero Tonic is a Rank 5 Item and isn''t normally for use at Rank 3!] I see... The system was giving me a significant hint here. Because I wanted to get the inventory upgrade for one thousand, I was subconsciously limiting my money from five to four thousand... like a fool. ''GIVE ME THEM ALL!'' [Purchase Complete!] Poof! Two small vials appeared in mid-air, and one can of a popular brand of energy drink. Red for strength, No, it was the same design, but the system shop stole it for their off-brand "HERO TONIC!" [High in caffeine, dangerous to consume more than once a month!] VWOOSH! With both its legs swinging like a hammer, the State Two Zombie kicked the entire roof off the Sedan like it was plywood. Pssssh! I opened the can and two vials and poured them into my mouth... The mixture of three flavours made me want to vomit. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. A Spicy Cinnamon & Smoked Pepper flavour from the red Power elixir, followed by the Sharp Citrus & Cool Mint of the silver Speed Elixir and, to finish... the carbonated taste cherry and dragon fruit that tasted more like motor oil. Ba-Dum!!!! My heart screamed in agony, slamming against my chest, before all the muscles in my body felt like they bulged and doubled in size. It felt as if my veins expanded, and I could clearly feel the flow of my blood. Like a chemical reaction... Suddenly, the world turned into slow motion, but it wasn''t my Danger Sense. I turned to the car and saw the Tier Two once again, but its movement wasn''t slow... but normal speed. Its face twisted, pale and ghostly, with a wide smile and glowing white eyes. Tk-Tk! Once again, it made that unsettling click, but this time, I could react. The way it leaned to the side, almost touching the ground with its head, made me feel disgusted¡ªa very inhuman sight. But it wasn''t an issue for me anymore. The creature flicked from the ground and lunged toward me like a spring. A low thud echoed in my enhanced eyes as I grabbed a nearby zombie, tossing it with ease at the zombie in mid-air, unable to dodge with its vile maw wide open. Crunch! I winced. The stage one zombie''s torso practically evaporated as the sharp teeth and force of the stage two devoured it as it continued flying towards me. I lowered my hips, grasping the light black spear with a grin pasted on my lips. The sound of zombies around me was so detailed and accurate, I could pinpoint their locations able to avoid them with a slight step, without breaking my posture. Once the slow motion faded, the zombie launched at me like a bolt of lighting. Yet I moved faster... and I stabbed out. Shlick! My black spear pierced through the air, slicing the zombie''s chest, but its leg kicked off the concrete and pushed away from the deadly strike, able to react and counter my blow in an instant. Thud! Tk-Tk! "Haa..." With a deep breath, I could feel the slight ache from surpassing my body''s limits. No wonder this was for Rank 5¡ªat that level, I should be able to handle this kind of monster with little effort. THUNK! What shocked me most was that when the zombie avoided me, its body landed in range of Qinglan, who wound up her swing and slammed her metal bat into its thick skull... The resounding crack of the impact reverberated through the air. My eyes opened wide as it stumbled to the ground, bleeding from its ears and mouth. Before I let out a breath, Qinglan jumped on the zombie, using her bat to pin its neck to the ground, locking it between a fallen pillar and car chassis and started to pummel it with a violent, crazed assault. Crack! Crunch! Her lips parted, releasing a rumbling growl as her fang-like canines shone in the setting sun. "Qinglan...?" I whispered, astonished as the red-eyed beauty beat its head into a bloody mess, even after its flesh stopped twitching and writhing underneath her. THUNK! With a final hit, she stood up and gave me a bloodthirsty smile, her face filled with an insane expression, a wide, distorted grin like a cat that brought a mouse to its owner. She bounced with light steps approaching me, dragging the zombie''s corpse. ¨‹ Mu Qinglan has killed a Stage Two Zombie! +1000 ZKP First-time Bonus! +500 EXP +50 Affection for giving her the last blow! I wanted to thank her and tried to step forward, but a sudden burning pain shot up my throat, and a sweet yet coppery taste filled my mouth. A sudden pressure grew, and I vomited a lot of bright red blood onto Qinglan''s face. However, as my vision became hazy she didn''t seem to look unhappy, and instead... ''Was that a look of elation?'' I thought... but no answer came. I blacked out. Chapter 24: Side effect! Chapter 24 - Side effect![Mu Qinglan POV] My heart raced with a fluttering beat the moment John covered me in his blood¡ªeach day, it becomes more delicious and sweet and suits my taste perfectly. I noticed something sparkling in the disgusting zombie''s head. It was green and pretty. ''John would love this.'' I thought... and something whispered in my mind, telling me it could be useful to me. Yet I wanted to give it to John like he gave me his blood. ''Hmm?'' John seemed a little strange and started shaking, and then a moment later, he slumped to the ground with a loud thud. His head hit a stone block, bouncing before it began to ooze with more blood. Anger, something hot and sticky, grew in my chest like tar. I didn''t want to drink this blood... he didn''t offer this blood to me. But John wouldn''t get up. Kneeling beside him, I poked his soft cheeks¡ªthe squashy feeling was delightful. I could see his strange face. It always made me feel a little odd¡ªheat spread through my body whenever he smiled. I could see strange images and memories of the other me. They flashed through my mind and made me angry. ''Why do you make me feel this way, John?'' ''How does my other self think?'' The other humans were being selfish and didn''t even notice you on the ground. Instead, they couldn''t kill a few zombies. Why are they so weak? Even though John did most of the fighting and killed the stronger green corpse, these idiots are struggling with normal zombies. "Help me! I can''t fight these things!" I gazed at the ugly male... his name was Wang Yun? He hasn''t killed a single zombie since he invaded our home. There isn''t much he can do except cry and wet himself, but because of his screaming, more zombies might gather here. He complained about his injury again. ''I don''t trust them...'' John fought with his body getting into this state... and none of them has helped. Shen Yifei started killing zombies, but she was far too slow and weak. I watched them quietly poking John''s face to wake him. Jiang Roulan made me feel angry, but I couldn''t deny her skill in combat. ''Only John.'' Even the other me inside felt the same about this. However, he won''t wake up, even after poking his face several times. "John..." "...Wake up!" Because I couldn''t wake him up and made my decision, I grabbed the pretty green stone, the small marble rolling on my palm with a cool sensation. When I lifted John off the ground, his scent flowed into my nose. It was thick and strong, causing my head to become dizzy. Thoughts of biting and drinking his blood echoed like whispered screams. But that wasn''t right... ''I am only allowed when you say I can, right?'' There was a bag near the wall that I had hidden before those humans appeared. To make sure nothing bad happened again, I collected the weapons of all the men that insulted me and died because of John''s attack. ''John was cool when he fought the green zombie.'' While grabbing the blades and weapons, I placed them in my bag filled with "trinkets" from the pawnshop. The other me collected items she believed would help the group and would also impress John when he returned. If she looked forward to seeing him so much, ''why was she so cold?'' Like this, I imitated my other self and acted normal and took the lead of the group in his place. I tried to act like he would and called out to the others, who seemed to be confused and lost. "We cannot continue. Let''s head back home." "Are you sure? What about John?" Shen Yifei finally noticed the unconscious John on my back and looked horrified. Her hand reached out, but I pulled back, not wanting her to steal my role. I don''t know why, but butterflies fluttered in my stomach when I did. "He''s injured, but we need to get back to help him." "That''s a good idea. I found some antiseptic and painkillers from the small pharmacy. So, let''s follow Mu Qinglan in John''s absence." "Why? I am struggling to walk here!" Again, the annoying flesh made noise¡ªhe seemed to feel entitled, but John tolerated him, so I decided not to kill him. Yet. Instead, I tossed a sturdy pole to him so he could lean on it to walk, but he smiled at me with a strange, creepy grin. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "T-Thank you, Qinglan." He used my name... ''I want to kill him, I want to cut his throat... Tear apart his insides and throw him to the zombies. Die. Die. Die!'' It made my skin tingle and different from when John used it. I could see and feel the same things the other Qinglan saw. Thus, she also didn''t feel this way when it was John calling her name... I miss John''s voice. The feeling in my stomach faded because of that insect. Everything ruined. *** Two hours later, the group arrived back at our base... nobody broke inside and we all survived. Then I remembered that the old man who John liked seemed to have vanished. ''I will ask John when he wakes up.'' I carried John to our room and flung him onto the bed, but I felt everything was a little annoying. No matter what I did, he wouldn''t wake up. "John... can I kill that pig?" Though I asked him, he remained sleeping... like a princess in a fairytale. "If you don''t speak, I will punish you." The hot and sticky feeling in my chest grew more active when I said that. My heart was pumping faster and harder with anticipation as I enacted my punishment! I tore piece by piece from his body until he lay without clothing and found that the feeling only became worse. The throbbing became unbearable... His skin felt soft like silk, but the scent was earthy and thick. When my nose came close to his neck, the tingling sensation that tickled my brain made me want to drink more blood. However, John forbade me from doing that without permission. But what should I do if I couldn''t resist and needed to feed... ''But just a little taste won''t matter, right...?'' And so... I bit his neck, softly chomping and chewing the sweet-scented flesh and found myself feeling sleepy. It felt so comfortable being close to John''s warm body that I became drowsy. The other me would soon wake up, and I would have to wait another day to meet him. Tonight was so fun, John... Chapter 25: A Zombie Core Chapter 25 - A Zombie CoreA pain spread through the back of my head, disturbing my sleep. I could feel a burning pain spreading through my muscles with each little movement. When I shifted my neck, my hands covered my mouth and suppressed a groan from the sudden sharp sensation that sank into my flesh. "Ugh..." With a slow, extended breath, I shifted beneath the sheets to avoid pain. There was something warm pressed against my shoulder, squishy, and when I reached out, two orbs slipped into my hands. The moment my hands squeezed the round, plump mounds. A soft, ticklish breath tickled my skin before it became a faint hum that vibrated against my neck, and my eyes snapped open, realising what they were. "!!!" Mu Qinglan curled up beside me, her chest pressed against my arm, completely bare beneath the covers. Her lips pressed against my throat, parted just enough for a thin line of drool and my blood to trail down my collarbone. For a split second, my mind became pure white. I flicked the soft nubs pressing against my palms before pulling away instantly as she began to stir. "Nn..." Her breathing stopped for a moment, before her mouth opened wide, revealing her white teeth and pink tongue and releasing a long yawn as her sweet breath blew against my face and she started moving. Mu Qinglan''s fingers spread apart and twitched while touching my chest, her long lashes fluttering as they opened, revealing her piercing yet unfocused blue eyes still heavy from her long sleep. She blinked slowly, squeezing and rubbing my chest with a faint smile on her lips. Shocked, she gasped upon noticing me. "What...?" Her voice sounded soft and husky. I watched her quietly, enjoying this rare sight of a nude Mu Qinglan, the ice queen''s cut state when she woke up, caught between sleep and easily. No superhuman, but a normal, vulnerable human. "Ngh... morning!" With a slow stretch, trying to hide the pain from the tonic''s aftereffects, I slipped out of the bed because I was hungry, and the scent of bacon from the kitchen was too tempting. However, it felt cold, icy cold. When I rolled my shoulders, letting out a pleasant groan as the crack of my bones felt amazing, there was a moment of silence as we met gazes again. "W-Wait¡ªWhy are you naked!?" I paused about to respond, then glanced down at myself and couldn''t help but smile, ''thank god for morning wood...'' It was cold as hell! Then looked back at her and shrugged. To hell if I knew... I was still at the pawnshop last I remembered. "I don''t even know how I got home..." Mu Qinglan gazed at me with a befuddled face. Her lips parted for a moment before closing again, what she intended to say dying in her throat. Her face became red... deep red, before she yanked the quilt and wrapped herself up and cocooned herself in the fabric, rolling on my bed. "Get dressed!" I curled my lips and enjoyed the situation while crouching and grabbing my clothes. "You looked amazing, Boss." A cheeky response came from my lips as I stood at the window, enjoying the morning sun leaking through. Somehow, the others must have got lucky and found some fresh bacon, something I thought we used yesterday. I remember hearing Jiang Roulan speaking about a small convenience store beside the pawnshop on the way there... For now, it was enough with the serum that reduced hunger and other needs. But the day had only just begun, and I needed to eat. *** The cheap pans sizzled with oil, cooking with a professional''s skill. Shen Yifei swayed her waist while humming as she prepared breakfast in a good mood. "I hope you''re hungry... but John, are you sure you can eat?" "I''m starving, please give me a big service!" "I''ll have rice and some bacon..." Mu Qinglan cut in and then huffed, turning away when we met eyes. "Hmph!" Both Jiang Roulan and Yifei seemed a little clingy and worried about me when I reached the table, and not long after, a shy little cat named Mu Qinglan followed. "Meow!" "Yin!" "Who is this cat?" Jiang Roulan asked while petting its soft, fluffy head. It seemed to have washed since I last saw it, too. The moment I called his name, the cat dashed across the table and hopped onto my shoulder and gazed at me with a sad aura. His emotions seemed worried about my health and sorry he didn''t help. ''Yin... you saved our lives and helped these women survive.'' I couldn''t help but think that without taking that path and having Yin''s danger sense, that stage-two zombie would have killed me. Thankfully, he seemed to understand my feelings to some extent and rubbed my palm with his head before curling up and flicking the back of my neck with his fluffy tail. Bang! Suddenly the door slammed open and caused the cat and Qinglan to jump, one clawing my shoulder, the other drawing a blade. ''Where did she get that machete?'' I wondered. "What are you doing?! It''s me. Don''t threaten me with a blade." Wang Yun just always made himself seem annoying at the worst times. "Didn''t I tell you not to come inside without knocking?" Shen Yifei mumbled while stirring a second pan without care as she tossed some rice and started making some porridge without seasoning or bacon. "Sit down." "Eh... Ah, yeah, sure." "So what did you come here for, there must be a reason right?" Despite her snapping and acting tsundere, Qinglan started to speak to Wang Yun in her cold and heartless CEO mode. "I..." His eyes darted around the room as if looking for something, though they lingered on the hips and chests of the three women first. Until they finally moved to the machete in Qinglan''s hand that glistened in the morning sunlight. "I want a weapon, since its'' dangerous... you won''t turn me down right?" He started to stutter after meeting my eyes, but didn''t give in, which was a little admirable. "We''re a group... right?" Snap! I opened up a bottle of whiskey before pouring some into my mouth. A deliciously hot, silky taste washed out the filth that spread from the pig''s mouth. The burning sensation comfortable as the honey and caramel taste soaked into my tongue. "What have you done so far to deserve one of them?" "Huh? I am a member of this group too!" Wang Yun looked at everyone but they turned away¡ªeven the breakfast was different for him, given a simple porridge while everyone else had eggs, and bacon too. "Don''t be selfish, we all struggled to get them..." The shameless Wang Yun added, looking at Jiang Roulan''s chest once again. ''Oh, she noticed...'' BANG! Suddenly I almost jumped because Mu Qinglan slammed the table. Yin also ran away. "What have you done exactly?! Nothing but cower and piss yourself while shouting your self entitled bullshit!?" Her eyes glowed red for a moment before she suddenly calmed down and swallowed her breath, biting her lower lip. "Sorry, I''m a little..." She left the table and vanished into my bedroom... her breakfast hardly touched. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I didn''t like the atmosphere, and this was my group, so I let out a long sigh and then grabbed one of the cheap baseball bats lying on the sofa beside me. "Here, it''s better than nothing." "Huh?" I tossed the bat and shook my head. "Next time make sure you knock before coming to this apartment." Wang Yun snatched the bat, before muttering under his breath... "Damn sluts... dare insult me." I noticed that Shen Yifei''s face twisted, her eyes became sharp when gazing at Wang Yun''s back, because we both evolved, that whipser was clear as day. I shook my head with a frown and left the table. "I''ll see to Qinglan... today let''s vote later if we''re going out together. Oh and... I''ll also tell you both what happened yesterday... about Old Lei." "Mm..." "See you." I couldn''t forget that my goal was to recruit Jiang Roulan, but I couldn''t leave Qinglan in such a state, and she took priority. *** When I entered the bedroom, I found her sitting on the edge of my bed, kicking her legs while letting a small green crystal with a milky texture roll around her palm. [Tutorial Hint: That orb is a Zombie Core!] "A zombie core?" However, before I could learn more... "John!" Qinglan exclaimed with an excited voice the moment she saw me, and that''s when I noticed her eyes were red, despite it being daytime! [Tutorial Hint: During times of emotional instability, her persona may switch!] Chapter 26: The Usage of A Core... Chapter 26 - The Usage of A Core...I didn''t realise she could switch because of emotions. This sudden knowledge made me consider the future and how to handle this. If it were only the evening and sleep cycles, I don''t think there would be such an issue. "It''s for you." Mu Qinglan pushed the core to me with a wide smile. She seemed so expressive during her "zombie" mode¡ªit made the usual Mu Qinglan seem like the zombie and this form was an actual human. I thought it was a little ironic. "You are giving this to me, do you know what this does?" To be honest, I only heard its name, but I wondered how Mu Qinglan seemed to understand its value as she treated it like a treasure, even making a small box for it using my expensive perfume package. [System Hint: The Zombie core has several usages] I took the creamy green crystal orb from her hand¡ªthe scent was a little fruity, like kiwi. It rolled around my hand, cool to the touch and glistening to my eye. "Eat it." Qinglan spoke again, imitating me swallowing the orb. "Excuse me?" The thought of swallowing this small green orb made my stomach churn because this small orb felt no different to the glass in the windows. It made me doubt Qinglan for a moment before the familiar blue box appeared and taught me again. "Eat!" [Tutorial Hint: Zombie cores can be swallowed and won''t cause choking or health risks!] I lifted the orb, placing it against my lips. The slight scent of Mu Qinglan''s hand cream lingered on it... cocoa butter. [Tutorial Hint: Don''t eat it!] ''Huh?'' I thought to myself. Didn''t the system just tell me that this could help me and wasn''t harmful to swallow? ''Why?'' [Tutorial Hint: That''s not it! The core... look at the panel to your left. I will show you!] Because the soft tutorial voice told me to check I did while trying to ignore how excited Mu Qinglan looked with her shining red eyes. It seemed she knew exactly what this did for people... I wondered how. ¨‹ Zombie Core Usage - Can be sold for ZKP - Can be swallowed by enhanced humans - Can Help Zombies to evolve. (Explains their instinctive hunger for them) - Can upgrade/make weapons. Then some text appeared, but the Tutorial woman''s voice read it out, which made things easier for me. [The reason you shouldn''t swallow this is that you have reached Rank 3! So from now on, each time one of your subjects reaches the next stage of evolution. You will also gain an increase in power!] ''I will gain power...?'' [It''s not the same as a full evolution, but you gain this for all subjects that have over 100 affection for you and evolve to the next stage! Do you see now?] ''I see.'' Now, this made me realise something about this system and the virus: if there were stage two zombies. Then evolution must mean that eventually stage two humans will exist... and that only right now did I have a superior strength and advantage over them. ''Let''s not tell Mu Qinglan about this and use it to get some points.'' Although it seemed dirty, he needed the women and men closest to him to have an affection and loyalty that others couldn''t break. If someone else ran off with them after he strengthened them, it would be idiotic. I rolled the green orb between my fingers. Each time I moved it, the eyes of Qinglan followed it like a cat and it was super cute. She looked at me with confused eyes the moment I pressed it against her soft lips, the squishy sensation a little wet from her lip gloss. Or maybe it was her drool. I couldn''t help but roll the cold orb along her mouth before slipping it into her mouth. "Eat it. Qinglan, you''ve worked hard." I wanted to stir her hunger for the orb, letting her taste it and desire it. Her tongue pushed the orb, as if to resist my gift at first, but slowly her resistance faded, my left hand reaching out and stroking her hair as she parted her lips and my fingers slipped into her mouth. "Mmmmn." However, her tongue wrapped around my fingers. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. A warm, sticky sensation slithered and coiled around them as she sucked the orb from my grasp with a rather loud sucking sound. Mu Qinglan''s eyes narrowed, and she fluttered her eyelashes seductively at me... Immediately, she flung her head back and slammed back onto the bed with a thud. Her body started to convulse, and I saw her muscles visibly bulging and contracting, becoming bulkier and then condensed as the dead Qinglan let out a pained gasp. "Argh...!" She started to spasm, which made me panic. Mu Qinglan''s eyes shone a dark red, then flickered to an azure blue as her pained groans changed to sound like something different. The extreme difference in her size and looks seemed almost monstrous, but instead of that... I noticed her hands started to move. Qinglan reached across her body, pulling up her shirt, slipping her pants down. I looked away, but I needed to ensure she was safe. Yet when she started rubbing and touching herself, with a low, breath sigh, I realised it was different. "I messed up..." There was a sudden flash when her gaze snapped towards me, and I felt the familiar tingle in my neck, but before I could dash out of the door, Mu Qinglan grabbed my arm and flung me onto the bed. "John~" She purred in my ear. It was hard to deny my arousal even while terrified. Her dull red eyes loomed near my face, as she bit my cheek... nibbled my neck and sucked on the tip of my ears, while sniffing my chest and body like a beast... She pushed her breasts against me while licking my face and grabbing my clothes. I struggled against her... Really... I tried. However, when I thought she might really start something. Thud! A weight dropped on my chest, and her sleeping face came into my view. "..." Chapter 27: Jiang Roulan asks for help... Chapter 27 - Jiang Roulan asks for help...I struggled to calm myself and avoided waking another beast. After taking a deep breath, I sighed and slipped Mu Qinglan off my body. She weighed a lot more than earlier and her muscles looked more toned and... well, sexy. "Sleep well, Qinglan." Though she was my trump card, immune to the virus or disease but I didn''t want to overuse her and tried my best to treat Mu Qinglan like a human. This time, it paid off. ¨‹ Mu Qinglan has reached Stage 2! Mu Qinglan has reached the next step +500 EXP +1000 ZKP Mu Qinglan is the first recorded Human to reach Stage 2! +500 EXP +2000 ZKP + John Wang Enhancement Bonus! You Fed Qinglan the first Stage Two Core! Mu Qinglan''s Affection +70 ¡ª "Wow..." I couldn''t believe that finally, Qinglan had reached the level of Loyalty plus like Shen Yifei, this would enable me to relax a little more around her. But the amount of ZKP and EXP made it feel like the system planned for me to face such danger. That buying those items when facing Stage 2 was all part of its grand scheme. ''Am I being paranoid?'' "Whatever..." There wasn''t enough information, and he didn''t know if the disease was from some broken lab somewhere or an alien or magical lifeform. But it wasn''t the time to be worrying about something like this... If Qinglan survived and evolved, then others could. ''I need to fight...'' Since I reached my current level of spirit, I could sometimes see a faint essence that flowed from zombies when killed. This essence would float into the people that attacked or helped kill it. The essence must be what helped bring someone to the brink of Evolution. Because my stats increased when fighting the zombies near Old Lei''s house and I didn''t evolve or take any special items. ''Let''s find out...'' I thought. But I couldn''t leave Mu Qinglan alone here with Wang Yun in the building. We planned to hold a vote in the evening. To see if the women wanted to go out and kill zombies while looking for resources. With our current strength, the mall wasn''t an option but suicide. I wanted to help train both Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan to reach the level needed to fight zombies like Mu Qinglan. With countless things on my mind, I decided to train before it was time for dinner, wanting to improve myself and get used to my changes before leaving. Also hoping that Qinglan would wake up. *** Dinner wasn''t anything special... no, it was delicious, really delicious! But you can only eat special fried rice with leftover meat or a microwave meal so many times when working till late each day. And Qinglan didn''t wake up. "Thanks for the meal." I let out a long sigh and looked at Jiang Roulan and Shen Yifei. It seemed they brought some food to Wang Yun to avoid him complaining. But I didn''t care so much. He wasn''t someone I planned to keep or let become one of my followers. ''Once Jiang Roulan enters my system...'' I thought. "Um... John." Suddenly as I thought of countless ways to make the fat man squeal before death. Jiang Roulan, holding a bottle of whiskey and two glasses, approached me. Her face looked a little complicated, and I wondered what she might have to ask. "What''s the matter?" "Its..." I noticed her resistance and pulled back. Don''t be too eager. "Well, shall we have a drink first? Yifei do you want some?" Shen Yifei was a strange woman that I only accepted into the group because she was pretty and the system convinced me to. Even now, she gained me experience points, though much less than killing zombies. I could reach Rank Four at any moment now. "D-Don''t mind about me, I''ve got something to do..." What could she have to do in the apocalypse and inside my house? I couldn''t help but wonder. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. We moved to the veranda because Shen Yifei seemed a little strange, and I couldn''t help but keep looking back. ''Maybe she knew the reason?'' The cool evening wind blew across the balcony, distant shots and shouts still echoed in the red sky, while the wind chimes created a calming background sound. I enjoyed drinking there because it felt like the rest of the world didn''t matter. "....so, being a cop was that fun?" "Yeah! I loved being in power, not told to sit down or back off, with this..." She rubbed her pistol with a huge grin, different from her usual self. "Even those sexist fucks backed off when I revealed my identity, not my family, or name... but my authority!" Jiang Roulan wasn''t the straight-laced woman I thought¡ªshe enjoyed drinking, watching fights, but that didn''t mean she was a feminist who hated men. She also longed for romance, but with her family, it seemed she became jaded. "Sounds like a powerful feeling." "Hah, it is... but I wanted to meet a nice man before the world ended." "Oho, a nice man. What''s your type?" I was truly interested, and not having much experience myself... these conversations with women helped. "Someone strong... not that I want to be protected, though I do. It''s more, having someone who would kick a criminals ass beside me and cover me if there was a fight. But if either of us are sick... we''d look after each other, you get me?" "Ah... I get you." It was a little tedious because I couldn''t get drunk yet. The drunk cop rambled about things like this for almost an hour as she started to sober up a little. "Ahem! Can you forget... some of that?" I sipped the cold coffee that Yifei had brought out a few minutes ago. As if she could tell when I wanted a coffee or hard drink, she always offered first. "I''ll forget if you tell me what you wanted earlier, and don''t bullshit me." "..." She looked at me with her wet eyes, a little dazed from the alcohol, but she shook her head and nodded, as if convincing herself. "I need your help, please... take me to my apartment!" "Huh?" What kind of request was this? Because I didn''t understand the context, I felt a little irritated. Where did she live, and how far would I have to travel? If this woman wasn''t an S-Tier woman, would I have to endure... However... she then said her address and my anger faded. The location wasn''t far. It suddenly made sense because she lived on the opposite side of the business complex and the direction we were currently facing. "If I take you, I want a reward." "Eh?" She looked at me with a slightly troubled face, but then she tapped her lips, dragging her teeth along them before nodding. "As long as it''s not something... too far." "I see... then, is it just me and you going? Qinglan is a little injured from last night and I don''t want to leave her alone with... that guy here." "We can take him... at worst he could be a meat shield right?" "Eh?" This time I was shocked... If I had an affection meter, then it would have just increased by 50 for Jiang Roulan. Chapter 28: Jiang Roulan Recruited! Chapter 28 - Jiang Roulan Recruited!I didn''t want to accept this mission because she was a hot policewoman. At first that might have been true, but from her actions and how she observed things during the past two days. It felt she might serve the camp well in a similar role. Maybe something like a judge or something that could mix her previous role and a new one suited for a small group that would eventually grow. Eventually becoming village-sized one day. ''She is very perceptive.'' Honestly, I didn''t have a grand plan or even the drive to do something that significant right now. Survival was about the only thing on my mind, though the idea of having an army of seductive S-Tier women sounded great at first. I needed to face reality and take what I could... at least until I gained the strength to protect them and keep them by my side. ''Not everyone is like Mu Qinglan...'' So for now, I needed skilled people, no matter the gender. Yin didn''t count, but once I started meeting more survivors, I planned to recruit those who seemed worth it. Before I accepted her request, I purchased the 1,000 ZKP inventory upgrade. [System Hint: Your storage now stops the passage of time and maintains temperature.] -1000 ZKP S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ''Easy.'' "Okay, let''s take him and leave Shen Yifei with Mu Qinglan and since the distance is far... we should probably prepare to stay the night in the case something fucks up." Jiang Roulan''s eyes widened at my words before she nodded and smiled back. "After all, asking you was the right call. I really needed this. Thank you." "Let''s leave in an hour, so get yourself ready." The scent of tobacco and whiskey lingered as she leaned back, gazing into the evening sky before sipping a glass of iced water. Jiang Roulan stepped inside, her uneasy steps showing she wasn''t quite sober. I wonder if the things she wanted are things a woman would need since she''s speaking to Shen Yifei about something. While looking into the sky, I quietly mused on my thoughts. "I''m no longer on the tutorial... but her last message." There was a blinking message on my system interface marked as [Important]. I knew that the tutorial benefit did this for me and opened it. ''The tutorial vanished after telling me about the zombie core...'' ¨‹ You must reach Rank 4 to create a safe zone that no Zombie can penetrate. This warning message helped me realise that sometimes staying put isn''t quite worth it. I realised that after facing a stage-two zombie. It wouldn''t be long before stronger, mutated zombies appeared that surpassed that small concrete and glass defence. "Phew..." Sipping the last of my whiskey, I leaned against the balcony railing and wondered what might happen tonight. A sense of excitement and curiosity was building in the back of my mind. Even now, I felt the thumping of my heart increasing in speed and power. Or maybe that was just the amount of caffeine and alcohol I''d been drinking since the world ended. Woosh! I tossed the empty bottle into the distance. The force created a low whistle. My evolved strength was now far beyond a regular human as it smashed into a distant zombie, crushing its skull. Crash! +5 ZKP Amused by the easy points, I considered upgrading Shen Yifei with my current points as I returned to the apartment. I would bring my jacket and some items for safety and emergencies. Maybe some food, a blanket and bandages using my system. Oh, and I couldn''t forget the spare weapons, just in case. ''The twenty slots became thirty when I hit Rank Three... nice.'' *** Despite my attempts to wake her, Mu Qinglan remained silent in her long sleep. Thankfully, the system informed me that this was just a natural occurrence and most people would sleep at least twelve hours when evolving the first time. ''Are there many Stage Two zombies in the city right now... I hope not.'' [System Information: Calculating!] [Current number of Stage Two zombies in a thirty-minute radius: 3] [Current number of Stage One Zombies in a thirty-minute radius: Over 9,000] Even with this information helping me to focus, it didn''t mean I could earn experience alone... I focused on how to clear this hurdle. [System Hint: Accepting this quest unlocked Jiang Roulan''s lock!] ''Why didn''t you tell me sooner?'' [System Message: You Didn''t Ask] This news brought a completely new set of questions because when I gazed at Jiang Roulan across the room and I realised the system wasn''t lying. However, her affection for me was higher than Mu Qinglan''s when I first recruited her, which made no sense. ¨‹ After countless betrayals, she finds it hard to trust others. Watching your actions and surveying you, she has lowered her iron guard and accepting her request might have been her last test to measure you up. ''I see...'' Shaking my head, I felt this was bullshit. But couldn''t help it and opened the recruitment tab, and of course, there wasn''t any time to waste in assigning her a role. [Recruitment Available.] [Subject: Jiang Roulan (S-Tier)] [Press to Confirm.] I noticed her gaze for a moment before pressing the button and confirming everything. A sense of satisfaction filled me as the first goal I created finally ended. Though it took me two days and I already lost Old Lei. [You have successfully recruited Jiang Roulan (S-Tier)] ¨‹ Jiang Roulan''s attributes are now visible. + 200 Experience + 1000 ZKP Bonus! + Your Self Defence skill reached Level 3! Without wasting time, I checked her abilities and chose one of the stranger skills... because it sounded like something I truly needed. + You have learned the skill Unbreaking Will [Level 1] ¡ª [STATUS] Name: Jiang Roulan Role: ¡ª¡ª Tier: S Affection: [122/500] (Friendly) Health: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% (Healthy) Morale: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% (Relieved, self-conscious) [STATS] Strength | 1.4 Physique | 1.5 Agility | 1.3 Spirit | 2.5 [SKILLS] Cooking [Level 1] First Aid [Level 4] Intuition [Level 5] Self Defence [Level 6] Lie Detection [Level 2] Iron Guard [Level 5] Tonfa Specialist [Level 6] Unbreaking Will [Level 2] Devoted [Level 10] ¡ª ''Her spirit is equal to mine, that''s amazing!'' The harsh life of a policewoman must have taken its toll on her in this country, especially when most cops were sexist and believed women didn''t deserve their posts. ''Well, let''s finish up and get ready...'' But because of all her skills it made me wonder what kind of role she should be given. With a curious mind, I pressed the plus tab next to her role section. *** Devoted: Has never betrayed or lied to someone who earned her trust UnbreakingWill: Increases Spirit and willpower. Hardened after 8 years as a Police Officer IronGuard: Increases Spirit and makes it hard to make friends or suffer lasting mental damage. Chapter 29: Toward the Apartments. Chapter 29 - Toward the Apartments.There were many roles I could give to Jiang Roulan that would help me instantly, but somehow, it didn''t feel right to choose such boring and standard jobs. My gaze browsed through the system and found several interesting choices. "Are we ready to leave?" Jiang Roulan looked at me in a jacket and arms wrapped in bandages to protect from bites. I could have bought some items for her. However, I wanted to focus on myself and improving my combat power and safety¡ªI know it''s selfish. But without me, there wasn''t any survival, and that was the simple truth. "Yeah, is Wang Yun coming?" Despite not wanting to involve him, there wasn''t any reason to leave him here in case he tried to do something in my absence. "I am... is that a problem?" The arrogant Wang Yun snapped back, holding his wooden bat like it was a machine gun. "Not at all. Lead the way." Well, he didn''t have a choice, and I wouldn''t blame him for being so nervous because even Jiang Roulan mentioned using him as a shield. Although I doubt she was being honest, that was more than likely the alcohol talking. "Here, a gift for the hard-working officer." I stepped closer to Jiang Roulan and handed her something that made her eyes open wide, difference from her wooden tonfa with chipped pain and damage from the previous fights. When I handed her a pair of tonfa from the system, she seemed excited. ¨‹ Ultra Strong Tonfa ? Regenerates durability to the original state once a day. ? Durability 200/200 ? Cost: 200 ZKP Because I noticed her tonfa shouldered most of the force of her enemies, I chose a similar weapon to Mu Qinglan. Since Jiang Roulan was S-Tier, I didn''t feel nervous about paying this extra, and she didn''t need a training weapon at such a high level of tonfa skill. "John, this is amazing... where did you¡ª" Placing a finger on her lips, I made a shushing gesture before winking and heading towards the window while browsing the different roles in the corner of my vision. "H-Hey... John!" I looked back at her with a sly grin when I noticed the job I wanted to give her because it suited her in every way. Honestly, it was because the system tutorial left a marking on the message and told me something about this job that caught my interest. Pactbound Justicar A class that only Jiang Roulan could take¡ªit seemed you needed at least 10 years of experience in the justice sector. No matter what, you must avoid bribes, breaking the law and tarnishing their beliefs... ''This is where her Iron Will and Devotion came in strong.'' The reason I wanted this class was because of the description. A unique class bestowed upon those who enforce both justice and sacred bonds. This class could gain experience from upholding the law, maintaining order and strengthening unity in the group. It included combat, policing, leadership and acts of devotion. The reason it was important... I was the law. Giving Jiang Roulan the ability to earn experience in so many ways would help me when Mu Qinglan or Shen Yifei couldn''t. Combat, Camp Duties, Judging & Policing and finally... She could gain experience through intimacy as it seemed the system deemed the "Sacred bond" and "Devotion" as something akin to marriage. Grabbing the window, I vaulted out and landed on the steel sheeting. But I couldn''t help but wonder how long this place would remain safe to use. When will zombies that can jump or climb like humans appear? Or maybe they existed, and those 5 Stage Two zombies would have such abilities. Despite this, there was a downside to such a widespread role. Jiang Roulan would split her future growth between Strength, Physique and Spirit, prioritising her Spirit attribute. Compared to the Maid, which gains more Agility and Physique per stage. While checking her current information, it became clear Jiang Roulan''s system didn''t show her current stage on her status panels. "I cannot see their stage..." [You need to purchase that sub-module.] This damn system loved to do me dirty. Other people would have super powers, ultimate cultivation abilities and see even the size of a woman''s bra and hips! "Well, whatever... Jiang Roulan, hurry up¡ª" Thud! Her body zoomed past me as she slid off the garage, using the momentum to crush a zombie that was clawing at the window beside our building. "Damn!" ''She''s really wild.'' Thanks to the improvement in the system, it didn''t show a pop-up unless I wanted to see it, and the system became more focused and reactive. Instead of taking a few seconds, the changes in my vision were instance, able to make them transparent or invisible. With a slight boost, I dashed and leapt off the building and slammed my spear down, crushing two zombies into meat past, the weight of the spear seeming to grow with my growth. However, it appeared to have a limit for when I reached a certain level. But right now, it felt quite good at around 30kg, and with my current strength. Maybe a little heavy, but it crushed bones and skulls like glass. Crack! "Wow, nice!" "Thanks!" Jiang Roulan gave me a thumbs up, her clothes already covered in blood. I remembered how scared she was of a Stage Two zombie and wondered why it affected her so much. Not that I could ask her¡ªthere wasn''t enough trust between us yet. "Wang Yun, aren''t you coming?" I called out, looking back at him. "Huh?" It seemed she completely forgot about him in the space of a few moments... but her face appeared to be beaming since I gave her that role, and it made her spirit reach a new level, making her one of the strongest mentally. ''Since her spirit is the same as me, she should be fine now.'' I thought. "Lead the way, Roulan." "Who let you call me like that~" Although her voice remained a little aggressive, her eyes fluttered while lifting the corners of her lips playfully. So I played along as she started to jog towards the main road. "Do you have a problem?" "It''s fine!" she said while stretching her arms. "Just be more careful." Her body moved like a panther, shifting through the streets using a simple taekwondo dash before slamming her tonfa''s base into the throats of the zombies. With a simple attack, she cracked their necks, instantly killing them. ''Two dead... in a single attack.'' She made me want to become stronger, the way she moved her weapons as an extension of herself... I closed my eyes and focused on myself. I felt I could reach her level of skill soon with more training and time. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But since there weren''t many zombies, I wanted to try... "Guys... haa....wait... haaa.... huu...." ''Oh... I forgot him.'' Chapter 30: Zombies go BOOM Chapter 30 - Zombies go BOOM"What should we do?" Jiang Roulan glanced my way while biting her lip and furrowing her brows. The current situation wasn''t positive¡ªnot long after leaving my apartment, we found ourselves surrounded by zombies. I extended my arm, motioning her to lower herself. "Careful, get down..." Wang Yun shifted behind while heaving, almost giving away our position. We hid behind a group of cars and a huge metal bin. At first, it was quite simple to fight through the zombies, kill one, kill two. However, once the zombies appeared in groups of twelve or more, their danger quickly increased. I felt confident in fighting them for a while, but the issue was that their numbers constantly increased with all the noise. Zombies shambled around the cars, dragging their legs with low groans, eating away at our collective sanity. Me and Roulan would be fine, but Wang Yun might not last long. "Why did we come here?" "Because Roulan needed something." I whispered, trying to get my point across without raising my voice. Roulan shifted closer to me and looked over the hood of the car. Her eyes focused on the police station to the left and the apartments in our vision. I placed a hand on her waist, ready to pull her down at a moment''s notice while observing the surrounding zombies. ''At least a hundred...'' Jiang Roulan turned around with a look of uncertainty, but her lips curled into a slight grin as her eyes sparkled with a strange flicker of light. "Up there, can you see the beams leading to the convenience store?" Following her finger to the large beams connecting the buildings, I could barely make out the steel structure supporting the signs and electrical wires. Although it could hold our weight, I felt nervous about Wang Yun... Wang Yun had been acting like an entitled student from the West, shouting and complaining whenever Jiang Roulan led us to this area, telling us to go back. "Do you think we can do it?" "Let me go first..." Jiang Roulan said. I nodded as she crawled across the gap and then climbed on top of the garbage bin. I put my foot against the metal box to avoid creating noise that would attract zombies as she scaled up to the top. "Come on." Roulan excitedly waved down at me. "Go." My eyes glanced towards Wang Yun, who was looking around in a panic. I felt like he might be the death of us, and I felt anxious about him messing something up. He nodded, the fear on his face clear before he started to make his way up to Jiang Roulan. *Rattle* "Grr..." S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Arr..." The zombies started to approach us, but it was too slow to matter. Once Wang Yun was halfway up, he suddenly slipped... "ARGH!" His cry echoed through the street. ''Fuck!'' The zombies shambled closer, in a larger group, now that our position was compromised. I shifted to the back of the car, picked up the lid of the garbage bin, and tossed it into the air; my arms ached from the heavy steel before it slammed down, crushing several zombies. "GET UP!" There wasn''t any need to be quiet now. I started running and jumped into the air, kicking off the back wall, then pushing myself off and grabbing the ledge Wang Yun almost fell from. "Hah!" "John!" Jiang Roulan couldn''t help me as she was dragging Wang Yun up. But that didn''t matter. I sucked in a deep breath, then pulled myself up, the zombies now gathering at our feet. Groaning and clicking their jaws. Once on top of the beam, Jiang Roulan pointed toward the convenience store, but now it seemed dangerous to follow this path. At one point, the beam tipped close to the ground and within biting range¡ªif one of them got caught, the danger would be far too much. "What should we do?" "Not sure..." And despite how it might have seemed to them. I wasn''t some magical genius who could come up with a plan instantly, first observing the area and checking places or things I could use. The zombies lingered around the base of the building. Below the steel beam was a small store canopy which would stop us from falling. There was a path using those, but it involved a long jump to reach the convenience store outside the apartment. The thing that made me doubtful was the number of zombies near the apartment. ''How much were those grenades?'' [System Message: Explosive grenades 1000 ZKP] ''I''ll take three!'' POOF! Three grenades appeared in my hands, cold and heavy with slight rivets. But the sound of the explosion would only draw more zombies, so for the best usage, wouldn''t it be best to draw them closer first? "Jiang Roulan, Wang Yun... follow me!" I ran across the steel beam to the canopy while storing the three grenades, with Jiang Roulan following behind. Wang Yun, however, hesitated before catching up, lagging far behind. We stood at the place closest to the bar, where I pulled out my smartphone and flicked through the most irritating sound files and set my alarm to go off in five minutes. "Jiang Roulan, Wang Yun... both of you, rush across that bar now!" "WHAT?!" "NOW, FUCKING GO!" I screamed, scaring Wang Yun, who almost stumbled from the sudden shift in tone. Jiang Roulan looked at me before I took out a grenade, and she suddenly moved while glancing back at me several times. Although I didn''t know the strength of these things, I still believed they could help, even if it was only for a moment. The weaker zombies didn''t see well, but they picked up on the scent of blood and sound well. "Phew... they''re coming." Zombies from all down the street gradually shambled towards us. I could feel my chest pounding from the excitement and anxiety of this moment. I grasped the grenade and watched them amassing just below me, hammering the wall with a low thud. A metallic clink sounded as I pulled the pin. "Three..." "Two..." The zombies grouped up as I tossed the grenade into the centre of them, jumping back against the wall as I prepared for the explosion. "One..." THUD! Clink... clack... *BOOM!* Chapter 31: The Death of Wang Yun!? Chapter 31 - The Death of Wang Yun!?The blast lifted me off my feet, almost pushing me off the steel beam, my hand gripping the wall desperately. My whole body convulsed from the aftershock, and instantly I lost all sense of balance, not a trace of focus. "Damn it, my ears are ringing." an irritating screech echoed inside my ears, like someone ringing a loud bell. I staggered, slapping my head to clear the noise, but it didn''t help, and the horrible smoke filled my eyes. Jiang Roulan called out to me with a concerned expression, rushing towards me as Wang Yun grabbed her arm, yanking her back so she didn''t fall off the building. Or rather, tried to stop her ¡ª but she noticed my palm and stopped instinctively. "Don''t worry about me, focus yourselves." This was what I deserved for throwing grenades with no experience. But this wouldn''t stop me from doing it again. "Are you sure?" Jiang Roulan called out from my side. "Yeah... two more times, I''ll do this two more times," I repeated my words, so she backed off. "Be careful," Jiang Roulan grumbled, shuffling back, almost knocking Wang Yun off his feet, swallowing her words and watched me from the side, furrowing her brows. Predictably, I didn''t take her advice, and looking at the staggering zombies that shuffled towards me once again, my lips curled into a delighted smile. I quickly snapped the grenades from my inventory, brushing my thumbs along the pin while observing the zombies swaying like headless chickens. The pins dropped to the ground with a click, bouncing twice before tossing them towards the two groups. "Good night, from downtown!" BOOM! "Woah!" "Careful!" Jiang Roulan''s voice slightly exceeded the blast''s aftershock, but her concerned voice made me chuckle. After the second attack, most of the zombies located around the apartment died, leaving a smaller number of seventy or eighty roaming and most of them injured or deformed. I shook my head, now the ringing much worse, but still grabbed my spear. "It''s fine," I responded innocently, feigning ignorance. "Wanna join me?" I asked. "Huh, are you serious right now?" Jian Roulan''s voice echoed from above as I dropped to the ground with a low thud, slamming my shoes into the skull of a zombie, crushing it like a broken egg. Crack! A pleasant sound echoed in my mind. Although I wasted a lot of points, the feeling of killing so many zombies felt so cool. Not to mention the essence from over a hundred zombies poured into my body during the explosions, increasing my disorientation but also granting me a greater boost in strength. "Kyaa!" Jiang Roulan''s body landed on a pile of boxes, and rolling to her feet, she dashed forward before smashing a zombie in the jaw with a swift uppercut. "Good move," I complimented her before sweeping across the ground, tripping two zombies, "Hah!" following up with a rapid pair of thrusts, popping their yolk. The group of zombies diminished as our bodies moved through pure instinct. Each time Jiang Roulan moved, I caught her brutalising zombies with a cold, technical style. Meanwhile, my spears crushed and broke them like a complete brute without any sense of skill or technique. [Warning!] [You have reached Rank 4 - Evolving would be dangerous in the current situation] ''Halt it for now¡ªcan I resume whenever I want?'' My thoughts became disrupted the moment the system echoed in my head, causing me to almost slip when dashing towards a zombie. My heart nearly exploded as another lurched forward and bit down inches from my face. It was so close I could smell its disgusting breath! [You can] Adjusting my footing, I pushed the heavy spear against the ground, using my upper body to launch myself back out of the zombie''s range. The sound of Jiang Roulan''s metal tonfa smashing off flesh echoed as I avoided the danger and stepped forward before smashing the zombie that bit towards me with my spear. Crunch! "Damn it..." my breath became slightly heavy as I panted, the sense of excitement coming from striking the zombie''s head filling me with a rush of adrenaline. "John! Are you coming to join me?" Suddenly, Jiang Roulan''s excited voice echoed and caught my attention as I tried to catch my breath. "Wow," Jiang Roulan looked like a maiden of battle, her body covered in blood, dripping with zombie flesh and guts as she lowered her hips and smashed forward with a dual strike, hitting her target in the stomach, head and throat with a rapid, blitz attack. I couldn''t believe myself at first and bit my lower lip, frustrated that she could fight so well. ''I can''t lose, I''ve already ranked up!'' Filled with determination, I gripped my spear with both hands and dashed forward into the small crowd of zombies, lowering my hips before thrusting forward and penetrating two zombies, lifting them off the floor and hurling them against the concrete. "Are you having fun?" "Totally! But my arms are getting tired!" "Let''s hurry up then. I''ll clear the other side," my voice lower than before. Exhausted, I stopped trying to match her pace and instead just used brute strength and smash, crushed and pierced the zombies until most of them vanished, leaving just me and Jiang Roulan in the huge expanse outside the apartment. "Haa... ha... Jiang Roulan, you''re one powerful woman." My breath struggled to keep up, a mixture of the excitement, adrenaline fading, and exhaustion from almost an hour of constant fighting. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her lips curled up before I felt a damp weight against my back. "Really, am I that amazing?" she spoke in a cheeky tone, her voice lower than usual as she quietly huffed a shallow breath. I peeked back at her, but found the view extremely stimulating, the sweat from the extensive action and combat caused her chest buttons to pop open, revealing her lack of bra and the shiny skin of her cleavage, meanwhile Roulan gazed at me with a strange expression, swallowing as she reached out to my face. BANG! "What?!" "Oh god!" Jiang Roulan quickly pulled back when the sound of rocks collapsing and glass shattering reverberated through the air, and it also caused me to cover my ears. The moment the mist vanished, a monster appeared¡ªa true monster! At the demolished doors of the convenience store was a huge, plump zombie that had destroyed half the wall and support beams. Fat, powerful and over two metres in height and width. The sudden appearance of the monster caused tremors in the ground, and that''s when I noticed Wang Yun desperately holding onto the beam as it collapsed. A loud screech echoed with the beam he held onto bent, dropping him just above the fat zombie. "We should help him," Jiang Roulan gasped, seeing a human in a desperate state between life and death. "I don''t think it can jump with that size so we can¡ªeh?" I couldn''t blame Jiang Roulan''s voice for turning inside out. "HELP ME!" Wang Yun called out, as his body swung from the loose beam, however the monster below granted them no chance, its huge form swelling up, before it grasped both sides of its stomach, before tearing them open. The zombie''s stomach split apart, revealing a huge mouth, countless layers of teeth and a long, snaking tongue oozing with an acidic drool. "Aaaah!" Wang Yun''s hands slipped from the beam, dropping into the monsters'' hands and each one so large it made him look tiny. "Oh god, save me, please, John! John!!!" Wang Yun flailed inside the hands of the monster kicking the fleshy meat of the fat zombie. I noticed my legs started moving, although I hated the guy. Of course, he was annoying. It seemed I really didn''t wish for him to die, nor this kind of horrible death on another human. But with each step, my heart pounded harder, realising it was impossible... I saw his body dropping as Jiang Roulan jumped at the huge zombie with a flying kick. "Nooooooooo!" The monster crushed Wang Yun with a loud, disgusting crack. Then dropped him into that foul, abominable mouth. Chapter 32: Stage Two - Brutal Beatdown Chapter 32 - Stage Two - Brutal BeatdownWang Yun died. His scream hadn''t even faded when the fat zombie snapped its greasy lips shut around him with a disgusting crunch, and now all that remained was a wet slop echoing down its throat. I couldn''t look away or blink, almost in shock. The fat zombie had torn itself open and swallowed him like he was a bag of noodles. Snapping out of my confusion thanks to Roulan tapping my shoulder, I couldn''t let myself rest any longer. My body started moving, brain screamed orders that something dangerous was about to come and that I needed to fight. I had to fight. I vaulted onto the hood of a car, then rolled across to the minivan beside it, claiming onto the roof, which groaned under my weight. My body sank into the metal but remained balanced. The monster was growing again. Its gut split wider, bones shifting, height stretching by the second. Its breath rolled out in hot clouds that stank like melting tires and rotting pork. This was it. [Evolution to Rank 4 Available. Begin process?] [Warning: Subject will be paralysed for 27.3 seconds.] I slammed the metal "yes" so hard it felt like I got vertigo, annoyed by the specific number of seconds as if someone were playing with me. Immediately after, pain hit me like an electric sledgehammer. The taste of copper spread through my mouth, as a searing pain crept up my throat. I fell to one knee, holding the van''s roof, gasping as heat and pressure rushed through my chest, my limbs locked in place, adding meaning to the paralysis mentioned. I could see the fat zombie recovering ahead of me. Its tiny eyes were covered with plump fat, likely affecting the bastard''s vision, but the zombie snarled and turned¡ªsniffing the air like a dog. It was Sensing. "Roulan!" I shouted. She spun from her position near the collapsed building, eyes wide, her tonfa raised. "What the hell are you doing up there?!" "I need you to stall it!" Her brows lifted, furrowing before she flashed me a middle finger. "Stall it?! What do you mean, stall it? You''re not even¡ªare you Hurt?" The voice cracked into one of concern from her harsh scolding. "Yeah," I hissed. "Voluntarily. But trust me. My body is... adapting. I just need thirty seconds." "Oh yeah, you just need thirty seconds." Roulan''s jaw clenched. "You''re joking, right, right now? Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" "I don''t get to pick the perfect moment!" "You''re choosing the worst one!" "I know!" She looked like she wanted to cuff me to a wall and beat me down with her tonfa. But she didn''t. Instead, she exhaled sharply through her nose, took two slow steps before running forward, then turned her head slightly and shouted, "You better not die, John! You hear me?! You survive, or I''m going to kill you myself!" "Deal," I rasped through gritted teeth. Then she was off¡ªsprinting toward the mutant. Her legs were long and powerful, all lean muscle from years of training. The moment her tonfa struck the zombie''s side, it bellowed loud enough to shake the glass in the nearby buildings. And I¡ªhelpless on the van roof¡ªwatched the only woman crazy enough to fight this thing for me, throwing herself straight into its jaws with a violent super kick. *** Roulan *** "Are you out of your damn mind!?" My voice echoed down to him¡ªbut John didn''t move. Didn''t twitch. He just crouched there on top of the van, eyes squeezed shut, breathing rough, face frozen like he was fighting a war inside his skull. "John!" Nothing. The monster gave me no more time. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The ground shook from the brute''s movements, its heavy feet stomping the ground with each step. With a grotesque stomach hanging open, the stench of rotten flesh and stomach acid soured the air, but I held my breath and stepped forward. "You better not die on me, you little shit." It would suck if the only handsome guy around me right now died. I snapped both tonfa out from my belt, the steel rods gleaming in the twilight. The Brute lurched, its enormous hands dragging along the ground like a gorilla. Not fast, but every footstep made the ground rock beneath my feet. I exhaled and charged. Clang! The first blow hit me like a freight truck. I managed to duck the swing, but the shockwave from its sheer strength lifted my feet. I flew back and smashed into the hood of a nearby car. "F¡ªck!" A stabbing pain exploded through my ribs. I could taste our meal and the whiskey. The impact dazed me, but I forced myself up. My arm trembled while wincing slightly from the pain, but I bit down and endured. I am an officer of the law. My job is to protect and serve! I couldn''t afford to stay down¡ªnot with him watching. Not when such a handsome young man depended on me! "You''ve grown soft, Jiang Roulan," I muttered to myself, shaking the cobwebs loose. "What happened to the woman who wrestled a meth-head with a cleaver for two hours in a stairwell?" The Brute charged again. I sidestepped and dragged it between two broken-down sedans using my tonfa, then dived through a gap in the wreckage. The thing followed¡ªbut slowly. Its bulk couldn''t navigate the tight corners. I struck from the side¡ªbam, right under the arm. Its skin rippled. Didn''t break. Goddamn apocalypse bullshit. I kept moving, ducking behind a scorched motorcycle and striking at the lumps'' huge legs. A shallow blow¡ªuseless. The thing roared and turned, flattening the bike with a backhanded swing. I rolled sideways just in time, my boot scraping against broken glass. My ankle throbbed with pain from the blow, and I could barely stand, my thighs screaming like doing cardio after a leg day. But I kept moving. He was still up there. Not even a peep, silent. Unmoving. Damn him. He saved me when I first met him, then when we were being held hostage. It was John who brought the zombies and broke the situation. Not me. He didn''t even blame us or ask for thanks even after getting hurt. Now he was sitting there, asking me to buy him time... time felt so slow, but he trusted me. I did nothing to help him, but in this crumbling world. He trusted me. "Idiot," I muttered, smacking the Brute in the side of the skull with a downward strike. "Why does thinking about him make me feel so irritated?" The Brute snarled and lunged. I leapt over the hood of a rusted taxi, then brought both tonfa down onto its wrist when it tried to reach me. Crunch! It shrieked¡ªand for a second and seemed in pain. I thought I''d broken something. But then it backhanded me again, and I skidded across the ground, breath knocked out of my lungs. I coughed. My vision was shaking and blurry, as if I needed glasses. A bittersweet copper taste filled my mouth, and my hair was now a mess. "John..." I looked up at the van. The faintest shimmer of steam rose from his back like a boiler about to burst. And somehow, even in all this noise, he looked peaceful. I gripped the tonfa again and rose. Chapter 33: Stage Two: Brute Chapter 33 - Stage Two: Brute*** Roulan *** The bastard was slowing down. Every breath came in rasps, its shoulders heaving. My swings were starting to register now¡ªtiny cracks along its thick wrists, bruised veins pulsing just beneath its flabby hide. Its movements weren''t as sharp anymore. I circled to its blind side, dragging one tonfa along the ground like a blade ready to gut it. It lunged at me like a clumsy giant. I ducked, rolled past its side and gathered momentum before smacking it right in the base of the spine with all my weight behind it. Crack! It staggered forward, arms windmilling. Yes. Yes, that was it. The spine. That was the spot. I pressed in, breathing hard, vision darkening at the edges. My whole body was screaming, but this was my shot. Two more hits. Maybe three.... No, that was unrealistic, but I couldn''t give up here. "Time to go down, you ugly fat freak." I sprinted for the back of its knees, both tonfa raised like clubs¡ª Then it stopped moving. Mid-lurch, it just froze¡ªback hunched, stomach rising and falling in jagged rhythms. A wet gurgle escaped its throat. Its jaw sagged open, oozing that black sludge all over its chest. I paused. What...? Then the tearing started. Ripppppppp! Its skin split like wet paper. The bloated bulk of its body sloughed off in glistening sheets, muscles underneath pulsing, shifting, thinning. What stood up was not fat. Not even close. Its shoulders reformed with a pop-pop-pop, jagged bones snapping into alignment. Veins like black wire stretched across a taut, glistening torso. Its limbs were lean now, tight and deadly, each finger ending in a curved claw. It reared its head back, and for the first time, it howled¡ªnot just noise. Mockery. It was smiling. My feet moved before my brain did. Back. Retreat. Find cover. Regroup. This thing wasn''t a fat zombie anymore. This was the Stage Two that John told me about, similar to that fast green zombie. A dangerous threat... like a raging brute Too strong. Too durable. Too smart. Terrified, unable to control my actions, I dived behind the van where John was perched. My back slammed into the side panel, lungs burning, hands trembling. Help... Help... Help Me!! "Hey¡ª" I glanced up, my voice trembling. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The horrific atmosphere of this monster numbed my mind and logic, but he didn''t move. John was still crouched and frozen in place. But¡ª His fingers were twitching now. His nails dug into the roof like claws. His breathing deep and powerful breaths with a long and almost feral exhalation. "John... whatever the hell you''re doing¡ªhurry the f¡ªck up." A hiss of movement to my right. The creature vanished from view. "Shit¡ª" I twisted left just in time as it appeared beside me, its claws raking the van. I flung a tonfa up just in time to block its swipe¡ªit threw me like a ragdoll across the pavement. My arm was torn by the sharp gravel and broken road. A rock or something tore in my shoulder before I landed in a heap by a broken dumpster. Blood smeared the corner of my lips. I coughed, tried to rise¡ªmy legs wobbled. The Brute sauntered toward me, elongated tongue slithering across its jagged teeth. Its hands spread open like it wanted to hug me. Embrace me. Rip me in two before eating my innards. "God... damn it." I slumped to one knee, both arms barely holding steady. "Not here... not now..." The Brute raised its claws. Then froze. A shadow fell across us both. Clang! John appeared in my sight, and he tossed a small object that burst into smoke, wrapping around the zombie, causing it to thrash around wildly. "Run to your apartment! Leave it to me!" I saw John''s figure flickering through the smoke, the zombie groaning like an angry cat. He stood with a straight back, eyes glowing a faint gold. Steam rose from his skin in visible coils and something deep inside me flinched just looking at him. My heart started pounding, and I could feel my cheeks becoming hot. He didn''t look human anymore. Not entirely. "Hey, beautiful," John said softly. His voice sounded deeper now¡ªgravel mixed with fire. "Run!" Not concerned for himself, once again he paid attention to me, his eyes watching as I fled... a cowardly police officer running for her life. Yet I couldn''t forget that irritatingly handsome smirk. It made me want to punch him. Clack! Inside the apartment doors, I watched through the door, amongst the messy envelopes and broken lights. Meanwhile, on top of the van, as the smoke vanished, John extended his arm to the zombie before curling his fingers. "Come get some, fatty." However, contrary to what I expected, the zombie didn''t attack. It just stared at him in silence before lifting both arms and slamming down onto its chest like a pair of drums. A low thud echoed with each blow before the brute started shrieking like an angry ape. The moment I thought it might be afraid vanished when I could hear the low groans appearing from the building behind me, and zombies started crawling through the halls as if called by the brute''s loud noise. "Damn it¡ª" John''s expression soured as the zombies appeared one by one. Then, as if he remembered something, he turned to me. "Take care." He mouthed through the glass, and behind him, I could see a swarm of zombies in the dozens rushing from every path. Despite my mind wanting to help, the zombies behind me and the terrifying brute caused my body to hesitate. What could I do? I was barely useful before. I could only watch as he leaped down from the van, his feet kicking up sparks that ignited the van''s roof. He attacked with a spear held tight and lunged towards the brute. "How can you be so fearless..." No, that wasn''t what I should focus on right now. I should deal with the zombies behind me so he can rest after he wins. ''After he wins?'' It looked like despite the brute, causing me to feel so small and weak. Yet, I believed that John could win, even against the odds... his image seemed to grow whenever I looked at him. "There is always time to redeem myself while we both survive!" Chapter 34: Stage 2 vs Rank 4 Chapter 34 - Stage 2 vs Rank 4[You have reached Rank 4: Raid Leader] +25 Followers allowed +4000 ZKP You can create a small safe zone! Unlocked Martial Arts Training Unlocked Physiques ¡ª¡ª The moment I faced the monster, Jiang Roulan''s body flew across the ground while covered in wounds¡ªwounds she got, buying time for me to evolve. She bought the seconds I needed with desperate actions, and even money couldn''t match her efforts because she saved our lives. Before I returned to my senses from the high of evolving to rank four, I''d already launched myself off the van and thrust my spear into the zombie''s throat. Immediately after cutting through the hardened flesh of the brute, my body tumbled to the side from the momentum. "Urgh..." The sharp gravel cut into my arm but only pricked me like pins, failing to penetrate my skin. I sucked in a deep breath of cold air before dragging my spear from it''s neck. The flesh bubbled with a sickening pop and healed slightly. "Grrr!" With a low, angry grumble, the brute thrashed out with multiple attacks, swinging its elongated arms towards me, trying to crush me with pure strength. I hopped back, dragging my foot against the ground behind me and lowered my hips, gathering strength in my thighs and waist. The sheer danger this post-bariatric surgery zombie posed was abnormal. I shifted my eyes to the apartment. With my enhanced sight, the movements of Jiang Roulan fighting appeared in almost 8k at 120fps, as her buttocks and curvy body swayed through the narrow hallway, crushing zombies. There was a stabbing pain in my neck, and I leaned to the right. A burst of air exploded beside my face, cutting my eyebrow with a burning rash as the brute huffed with a cloud of hot hair after tossing a huge piece of scrap metal at my head. ''Let''s focus!'' After its attack missed, the brute slammed its chest in anger before dashing forward, its stride more than two metres each step creating a quake in the ground. I gripped my spear, the metal bar even heavier since my strength had increased, but the weight would also help me slay this beast. My left foot pushed off the ground bouncy tarmac which sent me charging forward with a rapid momentum. The mass of the monster was more than double mine as it sprinted at me while drooling from its mouth. The moment I reached the ideal range, I gripped my spear and thrust out with everything I had. My hands shook because I tensed my entire body the moment I stepped to the side and pierced towards the brute''s neck. "Bleed!" The beast''s clawed hands tore apart the ground, clearly aiming for me less than a second ago. Thanks to my danger sense, I sidestepped the danger, but now my right thigh felt strange¡ªit burned, and the muscles became tight and spasmed. My blade nicked the same spot as before, ripping the scarred flesh that hastily repaired, now a deeper and more volatile wound. Dirty black blood bubbled and poured from the gash in the zombie''s neck, but it didn''t heal. Although the battle wasn''t over, I gained a vital clue and learned that even a brute like this wasn''t immortal. However, while I focused on that, the monster retaliated with a lightning-fast reaction. It swung its left arm like a bat, which smashed into my abdomen, even after lifting my spear to absorb the damage. The ground and air switched places as my body rolled through the air, a low thud sounding at the brute that appeared above me, both hands held like a hammer. "Shi¡ª" Boom! The impact turned everything white, as my ears hummed with an annoying screech, and my eyes couldn''t see. "Damn it..." I could feel my body rolling, dragged against sharp and jagged edges, as I desperately tried to suck in oxygen to feed my starving lungs. Again, the monster caused the ground to shake as it lunged towards me. Light returned to my eyes, and I found myself embedded against a broken car with blood pouring down my left arm, which hung without power. I couldn''t feel anything, maybe adrenaline took over... I saw the huge lump stomping towards me in a bull-like rush. He wanted to crush me into a pulp. I could feel the ground bouncing from each step, its weight almost digging craters into the concrete and asphalt flooring. With a blank mind and throbbing body, I yanked myself from the car and activated my dash skill. A sudden surge of power and warmth filled both my legs as my muscles bulged before I darted forward like a terrified female rat. We rushed at each other, a train and a small human, a super heavyweight against a featherweight. But I didn''t stop. My speed was faster, allowing me to complete my gambit. I bit the corner of my tongue to keep focused while jumping towards the right the instant before the zombie collided with me. The cold air cut across my skin like sharp blades as the zombie smashed into the car, destroying it and continued into the destroyed convenience store. ''BUY FOUR GRENADES!'' Instantly, I spent all the money I gained from the ranking and grasped the air, desperately partying as the damage and burning sensation in my lungs became stronger, like small teeth biting the soft flesh walls. Click! The first grenade almost immediately left my hand. Followed up with the second, but there wasn''t enough¡ªBOOM! Time. The first and Second grenades exploded a moment before I tossed the third. I heard and felt the zombies'' wailing roar shaking the earth. But now I need to deal with the shambling zombies all around me. "Damn it..." With an injured arm, I struggled to unpin the last grenade and rolled it towards the group of zombies and staggered back, taking my spear from my inventory and taking a breather with my back against an abandoned car. "Is it over...?" Of course, it wasn''t. The ground throbbed. Not shook. Not quaked. It throbbed like a massive artery underfoot had just constricted and spat something out. And then came the scent. Burned pork and sewage. Melted tires. Sweet rot. I gagged, even though I had nothing left in my stomach. My throat clenched, tight as a rope. My tongue tasted like aluminum. The brute stumbled out of the ruined storefront. It moved wrong¡ªdifferently. The speed was gone, but it came like a nightmare, half-crawling, dragging one leg like dead weight. The other stomped with rage. Its bulk had changed. Lopsided. Broken. Burning. My body screamed to move, but I just watched. Its face... The fire hadn''t just charred it. It had revealed something. Chunks of liquified skin clung like wet curtains, peeling off the jawline with every snarl. One eye bulged from an empty socket of cooked nerves, still twitching. No nose¡ªjust a collapsed, bubbling hole that hissed with each breath. I could see teeth through the cheek, muscle exposed, pulsing like a heart outside its cage. It was melting. And it didn''t care. It saw me, and it smiled. At least, it tried. The jaw shifted sideways, unhinged, revealing more black blood pooling at its throat. This thing wanted to kill me at any cost. "Grrrrrrhh¡ª" I tightened my grip on the spear with my good hand. My left dangled, bone-deep pain muted into an icy numbness now. My right thigh cramped again, locking mid-step. I almost crumbled to the floor. A flash of white bloomed in my skull. "Not now," I hissed, and dug the spear''s butt into the road to balance myself. The brute limped forward¡ªslower now, but not weaker. Not tamer. The fire had taken part of it, but what was left was more deranged, more willing to destroy itself if it meant taking me with it. I checked my inventory. Empty. No grenades. No quick fixes. I was going to have to kill it. No tricks. No kiting. Just spear and will. It swayed suddenly¡ªthen lurched, body folding forward unnaturally, like a marionette with cut strings. Its knee cracked sideways, and it charged, crawling now on elbows, its melted face dragging across the ground, leaving trails of blood, skin, and smoke in its wake. I couldn''t run. So I stepped forward. And screamed. "COME ON THEN, YOU OVERCOOKED DUMPLING!" Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I poured all my weight on the spear and drove it like a lightning rod straight down toward the approaching mass of ruined flesh, its eye glinting with joy¡ªmad joy¡ªas it accepted the charge. Chapter 35: Dragged into a warm bed!? Chapter 35 - Dragged into a warm bed!?I didn''t aim for the monster''s heart, though I suppose it didn''t have one. My spear plunged into the zombie''s neck once again, the same spot from before. My right thigh screamed as it cramped and nearly gave out on my mid-lunge. The pain became sharp enough to make me groan. But I focused, locking my shoulder and the spear in place before twisting my hips and growled back. The spear pierced through the horror''s throat completely, a clean penetration. It tore through the weakened flesh, splitting it apart like grilled meat as I felt the cartilage tearing. My body sank, the blade hitting something hard momentarily before the spear plunged even deeper, after a snap echoed. "Die!" The brute released a sound that I''ll never be able to forget, something between a boiling kettle and a squealing pig. Its arms flailed in frenzy, missing my face by inches. One claw almost scraped my ribs, but the muscles tore apart and lost their strength. ''What... it''s not dead?'' I grunted before yanking the spear out, spurting blood over my face. The zombie''s head swayed to the side as if its spine had turned into jelly. Despite this, it was still trying to crawl forward, dragging its deformed legs across the gravel, almost desperate to bite me. Too big to avoid easily, I staggered to the side and dragged the spear over my shoulder. I struggled to control my body, with a heavy ache in my abdomen, searing pain in my right thigh and a broken left arm. But I could keep fighting, just enough... I placed my foot on its back, the soft, sticky flesh still steaming, almost glueing itself to my boot as I sucked in a deep breath of cool air, trying to brace myself. "Haa....Haa...." I raised the spear over my head once again and glared at the deformed mutant. Its remaining eye slowly blinked at me, and deep inside, I saw a glimmer of intelligence, but there was no fear or emotion. It just observed me, an eerie and maddening stare. Then, with one last breath, I brought the spear down, not like a spear but a hammer, brutally penetrating the brute without care for my current state. Whack¡ª! The tip penetrated the zombie''s eye and pierced through the back of its skull with a low pop. A low gurgle reverberated from the monster''s stomach as its body jerked like someone suffering a seizure. "Grrrrraaaaaahh!" The monster howled, drawing the remaining dozen zombies closer. Before it collapsed and... stopped. No more noise. No longer breathing. Only the soft hissing from the still-burning flesh and the distant sound of zombies shambling towards me remained as I panted, dropping to my knee from exhaustion. ''This isn''t something I could do daily...'' My gaze remained on the incoming zombies while I stood swaying from side to side. Unable to stay focused, I almost collapsed. Blood dripped from my left hand and down the shaft of my spear. "Damn it..." Then I collapsed, beside my kill... this time I defeated stage two alone. It smelled horrible, like trash left in the sun for too long and caused my eyes and nose to burn, but I couldn''t escape or move. Time almost felt slower as I gazed at the big bastard, side by side, like rivals who''d fought a duel to the death in some ancient arena. And I was the one still breathing. Barely... In a moment of clarity, my hand dug into the zombie''s broken skull, the milky red sphere glowing with an eerie hue. Something about the ball called out to me, different from the speed-type stage two zombie, which was green... this one felt like it was mine. And I felt a strange sense of hunger just looking at it. Hiss¡ªthe monster''s flesh was hot and made my hand sting. But the moment I touched the red orb, it became cool. It felt like a gust of cold air brushed over my body when I grasped the glass orb with throbbing red veins inside. At least it felt like a small crystal or glass orb. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Grrr..." "Arrr..." The zombies approached me closer than before, but my mind was dull and hazy after being thrown around by this dead lump. I struggled to recover myself, and a stupid yet strange idea seeped into my mind. ''Swallow the orb.'' ''Accept the power!'' Because I closed the system panels after my evolution during the fight and couldn''t snap out of this strange trance, and placed the orb to my lips. Somehow, it wasn''t dirty, even though I had crushed the zombie''s skull¡ªit carried the scent of strawberries and wine. Gulp¡ªInstantly, my throat became hot. A searing feeling as if I had swallowed a bowl of burning coal, causing me to grip my neck and squeeze while rapidly breathing through my nose as if the cold air might help me cool the burning sensation. "Ngh... damn it''s burning my insides..." The system mentioned that these orbs were better for zombies, but I couldn''t stop myself. I wanted to be stronger. This orb was mine, and nobody would take it from me. It was precious. Myprecious! Clack¡ª! The sound of something opening echoed behind me. I couldn''t turn around because the heat was blowing my mind. I could feel my veins throbbing, pulsing visibly under my flesh as if filled with glue or something sticky clogging them up. "John! What''s happening!?" A cold... comfortable pair of hands grabbed me... but the words it said were jumbled, and I could only hear the hissing and ringing of bells in my head. "Damn it! You''re burning up and your pupils are dilated, hey, wake up!" Her cold hands slapped my face twice. The soothing sensation dispelled the heat for a few moments before she vanished... I heard the thud of several things hitting the floor and in my hazy vision I saw long brown hair and a huge ass bouncing across the car park. ''Ah... it''s an angel.'' "John... oi, what''s going on... wake up! Damn it..." Feeling light-headed, I let out a long, grumbling sigh as the scorching heat in my body dispersed. In a moment of complete bliss and listening to the soft voice of the angel who came to my aid, everything went black. *** [Red Orb successfully absorbed: +0.2 Physique, +0.3 Strength] ¨‹ Killed a Brute-Type Stage Two +2000 ZKP +500 Experience (First Time Bonus) +1000 ZKP (First Time Bonus) The sound of the system awoke me. Groggy from sleep, I rolled over on the warm bed. Wait... a comfortable bed? My brain took a moment to wake up full as I examined the room with a dull aching throb in all of my muscles. "It feels like I''ve done an intense full-body workout two days in a row..." Clack! A noise sounded in the room across from me before I heard bare feet slapping against laminate flooring. The next moment, Jiang Roulan rushed towards me while wearing an almost see-through black nightgown. "What..." ''She was hiding some huge..." Before I could focus, she slammed into me and grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "John? Are you alright? You were burning up all night... and I couldn''t find any medicine in my draws so had to break into my neighbour''s and¡ª!" Her breathing became disturbed as she stopped for a moment, huffing and panting. "Roulan... stop, you''re going to kill me!" The pain jolted through my body when she gripped my left arm, though she seemed to have treated it with the bandages and numb sensation. I didn''t think it would heal for a day or two unless I bought something from the system shop. "Ah, yeah... sorry. I was just a little stressed and couldn''t sleep." When I gazed out the window, the sun still wasn''t up, and so I shook my head. Thankfully, phones still worked right now, so I pulled out my phone to message Mu Qinglan. "Huh, what the hell?" "What''s the matter?" Jiang Roulan asked, while leaning into my phone, before "Oh my god..." She reacted like that because of my slightly cracked screen showing an interesting notification: [Mu Qinglan: 22 Missed Calls, 50 Unread Messages] Chapter 36: Roulan’s Sweet and Juicy Peach Chapter 36 - Roulan''s Sweet and Juicy Peach"She''s quite enthusiastic¡ªI didn''t realise you were so close." Jiang Roulan said before shifting her gaze from my phone. She turned away and started resting on the bed, pressing her soft body against my thigh and releasing a long sigh. "I didn''t either." I thought while tapping the screen. The messages were a little normal at first, asking, [Where are you?] or [Is something wrong?] However, her words became increasingly toxic and more threatening. However, her final message was kinda quite cute... I guess? [John, please come back! I''m sorry!] [Don''t hate me.] Mu Qinglan wasn''t like this in her normal state¡ªmy cold CEO boss couldn''t be this cute! The undead Qinglan sent these messages. I checked for news about the military or government action, but nothing appeared, so I flicked off the browser and tossed it into my inventory space. Then looked beside me and noticed that Qinglan was looking through hers and checking her family group chat. ''How tragic, no messages asking about her...'' "Hmph! Damn old man, see if I care." She said while grumbling, then pushed her hips back. My hand squeezed, and I discovered how juicy and ripe Roulan''s Peach was. "Eh?" She gasped and released a sensual moan before covering her mouth. Then turned to face me with reddened cheeks. However, the bedroom remained silent. Though my mind told me to release her, I lost control of my right hand momentarily. Then squeezed her delicate buttocks again. "You!?" For a moment, it seemed the shock overwhelmed her sense of anger and shame. Nevertheless, I knew that this chance might not come again, so I maintained eye contact with Jiang Roulan. Then squeezed her plump meat once again and closed my eyes in delight when feeling her tensed, firm muscles beneath her soft flesh. ''I might be a freakish pervert, but you miss all the shots you don''t take!'' Sadly, it seemed I pushed my luck, because Jiang Roulan''s hand gripped my hand and suddenly rolled over my body, pinning me against the warm needing. The scent of her sheets carried a pleasant smell. "Ahem, I gave you two chances... now. Release my ass or I will take action." Jiang Roulan''s voice sounded more nasal than usual, but... maybe she forgot what she wore, because the silky sensation of her thighs pressed against my hips. ''When did I get undressed?'' A passing thought lingered in my mind as she folded my arm behind my back. Although I could easily throw her off me, the sensation of her sitting on me was a dream to a virgin like me. "Hey, respond to me!" The police officer mode of Jiang Roulan awakened something deep inside me as I prepared my counterattack¡ªthough her grip felt tight, she was still a mere Stage-One human. [System Note: Host, so are you.] S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ''Quiet, you fact-checking machine!'' However, learning about this made my chest flutter. Even my current strength, which made me feel like I could fight in a martial arts novel as the first trash young master, was just the beginning! But I digress... "Hey, Roulan?" "Hmm? What''s the matter, hooligan?" She snorted with her response. I could almost feel the smile beaming behind me, but instead of rising to her. I just enjoyed the soft, slightly bristly sensation rubbing against my lower back. "Oh, nothing... it''s just¡ª" "Out with it or else I''ll kick you out in your boxers!" Despite her words, the system told me that her affection reached the level of loyalty+ during my sleep, which also brought up the question of why it increased so much. Jiang Roulan wouldn''t kick me out for groping her buttocks. However, it seemed she wanted to release some steam and forgot that she was probably in the middle of getting changed. That much became obvious the moment her hips shifted, just slightly, as her bare heat brushed against my skin again. A soft huff left her nose. Not quite deliberate, but not an accident either. "You''re awfully quiet, little hooligan," she said, tightening her thighs subtly around my waist. Her breath skimmed my ear, but her weight stayed right where it was¡ªperched perfectly along my lower back, with nothing but warmth between us. "Lost in thought?" "Trying not to think, actually," I muttered with a voice much lower than I meant to. She chuckled as I felt her body vibrations travelling down my spine. "Too late." Then she shifted again, and the slow movement brushed her warmth against my back. A motion that told me that Jiang Roulan didn''t remember she was bare... or maybe she didn''t particularly mind. Her grip on my hands softened, no longer restraint, just contact. And from behind me, her voice came softer now, more playful: "You''re lucky you saved my life, shameless man." I swallowed, struggling to focus on anything but the moist warmth touching my back ever so slightly. A few seconds passed in thick, unbearable tension. Jiang Roulan''s hair fell over my shoulder like a curtain, brushing my cheek as she leaned in just a little closer. "Next time," she whispered, "you should ask for permission." She lingered a moment longer. Her weight settled on me like silk over rough metal. Then, with a smooth and almost graceful movement, she gave a small sigh and pulled back. I felt the absence of her warmth the instant her hips lifted from my back. Her thighs unhooked from around me with a slow and elegant motion, and the mattress shifted as she moved, one knee at a time, back across the bed. She looked back with a wolfish smirk, knowing I was watching her shadow. "Mm. Well, I will leave your punishment¡ªfor now," Jiang Roulan hummed with a triumphant smile, then stretched in a way that made the hem of her nightgown ride scandalously high over her hips. It was not an accident. I caught just a bare flash of skin before she pivoted, hair swinging, and padded toward the bathroom with that same swaying motion that seemed designed to test a man''s willpower. My eyes followed her movements¡ªof course, they did. I love beautiful women. Her hand reached for the door, then paused before a muffled whisper came from her lips and put a smile on my face. "Oh my god... where are my pants?!" The moment she realised, her head snapped back like a stop motion movie. Her spine straightened before with her hand frozen on the handle. I didn''t see her face, but I felt it. A delayed jolt of embarrassment rippled through her, visible only in the slight twitch of her shoulder and the speed with which she suddenly vanished from sight and slammed the door shut behind her. Click. Silence. Then, muffled through the door: "Forget everything you saw... and felt!" In a daze, I stared at the ceiling while massaging my arm while shocked it wasn''t on purpose. Desperate to hold in my laugh and control the raging demon beneath my waist. My heart was still going like a pneumatic drill, pounding with the leftover adrenaline, heat, and other things I couldn''t help with. The system then pinged with Jiang Roulan''s status as if it irritated me more. [Affection Level: Loyalty+][Roulan''s Mood: Flustered. Irritated. ...Aroused?] ''...Helpful.'' Filled with the excessive hormones like a teenager seeing a lewd video for the first time, and tried to focus my mind. I exhaled slowly. Don''t think about the feeling or remember the sensation¡ªjust breathe. But just as I tried to close my eyes and reset my thoughts, a sudden buzzing ringtone echoed directly in my head¡ªnot from my phone. "What the hell?" [SYSTEM CALL: MU QINGLAN ¨C Incoming Communication Request] "Huh?" I sat up. "She''s calling me... wait, I''m getting a call through the system?" I didn''t even touch anything. The moment I thought about answering¡ª [Call Accepted.] Mu Qinglan''s voice sliced into my head like a blade wrapped in silk to hide her killing intent. "Where are you? I''ve been waiting all night..." Chapter 37: Teaching An Immature Zombie! Chapter 37 - Teaching An Immature Zombie!The moment her voice echoed through the handset, the sharp and emotive voice revealed this wasn''t the usual ice queen but Zombie Qinglan. I wanted to explain myself to the calm and sensible Mu Qinglan, but that couldn''t happen right now. "Qinglan, did you miss me?" "Eh? Why would you ask that when you abandoned me here!" Her voice sounded flustered and a little shaky¡ªthanks to this. I became confident that she wasn''t so angry she couldn''t forgive me. Jiang Qinglan looked much better compared to her earlier embarrassment after she stepped out of the bathroom. Now wearing a cute pair of pyjama pants that suited her nightgown. Her eyes shifted to my phone with a smirk. Then tilted her head and asked. "Who?" "I didn''t abandon you¡ª" "You did! And you left with her too!" S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Her?" I sighed, knowing that the zombie Qinglan found Jiang Roulan a threat in some fashion. On the other side of the phone, I could hear Qinglan''s heavy breathing while she paced around and then smashed something with a low grunt. "Why did you leave me?" "Mu Qinglan, shut your mouth for a damn second." "Aah¡ª!" I didn''t know where it came from, but my voice echoed through the room with a deep cadence, causing poor Roulan to jump with a slight squeak. Even though I knew this side of her wasn''t the Mu Qinglan that I knew. However, it still made me feel a pit in my stomach shouting at her, but I needed to take control of this behaviour now. To teach her and help guide the Zombie side of her into a more productive path. "Are you listening to me, Qinglan?" "¡ªI am" Her voice came in after a moment of pause, but the tone and energy of her voice became dull and more like the regular Mu Qinglan. But I knew better¡ªfrom the slight habits that didn''t suit the normal Qinglan, this was still Zombie Qinglan. This tantrum wasn''t over, not even close. "You''re not a child," I said in a low and controlled voice, lacking my usual softness. "But¡ª" "No. You don''t get to throw a tantrum and get angry or jealous just because I left you to work on our future survival. I left Shen Yifei, who must have told you where I went and why I left you!" The moment I scolded her, I heard a sharp intake of breath from the other side, but she didn''t answer back or interrupt me this time. "You think I left you behind? Fine. Be angry. But what you''re doing right now¡ªsmashing shit, throwing your voice around like a rabid stray¡ªit''s pathetic." A sudden hiss echoed from her end. The sound of nails dragging across something metal, maybe a fridge door or table. "You want me to see you as someone I can rely on?" I asked, letting the silence hang for a beat. "Then act like it. Because this... clingy, needy, feral version of you? That''s not Mu Qinglan." "I''m not her," she snarled back in a sharp voice before she continued in a softer, more vulnerable tone. "You don''t understand¡ª" "You''re both her. The one who hides everything behind that ice-cold face and the one who''s finally letting it out like a leaking pressure valve. And I''m telling you now, you don''t get to choose when to snap just because you don''t know how to deal with your damn feelings." "You''re being cruel..." "Maybe," I muttered. "But you''re being stupid. You''re smart, Qinglan. You''re terrifying when you''re focused. So use that. Stop chasing me like a kicked puppy. You want my attention? Earn it." I couldn''t believe my own words, but maybe it was the improvement to my spirit. But these were my feelings! And I didn''t deny she could become something beyond my imagination, immune to the virus and immensely powerful! The line remained silent. Even the static seemed to mask her breathing as Jiang Roulan watched me with an excited and fiery gaze. "...You''ll come back to me, right?" This time, she spoke with a small voice, like a soft kitten meowing after attacking a bigger cat and coiling up. "I will never abandon you," I said. "But only for someone who doesn''t waste their potential and gets angry over foolish things." She didn''t reply for several seconds, and I could hear her chewing her lips. "...Alright," she finally whispered. It was quieter than her usual voice¡ªeven the usual Qinglan didn''t speak so softly. She sounded obedient but not quite submissive. However, the sweet hum made me feel she hid something else beneath that response, something a little twisted and dark. Then she hung up without another word. Once the call ended, I gazed at the system interface and my phone for a while, able to see my reflection in the dark glass. Then turned towards Jiang Roulan, who stood with her arms crossed and a bitter smile. "You''re really good at breaking hearts," she said. I slid the phone into my pocket, pretending to have used it. "I''m not trying to break them," I replied. "I''m trying to make them stronger." I couldn''t help but feel a little tired, rubbing my face before speaking to the system, hoping for a complete fix in the future. A living dead wasn''t easy to tame. ''System will the two sides ever synchronise?'' I didn''t want to be dealing with this forever. [System Hint: Once she has stabilised and come to terms with her issues.] The system didn''t speak about them as two different people. This hint made me more confident about my words to her earlier. I used how well I knew the usual Mu Qinglan to infer that Zombie Qinglan was the same woman, just revealing her hidden emotions and suppressed desires. "Well, you didn''t do the best but it was a passing grade." Jiang Roulan pushed off the wall and climbed onto the bed, sitting beside me as we both looked out at the destroyed landscape. It hardly felt like three days had passed. "I cannot believe the world has fallen apart in just a few days... It was only three days ago I was being fired from my job." "Huh?" Jiang Roulan turned to me with a strange sound, her brows raised before she inspected my face and spoke again. "What do you mean? it''s been almost two weeks since the zombies first appeared!" This time, it was my turn to be confused... "What? That''s impossible, I saved Mu Qinglan on the first day... it''s only been two days since then! I met you on the second night." However, she didn''t look convinced, and her face scrunched up, a look of confusion as she grabbed her phone from the table, tapped it a few times and then showed me the calendar app with a news widget. My eyes scanned the various dates and cute notes... before I saw the day I was sacked, on the 1st of April 2025. But now the calendar marked it was Thursday the 17th! ''Is this some kind of bad April Fools...?'' ''System why does her phone say that it''s the 17th!? You have been with me all along!'' A moment of silence passed before the feminine voice sounded in my mind. [System Message] To fight the infection from her initial bite. The host was in a 14-day coma after saving Mu Qinglan. During this time, Mu Qinglan spent 13 days alone caring for you in her zombie form... And only returned to normal after you woke up. Chapter 38: A moment of regret and Comfort! Chapter 38 - A moment of regret and Comfort!The system''s words travelled around my mind several times while Jiang Roulan''s lips moved, but I couldn''t hear any sound. I felt a dull ache growing in the back of my head, as if someone had just kicked me with steel boots. "Roulan... are you telling me it''s really the 15th?" I could feel my vocal cords trembling in my throat, but I couldn''t accept this truth. She looked at me with the warmest chestnut coloured eyes, and suddenly hugged me, her arms wrapped around my back, and pulled me tight. It wasn''t strange, but warm. I felt another human''s warmth, and it soothed these fragmented feelings. "It''s okay, just breathe..." Her soft body enveloped me like a hugging pillow. "I don''t know what happened, but I know you aren''t the type to lie for no reason." Jiang Roulan whispered in a soft voice while stroking the back of my head. ''Is this the power of an older woman, someone with life experience?'' Maybe I was still just a child, not much different from Zombie Qinglan, but thanks to Roulan, my mind became stable, and the ache in my head faded. Everything returned to calm. "Fuuu..." The sound of Roulan''s heartbeat was soothing and helped me focus and realise that it didn''t matter if two weeks or two months passed. If anything, this was good news because it meant the zombies took longer to evolve into Stage Twos. "All better, handsome?" "Yeah, thanks... it feels amazing." Maybe my choice of words could have been better after the incident earlier as she noticed where and what cushioned my face when she hugged me. I half expected her to jab me or something, but Jiang Roulan just covered her mouth and started to laugh. "Hahaha! I can''t believe I scolded you earlier and here I am crushing your face with my breasts..." She glanced at me with a wide grin and patted my chest with a nasal huff. "Well, I can''t even get mad at you for this one." "Should we get some rest?" I asked before flopping on the bed. "The sun will rise soon but I am still aching all over." "Yes please! But no more funny business, or else!" Jiang Roulan narrowed her eyes, but the smile betrayed any sense of menacing aura, and I just waved at her and closed my eyes on the soft pillow. "I can''t believe you''re sleeping in my bed... you''re lucky I am a kind older sister." "Hmph." ''Why didn''t you tell me about the delay?'' I asked the system while enjoying the warmth of Roulan against my arm. She seemed like the type to move a lot while sleeping. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [You were still adjusting on the first day you woke up. It would have caused you to panic.] The logic seemed quite solid, and I didn''t deny that it might have caused me to overreact in the past. Was it the increased spirit or the three life-or-death situations? Maybe a mixture of everything since I became alone in this world. "Why didn''t I check the date?" I muttered, a little frustrated with myself. I always thought that I would face an apocalypse perfectly, at least when reading novels. However, it seemed I wasn''t that special after all. "It was a simple mistake, don''t blame yourself... Mn....." Jiang Roulan hummed before rolling towards me and then hugged my arm. Even in her sleepiness, the hot cop comforted me¡ªafter all, Jiang Roulan was growing on me. ''System... Tell me something.'' I opened my eyes, the darkness strangely bright for me since reaching rank four as I peered at the pretty face resting on my shoulder. ''Her strength isn''t high enough to fight a stage two zombie, or a horde right now is it?'' [System Message: There is an 85% chance she will die or become infected.] ''Why is her survival rate so high?'' [Reply: Because of her skills and determination over the years!] The system never sugar-coated things when asking about something seriously. This feature was an advantage that I had over normal humans. Because it subtly taught me that skills were just as important as reaching a higher rank. ''In that case, I should probably help her grow stronger, but I cannot forget myself.'' I would check the new tabs I had unlocked once I recovered: the Martial Arts Training and Physique tabs. For Roulan, I would buy her the Strength and Speed Elixir. "Haa..." Although having a beautiful woman hugging me felt quite refreshing and exciting, it didn''t help with the act of falling asleep. I closed my eyes and tried to count sheep, but they all looked like Roulan and were far too bouncy. "Let''s go..." I slipped from her embrace and climbed off her bed before creeping into her living room. The place looked quite different to what I imagined with pictures of Jiang Roulan from her childhood to her current self. I noticed a glass cabinet in the corner with dozens of awards for martial arts, self defence and even police medals for her service and bravery. She didn''t seem that talented a cook because her kitchen was full of microwave meals and ready-to-eat packed foods in the fridge. The bin full of beer bottles also brought a smile to my face because it betrayed her usual clean and neat atmosphere. "Phew!" I dropped onto her sofa with a thud, my head sinking into the expensive and soft headrest as my eyes became heavy, as if someone was pouring sand into my eyelids. Strengthening Roulan will help protect me if Zombie Qinglan goes berserk, though I am stronger now. The violent and fearless nature she has could catch me off guard if I lowered my guard, and right now, even with her skills, Jiang Roulan would lose. "Nn...." Never had I found a sofa so comfortable. Was it Roulan''s faint scent, or the darkness without a speck of light... or maybe I just didn''t quite trust Jiang Roulan and the others to sleep so easily beside them. "Tomorrow, I will make a full plan and decide on where to create a safe zone..." And just like that, as if I never struggled. I drifted off to sleep. Chapter 39: Cleaning up the Apartment... Chapter 39 - Cleaning up the Apartment...The scent of sizzling bacon fat filled my nose as I groggily woke up from a strange dream... I got fired, and zombies suddenly appeared. That wasn''t the weirdest thing. My boss, Mu Qinglan, started living with me, and our relationship became complicated after she became some kind of living dead... "Ugh..." With I grunt, I pulled myself off the sofa. However, it wasn''t the one I usually crashed on, nor was it my room. That''s when I started waking up and realised that it wasn''t a dream... This house was Jiang Roulan''s, and I was wide awake. ''Fuck!'' At least the delicious scent of bacon, eggs, and fish spread through the room. It wasn''t too strong and honestly made me feel hungrier. I stretched my arms, and a blanket fell from my body to the floor. ''Roulan...'' Because she put it on me, I picked the blanket up and folded it before calling out. "Roulan?" Since she had hugged me the night before, calling her full name felt a little strange. Even if our relationship wasn''t that close yet, maybe that''s just what I wanted. There wasn''t an answer, but I could hear her voice, or rather a strange humming tune. "Hmm... Nn... La~ Nn... Mmm~ Hah!" When I peeked into the kitchen, a wide and well-equipped room, and found Jiang Roulan dancing across the floor while preparing the food. I saved the way her seductive peach bounced to my mind''s SSD drive and quickly returned to the living room to check on the system like I promised. ''Since I scolded Mu Qinglan and acted like that. I should improve myself as a leader.'' He tapped the system screen, flicking through the various skills with a low hum, copying Roulan''s sound before he tapped the button for Martial Arts. That''s when an array of three different screens and important information enveloped his vision. [Martial Arts Dojo] ¨‹ Welcome to the Martial Arts Hub: A place to buy, combine and develop your Skills! [Purchase Breathing Technique] [Purchase Physique] S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [Purchase Flow Technique] (LOCKED) Everything below the Flow Techniques was locked, so I just tapped the Breathing Techniques option and found a huge menu of skills and things I could buy. There were even skills for women, which made me consider the future more. ¨‹ Elite [Purple] ¡ª 1500 ZKP [Titan''s Marrow Sutra] [Cryo-Veil Sutra] [Verdant Stone Sutra] ¨‹ Rare [Blue] ¡ª 1000 ZKP [Ember Veil Sutra] ¨‹ Refined [Green] ¡ª 500 ZKP [Thornshell Hide Technique] [Shadow Vein Circulation] [Bone-Locked Breathing] ¨‹ Common [Grey] ¡ª 100 ZKP [Pale Flame Inversion] [Iron Thread Lung Practice] [Steady Pulse Method] ¡ª¡ª The skills ranged from simple breathing improvements to the ones that would help improve muscle strength, disease resistance and change a person''s life. Sadly, it wasn''t something that would allow me to fly on a sword or attain enlightenment, but the one I chose had an interesting training style. "Are you finally awake?" Jiang Roulan called out to me with her sweet voice while stepping into the room, carrying two large plates of food with a pleased look on her face. "I didn''t burn the bacon for once, I hope you enjoy breakfast..." She looked at the ticking clock above the television and frowned. "Well, maybe it''s more of a lunch?" The moment I tapped the foundation technique, she placed the steaming plate on the table, and the golden yolks with fluffy whites looked delicious, with a separate bowl of rice and some small fish on the side. "I didn''t know if you liked western or..." "I can eat anything, especially when it smells this good." "Such a silver tongue... Hah!" Jiang Roulan pouted and huffed to the side, peeking at me from the corner of her eyes, before I took the chopsticks and cut the egg slowly, avoiding popping the yolks, before taking a mouthful of egg whites and bacon... ''Ah~ the taste of sweet freedom!'' [You have purchased: Titan''s Marrow Sutra] [Would you like to learn it now?] Excited to finish this delicious meal and also try out the magical techniques that I always enjoyed reading about in the past, I accepted the system''s message while scooping rice into my mouth with the delicious soup broth that Roulan made. Suddenly, a pulse jolted inside my chest. At first, I thought it might be indigestion... "Ack!" I coughed, but there was a vile taste in my throat as the pulse became an aching throb that rapidly spread through my body, causing my muscles to bulk, then tighten instantly... like they were breathing. The pain made me groan and drop my chopsticks, as Jiang Roulan gasped, "What''s going on, are you alright?!" "..." I tried to speak, but my throat became swollen and tight... breath trapped inside as I fell to the ground and rolled onto my back, hitting my chest in desperation trying to recover. Dark veins bulged under my skin, forming strange lines along my arms and throat, and my muscles continued to convulse and cramp as my shirt became tight. My chest almost doubled in size as a burning sensation spread through my stomach. "Take deep breaths, lay on your side." Jiang Roulan started helping me, putting my body into the recovery position, while I sucked whatever air into my throat I could... as the heat in my abdomen became worse. It became like a constant, violent tremor of my abdominal muscles. "Urgh...!" I couldn''t stop myself from grabbing onto Roulan''s arm, but the muscles on my forearms shocked me. They were more defined and thicker, not like a superman or excessive western superhero, but my veins bulged slightly along my forearms like I worked out daily. "Ah¡ª!" She cried out in pain, but the moment I touched her, my arm suddenly filled with a cool flow of energy. Like an icy breeze, it spread from my hand down into my stomach and muscles, helping me calm myself. "Ngh... I think... I think it''s over?" There was a strange milky essence flowing in my abdomen. At first, it felt weird, but when I focused on gathering the energy from all my muscles and organs. It condensed into a small earthen sphere, the size of a quail''s egg at most. "Really...?" Her wrist looked horrible, with a dark bruise from my grip, and I felt guilty. "Sorry about your wrist." "What? Don''t be stupid! You turned blue for a moment¡ªhow can I blame you for this?" She looked at me with such a trusting smile, joking with a light chuckle despite the bruise and her trembling fingers... ''I will make everything up to you.'' I swore to myself and sucked in the air... before checking my current status page. "Let''s finish breakfast, and I''ll rub some ointment on that wrist of yours, alright? Can you still eat?" "Haha, I''m not a baby, but maybe... it might be good to have a handsome, muscular guy to feed this older sister later." She joked while stealing some of my fish, grinning as she snapped open a bottle of lightly scented beer. ¡ª [STATUS] Name: John Wang Title: Harbinger of the Lunar Beast Cultivation Technique: Titan''s Marrow Sutra Stage: 0 (Adjusting) Rank: Raid Leader [4/25] ¨N S-Tier: Mu Qinglan [232/500] ¨N S-Tier: Wang Yin [500/500] ¨N S-Tier: Jiang Roulan [200/500] ¨N B-Tier: Shen Yifei [215/500] Health: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% (I feel strong!) Morale: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% (This bacon is Great!) [Attributes] Strength | 3.8 Physique | 4.3 Agility | 3.7 Spirit | 3.3 [Skills] Leadership: [Level 1] Self-Defence: [Level 3] IronWill: [Level 2] Dash: [Level 3] DangerSense [Level 2] Spear Mastery [Level 2] UnbreakingWill [Level 1] [Currency] ZKP: 2050 EXP: 800/11000 ¡ª The food didn''t last long after my body recovered¡ªmy mind became clearer, and I could control my movements with more precision. However, there was still something important to take care of. "Roulan, would this place be a good place to make into a base?" It was time to focus on finding somewhere to use my Rank four authority and see just exactly what this ability entails. "Here?" She asked with a mouthful of rice, almost choking her cheeks turning red, likely misunderstanding my question. Chapter 40: The System Transformed into a Survival Game! Chapter 40 - The System Transformed into a Survival Game!I reached out and took Jiang Roulan''s beer and gulped half the bottle. Roulan huffed at me before swelling her cheeks like a little fish. However, instead of scolding me, she scrunched up her nose and rushed into the kitchen to get more. I also sent a message to Mu Qinglan, telling her my plans. "Are you really considering staying here, I mean it''s quite safe... but." She likely meant the front area. Thanks to my fight with the big guy, it needed a lot of work. The clearing of corpses and killing the undead that appeared because of the Brute''s shriek. This area became a hotspot for the zombies to gather. "Don''t you think it''s a good idea?" Honestly, because she was a police officer for over ten years and a rich woman, I wanted to hear her opinion. Mu Qinglan was the same, but I doubted she would help me right now after scolding her. Her message couldn''t help but dampen my mood. [Sure, sounds good.] ''How can she be like this, even after the world fell apart!'' I threw away my frustration with Qinglan and focused on Jiang Roulan, who opened the two beers and dropped on the soft cushion beside me. She tidied the meals away before I noticed before snapping on the television. The only shows remaining were re-runs of informative animal shows narrated by a posh fellow from the empire. "So, do you really want to settle here?" Roulan leaned forward, her loose t-shirt stretching to reveal her cleavage, as she turned to face me with a faint smile. "My family owns the place, so I have the master keys." Information slipped from her mouth while I worshipped her figure in the afternoon sunlight. It was illegal for a woman to wear a loose jersey with a plunging neckline and training pants! "Really?" I gasped, maybe a little too shocked by her revelation. "Yeah, though there are people still here in the lower apartments. Everything from this floor and up is empty. So we have like five floors we could use." ''Can I recruit those normal people...'' However, what if they were all useless ranks? Then building affection and loyalty with a load of annoying people would piss me off. "Well, right now, from here, the place that might work is the mall." Jiang Roulan tapped her chin and pressed her beer against her lips. She squished them against the rim as her breath condensed under the lid. ''She''s too erotic.'' "That was the first place people set up a survivors camp, is less than a ten-minute jog. The second place people were told to gather was the old sports complex with the dormitories to the north. Then, the military base to the far south." I could feel my mind turning; the discovery of gathering points made me curious about why Jiang Roulan remained here alone. However, that could wait. ''System, I am curious but do lower ranked people need the same amount of Loyalty to reach a level where they won''t betray me, and will listen to my orders?'' [System Notice: The Rank affects everything, from their potential to their difficulty to handle.] ¨‹ The lower the Rank, the less affection is needed to make someone reach: Loyalty+ S-Tier - 200+ A-Tier - 180+ B-Tier - 150+ C-Tier - 100+ D-Tier - 80+ E-Tier - 50+ [Warning! Do not confuse followers and subjects for mindless slaves¡ªthey will deny requests that go against their inner morals even at the highest levels.] [But given basic food and comfort and people above this level will follow you without issue and won''t betray you and will even fight for you if required.] The information was helpful. It taught me that some people were special, like Jiang Roulan, who needed a higher affinity to recruit due to her skills and life. I also found that once I broke through her first guard, she became soft and very accepting. ''Though she might not be the same for others.'' "Alright, do you mind if we make this place our safe house. I probably won''t listen to you much and you might get sick of me so think carefully." Jiang Roulan looked at me with a bemused grin, sipping her beer. She closed her eyes and threw her head back. The golden nectar guzzled down her throat as she opened her mouth, let out a loud burp, and looked at me with one eye closed. "If I follow you, will you put my survival before other people?" "I will always put myself first, then you and Qinglan will probably be second priority." "Instant answer, haha." She leaned back against the sofa and let out a long sigh. "Well, at least you didn''t come out with some dumb romantic crap, or say I am your number one. Haha. I''ll follow you, since you seem to have some secrets and can help us when it''s dangerous. I''ll give you my knowledge and skills... so help me survive, I have something I need to do." [Jiang Roulan has confided in you!] [This request isn''t a mission or quest, but if you manage to grow closer and learn what she is hiding inside, a substantial reward awaits!] "Understood." There wasn''t more I could say, and she probably had things she couldn''t tell me. I decided to wait until she was ready, and our relationship became deeper. After all, who was I to step into her life after a few days? "Hmm... that''s good." When I opened the special tab listed Safe Zone, my vision transformed, and the panels became small boxes with various images. Some with sticks, metal and what I think was plastic, with values at 0. The screen reminded me of the game Minebuild or Crust. Those survival games where you build a base using collected items. But what made my heart pound was that the sofa glowed when I focused on it! [Black Comfy Sofa] ¨‹ Move [100 ZKP] ¨‹ Dismantle ¨‹ Repair [10 ZKP] ¨‹ Upgrade (???) When I hovered over the dismantle with my fingertip, the option expanded to show something else. ¨‹ Dismantle +50 ZKP +2 WOOD +2 CLOTH +2 PLASTIC To close the list, I just needed to lose my focus, or will it to close. The moment I examined the various things in Jiang Roulan''s room I could destroy or recycle, it seemed I could also dismantle her clothes... This new part of the system was a little complex, and for now, I just stuck to the basics, focused on the left sidebar, which showed all the floors of the building, and with my current rank, I could make the Top three floors into a zombie-free zone. ''I should make the entrance safe... then the top two floors? If I can move things for ZKP wouldn''t it be smarter to do that, and conquer more floors when I rank up?'' "What''s wrong?" Qinglan tapped my head with her fist because I was quiet for too long. "Nothing, I am just figuring out how to fulfil your request." "Hmm... I see, good boy." She seemed a little uncomfortable from her slight movements, and I decided to leave the apartment to check out my future base. Dismantling things could only be done in safe areas where there were no zombies. "I''m going to check upstairs. Can you lend me the keys?" Her face became relieved as she took them from her pocket before swirling them around her finger and tossing them to me with a jingling sound. "Don''t come back for an hour..." S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "I see. I''ll come back later, then." "Mm..." With that... I stepped into the hallway. Half-tempted to check each room and start a dismantling frenzy, but first, I blocked the front door, tapping it on the screen, as a 3-D map of the building appeared in front of me, like a glowing blue hologram. "Sweet." Then I reached for the build button... Chapter 41: I got carried away deleting stuff... Chapter 41 - I got carried away deleting stuff...I stood at the front entrance with excitement building in my chest, the rapid beating almost like a hammer against my ribs. "What will happen!?" The apocalypse vanished from my mind along with all complicated thoughts. I could see a huge green perimeter around the building outside and the hologram whenever focused on the system and thinking about buildings something. To me, the apocalypse made complicated thoughts like dust. There were two things I loved in life: Beautifulwomen and Games! Once I learned about this part of my system. I found a little John inside my head whispering for me to loot each room, dismantle them and become rich! Countless novels flashed through my mind, like the mansion in the last days and my military base harem. However, then I took a deep breath. Because a roaming zombie entered the perimeter and it turned RED. The selfish undead couldn''t even die properly and interrupted my moment of glory. "Haa..." The sudden rush of adrenaline faded as I watched the old woman outside¡ªher face looked mangled as she limped around in my vision. It was too annoying for me to rush out and kill her because more zombies would appear. ''Well, I should probably...'' S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Immediately, as I touched the door handle, she swayed, and her broken spine flopped out of the red perimeter. Without waiting, I pressed the confirmation button. I closed my eyes because the ground floor suddenly lit up with a neon blue light and hundreds of small boxes for various items, from the doors to walls, carpet and other miscellaneous objects. My world became magical. Earlier, in the safe area, I could mess with objects like clothes and the furniture, but once the ground floor became part of my safe zone. I could remodel it, change the decorations and even upgrade the door and hallway using materials. It reminded me of that game where you could simulate an entire life. A game where most people would just lock people in a room with fireworks until they die. Or remove the steps and ladders from the pool. "Phew...let''s upgrade this door. What do I need?" [Stage 1 Building] Progress: [¡ð¡ð¡ð¡ð¡ð] Experience: 0/100 Area: Moonlit Terrace [Deadbolt Entrance Door: Low Quality] ¨‹ Move ¨‹ Dismantle ¨‹ Repair ¨‹ Upgrade (5 Wood, 5 Metal, 10 Plastic, 3 Cloth) ''System how much do I need to pay to move things?'' ¨‹ Survival Sub-System - 10 ZKP to move heavy items within a safe zone for 30 minutes - 5 ZKP to move light items within a safe zone for 30 minutes [Heavy denotes items that one person cannot move alone, like a washing machine.] [Light items are anything smaller than that.] [Extra Tip: You can use the interface in a safe zone to target multiple items. Limited to 40] So... I gazed at the various bodies and wondered if I could dismantle them. The moment I did, a light green hue highlighted all the corpses. My eyes flicked through the options and found that I could only move and dismantle the bodies. "I can''t upgrade or repair them..." It was a shame¡ªmaybe I could have made some cool zombie puppets. "It saves time I guess, but can I delete them outside too..." My eyes flicked through the corpses, targeting them as the system interface taught me. I could point, glance or think about the object in my mind. Poof¡ª! Twenty corpses from the front of the building and the fifteen inside vanished instantly, and then a delightful sound echoed in my mind! ¨‹ Dismantled 40 Corpses + 400 ZKP + 10 Cloth + 40 Experience ''Okay... so it seems I get roughly 10 ZKP per corpse, and maybe more for a stage two, I should try with the brute''s remains too.'' The cloth seemed to be random, or it needed a certain amount to grant one according to the system''s rules. The moment I checked the system, my lips curled into a smirk. Because the 40 experience I gained also applied to my rank experience. [System Warning: This will only apply to dismantling zombies.] However, the evil system killed my fun and tossed a bucket of ice-cold water over my head. To upgrade the front door. I needed to find a lot of items. So, in normal gamer fashion, my eyes traced along the hallway of apartments on the ground floor and noticed I could tell if people lived in these places. [Apartment 001 - Vacant] [Apartment 002 - Vacant] "Okay..." With a deep breath, thanks to the new cultivation technique, my lungs felt larger... taking me a moment to reach full capacity, before I blew out slowly and started my dismantling frenzy! There was no limit to how much and what I could destroy or remove... beds, doors, microwaves and ovens. I ransacked and devoured everything. Pictures of the previous families left on the shelves? Deleted! Old gold and silver trophies from the war? Deleted! An urn full of someone''s ashes? Deleted!! *** Almost an hour later, I sat in the centre of the hallway, my back on the ground and looking at the building interface with a sense of accomplishment. I stripped everything bare¡ªthe doors and items in each apartment were gone. [System Complaint: The system should have created limits... how did this happen?] Somehow, the system was crying in sadness, but it was me who wanted to cry. The moment I reached Stage two, I stopped getting experience when dismantling things! ¨‹ Building Status Stage 2 Building Progress: [¡ð¡ð¡ð¡ð¡ð] Experience: 0/200 Area: Moonlit Terrace ¨‹ Resources [Wood: 120] [Metal: 125] [Cloth: 150] [Plastic: 90] ¨‹ Currency ZKP: 7450 EXP: 840/11000 ¡ª The moment I finished, I gazed at the front door and took a deep breath. Roulan had probably finished her business in the bathroom. So I could now head to the top floors and have more fun dismantling. Though, being honest, doing it in real life instead of a game felt strangely tiresome. ¨‹ Upgraded Deadbolt Entrance Door - 30 Wood - 50 Metal - 15 Cloth - 30 Plastic + 10 Experience [Deadbolt Entrance Door: High Quality] A door resistant to all zombies below Stage Four. I spent a huge amount of resources to upgrade the door twice, but what made me chuckle was that upgrading didn''t happen instantly¡ªthere was a small timer ticking down. The door didn''t change in reality, but a makeshift scaffolding image in the game interface with little men hitting it with hammers. "What are you doing on the floor... Eh¡ª!? What the hell happened to all the apartments?" Jiang Roulan''s voice suddenly woke me from the trance of watching the timer tick down, and finally, there was a sudden bang. "What''s going on? Is there a zombie!?" She became a little guarded, but her mouth dropped when the metal door, which she knew well, suddenly became like those thick high-tech doors you see in action movies that can endure bombs. ''Huh... the safety rating for the base upgraded to Extremely Safe!'' "John, are you ever going to tell me..." Jiang Roulan seemed to be about to ask about my secret, but then she shook her head and showed a faint smile. "No, forget it. When you feel I can be trusted, I am willing to listen then." I climbed off the floor and wiped off the dust. Sadly, I couldn''t clean that without using an actual mop, so I couldn''t wait for Shen Yifei and Qinglan to arrive. ''Somehow, I feel Jiang Roulan would make the best girlfriend...'' "Well... all you need to know for now, is that this floor is completely safe from all the zombies and unwanted people outside... thanks for trusting me." Her eyes narrowed into crescent shapes as she smiled. "I should be thanking you, right?" It was a little difficult to look at her with such a beaming smile, and I didn''t like the fact that it felt like she could look through me. So I rushed into the lift and pressed the top floor button. However, what did I expect? Her muscular leg and plump chest pushed through the door a moment before they closed as she stood beside me and leaned on the metal wall. Then she asked. "Are you running away, John?" Chapter 42: Jiang Roulan’s Life Lesson! - Blast Door! Chapter 42 - Jiang Roulan''s Life Lesson! - Blast Door![Congratulations! You have created your first territory.] "How trustworthy do you think those other residents might be?" I asked Jiang Roulan, ignoring her trying to tease me. Her eyes flicked towards me before she curled her lips into a smile and shifted closer. "Why?" I noticed that for her age, Roulan enjoyed playing around like this. "Are you really planning to play leader?" She lowered her voice and snorted¡ªmaybe she doubted me because of the past? She had a point I treated Wang Yun horribly, and Old Lei died. "Well, I want to give it a try." "Oh, really?" She moved closer, walking behind me and nudging me with her shoulder. "Then, I should help you. But... will you make it worth my while?" Roulan asked with a wink before slumping back against the elevator''s back wall as a hydraulic hiss sounded when the doors opened. I watched her for a moment, before stepping towards the exit, then turned to the cocky woman and performed a bow, "after you, dear lady." "Haha." She stepped out of the lift with a low snort, both hands on her hips, swaying them purposely to distract me or attract me. Either worked. I didn''t rise to it and started skipping towards the first room, preparing to dismantle. PAH¡ª "I''ll make it better than anything you''ve ever known," I said before jogging past Jiang Roulan, after slapping her ass, and since she wanted to flaunt it then why not take advantage. Her throat released a lovely sound before she shouted. "Come back here, John Wang! Don''t make me arrest you." Listening to her voice, I swept my gaze across the floors rooms, dismantling and avoiding her chase, like a predator her legs pushed off the ground. Reaching. Grasping. Aiming to capture me like a petty criminal. It was fun. I hopped over a wooden box, avoiding her sliding kick and hopped into apartment 901 while she started panting. The delightful sight of her body bouncing with each step was all mine. Huge, Round and Erotic. Though my focus was on making money. "Weren''t you going to arrest me, Officer Jiang?" ¨‹ Dismantled Apartment 901 Wood: +20 Metal: +10 Cloth: +5 Plastic: +10 Before she could catch me, I kicked off the wall. My feet walked along the wall, and my newly found agility and dexterity shocked me. "I can walk on water," I shouted, heading into the next apartment, watching Roulan sweating and now sitting on the floor panting out of breath. She gave up. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I avoided punishment. *** Thirty minutes later, I stood near the elevator, happy that my abuse of the system improved my finances. "Roulan, are you still tired?" I asked while twisting my sore muscles and pressing the elevator call button. "What would you care, leaving me alone, what if I got bit?" Roulan turned her nose away before sitting on the same box I used to avoid her. "I really want to know your secret," her eyes narrowed as she hugged her knees. "Then become my woman." It was supposed to be a joke, although she was hot. I didn''t speak seriously. The system and chasing each other made me a little too jovial about the situation. "Hm?" But I noticed her eyes change, looking at me with a pensive expression. "Really, that''s all it takes? Aren''t you being a little naive?" She leaned back, rocking on the box, to build momentum to stand up and rush toward me. *Ding* Jiang Roulan moved like a bull, her muscular thighs propelling her towards me each step boosting her speed as the second the lift door opened. Without time to react, her shoulder rammed into my gut. "Oof." Crashing back into the lift, she grabbed my right arm as I yanked away, pulling her onto my chest as we tumbled to the ground with a thud. Deng¡ª The elevator shook with our bodies hitting the ground, echoing through the elevator chamber several times. I gazed down at Jiang Roulan''s face, inches from me. Lay against my chest. So close I could smell her sweat and feel the subtle heat of her breath. Something streamed into my body, a warmth that made my abdomen hot. Dangerous. That''s what I thought at that moment. Her hands wrapped around my cheeks, her eyes narrowed with a smug smile. "See, you shouldn''t be so open with women, or we''ll devour you whole." The next moment, she blew against my lips and rolled off me, standing up and adjusting her clothes. "Tell me when you trust me, if I want to fuck you. I''ll do it for free." ''Wow...'' I shook my head, feeling more disorientated than when I fought the zombies or brute... Honestly, despite her reaction, my heart was pounding. Every gesture she made felt so intense, and my inexperience with women showed. I lost. It was a great lesson, and I will remember it. The lift to the tenth floor remained quiet, with her leaning against the lift with a smile on her face. Much different from the gentle Jiang Roulan who comforted me. A more mature and aggressive one. I wanted to know more about her. Was that her goal? Watching her confidently walk out to the tenth floor, I swore to defeat her next time. "Haa, another floor of grinding." *** "So, what shall we do now, little criminal?" Jiang Roulan asked. I considered how much I could tell her, but for now, there was a subtle way to test this. Thanks to her my job would be easy. "What about the others, anyone trustworthy?" "You mean the ones downstairs, hmm... I haven''t really spoken to them." She tapped her chin. It seemed to be her habit when thinking. Also tapping, she liked to tap on wood and metal with her nails. Annoying. "What are you doing?" She asked, noticing me taking the stairs. "If you promise to keep it a secret, do you want to see some magic?" I looked back, curling my lips into a devious smile. "This is a freebie for the lesson." With a wink, I jumped down to the ninth floor and landed with a thud, rolling to the side. "H-Hey." "Are you coming?" I called out, looking at the stairs to the eighth floor. "Tsk... you never stop!" Jiang Roulan huffed before I heard the thud of her steps, before she jumped, floating through the air, with both her feet pushed forward and dropped beside me. Thud¡ª Her body slumped down as she grunted. "Argh... Damn it hurts like hell." She dropped on her ass and almost slipped down to the eighth floor. It took everything I had not to laugh at her. So I offered my hand. "Here, take it." "Ah... thank you, but it really hurts..." Jiang Roulan rubbed her buttocks with a contorted face. "Why are you so extreme sometimes? It''s like you''re barely human..." She''s figured me out. No. Looking at her, it honestly made me irritated to hide everything. ''How do those protagonists hide their strength for thousands of Chapters?'' I just wanted to show off, but realised my strength might only be strong for now. So I just shrugged, pretending to reach for Roulan. "Want me to help rub it better?" "Oi, hands away, don''t push your luck, mister." "Stingy woman." I stepped away with a sigh and focused on the door that linked the eighth and ninth floors together. Then started shifting through the door types. Then I found it. The perfect defensive door. "Roulan what do you think?" I asked. She looked at the door with a confused expression, pointing at the blocked door and the small scaffolding. "W-What the hell is going on!?" Amused by how she reacted, I stepped closer and whispered into her ear. "A little peek at my secret. What do you think? Pretty awesome, right?" Then I copied the way she blew at my face earlier and blew on her ear, slipping up the stairs to flee. PAH! "John Wang!" She shouted, chasing me. Chapter 43: Mu Qinglan Arrives! - Home? Chapter 43 - Mu Qinglan Arrives! - Home?[8thFloor] ¨‹ Blast Door (Durable Defensive Fixture) - An extensive door resistant to zombies below Stage Three and humans, only allowed humans can cross. ? Materials: 140 Metal, 100 Plastic ? ExperienceGain: 100 ? CraftTime: 1 hour sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¨‹ Upgrade: 250 Metal, 50 Wood, 30 Cloth, 200 Plastic, 10 Glass ? CraftTime: 24 Hours ¡ª¡ª The instant I slapped Jiang Roulan''s ass, she screamed louder than the Brute from the other night. Luckily, the elevator doors closed before she could catch me. My plan for now? To examine the brute''s corpse and then build my base. Also, avoiding Roulan''s wrath. "Focus..." Because of the near-death experience, I couldn''t calm myself. Suddenly, granted these powers, I became complacent. Rather than seriously telling Jiang Roulan it was because I could trust her not to betray me. But if she asked why, I would respond. Because of the system!. I felt wrong, empty... and bitter. [System Hint: You have earned that trust by saving her life¡ªhave some confidence] "Maybe, well let''s check that zombie." I stepped out of the door, snapping the thick twelve-inch bolt with both hands. It weighed a lot, and even with my improve strength, it wasn''t easy. Damn chunk of metal. The moment I stepped outside, somehow it felt like days since I fought the fat zombie. Squatting beside it, I poked the corpses'' meat. No, charcoal. But I could still dismantle it! ¨‹ Dismantled Stage Two Zombie Brute + 100 ZKP + 2 Cloth + 10 Experience Though not a huge gain. It meant all experience and rewards increased ten times, going from stage one to two. Not too shabby. My body trembled, sharp needles pricking along my back as something was watching me, something dangerous. I could hear a sound. Distant at first. But slowly, the noise grew louder, and the sense of danger increased rapidly. Far beyond the threat, the brute made me feel. It was immense and then. "John! I found you." Something jumped on my back and clung to me with sharp claws. "Miao!" "Hah?" The soft fur of Yin rubbed against my cheek, his eyes curled into crescent moons, before the true danger descended. "John! Haa... Haa..." Breathing heavily, Mu Qinglan appeared with flushed cheeks and a new outfit, her bat covered in blood. "Mu Qinglan?" "Mm, what''s wrong?" Mu Qinglan asked. Then tilted her head and watched me with calm blue eyes. However, I could have sworn they shone red for a moment. She''s dangerous. But at least she wouldn''t betray me with her current loyalty. Right? "Nothing, you just look good in those jeans." "Haha, they are a bit loose at the waist, but tight on my thighs." Well, of course they are¡ªthose pants were mine. I didn''t notice at first, but Shen Yifei held her spear, the tip dripping with sticky flesh. "Haha," I tried to pass the conversation with a wry laugh while clearing any zombies I missed yesterday. "Did anything happen while I left you?" I asked, while observing for any changes. "We fought all night! Qinglan dragged me out¡ªack!" Shen Yifei told me about their evening, but Mu Qinglan slammed her bat into the blonde''s abdomen, knocking her to the ground. I wondered if it was my fault. Forget it. I shook my head and accepted my choices. "Since you''ve been busy, I am sure you are both hungry." I looked at Qinglan while speaking, hoping she understood my hint. Her eyes glistened, moving closer to me while dragging Yifei with her spare hand. "We''ll come inside." "Yeah, just don''t let her get hurt." Honestly, Qinglan wasn''t sane. Somehow, I thought that the perfect ice goddess that appeared at work might never have existed. The socially awkward woman vanished. Now a mere shadow, who followed me to drink blood. However, unlike before, when she made me anxious. I was stronger now. A small victory, but to me, it was something significant. Precious even. Because if she went berserk. I could kill her. "Only the first and top two floors are safe." I didn''t tell her about Roulan''s apartment on the fifth floor. Not because of trust issues. But because I didn''t want to intrude on Jiang Roulan''s private space. Having a place for yourself is something important. Otherwise, even the most loving couples can turn on each other in hatred. "This place looks horrible. Why is everything destroyed and bare...?" Qinglan complained with a low, grumbling murmur, "It''s like homeless people have lived here for decades." I didn''t speak, adamant to hide it was my fault. *** "It''s the same here!" With a huff, Jiang Qinglan completed after bursting out of the elevators, while Shen Yifei stayed beside me with a sour face. "What are you looking at?" Although it seemed she had lost the sweet attitude she had when first meeting me, I could only wonder what Qinglan did to her. "It''s so dusty..." "Well, how about you use that thing in your hand to clean?" I couldn''t help myself. Shen Yifei rolled her eyes and raised the blood-smeared spear like she was ready to sweep with it. "Hah. Want me to mop the floor with your intestines?" "I''d rather keep them inside, thanks," I muttered, brushing past and walking further into the ninth floor. Most rooms here were trashed. Smashed drywall, snapped doors, shredded curtains. I''d cleared it earlier today when running from Roulan. Back then, I''d fused two apartments by tearing out the wall between them using the system. Though still dusty, this room seemed perfect for our first real hideout. "Wait here," I said to the girls, stepping over broken tile and exposed wiring as I headed toward the back corner of the floor. There it was¡ªtwo merged units, stripped bare, nothing but exposed flooring and cement pillars. But it had potential. More than that, it felt right. "This one," I said aloud. "We''ll stay here." ¨‹ Selected Room (9F, Units 901 + 902)] [Large Combined Space] [Status: Safe Zone] I raised my hand and pointed at the shattered window at the far end. The glass looked like a drunk giant had punched it in. Still, the frame was intact. ¨‹ Upgrade Window? Materials: 60 Glass, 50 Metal, 40 Plastic? Craft Time: 1 Hour ? Experience Gain: 20? Optional Add-on: Reinforcement. I had all the materials in storage. I pressed [Upgrade]. The sound of whirring came immediately. Transparent panels slid into place as mechanical arms extended from the system''s fabrication module¡ªfaint blue holograms guiding the pieces. The old glass popped out. In five minutes, the entire wall shimmered with a reinforced window¡ªpanoramic, tinted, clean. Then I turned to the corner where sunlight hit the polished floor. [High Quality - Black Comfy Sofa]¨‹ Build? Materials: 50 Cloth, 85 Plastic, 25 Wood, 40 Metal ? Experience Gain: 40? ZKP: 150? Build Time: Instant I tapped confirm. The sofa appeared in a single soft hum. Matte black, oversized, in an L shape, very inviting. I collapsed onto it, sinking with a groan. Yin leapt into my lap immediately. Rubbing against my thighs before curling up. Then, Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei entered and just stared. "...We live here now?" Shen Yifei asked. I tilted my head back, closing my eyes. This place was close to the three gathering points. The mall and many other useful places. Shen Yifei''s words somehow resonated within my chest. That small apartment never felt like home. But this, this was different... so I spoke in my sleepy state. "Yeah... This is home." Chapter 44: Clarity after a Long and Needed Sleep Chapter 44 - Clarity after a Long and Needed SleepThe darkness faded, thanks to the mid-afternoon sunlight peeking through the reinforced glass, waking me from my nightmare. An image from the past¡ªsuffering my father''s cold, disappointed gaze. A tingling feeling of pins and needles spread through my limbs as I opened my eyes, noticing a familiar aroma and weight leaning against me. Mu Qinglan''s head rested on my shoulder, likely the source of the dull pain in my left arm. Her face was only a few inches from mine, breathing softly. Nothing like her zombie or business self. Just a cute and pretty woman who taught me a lot over the years. ''She''s almost perfect when sleeping.'' I shifted my hips, letting her slowly fall, placing her on the huge sofa¡ªbig enough for five or six people. Then stepped away toward the massive window, and watching the city from here made me realise¡ª''It''s really over...'' The system remained minimised, with no issues or notifications. The clock in the corner flicked to 5:00 PM. "I think I am ready now." My hand touched the cold glass. "What''s the matter, Roulan?" S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her pensive face reflected in the thick glass as she bit her lip. "Are you feeling better now, John?" Well, after my previous actions, I couldn''t blame her. Turning to face her, I didn''t avoid her or act childish like before. My eyes locked onto hers, and she returned the gaze. In my dreams, I constantly ran away¡ªavoiding responsibility and blaming everything on others. Scared of accountability, I avoided applying myself throughout life. I shifted my gaze to Mu Qinglan¡ªat least until she acknowledged me, even without qualifications. Returning to Roulan''s face, I noticed her gaze followed mine. Her lips twisted before she crossed both arms beneath her chest. "I''m much better, thanks to you." Neither a genius nor a fool. And though no superhero, I was never a coward. So, I should face reality. Head on. "Roulan..." After clearing my throat, I called out to her. My voice sounded low and heavy compared to usual... or was this how I sounded now? "Hmm?" She tilted her head while huffing through her nose. The feeling of being examined and observed was unnerving¡ªlike the managers who ignored my advice on my last project. Yet this time, instead of retreating, I stepped forward, offering my hand. "Follow me." Jiang Roulan looked at me for a moment, her eyes widening as she seemed to understand what I meant. From our conversation earlier in the day, I treated it as a joke¡ªunable to face her with respect and as a man. "I promise you will survive, eat well, and have a safe place to sleep at night. As for your goal, as long as you take my hand, I will help you fulfil it." Her eyes widened¡ªnot like before, when she treated me like a child and showed me how na?ve I was acting. "Can you do it?" There were many things I lacked, whether it was the ability to judge right and wrong, create rules and laws or manage a base. Before long, my limit will come. Mu Qinglan, Jiang Roulan and even Shen Yifei held skills that would benefit me, providing me with a chance to focus on the system, growing stronger and surviving. Thanks to Jiang Roulan giving the final push, somehow, I could face reality and stop letting myself escape from my own emotions and thoughts. I could have saved Old Lei and reformed Wang Yun... My system existed for that purpose. It wasn''t a lack of strength that held me back. Nor a lack of talent either. I had all the pieces¡ªbut no will to use them. Not until I stopped clinging to the memory of who my father was and started living for the person I could be. I always admired my dad secretly. Watching his company''s stocks soar, becoming a technological billionaire, supporting his country and rooting out corruption. The memories stirred a flicker of warmth in my chest¡ªhalf pride, half pain. ''But that admiration... it was holding me back.'' For too long, I chased that towering image. The untouchable, flawless icon. A man who shaped the world with influence and intellect. But this brutal, chaotic world of blood, collapse and zombies... ''He might be a tycoon... a leading figure in the old world... But now... wasn''t it time for me to take control? To Lead?'' My gaze returned to Jiang Roulan, no longer wavering, and I stared into her steady eyes. "Of course I can." She stepped forward with a precise and elegant gain¡ªher stride well-measured like a professional. Disciplined like a soldier trained to march into hell. Jiang Roulan stopped a foot away from me. She lifted her head to face to match my gaze fully¡ªonly then did I notice the difference between our figures. Up close, it became painfully clear that I could have knocked her down with a slap. There was no reason to fear her or run away from her earlier. I just needed to face her¡ªlike this. "How do you want me?" she asked. Her voice was deep and firm¡ªlike a cadet speaking to her superior, her hands neatly by her side, watching me calmly. "As an officer? An ally? A follower? A woman? A lover?" With each question, her voice changed, the tone and pitch causing my mind to become white, but I didn''t avert my gaze and focused. I watched her eyes, the way she moved her lips and eyes and without the system''s prompts guiding me. I chose my answer, reading her expression that guarded pride that lingered beneath the surface and her waning hopes. Maybe influenced by the handsome and charming protagonists in female lead novels, my body acted before I thought. I reached out, brushing her chin with my fingers, lifting it between my thumb and forefinger. Her breathing became faster. The beat of her heart pounded in my ears. However, I had no desire to dominate her will, no interest in pretending disinterest. She awakened me, comforted me, and reminded me that I''d been turning away from reality. My life wasn''t a novel or a game. I couldn''t just make a joke, laugh it off or run away. The current world was my reality. "I want Everything." Our faces came close, the woman who teased me like a little boy, now gazing up at me with pink cheeks, her nose blowing against my face as she breathed heavily. This approach was enough for now. Jiang Roulan will understand how serious I am. Without another word, I stepped back and turned away. The slight gasp from Roulan''s lips echoed in my ears as I found myself smiling. This was my current limit, though I wanted to look cool¡ªany further would reveal my gaps. "Yin. We''re going." I needed to cool my head. There were many things to do right now¡ªflirting wasn''t part of them. To meet the twenty people below and assess their usefulness. I needed to visit my old apartment to dismantle everything and bid farewell to the John who once believed he could remain a mere office worker in this collapsing world. I couldn''t remain like that anymore. Like dad once did in his realm¡ª I would walk my path, Not as a son. Not as a survivor. As the leader. The dream was simple: Stand at the top of the food chain. Master of the apocalypse. No longer an embarrassment. No longer a shadow. But the Apocalypse King Chapter 45: Crack the Anvil and Burn the Marrow! (I) Chapter 45: Crack the Anvil and Burn the Marrow! (I)Ash drifted on the wind like falling snow, coating the cracked pavement and shattered glass in a muted grey. My boots crunched against the ruin of the old main road, Yin¡¯s soft paws making no sound beside me. The world felt still... too still. No horde noises, no screams, no gunshots or engines. Just the sound of my breathing and the occasional mechanical flicker from the corner of my eye. I stepped into the chaos with purpose. "Yin," I whispered. The silver cat leapt down from the railing above, his soft paws landing without a sound. Blue eyes glowed faintly in the sunlight. His fur bristled, not from fear but expectation. [Query accepted: Nearest Stage 2 targets located¡ª400 meters northeast. Estimated horde: 370 infected. Four Stage 2s. Warning: Cluster contains fast-types.] "Perfect." I slid my spear from its holster and placed it across my shoulder. The weight felt comforting now¡ªnot like a weapon, but a pledge to myself. The Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra stirred in my veins, faintly vibrating beneath my skin. "Living Anvil, huh? Let¡¯s see just how formidable you are." "Meow?" S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. My feet carried me forward¡ªthrough empty crossroads, past abandoned police cars, stepping over shattered vending machines still leaking cans of expired soda. With each step, I tightened the fibres of my legs, as if my coiling my muscles, preparing for something inevitable. "I¡¯ll do it with my own hands, prove they weren¡¯t just words," I muttered, "without the system¡¯s help." Yin padded beside me, his tail flicking, head high with pride. Despite his size, his aura was sharp like a hunter¡¯s. His title, the name Lunar beast for a reason. On the way from the base, I gave him four elixirs. Now he was stronger, his fur coat carrying a glossy sheen. He could probably beat Shen Yifei in a 1v1 right now. Soon, the scent hit me. Rotting flesh. Wet fur and blood. A disgusting mixture. I stepped into the ruined parking lot behind the collapsed mall¡ªpart of the upper floors had fallen in, crushing dozens. Beneath the fallen beams and twisted seal, something moved. Different from the shambling horde swaying on the other side of the collapsed wall, not stage-one zombies. I spotted two with green, slim figures and elongated, emaciated figures and the other two... strange, their bodies smaller, with long... extremely long claws. Without the system¡¯s help, I could only guess they might be the most dangerous mutation so far. Zombies that evolved to kill using those curved blades, each one close to 40cm long. But luckily, the bone claws fused together. "Yin..." Unlike the golden glow of the Brute or the green colour of the speed type, this one was definitely an aggressive type. Blade-Type. That¡¯s the name I came up with while preparing myself. Skin blackened and blistered like dark red charcoal. Glowing red cores pulsed inside their chests. Their eyes¡ªmilky, sunken¡ªtwitched toward me the moment I approached. However, they remained still, as if they couldn¡¯t see me. Behind them, I noticed forty normal zombies, different from the zombies below. Why did they follow the four-stage twos? Among them, four-legged creatures padded low to the ground¡ªzombie dogs¡ªhairless, their ribs exposed like cages, foam dripping from their jaws. I exhaled slowly. A pulse ran through my bones. The Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra responded. I rushed towards them along the wall, leaving behind my old self. I wanted to push myself and learn more about this cultivation technique. My legs propelled me off the concrete, dashing almost two metres at a time. The first dog leapt. Yin met it midair, claws flashing like a glimmering moon. He wrapped around the dog¡¯s frame, using his momentum to send it crashing into a concrete pillar. The beast howled, but Yin landed softly, preparing for another attack. I met the first Stage two head-on, its green figure zooming past my face like a deadly spectre. Its speed was monstrous¡ªfar beyond what I could track with the naked eye. The wind howled as it passed, its claws slicing open a rusted signpost behind me, cleaving it like paper. "Tch¡ªstill too fast..." I twisted my body sideways, barely avoiding its second charge. My shoulder clipped a brick wall and sliced open my arm, but the pain flaring down my side vanished and healed. The Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra throbbed¡ªeager. Hungering for more damage and conflict. "What!?" The second speed types, mouth appeared in the air, truly horrific creatures, but with these four dead the area around the base would be safer! Its body flung at me like a mortar, a face of horror, grinning wide with a half-destroyed face. I opened my eyes wider, gripping my spear tighter and thrust! A narrow margin of inches, his mouth or my spear... that would determine everything. I could almost feel their presence. Was it a result of the Titan Marrow Sutra or fighting these things for a prolonged time? I had no clue! The spear caught it in the ribs, but only barely¡ªthe thing twisted like a serpent, avoiding a kill strike. Still, it recoiled with blood from its punctured side. Then the first Speed-Type attacked. Like a cannonball, it slammed into my chest, knocking the wind from me. My back struck asphalt, rolling backwards with the momentum as a sharp pain shot up my spine. "Guh¡ª!" I flung back, barely dodging the downward arc of its claw, which shattered the road where my skull had been a second earlier. My breath grew heavier. But the pain... it helped. The Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra flowed from my stomach, growing more intense after each moment, each strain of muscle, and each scream of my flesh. A crackle. To my left, Yin flashed again¡ªthis time in front of one of the Blade-Types. The blackened zombie slashed in a wide arc. Yin ducked low with supernatural grace as the bone-fused blade sliced apart two of the zombie dogs. Then leapt away with Feline prowess. "Wow..." The Blade-Type followed up without pause, movements jagged yet somehow elegant¡ªlike a butcher wielding a dancer¡¯s blade. Its arms vibrated, curved bone blades fused into a deadly sword designed to sever life. I couldn¡¯t let them isolate Yin. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself up. The second Speed-Type lunged again. I spun, ducked and jabbed my spear into its thigh, twisting deep until the tip pierced the other side, using the momentum. I tore its muscles apart, severing its leg¡ªbut I didn¡¯t stop. My feet rooted, hands locked, I thrust again into its throat, using the momentum to fling it across the air, crashing it into the side of a half-collapsed wall. Crack its skull dented against the stone, and it shuddered, sliding to the ground. I turned toward Yin¡ªonly to find the second Blade-Type bearing down on me. Its body shimmered with heat. The red core in its chest pulsed violently¡ªlike a beacon of death. Almost as if it might shoot a beam. It dragged its claws along the pavement, golden sparks flickering. I charged forward, my spear held in both hands, pointing towards the ground, focused on its blades, opening my eyes to the limit as they started to hurt. Bone blades flashed as I ducked beneath its initial swing, then slid across the ground like a baseball player diving for home. Pain lanced through my knee, but I came out behind it. I pivoted¡ªand smashed my spear into the monster¡¯s spine. It howled, blades thrashing wildly. Yin struck from the flank, raking across its chest, aiming for the glowing red core¡ªbut missed by inches as it spun and clipped him with the back of its claw. He flew back, hitting a lamppost. But he landed upright¡ªshaking it off with a low growl. "Yin!" I called out, breathing hard. We couldn¡¯t win this by rushing. Another pulse radiated through my bones. The Sutra was stirring. Almost there. The remaining Speed-Type stumbled back to its feet, blood trailing from its side. It circled like a jackal, watching for my next move. One Blade-Type remained uninjured, the other now staggered, core slightly cracked. The forty infected began to press forward slowly, drawn by the scent of blood. And the dogs circled like vultures, barking that twisted, broken sound no real animal should ever make. I looked at them all¡ªthen at Yin. "You take the dogs." "Meow!" He darted forward, agile as ever. I let out a breath, lowering my centre of gravity, feeling every twitch of my strained muscles. [Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra Stage 0 Progress: 95%] "Oh?" A smile came to my face¡ªthe bruises, cuts and pushing myself seemed to have all counted. Isn¡¯t this skill telling me to be reckless and fight like a lunatic? Time to finish this. If I could kill one of the Stage 2s... if I could endure... Then I¡¯d break through. The Sutra would ignite, and I would reach the first stage, the starting point. I braced myself, spear tip pointed towards the ground, heavy but comfortable in my grasp. And Charged. Chapter 46: Crack the Anvil and Burn the Marrow! (II) Chapter 46: Crack the Anvil and Burn the Marrow! (II)My feet struck the earth like hammers, each impact ringing through the marrow of my bones, propelling me forward like a dragonfly. The Blade-Type met my charge with a silent groan¡ªmouth open wide, eyes blank and yet focused on me and nothing else. Its arms swung outward in a scissor arc, aiming to cleave my torso in two. I couldn¡¯t stop at this pace and dropped my hips just before colliding. Its bone blades passed inches over my head, cutting strands of my hair mid-strike. Then I twist my hips, thrusting my spear upward, a reverse thrust that strikes beneath its jaw. I felt resistance. Then a low crack. A blackened ichor started pouring from its split chin. But it didn¡¯t fall. The red core still pulsed in its chest, faster now, frantic. It screeched, slamming both arms down. I crossed my spear to block¡ªtoo late. The impact sent a jolt through my elbows. My legs buckled, and the road beneath me cracked. The two blades sliced through my forearms, unfiltered agony spread through my being, and blood poured from the long gashes. Pain. Real, sharp, unfiltered. The Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra howled in joy. My bones tightened. Muscles surged in delight, bulging and shrinking. The skin on my body burned, turning darker, healing rapidly. I threw myself sideways as the Blade-Type tried to cleave me again, pushing through the agony, letting it feed the fire kindling inside me. Yin was a blur, fighting his own battle, his speed beyond mine. Yet I realised that, like Qinglan, he was special. Appearing beside me, fangs buried in the neck of one of the zombie dogs, ironically tossing it like a rag doll before springing onto the next. His fur glistened with gore. Eyes bright with wild charm. He was built for this. Then Me? I needed to forge myself! The remaining Speed-Type darted in again, blurring like a mirage. I felt it before I saw it. I turned¡ªbarely¡ªspear dragging through the air behind me. It grazed my ribs, slicing through my coat and skin alike. Blood spilled. But I caught it. The spearhead punctured its thigh¡ªagain¡ªand this time, I held it in place. The zombie screeched, flailing its elongated arms. One claw ripped across my shoulder. Another crosses my face. Pain bloomed, but I refused to release it. I wrenched the spear sideways, using my body as an anchor. The zombie¡¯s leg tore free, severed at the joint. It collapsed, twitching and snarling. And before thinking, I pounced. Three clean strikes¡ªshoulder, chest, neck. The zombie stopped moving, a sickening gurgle escaping its throat. I stood¡ªshaking. The pain from my arms being sliced open still screaming in my mind, but the pleasant feeling of heat surging from my abdomen made it irrelevant. The Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra surged violently like molten rock, pumping through my arteries. [Breakthrough Threshold Reached] A pulse. I staggered as every fibre of my body locked for an instant¡ªthen twisted, like metal reforging itself under divine heat. "Ngh...!" My veins bulged under my flesh, a dark colour like my blood became black, like molten rock. Then my muscles burned, like a volcanic eruption spread through my stomach. I felt my hands itch, before a sharp pain as my knuckles cracked, before growing larger and hardening like stone. Finally, my skin tore, peeled and then became numb, thicker and stronger. [Stage 1 ¨C Hardened Core: Achieved] I gasped, dropping to one knee, sweat pouring like rain. The world sharpened. My body felt heavier¡ªdenser¡ªbut lighter at the same time. I rose slowly, my grip around the spear no longer trembling, as if it became a stick of wood, allowing me to move at full speed. The Speed-Type darted forward. But I saw it now¡ªtruly saw it. No blur or haze any longer. The movements of its muscles, the explosive power of the zombies¡¯ thighs. So when it lunged, I sidestepped. My spear coiled like a viper, striking twice¡ªone to the chest, deflecting its claw, and the second, up through the jaw, piercing the brain. It staggered like a samurai who lost a duel. Then collapsed in a heap, skull split clean. Two down. Behind me, Yin danced between the remaining dogs, his body slick with blood but movements still sharp. A yowl escaped him as one clipped his side¡ªbut he retaliated immediately, tearing out the creature¡¯s throat. His tail flicked, fluffy and not threatening at all. I turned toward the last Blade-Type. It stood motionless, staring¡ªits glowing core burning brighter now. A hot steam blew from its mouth, almost like breath. The crackling of its blistered skin echoed like a brittle bark in flame. I noticed that the more their cores vibrated and shone, the faster and longer their blades became, growing to roughly 70cm in length. It could be dangerous to wait any longer. The zombies¡¯ strike came fast, too fast. A perfectly timed slash, as if this was the era of swords and warriors. I barely had time to raise my spear when it appeared in front of me, bringing both blades down like guillotines, causing d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Pushing off the ground to force myself back. I avoided the brunt of the attack. My arms shook, blocking that strike with my spear¡¯s haft. But now, I held my ground. A grunt left my lips as I pushed his swords up, forcing myself from a kneeling position, before roaring. "IS THAT ALL!?" I pushed forward, staggering the zombie, before I grabbed its throat and headbutted its face, forehead to jaw. The zombie¡¯s bones shattered. Before it recovered, I swept its leg, forcing it to the ground. Then rammed my foot forward, crushing its chest and pinning it. With both hands, I lifted my spear and stabbed. Once. Twice. A third time¡ªthrough the core. Deep dents in the ground were left from my spear¡¯s tip, piercing the concrete and asphalt. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Its body seized with trembling limbs, flailing before I twirled my spear and smashed its forehead with the butt of my weapons. Crack! Finally, the zombie¡¯s core faded... and it stilled. The battlefield became silent, with only the wind for a partner. Although I won, the only thing I gained was the stench of rot and the sound of my heart beating, slow and heavy, despite the intense action. Yin swayed over, his hips in the air, flicking his tail, his left ear with a small wound, but the cute ragdoll defeated the dogs. I knelt beside him, stroking his back. He leaned into me without complaint. "We did it." Ash drifted again on the wind, and once again, I noticed the blood covering my favourite jacket, and the pain I ignored started to return bit by bit. But I stood tall. The Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra pulsed within me¡ªnot violently this time. Almost soothing and rhythmic as it spread from my stomach to the organs that burned and throbbed with dull aches and pains. As if it had accepted me now. I glanced back at the collapsed mall, the shattered cars, the corpses. So much pain still awaited me. Stronger enemies. Smarter foes. But today¡ª Today, I won. Without the system. Without cheats. Without anyone. Just a spear. Just my flesh. And the will to fight. "Meow." Yin butted his head against my leg. I chuckled. "Well I guess we still have those things to deal with, haha. But I am different now... I can change, both mentally and physically. Together we can do it Yin." I turned toward the city¡¯s heart¡ªtoward the mass of zombies that I could dismember. "Let¡¯s go," I murmured. "We¡¯ve still got a kingdom to build." Chapter 47: The Confrontation of Women Chapter 47: The Confrontation of Women*** Jiang Roulan *** John left. His sudden transformation shocked me. I couldn¡¯t even stand straight. My legs weakened beneath me¡ªmy back leaned against the cold stone pillar like it was the only thing holding me upright. His sharp gaze was like a dagger that pierced through my facade. No longer the boy who joked or smiled with uncertainty. He looked at me like a man¡ªwith no doubt in his stride, no filter in his eyes. A lone wolf ready to take what he wanted. I should¡¯ve followed him. I should¡¯ve run after that shadow as he walked away. But something... something stopped me. The wind rattled the windows, dark clouds rolling in over the crumbling city like a warning. Like fate trying to say Don¡¯t stay still. Mu Qinglan appeared in the corner of my vision. Her stare? Sharp. Territorial. Like a lioness spotting a threat near her den. That eerie red glow flickering in her eyes made my skin crawl. "Got a problem?" She didn¡¯t answer. Instead, her eyes drifted back toward the door¡ªtoward John. "John won¡¯t choose you. He can¡¯t choose you," she muttered, her voice cold but tight. Her eyes nervously flicked between the door, where John had left and my face. "Are you jealous, because he needs me, Mu Qinglan?" She trembled. Could¡¯ve been rage. Could¡¯ve been fear. But me? I felt irritated. Angry that John was softer with her. Protective. Yeah, I was jealous. Even if I didn¡¯t love him, I wanted his attention. He was the only man I could rely on. Strong, clever, and too damn honest. The kind of man every woman in this hell would look at twice. I placed my hand against the cold stone, my gut tightening. Why did I always taunt him instead of stepping closer? Was I scared? Maybe I thought he¡¯d choose her¡ªand that if I didn¡¯t try, I couldn¡¯t lose. "..." Qinglan bit her lips and looked like she wanted to throw something. But she didn¡¯t. She turned, and her eyes changed. Not red. Blue. John didn¡¯t need to tell me what that meant. The mood swings, her cold body, the times she disappeared for hours with no excuse... The blue-eyed Mu Qinglan was different. More dangerous. "I wasn¡¯t myself," she blurted, her voice calm. Too calm. Like an executive about to fire you after congratulating your performance. "I¡¯m jealous. Of you... and the way he looks at you." She climbed from the sofa. Her face was pretty, even to another woman like an ice sculpture. I hated that delicate and blemish-free face of hers. She rose from the couch¡ªgraceful, distant, pretty in that icy, untouched way that made me want to claw that porcelain face apart. "Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d admit that," I said. "Why not?" "You¡¯ve never told him." She paused. "You¡¯re not him. But I plan to." We stood there like two predators, sizing each other up. Same goal. Different methods. One of us was going to lose. "What if he rejects you?" I asked. Petty. I already knew the answer. "He won¡¯t." Her voice didn¡¯t waver. "But even if he does... I wont give up." Mu Qinglan gazed at me in silence. A woman of few words, but those words carried her intention and desires. "It doesn¡¯t matter... but," she grasped her metal bat while taking a deep breath. "Do you also like John?" "What?" I blinked, surprised. I didn¡¯t know how to answer. He was hot. Smart. And if he pushed a little more, I¡¯d sleep with him. But like? Love? Those words were still poison, at least. It didn¡¯t make me feel nauseous with him. "I see. Then stop trying to get involved." Her voice sharpened. A warning. No, a challenge. If I kept getting closer, she wouldn¡¯t just stand back. She¡¯d fight me. And the scary part? I wasn¡¯t even sure I wanted to fight back. Because trusting anyone felt too fucking hard. Since my teens, people have only wanted me for something. My name. My money. My connections. And when I didn¡¯t give it to them, they bailed. Even the best-looking man alive couldn¡¯t fix that damage. John wouldn¡¯t fix that, but... that wasn¡¯t to say he couldn¡¯t. "I have no plans for that," I muttered, "but if he wants me... I won¡¯t stop him." Yeah, I kept approaching him. Even when I knew I shouldn¡¯t like a moth to the flame, my body wanted him, and maybe deep down I was attracted to him as someone completely different to me. No wonder something felt off. I kept walking toward the edge without checking the fall. Mu Qinglan studied me in silence and then turned away. "Was it John being naive... or you?" she asked, and her footsteps echoed away, leaving me in the hollow apartment. The words stayed behind. Maybe both. I sank into the cold stone pillar again, memories swarming. My family. My past. The things I ran from. The things that still chase me. My parents tried to marry me off at fifteen to a government dog ten years older. I ran. Became a cop. Thought that would give me a clean start. It didn¡¯t. It just made it easier for people to try to manipulate me. Men came with fake smiles and expensive gifts. They wanted the idea of me¡ªnot the real me. So, I learned to push people away before they could ask for anything. Then, John happened. He didn¡¯t hide why he liked me. He didn¡¯t pretend to be noble or smooth. Just a horny, socially awkward guy who thought I was his type. ...Not that I can blame him. He¡¯s also mine. I ran a hand down my abdomen, feeling the lines of muscle, the dip of my hips. "So stupid..." I muttered. The dark clouds drifted closer to the city. As the winds blew and thunder rumbled through the sky. It seemed to resemble the turmoil in my chest. And yet... Something shifted when he looked at me earlier. That promise in his eyes. That hunger and softness all mixed together. Because of my words, he faced me with that look. He wasn¡¯t playing pretend. He wanted all of me. And for the first time in my life, I wanted to give it. To tame me. To control me. Many have tried to do so in the past. But for the first time... I met a man who didn¡¯t ask me to stop being myself¡ªhe wanted everything. I found myself wanting to be tamed. Even if I wouldn¡¯t go down without a fight. *** I didn¡¯t chase after Qinglan. That wasn¡¯t my style¡ªand it never had been. Still, my feet didn¡¯t want to stay still. My chest wouldn¡¯t stop aching. Instead, I made my way to the far corner of the fifth floor¡ªthe rusted old room with the cracked tiles and a broken light. The training space. My fallback after a bad day at work or when emotions ran too loud. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. My tonfa hung on the hooks, exactly where I¡¯d left them. I grabbed my tonfa from the wall¡ªcold, familiar steel. The grips worn smooth from years of use. No frills. No tricks. Just something solid to hold on to when everything else felt like smoke. Breath steady. Steps deliberate. Not fighting¡ªjust... preparing. Body and mind. I spun one tonfa low, the other angled for a gut strike, driving them both into the padded post. Thud. But my head wasn¡¯t in it. I could still feel his gaze. That strange heat in his eyes. The way he looked at me after everything I said¡ªa hungry and passionate gaze. And I liked it. My grip tightened. Muscles flexed. I pivoted and slammed both tonfa into the padded dummy until the stuffing split open. Again. Again. Again. My grip tightened as I pulled back and dropped into a lower stance. I wasn¡¯t in love. "Ngh... it hurts." I groaned, rubbing my wrist. I stopped while panting for air. My palms were stinging from the vibrations running up the tonfa. My reflection stared back at me through that broken mirror. Scattered. Shaken. A little more honest than before. "I might like him," I muttered. Just saying it out loud made my chest tighten, but my shoulders became loose and relaxed. No one had ever made me feel this way before... he slipped through my guard. I didn¡¯t want to fall or become vulnerable. Yet it didn¡¯t feel like a weakness. And maybe... Maybe that was enough for now. Chapter 48: The Urban Reaper! Type-9K Submachine Gun Chapter 48: The Urban Reaper! Type-9K Submachine GunI stepped up onto the wall, my wounds burning from the previous fight, while Yin sat on my shoulders, looking towards the huge horde of zombies. "Hey Yin, do you know what I¡¯ve always found cool." "Meow?" he tilted his head, scratching his ears. Sometimes, he seemed able to understand, gazing at me with his ocean blue eyes. "Well," most men wanted to try this scenario at least once. "System, with my current points, please suggest an easy to use gun for dealing with weaker, groups of zombies." I hesitated, watching the bar rolling as the system page buffered. "For a complete amateur and show shooting related skills." [System Message: Calculating optimal ranged solution...] [System Message: Parameters Accepted.] [System Recommendation: Urban Reaper ¨C Type-9K Submachine Gun] ¡ú Classification: [Submachine Gun] ¡ú Grade: [Uncommon] ¡ú Calibre: 9x19mm ¡ú Magazine Capacity: 30 rounds ¡ú Fire Modes: Semi / Full-Auto ¡ú Tactical Note: Optimised for close-quarters horde engagement. Recoil management for inexperienced users. ¡ú Passive: Close Quarters Bonus ¨C Accuracy and control are increased within 10 meters.¡ú Cost: 1500 Points ¨C Auto-deducted. [System Notification: Item summoned.] A sharp pulse of violet light formed at my feet, illuminating the cracked concrete wall in a perfect circle. Then the glow collapsed inwards, and something black and matte dropped into view with a hollow clack. It looked compact. Short. But cool in a smart way. Like a weapon meant for people with nowhere to run and too much to lose. I crouched and picked it up. The grip was tight, balanced. Light but dense. Familiar in a way that disturbed me. Yin¡¯s tail flicked. ¨‹ Purchased Skills Shooting [Level 1] - 500 ZKP Increases accuracy with all ranged weapons by 10%. Headshots deal 5% more damage. SMG Mastery [Level 1] - 1000 ZKP Increases accuracy with all Sub-machine guns by 10% and 9mm penetration by 10% I blew dust from the gun and gave it a quick shake. "I¡¯ve never touched one of these before," Yin meowed quietly, as if to say: You¡¯re not supposed to say that out loud right now. Then the System fed me information¡ªgun handling, sight alignment, and reload timings. All compressed into a single thump behind my eyes. I knew how to use it. Kind of. I extended the folding stock, locked it into place with a click, and then racked the charging handle. Holding the magazine with the curve towards the zombies. I pulled it back with a Snap. I slapped the charging handle while smiling¡ªthe buttstock cushioned against my shoulder in a comfortable position. Then used my thumb to brush against the selector. The letters remained in my mind: S E F. Safe Semi-Auto Full-Auto Setting the 9K to full auto, I prepared myself. The horde groaned in the distance. I raised the weapon. Zombies groaned below, crowding the streets like a broken tide. One especially mouldy one dragged its leg as it passed beneath me, head tilted the wrong way, jaw loose. I aimed down the ring sights. It lined up naturally, like I¡¯d done it a hundred times. Then I pulled the trigger. Ddadadadak! The Type-9K roared in short, vicious bursts¡ªsharp, metallic, like dropping hundreds of steel balls of aluminium inside a metal drum. Ddadadak! Ddadadak! Three zombies dropped instantly. One¡¯s skull burst like a melon. Another twisted as its spine snapped from sheer impact. The last flipped backwards, legs kicking at the air. Below, groans turned to shrieks. The horde noticed. Yin¡¯s claws tensed on my shoulder, hissing at the gun, his body fluffed out. "Here we go," I muttered. Tak-tak-tak! Ddadadadak! I moved the muzzle in short arcs, tapping bursts into heads and torsos. Zombies stumbled over bodies, climbed over the fallen corpses. More were coming. [System Notification: Kill Count ¡ª 50 Confirmed] [Skill Unlocked: Point-Blank Discipline [Level 1]] ¡ú Firing in close quarters feels more natural. ¡ú +10% accuracy when firing at enemies within 3 meters. [System Hint: An Instant Reloading Service Is Available ¡ª 30 ZKP per magazine.] "System," I muttered. "I think I like this one." I ducked behind the wall, swapping mags with a clean snap. Blood sprayed behind me as one corpse finally finished falling. Huh? It only came with two mags... The system ripped me off. The concrete stank of rotten milk and old oil. I pressed my back against the loading dock wall, the metal roll-up door to my right rusted half-open, a broken dolly wedged underneath. The reek of expired meat and blood from the mall¡¯s back end was already drowning my nose. "It¡¯s only been two weeks, is this what happens without proper health and safety?" Yin perched high on my shoulders, tail flicking, ears twitching. The zombies hadn¡¯t rounded the far corner yet, but I could hear them. Moaning. Dragging limbs. Shuffling over their dead. "Hey, Yin," I said, in a low voice, "you ever hear the phrase ¡¯backed into a corner¡¯?" "Meow." His response was dry. Disapproving. "Yeah," I nodded. "It was dumb..." The Type-9K sat in my lap. Clean. Smooth. Black. Its weight felt right¡ªlike I¡¯d been carrying it my whole life. I peeked around the edge. A wave of them¡ªstage ones, all twitching and stuttering, packed tight into the narrow lane between the dumpsters and the wall. Their nails scraped the siding like claws over a chalkboard. They hadn¡¯t seen me yet. I exhaled. Raised the barrel. Ddududududu! The 9K bucked, barked, and sang. Four went down in one burst¡ªneck, cheekbone, upper skull, and eye socket. Blood sprayed across the dumpster, dripping down the old mall sign half-hanging above. Yin tensed against my neck but didn¡¯t move. Now they saw me. They howled like animals on fire. "Here we go." Ddak! Ddak! Ddak! S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Short bursts, tight fire control. The ring sight stayed steady. Spirit stat is doing its job. My body wasn¡¯t shaking. My breathing stayed even. A stage one lunged around the corner¡ªtoo fast. I snapped the muzzle down. Tak. Head gone. The corpse twisted and slammed against the wall with a wet smack. They kept coming, over each other. Slipping on bodies. Smashing into pallets and crumpled cardboard. The entire dock turned red. [Kill Confirmed: +5 ZKP][Kill Confirmed: +5 ZKP] Thirty rounds later¡ªclick. I ducked. [System Prompt: Instant Reload Available ¨C 30 ZKP per magazine.] "Fine." [ZKP Deducted: 30] A fresh mag slid into my hand as the charging cock flicked up and previous mag slipped out like magic, then I slammed it in and slapped the handle back down. Ddadadak! Ddak! Three more headshots. A crawler tried to bite at my ankles. Tak. Not today. The hours¡ªmaybe minutes¡ªbled together. Six reloads. Concrete slick with blood. Stumbling corpses. The gun barrel overheating. My arms felt like lead, but my aim didn¡¯t shake. Yin didn¡¯t move once. Only when the last zombie dragged itself from behind an overturned shopping cart, bloodied but still reaching, did I hesitate. I let it get close. Real close. One meter. I looked into its eyes. Tak. And it dropped. [System Notification: Combat Complete] [Total Kills: 316] ¡ú ZKP Gained: 316 ¡Á 5 = 1,580 ZKP [Instant Reloads Used: 6] ¡ú ZKP Spent: 6 ¡Á 30 = 180 ZKP [Net ZKP Gained: 1,580 ¨C 180 = 1,400 ZKP] [Remaining Ammo: 1 Magazine (30 rounds)] [Current Balance: +1,400 ZKP] The alley was silent now. I leaned back against the wall, heart hammering in my ears, soaked in blood, dirt, and God knows what else. Steam rose from the barrel of the 9k. Yin finally stretched, hopped down onto my lap, and began cleaning his paws like none of this had happened. "System," I said hoarsely, "this gun¡ª" [System Hint: Urban Reaper ¨C Type-9K eligible for upgrade at 5000 ZKP.] "...We¡¯ll talk about that after I get a drink." However, I couldn¡¯t calm down... because, like many times since the apocalypse started, I felt something strange: the back of my neck tickled. I couldn¡¯t help but feel on edge, as if someone was watching me. Chapter 49: Cleansing Potion - I Didn’t forget... Okay? Chapter 49: Cleansing Potion - I Didn¡¯t forget... Okay?To shoot without a silencer might have been a foolish impulse in the city centre. The strange itch at the back of my neck created a tickle that jolted down my spine. Human shadows shifted in the distance. I could swear there were people atop the shopping centre, hiding amongst the wooden beams. Observing me. "Yin, we should head back, but let¡¯s head through the pawnshop route." A place I didn¡¯t wish to return to. Where my biggest mistake since the apocalypse began happened. Not using the system to bring Old Lei¡¯s daughter back. Or at least trying, before that happened. Yin¡¯s unblaming eyes flickered in the darkening sky. He licked his paws and stretched with his backside in the air, a rough meow leaving his lips before he jumped on my shoulder. Then nuzzled my cheek, as if to say everyone makes mistakes. Finding solace and meaning in a cat¡¯s meow... I know. My mental health might not be as pristine as I thought. Yet I couldn¡¯t deny the comfort this small creature¡¯s gesture brought me. A warmth that made the negative thoughts fade away. At least temporarily. I thought about visiting Old Lei¡¯s house and giving his family a proper burial. The idea lingered¡ªhis figure felt like my future self. If none of this had happened, my future would have been like his. Maybe that¡¯s why his failure, his loss, and death still haunted me when I closed my eyes. There were too many things happening, and I was just a regular guy a few days ago. "Are there any potions with the same effect as an Upgrade Potion for S-Tier members?" [System Message: There are three types of marrow washing potion] After the voice echoed in my mind with a mechanical tone, the item shop opened two pages. ¨‹ Marrow Washing Potion Low-Grade: 500 ZKP Medium-Grade: 1000 ZKP High-Grade: 1500 ZKP Top-Grade: 3000 ZKP ¨‹ Infection-Curing Potion Imperfect Cure: 100 ZKP Full Cure: 1000 ZKP [Beware! A person can only wash their marrow once!] ¡¯What!? Then is the upgrade potion an idiot trap?¡¯ The system didn¡¯t answer me. Thankfully, the cure came in potion and injection form. I browsed the blue sale window that remained floating in my vision¡ªthere was also the potion that would cure Mu Qinglan. I didn¡¯t know what effects it might have overall, but I wanted to offer the cure at least. "Meow!" Suddenly, Yin started clawing my leg, and then spat a red marble at my foot... he skittered off once again, and a few moments later, he brought another deep red marble. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. That¡¯s when it hit me. I forgot about the stage two zombie cores... Yin eventually brought all four cores to me, but he dragged one of the green cores... his greedy blue eyes shining at me. "Meow!" His meow almost sounded like I will fight you to death for this! I knelt and stroked his soft fur, "you can have it." This would help him survive, and I wondered if it related to his title of being the lunar beast. Before I could stroke him twice, he swallowed the green orb with milky threads and leapt onto my shoulder, curling himself into a ball while using his claws to anchor himself. ¡¯System, how much would selling these cores to you earn me?¡¯ [Evaluating Cores] [Red Core: 5000 ZKP] [Green Core: 4500 ZKP] Though I could feed one to Mu Qinglan. I wanted to purchase the Top Grade marrow wash for Jiang Roulan, Shen Yifei and Qinglan. But... that would cost quite a lot of points. If I sold a red and green core, my points would be 12,950 ZKP. That¡¯s enough for the three marrow potions, Shen Yifei¡¯s upgrade potion and Mu Qinglan¡¯s cure. "What are you doing?" A sharp, crisp voice spoke from behind me. "Qinglan, did you follow me?" Thankfully, it was the calm, blue-eyed ice queen who came to meet me. When I turned to face her, she sat on the wall with dozens of bullet marks on her legs, closed and leaning to the side, while looking at me. "I did," she brushed her hair back, before smiling. "I wanted to see you." Her blunt words felt strange, as if the zombie Qinglan and human Qinglan fused and spoke at the same time. "I see, that makes me happy." "Does it really?" Her eyes lit up, and her smile deepened. "That makes me happy." Mu Qinglan¡¯s acting strange made me feel unsettled. Did I get hit during the fight, or maybe I was dreaming... but since this was a chance, I stopped waiting and took the first step. A small milky vial slipped into my hand as I spent 1000 ZKP. "Qinglan, this is for you. I hope you will drink it." She gazed at the bottle for less than a second before taking it, snapping open the lid and downing the creamy fluid. "Nn..." Her soft moan felt like a hammer to my chest. She suddenly hugged herself while closing her eyes. Trembling, as if cold, her face became tense, contorted as black veins pushed against her skin, bulging from the surface. "Qinglan, what is happening?" "No... John," she gripped her mouth that leaked a black liquid. "It¡¯s fine... I am?" "You¡¯re not okay, Qinglan!" Suddenly, she collapsed to the floor with a loud thud. Not only was her temperature high, but she was still trembling, each of her muscles spasming. I could also feel Yin suffering from swallowing the orb, unable to help me... The system wouldn¡¯t have betrayed or tricked me. But making an enemy out of something helping me was foolish. So I asked in a ¡¯kind¡¯ voice. ¡¯What the fuck is happening?¡¯ [System: The Virus fused with Mu Qinglan¡¯s cells... a mutation is occurring. Forgive me.] "Is that all you can tell me...?" I grunted in a low voice, slipping one arm under Qinglan¡¯s neck, the other on the underside of her thighs. As soon as I moved her, my stomach tensed... Her body weight was heavier than expected, but seeing her struggle removed all my worries, looking towards our new base, and my old apartment... My apartment was closer. "John... I always..." She mumbled while her eyes fluttered. Unable to keep them open. "Wanted..." However, her conscious faded, driving my heart into overdrive. Did I kill her? Will the mutation be positive? Her skin became pale, before the system whispered into my ear¡ªnot the mechanical voice but the old tutorial voice! [Feed her one of the Top-Grade Marrow Washing Potions, and the Red zombie core!] My stomach churned at my selfish thought of taking the orb for myself, and resisting the words the voice told me. Yet my feelings won... It appeared I felt something for Qinglan after all. "Don¡¯t worry, Qinglan... I will fix everything." The sky roared with thunder and lightning. The wind rattled the window frames, making the building creak. I desperately rushed to my apartment, but the thoughts of hiding my path or tail vanished... I placed Yin on the soft cushion in the main room, closed all the curtains and blinds, double-checked the doors and took Qinglan to my bedroom. Thankfully, I found a bucket and filled it with cool water, because she was burning up, her forehead dripping with beads of sweat, as she gasped and grunted. In my palm was the red zombie core... and the potion. [Tutorial Voice: Good, feed her the zombie core, and then the potion.] "How... her mouth is closed tight because of her convulsing spasms!?" [Tutorial Voice: Are you stupid?! Kiss her, you fool!] "..." I wasn¡¯t lying... her teeth clenched so tight they might cut through steel. "Hnnng... John..." Qinglan groaned in her agonising state. My chest felt heavy, a lump forming in my throat at her soft, cute voice... the images of Mu Qinglan... my boss, the woman I held an idiotic crush on, someone who recognised my value when most didn¡¯t... suffering like this. Sour bile rose from my stomach as I watched her struggle. "Damn it...!" Man up John Wang! Save her. The red core felt warm in my hand, a strange glow and pulse radiated through it, before I smashed my head off the wall to clear useless thoughts out of my head. "Here I go..." I poured the potion into my mouth, struggling to hold it before leaning over Qinglan¡¯s face. Core in my right hand, I used my hands to force her jaw open. Stiff, tight and powerful. Her muscles tensed, but I was stronger and yanked open her jaw. I placed the red orb on her tongue, my fingers sliding across it, covered in her excess fluids. But the black fluid leaking from her mouth was horrible, thick, and smelled like death... But she was in pain... So I shook my head and placed my lips against hers, slowly pushing the thick, gooey potion into her mouth. As expected, she didn¡¯t swallow. The black fluid leaked through the corner of my lips as the fluids mixed in a slimy, wet and hot mess. [Let me help you out...] A faint voice filled with static spoke, before Mu Qinglan started convulsing. Her body bounced, and her eyes snapped open, unfocused at first, before her hands suddenly grabbed the back of my head with a force far greater than I expected. [Good Luck!] Chapter 50: Mu Qinglan Chapter 50: Mu QinglanThe Kiss... ... Was not a romantic Or magical... ...Like novels would make you believe. The sour taste of blood, mixed with the strange black ichor that carried a sticky, bitter taste that flowed into my mouth, my throat. A taste that lingered on my tongue. A scent scorched the back of my nose. Yet the semi-conscious Qinglan didn¡¯t care¡ªher hands gripped the back of my hair, pulling on it hard enough to tear a few clumps out. "Ngh...!" Our eyes met... ...but her pupils weren¡¯t there. Only two thin slits swimming in murky grey, barely human. Her jaw quivered. Black ichor leaked down her chin and into my mouth. The taste became worse. Hot copper. Sour rot and burning bile mixed into a foul concoction. My stomach tightened, but I didn¡¯t pull back. Instead, I pushed deeper. My tongue slipped past hers, pressing the vial¡¯s broken red core fragment into her throat. The marrow washing potion mixed in my saliva burned on the way down¡ªfiery, sweet, sharp. Like cherry syrup spiked with alcohol and acid. I forced her to drink using my mouth. She gagged. Her throat convulsed. Her whole body shuddered like she was being electrocuted. Nails dug into my back. Her tongue writhed wildly against mine, trying to spit it out. I didn¡¯t let her. I gripped her cheeks with both hands and kept the seal between our mouths tight. And then¡ª CHHK. Pain exploded in my skull. She bit down. Her jaw locked shut, teeth sinking deep into my tongue, crushing through flesh like soft leather. It didn¡¯t feel like a clean cut. No¡ªit ripped. A tearing, grinding crunch. Like a frozen fish being snapped in half with bare hands. I tried to scream, but only blood came out., Hot, fast, filling my throat. Stars burst behind my eyes as I fought not to pass out. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t stop. Her mouth trembled against mine, jaws grinding, still clenched on me as the heat of the red core began to seep into her gums through mine. The ichor that poured from her mouth began to steam. Bubbles formed along her lips. Her blackened veins started turning red again, then glowing faintly gold, weak pulses racing down her neck and across her chest. Almost like a core was going to form in the centre of her bosom. And then, just as my endurance reached its limit¡ª She violently spasmed. A scream shredded through her throat¡ªnot sound, but air, pressurised, and wrong. She tore away from me and vomited a thick stream of black sludge across the cracked tiles. It hit the ground with a splatter, hissing as if acid met metal. My tongue hung torn in my mouth, throbbing and numb, while I choked on my blood. She curled on the mattress, half-naked, back arching. Her skin seething with a visible steam and raw energy, twitching like a live wire under her skin, slamming the ground with her feet. I collapsed beside her, red-hot pain flashing through my skull. Something inside me cracked. The marrow potion was working on me now, too. Every muscle in my body seized. And then¡ª Everything went white. *** White. At first, I thought it was just the pain, searing through my jaw, tongue numb, body in full shutdown. But then I realised it didn¡¯t hurt anymore. I was sitting on cold concrete. The breeze was blowing through my hair. Not foul, not heavy. It smelled faintly of smog and wet stone, with a faint, familiar perfume. A nostalgic scent and feeling. I opened my eyes. Grey skyline. Empty rooftops. That cracked neon sign still flickering across from us like it always used to, spelling "SHOE PLAZA" with the Z permanently dead. The view from our office building¡¯s rooftop. Ten stories up. Somewhere in the city. The old world. And next to me¡ª "...John." ¡¯This has to be a dream, I¡¯ve only came to the roof alone... How sad to be dreaming of her even after she almost ate my tongue.¡¯ Her voice was as clear as day. I turned my head slowly and somehow managed to smile. Mu Qinglan sat beside me, knees pulled up, arms wrapped loosely around them. Her hair swayed gently in the wind. Fair skin. Blue eyes. The colour was so unnatural now I almost didn¡¯t recognise her. Bright, electric blue. Not glowing¡ªbut awake in a way that made the rest of the world look faded. She blinked at me, calm and quiet like always. We were still wearing the same clothes, stained and torn, a complete mess, but thankfully all the blood and mess were gone. No ichor. No fever. No madness. "Where are we?" I asked. She didn¡¯t answer right away. Her eyes wandered the skyline like she was trying to place the city from memory. The wind pulled a strand of her hair into her mouth, and she tucked it behind her ear. "I don¡¯t know," she finally said in her usual tone. "A dream, maybe?" "Feels like one, seeing you here." "Not the worst one," she added quietly, almost to herself. I looked around. It was strange¡ªeverything was so sharp. The clouds, a cracked vent cover near our feet, even the pigeons across the way, perched like statues. This world looked real, but... distant and untouched by human hands. I let my head lean back against the wall behind us. "I haven¡¯t been up here since Winter." "I liked Winter," she said. "Before everything smelled like death." "Before I got fired, haha." She looked at me, tilted her head and then curled her lips into a smile. "Fool." We fell into a silence, but it didn¡¯t feel awkward. Just the kind that happens when neither of you wants to wake up yet. "I can taste your blood," she said suddenly, with a glance. I snorted. "You bit my tongue." "You were trying to shove something down my throat." "Yeah. A cure." "A very romantic cure," she said dryly. Then she looked away again. Pulled her knees in a little tighter. Her bare shoulder brushed mine, but she didn¡¯t move. "Sorry," she said, voice small. "For... everything. The biting. The vomiting. The undead thing." Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "You looked terrible," I said. "I felt worse." She laughed under her breath. It didn¡¯t last long, but it sounded real. "You always did act like nothing scared you," I said. She hesitated, then looked up at me. "You think I wasn¡¯t scared?" "You didn¡¯t look it." "I was terrified," she said. Her voice wasn¡¯t shaky¡ªit was matter-of-fact. Honest. "I just didn¡¯t want you to see it." "Why?" "I don¡¯t know." She frowned, throwing me a sharp gaze, before turning away, her cheeks a light pink. "You already carried too much. It didn¡¯t seem fair to give you more." We sat in that for a minute. Listening to the cooing of birds, the howl of wind that brushed the edge of the roof. Distant sirens¡ªno, not sirens. Wind chimes? Or maybe neither. Sound acted strange here. "You always smelled like gunpowder," she said softly. I blinked. "That¡¯s... specific." "Not in a bad way," she added. "Like... old smoke. Heat. Kind of steadying. Like something that didn¡¯t break when everything else did." I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. So I said nothing. Two awkward people, each broken in their way¡ªI couldn¡¯t help but watch her, this version of Mu Qinglan in my mind. Was she this way because of my feelings, or... was this my ideal image of her? I still didn¡¯t have an answer. She glanced over at me, hair dancing lightly across her cheek. "Do you think I would¡¯ve turned? If you hadn¡¯t... done what you did?" "Maybe." She nodded. "I think so too." Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t ask anything else, not why I saved her or if I would be sad. The sky above was dimming slightly. A violet tint bled through the clouds. Her legs stretched out beside mine, one boot tapping softly against the rooftop gravel. "I used to think I¡¯d die alone," she blurted. "You still might," I replied. She smiled. "Thanks." We sat there longer than we should¡¯ve. In a dream that didn¡¯t feel like mercy, but didn¡¯t feel like punishment either. Just a moment that wasn¡¯t supposed to exist. "John," she said softly. "Yeah?" She paused for a moment, turning to face me head-on. I must have wished for that gust of wind. The way it blew her hair¡ªframing her face like a painting the world didn¡¯t deserve. She was the most fascinating thing I¡¯d ever seen. Then her lips parted, glossy and red. "I like you." Chapter 51: March 16th 20xx A special day for John Wang Chapter 51: March 16th 20xx A special day for John WangI woke up slowly. There wasn¡¯t an alarm, no shouting in the streets or the sound of people rushing to work, just a faint sound of breathing. ¡¯Oh... the world I knew is already gone.¡¯ The familiar ceiling above me helped calm my nerves¡ªslightly cracked, yellowed from the moisture and occasional cigarette and a chunk of plaster missing in the corner, which looked like a spider. It seemed the wonderful dream was over. ¡¯To think she confessed to me in the dream...¡¯ It was still dark, so I gazed at the system¡¯s clock¡ªthanks to it fusing with my phone. The date and time were always on display, even without a battery. Not even midnight. My body didn¡¯t hurt¡ªstrangely, there was no pain... instead, I felt warm. Almost too warm. Like I¡¯d spent the night wrapped in an electric blanket on max heat. No... I lied. Only one thing hurt. My tongue. A dull throbbing ache spread through the bitten section each time it moved. I flexed it against the roof of my mouth and winced. Definitely not fully healed. And then I noticed my hand. It was warm. Really warm. And soft. Way too soft to be a pillow. And the shape¡ª My fingers twitched. There was a little squish. A soft sound slipped out beside me. "Mmn... mgh..." followed by the faintest snore. I froze. Slowly¡ªso slowly¡ªI turned my head. And squished again. "Hnnng...?" Mu Qinglan was lying on her side, pressed into the thin mattress, hair a mess of dark silk around her face. Her lips parting just slightly, a faint line of drool tracing the edge of her mouth. She was breathing softly. Alive. Peaceful. And my hand was cupping her breast. Perfectly. Like it belonged there. Like the universe had lined up my fingers to map exactly to the curve of her chest. She shifted slightly in her sleep, nuzzling her cheek into the pillow, and let out a tiny, sleepy "Hnn~"¡ªhigh, breathy, and just the tiniest bit too cute. I blinked. My soul left my body. Her little sound still echoed in my skull. Hnn~ My hand froze, glued to her skin. I could feel the rapid beat of the pulse in my fingertips, pressing softly into her skin. My brain screamed at me to move it. Immediately. Although it felt strange and I shouldn¡¯t be doing this, the normal nervous feeling and desire to run away didn¡¯t exist. So I smoothly enjoyed the last moment. Then I would act like a leader. I exhaled through my nose and slowly, slowly started to lift my hand. "...Don¡¯t." Her voice was quiet. Throaty. Barely above a whisper. I stopped. My heart slammed against my ribs. I lifted my head and saw her eyes half-closed, barely open. Her lashes fluttering, still half asleep. "I wasn¡¯t¡ª" I started, voice dry. "I didn¡¯t mean to¡ª" "I know," she breathed, eyes still not fully open. Her hand moved, brushing her fingers over my wrist, delicate and unsure. Then she pulled back my hand and placed it gently against her chest again, covering it with her own. She didn¡¯t meet my gaze. Her voice was so quiet I could barely catch it. She shifted slightly, nestling closer. Her forehead brushed my shoulder, her hair tickling against my neck. "You¡¯re warm," she murmured, eyes still closed. I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. My mouth opened, but nothing came out. "...Better than the cold roof," she added, barely audible. "I think I was there before." Her fingers traced slowly over mine, still resting against her chest. Absent-minded. Not quite teasing. More like she was trying to memorise the shape of something she hadn¡¯t expected to keep. She was quiet again for a moment. Then, "I had a strange dream," she paused, finally her eyes opened, revealing a vibrant pair of vivid, electric blue eyes. "John..." she said, observing me. "You were in the dream." My breath caught in my throat before I could answer. Dream? Did she see the same dream as me? I stared at her, unable to read her expression. Not fully awake, not fully gone. Her voice was so steady, like she wasn¡¯t even surprised. But I was. Completely. "Me too," I said. Barely a whisper. It felt stupid the moment I said it. But she didn¡¯t laugh. She didn¡¯t pull away. Her thumb brushed the back of my hand. "You sat beside me," she said. "On the roof. The old building. Everything was quiet." My lips felt dry. I nodded slowly, but I didn¡¯t speak. I was scared that if I opened my mouth again, it¡¯d be the wrong thing, and I¡¯d ruin it. She looked at me, soft, uncertain, like she wasn¡¯t sure if she wanted to keep talking or let the silence stay between us. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "I said something in the dream." I nodded again. Mu Qinglan turned her face toward me just a little, the corner of her lips barely twitching into a smile. "I can¡¯t believe I actually said it." "You... remember it clearly?" She hesitated. "Parts. It felt real. Too real." "Yeah," I said, barely managing the word. It didn¡¯t feel like something we were supposed to talk about, not like this. Not in the morning light, wrapped in too much warmth and too little space. I shifted my hand¡ªjust a little¡ªQinglan didn¡¯t stop me. Her fingers remained over mine. And then, just like before, she said: "I like you." There it was. The same words. But this time I wasn¡¯t sleeping¡ªit was real and something fragile. There was no dramatic background music or fanfare. Just her soft breaths and lips smacking as she waited. I couldn¡¯t leave her waiting too long. I swallowed. My chest tightened¡ªnot because I didn¡¯t feel the same, but because I didn¡¯t know how to say it back without messing everything up. However, seeing Qinglan¡¯s blue eyes narrowed into crescent moons, the words came to me. "I like you too." The words sounded smaller than I meant them to be. But I didn¡¯t take it back. Couldn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was everything I had. Her expression didn¡¯t change at first. She just looked at me, searching as if not understanding English for a moment, as her pretty blue eyes widened further and further until her shock became apparent. "Really?" she asked, with a breath that caught halfway through the word, as if she wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d said it aloud. I nodded. "Yeah. Really." She turned her face slightly, just enough that her hair slipped across her cheek, half hiding her expression¡ªbut not enough to hide the way her lips curved. "I thought..." she trailed off, then shook her head. "Never mind. I just didn¡¯t think you¡¯d... say it like that." "Was it bad?" "No," she said quickly. "Just... I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t expect you to actually like me back." I blinked. "Why not?" She shrugged, eyes flicking to the ceiling, pretending to study a stain in the plaster like it suddenly held all the answers in the world. "You always looked so busy. Like you had no time for anyone unless they were bleeding or yelling." "That¡¯s mostly accurate," I said. That earned me a short, breathy laugh¡ªbarely there, but unmistakable. "I just didn¡¯t think I was your type," she added. "You have a type?" I asked. She turned toward me again, cheeks glowing pink. "Shut up." I smiled, watching her eyes dart away again, her fingers still curled loosely around mine. Then, softly: "You¡¯re exactly my type." She stared for half a second before burying half her face into my shoulder, like she couldn¡¯t handle looking at me anymore. I expected her to hide. Maybe groan. Maybe mumble something like "I take it back." Instead¡ª Her teeth sank gently into the side of my neck. Not hard. Not painful. Just pressure¡ªjust enough to feel it. Just enough to remind me. "Really?" I asked, voice low. "Again?" She didn¡¯t answer. She stayed there, biting my neck in slow, silent defiance, until her breath began to tremble with laughter. She refused to let out. "You know," I said, "this is how you greeted me the first time we saw each other after the outbreak." "I remember," she murmured, voice muffled against my skin. "I was hungry." Her lips lingered a second longer, then released. "Still am," she added quietly. This time, when I laughed, she didn¡¯t flinch. She didn¡¯t pull away. And I didn¡¯t want her to. She shifted again, pulling back just enough to meet my eyes. "Can I?" she asked, barely louder than a breath. I nodded. Once. Maybe twice. Then she kissed me. Soft. Uncertain at first¡ªlike she wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d still be there when her eyes opened again. I kissed her back slowly, gently, letting the moment last, settle, and continue. There was no rush. No fire. Just warmth. And her. Chapter 52: How Would That Even Fit... Chapter 52: How Would That Even Fit...Her lips pressed into mine, warm, damp and slightly parted. The first brush was soft, almost unsure, but the second... she opened a little wider, her breath spilling into my mouth, human and sweet with the faint taste of cherry and skin. Not a perfume, but her scent, slightly salty and slightly warm. But intoxicating. When she kissed me back, it was slow, uncertain, but warm. She kept missing the centre of my mouth, sliding off to the side before finding her way again, like she wanted more but didn¡¯t want to look too eager. I could feel the hesitation in her breath, each one blowing into my lips like a quiet gasp she didn¡¯t mean for me to catch. "Don¡¯t stop..." she whispered, barely audible, her voice breathless, lips brushing mine with every word. "I like it like this..." Mu Qinglan sighed into the kiss, and her mouth slowly slipped open. I didn¡¯t answer. I couldn¡¯t. Her tongue peeked out hesitantly. She traced along my bottom lip like she was memorising its shape. The sensation was warm and wet and unbearably tender¡ªjust a single slow drag that made my spine arch with need. I shuddered. "Qinglan..." Her eyes flickered open halfway. Just a glance. Just enough for me to see how dark they looked. And then¡ªsoftly¡ªshe kissed me again. Her tongue slipped between my lips¡ªslow, wet, exploratory. It glided across my tongue, shy at first, then deeper. She tasted like warm air and jasmine sweat, like breath shared through the mouth. Mu Qinglan clutched the back of my neck, trembling slightly as she deepened the kiss. Her thighs shifted, pressing against mine, and I felt the heat of her body radiate through her clothes, thick, aching, close. Long fingers slid further into my hair, not pulling but holding tight, her palms warm against my scalp. Our tongues tangled again. This time slower, more deliberate. Mu Qinglan¡¯s tongue curled along mine, dragging, sticky. Saliva pooled between us, warm and slick. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She pulled back a little¡ªjust enough to breathe. Our mouths still touched like two marshmallows melting together. Her breath hit my lips in soft, trembling pants. I could feel the saliva from her tongue still clinging to my bottom lip. Her voice came out low, raspy. "Again," she whispered. Then her mouth opened again¡ªthis time hungrier. She sucked on my bottom lip, slow and firm, her tongue flicking across it. Her hips shifted slightly forward, and I felt the pressure of her against me. Soft. Damp. Insistent. I didn¡¯t move. I let her take the lead while learning, observing each touch, taste and movement. My goal was to learn what she liked, to use it. For now, I just enjoyed it all. She pulled back only far enough to speak, her voice a breath. "Don¡¯t move yet... I want to feel you like this. Just this." I nodded once, barely afraid to break the moment and this feeling of delicate balance of her breath against mine. Mu Qinglan leaned in again, slower this time. Her lips brushed mine without closing, like she was dragging heat across me. Her tongue flicked out first, tasting, teasing. Then she kissed me¡ªfully, deliberately, sealing our mouths together like she didn¡¯t want to come up for air. Her breath caught when I moved just slightly, tilting my head, pressing in a little deeper. I gave her my tongue slowly, gradually, and carefully met hers. The contact was soft and wet, her tongue wrapping around mine, then retreating with a pop. I followed. She whimpered. I inhaled through my nose, and her scent filled me. Fresh skin, sweet heat, just under the surface. A trace of soap and something muskier, sticky between us now. The smell of her body reacting. I moved my hand, finally... just enough to slide my fingers along her waist, under the hem of her shirt. Her skin was hot, damp, and silky. I didn¡¯t push further. Just held her there, letting her tremble from my touch. Mu Qinglan¡¯s nose snorted, her kiss becoming more aggressive. Her tongue circled mine, slow and wet, dragging across every inch. I sucked gently on it, just once¡ªand her hips jerked forward, pressing the damp heat between her legs firmly against me. She pulled back with a gasp, mouth glossy with spit. "Like that..." she whispered, and kissed me again before I could speak. This time, she moaned into my mouth, hips rolling slowly against mine. Her thighs tightened. I felt the damp spot where her crotch touched mine, pressed right against the ridge growing beneath my zipper. A dull ache was building, tight and pulsing. I deepened the kiss, moving with her now, guiding her rhythm with the curve of my palm against her waist, tracing the tension in her lower back with my thumb. She broke the kiss again, panting. "Touch me slower. Don¡¯t rush..." Her lips brushed mine as she said it. Qinglan didn¡¯t speak. Her breaths were quick and shallow, with lips slightly parted and eyes locked on mine as if she had decided something. Then... without a word, she pushed me down. My back hit the bed, sinking into the soft mattress. She rolled onto me, her knees sinking into the mattress, her thighs around my waist. Her palms pressed to my chest, fingers spread wide like she was memorising the shape beneath my black shirt. I didn¡¯t move. I waited. Her hands slid down slow. Across my ribs, over my stomach. Down to the band of my pants. When her fingers brushed the outline of me, she froze. She blinked once, then looked down, mouth parting just slightly. Her hand moved again, pressing fully against me this time. "...What the hell..." she whispered. Her palm moved along the length, and she sucked in a breath through her teeth. "You¡¯re¡ª" her voice faltered, eyes flicking up to meet mine. "¡ªAre you kidding me?" I exhaled with a smirk. "Something wrong?" She shook her head slowly, as if she hadn¡¯t heard the question. "This... this isn¡¯t normal." Her fingers closed over me, slowly testing the shape, the girth. Her breath grew shallower. "Is this... how are you even hiding this? It¡¯s¡ª" She bit her lip. "...No one in the empire is built like this." I didn¡¯t speak. It was a fact and something I couldn¡¯t help but thank my father for. I just watched the way her lips parted again and how her cheeks flushed a deeper red the more she touched me and stared like she didn¡¯t quite believe what she was holding. Her hand moved up and down with a slow, feather-light pressure. She leaned in close to my neck, her voice barely more than a breath. "How would that even fit..." Sometimes Qinglan¡¯s awkward actions were more seductive than she could imagine, as I swallowed the saliva in my throat. "Let me find out," she whispered. My words seemed to trigger something in her as she narrowed her eyes like a viper striking, and she kissed me. Much harder and passionate than before. Her tongue pushed into my mouth, wet, sticky and desperate. Her hand continued stroking, slower but each movement drawing a reaction, like she wanted to feel it twitching against her palm and memorise the weight and shape of it. I groaned into her mouth, almost unable to hold back anymore. Then¡ªCrack. Chapter 53: Before We Finish Chapter 53: Before We FinishThe sound of something being smashed and destroyed echoed outside the window. Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes shook, but she didn¡¯t stop. Smash. Another sound of destruction, closer and much louder. Another smash. Louder. Closer. This time, we both froze and looked towards the window. The sound was distinct now¡ªglass, maybe a bottle, shattering against stone. A muffled voice shouted something, the words warped by the thick windows. "...saw him... that guy with the gun¡ª" Qinglan¡¯s fingers slowly loosened around me, her body still pressed against mine. Her brows furrowed slightly. "...are they talking about you?" she whispered, lips brushing my cheek. Before I could answer, there was another crash, it sounded like metal and glass. A trash bin slammed against something, smashing glass, then something toppled onto the pavement with a long scraping grind. More shouting. Closer this time. "Where¡¯d he go¡ªblack coat, tall¡ªhe had a fucking machine gun!" Qinglan pulled back a little, eyes narrowing. "They¡¯re hunting you," she said softly. "Why?" "They saw me," I said. "Earlier with the submachine gun." She didn¡¯t move away. Her body was still straddling mine. But her eyes were searching my face now, scanning, reading. "How did you get that?" Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her voice wasn¡¯t angry, nor blaming... her eyes were wet and softer than usual as her hands brushed my cheeks, her fingertips caressing my ears. "I¡¯ll explain," I said. "Later." Mu Qinglan¡¯s breathing remained hard, cheeks flushed, lips parted. Her hand was still resting on my thigh, the heat of it burning through the fabric. She looked torn between two instincts¡ªkill or kiss. However, the barely audible rough voice that followed made her lips twitch. "...check the houses¡ªhe¡¯s alone, he can¡¯t be far!" Qinglan¡¯s head turned toward the window. I saw it flicker behind her eyes¡ªdecision. She slid off me in one fluid motion, feet barely making a sound as they hit the floor. Her hand reached down, grabbing her jacket from the chair. Then she peeked through the blinds. "Do you still have ammo?" "Yes." "Loaded?" "Always." She nodded, pulling her hair back, tying it swiftly with a thin black cord. Then she paused¡ªjust a second¡ªand looked back at me. Her eyes became dark red for a moment, so brief that it seemed like I had seen wrong. Because by the time I blinked, they returned to a neon electric blue colour. "That..." she gazed at the bed, biting her slightly swollen lips. "Let¡¯s finish off... after dealing with them!" I smirked. "Count on it." Another bang echoed outside¡ªwood splintering much closer. Qinglan moved toward the door without another word. So did I. The heat between us was still there. But now it had something else burning beneath it. As we approached the window, she turned back and hugged my chest, a strange action for the usual Qinglan, then she whispered. "Can I get a new weapon?" Honestly, I didn¡¯t think she needed a new weapon, but from the sounds of it, the people downstairs carried weapons, too. But I had the machete from the fools who ambushed us in the past. However, I wondered why she didn¡¯t want to use her baseball bat. "Do you not like your metal bat anymore?" I asked. "Hmm..." she looked at me with a sigh, before clicking her tongue. Tsk! "Cheapskate." With that, she grabbed her bat, which leaned beside the bed. Only because I carried it after she collapsed, mind you. Woosh! She smirked after swinging the bat and pulled the front of her jacket closed. That¡¯s when her expression faded, her face hardened, and her eyes sharpened¡ªcool, calm, focused. Footsteps and loud bangs sounded from below, a mixture of slow, deliberate creaking over the floorboards and heavy, booming thuds hitting the stone walls. Mu Qinglan moved first, slipping toward the back of the apartment, slipping on her boots and unhooking the far window. She looked back at me with her sharp, blue eyes that lingered for a moment, just watching my face before hopping out of the room. I followed her lead, checking the Type-9K bullet magazine and placed my finger just beside the trigger guard. Safety was already off. A full magazine. "Let¡¯s go quietly first," I muttered, before tossing the gun into the air. The Type-9K vanished, and I grabbed the black spear from my inventory. With a light hop, I found my body halfway through the air, leaping over two metres. Swoosh! Mu Qinglan caught me and twisted her hips to reduce the noise, our feet making a slight sound on the metal sheet as we lowered ourselves. "That was dangerous." "Be careful." A cold voice, but her fingers stroked the back of my hand, squeezing it tight. "They¡¯re in the building," I whispered. "I heard," she said. "There are about five of them, two have guns. Pistols." I nodded once. Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes narrowed, scanning the layout¡ªwhere shadows fell, where the walls created blind corners. Her grip on the bat shifted slightly. We moved through the alley along the side of the building¡ªdust, cracked bricks, the stink of piss and scorched meat hanging in the heat. Their voices echoed above. Slurred. Overconfident. The kind of loud men who thought guns made them gods. We climbed the rear steps. Metal groaned beneath us. The first one appeared near the corner of the third-floor landing. He was pissing into a stairwell, his pistol holstered, eyes half-closed. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t slow. She walked up behind him, lifted the bat, and¡ª Crack. The wet sound of skull shattering. His body dropped like meat hitting a butcher¡¯s block. No twitch. Just a dull thud. Her face didn¡¯t change. She grabbed his pistol before it hit the ground, twirling it in her hand, almost like second nature, before snatching the man¡¯s holster and wrapping it around her upper thigh. One down. She pointed ahead at two voices arguing through a half-open door. I crept closer, my body low, spear in hand. I counted the space between each footstep. The door creaked wider. Two men sat on crates inside, eating from a stolen ration pack, blades on their belts and hammers at their feet. I slipped through the gap and dashed towards them, my feet pushing off the ground to propel me forward faster, driving the butt of the spear into the throat of the one on my left, crunch then using the momentum I lunged at the second male with a powerful thrust. Blood burst from his throat, the scent of beer and copper filling my nose as he choked to death. The other gasped. Not fast enough. Mu Qinglan stepped in behind him. The bat swung with a low crunch to his kneecap. He dropped screaming. She silenced him with the second hit. A vertical smash straight down the skull. His head cracked into a sunken mess and killed his scream. Three down. I turned to her. Her chest was rising faster now. But her eyes were cold. "How many left?" She tilted her head, listening. "Two more." I caught it then¡ªthe change. Her posture was wrong. No, not wrong. Predatory. The curve of her body was still delicate, still arched with heat under the jacket, but the way she walked was pure kill. Her footsteps were too quiet. Too smooth. The fourth man never saw her. Mu Qinglan slid behind him as he paced down the hall, gun loose at his side, muttering something to himself as if looking for the source of the sound. "W-What!?" She didn¡¯t hesitate. She grabbed his hair, yanked back, and drove the bat into the base of his skull. Crack. He spasmed, then went limp. The bat didn¡¯t even have blood on it yet. She let his body fall and rolled her shoulders once, as if warming up. Then¡ªbang. A shot rang out from across the corridor. Wood exploded beside her. The fifth man. He stood half-shadowed at the end of the hallway, both hands on his pistol, already aiming at her chest. Time slowed. I saw her freeze, just for a second. Not fear. Just... surprise. I moved without thinking. I hit her waist with my shoulder and threw us both sideways. The second shot ripped past us, burying into the wall behind. Qinglan hit the ground hard and rolled. I didn¡¯t stop. The Type-9K snapped into my grip mid-motion, yanked from my inventory with a flick of thought. I raised it. Bratatatat¡ª The muzzle flared. Lighting the hallway with a burst of light, red and while filling my eyes. The man¡¯s lower body exploded¡ªlegs turned to shredded meat. His scream caught in his throat as he dropped hard, a spray of blood smearing the wall. He didn¡¯t even fire again. I kept the gun trained on him, eyes scanning for movement. None. Silence. Then, after a few seconds when he started to convulse. "I¡¯m fine," Qinglan said flatly, brushing dust from her jacket. "You didn¡¯t have to hit me that hard." "You¡¯re welcome." She looked down at the fifth man, who was moaning and barely conscious. Her lip curled. "Messy." "You started it with the bat." She walked over and¡ªwithout a word¡ªcracked the bat once across his temple. He went still. Now it was silent. Only our breath remained. "Uhm... Qinglan?" I called out before she turned to face me, tilting her head. "What?" she spoke innocently, like she had no clue. "Couldn¡¯t we have learned something from them, like... information?" Her mouth dropped with an "Oh..." damn, she was cute. The hall smelled of gunpowder and blood. Her hair clung to her cheek, sweat making it shine. I reached for her arm, squeezing it once. Warm. Still trembling. But not from fear. From the inside, her pulse was still rising. She looked at me with those electric eyes. Then toward the alley. "..." "..." Qinglan squatted and took the second man¡¯s pistol, and jogged back to my side and leaned close. She reached for my hand and whispered. "Shall we... head back?" I glanced at the bat still hanging from her shoulder, then at the faint smear of blood across her jaw. Her lips were parted again. Not from breathlessness. From want. "Only if we pick up exactly where we left off." Chapter 54: The Moment After - First Blow [R18] Chapter 54: The Moment After - First Blow [R18]March 17th, 20xx, 01:15 am. ¡ª The apartment became quiet when we returned. No gunfire or shouting. Just the soft click of the locks sliding back into place. Qinglan stepped in first. Her bat leaned lazily across her shoulder, her steps unhurried. Dried blood on her cheek. Her jacket hung open, revealing a glimpse of her collarbone, pale and flushed. Her fingers brushed along the edge of the bedroom door, holding it for a moment before heading inside. I followed her in silence¡ªneither of us spoke after returning. The smell inside felt different now¡ªsweat, smoke, alcohol and faint metal. And underneath it. That warm, jasmine-salt scent that hadn¡¯t left my mouth since Qinglan kissed me. She let the bat fall. It hit the floor with a muffled clunk. She didn¡¯t look at it. Instead, she walked towards the centre of the room, her boots landing softly on the wood, while gazing back at me, with her lips slightly parted. She stopped at the bed, turned, and sat on the edge. Her thighs parted slightly, just enough. "I haven¡¯t forgotten," she said in a smooth, soothing voice. Her fingers reached up, and with a snap she untied her hair. I watched on the spot as her hair fell across her shoulders in a slow, cascading wave. The glossy raven strands shimmering in the moonlight. We both watched each other in silence. Then... she tilted her head. "Well?" she whispered. "Or do you only know how to shoot?" Finally, I stepped forward. The Type-9K vanished from my back in a flick of motion, stored in my inventory. I crossed the room slowly until the space between us disappeared. Qinglan reached up first, fingers twisting my shirt, dragging me forward by the collar and forcing me to her level. Her lips brushed mine, softer this time. The kiss deepened slowly, her tongue slipping past my lips again, warm, wet, tasting faintly of copper and her breath. She moaned just barely, her thighs shifting against mine, the heat between them unmistakable. She pulled back, eyes half-lidded. Her cheeks flushed deeper, her lips swollen from the earlier kisses. "Now," she whispered, "take your time." Qinglan¡¯s fingers slid under the hem of my shirt and dragged it upward, deliberately testing my reactions. The fabric lifted across my stomach, grazing my already tightening muscles. Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes lingered on my chest as she peeled away slowly... one button at a time, like unwrapping something dangerous. When she put it over my head, she tossed it behind her without looking. Her fingertips came back next¡ªbare skin on bare skin. She traced along my ribs, following the dip of my abdomen, her touch like warm fears brushing along me. She paused just above the waistband of my pants, her thumb grazing the edge. I could feel her breath on my stomach, shallow at first but growing faster. Mu Qinglan leaned forward and opened her mouth, and kissed the centre of my chest. It felt warm, wet... and tickled, making my muscles tighten from my thighs to my abdomen. Then lower. Then kissed me again, just below the sternum. Then lower still. Her hands grasped my hips as she slid off the bed and knelt between my legs, and flicked out her tongue once, tasting the skin just above the button of my pants. She looked up at me, and her voice came out with a breathy sigh. "Still no moving?" "Waiting," I said. "You told me to." Her lips curled slightly. "Good." Qinglan struggled with the button for a second before flicking it open... the zipper followed, a slow but loud sound in the silent room. My breath caught in my throat. I exhaled through my nose, the pressure against my groin finally easing. My cock, already hard, strained against the now-loosened fabric. I didn¡¯t look down¡ªI looked at her eyes. They were focused, just slightly glassy. Her eyes lowered when she reached inside, and her breath caught softly. When her fingers wrapped around me¡ªbare, skin to skin¡ªmy whole body jerked. "Ah¡ªfuck..." The word slipped out before I could stop it. She stilled. I felt her breath catch again. Then she dragged me out, slowly, deliberately¡ªexposing my swollen cock to the air, to her gaze, to her hands. I heard her inhale sharply, a subtle sniff. Her reaction wasn¡¯t loud. It was quieter. She just stared. A flush bloomed across her cheeks. Her lips parted. Her eyes flicked from the tip down to the base. She exhaled, just barely. "...You weren¡¯t lying," she whispered. Her thumb brushed the underside, slow, dragging up the thick length, then circled the tip where my precum already beaded and smeared onto her delicate fingers. She let out a soft, almost reverent sound. "Oh..." My breath came sharply through my nose. "Shit," I muttered, voice low, tight. Her fingers curled more tightly, and she gave a slow, deliberate stroke from base to top. Then again. Then again. My hips tensed beneath her hand. Every motion made my thighs tense. My fingers clenched at the edge of the bed. She leaned in, her voice a murmur. "Tell me when you can¡¯t take it anymore." I didn¡¯t answer. I didn¡¯t have to. She leaned in¡ªtongue out, breath hot¡ªand kissed the head. A shiver ran straight down my spine. Her tongue flicked across the slit. Licked it clean, my precum now smeared on that soft pink tongue flattened against the crown and dragging downward, leaving a hot, wet sheen behind. She exhaled against it... A warm, humid air made it swell further, and then wrapped her lips around just the tip. "Fuck," I whispered, low. Her eyes flicked up at the sound. She sank lower. An inch. Another. Her warm mouth tightened, tongue shifting as she moved. Her cheeks hollowed slightly with every pull. The wet, obscene sound of her sucking filled the room¡ªslow, deliberate, hungry. Her fingers gripped tighter around the base, stroking in rhythm. I groaned, deep in my chest. "You¡¯re going to kill me..." She pulled off with a wet pop, her tongue curling to taste me again before she swallowed. "Not yet," she murmured. Then she took me deeper. More confident now, more pressure, her throat flexing slightly around the tip as she bobbed her head, slow and steady. My hand moved instinctively, slipping into her hair. Qinglan¡¯s eyes shone, as my hands grabbed her glossy raven locks tight, and... I wanted to mess up that pretty little face. She hummed in her throat, and the vibration rippled through me like heat in a fuse. I looked down at her¡ªher mouth full, eyes dark, saliva beginning to drip from the corner of her lips. And that¡¯s when I stopped holding back. My hand slipped into her hair. Her mouth stayed wrapped around the head of my cock, warm and soft and wet, her lips parted just wide enough to take me in. She sucked gently¡ªbarely moving. Just her tongue, swirling under the crown, slow, smooth, lazy. My stomach tensed. She pulled back, not with a pop, but a slide, dragging her lips along the length, tongue gliding after it like she didn¡¯t want to let go. Saliva clung to the tip in a glistening strand as she sat back, breathing heavier now. She licked her lips, eyes locked on me. Her voice came soft. "Was that too slow?" I grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled¡ªnot hard, just enough to let her feel it. "Open," I said, voice low. Her eyes flicked up, and without hesitation, she parted her lips wider, tilting her chin up, submission written in the soft flush of her cheeks and the way her knees pressed tighter together. I eased forward, pushing deeper into her mouth. Her eyes widened¡ªjust a flicker¡ªbefore her lips parted again automatically, welcoming. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I pushed forward. She moaned before I even hit the back of her throat. "Yeah," I muttered, breath low. "Open wider." My grip tightened in her hair, holding her right where I wanted her. I rolled my hips, sliding deeper. Saliva spilled from the corners of her lips, dribbling down her chin as I began to fuck her mouth in slow, deliberate thrusts. Her hands flew to my thighs, holding me, but she didn¡¯t push. Gluck¡ªslrk¡ªshhhhk¡ª The room was full of obscene sounds. "Good girl," I muttered under my breath, not even sure if I meant to say it out loud. Her eyes fluttered. I thrust again, this time deeper. Her throat clenched hard around me, and she gagged again, spit bubbling around my shaft. She was drooling now¡ªcompletely, shamelessly¡ªwet streaks dripping down her chin, pooling on her collarbone. I pulled back just far enough to let Qinglan breathe. She gasped for air, spit trailing from her bottom lip, pupils blown wide with heat. "More," she whispered, voice hoarse. "Don¡¯t hold back." Her entire mouth glugged and stretched, messy and obscene, strings of spit glueing us together. Every time I thrust, she took it. All of it, wrapping me tight and gagging softly with hollowed cheeks. My balls tightened. "Fuck, I¡¯m close..." Her eyes watching me, lips narrowing each time I throbbed in her hot, slippery mouth. I thrust harder, unable to stop myself, the pleasure of her mouth turning my brain white. And I came. I buried myself in her throat, cock pulsing deep, thick spurts flooding her mouth all at once. I could feel her attempting to gulp¡ªthen choke¡ªthen gulp again, her throat fluttering around me as I emptied myself down her gullet. But there was too much. Cum spilled from the sides of her lips, overflowing from her nose, running down her chin, over her tongue, dripping into the valley of her breasts. Her mascara ran in thin streaks. Her nose was wet and glistening. And I wasn¡¯t done. I pulled out with a loud pop, dragging thick ropes of spit and seed with me. She gasped¡ªmouth wide open, tongue still out. White fluid coated her lips, streaked down her face, stuck to her lashes and chin. I grabbed my cock and stroked once¡ªhard. The last spurt landed right across her cheekbone, splashing across her skin, streaking her cheek, her nose, her lips. She blinked. Then opened her mouth wider. Swallowed. And smiled. Her voice was hoarse, eyes glazed with pleasure. "So... was that good enough?" I looked at her¡ªhair wrecked, face painted, mouth dripping. And my cock twitched again. "You¡¯re perfect," I said. Chapter 55: Aftertaste Chapter 55: AftertasteMarch 17th, 20xx, 01:48 am. ¡ª I stood there, panting, the last pulse of release still fading through my thighs. Qinglan was kneeling at my feet. Her face¡ªfucked Her lips glistened, slightly parted. My cum streaked across her chin, her cheek, her nose, even a drip hanging from the edge of her jaw. Spit and seed clung to her lashes and hair, and her tongue peeked from the corner of her mouth as she slowly caught her breath. I was still hard. Somehow. Still twitching, sensitive, hanging just inches from her face. Qinglan looked up at me with glassy eyes, her breathing still shallow and rapid. Then, her fingers reached out, closing softly around my sensitive tip. She stroked me once. Twice. Her thumb brushed the slimy tip. "You¡¯re exhausted," she said quietly. "We don¡¯t have to rush this, John." Her voice was soft, hoarse, coated in everything she¡¯d just swallowed. The sight of her messy face, dripping with my fluids, made me realise what had happened. I noticed that in my virgin desire for pleasure... I¡¯d done nothing for her. I stared down at her. "What about you?" I asked, voice quieter than I expected. She didn¡¯t answer at first. Instead, she leaned in and sniffed, then snorted a moment after. She kissed the tip of my cock, slowly, like an affectionate lover, almost tender as her lips lingered against the glans, eyes never leaving mine. Then she pulled back. A thread of cum stretched from my tip to her mouth. It stuck across her lips as she smiled faintly. Her eyes flashed for a second. Red. They flashed red! My chest rattled at the thought she was still a zombie, or that the cure failed. Then gone. "I already got my reward," she whispered. And then she licked her lips¡ªslow, deliberate, curling her tongue around the mess, collecting every last trace... and swallowed. I blinked, my thoughts falling apart. "What... was that?" She tilted her head, thoughtfully. "Mmm. Salty. Warm. Slimy... Not what I expected." Her tongue tapped the corner of her mouth again. "Not bad enough to make me stop." ¡¯What?¡¯ I was still frozen. Breathless. Half-aroused, half-confused. Then she leaned forward, resting her cheek against my bare stomach, her arms curling lightly around my waist. "Help me clean up!" she asked, her voice cold, sharp and just like the ceo I knew. "Yeah," I murmured. "Yeah, of course." *** The steam curled upward from the tap as I filled the basin. Qinglan sat on the edge of the counter, jacket gone, boots off, the curve of her shoulder bare and catching the warm yellow glow of the single hanging bulb. I wet the cloth. She didn¡¯t say a word when I stepped close. She just looked up at me and tilted her chin slightly, offering her face like a queen awaiting her handmaid. I smiled despite myself. The cloth was warm when I touched it to her cheek, wiping a streak from her jawline. Her eyes slipped half-shut, a low, satisfied hum vibrating in her throat. "You¡¯re enjoying this," I said. "Of course," she murmured. "Why wouldn¡¯t I?" I ran the cloth gently along her temple, her lips, down the slope of her neck. She leaned forward slowly, her forehead brushing my chest, and rested there, quiet, relaxed, as if nothing in the world existed but this moment, this warmth. Her voice came muffled. "You taste different than I imagined." I paused. "Different how?" She smirked against my skin. "Like... someone with secrets." Her eyes narrowed, a different Qinglan... a Mu Qinglan only I knew appeared. "Haha, you look cute when nervous." Her arms wrapped around my waist again, holding me loosely. "I got to see another side of John, hehe." And I realised, for all the wild things she¡¯d just done, we weren¡¯t so different. And this might be the part she liked most¡ªleaning into me like this, letting me care for her, even while pretending she didn¡¯t need it. I kissed the top of her head. She didn¡¯t move. Didn¡¯t let go. The cloth moved slowly across her jaw. I took my time. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her skin was still flushed, her lips sticky and slightly raw from what she¡¯d just done¡ªbut she didn¡¯t complain. If anything, she seemed to enjoy it greatly. Mu Qinglan tilted her face toward the cloth, leaning into each pass like it was a luxury. "You¡¯re surprisingly gentle," she murmured. "I just watched you choke on me for five straight minutes," I said, rinsing the cloth again in warm water. "You¡¯ve earned it." She smiled. Lazy. Wicked. "You say that like I didn¡¯t enjoy it." Then she looked concerned and turned to me, water splashing from the bath. "D-Do you not like perverted women?" The switch between soft lover, cold queen and this... shy and nervous woman twisted my heart and really made me want to spoil her. "I love perverted women, if they are called Qinglan. I wiped at the edge of her mouth, catching another small streak near her lips. Her tongue flicked out suddenly, licking the side of my hand, and I tensed without meaning to. Her grin widened. "Still sensitive?" "Still human," I muttered. She chuckled, the sound low and tired, but satisfied. When I finished, I stepped back slightly. Qinglan stretched arms up, body arching¡ªand the rise of her breasts beneath her thin top made my mouth dry again. Even when she wasn¡¯t trying to seduce me, she did. Maybe especially then. "I¡¯ll go grab a towel," I said. But her hand caught my wrist before I could move. "I¡¯m dry enough," she said. Then she slid off the counter. Not fast¡ªslow, like liquid easing down from a higher place. Qinglan pressed against me for a second, her cheek grazing my collarbone as she passed. Her fingers lingered along my waist. Then let go. She walked barefoot across the floor toward the bedroom, her hips shifting with each step, her hair still mussed and trailing down her back. I followed. ¡ª March 17th, 20xx, 02:58 am. ¡ª She pulled back the sheets and dropped into them like she¡¯d owned them for years. Then rolled onto her side. I sat down beside her. The room was dark now, only a sliver of moonlight painting the edge of the mattress. Qinglan pulled the blanket halfway up her waist, one bare shoulder still exposed. Her eyes were half-closed, watching me without blinking. "You¡¯re staring," she said. "I¡¯m wondering if you¡¯re going to try and ride me in my sleep." She hummed. "Don¡¯t tempt me." Her fingers reached out, lightly trailing along the back of my hand. "But no. Not tonight." "Why not?" She shrugged. "Because I already got what I wanted." My brows drew in. "What was that?" Her eyes stayed on mine, unreadable in the dark. Then she smiled¡ªbarely. "You, desperate." I huffed softly through my nose. "I¡¯ll remember that." "I hope so." Her fingers stilled. I felt her breath slow. "Qinglan?" No answer. Qinglan curved her lips faintly, but her eyes had shut. One hand tucked under her cheek, the other resting near my thigh. She¡¯d fallen asleep just like that. I sat there beside her, still shirtless, heart still beating too fast. My hands twitched, wanting to touch her hair again. But I didn¡¯t. I just watched her. In the silence, in the stillness. Still warm. Because I didn¡¯t need to sleep anymore... Chapter 56: Another Stage Two Human!? Chapter 56: Another Stage Two Human!? ¡ª March 17th, 20xx, 02:58 am. ¡ª I gazed at Qinglan, stroking her soft hair gently, knowing she smelled like my shampoo made me excited. But there were other things I needed to do. ¡¯System, Qinglan is fine right?¡¯ There was a beat of silence while I bit my lip, nervously. [System Message: Mu Qinglan is no longer infected. Her immunity remains, and many other benefits. However, to call her human would be wrong, too. She is an evolved human, or a mutant, using your knowledge and hobbies.] ¡¯I see...¡¯ Relief, that¡¯s what I felt hearing these words, mutant or cat girl... who cared if she was alive and safe. The bigger changes might be mine... ¡¯System, how did I reach Stage Two so suddenly?¡¯ The question was filled with concern and worry, because after curing Qinglan, something changed inside my body. Now I only needed two hours of sleep a day, which made it difficult to adjust. [Because you swallowed a large amount of the red-core and top-grade marrow, which integrated directly with your blood because of your tongue... Your genes have mutated thanks to your Titan Marrow Sutra.] I didn¡¯t answer straight away and closed my eyes. No matter how much I wished for sleep to come, it didn¡¯t. I became jealous of Qinglan, who curled into a ball, wrapped in the warm quilt and found peace. "You said I was exhausted..." I found the irony that I couldn¡¯t sleep even if that might be true. The next moment, I tapped the screen, opened up my status screen and organised my thoughts. Jiang Roulan probably worried about me, but I didn¡¯t give her my number to contact me using the system... What made me nervous was that Jiang Roulan and Shen Yifei were fighting right now. Somewhere outside, they were killing zombies. Probably to find me. ¨‹ STATUS Name: John Wang Title: Harbinger of the Lunar Beast Stage: 2 Cultivation: Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra (Stage 1 - Hardened Core) Rank: Raid Leader [4/25] ¨N S-Tier: Mu Qinglan [336/500] ¨N S-Tier: Wang Yin [500/500] ¨N S-Tier: Jiang Roulan [207/500] ¨N B-Tier: Shen Yifei [215/500] Health: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% Morale: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% ¨‹ Attributes Strength | 4.6 Physique | 6.1 Agility | 4.2 Spirit | 3.9 ¡ª With the improvements to my physique and strength, I could probably deal with a Stage Two without suffering now. However, thoughts about Stage Three zombies and how strong they might become lingered on my mind. Mu Qinglan¡¯s speed increased explosively from the moment she evolved to Stage Three, which meant those undead freaks would too... ¡ª March 17th, 20xx, 03:12 am ¡ª The soft whirr of the system screen dimmed as I blinked it away. I turned my head. Mu Qinglan still hadn¡¯t moved. Her back rose and fell under the warm quilt, her breathing steady, her fingers curled loosely beneath her cheek like a child pretending to sleep. Strands of raven-black hair lay scattered across the pillow, tangled and wild, streaked faintly with silver where moonlight caught the strands. She looked peaceful. Almost as if everything returned to normal. But it wasn¡¯t. She wasn¡¯t. Not anymore. The more I stared, the more I noticed. The subtle way her muscles twitched beneath the skin, even in sleep. The faint pulse glowed once beneath her collarbone and then vanished. Her skin no longer just warm, but radiating something... denser. Like her body was still working beneath the surface. Still processing the changes. And that scent. Still my shampoo, sure¡ªbut sweeter and enticing. "...You really are something else," I whispered, knowing she couldn¡¯t hear me. Or maybe she could. Who the hell knew anymore? I slid my legs from under the covers and stood. The floor was cold under my bare feet, but my skin didn¡¯t react like before. No goosebumps or reaction, just comfort as the flooring felt cool. Everything felt stronger. My senses. My balance. My heartbeat, deep and slow, like it knew something I didn¡¯t. I walked to the window, the half-rusted blinds rattling as I moved them aside. Darkness. Outside, there were no footsteps, just the low hum of the dead city, broken windows and cars and the distant groans of zombies replacing the insects and animal calls. The living and the dead were reshuffled by a world still trying to decide who it belonged to. I exhaled. Two hours of sleep a day, that¡¯s what the system told me... and I¡¯d already got that earlier. I didn¡¯t feel tired, exactly. But neither did I think... right, either. I lifted my hand and flexed my fingers, bones cracking slightly with the motion. Qi pulsed faintly through my veins. It didn¡¯t just gather in my stomach. Now it shivered, hot and pressurised, like it was too much for the casing it lived in. The Titan Marrow Sutra was dormant because I was idle. So I started squatting, a posture I could never forget. My feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing out, keeping my back straight and chest lifted. I was desperate to keep my body with the minimal time to do so. It spread instantly. A rolling wave from the base of my abdomen to the crown of my skull, like someone had lit a fire in my veins and it was clawing outward. The sutra stopped on its own after a cycle. I didn¡¯t command it to. I spent almost an hour practising and learning how to trigger it and how to maintain the flow cycling for longer. "Phew..." Sweat dripped from my forehead and muscles after a quick session of cardio. The floor was a little wet from my bare feet and hair. I stood still for a long time. Listening. Not to Qinglan. But to the thudding beat that had replaced my pulse. Hungry. Waiting. As if not finished transforming... this was just the beginning. Then¡ªding. The system flashed without warning. [System Alert: Raid Signature Detected.] [Jiang Roulan ¡ª Combat Flag Triggered. Location: Zone 3B-¦¤. Status: Unknown.] [Would you like to view her current state?] [Y/N] I stared at the blinking prompt. ¡ª 04:54 AM. ¡ª Qinglan breathed softly in the bed behind me. I didn¡¯t move. Not yet. My finger hovered over the [Y]. ¡ª Raid View Activated ¡ª I pressed [Y]. The room dimmed. System windows flickered across my vision, then locked onto one. [Raid Bond ? Jiang Roulan ¨C Status: Engaged] ¡ª Live Feed: Active ¡ª Vital Signs: Stable... declining. Combat Aura: High... dropping. Qi Depletion: 74% Partner: Shen Yifei Condition: Unknown Hostiles: 136 [Stage 1 - Mixed Undead: 120] [Stage 1 - Unknown Human: 15] [Stage 2 - Unknown Human: 1] My heart didn¡¯t race, but something twisted low in my gut, and my blood boiled... this was dangerous, and the idea that they might leave my side made me angry. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The image loaded. And there she was. She was standing on a scorched rooftop, hair soaked with blood, red jacket hanging off one shoulder. A large crack down the centre of her tonfa. Her other hand clutched her side¡ªblood seeping between her fingers, and struggling to breathe. She wasn¡¯t alone. Behind her, Shen Yifei knelt on one knee, her left arm twisted awkwardly at the elbow. Spear impaled in the dirt. With dull bruises on her cheek, she breathed rapidly, but shockingly, her eyes remained clear. Still defiant. Yifei¡¯s chest rose and fell in quick, hard gasps. Her good hand reached for the haft of the spear¡ªbut it didn¡¯t move. Her knuckles turned white, trembling from either pain or sheer exhaustion. Jiang Roulan took a slow step forward, shielding her, blood trailing behind like a broken ribbon. Her mouth moved before any words came. "You came all the way out here for me," she whispered, not turning around. "So don¡¯t you dare die first." Yifei laughed¡ªsharp, broken. "Then stop looking like shit." A low groan rolled from below the rooftop, like metal dragging over gravel. Then came the sound of boots. Many humans were clashing with the zombie horde below. But I noticed... Five humans were lying on the ground near Jiang Roulan and Shen Yifei, wearing body armour and carrying weapons. I scanned the live feed, focusing on the new data. [New Threat Approaching: 15 humans, 1 awakened.] [Estimated Time to Contact: 00:10:21] Shit. These weren¡¯t just random survivors. That many people together, and armed, at this hour? "System," I said aloud, my voice low. "Show me the awakened signature." A side window opened. A man. Maybe late twenties. Shirtless. Dark veins bulged beneath his skin like old scars. His right arm fused with some kind of metal beam¡ªno, not fused. Grown into like a blade. [Stage 2 Human | Awakened | Type: Parasite Caster] [Mental Resistance: Low] [Symbiotic Weaponry Detected] [Combat Efficiency Estimate: 2.0x Jiang Roulan] He looked like the kind who didn¡¯t stop once he started killing. Jiang hadn¡¯t seen him yet. Yifei either. They didn¡¯t have time. And I didn¡¯t have options. ¡¯System... show me where they are! Guide me, with a visual aid!¡¯ Chapter 57: Departing Heat Chapter 57: Departing HeatMarch 17th, 20xx, 05:02 AM The system screen floated in my vision. A faint static hummed as it sharpened the visual layout of the nearby area. [Target Location: Zone 3B-¦¤ ¡ª 4.4 kilometres South-West] [Estimated Arrival on Foot: 13 minutes (Current Speed)] [Projection Route Displayed ¨C Please Follow the Trail] A glowing arrow appeared at my feet. Faint at first¡ªthen brighter, solid. It pulsed once, and the floor lit up beneath it with a soft blip, casting dots in perfect formation across the floorboards, out through the cracked hallway door, and into the broken world beyond. I turned slowly, gaze dragging back to the bed. Qinglan hadn¡¯t moved. Her legs curled beneath the quilt. One hand pressed lightly to the edge of the pillow, her fingers twitching once, like they missed me already. I moved to her side, boots soft against the worn floor. The system overlay flickered at the edges of my vision, but I ignored it. I leaned down and pressed my lips gently to Qinglan¡¯s cheek. Her skin was warm, still flushed from earlier in the night. She didn¡¯t stir¡ªsleeping peacefully with a soft smile on her lips. "I¡¯ll be back soon," I whispered. "Don¡¯t take the blanket with you." I straightened, grabbing the jacket from the edge of the chair. It was old leather¡ªcracked, faded, once black but now closer to charcoal, with stitching I didn¡¯t remember adding. I pulled it over my shoulders, the scent of gunpowder and rust already soaked into the lining. No shirt. Didn¡¯t matter. I was burning from the inside out. As I fastened the buckle at the collar, I saw it in the mirror. Just beneath the skin, a black mark had spread over my left pectoral, the shape webbed and vein-like, curling out from just over my heart like cracks in glass. I paused. It wasn¡¯t a scar. It pulsed¡ªfaintly¡ªonce every few seconds. The sutra? Or something else? "System," I muttered. "What is this?" [Classified] [This change is irreversible.] "Not helpful," I growled, and zipped the jacket halfway. I stepped through the door, following the arrow¡¯s glow through the dim hallway. Behind me, the door swung shut with a soft click. The city was waiting. So was Roulan. ¡ª Jiang Roulan POV ¨C March 17th, 20xx, 05:04 AM ¡ª "..." Blood ran down my side like leaking engine oil. Every step sent a burning pain through my body, but I kept walking, slowly and steadily. I had to protect Yifei, shield her no matter the cost. Shen Yifei was injured badly. Her swollen and bruised arm hung without power, and she barely kept her balance with the spear. Her breathing became worse with each passing moment, and her sharp pupils started blurring. She wouldn¡¯t last another fight. But neither would I. We fled quickly up the emergency stairs the moment those men appeared with weapons. They were so aggressive, attacking Yifei from behind, and almost knocked her teeth out. Below us, the horde tore through the buildings, shambling ever closer. That noise faded a few moments ago, replaced by boots. Multiple pairs, moving fast and armed while closing in. I clenched my cracked tonfa. Useless. I dropped it, my trusted weapons rolling across the ground. "I¡¯ll stall them," I said without looking. "You move." "No," Yifei sniffed, her voice more like a whine. "I¡¯m not asking." She hesitated for half a second before she caught my tone. "...Understood, but... don¡¯t do anything stupid. You hear me?" A cute girl, shy and a little sharp to deal with, like a hedgehog. But her heart was gentle and warm on the inside. She limped toward the back ledge of the roof, dragging her legs. I couldn¡¯t stand hearing her pained breaths, holding back her tears. Every step looked and sounded like hell. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I turned to face the others. Thirteen enemies. Twelve foot soldiers with gear. "I could probably delay them... if not for him." I focused on the last male. He looked eerie with black veins and darkened skin, not the good-looking tanned or naturally dark skin, but... fake, manufactured and artificial. A monster in human skin. Ever since I called out John¡¯s name in my heart, hoping he might find us, there was a strange, bizarre flicker of light in the corner of my eyes and a blinking dot in the distance, at first it was tiny... but it grew larger each second. The screen, with a bold white font and blue background, read: [Stage 2 - Human Variant Identified] [Parasite-Type Awakening Detected] [Symbiotic Mutation: Right Arm ¨C Metal Growth, Blade-Form] [Chance of Victory: 0.0001%] He stood at the front, shirtless. Strange drawings... in ink like wriggling worms crawled up his neck. His right arm seemed to have merged with steel, grown into a huge, jagged blade that twitched with purple veins that pulsed through it. Scary... terrifying... my legs trembled momentarily when his pale eyes looked up at me. He was watching me like I was a bug. I kept my face cold, calm... forcing myself to breathe, sucking whatever oxygen possible into my lungs while pushed back into a corner. Then, for the first time since the apocalypse began... I drew my gun. It was small, worn and old but reliable, something important to me. "Damn... hurry it up John." I lifted the Type-3K one-handed, my arm dipping from the ache in my abdomen, and pulled the trigger without a word. Bang¡ª The shot bounced off his blade with a loud clang. No, he cut the bullet down¡ªit¡¯s unbelievable, but I saw him slash through the air and cut down the bullet. He stepped forward. Bang¡ªBang¡ª Another two shots, double-tapped, one aimed for his chest, the other aimed for his head. He tilted his head like I was stupid. Then he smiled. His foot stepped onto the rooftop... and my body froze. Terror overwhelmed me like nothing I had faced before. I didn¡¯t answer. "Or are you trying to scare me with noise?" My lips curled. "I¡¯m not aiming at you." His eyes narrowed. [System Prompt ¡ª Raid Leader John Wang ¡ª Marker Signal Detected] [Visual Tracking Engaged.] In the corner of my vision, a small animation or should I say video played, and I saw John... running along the rooftops, jumping, leaping, his face covered in sweat... wait!? That¡¯s all I needed. The awakened rushed at me. Fast. He crossed ten meters in the time it took me to reset my grip on the pistol. The blade fused to his arm hummed through the air, the edge sharp enough to leave a trail in the rooftop haze. [Warning: Incoming Threat ¡ª Speed Class: High] A voice echoed in my head, strange... I should feel confused, but I knew this was thanks to John and trusted it. Too late to dodge. But I didn¡¯t move. I raised the gun one last time¡ª Bang! The round ricocheted off the blade again, sparking as he closed the distance. I wasn¡¯t aiming to stop him. Just to mark the spot. He knew it too. His eyes narrowed. "You¡¯re baiting someone." "I already did." He snarled. Then the blade swung low. Shhk¡ª The steel ripped through the air and sliced across my chest, just beneath the collarbone and dragged across. I felt my skin tear open, blood bursting from the wound before the pain even registered. I staggered back. Legs numb. The grip on the pistol slipped. Before I could brace¡ª CRACK. His boot slammed into my stomach. My body left the ground. My ears popped from the force. The world flipped once¡ªsky, edge, steel railing¡ª BANG. I hit the stairwell chest-first, bouncing off the metal, which groaned beneath me. One bounce. Then another, rolling until I hit the cold guard rail. Pain spread through my ribs, shoulder, and spine as my vision blurred. I landed in a heap at the bottom of the fire escape. Everything ached. But I was still awake. Still conscious. [Status ¡ª Unstable] [Warning: Heavy Bleeding Detected] [Combat Efficiency: 12%] [System Ping Active ¡ª Leader Proximity Confirmed] The system window flickered weakly in the corner of my vision. Then I saw it. A pulsing orange arrow drifting across the opposite roof¡ªI wanted to look up, to gaze at him, but my eyes kept closing... My lips curled, even as blood dripped from my mouth. "...Took you long enough." And then, above¡ªgunfire, the screams of men, then something flung from the roof, crashing to the ground below. Heat filled the air. He had arrived. Chapter 58: Execution Before the Duel Chapter 58: Execution Before the Duel¡ª March 17th, 20xx ¡ª 05:10 AM Zone 3B-¦¤ ¨C Rooftop ¡ª Jiang Roulan hit the stairwell hard. Her shoulder struck first, then the rest of her body crumpled onto the rusted landing below. I didn¡¯t need the system to tell me she was in critical condition. I¡¯d seen people die enough times to recognise the signs. But something in me didn¡¯t break. It shifted. Not grief, not rage. Focus. The Titan Marrow Sutra surged through my limbs like boiling oil moving beneath glass. Controlled. Contained. Waiting. [Bond Alert: Jiang Roulan ¡ª Critical Status. Stabilisation Window: 06:59] [Parasite-Type Mutation Detected ¡ª Stage 2 Confirmed] The rooftop was a mess. Sloped concrete, cracked tiles, twisted vents. Patches of blood smeared across debris and broken rebar. Someone had set up a forward watch here¡ªold crates, ammo scattered, a burned-out radio still sparking in the corner. Eight men remained. I could hear them moving. Talking. Laughing. None of them had seen me yet. The Type-9K appeared in my hand with a brief flicker. The black spear shimmered just beneath the surface of my thoughts, ready. [Weapon Equipped: Type-9K SMG ¨C 30/30 Rounds] I moved into cover behind a crumbling vent stack. My boots didn¡¯t make a sound. The first shot caught one of them in the back of the neck. He dropped before the others realised what had happened. The second man turned just in time to catch two rounds in the chest. Blood sprayed across the wall behind him. He slumped without a word. Two down. The third started to run, and I let him. Holstered the gun. Summoned the spear. It slid into my hand like it belonged there. I closed the gap fast, grabbed his collar, and yanked him backwards into my shoulder. The spear went in through his back and out of his gut. A wet, gurgling noise slipped from his mouth before he dropped. Three. The fourth and fifth came at me together, thinking numbers made them safer. One swung high with a pipe. The other rushed low with a combat knife. I ducked the first swing, caught the pipe with my off-hand, twisted, and snapped the man¡¯s wrist. But I didn¡¯t stop. I drove my knee into his chin, heard his jaw break, then turned the spear into the second man. He barely lifted his knife before the point found his throat. Blood pulsed out in thick bursts as he fell. Five. The rest of them hesitated. That was smart. I lifted the SMG again. The Type-9K barked twice. The sixth collapsed, one leg gone beneath the knee. The man screamed as he fell, clawing at his thigh like it would grow back. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The last one dropped his weapon, hands raised. He was young. Barely older than me. "Wait," he said. "Please¡ª" The spear went in clean through his left eye. He dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. Then the rooftop vibrated. A slow, heavy thud. Metal scraping stone. My eyes snapped to the far end of the rooftop. The awakened had arrived. He stood half-shrouded by shadow, his body lean and twitching. His right arm was no longer just flesh. It had become something else¡ªsteel and flesh fused, pulsing with slow, deliberate veins of sickly purple. The blade extended from elbow to fingertip, curved, jagged, breathing. He remained silent as he charged at me. The speed was wrong¡ªtoo fast for his size. He moved like his joints weren¡¯t human, and then his attack followed. The blade came in at my neck, arcing through the air in a savage horizontal slash. If I¡¯d still been angry, I would¡¯ve missed the timing But I was calm. I pushed off the ground and ducked under the swing, The blade howled above me, almost knocking me off balance. I lunged forward, striking the man¡¯s abdomen hard. Every muscle in my leg locked as I pushed off. The impact lifted him off the ground. Bang! We both slid, opposite directions, across the rooftop, boots grinding, with slow, measured breaths. Dust rose in the silence that followed. Pebbles clinked down the sloped edge. He stopped near the roof¡¯s ventilation unit. I stopped near a stack of broken pallets. The monster straightened himself, and so did I. We looked at each other across ten meters of cracked stone and blood. The male tilted his head slowly, lips curling into a smile as his blade arm twitched. Meanwhile, the throbbing in my chest increased... The Titan Marrow Sutra pulsated with delight at this battle. "Lao" He called out to me, a name, maybe? "John." "..." Flick! Lao cut the air, probably cleaning his blade, before lowering himself. It was clear he was coming again, and this time I was ready. The way he moved was twitchy, off-rhythm. Like something inside him was burning too fast. His stance was low, but there was no discipline behind it. Just instinct and something worse. The pulsing purple lines across his blade-arm throbbed like veins on the verge of rupture. His body flexed with unnatural tension, the skin stretched too tight across his ribs, and his jaw clamped so hard it looked ready to crack. Then he was gone. I shifted left, barely catching the blur of motion as he launched forward. Faster than before. The blade came down vertically this time, from above¡ªnot a strike, a cleave. I sidestepped and turned my body with it, letting the blade slide past the air near my shoulder. It slammed into the rooftop behind me, tearing through concrete with a CRACK that shook my teeth. Chunks of stone, spraying through the air. I countered. One step in¡ªtight movement¡ªand I brought the spear up for a mid-thrust. He dropped his weight and spun. The blade twisted unnaturally and pulled back mid-motion like a whip. I¡¯d never seen a weapon behave like that. It hissed when it retracted like it was alive. Sparks of black and silver filled the air as our weapons collided, his strength weaker, but the blade of his arm sank slightly into my spear¡¯s heft. We separated again. This time, I felt the air between us shift. The pressure in my body was rising. My Qi wasn¡¯t just flowing¡ªit was climbing. The Sutra was feeding it rhythm, starting slow, as if analysing how I fought, moved, and then it began to pump faster. My steps became faster, the spear lighter... almost as if the sudden increase in my body¡¯s attributes hindered me until now. Like a sports car trapped in first gear. He spoke again. "You smell clean," the awakened said, voice rough, lips twitching. "Haven¡¯t eaten yet, have you?" "What?" He laughed¡ªa sharp, broken sound. "Doesn¡¯t matter. You¡¯ll rot just the same." The purple blade pulsed. Then it elongated. Not by movement or trick¡ªthe sword actually grew. It went from a meter to nearly two as if matching my spear, bone and metal stretching like wet rope, the end jagged and curved inward like a meat hook. My stance shifted. He came again, dragging the blade low, then arcing it upward into a rising slash aimed at my legs. I jumped. The hook scraped the rooftop beneath me, slicing a trench into the tiles. I landed and twisted, dropping my body and sweeping the spear at his legs. He jumped too¡ªbut his landing was off. His ankle buckled for half a second. I pressed forward. My spear jabbed three times in quick succession. One high. One low. One toward the centre. He blocked the first with the edge of the blade, parried the second with a deflection using his left hand, then flinched, unable to keep up. The third pierced his guard. Right in the ribs. The tip sank into his flesh, a shallow hit, but it hurt him. He backed off, panting now, hunched. I could see the muscles around the wound twitching, the purple veins near his shoulder flaring brighter, almost reacting to pain. "You bleed," I said flatly. He chuckled, but there was no humour in it. "So do you." He was right. My left arm stung, a shallow cut from one of the earlier swings. I hadn¡¯t felt it until now, but because this bastard mentioned it... not it hurt like hell. But I could feel the heat inside me rising. The Titan Marrow Sutra didn¡¯t just want combat. It wanted dominance. And right now, I wasn¡¯t giving it enough. He stood straight again and extended his blade arm to the side. The muscle twitched, then split along the edge¡ªtiny rows of jagged teeth appeared. I didn¡¯t wait for whatever that was. I surged forward. The spear moved with me. Clean, two-handed grip. He braced. I feinted left, then turned hard to the right. My shoulder dropped. My hips pivoted. The spear tore upward in a vertical arc, meant for the chest. He raised the blade to block¡ªtoo slow. CLANG. Steel struck flesh. Then something gave. The sound that followed was wet. The edge of my spear penetrated his throat, cutting deep along his right shoulder, straight through the muscle mass that fed the living blade. He screamed as thick, black blood poured over me like rain. Chapter 59: How to Save a life Chapter 59: How to Save a life¡ª March 17th, 20xx ¡ª 05:12 AM Zone 3B-¦¤ ¨C Rooftop ¡ª The spear tore through flesh, bone, and something denser. Not cartilage. Not marrow. Something underneath that pulsed not with life, but with presence. The sensation travelled up the shaft. Through my palm. Into my arm. Like I¡¯d just driven the weapon through a living nerve. Lao didn¡¯t fall. He dropped, yes¡ªdown to one knee, the right side of his body trembling, blade-arm twitching like a dying limb still wired to a corpse. But he didn¡¯t fall. Because falling meant yielding. And he hadn¡¯t stopped changing yet. Thick black blood spilt from the ragged gash in his shoulder and throat, down his chest, and across the rooftop in uneven circles. The scent followed¡ªsweet, sour rot, old copper, the burn of oil on hot stone. Then the sound. He laughed. Wet and broken, bubbling up from a place deeper than lungs. The kind of sound that meant something human was trying to breathe through something that wasn¡¯t. [Bond Alert: Jiang Roulan ¡ª 04:27 Remaining] Four minutes. The number meant nothing. But the weight of it did. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The spear in my hands vibrated once. Not from nerves. Not from technique. It just... wanted. My Qi had soaked into it too deeply. It was no longer just an extension of me. It was hungry. Lao pushed off the ground with his good arm. Stood, swaying, a smear of black trailing behind him. His right shoulder dragged. The blade had begun to melt into itself, curling inward like a closing jaw. Flesh lapped over steel like wax folding into flame. His voice crawled up his throat. "Break one side," he rasped. "The other grows sharper." He ran. Crooked. And I ran to meet him. We clashed. Not the first time. Not even the bloodiest. But this time, it was different¡ªbecause everything was breaking. His movement curved. Not in arcs. In spirals. Like his momentum had become liquid, folding around his injuries instead of fighting them. The blade swept up from below, crooked and twitching, too wide to block but too erratic to cleanly dodge. I stepped sideways. Only half. The edge grazed my ribs¡ªhot, sharp, too shallow to stop me, too deep to ignore. My shirt tore. Skin followed. I kept moving. My right arm twisted. The spear came around in a flat circle, aiming for his exposed chest¡ª And met resistance. Not bone. But intent. He turned inside the arc and took the hit across his ribs, absorbing the force like a dying planet swallowing an asteroid. He didn¡¯t block. He just endured. I felt it vibrate back into me. The spear wants to kill. My body wants to survive. My mind wants to choose. I pushed forward, teeth clenched. My left hand pulled back the haft. The right thrust. A jab meant to end it. His knee shot up¡ªinhuman angle, a mess of tendons and blood¡ªand deflected the strike at the last second. We spun apart. Both of us are bleeding. Both of us are breathing. But only one of us, still thinking. He cocked his head sideways, twitching, the smile reappearing like a mask slipping back into place. "Still holding back," he whispered. "Why?" I didn¡¯t answer. I couldn¡¯t. Because he wasn¡¯t wrong. [Bond Alert: Jiang Roulan ¡ª 03:59 Remaining] My eyes flicked to the rooftop¡¯s edge. I could see her, far below. Still. Waiting. Dying. And Lao stepped forward again. He moved first. A stagger. A drag. Then a blur. His blade arm carved a trench across the concrete with each step, spraying sparks as steel screamed against stone. I met him mid-charge. My spear rose, braced against my shoulder. His blade descended¡ªsloppy, but heavy. It smashed into the haft with a deafening KRAK, jarring my spine, vibrating my teeth. The impact sent out a gust of air that slapped the blood off my cheek. I twisted with it, using the momentum. Let him overextend. Brought my knee up into his gut¡ªTHMP¡ªthen spun and drove the butt of my spear into his side. CRK-THUD. He stumbled, spat blood, then screamed. Not from pain. From joy. His mouth split further. The skin tore back across his cheek, exposing raw tendon and a second row of budding teeth. The purple veins along his neck pulsed violently¡ªbulging, bubbling, crawling¡ªlike something alive was trying to escape. His blade arm split. Not broke¡ªsplit. Down the middle, like a cleaver tearing meat. A second, smaller blade curled out from the jagged wound, twitching like an insect limb. He gets stronger when he¡¯s broken. I struck again. A thrust to the chest¡ªclean, fast, accurate. He twisted. It caught his shoulder instead. SHHK. Flesh tore like cloth. Bone grated. He howled¡ªand lunged again. This time, I didn¡¯t retreat. I planted both feet, adjusted grip, and dragged the spear upward, opening his shoulder from collar to biceps. Black blood sprayed across my chest¡ªhot, wet, sour. His second blade lashed out. I ducked. It whistled past my ear. Close enough to feel the wind. He laughed¡ªthroat gurgling, lips gone. "More¡ªmore of you," he croaked. [Bond Alert: Jiang Roulan ¡ª 03:12 Remaining] I didn¡¯t look. I just stepped in again. My arms were slowing. Not tired. Just... outpaced. The spear was fast¡ªbut not fast enough. Lao wasn¡¯t fighting like a man anymore. He didn¡¯t strike in arcs. He lashed out like instinct wrapped in steel. Every injury made him faster. Hungrier. Worse. His second blade had finished growing, twitching like an insect¡¯s limb. His chest heaved unnaturally, flesh bubbling where ribs should be. My grip shifted again. I readied the next strike. But something felt off. Not just in him. In me. ¡¯The spear doesn¡¯t know how to adapt.My body does.¡¯ Lao blurred toward me. No warning. Just weight. The blade cut low, screaming against the air. I twisted, narrowly avoiding the edge, but the shoulder behind it crashed into mine. It was like hitting a packed muscle soaked in concrete, soft, but too heavy. His skin was hot. Slick. Swollen with something that shouldn¡¯t have been alive. I didn¡¯t fall back. I let go. The spear fell to the concrete with a hollow clack. Lao blinked. Too late. My right fist moved on its own. I didn¡¯t pull it back far. Just enough. All the power, all the Qi threading my bones, every adjustment the fight had taught me¡ªchannelled forward. Straight. Clean. Focused. CRRRK¡ªBOOM. His stomach imploded. The impact was like a thunderclap inside wet cement. His body folded around my hand. Eyes bulged. Air left his mouth with a sick howl. Then came the sound. BWAM¡ª! Lao was airborne¡ªblasted off the rooftop like a rag being thrown. Concrete cracked in spiderwebs where his feet left the ground. ¡¯I didn¡¯t even think.I just moved.¡¯ My hand bled. Knuckles torn open. But I was calm. [Bond Alert: Jiang Roulan ¡ª 01:22 Remaining] I turned toward the edge. And ran. The rooftop vanished under my feet. I didn¡¯t think and just jumped. Wind hit me like a wall. My coat flared. My boots found rusted metal and¡ª CRACK¡ª!! Everything rattled. My legs buckled hard on impact. Pain shot through both knees and up my spine. I dropped into a crouch and barely caught myself on the stair rail. Breathing shallow. Skull buzzing. ¡¯Fuck...¡¯ No time to complain. I looked down. She was right there. Three steps below me. Jiang Roulan. Crushed against the railing, half-curled, blood pooling out from beneath her coat. Her arm twisted under her weight, bent at an angle that wasn¡¯t right. Hair stuck to her cheek. Lips half-parted. Eyes closed. No movement. I slid down beside her, knees hitting hard. Pressed two fingers to her throat. Nothing. Cold. But not gone. Not yet. [Bond Alert: Jiang Roulan ¡ª 01:12 Remaining] The alert glowed in the corner of my vision, making my heart race, and her time was running out. ¡¯Too fast. I almost lost her.¡¯ She wasn¡¯t breathing right. Her chest moved slowly with shallow breaths. Not enough to pull anything in or keep her alive. I pulled the system open. [Top-Grade Marrow Washing Potion ¨C Compatible] [Direct consumption impossible. Unconscious.] [Recommend: Oral transfer] [Risk: Moderate.] [Side effect: Dual Refinement, 70% Effect each. Acceptable loss.] Oral transfer. Right. I stared down at her face again. Her mouth was soft. Still a little open. ¡¯She¡¯s not gone yet.¡¯ My hand went into my inventory. The vial was already warm, like it had waited for this. I cracked the seal, raised it to my lips¡ª And drank. Chapter 60: Naked woman background of my boyfriends video call... Chapter 60: Naked woman background of my boyfriends video call...¡ª Mu Qinglan POV March 17th, 20xx ¡ª 07:17 AM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¨C John Wang¡¯s Aparment ¡ª John wasn¡¯t there when I woke up. The bed was still warm. But the space beside me¡ªcold. I pulled the blanket tighter and wrapped myself tight. My fingers grabbed his pillow, and I stared at the ceiling. A strange weight filled my chest knowing he wasn¡¯t here. It wasn¡¯t fear, at least not yet. But it wasn¡¯t like I could ignore it either. I reached for the phone. Opened the raid app. He was still active¡ªgood. Then I pressed the call button. Video. No hesitation. The screen lit up after two rings. And there he was. Sweating. Naked from the waist up. Sitting on the floor against a wall I didn¡¯t recognise. His eyes glowed faintly, pupils tight, his breath uneven like he¡¯d just run a marathon... or fought something. His hair was wet. His neck gleamed with sweat. And blood. "John?" I whispered. He didn¡¯t speak at first. Just blinked. Then rubbed a hand down his face and gave me a smile that didn¡¯t reach his eyes. "Hey." "Hey." His voice was rough, but soft. The screen lit up with his face, damp with sweat, shadows clinging beneath his eyes. He wasn¡¯t in bed. A bare concrete wall behind him. A flickering light. Not our room. And he wasn¡¯t wearing a shirt. His skin gleamed, still glistening from something recent. A slow bead of blood traced the ridge of his ribs before drying there. I saw faint bruises blooming across his chest, cuts he hadn¡¯t had before. "Where are you?" I asked. John shifted slightly. Sat back against the wall with a quiet grunt. "I¡¯m at the base," he said. "There was an attack... but I¡¯ll be back in an hour." I blinked. There was a pause between us. Just the sound of the water heater humming behind me. My voice came softer than I expected. "...Are they okay?" He looked surprised for a second. But he nodded. "Yeah. Yifei¡¯s stable. Roulan too. I made sure." I gave a small nod. Didn¡¯t say anything else right away. I didn¡¯t like them. Not really. But I didn¡¯t want them dead. Especially not if it put that look in his eyes. "I see," I murmured. There was nothing else I needed to say. Not really. He¡¯d survived. He was safe. But still. John let out a breath and shifted against the wall. He didn¡¯t wince, but I saw the way his hand rested low across his ribs. He was in pain. And not pretending otherwise. That was something. I hesitated and found myself brushing my bangs behind my ear. "I could... run you a bath." His head tilted, just a little like he hadn¡¯t expected that. Not from me. "When you get back," I added quickly. "Since you¡¯re covered in..." I stopped. My eyes lingered on the blood on his chest. The slowly healing lines across his shoulder. He smiled again. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This time, it reached his eyes. "I¡¯d like that," he said. I looked down at the edge of the blanket and nodded once. The heat in my cheeks wasn¡¯t from the room. "Don¡¯t be so perverted!" I huffed, snapping back, but seeing him laughing made my chest tighten while beating faster. ¡¯Ah... I really like him, don¡¯t I?¡¯ Although I snapped back and said cold things and scolded him, it was just instinctive and something that happened when I felt embarrassed or shy. He smiled even more¡ªmischievous, tired, a little dazed¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t fake. His thumb dragged over the edge of the screen like he could touch me through it. "I wasn¡¯t being perverted," he said, voice low, playful. "I just thought it sounded nice." I looked away. "Tch... idiot. Don¡¯t back off like a fool..." The word came out quieter than I wished, and he didn¡¯t seem to hear it. Silence filled the line for a second. Not awkward. Just warm. I brushed against the ¡¯end call¡¯ button for a few seconds, but I didn¡¯t press it. Not yet. I just wanted to hear his voice a little longer. "Don¡¯t take too long," I murmured. "I¡¯m... still waiting." He blinked. Then his expression softened like melting wax. "Yeah," he said, voice rough again. "I know." "I will come back soon." His voice sounded a little hoarse and sore before he muttered. "I Promise." I left the bedroom while carrying the phone with me. The bathroom light flicked on with a soft click. I put the phone down beside the sink, angled up toward my face. He could still see me. I wanted him to. "I¡¯m going to run that bath," I said, turning the knobs. The pipes groaned slightly as warm water rushed into the tub. "You better mean it." "I always mean it," John said. I didn¡¯t look at the screen. I didn¡¯t want him to see the smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. He was watching. I could feel it. "Use soap this time, not blood," I added, folding my arms and glaring at the tub like it was the problem. "I smell fine," he muttered. "You smell like trouble." "I thought you liked trouble." I paused. "...Maybe a little," I admitted. The sound of water filled the quiet between us. I grabbed a towel, set it neatly by the tub, then sat back down and picked up the phone again. John was still there. Still shirtless. Still smiling. My heart clenched a little. "You need to lie down. Close your eyes," I said. "You look worse than before." "I will," he said. "Just a minute." He adjusted the camera a little. And that¡¯s when I saw it. In the blurred background, something passed behind him and caused my chest to tighten; my brain malfunctioned. Something pale. Soft. Moving. My body froze. "John..." I said again, softer this time. "What was that just now?" His eyes shifted. "What was what?" He leaned slightly forward, blinking in confusion. Genuinely confused. I saw it in his face¡ªhe wasn¡¯t pretending. His brow furrowed faintly as he adjusted the phone, glancing to the side like he thought I meant a noise. But he hadn¡¯t seen it. He didn¡¯t know. There was nothing behind him now. Just the dim concrete wall. The edge of an empty chair. The flicker of a loose bulb. ¡¯Maybe I imagined it...¡¯ The thought whispered through me like cold water. I was tired. He looked worse. There was blood, yes, but not a lie in his voice. Not even now. "...Nothing," I said, lowering my gaze. His expression softened again, but the weight in his shoulders didn¡¯t fade. "You¡¯re just tired," he said gently. "Yeah." I forced a breath out through my nose, looked away. "I¡¯ll be here." "I know. I really miss you, Qinglan." He smiled, a bright smile filled with warmth, and I found my lips curling just looking at him. But his face was pale, and I didn¡¯t want to keep him. ¡¯The sooner he recovers, the sooner he comes back to me... Right?¡¯ My thumb brushed the disconnect button too hard. I didn¡¯t want to end the call yet, but my phone turned dark and the call ended. And for some reason... I felt cold again. Chapter 61: A Salty, Bitter Yet Worthwhile Kiss. Chapter 61: A Salty, Bitter Yet Worthwhile Kiss.¡ª March 17th, 20xx ¡ª 05:17 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Base: Jiang Roulan¡¯s apartment ¡ª The potion hit my tongue like molten stone. Thick. Metallic. Sweet at the edges¡ªbut bitter, too. Not a flavour I could name, just something primal. Like old roots crushed under pressure, or earth that hadn¡¯t tasted sunlight in centuries. I held it there, let it coat my tongue. It hummed in my mouth like it was alive, and the moment I bent low, bringing my lips to hers, I felt it shift. Jiang Roulan was still limp¡ªbreathing, barely, but when I kissed her, her lips reacted faintly. A twitch. A pulse of warmth, faint as a dying ember. ¡¯Sorry, Qinglan...¡¯ My lips parted hers gently, tilting her head with my palm. Her mouth was soft and dry, the taste of blood faint on her lower lip. I exhaled into her. Pushed the liquid between our mouths¡ªslow, steady. She swallowed once. Then spit it back. The potion slipped into my mouth again, hot and buzzing. I sighed through my nose, more irritated than surprised, and tilted her chin higher. This time, I guided her tongue with mine, coaxing it open, flicking across the surface until the warmth of her throat opened. She whimpered softly as the potion slipped down. [System Alert: Human: Jiang Roulan has a high affinity with Earth-type Qi] [Resonance: High] Her tongue moved again. Not spitting this time. Responding. It curled against mine, slow and hesitant at first¡ªlike her body wasn¡¯t fully awake, but it knew what to do. The potion slid down her throat easier now, sucked between our lips as her mouth parted wider beneath mine. Her breath caught. A quiet gasp, shallow and wet. I didn¡¯t pull back. The resonance was strong. I could feel the faint vibration spreading through me when our mouths touched through my fingertips and chest. Her Qi was reaching for mine. ¡¯This is bad...¡¯ I tried to ignore the heat building in my stomach. The way her saliva tasted¡ªdifferent from Qinglan¡¯s. Less sweet. Creamy, with a mineral taste, like clean spring water laced with vanilla and milk. I tilted her head further and exhaled again, letting the last of the potion slip between our mouths. She swallowed reflexively, her lips clinging to mine, the softest moan catching between us like breath too thick to escape. [System Update: Synchronisation in progress...] [Affinity Strength: 87% ¨C High Resonance Detected] I pulled back slowly. Her lips clung to mine¡ªsoft and wet¡ªbefore parting with a quiet, messy pop. A string of saliva stretched between us. Thick. Warm. Still glowing faint gold from the marrow. It clung to my lower lip, hung for a moment, then broke, dripping onto Jiang Roulan¡¯s collarbone where the blood had already begun to dry. Her mouth stayed parted. Glossy. A faint twitch curled the corner of her lip. I stared. She shifted¡ªbarely. Her thigh dragged against mine. A soft exhale warmed the space between us. And that damn taste still lingered. Her saliva was creamy, smooth, laced with something that tasted like her. I could feel it in my own throat now. Sweet heat. Rich earth. Milk and mineral, and something deeper I didn¡¯t want to name. ¡¯Qinglan¡¯s never did this...¡¯ I flinched. The thought hit harder than I expected. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Roulan¡¯s Qi wasn¡¯t clashing with mine. It wrapped around it. Pulled it in like a second heartbeat syncing to the rhythm. Different from the biting cold of Qinglan¡¯s sweet taste and flavour. No friction. Just... harmony. The marrow had stopped burning. But the connection hadn¡¯t. She moaned again¡ªjust barely¡ªand her tongue flicked against her lip like she wanted more. And for a second, I almost gave it. Roulan¡¯s lips were still wet against mine when her body started to tremble. Not with breath. With Qi. I felt it roll off her skin¡ªthick waves of pressure pushing against my chest, like the air between us had become molten. Her fingers twitched. Her thighs flexed. A pulse ran through her like lightning trapped under skin. Then the scent hit me. Metal. Earth. Something sour. Like rot. Impurities. Her body was rejecting them. I pulled back fast, panting hard, hand pressed to my stomach¡ªbecause the pain had already begun there, deep inside my bones. Like something was carving up my marrow with a hot wire. ¡¯No¡ª¡¯ I clenched my jaw. Locked it down. I couldn¡¯t transform now. Not here. Not when they needed me. Not when her body had just started changing. I grabbed Roulan under the legs and back, lifting her clean off the blood-slick steps. She felt lighter than I remembered. Hot to the touch, like her skin was burning from the inside out. My legs almost buckled as I turned. One more. I found Shen Yifei slumped by the shattered vent. Her face was pale, lips cracked, one arm limp. I hooked her up under the knees and flopped her over my shoulder. Then I ran. Roulan burned in my arms¡ªfever-hot, trembling. Every step drove a spike of pain deeper into my spine, but I didn¡¯t stop. I couldn¡¯t. Her heartbeat was still there. Barely. And every time it fluttered, my legs moved faster. Yifei bounced against my shoulder, her dead weight knocking into my ribs with every stride. I didn¡¯t apologise. She wasn¡¯t conscious to hear it. I darted along the stairwell, took the turns with a tight, almost dangerous speed. My shoulder slammed into the wall more than once. The pain in my abdomen caused my vision to shake and become blurred. My shirt became soaked with sweat by the time I reached the fifth floor, and I barged into her apartment with a heavy kick. Dark. Quiet. Home¡ªfor now. I moved straight to the living room and lowered Yifei onto the black sofa. Her body rolled slightly, but I adjusted her head, angled her legs. Roulan was still in my arms. Breathing harder now. Her skin was sweaty, a sheen of gold rising faintly at her temples. Her body was shaking. I carried her into the bathroom, set her down gently inside the empty tub. Turned on the tap. Water rushed in. Steam began to rise. Then I knelt. Started with her boots. Loosened the laces. Peeled them off one at a time. Then the jacket¡ªcrusted in dried blood, heavy, damp. I tugged it from Roulan¡¯s arms, folding it once and setting it aside. Her shirt was next. Thin. Half-translucent now. I hesitated for only a second before I pulled it up, inch by inch, revealing pale skin beneath¡ªflushed, damp, twitching slightly under the heat of her transformation. I didn¡¯t look too long. Didn¡¯t let myself. Her body was changing. I could already smell it¡ªthe bitter edge of expelled toxins, rising through the sweat slicking her thighs. I hooked my fingers into her waistband and pulled down her tights and damp black panties slowly, because the fabric clung to her pink petals. An arousing sight, but I needed to ignore it and focus. I slid them past her plump, rounded buttocks and down her legs before tossing them onto the floor, her curly brown pubic hairs also wet with a sticky thread. Underneath, her skin steamed in the cool air. Still beautiful, even like this. Even now. I dropped the soaked leggings to the tiled floor and turned the tap hotter. Let the water run over Roulan¡¯s ankles. Then watched the filth begin to melt from her skin and swirl into the drain. Then I sat back against the wall with a deep breath, watching her breasts swaying in the hot water and realised I needed to leave... "Ah... I have to give Yifei her potion..." A pathetic excuse, but I crawled out of the bathroom... my body burning up, skin turning a dark red as the heat from the top-grade marrow potion started affecting me again... dangerous to take more than once, I leaned on the sofa near Yifei. My breath hitched. Everything inside me felt too tight. Too hot. The marrow I¡¯d already taken was boiling again, like it had been reawakened just by touching them. I pressed my palm to my abdomen and felt it pulse under my skin. The Qi hadn¡¯t calmed. It was looking for something. No... someone. Yifei stirred. Just a twitch¡ªher lips parted, her chest rising as if she felt it too. Her skin burned against my arm. Her body arched faintly as a thread of steam drifted from her collar. ¡¯Now or never.¡¯ I pulled the second vial from my inventory and broke the seal with my thumb. My throat was already raw, but I drank it again. Thicker this time. Hotter. Then I leaned down. Pressed my lips to hers. Just for a second. Just enough to let the potion pass between us. Her tongue flicked instinctively. Her mouth closed on mine. She didn¡¯t spit it out. She sucked. And in that moment, I felt it. Her Qi wasn¡¯t like Roulan¡¯s. It didn¡¯t harmonise. It attacked! Chapter 62: Volatile Pulse Chapter 62: Volatile Pulse¡ª March 17th, 20xx ¡ª 05:55 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Base: Jiang Roulan¡¯s apartment ¡ª The moment my lips touched Shen Yifei¡¯s, something changed. Not in the room. Not in her body. Inside me. The potion transferred easily¡ªwarm, thick, still humming from my tongue. Her lips were soft, cracked slightly from dehydration, but pliant. Familiar. Too familiar for someone I¡¯d never kissed before. When she swallowed, her throat worked against my mouth with a slow, instinctive pressure. Her tongue twitched. Just once. Then again¡ªsliding forward, brushing mine. And then it hit me. Not heat. Not pain. Not like before. Pleasure. Pure, unfiltered, dangerous pleasure that started behind my eyes and sank straight to the base of my spine like a needle of gold. Her Qi didn¡¯t just react¡ªit wrapped around mine and dragged it closer, only to lash it with heat. The marrow between us ignited. And I mean that in every sense. My nerves flared. My breath locked. It felt like her fire had crawled into my bloodstream and started kissing my bones from the inside. She moaned into the kiss, not loud but just enough to drive me crazy. Her back arched. My fingers grabbed the edges of the sofa, and my muscles tensed and bulged. ¡¯What the hell is this...?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t like Qinglan¡ªwho made me vulnerable, whose kiss pulled the breath out of me like snow melting through skin. That was gentler, teasing, emotional. Qinglan made me sensitive. She disarmed me. Yifei¡¯s Qi didn¡¯t tease. It seduced. No, not even that. It consumed. Her taste was addictive¡ªspicy, sharp, with an undertone of metal and citrus. Like fire forged in blood and orange rind. Her breath smelled faintly of crushed herbs, of something wild and honest. My stomach twisted with hunger I didn¡¯t recognise. Her body pulsed. Her thigh brushed mine, and that small touch alone sent another rush down my spine. I groaned. She sucked again¡ªthis time unintentional, I think. Her lips tightened against mine in a lazy instinct. The potion slipped deeper into her throat. She swallowed, and the moan that followed was barely a breath but shook me. My vision swam. Everything felt too close. My heartbeat too loud. My muscles too reactive. The heat was incredible. Euphoric. Her Qi didn¡¯t feel like it was trying to break mine¡ªit felt like it was trying to mate with it. Fuse it. Burn itself into my marrow like a brand. A pulse rolled through me. ¡¯Stop.¡¯ I pulled away, gasping. A thin string of golden saliva stretched from my tongue to hers. Her lips parted slightly, the tip of her tongue resting against the air as if tasting me still. And I... I still wanted more. Which scared me. She was unconscious. Unaware. But her Qi wasn¡¯t. Her body was reacting¡ªgrinding slowly against the sofa now, her breath short, her cheeks flushed with heat. Her blouse had begun to stick to her skin. I could see the sweat forming just above the neckline, glistening against her collar. Yifei¡¯s breasts rose and fell unevenly. Her thighs twitched. The air itself felt humid now, charged with some mix of steam and raw, physical energy. I stumbled back, my hand pressed to my abdomen where the Qi was reacting. Not expanding. Not circulating. Flaring. Boiling up my spine like it wanted to break out. ¡¯Shit... not now...¡¯ I forced myself to inhale through my nose, slower, anchoring my weight through my legs. My balance was off. My thoughts were cloudy. Even the scent of her skin lingered in my nose like something I wouldn¡¯t forget. And it was addictive. Not just the heat. Not just the pleasure. Her. Yifei. ¡¯Her fire makes me strong... but it¡¯s also trying to ruin me.¡¯ The potion had done its job. But too well. My marrow was screaming for release¡ªQi racing through every channel in my body as if searching for a way to fuse with hers completely. I dropped to one knee and scooped her up. Her back pressed against my chest, bending like a bow. She pushed her head against my neck and murmured something, unintelligible, and her breath grazed my skin with a needy warmth I didn¡¯t want to admit I liked. She clung to me. Even asleep, her body leaned into mine like it belonged there. I held tighter. Then I moved. Toward the ninth floor. Toward the only place left to hide her burning body¡ªand mine¡ªfrom the consequences of what we¡¯d just started. ¡ª March 17th, 20xx ¡ª 06:24 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Base: 9th Floor Apartment ¡ª The elevator wasn¡¯t working¡ªof course it wasn¡¯t. So I took the stairs. To the ninth floor, carrying her. Again. But this time... it was different. She wasn¡¯t just hot. Her whole body shimmered with Qi now¡ªvivid, unrefined, burning through her skin like a wildfire sealed under soft flesh. Her breath came quicker in my arms. Her hips shifted against my forearm. Sweat dripped down the inside of my elbow, but I wasn¡¯t sure if it was hers or mine. The weight didn¡¯t bother me. The smell did. Not foul, but raw. Burning cedar. Charcoal and cinnamon. The scent of transformation¡ªthe same way Roulan¡¯s had smelled before the water washed it all away. She needed that now. Fast. The door creaked open with my shoulder. It was the same apartment I¡¯d turned into a base just yesterday. Clean enough. Tidy. Safe. For now. I dashed across the room and found the bathroom. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t dismantle the toilet and water system. Then flicked on the light using my elbow. Warm light poured across the tiles. Steam from the earlier bath still lingered faintly. The tub was dry now, empty. I adjusted the handle and let water rush in. Yifei stirred in my arms, mumbling something that didn¡¯t make sense. Her fingers twitched against my collar. Her breasts shifted against my chest as she squirmed¡ªsleepy, restless, too warm. I crouched. Lowered her gently onto the ground. Her body curled slightly, as if seeking comfort from the heat. Her lips parted in a half-conscious sigh. Then, without a word, I reached for her blouse. It clung to her like second skin, soaked with sweat. The buttons stuck to her chest, the cloth clinging around the rise of her breasts, but I undid them one by one, watching her skin emerge inch by inch. She didn¡¯t wake. Didn¡¯t resist. Only moaned¡ªsoftly, through her nose¡ªas if the air itself soothed her now. I pulled the shirt back, past her shoulders. Slid it from her arms. Let it fall beside the tub in a damp heap. Her bra had already loosened at the strap. I hesitated... then slipped it off too. Then reached lower. Hooked her waistband. Pulled her trousers down with a slow drag. Damp. Hot. They peeled off her hips with effort, sticking to her curves like her skin didn¡¯t want to let them go. Underwear next. Damp... A soft snap as they peeled free from between her thighs. Her skin was flushed pink in places. Beads of sweat still shimmered in the curve of her hip. I lifted her and slowly checked the water with my hand, then lowered her inside with a quiet splash. She breathed through parted lips, her legs shifting in the water as the heat rose around her. Her hair spread around her shoulders like ink. Her nipples were already hard, sensitive from the temperature, or the Qi... or both. I leaned back, wiped a bead of sweat from my brow, and sighed. Then I sat down beside the tub. Said nothing. Watched. The water lapped around her hips. A pulse shimmered across the surface of her skin, faint but visible¡ªlike steam bending light above a flame. And then, through the surface of the water, something black began to leak from her skin. Thin lines. Oil-like. Unnatural. The filth. The waste. The impurities. Yifei¡¯s breathing became louder as her legs rubbed together, and she swished in the water while letting out a gentle moan. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But her face... was calm. Relaxed. Like something deep inside her had finally let go. And yet... my body reacted. Again. Harder this time. I shifted away. Looked down. Cursed under my breath. ¡¯Again? Seriously...?¡¯ Her scent wasn¡¯t like Roulan¡¯s. And it sure as hell wasn¡¯t like Qinglan¡¯s. Yifei¡¯s scent made me ache liked I¡¯d taken a little blue pill. And I wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good thing anymore. The water had risen halfway up her body now, pooling against her waist. Her skin gleamed in the light. Steam curled around her collarbones and drifted through the strands of her tangled red-black hair. I should¡¯ve left. But I couldn¡¯t. Not yet. Her chest rose and fell in an uneven tempo, and her lips parted every few seconds, twitching under the water. The air was thicker. Warmer. Saturated with Qi. Then her hand moved. A slow, clumsy motion¡ªlike she was groping through a dream. She reached toward the edge of the bath. Then higher. Toward me. Her fingers brushed my wrist. Then curled. And before I could stop her¡ªbefore I could even think¡ªshe pulled. I caught myself, barely, hand slapping the edge of the tub. But my face was already close to hers. Too close. Her wet fingers slipped up my forearm, across my bicep, then clung to my shoulder like she was searching for something solid in her sleep. Then her body moved. She sat up slightly, enough for her breasts to press against my chest. Soft. Wet. Warm. I froze. The scent hit me again¡ªstronger this time. Cinnamon and smoke. Hot, thick Qi poured off her like an exhale from deep inside her core. "John..." she breathed. She was dreaming. Or halfway there. But her arms wrapped around me. Bare skin to bare skin. Yifei¡¯s cheek pressed into my shoulder. Her thighs shifted under the water, one sliding around my hip. Her fingers curled into the back of my shirt. And that¡¯s when it hit me. Not just warmth. Pleasure. A wave of it. Raw. Volatile. Her Qi surged again¡ªviolent, unstable, chaotic. It didn¡¯t flow with me. It didn¡¯t accept me. It challenged me. But the challenge felt good. Too good. ¡¯Shit... this is dangerous.¡¯ My body stiffened, but not out of fear. Out of instinct. Her skin felt right against mine. Her warmth soaked into me like I¡¯d been standing in the cold for days. I felt it pulse through my chest. Down my spine. Into my groin. And she... responded. Her hips rolled just once. A soft sound left her lips. Not quite a moan. Not quite a sigh. But her lips curled faintly as if her body knew it was touching mine. I stared at her, chest burning. ¡¯She¡¯s not awake.¡¯ And yet... she was holding me tighter now. Her breathing slowed. Her body softened. And in seconds¡ªjust like that¡ªshe fell asleep again. Still clinging to me. Still pressing into me. And I was... hard. Again. I exhaled, slow and long. Let my forehead drop to hers. ¡¯This is going to be a problem.¡¯ Chapter 63: After the Fire Chapter 63: After the FireMarch 17th, 20xx ¡ª 07:35 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Base: Jiang Roulan¡¯s apartment ¡ª I heard the soft click of the bathroom door before I saw her. The regret from not sleeping with this fiery woman lingered, but at the same time, I felt a sense of pride that I could resist and manage the fire myself. Shen Yifei stepped out barefoot, steam curling behind her. Her towel, tossed carelessly over her shoulder, the edges clung to her damp thighs. Her cheeks were red, hair a damp golden colour sticking to her body in a lazy curl. She paused when she saw me. I was sitting on the edge of the sofa, still bare-chested, Qi slowly settling after the hell I¡¯d just endured. Her eyes widened. "Y-You¡¯re still here?" she asked, voice hoarse with sleep and something else. "Where else would I be?" I replied quietly. She glanced away, fingers tightening around the towel. Her shoulders shifted. "Pervert..." she muttered. I didn¡¯t answer that, because I didn¡¯t have a a good one. She took a few stiff steps toward the kitchen before freezing. Her fingers brushed her lower lip, slowly, as if remembering something. Then her eyes snapped to me. "You¡ª!" Her voice cracked. "Did you... Kiss me?" I met her gaze. "You weren¡¯t breathing properly" "You would¡¯ve died." A pause. Her expression flickered¡ªanger, confusion, something deeper. "...Hmph." She turned her back, arms crossed tightly beneath the towel. "That doesn¡¯t mean you had to enjoy it." I almost smiled. "Did I say I did?" "You didn¡¯t have to moan, you idiot!" "...I didn¡¯t moan." "You did." She turned just enough to glare at me, eyes narrow and pink at the corners. But her breathing was still uneven, and I could see the faint shimmer of Qi still crawling along her collarbone, pulsing under her skin. ¡¯She¡¯s still reacting... Her body hasn¡¯t stabilised yet.¡¯ She looked like she was about to throw something else at me. Instead, she swayed slightly¡ªlike the floor tilted under her. I was beside her before I could think. My hand caught her waist. She jolted. Her breath hitched. I felt her warmth through the towel. Her heartbeat under my palm. "Careful," I said. "I¡¯m... fine," she mumbled. But her legs didn¡¯t move. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "You¡¯re not." "...Tch. Just help me sit." We made it back to the couch. I guided her down slowly, and she slumped into the corner, arms crossed tight, chin tucked into her shoulder. But she didn¡¯t move away. She didn¡¯t tell me to let go, either. She leaned. Just a little. Her temple touched my shoulder. Her breath warmed my collarbone. "Don¡¯t get the wrong idea..." she whispered. "I won¡¯t." A long pause. "...But your scent is kind of... calming." I didn¡¯t respond to that. Not out loud. But I felt it, too¡ªher Qi, no longer violent, curling gently through the room like firelight flickering in an old hearth. It almost felt like I had tamed a violent and naughty kitten... compared to the wild tiger that faced me in the bathroom. She didn¡¯t say anything else. Five minutes passed. Ten. Then I heard her breathing shift. Slower. Deeper. She¡¯d fallen asleep. I stood quietly, adjusted her legs, and let her rest against the armrest. Her towel had slipped a little again, exposing the edge of one pale thigh and the slight curve of her waist. I summoned the system with a flick of my thoughts. [Item Created] [Thermal Blend Fibre Blanket | Category: Comfort | Grade: C-] [Materials Used: Cloth 60, Metal 30] [Item Created.] A thick grey blanket shimmered into existence. I wrapped her body, rolling her soft curves, although a little modest, her breasts were the fluffiest of the three women... and perky. She muttered in her sleep and gripped my wrist, but I had to go. Using the system, I created some simple clothes for her to change into: a white tank top, a B-cup bra, and soft black sweats and left them neatly folded on the counter. She¡¯d be warm when she woke. Finally, I stood. And sighed. ¡¯I told Qinglan I¡¯d come back.¡¯ I looked down at Yifei one last time. She looked peaceful. Small. Not the angry blade-swinging girl I¡¯d met days ago. I pulled my jacket on. Boots next. Slung my SMG across my back and glanced toward the door. Time to go home. Time to face her. Mu Qinglan. ¡ª March 17th, 20xx ¡ª 08:03 AM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¡ª John Wang¡¯s Apartment Block ¡ª The air was colder than I expected. Not biting. Just... still. The kind of morning quiet that reminded you the world had ended¡ªno traffic, no voices, no early risers out for breakfast. Just broken streetlamps, smashed concrete, and frost crusting the edge of a billboard half-hanging from its bolts. I walked slowly. Not because I was tired. Because I didn¡¯t want to think too fast. My boots crunched softly over the frostbitten steps. The SMG on my back weighed less than the thoughts dragging behind my eyes. I¡¯d told her I¡¯d come back. Mu Qinglan. And now I was. But not clean. Not guilty, either. Just... messy. My hand brushed against the cold railing as I climbed the wall beside my apartment, still warm from Shen Yifei¡¯s skin and Jiang Roulan¡¯s touch. I could smell their sweet scents... one fiery, the other earthen and calm. Their body heat still lingered against mine. With the scent of salt, jasmine and cinnamon making me feel shameful. ¡¯I didn¡¯t plan any of it.¡¯ But that didn¡¯t matter. Qinglan trusted me. And I¡¯d held someone else in my arms just hours after promising she was the only one. No lies would fix that. I¡¯d tell her the truth. About Roulan. About Yifei. About the potion. About the kisses that weren¡¯t really kisses, and the hands that didn¡¯t pull away. And I¡¯d admit it. That I hadn¡¯t hated it. Hadn¡¯t even wanted to stop, in that moment. If it happened again...? ¡¯I probably wouldn¡¯t resist.¡¯ My jaw tightened. Not because I was ashamed of wanting them. But because I didn¡¯t want to hurt her. She¡¯d kissed me first. She¡¯d whispered my name like it meant something. And now I had to walk through that door and see the disappointment in her eyes. The coldness she only used when trying not to feel anything at all. And still¡ªI wouldn¡¯t lie. She deserved better than that. Even if it costs me everything. I landed on the steel awning hard enough to rattle the bolts. The metal groaned under my boots, slick with frost. I caught the window ledge and slipped inside, feet scraping against the wooden floor with a dull thud. The cold followed me in. I stood for a second, catching my breath, muscles still twitching from the walk. From the weight of it all. The ache hadn¡¯t left my spine¡ªnot fully. My palms were raw. Qi still simmered under the skin, refusing to settle. Then I felt her. Small hands wrapped around my back. Cool arms pressed to my ribs. "...You¡¯re back," she whispered. Her voice was quiet, but steady. She didn¡¯t let go. I froze¡ªthen let myself breathe. "Yeah," I spoke with a much softer tone, wanting to comfort her. "I¡¯m back." She pulled back slightly, just enough to tilt her face up. Blue eyes scanned me like she already knew the answer, but still needed to ask. "...Are you okay?" I hesitated. Her fingers tightened, just a little, before she spoke again. "I saw your wounds... this morning. In the call. They weren¡¯t healed." I nodded once. "I feel much better now." Mu Qinglan pressed her forehead into my chest, her hands snaking around my body as she lifted the cheap shirt I made at Roulan¡¯s house. "There¡¯s a scar... and what... what is this!?" She touched my chest and rubbed her fingers over the swollen black marking. At first it looked like a growth or wound, but now... it was more of a spade shape, like the playing cards and looked quite cool. Mu Qinglan¡¯s fingers lingered on my chest, still tracing the faint, spade-shaped mark. She stared at it like it might move or whisper something back. "You like it?" I asked, teasing. "Hmph." She didn¡¯t look up. "It¡¯s weird. But... kind of hot." I smirked. "So you are checking me out." "I mean," she muttered, "it suits... my man." The words dropped before she could catch them, and I watched her freeze. Her lips pressed tight, her entire face turning an unmistakable shade of red as she yanked her hand back like I¡¯d burned her. "I-I didn¡¯t mean that!!! Shut up! Don¡¯t laugh!" I laughed, low and warm in my throat. "Too late. I like how that sounds." She shoved my shoulder with both hands, still refusing to look at me. "You¡¯re the worst." "I know." I reached down, caught her hand, and held it. She finally glanced at me again. "...Qinglan," I said quietly. "I need to tell you something." Chapter 64: Confession, Consequence and... Chapter 64: Confession, Consequence and...¡ª March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 08:10 AM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¨C John Wang¡¯s Apartment ¡ª Mu Qinglan¡¯s fingers lingered over the black mark on my chest, rubbing it gently with a furrow between her brows. She didn¡¯t speak at first, but the silence between us had started to stretch¡ªtoo full, too expectant. I swallowed once and then placed my hand over hers, warm against her cold skin. She didn¡¯t flinch, but I could feel how focused she became. "I need to tell you something." Her hand stopped moving. She looked up at me, eyes unreadable¡ªbut not unkind. Just sharp, calculating. "I didn¡¯t just stay behind to rest. Roulan and Yifei... they were badly wounded. Too weak to swallow anything." Her expression didn¡¯t change, not yet. But her shoulders shifted slightly¡ªher posture stiffening, as if preparing herself for what came next. I continued. "So I gave them the potion using my mouth. I... kissed them." Admitting it made me realise how much of an asshole I was, and that this might be the dumbest thing I could do, but if I cannot be honest, our relationship wasn¡¯t going anywhere anyway. [System Warning: Mu Qinglan feels conflicted. ¨C5 Affection Points] She stepped back just a little, enough to make the space between us feel colder. Her arms crossed beneath her chest, a faint shimmer of ice around her wrist that flickered, then disappeared. Her voice became slow, deep, and almost monotone. "Did you like it?" She wasn¡¯t angry. Not openly. But the way she asked¡ªthe way her eyes didn¡¯t blink¡ªit made the question hit harder than if she¡¯d screamed. "I did," I answered. She nodded once. Slowly. [System Warning: Mu Qinglan does not believe your tone. ¨C3 Affection Points] Her lips pressed together as she asked. "Will you do it again?" I met her eyes and didn¡¯t look away. "If it meant saving them, yes. Without hesitation." For a moment, she didn¡¯t respond. Her gaze dropped to the mark on my chest, then back up to my face. I could see it¡ªsomething breaking through the ice in her expression. Not anger. Something else. [System Alert: Mu Qinglan is upset. ¨C2 Affection Points] However, she didn¡¯t walk away from me. Mu Qinglan glared at me with her fists tightened and her lips white from how hard she pushed them together, but she remained still while breathing deeply. I didn¡¯t speak again and waited for her response. I had already told her the truth. If she asked me more, I would answer. No lies. No half-measures. She deserved that. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t speak at first. She just stared at me. Cold, composed, but not distant. Her arms remained crossed, her back straight, her lips slightly parted. Then, quietly¡ª "Would you do it again... for pleasure?" I paused for just one second. [System Warning: Mu Qinglan¡¯s trust is shaking. ¨C3 Affection Points] I saw the flicker in her eyes, fury, fear, aggression... then only a cold, dull glint remained as she tightened her shoulders and huffed cold air. There was no reason to lie, or make up some bullshit now, since I already ripped open the can of worms I didn¡¯t hold back. "Yes," My voice was loud, rough, and honest. "I probably would." Her lips twitched for a second, not quite a smile or a frown... but then she nodded and snorted hot air from her nose. Qinglan turned from me and walked a few slow paces towards the far wall, arms wrapped around her hips, mumbling. The line of her spine arched just slightly as she leaned against the windowpane. Light filtered across her bare shoulder from the rising sun. "You probably would..." she repeated, like she was tasting the words. "So it¡¯s not just survival now." "I didn¡¯t do it to betray you." "I know that," she snapped, spinning back. "I know you didn¡¯t cheat. I know they were injured. But that doesn¡¯t make this easy." Her voice cracked just enough to hear the girl beneath the cold, perfect woman. "I thought I was special." "You are." "Then why aren¡¯t I enough?" The words hung in the air. No cry. No tremble. Just a single, piercing thread of truth woven through her doubt. [System Alert: Mu Qinglan¡¯s Affection Falling] But she didn¡¯t storm out. Instead, she stepped forward. Her hand lifted, palm glowing faintly with frost. Her breath became heavy, controlled, but mixed with a bizarre chill. "Clench your teeth," she said, voice low. My body didn¡¯t move. "Do it," she whispered. "Or I¡¯ll break something." I nodded once. The Qi gathered through her body, faint wisps of blue gathering in her hands, travelling down her arms like solitary fish. Ice bloomed across her knuckles with frosty trails of air. Her muscles and body tensed, the air around her humming with pressure as her blue eyes narrowed. "If it was me, kissing another man... no matter what the reason, how would you feel?" Instant rage overflowed from my calm core, the Titan¡¯s Marrow bubbling like a pool of lava as I growled back with an anger that made me tremble with fury. Her words landed harder than any blow could¡¯ve. I didn¡¯t answer right away. I didn¡¯t breathe. Mu Qinglan stood barely a step from me¡ªher bare feet silent against the floor, her arms loose at her sides now, trembling just slightly. Her pupils had narrowed, but the rest of her expression stayed composed, as if letting a single crack show would break the entire surface. My eyes opened. The air was thick and silent. I could feel it move through the room like fog before a storm. Then she said it again. Lower this time. "Can you imagine how I feel?" I didn¡¯t mean to. I didn¡¯t plan to. But the words were already out of my mouth before I could stop myself. "If it was you kissing another man¡ª" I paused. My heart thudded once, hard. "Even if you said it was to save him... I¡¯d kill him." Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes widened¡ªjust slightly. It wasn¡¯t fear in her gaze. It was sharper. Darker. "And I might kill you, too." The silence that followed wasn¡¯t empty. It throbbed. She didn¡¯t move. Didn¡¯t blink. Just stared at me with a strange tightness in her mouth, a shimmer in her eyes like her thoughts had folded in on themselves as if she had waited her whole life to hear those words from someone. [System Alert: Mu Qinglan feels overwhelmed and excited by your sudden outburst!] [+8 Affection Points] A flicker of red tinted her pupils. Not a glow¡ªjust the faintest hint of colour, gone as fast as it appeared. But I saw it. She exhaled¡ªslowly¡ªher breath visible now, even in the morning light. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The frost around her fingers intensified. Her voice came with a hoarse growl, yet left with a soft hum like a knife held under silk. "So you do understand." Her words weren¡¯t a relief. They were a verdict, but they didn¡¯t feel cold like before, but laced with something different and a little eerie. She didn¡¯t blink or look away. Just stepped closer until I could feel the frost from her breath hitting my collarbone. Her hand lifted slowly, fingers half-curled as a pale shimmer of Qi collected around her knuckles. I felt the shift before I saw it¡ªthe air thinning, the temperature dipping, like snow was about to fall inside the room. "Close your eyes," she said, not looking away. The moment everything became dark, the air changed and I could ¡¯see¡¯ better. A swirling ice-blue core the size of a marble in Qinglan¡¯s stomach looked pale, almost white and empty as it balled at her fist. Heavy pressure wrapped around me as various colours and shades of Qi flew through the air like streamers. I could feel her cold breath, hear the movement of her muscles, and sweat dripping onto the floor from her brow. And then it hit me. Not her fist. Her palm. Flat and sharp, driven into the centre of my chest. CRACK. The sound wasn¡¯t skin on skin. It was something deeper. Bone? No¡ªinside the bone. I gasped, teeth grinding as my knees collapsed half a step, the whole left side of my body seizing. A shock of ice punched into my core. Cold Qi poured straight into my bloodstream like it belonged there, drilling itself down through skin, tissue, and nerves. No warning. No control. She didn¡¯t do it on purpose. But her rage, her jealousy, her possessiveness¡ªall of it surged through her arm and carved itself into me like a second heartbeat. My eyes stayed shut. My teeth clenched. But I groaned. Low. Raw. "Fffffuck¡ª!" I dropped to one knee, arm braced on the floor, gasping for air that felt too thick to swallow. When the burn eased, I finally looked up. Mu Qinglan stood there, chest rising and falling, arms limp at her sides, breath uneven. She hadn¡¯t even meant to mark me. But she had. Her Qi was inside me now¡ªcold, coiled, dormant¡ªbut alive. "You didn¡¯t hold back..." I breathed. She didn¡¯t answer at first. Then¡ª "Well, can you blame me?" she whispered. "But you¡¯ll remember when seeing that..." She pointed to my chest. The mark on my chest was no longer black. It was electric blue, the same colour as Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes. When I looked up, she curled her lips into a faint smile... then threw herself into my arms and hugged me tight enough to make me choke. "Hey..." she nuzzled my chest, gazing up with wet, worried eyes. "That bath... Shall we take it together?" Chapter 65: Leaving Home Chapter 65: Leaving HomeMarch 17th, 2025 ¡ª 11:10 AM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¨C John Wang¡¯s Apartment ¡ª Mu Qinglan sat on the last remaining sofa while watching me with curious, gleaming eyes. After our long soak in the bath and telling her about a few system features, she stopped being anxious. "So, you can make these things vanish?" she pouted while patting the sofa twice. "I don¡¯t believe you!" Well, I wouldn¡¯t believe myself either. But it seemed she just wanted to goad me into it. Since there were things to do today, I just snapped my fingers pretending it was some kind of magic and used [Dismantle] on the second sofa and most of the kitchen cabinets. ¨‹ Dismantled 40 items sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. +50 Metal +20 Glass +25 WOOD +20 CLOTH +15 PLASTIC The various cups, empty bottles of alcohol and tables vanished. Qinglan¡¯s mouth dropped as the plates and cutlery all disappeared in a flash of blue particles. For some reason, items not created by the system lacked the same freedom when upgrading or adding modifications to things that I made. "W-wow. You were telling the truth?" Mu Qinglan looked at me with glowing eyes and a childish smile. "It¡¯s like magic, how interesting." "Remember, you can¡¯t tell anyone." Although I trusted her, this was something that could easily slip out during conversation with others, especially when getting to know them. "Who a I going to speak to or tell... a zombie?" Mu Qinglan kept poking the space where the sofa had vanished, brows furrowed, as if the thing might flicker back into existence if she stared hard enough. "I didn¡¯t expect it to actually disappear," she muttered, crouching to touch the clean floor. "I thought maybe... you¡¯d just toss it into some hidden storage." "I could¡¯ve," I said, opening the menu. "But I needed the materials more than the furniture." She stood slowly, brushing her damp hair back, eyes scanning the rest of the room with newfound suspicion. "So you could make this entire place vanish if you wanted?" "Not all of it. Only what I marked or own." I shut the interface and stretched my arms. "And don¡¯t give me that look. You just got upgraded to ¡¯do not dismantle.¡¯" Her lips curved into a smirk. "I will consider it an honour." Although Qinglan didn¡¯t mention it explicitly, her mood had shifted. Softer now. More playful than she¡¯d been since earlier. Though she told me that if it happened, I had to do whatever I did to them double... in a joking voice, her eyes weren¡¯t laughing. A truly strange woman. That weird tension between us¡ªthe guilt, the bruised pride, the doubts¡ªall of it simmered below the surface, but it wasn¡¯t boiling anymore. We had things to do. "Come on," I said, walking past her toward the door. "We¡¯re heading back to Roulan¡¯s apartment. I want to check on them." Qinglan followed, arms crossed behind her back. "You sure that¡¯s all you want to check on?" "No I obviously want to fuck them." I scoffed in a low voice towards her, watching her eyes widen in shock, her lips parting with a slight tremble. "Don¡¯t be stupid, Lan¡¯er." Her expression cracked. Not from anger. Not even from annoyance. But something else. A strange flutter of something behind her eyes¡ªlike she hadn¡¯t expected the crude joke, or the name that followed it. "...Lan¡¯er?" She echoed it quietly, the word catching in her throat like it wasn¡¯t built for her voice. Then came the colour, spreading fast. Qinglan¡¯s cheeks flushed pink. Then red. Her posture stiffened as if her bones had suddenly remembered how to stand perfectly upright. She turned her face away, brushing her hair behind her ear in a mechanical motion. "D-Don¡¯t call me that." Qinglan hissed like an alley cat. "That¡¯s... that¡¯s too... familiar." But her voice lacked bite. And she didn¡¯t move away. I stepped closer and brought my face closer, squinting my eyes with a half-smile. "You don¡¯t like it?" Her lips parted. Closed again. Then her chin dipped, and I saw it¡ªa flicker of a smile. "Stupid." That was all she said before brushing past me toward the stairwell, her ears still red and visible from behind her damp hair. Her steps were quick, precise, like a soldier, as if her body wanted to outrun the embarrassment she didn¡¯t know how to carry. ¡¯So she does like it...¡¯ I followed after her, slowly taking care of my steps, while noticing her unbolting the bomb resistant door, and looked back. "Bleh!" She pulled out her tongue and skipped down the stairs... it was a strange and unfamiliar Qinglan. "Lan¡¯er, wait for me!" I called out. Moments like this made it feel like the world wasn¡¯t dying. "Shush!" "Then, should I call you Lanlan?" Her eyes glared back at me. "Do you want to die?" "Hahaha..." Qing¡¯er dashed away from me. Her feet tapped the ground with each long stride, but she seemed cuter than I ever expected. When I reached the bottom floor, the doors and apartments looked ransacked and filled with damage, different from the first day... corpses littering them as I gazed inside. I made the right choice. At least that¡¯s what I whispered in my mind. Old Lei¡¯s misery replaying in my head... She waited near the entrance door with her arms crossed and her eyes on the floor tiles. Not speaking. But not leaving without me. ¡ª March 17th, 20xx ¡ª 12:15 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Base: Jiang Roulan¡¯s apartment ¡ª +100 ZKP +200 XP There were a few zombies on the way home, but Qinglan wasn¡¯t happy with me teasing her. She killed them with her bat and refused to sneak past them. The moment we reached the safe zone, a sense of calm and peace washed over me like a wave of cool water in the summer. The stairwell was quiet. No wind, no groans from the infected, not even the usual creak of warped metal steps. Mu Qinglan stayed a step ahead of me, one hand trailing along the rusted railing. Her movements were light, efficient, but I caught her glancing back every few flights¡ªnever saying anything, just checking. When we hit the fifth-floor landing, she slowed. The door to Jiang Roulan¡¯s apartment was slightly ajar. Not broken. Not forced. Just... open. I stepped forward, one hand brushing her shoulder to ease her behind me. However, she snorted and bit my hand, before sucking the skin, wetting it with her tongue as she glanced up at me. Qing¡¯er released me with a wet pop, causing my hand to throb with a red mark. I peeked inside, and there wasn¡¯t anyone there, only the open blinds and a table set for four people. "Let¡¯s go in." Qinglan¡¯s body trembled from my whisper, but she nodded, taking my hand and pulling me inside like a naughty child. A sound of sizzling came from the Kitchen, and I felt a sense of deja vu, the scent of bacon, mustard and sausages cooking in an oiled pan. "Roulan is cooking." "Heh... Roulan?" A jealous girlfriend huffed. "Stop acting jealous, or I¡¯ll spank you." I didn¡¯t want to be passive all the time, since I apologised. Why couldn¡¯t I speak up for myself? "Hmmm? Really, do you want to try?" Pah! Her face dropped, mouth opening wide as my hand squeezed... it was a great feeling. I am going to hell one day, but at least I can enjoy moments like this. Pitter-patter. That¡¯s when Roulan walked inside wearing slippers with bunny rabbits on the front. She wore one of the black t-shirts I made for myself, and it hung just past her thighs... it was erotic! She held a pair of mugs in her hands, and when she saw me and Qinglan, her eyes flicked to our joined hands, and her lips curled into a bitter smile. "I¡¯ve almost finished dinner, though I didn¡¯t know if you¡¯d come back in time." Her voice wasn¡¯t teasing. It wasn¡¯t dry. Just neutral¡ªlike someone who hadn¡¯t quite decided how to feel yet. "How did you know we would come at all?" Mu Qinglan asked with a sharp tone. "Because John wanted to meet the other members of this apartment and see if he could trust them?" The clash of the two beauties started, while I looked into the back room and saw Yifei curled on a couch under the thick blanket I had made for her earlier. Only her face was visible¡ªcheeks flushed, lashes blinking as she pretended to still be asleep. Qinglan seemed angry because her cold gaze scanned the room like a knife across glass. Maybe I¡¯ll build things upstairs... "John, where are you going." Qinglan¡¯s voice sounded from behind as I tried to pull away. "Ah..." Well, I guess not. Women are a little too dramatic. I wonder where Yin went... Yin, your master is lonely. Chapter 66: Foundations of a Fortress - Meeting the New Recruits (I) Chapter 66: Foundations of a Fortress - Meeting the New Recruits (I)March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 1:31 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Ninth Floor, Jiang Roulan¡¯s Building ¡ª I didn¡¯t say anything as I walked out. Mu Qinglan¡¯s frosty stare lingered on my back like a thin film of ice, but I ignored it. Not because I was immune, but because I didn¡¯t trust myself to say something I couldn¡¯t take back. Besides, I had things to do. The stairwell groaned as I made my way up to the ninth floor¡ªquiet, empty, mine. Every inch of the ninth and tenth floors already glowed green on my map overlay. Claimed. Cleared. But not built. Not yet. I opened the interface. [Construction Mode Activated] [Current Resources:] Wood: 220 Metal: 155 Glass: 140 Cloth: 130 Plastic: 135 ZKP: 2,200 The ninth floor lit up in full schematic view. Units 901 to 905 blinked faintly. The other side of the hallway¡ª906 through 910¡ªmatched them. Everything was ready for expansion. I selected them all. Fused the walls. Ripped out the internals. Left the core load-bearing structure intact. Then I got to work. Steel frames for support. Reinforced sliding partitions instead of doors. A large central hall between the two wings. One massive bedroom toward the back with adjustable dividers. Space for multiple smaller rooms, lounge areas, and an armoury. I burned through most of my wood and metal, shaping the walls alone. [Construction Complete ¨C Ninth Floor Expansion Successful] [-180 Wood | -130 Metal | -90 Plastic | -90 Glass | -100 Cloth] [Remaining Resources:] Wood: 40 Metal: 25 Plastic: 45 Glass: 50 Cloth: 30 It was clean, functional and huge, but... not cosy. I opened the crafting tab again. Fridge: 1,000 ZKP.Freezer: 1,000 ZKP. Too much. But if I wanted preserved meat, milk, or the fruits we were collecting, it was necessary. [Forged: Fridge (Capacity: 100)] [Forged: Freezer (Capacity: 100)] [-2,000 ZKP][ZKP Remaining: 200] [Warning: ZKP Balance Low ¨C Host must kill or recruit to replenish] The fridge and freezer shimmered into being near the rear kitchen. Sleek. Efficient. Time-locked like my inventory. I placed them with a nod, heart sinking at the zero left in my bank. These items would be popular; any items placed inside would never rot or reach their expiry date. Time froze inside them just like his inventory, with 100 slots each. Reaching level 4 also granted a series of special Items... called Sperm-eze... a flavoured soda that cost 100 ZKP for a pack of 20 drinks and would avoid pregnancy. "I wonder if it tastes okay..." To others, they looked like normal glass bottles of soda, and I could recycle them easily. There was a male version that came in the form of beer. Maybe I would see how it tasted in the near future.... And then I saw it. A flickering tab in the corner of the crafting menu. [New Tab Unlocked: TRAPS] I tapped it. Schematics snapped open. Tripwire shotguns. Nail launchers. Pipe bombs. Gas canisters tied to rigged ignition coils. I leaned forward slightly. "Now this is what I¡¯ve been waiting for." But before I could let the satisfaction settle¡ª [System Scan Activated][Scanning nearby lifeforms...] [Stage One Zombies in 20-Minute Radius: 39,370+][Human Survivors in 30-Mile Radius: 13,008][Stage Two Mutants Detected: 537][Stage Three Detected: 1 ¨C Named Enemy: Lao, the Corrupted Butcher] "...It was only 9,000 yesterday." [System: Reminding the host about zombies. Every dead human is one more zombie...] My stomach dropped. "That fucker didn¡¯t die!?" The moment I saw Lao¡¯s name, there was a moment of... happiness. I could feel my stomach churning with a powerful earthen Qi. The Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra also seemed to be happy, but losing to me meant he became a zombie... [System Message: Once a person¡¯s body reaches a high level of corruption, even the evolved humans will deteriorate into a mutant!] [It wasn¡¯t your fault, it was inevitable!] [System Reminder: Each human death creates a new zombie. Population loss feeds the horde.] I closed the menu and turned toward the stairwell door. Not enough people. Not enough hands. I¡¯d need more than pretty faces and a reinforced kitchen to hold back what was coming. And if the system wouldn¡¯t hand me soldiers¡ª I¡¯d make them. The elevator doors pinged upon opening, a soft chime echoing. A second later, Qinglan rushed out with a loud bang, stomping her foot, as if to scare me or something. However, the moment she noticed the changed apartment floor, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She then started checking the reinforced walls, the sleek partitions, and the expansive layout that now spanned the entire ninth floor. "This is... impressive," Qinglan said when stepping into the central hall, where the hallway between the two sides used to be, now a smaller corridor linking several spare rooms, the armoury, and an enormous lounge with a semi-functional kitchen. I found a working oven and microwave while I save up points... Her fingertips brushed along the reinforced walls with a smile on her face, the smooth and clean surface able to withstand a Stage 4 Zombie attack head-on. "You¡¯ve been busy." I nodded, watching her as she moved through the space. "Had to make use of the resources we had. This place needed to be more than just a shelter." She paused by the newly installed fridge and freezer, their sleek designs contrasting with the modest look of the rest of the floor. "These cost a lot, didn¡¯t they?" Qinglan knew that I earned resources from killing zombies or dismantling things, and it was also her idea to form a hunting party. "Yeah, but they make existing fridges look primitive." "Hmmm..." she tapped the digital display, then noticed "Huh? Spermeze?" S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "I¡¯ll tell you later." It¡¯s embarrassing, but they¡¯ll be needed... eventually. "Most of my ZKP," I admitted. "But preserving food is essential. Can¡¯t rely on daily scavenging runs." Qinglan turned to face me, her expression softening. "You weren¡¯t my best employee for nothing..." I couldn¡¯t help but smirk, these things were almost hard to remember, and it¡¯d only been a few days, weeks for Roulan and Yifei, but for me it¡¯d been four days... "It needed to be done, right?" She walked past the rooms, first the smaller ones with simple double beds and relaxing spaces, though there was a generator and some televisions, but I didn¡¯t have a chance to set that up fully yet. Each room was spacious, with adjustable dividers allowing for privacy when needed. Then she noticed the huge room at the back, which spanned the entire floor across from side to side. "And this place?" "Well, the smaller rooms are for people who earn our trust... well probably S-Tier women and Yin, that small cat room is Yin¡¯s. This big one? It¡¯s mine and, well for now yours right?" Her cheeks turned pink as I continued. "Figured it was better than cramming into one room." Qinglan nodded, trying to hide her face from me. "It¡¯s... practical." We moved to the elevator, where I showed her the new security features. "I¡¯ve upgraded the system. Only those with clearance can access the upper floors now." "Smart," she said. "We can¡¯t afford any surprises." We stood in silence before she settled down and sat on one of the several seats, looking at me. The tension and strange feelings from earlier were nowhere to be seen, replaced by a mutual calm. "John..." "Lan¡¯er, for now, this place is pretty nice, right?" Her face snapped towards me, with wide eyes, before she pointed at me. "You!" She then turned away, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. "No one has called me that before... it¡¯s embarrassing!" I smiled. "Get used to it." She looked away, but I caught a small smile on her lips. Chapter 67: A moment of Doubt and Conflict? Chapter 67: A moment of Doubt and Conflict?March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 1:41 PM Not long after Qinglan came to find me, I went to the eighth floor, where the upgraded blast door awaited. Though it was obviously fine, I wanted to form the habit of checking the door to avoid any dangerous situations in the future. A moment of carelessness could doom our entire base. ¡¯System who can open this door?¡¯ [Door controls restricted!] [People with clearance: Jiang Roulan, Mu Qinglan and John Wang] "Good." The blue panel faded when my focus switched to the tapping sound of Qinglan¡¯s boots coming down the steel steps behind me. My evolution and increase in power improved my senses so much that I could hear her excitement while holding her breath as she crept up on me. "Lan¡¯er?" "Ack!!" Her voice twisted as she stumbled at the bottom of the steps, falling forward as I turned to catch her with a smirk on my lips. Qinglan adjusted the fresh black top I¡¯d made for her through the system. Tight in the right places. A little too tight, maybe. But she hadn¡¯t complained. She was leaning against the doorframe, watching me tug a fresh shirt over my torso. "That shirt¡¯s ugly," she said. I raised a brow. "You picked it." "I know. You still made it look bad." "No problem, Lan¡¯er." Her eyes widened, still not used to that nickname, but then she lifted her chin and glanced away, the edge of her thumb squishing her lips as if lost in thought. "Stop calling me that," she puffed hot air at me using her nose. "Why? It suits you." "It¡¯s weird." Her voice dropped. "It¡¯s... too close." I stepped forward and let the silence hang there for a beat. Then I reached out and flicked the loose strand of black hair from her cheek. "You said I could be close," I murmured. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She turned her face away a little, but didn¡¯t back off. "Not like that." "You¡¯re blushing." "I am not." She folded her arms, lips twitching. "You¡¯re just annoying." I smirked while leaning closer until our noses almost touched. "Then why haven¡¯t you moved?" "Because I¡¯m debating if I should freeze your legs." "Cold feet, Lan¡¯er?" Her expression cracked, just barely. A tiny snort escaped before she snapped her fingers and conjured a tiny frost wisp in her palm. "I¡¯ll kill you first," she said, monotone. "Looking forward to it. I¡¯ll make you regret it." She rolled her eyes, stepped past me, and as she passed, her fingers brushed mine for a second too long to be an accident. "Let¡¯s go, John." "After you," I murmured, hiding the grin on my face. The elevator chimed low as the doors slid open. I stepped out first, Qinglan following close behind¡ªtoo close, maybe, because I could feel her presence like a breeze brushing my back. The apartment smelled faintly of steam and dry blood, layered over lemon-scented floor cleaner someone must¡¯ve used to remove that lingering stench of purging immunities. The air wasn¡¯t bad, but it wasn¡¯t comfortable either. Like a public toilet after a hard day had settled, but before anyone dared speak. Jiang Roulan stood near the dining table, her hair tied back in a loose bun, a towel around her shoulders, still drying from her earlier bath. Her white blouse was too thin, either by accident or on purpose. I tried not to notice. Qinglan noticed. Her eyes narrowed like blades slipping into place. "Morning," I said carefully. Roulan turned, her gold-brown eyes sharp but warm. "Afternoon," she corrected, voice cool. "You¡¯re late." Qinglan stepped forward and folded her arms. "Didn¡¯t realise you were keeping track." Roulan offered a smile that didn¡¯t reach her eyes. "I wasn¡¯t. I just remember you said you¡¯d be back earlier." Before Qinglan could reply with something frozen and sharp, I cleared my throat. "Where¡¯s Yifei?" "Still resting," Roulan said. "She¡¯s pretending to sleep. Keeps sighing like she wants someone to check on her." A soft shuffle answered from the back room. Shen Yifei appeared in the hallway, wrapped in one of the thicker blankets I¡¯d made. Her legs were bare, her hair damp, eyes sleepy¡ªbut unmistakably watching me. "Good morning," I said, carefully. She looked at Qinglan, then at me, then dropped her gaze to the floor. "...Mm." Roulan raised an eyebrow. Qinglan blinked. I scratched the back of my neck. "You all right?" Yifei nodded once, "You..." she brushed her lips, squishing them with her fingertip while gazing up at me. Her face looked beautiful, glossy and glowing. The change between being a Tier B and Tier A was almost like going from a normal woman to a high-ranking model. "What¡¯s wrong?" I asked, knowing she probably remembered the kiss, at least from her reaction to seeing me. Not to mention her walking into the upstairs apartment half-naked, that might also be it. "I dreamed of fire. And you." "Ah," I said. She blinked again. "I mean¡ªnot like that! Just your aura. It was... warm." "You two kissed?" Qinglan¡¯s voice was flat, cold. "No," Yifei replied too quickly. "Yes," Roulan said with a yawn. "But he did it to save us. Don¡¯t be dramatic." Qinglan didn¡¯t respond. But the room definitely got colder. "John, could you step outside for a moment?" Roulan¡¯s voice was gentle, but there was weight behind it. "I wish to speak with Mu Qinglan and Yifei... alone." I hesitated. But then I nodded and turned for the door, Qinglan¡¯s gaze brushing mine for a half-second before I stepped out. ¡ª Mu Qinglan POV ¡ª The moment the door clicked shut behind him, the silence thickened. I didn¡¯t move. Neither did the others. Roulan just stood there, calm, almost amused. Yifei curled tighter into her blanket, eyes flicking between us. Me? I crossed my arms because it felt like the only thing keeping me still. "So..." I started, keeping my tone level. "What is it you needed to say?" Roulan didn¡¯t answer right away. She turned, picked up a half-dry teacup, and took a sip like she was stalling for time. Then she spoke. "You like him." The words were blunt. Surgical. No teasing, no buildup¡ªjust fact. I didn¡¯t flinch. "I do." "And I do too," she replied, just as easily. "Let¡¯s not waste time pretending otherwise." Jiang Roulan¡¯s words made my heart skip a beat, thumping faster as a feeling of pressure spread through my stomach. I wanted to kill her... to grab her flabby body and toss it out the window. My fingers twitched against my arm, pinching slightly, but her tone wasn¡¯t hostile, and neither was her gaze. She looked at me with a faint smile, and a warm and welcoming atmosphere poured from her body. She wasn¡¯t claiming him or acting arrogant... at least that¡¯s what I could feel. Roulan didn¡¯t look at me like a threat. That made it harder. She folded her arms, letting the silence settle a bit before speaking. "You¡¯re his girlfriend. That¡¯s not in question." I said nothing. She looked at me directly, calm. "But I kissed him. So did Yifei. It happened. You already know that." Yifei peeked from the blanket and glanced at me like a little rabbit. "I didn¡¯t mean to..." Roulan raised her hand gently. "You don¡¯t need to apologise. None of us planned it. And it wasn¡¯t for fun." Her gaze turned back to me. "But even if it started that way, we didn¡¯t forget it." A cold, tight weight twisted in my chest. "So? Are you saying you want me to just accept that you¡¯re... what? His lovers now?" "No," Roulan said plainly. "I¡¯m saying I won¡¯t lie to you or him. I want him. But I also know I¡¯m not first." That made my heart beat faster. Yifei grumbled. "This is stupid..." Roulan chuckled softly, then looked at me again. "You¡¯re first, Qinglan. We all know that. Even John. That¡¯s why he came back to you first. Why he told you everything. He gave you the truth." I didn¡¯t answer. Because she was right. And I hated that she was right. "I¡¯m not asking to take your place," Roulan continued. "I¡¯m asking if you¡¯ll allow others to stand beside him, under you, not above." "...Under me?" Roulan didn¡¯t flinch. She met my gaze, calm, composed¡ªtoo serene. "You¡¯re his girlfriend. That gives you the head start. The title. The time," she said slowly. "But unless you marry him right now, that isn¡¯t the finish line." I narrowed my eyes. "I¡¯m not trying to steal him from you," Roulan added, tone still soft. "But let¡¯s not pretend that dating is a crown." The words hit harder than I expected. Quiet. Measured. But surgical. "If he grows to love one of us more... and we become more than a girlfriend¡ª" Her lips curled just slightly, but there was no mockery in her tone. "¡ªdon¡¯t regret it." Yifei sat up slightly, startled. "H-Hey, that¡¯s a bit..." But Roulan didn¡¯t take her eyes off me. She wasn¡¯t smiling anymore. And neither was I. "You think I¡¯ll just step aside?" I asked. "No. I think you¡¯ll fight for him." Her voice lowered. "That¡¯s what I respect about you." Slowly¡ªbit by bit¡ªthe burning in my chest cool, compressing into something solid. I didn¡¯t hate her. I hated how honest she was. "...Fine," I said at last. "But I¡¯m not going to play nice if someone tries to cut in line." "Wouldn¡¯t expect anything less." Roulan offered a small, honest smile. "But you won¡¯t need to fight me. Not unless you start losing." Yifei groaned from the blanket. "Ugh. Can¡¯t you two be normal?" We ignored her. Because for the first time, I understood something. They weren¡¯t backing down. And I wouldn¡¯t either. Although Roulan declared she would become my rival... I couldn¡¯t bring myself to hate her, because she was just like John, an honest fool. Maybe that¡¯s why I stopped arguing further, that would only make John sick of me, and tire me out. The best method would be to learn from Jiang Roulan and steal all her skills, as for Yifei... well, there¡¯s no chance. "Let¡¯s go, John wanted to meet the other residents." Chapter 68: Foundations of a Fortress - Meeting the New Recruits (II) Chapter 68: Foundations of a Fortress - Meeting the New Recruits (II)Shen Yifei ¡ª POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 1:59 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Jiang Roulan¡¯s Apartment I hated this kind of conversation. Too direct and serious, more like they were laying out contracts instead of feelings. Jiang Roulan was graceful about it¡ªblunt, but warm. Mu Qinglan? Each word carried a cold, sharp ice like hidden blades waiting to cut me into threads. She just had a way of making the room colder than it should be. Me? What could I say, ¡¯Oh I love your boyfriends lips!¡¯ It was asking to get on her bad side; that wasn¡¯t the way to survive. I am just some woman who helps him, and she is his girlfriend. My first kiss isn¡¯t going to make him suddenly change... or love me. I wasn¡¯t good with this. I wasn¡¯t used to talking about how I felt, especially not about John. Especially not with them. Roulan turned toward me with that gentle smile of hers. The kind that felt more like a nudge than pressure. "Yifei, what about you?" I kept my gaze low, thumb brushing the rim of the mug in my hand. The tea inside had gone cold. "I¡¯m not chasing anyone," I said finally. "And I don¡¯t need to explain myself just because of a kiss." Lies, all lies... If he gave me a chance, I would do anything to earn his protection. Before meeting him, even survival seemed impossible, but now I could fight the zombies and felt myself growing stronger. All because of John! Roulan didn¡¯t interrupt. Neither did Qinglan. I exhaled slowly. "He¡¯s... capable. Reliable. Not a total idiot, even if he acts like one sometimes." Qinglan arched a brow. I ignored her. "And... yeah. He¡¯s not bad to look at. There. You wanted honesty, you got it." I paused. Then added, voice quieter this time: "But don¡¯t expect me to fight over him." Roulan¡¯s smile didn¡¯t change, but her eyes softened. Qinglan just looked away, arms still folded. I stood up. "If he chooses someone else, fine. If he comes to me, that¡¯s different. But I won¡¯t beg for his attention." Because of the silent pressure, I ended up speaking too much again. Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes scared me¡ªshe sometimes seemed a little strange. So I escaped and walked toward the hallway, pulling the blanket tighter. He gave me this blanket... it reminded me of home, soft and warm. I wondered if I could ever return home. I felt like studying in this city was a mistake. No... it would have been if I didn¡¯t meet John and Roulan. "Anyway... I¡¯m tired. That¡¯s all I have to say." And I left before either of them could see how hot my ears were. I couldn¡¯t let Mu Qinglan know... That I remembered everything... and kissed him back by choice, not because of the nasty-tasting potion. John, you are such an idiot! ¡ª John Wang ¨C POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 2:03 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Jiang Roulan¡¯s Apartment The moment I stepped back inside, the air shifted again. Mu Qinglan was seated, legs crossed, arms folded. Calm¡ªbut not relaxed. Jiang Roulan leaned against the far counter, sipping something warm, eyes half-lidded, watching me like she already knew what I¡¯d say before I said it. But before I could speak, something fast barrelled out from the hallway. "Wait¡ª!" A blur of blanket and bare skin collided with my chest. My reflexes caught her¡ªarms wrapping instinctively around a familiar, very soft shape. My hands pressed into her back. Then lower. And lower. Full. Warm. Soft through the thin t-shirt, but unmistakably feminine. My palm flexed slightly¡ªreflex, instinct¡ªand I felt her buttocks shift under my touch. Then, on the other hand¡ª Oh. Her breasts pressed against me, heavier than I remembered. Softer. Fuller. The slight bounce and squish of them made my throat tighten for a reason that had nothing to do with danger. She buried her face in my chest, taking slow, deep breaths against my collar. "...Sorry," she mumbled. I blinked. My brain caught up a second too late and realised it was Shen Yifei. Because normally, she would say something nasty or complain at me. It was kind of cute. ¡¯That was... not how I remembered her body. Has she really changed that much since her evolution?¡¯ She didn¡¯t move for a few moments, her fingers gripping my shirt while flicking her ice-blue eyes up at me, watching me like a rabbit. Then her eyes flicked upward, right past my cheek, and I felt it. The temperature drop. Mu Qinglan gazed at us with a sharp scowl, but remained silent. But Yifei jerked back as if electrocuted. "I-I wasn¡¯t running! Just walking by! You were in the way!" She spun, half-tripping over the edge of the blanket, flushed from neck to ears. "I wasn¡¯t thinking anything weird either!" The elevator chimed behind her. She dived inside and rolled along the ground as the doors closed with a hiss. Silence. I exhaled through my nose. "...Still happening." Behind me, Roulan chuckled. Qinglan didn¡¯t say a word. But I could feel her glare against my spine like a line of frost sliding down my back. ¡¯This day¡¯s only getting more complicated...¡¯ ¡ª March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 2:11 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Second Floor, Apartment 204 ¡ª S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Finally, I managed to get the cats wrangled and following me. Although Shen Yifei remained on the ninth floor, Jiang Roulan told me that she wasn¡¯t feeling too good, and I decided it might be best for her to rest then. We came to the second floor, and I noticed the difference, blocked hallways with rubbish and wood, forcing me to dismantle them to get to each apartment. The hallway smelled like old sweat and canned soup. A battered sign reading "204" hung crookedly beside a sealed metal door, the frame hastily reinforced with a wooden beam nailed across it. Someone had scribbled a warning in black marker across the wall: [Occupied ¨C No Sick Allowed] I wondered if this was a realistic apocalypse. Then stepped forward and knocked. Once, twice. Not too loud but enough to make the inside shift like rats. A tense silence followed. "Who is it?" A man¡¯s voice. Gruff. Defensive. "My name¡¯s John Wang," I said calmly. "We¡¯re clearing the block. No need to be afraid¡ªwe¡¯re just checking who¡¯s here and who¡¯s alive." A pause. Then the sound of metal sliding echoed, but the chain remained on the door as it cracked open just enough to reveal a narrow and gaunt face hidden behind a pair of thick, but dirty glasses and an unshaven stubble. His eyes looked tired. Suspicious. A young woman stood a little distance away, roughly in her late twenties, cradling a toddler in her arms, and trying to hush his cries. Yet despite her tired face, she cradled him in her arms and glanced at me with sharp eyes. The boy blinked at me from her chest, his cheeks round and sticky with something like jam. "You¡¯re not infected?" "No," I said. The man looked past me at Mu Qinglan, and his face became stiffer. Then he saw Jiang Roulan, and his face became softer. "Miss Roulan!?" Mu Qinglan¡¯s arms folded again. She didn¡¯t speak, but her eyes scanned the room. Then her gaze dropped to the child and softened, just for a blink. But I noticed. "...Can we come in?" I asked. The man hesitated but sighed. Then he stepped back. "A moment." He turned to the woman. "Jie, get some water." "No, it¡¯s okay," I interrupted. "We won¡¯t stay long." Their apartment was small. Tight. Just two rooms and a kitchenette, with piles of food stacked in boxes against the wall¡ªmostly expired snacks and tinned soup. I could see their bed had been moved to the centre of the room for warmth. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I¡¯m Xu Lin. This is my wife, Han Jie, and our son, Xiaopeng." "Any others with you?" "No." That was good. Fewer mouths meant they were more likely to have survived on scraps. "You¡¯ve done well keeping safe," I said, "I mean it." "We haven¡¯t gone out," Jie replied. "There¡¯s... there¡¯s no one left out there." "There are," I said. "Not many. But I¡¯m building something upstairs. Safer. Sustainable." Xu Lin¡¯s brow furrowed. "Upstairs?" I nodded. "Full floor. Water, food, crafting. Protection. But it¡¯s not a shelter. I¡¯ll only offer help if you¡¯re willing to contribute." Jie hesitated. "What do you mean?" "I mean this world¡¯s not the same anymore. I won¡¯t ask you to fight, but you¡¯ll need to support the base somehow. Everyone earns their keep." Xu Lin tightened his jaw. "I¡¯m a programmer." "...Not helpful." "Jie used to cook for an industrial kitchen¡ª" "That¡¯s helpful." "Can I think about it?" he asked. I nodded. "Of course. I¡¯ll come back in a few days. Just... keep the door locked." Mu Qinglan turned on her heel and walked out first. I lingered a second longer. The child tugged on my sleeve. "Are you a hero?" I blinked. Then I smiled faintly. "No." "But Mama said heroes keep monsters away." "...Sometimes," I said, then ruffled his hair gently. "But heroes don¡¯t always look like the ones in your cartoons." Then I left. There were 18 people left to meet. Although I planned to have Xu Lin join me, he had a few skills that could help in combat. He was a low tier, but just being with Jiang Roulan made him recruitable. Chapter 69: Old Zhou... Deja vu Chapter 69: Old Zhou... Deja vuMarch 17th, 20xx ¡ª 2:17 PM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¨C Apartment 205 ¡ª The hallway here was quiet. Too quiet. Not the kind of quiet you get from peace, but the brittle silence that builds after people give up. The kind that sinks into the floorboards and stains the walls. You could feel it in the way the air hung still. In the smell of burnt wiring, old shoe polish, and rust. I raised a fist and knocked once. A pause. Then a voice, low and tired. "It¡¯s open." I pushed the door gently. The interior smelled of grease, metal, and cigarettes. Tools lay scattered across a dismantled old scooter. The living room looked like a workshop, and a bunker had a one-night stand, then decided to raise a kid in a closet. The man behind the mess sat hunched on a stool, one leg braced with a reinforced knee brace made from salvaged scrap. He didn¡¯t look surprised to see me. Just tired. His eyes flicked up, and I caught the same stare I used to see in the mirror on my worst days. That mix of fatigue and readiness. The look of a man who¡¯d been through enough to stop hoping things would get better, and started preparing for when they got worse. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "You must be the new top floor guy," he said without smiling. "Got a loud reputation." I didn¡¯t respond immediately. My gaze scanned the cluttered room¡ªscrap metal sorted into old bread bins, spare wiring coiled neatly beside a cold cup of instant coffee. Despite the mess, everything had its place. "Are you a mechanic?" I asked. "Used to be. Still got the hands. Just not the leg to go with them." I nodded. "Name¡¯s John." "Zhou." We stood in silence for a beat. Just long enough to make it uncomfortable. "Did you come for anything specific?" he finally asked. "Or are you just checking who¡¯s still breathing?" "I¡¯m recruiting," I said, plain and simple. He didn¡¯t blink. Just shifted on the stool and leaned over, adjusting the torque wrench without looking at me. "You¡¯d better tell me what that means. Real slow." And I did. "I¡¯m building something upstairs," I told him. "Territory. Walls. Power. Storage. It¡¯s safe, it¡¯s clean, and it¡¯s got room for the right people." Zhou didn¡¯t lift his head. He just twisted the wrench once, checking resistance, and set it down with a clunk. "Sounds like a cult." "It¡¯s not." He chuckled dryly. "They always say that." I stepped further in, careful not to knock over the container of ball bearings beside the door. "It¡¯s a system, alright? Not religion. You help out, contribute... I provide food, medicine, protection." Zhou finally looked up. His gaze drifted over me for a moment, lingered a little too long on the clean fabric of my shirt, the smooth metal buttons, the faint scent of soap that still clung to me. "You don¡¯t smell like someone who¡¯s been scavenging," he muttered. "I haven¡¯t needed to," I said truthfully. That made him pause. I didn¡¯t press. Just walked to the far wall, touched the metal pan where an old picture frame leaned half-buried under wires. It was a photo. Faded, scratched, but still holding on. A woman with tired eyes, soft cheeks. A girl¡ªmaybe eight? Nine? Messy hair, proud smile. Zhou stood behind them in overalls. "My wife died two years before all this started," he said quietly. "Cancer. Nothing heroic. Just... slow." I nodded, not pretending to understand. "My daughter¡¯s still out there," he added, more to himself than to me. "She was studying in Linbei, the northern Campus. One of the first Safe Zones. If she¡¯s alive, she¡¯s there." His voice didn¡¯t shake. That¡¯s what made it worse. "That¡¯s why you¡¯re still here?" I asked. "I promised her I¡¯d hold the place until she came back." I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. So I didn¡¯t. Zhou rubbed his knee once. "I can¡¯t fight. Not like I used to." "Can you use a gun? Maybe drive, if I help get that leg fixed?" I kept my tone casual, but my gaze didn¡¯t leave his. There were tremors in his hands, sure, but the old man didn¡¯t shake like someone useless. His spine was still straight. His voice still carried weight. It wasn¡¯t impossible. The system store had things that could heal things like arthritis, so a bad knee should be nothing! He gave a dry grunt. "Sure. You got a time machine in that backpack, too?" "Not a time machine," I said. "But maybe something close." He looked up. Just a flick of the eyes, nothing more. "There¡¯s... medicine," I said, choosing the word carefully. "Experimental stuff. Military prototype, maybe. It helped someone who was supposed to die a few days ago. She¡¯s walking now." Zhou didn¡¯t speak. He just sat there in that too-low chair, knuckles resting against his cane, eyes locked somewhere in the grain of the floorboards. Not sceptical or hopeful. Just... still. I didn¡¯t rush him. Guys like Zhou had already buried too many people to get excited over maybes. "You¡¯re thinking I¡¯m trying to sell you something," I said. He snorted without smiling. "Kid, I sold machine parts out of a storage closet for three decades. You think this old dog doesn¡¯t know when someone¡¯s working the hook?" "I¡¯m not selling," I said. "I¡¯m offering. You¡¯ve got skills. Experience. People like that are dying every hour out there. But I can¡¯t feed mouths unless they give something back. I need drivers. Fixers. Steady hands." Still no answer. "You have someone out there?" I asked. "Someone worth sticking around for?" Zhou¡¯s jaw twitched. Then he reached slowly to his back pocket and took out a worn wallet. No money. Just two photos. One was yellowed and cracked¡ªan old wedding picture. Black suit, red cheongsam, both of them smiling in a way people don¡¯t anymore. The other... was of a girl. Bright-eyed, wearing a university uniform. Long hair tied in a tight bun. The photo was newer but dog-eared like it¡¯d been touched too many times. "My daughter," he said finally, voice low. "Studying up north. Said they were turning the place into a shelter. Haven¡¯t heard from her since the second night." "Which university?" "Linbei campus," Zhou answered after a beat. "Longwan University." The name landed like a weight in my gut. I¡¯d seen it¡ªon the map, during one of the late-night scans before sleep had a chance to claw me down. The edges had been red. But the core? Still green. I didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, I pulled open the system interface, flicking my fingers low at waist height where Zhou couldn¡¯t see. It responded immediately¡ªsoft blue icons overlaying my vision. I leaned slightly toward the wall, letting my body angle away just enough to mask the movements. [TERRITORY SCAN: EXPANDED REGION] Searching: Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus... Status: GREEN ZONE CONFIRMED Last Updated: 03:27 AM, March 17 Estimated Survivors: 200-400 Military Presence: Minimal Known Threats: Stage 1 Clusters nearby, slow migration Infrastructure Status: Semi-Stable [REMARK: Human activity detected. Evac operations failed. Survivors created an autonomous defence loop.] A rare flicker of hope stirred in my chest. "She might still be there," I said slowly. "No guarantees. But it¡¯s standing, if you can help me I will arrange a group to head north within three days." "W-What?" Zhou let out a breath he didn¡¯t seem to know he¡¯d been holding. His eyes didn¡¯t light up, but his hand gripping the arm tightened enough to tear the old leather. He didn¡¯t cry. But the way he dropped the wooden cane... that said enough. To hide using the system, I squatted and picked up the stick. "You ever drink, Zhou?" I asked after a moment. "When I could afford it." I reached into my inventory and materialised a bottle of whiskey¡ªnothing fancy. Just a half-drunk bottle from my old apartment, stashed before the world turned to rot. I followed it with two glasses. Real ones. Not plastic. Zhou¡¯s eyes widened slightly. "You¡¯re full of surprises." "I ration for the right moments." I poured evenly. No toast. No words. He accepted the glass, and we sat me on a cracked tool chest, him still in that crooked seat by the wall. He turned the dial on an old, battered radio sitting beside him. It buzzed and crackled for a few seconds, then landed on something almost musical. Some old broadcast, maybe still looping out of habit. For a few minutes, we didn¡¯t speak. Just the occasional creak of the building above, the faint rattle of wind through the window cracks, and the hum of that static-choked signal. He finally spoke again. "I¡¯ll fix anything you need. Can¡¯t fight, but my hands still know how to hold a wrench. But I do have some skill in shooting, but that was decades ago." "That¡¯s all I need. I will help you get what you need." He tapped his glass once against mine. "To the stubborn bastards," he said. I drank with him and enjoyed a moment of calm, letting it burn its way down, slow and warm. For the first time in days, the silence didn¡¯t feel dangerous. I wouldn¡¯t let another die like Old Lei, and if I could... then I would learn their stories beforehand to avoid tragedy. ¡¯A young woman at university, and talented people...¡¯ Though my true goal was selfish, the whiskey was still sweet. Chapter 70: Not Everyone Thrives on Kindness... Chapter 70: Not Everyone Thrives on Kindness...March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 4:14 PM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¨C Second Floor, Hallway I left Old Zhou¡¯s house because he fell asleep after two cups. Though I might be a little arrogant, it appeared he needed someone or something to give him hope. I couldn¡¯t promise she would be alive. But I would definitely keep my word and try to reach the university within three days. "Phew, what next?" I muttered to myself like a madman. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The afternoon sun shone through the windows at the end of the hallway, rays of orange light telling me that I might have spent too long drinking with Zhou. I stretched my back with a groan. The whiskey still sat warm in my gut, but the haze had faded. The kind that made your ribs loose, your thoughts a little slower. The world still spun the same. Just felt heavier now. The hallway was long and narrow, choked with shadow despite the dying sun bleeding through the cracked window. Light scattered in slanted bars, catching in the dust hanging in the air. I took my time walking. My boots dragged a little. The concrete underfoot was warped and uneven¡ªwater damage, maybe. Something smelled faintly like mildew and something else¡ªcooked rice, burned oil. Strange mix. Human. I stopped in front of Room 206. It looked different from the rest¡ªmore fortified. They¡¯d jammed plywood over the lower half of the door and sealed the seams with packing tape. A plastic fan had been screwed to the wall next to the door, like someone once believed airflow could fix what the world was becoming. I didn¡¯t knock right away. I listened. Soft voices. Young ones. A woman, maybe two. The cough I¡¯d heard earlier¡ªit came again. Deep. Rattling. Not a cold. The kind that burned from the back of the lungs. Diabetic ketosis? Pneumonia? Could¡¯ve been both. I rapped my knuckles twice against the wooden panel. Firm, not aggressive. Silence inside. Then the latch clicked. Not fully. Just a little. The door slid open a few inches, and a woman stared back with soft, dark eyes. Her black hair was pulled back into a low, messy fishtail. It must have been warm because her hair clung to her forehead with sweat. She was a little thin but with broad shoulders and a decent build. Maybe mid-thirties or even younger, the apocalypse aged people much faster. "You military?" "No." "You a scavenger?" I shook my head. "I¡¯m offering something. Not taking anything." Her brow twitched. "What?" "Medicine," I said. "Food. Safety." She didn¡¯t blink. "You¡¯re lying." "I¡¯m not." "...You have insulin?" Her voice cracked slightly. Not desperation¡ªtoo proud for that¡ªbut close. I exhaled and watched her face with a nod. She didn¡¯t open the door further. Just stood there with that same flat stare¡ªlike I¡¯d offered her poison, not hope. Her eyes drifted over my face, my shoulders, the scuffed boots, and the shirt Qinglan picked out earlier. Maybe she didn¡¯t find what she was looking for. "I¡¯m not buying it," she said, quieter now. "No one gives out insulin for free." "I didn¡¯t say it was free." The door opened a little more¡ªtwo inches, maybe three. Enough for me to see more of the woman. She wasn¡¯t skinny, not frail. Muscle stayed on her bones, but it was clear it was burning off day by day. Behind her, the apartment was dim. Furniture stacked like barricades. Blankets hung across windows. Kids¡¯ voices. One was crying, muffled like someone was trying to keep it silent. I caught the silhouette of a man in the back corner, younger, maybe, but hunched. A family. Too many people in one space. Too many mouths. I didn¡¯t ask how they were still alive. The answer was the same for everyone still breathing. Luck. For now. "I don¡¯t need it," she said suddenly, sharp. "You can go." I flicked my gaze to the system, able to see her basic details, but nothing special... because she was S-Tier. The only information the stingy system gave me was her current state of health and what was wrong with her. So I didn¡¯t move and waited. "I am not here to save you." She blinked at me, almost as if in shock at my words. "Excuse me?" "You need insulin. I can get you three days¡¯ worth. But I¡¯m not offering it to you as a favour. I need people, hands and those who can work for me. To make this building safe and functioning... I take it you¡¯ve got some experience in the military from your stature, form and those medals on the wall." Her fingers gripped the doorframe tighter. "I told you. I don¡¯t need¡ª" "You¡¯re pale," I cut in. "Your breath smells sweet. I could smell it through the crack. It¡¯s not just a cold, it¡¯s ketoacidosis. And if I¡¯m right, you¡¯re a day¡ªmaybe two¡ªfrom slipping into a coma." The look in her eyes changed. Not fear. Not denial. Shame. And hate. Mostly hate. "You¡¯re trying to barter with my life?" "No," I said. "I want you to offer it to me. In return..." My gaze flicked to the older male and female in the back and the children. "Then I will protect everyone in the house to my best ability." ¡¯Three young men, all D-Tier able to be recruited now, and with skills that could make them good guards or militia.¡¯ The door opened wider, because of the broken hinge, it didn¡¯t open all the way, but enough. So I walked inside, watching my step. Warmth clung to the apartment. Not comforting warmth¡ªstale and thick, like a breath that never left the room. The smell of people pressed together for too long. Sweat. Old soup. Damp clothes. A thread of something sharp and chemical¡ªmaybe rubbing alcohol, or perhaps urine. My boots thudded quietly against worn wood. She didn¡¯t speak. I kept my hands visible, not reaching for anything. A good rule¡ªnever act too aggressively in a house full of survivors who don¡¯t trust you yet. "Close it behind you," she said, voice still low. I did. The latch clicked. No weapon came out, but I watched her shoulders. They didn¡¯t relax. She led me further inside, past the half-barricade of overturned dressers and chairs. The shadows eased open, revealing the living room¡ªor what passed for one. Three young men. Early twenties. Maybe younger. One was asleep against the far wall, curled around a pipe like it might protect him. The other two stared at me, one with narrowed eyes, the other just tired. A woman sat with her back to the wall. Grey hair. Heavyset. Her mouth hung open slightly as she breathed, shallow and fast. Her skin was ashen. Her limbs bloated. I¡¯d seen that look before. Too much time without meds. Too little time left. Then I looked back at the woman who let me in. She wasn¡¯t pretty in the usual sense. But sexy, or rather... a strong beauty different from the typical women of this kingdom. But there was something about her¡ªsleeveless tank top clinging to sweat-glossed skin, the quiet strength in her biceps, the kind of lean muscle that didn¡¯t come from fitness apps or gym memberships. Real survival muscle. Her waist narrowed under loose cargo pants, the curve of her hips almost too sharp. But she stood tall, held her posture like she hadn¡¯t forgotten discipline. Her lips were cracked, but juicy and full. Her skin was golden, flushed under the heat and exhaustion, but her eyes hadn¡¯t dulled. Not once. It might be the first time I met a woman with darker skin, so personally... She was beautiful, with a unique charm that fair skin couldn¡¯t match. "What¡¯s your name?" I asked. "...Tang Wei." I nodded. "John Wang." "Figures," she muttered, half to herself. "Only a lunatic would walk into a room like this without a gun drawn." "I¡¯m not afraid of you." "You should be." That made me grin. Tang Wei wasn¡¯t like Jiang Roulan, despite having similar backgrounds, but... I liked it. She was exhausted but still sharp. "Still not going to ask what you want in return?" "You already said it." I nodded toward the older woman. "She your mother?" "Aunt. But she raised me." "She¡¯ll be dead in two days." Tang Wei didn¡¯t blink. She just lowered herself into a crouch next to the old woman. Her palm brushed lightly against her neck¡ªchecking pulse, maybe. Or maybe just holding on. "I can get you three vials of insulin. Enough to stabilise her. Maybe even help her sit up. But if I do¡ª" "You want me to join your team." "I want you to serve a purpose," I said bluntly. "You¡¯re a top-tier human. Don¡¯t ask how I know. Just trust I didn¡¯t come here without knowing at least that much." That got a reaction. A flicker of something behind her eyes. Anger. Or fear. Maybe even hope. I stepped closer. Carefully. "I can¡¯t promise miracles. I can¡¯t promise you¡¯ll like what¡¯s coming next. But I don¡¯t waste people. If you want your family safe, this is how it starts." Tang Wei stared at me. Then she looked at her aunt again. Her fingers bent slowly against her thigh. "...Three days?" "That¡¯s what I¡¯m offering. Think of it like a trial." "And after?" "You come upstairs. Meet the others. We talk." She stood slowly, gaze still locked on her aunt. Then, quietly: "You got the meds now?" I opened the system with a thought. [Store Accessed] [Item: Emergency Insulin Kit (72 Hours) ¨C 30 ZKP] [Confirm Purchase?] I bought two, one for the mother and the other for Tang Wei. The two vials appeared in my hand, cold, sealed, glimmering faintly blue beneath the label. Tang Wei stared. "...What the fuck are you?" I knelt beside the aunt and placed the vial gently on a folded towel near her head. "Just a man trying to build something before the world finishes dying." I stood again and met her sharp gaze. "You¡¯ve got three days." Then I turned to leave. Her voice followed me out. "John." I stopped at the threshold. "If you¡¯re lying... if this is some kind of trick..." I glanced over my shoulder. "I¡¯m not. But I won¡¯t beg either. I really hope your mother gets better, oh... here." I pretended to pull something out of my jacket and removed a small pack of bacon and eggs, and instant porridge that I had taken from my apartment and left them on the cabinet. "Your brother looks weak. The porridge should be able to comfort his stomach." And then I left her there, watching the vial like it was glowing with something holy. ¡¯I might be a horrible man, using her weakness... but once she and her brothers become my men. They will forgive me for being rude now.¡¯ Chapter 71: The Wounded Veteran’s Curiousity Chapter 71: The Wounded Veteran¡¯s CuriousityThe door clicked shut, but the handsome boy carefully shut it... I watched it for a few seconds longer than I should have, arms folded, pulse thick in my ears. That man had the kind of confidence you didn¡¯t see anymore¡ªnot the fake kind. Not bravado. The quiet kind that came from doing things others wouldn¡¯t. Couldn¡¯t. I¡¯d faced worse than men who talk smooth and make bold promises. I¡¯d buried friends in shit fields behind half-burned refugee camps. I¡¯d dragged a broken girl out of a wrecked bus during the chaotic riots. I wasn¡¯t green or soft. But this? That man dropped a miracle on my floor and walked away like it meant nothing. I crouched again beside Auntie Lei and picked up the vial. It was real. No cloudy mix. No cut suspension. The metal cap still shone under the low light. I held it in both hands like it might break if I breathed too hard. "Still warm," I whispered. "Still breathing." Her eyes moved, faint beneath the lids. I looked toward the boys huddled in the back. One of them¡ªJin¡ªwatched me with half-lidded eyes. Not trusting. Not doubting. Just waiting, because they¡¯d seen it too. A man came in with no gun, no demand, no shouting¡ªand handed over something better than gold. And food. Actual food. Not bloated rice or scavenged noodles. They were eating already. Jin shared the eggs in silence, breaking off soft white pieces like communion. No words. Just chewing. I didn¡¯t move for a while. I didn¡¯t trust him. But I didn¡¯t think he lied, either. Not once. I turned my gaze down to the two vials in my hand. Cold. Real. The labels were too clean, the seal too perfect. Even the medicine from the hospital could look this good. Neither scavenged nor stolen... No scratch marks. No expiry dates smudged. And they were full. One was for her. The other¡ªhe didn¡¯t say, but I knew. He knew. ¡¯How the hell does a stranger know I¡¯m type-1?¡¯ I swallowed the anger and crouched by the bed. Auntie Lei¡¯s breath came short, shallow. Her skin had a waxy sheen. Her hands twitched sometimes. We¡¯d kept her on soup and hoped for the past four days. Her blood sugar had crashed this morning, then spiked again. The meter was dead. No batteries. No strips. I uncapped the first vial with shaking fingers. The needle slid in clean. Half a dose¡ªjust to stabilise. We weren¡¯t idiots, even in an apocalypse. I still remember the drills. The dosages. The pressure of doing it wrong. I injected it into the fleshy part of her outer arm, rubbing the site afterwards. Her eyelids fluttered. A soft sound escaped her lips. Not a word¡ªjust breath. But it was better than nothing. "...You owe me," I muttered, brushing hair from her face. "Just once, let something I try actually work." I placed the rest of the dose in the cool metal cup of our makeshift tray. Covered it. Then reached under my shirt and pressed the second vial against my side. Still cold. I felt it through my ribs. I haven¡¯t injected myself yet. Didn¡¯t need to¡ªnot yet. I¡¯d stretched my body past limits before. I could go longer. But the soreness was there. The ache in my calves. That prickling under the skin that came before the shaking. He saw it. He smelled it. That scared me more than the offer. I stared down at my fingers¡ªstrong, calloused, steady, even now. I¡¯d used these hands to hold rifles, to close wounds, to rebuild old engines. But somehow, one stranger who never once raised his voice made me feel... Like I¡¯d already said, yes, even though my mouth hadn¡¯t moved. "John Wang, huh..." I breathed out, then turned and sat down next to the old woman again. "You¡¯re lucky he¡¯s not a bastard, Auntie. Because if he was, I¡¯d kill him for offering hope." She didn¡¯t respond. But her chest rose, just slightly deeper now. And for a moment... just a moment... I let myself believe Aunt Lei would survive three more days. ¡ª¡ª I shut the bedroom door behind me and leaned against it for a moment. Silence. No crying. No breathing tubes. No arguing, kids or coughing fits. Just me and this dim little space that still pretended to be mine. The bed was unmade, sheets kicked half to the floor. My boots were still damp from the rain four days ago, drying crooked under the desk. The air inside was thick with old sweat and old memories¡ªhalf-cleaned gun oil, mildew from the corner windowsill, faint shampoo that ran out last week. I crossed the room and flicked the lantern on. The warm light caught the glint of the medals still strung loosely on the cracked wooden wall. I hadn¡¯t taken them down, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to polish them either. It meant less now. Not worthless, just... lighter. I tossed the vial onto the desk beside my disassembled sidearm. It clinked once. Rolled. Stopped. I stared at it for a second, then peeled off the tank top clinging to my back. Sweat ran down the curve of my spine in thin lines, soaked into the waistband of my cargos. My sports bra stuck, too. I tugged it off, grabbed a clean towel from the back of the chair and wiped the moisture from my chest and underarms. "Maybe he wanted my body?" "No way..." I scoffed, doubting myself... though firm and well-shaped, my breasts weren¡¯t big, only perky with puffy nipples. "Something I was once bullied for..." Not like there was anyone to see. My reflection in the cracked mirror caught my eye. Hair tied back tight, but messy now. One pin had slipped¡ªmy braid hung over my collarbone like rope. The salt on my skin shimmered faintly in the orange light from the curtained window. Collarbone, shoulder, line of my neck¡ªall thinner than they used to be. But still there. Still strong. I traced my fingers across the scars on my lower belly¡ªold surgical, but not recent... scars from countless wounds. I grabbed the muscle just above my thigh¡ªfingers digging in, hard. The ache was dull, but real. Still strong. Still mine. Still enough. The room smelled like sweat and old antiseptic. Dust filtered in through a busted vent, drifting across the floor in lazy spirals. My boots were by the wall. Cracked. Dry. Still held together by tape from the last run. I moved to the desk. Shoved aside a coil of paracord, an empty tin, the stripped remains of my sidearm. The drawer stuck before it opened. Swollen wood. Cheap construction. Same as everything else in this building. I crouched and pulled the pack from under the bed. Olive green. Standard issue. Military before the world went to shit. I didn¡¯t unzip it right away. Just sat there for a second, knuckles white against the strap. Then I opened it. Slow. Past the ration bars. The old flares. My spare shirt with a torn collar. At the bottom¡ªwrapped in a folded tank top¡ªI found the medals. One silver star. Two commendations. And the red ribbon. Curled at the edges. Faint yellow stain near the middle. I set them down on the desk, next to the insulin vial. Let them sit there under the orange light bleeding in from the window like they belonged to someone else. Then I sat on the edge of the bed, the foam sagging like it always did. I stared at the door. Didn¡¯t hear footsteps. Didn¡¯t hear the others talking. Just... stillness. "John Wang," I said under my breath. It wasn¡¯t a curse. Wasn¡¯t admiration either. More like a question, I hadn¡¯t figured out how to ask yet. He wasn¡¯t like the street thugs who bartered bullets and bodies. Not like the Gu thugs who smiled too wide and thought canned food was currency. He wasn¡¯t kind. But he didn¡¯t flinch, either. The way he handed me this vial like it meant nothing. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Like he already knew what it meant to me. And maybe that was the part I hated most. I tore the foil. No shaking. No breath held. Just habit. Drew the dose. Pushed the needle in through the muscle like I¡¯d done it a thousand times. I no longer winced or twitched. No longer that little girl afraid of needles. Just warmth spreading under my skin. A little spark behind the knees. That faint hum behind my ears, like my blood remembered how to move again. Outside the room, my cousins argued over dry noodles. The old man in the living room coughed, then went quiet. But I only heard one thing. That voice. You¡¯re a top-tier human. The words sat in my ribs like a weight. I couldn¡¯t remember an evaluation like that, it made my stomach feel strange... like someone stirring the insides... something fluttering. I stood. Pulled the tank top over my ribs, my chest no longer bound and free, adjusting the loose edge near the shoulder. Walked to the window and leaned against the sill with both hands. The city looked dead. The orange-red sky bled across the rooftops like paint watered down too thin. Far off, clouds gathered low and heavy. Thunder without sound. Longwan had always smelled like salt, metal, and old fuel. Now it smelled like a memory. I stood there, watching the wind tug at a plastic bag tangled in a wire. And I found myself waiting... Not for help. Just... to meet John Wang again, to see what he would do next. Chapter 72: Getting To Know Shen Yifei Chapter 72: Getting To Know Shen YifeiJOHN WANG ¡ª POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 5:11 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¡ª Ninth Floor Base The door shut behind me with a clunk of steel teeth as I returned to the ninth floor. I didn¡¯t announce myself. This was my area, and there wasn¡¯t any need for me to do so. So I moved towards the common room, with a steady pace, tapping across the tile floor still cold from morning cleanup. Past the side rooms and armour, past the mounted whiteboard, until the corridor opened into the common room. And then I saw her. Shen Yifei. She was mid-stretch, ass raised, spine curved low in a predatory arch. Arms locked straight. Legs tense. Everything pulled taut like a bowstring seconds before it snapped. Her skin gleamed faintly under the overhead fluorescents¡ªsweat-slick, alive, the kind of sheen earned in the fight, not faked in front of a mirror. Leggings like a second skin.Tank top barely clinging to her chest¡ªthin, damp, no bra. Every inhale outlined the shape of her ribs. Every exhale rolled down the slope of her back, through the curve of her waist, and into the soft, firm swell of hips she probably didn¡¯t even think about when she moved. But I did. She wasn¡¯t doing this for me. But I¡¯d still thank her for it. Then she shifted¡ªslowly, deliberately. One arm extended forward, the other sweeping back. A dancer¡¯s control and the making of a wonderful maid. Shen Yifei was a woman who didn¡¯t need to try to be sexual¡ªshe just was. But there was sway in her hips that didn¡¯t belong in a sparring session. And that pause, just long enough between transitions, told me she knew exactly how she looked. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She wasn¡¯t doing it for me. But she¡¯d wanted me to notice. I didn¡¯t say a word. Didn¡¯t have to. "...Tsk," she muffled her voice using her sleeve, and lowered her hips. "Pervert." I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. Let her squirm without showing it. "Not my fault you¡¯re doing squats in the middle of the base dressed like that." "It¡¯s called working out," she snapped, still not looking at me. "You know, what people with discipline do." "You¡¯re sweating like a sinner in church." "I didn¡¯t know you were coming back," she shot, turning just enough for me to see the pink climbing her ears. "If I had, I¡¯d have worn a hazmat suit." "Shame," I muttered, stepping closer. "Would¡¯ve missed the view." Her fingers tightened around the towel near her mat. She sat down fast¡ªtoo fast¡ªlegs tucked, eyes studiously averted. Her ponytail was a mess, hair sticking to the curve of her cheek. "You¡¯re still staring." "I don¡¯t stare." I tilted my head. "I study." "Don¡¯t be a perv." "Don¡¯t be interesting." That earned me a real glare this time. Eyes narrow. Lips pressed tight. But the red in her cheeks deepened, and her breath skipped once before catching up. "...Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be back yet," she said, quieter. "Thought you had another patrol shift." "I came back early." "Why?" "Wanted to see someone." Her eyes flicked up. Just once. Then back down. "...You¡¯re insufferable." "And you¡¯re glowing." "I¡¯m sweaty." "I didn¡¯t say it was a bad thing." She looked away, muttering something under her breath that I didn¡¯t catch. I grabbed her water bottle, deliberately brushing her arm. She flinched. Warm skin. Slight tremor. But no recoil. Not this time. "You¡¯re disgusting," she said, standing quickly, towel tossed over one shoulder. "You reek. Go shower. You¡¯re ruining the oxygen." "Then how about you join me?" "W-What!?" Yifei¡¯s face turned bright red, her twintails flopping around as she pointed at me. "Who do you take me for?" "Well okay then, but make sure you cook something good, there¡¯s food in the freezer." She hesitated. Her lips parted¡ªclosed. Then, flatly: "I¡¯ll think about it..." I didn¡¯t understand why, but something about Yifei made me want to tease her, because her face looked a little upset, I stopped and turned back, calling out. "Hey, you looked beautiful... doing your thing... your yoga." Shen Yifei. Rough edges. Snapping voice. A woman who wore her walls like armour and punched with her heart when no one looked. But I was looking. And I saw it. She wanted me there. Even if she¡¯d chew off her tongue before admitting it. I watched her shocked little gaze, reminding me of a squirrel. Her hair was a mess, and my breath stank of whiskey. Neither of us had said what we meant. Not really. When I grinned at her, she huffed and turned her back to me, but I caught the flicker of a smile she tried to hide in her shoulder. ¡ª The couch creaked under my weight, but not from age. It was new. Built by my hands. Crafted through my system. Steel frame. Reinforced stitching. Dense memory-core padding was designed to take a full combat drop without warping. Stupid luxury in a place like this. But maybe that¡¯s why I built it. Because when the world outside was nothing but ruins and rot, I needed one damn thing that didn¡¯t break when you leaned on it. Yifei¡¯s eyes flicked to it the second I sat down ¡ª quick, sharp ¡ª then away like it didn¡¯t matter. I dropped onto the sofa like a bomb, leaning against the soft and comfortable cushioning and backrest, lying on my side while gazing at Yifei. My eyes felt heavy, and the stress that made everything so difficult started fading the moment I did. A shower would¡¯ve been smart. If Jiang Roulan and Mu Qinglan were here to cover the base, I would¡¯ve gone already. Instead, I stretched and enjoyed the lewd sight of Yifei¡¯s movements, even though she complained, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why she moved... and started again right in front of me without a care. So I tried to avoid letting her distract me. Neck rolls. Shoulder circles. Breathing exercises to keep the blood moving. Across the room, Yifei was still pretending to perform her positions. Still pretending she wasn¡¯t glancing at me between forms. Every time the muscles in my arms flexed, every slow stretch of my back, her eyes twitched toward me, just for a second too long. I decided to make it worse. Dropped off the couch, palms flat against the clean tiles, and started slow pushups. Controlled. Grounded. Letting every line of effort show. Not to show off. Not really. Just because some parts of surviving meant proving you were still alive. "You¡¯re unbelievable," she muttered finally. I pushed up, held it. Glanced sideways. "Stretching," I said. "You could stretch without flexing like you¡¯re posing for a porno." "Could," I agreed. "But where¡¯s the fun in that?" Her cheeks burned red, not rage, not shame. Something in between. Something she didn¡¯t have a name for yet. She crossed her arms. Stayed standing.Right near the arm of the new couch.Right near me. "You know," I said, shifting into slow squats, "you¡¯re welcome to sit." She stiffened immediately. Gave the couch a look like it might bite her. "I¡¯m fine." "Suit yourself," I said easily. "It¡¯s just... handmade. First one in this base that doesn¡¯t reek of old sweat and regret." Her mouth twitched. "You mean you made it." "Who knows?" She hesitated. Just long enough that I could see the thought of fighting in her head, Pride said to stay standing. Curiosity said Maybe just sit for a second. Finally, with an aggravated noise in her throat, she dropped onto the farthest edge of the couch, stiff as a rifle barrel, arms still crossed. Not close. But closer than Yifei ever dared before. "I¡¯m not sitting here because you asked," she snapped. "Wouldn¡¯t dream of thinking it." "This is just... practical. Tactical resting." "Very tactical," I said, deadpan. "Textbook strategy." She glared. I smiled ¡ª slow and lazy ¡ª and went back to stretching. The couch didn¡¯t creak under her weight. Because it was built for more. Because it was built to last. Just like me. And maybe¡ªmaybe¡ªsomeday she¡¯d realise she could lean into it without breaking. Palms against the cold steel-reinforced floor. Breath steady. My Body locked into a slow, brutal rhythm of Handstand push-ups. Each rise dragged strength up my arms, into my back, my chest, my core.Each controlled descent was a reminder of the weight I carried ¡ª and the weight I refused to drop. I heard her shift behind me. The faint creak of the leather couch.The barest scuff of her sock against the tile. She wasn¡¯t leaving. Wasn¡¯t mocking. When she spoke, her voice barely lifted above a whisper.Soft.Unsteady at the edges. "...How long have you been fighting like this?" The question wasn¡¯t sharp. It wasn¡¯t meant to wound. It sounded almost... genuinely curious. Genuinely careful. "Four days... since the end, before that... I never trained so... seriously." My breath became harsh when reaching double digits, the burning in my biceps and shoulders growing like a wildfire. Pushed up. Held it. Muscles trembling slightly now ¡ª not from weakness, but from the steady demand. I didn¡¯t look at her, nor did I need to, because I could feel her watching me. Not like before ¡ª not with that prickly defensiveness or wary distrust. This was different. A passionate look... Her gaze tracked every line of tension stretched across my frame ¡ª my arms straining, my chest bare under the rising hem of my shirt, my abdomen tight with control. Lower. Lower. She didn¡¯t even bother hiding her perverted gaze now. Chapter 73: A dangerous request - Qinglan’s Smile Chapter 73: A dangerous request - Qinglan¡¯s SmileI heard her breath pause for a moment, soft and quick, before easing itself out like a hand across silk. "I see..." "...Did you always survive alone?" she asked. Another push. Another slow, deliberate descent, as my body lifted, I noticed Yifei on the sofa, spreading her legs as she gazed at me with flushed cheeks. ¡¯Ah...¡¯ ¨‹ Shen Yifei performed her task and pleased her master +100 EXP The sudden message inside my head made me embarrassed. To take my focus away from her crotch and how her tight Lycra shorts dug into her body, revealing the shape of her most precious place. "Well... technically." I was alone since losing my mother, but now I am really alone anymore, with these three women, and hopefully Old Zhou and Tang Wei. It seemed everything would get noisy. But... from Shen Yifei¡¯s eyes, it was obvious she noticed my shame. How could I have become half erect from just seeing a woman in tight yoga pants!? We continued speaking about little things, it was nice to learn more about Yifei, and I realised she wasn¡¯t the slutty girl that I thought. She liked to draw, cook and especially enjoyed looking after animals. ¡¯No wonder Yin likes to play with her...¡¯ That reminded me of Yin. He vanished when I went back to my apartment and helped cure Qinglan. I¡¯m worried about him. "I should go and shower... then prepare dinner." Shen Yifei¡¯s shaking voice and bright red cheeks caused me to become more conscious of her. She didn¡¯t leave, and continued to sit in my vision... moving her legs, stretching to give me a better view. Although I didn¡¯t mind, there were limits to a man¡¯s tolerance. "I look forward to it." "Hmph... it¡¯s not that I am cooking something for your praise." Though her lips curled into a smile after I said that... was she just being tsundere? The way her twintails bounced with each step caught my attention¡ªthankfully, Mu Qinglan and Jiang Roulan were absent for this. "John, why are you upside down... and wearing cycling pants?" A familiar cold voice echoed from the entrance as two women stepped inside with tired-looking faces. ... Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It seemed tempting fate wasn¡¯t something to do recklessly. ¡ª¡ª Not long after the two returned, they forced me to take a shower and wear something better... so I took a quick shower in my huge room and wore a black training vest and some loose jogging pants. These pants used to be fitted... now, after losing even more excess fat for muscle and the three marrow potions, my body became super lean... and muscular. "So, did you manage to recruit anyone?" "Well, we did, but many of them were just normal men or couples..." Jiang Roulan touched her cheek, as if lost in thought. "They might make good flesh walls." Mu Qinglan¡¯s cold and heartless words might hurt someone if they didn¡¯t know her. I noticed that since she recovered from her living dead state. Her tongue became sharper, and she lacked the restraint from the past. ¡¯I actually like it, though.¡¯ "Hmm..." "Well, I asked them to meet us in two hours." Roulan started stretching her arms across her chest, crushing her soft breasts before she strode to the shower rooms, waving her hand. "I¡¯ll be back in time for dinner, it smells nice." That left me and Qinglan together; she seemed a little different once alone, her electric blue eyes flicking at him, gazing and fiddling with her fingers. "John, did anything happen to you? Your face seems a little different." "Ah?" I never expected her to notice... after meeting Old Zhou, it felt like I gained a second chance to make up for my failure and the weight that remained in my chest because of Old Lei and his daughter. ¡¯Why did I cure Roulan, but not try curing his daughter before killing her?¡¯ [System Message] [You could not have saved her¡ªthe cure only works for pre-infection and early stages.] Hindsight. Bitter and regretful. However, this didn¡¯t stop me from feeling the dark, sludgy weight in my stomach. It might seem wrong and heartless to use Zhou and his daughter to gain redemption, but who cares... I should come first. "I met someone, an old man... and promised to help save his daughter." My voice became deeper, touching my emotions and something I could only do with her. With Mu Qinglan. "Lan¡¯er, will you help me?" She looked at me with her eyes wide and pupils dilated like a cat looking at the sun. "Who else will go?" "Just me and you, ah... if Yin comes back, him too." "Isn¡¯t that dangerous...?" Although she asked, I noticed the corner of her lips trembling as she smiled, and lowered her face with pink cheeks. [Mu Qinglan is happy, extremely happy at your offer. +10 Affection] "It would be hard, but if you want to... I would love to!" Mu Qinglan¡¯s smile shone like a torch in the dark, cheeks lifting as she beamed happily. "Then shall we leave tonight, or do you want to sleep?" The reason I would wait until that late was that Jiang Roulan and Yifei would probably sleep, so after meeting the potential recruits, the bottom floor would become safer, since I could clean out the third, fourth and fifth floors. ¡¯Dismantling isn¡¯t as limited as I thought...¡¯ At first, I believed I could only dismantle things in my territory and the zombies I killed. [Dismantle] Disassemble any items or furniture, or corpses for vital parts and ZKP. - In the host¡¯s safe zone and territory - A place the host owns in the real world. Requires deed/contract. - A place where the host has permission from the owner of the building. - Abandoned buildings with no owner for at least 10 years. "I¡¯ll leave with you!" Mu Qinglan responded with a loud voice, her hands grabbing my waist as she hugged me. "I will go... hehe. It¡¯s stupid and a dangerous thing, but why does it make my chest pound... can you feel it?" She grasped my hand and placed it on her chest. The warmth and squishy sensation flowed through my palms that sank into her flesh. Ba-Dum Ba-Dum I could feel my girlfriend¡¯s heart beating faster than normal... her cheeks turning red as I felt a slight bump rub against my palm... ¡¯She¡¯s excited?!¡¯ "Ah... wait, let¡¯s stop here." She mumbled and pulled away. Then, skipping towards the shared shower room. Although the smaller rooms had a private shower, the shared one was like a gym training room and something I made to have fun. It seemed she noticed my expression and confusion as she spoke again in a soft, but weaker voice that was nothing like the Qinglan I knew. "I am sweaty..." I watched her walk. Not for the curve of her hips, or the way those shorts clung to her like they were stitched straight onto her skin. Okay¡ªmaybe that was part of it. But more than anything, it was the calm. She always moved like she wasn¡¯t in a rush. Like nothing in this world could surprise her. Mu Qinglan paused at the end of the hallway, her hand resting on the frame of the shower room door. Steam whispered around her wrist from within, catching the light. She didn¡¯t turn to face me, but her voice reached across the distance¡ªsteady, low, almost like a hum. "Don¡¯t leave without me." "I won¡¯t," I said, just as quiet. "If you lie," she added, still not looking back, "I¡¯ll know." There wasn¡¯t a threat in her tone. Not ice either. Just certainty. And something else... almost too faint to name. "I don¡¯t want you going alone," she said. Then stepped into the steam and was gone. I continued exercising for a while, deciding that I needed to build a full gym to keep working on our bodies. The increase in strength didn¡¯t transfer to instant improvement... after an hour of handstand push-ups. My arms now felt more comfortable, and although they burned with a dull ache, I increased my control. The warmth of her chest remained on my palm. Qinglan didn¡¯t talk much. She didn¡¯t shout. She didn¡¯t joke unless she meant it. But that... was enough. I checked the time¡ª6:52 PM. The recruits would arrive soon. Tired faces. Hungry mouths. More problems to solve. But for now, the ninth floor felt quiet. Steady. I sat down. Exhaled. Closed my eyes. Somewhere upstairs, the sound of water running softened against the walls until the sound of the girls lightly vibrated from inside. And for a moment¡ª I wasn¡¯t carrying the world. Chapter 74: A Ragtag Bunch of Wrangled Cats... Chapter 74: A Ragtag Bunch of Wrangled Cats...[Shen Yifei cooked an [8.9/10] rated meal for her master and enjoyed the compliment!] [89 EXP | 15 Affection] ¡ª¡ª The walls came down faster than I expected. One by one, apartments folded beneath the system¡¯s glow. I started with Unit 501, then worked my way down through 504, 506, everything except Jiang Roulan¡¯s place on the fifth and cleared the entire sixth floor with her permission. Rooms collapsed in light. Beds evaporated into thread. Cupboards burst into nothing, their contents flaring into blue motes and then vanishing completely. [Dismantled: 2 Floors of Interior Structure] +225 Metal +230 Wood +210 Plastic +200 Glass +215 Cloth My resources swelled. The raw weight of it didn¡¯t touch my shoulders, but I still felt the cost. Sweat clung to my back. My breath came slowly and much deeper. It wasn¡¯t just the labour. It was the noise. The quiet. The empty. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The fact that every room I dismantled once held lives. Messy ones. Loud ones. Families who screamed at each other. Couples who made love. Students who ate cup noodles over plastic desks. All gone now. Reduced to numbers and particles. I stopped for a moment in the hollow frame of an old hallway and saw a red calendar pinned against the wall, shoes by the door. A cracked picture of a young girl in a graduation cap, half-buried under the frame of a dismantled bunk bed. I didn¡¯t pick it up. Didn¡¯t need to. The building was mine now, but the memories didn¡¯t belong to me. When I finished, my actions reshaped the entire first floor. All ten units had merged into a wide, rectangular space with proper partitions for each family, a single dining hall in the middle, and a fenced-off training room near the front door. One-sided glass, allowing the people to see outside, but zombies couldn¡¯t see inside, and it could endure a Stage Four level of damage. The children would sleep in the east corridor, closest to the blast door, ironically. Maybe it made sense. I decided to protect the children and use their parents. That¡¯s the promise, right? I sat down on a crate on the first floor and opened the system. "Time to make it official." The people who would become our foot soldiers and would help me rank up after it became so difficult. Though cruel to make them fight the undead, it would also help them all reach a level of self-protection so that they didn¡¯t need to fear the darkness or monsters. [Base Expansion Complete. First Floor Designated as Civilian Block.] [Safe Zone Extended.] [System Construct: Approved] [Ten new units logged as bunk space.] "...Now let¡¯s see who¡¯s worth feeding." ¡ª¡ª March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 6:24 PM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¨C First Floor, Civilian Block They trickled in. One by one. Two by two. Some families. A few loners. Two pairs of brothers with tired eyes and dirt-caked nails. None of them looked like soldiers. None of them even looked like fighters. But they came. The open space echoed with their quiet footsteps, their whispers. Children clung to their mothers. Men kept their hands close to their belts, eyes scanning the room, still unsure if this was a trap or if I was the real threat. I stood beside the steel table I¡¯d forged an hour ago. Plain. Rectangular. No markings. Behind me, the makeshift board displayed names and roles¡ªthe beginnings of a structure, a hierarchy. Something they hadn¡¯t seen in a long time. Mu Qinglan sat in one of the corner chairs, legs crossed, silent, her eyes like ice over deep water. Jiang Roulan stood by the entrance, arms folded, a hand brushing her necklace. Watching. Calculating. I didn¡¯t speak right away. Didn¡¯t have to. Their eyes all eventually landed on me. Not out of reverence. Not even hope. Just curiosity. Survivors wanted one thing above all else: routine. If I could give them that, even for a few days, they¡¯d cling to it like rats on driftwood. When I finally stepped forward, no one moved. "I¡¯m John," I said simply. "I will be your leader, boss and guardian from this moment on." I scanned the group watching them with a calm gaze, seeing each of their potential and abilities and followed. "If you don¡¯t like this, challenge me now or leave." A few murmurs. I kept my voice low, but even. "You get food. Water. A safe place to sleep. However! To gain this, you must work. Children will be free to do modest tasks until turning thirteen but adults no matter who or what you might be, will help." A middle-aged man in the back raised his hand halfway. "What¡¯s the catch?" "There¡¯s always a catch," someone else muttered. I nodded. "Fight if I tell you to," I said. "Build when I need you to. Follow the rules." "And if we don¡¯t?" A younger woman who looked like a teenager stood near the wall, arms around a boy too small to understand the danger in the room. "You leave." Simple. Cold. Some flinched. Some nodded. Mu Qinglan leaned forward then. Her voice was smooth. "You won¡¯t find better. And if you leave, you won¡¯t come back." That settled them more than I expected. Jiang Roulan added nothing, but her presence alone made it clear we weren¡¯t just pretending. These women weren¡¯t decorations. They were sharper than any blade in this building. I turned my eyes back to the crowd. "We¡¯ll feed everyone tonight. You¡¯ll get beds, blankets, and a ration card. If you want more¡ªwork." A man in the front, lean with sunken cheeks, muttered, "What kind of work?" "Defense. Patrol. Carpentry. Cooking. Cleaning. I¡¯ll assign tasks tomorrow." They all looked at each other. Hesitation. Hope. Hunger. The usual mix. Then someone¡ªan older woman with a cane and three kids on her back¡ªspoke: "...Thank you." I didn¡¯t answer, but checked my system quietly and changed her job to "Nanny." Then looked at the new status of the first floor. [Safe Zone: 1st Floor Population ¨C 24 Confirmed] [Morale: Neutral | Stability: Low | Threat Level: Moderate] Defence Readiness: Minimal] On the whiteboard were rules, and the system also created a small neon sign with current rations and who ate. A man grabbed his rations, and the name flickered, decreasing for all to see. [Chen Han Rations: 3 --> 2] "Oh wow... it can tell our names...." The man holding his rations nodded, then handed the foot to his wife. "Here, honey, you eat mine, let¡¯s share for now and think about the future." ¡¯Hmm... Chen Han, A C-Tier Soldier.... I should keep my eye on him.¡¯ Jiang Roulan¡¯s eyes widened watching the people eating and speaking, their smiles and emotions seemed to have improved. I noticed the slight tremble of her lips as she covered her face. She was clearly a gentle police woman... because of the situation. It made me realise I wasn¡¯t looking at the people close to me enough. I couldn¡¯t let them break or fall apart. "Roulan, can you come here?" I called out to her and stepped out of the room. I spent a lot of resources to create enough beds for 40 people on the first floor. When I ranked up, I planned to turn the second floor into a training room, and the third floor another survivor zone. Roulan jogged after me while rubbing her cheeks, though she couldn¡¯t hide her vibrant smile. With a click, I slammed the door shut and rested my back against the reinforced walls. To the left was the exit, and to the right the stairs. "What¡¯s the matter, John?" I could see her current status, the feelings not visible, but her eyes shone like small amber flames as she pumped her fists and bounced with each step. "You were a police officer, and now you know what role I gave you, right?" She nodded, her face becoming calmer and more serious. "Something like a judge right?" The fact that she remembered helped a lot. "Yes, from now on, I will leave you to train the people who will become our soldiers and Militia. Not just them, give the women and children a mandatory 1-2 hour training in the morning to build stamina, discipline, and so they can at least run or escape if something happens." "Wow..." Jiang Roulan gasped, looking at me strangely. "What?" "Are you really the boy I was teasing twenty-four hours ago? Or is this... the true John Wang?" Her voice lowered as she stepped closer and leaned on the wall beside me. "This is me, before I was just excited to be with such beautiful women..." "Don¡¯t overwork yourself, though I can see the effort you¡¯re putting in, we are here for you." "I know, Roulan..." "Call me Rou... at least when Qinglan isn¡¯t here." Her hand slipped around mine, and her fingers started to massage me. "Okay... Rou¡¯er." "Mm... that¡¯s right." Listening to the people gossiping inside made me feel calm. She tightened her grasp and tilted her head, leaning on my shoulder. The time slowly passed as I listened to her soft breathing. "I won¡¯t let you die, Rou¡¯er. Not you, Yifei or Lan¡¯er." Words meant for myself... like some kind of oath, rather than words of comfort. I was now the master of a bunch of wrangling cats. Chapter 75: Yin Returns! Chapter 75: Yin Returns!Jiang Roulan leaned against me quietly, her shoulder warm against my upper arm. Her weight was light, but firm¡ªgrounded. Like she belonged there, her fingers idly moved against the inside of my palm, thumb brushing the calluses with slow, absent-minded circles. It wasn¡¯t seductive. Just... gentle. Trusting. We stood just off to the side of the main door, behind the partitioned wall that blocked the civilian block from view. The faint sounds of clattering bowls and soft laughter filtered through the reinforced panels, the kind of low, content noise that only came from people eating something warm for the first time in a long while. I exhaled slowly. My thoughts hadn¡¯t caught up to the peace we¡¯d made or the weight that was slowly gathering on my shoulders. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But what was strange... I didn¡¯t hate it and felt more focused. That¡¯s when I heard the boots. Not stomping or running, just a measured and constant gait, growing louder with each step. I didn¡¯t even have to look up. Mu Qinglan. The click of her heels slowed just as she turned the corner¡ªand there she stood, outlined by the hallway light. Her figure cast a shadow across the polished floor, dark hair pulled into a loose, practical twist, her arms folded under her chest, blue eyes sharp with a deep glow. She looked at Roulan first. Then at me. Then the hand holding mine. For a second, no one breathed. Qinglan¡¯s gaze narrowed¡ªnot cold this time, but focused. Jiang Roulan, for her part, didn¡¯t flinch. She didn¡¯t let go either. Only leaned a little closer to me¡ªsubtle, but definite. Roulan¡¯s voice was soft, but firm as she said, "It¡¯s alright." Qinglan stared another moment, then¡ª She sighed. And without a word, walked past us. I turned my head, surprised¡ªbut she didn¡¯t leave. She stopped beside me. Then slid down the wall on the opposite side, sitting close enough that her thigh pressed against mine. Not possessive, rather she just wrapped her arm around me, and the faint scent of her natural scent and a sweet perfume filled my nose. Her head tilted back against the cool stone as she closed her eyes. A few seconds passed. Then she opened them and looked at me sidelong. "...You really are collecting stray cats." I blinked, unsure how to answer. Jiang Roulan snorted softly beside me. "He is. But he feeds them. Gives them warm corners." "And rubs their ears if they behave," Qinglan muttered. That made me smile. Then Qinglan added, voice softer, "I¡¯m not mad." Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t look at me when she said it. She watched the distance with a calm gaze, unfocused. But her fingers brushed my wrist¡ªbrief, intentional. "Lan¡¯er..." I started. She raised her hand lazily and flicked my forehead. Not hard. Just enough to make me stop talking. "I know," she whispered. Then leaned her head against my other shoulder. Like a closing circuit. My arms slowly lifted, one around Roulan¡¯s waist, the other resting gently on Qinglan¡¯s back. Their warmth filled the space between my ribs like steam from a hot drink. None of us spoke again for a while. No romantic declarations. No teasing. Just the quiet hum of survivors talking behind the wall. And three people in a broken world pretending¡ªfor a moment¡ªthat we weren¡¯t. ¡ª March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 7:29 PM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¨C First Floor, Rear Stair Access ¡ª Jiang Roulan was the first to shift. She pulled her weight from my side with a quiet sigh, brushing dust from her leggings as she stood. Her hair had come loose from the braid at her neck, soft waves framing her cheek. She gave Qinglan a look¡ªnot competitive, just a silent check-in¡ªand nodded toward the hallway. "I¡¯m going to move my stuff upstairs," she said. "Yifei should help. She needs something to do." Qinglan didn¡¯t argue. Her eyes stayed half-lidded, still resting against my shoulder. "Go on. I¡¯ll join you soon." Roulan paused a moment. Then, without a word, lifted off the floor and pressed her lips against my cheek with a small kiss, and left with a soft smile. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t say anything at first. Her eyes followed Roulan as she climbed the stairs, measured steps, hips swaying like she wasn¡¯t trying to show off, but knew I was watching, anyway. The soft sound of Roulan¡¯s footsteps faded, and the corridor settled again. That¡¯s when Qinglan shifted. She was still beside me, but her weight leaned in a little more. The faintest pressure. Just enough for me to notice. Her breath was calm¡ªcooler than mine, as usual¡ªbut not cold. Not biting. I didn¡¯t turn to look. Just waited. I felt her fingers brush mine. Not linking. Just resting there, like a feather laid against the back of my hand. Then¡ª She moved in. No dramatic pause. No lingering stare. Just a single, fluid motion. Her lips found the corner of my mouth¡ªsoft, glossy, and warm. She didn¡¯t press hard. It wasn¡¯t a performance. There was no smirk. No flare of ice in her voice. It was a kiss meant for one thing. Marking. Not for the others. Not for her pride. Just for me. I blinked as she pulled back, slow and silent, her gaze not even meeting mine at first. She stared forward, toward the same stairs Roulan had gone up, then finally glanced at me from the corner of her eye. Her lips twitched¡ªsmall, proud. Almost smug. "I¡¯m your girlfriend," she said quietly. "I get that right." Then she stood. Straightened her top. Adjusted the waistband of her pants with a tiny, unnecessary tug. Back to her usual stoic self. "You¡¯re sweaty," she added, wrinkling her nose slightly. "You should wash up." "...Planning to join me?" She paused at the edge of the corridor, head tilting just slightly¡ªthose icy eyes flashing with mischief behind the indifference. "I already did this morning," she replied flatly. "But if you¡¯re asking..." A faint smile appeared as she curled her lips. "You¡¯ll have to earn it." Then she walked off. A subtle sway in her hips. The confident bounce of her steps. But my heartbeat was louder than my thoughts. And somehow... the taste of her kiss still lingered. ¡ª¡ª To clear my head, I walked to the outside, pushing open the reinforced doors, while touching the cheek that Roulan pecked, then the lip that Qinglan kissed... and shook my head, a smile growing with each moment. "Hahaha, I am so lucky." The wind outside was thick with heat, not warm or comforting. But the kind of heat that came after metal cooked under the sun all day¡ªdry, metallic, tinged with rust. I stood beneath the floodlight mounted just above the south gate, hand resting on the cool steel of the blast door, eyes half-lidded. I¡¯d come out to clear my head¡ªmaybe get a breath of air that didn¡¯t taste like recycled sweat or rationed soup. Instead, I caught the smell of blood. It was fresh and a little disgusting... in this evening heat. "Meow!!" It was low, growled, and drawn out like a tiny tiger coughing up a challenge to the world. I turned. Something blurred through the shadows¡ªa silver streak against the backdrop of ash-stained buildings and broken lamp posts. Then¡ªcrack. The spine of a zombie twisted mid-step. Its body folded in half before it hit the ground. A thick spray of black-red fluid painted the cracked asphalt. "Miaaooow~" That cute but arrogant call! I knew it. "...Yin?" The blur stopped¡ªjust long enough for me to see him. At first glance, he was a beast you¡¯d call cute if your brain stopped at surface level. But now? No. He was... different. Taller. Longer. Yin¡¯s fur, once sleek and snowy-white, was now streaked in matted grey and deep red. Coagulated blood crusted the tips of his paws. His claws¡ªextended, curved like sickles¡ªdripped gore in crescent arcs as he strolled like a king. Yin¡¯s tail twitched once as his ears perked up. "Shaa!" Then, like a snapped bowstring, he vanished. Another Yowl¡ªwet, garbled. A Stage One zombie¡¯s head exploded like a crushed melon, torn from the neck with a single swipe that sent its body spinning before collapsing into a heap. Yin¡¯s body twisted in midair¡ªspinning, elegant, vicious. A ball of fluffy murder. Its new claws tore through sinew and flesh like tissue paper. Teeth buried into the spine, like a T Rex. And then¡ªPeace. Yin landed beside the third corpse, licking his paw with a bored expression, like this hadn¡¯t even broken a sweat. [Alert: Yin has returned to your radius.] [Stage 3 Companion: Lunar Beast ¡ª Detected] [Companion Stats Processing...] [Retroactive EXP & ZKP Reward Calculated from Hunt Log] ¨‹ Yin¡¯s Hunting Log Stage 1 Zombies Killed: 230 Stage 2 Zombies Killed: 5 Duration: 17 Hours Stealth Kill Ratio: 94% [+2,600 EXP | +1,400 ZKP Earned] . . . "...What the fuck." Yin finally looked up, his eyes widened, big orbs of blue before it darted towards me... faster... faster... then leapt into my chest. "Meow, Mew! Miao!!" Chapter 76: The Bond of Brothers! Chapter 76: The Bond of Brothers!I couldn¡¯t even breathe. Yin was licking a rib bone like he¡¯d just finished eating grilled pork. His fur puffed up slightly as he saw me, pupils narrowing into two sharp slits before his ears twitched, as if remembering who I was. "Meow~" Then he trotted over. Head held high. Proud. His steps were silent even on broken glass. Yin¡¯s paws treading like a trained killer reporting in from a solo mission. He then dashed at me, and without ceremony, leapt up, landing against my chest with a dull thump. ¡ª¡ª "Woah¡ªshit¡ªeasy!" I caught him on instinct, almost staggering back from the weight. He was heavier now. Not by much, but enough to notice. The lean muscle beneath the soft fluff was dense. Compact. The kind of body that could hunt and kill something in complete and utter silence. Yin purred. "...You got bigger." He headbutted my chin once, then nestled against my neck with that low, vibrating hum he always used when he wanted food or affection. "Why did you leave?" I asked, ruffling the top of his filthy fur. "You didn¡¯t even say goodbye." "Meow?" he replied innocently, tail flicking. [Unlike humans, the Lunar Beast has a powerful instinct to hunt.] [When left unchecked, the beast will complete a hunting cycle, returning after reaching optimal satiation.] "...So he went out to level up." That was the moment it happened. A faint shimmer¡ªalmost invisible at first¡ªrolled off Yin¡¯s body. A milky white aura, soft like mist over river water, spread outward in a ripple. It wasn¡¯t aggressive. It wasn¡¯t even deliberate. It just... was. The moment it touched my skin, I felt it. A slow, steady surge pushing into my chest, my veins soaking into the marrow of my bones. My breath caught in my throat as the strange feelings flowed deeper. It wasn¡¯t painful, nor did it feel forced or foreign to me. The sensation was warm, burrowing deeper into my body, like it was taking root. The kind of warmth you only felt beside a fire after walking days through a frozen hell. [Sharing Yin¡¯s Allocated Qi with Bonded Owner!] The system message hovered in my vision, crisp, cold¡ªbut the feeling inside me wasn¡¯t cold at all. It was... a connection. I staggered back half a step, holding Yin tighter against me. His body was still small compared to mine, but heavy with smooth, lean muscles along his frame now. Soul bond. That¡¯s what this was. Not a contract. Not ownership. Bonded. Through blood, instinct, and that strange alchemy of trust born in a world that didn¡¯t deserve it. Every time Yin fought, every time he killed and devoured, part of what he gained would pour into me. Not just Qi. Strength. Growth. And in return... part of my strength, my very core, would anchor him. It would let him exist without being swallowed by the madness of evolution. The corruption that devoured Zao after taking his arm. A true companion. Not a pet. Not a weapon. A partner. My throat tightened slightly¡ªnot out of emotion, but out of something heavier. Something that all men face one day, the weight of responsibility. "...Good boy," I whispered into his filthy fur, barely loud enough for him to hear."You¡¯re not alone anymore. Neither am I." Yin let out a low, contented purr and butted his head against my chin, smearing dried blood against my jawline. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The scent and feeling were sticky and a little disgusting. But right now... I didn¡¯t give a damn. [Added to Host Reserve] [Titan Marrow Sutra¡ªStage 1: 36%] (Hardened Core) [Bond Synchronisation Level: 14%] ¡¯Only fourteen percent...?¡¯ I smirked inwardly, patting his side. ¡¯Guess we¡¯ve got a long road ahead, huh?¡¯ "Well, shall we go back inside? I made a special room just for you, brother." Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed into crescent moons as he yawned, the horrible cat breath blowing across my face, making me want to vomit. But... I loved cats, and this was the price to pay for owning them. ¡ª¡ª March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 8:17 PM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¨C Ninth Floor, Living Quarters The doors to the ninth floor slid open with a soft mechanical thunk as I stepped inside, Yin still draped lazily over my shoulder like a bloody scarf. Clean, with a warm fire crackling in the common room... along with the feeling of home. Mu Qinglan, Jiang Roulan and Shen Yifei seemed to have started decorating and making the ninth-floor common room more comfortable and nice. But... The smell of cooked food and fresh soap hit me first, but when it mixed with the fishy and horrid stench of coagulated blood and filth, my nose hurt. Roulan¡¯s laughter echoed faintly from the common room, blending with the indistinct murmur of Shen Yifei¡¯s voice, practising something. Maybe a song. Maybe cursing at a stubborn piece of furniture. Hard to tell with her. I didn¡¯t announce myself and just moved quietly across the polished floor, my boots leaving faint scuffs behind, so I kicked them off and walked with socks on my feet. That¡¯s when I spotted them. Yifei sat cross-legged near the low table, peeling vegetables with focused, tearing the poor carrots apart with quick, violent slashes. Jiang Roulan was organising the shelves beside the group kitchen, her sleeves rolled up while lifting heavy water tanks and boxes of canned food. Mu Qinglan sat near the balcony window with her legs draped over the arm of the sofa, flipping through a woman¡¯s comic with a messy posture. The three of them glanced up as I entered. And froze. Because of the monster on my shoulder. "Is that..." Yifei whispered. "Yin." I said simply, patting his bloodied side. "He¡¯s back." Roulan raised an eyebrow. "He grew." "Yeah." Understatement of the year. What I didn¡¯t expect was for Shen Yifei¡¯s eyes to shimmer, like little stars in the moonlight. "Do you like cats?" I asked. Yifei nodded and shifted closer to me as I walked to the huge table and noticed various written plans and ideas, some crossed out and others with question marks. "You¡¯re planning to divide things like this..." "Yeah, do you mind?" Roulan asked, looking back at me with a slightly unease expression. She bit her lower lip and wrapped her hair around one finger. "I just thought that..." "Mm, it¡¯s a great idea... I don¡¯t think I can match you and Qinglan on these kinds of things, so for business, laws and trade... should we meet other groups? I¡¯ll leave it up to you two." The common mistake most leaders try to do is taking on all tasks¡ªthat¡¯s not my speciality or where my abilities lie. Combat and the base itself are the limit of my current self. When I looked back at the sofa, Qinglan watched me with curious blue eyes, but I noticed her smile and knew she would want to do business again one day. I wasn¡¯t arrogant enough to think we would be the only survivors. After this greeting, the room became quiet, and Mu Qinglan moved closer. She rose smoothly from the couch, gliding over, her bare feet silent against the floor. Her fingers brushed lightly over Yin¡¯s head, ignoring the gore, ignoring the dirt, just stroking once between his ears. "Welcome home," she murmured. Yin rumbled happily and leaned into her hand. The tension broke. Yifei snorted, tossing a half-peeled carrot into a bowl. "Stupid cat got stronger while we were stuck scrubbing dishes." Roulan smiled faintly. "Some of us have to work." I grinned and shifted Yin gently into my arms. "Yeah, well. He earned dinner. What about the rest of you?" Qinglan¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.Roulan laughed softly.Yifei pouted¡ªand secretly reached for Yin. This was my life now, and I was growing to love it. Tonight... at least for now. I hoped we could enjoy this moment of happiness. Because later... I would be leaving for a dangerous mission. Chapter 77: They Can Class Change!? Chapter 77: They Can Class Change!?Not long after preparing to leave, I finished packing items we might need. Food for trade, and although we didn¡¯t need to eat that much now, after reaching a higher stage. There might be some uses upon reaching the campus. ¡¯Food is always good in the apocalypse.¡¯ I noticed Qinglan vanished a short time ago, taking a shower, and then she left. Thanks to their conversation earlier, the women stopped fighting or falling out with each other, helping me focus on the task at hand. Yin rolled on the huge black sofa, pawing Yifei¡¯s face like dough as she complained. Mu Qinglan made me scrub him in the shower, now he looked like a fluffy wolf... or lynx... It might be closer to a lynx and a ragdoll. His ears were huge... fluffy triangles. ¡¯I wanted to bring her... but her current class. Why did I make her a maid?¡¯ [System Question: Do you want to adjust her class?] "Hm?" Ever since it helped me with the Tutorial mode, sometimes the system would speak with a feminine voice instead of the dry, mechanical one. ¡¯Are you... The tutorial woman?¡¯ [System Answer: I am neither woman nor man... just a helpful system] ¡¯Can I change classes often?¡¯ There was a silence as I placed a spare set of clothes into my inventory. With 40 spaces, I prioritised things like clothes and the contraceptive, drink and food. The useless optimism of a little virgin. [System: You can change a person¡¯s job once. Do you wish to modify Shen Yifei?] At the time I gave her the maid role, that was something I did as a half-joke. Although an excellent cook. She gave me almost no experience points and lacked the strength to fight because of her non-combat class. ¡¯Can I see what jobs she can switch to?¡¯ [Affirmative: Showing Available Role Switches for Shen Yifei] Current: Maid Suggested: Combat Maid (Hybrid Class - Warrior/Maid) Others: Soldier, Chef, Cleaner, Lover, Wife, Sister, Mascot... There were lots of stupid and useless roles... I couldn¡¯t believe that she also had the role of mascot, but somehow I felt the system was helping me more than it should. It left me fighting a horde of zombies alone. Then, like now, it tried to guide or help me. I crouched next to Yin, scratching behind his ears while flicking through the available job list with my free hand. The options spun lazily before my eyes, but only one caught my attention. Combat Maid (Hybrid Class ¨C Warrior/Maid) "Combat Maid, huh...?" I muttered under my breath, lips twitching into a crooked smirk. "Sounds like something out of a cheap light novel." Yin purred, pawing at my shin like he agreed, no, he was probably just trying to con me out of more fish... But the more I read through each of the roles for her... the less ridiculous it became. Cooking, cleaning, loyalty, and now the ability to kill when needed. Honestly? It fit her and also fit us. A strange, messy survival family built out of broken pieces. ¡¯Would she hate it?¡¯ I wondered, flicking my thumb over the acceptance tab. ¡¯Or why didn¡¯t it appear from the start...¡¯ [System: Because she entered battle as a maid, and has a desire to fight...] [To be less of a burden.] Yifei was stubborn, cute and very proud. I found myself looking at her as she kicked both legs while lying on the sofa, tapping at her phone. Thanks to using my glass and metal to create solar charging panels on the roof and adding that feature to the windows, we could at least maintain reserve power. The power grids started failing earlier this evening... so I doubled it would last forever. However, I knew that deep down, Yifei wanted to be useful and not just the girl who clung to the edge of the group, always trailing behind. And if giving her this class helped her survive or have a new focus that helped her stay with us longer, then she¡¯d forgive me eventually. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Yifei?" I spoke to her. "Mm?" She didn¡¯t look at me at first. But then I noticed the movement of her pupils in the window¡¯s reflection. When our eyes met, Yifei rolled onto her side and gazed up at me. A pretty face... "Do you want to fight with me," I asked quietly, "or remain in the base?" The question lingered between us. Yifei propped herself up on one elbow. Her twintails spilt down her shoulders, half-tamed by the elastic she tied them with earlier. Her toes curled slightly against the couch, flexing once, then settling. "Hmm..." She looked at Yin, who clawed at my neck, wrapped around my shoulders. Yin seemed to enjoy that place most, brushing his silky hair against my neck before kneading my muscles and purring. Yifei tilted her head while biting her bottom lip, as if tasting the words she wanted to say before speaking them aloud. "If I stay here..." Her fingers plucked at the blanket. A tiny, nervous gesture. "Won¡¯t I just be... useless?" "I want to be helpful too. Even Yin is fighting... right?" I could feel the fear from her trembling voice, knowing that Shen Yifei wasn¡¯t brave, wasn¡¯t a hero, but that made her words... and this moment more important, at least to me. "But if you order me to stay, I¡¯ll stay." Yifei looked sad, but I couldn¡¯t read her mind and could only be honest with her. "I don¡¯t want to force you to do anything." Unlike new survivors and the other S-Tiers, Yifei was someone I made into an A-Tier. She was unique even amongst Qinglan and Roulan. I took a deep breath. Then noticed her glancing at me, with expectant eyes. "I don¡¯t want to be here, and force you to protect me, at least... that¡¯s what I think." Her words made my chest pinch strangely, not out of pity... but something closer to pride. Without thinking, my hand reached out and tousled her hair. Not rough. Not teasing. Just... familiar. She didn¡¯t pull away, and just watched me with widened eyes, and felt happy she didn¡¯t hate it. "I want to fight... though I am not strong like Roulan or cool like Qinglan. Is it still okay?" It seemed Yifei had made her choice. "Then will you come with us tonight, me and Qinglan?" There were a few seconds of silence before her lips curled into a faint smile, and she nodded. "I will do my best... please let me come!" I guess it wasn¡¯t only me growing, as I exhaled through my nose. The decision was made. "Change her job," I said aloud, locking the command with a thought. [System: Confirmed!] [Shen Yifei¡¯s New Role: Combat Maid][Class Perks Added] [Strength: +1.5, Agility: +1.0, Physique: +1.0| Passive Skill: Weapon Familiarity (Light Arms)][Warning: Mental Stability Under Pressure ¨C 87%] 87%, huh?Good enough for now. It wasn¡¯t about perfection. It was about survival. A faint shimmer flickered around Yifei¡¯s body as the class change finalised. She sneezed, wrinkling her nose, still clueless that her entire life path just veered off a different road because of me. Yin blinked up at me, head tilted sideways like he was judging my morals. I snorted under my breath. "Don¡¯t look at me like that. She¡¯ll thank me later." Hopefully. The living room hummed with a low energy, the evening generators flicking on as the stored energy went into strange batteries. A technology beyond our world... but the system created them using the excess solar power. These things would store power for the backup generators. [Current Battery Levels 3% (10 Hours)] "Then you should get your things, we¡¯ll be outside of the base for a few days, still want to come?" Yifei blinked a few times before she nodded, rolled off the sofa and darted into her room, tapping her feet rapidly with a radiant smile on her lips. The low rumble of the auxiliary generator throbbed through the floorboards. A steady, comforting noise¡ªlike a giant beast breathing somewhere under the building. I pushed myself up from the sofa, and it seemed the journey would be interesting... as long as Qinglan doesn¡¯t kill the poor girl. Outside, Longwan¡¯s dying sunset had bled into something uglier¡ªhalf smog, half smoke, dark clouds blotting out the stars already clawing at the dusk. Time to move. I tapped Yin lightly between the ears. "Guard Roulan until we¡¯re back, alright?" He mewled, the sound almost offended, then hopped down and planted himself firmly in front of her, tail flicking with feline arrogance. Good enough. Chapter 78: Heading To The University! Chapter 78: Heading To The University!I straightened my shirt, rolled my shoulders once, and moved to the inner hallway where I¡¯d stashed the gear for tonight¡¯s trip. The smell of oil and canvas¡ªleather belts, reinforced backpacks, folded black jackets¡ªfilled the air like an old soldier¡¯s memory. Light armour, enough to deflect a Stage 1 zombie¡¯s claws but not the bite and still flexible for running. I pulled one of the smaller jackets from the pile and threw it over my shoulder for Qinglan. Speaking of which, A faint tapping came from the far end of the hall. I turned. Mu Qinglan approached silently, already dressed in a dark body suit, leather jeans and her office shirt gear fitted snug against her body, her hair tied into a high, efficient knot. No jewellery. No ornaments. Just a woman prepared to move. To fight. She stopped a few steps away, her electric blue eyes scanning me up and down. "You ready?" she asked. "I was born ready," I said, smirking. "Then hurry up," she added, tossing a folded cloth bundle at my chest. "Or I¡¯m going without you." I caught it easily. Unfolded it. A scarf¡ªthick, dark, slightly rough. Not fancy. But warm. I looked at her again, raising an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes. "It¡¯s cold outside. And you look like an idiot shivering." I chuckled under my breath and wrapped it loosely around my neck. "You¡¯re the best, Lan¡¯er." "Obviously." But I caught the faintest pink dusting her ears before she turned away, pretending to adjust the clasps on her gloves. Affection, huh? It wasn¡¯t the loud, clingy kind. It wasn¡¯t possessive. It was just... Mu Qinglan. I tossed the pack into my inventory, abusing the system... the only downside is that I couldn¡¯t remove the items while inside my system inventory. I stepped beside Mu Qinglan when Shen Yifei, wearing something similar to Qinglan, appeared, a black bodysuit that I made using the system, then her leather jacket and loose flowing skirt fluttered with each step. ¡¯It¡¯s really erotic... it clings to them... like spandex...¡¯ "Yifei, why are you here... and dressed like that?" Qinglan asked, her eyes glowing slightly as she narrowed them. The blonde with her twintails folded shorter with hair bands looked at me. Yifei¡¯s lips pressed into a tight line as she stopped just short of us. Her fingers rubbed the edges of her jacket, a habit I noticed she often did while nervous. "I¡¯m coming," she said, voice soft but steady. Qinglan¡¯s eyes narrowed further. "Since when?" "Since I decided," Yifei muttered, folding her arms under her chest, which only pushed the tightness of the suit even tighter against her body. "I¡¯m not useless." Mu Qinglan¡¯s gaze sharpened, flicking from Yifei to me, then back again. Measuring. Weighing. Not out of jealousy¡ªno, it was something else. Responsibility, maybe. The part of her that had already decided she was the shield between me and the rest of the world. "And who approved this little plan?" Qinglan asked, voice cool enough to frost glass. I raised a hand lazily. "I did." That earned me a sharp glance from Qinglan, but she didn¡¯t argue. Just let out a long breath through her nose, shoulders relaxing by an inch. "If she slows us down," she said, tone dry, "I¡¯m blaming you." I smiled faintly. "I¡¯ll take responsibility." Yifei puffed her cheeks slightly, twintails bouncing as she huffed, "I won¡¯t slow anyone down." Qinglan tilted her head slightly, studying her. Maybe seeing the same thing I did¡ªThe stubborn little spark hidden under all that nervous energy. "Fine," Qinglan said at last, turning away. "But stay close." ¡¯Eh?¡¯ Maybe I was wrong... the voice of Qinglan reminded me of when she used to scold new workers, but she only ever did that for people she cared about. The harsher Qinglan became, the more deeply she worried or cared about them. Well... Yifei was the youngest of our group of four now. Yifei blinked, clearly not expecting to be accepted so easily. Her eyes switched between me and Qinglan before she nodded. Then grabbed her metal spear to her chest and stood behind me. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of pride. We weren¡¯t a polished team. We weren¡¯t a perfect family. But somehow, this awkward, stitched-together group felt more real than anything I¡¯d had before. "Let¡¯s move," I said, voice low. The corridor lights flickered once, whether from a loose wire or something bigger, I didn¡¯t know. Didn¡¯t matter. We were leaving. And whatever waited outside Longwan¡¯s cracked concrete skeleton... We¡¯d face it together. ¡ª¡ª¡ª ???? POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 8:02 PM Longwan University ¨C Linbei Campus, North District ¡ª I felt a feel the sharp pain through my chest as my bow strap dug into my shoulder, and with each step, the air became colder and smelled of damp mould and rusty metal. I was late. Not that anyone would say it out loud, but I could feel their eyes when I reached the courtyard. Four others gathered by the rusted service gate. Two carried baseball bats wrapped in tape. One held a kitchen knife, its blade chipped and dulled. Only Chen Ming, the leader tonight, had a gun ¡ª an old revolver that clicked whenever he moved too fast. No one smiled when I joined them. No welcome. No teasing. They just shifted aside enough to make room. I adjusted the bowstring over my wrist, the leather guard stiff with cold, and stayed silent. I didn¡¯t need their approval. I only needed one thing. Medicine. Chen Ming glanced at me, then nodded toward the west gate. "Pharmacy by Liyuan Street. Get in, get out. No fighting if we can help it." "Quick and clean," someone muttered. It sounded nice, but it was clearly a lie. The metal gate creaked as we forced it open just wide enough to slip through. Outside, Longwan looked dead. More dead than usual. No lights. No traffic. Only buildings sagging under their weight, and the soft, terrible sound of the infected breathing somewhere out there. We moved fast, ducking between burnt-out cars and smashed storefronts. Every broken window felt like an open mouth ready to swallow us whole. I kept my eyes moving. Windows. Rooftops. Side streets. Anything could hide a zombie. We made it two blocks before the first group spotted us. Eight of them. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Dragging their feet, twitching at every sound. Eyes were white and empty. We froze. For a heartbeat, no one moved. I notched an arrow without thinking. It brushed my cheek, familiar and cold. Chen Ming gave a quick gesture. Left. Cut through the alley. Avoid them. We might have made it. Suppose the kid in the back hadn¡¯t slipped. The crash of glass was sharp, like a slap across the face. The nearest zombie jerked its head, locking onto us with a hungry grunt. Then the others turned. A low, wet growl rippled through the street. I didn¡¯t think and only wanted to survive. I couldn¡¯t hesitate... not like before. The first arrow flew, sinking clean through an eye socket. The corpse dropped without a sound. Second arrow. Another hit. Neck this time ¡ª it kept coming, but slower. The others panicked, scattering toward the pharmacy. I fired again. And again. On the sixth shot, my string snagged my fingertip. The sharp twang slapped my wrist, cutting deep as the pain shot up my arm. My fingers stiffened, the muscles screaming, but I lacked any time to cry about it. I yanked my knife free, backing up as two zombies staggered toward me, hands outstretched like they could already taste me. The first one fell easily ¡ª blade under the jaw, twist, pull free. The second grabbed my jacket. Its fingers were like iron, yanking me sideways into the street. I hit the ground hard. Breath slammed out of me. The world tilted. Before I could get up, something slammed into the zombie. A bat. I blinked up, dazed, at a boy from the archery club ¡ª skinny, cracked glasses slipping down his nose. He swung again, shouting something I didn¡¯t hear. "Move!" He grabbed my arm and yanked me up. We ran. Not gracefully. Not fast. We just ran. The pharmacy door loomed ahead, half-broken, windows shattered. I didn¡¯t think about the moans behind us, and couldn¡¯t afford to acknowledge the cold growing in my fingertips. I just ran. Someone shouted my name¡ªsharp, desperate. "Zhou Xue! Hurry!" The sound hit harder than the slap of cold air. I sprinted the last few meters and jumped through the door. The boy slammed it behind us, jamming a broken pipe through the handle. Inside, the pharmacy was dark and stinking of spoiled medicine and blood. But it was safer than outside. For now. I slid down against the wall, breathing hard, bow useless in my lap, wrist still bleeding. It didn¡¯t matter. I was alive. And for the first time in days, I allowed myself a small, bitter smile. I still had a promise to keep. No matter what. Chapter 79: Nightfall Chapter 79: NightfallThe cold hit harder the second we stepped outside. Not the kind of cold you could avoid with a jacket or a bit of movement. The icy chill seeped into your bones, and the filthy stench of rusted iron, mildew and old blood didn¡¯t help either. A heavy air filled the night, wet footsteps muffled but the faint, damp shuffle of things moving somewhere in the dark. Mu Qinglan led, her boots whispering over broken concrete, body low and fluid like a cat ready to kill. Shen Yifei stuck to my side, tighter than I liked, but I let it slide. Fear wasn¡¯t a sin tonight. It was survival. We moved fast but quiet, weaving through the wreckage of Longwan¡¯s corpse. Burnt-out cars. Shattered storefronts. Places that once buzzed with life and now served only as traps. A soft click to my right ¡ª Qinglan raised a fist, signalling a stop. Three infected stumbled out from a wrecked electronics store. Their jaws hung slack, skin rotting in the places their nails had clawed too deep. The closest one twitched toward the noise of Yifei¡¯s breathing. I slipped forward before it could scream. One hard stab under the jaw ¡ª through the mouth, into the brain. The zombie dropped like a puppet with cut strings. Qinglan took the second. A clean downward strike crushed its temple. The third barely had time to turn before Yifei jabbed her spear through its eye, feet slipping slightly on the slippery ground. She grunted, pulling the weapon free, with blood spattered across her leggings. I watched her for a half-second. Shaky. Scared. But still standing. "Move," I said quietly. The night swallowed us again as we pushed forward, every heartbeat hammering a little harder against my ribs. Something bad was happening out there. I could feel it in the air, thick and heavy as smoke. It took fifteen minutes of weaving through broken streets before we found a decent vantage point. A half-collapsed parking structure near the old East District border. Concrete cracked and slanted, the metal rebar twisted out like broken ribs. The air stank worse here ¡ª something rotten underneath the concrete ¡ª but it gave us height. I gestured upward. Qinglan nodded once and started the climb without a word. Yifei hesitated, glancing up at the shattered beams, but followed. I brought up the rear, every step creaking under my boots. By the time we reached the third floor, the view punched the breath out of me. Longwan University, Linbei Campus. What was left of it. The main gate was a mess ¡ª half the northern wall had collapsed under what looked like an explosion. Barricades of old furniture, cars, and even office cabinets lined the breaches, sloppy and desperate. Lights flickered weakly in a few upper windows like the last breath of a dying animal. And near the west side ¡ª near a crumbling pharmacy building ¡ª movement. Small shapes. A group, maybe six or seven. "Survivors?" Yifei asked, voice breaking the cold silence between us. Qinglan didn¡¯t answer immediately. She pulled binoculars from her belt, glass flashing as she scanned the street. Her mouth pressed into a tight line. "They¡¯re being hunted," she said finally. I squinted harder. It took a second before my eyes caught it ¡ª the shifting mass, the slow, hungry flood of bodies. Dozens. No¡ªhundreds. Moving toward the pharmacy like they smelled blood in the air. A low, steady groaning rose under the skyline, like a chant made from broken throats. Shen Yifei sucked in a breath beside me. "That¡¯s too many. We can¡¯t¡ª" "We¡¯re not saving everyone." My voice came out sharper than I meant. She flinched. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh, squeezing the bridge of my nose between two fingers. "We¡¯re looking for Zhou Xue. That¡¯s it. That¡¯s the mission." Qinglan¡¯s head dipped in agreement. She held her metal bat tight, not even tense and ready to follow my foolish mission. Yifei hesitated, fingers twisting around her spear shaft. "And if she¡¯s already..." She didn¡¯t finish. Neither did I. "Then we find her body," I said. "And we move on." The words tasted like ash in my mouth, but I couldn¡¯t afford pretty lies. Not here. Not anymore. "We need to move fast," Qinglan said, checking the map I¡¯d given her earlier. "North side streets. Less collapse. Should be faster." My stomach twisted once, a cold, sour knot. We were twenty minutes out if we moved fast. Maybe more if we hit trouble. By then... I clenched my jaw, grinding my back molars and nodded. "We¡¯re moving. Now," I said, voice low and flat. Qinglan¡¯s eyes met mine briefly, steady, without fear. Yifei swallowed hard, then nodded. Yifei wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then squared her shoulders. We turned from the dying view of Longwan University. And we ran. Time was bleeding away, and more people were dying. ¡ª¡ª Zhou Xue¡¯s POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 8:26 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, West District (Pharmacy Ruins) ¡ª The door wouldn¡¯t hold. I knew it in my gut, the same way you know when a rubber band is about to snap. The metal pipe jammed through the handles, bent a little more each time something heavy slammed into it from the other side. Scratch. Thud. Scratch scratch. I crouched behind the checkout counter, bow pressed tight against my thighs, heart hammering out a rapid rhythm against my ribs. Chen Ming hissed and threatened others to stay quiet using his gun, but it was a useless order in this situation... wasn¡¯t he meant to be smart? Fear overwhelmed them all, no matter how much we bit our lips and prayed. A girl two aisles down whimpered, biting into her sleeve to muffle it. Someone else dropped a bottle; it clattered and rolled under the shelves. Every noise drew a harder thud from outside. They could hear us. They could smell us. But they seemed to struggle with sight. I shifted, wincing as the leather guard rubbed my bleeding wrist. The cloth I¡¯d tied around it was already dark and sticky. My bowstring had cut deeper than I¡¯d thought. Chen Ming looked at me once ¡ª that hard, measuring look he always gave ¡ª but said nothing. He knew better than to waste breath. The boy from the archery club ¡ª Wu Bin ¡ª knelt across from me, glasses cracked, face pale and sweaty. His hands shook as he gripped an old kitchen knife. He caught me looking and tried to smile. It came out crooked and sad. "We¡¯ll get out," he mouthed. I didn¡¯t answer. No nonsense. The bow that I loved so much could save my life at any moment. I pulled back the bowstring, aiming at the door, despite the trembling in my fingers, the agonising throb as the muscles tightened and cramped. Useless! If my hand didn¡¯t stop shaking... I wouldn¡¯t be able to shoot. The walls vibrated under another slam. Dust rained down from the ceiling. Something heavy scraped against the broken window frames, pushing, testing. Soon, they wouldn¡¯t bother testing anymore. They¡¯d just come through. A hot, sour taste filled my mouth ¡ª fear, anger, regret all crushed into one lump I couldn¡¯t swallow. I thought about my father. About how angry he would be if he knew I was sitting here, useless, bleeding, waiting to die like some cornered animal. No. I refused to die here. Not yet. I gritted my teeth and notched an arrow, forcing my stiff hand into place. Whatever came through that door first... I was ready to kill it. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Or die trying. Chapter 80: The Cost of Living - Iron Blood Chapter 80: The Cost of Living - Iron BloodJohn Wang¡¯s POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 8:41 PM Longwan City ¡ª Linbei District, Three Blocks from the University ¡ª The ground trembled under our feet. Not the earth ¡ª it was the sound. The weight of hundreds of infected dragging themselves over cracked asphalt and broken glass, drawn by blood, noise, and hunger. We sprinted across the ruins, staying low behind rusted-out cars and shattered walls. Breathing hard. Footsteps light. Every second the pharmacy stayed standing felt like a miracle, ready to run out. Mu Qinglan ran ahead of me while gripping her bat. She retained her ruthless and aggressive movements from being a living dead. Shen Yifei stood beside me, gripping her spear so tightly her knuckles became white. Ahead, faint gunfire echoed ¡ª short, panicked bursts. "Close now," Qinglan muttered, her voice flat. Professional. I could smell the blood even before we saw the building. Fresh. Heavy. Wet. The pharmacy leaned sideways on its foundations, windows shattered, door buckling outward with the weight of bodies pressing against it. Half a dozen survivors clung to the inside, trying to keep the monsters out with their own shoulders and hands. It wasn¡¯t going to hold. A single body pushed too hard, and the whole front would collapse inward. I spotted her immediately. The girl with the bow. Blood staining her wrist. Jaw set like iron even while fear flickered behind her eyes. But what shocked me most was that girl... she was Zhou Xue. She didn¡¯t look heroic. She looked half-dead, cornered, and exhausted. But she was still standing. Still fighting. I drew a quick breath. "On my signal," I said. Qinglan nodded once. Yifei swallowed but stayed firm. No more time. We moved. We didn¡¯t go through the main door. Too obvious. Too clogged. We swept around the side ¡ª found a broken service entrance, already cracked open enough for a body to squeeze through. I led, crouched low, spear reversed in my hands. Inside, the pharmacy smelled worse ¡ª sour rot, blood, fear, sweat. Broken pill bottles crunched underfoot as we slipped through the aisles. I caught sight of a first zombie ¡ª a bloated woman in a torn security uniform. Her head twisted toward me, mouth already stretching open for a shriek. My knife flashed once, underhanded, jamming through her temple. The body crumpled soundlessly. Behind me, the cold woman slit another¡¯s throat in one smooth, surgical move. Blood sprayed the dusty shelves. Yifei shivered once, then rammed her spear straight through a zombie¡¯s chest, pinned it to the wall, and yanked it out again. Good. We pushed toward the front. Closer now, I could hear the survivors yelling, sobbing ¡ª the door half giving way. Zhou Xue stood right at the centre, bow raised, hand shaking so badly it was almost useless. Blood poured down her as her skin split from the strain and cold ¡ª the bowstring slippery with it. I locked eyes with her for a half-second through the wreckage. She blinked once, wide-eyed. She saw us. Not saviours or knights. Just three bloodstained wolves hurtling into the fire. ? Zhou Xue¡¯s POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 8:43 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, Pharmacy Ruins ¡ª At first, I thought I was seeing things. Everything felt thin, like I was floating a few inches above my own body. The pharmacy stank of sweat and rot. My hands were raw, blood sticky down my wrist, the bowstring long since cutting into my skin. I couldn¡¯t even string another shot now. My fingers kept slipping off the damn nock. The door buckled again behind us, the survivors jamming their backs and shoulders into it like sandbags trying to hold back a flood. Someone sobbed. Someone whispered prayers to a god I didn¡¯t think listened anymore. I tightened my grip around the useless bow. Waited for it. Knew it was coming. That moment when the whole barricade just snaps and the infected pour in. I didn¡¯t feel scared anymore. Just tired. So fucking tired. Then the side of the pharmacy just blew inward ¡ª like a shotgun blast without the noise. I jerked back instinctively. The noise, the dust, the sudden pressure drop in the air. Three shapes ¡ª black, sharp ¡ª stormed in through the smoke and shattered wood. Two women moved like lightning, cutting and sweeping the infected aside with short, brutal strikes. But it was the man who made the world tilt for a second. A spear exploded forward in the darkness. The black iron tip slicing through a zombie¡¯s neck like it was nothing. He planted his foot and spun in a low half circle, and smashed the blunt end of the shaft into another¡¯s skull, crushing it like a rotten melon. Blood sprayed in their air like a fountain, staining the broken shelves and walls. Yet that man... he didn¡¯t stop. He didn¡¯t even slow down. It wasn¡¯t clean, nor was it beautiful, but it was just... real. Fucking brutal and real. I stood there for a half-second like a goddamn idiot, bow hanging loose from my numb hands, heart hammering against my ribs like it wanted to break free and run. The infected hesitated ¡ª a second of confusion. I didn¡¯t waste it. I dropped the bow. It hit the floor with a clatter, too loud in my ears. Grabbed two broken arrows instead ¡ª sticky with blood and dust ¡ª one in each hand like little knives. The first infected stumbled toward me, mouth opening in a gurgling moan. I stabbed the arrow into its face. Deep. I think it screamed, or maybe that was me. I didn¡¯t even feel the shaft snap under the impact. Another one came from the side. I swung without thinking. Buried the second arrow into its throat. Hot blood sprayed across my arm. The shaft cracked against bone but held. Pain tore through my palms from the splintered wood, but it didn¡¯t matter. Nothing mattered but standing. Breathing. Fighting. Across the broken shelves, the male turned his head and caught my eye. It wasn¡¯t a heroic moment. No warmth. No sympathy. Just a hard, blood-smeared man, standing there like a wall against the dark, staring at me with the flat look of someone who¡¯s already decided how this ends. Fight. Or die. My chest heaved once, shuddering. Something inside me cracked open, sharp and ugly. I bared my teeth, sucked in a lungful of dusty air, and screamed ¡ª raw, broken, nothing pretty about it. Grabbed another broken arrow off the ground and slammed it through the eye of another infected, lunging for me. Felt the skull cave in under my palm. Blood sprayed hot across my wrist. I didn¡¯t care. Didn¡¯t even hesitate. He didn¡¯t look back to see if I could keep up. He just turned, drove his spear into the next corpse, and moved on ¡ª like he¡¯d already decided that if I wanted to live, it was on me. And somehow... somehow that made my heart beat harder, made my legs move faster, made something inside me catch fire again. Not survival. Not hope. Just rage. And maybe that was enough. I didn¡¯t think my mind became blank¡ªthere was no plan... I just moved! Another infected staggered in from the right, face half-missing, guts dragging behind it like a broken leash. I stepped sideways, foot skidding on broken glass, and slammed an arrow shaft into its ear. It bucked once, knocked my shoulder hard enough to rattle my teeth, then folded to the ground twitching. My hands were numb now. Couldn¡¯t even feel the broken wood biting into my palms anymore. Blood ran down my arms like someone had turned on a faucet. A scream ripped out from behind me. Someone ¡ª a boy, maybe Wu Bin, maybe not ¡ª dragged down under three bodies. I jerked half a step toward him before stopping myself. No... I couldn¡¯t save anyone, act like him! Keep moving, keep killing, one dead zombie is one more chance to survive! Another infected lunged over a broken pharmacy shelf. I twisted, ducked low, and jammed the arrow into its jaw as it fell. It hit the ground hard, twitching, teeth snapping at the air. My breath rasped against my throat, torn and wet. The survivors near the door were scattering now, sprinting past the broken front, some still clutching bags or sacks of medicine they wouldn¡¯t be able to carry far. Most would die before morning. It didn¡¯t matter. Another body crashed into me ¡ª heavy, rotten, slick with something I didn¡¯t want to think about. I stumbled, almost went down, but threw my shoulder into it, forcing it back. No weapon this time, just fists and elbows and broken instinct. The broken arrow snapped somewhere behind me. Fine. I grabbed another off the floor. A jagged, twisted piece barely longer than my hand. Good enough. The male moved somewhere ahead, a blur of black and iron, spear sweeping wide arcs, clearing paths through the horde like a reaper mowing a field. The two women flanked him ¡ª sharp, merciless. I wasn¡¯t fast like them. I wasn¡¯t strong. But I could still kill. And I wasn¡¯t going to die here on my knees. Another infected shrieked and rushed me. I met it halfway, driving the splintered arrow through its eye with a hoarse yell that left my throat raw. It slammed into me, heavy, stinking, dead weight that shook my organs. I staggered but didn¡¯t fall. A black sticky blood with a foul stench soaked my chest, my arms, my legs. I didn¡¯t even know how much of it was mine anymore. Didn¡¯t matter. Somewhere in the back of my mind, something cold and wild whispered: This is the cost of survival! Another zombie... another kill... I must keep standing... moving. Don¡¯t stop, Zhou Xue! S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The pharmacy walls groaned under the weight of the swarm. Dust rained down from above in fine, choking clouds. I barely noticed. I was too busy surviving. One broken heartbeat at a time. Chapter 81: Fire in the Blood Chapter 81: Fire in the BloodJohn Wang¡¯s POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 8:47 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, Pharmacy Ruins ¡ª The air stank of smoke and rotting meat. The floor was starting to tilt under my boots, the structure groaning every few seconds like some dying animal. We didn¡¯t have much time left before the whole pharmacy came down on our heads. Didn¡¯t matter. I slung the Type-9k from my back, thumbed off the safety, and squeezed the trigger in short bursts. The SMG barked sharp, loud in the cramped aisles. Three infected staggered back, heads snapping like popped melons. The Type-9k wasn¡¯t a heavy weapon.9mm, low recoil, meant for fast, dirty culling. Perfect for clearing weaklings. "Yifei, left!" I barked without looking. A Stage-1 zombie broke from the side, half a face missing. Shen Yifei swung her spear with a scared grunt, catching it across the throat and dropping it hard. The system flickered at the edge of my vision: [Shen Yifei Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª EXP +10 / ZKP +5] Noted. Keep moving. Ahead, Mu Qinglan was still swinging that cracked bat, splinters flying with every hit. Her face was blank, detached, but her body was starting to slow down. Not exhaustion. Just physics. Metal couldn¡¯t survive high-impact blows forever. The bat cracked again ¡ª the sound sharp, ugly. I cursed under my breath, flipped the SMG in my hand, and tossed it. "Qinglan!" She turned without hesitation and caught the weapon by the grip mid-spin. Before she could even raise it, I pushed a system prompt mentally ¡ª fast, dirty command ¡ª Set Auto-Reload: Mu Qinglan / Type-9k Active. System response flashed: [Auto-Reload Enabled: Designated User ¡ª Mu Qinglan.] Qinglan racked the slide, lifted the SMG, and started cutting down infected with clean, two-shot bursts. Head. Head. Head. Every round landing sharp and final. [Mu Qinglan Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª EXP +10 / ZKP +5] [Mu Qinglan Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª EXP +10 / ZKP +5] [Mu Qinglan Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª EXP +10 / ZKP +5] The feed kept ticking up at the corner of my vision, stacking slowly. I ducked under a falling shelf, jammed my shoulder into an infected trying to lunge, and drove it back into a broken freezer door with a crunch. No time to waste. More kills meant more ZKP. More EXP flowing into the Ruler System from them, not from me. Good. Very good. Shen Yifei yelped ¡ª barely avoided getting dragged down by two half-broken infected that had grabbed her legs. I moved without thinking, smashing the nearest one¡¯s head against the concrete counter, while Qinglan gunned down the second. [Shen Yifei Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª EXP +10 / ZKP +5] My breath misted in front of my face. The air was colder now. Fewer bodies blocking the street outside meant the city¡¯s dead air was bleeding in. But even through the thinning ranks of infected, even through the crumbling walls... I could feel something was wrong. The earth shook under my boots. Not just from the building giving way. Something big was coming. And it wasn¡¯t dead yet. ¡ª The walls groaned louder now. Hairline cracks spiderwebbed across the ceiling. The floor shifted under my boots, a low tilt, almost like the ground itself was breathing. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Smoke burned my throat. Every breath tasted like dust and rot. "Brute," I muttered. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t flinch. She lifted the Type-9k, shifting her weight into a cleaner stance. Shen Yifei glanced sideways, swallowing hard, but gripped her spear tighter. No screaming. No breaking ranks. Good. Through the half-collapsed shelves, I caught glimpses of the survivors. Scattered. Fading. A boy with a bloodied baseball bat swung wild at a half-dead infected ¡ª panic in every clumsy blow. Two others tried dragging a girl with a broken leg toward the doors but gave up halfway and bolted, leaving her sobbing on the cracked tile. Another kid ¡ª glasses askew, uniform torn ¡ª ran without looking back, shoving anyone in his way. Survival. Ugly. Selfish. Real. I didn¡¯t judge it. Not anymore. But one thing caught my eye. Near the broken checkout counters ¡ª half-pinned under a fallen sign, face smeared with blood and grime ¡ª Zhou Xue fought alone. No backup. No weapons beyond broken arrows and a cracked length of pipe. No mercy. She screamed as she swung, savage and raw, jamming a snapped arrow into the eye of an infected that grabbed at her. Blood sprayed across her jacket. Her body shook with exhaustion, but her arms didn¡¯t lower. She yanked the pipe free from the corpse and spun to drive it into another¡¯s temple, using every ounce of strength left in her. A crazy, hopeless fight. But she kept fighting anyway. Even when the others abandoned her. Even when there was no point anymore. Something twisted low in my gut ¡ª something I didn¡¯t have a name for. Not pity. Not admiration, either. Recognition, maybe? The same dead spark I¡¯d seen in my own reflection too many times since the world fell apart. The walls groaned again ¡ª louder ¡ª the ceiling coughing dust into the ruin-lit aisles. Then the loading dock doors exploded inward. The shockwave from the impact slammed through the pharmacy like a hammer. Zhou Xue was thrown off her feet, smashing against the wall, and bouncing off the floor hard and sliding across the broken tile, a toppled shelf crashing down across her legs. The Stage-2 Brute crashed through the wall like a wrecking ball, dragging twisted steel and shards of broken concrete behind it. Its body convulsed, muscles bulging wrong, tendons snapping and thickening under torn skin. Still in the early phase. Slower.But if it finished mutating¡ª No thinking. No speeches. I planted my feet, shoulder twisted back, spear balanced perfectly across my palm. Breathe. Sight. Throw. The spear left my hand like a hammer shot, the shaft whistling through the broken air. It punched straight through the Brute¡¯s forehead ¡ª the impact so hard it knocked the creature back against a load-bearing column. Its whole frame buckled once and dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. The system blinked at the edge of my vision: [John Wang Kill: Stage-2 Brute-Type ¡ª ZKP +50] The fight didn¡¯t pause. The infected kept clawing forward ¡ª snarling, crawling over bodies, teeth gnashing. Mu Qinglan laid down covering fire with sharp, economic bursts from the SMG. Yifei stabbed low, pivoted, stabbed again ¡ª clumsy but getting faster, less afraid. The floor rumbled under my boots again ¡ª harder. A beam near the centre gave way with a sharp, ripping crack. The pharmacy wasn¡¯t just unstable now. It was going to collapse and crush us all. I pushed forward to retrieve my spear ¡ª fingers outstretched ¡ª and saw her. Zhou Xue. Still desperate for survival... eyes burning with fire, fighting. Pinned halfway under a collapsed shelf, arms trembling, blood soaking down one sleeve from a gash I hadn¡¯t seen before. The others had fled and left her... She hadn¡¯t left them, but now, I couldn¡¯t stand it. Our eyes met across the ruin. Hers wide. Wild. Terrified. Alive. Another heavy crack split the ceiling. Dust and plaster fell like rain. No more time. No more choices. I abandoned my spear and rushed towards her. Spear or Victory forgotten. Only one thing mattered now as I charged through the falling dust, boots hammering across the splitting floor. The debris pinned her across the thighs. Too heavy to lift carefully. Fine. I braced my legs, shoved hard with my shoulder, ignoring the scream that ripped through my muscles. The shelf shifted just enough. Zhou Xue let out a ragged cry as I grabbed her under the arms and yanked her free. "Hold on," I growled. Didn¡¯t know if she heard me. Didn¡¯t matter. I threw her up across my shoulders in a fireman¡¯s carry and sprinted for the broken entrance. The world behind us groaned once ¡ª a low, final sound. Then the ceiling came down. Chapter 82: Breath of Dust Chapter 82: Breath of DustJohn Wang¡¯s POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 8:50 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, Pharmacy Exterior ¡ª I hit the street a second before the roof caved in. Concrete and steel crashed down behind us in a roar of pulverised stone and screaming metal. A shockwave slapped the air flat around me, tossing dust and burning grit into my eyes, my mouth, my ears. I didn¡¯t stop moving. Zhou Xue¡¯s weight was slung over my shoulders ¡ª lighter than she should¡¯ve been, all bone and blood and shredded muscle. She let out a breathy gasp against while clinging to my back, her fingers clutched weakly at my jacket, but she stayed conscious. Good. I staggered over broken stones, but finally caught my footing and bolted across the rubble-strewn street, boots slamming hard against cracked asphalt. Every breath burned like sucking in sandpaper. Behind us, the pharmacy finished collapsing, the last of the roof falling with a wet, crumpled roar. Couldn¡¯t think about it. Couldn¡¯t afford to look back. Survivors scattered into the streets ahead ¡ª some limping, some dragging each other, most just running blind. No formation. No plan. Just pure animal panic. Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei cut through the chaos, clearing the path. Qinglan led, cold and sharp, the Type-9k barking in quick, surgical bursts. Yifei was clumsy but stubborn, stabbing at anything that moved too close, her spear slick with black blood. The infected didn¡¯t chase hard yet. They were still busy tearing at the ruins. We had minutes. Maybe less. I sucked in a breath, nearly gagged on the dust, and forced my legs to move faster. Zhou Xue stirred weakly. "Put... me down," she rasped, voice cracked raw. "Not a fucking chance," I grunted. She went still again, not arguing, just breathing in shallow, painful gasps against my shoulder. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Good girl. A broken chunk of wall crashed down a few feet to my right, sending shards of brick skittering across the road. I veered left without slowing, knees screaming, lungs shredding with every pull of air. The gate. We had to make it to the goddamn gate. Another cluster of infected stumbled into the street ahead ¡ª maybe fifteen, maybe more. Hard to count through the swirling dust. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t hesitate. She tightened her grip on the Type-9k, brought it up one-handed, and emptied a short, savage burst into the first three zombies in front of her. Two went down clean. The third kept moving with half a face, twitching. Qinglan hooked the SMG around her back immediately ¡ª the magazine dry ¡ª and shifted her stance. She caught the next infected across the jaw with her metal bat, the impact snapping bone with a sharp, ugly crunch. Blood splattered the pavement. Another quick step forward ¡ª another heavy swing ¡ª she crushed the next skull flat against a broken street sign. Her movements were rough now ¡ª less clean, less precise ¡ª but they were still powerful and dangerous. Shen Yifei followed behind her, screaming something hoarse and wordless, charging in low with her spear braced forward. She stabbed one through the stomach and used the leverage to pivot into another, half-spinning under its flailing arms. I adjusted my grip on Zhou Xue, her weight shifting dangerously as she half-slipped. Had to keep moving. Had to get clear before the whole street fell into chaos again. The University¡¯s outer wall loomed ahead ¡ª broken, yes, but still a barrier. Still, something to put between us and the flood that was coming. Five more meters. Three. A scream tore through the street behind me ¡ª someone getting caught, ripped down. I didn¡¯t look. Couldn¡¯t help them. Wouldn¡¯t support them. Survival wasn¡¯t about being a fucking saint. Only two things mattered: The ones who stayed. The ones who didn¡¯t. I made the broken hole in the wall, ducked under a twisted rebar snag, my back scraping rough stone hard enough to tear cloth and skin. Didn¡¯t stop. Zhou Xue whimpered once but held on. I staggered into the ruined courtyard inside the university grounds and dropped to one knee, setting her down as carefully as my wrecked arms would allow. She slumped against a half-fallen column, coughing hard, blood flecking her lips. Alive. Still breathing. I looked at her ¡ª really looked ¡ª for the first time. Bruised. Cut. Bloodied. But alive. Still fighting even now, fingers clenching weakly into fists like she was ready to swing at the next thing that moved. That dead spark in her eyes ¡ª the one I¡¯d seen before ¡ª it hadn¡¯t gone out. If anything, it burned hotter. Good. I needed fighters. Not corpses. I pulled my system interface up, flicking to the tally list as the dust settled. [Combat Summary] Mu Qinglan Killed: Stage-1: 36 ¡ª EXP +360 / ZKP +180 Shen Yifei Killed: Stage-1: 24 ¡ª EXP +240 / ZKP +120 John Wang Killed: Stage-1: 11 ¡ª ZKP +55 | Stage-2 Brute: 1 ¡ª ZKP +50 Total ZKP Gained: +405 Total EXP Gained (from allies only): +600 The numbers rolled past the corner of my vision. Felt hollow. Didn¡¯t matter right now. I stood, wiped the blood and grit from my mouth with the back of my hand, and turned my head toward the shattered courtyard stretching out into the dark. This was only the beginning. Longwan University was a battlefield. And now...It was my battlefield. ¡ª We cleared the broken wall just as the pharmacy collapsed behind us, a roaring mess of stone and screaming metal. Dust chased us into the courtyard like a living thing, curling through the air, blinding, choking. But inside the perimeter... There were walls. Watch posts. Survivors. Lights glared down from towers made out of scrap scaffolding and twisted sheet metal. Sandbags lined the open spaces. They built barricades using desks, old cars, and wire fencing. Rough. Ugly. But working. Guards ¡ª real guards, armed with batons, machetes, even a few battered pistols ¡ª shouted from the towers when they saw us coming. "Identify yourselves!" one barked, voice cracking through a beat-up megaphone. I didn¡¯t stop. Didn¡¯t slow down either. I had Zhou Xue slung over my shoulder, bleeding and coughing. Shen Yifei dragged two scared kids behind her. Mu Qinglan flanked me, her bat dripping black blood. We looked like hell. The guards recognised it, too. I saw their stances stiffen ¡ª weapons rising a little higher. Trouble. They smelled it on us already. The others behind us ¡ª the pharmacy survivors ¡ª dragged themselves in through the ruins, coughing, bleeding, some half-collapsing. The ones who had stayed behind.The ones their leadership had already written off. I slowed only once we were well past the outer barricade. Zhou Xue slipped down against the base of a rusted-out army truck, breathing shallow but steady. Around us, the courtyard buzzed with low, tense energy. Some survivors stared at us, the others edged away. The guards muttered into radios, watching us like wolves eyeing a wounded deer. We weren¡¯t welcome or trusted here. And unless I made a move fast, we wouldn¡¯t last long inside these walls. Chapter 83: Those Who Move Chapter 83: Those Who MoveJohn Wang¡¯s POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 9:25 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, West Courtyard ¡ª Everyone was exhausted, except me and Mu Qinglan. I wanted to use the system to help Zhou Xue. Thankfully, she wasn¡¯t infected, but many of her friends were not so lucky, and what made me quite satisfied was another S-Tier. Tang Wei and Zhou Xue... I couldn¡¯t let them slip through my fingertips! I straightened slowly, flexing my fingers, feeling the dry blood cracking across my palms. Around me, my team tightened up with no need for orders. Mu Qinglan at my left shoulder, sharp and steady, bat slung low but ready. Shen Yifei at my right, dragging her spear up to a tired guard stance, mouth tight. Zhou Xue on her butt, blood smeared across her face, clutching her ribs but still watching the perimeter like she was ready to bite anyone who came too close. Good. Good instincts. A group of university guards approached ¡ª five or six ¡ª hard faces, worn equipment. Their leader was a woman, maybe in her late twenties, a faded armband wrapped around her left biceps. She kept one hand near the hilt of a machete strapped to her belt. Her eyes swept over us quick. Focused mostly on the wounded survivors behind me ¡ª the pharmacy crew. I saw the judgment flash across her face. Troublemakers.Failures. I didn¡¯t blame her. But that didn¡¯t mean I¡¯d take orders from her either. "You brought back the strays," she said, voice rough from too many cigarettes and not enough sleep. "You realise what you¡¯ve done?" I shrugged once. No apology. No explanation. Her face twisted as she ground her teeth together. "You," she pointed at Mu Qinglan. "You from this campus?" "No," Qinglan said, cool and disinterested. The woman spat to the side. "Figures. Outsiders dragging more outsiders. That¡¯s all we need." I stepped forward once, just enough to make her refocus. "They stay or not?" I asked flatly. No please. No negotiation. She snorted. "Leadership will decide. Until then, you and yours can wait outside Main Block Four. Don¡¯t start shit." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her eyes lingered on Zhou Xue. "Especially you," she muttered. I watched her walk away, muttering into a cracked radio. The guards melted back toward the barricades, but their stares stayed heavy on us. I exhaled slowly, not out of relief, just out of calculation. We were inside the perimeter. But we were still in enemy territory. And if we wanted to live through the night...We were going to have to carve out a place here. One way or another. "Hey... can you tell me your name now?" I asked the girl while buying a simple healing ointment and a set of bandages from the system store. Luckily, we brought backpacks with us¡ªmine was empty, so I could pretend to pull the bandage and ointment naturally. "Xue... Zhou Xue..." Her voice was soft, like freshly fallen snow... but her eyes lacked trust and her fear of me was obvious... damn. My vision flickered as I pulled up the system menu with a quick mental swipe. [ZKP: 1945 Available] I shifted straight to the [Emergency Medical Supplies] submenu. Basic stuff. No miracles. A rough list scrolled into view: [Basic Sterile Bandage Roll (x3)] ¡ª 10 ZKP [Antiseptic Ointment (50ml)] ¡ª 15 ZKP [Painkiller Tablets (Low-Grade, 10ct)] ¡ª 20 ZKP [Medical Suture Kit (Basic)] ¡ª 50 ZKP [Field Trauma Kit (Mid-Tier)] ¡ª 120 ZKP We didn¡¯t need the full trauma kit. Not yet. I selected: [Basic Sterile Bandage Roll (x3)] ¡ª 10 ZKP [Antiseptic Ointment (50ml)] ¡ª 15 ZKP [Total Cost: 25 ZKP] Confirm. The system flashed: [Purchase Successful.] -25 ZKP deducted.New Balance: [ZKP: 1920] In the corner of my inventory space, two small, battered supply kits materialised ¡ª old-world style. Though the text said they were top of the range, it seemed different from what I imagined, no glowing magic bullshit. Just rough cloth bandages and thick, chemical-smelling ointment stuffed into cracked plastic containers. Exactly what we needed. I closed the menu with a thought, pulled the supplies free, and crouched down next to Zhou Xue, who was still gripping her side, blood slipping through her fingers. "Hold still," I said, already ripping open a bandage packet. "Eh??" She flinched once, then went still, lips pressed tight. Good girl. No crying. No questions. I smeared the ointment quick ¡ª it stung like hell; I could see her jaw clench hard ¡ª then wrapped the gauze tight around the worst of the gashes. Messy work.Fast work.Good enough to keep her standing. We didn¡¯t need to be perfect right now, but I needed her to live. [First Aid Administered ¡ª Temporary Recovery Boost: +10% Movement / +10% Pain Resistance for 1 Hour.] I stood and stretched my shoulders once, ignoring the pull in my arms. Zhou Xue coughed into her sleeve but nodded at me once, silent thanks. She was pale, but the bandages would hold. The painkillers would keep her upright for now. Didn¡¯t matter if she could sprint or fight. She could walk. That was enough. I scanned the courtyard again, slow and careful. Nothing fast. No sudden moves to give anyone watching a reason to put a bullet in us. A half-dozen university guards leaned against the barricades, muttering into radios. They kept their guns low but ready. A few pointed toward us now and then, hands twitchy near their triggers. I could almost hear their thoughts. Outsiders. Burdens. Threats. What made me impressed was the lack of the typical woman loving villain, or scum who wanted to take Yifei and Qinglan but leave me here. It was quite amusing to think that those situations didn¡¯t happen in a real apocalypse... At least for now. The pharmacy survivors huddled in clumps near the trucks, shaking, bleeding, still trying to look invisible. Pathetic. They were as good as dead weight unless someone hammered them back into shape. And I wasn¡¯t going to be the one wasting strength to do it. "Wait..." I suddenly muttered. "What¡¯s wrong, John?" Qinglan responded, her hands wrapped around my arm. "Ah? Sorry, I was just thinking out loud." With a simple nod, I turned my focus back to the system... close to a level and with 20 slots free, could I take these students who seemed weak and useless and make them into scouts or guards... maybe some of them are talented elsewhere. Unlike Zhou Xue, none of them surpassed the C-Tier. I would probably have to save her friend, she mentioned someone¡¯s name while half asleep... I kept my arms loose at my sides, giving the guards no reason to start twitching harder on their triggers. In the back of my mind, the system flickered ¡ª small passive readouts running along the edges of my vision. [Survivor Scan: Low-Tier Detected. Average Rating: C-Class] Nothing impressive. Nothing threatening. But maybe... useful. Scouts. Runners. Guards, if I could hammer some backbone into them. Maybe even bait if I needed a clean escape later. I exhaled through my nose, slow and steady. Control wasn¡¯t about saving everybody. It was about using what you had until you had more. Simple. Clean. A small grunt pulled my attention down. Zhou Xue. Still propped against the truck, head drooping, mouth moving in broken whispers. I crouched down beside her, angling my body to block the line of sight from the guards watching us. Her lips moved again ¡ª a name slipping out half-slurred, raw with fear and exhaustion. "Liang... Liang Mei... north... lab block..." I didn¡¯t say anything. Didn¡¯t pat her hand.Didn¡¯t tell her it would be okay. I just stood up, flexing my blood-cracked fingers, feeling the weight settle clean in my chest. Target acquired. Move forward. Survive first. Build second. Save who mattered third. Same old rules. Different battlefield. As I scanned the courtyard, a soft data line flickered across the bottom of my vision ¡ª nothing loud, nothing obvious. [Survivor Scan: Active] [Total Scanned: 26 Individuals] Detected Tier Distribution: S-Tier: 1 (Zhou Xue) A-Tier: 0 B-Tier: 0 C-Tier: 11 D-Tier: 14 Not a surprise, most were weak. Broken and barely better than the walking dead, if I were being generous. Only one stood out ¡ª Zhou Xue ¡ª burning like a small, guttering star in a sea of ashes. But... they could help, and I became sure of it. I glanced toward her again, where she sat propped against the truck, blood drying along her jaw, hand clenching weakly over the bandages I¡¯d wrapped. Good instincts and a tough core. But I couldn¡¯t buy Zhou Xue¡¯s loyalty and affection with bandages alone. The soft chime came half a breath later. [System Task Generated.] [Secure S-Tier Survivor: Zhou Xue.] [Objective: Save A-Tier Survivor: Liang Mei from North Laboratory Block.] [Reward: +2000 ZKP / +2000 EXP / 1 Random Gift (Survival Tier)] I didn¡¯t smile. Didn¡¯t react. Just catalogued it mentally. Target acquired. Path opened. Nothing worth doing was easy. And no empire worth building was free. Chapter 84: March Through the Dead Chapter 84: March Through the DeadJohn Wang¡¯s POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 9:32 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, West Courtyard ¡ª The wounded clumped together near the ruined trucks. The half-useful ones hovered near the barricades, trying not to make eye contact with the guards or with me. I didn¡¯t blame them. Fear was smarter than bravery most days. I crouched low against the rusted truck, keeping my voice low. Only Mu Qinglan, Shen Yifei, and Zhou Xue were close enough to hear me. The rest of the courtyard didn¡¯t matter yet. "We¡¯re going after Liang Mei," I said, voice flat. "Where is she?." Zhou Xue¡¯s eyes brightened as she spoke. "The north-lab block... that¡¯s where the ones who cannot fight are lingering." "I see..." Mu Qinglan nodded once, with no hesitation, while Shen Yifei¡¯s fingers twitched against her spear. I noticed that Zhou Xue, still looked pale and bloodied, she sucked in a shallow breath but didn¡¯t argue. "Just the four of us?" Qinglan asked. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her tone didn¡¯t doubt me, but rather, she seemed to be thinking more realistically. I shook my head once. "Not enough." Yifei leaned in, brows knitted tight. "You think there¡¯s time to grab help?" "Maybe," I said. "If they¡¯re useful." I scanned the clumped survivors across the courtyard ¡ª most of them half-broken, some barely able to stand. "Dead weight slows us down," I added. "But a few warm bodies on the flanks might buy us enough time if we run into a herd." Zhou Xue wiped blood off her mouth with the back of her hand. "I know some of them," she said, voice rough but clear. "There are a few who can still move. Some fought with me earlier... not all of them are useless." I flicked a glance at her. "If you had to pick," I said, voice sharp, "how many?" She hesitated ¡ª not long ¡ª then said, "Three, maybe four." I nodded. "Good. I¡¯ll scan the group." Mu Qinglan shifted her weight, bat slung casually across her shoulders. "If they move slow," she said, tone dry, "we leave them." "Right," I said. I stood, dusted the grit off my hands, and shifted my weight, arms loose, scanning them coldly. The system flickered at the corner of my vision ¡ª a quiet, passive scan, no noise. [Survivor Scan Active] C-Tier: 11 Detected D-Tier: 14 Detected I ignored the D-Tiers for now, because they wouldn¡¯t help enough. Then tapped my system open again, bringing up the quick-purchase submenu. ¨‹ Basic Scrap Shield ? Durability: 80/80 ? Cost: 150 ZKP ¨‹ Basic Leather Armour (Vest) ? Durability: 80/80 ? Cost: 150 ZKP I purchased three of each and flicked the system menu closed behind my eyes, mentally checking the numbers. [ZKP Remaining: 1020] However, it would be useful to use Zhou Xue to help me form some kind of bond with the others. They didn¡¯t know me or what I wanted. The courtyard was falling apart. The guards had stopped pretending to care. Their rifles sagged low, their eyes fixed on the gates where the dead clawed and slammed against the barricades, louder every minute. No one was coming to save us. Good. I crouched down beside Zhou Xue, who leaned against the rusted truck, her fingers white-knuckled around the bandages I¡¯d wrapped across her ribs. "Zhou Xue," I said, voice low but steady. Her head lifted, eyes sharp despite the blood on her face. "You know these people. Call four of them over. Only the ones who can move." She didn¡¯t argue. Didn¡¯t waste time asking why. Her lips pressed tight for half a breath ¡ª a hesitation that said more than any words ¡ª then she pushed herself upright with a grimace. "Chen Xun," she called first, voice rough but clear. "Deng Hua. Liang Qiu. Guo Fan." They came hesitantly ¡ª scared, bloody, half-broken ¡ª but they came. That was enough. They stopped a few paces away, shifting their weight like cornered dogs, not sure if I was offering a hand or a knife. Good. Fear sharpened the senses. Zhou Xue knew them well because these people were recruitable C-Tier level humans, and their wounds didn¡¯t come close to the others. Mu Qinglan moved to my left, silent and steady, her bat slung low across her shoulders. And Shen Yifei hovered near Zhou Xue, fingers tapping a rhythm against the shaft of her spear. I looked at the four survivors and couldn¡¯t help but frown, telling them what would happen directly. "We¡¯re moving north," I said. "North Lab Block. There¡¯s someone we need to pull out." I let the words hang just long enough for them to understand it wasn¡¯t a suggestion. "You follow me," I continued, voice flat, "you move when I say move. You fight if I say fight. You keep up, or you stay behind." "Why should we?" Chen Xun¡¯s voice trembled as he asked. I didn¡¯t get angry. Didn¡¯t even blink. I just stepped closer, letting the cracked concrete creak under my boots, until there was only half a meter between us. Because fear sharpened the brain, and closeness made fear real development. "You stay here," I said low, "you die when the next wave hits." I jerked my chin toward the barricades, where the walls shook under the fists of the dead. "You move with me, maybe you die anyway.But you¡¯ll have a weapon in your hand.You¡¯ll have a chance." Simple. Ugly. Real. Chen Xun flinched. Not because the words were cruel, but because they were true. Behind him, Deng Hua swallowed hard, glancing toward the darkness gathering at the courtyard edges. Liang Qiu squared her shoulders slightly, her jaw clenching. Good instincts. Guo Fan looked like he might piss himself ¡ª but he nodded, jerky and desperate. They understood. No speeches. No promises. Just survival or death. Their choice. I dropped the battered machetes at their feet, one by one. Old-world steel, scavenged days ago.Not gifts.Tools. "You want to live," I said, stepping back, "pick one up." They did so in a quick and rather quiet manner. None of them seemed proud, and thanks to the sweaty state and messy hair, they didn¡¯t look pretty either, but at least they were fast. I yanked the basic shield and leather vest from my backpack next ¡ª bought earlier, rough as hell but good enough ¡ª and tossed them toward Liang Qiu and Guo Fan. "Shield front," I said, jerking my chin toward Liang. "Guard the centre." "Vest back," to Guo Fan. "Stay alive." The courtyard groaned under another slam from the gates. Not much time left. I turned to Zhou Xue, who was still leaning against the truck, pale but steady. "You stay with us," I said. "Close to the centre. Don¡¯t fall." She nodded once, sharp and certain. Good girl. Mu Qinglan shifted beside me, twirling her bat once in her hand like she was testing the weight. Her eyes were cool, scanning the survivors without a hint of kindness. "Stay tight," she said flatly. "If you panic, don¡¯t expect us to drag your ass." Shen Yifei nodded quick, stepping closer to Zhou Xue, almost protectively. The four I¡¯d chosen stiffened ¡ª Chen Xun, Deng Hua, Liang Qiu, Guo Fan ¡ª but none of them argued. At least they had that much sense left. "Anything we need to know?" Liang Qiu asked, voice rough from smoke and fear. Good. She wasn¡¯t just meat with legs. "We move fast," I said. "No shouting. No breaking ranks.If you see an infected ahead, you don¡¯t scream ¡ª you stab." Simple instructions. Nothing they could fuck up by thinking too hard. "And if we can¡¯t run?" Deng Hua muttered, clutching the machete like it was the only real thing left in his world. "Then you fight," I said. "Or you die." The words dropped like a hammer. Hard enough that even the dumbest one here could feel it settle over their heads. I glanced once at the shaking barricades, the buckling metal under the fists of the dead. No more time for speeches. I flicked two fingers toward the far end of the courtyard, where the darkness was deeper, the ruined buildings twisted against the night sky. "Move out," I said. "North Labs. Stay close. Eyes open." Mu Qinglan took point beside me, bat held low. Shen Yifei hovered half-behind me, spear up but tense. Zhou Xue limped at the centre of the pack, teeth clenched against the pain, hands white-knuckled around her borrowed gear. The others formed a rough diamond around her, shields up, heads swivelling. Sloppy, but they moved, and that was enough for now. The courtyard behind us shook harder ¡ª a deep, rolling groan of breaking steel and stone. The infected were coming faster now. No second chances. No gods. No mercy. Just the black night swallowing us whole as we slipped into the ruins ahead. Chapter 85: Ruins and Shadows Chapter 85: Ruins and ShadowsJohn Wang¡¯s POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 9:38 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, Ruined Courtyard ¡ª The cracked pavement stretched out ahead of us ¡ª uneven, broken, half-swallowed by weeds and old bloodstains. I raised a hand once, sharp, silent, and the group tightened immediately. Mu Qinglan slid to my left flank, her bat held low but ready. Shen Yifei shifted nervously to my right, spear clutched too high but steady enough. Zhou Xue limped near the centre of the pack, shielded by the others ¡ª Chen Xun, Deng Hua, Liang Qiu, Guo Fan ¡ª all moving stiff, jittery. A sloppy formation, but they still moved well. That was enough. I kept us tight along the western wall, sticking to the shadows thrown by the broken shell of the old gymnasium. Ahead, maybe thirty meters out, a cluster of infected drifted across the old food court. Five, maybe six. Mouths slack, heads twitching, dragging broken limbs behind them. No pattern. No intelligence. Just hunger. I crouched lower, signalling by hand ¡ª halt. Crouch. Wait. The group froze, low against the ground. The infected wandered past without seeing us ¡ª too far, too dark. We moved again slowly, with measured and calm steps to avoid making noise and attracting the zombies wrapped around us. Every footstep mattered. No scraping. No panic breathing. No second chances. Behind me, I heard Shen Yifei breathing too fast through her nose, fighting it, copying my stance the best she could. Chen Xun stumbled once ¡ª nearly fell ¡ª but Mu Qinglan grabbed the back of his jacket in a flash, yanking him upright with a sharp jerk. No words. No thanks. That was survival. We reached the cracked edge of the old sports complex ¡ª the fencing twisted, half-pulled down like broken ribs jutting from a corpse. I raised my hand again ¡ª halt. A new sound drifted in ¡ª low, ragged, the wet shuffling of many bodies moving together. I edged forward, peering around the collapsed bleachers. Twenty. Maybe thirty infected. Spread across the ruins of the old track field. Moving slow. Clustering. Feeding on something we couldn¡¯t see. Blocking the straight path north. Damn. I dropped back to the group, crouching low behind a crumbled concrete barrier. Mu Qinglan knelt beside me, calm. Waiting. Shen Yifei looked like she wanted to ask something, but bit it back and kept quiet. She was becoming smarter, and I felt it was good to have brought her. I jerked a thumb toward the west ¡ª broken fencing, collapsed bleachers, shattered ground. "Skirt wide," I said, voice barely above a whisper. "Stick to the wreckage. One at a time. No noise." They nodded, tight faces pale but focused. Liang Qiu took the lead without needing a shove, shield slung up, machete low. She slipped through the first broken gap in the fence, moving fast and low. Chen Xun followed ¡ª eyes darting everywhere, feet too loud, but he stayed upright. Shen Yifei and Zhou Xue moved next ¡ª Zhou leaning heavier than before, but pushing through it with sheer will. I brought up the rear, Mu Qinglan shadowing the left line, ready to strike if anything went wrong. At one point, Guo Fan froze, wide-eyed, stuck halfway through a collapsed metal beam. Shen Yifei hissed and shoved him forward by the back of the vest, almost knocking him through, desperate to avoid noise and delay, but... thankfully avoiding any sound. Good. We crept past the sports field perimeter without drawing the herd¡¯s attention. But it was close. Too close. The stink of the dead¡ªrot, old blood, wet earth¡ªclung to the air thick as fog. A broken bleacher collapsed behind us with a faint metallic groan. I whipped my head back ¡ª but the herd didn¡¯t notice they were still feeding, shambling... wandering like lost sheep. We were lucky, this time. Only lucky. I signalled tight again ¡ª move faster, tighter. Thanks to using basic gestures, the group could follow them. They picked up the pace ¡ª hunched shapes darting from wreck to wreck under the dead black sky. We broke clear of the wrecked sports field, breathing hard but silent. The herd was still back there, gorging on whatever scraps they¡¯d found. Too slow. Too stupid to notice us. Ahead, the ruined campus stretched wide ¡ª more broken buildings, more wreckage. But between us and the North Lab? Wide open ground. Two hundred meters ¡ª too far to sprint safely. Zombies lingered near the east walls, cutting off detours. But also too close to want to risk a detour... only to find another herd. I flicked a glance over my shoulder. The group was still tight ¡ª barely. Liang Qiu up front, shield braced. Chen Xun and Deng Hua flanking the centre, machetes tight in their hands. Zhou Xue was moving slower because of the fear and pressure, face pale, sweat pouring down her temple ¡ª but still walking, not whining. Guo Fan dragged his steps, barely keeping up, but still moving. Mu Qinglan mirrored me off the left side, bat slung low, every muscle loose and ready. Shen Yifei at the right ¡ª tense, a little too high on her toes, but her eyes were sharp, copying everything I did without hesitation. Although it was cute, I noticed she seemed to be improving faster than I expected. The group¡¯s overall growth was amazing, despite not being soldiers or friends, but good enough to move and push through this dangerous moment. I couldn¡¯t believe the university would last much longer, and it seemed the main groups prioritised the main campus and planned to let Linbei fall. The broken shape of the North Lab Block loomed ahead ¡ª two smashed stories, skeletal steel beams jutting into the sky. Clearly, the aftermath of a brute, or something more readily, but I didn¡¯t have the time to check right now. Half the windows were blown out, and the front doors were shattered, fixed together with makeshift repairs, but then I noticed something. Inside, shadows fought shadows. Muzzle flashes lit up the broken lobby ¡ª bright, violent stutters of light. "Wait!" I called out to the group, my voice deep and almost alerting the nearby zombies, a stupid mistake, but there was a reason. "Qinglan have you noticed?" Bang! Gunshots echoed from the distant building, drawing more and more zombies closer... from the inside, the screams of terrified students echoed and disgusting sounds reverberated in my enhanced ears. The danger wasn¡¯t just the zombies inside. Other survivors... taking a chance, or probably fighting over the scraps. I crouched low, studying the distance. Wide open ground. One collapsed concrete planter was near the halfway mark, and then there was an old crumpled bus rusting sideways, maybe ten meters beyond that. The first one hundred metres didn¡¯t have much cover. But if we managed to reach the second half and rushed right, everything would be safe. Mu Qinglan knelt beside me, reading the same map in her head. "Two sprints," she said quietly. I nodded once. "First to the planter," I said. "Catch your breath. Second sprint to the bus. Then breach the entrance when there¡¯s an opening." "Understood," Qinglan muttered, flexing her fingers once around the bat. Shen Yifei edged closer, her hands tightening nervously around her spear. "But... what if they see us?" she whispered. "They will," I said simply. No point lying. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "But if we move fast enough, they won¡¯t stop us." I let the words sink in. Simple plan. Ugly odds. Zhou Xue coughed low, grimacing but staying upright. "I can make it," she said without me asking. "I will guard the rear, so focus on making it to the door, Zhou Xue." Though I wanted to lead, there was a danger that we might really lose her at this rate. If things became dangerous, I would use my Type-9K and just crush the zombies. "Qinglan, can you lead them?" Mu Qinglan looked at me with her ice-blue eyes before she sighed with a nod. "Ok." I tapped Liang Qiu on the shoulder ¡ª hard enough to make her flinch. "You lead," I said. "Also, keep your shield high. Don¡¯t stop. I won¡¯t let you die." She looked at me for a moment, maybe it¡¯s because our faces were close, but she nodded with a blush and grunted while lifting her body. "Yes, boss." I jerked my chin at Chen Xun and Deng Hua. "You two flank the runner, and guard the centre." Despite looking pale and terrified, they nodded and wrapped around Zhou and Liang Qiu. Guo Fan swallowed hard but lifted his machete higher. "Good, don¡¯t be scared, I will take their attention if things go bad." I tapped their names, turning them all into scouts. Though a scout wasn¡¯t as strong as a soldier, they gained more bonuses to their spirit and speed... Meaning their fear would shrink faster. "Trust me." However, as my finger pressed the buttons... I made Liang Qiu a soldier because, for a moment, Tang Wei¡¯s figure appeared in my mind, and she had worked the hardest so far. ¡¯They can always train their bodies in the gym... and through combat.¡¯ [Guo Fan | Role: C-Tier Scout] [Deng Hua | Role: C-Tier Scout] [Chen Xun | Role: C-Tier Scout] [Liang Qiu | Role: C-Tier Soldier] I stood up fully ¡ª no more hiding ¡ª and shifted my weight forward, feeling the broken concrete under my boots. The distant herd behind us moaned louder ¡ª maybe catching scent, just perhaps feeding. But it no longer mattered... "Yifei, will you fight with me?" My reason for asking her was because of her growth¡ªshe started facing her fears, and I needed to take advantage of this moment. Though cruel, I hoped she would accept. Because the actual fight was ahead. "Mm." She nodded and slipped away from Qinglan and Zhou Xue, standing beside me with her slightly pale face. I couldn¡¯t help but appreciate her efforts. Then I raised two fingers. Pointed at the planter. Then I pointed at the bus. Two steps. No thinking. No second chances. "Move on my mark," I said, voice cold and sure. Every face turned to me ¡ª waiting, terrified, desperate, but they didn¡¯t complain or look confused. I started understanding that it was better to fear than to have blind faith. At least fear moved fast. The gunfire ahead flashed again ¡ª brighter this time ¡ª the sound sharp and close. Someone was dying inside the North Lab. Soon, we¡¯d either join them or finish what they couldn¡¯t. I set my stance. Raised my hand. Waited. The next gunshot cracked sharp and loud, close, almost in our faces. "Now!" I barked. The group exploded into motion. Mu Qinglan darted forward first, bat cracking across a zombie¡¯s skull. Deng Hua and Liang Qiu slammed into another, their shields smashing the infected sideways. This could work! Chapter 86: The Breach Chapter 86: The BreachJohn Wang¡¯s POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 9:45 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, North Lab Block, Outer Field ¡ª The air snapped sharply in my lungs as we tore across the open ground. Boots hammering broken concrete. Shields up. Weapons low. Mu Qinglan led the way, fast, brutal, swinging her bat once to clear a shambling dead that stumbled too close with a brutal smash. The planter loomed ahead, cracked and half-swallowed by weeds. Liang Qiu reached it first, shield braced, dropping into a low crouch behind the concrete, sliding across the gravel because of the momentum. "Ugh...." she gasped, catching her arm on sharp, rusted metal. The others piled in after her ¡ª Chen Xun, Deng Hua, Guo Fan ¡ª dragging Zhou Xue into cover between them. I skidded in last, shoulder to shoulder with Shen Yifei. Breath steamed in front of us ¡ª short, sharp and hot. Not much time left. Gunfire spat again from the ruined North Lab lobby ¡ª sharp, panicked bursts of sound. Inside, the screaming hadn¡¯t stopped. It was getting louder. Worse. I could feel it through the cracked ground under my boots ¡ª the slow, gathering rumble of the herd moving closer. "Second sprint," I said, low and brutal. Mu Qinglan flicked a glance back at me. Blood already splashed across her knuckles and cheeks, but she was ready. No hesitation. She dashed from the planter, and with her tight, muscular legs, she rushed to the overturned bus with short, sharp steps. I lifted my hand, counted down with two fingers ¡ª one. Then we moved. Exploding from behind the planter, straight into hell. The second stretch was shorter, faster ¡ª but the dead were closer too. Three broke off from the main herd, shambling fast toward us. Liang Qiu smashed the first aside with a full-body tackle, shield crunching bone. Mu Qinglan spun, cracking another infected across the jaw so hard its neck snapped sideways. The third one veered for Zhou Xue, mouth wide, jagged teeth snapping at her. My body moved before I could think ¡ª no hesitation. I caught it by the back of the skull mid-lunge, dragging it down hard onto the concrete. Its head bounced once ¡ª a sharp, ugly crack ¡ª and then I drove my boot down on its throat, crushing it flat. [John Wang Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª ZKP +5] System flicker.Ignored. I jerked my head at Zhou. "Go!" She stumbled, caught herself, and kept running. We reached the crumpled bus ¡ª rusty, half-tilted sideways, windows blown out. Liang Qiu slammed into it first, back against the metal, shield up. The rest of us pressed in tight, panting, bloodied. Inside the North Lab lobby, muzzle flashes lit the broken glass. Survivors ¡ª students, maybe ¡ª firing handguns, swinging pipes, screaming. Holding a barricade that was already collapsing inward under the weight of a dozen infected pushing through. We had seconds. Maybe less. "Form up!" I barked. It made me feel like some kind of soldier, though I was mimicking both the shows I watched and the two years of mandatory conscription that became a distant memory. Liang Qiu and Guo Fan braced shields in front. Chen Xun and Deng Hua to the flanks, machetes raised. Mu Qinglan stood loose, bat hanging casual, deadly. Shen Yifei edged closer to me, spear trembling slightly ¡ª but she held it firm. Zhou Xue huddled lower, knife gripped tight, face set. I drew the Type-9K from my back, thumbed off the safety. This is where we would split up for a short time. Thanks to the system, I could see another opening, and the path towards my goal also flashed with GPS-style lights. Cold metal. Warm hands. I exhaled once, sharp. "On my shot," I said. No other signal. No other plan. We breach on instinct. The zombies inside the lobby howled louder ¡ª the first of them smashing fully through the last barrier. Survivors inside screamed desperately, creating a genuine sense of terror. Too late for them. But not too late for us. I squeezed the trigger once. In short, sharp bursts, 9mm rounds tore open the back ranks of the infected at the entrance. The noise exploded like a bolt of thunder in the dead air. "Move!" I roared. And so it began. ¡ª¡ª The door didn¡¯t so much open as collapse. We hit it like a hammer strike ¡ª shields first, bodies next ¡ª the rusted frame giving way with a screech of tortured metal. Inside, chaos. Dust and blood clogged the destroyed lobby. The air filled with the stench of sulphur, piss, and rotting meat... maybe even human fear. A faint light from the flickering fluorescent tubes buzzed from the half-broken ceiling. Half a dozen students fought desperately ¡ª bats, broken pipes, one or two handguns flashing in the dark. They were already losing. A pack of infected tore through a half-collapsed barricade ¡ª the survivors falling back clumsily, one of them screaming as a zombie latched onto his arm. No time to pity them. "Clear the door!" I barked. Mu Qinglan surged left, bat snapping out in brutal arcs ¡ª clean, fast, mechanical. Shen Yifei stuck to my right, spear jabbing with short, desperate thrusts ¡ª raw but improving. I smashed the nearest infected aside with the stock of the Type-9K, then kicked another square in the knee, dropping it low before cracking its skull with the butt. Blood sprayed across my jacket, but it didn¡¯t matter. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. One minute. Maybe less. That¡¯s how long it took to clear the lobby threshold, at least enough to hold, for now. But the outside wasn¡¯t still. Not anymore. I flicked my eyes back through the busted door. And felt it. A deep, rumbling sound.Like the earth itself was breathing. Across the ruined field, through the shattered buildings, a tide of grey and black bodies poured toward the North Lab. Hundreds... No, it was thousands. The herd. The real wave. Coming straight for us. "Shit..." The students inside were already scrambling, dragging barricades toward the hallway, screaming orders that no one followed. Not my concern. I grabbed Liang Qiu¡¯s shield ¡ª yanked her closer. A zombie¡¯s mouth biting down where her thighs were a moment ago, the cute girl¡¯s cheeks alternating between pale and pink as she stomped on the zombie, missing half its face. "You five move now!" I barked. "Get deeper inside. Find Liang Mei. Secure the back halls." Liang Qiu nodded fast, dragging Chen Xun, Deng Hua, and Guo Fan with her. Zhou Xue hesitated a half-second longer, torn, before following. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t move. She stayed planted in front of me ¡ª eyes burning cold fire under the broken lights. "You¡¯re staying," she said. It wasn¡¯t a question. I nodded once. The noise of the dead grew louder ¡ª fists slamming against the battered walls, the windows rattling under the impact. We didn¡¯t have time for words. Mu Qinglan moved without warning. One second, she was standing there ¡ª bloodied, breathing hard ¡ª the next, she grabbed the front of my jacket, fisted the fabric tight, and dragged me down into her. Our mouths pressed together, rough, clumsy, urgent. The taste of her¡ªsweat, blood, smoke¡ªhit me sharp. No softness. No carefulness. Her tongue brushed the corner of my mouth ¡ª not asking, more like devouring ¡ª and I met it, teeth grazing, breath flowing into each other¡¯s mouths. Her forehead bumped mine once, hard enough to hurt. I tasted the sweet copper on her breath. The subtle fear hidden under it. One heartbeat. Two. Then she pulled herself back, as if tearing herself away, her breath ragged and sharp, hands slipping down my jacket for a lingering moment. "Don¡¯t you fucking die," she muttered against my skin. Rough. Almost broken. Then she dropped her hand, spun on her heel, and sprinted after the others into the dark. Leaving me standing there, blood on my lips, the taste of her sweet saliva fresh in my mouth. Shen Yifei shifted beside me, cheeks flushed, spear clutched tight, pretending she hadn¡¯t seen anything. I checked the Type-9K ¡ª slammed the mag back in hard. Outside, the roar of the dead grew louder ¡ª the screech of fences breaking, the low thunder of a thousand footsteps shaking the cracked concrete. It would only be a few minutes now... the zombies were in waves, but the number was a horrifying amount. "Let¡¯s step out, and run inside when we need to." "Mm...." II shifted my weight forward ¡ª heart hammering hard ¡ª and stood at the door. Neither of us was immune... and this was dangerous. But I shook my head. Set my stance. Looked at Shen Yifei once ¡ª sharp, clean. "You scared?" I asked. She swallowed and lifted her chin, peeking at me from time to time. "A little," she said. "But I¡¯m not running." I turned my gaze back to the shattered door, where death was gathering like a storm front. "Good," I said. "Because neither am I." And we waited for the world to break. "Do you want a kiss too?" I joked, hoping that her nerves would lessen. Shen Yifei flushed even harder, nearly tripping over her spear. "Idiot," she muttered under her breath ¡ª but she didn¡¯t move away. Chapter 87: Last Stand Chapter 87: Last StandJohn Wang¡¯s POV March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 9:51 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, North Lab Block, Main Entrance ¡ª The wall shook under another slam. Fine powder drifted down from the cracked ceiling, the scent of rust, blood, and old concrete choking the air. I adjusted the Type-9K in my grip, fingers flexing over the cool polymer frame. Beside me, Shen Yifei shifted her weight nervously ¡ª spear angled high, feet planted a little too close together. I tapped her shin with my boot. "Wider," I muttered, keeping my eyes on the broken doors. She nodded, adjusting ¡ª copying my stance in a rough but eager mimicry. Good enough. My new spear still didn¡¯t feel comfortable, a weapon that didn¡¯t quite suit me as much as I tried. But there wasn¡¯t enough time to try something new. The lobby was half-collapsed ¡ª broken support beams jutting down from the ruined ceiling, old furniture and overturned tables pushed into makeshift barricades. We had about three meters between the wreckage and the front entrance. Three meters of killing ground. The dead began to show through the shattered windows ¡ª blank-eyed, twitching, dragging broken hands against the glass. The glass didn¡¯t last long. A spiderweb of cracks spread out with a shriek. Then the first pane shattered inward. They flooded in. Five at first ¡ª then ten ¡ª then more. I raised the Type-9K calmly and squeezed the trigger in short, sharp bursts, three shots each. Heads snapped back. Bodies jerked and dropped. [John Wang Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª ZKP +5] [John Wang Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª ZKP +5] [John Wang Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª ZKP +5] The system flickered at the edge of my vision, but I barely registered it. Too many. More climbing over the corpses of the fallen, clawing at each other, snarling. "Left!" I shouted. Shen Yifei spun clumsily but fast, driving her spear deep into the gut of a charging zombie. It barely staggered. "Push it!" I roared. She screamed, gritting her teeth, and shoved harder, twisting the shaft. The infected toppled sideways, thrashing. Her movements were rough, but they were great. I noticed her skill with spears reached level two, and I could tell that she¡¯d been practising a lot in secret. Maybe when Qinglan and I left the base, but it was impressive to see. The first wave was thinning ¡ª bodies piling up across the front, broken and leaking. For a moment.... a brief moment, I thought we could hold it. Shen Yifei must have thought the same. I caught the shift in her stance ¡ª the way her shoulders straightened, how she lunged out, chasing the staggered corpses that were still twitching, not moving away but falling apart under the hits. Her spear jabbed lower, sharper, faster, striking at anything still squirming. Overextending. Too eager. Too far from cover. "Yifei! Fall back!" I shouted. I opened my mouth to call her back... The second wave hit before my shout even finished. The sound was like a thousand fists hammering steel. The outer field where I¡¯d seen them gathering broke like a dam bursting ¡ª hundreds of bodies pouring forward in a howling tide. The pressure of it shattered the remaining windows, sending debris flying. A few of the front-row infected tripped over the bodies. The rest didn¡¯t and used the momentum for the falling debris to come faster, much heavier and hungrier for blood. Shen Yifei jammed her spear into a zombie¡¯s chest and pulled ¡ª but the shaft caught. She slipped, body crumpling in slow motion. "John!" she screamed, arms flailing. "Help!" Another infected latched onto her wrist ¡ª another grabbed her shoulder, gnashing teeth inches from her throat. "Damn it!" I cursed, my gut twisting sharp and cold. There was a feeling of anxiety in my chest, heavy and cold. The sense of safety and victory extinguished with cold water as I moved instantly, vaulting the shattered desk between us, the Type-9K firing short, brutal bursts ¡ª with a popping snap, their heads snapping back and bursting like melons. [John Wang Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª ZKP +5] [John Wang Kill: Stage-1 Infected ¡ª ZKP +5] The infected holding Yifei dropped. But more clawed at her. ¡¯System, I need a grenade... anything!¡¯ Though my bullets wouldn¡¯t run out, if they overran the main building, everything would collapse, and our job wasn¡¯t to fight like martyrs! I reached out and grabbed the collar of her jacket and yanked her backwards, hard enough to lift her off the ground. Her small hands clutched my arms, desperate. Boots slipping on blood-slick tiles, I half-dragged, half-carried her backwards as the infected swarmed. "Are you bitten, Yifei?" "N-No!" she gasped, eyes wide, tears threatening but not falling. I stomped one zombie¡¯s face in ¡ª felt the bone collapse under my boot... Then flipped the Type-9K back up and emptied another burst into the oncoming mass. Bullets punched through skulls. Some fell. More came. The front entrance was gone ¡ª swallowed under hundreds of snarling bodies, a black wave clawing toward us, the air thick with rot and blood. No more holding. No more delaying. There were too many, even the sub-machine gun couldn¡¯t finish this. And there was no time, either. I hooked my arm around her waist ¡ª hoisted her onto my shoulder, her weight slamming into me ¡ª and ran. Ran as hard as I could. Blood pounded in my ears. The roar of the dead behind us grew louder with every step. I sprinted for the only salvation left: The narrow entrance that the system pointed out earlier. ¡ª March 17th, 2025 ¡ª 10:15 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, North Lab Block, Side Hall ¡ª The side entrance door slammed behind us. Old steel scraped the frame with a screaming grind as it shut. I dropped Shen Yifei onto her feet hard enough that she staggered, nearly falling. "Stay," I snapped ¡ª more reflex than thought. Outside, the roar of the herd slammed against the building, rattling the thin walls. I didn¡¯t wait. Boots hammering the cracked floor, I grabbed the nearest piece of debris ¡ª a heavy filing cabinet, rusted and half-collapsed ¡ª and slammed it across the inside of the doorframe. The impact sent a shudder through the walls. Another table. A fallen steel shelf. Anything heavy or with some weight. I shoved it into place, layering the blockade piece by piece, fast and dirty. A low, heavy thud hammered against the outside of the door, warping the metal inward slightly. The barricade creaked but held. For now. An eerie silence filled the dark passage, and I couldn¡¯t help but catch my breath after blocking the entrance. If only I could use my system to build or dismantle useless things. The muffled noise of the dead slamming uselessly against the outer walls broke the silence. The dim hallway stretched ahead, littered with broken shelves and collapsed cabinets, blocking any straight path forward. I exhaled slowly, adjusting the Type-9K across my back, rolling my shoulders once. Behind me, I heard it ¡ª a small, choked breath. Not a shout. Not a cry. A hiccup, sharp and fast, like she was going to hyperventilate. I turned my head slightly and froze for a moment. Not because I was surprised. But because of how fast she moved. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Shen Yifei grabbed my jacket in both fists, slammed her forehead against my chest, and held on like if she let go the whole damn world would break open under her feet. She shook in my arms, whimpering slightly as tears dripped down her cheeks. "I thought..." Yifei trembled as she hugged me tighter, rubbing her face and nose against my shirt, but she was fine and alive... just a little stressed. Like a wire stretched too tight. "It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t be upset." I rubbed her back, watching the distance and preparing myself. This wasn¡¯t a safe zone, but forcing Yifei to move now would be retarded. Her breath hit my neck ¡ª hot, broken, desperate. A short amount of fighting and we both started to smell, sweat, rotten blood and a sense of fear. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you, John..." A small, but honest voice, lacking her usual tone, was spoken in such a low voice that I almost missed it. I let her stay in my arms while using the time to recover. Let her press closer, shaking against me. Her heart punched wild through the thin fabric between us, a frantic, ugly rhythm. She shifted once, just enough that I felt it ¡ª a twitch like she was thinking about pulling away. She didn¡¯t. Her fists remained locked around my back, eyes closed tight. I sighed quietly and lifted my hand and set it on the back of her head and held her there. "You did good," I said. "We¡¯re both still breathing." Nothing amazing came to mind, so I just spoke the truth. No lies. A second passed. Maybe two. Then she peeled back, just a little, wiped her face hard against her torn sleeve. A quick, scrubbed motion like she was washing the moment off her skin. I didn¡¯t say a word. Neither did she. There wasn¡¯t room for talking. Just breathing. Just standing there, alive, in the middle of everything that wasn¡¯t. For now. Chapter 88: Rats in a Burning Lab Chapter 88: Rats in a Burning LabThe floor creaked under my boots. Chunks of plaster and twisted rebar choked the hallway ahead, forcing every step into a slow, ugly shuffle. I kept the Type-9K close against my chest, finger resting light but ready along the guard, eyes cutting side to side through the broken light. Behind me, Shen Yifei moved too close. Her boots scraped a little too loud across the grit, breathing was short and ragged. I slowed half a step without looking back. Let her catch up. The overhead fluorescents flickered every few seconds, throwing the hall into a pulsing stutter of shadows. Each flash painted new shapes across the wreckage ¡ª broken chairs, snapped tables, a cracked whiteboard drooping from the wall like a broken neck. The air tasted thick ¡ª burnt plastic, dust, and rot. It coated my mouth like ash. Somewhere ahead, deeper inside the North Block, I heard it: Gunfire. Muffled. Panicked. Mixed in with shouting, the scraping drag of furniture against tile. Humans. Still alive ¡ª for now. I adjusted my grip on the gun. And kept moving. Half a classroom wall had collapsed into the hallway, forcing us into a narrow choke between jagged sheetrock and a pile of desks. I tilted my body sideways, slipping through. Yifei hesitated a fraction behind me ¡ª her shoulder bumping the edge with a soft thud ¡ª then squeezed through, spear gripped tight in both hands. Behind me, Yifei hesitated. "John..." she whispered, voice catching. A small, gentle tone. Not the usual bratty whine. Just scared. I turned slightly, keeping my body between her and the open hallway."Narrow your shoulders," I muttered. "Breathe out. Move." Yifei nodded enthusiastically and squeezed through after me, spear clutched awkwardly in both hands. Her shoulder bumped the debris with a dull thud. She winced like it hurt more than it should. I kept my voice low, steady."You¡¯re doing fine. Just stick close." She nodded again, biting her lip. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Too shaken to throw a smart-ass reply back like she usually would. Good. Survive first and talk later. The hall bent sharply to the right, a broken ceiling beam hanging down like a broken limb, half-blocking the path ahead. I ducked under it, brushing loose plaster off my jacket. Heard her copy me ¡ª clumsier, dropping almost into a crouch to fit through. When she popped up on the other side, she moved up close ¡ª closer than before. Her shoulder brushed mine once, twice, before she realised and shifted half a step to the side. I didn¡¯t tell her to back off. Didn¡¯t need to. Ahead, another burst of muffled gunfire ¡ª short, frantic. Then silence. Yifei whispered again, voice tight against her teeth: "Shouldn¡¯t we... hurry?" I shook my head once."If they¡¯re still fighting, then we have a chance. If we rush and trip over ourselves again, we¡¯re finished." She stayed quiet after that. The dead building seemed to breathe around us ¡ª every wall cracked and bleeding dust, every broken window sucking in the cold night air in slow gasps. The temperature dropped as we moved deeper, the thick stink of decay spreading from the damaged drywall, mixing with the sharp iron bite of old blood. Yifei edged closer again ¡ª I could hear the faint rustle of her torn jacket brushing mine. Not clinging. Not crying. Just... staying close enough to feel that someone else was there. I didn¡¯t say anything. Didn¡¯t pull away. Just kept walking. Slow. Careful. One boot at a time, into the dark. The hallway bent again, narrowing. The air here was worse ¡ª still, heavy, thick enough that it stuck in my throat. Every breath tasted like mould and blood and the sharp chemical tang of something burnt long ago. I slowed, scanning the shadows ahead. Three bodies sprawled across the floor just past a collapsed doorway ¡ª students, judging by the shredded uniforms, the half-shattered backpacks dumped around them. Blood slicked the tiles under their bodies ¡ª dark, half-dried, glinting under the flicker of the overhead lights. I raised a hand, signalling a stop. Yifei pressed in close behind me ¡ª too close, her chest brushing my back before she caught herself and stepped half a pace off to the side. Her spear shook slightly in her grip. I crouched low, moving forward slowly, gun up. No movement. No breathing. No twitching fingers. Dead. Really dead. Not the kind that got back up after you turned your back. I let the Type-9K hang loose across my chest and moved in. With one glance, I noticed the torn throat, mauled. No chance. Another ¡ª bullet hole right through the forehead. Neat and very deliberate. Someone knew what they were doing ¡ª or got lucky. The third slumped against the wall, arms bent defensively around his gut. Blood had pooled thick and black around his waist. I crouched beside the first body. Hand sliding through the pockets, checking belts, gear loops. "Nothing useful..." I muttered. Shifted to the second body. Small utility knife, cracked but still sharp. A crushed box of ammo ¡ª two rounds salvageable. I heard Yifei shuffle closer, breath catching in her throat. "You... you¡¯re just taking it?" she whispered, a voice so low I almost didn¡¯t catch it over the faint hum of the broken lights. I didn¡¯t look up. "They¡¯re not using it," I said. "We are." She swallowed audibly, but Yifei didn¡¯t complain or hum at me about morals... she moved to the walls and started opening small cabinets and files. "...I¡¯ll help you, okay?" "Thanks." I really appreciated her gesture, despite her pale face and trembling hands... Shen Yifei really tried her best to help me. I patted down the last corpse quickly ¡ª snagged a half-empty medkit from his ruined pack. Blood on the zipper, but inside it looked clean enough. I wiped it once against the dead man¡¯s sleeve out of habit before stuffing it into my bag. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything decent left as I turned to Shen Yifei. Yifei hovered behind me, shifting her weight from foot to foot, the spear clutched tighter now like she expected the corpses to move at any second. They didn¡¯t, but it was good that she no longer became overconfident. But they were too broken for that. However, we shouldn¡¯t and couldn¡¯t linger too much longer... I worried about Mu Qinglan because of the constant experience and kill pop-ups from the system. I stood, slinging the Type-9K back into a ready position. "Stay close," I muttered over my shoulder. "I am," she whispered back instantly, voice sharp with nerves. I caught her glance at the bodies ¡ª quick, guilty, then away. Her face was pale in the flickering light ¡ª not scared of me, but afraid of how easily I moved around the dead, and I also understood that something wasn¡¯t right about myself. How little I seemed to care, the dirty corpses or scent of death that used to make me gag, or nauseous... it seemed Shen Yifei wasn¡¯t the only one changing, adapting. She edged closer again, almost brushing my side, neither clinging nor crying. Just leaning in and putting a little weight, and a little warmth on my shoulder, like it anchored her here. I didn¡¯t pull away. Just started forward again. Behind us, the broken hall swallowed the bodies, the blood, the silence. Ahead, somewhere deeper inside the block, another faint burst of shouting rang out ¡ª furniture dragging, someone hammering against a doorframe. Still fighting. Still alive. For now. Chapter 89: Sound of the Living Chapter 89: Sound of the LivingThe walls closed in tighter the farther we went. Paint peeled back in long, curling strips. The floor dipped slightly under our weight, groaning beneath cracked tiles and long streaks of dried brown. Someone had dragged something heavy through here. Blood, probably. Maybe a body. Maybe more than one. The ceiling above us sagged in sections, metal supports poking out like broken ribs. A scream echoed ahead. Sharp. Human. I raised my left hand, flat palm. Yifei stopped immediately, almost slamming into me. She caught herself with a sharp inhale and moved beside me instead. She didn¡¯t speak, but I could feel it ¡ª her body tense, shoulder brushing mine again like she couldn¡¯t help it. Gunshots rang out next ¡ª two, maybe three ¡ª short bursts that bounced off the concrete walls like distant firecrackers. Muffled yelling followed. A woman¡¯s voice shouting something about pushing. Another voice, higher, more panicked, breaking into raw sound. Still alive. Still struggling. Yifei leaned toward me, whispering under her breath. "Should we¡ª?" "If they¡¯re still fighting," I said, eyes forward, "they¡¯re still useful." I didn¡¯t raise my voice. No need. She flinched. I didn¡¯t look at her. Just listened. Another impact ¡ª something heavy crashing into metal, hard enough to rattle the ductwork above us. Wood splintering. A man¡¯s voice shouting curses. "If not," I muttered, "they¡¯re dead weight." Yifei didn¡¯t argue. Didn¡¯t agree, either. She just stood beside me, lips parted slightly, face pale. The hallway widened into a partial open lab ¡ª long benches on either side, half-toppled. Cabinets broken. Light flickering red overhead, the emergency bulbs buzzing like dying flies. We moved forward together, slow. I pointed two fingers toward the ground. Low and ready. She mirrored the motion, crouched down, spear forward. Her hands were shaking again, but she wasn¡¯t pulling back. Good. A fresh scream ripped through the open space beyond the benches. Closer now. Two voices overlapping ¡ª one barking orders, the other useless, drowning. I adjusted my grip, let the Type-9K settle against my shoulder. The barrel followed my eyes as I moved. Yifei¡¯s boots ghosted behind me ¡ª not silent, but quieter than before. No complaints. No wasted noise. Just survival instincts finally settling in. The end of the hall opened up just ahead. They didn¡¯t know we were here yet. Better that way. ¡ª "Left side¡¯s open," I said. "We cut through fast." Yifei nodded, jaw tight. A scream tore through the space ahead ¡ª high, panicked. Someone begging. "We¡¯re outnumbered!" "They¡¯re coming through both¡ª!" "Help! Please!" I moved. Gun up. Steps light. The moment I cleared the barricade, I saw everything at once ¡ª chaos locked in slow motion. Five students huddled behind flipped tables, weapons shaking in untrained hands. Three more near the back, shouting at each other, one of them trying to crawl away ¡ª blood soaking through their jeans. Two scavengers halfway through looting a duffel bag. One had a crowbar raised, aiming it at a kid trying to stop him. My first shot cracked his skull open. The Type-9K bucked once. The scavenger dropped before he screamed. "Get down!" I shouted. None of them moved fast enough. Yifei slid in behind me, swinging her spear in a wide arc ¡ª she caught an infected straight across the jaw as it lunged from a side hall. Its neck snapped sideways with a wet pop. I stepped forward and kicked over a desk. Took cover behind it just as another infected barrelled into the wreckage. It clawed over the top. I put two bullets through its throat, then one clean through its eye. [You Killed a Stage-1 Infected: ZKP +5] [Yifei Killed a Stage-1 Infected: ZKP +5 | EXP +10] Another tried to climb the same path ¡ª I reached up, grabbed its jaw, and slammed its skull into the corner of the table until the bone gave. The screams kept going. Yifei stabbed again ¡ª missed ¡ª then recovered, slammed her boot into the thing¡¯s knee, and drove the spear through its chest. She was panting now, fast and rough. "Stay with me," I snapped. She didn¡¯t speak. But she moved closer. Her back pressed into mine. Shoulder trembling. Someone ducked beside us ¡ª a short kid with a bat. "Who¡ªwho the hell are you?!" I didn¡¯t answer. Dropped a magazine. Reloaded. Racked the slide. Eyes forward. A group of infected flooded out from a side hallway. Six, maybe seven ¡ª sprinting, fast, teeth bared, gore dripping from their chins. I stood and opened fire. Three bursts snapped through the air. Casings bounced off my boots. One dropped. Another lunged over the corpse and caught a bullet to the throat. Fourth went low ¡ª I kicked its knee out, and Yifei was there, driving her spear down through its skull. She slipped from the force, caught herself on one hand, breathing hard. "You good?" "Yeah," she gasped. "Yeah¡ªI¡¯m okay." Another scavenger made a break for it ¡ª trying to grab a pack from a dying kid. I stepped in front of him. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "You wanna be next?" I said, raising the Type-9k. He froze. Hands up. Then bolted the other way. I didn¡¯t shoot. Didn¡¯t need to. The smart ones ran. The stupid ones bled. I turned to the nearest huddled group ¡ª three girls, all scraped up and crying. "Where¡¯s Liang Mei?" I said. "Who¡¯s in charge?" They stared back ¡ª pale, shaking. Then one of them pointed toward a half-barricaded lab at the rear, where the infected were already pounding against the door. "Th-there¡ªshe¡¯s there¡ª" I vaulted over a flipped bench, landing low behind cover. The barricade wouldn¡¯t hold. We had seconds ¡ª maybe less. "Yifei," I said, "help them hold that hallway." She didn¡¯t answer. She was already moving. She grabbed a nearby table by one leg and dragged it sideways with both arms, teeth gritted. Her foot hit a fallen backpack ¡ª she kicked it aside, rammed the table into place against the frame. Then she turned, spear raised, and drove it straight through the chest of the first infected that rounded the corner. Spun it. Wrenched it free. Braced again. I watched her for half a second. Yifei was moving before I even asked, now her sweaty face no longer looking to me for instructions as her spear lanced through a zombie¡¯s eye with a pop. She slammed more wood against the barricade. "Help me!" With that, I focused on my task. The last body dropped. Wood cracked under Yifei¡¯s final shove ¡ª another piece of shelving slammed into place, pinning the last gap shut. Her arms shook from the effort, chest heaving. "In position!" someone shouted. I didn¡¯t answer. My eyes were on the door the others had pointed to ¡ª splintered wood, hinges groaning under pressure. Something hammered it from the other side. The metal latch bent a little more with every hit. I vaulted the bench. Boots landed hard, but I rolled with the motion, dropped low, and sprinted the last stretch. The barricade wouldn¡¯t hold. Seconds left, maybe. "Clear the side," I said. Two students jumped back ¡ª one tripped over a chair, the other dragged him behind a table. I braced myself and kicked. The door cracked inward with a heavy crunch, just as another impact struck from the opposite side. The two forces hit at once ¡ª my boot and the infected ¡ª and the frame split down the centre. I shoved it wide and raised the Type-9K, barrel sweeping the room. Empty.Mostly. Three bodies on the ground. Blood smeared on the walls. One infected twitching in the far corner ¡ª limbs bent wrong, not dead yet. I ended it with a single burst. [Stage-1 Infected ¡ª ZKP +5] Then I saw her. Liang Mei. The girl was wedged behind a desk in the corner with her knees pulled close, one hand pressed lightly against her chest, while she trembled. Not tightly. Just... resting there, like she was keeping her heartbeat calm. She looked up at me. Eyes... golden-brown, soft and dim. Face... flushed with pink cheeks, but pale around the edges. Hair... auburn, like a forest. Tied in a low ribbon that was already half undone. Her cardigan was torn with blood soaking one side of her sleeve, but she didn¡¯t seem to notice. Or didn¡¯t care. "You¡¯re not one of them," she said. A quiet and serene voice, without shaking and full of determination. I lowered the gun slightly. "Zhou Xue sent me." A pause. Her expression didn¡¯t change, but her eyes widened, just slightly. Not shock. Recognition. "She¡¯s alive?" "For now." Liang Mei nodded once. Then, carefully, she stood. One arm braced against the desk while she straightened herself. Her movements were like someone used to standing slowly. Used to waiting for her pulse to catch up. Behind me, I heard another thump at the barricade. Then Yifei¡¯s voice. "They¡¯re about to break through the side entrance. Our barricade won¡¯t hold!" "I¡¯ve got it," she added quickly. "Hold position." I turned back to Liang Mei. "Are you alright?" She looked at me for a moment longer, then said, "No. But I will be." Chapter 90: Liang Mei: A-Tier Sheep Goddess Chapter 90: Liang Mei: A-Tier Sheep GoddessShe stepped over a corpse ¡ª eyes flicking to it, then away. I then remembered that Zhou Xue mentioned her being sick and having to take medicine. Her face looked pale and oozed with a thick sweat. "Do you need medication?" She tapped her sweater pocket ¡ª a soft jingle from a small bottle inside. "Enough for today. Maybe tomorrow." Her voice didn¡¯t waver. Didn¡¯t complain. I nodded once. She moved to my side without waiting for permission. Still breathing slowly. Still holding her chest like a sheep cradling its silence. I started toward the hallway again. We had minutes at best. Maybe less. Liang Mei followed. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She didn¡¯t ask where we were going. Didn¡¯t ask if it was safe. Just said, softly: "Don¡¯t leave without warning. Some of us scare more easily than you do." I glanced sideways. She didn¡¯t smile when she said it. But somehow, it still felt like a pillow to the back of the head. I didn¡¯t answer her. Just turned and started walking ¡ª slow, deliberate steps through the broken corridor ahead. Yifei caught up first. She stayed close. Too close. Boots brushing mine, shoulder nearly touching. Her breathing had levelled out, but I could still feel the edge in her movements. Her grip on the spear was tight again, white-knuckled. Eyes locked ahead ¡ª not scanning, not watching corners ¡ª just fixed on me. I didn¡¯t correct her. The hallway was half-collapsed in places, the floor scattered with chunks of tile and broken ceiling plates. The lights above us flickered red and low, casting long, stretched shadows across the debris. Behind us, Liang Mei moved quietly. No complaints. No questions.Just the soft shuffle of her shoes through the dust ¡ª never rushing to catch up, never falling behind. To reach Mu Qinglan and the others, I would have to do something annoying... crossing the place where the scavengers were shooting earlier. We were standing at a crossroads, with two sealed paths slowly filling with zombies, and then the left and southern passage, which could be dangerous. ¡¯From the system... it seems that Mu Qinglan and the others are to the left...¡¯ "Left¡¯s clear," I said. "Stick close." Yifei was already on my heels. Spear forward. Jaw locked. "I am." Her voice was weighted, too clipped, too fast. Not from fear. From something else. The corridor narrowed. Cracked walls pressing in from both sides, lights dimming the deeper we went. Broken lockers lined the right wall, sharp-edged and gutted. I stepped over a half-melted backpack, kept my gun forward. Liang Mei followed silently behind us. I could hear the soft clinking of pills in her pocket every few steps. Yifei shifted closer. Too close. "Watch spacing," I muttered. "I¡¯m not slow," she said. "Didn¡¯t say you were." She didn¡¯t respond. But she didn¡¯t back off either. We turned the corner. The stairwell came into view ¡ª or what was left of it. The wall was half-gone. Railings twisted. A black hole where the stairs used to be. "Shit," Yifei said. "That¡¯s not gonna work." "Side access," I said. "Crawl tunnel." "You sure it connects?" "No. Just sure we don¡¯t have another option." Behind us, Liang Mei¡¯s voice was soft, calm. "How far?" "Thirty meters. Down. Then stairs again." She nodded. Yifei glanced at her. "You gonna be okay?" Liang Mei looked at her, not defensively. Just honest. "Are you?" Yifei blinked once. Said nothing. I moved to the rusted maintenance door and wrenched it open. Metal screamed across stone. Inside, the tunnel waited ¡ª narrow, choked with dust, barely room to crouch. "Single file," I said. "I lead. Yifei follows. Liang Mei takes rear." "What if¡ª" "We don¡¯t leave her behind." Yifei didn¡¯t argue. She just looked away. I dropped into the shaft. One knee, one boot. The floor was slick with old grease and ash. My shoulders scraped the wall as I ducked lower and started forward. Behind me, I heard Yifei curse quietly, then follow. Her boots hit the tunnel with a dull thud. Then soft steps behind her. Liang Mei didn¡¯t say a word. The tunnel narrowed after fifteen meters. Too narrow to crouch upright anymore ¡ª now a half-crawl, shoulders scraping the old cement walls. Dust drifted with every movement, thick as chalk, clinging to my throat. I kept my gun low, angled across my chest. Behind me, Yifei kept pace. She didn¡¯t complain. But her breathing had gone shallow ¡ª a little too fast. Her boots dragged slightly as she moved. "Keep low," I said. "Shoulders turned." "I know," she muttered. Sharp. Defensive. Liang Mei¡¯s steps came slower. Softer. She didn¡¯t say anything, but I could hear the change ¡ª each step a little more deliberate, a little less sure. "Still with us?" I asked. "Yes." Just that. No breath wasted. We reached a junction. The left was collapsed. The right was blocked by rubble. Forward ¡ª still open, though the space narrowed even further. The heat in the tunnel pressed against my skin like a wet cloth. Yifei stumbled slightly. Her hand hit the wall. She caught herself and kept going. "I¡¯m fine," she said. "I didn¡¯t say you weren¡¯t." She didn¡¯t respond. I kept moving. A section of the pipework burst above ¡ª blackened steel, scorch marks smeared along the wall. Chemical lab, probably. The air changed there. Sour. Burnt. Breathing through it made my teeth ache. Liang Mei slowed further. I heard the light tap of her palm on the wall, steadying herself. "John," Yifei whispered behind me. "Yeah." "She¡¯s¡ª" "I know." We reached a choke point ¡ª a point so narrow I had to angle my shoulders sideways and push through with one arm ahead. My jacket scraped rough stone. I ducked lower, then slipped into a slight drop. The floor levelled out again. I turned and held a hand up. Yifei dropped in after me, boots hitting the floor with a soft skid. She turned back, eyes scanning the crawlspace behind us. A moment passed. Then Liang Mei emerged ¡ª slow, one hand against her ribs, the other braced against the ledge. Her face was pale. Not panicked. Just... drained. She looked tired, and it made me worried. The narrow space ended, but the toll on her was clear. Zhou Xue didn¡¯t mention her illness in detail, but the system told me... an issue with her heart muscles. [Heal Scan] [Liang Mei: Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)] [Current State: Exhausted, Winded... in pain] I stepped forward, offered my arms, and caught her in my embrace. Her body was soft... and comfortable like a pile of wool. She took it without a word. Slid down onto her feet, carefully. "Sit," I said. She shook her head. "I¡¯m not that bad." I watched her for another second. She pressed a hand to her chest, fingers spread gently over her heart, breathing with control. Not faking it. Not hiding it. Just managing. The system explained and detailed the pain she endured... and compared it to something I could understand. Yifei stood off to the side, quiet. Watching. She fidgeted with her spear ¡ª adjusting the grip, then re-adjusting, then stopping. Her mouth opened slightly. No words came out. Liang Mei glanced her way. "You¡¯re doing well," she said. Yifei blinked. "Huh?" "The way you handled that spear earlier. It wasn¡¯t clumsy. It was precise." "I missed once." "You managed to adapt. That¡¯s harder." Yifei stared at her for a second too long. Then looked down with a smile on her lips. "...Thanks." I turned to the sealed door at the far end of the shaft ¡ª thick, metal, with a faded hazard sticker half-burned off. The sealed door gave us a moment of quiet. No infected sounds. No echo of footsteps. Just the tick of dripping pipes and the steady hum of power through old, buzzing conduit. I lowered myself into a crouch near the far wall. Yifei stood near the corner, back against the concrete, arms crossed tight across her chest. The spear was balanced against her leg. Her eyes never stayed still, checking the dark, the corners, then flicking back to Liang Mei. Liang Mei knelt carefully, one knee first. Her movements were slow, practised, like someone used to rationing effort. She sat back on her heels, shoulders hunched slightly forward, hand still resting flat over her chest. Yifei shifted awkwardly. Reached into her satchel. Fished out a plastic bottle and unscrewed the cap. Then she held it out, not looking directly at Liang Mei, arm just extended, stiff. "...Here." Liang Mei opened her eyes and glanced up. Her lips curled. Not quite a smile. Just... warm. "Thank you." She took the bottle with both hands, drank slow. No rush. Not greedy. Yifei fidgeted with the strap on her bag, looking away like she¡¯d done something embarrassing. Liang Mei handed the bottle back gently. "I appreciate it," she said. "You¡¯re steadier than I expected." "I¡¯m not," Yifei said, voice tight. "I just... do things." "That counts." Yifei¡¯s brow furrowed ¡ª like she didn¡¯t know what to do with that kind of compliment. She turned to me. "How much longer?" "Not long," I said. "Two more chambers. Then Qinglan¡¯s sector." I leaned against the door, listening. Muffled shots again ¡ª closer this time. Not wild. Controlled bursts. "I am sure they are fine." Liang Mei shifted forward slightly, resting her elbows on her knees. "Is she like you?" "Smarter," I said. "More careful and much better at planning." "Better shot?" she asked. I glanced over. "No one¡¯s a better shot." That made Yifei smirk a little. I stood up and huffed at Yifei mocking me. "Rest¡¯s over." Liang Mei rose slower but steadily. She brushed the dust from her skirt, reset the strap of her satchel, and didn¡¯t look winded when she was upright. Yifei didn¡¯t wait for my order this time. She took her place at the door, checking the lock and hinges like I would¡¯ve done. I pressed my palm against the metal. But when I prepared to push the door open, finally able to leave these horrible tunnels. I noticed that the gunfire stopped. That was worse Chapter 91: The Edge of Control Chapter 91: The Edge of ControlMu Qinglan POV March 17th, 20xx¡ª 10:08 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, North Lab Block, Sector C2 ¡ª The wall behind us detonated without warning. I dropped flat and rolled behind the nearest overturned desk. Shrapnel bounced off the steel, a chunk of debris missing my face by less than a hand¡¯s width. "Fall back!" I shouted. Deng Hua was already moving. He had Chen Xun slung over his shoulder ¡ª the smaller scout was conscious, barely, arm dangling, blood trailing behind them in a slick streak across the tile. Guo Fan ran after them, empty-handed except for the pipe he kept waving like it meant something. Useless. Liang Qiu came last. She turned mid-step, slammed the steel side door shut, and kicked a splintered table leg through the handle bracket. "Structural breach upstairs," Liang Qiu said. "Undead incoming. Thirty seconds or less." There was no time to respond to her. I pulled the pistol from my belt ¡ª a knockoff 9mm that rattled when I moved too fast ¡ª and checked the magazine. Twelve rounds left. One spare mag in the side pocket, and another taped one to my thigh. That was all. The gun that we stole from those damn idiots that attacked us, breaking the mood so John didn¡¯t rail me.... Damn it! I hated this gun, but it was useful... wasting my stamina for these fools wasn¡¯t worth it. I glanced back once through the dust cloud. The far side of the corridor was gone ¡ª a blast hole ripped wide, venting white smoke from what looked like ruptured chemical lines. The fire suppression systems had failed; the heat was rising. "We move south," I said. "Storage wing." "That¡¯s a choke point," Guo Fan replied. "Too narrow. They¡¯ll flood it." "I¡¯m aware." "But we won¡¯t have room to¡ª" "Move." He hesitated. I stepped forward and shoved him. "Don¡¯t test me!" These fucking people coming between me and John. If not for them, I¡¯d be with him now... There are too many zombies¡ªthis couldn¡¯t be normal. He stumbled, then ran. I didn¡¯t watch where. Deng Hua reached the next door and shoved it open with his shoulder. He dragged Chen Xun halfway through and dropped him against the far wall. I could see the blood soaking into his pant leg. Deep wound. Maybe groin artery. Unconfirmed. We didn¡¯t have time to confirm. I crossed to them, gun up, keeping my line-of-sight back through the haze. Liang Qiu covered me ¡ª silent, reliable. She didn¡¯t talk unless he had to. That made her quite useful. But I hated the way she looked at John... It¡¯s bad enough he¡¯s with Yifei... "Pressure plate¡¯s gone," Deng Hua said. "I think it¡¯s through." I didn¡¯t look. "We hold this corridor. Reinforce both flanks. Use shelves." "What about Chen Xun?" "If he can shoot, he stays upright. If he can¡¯t, put him behind a wall." The lights overhead flickered again. Emergency red, pulsing in and out. A beat like a dying heart. Somewhere past the breach, I heard the first wet, dragging steps of the infected scraping through the debris. I raised the pistol. It felt too light. I pointed to the shelves. "Use those. Block the left and rear." Guo Fan hesitated. Looked at me like he needed more. He didn¡¯t get more. "Now." He moved. Finally. Liang Qiu didn¡¯t wait for instructions. She was already dragging a toppled table across the hall, bracing it against the blown-out doorway. Her arms flexed under the strain ¡ª lean, not bulky, but strong enough to get it done. No wasted words. No wasted motion. I checked the side corridor ¡ª nothing visible yet, but I could hear them. The slow, irregular scrape of bodies against concrete. One of them moaned. Wet, ugly sound. Close. Chen Xun groaned behind me. "Keep him upright," I told Deng Hua. He glanced at me, then back at the kid¡¯s leg. "He¡¯s losing too much. I can¡¯t patch this." "You can press on it." "He¡¯ll bleed out." "Then sit him in a corner and make him hard to see." Deng Hua didn¡¯t argue. He lifted Chen Xun under the arms and pulled him toward the side closet ¡ª shoved some boxes aside, cleared the line of sight to the door, and propped him upright. A distraction was worse than a corpse. The lights overhead flickered again. Red. Red. Dim. "What do these lights mean?!" My voice louder than I expected... but the heavy feeling in my chest just kept growing... John¡¯s gun stopped shooting, and the last thing I heard was Shen Yifei¡¯s yelp. John.... don¡¯t die. The feelings constantly grew, but I was too awkward to share them... did he hate how stiff I was? Even during this moment, as we are about to die, I just wanted to know him better. No, maybe that¡¯s why... "It¡¯s the generator... it¡¯s been damaged and the long pulses are the backup kicking in..." Clack! The lights became dim, with a dull red colour, but nothing too difficult. But it made it hard to see the floor well. I counted three seconds between pulses now. Shorter than before. That meant we were losing auxiliary power. If the backup generator in C Block went down, this wing wouldn¡¯t hold. "Deng Hua... is there a time limit for backup power?" "About 20 hours on low usage!" There was enough time, we could find John and that woman he wanted to save... then escape. I got too comfortable with John and never expected it to be so hard. John, people will flock to you in droves once they know the truth... Guo Fan slammed the shelf into place across the rear hall and turned to face me as I broke out of my thoughts. "Secured," he said, voice too loud. I raised my pistol and took a position near the broken wall. "One way in," I said. "We hold it." Deng Hua joined me. He had a crowbar in one hand, something like a kitchen knife in the other. "I get first hit," he said. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I didn¡¯t answer. The hallway went silent. No footsteps. No voices. That was worse. There were three ways to die here. The corridor might hold for a few minutes if we reinforced it properly. But the flank entrances were too exposed, and the walls too soft. One breach would split us in half. The storage wing was a coffin¡ªlong, boxed in, with no vertical access since the upper stairwell collapsed. First option: hold the line and get swallowed. Second: break through the chemical dump room, where anything could be waiting. Third: backtrack into the same breach we barely survived getting through. All bad. Just a matter of choosing which version of death hurts less. Guo Fan kept pacing near the side barricade. His hands hovered around his belt like he¡¯d lost something he was too afraid to admit. He didn¡¯t even realise he¡¯d been muttering. "Stop moving," I said. "I¡¯m not¡ª" "Then make yourself useful." "I already locked it down." "Do it again." He stared like I¡¯d insulted his ancestors. I turned away. Liang Qiu didn¡¯t speak. She stayed kneeling near the front barricade, ear tilted toward the hallway. Listening to the noises, maybe she would find a way... the girl wasn¡¯t useless despite annoying me. I adjusted my grip on the pistol. Not because I needed to shoot ¡ª I just hated not holding it. Scraping sounds echoed from the far hall. The rhythm was uneven ¡ª flesh slapping tile, slow feet dragging. A low cough, half-human. They were closing in. I could feel something in my chest tighten. It wasn¡¯t fear. It was an absence. John¡¯s gun wasn¡¯t firing anymore. Shen Yifei¡¯s voice had gone quiet. Nothing on comms. No signal from his system. He was too quiet. Too far. Something was wrong. Even when my phone tried to dial him... it just went dead. "What¡¯s going on?" "Closer," Liang Qiu answered. Deng Hua rolled his shoulder, adjusted the crowbar in his hand. "Don¡¯t try anything clever." "Wouldn¡¯t dream of it." I checked on Chen Xun. Still upright. Still conscious, but drifting. Pulse fading. At least he wasn¡¯t screaming. Guo Fan muttered again. "We¡¯re going to die in here." No one replied. He said it louder. "We¡¯re going to die in¡ª" I stood up and levelled the pistol at his head. He froze like I¡¯d flipped a switch in his spine. "Shut up," I said. "You¡¯re noise. That¡¯s all you¡¯re doing." Chapter 92: Three Ways to Die Chapter 92: Three Ways to DieMarch 17th, 20xx¡ª 10:36 PM Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus, North Lab Block, Sector C2 ¡ª Guo Fan¡¯s eyes widened as he opened his mouth. I didn¡¯t lower the gun. He backed away. Hands raised slightly. Palms sweating. The first infected slammed into the barricade. It hit so hard that the shelf behind it shuddered. Dust dropped from the ceiling in a slow, grey curtain. The entire wall creaked once and settled again. Liang Qiu stood with a steel pipe in one hand and something colder in her eyes. The second one hit harder. The barricade bent inward slightly. One of the legs snapped out of joint and clattered sideways. "Reinforce it," I snapped at Guo Fan as I pushed myself against the frame, grabbing something heavy and dragging it with my legs... my muscular thighs a complex that I had from being young... not it¡¯s even worse. John... do you hate muscular women? The idiot didn¡¯t move, as my mind thought of John, I spoke to him to help soothe my panic, fear and uncertainty... yet I knew John could lead me through this... that¡¯s why I had to become better, smarter... and a woman suited to stand beside him. He didn¡¯t move. Another thump. Something clawed through the broken frame, fingers twitching wildly past the boards. "Guo Fan!" He turned. But not toward the barricade. He bolted for the chemical access door. "No¡ª!" He yanked it open without even looking and slipped into the dark. Then the screaming started. I couldn¡¯t see what killed him. But I heard it. Crunch. Wet. Fast. Bone splitting open like a fruit someone didn¡¯t want. I fired twice into the darkness, just to cover the noise. Two bullets wasted. "Close it!" I barked. Liang Qiu moved fast, slammed the hatch shut and kicked a heavy crate in front of it. Deng Hua watched the whole thing unfold with no expression at all. He turned to me. "We only got two paths now, Ma¡¯am!" "I see..." My thoughts were muddled, but I just told and asked myself what John would do. Then realised I couldn¡¯t keep treating these people like inanimate objects. Deng Hua didn¡¯t look shaken. Just sweaty. His knuckles were white on the crowbar, like it had fused to his fingers. "Hold your post," I said, breath tight. "Don¡¯t get clever." I turned back to the front barricade. Liang Qiu had already returned to position, crouched low behind the broken desk, breathing steady. The pipe rested against her shoulder like a second spine. I trusted her to swing when it mattered. A groan echoed through the hall, low, broken, and wet... like something trying to speak through its stomach. Then the dragging started again. Slower this time. Heavier... something different from a stage one zombie. John explained everything to me about their colours. Green is fast, red has blades... and are dangerous, and the big guys can transform from a big lump to a rapid and deadly tank-like monster. They were building mass on the other side. "Good work, Deng Hua!" I called out. "Check Chen Xun." His face looked confused at first. But he moved without complaint. Slid into the side alcove and crouched beside the wounded scout. I caught the rustle of him adjusting gauze, the soft clatter of a knife handle. No words. No moans. Chen was still alive. Barely. I crouched behind the overturned shelf. Pulled my knees in. Gun resting against the edge, barrel up. Sweat rolled into the corner of my eye, and I didn¡¯t blink it away. There was a high-pitched ringing in the ceiling now. Pressure shift. Probably the air system is finally giving out. My thoughts crawled back toward John again. I didn¡¯t want them to. He was probably clearing some ruined hallway, cool and unreadable as always. Calm voice. Precise eyes. He wouldn¡¯t be panicking like me. Wouldn¡¯t be thinking about my thighs or how stiff I sounded whenever I opened my mouth. He¡¯d be thinking about the exits. The angles. The math of it. I envied that. I hated that I envied that. John was my boyfriend and partner... not competition. Liang Qiu shifted beside me. Not toward the sound ¡ª toward me. "You good?" I blinked. "Fine." She stared a second longer than necessary. "Keep your focus on the front," I said. A pause. Then she nodded and turned back. From the corridor came an unfamiliar sound ¡ª metal scraping on cement. It wasn¡¯t claws or feet but something heavier... The third wave had arrived. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡ª The front barricade exploded inward... not cracked, or bent... It shattered. The Brute came through first ¡ª eight feet of stitched white muscle, chunks of rotting flesh barely hanging on. It moved wrong ¡ª not stiff like a corpse, not lumbering like the infected I knew. It flowed, thick goo stretching between the tears in its body as it dragged itself through the broken door. Its stomach split open with a wet, yawning sound ¡ª teeth. So many teeth. The mouth there snapped twice, spraying white mucus across the floor. Behind it, something faster. Something green. A blur snapped across the gap, barely human-shaped ¡ª wiry arms, elongated fingers, skin drawn tight like someone had vacuum-sealed it. The Green shot sideways off a broken shelf and clung to the wall like a lizard. My gut clenched. They were both looking at me. No. Smelling me. Their heads jerked slightly, mouths opening ¡ª twitching ¡ª zeroing in on something only they could feel. It was my core. My system marker. Whatever John called it... I had... whatever made me different now... they could sense it. He said I was like a delicious meal to them... once they evolved! Deng Hua roared, swinging the crowbar. The Brute didn¡¯t even react. It barrelled forward, swatting Deng aside like a drunk shoving a chair out of the way. He slammed into the wall and dropped, weapon clattering out of reach. Liang Qiu lunged ¡ª pipe raised ¡ª but the Green moved first. It dropped from the wall, hit the floor, and vanished in a blur of motion. Straight for me. I didn¡¯t think. I moved. The metal bat came up on instinct. I caught the thing¡¯s slash with the side of the bat ¡ª a sickening crack against its claw ¡ª and spun off the impact. It skidded back on two limbs, hissing, bone fingers twitching. The Brute screamed. The sound was lower, deeper ¡ª like an earthquake before a landslide. I didn¡¯t wait for it to finish. I sprinted left, toward the ruined lab benches, toward space. The Green bolted after me, lashing out at my legs, my arms, anything it could reach. Fast. Too fast. But I was faster now. Not from strength. From need. I ducked as low as possible, then slid under a toppled cabinet, spun up on the far side ¡ª and smashed the bat upward as the Green tried to follow. It caught the blow in its ribs, and something snapped. It shrieked ¡ª a high, glassy sound ¡ª but didn¡¯t fall. Movement to my right ¡ª the Brute shifted, twitching violently. White goo poured from its wounds. Its body twisted unnaturally. Then it sprinted. Faster than it should have been. Way faster. I barely threw myself sideways in time. The Brute slammed into the wall where I¡¯d been standing, blowing chunks of cement into the air like a grenade had gone off. The Green used the distraction to lunge again. I met it midair, teeth gritted, swinging the bat in a tight, ugly arc. Connected with its neck. It crumpled sideways, rebounded off a table, and screeched again ¡ª but it wasn¡¯t dead. None of them ever died easy. The horde spilt in behind them ¡ª fifty, sixty bodies ¡ª a wall of grasping hands and dragging teeth. Liang Qiu was fighting near the supply closet, swinging the pipe mechanically, keeping Chen Xun shielded. Deng Hua was back up, bleeding from his forehead, gripping a desk leg like a club. But they weren¡¯t the targets. Only me. The Brute turned, mucus boiling out of its stomach mouth, and charged again. I ran. I ducked, dodged, feinted left, then right ¡ª legs burning, lungs searing ¡ª the bat gripped so tight in my hand that my knuckles went numb. The pistol was useless now ¡ª four shots left, maybe three ¡ª and nothing slow enough to shoot without wasting bullets. I weaved through the dead, the living, the half-living. The Green blurred into my side vision again, slashing at my thighs this time. But I kicked it, hard, catching it across the jaw. It spun, screeching, but not down. The Brute was slower now, regenerating wounds slowing it, but not by much. Another second. Another breath. I couldn¡¯t keep this up. I wasn¡¯t John. I wasn¡¯t¡ª The chemical lab door shuddered behind me. For a second, I thought the Brute had broken something else. But it wasn¡¯t the Brute. It was something heavier. Boots. Then a thick pair of hands wrapped around me... lifting me into the air as I saw his face, sweaty... covered in dirt, dust and blood. But my heart thumped... and almost exploded. He came for me again! "JOHN!" Chapter 93: Brutes and Rivals Chapter 93: Brutes and RivalsThe shouting got clearer with each step ¡ª furniture crashing and too many voices trying to shout over panic. Someone screamed at the doors. Someone else screamed louder. It wasn¡¯t tactical. It was a collapse. I opened the system. [ZKP: 1405] Fast taps. No hesitation. [Purchase: Healing Potion ¨C 50 ZKP] [Purchase: 9mm Magazine ¡Á5 ¨C 50 ZKP] [Remaining ZKP: 1105] I reached into my pack, pulled out the Type-9K, and shoved it into Shen Yifei¡¯s hands. It was already set to single-shot mode. The kick would still hit hard, but not enough to break an arm. Because they were this close, I could see that Deng Hua was wounded, while the others seemed no better. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Give this to Liang Mei," I said. "Three mags." I dropped them into her palm, one by one. "Will she use it?" Shen Yifei asked. "She¡¯ll survive," I said. "Make sure of it." Then I handed her the cheap pistol we took off the thugs ¡ª the knockoff 9mm still half-oiled. I shoved the five magazines into her satchel. "Give that to Deng Hua. Make him shoot from second line." She blinked once, processing, but nodded quickly. "And this." I pulled out the sealed healing vial and dropped it into her hand. "He¡¯s wounded," I said. "This gets him moving. Or keeps him breathing. Whichever comes first." She stared down at the items, then back up. "You¡¯re not going in with a gun?" "Don¡¯t need one." The voices ahead turned sharp ¡ª a cry of pain, a smashed table, the sound of something heavy slamming flesh. I stepped forward and didn¡¯t look back again. ¡ª¡ª Qinglan didn¡¯t see me. Not at first. Mu Qinglan¡¯s shoulders tensed the moment I grabbed her waist first. I held her tight, grounding her before the Speed-Type¡¯s claws could reach the space where her spine had just been. I could feel the heat off her skin. Her breath caught. "John¡ª" I didn¡¯t answer. The Brute was already charging. Eight feet of twitching mass, half its ribcage exposed, lungs sliding wetly over its bones. Its weight cracked tiles with each stomp, body regenerating mid-motion. I spun her out of the way, one arm guiding her momentum toward cover, the other raising my spear as I stepped into the open. I drove it forward low, aiming for the inside knee, not to stop it, but to angle the force. It hit, sank in, then warped. The Brute¡¯s momentum ripped through the haft, bending it around its leg as it slammed a backhand toward my skull. I twisted ¡ª just fast enough to dodge it cleanly. The Qi inside my core surged ¡ª heat spiralling up from my stomach, flooding my chest, arms, legs. The pain that came with it was deep and tight, but it made my flesh throb with strength. My bones tensed. My breath slowed. Titan¡¯s Marrow was flowing again. I caught the Brute¡¯s wrist mid-swing, planted my boot, and huffed before pushing it back. It didn¡¯t budge far ¡ª maybe a foot. That was enough. The bent spear clattered to the side. I didn¡¯t reach for it. This was hand-to-hand now. Just like I thought... the spear didn¡¯t suit me. Not when fighting Zao, or when using strength above a certain level. I didn¡¯t have a clue what weapon to use, so I just used my hands. It roared ¡ª mouth splitting down the middle, stomach yawning open. Strings of mucus splattered across my shirt as I stepped back in. The Brute lunged again ¡ª clumsy, heavy. I dropped my stance low and moved under it. Fist clenched. Jaw tight. I slammed my elbow into its thigh. Felt something pop. It screamed ¡ª not out of pain, but pressure like air bursting from a punctured drum. Its stomach-mouth flexed wide and snapped, teeth grinding, chasing the scent of my skin. I ducked. Turned. Hammered two shots into its side. My knuckles sank deeper than I expected. It shuddered ¡ª mass too thick to knock off balance. Its shoulder crashed into me. I slipped sideways, boots skidding across blood-wet tile. Another swing came low. I jumped ¡ª not to dodge, but to land my knee into its neck. It caught the blow. I felt its hand clamp around my thigh. "Fuck." It flung me. I slammed into the auditorium wall. Hard. Cracks spidered out from the impact. My vision tunnelled. My ribs screamed. The Qi surged again ¡ª fire in my spine, marrow boiling. I pushed off the wall and dropped into a crouch. The Brute was already halfway turned, its limbs jerking, twitching. Regenerating. One eye bulged open ¡ª pupil gone. Just a white socket. And it smiled with both mouths. I grinned back. Come on, then. To the left, the Green Zombie shrieked and blurred ¡ª an inhuman dash like broken film. It snapped toward Mu Qinglan. She reacted too slow. "Left!" Shen Yifei shouted ¡ª voice sharp, timed right. Qinglan ducked instinctively. The claws missed her scalp by inches. Yifei¡¯s spear flashed forward, catching the Speed-Type in the ribs as it banked toward her. The tip didn¡¯t sink deep. The monster... far too fast ¡ª but it bent the thing¡¯s trajectory. Qinglan used that moment. She spun on her heel and slammed the bat into the Green zombie¡¯s side. A crack echoed ¡ª something internal snapped. The Green skipped sideways, slammed into the wall, and bounced off it like it weighed nothing. It didn¡¯t scream. Just blinked. Head tilted at the wrong angle. Arms twitching. It moved again ¡ª faster this time. A blur. Qinglan dodged with a graceful roll. Her bat scraped the floor ¡ª she aimed for the ankle but missed. "Yifei¡ª" "I see it!" The zombie spun mid-run. Changed directions twice. It went for Yifei. She braced in a wide stance, spear angled low. I could see it in her eyes ¡ª not fear. Calculating. She leapt forward, piercing out as the green stopped and launched straight up into the air. It hit the ceiling, rebounded, and came down like a knife. "It¡¯s too fast..." Qinglan tackled her sideways just in time. They hit the ground together, rolled. The Green zombie twisted mid-air and landed wrong, shoulder bending backwards. It didn¡¯t matter. It stood again like it didn¡¯t have bones. Yifei shoved Qinglan off her. "We¡¯re not friends." "No shit," Qinglan muttered, pushing up. "Watch your back then." "You watch yours." They split¡ªflanking opposite sides of the thing. The Green zombie twitched. It couldn¡¯t track both. ¡ª I exhaled and turned back to the Brute. It had changed again. Flesh now smoother, arms rippling. White sap-like fluid ran down its stomach-mouth. It cracked its neck once. Then vanished. No charge. Just gone. I ducked reflexively. It slammed into the space behind me, ripping a crater out of the concrete. The blow came faster than before, more violently, but I didn¡¯t run. But felt excited! I met it head-on, fist curling tight, knees bent, the zombie¡¯s eyes locked on me as I grinned at it with a sense of delight. And punched it in the fucking jaw. Titan Marrow Sutra¡ªStage 1: 56% [Hardened Core] My fist cracked against the Brute¡¯s lower jaw. I felt the cartilage tear. Something gave. It stumbled half a step. That¡¯s all I needed. I stepped in close, left foot forward, and drove a cross into the Brute¡¯s floating ribs. The impact rippled through my shoulder, down my spine. It felt like hitting meat wrapped in chain mail. My knuckles burned. It twisted and swung a haymaker that could¡¯ve snapped a lamppost. I dipped under it. My elbow came up in return ¡ª straight into its armpit, then into its throat. The soft tissue collapsed slightly. Its stomach-mouth hissed and sprayed some kind of gas ¡ª hot, wet, disgusting. I didn¡¯t breathe it. Didn¡¯t flinch and just hammered it with my fists down into its shoulder. Another into its sternum. Then again. And again. Until my hands went numb. The Brute flailed. It grabbed me mid-combo and slammed me into the ground like it was trying to bury me. My back cracked concrete. The pain was pure white. But I saw the red flash again. [Titan¡¯s Marrow: 74%] I kicked off the ground and turned into a side roll. Came up low and punched its kneecap sideways. The joint folded partway. It didn¡¯t fall, but it slowed. I surged forward ¡ª tackled it like a linebacker, not to drop it, just to disorient. We both slammed into the wall, concrete cracking outward. It roared in my ear. I gritted my teeth and drove my forehead into the side of its skull. Blood. Mine. Not sure. Didn¡¯t care. Off to my right, Qinglan swung high, baiting the Green Zombie to jump. It did ¡ª launched into the air with zero arc, like a bullet. Yifei lunged upward and stabbed it from below as it descended, full extension. The spear hit the spine. It twitched once, jerked, and dropped. Then scrambled back up, claws twitching, legs shaking. "Again!" Qinglan shouted. Yifei didn¡¯t answer. She was already moving. The Green Zombie spun and lashed out with both arms ¡ª elbows first. Qinglan caught the first strike on her forearm, grunted, spun, and answered with a low bat swing to the back of its knees. Yifei swept in behind it, reversed her grip, and drove the spear in horizontally, under the ribs. The Green Zombie shrieked and snapped backwards. Qinglan caught it. Right across the skull. Bat met bone with a loud, flat crack. It dropped. Twitching. Not dead yet. But almost. Liang Qiu slammed a table into the west barricade as more infected pounded against it. "Twenty more!" she called. Zhou Xue stabbed a blade through a crawling one¡¯s face. Chen Xun was limping. Barely moving. Deng Hua fired another shot ¡ª missed once, then clipped a shoulder. "Cover that side!" I called out while driving my foot into the Brute¡¯s gut. It groaned ¡ª a shuddering, organ-deep sound. Then it tried to run. I grabbed its arm. Pulled it back. And broke its elbow over my shoulder with a loud snap. The brute¡¯s arm dangled as it stumbled back. [Titan¡¯s Marrow: 81%] I was just using it to grow stronger at this point. Chapter 94: The Weight We Carry Chapter 94: The Weight We CarryThe Brute collapsed with a heavy grunt, its body folding sideways, dragging mucus across the floor in wide streaks as it twitched one final time. Its stomach-mouth spasmed once ¡ª lips drawn back, teeth still twitching ¡ª then slowly sank open, slack and empty. I stood over it, my breath slow, chest rising in measured intervals. My knuckles were numb, fists still clenched. Blood trickled across my palm ¡ª some mine, some not ¡ª I wasn¡¯t sure anymore. Didn¡¯t care either. [Stage-2 Brute Infected Killed ¡ª ZKP +50] The system pinged against the back of my vision, sharp and cold, but I barely registered it. I needed to keep checking things. Across the shattered tiles, the speed-type ¡ª the Freak ¡ª still twitched where it lay. Its limbs spasmed, claws dragging faint trails across the stone, body jerking like it hadn¡¯t got the message. Shen Yifei impressed me greatly so far, and moved forward without hesitation. She raised the weapon and drove it into its throat, twisting slightly on impact. No drama. No flair. Just certainty. [Stage-2 Speed Infected Killed ¡ª ZKP +50 | EXP +100] The one with the bat stayed behind her, still watching. Calm. Poised. That unnerving stillness she always had ¡ª like she didn¡¯t just fight to the edge of death and back. She didn¡¯t say anything, and neither did the other girl. They didn¡¯t even glance at each other. They just turned in opposite directions, backs to the kill. Discipline. Or distance. Maybe both. The barricade near the rear groaned. Wood straining, metal creaking as weight pressed against it. The soldier, tall, quiet, pipe-wielding, drove her weapon into the frame again, adjusting the angle with slow precision. Another body slammed into the outside. The table legs scraped, but didn¡¯t give. To her left, the short-haired girl limped forward and buried her blade in the head of a crawler still reaching toward her ankles. No wasted energy. No scream. Just one short exhale and movement like muscle memory. The limping one ¡ª Chen ¡ª was still trying to move. He leaned against the wall, blade half-raised, but he looked more unconscious than focused. The kid with the gun ¡ª the nervous one, Deng ¡ª fired again. The first shot missed. The second clipped a shoulder. He adjusted the angle, took a breath, and held his stance like he wasn¡¯t sure if the recoil would break his arm. It didn¡¯t. "West hall," I said, voice low. Zhou Xue, calm under fire, turned her head slightly. Her posture was tight, blade up, left arm cradling her ribs. The wound had healed, but not enough. She moved like someone stitched together by force, like her whole body didn¡¯t trust itself yet. Still, she gave a nod. No questions. Just action. She pivoted out of formation and limped toward the corridor. I caught it then ¡ª a stagger, a hitch in her step just past the second overturned chair. Her breath came sharp through clenched teeth. Her fingers flexed around the grip of her blade. Not fear. Just pain, she wasn¡¯t ready to admit out loud. [Zhou Xue ¡ª Stage-1 Infected Killed ¡ª EXP +10 | ZKP +5] I scanned the room. No clean exits yet. To the right, Chen Xun tried his best. He pushed himself upright with one hand and gripped his weapon like it was an insult to hold it wrong. He wasn¡¯t bleeding out, not visibly, but his face was pale and his lips drawn thin. It wouldn¡¯t take much more to drop him. Behind me, Deng Hua reloaded. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I turned. He crouched behind the desk he¡¯d taken cover behind. The pistol was steady in his hand now. Not confident ¡ª but no longer shaking. He¡¯d hit his mark. The system confirmed it a second ago, flickering quietly in the side of my vision. [Deng Hua ¡ª Stage-1 Infected Killed ¡ª EXP +10 | ZKP +5] Small gains. But that¡¯s how survivors were made. I didn¡¯t say anything and just observed the wounded kid. He met my eyes. Then quickly turned away with a strange look. To my left, Shen Yifei was still scanning the downed Freak¡¯s body, boots shifting in a slow semicircle and dragging her spear. Her shoulders lifted tight, breaths fast but even. Not fear, not anymore. She wasn¡¯t waiting for orders. She was standing ready. Mu Qinglan stood across from her. Still silent. Still motionless. The bat rested against her shoulder like it belonged there. She didn¡¯t twitch. Didn¡¯t wipe sweat. Her stance didn¡¯t even break. Her eyes drifted across the field of corpses, across the barricade, then settled on the twisted corpse of the Brute I¡¯d just finished. She didn¡¯t look impressed. Didn¡¯t look disturbed either. She looked like she already knew I¡¯d win. I didn¡¯t speak to her. She didn¡¯t speak to me. It wasn¡¯t the right moment. Instead, I turned back to the cute girl in a thick sweater... Liang Mei looked pale, her face sweaty as she struggled to breathe. Her body slumped against the wall. One knee bent, both hands resting gently across her chest, where her heartbeat lived like a fragile, quiet thing. Her eyes weren¡¯t closed. But they weren¡¯t alert, either. Distant. Measuring Liang Mei¡¯s decline like she¡¯d done it a hundred times before. I walked over, crouched beside her, and lowered my voice. "You still with us?" She nodded once. Weakly. "Pulse?" "Fast. Better than before." "Will the pills help?" "A little. Just give me a few minutes. The gun... it was amazing!" She didn¡¯t whine, and I noticed her killing a few zombies. Though I didn¡¯t get any points, the affection between us rose the more I treated her like the others. So I didn¡¯t ask for anything more, with a few more seconds watching her breath. I stood and turned to face the others. Barricades held. For now. But I already knew what came next. ¡ª¡ª March 17th, 20xx¡ª 11:10 PM Longwan University ¡ª North Lab Block, Ruined Lecture Theatre ¡ª Liang Qiu braced her boot against the side of the barricade and drove the metal pipe down into the seam between two beams. Her hair was wet with sweat, her jaw opened wide, and one leg was still shaking. The structure groaned again but didn¡¯t give. Behind her, Chen Xun shifted, trying to stand. He managed to drag himself up along the wall halfway before collapsing onto one knee again. His breathing was loud now, uneven, like the blood loss had finally reached the edge of what his body could handle. Shen Yifei glanced back once. "Chen Xun¡¯s still moving." Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t turn. "Let him," she glanced at me while I focused on Zhou Xue. Zhou Xue was returning from the west hall, her cheap dagger red, her steps slow but steady. She moved around the broken furniture like she¡¯d done this a hundred times before, favouring her left side, but not slowing. Then stopped near the closest chair and sat, letting her head hang forward for a breath. "Clear for now," Zhou Xue said quietly. "No infected?" "None breathing." I gave a sharp nod and opened my system again. I watched the far barricade that the others built during the battle... dozens, almost hundreds of corpses around us. She was holding the spear vertically now, resting it against one shoulder, her other hand bracing against her ribs. She hadn¡¯t spoken much since the kill. The blood on her boots was still fresh. Her eyes followed Mu Qinglan ¡ª not openly, but often. Mu Qinglan herself stood by the edge of the barricade, her bat resting against one thigh. She hadn¡¯t moved to help Chen Xun. Hadn¡¯t checked on anyone. She just stood still, gaze flicking toward every sound. Guarded. Remote. When Shen Yifei stepped past her to adjust a broken desk bracing the frame, their arms brushed for a second. Neither said anything. Not even a glance. But something shifted in the air between them. I walked up to them and leaned in close, whispering about the important cores that were stored in the Stage 2 zombies. Because I grabbed the brute¡¯s core after crushing its skull, only the green one remained. The brute core differed from the green core and red cores... This would improve someone¡¯s endurance, and I wondered if it would help Shen Yifei grow stronger. "Yifei, Qinglan... come here." After whispering about what they needed to do, I turned back to Liang Mei. She was breathing slower now, hands still folded at her chest. The glass vial I¡¯d handed her earlier sat empty beside her leg. "Better?" I asked. She didn¡¯t speak for a moment ¡ª just nodded. Her voice, when it came, was smaller than before, but firmer. "I¡¯m steady now." "Can you walk?" "With support." "Good," I said. "Because we¡¯re not staying." She closed her eyes for a second. No complaint. No protest. When she opened them again, she was already moving. Zhou Xue wiped her blade clean and straightened. Deng Hua stood. Checked his pistol. Clicked the safety off. Said nothing. Chen Xun didn¡¯t move much, but he was conscious. He looked at me when I passed him. I didn¡¯t stop. Behind me, I heard Shen Yifei mutter low. "Should we head now?" "No," Mu Qinglan said. "He¡¯ll tell us when." Shen Yifei flinched ¡ª just barely. Her jaw tightened, but she didn¡¯t answer. I stepped through the field of corpses and paused beside the main door. The walls were quiet for now. But we¡¯d bought seconds. Not safety... and during that silence, the system¡¯s voice echoed in my mind and made me feel energetic again. [Rank Increased] Chapter 95: Becoming The One They Need Chapter 95: Becoming The One They NeedMarch 17th, 20xx¡ª 11:12 PM Longwan University ¡ª North Block, Ruined Lecture Theatre ¡ú Footbridge to East Gym. ¡ª [Rank Increased ¡ª Raid Leader --> Outpost Commander [7/60] [Safe Zone increased ¡ª 48,000 sq ft (6 Floors)] [All stats +0.2] I didn¡¯t smile. But I felt it. The warmth spread outward from my chest ¡ª a low, settling hum as if something deep inside finally acknowledged the damage I¡¯d taken and decided to reward me for surviving it. I didn¡¯t touch the talent point yet. Not now. The air in the auditorium felt thick, too warm from all the bodies, but strangely still. No growling. No pounding fists. The silence left behind in the aftermath of screaming was heavier than any roar. Everyone stood in it. Deng Hua checked the pistol again. Clicked it open. Ejected the mag. Looked it over like he was trying to decide if it had betrayed him. He didn¡¯t ask for help this time. Just reloaded slower. Methodical. Tired, but alive. I glanced at him once. He didn¡¯t flinch this time. Zhou Xue had taken a position near the west corridor. Her blade rested across her thighs, head tilted back against the wall, her eyes half-lidded but still focused. Her breathing had slowed too much for comfort, but she hadn¡¯t let the blade drop. Chen Xun sat now, rather than crouched. He¡¯d slid down the wall sometime during the last few minutes and hadn¡¯t made an effort to rise since. He blinked when I looked at him. I left him alone. Shen Yifei stayed near the barricade. She hadn¡¯t spoken again after Mu Qinglan¡¯s line. I saw her knuckles tightening around the spear¡¯s grip every few seconds, then relaxing. A rhythm. An outlet. She watched me. Then looked at Mu Qinglan. Then looked away. The tension didn¡¯t need words. Mu Qinglan hadn¡¯t moved either. She stood just inside the arc of light from the ruined ceiling lamps, half-shadowed, one leg crossed slightly over the other, the bat tucked behind her arm now like an extension of her body. She didn¡¯t speak. Didn¡¯t watch me this time. Instead, she looked toward Shen Yifei¡¯s back. Not curious. Not hostile. Just thoughtful, like she was calculating something that hadn¡¯t mattered a few minutes ago. Liang Qiu finished resetting the barricade. She stepped back once to check alignment ¡ª then leaned into the corner with her pipe across her lap. Her forearm was bleeding. She hadn¡¯t told anyone. I walked over to Liang Mei. She was upright now, slowly stretching her arms, the sleeves of her sweater pushed back just enough to show how pale her skin really was. Her knees were shaking ¡ª not visibly, but I saw it in the way she gripped the edge of a broken bench to balance herself. "You shouldn¡¯t stand yet," I said quietly. "I should," she replied. "Even if I fall." It wasn¡¯t pride. Just the quiet weight of someone who had already decided they weren¡¯t allowed to be the weakest person in the room anymore. I handed her back one of the spare mags. "You won¡¯t need this," I said, "but you¡¯ll want to feel like you might." Liang Mei accepted it without hesitation. Her hands were still trembling when she checked the chamber on the Type-9k. "Single shot?" I nodded. "Anything more will throw you." She gave a faint smile. "I won¡¯t pretend to be useful. But I¡¯ll pretend to pretend." That got a single breath out of me. Almost a laugh. Almost. Footsteps echoed faintly beyond the east wall. Three. No voices. Too far to be our people. Too quiet to be a horde. Everyone tensed again. Zhou Xue straightened. Deng Hua raised his pistol. Chen Xun reached instinctively for his weapon and immediately winced. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t lift her bat. She just stared toward the wall and narrowed her eyes. "Decision time," Shen Yifei said softly. I haven¡¯t answered yet. We couldn¡¯t stay here. But moving meant entering the unknown with people barely able to walk, with Shen Yifei¡¯s temper flaring, and Mu Qinglan drifting colder than before. I stared at the wall. The footsteps paused. Then moved again ¡ª faster now, less careful. I exhaled and spoke without looking back. "We move in two minutes." Silence behind me. But no one argued. ¡ª¡ª¡ª When we left... There were a few choices. I just let the kids guide us as I didn¡¯t know this place, and finally, we reached the exit of the labs. The door groaned on its hinges as I pushed it open. Cool air swept over us ¡ª sharp and dry, like old concrete left too long without the sun. The hallway was narrow and filled with broken wood and mess. The ceiling was low with half-lit panels buzzing overhead. I stepped through first. The others followed, slower and more concerned. Zhou Xue limped quietly behind me, one hand resting on the wall for balance. Her blade was still red. Shen Yifei flanked her without a word, eyes locked forward. Deng Hua supported Chen Xun on one side; the younger boy¡¯s weight dragged at him, but he didn¡¯t complain. Mu Qinglan came last. She didn¡¯t look tired ¡ª not the way the others did. But there was something tight in the way her shoulders moved. Something irritated her and wore her down. She was pissed. "This building¡¯s a maze," she muttered. "If we¡¯re going in circles, say so." "We¡¯re not," I said. "Feels like it." "We¡¯ve got one more stairwell. Then the bridge." She didn¡¯t answer. Just let the bat rest against her shoulder with a heavier clunk than necessary. "There¡¯s a place we can stay," Zhou Xue said behind me. "Old gym. Second floor. My club room. The archery team used to leave spare mats and supplies there." I glanced back. "Locked?" "It locks from the inside. One entrance." I nodded. "Good enough." We moved. The stairwell was dark ¡ª motion lights half-fried from age or fire. I led them down one flight, then through a twisted hall littered with overturned cabinets. Flies buzzed somewhere deeper in the dark. Liang Mei stumbled once, caught herself. I slowed. "You okay?" She nodded, but her lips were pale. "It¡¯s like my chest¡¯s being pulled inward." "Hold onto Yifei." "I can manage." Shen Yifei hesitated ¡ª then looped one hand under Liang Mei¡¯s elbow without being asked. No one commented. Mu Qinglan was watching, though. Her eyes narrowed. She didn¡¯t offer help. Didn¡¯t move. I pushed open the next door. Cool air again ¡ª this time colder. The footbridge stretched ahead, maybe fifteen meters long. No cover. Railings on either side, waist-high. The far door into the gym building was closed, but intact. Zhou Xue stepped up beside me. "This bridge is how I used to cut across when I was late. Avoided all the crowds." "Still clear?" "It better be." We crossed single file. I took the point. Shen Yifei followed with Liang Mei. Zhou Xue in the centre. Deng Hua and Chen Xun behind her. Mu Qinglan took the rear. Wind hit halfway through ¡ª sharp and sudden. Carried the scent of smoke and something rotting far off. Behind me, I heard Mu Qinglan click her tongue. "This pace is ridiculous." "Then pass them," I said. She didn¡¯t. Just stayed where she was. "No offense," she added, "but when you¡¯ve got two kids hanging off each other and a corpse pretending to limp¡ª" "Shut it," Zhou Xue said. Her voice wasn¡¯t loud. But it was final. Mu Qinglan exhaled through her nose. We made it to the gym side. The door opened with a long creak. The hallway beyond was empty. Banners still hung from the ceiling ¡ª faded reds and yellows for some forgotten sports team. We turned the corner. Second stairwell. Two floors up. The steps groaned. No infected. Just silence. Zhou Xue led us this time. She reached the club door, pulled a key from under the frame, and shoved it into the lock. It clicked open. Heavy wood swung wide. Inside smelled like dust and canvas. Mats. Spare jackets. A few targets lined the far wall. It was dry. Tight. Clean. "Welcome to the Archery Club," she said. Shen Yifei slumped into a pile of old cushions. Liang Mei sat slowly, arms crossed tightly over her chest. Deng Hua helped Chen Xun onto a mat and then dropped beside him with a grunt. Mu Qinglan stood in the doorway. Still. But watching me. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I could feel something off with her gaze... the way she huffed, and sighed. It wasn¡¯t like her, but with the others here. I couldn¡¯t... Finally, she walked past without a word and opened the side room, which caused Zhou Xue to react, but when she saw me follow, I just nodded, and she looked confused for a moment. But turned away with her cheeks red after a moment. Inside the small room... There were several safety mats... and cloth, which Qinglan probably yanked off the shelf, and piled them into a makeshift bed. Mu Qinglan looked up at me, her eyes fiery with a blue glow, and her legs were open just wide enough to invite a careless mistake. Her eyes never left mine. "Shut the door." She blew the hair from her face with a huff. I noticed the lock on the inside of the door... and flicked it up with a loud clack. ...This room wouldn¡¯t stay quiet long. Chapter 96: Tearing the Frost (1) [R18] Chapter 96: Tearing the Frost (1) [R18]She didn¡¯t wait for me to speak. Mu Qinglan stepped back from the mats, tugged the curtain shut behind her, and pulled off her jacket without a word. It landed in a heap near the makeshift bed of layered mats and torn canvas sheets. Then she turned and removed her jacket without a word. It dropped to the floor beside us, slowly like she was shedding the last layer of everything that kept her distant. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her black hair fell over one eye as she leaned to the side, with flushed cheeks. And her shirt, thin, clinging with sweat, outlined every curve, every breath, every tremble. Now she revealed everything. "You don¡¯t need to say anything, just... don¡¯t stop me." I didn¡¯t move. She came toward me with that same calculated grace she carried in battle, cold precision hiding the heat underneath. Her fingers reached my collar, trailing down my chest. The tips were warm. A little shaky. Her eyes locked with mine ¡ª sharp, electric blue. Usually unreadable. But not now. There was something behind them. Something I wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d ever let anyone see. "I wasn¡¯t enough today," she said. "But I want to be. For you." "Qinglan..." I started, but she raised her hand, brushing the back of it against my cheek. "I know it¡¯s stupid. We¡¯re exhausted. Bleeding. Half-alive." She swallowed, voice quieter now. "But if I don¡¯t do this... I might just break and kill someone." Her eyes shimmered. Not full tears ¡ª not yet ¡ª but wet enough to catch the low light. She didn¡¯t blink them away. Didn¡¯t look down. Just kept staring at me, jaw set like she was daring me to see all of her and still stay. She grasped my shirt tightly. I felt the tremble in her hands, slight, stubborn. She was holding herself together like glass about to crack. Qinglan¡¯s lips touched mine. Gentle. Careful. But hungry underneath. She kissed me softly at first, like testing whether I¡¯d pull away. I kissed her back, hands moving to her waist. She pressed closer, her body fitting perfectly against mine ¡ª soft curves against hard muscle. Our bodies slammed against the walls, her lips wrapped around my tongue, sucking it... becoming more violent and aggressive. Her tongue teased mine... dragging me inside, it changed quickly. From cautious to hungry. From soft to violent. Qinglan¡¯s hands stripped me... tearing off my shirt, unfastening my belt, while we slammed into the walls, knocking down quilts, supplies and other things. She sucked my tongue like she wanted to devour me... a wet, slippery sensation bringing only pleasure and arousal to me. Qinglan kissed me like she wanted to prove something... as she pulled on my shirt, tearing it open, tugging at the fabric like it offended her. I fell onto the mats before I realised she was pushing me down. Her thighs slid around my waist and pinned me into place. Then stared down at me, with a faint smile, while breathing heavily... "You¡¯ve done this before?" I asked, voice low, still catching up. "No." Her eyes never wavered. "You?" "No." That surprised her. "Really?" She blinked once. Her body stiffened ¡ª just a little ¡ª then relaxed. Almost as if it was a shock that I was a virgin... she narrowed her eyes. "Good," she whispered. "I want to be the first one to have you!" I brushed the long hair behind her ear. "You don¡¯t need to force yourself¡ª" "I do." She cut me off. "Because if I don¡¯t show you I¡¯m yours first, someone else will." Jealousy. Passion. Libido. Rage. Fear. It was all there, buried under that perfect CEO mask. And now it was unravelling in real time ¡ª for me. She pulled her shirt over her head and let it fall. Her breasts bounced free, soft, round, heavy and flushed at the tips. I swallowed, stunned for a second by the sight of her fully revealed. She wasn¡¯t just beautiful ¡ª she was vulnerable. Raw. Eager. Qinglan¡¯s body lowered, gazing up at me as she kissed my chest with small... teasing kisses, her warm tongue trailing down my abdomen and stomach, causing tingling down my spine. She grabbed my loose belt and removed the buttons before dragging my pants down with a slow, impatient tug. My cock sprang free! Hard, throbbing, and swollen as it slapped her cheek with a wet smack. Her throat sounded as she swallowed... soft hands gripping and sliding down my shaft before her thighs spread wider, her sweet breath blowing against the tip of my cock as she looked up at me with a faint smile. I could feel the heat of her crotch pressed against my thighs. Qinglan wasn¡¯t just wet, but soaking wet. "You¡¯re soaked... are you that horny?" I asked in a rough voice. She narrowed her eyes and growled back. "Shut up... just enjoy it." Qinglan¡¯s hips shifted... her soft sticky petals dragging along my thigh, as she let out a cute sigh. Different from the graceful woman I was used to... this feisty and beast-like woman made my heart race. She reached down while lifting her hips, and grasped the base of my shaft, tightly squeezing and then guided it towards her slippery, pink entrance. The head of my cock pressed against her folds ¡ª warm, slippery, twitching with anticipation. Her lips parted slowly around me as she sank, inch by inch. She grunted softly, face tightening as her body stretched. I gasped ¡ª her cunt was tight, wet and slimy... the heat almost melting me. Much tighter than I¡¯d imagined. Like silk and heat trying to strangle me. But she kept going. Every breath she took was a battle. Her hands braced against my chest. Her thighs trembled. The more she struggled... the tighter and more she clamped down, making it better for me... a wet sound echoed as she looked at me, shocked. "Ah.... that was...." "It¡¯s fine." Then she paused. I felt it ¡ª a soft resistance. Her virginity. Her eyes met mine. She was breathing fast now, lips parted, pupils wide with fear and lust tangled together. "Do it," she said, voice small but steady. "You sure?" "If you stop, I¡¯ll never forgive you." I gripped her hips firmly and held her in place, the warm juices drooling down my crotch. Then I thrust up, slow, curling my hips. She gasped ¡ª a cry that wasn¡¯t quite pain or pleasure. Her body locked up as her cunt clenched hard around me as her hymen gave way, the slippery feeling increasing. Blood trickled where we were joined. A small... faint line down my shaft. Barely a drop. She collapsed against my chest, breathing sharply and shallowly. I didn¡¯t move. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close as she shook in my arms. "It hurts," she whispered. "I know," I murmured. "It¡¯ll pass." "Don¡¯t pull out." "I won¡¯t." Her body was tight around me ¡ª so impossibly tight it felt like her cunt was still trying to keep me out, even though I was already inside her. She trembled, every breath shivering down her spine and into mine. A soft, broken whimper left her throat. Barely audible, like she hadn¡¯t meant to make a sound. She didn¡¯t speak. Just held on ¡ª arms wrapped around my shoulders, face buried against my neck. Qinglan¡¯s breathing became more hectic with each slight movement or action that we made. Each breath blew against my cheek, much hotter than the last. The sound of her pussy squelching as she endured the pressure filling her abdomen was erotic. Her heart throbbed against my chest. It was wild and uneven. She clenched around my thighs with hers, trying to keep me inside... as she glared at me. I didn¡¯t move. Instead, I kissed her softly beneath her ear. The moment I did, her hips trembled, a wet pop echoing as a lovely voice left her lips; she whimpered and hummed this time more desperately as if the pain was fading... for something else. "Hnnng....!" "Shh, it¡¯s alright." I leaned close and hugged her tight against my chest. Her warm, slimy walls inside her undulated and squeezed me like a hungry beast. "Let¡¯s not rush it." "I know," she whispered. Her voice was wet now. She blinked against my skin. Her lashes left faint, warm streaks along my neck. Tears ¡ª silent, fragile things ¡ª that she didn¡¯t want me to see. But I did. And I loved her more for them. She began to move, just slightly. Grinding her hips against mine, not lifting, not thrusting, just rubbing. The wet sound of her cunt sliding along my shaft filled the small room ¡ª slick and messy. Her warmth squeezed me in slow, aching waves. "Nngh... Haa...!" She moaned with a cute sound. I couldn¡¯t help but feel mesmerised at her heavy breasts swaying... so I cupped them in my hands, tracing the soft curves with my fingers, squeezing, pulling and wrapping her cute nipples in my fingers and pulled them closer to my lips. She gasped ¡ª louder this time. It seemed she liked me picking her nipple. Then moaned. Longer and lower. Her back arched with a wet slap of hips. She ground down harder, and I groaned against her skin, teeth grazing the peak. A high-pitched breath escaped her lips ¡ª half-whimper, half-plea. We weren¡¯t fucking yet. But we were already burning. Chapter 97: Tearing the Frost (2) [R18] Chapter 97: Tearing the Frost (2) [R18]Her moans deepened as she kept grinding on me, slow and messy. The sound of her cunt sliding along my shaft was obscene ¡ª wet, thick, rhythmic. Every motion sent a fresh ripple of heat through her walls, and I felt it all. Her breath against my neck, her tits pressed against my chest, the way her hips trembled every time she rocked forward. "Qinglan..." I whispered. She didn¡¯t answer. Just rolled her hips again, slower now, as if savouring the way her body stretched around mine. My cock twitched deep inside her, fully seated, every throb sending a moist warmth spilling out around the base. She let out a soft, breathy gasp. A trail of saliva glistened from her parted lips. Her face flushed. Her eyes were half-lidded. "Feels... full," she murmured, voice shaky and soaked in need. "You are," I whispered back. "You¡¯re taking all of me." A moan ¡ª longer, higher-pitched this time ¡ª broke from her throat. I could feel her cunt pulse around me, slow waves that massaged every inch of my cock. I kissed her. Deep. Tongue against tongue. My hand slid down her back, grabbing her plump ass, squeezing the soft flesh as I gently thrust up ¡ª not hard, not fast but... deliberate and grinding through her soft folds. Just enough to make her groan. She gasped into my mouth ¡ª a wet sound, full of surprise and pleasure. Her thighs locked tighter around me. I thrust again. And again. The sound of our bodies meeting ¡ª soft slaps and wet suction ¡ª echoed in the tiny room. Her pussy was soaked. Every movement made that wet schlk sound, like my cock was being swallowed deeper into her. "F-fuck..." she moaned. "So deep..." Her eyes fluttered open. That bright electric blue shimmered for a heartbeat, then flickered red. Not fully. Just a thin ring of glowing crimson circling the iris. The change reminded me of when she became the other Qinglan... S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I froze. "Qinglan...?" She blinked, her breath ragged, chest heaving. Her expression twisted into something deeper, not pain. Need. Obsession... and lust. "No," she whispered, grabbing my wrists and pinning them to the mat. "Don¡¯t stop. Don¡¯t you dare stop." Her hips began to move. Slow thrusts turned to deliberate strokes. Qinglan¡¯s cunt gripped me with a rhythm, and the room filled with slap, schlk, slap, faster each time. Her hair stuck to her face, sweat glistening down her neck, her breasts bouncing lightly with each thrust. Then harder. Faster. "Ah¡ªJohn¡ª!" she gasped, her voice rising with every grind. Her eyes were red now. Fully. A glowing, fiery red that stared down at me like I was prey beneath a starving goddess. She rode me like she wanted to fuck the memory of every failure out of her body ¡ª her hips slamming down harder, wetter, faster. The mat beneath us creaked. Her thighs slapped against mine, and my cock slammed into her soaked cunt with a lewd, violent squelch each time. I couldn¡¯t breathe. Couldn¡¯t think. She placed both hands on my chest, digging her nails into my skin. She was moaning now ¡ª loud, wild, uncontrolled. Her back arched, sweat flying from her skin as she bounced on my cock, eyes glowing, mouth open. "Ahhh¡ªahh¡ªhaaah¡ª!" she cried out, voice high and broken. Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes became brighter, her moans filling the small room, turning into more of a cry as her hips slammed down against my thighs. "Ahhh¡ªfaster¡ªdeeper¡ª!" Again. And Again. And Again! The sounds we made were obscene, wet, messy and loud. Her pussy bubbled and squelched with each movement, each slap of her ass against my thighs, the slimy juices now oozing down her thighs. My cock buried into her pussy, stretching her and reaching her cervix with its curved shape dragging along her soft, silky walls. "Y-you¡¯re hitting so deep," she gasped, trembling. "I can feel you¡ªso fucking deep inside me!" Her voice cracked. Qinglan¡¯s ass bounced with a loud smack. She was riding my cock like a jockey, galloping with swift, quick rolls of her hips. Erotic slaps of flesh echoed as her ass squished against my thighs... her hips moving like a piston as she panted like a dog. My head tipped back. I groaned through clenched teeth, every thrust threatening to undo me, but I held. I wanted to feel her unravel fully. "I love this¡ª" she gasped, "¡ªI love you, John¡ªso much I could break¡ªlet me break on you¡ªHnng¡ªHaaa!¡ªfuck me¡ª!" She bent down and bit my neck ¡ª not hard, not to hurt ¡ª just to mark. Her tongue followed, lapping at the sweat on my skin. "You¡¯re mine," she growled, voice wet, unhinged, desperate. "All of you. No one else gets this cock. No one else gets you." I grabbed her hips and thrust up hard. She screamed ¡ª a high, shameless sound that made her whole body lock and jerk. Her pussy clamped around me like a vice, choking my cock in spasming waves of heat and slimy juices. "More¡ªplease more¡ªuse me, John¡ªbreak me¡ªmark me¡ª" Her voice shattered on that last word. She flung her head back ¡ª hair whipping, red eyes blazing ¡ª and rode me with everything she had. Her juices streamed down my shaft, pooling under us onto the mat. The pace was violent now, ruinous. The room filled with a mix of wild moans, slippery slaps, and her broken cries of ecstasy. Her inner walls pulsed harder, faster. She was close again. So was I. "Cum inside," she moaned. "Fill me¡ªI want it¡ªI want it all¡ª!" Her hips slammed down one last time. And I lost control. My cock jerked deep inside her as I exploded, hot cum gushing into her tight, soaked cunt in thick, punishing bursts. She squealed ¡ª a high, raw sound of perfect pleasure ¡ª flinging her head back again as her face became distorted with what looked like a mixture of pleasure and calm. Her body shook violently on top of mine. Her cunt milked every drop from me, squeezing and pulsing as her thighs twitched and locked. We stayed like that ¡ª her grinding through the aftershocks, my cock twitching inside her ¡ª locked, wet, panting. "I love you," she whispered again. "I love you, and I¡¯m never letting you go." Her voice was warm now. Possessive. A little dangerous. But I didn¡¯t pull away. Qinglan sighed, dropping down onto my chest with a sigh. I could hear her breathing, but she seemed exhausted as her muscles still quivered and twitched... her hands wrapped around my neck, muttering and humming in my ear. I wrapped my arms around her. And I held her like I meant it. She was still seated on my cock ¡ª still inside her. Her cunt twitched around me, slowly now, like it didn¡¯t want to let me go. I could feel the slow, sticky drip of my release spilling out from our connection, trailing down my thighs, soaking the mat beneath us. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t move for a long time. Just lay there against my chest, breath slowing, cheek pressed into the curve of my shoulder like it belonged there. Her fingers traced light patterns near my collarbone, aimless¡ªnot searching, just staying close. I could feel her everywhere. Skin is still warm. Slick. Legs locked lazily around my hips, as if Qinglan¡¯s body didn¡¯t trust gravity to separate us. Her scent clung to my throat. My heartbeat thudded heavily beneath hers, a strange echo of the rhythm we¡¯d just shared. I stayed where I was. Didn¡¯t speak. Didn¡¯t shift. Her breath finally slowed to a quiet hum ¡ª no longer ragged, just tired. Satisfied in a way I hadn¡¯t seen from her before. Then she whispered ¡ª so faint I barely caught it. "...still inside me." I didn¡¯t answer. Just held Qinglan tighter. There was no need to speak. She pressed closer anyway. The sweat between us had cooled a little now. Qinglan¡¯s hair stuck to my chest. Her hands rested on either side of my neck ¡ª no longer gripping, no longer clawing. Just resting there. As if letting go would cost something she didn¡¯t want to pay. I didn¡¯t move. But I was starting to listen again. The room was silent. But the silence wasn¡¯t perfect. From the far wall, faint vibrations trembled through the plaster. Wood creaked. Not loudly. Just once. Then another. Like someone had stepped away too quickly. My eyes opened slowly, but the sound didn¡¯t repeat. But I could hear breathing again ¡ª too distant to be Qinglan¡¯s. Too careful. Somewhere beyond the thin clubroom door, muffled voices started. Low. Whispered. Names, maybe. Words I couldn¡¯t make out. Then nothing. I turned my head slightly, glanced toward the door. Mu Qinglan shifted above me, not waking, but responding. She nuzzled her cheek into my neck again, almost sleepily, her breath warm against my jaw. I felt her legs twitch around my waist once more. Still joined. Still warm. Still claimed. Her voice broke through the quiet again, this time closer to her usual tone ¡ª low, dry, familiar. "...don¡¯t get soft on me." "I wasn¡¯t planning to," I said. But something about the way she said it ¡ª the way her hips shifted again like she wanted me to stay just a little longer ¡ª felt less like her usual sarcasm. And more like something else. After that... her body started to sway, slowly at first.... then once again we lost ourselves to a forbidden and dirty pleasure in this small yet cosy storage room. Chapter 98: The Feelings of a Bystander... Chapter 98: The Feelings of a Bystander...Shen Yifei POV March 17th, 20xx ¡ª 11:50 PM Archery Club Room ¡ª Main Hall ¡ª It started with a noise I couldn¡¯t place. Just a low thump through the wall ¡ª like something shifting, like someone falling softly onto mats. I didn¡¯t mean to move. I didn¡¯t mean to get closer. But I did. Zhou Xue was already near the wall, her expression unreadable. Liang Mei stood a little off to the side, holding her sweater tighter, like she could pull it over her ears if it got too bad. I didn¡¯t say anything at first. Then came the second sound. Schlk. Flesh on flesh. Muffled, but not faint. Then again ¡ª Squelch...! ¡ª a steady rhythm, wet and certain. My stomach flipped. I pressed my hand against the wall. Felt it vibrate, faint but real. Inside the side room, they weren¡¯t whispering anymore. Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice broke through the next moment. A low breath at first. Then a moan ¡ª sharp, sweet, and unguarded. "Ahn... fuck... right there¡ª" I froze. I¡¯d never heard her speak like that. Not even close. Not in battle, not when she was being cocky, not when she was angry. This wasn¡¯t her being anything. This was just her. Open. Bare. Loud. Squelch. Slap. Slap. Shlk!. The sounds came faster. Stickier. The kind of rhythm you didn¡¯t mistake for anything else. I could hear John, too ¡ª not words, just the rough grunt of breath against breath. Skin hitting skin. Qinglan cried out again ¡ª a voice dragged from the centre of her chest. "Nghh¡ª! Yes¡ª! Fuck me deeper, John¡ªhaaah¡ª!" I felt heat shoot up the back of my neck. My fingers twitched. I didn¡¯t realise how tight my grip had got until my nails scraped the plaster. Zhou Xue stepped back slowly, face pale, eyes averted. "You shouldn¡¯t listen." She sounded calm. She wasn¡¯t. I laughed ¡ª too quiet, too bitter. "You¡¯re the one who heard it first." "I didn¡¯t say I was better." Another moan. Higher. Twisted. "Harder¡ª! Right there¡ª!" Slap... Slap... Slap... Squelch... Gush! I flinched. My thighs pressed together without thinking. This wasn¡¯t just sex. This wasn¡¯t two people trying to pass time or vent frustration. It sounded like she was breaking. Like she was letting something come apart, and he was helping her do it. I hated it. Not because I was a prude. Not because it was wrong. Because it sounded too good. Because I couldn¡¯t stop listening. Liang Mei let out a small sound ¡ª not a gasp, more like a hiccup of embarrassment. Her eyes were round, wide, and red at the corners. She hadn¡¯t moved. Her mouth opened once, like she was going to speak, but nothing came out. "Mnhh¡ªnghh... don¡¯t stop¡ªhahhh¡ªdon¡¯t stop¡ª!" Smack. Slap. Slap. Squish. "Are they¡ª" I swallowed. "Are they doing it again?" Zhou Xue didn¡¯t answer. I pressed closer to the wall, but then something thudded on the other side ¡ª a heavy slam, like a body hitting the floor or a knee shifting too hard on a mat. A second later, a whisper. Not from the room. From behind us. "Shit," I muttered. We¡¯d been too loud. The others had noticed. I yanked away from the wall and turned sharply, just as Deng Hua¡¯s head ducked awkwardly down and Chen Xun looked everywhere but at us. Zhou Xue grabbed Liang Mei¡¯s arm gently and pulled her away from the wall, her voice tight. "Come on. Give them... space." But even as we moved to the far side of the room, even with the boys awkwardly looking at their boots and pretending not to have heard... I still heard her voice. Soft and shivering. "...God... I love you, John..." I stopped walking. The others did too. That wasn¡¯t moaning. That was real. And for the first time in my life, I hated how small I felt. Not because she had him. But because it wasn¡¯t me... and he didn¡¯t touch me that way. I never saw him as a serious thing, but each day in this hell felt like a week... sometimes a month or even a year... The pair stopped for a moment, but I could hear it... the wet smack of their lips... She was kissing John... It wasn¡¯t just because I was desperate, because I felt nothing when looking at Deng Hua, or the other guys here... It was him. He¡¯s stolen my heart. For real... And he probably knew it, too. Who could blame me... in this sudden hell, only he made me feel a sense of hope and became the light of our group. I just hated that being honest was too difficult for me. ¡¯John... I also love you.¡¯ ¡ª Liang Mei POV March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 12:20 AM Archery Club Room ¡ª Main Hall ¡ª It had gone quiet again. At least five minutes must have passed since we moved away from the wall, since the last time her voice reached through the plaster and made us freeze in place. No one said anything, not at first. The silence stretched between us, not heavy, not tense, just strange. We sat in a triangle near the centre of the room, trying to keep warm in small blankets, none of us had the desire to knock on the door and disturb the two of them. Shen Yifei looked at me, sitting opposite, as she rested her chin on her knees, wrapping them with her arms. The spear she carried was laid beside her, forgotten for now. Her shoulders had dropped a little since before. Some of the edge in her voice had faded, too. She looked tired, but calmer. Zhou Xue seemed different from usual, no longer confident and sitting to my right, her back rested against a cheap wooden shelf. But the red on her cheeks made me realise she wasn¡¯t as experienced as I thought. The way she looked made me confused; she seemed a little softer and calmer, but also gazed at the other room with a strange glint in her eyes. It was strange to be here like this. To think that I would still be alive despite the world becoming so dangerous and broken. Yet in this moment, we were just girls sitting together in a room... listening to a couple having wild sex, and the outside didn¡¯t matter. We weren¡¯t planning. We weren¡¯t defending. We were just here. Shen Yifei broke the silence first. "She¡¯s loud." Her voice was flat, almost resigned. Not angry, but not completely neutral either. Like she¡¯d been holding the comment in for a while and had only just let it out. I tried not to comment on Shen Yifei¡¯s jealousy, or her eyes that lingered in the room with the look of an abandoned puppy. "She is." "I don¡¯t think she knows how to whisper." Zhou Xue raised one eyebrow slightly, as if amused by the thought. "She knows but probably can¡¯t stop it if she wanted to." We all laughed at that, quietly, without meaning to. The sound was more real than anything else that had passed between us tonight. It was easier to talk like this, with the danger pushed far enough to let us pretend. Pretend for a few minutes that we weren¡¯t in the middle of a nightmare. "I thought she was so perfect," Shen Yifei said after a moment. "Always so collected. Always one step ahead. I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be the type to just... lose herself like that." She didn¡¯t finish the sentence. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhou Xue didn¡¯t offer an answer either. Honestly... I was jealous because she sounded so happy, so blissful. It wasn¡¯t fake like those naughty videos Zhou Xue showed. That¡¯s why I replied... "She sounded like she needed it." They look shocked that I said that... was it so wrong? My cheeks became hot, but I didn¡¯t stop... I couldn¡¯t! "She wasn¡¯t just enjoying it. She was... asking for it. Like she hadn¡¯t been touched in years, or maybe ever. Like she wanted to be seen. Really seen." Zhou Xue tilted her head back against the shelf behind her and let out a long, slow breath. Shen Yifei looked down at her hands, then at me. Her voice dropped to a murmur. "I thought maybe I had a chance." Her words weren¡¯t bitter. They weren¡¯t proud either and just sat between us like something she hadn¡¯t said before, and now couldn¡¯t take back. There wasn¡¯t something I could say to make it right, so I just smiled. I looked down at my hands, rubbing my fingers together as I remembered the way he treated me, and understood her feelings. He treated me gently, crouch and lifted me into his arms without hesitation when I was near death. The safe, steady way that he saved me. ¡¯Is this a crush?¡¯ I wondered while touching my chest that it beat faster, especially when picturing myself lying beneath him. Men normally avoided me... because of my heart and burden. The warmth John brought me still lingered on my skin, as if he¡¯d left some part of him behind for me to hold on to. Just that brief moment together... had filled something hollow inside me that I never knew existed. I wanted that again. Even if my heart couldn¡¯t take it... I wanted to taste it, to feel it and beg for it. My chest hurt just listening, not from disgust or shame, but from the knowledge that I could never give myself that way. Not without consequences. Not without risking everything I still had left. Still, I whispered it. "She¡¯s lucky." No one disagreed. We sat in silence again. Then her voice came back, softer now, but somehow more intense. A whisper full of her desire and feelings, and a smouldering heat deeper underneath. "You¡¯re still hard... again... I want it again." I saw Shen Yifei shudder upon hearing her voice. Sweet and sultry. Zhou Xue leaned back, shutting her eyes, while wrapping herself with the quilt... it seemed strange, but I thought she was waiting for the moment to pass. I didn¡¯t move. I didn¡¯t react. Because while I listened to their love affair... I could feel it. But I was beneath him. That closeness. That heat. The sound of someone wanting me completely, and not taking no for an answer... And I knew I would remember this night for a long time. Even if it wasn¡¯t mine Chapter 99: The Paper Thin Walls... Chapter 99: The Paper Thin Walls...John Wang¡¯s POV March 18, 20xx ¡ª 04:35 AM Archery Club Room ¡ª Inner Storage ¡ú Main Room She was finally still. Mu Qinglan¡¯s body slumped against my chest, her skin damp with sweat, her breath soft but steady. Her thighs were still shaking, even in sleep, legs curled around mine like she hadn¡¯t yet realised the fight was over. But I didn¡¯t move her. I rested my hands on her soft hips for a moment, enjoying the lingering heat and marks from our last climax. The sticky, moist heat was slowly cooling, and the ache in my body fading into something that almost resembled post-workout soreness. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Nn..." Her head rested below my collarbone, her lips parted slightly. A dark hickey bloomed just beneath her jaw. Her hair was a mess, splayed over her shoulders and mine, strands still stuck to my neck and chest. I ran a hand slowly down her back. The marks she left on me still stung. Claw tracks ¡ª not deep enough to bleed, but deep enough to linger for days. Kiss marks were scattered across my ribs. Her lipstick was long gone, but the imprint of her mouth remained in bruised purples and half-bitten lines. I looked at the system, still blinking faintly at the edge of my vision. [Mu Qinglan Affection: 450/500] It had peaked at one point. Too high. Too bright. I¡¯d seen [1000/500] flash for a single heartbeat before it settled, then only to rise into a broken digit that made no sense... The only clue I found was the glow of her eyes and how intense her voice became. A climax... Or when I came inside her. That¡¯s when it spiked the highest, and I felt a sense of danger. Passion. Bloodlust. Obsession. That wasn¡¯t normal. It shouldn¡¯t have been possible. I should¡¯ve questioned it more, but my thoughts were too concerned with the bounce of her hips, the sway of her tits... and of course how warm and tight she was. Everything felt slow now. The soft creak came first. A shift beyond the wall. Wood against wood. Like someone backing away from the storage door ¡ª too late, too quietly. I felt my breath catch. They¡¯d heard us. All of them. Faint voices ¡ª muffled, indistinct. The movement was clearer: cloth shifting, someone whispering too quickly to catch the words. Then a different sound ¡ª someone¡¯s boot scraping across the floor as they backed away from the side wall. There was no surprise in me. Just the slow realisation that I could feel who it had been. The last one to leave had been Shen Yifei. Her affection rating had dipped. Then risen again. ¡¯I should go speak to her...¡¯ Not just once ¡ª in waves. Like her emotions were chewing themselves raw. Like she¡¯d tried to tear herself away and failed more than once. I couldn¡¯t blame her. A single day outside felt like a week. Two, maybe. People collapsed fast under pressure. They also formed attachments even faster. I tilted my head slightly and sighed. For some reason, I couldn¡¯t stop myself, all the frustration, fear and stress exploded. Squelch. The mass of creamy white fluids inside Qinglan bubbled and pooled beneath her. Four loads... Thankfully, she drank the contraceptive soda. Though it seemed strange, Qinglan happily drank it as long as I promised to keep going. The male version seemed appealing. Jiang Roulan and Shen Yifei came to mind... I don¡¯t know why. I moved gently. Uncurled Qinglan¡¯s arms from my neck and lay her on her side. She didn¡¯t stir. She was gone. Spent. Her expression was soft, her mouth barely open. I stood slowly. Every inch of me ached. There was no point in dressing fully. I grabbed my pants and pulled them on, then pushed open the door with one hand and stepped out into the main hall. The air hit me immediately. Cooler ¡ª yes ¡ª but still thick. It was different here now. Heavier. Carried something else. It released the thick air trapped inside the small room, stuffy, tangy, filled with musk and salt. Qinglan¡¯s perfume vanished under the weight of sex, replaced by the sharpness of our sweat, and the deep, almost sweet scent of our mixed fluids. All that I had poured into her. Eyes turned to me. Deng Hua looked away immediately, his back going stiff. Chen Xun blinked hard and leaned forward, as if he had just stared at the ground long enough, he could disappear. Zhou Xue met my gaze and didn¡¯t flinch ¡ª but I saw the heat rise across her cheeks. Liang Mei¡¯s eyes widened before she looked down, pressing her hands flat against her knees. Her breath caught slightly. Liang Qiu... She wrapped herself in her blanket. Huddled near the back, facing the wall. But her shoulders shifted at the sound of the door. She didn¡¯t speak. She didn¡¯t turn. Her fingers dug just slightly deeper into the cloth. The blanket hid her face, but not the shine in her eyes. I could see them. Wet. Wide. Still watching me through the edge of the fabric. Mu Qinglan¡¯s scent had followed me out ¡ª it clung to my chest, to the sweat on my neck, to the bruised skin below my jaw. The ice blue rose mark pulsed faintly near my sternum, visible now that my shirt was gone. My back stung from where her nails had left their message. Even my abs were marked ¡ª scratched and bitten and red in the dim light. No one said anything. But I felt it in the silence. The tension. The quiet heat. The shift in how they looked at me. The men didn¡¯t know where to look. The women tried not to react ¡ª but they did. In small ways. Gulped breath. Averted eyes. Lingering stares. And behind all of them, behind the heavy air and the ragged silence... one feeling rose above the rest. Curiosity. I exhaled once. Deeply enjoying the fresh morning air. But I didn¡¯t explain. There wasn¡¯t any need for me to do so... at least Yifei might be upset. But I knew she would understand in the end. I was just a man and had needs. Instead, I said what needed to be said. "Rest in shifts," I said. "I¡¯ll be back in six hours. Don¡¯t leave the room." ¡ª¡ª Shen Yifei¡¯s eyes burned into my back as I left, but right now wasn¡¯t the time to comfort her. I opened the window, a long drop, but there was a ledge on the floor below. "Hah!" My body flung through the hole. I hurled myself through the gap. Thud. My hips dropped, knees bent just enough to absorb the impact... A loud noise echoed, drawing the attention of countless zombies. ¡¯System, how many zombies are near and please locate any Stage Twos.¡¯ I needed to dismantle all the zombies for some extra points. Thanks to having sex with Qinglan, I achieved something amazing... it made me realise that cultivation was important. ¨‹ STATUS Name: John Wang Title: Harbinger of the Lunar Beast Titan Marrow Sutra¡ªStage 2: 2% [Steel Frame] Stage: 3 "Phew... I didn¡¯t feel anything!" The amazement overwhelmed me from reaching the Steel frame stage... my body became more durable, but that was only a side effect. ¡¯According to the system...¡¯ [Stage 2 ¨C Steel Frame] Inner marrow creates slow regenerative pulses. Heavy strikes no longer bruise. Changes: -Subtle grey hue to bones (seen in wounds), muscles ripple under skin. Stamina, blood, and mental recovery improved. - Muscles enhanced! Type I (slow-twitch) and Type II (fast-twitch) fibres mutated into a new Type III muscle, combining both factors and improving them. It wasn¡¯t like I could deflect bullets or anything, but... the movement and power of my limbs felt completely different, and Mu Qinglan experienced that after the second round... Now her delicate garden was swollen and sore. "Well... other things changed, but I should sell these crystals and clean up the courtyard." [TERRITORY SCAN: EXPANDED REGION] Searching: Longwan University ¡ª Linbei Campus... Status: DEAD ZONE Last Updated: 04:37 AM, March 18 Estimated Survivors: Less than 100 Military Presence: None Known Threats: 1000+ Stage 1 ¡ª 15 Stage 2 Categorical Threats: [Brute Type], [Speed Type], [Blade Type] and [Command Type] Infrastructure Status: Imminent Collapse! [REMARK: Human activity diminished. Survivors¡¯ autonomous defence has broken.] What a tragedy, with two events, the safe community collapsed... Did we have a hand in the cause? I didn¡¯t know. But now it was a Dead Zone. "Oh? Command type... I really don¡¯t like the sound of that... any visual description?" The blue screen faded, and then a black canvas appeared, the image of the school drawn in a slightly cartoon style... or digital art. It was a small, feeble body with a huge head, and an oversized exposed brain crawled along the floor. Its arms twisted into legs and huge eyes like the jumping spider gazing at me. [System Message: Command Type In Range!] [Host in Significant Danger!] "Ah... so that¡¯s him?" I could see it... Moving like a freaky alien dragging itself along the floor like a freak. There was a visual novel I read, with a strange name. Nuv-Luv... where those huge eyes shot laser beams. But the unsettling form made my spine tingle. Because I could tell it saw me, too. Chapter 100: The Silent Battle against Time Chapter 100: The Silent Battle against TimeI watched silently as the monster¡¯s eyes shimmered, causing me to flinch. The laser beam I expected didn¡¯t follow, but its head shone and tendrils hovered in the air. "What...?" The next moment, I realised what it did. The zombies around it ¡ª at least fifty in sight, more beyond the fog ¡ª jerked violently once. Then their heads snapped toward me. All of them. Not just running. Charging. But not like animals this time. Like men. Like wounded, mad soldiers. They didn¡¯t groan. They hissed. Some picked up broken bricks. Others bent to grab snapped chair legs. Stones. Pipes. One even pulled the cracked arm off a street mannequin and held it like a club. Not random. Not clumsy. I took one step back and narrowed my eyes. "Shit." They were moving like the dead had memory ¡ª half-forgotten echoes of hunting, of teamwork, of violence. Their arms swung wide, then straightened. Like they were imitating something they didn¡¯t fully remember. The Command-Type pulsed once ¡ª like a heart made of fog and madness. ¡¯System... I need a weapon that suits me! NOW!¡¯ [Query: "Weapon Suited to Host Attributes" ¡ª Confirmed] Time almost froze as the mass of fifty zombies looked more fearsome than the horde of hundreds with Shen Yifei the night before. My Type-9K was still upstairs with Yifei... I grit my teeth. A sudden weight appeared on my forearms, nearly buckling my knees. Heavier than I expected. I glanced down to see a pair of massive black gauntlets encasing my hands and forearms. The fingers were slender ¡ª nimble, responsive ¡ª like I wasn¡¯t wearing anything at all. But the knuckles were thick, reinforced with a dark alloy that shimmered faintly with pressure. Above each knuckle were four small chambers ¡ª matte, with a burnished bronze tint ¡ª each one clicking as it rotated into place. They looked like they housed shells... shotgun-sized, maybe slugs or buckshot. I wasn¡¯t sure yet. Further up, just above my wrist, a raised dome pulsed faintly. From the centre of it, a short blade extended forward above my fist ¡ª a narrow, forward-angled fang made from the same black alloy, but its edge glowed faint gold. I could feel it ¡ª the pull. My Titan Marrow Core surged once, then again, and I felt the flow of Earth Qi shift. It moved smoother than before, as if the gauntlets weren¡¯t just tools, but extensions of my limbs. The Qi flowed into the blades, into the chambers, humming in resonance. Heavy. Balanced. Alive. "What the fuck are these!?" I muttered, but the crisp whirring of the rotating barrels made my lips curl into a smile. ¡¯So fucking cool.¡¯ [Right?] "Huh?" The female voice of the system returned. It sometimes spoke during the tutorial, and it made me curious about the woman¡¯s existence. This system couldn¡¯t be some magical thing, so I wondered why it sounded familiar and nostalgic. [New Weapon Acquired] Name: Twin Gauntlets ¡ª "Crushing Moon" Type: Martial Weapon (Unique) Rarity: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Requirements: Strength 5.0+ | Titan Marrow Sutra Compatible Qi Affinity: Earth-Aligned Weapon Type: Gauntlet-Blade Hybrid Special Traits: ? [Shotgun Core] ¨C Fires a burst of either [Buckshot] or [Slug] from wrist chambers. Cooldown: 10 seconds. ? [Titan Conduction] ¨C Channels Earth Qi to reinforce strikes, increasing penetration and force. ? [Bonebreaker Frame] ¨C Designed for users with enhanced physical durability; nullifies muscle fatigue and strain. ? [Upgradeable] ? [Growth Type] Note: Blades absorb Qi passively during combat, sharpening with each kill. Weapon evolves as the user does. [Current Loadout: 8x Buckshot Shells Loaded] "This is so sweet! What about ammo?" John¡¯s eyes focused on the freaky command type and leaned back, amused by the stage one zombies acting like humans. It made his blood surge. [How to Replenish Shells]? 1 Metal + 1 Plastic = 1 Shell? 10 ZKP = 1 Shell? 1 Metal + 1 ZKP = 1 Shell? 1 Plastic + 1 ZKP = 1 Shell [Shell Type can be changed at any time][Shells are universal ¡ª choose Buckshot or Slug when firing] [Reload Method: Automatic]? Gauntlets reload every 10 seconds if chambers are empty.? No manual action required. [Optional Feature: Shell Stockpile]? You can purchase shells in advance, automatically consumed when the chambers reload.? Preloaded shells cost the same as crafted. No extra cost. [Repair Cost: 100 ZKP ¡ª Fully restores durability and integrity] "System! Convert my Metal and Plastic into shells." The response wasn¡¯t immediate. I stepped to the edge of the rooftop. Felt the wind brush my chest. The heat rising through my skin. That tight, vibrating pulse beneath my ribs. The beat of my heart, the throb of my Titan Marrow Core¡ªslow, heavy, hungry. There was a bloodlust now. The kind that made my hands twitch. The kind that didn¡¯t want mercy. "Can you convert the shells without my focus?" [In what way, Host?] "Slugs for Stage-2s and Brutes. Buckshot for anything else¡ªStage-1s or people." [Auto-Conversion Preference Set] [Default Shell Type: Buckshot] [Trigger Swap: Target Classification Detected] [Stage-2, Brute-Type: Switching to Slug] [Stage-1, Human or Unarmoured Target: Buckshot Selected] [Shell Stockpile: 150 Shells] [Conversion Complete ¡ª Resources Consumed] I nodded once. It wasn¡¯t kindness that made me pick slugs for monsters. Just efficiency. But for humans, buckshot worked better. Crude, messy. More damage across the body. Less fatal if aimed low, but it could ruin flesh in a way you don¡¯t walk off. I remembered what happened back in the dorms before Mu Qinglan chose me. The ones who tried to drag me down. And now, after I¡¯d held her¡ªslept with her¡ªchanged her? Something changed in me, too. Foolish? Maybe. But I couldn¡¯t trust people easily anymore. And I wasn¡¯t planning to lose the ones who leaned on me. Not now. Never. The first infected charged at me with a broken chair leg swinging low. I didn¡¯t dodge. My foot dug in, heel grinding stone, and I jumped from the ledge and smashed forward using a palm-first, slamming the gauntlet into his chest. His ribcage folded in on itself like paper. The shotgun core flared. BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM. The burst buckshot tore out in four sprays, wide-angle, low recoil. Four more infected behind him disintegrated mid-sprint ¡ª arms, necks, jaws gone. Wet matter slapped the concrete like meat from a butcher¡¯s block. ¡¯This isn¡¯t normal buckshot... is it!?¡¯ [Who knows?] [Stage-1 Infected Killed ¡ª ZKP +5][+5][+5][+5][+5] The notifications barely registered. My Titan Marrow surged. Earth Qi rushed from my core, humming through the Crushing Moon like it wanted to be let loose again. The gauntlets vibrated in tune ¡ª the dome above my wrist pulsing gold as the inner barrels hissed and began to reload. "Come on then." Twenty more were moving. Not fast. But steady. Shoulder to shoulder, teeth clacking, arms outstretched. One wielded a mop. Another had a twisted electrical wire wrapped around his forearm like a whip. The Command-Type had given them just enough to mimic us ¡ª just enough to be wrong. I stepped into them. Low guard. Right fist up. The second shell-charged burst wasn¡¯t ready yet ¡ª but I didn¡¯t need it. My fist shattered the first skull with one straight jab. The shockwave behind it cracked a second one¡¯s collarbone. I twisted, backhanded the third infected so hard his jaw flew off like a snapped hinge. One grabbed me from the side. Too late. I flexed. The gauntlet¡¯s knuckle guard compressed ¡ª clang ¡ª and I elbowed backwards. His skull broke against my shoulder. Another came at my chest with a broom handle like a bayonet. I ducked under it, spun, and used the blade above my wrist like a chisel ¡ª stabbing forward through his throat. The Qi-enhanced edge burned through tendon like hot iron through ice. He didn¡¯t even gurgle. Just dropped. [Stage-1 Infected Killed ¡ª ZKP +5] I kicked him into the next wave. They stumbled. I didn¡¯t. I stepped forward again ¡ª both arms moving in rhythm. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Gauntlets up.Left jab. Crack.Right cross. Crunch.Knee to the gut. Body folded.One-two-three slugs to the skull. My stamina didn¡¯t dip. Titan¡¯s Marrow rolled with every impact. Physique at 7.2? I couldn¡¯t feel pain anymore. The cold air burned in my lungs, but I didn¡¯t slow. SHK-CHNK. Shells reloaded. [Auto-Reload Activated ¡ª 8x Buckshot Shells Restored] Good timing. I could feel the music from my favourite hell slayer playing... a common theme. The only thing they feared was me. AND Big Fucking Gauntlet Division. The next row was twenty deep ¡ª crowding the courtyard now. Bottlenecking through the gate. Too many at once. Perfect. I swung both arms wide, Qi flaring through my spine and into the weapons. "Let¡¯s clear the fucking room." BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! The twin shotgun cores fired at once. Eight buckshot bursts in a cone. Meat vaporised. Heads popped like fruit under steel boots. Flesh ripped from bones ¡ª limbs flailed ¡ª three bodies were thrown clean off the ground, cartwheeling into the far benches. Steam hissed off the barrels. Silence behind the blast. Only bodies. I stood there, gauntlets still raised, the sizzling heat from their bright red barrel. Breath steady. Vision clear. But it wasn¡¯t over. They kept coming, and I snapped my arms as if reloading a shotgun. I smiled. "Let¡¯s Dance." Chapter 101: Brute Zombie Line Backers Vs Arrogant Prick Chapter 101: Brute Zombie Line Backers Vs Arrogant PrickJohn Wang¡¯s POV March 18, 20xx ¡ª 04:58 AM Longwan University ¡ª East Sector, Upper Courtyard ¡ª ¨CClick¨C When I flicked my wrist, the red-hot chambers on my gauntlets hissed softly. Smoke curled out. Nothing came out. "...Hmm?" I paused, blinking once. ¡¯What happened?¡¯ A blue screen appeared in the corner of my vision, cool and indifferent. [Remaining Shell Count: 0] [Auto-Reload in 10 seconds] [Shell Stockpile Depleted] [Please Replenish] "...Shit." I hadn¡¯t noticed how many I¡¯d burned through. I shot eight shells every ten seconds. The last ten seconds had blurred into a mess of limbs, blood, and shattered bones. The weight in my arms didn¡¯t change. The gauntlets were still warm, still humming with Earth Qi. But there was no surge, no satisfying chamber-fire from the shotgun cores. I barely had time to react before the sound changed. Not a growl. Not a scream. The sound of four bodies shifting at once ¡ª weight compressing stone, muscle snapping into motion, air breaking under charging mass. The Brutes stepped forward together. Big. Heavy. Broad-shouldered. Their skin had started to calcify in plates around their joints and torsos, but I could still make out the shredded varsity jackets clinging to their torsos. One still had a cracked helmet dangling off its ear. Federation football players. Linbei¡¯s old team. It clicked. They weren¡¯t just strong. They remembered. "Linebackers..." They moved together ¡ª a line of muscle and coordination, each one snapping into formation like they were preparing to blitz through a wall. No hesitation. No wasted steps. "Shit." I backpedalled once and dropped into a low stance. My gauntlets hummed faintly. Qi still surged through the internal cores. The blades shimmered a dull gold, even without shells. I didn¡¯t need slugs to fight. But they would¡¯ve helped. The four Brutes charged. Their timing was perfect ¡ª one low, two flanking, one straight at me with arms spread like he meant to tackle. And he probably did. I kicked off the ground sideways. The courtyard cracked behind me ¡ª a concussive boom as the first Brute hit where I¡¯d been standing, both feet tearing through concrete like it was soft ice. With a brief jumped, I avoided the first zombie, tapping the ground. I rushed towards the left. The one on the left lunged in next. I met the zombie mid-step, planted my feet, and turned with a rising uppercut. My gauntlet blade scraped across his collarbone, dug in deep, and popped free with a wet sound. He staggered back. Not dead. Another came charging in ¡ª arms spread wide like he thought I couldn¡¯t drop him, too. I ducked and drove my shoulder into his gut, then twisted and let his momentum lift him half off the ground. I threw him sideways into the next Brute. They crashed together ¡ª a mess of limbs, roars, and toppling muscle. I didn¡¯t wait. I surged forward and closed in on the one that flinched from my blade. He raised a massive arm to swing¡ª I slipped inside the arc and drove my knee up into his sternum. He wheezed. Then I grabbed the back of his neck with both gauntlets and yanked him down as my forehead came up. Skull met skull. His split first. The Brute collapsed backwards in a heap ¡ª his head lolling at a crooked angle, neck spine snapped somewhere beneath the ruined base of his skull. His limbs twitched, then went still. The wet pop of his knees hitting pavement followed a half-second later. [Brute-Type ¡ª Killed | ZKP +50] I didn¡¯t have time to check the system¡¯s message. The air shifted again behind me. Too fast. I ducked out of instinct ¡ª felt the wind shear past my neck as another Brute¡¯s arm blurred over my head, shoulder-first. His full weight followed, but I was already moving¡ªrolling with the dodge, pivoting under him as his momentum carried him forward. He stumbled, just enough. I hooked my heel around his calf and yanked sideways. He dropped with a thunderous crunch ¡ª ribs hitting the ground first, then chest, then his skull bounced off the stone. I didn¡¯t stop there. I dropped both fists down on the back of his head. Once. Twice. CRACK. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. My left gauntlet blade punched straight through the base of his skull on the second hit ¡ª sliding in with a sick crunch like slamming metal through a watermelon rind. The body convulsed once, hard, then sagged. [Brute-Type ¡ª Killed | ZKP +50] ¡¯Use the earned ZKP!¡¯ [Auto-Conversion Preference Set] [Shell Type: Slug] [Trigger Swap: Target Classification Detected] [Stage-2, Brute-Type: Switching to Slug] [Shell Stockpile: 40 Shells] [Conversion Complete ¡ª Resources Consumed] [ZKP: -400] Still no shells. Eight more seconds. Too slow. I turned¡ª ¡ªand caught a fist to the ribs. My body flung back, smashing against a stone wall, bouncing several times... knocking the breath from my lungs. Pain arced up my side like something tore. I gritted my teeth, let the impact spin me with the force, and absorbed it into a sideways roll across the ground. Debris scraped my back raw. I caught myself on one elbow and surged back to my feet in a single breath. The third Brute ¡ª helmeted, shoulder dislocated ¡ª was already charging again, eyes wild. He didn¡¯t faint. Didn¡¯t hesitate. Just rage. "Come on, then," I growled. He lunged. I didn¡¯t back down. I stepped in at the last second and snapped my elbow up into the underside of his jaw ¡ª again. The same weak point. Bone met alloy. Teeth flew. He reeled back, stunned. And I caught him by the waist and lifted. Not far ¡ª maybe half a foot. But I turned with him in the air and slammed him down onto the courtyard tiles. Concrete cracked beneath the impact. His skull bounced once. Twice. Then I dropped to one knee and buried my blade through the side of his throat. The helmet caught part of it, deflected the edge. The point jammed. I gritted my teeth and pressed harder. Earth Qi surged down my arms ¡ª not gentle this time. Not smooth. It snarled through my bones like a drill made of gravel. The blade hissed gold. And punched through the gap in his collar. The twitching stopped. [Brute-Type ¡ª Killed | ZKP +50] Three down. One left. A roar came from behind ¡ª heavy, loud, close. Boom. Too close. I spun, dropped, and raised my arms in reflex as the last Brute barrelled toward me with both fists overhead. He brought them down together like a hammer. I crossed my gauntlets just in time. CRASH. The blow sent me skidding backwards ¡ª boots dragging furrows in the cracked stone. My forearms screamed. The pavement beneath me split outward in a spiderweb. My back hit the wall of the courtyard with a heavy thud. I tasted blood. Spat once. "Big mistake." The Brute let out a rattling exhale and charged again ¡ª head down, arms pumping, legs hammering into the stone like pistons. This one wasn¡¯t just stronger. He was faster. Five metres. Three. Two. "¡ªShells loaded," the system whispered. [Reload Complete ¡ª 8x Shells Available] [Auto-Selected: Slug Round ¡ª Brute-Type Detected] I didn¡¯t think. I snapped my right hand forward and focused. BOOM. The recoil slammed up my arm ¡ª a thunderclap burst of Qi and shrapnel. Eight slugs the size of my thumb exploded from the chamber. It hit the Brute centre of his chest ¡ª just above the sternum ¡ª and blew a fist-sized hole through his chest. A massive burst of flames exploded, tearing the zombie to pieces. Dead One foot lifted. Hovered in the air. Then he dropped. Hard. Didn¡¯t move again. [Brute-Type ¡ª Killed | ZKP +50] I stood there for a moment, chest rising, arms shaking from the pressure. Smoke drifted off my forearms, curling into the faint morning light. Then I smiled. "Now we¡¯re even." Four golden orbs flickered in my hands before I tossed them into the inventory system along with the green and another gold orb from before. The muscles in my body tensed, convulsing as I stepped closer to the command type. Though it tried to flee, one of the stray slugs that hit the brute tore the fucker¡¯s legs off and left it bleeding out. I walked over, both hands in my pockets, the freakish zombie making strange sounds... "What¡¯s up? Calling some backup?" My voice sounded hoarse, dry, and a little cool... Like those movie announcers in the late ¡¯90s. The Command-Type¡¯s tendrils writhed weakly, its eyes flickering with a dim, eerie light. It reached out, grasping at the air as if trying to summon aid that would never come. I stopped a few feet away, tilting my head as I looked down at the pitiful creature. "You know," I said, "for all your mind games and puppet shows, you¡¯re nothing without your toys." It gurgled, a wet, choking sound that might have been a laugh or a sob. I raised my gauntlet, the blade gleaming faintly in the morning light. "Time to cut the strings." With a swift motion, I drove the blade down, piercing the Command-Type¡¯s skull. It convulsed once, then lay still. [Command-Type ¡ª Killed | ZKP +100] I stood there, panting, the adrenaline slowly fading from my system. A small black orb rolled across the ground, smoking as it tapped against my boot. The courtyard was silent, the distant cries of the undead now much further away, as if they were brought here by this little fuck. "Peh!" I spat on the ground, but... the spit was red. Damn. Suddenly, my legs gave out beneath me. I collapsed, the world spinning around me. A sweet scent filled my nose as someone¡¯s arms caught me before I hit the ground. "John!" Shen Yifei sounded concerned, with that shaky voice of hers. I looked up at her, a weak smile on my lips. "Hey... fancy meeting you here." She shook her head, tears in her eyes. "You idiot," she whispered. "You could have died." My eyes refused to stay open. Heavy and sore, the darkness pulling me under. But even as I lost consciousness. I couldn¡¯t help but think... that she looked pretty when she cried. "I knew you couldn¡¯t leave me alone..." Chapter 102: The Thawed Ice Queen Chapter 102: The Thawed Ice QueenMu Qinglan¡¯s POV March 18, 20xx ¡ª 04:58 AM Longwan University ¡ª Archery Club Sideroom. ¡ª His warmth started to fade from the moment I opened my eyes, the dusty scent replaced by his thick, musky sweat and the filthy odour of sex. It was my first time... and I never thought it would happen in such a way. "It felt amazing..." I covered my lips to hide the leaking voice... There was no denial that it wasn¡¯t as magical as I might have planned in my earlier years. But it was magical, violent, satisfying and painful... The aching marks from where he grabbed my hips, bit, kissed and sucked on my neck, breasts and inner thighs remained. I was like a princess ravished by the main villain. Sex, that a hero could never give her. His desire to protect and cherish the heroine would ruin everything. "Where did you go?" ¡ªBoom¡ª An odd, explosive sound echoed outside the wide window behind me, and somehow, it felt like he answered my question in a second. I dragged my body to the window, propping myself on the elevated wooden shelves. Then leaned against the cold glass, my ass squished like those erotic novels I read in my twenties... would he like to see this? I wondered. ¡ªClick¡ª My fingers opened the flimsy, rusted lock, almost snapping the metal fixture, as the icy wind blew into the small room with a howl. "It¡¯s cold..." but other than a vocal complaint, it felt good, tickling my skin, flicking across my erect nipples. ¡¯When did I become so horny...¡¯ The thought echoed as I leaned against the glass, dozens of zombies attacked my dear boyfriend. He jumped, rolled and blasted them with his strange new toy. "I wish he would rail me with that much force..." Another vulgar line slipped from my lips... but I didn¡¯t dislike it. He fought them without a shirt. Just like my John would... the blue mark glowing brighter the more he thought. "Haha, it¡¯s my colour... is that permanent?" I shifted my body and heard a wet, obscene squelch. Then something leaked... frustrating... a pool of John¡¯s seed formed under my ass and stained the window ledge. "John, you bastard!" My hand pressed against the glass, watching him like a love-sick fool, even now my body ached, throbbed and became hot just watching him. "But you didn¡¯t need to pour so much into me..." "Haa... I¡¯ve fallen for you, like a foolish girl." My body became relaxed. I could see the reflection of my face. A bright smile, glossy cheeks and eyes... vibrant with affection like nothing I¡¯d seen before. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Idiot." The marks he left on my body ached, throbbed and made me warm. I wrapped myself in a quilt, for this body was for him to see. That¡¯s how my family taught me, the Mu clan should always remain faithful and think of their spouse. Is John my spouse? I couldn¡¯t answer the question with words... but my rapid beating heart, and the sensation of delightful glee that came from watching your every movement, action and stupid taunt. ¡¯Why are you speaking to the zombies? They¡¯re dead... so stupid, but what can I say?¡¯ I rubbed my abdomen, the ache and sensation of him still lingering inside me. The area was a little sore and swollen... ¡¯I am the fool that loves you.¡¯ Memories flowed back into my mind as John fought against the mass of zombies. His childish smile, but that determined face, brought me back to the past, when we first met. I always believed that John would rise higher if given the chance, once a mere delivery worker for our firm in its early days... ¡ª¡ª Despite his kind and gentle shell, when we first met, I learned he wasn¡¯t weak or soft. My company didn¡¯t always have the protection of the Mu clan. That only came once my earnings could profit enough to benefit the family and earn the right to become the heiress of the family. Because my father didn¡¯t believe in family but talent and skill... That¡¯s why John was so vivid in my eyes. The embodiment of my father¡¯s creed, it wasn¡¯t me with an elite background. But him. A poor orphan. His father abandoned him, his mother nothing but a burden... yet he still adored them both. One of our first clients was related to the Gu Clan, a violent group with links to the mafia and other dark paths. If the Mu clan was the light, a company on the bright side of things, then the Gu were the darkness of Longshan... A member of the local gangs tried to force us to pay a protection fee, or he would ruin all our deals, but this idiot... I watched him running along a wall, his face with a huge grin. It was like some comic book or manga... John stood up to them, a newly hired delivery driver faced this gangster, a new hire used his body to protect me when the bastard tried to hit me. "He was only young then... such a cute little chick." But neither John nor the foolish thug knew... I had trained since an early age¡ªat the very least, the unfolding metal baton hidden along my thigh would have broken the fool¡¯s nose. "Haha, my cute little idiot..." My fingers slid along the cold windowpane, the chill comfortable, even more than normal, as something gathered in my abdomen and the aches and pains in my body faded. "I liked you from that moment, John... the thick scent of your body. The way your back tensed with each punch... how you used your left hand to keep me safe... Even at the cost of your own body." Her eyes narrowed, sharper and with a red tint as a huge brute slammed into John, and he rolled across the ground. "That¡¯s why I killed that thug, had him chopped into pieces and sent him into the ocean." Curled against the window, I watched him stand up once again. The wounds on his stomach, shoulders, back and cheek caused my abdomen to tighten. I wanted to kill, to maim... those filthy undead¡ªhow dare they touch him. How dare they hurt him!" "Haa...." A warm fluid dripped from my crotch. I scooped the stringy white goo into my finger... it was John¡¯s scent, a little sweet, a little salty, but different from before. It wasn¡¯t like the seed I swallowed a few nights ago... it was much sweeter and... I licked my finger, flicking my tongue along the sticky white fluid. "After all it¡¯s a little easier to drink now, the salty, slimy texture has faded." My gaze narrowed, focused on John, who stumbled forward. All the brutes dead... his steps unsteady, but the crafty man who stole my heart already crippled that ugly purple zombie. His strange gauntlets glowed with a black and golden blade... "Will you tell me what that glow is now that we had sex?" John sometimes told me everything without asking, but he seemed scared to share things like his relationship with Jiang Roulan and... Her. I couldn¡¯t remove my eyes... Because I saw someone rushing out to his aid while I thought to myself. "Shen Yifei.." The icy cold gathered in my stomach like a storm... I could feel it. This feeling must have been what John tried to describe to me... It was the thing most manga and novels spoke about. I couldn¡¯t believe it existed. QI My stomach was cold, like an icy sphere the size of a tennis ball formed with a jagged crystal shape, like a true ice queen. "I guess you also love him, right?" "But Yifei, I was his lover first... don¡¯t overstep the mark, or I might not hold back." Chapter 103: Shen Yifei - The True Yifei Chapter 103: Shen Yifei - The True YifeiShen Yifei¡¯s POV March 18, 20xx ¡ª 04:59 AM Longwan University ¡ª East Sector, Upper Courtyard ¡ª He collapsed without a sound... whispering that stupid one-liner. One second, John Wang was upright¡ªhis chest rising in slow, pained breaths, his fists still clenched like he hadn¡¯t realised the fight was over. Next, he was falling forward, the tension finally gone, legs giving out like a folding chair that someone kicked at the hinge. I caught him. It wasn¡¯t graceful. My feet dragged, boots scraping across cracked stone as his weight hit me full. His body was greasy with sweat, heat bleeding into me through my chest and arms, the scent of smoke and blood clinging to every inch of him. "Idiot," I muttered. Not with malice. Just... instinct. His thick scent. His needlessly handsome face. His exposed chest with muscles that were almost imaginary level. All of it... Turned me on! My heart pounded harder and harder against my chest, too fast and too loud. I adjusted my grip, looping one arm around John¡¯s thick waist, the muscles tense and like bricks. Then pressed my shoulder under his to keep him upright. His skin was hot. Burning, almost. I could feel it through the torn fabric and half-dried blood. The feeling of something flowing into me became worse... the thick, fiery sensation growing in my abdomen, causing my body to become hot. He didn¡¯t speak. Didn¡¯t even groan. That scared me more than if he had. I panicked! What if he died? I don¡¯t think I could survive, don¡¯t think any of us could without him. He was our guiding light, our defensive barrier and our human mortar... all in one! I looked at him¡ªreally looked at him. His eyes were closed tight, lashes crusted with blood, sweat and dirt. John¡¯s mouth parted slightly, dripping with blood and leaking hot breath, but it was weak and uneven. The muscles in his neck twitched. He wasn¡¯t unconscious. But close. "How could you just casually fight all these monsters alone?" I couldn¡¯t count the number, but it was over 100 and those four huge monsters. "You smiled, and laughed while doing it," I whispered to myself, trying to stop the butterflies and pounding in my chest. "And now you want to pass out like a drama queen?" Still no response. The corner of my mouth twitched. I didn¡¯t want to be honest, because it scared me that he might reject me or say it was only a joke. But he kept flirting with me, teasing me... now I couldn¡¯t just stop myself. "Fine. Be heavy. Be dumb. Be... impressive," I said, as I shifted my feet and dragged John toward the shadowed edge of the courtyard, under the window. "But don¡¯t you dare die after all that." I don¡¯t know what I was doing. Or why my arms didn¡¯t shake harder than they did. But I didn¡¯t let go. I didn¡¯t want to. There was something in me, tight, sharp, like the tip of a needle pushing into the surface of a water balloon. Pressure. Confusion. Heat. The blood on his chest, the bruises, the gauntlets still smoking faintly at his sides... I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to press my fingers into those claw marks on his ribs and ask why. Why now? Why here? Why not me? "Ah..." I didn¡¯t ask because I knew the answer. That¡¯s when I realised this wasn¡¯t about him jumping from the window, it was something more selfish, simple. I was jealous of him sleeping with Mu Qinglan. Jealous of him looking at me with that strange face. His turning away and not telling me the truth. ¡¯Ah... I¡¯ve fallen for him.¡¯ I¡¯d been watching him this whole time, through every charge, every punch, every word he never said but made me feel, anyway. He had no idea what he was doing to me. And I hated that. But I also didn¡¯t want it to stop. Not yet. Never. This feeling, it was the first time I felt this way, and even if he loved Mu Qinglan... whether it¡¯s because the world is falling apart or I¡¯m just a woman without morals... ¡¯I refuse to give up on him.¡¯ Jiang Roulan... Mu Qinglan... I knew both of them had some sort of agreement, so why... why can¡¯t I also join them? ¡ª Shen Yifei¡¯s POV March 18, 2025 ¡ª 05:15 AM Longwan University ¡ª East Sector, Upper Courtyard ¡ú Archery Club Hallway ¡ª Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Dragging him back felt harder than I thought. He was taller than me. Heavier than I remembered. His feet scraped, legs deadweight, but I refused to let go. Step by step, I pulled him toward the building. Every time my shoulder bumped into his ribs, I winced. Not because I was hurt ¡ª but because I knew he was. "You¡¯re really such an idiot..." My voice sounded quieter than I meant. A stupid, thick-headed, impossible idiot... who made my chest throb like a bomb going off. The archery building loomed ahead. Second floor. One hallway. One more set of stairs. I couldn¡¯t do it alone. "Deng Hua!" I called, my voice sharper than before. "Chen! Get the damn door open!" There was silence for a second ¡ª then scuffling. Deng Hua appeared at the top of the stairwell, eyes wide. "Hurry up!" I snapped. "He¡¯s bleeding!" He rushed down the steps, tripping over one in his panic. Chen Xun followed behind, slower, still limping. Liang Qiu didn¡¯t move. She just watched from her blanket cocoon like a ghost who¡¯d already seen too much. I didn¡¯t care. I didn¡¯t even look at Mu Qinglan¡¯s room. Not now. They grabbed John¡¯s arms. One on each side. I kept his head on my shoulder. "Careful!" I barked, the words sharper than necessary. "Don¡¯t bang his head!" "We¡¯ve got him," Deng Hua muttered, breath catching. But I didn¡¯t let go until we passed the first door. I held his arm. I wanted to feel it. His skin. His heat. His weight. Even when the boys carried him to the mats near the centre and laid him down, I was the one who knelt beside him. I was the one who brushed the blood off his lip with my thumb. "Water," I said. "Bandages." Zhou Xue passed them to me without a word. I didn¡¯t say thank you. I didn¡¯t say anything. Because my hands were already moving. Wiping the blood. Checking the wounds. My fingers trembled once when I touched the deep purple mark on his side. A Brute did that. His breathing was shallow. But steady. He wasn¡¯t dying. And somehow... that made me cry. Only a little. Just a few drops. One or two. I turned my head so no one would see. "You¡¯re so unfair, John..." I whispered, wiping the corner of his mouth. "You just keep breaking down all my walls..." "And you didn¡¯t even ask permission." ¡ª The cloth in my hand squished as I squeezed it dry once again. I rubbed across John¡¯s chest, warm water dripping down his body, soaking into the towel and wooden floor beneath him. I tried to remove the dried blood, sweat and dirt. He didn¡¯t move. His muscles twitched under my fingertips, still bruised and scratched from that stupid fight, but they became firmer and tough. No bites, thankfully... just impact wounds. Gashes. Deep, cruel tears from walls, gravel and claws. Yet the wounds were closing. Not perfectly. But faster than they should. His body wasn¡¯t normal. My eyes stopped on the mark above his heart ¡ª a glowing ice-blue rose, etched like a brand. Beautiful. Alien. But it reminded me of Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes... and made me feel jealous, the fiery heat in my abdomen growing again. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want anyone else touching him. So I kept washing. Neck, collar, chest. Down to John¡¯s waist. Just enough to make sure he didn¡¯t stink when he woke up. It wasn¡¯t romantic. Not really. ¡¯Okay... it was a little steamy.¡¯ But it made me feel close. Behind me, I sensed her. Mu Qinglan. She was dressed again, in the same black combat gear as before, but something in the way her jacket hung slightly open. The way her collarbone peeked out beneath tousled hair made her look too composed. Like someone who¡¯d already claimed what I hadn¡¯t dared to take. Our eyes met. I expected something sharp or aggressive... But she came close to me and softly patted my shoulder, gripping it slightly as she sighed. "You¡¯ve worked really hard," she said before smiling at me. "Yifei." It might have been the first time she called my name in such a way, we looked at each other, and I felt this couldn¡¯t stay hidden. The others were searching for useful things, and it was just the three of us and Liang Mei. So I told her the truth. "I¡¯ve fallen for him." Mu Qinglan looked at me with wide eyes, before I whispered in a dry voice, "I won¡¯t back away anymore. I needed to say it. To your face. Qinglan." She tilted her head ¡ª a pause ¡ª then smiled with her eyes. "I won¡¯t lose," she said. And once again... ruffled my hair, before she went back into the side room with a confident stride, swaying her needlessly huge ass. "Me either..." I whispered to the closing door. Chapter 104: Awakening & Determination Chapter 104: Awakening & DeterminationJohn Wang¡¯s POV March 18, 20xx ¡ª 07:28 AM Longwan University ¡ª Archery Club Room (2f) ¡ª¡ª My back hurt like hell... Not the sharp, stabbing pain of a blade or claw. Just pressure and tension. Like I¡¯d spent hours lifting something too heavy, then tried to do a marathon. But despite the weight dropping, my muscles hadn¡¯t figured it out yet. My eyes opened slowly, revealing an unfamiliar ceiling. Wooden beams with cracked ceiling tiles. Soft red light leaking through the blinds ¡ª dawn, or just after. The light buzzed faintly. Too dim to be natural, too steady to be from the emergency lighting. I tilted my head. "Ngh..." It took all my effort... Because someone¡¯s thighs were wrapped around my head! The first thing I noticed was the heat, not pain, but the warmth flowing through me. Not just the soft, squishy thighs pressing against my cheeks and ears. My whole body throbbed with it. Dull. Deep. Like I¡¯d been dunked into hot water and left there for too long. My limbs didn¡¯t move right at first, and my breath was laboured and sounded annoying. I blinked again. A girl was sleeping beside me. Not Mu Qinglan. Shen Yifei. She sat slouched with her arms folded on her knees, head dipped forward like she¡¯d fallen asleep mid-watch. A wet cloth dangled from her hand, the edges dry now. Her hair hung in loose strands, cheeks faintly flushed, breath shallow. Not hurt. Just worn down. I tried to speak. Nothing came out. I shifted. Her eyes opened in an instant. Like she never actually slept. "You¡¯re awake," she whispered, voice low and tight. I nodded ¡ª barely. Then I saw the rest. My chest was half-wrapped in bandages. Damp cloths rested in a metal bowl nearby. A water bottle sat next to a cloth pile soaked red. The scent of soap and fabric lingered faintly. And the faint, almost perfume-like trace of Mu Qinglan. No... it was both of their scents, mixed, lingering on my body. Yifei had probably washed me... Every inch going off the wiped-down blood and sweat on my body. My wounds were closed, not gone, but better than they should¡¯ve been. A blue box hovered, telling me my current state. [Curren Qi Recovery: 70%] [Current Core Progress: Titan Marrow: 17% (Steel Frame)] Right. I was alive. Yifei¡¯s eyes stayed on mine. She looked like she had something to say ¡ª maybe a lot. But she hadn¡¯t spoken yet. Mu Qinglan¡¯s thighs tensed, her hand stroking my hair, brushing it back to reveal my forehead, tapping me gentle like some kind of ASMR. "...How long?" I asked. "About two hours, not enough." I nodded to Yifei again and closed my eyes, able to feel her lingering gaze. "Are you sure everything is alright, John?" Mu Qinglan asked, her thighs tightening just enough to keep my gaze tilted upward ¡ª not forceful, but deliberate. I could feel her heartbeat against my temple. Slow. Heavy. I gave a low grunt, trying to shift. My neck was stiff. Not broken, thankfully, but it refused to cooperate. The effort made my breath catch. "Don¡¯t," she said gently, stroking my hair back again. "You overdid it." S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I wanted to argue. But I couldn¡¯t even sit up, so I closed my eyes for a second instead. "You were glowing again," Shen Yifei said, voice quieter. Her tone wasn¡¯t like usual and sounded a little cautious, yet curious at the same time. "That blue mark... it pulsed like a light earlier. What is it?" she asked. "I¡¯ll explain later," I muttered, voice still rough. "Once my throat works." "You always say that," Yifei muttered. "And then never do." Mu Qinglan gave a quiet hum, almost a purr, and shifted slightly, easing some of her weight off my shoulders. I caught a glimpse of her from the edge of my vision ¡ª her combat jacket hung open at the collar, and her cheeks were flushed faintly from sleep or something else. She looked down at me, unreadable. "You¡¯re healing faster," she said. I nodded. "I¡¯m sturdy." ¡ª¡ªTap¡ª¡ª "I know..." Qinglan¡¯s face was red as she slapped my forehead, a gentle slap but a sign of her protesting my words. "I can still feel..." Her lovely face turned red as she trailed off mid-sentence. Silence followed ¡ª but not heavy, just a moment of calm. Shen Yifei stood a moment later, brushing off her thighs. Her legs wobbled slightly from the long crouch, but she masked it well. "I¡¯ll go check the corridor. Deng Hua said he heard something on the eastern stairwell." Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t stop her. Just let her go. She waited until the door clicked shut, then leaned down a little closer. "You know," she said softly, brushing a bit of lint from my chest, "she really does like you." My throat tightened, but I didn¡¯t answer. "Are you going to pretend you don¡¯t know?" Still, I said nothing. She leaned in ¡ª just enough that I could feel her breath again. "Don¡¯t break her heart." I gazed up at the former ice queen... "What do you mean? You¡¯re my girlfriend..." "As if that¡¯s going to stop you. I know you like her and it probably won¡¯t stop with them either." Her hands massaged me, slowly... a little painful but also comforting. "As long as you never abandon me I won¡¯t cause trouble." "Idiot." ¡ª¡ªTap¡ª¡ª "Who is an idiot... stupid man!" Then she shifted, rising to her feet. Her fingers trailed across my scalp once, lightly, before pulling back entirely. She adjusted her jacket, rolled her shoulders, and straightened her back. "I¡¯ll get food and water," she said. "Rest. We¡¯re leaving soon." She walked to the door and paused once more. "You scared me this morning. I thought I¡¯d lost you." Then she left. And I lay there, alone again, staring at the cracked ceiling with a faint chill on my forehead. Even without words, I knew the conversation had only just begun. ¡ª Silence remained while I quietly watched the wooden beams. My body became better, and I started to move myself. The first thing I did was check my inventory. I noticed the Stage Two zombie orbs... five brute cores, one speed core and finally the command core, which was likely a spirit type. "Haa..." ¡¯System, how much would these cores sell for, or should I just swallow them all?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t the time to be conservative, but aggressive and progressive. [Core Sale Price] -> Red Cores: Boost Strength and vitality [5000 ZKP] -> Green Core: Boost Speed and Skill [4500 ZKP] -> Blue Core: Boost Spirit and Intelligence [8000 ZKP] -> Yellow Core: Boost Physique and Muscle [5000 ZKP] [Do you want to sell all cores?] [Yes/No] The option flashed several times. It seemed that the bonus advice that helped me come this far had ended. But there were other things I needed to consider now. One or two strong people might be effective in smaller, quick battles... but in longer, bigger fights, it might be more intelligent to have a group of moderately strong humans and a group of elites above them for dangerous moments. My plan for the elite team included myself, Qinglan, Roulan, Yifei, Tang Wei and Zhou Xue... after witnessing her archery, I was impressed. "I should get them all a Type-9K... and sign them to automatic reloads." "But..." To get the base skills and accounting for everything, it would cost roughly 6000 points a person to get them ready to face Stage 2 zombies. This included: Cultivation Method Type 9K Elixirs of all types A Basic outfit/armour. SMG accuracy skill Reloads being 30 ZKP each. That¡¯s not including the 6000 needed for Tang Wei and Zhou Xue¡¯s Marrow Washing Potion. Also, Liang Mei could become useful in the future. A-Tier. "So with six yellow cores... I could ensure all of us are fully equipped. Then there is the weaker forces." I couldn¡¯t decide how to train them, so I would prefer to help them grow stronger naturally, a cheap cultivation technique and a lower grade marrow washing potion. After I closed the screen, my arms fell to my sides, the warmth of my skin returning with each pulse of Qi. Outside, the light had sharpened. Morning proper. Somewhere beyond this cracked window, a new horde was gathering ¡ª or worse, something worse than a horde. But for the first time, I didn¡¯t feel alone. I had allies. Fighters. People who cared. Maybe even... I exhaled, long and slow, fingers curling slightly as the last ache faded from my shoulders. Not yet. Not today. But soon, I¡¯d start preparing them. An elite team. A proper defence. Not just survival. A future. Because whatever monsters came next ¡ª blade-types, command-types, or something worse ¡ª they¡¯d be the ones begging for mercy. And I wasn¡¯t going to give it. "System," I muttered, narrowing my eyes. "Purchase the items in my list using the five Brute cores." I was adamant... this wasn¡¯t the time to second-guess myself. I was right! "Let¡¯s build a fucking army." Chapter 105: The Calm Before the Storm Chapter 105: The Calm Before the StormMarch 18, 20xx ¡ª 08:02 AM Location: Archery Club Room, Longwan University ¡ª I sat up slowly, bones grinding like rusted gear work. My arms burned like I¡¯d been doing pull-ups on rebar. Everything from the hips down felt like something steamrolled over it. The scent of dried blood still clung to the back of my tongue. I pulled the small olive-drab pouch from my inventory and tossed it onto the floor with a satisfying thud. The logo was faded ¡ª something military-adjacent, unofficial. Not government issue. Still durable. [MRE: RFC-Type ¡ª Creator: Steffan1988MRE Info] That familiar retro font made me smirk. "This guy again..." Back in the days before zombies chewed the sun off the sky, I used to watch this nutcase of a content creator review MREs from every corner of the world. He once ate a 120-year-old chocolate bar and said it had "notes of attic." But this one ¡ª this one was the good stuff. A luxury combat ration. Tear-proof packaging. Tight seal. No hiss of air. I popped it open and laid the contents out on the floor. One squeeze pack hot entr¨¦e, vacuum-sealed like some military peanut butter tube ¡ª this one was chipotle beef with roasted rice. Two shelf-stable sandwiches ¡ª one curry chicken, the other some mystery meat slathered in synthetic truffle mayo. An instant gourmet coffee, which I¡¯d kill for at this hour. Protein pudding, banana-toffee flavour. And half a pound of snacks: freeze-dried fruit mix, beef jerky in smoky hickory glaze, and nut-crusted oat bars that looked like they could stop a bullet. "Hell yes," I muttered. Of course, I had like thirty of these in my inventory and prepared one for each member. The girls shared one because of ¡¯high-calorie,¡¯ but Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei didn¡¯t ask for anything, but I could tell they were curious. I tore open the main entr¨¦e and squeezed it into a collapsible mess tin. The beef hit with a thwap. Smelled like heaven. Or at least like food that had a soul. The scent of spices and real calories filled the room. I could feel heads turn. Let them look. I needed this. The coffee dissolved instantly. The scent? Smoky, rich, nostalgic. Like a cafe buried inside a bunker. Mu Qinglan lingered near the wall, arms crossed, eyeing my food. I tossed her one of the sandwiches ¡ª the curry one. She caught it without comment. "Don¡¯t say I never give you anything." She raised an eyebrow, peeled the wrapper, and took a bite. "...Huh," she mumbled. "Not bad." Shen Yifei walked past me, eyes dragging toward the coffee. I handed her the protein pudding instead. She didn¡¯t argue ¡ª just sat beside me on the floor and popped the foil lid open. I ate in silence, letting the calories soak into my blood. My fingers curled slowly, testing strength, range of motion. My Qi had recovered more than expected. [Qi Recovery: 88%] [Stamina: Replenished] [Shell Stockpile: 80] Yeah. I¡¯d burned through every last one. Time to get back to work. ¡ª¡ª March 18, 20xx ¡ª 08:12 AM Longwan University ¡ª Archery Club Room (2f) ¡ª Inner Corner, Inventory Screen Active ¡ª The last of the protein pudding was still melting on my tongue when I slipped quietly into the back corner of the clubroom. I crouched low, eyes half-lidded, posture relaxed ¡ª just a man stretching sore legs. But the screen flickered to life behind my gaze. Only I could see it. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [Menu ¡ú Shop -> Inventory] The system¡¯s glow was soft, cold, and demanding. I¡¯d done the math. Six of them could become capable enough to survive Stage-2 encounters ¡ª if I invested properly. But only two were tied into my system right now: Shen Yifei and Mu Qinglan. The rest... not yet. Didn¡¯t mean I¡¯d abandon them. Just meant I had to divide resources the smart way. First purchase: [Item: Type-9K Compact SMG] ¡ª x2 [Auto-Reload Module] ¡ª x2 [SMG Accuracy (Lv1)] ¡ª x2 [Combat Gloves ¡ª Reinforced Trigger Grip] ¡ª x2 Total cost: steep. But worth it. The weapons materialised into my inventory ¡ª sleek, matte, and deadly in close quarters. Quiet enough not to wake the dead. Precise enough in trained hands. I left them stored. For now. Both Yifei and Qinglan would get theirs later, when no one could interrupt. Next: [Bows ¡ª Standard Combat Archery Set] ¡ª x4 [Iron Arrow Bundle (x100)] ¡ª x3 [Hunting Bow: Reinforced Limbs + Stabiliser] ¡ª x1 I handed the cheap bows to Chen Xun, Deng Hua, Liang Qiu, and quietly laid one next to Liang Mei as she rested. She blinked up at me once. Said nothing. The hunting bow, I set beside Zhou Xue¡¯s mat. She hadn¡¯t noticed yet ¡ª but she would. ¡¯That¡¯s enough for now.¡¯ I tapped the side of my gauntlet. It hummed with a low glow, whirring as the thick buckshot shells twisted and loaded into the eight slots with a click. I couldn¡¯t notice the weight after evolving so far... But when I tapped the wooden floor with some force, it cracked, forming thin, spider-like webbed splinters. Carefully. Silently. Strategically. Soon, we¡¯d be moving out. ¡ª I stood, stretched, then gave a nod toward the far door. "Qinglan. Yifei. With me." The shift in the room was immediate ¡ª small glances, stilled breath. Zhou Xue looked up mid-bite. Deng Hua paused, lacing his boots. Liang Mei sat straighter for a second, eyes flicking toward Yifei and then me, her cheeks always looked pink... "Eh? What about us?" Deng Hua asked me with a worried face, but I just waved my hand and placed my hands on Yifei and Qinglan¡¯s hips and shrugged. "It¡¯s private. Don¡¯t worry, we are in this for the long haul now, little bro." [Deng Hua was embarrassed but grateful for your honest: +10 Loyalty] [Chen Xun is grateful you prepared weapons, food and even medicine for him and the others: + 30 Loyalty] [Liang Qiu is fond of the bow and your face: +20 Affection] [Zhou Xue and Liang Mei have a deeper trust for you, and feel safe: +25 Affection] Their loyalty to me increased further and reached close to the possibility of Loyalty+ Which meant that I could finally trust them completely, at least for now. To me, that was the first step for people who weren¡¯t Qinglan, Jiang Roulan or Yifei. Though Old Zhou and his daughter are special... But it would be hard for him to recruit Xue, Mei and Qiu... ¡¯Well these weak people ended up improving my previous skills when I recruited them...¡¯ Because they were all from the archery club, no matter their skill, it helped me reach: Shooting [Level 4], Leadership [Level 5] and Dash [Level 4] while granting a small amount of ZKP for recruiting them. The girls followed. Mu Qinglan adjusted her jacket with a faint huff, brushing stray hair behind her ear, her expression unreadable. Shen Yifei hesitated for a heartbeat ¡ª just enough to remind me she still wasn¡¯t used to being pulled aside for special treatment ¡ª then walked behind me without a word. I closed the door with a soft click. The room smelled faintly of cedar wood and disinfectant, but as well... the faint scent of last night remained¡ªsex, perfume and my sweat. Mu Qinglan leaned against the wall. "What¡¯s this about?" Shen Yifei folded her arms. "You gonna lecture us for falling asleep?" "No," I said. "I¡¯m equipping you both." That got their attention. I pulled up the inventory screen, letting the icons hover just long enough for both women to see. Thanks to their affection reaching over 350 each, which amazed me, I could show them the contents of my inventory. [Type-9K Compact SMG] [Auto-Reload Module] [SMG Mastery (Lv1)] [Shooting (Lv1)] [Combat Gloves ¡ª Reinforced Trigger Grip] "This is the gun I use..." I took out mine, after taking it back from Liang Mei, who seemed sad to see it go earlier, but I probably would give this one to Jiang Roulan. I loved my shotgun fists too much! I handed the weapon to Qinglan first. The sleek black body of the SMG practically glinted as she took it in both hands ¡ª light, compact, ideal for her close-ranged instincts. The combat gloves wrapped smoothly around her fingers ¡ª snug, matte-black, gel-reinforced across the palms and trigger line. She whistled low under her breath. "I¡¯ve wanted one of these since before the world ended." "Really?" "Yeah... I used to go shooting with my father in the past. I love this gift...!" Mu Qinglan skipped up to me and kissed my cheek, a warm, soft sensation spreading from the touch as she nuzzled my neck. "Thanks, I will treasure it." "Auto-reload enabled," I muttered. "Thirty ZKP per magazine. Fires silent. Controlled recoil. Handles well with your current strength." "And the skill?" I tapped her interface manually ¡ª a silent grant through my system. [Mu Qinglan ¡ª SMG Mastery Level 1 acquired] [Mu Qinglan ¡ª Shooting Upgraded to Level 2] She smiled faintly, testing the weight. "I¡¯ll kill twice as many just to make it worth the cost." "Good," I said. Then turned. Shen Yifei stood with her hands on her hips. "You¡¯re giving me one too?" she asked. Not distrustful ¡ª just cautious. "Of course, you¡¯re important to me..." I brushed the sweaty hair from her cheek and flicked her nose. "Although you are amazing with a spear, we learned that sometimes a gun can help clear them for safety." She held it gingerly at first, turning it in her hand like a foreign object, but the weight settled. Her fingers curled around the grip. When she slid the gloves on, they moulded instantly to her palms, faint seams flaring once as the auto-link connected. "Why are you..." she started, then shook her head. "Never mind." I activated the skill for her as well. [Shen Yifei ¡ª SMG Mastery Level 1 acquired] [Shen Yifei ¡ª Shooting Level 1 acquired] "Yifei, Lan¡¯er these guns are only for you, if you notice... there should be a small blue box that hovers in your view when you think about storing the gun." "W-What is that!? Oh my god..." Yifei made a lot of noise as she suddenly lifted her hand, and the SMG vanished. "It works!" Mu Qinglan soon copied her. "Don¡¯t keep them on your bodies, and this is something related to my secret... so try to keep it hidden if possible." The two girls looked at me with sparkling eyes¡ªeven Mu Qinglan... Chapter 106: Sneaking Through the University! Chapter 106: Sneaking Through the University!March 18, 20xx ¡ª 08:35 AM Location: Archery Club Room, Longwan University -> East Exit Corridor ¡ª The air outside the room felt cooler somehow ¡ª thinner, like the building was exhaling the weight of too many bodies, too much blood dried into the walls. I stood at the front, loaded for war. Gauntlet primed. Inventory screen dimmed but ready. SMG holstered. Buckshot shells resting like brass teeth at my hips. Shen Yifei stood beside me, not behind, not trailing ¡ª but beside. Spear slung across her back, compact SMG now locked inside the system¡¯s blue flicker. She gave a single nod, sharp and certain. "I¡¯ll cover your left." Simple words, but I knew I could trust her. Mu Qinglan had raised her arm as well, eyes tracking me in silence. But when I looked at her ¡ª really looked ¡ª and tilted my chin toward Zhou Xue, she lowered it without protest. "Stick close to Zhou Xue and Liang Mei. If it gets bad, I want them breathing." "Got it," she said. She took a position at the rear guard, her body language already shielding Zhou Xue like a wall in motion. I saw the faint flicker of her SMG¡¯s box blink blue once more, locked and ready. Chen Xun practically bounced in place, bow in hand, eyes shining like he¡¯d just been handed the keys to a tank. "I¡¯ve never used a real combat bow before, but hell, I¡¯ll learn!" Deng Hua grinned beside him, slapping an arrow against his palm. "Hey, boss. If we make it outta this alive, you gotta let me buy you a drink. Or give you my mom¡¯s cooking. Something." "You¡¯re not useless, just untrained. Don¡¯t die before I train you properly," I said. [Chen Xun¡¯s morale increased: +15 Loyalty] [Deng Hua¡¯s affection +10 ¡ú He now sees you as someone worth following] Liang Qiu stepped forward unexpectedly, adjusting the straps on her gloves and checking the stabiliser on her bow like she¡¯d done it before. "If you¡¯ll have me... I¡¯ll fight close. I don¡¯t run when people need help." Braver than she looked. The kind of girl who doesn¡¯t beg to be trusted ¡ª just shows up when it counts. I looked her in the eye. "You want in? Survive today. I¡¯ll accept you officially when we¡¯re back at base." The effect was instant. They stood straighter. Not proud ¡ª ready. [Liang Qiu¡¯s resolve hardened: Affection +15, Loyalty +25] [Deng Hua +20 Loyalty] [Chen Xun +25 Loyalty] They thought I¡¯d never let them in. Now they knew. Zhou Xue took point at the front of the hallway, a cloth wrapped tight around her mouth and nose. Her hand rose in a quick gesture. "Eastern passage is clear for now. But they¡¯re scattered all over the courtyard. You¡¯ll need to move fast. If we get caught in a stall, we¡¯re screwed." I nodded. "Then we don¡¯t stall." ¡ª 08:37 AM ¡ª Eastern Passage ¡ª Longwan Courtyard Ruins ¡ª The air reeked of moss, concrete, and the sharp bite of sun-warmed rot. Zombies roamed ¡ª not in hordes, not controlled. Just wandering. Aimless. Lost. No coordination. No pull from a Control-Type anymore. The way it should¡¯ve been. If not for that one zombie... this place wouldn¡¯t have collapsed. Ten meters out, I saw one thin-necked, jaw twitching like a broken hinge. It turned... and hissed. That was enough. Click-chak. I fired just once. Two slugs punched straight through its face, bursting it apart like an egg and dropping it like meat. [+2 ZKP] [Shooting EXP +4%] The rest of the group didn¡¯t panic. They spread out in a fan shape, and a decent distance away from me. I took point ¡ª Shen Yifei at my side. When another two came shambling from a side hall, Chen Xun loosed his first arrow ¡ª it missed, but Deng Hua nailed the second right in the chest. Not fatal, but enough for Liang Qiu to finish it. Our progress was slow, but clean, without danger. The sun broke through a shattered window frame as we reached the middle courtyard. Zhou Xue raised a hand. "Wait." I froze. A sound echoed ¡ª distant metal on stone. Too slow. Too heavy. Not a walker. Not random. And then I saw him. A figure limped from the collapsed stairwell on the far end of the courtyard, dragging a length of something behind him. Not rope. Not steel. His arm. His arm was fused with a rail of twisted scrap metal, ending in a jagged, two-meter blade sharpened by friction and hate. His chest was scarred ¡ª burned black where I¡¯d gutted him before. But he was still alive. No. Not alive. Zao. Stage-3. His eye locked onto me across the ruin. Recognition. The wound on his side gurgled when he took a step, dragging his bladed arm behind him, metal screaming against tile. "He¡¯s still alive... damn." I thought that a battle would follow, but Zao was powerful even at stage two. Now he had reached stage three. I wondered if he would kill the weaker members with me. Mu Qinglan exhaled behind me. "You killed him?" "No. I didn¡¯t. Though I shoved him off a building, it seems he survived." Deng Hua whispered, "Who is that?" "Stay quiet," I said. "Move behind cover. Qinglan, take Zhou and Mei. Yifei ¡ª with me." Zao didn¡¯t charge. He walked in a deliberate pattern. Like a soldier hearing war drums in his head. I lowered my stance, breathing out. Felt the Qi crawl across my skin like cold light. Zao¡¯s eye locked with mine. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Just one. The left one was missing ¡ª gouged out during our last fight, now replaced with a socket of pulsing black rot. But the right one burned. A red glow surged in that eye, slow and hateful. Like staring down the barrel of a memory that refused to die. His nostrils flared. The black veins along his throat bulged, crawling like worms under the skin. Metal groaned as his bladed arm flexed. Yifei shifted beside me, spear rising instinctively. "He¡¯s¡ª" "Wait," I said. Zao¡¯s massive body hunched for half a heartbeat. Then he shook his head. Not confused. Not human. Just... rejecting the moment. With a growl that sounded like steel choking on blood, he leapt straight up into the air, landing hard on the remains of the northern walkway. Concrete cracked beneath him, but he didn¡¯t pause. His back turned. He sprinted away ¡ª monstrous legs pounding across the roofline ¡ª and in three blinks, he vanished into the shadowed skyline. The tension snapped like old rope. Yifei let out the breath she¡¯d been holding. "Why did he run?" "I don¡¯t think it was fear." I stepped forward, narrowing my eyes at the direction he¡¯d gone. "He remembers me. But he¡¯s got another target now." Mu Qinglan jogged up beside me. "You sure? He looked like he wanted to carve your face off." "Yeah. But something stopped him." I stared at the cracks his weight left in the courtyard tile. Whatever mutated his arm into a blade hadn¡¯t finished yet. That thing was still evolving. And it knew it. "Next time," I muttered, "he won¡¯t hesitate." Zhou Xue swallowed hard. "We should move. Fast. North¡¯s no longer safe." I nodded. "Everyone, regroup. Double-time to the outer gate. Stay close. Archers take rear, Yifei with me at the front. Qinglan ¡ª eyes on Xue and Mei." They fell in without question. And as we crossed the shattered remains of Longwan¡¯s inner courtyard, I could still feel it. Zao¡¯s presence. Like a storm cloud just past the edge of the sky. Waiting to come back. "Let¡¯s hurry... the next part will be difficult." ¡ª March 18, 20xx ¡ª 08:43 AM Longwan University ¡ª Eastern Gate Exit / Connecting Streets ¡ª We moved fast. Not running ¡ª not stumbling like the herd we once were ¡ª but organised. Silent. Focused. Each step echoed off shattered concrete and moss-slicked tile as we left the courtyard behind. The rising sun bled orange across the horizon, casting long shadows through the broken skeletons of faculty buildings. Grass had broken through the pavement here. A hollow victory for nature. Zhou Xue led us down a maintenance stairwell. Her boots barely made a sound. She didn¡¯t speak. Just pointed, gestured, ducked ¡ª and we followed. I took a point beside her. Yifei covered our left. Mu Qinglan kept glancing back, her expression unreadable as she shielded the girls behind her. Our breath fogged the air despite the sunlight. It was still cold this early. The silence didn¡¯t feel natural. No cries. No moans. No distant metal dragging along tile. Zao was gone. But I didn¡¯t believe for a second he was done. We reached the bottom of the stairwell and paused just inside the shadow of the east gate tunnel ¡ª an arch of thick brick and rusted steel that led out into the streets beyond campus. Beyond the shadow, just fifty meters ahead, a half-collapsed security fence marked the boundary between university grounds and the open city. I raised a fist. Everyone stopped. A low groan carried on the wind. Then another. Then more. They weren¡¯t organised ¡ª not pulled by any Control-Type ¡ª but they were there. At least two dozen. Chapter 107: The Archery Club Shine! Chapter 107: The Archery Club Shine!March 18, 20xx ¡ª 08:46 AM Longwan University ¡ª Eastern Gate Exit / Connecting Streets ¡ª The zombies... Wandering. Sniffing. Swaying like meat puppets whose strings had frayed. Some wore student uniforms, others security vests crusted in black. "Twenty-seven... maybe thirty," Zhou Xue whispered. Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes narrowed. "We could avoid them." "Not cleanly. They¡¯re spread out." Yifei nodded at me. "You want me to charge?" "No." I turned to the back. "Archers." Chen Xun and Deng Hua stepped forward ¡ª Liang Qiu a second later. Each one drew arrows from the shoulder bags I gave them. Light carbon shafts. Reinforced tips. I saw their fingers tremble ¡ª not with fear, but readiness. "Fire only on my signal," I said. They nodded. Zhou Xue pointed to a crumbled retaining wall about ten meters ahead. "That spot¡¯s raised. Good elevation. Clear line of fire." "Move there. Now." The three archers crept forward. Not one zombie noticed. Yet. When Chen Xun slipped behind the wall and nocked his first arrow, I raised my hand. "Targets left to right. Slowest first." The first arrow hissed through the air, then slammed into a zombie¡¯s skull. Thunk. It fell. The sound was soft. The others didn¡¯t react. Then Deng Hua fired. Then Liang Qiu. Three more dropped. Their bodies crumpled like puppets with strings cut, each one clean, quiet, and fast. "Amazing..." That¡¯s when Zhou Xue and Liang Mei both stepped beside me, their bows fully drawn. I noticed the special gloves they both wore before the low whistle of their bowstrings, and another two zombies fell. The moment the zombies died, the increase in my ZKP and experience echoed, bringing a smile to my face. "When we¡¯ve cleared them out, let¡¯s collect the arrows and head south!" Another six fired. Another six dropped. Tension wound tight across my shoulders, but the noise level stayed low. No chain reaction. No runners. No freaks. Just rotting and collapsing one by one. They worked like they¡¯d done this before. Mu Qinglan exhaled behind me. "They¡¯re learning." I nodded. They retrieved every arrow they could, working in pairs. Some were stained or bent, but most were usable. Eighteen kills. Six avoided entirely. The remaining ones drifted too far left, far from our route. "Clear path to the street," Zhou Xue said. We advanced. Everyone¡¯s breathing steadied. The wind picked up, carrying the smell of wet brick, rotted paper, and burned plastic. I glanced back once. The university ¡ª the heart of everything we¡¯d lost and survived ¡ª stood behind us. Windows shattered. Trees blackened from old fires. I couldn¡¯t believe such a beautiful place could collapse so easily. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. If I didn¡¯t leave to save Zhou Xue, would Old Zhou have suffered the same fate as Old Lei? That thought brought a sense of victory to my chest... I didn¡¯t feel upset anymore and thought I had achieved something. We crossed the outer boundary. Into the city. The road ahead was littered with collapsed cars, empty storefronts, cracked glass, and silence. But it wasn¡¯t clean. Not really. Mu Qinglan slowed beside me. "This quiet¡¯s not natural." "It never is," I said. Yifei turned slightly, adjusting the strap on her spear. "You think he¡¯s still watching us?" I didn¡¯t answer. Because I knew he was. Zao wasn¡¯t a normal zombie, and from his intelligent look, I could only assume that he wanted to settle our score one day... but not with these people to ruin it. I didn¡¯t know what I was to Zao the mutant zombie, but maybe I am something he needs to kill to evolve. ¡ª March 18, 20xx ¡ª 09:05 AM City Sector D12 ¨C East Road, Commercial Row ¡ª We moved in silence, boots crunching on broken glass, wet leaves, and forgotten lives. The streets were narrower here, cluttered with flipped trash bins, shattered storefronts, and husks of cars choked in vines. An overturned delivery truck blocked the sidewalk halfway down the block. Moss had claimed half the paint job. Something I noticed was that flowers, flora and weeds grew faster since the world changed... vines grew along the buildings as if it were three years, not eighteen days, and the small weeds and tree roots in the cracks of concrete lifted it... ¡¯What is causing this?¡¯ Of course, the system didn¡¯t answer me... I held up a hand. "Pause." We came to a small shopping area just south of the university. The group huddled behind an old tourist information sign, eyes alert. I swept a quick scan of the buildings nearby. Two storefronts with intact signage. One was a corner pharmacy ¡ª front windows blown in, but shelving still visible. The other was a camping gear outlet ¡ª metal shutter half-lowered, dented but not split. "Qinglan. Zhou Xue. Mei. With me in the pharmacy." I turned to the others. "Deng Hua, Liang Qiu, Chen Xun ¡ª secure the camping store. Watch for biters under the shelves." "Got it," Deng Hua said, tapping his bowstring. Shen Yifei came close to me and whispered. "What about me?" In my ear. "Can you keep watch for me, Yifei?" She looked at me with a smile before nodding. "Hmph... You better reward me later." I stepped through the pharmacy door. The air inside was thick ¡ª dry rot and iodine, mixed with mould and something sickly sweet. Rows of medicine boxes, bottles, and paper masks still clung to the wall hooks. Mu Qinglan moved with precision ¡ª knife out, flashlight clipped to her glove. Zhou Xue was already at the far end, scanning labels. Liang Mei lingered near the door, one hand on the bat I gave her earlier. "I don¡¯t know medicine well, Zhou Xue... Liang Mei, I think you know best right?" The women giggled, with Liang Mei¡¯s soft smile soothing the tension. "Of course I do." She then stepped closer to me and held two small boxes of pills. "You want to grab painkillers, antibiotics, antiseptics. Anything labelled blood coagulant. Don¡¯t bother sorting brands." "Understood." It didn¡¯t feel bad to ask what I didn¡¯t know, and she showed me what to look for, which helped a great deal. I moved fast. Snatched boxes into a shoulder bag, checked for tampering, then tossed in a few ration packs still vacuum-sealed in a nearby wall fridge. Liquids? Mostly ruined. Syrups were broken on the floor. But the pill packs were gold. Of course, the ones needing to be chilled or kept safe, I tossed them into my inventory. "Found bandages and trauma gauze," Qinglan said, holding up a dusty first aid kit. "Still sealed." "Take it all." Behind me, I heard Xue¡¯s voice. "Got saline tabs. Disinfectant sprays. Four bottles unopened." Perfect. We regrouped at the door. "How was the yield?" I asked with my backpack open, showing the bag full of medical items. Though I could buy them from the system, I planned to make a small infirmary for the woman who was a doctor to use. People below Tier B would use natural medicine. ¡¯Well, if they go on missions, or choose to be soldiers I¡¯ll give them system medicine and rations too.¡¯ Qinglan filled her backpack with something interesting.... XL Condoms... birth control pills, and beauty items like face masks and skin oils and ointments. She looked at Zhou Xue and Liang Mei, who blushed seeing the condom boxes¡ªthey looked at me with a blushing face, which was quite amusing. I peeked outside. Chen Xun waved to me from the other side of the street, grinning behind a lifted camp stove. Deng Hua had a solar flashlight in one hand, and Liang Qiu held up a compact sleeping bag with the label still intact. Score. I gave a sharp whistle and pointed to the back alley. We linked up there. Yifei had already checked it. No movement. Just old graffiti and burnt plastic. She was breathing lightly, spear loose in her grip. "Quiet on the other side, too," she said. Before we moved, I leaned close and kissed her cheek. "Great work, beautiful." Her face turned red as I pulled away. Thanks to the system, I knew she killed eleven zombies. "J-John!?" She gasped, but I didn¡¯t respond. We moved through the side street to avoid the main street full of zombies and broken cars, and burned trash. It would be too dangerous if we got trapped in the centre. The first scavenging and looting was successful... so I thought about doing more before we returned, the people back home might be worried after we vanished for an entire day. ¡¯Jiang Roulan... I miss your smile.¡¯ "Let¡¯s move." Chapter 108: Another Group of Humans? Chapter 108: Another Group of Humans?[09:42 AM ¡ª 1 mile from Longwan University] We moved from block to block. Every thirty minutes, I let them scavenge. Always in pairs. Never linger. No more than five minutes per stop. They pulled out: A roll of copper wire. Canned food past expiry, but still intact. A dented water filter system from an apartment supply shop. Tools ¡ª screwdrivers, multi-tools, hammer heads. A set of work gloves from a hardware bin. A sealed canister of propane. Liang Qiu found a wristwatch that still ticked. She wore it like a trophy. Chen Xun found a working radio with a broken antenna, but Zhou could probably rewire it. The reason I gave him a pat on the back was that if there were any army support or government movements, we¡¯d need something like this. ¡¯Carrot and Stick!¡¯ The weight started adding up. But so did the morale. They were smiling. Not relaxed¡ªno, not in this world¡ªbut alive. Moving with purpose. I could feel the grief of the university fading. At least for now, stopping them from collapsing and fearing for their lives and not even desiring to live. That made all the difference. [10:26 AM ¡ª Sector D9 Crossroad] We were just crossing a narrow intersection with dead traffic lights when Zhou Xue raised a hand. "Stop." Everyone froze. Ahead, six zombies stood near a burnt-out gas station. None were moving fast. Just idle ¡ª chewing on old rags, leaning against walls. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I looked at the archers. Chen Xun already had an arrow ready. "They¡¯re close enough," he whispered. "We can drop them clean." I gave the signal. One shot. Two. Three. Each one dropped in a soft moan and slump. [ZKP Gained: 30] [EXP Gained: 60] They collected arrows again. Some broken from constant impact, but they moved faster... the more we fought, the more their scout and soldier classes helped them adjust and improve. By now, they were treating kills like chores. No celebration. Not as much fear, but they still waited for my guidance. The orders went from me to Zhou Xue and then Liang Mei. It was efficient and helped us keep moving. [10:45 AM ¡ª Sector C4 ¡ª 2 miles from Home Base] The sun was higher now. The street shadows had shrunk, and the city felt too quiet. That silence? Heavy. Measured. Like something listening. Zhou Xue kept looking over her shoulder. Liang Mei too. That nervous energy was back. I felt it too ¡ª like eyes tracking our steps. But nothing attacked. Not yet. I could feel the tension rising in the air again ¡ª the kind that meant we weren¡¯t alone. However... to ensure we could rest easy... ¡¯System scan the area for zombies within a 10-mile radius.¡¯ [TERRITORY SCAN: EXPANDED REGION] Searching: Longwan City ¡ª City Centre (North) Status: DANGER ZONE CONFIRMED Last Updated: 10:45 AM, March 18 Estimated Survivors: 350-600 Military Presence: Moderate Known Threats: Huge Stage 1 Clusters nearby, slow migration, Stage 2 Horde gathering. Infrastructure Status: Small camps, Miniature camps. [REMARK: Human activity detected. Evac operations failed. Survivors created small survivor camps. The military formed a small private group! Undead outnumber living 100:1!] "There aren¡¯t any dangers close, we can head back to the base at the current pace." I just wanted to help calm the others down. They looked at me with slight worry in their eyes, but nodded gingerly. ¡ª March 18, 20xx ¡ª 11:10 AM Sector C3 ¡ª South Industrial Ruins, 1.4 Miles from Base ¡ª We kept moving. The road twisted through the edge of Longwan¡¯s industrial district ¡ª low buildings choked with broken fencing, stacked cargo containers rusted to the bone, and old semis abandoned mid-turn. It should¡¯ve been a clean walk. It wasn¡¯t. Crows scattered from a rooftop as we passed below. One dropped something from its beak ¡ª a strip of half-dried human skin. It slapped the pavement like wet leather. Liang Qiu flinched. Chen Xun gagged but kept his bow up. Yifei didn¡¯t say anything. Just shifted closer to me. Zhou Xue whispered under her breath, "This place is wrong..." She was right. It was quiet ¡ª too quiet ¡ª but not clean. Bits of noise rang out in strange rhythms: a can skittering against concrete. A wet flap. Something crunching in the far distance, too sharp to be a zombie¡¯s footfall. Too quick. "Eyes sharp," I said. "No talking. Stay tight." We crossed a shattered scaffold lying across the road like a collapsed bridge. As we stepped over the rebar and twisted mesh, Deng Hua caught his leg and almost tripped. I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up before he fell. "Careful," I growled. "Sorry, boss..." His voice was quieter now. Everyone was. Their faces looked tighter. Their steps became lighter. The slow-building dread was taking hold ¡ª not the explosive panic of being surrounded ¡ª but the grinding kind. The kind that makes your spine itch and your thoughts turn on you. Even Mu Qinglan had gone silent, walking with her SMG locked in hand, scanning windows, rooftops, alley mouths. We hadn¡¯t seen a single zombie in over half an hour. Not one. Which meant they were somewhere. [11:36 AM ¡ª Sector C2 ¡ª Borderline Quarantine Zone] A wrecked checkpoint came into view: chain link barriers twisted inward, as if something massive had pushed through. The guard post had collapsed into a ditch. One side of the road had been firebombed long ago ¡ª black scorch marks, melted asphalt, warped glass. We passed through a single file as I watched everyone¡¯s posture. Zhou Xue ¡ª rigid. Liang Mei ¡ª wide-eyed, hands clenched. Deng Hua ¡ª jaw tight, glancing over his shoulder every ten seconds. Liang Qiu ¡ª alert, but nervous. Chen Xun ¡ª breathing too fast. They were holding it together ¡ª but only just, I didn¡¯t comment. Sometimes, words only made cracks wider, so we moved through another four blocks and then heard something. A soft pop. Not close. Not a zombie. Not natural. Gunfire. Qinglan was the first to speak. "That wasn¡¯t an amateur shooting." I nodded. "Human¡¯s... skilled ones." Yifei scanned the skyline. "It came from the Rooftop. Just south of us. Maybe four or five blocks out." Deng Hua licked his lips. "You think they¡¯re friendly?" "No such thing," I said. Zhou Xue took a step back toward me. "There¡¯s smoke coming from the roof." The smoke was constant and seemed to be something familiar. "It¡¯s a cookfire, flames used to cook things in the wild." Another shot rang out, sharper this time. It became closer with each step, but the group became more focused, prepared. Someone was clearing, or maybe they were hunting. The group shifted, uncertain about the future. Chen Xun whispered, "We gonna go around... or straight toward it?" I looked at the buildings ahead ¡ª crumbling apartments, tight alleys, rooftops stitched together by makeshift bridges. The previous path we took seemed to have been destroyed, when or how I didn¡¯t understand, but the way forward was straight past the gunfire. No alternate route. And we were less than a mile from the base. "We push forward," I said. "Keep your weapons drawn, and focused. Don¡¯t trust anyone but our group for now." We started walking again, but much slower, as each step felt heavier. And in the distance, above the cracked concrete of Longwan¡¯s bones, the faintest shape of a rooftop flag fluttered in the wind. Red. Black symbol. Homemade. I didn¡¯t recognise it. But someone flew it like a warning. We stuck to the side streets now, to avoid walking in the open. Tighter alleys. Cracked balconies. Rows of dead apartments stacked four floors high. The kind of place where sound bounced and disappeared, where shadows held breath and light felt like a mistake. The flag on the rooftop had vanished behind the buildings ¡ª no more than a glimpse, like something glimpsed during a fever. But the smell lingered. Cookfire. Oil. Gunpowder. Things the undead didn¡¯t use. We advanced from building to building. I tapped twice on each frame before crossing ¡ª a rhythm. A pattern. Zhou Xue mimicked me without asking. So did Liang Mei. They were learning. Yifei ranged five paces ahead. Her spear was out, but low. Controlled. Chen Xun turned to whisper. "Should we¡ª?" I cut him off with a sharp shake of the head. He bit his tongue and adjusted his grip on the bow. They needed this, not just the destination. The walk. The silence. The discipline to not panic when you know something could be watching. That was survival. That was control. Chapter 109: Meeting other humans... Chapter 109: Meeting other humans...March 18, 20xx ¡ª 12:19 PM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¡ª Red Roof Row ¡ª¡ª I didn¡¯t want to believe these people would be hostile, but let¡¯s face the truth. A group of three men and five top-tier beauties, even if it was just Mu Qinglan with me, there was no way it wouldn¡¯t cause trouble. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t dress them in pretty clothes but survival-based ones. ¡¯I¡¯d love seeing them in flowing dresses, or lewd cosplays. But I needed to be realistic.¡¯ "Phew..." My sigh was louder than I thought. Mu Qinglan, Yifei and Zhou Xue looked back at me suddenly with concerned eyes. The rooftops changed here. Rust-coloured shingles. Handmade wiring strung between buildings. A row of tin chimneys cut at an angle, some with black residue streaking down. Recent burns. Fresh. Mu Qinglan stopped at a boarded shopfront and narrowed her eyes. "Look." She pointed to the metal security gate. Scratches ¡ª horizontal. Not claw marks. Tool marks. Pried open recently. One side bent in, smooth at the edge. Carefully forced. "They didn¡¯t kick it," she said. "They opened it." Human hands. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhou Xue ducked into the doorway and checked the back wall. "Prints in the dust. Two sets. Adult size." I stepped forward, my eyes scanning the boot prints, and thanks to the system, I could learn more about this. "One pair of military boots, the other is a standard climbing boot." "Fuck," Chen Xun muttered. "There¡¯s no bodies, or blood. They weren¡¯t in a rush either." I added. Yifei scanned the rooftops again. "Still nothing moving." That¡¯s what made it worse. Because I knew they must have seen us, either heading to the university or coming back, and that left us in a dangerous position. Suppose they were friendly... good. But I still couldn¡¯t trust them. Thankfully, they cannot follow us to the base, but even so, our group couldn¡¯t go against the military right now. Even if they evolved or drank the elixirs I have... it would take a month of training at least using the system and zombies as fodder. ¡¯...¡¯ These thoughts of mine made me realise I wasn¡¯t the same John as a few days ago... the apocalypse was twisting my mind... slowly but surely I was becoming someone, something different. We passed the shop and found more signs. A dead car battery was left beside a bucket of bleach. A wire-mesh cage ¡ª animal trap. Not for rats. Too big. Cleaned and reset. Signs of humans. No humans. Every sense I had was screaming, but there was no target. No threat. Just this feeling ¡ª like we were being circled from above. The tension made everyone slower. Careful. Worn. March 18, 20xx 12:38 PM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¡ª Final Approach, 0.5 Miles from Base We ducked under a collapsed pedestrian bridge, cutting through an old food delivery plaza. It stank of mould and petrol. But someone had moved through here, too ¡ª someone swept the dust in various patterns. As if we were constantly on their trail, but with mine and Qinglan¡¯s upgraded senses... that wasn¡¯t possible. ¡¯Multiple groups?¡¯ That¡¯s the conclusion I came to. Not one big group but several smaller groups working in tandem. "I see..." We weren¡¯t far from them, as Yifei crouched at a dead fire, still warm, but the can of evaporated milk was still warm. Half-full... pierced with a knife. Beside it was a pile of untouched cans, milk, powdered milk, cream, and peaches. Mu Qinglan picked one up and shook it once. "Still good." "Take them," I said. "Fast." Though I could protect Shen Yifei and Mu Qinglan if things became dangerous, I really didn¡¯t want to lose the others either. Zhou Xue, Deng Hua, Liang Qiu and Chen Xue... they¡¯d started to grow on me. I didn¡¯t have many friends in the past, and the one who stuck with me. Because of my stupid actions and fear, he ended up forced to betray me... Zang Ping... I bet he felt horrible when closing the shutters to survive. Thanks to the horrible world forcing me. I could see how stupid my actions and thoughts were now... and his tears, they were probably out of despair, knowing he couldn¡¯t go against the group. "I hope he¡¯s alive..." "What¡¯s wrong, John?" Yifei called out to me, her eyes soft and always filled with emotions that I struggled to ignore. "Sorry, just thinking about a friend..." "Oh..." Her hand rubbed my arm, her teeth sinking into her pink lips, as she leaned on me, with a makeshift hug. "Thanks." These moments helped me remain sane through this hellish and changed world... that¡¯s why I wanted more people around us... to keep everyone sane, happy and able to function. I could become their man, their everything, but... the girls still needed friends and other people, or they would lose their minds in time. "Shall we pick up the pace?" "Boss, I¡¯ve got some sweet stuff, wanna share?" Deng Hua... I hated you at first, but why do you keep tugging at my heartstrings... He had a pile of books in his bag... thin, books with a beautiful blonde spreading her legs across the pages... she was quite hairy, but it was quite nice to see. Though I could see Qinglan and the others... something about naughty books and videos excited me and made my blood surge. ¡¯Was it a man thing?¡¯ I leaned close to Deng Hua and whispered: "Ahem... I want the blonde magazine, you can take the others." "Hehehe, of course boss. I see you like them big!" "Stop that vulgar laugh!" "Hehehe!" Deng Hua¡¯s annoying giggled remained in my head as we reached closer to the base. The buildings thinned after that. The skyline opened. The main road that led toward our base came into view ¡ª four lanes wide, littered with abandoned trucks, burnt-out taxis, metal fencing shoved against a mall¡¯s half-collapsed fa?ade. My tower block was somewhere beyond the next intersection. This road led past my old work and apartment. But between us and there... Movement. Not clear. Just the sense of it. A glint of light. A shape ducking behind a bus. Gone too fast to track. It could¡¯ve been a trick of the sun. Could¡¯ve been them. Zhou Xue stepped closer. Her voice was low. "We¡¯re not alone." I nodded once. "Weapons ready, but hidden. We move like we belong here." She swallowed and passed the message down the line. Yifei joined me again at the front. Her expression was tight. "Think they saw us?" "If they did," I said, "they¡¯re waiting." She glanced at her spear. "Then we wait, too?" "No," I said. "We hunt. Like wolves. Eyes up. Teeth bared." The city didn¡¯t answer. But I felt it watching. ¡ª March 18, 20xx ¡ª 12:54 PM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¨C John Wang¡¯s Aparment area. ¡ª We crossed the final intersection. I recognised the curve of the buildings before we even turned the corner. The old corner store burned out. A rusted bus with the open hatch was still lying across the sidewalk. The road bent gently rightward, sloping up. And there, tucked between a collapsed noodle house and an old massage clinic... My apartment. Two floors. Brick frame. The reinforced door on the second level, with the metal balcony and the steel sheet that we used to escape. An image of the early days of the apocalypse replayed in my mind as we moved closer. Barricading the stairs, windows and lower door... eating leftover noodles and stew. It was a place that held significance for me and Mu Qinglan. But now... I stopped walking. So did Yifei. Mu Qinglan¡¯s mouth closed, grinding her teeth. She didn¡¯t speak ¡ª just stared. Because it wasn¡¯t ours anymore. The barricades were gone. The balcony had a tarp strung like a roof. Ropes tied across the top led to hooks on other buildings ¡ª perimeter lines. A tattered poncho was drying over the railing. Someone had installed a crude solar panel on the roof, angled toward the sun. A fire burned in a metal barrel below. And beside it? Humans. Three of them. "..." Qinglan didn¡¯t speak, but I could feel the rage building. Her eyes shone electric blue before turning to me as she gripped her metal bat tightly. One seated on a bucket, cleaning a rifle with the bolt pulled halfway out. Black vest, buzz cut, heavy arms. He looked ex-military. Or close. Another leaned against the wall, smoking. Hood up. One boot off, wrapped in a dirty bandage. The third was on the roof, lying prone, binoculars in hand, watching the street through slats in the railing. He saw us first. Chapter 110: A mututal Agreement... The dangeorus South Chapter 110: A mututal Agreement... The dangeorus South¡ª March 18, 20xx ¡ª 13:05 PM Zone 2A-¦¤ ¨C John Wang¡¯s Aparment area. ¡ª The shift in his body was instant. He tapped something on the wood. Below, the guy with the rifle stood up, quick but smooth. Mu Qinglan took one step forward. Her voice was ice. "They took it." Even Yifei seemed dazed, her breathing becoming harder. "This was our place..." "Stay calm," I said. "No." Yifei snapped her head toward me, eyes lit with fury. "They destroyed it. Look at that tarp! The solar panel! They burned our furniture!" ¡¯Ah...¡¯ I hadn¡¯t told Yifei about my ability yet... so she blamed these men for my dismantling. However, I didn¡¯t want her to be mad at me, so I remained silent about it. ¡¯Sorry, Soldier brothers.¡¯ I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her slightly behind me. Her eyes locked on mine. "They ruined it," she hissed. "I know." Her eyes trembled with rage, but she didn¡¯t lunge. That was enough. The guy with the rifle stepped forward, hands loose at his sides ¡ª not raised, not hostile. Just ready. He spoke first. "You lot from the south side?" "No," I said. He studied me. Then the group. Then back to me. "Wasn¡¯t expecting company. This place was dead last week." "Not anymore." Behind him, the smoker shifted and put a hand on their waist ¡ª a pistol visible, low calibre, holstered backwards. The guy on the roof adjusted slightly, still prone. Watching. I nodded toward the building. "That was our place. You¡¯re living in it." The rifle guy tilted his head. "Yeah? You got proof?" "I was just stating a fact, sit down and shut the fuck up." These words... feelings. I didn¡¯t know I had them inside me, but I¡¯d gone and done it now. Honestly, I was just being immature and abrasive if I could have destroyed that entire apartment, because it carried memories of Mu Qinglan. So seeing others inside scratched me in a place I couldn¡¯t reach. The guy with the rifle blinked once. Didn¡¯t step back. Didn¡¯t step forward either. A flicker of something passed through his eyes ¡ª confusion, maybe offence ¡ª but it died fast. I could tell what kind of man he was now. Ex-military, or trained close enough to fake it. Disciplined. Measured. But not dominant. He didn¡¯t speak right away. The one with the hood spat to the side, then spoke up. Female voice, rough and sandpapered. "Tch. Big words for someone walking in with a fan club." She took a slow drag from the cigarette, like she wanted to provoke a reaction. Let the smoke trail out of her nose, all casual. Yifei stepped forward again. Not aggressively, just one step. Close enough to make the motion feel heavier than it was. "Shut your mouth," she said. "You¡¯re squatting in our memory." That quieted the woman. Her brows pulled down, but she looked away instead of answering. Memories were important now, not just to us, but these people obviously understood, the leader wasn¡¯t a bad guy, I could tell with how well he took me snapping at him. Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes hadn¡¯t left the guy with the rifle. The anger had cooled into something scarier. Cold, steel-forged judgment. Her bat still rested in her hand, but I could see her knuckles going white. She wasn¡¯t going to speak or do anything unless I pushed it. I knew that if her bat hit any of them even lightly, their lives would be over. None of them had evolved or reached stage two. I gave them all one look, slow and clean, and then turned to the man again. "Your name?" "...Zhang Jie." "Used to be?" "Public Security." "Thought so," I said. He seemed surprised I pegged him that easily. The hooded woman leaned off the wall. Her tone changed ¡ª less hostile, more amused. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "How about you, handsome?" "John." She smirked. "Hmmm..." Her eyes ran over me a little too slowly. I just shrugged with a smirk ¡ª nothing serious ¡ª but that one movement sent a jolt down the line. She eyed me up, and I just shrugged with a smirk, but this action seemed to trigger Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei, who both grabbed one of my arms and pulled me behind them, stepping in front of me. Just enough to block her gaze. Claiming. The hooded woman chuckled. Zhang Jie didn¡¯t comment. He just smiled faintly and lowered his rifle ¡ª not dropped, just at ease. "No. I think we walked into something we didn¡¯t know about. But in these times, it¡¯s hard to find a place to survive, right?" "Yeah," I said, letting out a short breath. "I was a bit too aggressive." The honesty was small, but it shifted something. Took the heat off everyone¡¯s shoulders. Even Yifei stopped grinding her teeth. Behind me, the others held their formation. Tense but ready. Chen Xun and Deng Hua looked unsure, but they didn¡¯t lower their bows. Liang Mei and Qiu tried not to look terrified. Zhou Xue stood in quiet balance, one hand resting on her thigh, never once taking her eyes off the man on the roof. Good. I lifted my chin just enough to address all three of the strangers. "So what do you wanna do?" Zhang Jie gave the rooftop man a subtle signal, two fingers down. The binoculars lowered. The smoker stepped off the wall, finally stopping her idle circling. Still didn¡¯t speak again. He looked at me again. "We¡¯ll hold the place a few more days, then move on. We¡¯ve got people scattered. We¡¯re just regrouping." "Fine," I said. "Don¡¯t trash the place." "We didn¡¯t. Cleaned it, actually. There was mold upstairs. Cracked pipe." I didn¡¯t respond, but I let the silence stand as permission. He nodded again. "Thanks for not shooting." "You didn¡¯t shoot first," I said. "That¡¯s rare." He gave a small grin. "You¡¯re not what I expected from someone walking around with five dangerous women and a damn teenage archer crew." "Neither are you," I said. "Guess we¡¯re both lucky." He extended a hand ¡ª not a challenge, not a power play. Just a hand. I shook it. It was rough, calloused, scarred at the knuckles. Survivor hands. "Once again, Zhang Jie," he said again. "John Wang." We let go. No threats. No fake smiles. Just enough trust to move forward. Zhang didn¡¯t lower his voice, but his tone shifted ¡ª less edge, more curiosity. "You coming from the university side?" "Yeah." "Still crawling up there?" "Less than before. The Control-Type¡¯s gone¡ª" "Control type?" "The blue fuckers with big eyes, walking on all fours. They can control weaker zombies, be careful... they can control the Brute-Types. Brutes are the huge fat zombies that can transform into muscular beasts." "Damn... thanks for the intel. We¡¯re in your debt." I didn¡¯t mind, and these people might become allies in the future. It was the first male who wasn¡¯t a low rank, so I tried to make up for my error. Rather, his loyalty increased to me when I swore at him about this place being important. A strange man. "But it¡¯s not safe, be careful. There are less than four hundred survivors holding in different groups and pockets. No coordination. Maybe some old evac sites might be in use. But the place is on the edge of collapse." He nodded slowly. "Figured. Heard distant blasts a few days back ¡ª figured someone was cleaning or dying." "They were dying." He scratched his jaw, then gestured vaguely behind him, toward the southern roads. "You heading past the mall?" "Eventually." "Careful," he said. "South end¡¯s worse. Big-ass horde moved in two days ago. Someone triggered alarms inside the mall¡¯s parking zone ¡ª might¡¯ve been looters or a failed evac team. But now it¡¯s a nest. Ground level¡¯s rotted and swarmed. Don¡¯t take the main roads. And don¡¯t expect shelter from the big buildings ¡ª most are hollowed or half-collapsed." My heart raced... alarms... mall parking zone... wasn¡¯t that ME!? I tried to avoid being obvious, but Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes widened while gazing at me with her lips curled into a smirk. ¡¯Don¡¯t blame me!¡¯ The night we became a couple... did I cause another base to collapse... ¡¯Aren¡¯t I worse than the zombies?¡¯ Yifei¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Anyone still alive there?" "Maybe a few. We didn¡¯t got close. Saw a smoke signal once. Not sure if it was help or bait. But I didn¡¯t get a good feeling from the area, not just the zombies... the people seemed jaded and strange." I filed it away. Useful. But still vague. "Thanks," I said. Zhang shrugged. "Gotta trade something. You gave us a pass. I can give you a heads-up." "Safe roads," he said again. "For both of us," I replied. We moved on, leaving the apartment behind. Yifei and Qinglan didn¡¯t look back. And neither did I. Chapter 111: Homecoming Chapter 111: HomecomingMarch 18th, 20xx ¡ª 2:11 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C First Floor, Jiang Roulan¡¯s Building - Homebase ¡ª¡ª The journey home wasn¡¯t dangerous. A few zombies lingered on the path. Probably roaming from the south, but thanks to my ability to use the sonar. We could avoid the larger packs, because even I was too tired to deal with this right now. Four days... That¡¯s how long I had endured the apocalypse of the eighteen days everyone else endured. How could they remain so strong when even with a system... I am struggling after less than a week. "John, is everything alright?" "Lan¡¯er?" "You look tired... that¡¯s all." I turned back, her soft voice of concern, the gentle flicker of her blue eyes, which watched me quietly. "Ah..." My throat felt dry and I couldn¡¯t speak well. Only a breath came out before clearing my throat. "You might be right. It¡¯s been a long few days." "Do you want me to help carry your stuff?" The bratty voice of Yifei bounced in my opposite ear, normally a little annoying. Now. She sounded cute and calming. Honestly, I wanted to drag her into my bed and have Qinglan massage my back... But those were just my erotic and deluded thoughts. Maybe one day it could happen. However, not now. Even though she knew I was putting most things into my inventory, this girl¡¯s cheeky smile was irresistible. Behind us, Zhou Xue, Liang Mei and the others were all a little tired, light on their feet and staggering with each step. ¡¯If humans or zombies ambushed us right now, it would be over.¡¯ "It¡¯s not far, l can manage Yifei." "Mm, but if you need me, just say so." Shen Yifei skipped ahead from my words, her hips flicking to each side, showing none of the fatigue that spread through me like a thick fog. Although I could fight... the mental and muscular fatigue would limit me. An elbow thrust into my side, followed by a soft huff. "Don¡¯t flirt with Yifei when I¡¯m here." Qinglan¡¯s arm wrapped around mine, her soft fingers intertwining with mine."I¡¯ll help you. Look... there¡¯s the doors." And she was right. Not the ruined front we left behind days ago ¡ª not the half-barricaded mess covered in old chains and plywood. No. This base was the upgraded version. Polished black metal panels reinforced with segmented plating curved around the entrance like a bunker gate. I patched and upgraded the first floor with system-enhanced alloys. The new security system glowed faint blue at the seams, humming low, subtle, but unmistakable like standing next to a sleeping engine. No zombies. No flies. Not even crows. They couldn¡¯t get within thirty meters now. Stage 3s would hesitate. Anything under that? They wouldn¡¯t even try. "Whoa..." Deng Hua mumbled. "This place looks like a goddamn fortress." "It is," I said, walking toward it. The reinforced doors scanned me the moment I stepped close. [Identified: John Wang ¡ªMax Authority] [Welcome Home ¡ª Leader] The female voice sounded like the tutorial woman¡¯s, but I didn¡¯t get to see these upgrades before I left because of the twelve-hour duration. I didn¡¯t change the settings, so most of the people in the building couldn¡¯t leave without becoming part of my group. It might have been harsh if I stayed away too long, but Jiang Roulan promised to deal with it. "Lan¡¯er, Yifei, can you take everyone to the first floor?" Before they moved, I turned to Zhou Xue and waved at her. "Miss Zhou, would you come with me?" She looked a bit stunned, but I couldn¡¯t help it because her father was still sitting in his room on the third floor, same as Tang Wei and her family. With a hydraulic hiss, the door cracked open and slid back. A cold draft slipped out ¡ª not icy, just sterile. Clean. Not the smell of rot and decay, but filtered air, dry metal, and faint antiseptic. Mu Qinglan exhaled quietly. "This... wasn¡¯t like this before." "No," I said. "I upgraded it." Yifei blinked. "When?" "While you were sleeping." She pouted. "Are you calling me lazy?" "I¡¯m calling you peaceful." She narrowed her eyes like she wanted to protest, but then grinned and followed me inside. Everyone filed in after. Staggered. Tired. Covered in street sweat and survival. The door closed behind us, sealing with a deep thud. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Inside, the first-floor corridor was untouched by time. Brushed steel flooring. Reinforced concrete walls. The lights glowed a clean white, solar-fed. One of the system¡¯s passive blessings. "John, please get some rest..." Mu Qinglan hugged me tight and kissed my cheek with a wet smack before pulling away. Gently whispering into my ear. "I¡¯ll wait for you upstairs when finished." Shen Yifei looked back with a sharp gaze, but didn¡¯t say anything... ¡¯She¡¯s really growing on me.¡¯ The moment she left, it was only me, Zhou Xue and Liang Mei in the hallway. It felt warm, and the soft carpet once we entered the complex was comfortable. "Will you both join me? There¡¯s someone I wanted you to meet, Miss Xue." "I know... This is where my dad lives." "Good, he wanted to know you were safe." "I see." Her words sounded a little cold, but there might be something between them that I shouldn¡¯t try to get involved with. Liang Mei and Zhou Xue weren¡¯t far off being recruitable, at least that¡¯s what my instinct said to me... and the biggest gain was saving Liang Mei! [You have protected Liang Mei and brought her to the Homebase!] [Gained: 2000 ZKP] [Gained: 2000 EXP] Then we came to the updated elevators, with upgraded military grade metal, sleek black metal, and a max weight of 1500 kg. ¨‹ Maximum Grade Blast Elevator (Shock Resistant) An elevator able to withstand a missile attack. Durability: 500/500 "Oh my god... It¡¯s like a sci-fi movie." "Third floor?" Zhou Xue asked. "Yeah." "Elevator works?" I turned back and gave her a tired smile. "Welcome to the future." Of course, it wouldn¡¯t move without being a member of our group and placed at the level of Mu Qinglan. We stepped into the lift ¡ª a fifteen-person ride, newly restored by the system and materials. It had an old-school panel interface that only responded to registered people. ¡ªBzzt¡ª From the moment it closed the doors, the singular elevator replaced the double elevators from before, becoming one large one. "Wow!" Liang Mei¡¯s eyes shone like diamonds. The cooling breeze from the air conditioning, something rare in this country, flowed through the lift from the neon blue lights lining the floor and walls. "It¡¯s amazing!" "I cannot believe something like this exists." Zhou Xue peeked at me several times before leaning against the wall, her bow held comfortably around her shoulder. "Truly... a mystery." I pressed the floor plate. The doors sealed without a sound. The ride was smooth. Too smooth for this world and this country. The moment it opened, we stepped out onto the third floor, no longer filled with barricades, and a lot of people seemed to be still moving their things to the private rooms on the first floor now. "Ah, Mr Wang!" "Thank you, Mister Wang." They greeted me while I passed, "Don¡¯t worry, we are all survivors. Make sure you settle and get some rest. Once we start working, I won¡¯t go easy on you." I didn¡¯t want to sound annoying, but they made me embarrassed¡ªthere was a scratchy feeling in my abdomen. "Yes, boss!" "Come on, darling, he¡¯s with two pretty girls... don¡¯t keep him." The middle-aged man got scolded by his wife, and their faces looked better than yesterday. It didn¡¯t take long to reach our target... I could smell the old whiskey and smoke scent from the door, the yellow wallpaper peeling. ¡ªBang-Bang!¡ª "Dad! Open up! Dad! It¡¯s me, Xue¡¯er!" I watched her rush forward, with Laing Mei standing beside me with a smile on her face. She always felt like a cute and fluffy sheep. "???" The cute sheep looked up at me, used to leaning against Zhou Xue, she leaned against my arm. "Hmph!" A huff sounded from the door, the low, raspy voice of Old Zhou rumbling as the chain and bolt slowly clicked open. "Who is at my door, huh? Oh... Xue¡¯er? Is that really you... You really came back to me?" The change in his voice sounded instant upon seeing her face. His old wrinkled face suddenly lit up, his eyes flicked to me for a second, tears forming in the corners, and I nodded to him, grabbing Liang Mei by the waist, and turned back. "Kya..." "Old Lei, come to the first floor when you¡¯re ready. I¡¯ll be waiting." Though he didn¡¯t speak loudly, I heard the low... "thank you." that pushed through his lips like a growl. Somehow... I was jealous. But that jealousy lasted less than a second as a beautiful and bright voice called out to me, followed by the thud of someone darting towards me like a cheetah. "JOHN!" Chapter 112: Don’t Leave Me Again! Chapter 112: Don¡¯t Leave Me Again!March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 2:31 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Fifth Floor - Homebase ¡ª¡ª "JOHN!" The voice hit me like a gunshot wrapped in silk. I turned just in time to see her. Jiang Roulan. She tore around the corner like something had broken loose in her chest. Her boots hit the floor hard. Her black coat trailed behind her like smoke, hair half-loose, eyes locked on me like she didn¡¯t see anyone else in the damn world. No hesitation. She slammed into me with a desperate leap. Her arms wrapped around my neck, breath hitting my throat in gasps. I caught her waist out of reflex, trying to keep us steady, but she didn¡¯t give me time to react. Her mouth pressed against mine. Soft... wet... and slimy. No warning. No soft lean-in. Just heat and pressure and the faint taste of metal and adrenaline ¡ª and Jiang Roulan. The kiss wasn¡¯t slow. It wasn¡¯t sweet. It was need. She held my neck, her warm tongue pushed through my teeth, the silky sensation of her softness curling around my mouth as she snorted and blew hot air down my face. She held it like she meant to brand it into my lips. Even as I kissed her back, I heard a soft gasp from behind me. Liang Mei. Her whole body stiffened beside me, one hand flying up to cover her mouth, her face flushing pink so fast it looked like it might melt. But I couldn¡¯t pull away. Not yet. Not until she did. Roulan¡¯s lips trembled when she finally let go, her breath shivering across my cheek. "You said one night," she whispered, voice tight. "And it was one night." "Felt longer." Her hands slid down from my shoulders to my chest, gripping me tighter than necessary. Her eyes scanned me once, slow, worried. Like she was checking for cracks she couldn¡¯t see. "I didn¡¯t sleep," she said. "Every time the sonar pinged I thought¡ª" "I came back," I said. "You knew I would." She looked away, just for a second. "I believed you. Still..." Her hands dropped, but I grabbed them... I knew that Jiang Roulan must have worried from the dark circles in her eyes. And in that small movement, I felt it ¡ª how much she didn¡¯t want to let go. Her fingers twisted around mine like they were resisting orders. "I held the building," she said, trying to sound calm again. "No one died. Everyone followed the rules. I didn¡¯t let anyone break protocol." "I knew you¡¯d hold it." She gave a sharp breath. "It wasn¡¯t for them." That silence hung between us like a pulled thread before she leaned on my chest, the faint scent of her sweat flowing into my nose. "I did it for you..." Then she turned, coat whipping behind her like a cape, her face bright red. "Get them to the first floor. Let them unload. Let them rest." I hesitated, watching her shoulders rise and fall. "And then?" Her voice was softer now. Not quite cracked. Just... lower. "Then come back to me, on the fifth floor." She started walking again, heading for the stairwell ¡ª but after three steps, she stopped. Didn¡¯t turn around. Her hand hovered at her side, fingers twitching like they were trying to call me back. "I..." But she didn¡¯t continue, only gazing back at me with her wet eyes. Although a little dramatic. I wondered how it must have felt being alone after spending the past few days together almost constantly... And she vanished down the stairs, coat swaying behind her like a flag. Liang Mei finally looked up at me, lips slightly parted, still red in the face. "She really..." "Yeah," I muttered. "She really missed you." I didn¡¯t deny it. Because I missed her too. "Let¡¯s go, everyone should be waiting, and you need medicine right?" "Okay, can I stay like this?" she asked, still holding my hand. Liang Mei was warm. Fragile. Her skin felt cold through the sleeve of her sweater, and her hand trembled faintly as she clung to me. Sick. But stubborn. I didn¡¯t pull away. "Just until we reach the elevator," I muttered. She smiled. A small thing. Soft. Quiet. Like a blossom trying to survive under ash. The corridor turned silent after that ¡ª just the sound of our steps over smooth flooring. Lights humming faintly above. The building¡¯s pulse, steady and quiet, surrounded us in a way the outside world never could. And then¡ª [Skill Acquired ¡ª Urban Predator Instinct (Lv1)] Your senses adapt to the city¡¯s corpse. Gain enhanced awareness of line-of-sight dangers, ambush points, and patrol movement patterns in urban environments. Walls, windows, broken floors ¡ª you start to "feel" them the way a wolf smells blood. ? +15% movement stealth in collapsed buildings ? Enemies within 30 meters occasionally trigger a subtle mental ping when looking directly at you. ? Improves tracking and navigation in man-made ruins "The city is no longer just ruins to you. It is your hunting ground." ¡ª I blinked once. The hallway... shifted. Not literally. But my awareness of it deepened in a way I couldn¡¯t explain. Every exposed vent, every light fixture, every door left ajar ¡ª I could feel their angles. Their threats. The path of least noise. The best cover point is if something hostile breached the stairwell. It didn¡¯t flood me. It was layered for me. Like my senses were getting stitched into the bones of the building itself. Liang Mei tugged my sleeve. "John?" "...I¡¯m fine." The skill wasn¡¯t loud. It didn¡¯t scream power. It whispered usefulness ¡ª the kind you only noticed when it saved your life. I could almost feel a distant awareness stretch across the walls, the floors, the air around corners. Urban Predator Instinct. I¡¯d seen enough blood to earn it. And now the city itself was something I could read. I gave Liang Mei¡¯s hand a gentle squeeze and kept walking. If things kept going like this... I¡¯d stop surviving this world. And start owning it. ¡ª¡ª This bonus skill for saving Liang Mei really helped me. I couldn¡¯t help but feel grateful for meeting her and saving Zhou Xue... I could feel the tapping on the floor, as if I were a spider. The moment I closed my eyes, the world became beautiful... a mixture of black and light blue ripples floating through the air. A door appeared when opened, and the outline of the world materialised in a neon blue ink. Liang Mei¡¯s feet were lighter than mine, creating tiny splashes and vibrations compared to mine. ¡¯It¡¯s beautiful...¡¯ "You¡¯re not feeling well are you, Liang Mei?" "Ugh... did you notice?" she said, voice quiet, head dipping. Her body bounced in a flutter of blue light, the outline of her eyes vivid even after I opened my eyes again. The light didn¡¯t vanish instantly, but clung to her body, forming streaks of light that shimmered beautifully in a neon blue trail. Every movement or breath created the glistening light like a dancing fairy in slow motion. Weak. But Alive... And worth protecting. "Yeah," I said. "I noticed." She looked at me with a nervous smile, her lips clearly trembling as she leaned against my arm while before I lowered my hips and lifted her off the floor. "Kya..." Her head rested gently against my shoulder, her hair tickling the side of my neck. "I¡¯m glad " My hand tightened slightly around her waist. So was I. ¡ª¡ª Inside the elevator, the soft hiss of the blast doors closing echoed. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Liang Mei rested in my arms, her large eyes peeking up at me with a gentle smile. Her breath was light ¡ª far too light. Her heartbeat, what little I could feel through our touch, seemed... weak. Like it was working too hard just to stay in rhythm. The elevator began its ascent, smooth and silent. Neon-blue lighting traced lines along the wall panels, gently pulsing. Liang Mei¡¯s reflection stared back at me from the polished surface ¡ª pale cheeks, tired eyes. A system window blinked open in the corner of my vision. I focused on it, just enough to trigger a mental query. [Accessing Subsystem: Medical Knowledge Repository] [Query: Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)] A second window slid out, glowing gently. [Dilated Cardiomyopathy (Stage II-III)] A chronic condition that weakens the heart muscle, reducing its ability to pump blood efficiently. Symptoms: fatigue, shortness of breath, arrhythmia, fainting. Common mortality timeframe: 1¨C3 years without treatment. Apocalyptic mortality timeframe: 1-3 months without treatment. Increased stress and physical strain will accelerate degradation. [Survivability in apocalyptic conditions: <12%] Available Remedies: ¡ª [Stabiliser Compound: A-12] (1,000 ZKP) ¡ª [Healing Elixir: Type-III Vascular] (System-Crafted, Rank 6) ¡ª [Genetic Rewrite Serum: Cardio Type-R] (50,000 ZKP) ¡¯I take it the stabiliser will give her time... and the best option is the Genetic Rewrite Serum?¡¯ [The Compound A-12 will increase and relieve symptoms for seven days. Usage Limit: 3] [Genetic Rewrite Serum: Cardio Type-R - will completely rebuild and evolve a heart] Type-III Vascular. I could make it ¡ª but not yet. I¡¯d need Rank 6, and probably over 40,000 ZKP stockpiled to craft it at all. I was still climbing that mountain. I bought the Stabiliser first, and the cold, massive syringe appeared in my hand... She didn¡¯t know what I was seeing and just rested her head on my chest as the elevator climbed higher. "...Mei." "Hm?" "Do you ever feel it?" She blinked up at me. "The illness?" "Yeah." "All the time," she whispered. "But it¡¯s been better since I came here." "Because it¡¯s safer?" "No." She smiled weakly. "Because you¡¯re here." Her response caught me off guard. Chapter 113: The Sick Girl Liang Mei Chapter 113: The Sick Girl Liang MeiMarch 18th, 20xx ¡ª 2:36 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Elevator to Fifth Floor ¨C En route ¡ª¡ª The syringe pulsed cold in my palm. [Compound A-12] [Active Stabilisation Window ¡ª 168 Hours Remaining] [Target Injection Point: Gluteus Maximus ¡ª Max Absorption Efficiency] Goddamn. "Of course," I muttered. Liang Mei blinked, still resting in my arms. "Hm?" "Nothing." I didn¡¯t explain. There was no point. The needle was long. Deep-black steel with an amber-gold vial glowing faintly at its core ¡ª humming with some quiet, alien pressure. Even without scanning it, I could tell it was potent. Just below S-tier. The kind of compound that could push back death... for a while. She needed this. But I hesitated. Her weight rested lightly in my arms, like something borrowed from a softer world. Her heart still beat unevenly ¡ª I could feel it against my ribs. And when I looked down, she was watching the needle. Her expression shifted ¡ª not fear, but dread. "Is this... for me?" "Yeah." "...Does it go in my arm?" I didn¡¯t answer right away. Instead, I opened the small box and showed her the needle¡¯s tag. [Injection Site: Glutaeal Region Only ¨C Intramuscular] Liang Mei read it. Her face flushed immediately. Her entire body stiffened. She blinked rapidly, then lowered her eyes like she¡¯d been caught doing something indecent. Why would medicine to stabilise her heart need to be pushed into her rump? I honestly felt the system was trying to push me towards these women, or maybe an annoying higher power was controlling this? Maybe one day I would punch him... Because he knew my inner desires and how much I enjoyed holding her buttocks while carrying the plump little sheep. "...Oh." "You can do it over your clothes," I offered. She looked up at me again. Then shook her head. "If it¡¯s for... my heart," she said quietly, "then it has to work." She turned in my arms, slowly ¡ª like she was moving through water ¡ª and reached for her waistband. My throat dried. ¡¯What is this kind of scene...¡¯ Her fingers trembled as she hooked them beneath the hem of her sweatpants and began tugging them down... just far enough. Just to expose the soft swell of her backside. She wasn¡¯t wearing anything underneath. And that surprised me. Pale skin, porcelain-like and smooth, was suddenly exposed beneath the low blue elevator lights. There was a faint warmth rising off her, and an almost imperceptible scent ¡ª sweet, subtle, like freshly peeled lychee and warm linen. Not perfume. Something natural. My eyes lingered longer than they should have. The cloth fell to her thighs, revealing everything as she made a cute sound. I tried my best to avoid making it any worse for her. The curve of her ass was fuller than I expected ¡ª rounded, plush, a quiet kind of softness that didn¡¯t fit her usual modest silhouette. It jutted out slightly, creating a faint crease where her thigh met flesh. Faint peach fuzz caught the light near her lower back, where her shirt had ridden up just a little too far. She clutched the front of her sweatshirt like it would protect her modesty. And didn¡¯t say a word. I didn¡¯t either. Not at first. I crouched slowly, knees grinding, one hand on her lower back to keep her steady. She flinched. "C-Cold..." "Yeah." I placed the tip of the syringe against the upper outer curve of her right cheek. She jumped again ¡ª the muscles twitching beneath her skin, buttocks tensing instinctively. ¡¯I¡¯m not aroused, this isn¡¯t sexual... I cannot feel the heat from her crotch... nor smell it.¡¯ "I haven¡¯t¡ª" She bit her tongue. I didn¡¯t ask what she meant. The issue was probably the wet beads dripping between her glossy crack... we hadn¡¯t showered or had time to clean since rushing for the past night and day. ¡¯It smells good though... a little thick...¡¯ My thoughts became filled with filth as I tried to focus myself with a deep breath. Her breathing hitched. Her eyes were squeezed shut. Her fingers clutched her sweatshirt tighter. "I¡¯m going to count to three," I said flatly. "Okay." I didn¡¯t. The needle pierced clean. She gasped. High-pitched. Like a yelp swallowed mid-word. Her fingers clenched tighter. "Ah¡ª!" I pressed the plunger. Slowly. The golden stabiliser surged inward. I could feel the warmth radiating beneath my palm as her body accepted it, muscles relaxing slightly under the spreading heat of the medicine. Her breath hitched again. This time slower. Shakier. "It¡¯s warm," she mumbled. "Means it¡¯s working." She stayed frozen in place, still bent slightly forward. Her pants still down. Her hands still gripping her clothes. I slid the syringe out. She let out a breath like she¡¯d been holding it the whole time. "...Sorry," she whispered, still not turning around. "For what?" "I... I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be like that." I didn¡¯t reply. I reached forward and gently tugged her pants back up, covering the pale curve of her bare skin without a word. She stayed stiff until the waistband rested safely at her hips again. She didn¡¯t move. Just stood there, head slightly bowed. "...I¡¯m really not used to this kind of thing," she said quietly. "I noticed." But the red of her cheeks was quite cute, so I didn¡¯t want her to feel too bad. "Me either... I¡¯d never seen such a pretty behind before." "W-What!?" She gasped and hit my chest with her palms, looking up at me while biting her lower lip, although she was mad... an angry sheep was still too soft. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Haha, sorry. It¡¯s the truth, though." My words might have made her embarrassed, but it seemed to help her focus and get past the awkward moment. Though having a handsome face probably helped... if I were ugly, she¡¯d probably have not even entertained the thought. She let out a tiny laugh, barely more than a breath. The elevator dinged again. Fifth floor. We stepped out without speaking. "Thank you..." What surprised me was that Liang Mei skipped out of the elevator, something she would never have done before. The biggest benefit. [Liang Mei feels jubilant from feeling no pain for the first time in years: Affection + 50] [Liang Mei is shameful, and that you saw her before she could bathe: Affection -10] [Liang Mei enjoyed the situation and cannot forget the warmth of your breath: Affection +30] ¨‹ Liang Mei can now be recruited. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Liang Mei POV March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 2:41 PM Fifth Floor ¡ª Jiang Roulan¡¯s Apartment¡ª¡ª I didn¡¯t run. But I might as well have. As soon as the elevator doors closed behind him, my legs started wobbling. My knees were weak. My face felt like it had been dipped in boiling tea, and my fingers were so stiff I could barely get the apartment door open. The moment I stepped inside the strange woman Jiang Roulan¡¯s room, I leaned back against the wall and let out the breath I¡¯d been holding. She guided me to a spare room, where I collapsed on a small makeshift bed. My hands flew to my cheeks. "Oh no... oh no..." I¡¯d shown him everything. My bottom. My thighs. Even... down there. He saw it. I mean¡ªof course, he saw it. I was the one who... who pulled down my pants! But it wasn¡¯t supposed to go like that! I didn¡¯t think they would fall! I thought he¡¯d... I don¡¯t know, inject it through the gap of my pants or something? Or maybe he¡¯d at least close his eyes¡ª Why didn¡¯t I ask him to close his eyes?! I curled down onto my knees in front of the bed, burying my face in the sheets. My heart wasn¡¯t pounding anymore, and that was the strangest thing. I was blushing so hard I felt dizzy, but my chest wasn¡¯t tight. No sharp pulses. No shortness of breath. Just... warmth. Gentle. Full. It didn¡¯t even hurt when I cried. Just a few tears. Silly ones. I pulled my hood up and sniffled into my sleeves. What must he think of me now? I was supposed to be polite. Modest. Not... some girl who drops her pants in an elevator and bends over like¡ª "Ughhhh..." I smacked my forehead softly against the mattress. But still... when he touched me, he was so careful. He didn¡¯t say anything mean. He didn¡¯t laugh. He pulled my pants back up and didn¡¯t look at me weird afterwards. And he even said I was... pretty. My fingers curled in my lap. I know he didn¡¯t mean it like that... but still. It made my stomach feel strange. In a good way. Maybe I¡¯m a little strange, too. But... is it really so bad to want him to hold me again? Just once more? Maybe longer next time... Chapter 114: The Suble Changes in Jiang Roulan Chapter 114: The Suble Changes in Jiang RoulanJohn (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 2:49 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Fifth Floor ¡ª Jiang Roulan¡¯s Apartment ¡ª¡ª¡ª The lights were low. Not dim like mood lighting ¡ª just lived-in, soft, like she¡¯d chosen the setting to make it feel like home. The air smelled faintly of warm dust, old furniture, and beer. A gentle sort of silence sat between us, not awkward, not tense. Liang Mei wasn¡¯t here. I noticed her shoes near the wall ¡ª already inside. Roulan must¡¯ve tucked her into the side room to get some rest. That left just us. Roulan moved toward the kitchenette without a word. Her loose t-shirt hung from her back, the fabric sliding over the outline of her shoulder blades as she reached into a small storage crate. Her shorts were loose at the waist and tight around her ass and thighs ¡ª enough to show skin but not show off. ¡¯She¡¯s much bigger than Liang Mei...¡¯ If Liang Mei was a soft peach... then Jiang Roulan was two fluffy pillows stuffed into her shorts... Casual. Confident. Controlled. Her hair was damp, wavy, swept into a loose side tie that rested near her collarbone. Not regulation. Not even close. I leaned against the back of the couch and watched her pop two cans of beer. The soft tsshh echoed in the silence, followed by the low clink of metal as she dropped one in front of me. "Drink," she said simply. I caught it before it toppled. She slid into the seat across from me, beer in hand, legs folded beneath her like she¡¯d done this a hundred times before. Like this wasn¡¯t the first real moment we¡¯d had alone since I returned. "You missed dinner," she said, sipping. "Twice." "I wasn¡¯t hungry." "Liar." She looked at me over the edge of her can. A half-smile played at her lips ¡ª small, sharp, knowing. "And don¡¯t pretend you didn¡¯t stare just now. I saw your eyes." "You wore that on purpose." "Of course I did." Her smile deepened. She leaned forward across the table. Her arms folded beneath her chest, squishing her melons together. Not trying to show off, but the shirt dipped just enough to draw the eye. "I¡¯ve been wearing stuffy clothes for days. Let me enjoy cotton for a night." I took a sip of the beer. It was cold. Bitter. And good. But I kept drinking. "You still owe me an answer," she murmured, watching me. "About what you missed more ¡ª the base... or me." Her question was amusing. "As if that¡¯s fair." My answer sat in the silence. She didn¡¯t wait for it. She got up. Came around the table. And slid down into my lap like it was a seat meant for her. Warm. Weighty. Familiar. "You don¡¯t have to say it," she whispered, arms wrapping loosely around my neck. Her breath tickled my ear. "I already know." There was something different about Roulan. From the moment I came back, it almost felt like she guessed something had happened. I didn¡¯t know if she spoke to Qinglan. But Roulan¡¯s efforts to touch me increased. Though I wanted to start working on the base... this moment was too calming. She settled into my lap like she belonged there. Weighty. Confident. Her thighs rested across mine, warm through the thin fabric of her shorts. Her arms looped around my neck, but loose, not clinging. She didn¡¯t act shy. Didn¡¯t look away. She just stared at me, her eyes that deep shade of dusk brown. Close enough to kiss. "I didn¡¯t expect the kiss," I said. "That¡¯s a lie too." I smirked. "You¡¯ve gotten bolder." "You left," she said softly. "I didn¡¯t like it." "You told me to go." "And you were supposed to say no." I looked at her¡ªnot as the second-in-command of our base, not as the rational woman who rationed ammo and snapped orders¡ªbut as someone raw beneath the shell. Slightly flushed. Breathing a little harder. "I wasn¡¯t gone long." "It felt long." Roulan brushed her hands under my shirt and started rubbing the surface of my muscles with her smooth fingertips, with a smile on her face. There was something strange... something different about her from before I left. Not just playfulness. Not just relief. Something closer to desperation, wearing a smile. "...I know about you and Mu Qinglan," she whispered. "You don¡¯t have to lie." I didn¡¯t respond. She leaned her forehead against mine. "I don¡¯t blame you. But I hated it. Hated that she got to touch you first." Her voice dropped. "Hated that you didn¡¯t come back smelling like me." I could feel it ¡ª her jealousy didn¡¯t burn. It simmered. Like a pan of hot milk bubbling and rising with each moment we spoke. "And now?" "Now..." Her fingers dug into my chest a little harder. "Now I want to fix it." Her hips shifted. Just a little. A small movement ¡ª but deliberate. The heat of her crotch pressed directly against mine, she wasn¡¯t hiding anything, as her lips touched my neck. A warm, sweet air was blowing down my chest. "Did it feel good?" She wasn¡¯t trying to be the ¡¯cool¡¯ one. "You¡¯ve been mine longer," she said. "I never belonged to anyone." "But you keep coming back to me." Her fingers slid into my hair. Her lips hovered just beside my ear. Her body pressed closer, soft in the right places, firm in the others. Her thighs tightened slightly as her breath slowed. "...Do you know how many times I dreamed of this moment?" I grabbed her hips and steadied her movement, the soft sensation causing me to become half-erect... this wasn¡¯t the Jiang Roulan I knew, but did I know her that well before? "How many?" "Too many." Before I could react... She kissed me. Not like Jiang Roulan, the police officer. Not like Jiang Roulan, the leader. Like a woman who¡¯d run out of ways to say she wanted me. It was hot. Messy. Moist... The soft, slippery sensation as her tongue pushed into my lips, wrapping around mine, with a wet pop. I returned her kiss. Rougher than I meant to. My lips wrapped around her tongue and sucked gently. The taste of her saliva was delicious. I found myself wanting more. Her fingers fisted my hair, dragging a low noise from her throat ¡ª somewhere between a sigh and a growl. "You¡¯re so frustrating..." she muttered, breathless, straddling me tighter now. "You act like you don¡¯t know just how much I need this. Then kiss me like that..." I didn¡¯t stop her. And she didn¡¯t ask permission. She tugged her shirt over her head. Slowly. Seductively. No bra. Just flushed skin, rising and falling with shallow breaths. Her huge breasts, round... bouncy and tanned with light pink tips that protruded slightly. "I don¡¯t want to be second," she whispered. "Not tonight." Roulan¡¯s shirt was gone. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She pressed herself against me, chest bare and warm, breath hot against my neck. Her legs wrapped around me as she held me in place. Her skin looked glossy with her sweat and the faint light along her collarbone. Her mouth found mine again ¡ª messy, slow, wanting ¡ª as her fingers curled around my waistband. And then¡ª Click. The sound of the door. Roulan froze mid-movement. I didn¡¯t have to look to know. The weight in the room shifted. Mu Qinglan stood just inside the doorway. She didn¡¯t speak. She didn¡¯t move. Her black combat vest clung tight to her chest, undone at the front, revealing the curve of her tank top beneath. Dust streaked her pants and gloves. Her long black hair, tied back in its usual tail, was slightly wind-tangled, like she hadn¡¯t stopped moving since I left her last. Mu Qinglan stood in the doorway. Her black combat uniform was unzipped halfway, revealing the black tank top beneath ¡ª sweat-damp against her skin, clinging to her sharp frame. Her boots were still laced, her gloves unremoved. She¡¯d come straight here. Her ice-blue eyes locked onto Roulan¡¯s naked back. Then trailed downward. Then up to me. Her lips didn¡¯t twitch. Her voice didn¡¯t crack. "...Hah." It wasn¡¯t a question. Just amusement sharpened into a dagger. Roulan started to move ¡ª maybe to cover herself ¡ª but stopped. Too late. Qinglan had already seen everything. And she was already smiling. But it wasn¡¯t kind. "You really couldn¡¯t wait, could you?" Mu said softly, her voice like still water over glass. "You were that desperate?" Roulan¡¯s fingers tightened slightly. Mu stepped further in. The door hissed closed behind her. "Tell me, Roulan," she continued, cocking her head. "Did it feel better pretending this was the first time... or knowing I already took it from you earlier today?" "Shut up." "Hm. That¡¯s not a no." Roulan shifted in my lap, trying to sit taller ¡ª but she couldn¡¯t. Not under Mu¡¯s stare. Not when she knew. Mu¡¯s gloved hand rose to her collar, casually tugging the zipper lower. Not all the way. Just enough to reveal the countless dark bruises, kiss marks and things remaining from the night we spent together. Her smile was thinner now. "I didn¡¯t know you were the type to beg after sloppy seconds." "Qinglan¡ª" I said, but she held up a hand. "I¡¯m not mad. Why would I be?" Her eyes didn¡¯t leave Roulan. "We¡¯re all just surviving. Some of us just... get there first." Her eyes narrowed ¡ª not angry. Just cold. "I¡¯ll be in my room. When you¡¯re done fucking her come home to me, John." Then she turned, her hips swaying in tight control, and walked out. The door didn¡¯t slam. Because she won. Her lips curled into a wicked smile as she left like a queen. I couldn¡¯t deny she looked extremely sexy either. And Roulan... She stayed right there on my lap. But now her fingers trembled. ¡¯Man... dealing with several women is so annoying.¡¯ A man¡¯s brain was simple, and right now, I could only think of a threesome with both of them. ¡¯Ah... I am scum, but I don¡¯t care!¡¯ First, I would deal with Jiang Roulan, because she didn¡¯t have the mental state to endure. Chapter 115: Coming To Term’s With The Future. Chapter 115: Coming To Term¡¯s With The Future.John (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 3: 19 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Tenth Floor ¡ª Jiang Roulan¡¯s Apartment ¡ª¡ª¡ª I stopped letting my cock lead me on after Mu Qinglan left, comforting Jiang Roulan who became strange might have been easy. But I had things to do. Survival came before sex. Preparation came before women. She looked upset when I stepped into the elevator, but right now I had to do this. There was something which I couldn¡¯t do without a moment of focus. So I headed to the tenth floor, despite Zhou Xue and many others probably waiting for me. ¡ªding¡ª The elevator hissed as the doors opened, and a cool breeze flowed inside. I stepped out and found myself on the tenth floor, not quest upgraded or built yet, but this place was somewhere I planned to be my private place to relax and take time to focus on myself, a sort of man¡¯s cave. Or man¡¯s attic... "Phew." With a sigh, I dropped onto the only sofa on the entire floor. I smashed this place up with my dismantle feature similar to the floor below, except the floor was twice as thick and the plan for an indoor swimming pool, training area, and research room were planned, with four big open spaces and sliding doors separating them. It was cold up here... The windows were left ajar, and I noticed a figure standing opposite me. "Lan¡¯er." She stood by the open window. Back straight. Arms crossed. Her black hair swayed in the breeze, delicate black strands trailing through the air and on her shoulder like a whip ready to snap. She didn¡¯t look at me. Didn¡¯t speak. But she didn¡¯t leave, either. "Lan¡¯er," I said again, quieter this time. Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes stayed on the city beyond the glass ¡ª a skeletal skyline stitched together with collapsed towers, broken streets, and distant smog. Her shoulders rose with a breath. Fell. Then she spoke. "I should¡¯ve expected it." Her voice was level. Almost bored. "You walked away with her scent still on you," she continued, tilting her head. "And yet I still thought you might come up here first." I stayed on the couch. Let her say it. She finally turned. Her pale blue eyes met mine. Cold. Not furious. Not wounded. Just... offended. "I shared myself with you," she said, stepping forward. "Let you see me, touch me, taste me. I bled for you today. Killed for you." Her boots echoed faintly across the half-constructed floor as she walked. "Despite that, you let her climb into your lap before your sweat dried off." "Of course I did." No longer would I hold back or speak with hidden truths. I promise Mu Qinglan not to lie, but I didn¡¯t need to hold back or act so passive. "I told you I would." Mu Qinglan stopped. She stared at me like she hadn¡¯t expected that. Like some part of her wanted me to lie. To say it didn¡¯t mean anything. To make excuses. But I didn¡¯t. "I told you I would," I said again. "You agreed to it." The words weren¡¯t cruel. Just real. Simple. I didn¡¯t owe Qinglan softness. Not now. Mu¡¯s arms slowly dropped from their crossed position, falling to her sides like her weight was shifting under her thoughts. "...You¡¯re right." Her voice came softer. More dangerous. "That doesn¡¯t mean I liked seeing it." She stepped closer. Her boots didn¡¯t echo this time. She moved like a shadow¡ªfluid, slow, deliberate. "You kissed her like you were starving. Held her like she was your first taste of warmth in days." She didn¡¯t sound angry. Just hurt that I hadn¡¯t saved that heat for her again. "And yet you said my name just now like it still meant something." "It does." She stared at me for a moment longer. Then let out a bitter, breathy laugh. "You¡¯re cruel." "No," I replied. "I¡¯m consistent." Her lips parted slightly at that. She didn¡¯t deny it. "You slept with me... then left to let another woman grind on you half-naked, knowing I¡¯d walk in." "You think I planned that?" Qinglan looked at me with her trembling pupils, tears at the corners of her eyes. Because some part of her ¡ª her-the part that trusted me in bed, but never in the daylight¡ªhad already decided that everything I did was by design. That I wanted her to see. "Don¡¯t be stupid, Lan¡¯er." She turned to face me, a sharp yet fragile gaze in her eyes as she approached. I could understand that her feelings might be hurt. But I hadn¡¯t lied or denied that these things would happen. Mu Qinglan¡¯s trembling pupils met mine, blue irises cloudy with pain; she couldn¡¯t swallow fast enough. Her arms hung at her sides like they¡¯d forgotten how to defend her. Her breath stuttered ¡ª not from fear, not from anger. From heartbreak, she didn¡¯t want to admit she had. "Don¡¯t be stupid, Lan¡¯er." I stood from the couch. She didn¡¯t back away. Not when I stepped toward her. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Not when I reached out and slid my hand gently along her chin and brushed the edge of her chin, delicately. "You think I¡¯d let you go?" I asked quietly. "You think there¡¯s a version of me that ever forgets what you did today? What you gave me?" She swallowed hard. I felt it against my palm. "I didn¡¯t just take you to bed," I said. "I didn¡¯t fuck you to win points, or achieve something. I took you because I love you." Her eyes flinched at my words. I didn¡¯t stop. "You¡¯re not second. You¡¯re not last. There is no list or ranking. You¡¯re mine ¡ª the same way I¡¯m yours. That doesn¡¯t change because Roulan wanted to feel special or I wanted her to suck my cock." There could be more romantic ways to speak, to hide or mask my feelings. But I could only he honest, raw and direct... a vulgar man who tasted the delight of a woman¡¯s body. She let out a tiny sound ¡ª not a sob, but a noise caught between resistance and need. "I won¡¯t abandon you, Mu Qinglan. Not for her. Not for any of them." "But you¡¯ll love them too," she whispered. "Yes." I didn¡¯t flinch. She looked down, silently letting out a breath that shivered at the end. "...That hurts." "I know." Her fingers curled in the front of my shirt. Then clung. "But it hurts worse when I think about not having you at all." I pulled her against me, not forcefully. Just enough to hold her. To anchor her. Her forehead pressed against my chest, breath hot against my collar. She was shivering ¡ª not from cold. From emotion. "I hate how much I need you," she whispered. "I hate how soft I get when I remember the way you say my name." "I like when you¡¯re soft," I said. "But I like when you¡¯re sharp too. I want all of it. All of you." "Don¡¯t forgive me, get angry, get mad... but only at me." My hands cupped her soft cheeks, enjoying the sharp curve of her chin as I continued. "I will accept anything you have Lan¡¯er... no matter how bad it gets." She didn¡¯t answer right away. Her hands trembled slightly, still bent in the fabric of my shirt. Then her fingers tightened. "...Then take me again." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but not because she was afraid. Because she was holding something back, that tension in her throat, the catch behind her breath, the tear tracks drying on her cheeks ¡ª it was all there, all still raw. She stepped closer, slow, until her chest brushed against mine. Her palms flattened against my stomach, then slowly trailed upward ¡ª deliberately, exploring. Her touch wasn¡¯t teasing. It was searching. Claiming. "Not because you feel guilty," she said again, quieter now. Her face tilted up toward mine, chin trembling slightly. "Not because you¡¯re trying to fix anything." Her lips hovered close to mine ¡ª close enough that her breath warmed them. "But because I¡¯m still yours." She paused. Then pressed her mouth against mine ¡ª slow, but deep. Her lips parted just enough to let her breath slip through. Not messy like before. Not a collision. A seal. I kissed her back, just as slowly. And her body eased forward into me like it was coming home. One hand slid behind her neck. The other curved around her waist. She didn¡¯t stop me. Her fingers tangled in the back of my hair, breath growing warmer between each pause. She pushed herself against me, the full length of her frame pressing into mine, armour forgotten, softness revealed. When I broke the kiss, she didn¡¯t open her eyes right away. She just leaned her forehead into mine, breathing softly, like the world finally stopped pulling her apart. "I thought I lost something when I saw her on you." She looked at me with a faint smile, grasping my chest and pulling me closer. "But I didn¡¯t." Her hands slipped under the hem of her tank top, trembling slightly before tugging it upward. "I just forgot what it feels like when I competed to win." Chapter 116: Taming the Ice Queen [R18] Chapter 116: Taming the Ice Queen [R18]John (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 3:23 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Tenth Floor ¡ª Jiang Roulan¡¯s Apartment ¡ª¡ª¡ª Her top slipped over her head. She stood bare above the waist ¡ª pale, scarred, flawless in the way only women who fight to live are. Her chest rose with each breath, nipples already firm from the cold and the adrenaline, her skin flushed along the collarbone. I looked down at her, realising just how much smaller she was. Then I stepped forward. She barely had time to react before I wrapped my hands around her hips and gently turned her. Her back met the edge of the soft chair behind her ¡ª the one I¡¯d dropped into earlier. It wasn¡¯t much, but it supported her well enough. "Sit back. Relax." Then I knelt in front of her. She looked at me with wide eyes, her pupils dilating and her mouth half open, breathing growing unsteady. "Don¡¯t move." I pushed her thighs open, slowly but firm, so she didn¡¯t press back. She let them fall apart under my palms, breath catching as the cooler air hit her skin. Her shorts slid down with a single tug. No resistance. And she was already wet. Not dripping. Not obscene. Just soft, swollen, flushed ¡ª the kind of arousal that built over time and brewed in Qinglan¡¯s abdomen while she fought to stay angry. I leaned forward. Her scent hit me first ¡ª sharp and clean, like heated metal and salt and something faintly sweet beneath it, the flavour of her skin. Then came the warmth. My breath brushed her inner thigh. She jerked slightly, fingers digging into the arms of the chair. When I licked her ¡ª one slow, deliberate drag from her opening to her clit ¡ª her hips twitched. "J-John¡ª" Her gasping voice made my spine tingle... the qi in my stomach pulsing from our resolution... when we returned from hell, I bought a meditation technique for Mu Qinglan. An ice-type that would help improve her survival rate. The Ice Orchid Sutra was a mirror to my Titan¡¯s marrow... her ice would lower her internal temperature, reduce pain, and make her body emit a sweet scent. "Quiet." I said it without cruelty. Then did it again. Longer this time. My tongue pressed firmly into her folds, parted her just enough to taste the heat rising from inside her. She tasted like sweat and something deeper ¡ª primal, womanly, alive. She whimpered. I shifted my grip, sliding my hands beneath her thighs to pull her closer. Her ass barely stayed on the edge of the chair now, thighs wide, pussy glistening under the light that spilled from the window. I licked her again ¡ª this time circling her clit with the flat of my tongue, then flicking it gently with the tip. Mu Qinglan¡¯s breath came fast. She tried to hold it in. But she was unravelling. "F-Fuck..." Her voice cracked. I kissed her again ¡ª not her lips, but the soft flesh just above her entrance. Suckled lightly. Let my breath roll over the wetness there until her hips started grinding into my face. She tasted like salted honey. She smelled like sweet and tarty yoghurt. Every shiver that passed through her thighs, I felt against my palms. And I didn¡¯t stop. Didn¡¯t rush. I made her feel it. One slow swirl at a time. Her thighs trembled. Not violently ¡ª just enough that I could feel it in the way her muscles clenched under my hands. The kind of tremble that only comes from someone trying not to let go. Fighting it. Even now, Mu Qinglan resisted. Even with my tongue buried between her folds, lips sealed against her clit, slow circles dragging small gasps from her throat ¡ª she tried to hold back. But I wasn¡¯t giving her the choice. "Don¡¯t run from it," I murmured against her. She twitched. "I-I¡¯m not¡ª" I pushed two fingers inside her. She choked on her next breath. Tight. Slick. So warm I could¡¯ve melted into Qinglan. Her walls clenched around my fingers immediately, fluttering with each pulse of pressure. I angled upward ¡ª just slightly ¡ª and the moan that left her throat was closer to a cry than a word. I didn¡¯t tease anymore. I fucked her with my fingers while I licked her clit, slow and steady, curling upward with every thrust until I felt her legs stiffen, her breath catch again, her heels scraping against the floor. Mu Qinglan¡¯s head fell back against the top of the chair. Her hands weren¡¯t gripping the armrests anymore. They gripped my hair. Tight. Desperate. Pulling me closer, like she couldn¡¯t decide whether she wanted me to stop or keep going forever. "J-John...!" Her voice cracked again. This time, sharper and raw. "I¡ª I¡¯m¡ª!" Her walls clenched around my fingers the moment they entered ¡ª like her body was already begging, even if her mind hadn¡¯t given up yet. I angled upward, curling deep. Her voice cracked ¡ª a high, breathless moan, sharper than before. But I didn¡¯t let her finish. Not yet. I pulled my fingers halfway out. The soft, slippery sensation of Qinglan¡¯s wet folds dragging against my fingers made me aroused. The throbbing beat of her heart felt as I slipped back inside her swollen, flushed pussy. She gasped ¡ª her hips twitching. Then again. Deeper. Rougher. Faster. My fingers curled perfectly with every motion, dragging across that soft spot inside her over and over. Her thighs trembled. Her breath hitched. Her whole body pressed back against the chair like she was trying to escape, even as her hips rolled to meet every thrust. Her hands clawed at the seat. Then she let out a high, trembling cry. "J-John¡ª!" And I stopped. My fingers froze inside her, tears forming in her eyes. Her body bucked, desperate ¡ª needy ¡ª but I held her there, just shy of the edge, my other hand pressing against her stomach to pin her down. "Not yet," I said quietly. She whimpered. Her walls pulsed around my fingers, clenching hard, still wet and needy, begging for the final push. But I didn¡¯t give it. Instead, I leaned in ¡ª my mouth brushing her inner thigh. "You feel that?" I whispered. "That edge you¡¯re hanging on?" She nodded, breathless. "That¡¯s mine." She bit her lip. "Your pussy¡¯s mine. Your orgasm¡¯s mine. And you too..." I thrust my fingers in again, once, hard, making her cry out. "You don¡¯t get to cum until I say so." Her hips jerked. Her body shook. But she obeyed. Even when her voice cracked, she didn¡¯t beg. Not yet. I slipped out with a pop while sucking on her clit, coating it in drool, flicking softly over it with my tongue, making her twitch again and again. "You¡¯re worried about the others," I said, breath warm against her slit. "About Roulan. About Mei. About whoever else wants to crawl into my lap." She didn¡¯t answer. Just panted. "Let them." Another sharp flick of my tongue. I shoved my fingers deeper. "You¡¯re the one I make scream." Her mouth fell open. No sound came out. "You¡¯re the one I want to break every night before I sleep." Another thrust. A curl. She was writhing now. "You¡¯re the one I¡¯d fuck all night until swollen and raw if I lost control." She shuddered. Her back arched. "And you love it." Her hands gripped my shoulders. Her thighs locked around my head. But I stopped again. "Say it," I whispered against her soaked folds. "Say it¡¯s mine." She trembled ¡ª voice shaking ¡ª lips parted. Each time I scolded her, or spoke dirty Qinglan¡¯s silky folds clenched down on me, her pussy tightening like a hand desperate to keep me close. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "...It¡¯s yours." Her voice cracked. Vulnerable. Unmistakably real. "I¡¯m yours..." I licked her again. And this time, I didn¡¯t plan to stop or edge her. Her voice barely finished the words before I plunged back inside with a lewd, wet squelch, my fingers curling against her soft walls. She was soaking wet and trembling ¡ª her thighs clamped tight around my shoulders like she was holding herself together with sheer will. But she couldn¡¯t. Not now. Not after that. Not after saying it. My tongue pressed flat against her clit as I fucked her with my fingers ¡ª deeper, faster ¡ª curling up with every thrust, hammering into that spot that made her whimper and cry and twitch like she was on the edge of tearing in two. Her hands clutched my hair. Her moans weren¡¯t words anymore ¡ª just sounds, desperate, high, caught between sobs and screams. "J-John¡ª!" Her hips bucked wildly. I pinned her down harder, mouth sealed around her clit, sucking rhythmically as I fucked her with three fingers now ¡ª no mercy, no pause, just brutal, focused pressure building inside her like a dam about to snap. And then¡ª She broke. Her whole body convulsed, legs kicking once, back arching violently. "Ah¡ªahhh! F-fuck¡ª!" She squirted. Hot liquid gushed over my fingers, splashing down my wrist and chin, her inner walls fluttering around nothing as she came harder than I¡¯d ever seen her ¡ª raw, uncontrolled, helpless. The sound she made was wild. Like her soul was being torn out through her mouth. She didn¡¯t just cum ¡ª she spilled herself for me. Every inch of her face flushed. Her arms trembled. Her legs quivered on either side of my face, twitching with aftershocks, as the last waves of her climax rippled through her body in sharp, aching pulses. She collapsed into the chair, gasping, arms limp. Soaked. Shaking. Eyes dazed. And I didn¡¯t move. I stayed kneeling between her legs, licking the mess off my fingers, my mouth, slowly ¡ª enjoying the sigh of Mu Qinglan looking so weak and defeated. Like sealing the contract. Her eyes fluttered open, barely focused. "...You really... meant it..." I kissed her inner thigh. "Every word." And finally, she looked at me, and Mu Qinglan smiled. She looked at me like she didn¡¯t know whether to kill me... while covered in sweat, and panting... or maybe she would climb into my lap and never leave. But I knew what she would choose. Chapter 117: Making Love With the Ice Queen [R18] Chapter 117: Making Love With the Ice Queen [R18]John (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 3:35 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Tenth Floor ¡ª Jiang Roulan¡¯s Apartment ¡ª¡ª¡ª I snapped my fingers. The cold metal chair vanished in a shimmer of digital dust, collapsing into raw code ¡ª a system command I¡¯d been saving. And in its place, the floor pulsed once. Then reshaped. With a hiss and low hum, polished blackwood rose from beneath the cement. Sliding panels of obsidian and gold trimmed the walls. Warm ambient lights dimmed the raw edges of the space. Then, in the centre, a wide black-and-cream king-sized bed bloomed into existence ¡ª high-thread sheets, deep pillows, heavy quilt, and velvet curtain rails for when I wanted silence. Luxury, summoned in a breath. Even our clothes vanished with the dismantling. Mu Qinglan yelped as her body dropped back into the bed, bouncing lightly on the thick mattress, arms flailing before she caught herself. "W-What?!" She sat up slightly, breathless, eyes wide. "I thought we could... do it properly this time, Lan¡¯er." Her cheeks darkened fast ¡ª a slow flush creeping up her bare chest. "Eh...? D-Do what?" My hands found her hips. Then slid lower over her outer thighs, the soft curve of her buttocks, the warm, glossy skin still flushed from the aftermath of her climax. She didn¡¯t pull away. Her breath hitched. Then, slowly, her eyes dropped down. She saw what was waiting for her. And made a sound. Somewhere between a gasp and a laugh. Her gaze flicked back up, confused, vulnerable, but undeniably wanting. "Here... now? But what about the meeting?" "Who cares about a meeting?" I said, voice low, hand tracing the soft indent of her waist. "Right now, I only care about you." "Ack¡ª!" she squeaked, backing further into the bed. Then stopped. Her eyes softened. "...It¡¯s still a little sore," she said quietly, voice small. "But..." I leaned back on the bed, as we cuddled, she didn¡¯t act the same as before, her warm lips pecked my chest, arms, neck... before she rolled on top of me and gazed own with brilliant eyes that narrowed. "I am a jealous woman..." "I know." "I want you to do me if you do them..." "Ah, that¡¯s fine." "Don¡¯t... get bored with me." "I promise." "...I want you so badly, John." Her words weren¡¯t loud, but trembled with her heat and desire. Qinglan shifted her hips, the soft sensation of her ass squeezing my shaft as she positioned herself above my length. A warm, sticky heat pressed against my tip. My fingertips brushed through her hair as I grabbed her face and swept my fingers along her cheek, feeling her soft entrance spreading over my tip. This time I had more composure, the soft folds, her bumpy textures and the sticky lubricant smearing over my cock. All of it was vivid thanks to my predator¡¯s sensation skill. "You sure?" She leaned down. Pressed her lips to mine ¡ª slowly. Then nodded. "I¡¯m yours, remember?" And then she lowered herself. A wet pop echoed, as Qinglan¡¯s warmth wrapped around me inch by inch ¡ª wet, slow, careful ¡ª the slippery feel of her arousal easing the stretch. She gasped when I entered her halfway, my curved cock pushing against her upper walls. Not in pain. Just intensity and pleasure. Her fingers clutched my shoulders. Her hips rested against mine. And we stayed like that. Joined. Still. Eyes locked. Her insides clenched tightly around me, her body slowly adjusting, soft, welcoming, snug in a way that felt like she wanted to stay filled like this. Warm. Wet. Slimy. I ran my hands up her thighs, over her hips. Then held her there. "You feel incredible," I whispered. She trembled. Then she moved. Her hips rocked once ¡ª a shy bounce. Her skin slapped lightly against my thighs. The sound was soft, wet, quiet. She bit her lip. Then did it again. And again. Her rhythm was slow at first ¡ª a steady grind, her hips rolling in lazy, sensual waves. Her chest rose and fell, small moans escaping as she lifted herself halfway and slid back down, my cock dragging against her walls with every motion. Her body gripped me. Welcomed me. Milked me. All of her focus poured into that rhythm. Her forehead leaned into mine. Her hands cupped my face. She kissed me again ¡ª longer this time ¡ª and her moan melted into my mouth. "J-John..." Qinglan kept saying my name, kissing me... sucking on my neck as I could only focus on the hot, slimy sensation of my cock pushing into her depths... the tight yet soft folds wrapping, coiling and squeezing my shaft. A warm pulsation, flowing with her heartbeat. I ran my hands along her body, feeling the trembling of her muscles and body each time my cock reached the base, penetrating her fully. My thumbs caressed her waist, tracing her curves as I looked down at the space between us. Her hips met mine again ¡ª harder this time ¡ª her thighs quivering. The sounds were different now. Wet. Intimate. The slap of her ass against my skin echoed softly in the room. The air smelled of sex ¡ª her scent clinging to my lips, to my tongue. She broke the kiss and leaned back slightly, eyes lidded. Then she moved, started to bounce properly now. Small, shallow thrusts at first, then deeper. Faster. The sound of her hips slapping into me grew louder. Flesh on flesh. Her breasts bounced with each impact, her face flushed, hair stuck to her cheek as she rode me. Her walls tightened around me every time she bottomed out, squeezing like she didn¡¯t want to let go. I slid my thumb up to her clit and rubbed in small, slow circles. She gasped. Shuddered. Her body spasmed. And she didn¡¯t stop. She kept riding. Each grind was deeper than the last. Qinglan¡¯s thighs quivered while placing both palms on my chest, with a flushed face. Her body was wet with sweat and tears, strands of black hair sticking to her cheeks. Her rhythm grew less precise. Less controlled. "I love you," I said, voice low, breaking through the haze. Her eyes flew open. "I¡¯m not going anywhere, Qinglan. No matter who else comes. You¡¯re mine. And I¡¯ll love you through every second of this hell. I liked you from the moment I first met you... endured, even when you were engaged..." The words tasted heavier than I expected. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Years of keeping my feelings buried under duty and discipline. Crushing down urges in the name of professionalism. Wishing she¡¯d look at me, not like a loser, not like a subordinate, but like this. Like someone she needed. And now she was bouncing on my hips, soaked and open and so full of feeling she was shaking. Tears welled in her eyes. "Me too..." Her voice cracked. Her hands gripped my face. "Me too... me too... I liked you, I wanted to tell you, but I... needed time." The instant she spoke, I felt a strange feeling. My balls throbbed, and the pleasure exploded... Qinglan dropped all the way down ¡ª burying my cock to the base ¡ª and kissed my lips passionately, her mouth squishing into mine, tongue slipping through, tasting every inch of me. And then her hips began to move again. But this time, not gently. She rode me. Hard. Messy. Wild. Her thighs slapped into mine, the sounds wet and frantic as her walls clenched hard and fast. Her eyes locked onto mine ¡ª desperate, pleading, full of everything we¡¯d hidden. Her body spasmed around me once. Twice. The pleasure made my cock throb and swell inside her tight walls... She moaned into my mouth as her orgasm tore through her again, and I grabbed her hips and thrust up into her as I exploded. Hot. Violent. Deep. I came inside her like I¡¯d been waiting my whole life ¡ª ropes of heat spilling deep into her body, her cunt milking every pulse of it, like she didn¡¯t just want it... She needed it. Our moans tangled, her teeth grazing my lip as she trembled and clenched, her breath shuddering in my mouth. The world dropped away. Just us. Her hips twitched. My hands loosened. She slumped forward, sweaty skin sticking to mine, heartbeat racing wild in her chest. We stayed like that for a while. Breathing. Connected. Her cheek rested on my shoulder. Her arms curled loosely around my back. "...I¡¯ve never felt anything like that," she whispered while panting to catch her breath. Her voice was hoarse. Spent. "It wasn¡¯t just sex," I said. "No," she murmured. "It was... amazing." The bed was warm now, bodies tangled in lazy afterglow. She didn¡¯t move to clean up. Didn¡¯t pull away. Her fingers danced along my chest, drawing cute circles and rabbit shapes, eyes half-closed, and her breathing slowly recovering. "I want to stay here, just for a bit longer." "You can stay as long as you want." Her lips curled against my collar. "...Then forever, maybe." We didn¡¯t speak after that. Not for a long while. We just lay there ¡ª skin to skin, heart to heart ¡ª two broken, hardened people who¡¯d finally let themselves be whole. Together. Chapter 118: Preparing The Base Chapter 118: Preparing The BaseJohn (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 5:42 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Tenth Floor ¡ª Jiang Roulan¡¯s Apartment ¡ª¡ª¡ª The sunlight started to fade, lowering over the horizon, creating a beautiful orange hue that refracted off the reinforced window. I could feel the soft warmth of Mu Qinglan¡¯s body cuddling against my chest. "Nn..." I could feel Qinglan¡¯s warmth blowing against my chest as I opened the system panel with a mental command. ¡¯System, how many floors can I convert into a Safe-Zone?¡¯ [System Message: Host can convert all remaining floors with your current rank.] [Convert all floors into the host¡¯s territory?] [Yes/No] I couldn¡¯t hesitate yet, or waste time... sex was amazing. But life came first. People were waiting. Survivors who¡¯d risked everything. Although the feeling of Qinglan curling against me felt amazing, this wasn¡¯t the end. It was just a break between battles. I closed my eyes and leaned back into the soft bedding. The slight ache from Mu Qinglan¡¯s bite and kiss marks made me a little irritated. However, the slight improvement in my cultivation made me quite happy. My gaze flicked over to the status page and allowed me to feel relaxed. ¨‹ STATUS Name: John Wang Title: Harbinger of the Lunar Beast Titan Marrow Sutra¡ªStage 2: 27% [Steel Frame] ¡¯Convert them all.¡¯ [Safe-Zone Expansion Complete ¡ª All Floors Now Under Host Control] [Automatic Dismantle Option Available for Remaining Collapsed Floors: Levels 2, 3, and 4] "I don¡¯t have to do it manually?" This news was wonderful! I swiped the interface open again and selected the dismantle function. The building rumbled faintly beneath me ¡ª distant groaning of steel, stone, and piping being stripped into raw components by system energy. [Resources Gained ¡ª Floors 2¨C4] ? Wood: +125 ? Metal: +115 ? Plastic: +122 ? Glass: +60 ? Cloth: +130 ¨‹ Total Resources. Wood: 295 Metal: 115 Plastic: 120 Glass: 270 Cloth: 275 It wasn¡¯t enough to outfit all thirty-one people with full quarters. But it was a start. I reached over and gripped Qinglan¡¯s hip gently, squeezing her soft meat. She twitched. "Mmm... don¡¯t..." she mumbled into my chest. "I¡¯m sore..." I exhaled. The cold, deadly Mu Qinglan ¡ª now reduced to a stubborn pillow warmer. With a sharp smack, I slapped her ass once. Her whole body jolted, the soft flesh jiggling under my palm. "Hnnn¡ª!" She cracked one eye open, those piercing blues glaring up at me, her face flushed. "You¡¯ll recover," I said. "I won¡¯t forgive you if I limp in front of Roulan..." "You¡¯ll be limping for better reasons." She groaned. I kissed the top of her head and then slipped out of bed. She grabbed my hand, but I broke free. But when I looked back, Qinglan¡¯s blue eyes gazed at me, frowning with her brows furrowed. "...are you leaving me, John?" Her voice was soft, like silk and warm like honey... "Don¡¯t be cheeky, get some rest... this floor will be ours in the future." It was my choice... Only the women who became my lovers would be allowed onto the tenth floor in the future, just like how normal people in the group could only use the first four floors. It was a sign of importance that Qinglan held to me. "Nn... then don¡¯t take too long, or I¡¯ll come get you. Naked!" For a moment, her blue eyes turned red, while she smirked, wrapping herself in the blankets like a sleepy cat. "I promise." I wore a simple pair of jogging pants and a black tank top. "Hmm?" I noticed the blue rose on my chest looked more saturated in colour, with a black stem, but it seemed bigger and more vivid. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t speak again¡ªher breathing became calmer as she fell asleep. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It was my chance to escape from her. ¡ª Zone 3A-¦¤ ¡ª First Floor ¨C Shared Space ¡ª The elevator doors hissed open. The air hit different down here ¡ª thicker with tension, movement, and heat. The smell of smoke from someone cooking something too hard. Metal. Sweat. Hope. The first floor had become a holding space, with people huddled on makeshift bedding, mats, and tarps. Thirty-one survivors. Shen Yifeu stood near the central wall, her spear tied to her back, with her arms folded. She noticed me instantly. "You¡¯re late." "Needed a shower," I replied. "Haha... sure you were. Idiot... you smell like Qinglan." "I do?" Surprised, I sniffed my body. Shen Yifei¡¯s lips curled into an amused smirk. "See?" It seems she outsmarted me this time, which made me feel a little bit stupid. "Leader?" Zhou Xue approached me with the bow I bought her slung over one shoulder with a smile, and a slight colour returned to her cheeks. Beside her, Liang Mei avoided my gaze with bright red cheeks while twiddling her fingers. Old Zhou ¡ª her father ¡ª sat nearby on a crate, muttering to a cluster of younger men and women. Three children darted around a table someone had made from broken doors. Everyone looked tired. But no one looked hopeless. "We need space," Zhou Xue said, walking to meet me. "They¡¯re packed like sardines down here." "I know." I opened the interface again. [Upgrade Floor 2 and Floor 3] [Floor 2: Medical Bay + Bedding Cost: Wood 90 | Metal 40 | Glass 50 | Cloth 80] [Floor 3: Training rooms Cost: Wood 60 | Metal 30 | Plastic 10 | Glass 30 | Cloth 60] ¨‹ Total Resources Wood: 295 --> 145 Metal: 115 --> 45 Plastic: 120 --> 110 Glass: 270 --> 190 Cloth: 275 --> 130 I didn¡¯t even hesitate. Confirm. Resources burned away in a flash of blue. And in the corner of my view, light flickered. Two system notifications bloomed in the centre of the space: [Floor 2 Converted: Medical Bay + Bedding] Auto-assigned Beds x 26, Storage x 2, Large Kitchen, Baths. [Floor 3 Converted: Training rooms] Shared Shower, Training Room x 2, Common Room, Armoury The light flickered above me as the upgrades locked in. Blue glyphs spun across my system HUD. The air shimmered faintly, barely noticeable to anyone else. But I saw it. Felt it. The building was changing ¡ª not brick by brick, but spirit. The second and third floors had gone from silent concrete tombs to something more... alive. No one here had noticed yet. But they would. Zhou Xue blinked. "Did the lights just...?" "Just a power ripple," I said. She narrowed her eyes slightly ¡ª not buying it, but not pushing. For now. A few survivors shifted around me, watching, hopeful but wary. I walked toward the centre where a burned-out steel drum had become the floor¡¯s unofficial heater. A child glanced up at me ¡ª a girl, no more than six ¡ª before darting behind a tarp. Shen Yifei crossed her arms tighter, lips tugging into a half-frown. "You planning to actually tell us what you¡¯ve been doing upstairs?" she muttered under her breath, walking beside me. "I just did." She raised an eyebrow. "By not telling us?" I smirked. "It¡¯ll make more sense when you see it." Because teasing Shen Yifei wasn¡¯t helping, I raised my voice. "Everyone! May I have your attention?" The thirty people, much brighter than the day before. I gave most of the useless food and tins we gathered to Yifei and Roulan to distribute and increase their standing with the people to avoid future issues. "I know you might be tired of sleeping all on one floor, so I want you to know that the second floor has been redesigned just like this one. It has a total of twenty-six beds. So I want you to split into two groups, ideally families together." "Are you serious?" "This... how is this happening?" They looked shocked, with wide eyes, happy and hoarse voices mixed, while Old Zhou shook a half-empty bottle of whiskey and looked at me with a smirk. "I cannot explain now, all you need to know is this building at least. Is safe!" "Yifei, Deng Hua, Chen Xun! Can you help guide them? There¡¯s a medical room on the second floor, so those with medical skills and experience should sleep on the second floor, those who perform work and tasks will ALL receive better rations starting from Friday, the twenty-first." Murmurs turned into motion. They slung bags over their shoulders. Blankets folded. Children clung to their parents while whispering questions with wide eyes. A few men stood and shook hands, trading nods as if something real had finally clicked into place. Shen Yifei stepped forward with a sigh, already herding people like a tired drill sergeant. "Alright, families with kids first. Don¡¯t shove. Don¡¯t yell. This isn¡¯t the apocalypse today." Zhou Xue gently pulled Liang Mei toward the stairwell, guiding her with a soft hand on her back. Old Zhou stood with a grunt and passed his bottle to a young man beside him. "Guess we¡¯re movin¡¯ up in the world." And just like that¡ª The first wave started ascending. Up into the unknown. Into what I built. The third floor would be ready by nightfall, and when they saw what was above that... Maybe they¡¯d start to believe this wasn¡¯t just survival anymore. Maybe they¡¯d start to believe in me. I watched them go, silent for a moment, before turning toward the hall. There was still more to build. More to protect. And this was just the beginning. "Meow!" Chapter 119: Preparing The Important Members. Chapter 119: Preparing The Important Members.John (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 6:21 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C First Floor - Homebase ¡ª¡ª¡ª Yin rushed toward me. His meow caught me off guard as the huge silver-furred beast lunged into my chest ¡ª a warm blur of claws, weight, and purring fluff. The impact nearly knocked me backwards. "Oi¡ª!" Too late. The oversized cat twisted in midair and landed in my arms like a weighted scarf. Fluffy. Soft. My emotional support. "You¡¯re getting heavy," I muttered, rubbing behind his ears. He meowed smugly and promptly began kneading his claws into my shoulder like he owned the damn building. Maybe he did. Yin had survived everything ¡ª the city collapse, the radiation from our pollution, the toxic fog. If reincarnation were real, he was some kind of ancient beast choosing to nap in the apocalypse for fun. A few survivors looked over. Some even smiled. Good. Let them smile. They deserved something. I stood and looked over the scattered crowd again. The movement toward the second floor had mostly finished. People were organising, guided by Yifei, Deng Hua, and Chen Xun. No complaints ¡ª at least none loud enough to interrupt the flow. That left me free to do what I came for. Leadership. I pulled up the HUD and flagged two names: Tang Wei and Liu Jiemin. Both were already on my radar. I¡¯d promised to help. Time to make it official. "Tang Wei," I called out. She stepped out from behind a stacked crate ¡ª lean, disciplined, and sharp-eyed. Her black fatigues were faded at the shoulders, worn from use, not decoration. The old special forces insignia still clung to one sleeve like a ghost, and the weight of a life spent kicking down doors still hung behind her shoulders. She was a former ghost ¡ª an elite operator turned civilian only because the war she fought finally followed her home. "Reporting," she said simply, with that clipped precision. "You don¡¯t need to report." She raised an eyebrow. "Then stop giving orders with that tone." I smirked. Still hasn¡¯t changed. "So you¡¯ve decided to accept my offer?" When I asked, her face froze for a second, before she nodded slowly, her lips pressed together, and she turned white. Maybe she expected I would ask her for more for each dosage. [Store Accessed] [Item: Emergency Insulin Kit (7 Days) ¨C 100 ZKP] [Confirm Purchase?] Of course, I bought two. However, that wasn¡¯t me. So with the snap of my fingers, I reached into my backpack and produced a week¡¯s worth of the insulin Tang Wei and her mother needed. She fell into step beside me without another word, hands behind her back like she was walking through a debriefing room instead of a half-lit apocalypse. "I need Liu Jiemin too," I added. "The medic?" she asked, scanning the room. "Room 204. Her husband Xu Lin and her kid¡¯s that quiet one, Xiao Peng. I promised them stability ¡ª she¡¯s owed this." Tang Wei nodded once. "She¡¯s upstairs calming a fever in one of the girls." "Bring her." "I¡¯ll be five." She was gone like mist. Tang Wei didn¡¯t need to run. She moved like shadows bent around her stride. True to her word, less than five minutes later, the elevator doors hissed open. She returned with Liu Jiemin at her side and Yin trailing behind them, tail up like he¡¯d appointed himself escort. Though the poor Liu Jiemin looked exhausted and sweaty... I would have to add a basic training regime with Tang Wei and Jiang Roulan helping the people attain a base level of fitness, even for the ones who didn¡¯t fight. Other than that... Jiemin looked composed. Her medpack was tightly strapped to her back, a folded IV kit tied to one hip. Brown bob tucked behind her ears. No makeup. Slight shadows under her eyes from lack of sleep. I saw the faint exhaustion behind her soft-spoken grace ¡ª the kind carried by people who never stop moving because they can¡¯t afford to. Her hands stayed close to her side like she was resisting the urge to check her son¡¯s temperature again. "Thank you for waiting," she said softly, dipping her head. "Xu Lin¡¯s with Peng." "How is he?" "Scared. Tired. But stable." "Good. You¡¯re going to help me make sure it stays that way. Come on." The three of us stepped into the elevator. Yin hopped in at the last second and curled at my feet like a royal. Jiemin didn¡¯t say much. Tang Wei stood behind me with her usual silent tension. I could tell her blood sugar was stable ¡ª she carried a protein bar in her vest pocket, half-bitten and sealed ¡ª but I made a note to check on her later. This wasn¡¯t just about building walls and assigning roles. It was about holding up the ones still carrying others. The elevator doors hissed open onto the third floor. Tang Wei stepped out first, her eyes already scanning for angles and exits. Liu Jiemin followed behind, adjusting her medpack strap. Yin padded out like he owned the place ¡ª tail flicking, silent approval. The floor shimmered with polish. Clean lines. Reinforced surfaces. The freshly installed lighting hummed low, casting the common area in a soft amber warmth. The air here was different ¡ª cleaner, quieter, like it hadn¡¯t been breathed in yet. Ahead, two training rooms stood side by side with heavy sliding doors marked by digital tags. One with a padded interior. One with virtual targets. To the right: the common space. High-strength tables and benches. Reinforced for combat gear and meal trays alike. At the far end, a matte black security door pulsed with a faint red ring ¡ª the new armoury. I turned to face them both. "This is the third floor. It¡¯s combat support and conditioning. Training. Recovery. Weapon storage." Tang Wei let out a slow breath through her nose, folding her arms as she surveyed it all. "...Looks military." "It¡¯s intentional." S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Thanks to Jiang Roulan¡¯s help... and using an item from the system, mixing it into the food everyone ate since they joined, they were less confused about the strange things that happened, some even believed I was some kind of government agent. It was too soon to trust them with the truth. However, I hoped to tell the elite circle I was forming soon enough. She nodded once. That was high praise, coming from her. Jiemin looked less impressed by the structure, more focused on what it could support. "Do we have med lockers here?" "Two. With autodoc kits. Reusable steriliser units. Protein synthesiser in the corner." Her eyes flicked that way and softened ¡ª just slightly. "Then I can set up triage rotation here for any wounded before the second-floor clinic." I pointed at her. "You¡¯ll oversee all medical personnel. Light wounds stay on this floor. Emergencies go up." She dipped her head. "Understood." "Also," I added, "you¡¯ll have priority on items needed from scavenger missions, after food, I will prioritise medicine or items you might need. Especially for children and for others." "...Thank you." I would also use ZKP to buy medicine because performing her task would bring a daily amount of ZKP, which was more like a tax system compared to the combat classes. She didn¡¯t smile. But the way her fingers relaxed said enough. I turned to Tang Wei. "Can I ask you to be in charge of anything related to training and combat, Tang Wei?" My question might have come as a shock¡ªher eyes widened and she clenched her fists, curling both sides of her lips into a smile. "I need a Training officer. Rotation schedules. Everyone gets an evaluation. You¡¯ll command combat drills, melee, and ranged. You¡¯ll assist me directly if anything dangerous arises. But priority is overall base fitness and combat level." "E-Even me?" Jiemin asked. "Of course, all members of the base need to have a certain level of fitness and combat ability. In an emergency I don¡¯t want liabilities." Tang Wei listened to me but nodded to my words. I could see her brightening up from the earlier darkness that had shown. She suffered scars from her time in the military, so I needed to help her through it. When I finished, the poor doctor looked pale, but nodded to herself. "I¡¯ll do my best." "That¡¯s all I wanted to tell you for now, since it¡¯s still hectic, get used to your position and speak with the people in the base, for anyone you think might be worth taking on as someone who could support you, both of you." The two women nodded, with one looking serious... Jiemin seemed to be a great catch. She took out a small pad and pen, writing down before asking me. "May I return to the first and second floor then?" Straight to work, a gem! "Of course you can, if I need you, I will send someone to you." However, it seemed that Tang Wei wanted to ask me something more, and didn¡¯t leave yet, so I looked at her, dark skin, her exotic heritage alluring and noble. "Tang Wei, can we speak a little more?" She smirked ¡ª the faintest twitch of a scarred lip. "Just call me Wei." Chapter 120: The Words I wanted to Say Chapter 120: The Words I wanted to SayJiang Roulan (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 6:38 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Fifth Floor ¨C Jiang Roulan¡¯s Apartment ¡ª¡ª¡ª The stew was still hot. The pot clicked softly as I lifted the lid. A thin layer of steam rose and touched my face ¡ª not enough to burn, just enough to sting. I didn¡¯t know why I made it. Habit, maybe. Training. When things start to fall apart, cook. Feed people. It was the only instinct that hadn¡¯t been ripped out of me yet. The vegetables were soft now ¡ª rehydrated rations mixed with real meat I¡¯d stripped from last week¡¯s beef. Nothing extravagant. Just enough for two. But I didn¡¯t serve it. I just stood there. Holding the ladle. Waiting. For what? Footsteps? A knock? A message saying he¡¯d remembered or couldn¡¯t stand being away from me? ...No. John wasn¡¯t coming back. Not now. Not from the look in Qinglan¡¯s eyes when they left... I knew it. Right now, she was probably¡ª Damn it. I pressed my lips together and turned away from the pot before I could imagine it. I didn¡¯t want to picture him on top of her. Inside her. Breathing her in. I didn¡¯t want to compare the way he kissed me ¡ª desperate, hot, like the world might end ¡ª to the way he must be holding her now. But I did. Because I was stupid. Because I hadn¡¯t asked him to stay. Because I¡¯d told him to go. And he¡¯d gone ¡ª not out of duty, not for a mission... But to save someone else¡¯s family. And I hadn¡¯t asked him to help with mine. Not even once. They¡¯re still out there ¡ª my parents, my brother, maybe dead. Maybe waiting. But I¡¯d bitten my tongue when I could¡¯ve said the words. Help me. Find them. I hadn¡¯t. And now I was here, standing in my kitchen like some forgotten side note. There was a soft cough from the side room ¡ª the girl with the heart condition. Liang Mei, I think. He left her here after carrying her in like something precious. Tucked her under my blanket. Didn¡¯t even ask. She stirred now, murmuring in her sleep. So fragile. I stared at the closed door. And the bitterness cracked just a little. He had done something good. He¡¯d saved her. And that was the problem, wasn¡¯t it? He saved people. Me? What did I do from the moment I met him, other than seek his help and fail to do anything? Although I wanted to be important to John, there must be something I can do for the base, for the people here... Will he look at me if I do? Can I become important to him, like Qinglan? My nails tapped against the rim of the bowl in thought. I wasn¡¯t useless. I knew how to lead. How to ration supplies, maintain formation, and keep panic from spreading. I¡¯d kept people alive before John arrived ¡ª not with power, but with order. Maybe that was enough. Maybe that¡¯s what he needed. He didn¡¯t need another warm body in his bed. He needed someone who could help him build something. I stood up slowly and set the spoon down. The stew could wait. Tomorrow, I¡¯d take control of the logistics. Food, water, and patrol patterns. The kind of leadership no one wanted, but everyone relied on. If Qinglan made his blood boil¡ª Then I¡¯d be the reason it kept flowing. And when he looked at me next time... It wouldn¡¯t be like the woman he kissed and walked away from. It would be as if the one standing beside him when the rest of the world collapsed. And maybe, just maybe¡ª That would be enough. He would be the one kissing me, wanting to get into my pants... right? ¡ª¡ª sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With a sigh, I lowered the heat on the stew and headed into the small room. The girl he left in here was also cute. Although not on the level of Yifei or Qinglan... I knew something had happened between them. The way he held her ¡ª too careful, too close. That wasn¡¯t just a rescue. John¡¯s eyes sparkled when he was aroused or horny. I wasn¡¯t blind. And the way he looked at this girl... Softer than a sheep. "I have another rival..." That¡¯s all I could think as my heart tightened and drove me into a corner. Liang Mei lay beneath my blanket ¡ª my blanket ¡ª curled small beneath the warmth. Her breathing was even now, shallow but calm. Her sweater clung slightly to her chest from sweat. Pale lips. Skin too white. Fragile in a way that didn¡¯t belong in this world. And yet... She survived. I sat beside her on the edge of the mattress and reached out, brushing her damp bangs away from her forehead. Her skin was cool. "You¡¯re not very strong," I whispered. Her eyes fluttered. Then opened. "... Miss Roulan?" she asked sleepily. "Don¡¯t talk. Just rest." She blinked at me with those watery brown eyes, slow and unsure. I didn¡¯t hate her. That was the problem. "Did you... and John...?" I asked before I could stop myself. She flushed. Her gaze dipped. She said nothing. That was answer enough. I looked away. The silence stretched. Then I stood and returned with a small bowl of stew and a spoon. "I made too much," I lied. "Eat while it¡¯s hot." She hesitated ¡ª then took it with both hands. Her fingers were still trembling. But she smiled. A soft thing. "Thank you..." I sat beside her again. This time, closer. "I¡¯m not going to lose," I said suddenly. She blinked up at me. "Huh?" "To you. To Qinglan. To anyone." I didn¡¯t say it with venom. I said it like a vow. "I¡¯ll become what he needs." Liang Mei looked down at her stew, silent. She poked the stew, but her face seemed to change, then with a strong glow in her eyes, she turned to me and smiled softly again. "Okay... me either." She didn¡¯t argue. Because she understood. Even a sick girl could see it. We were all competing for the same man. This wasn¡¯t the previous world, one where morals and laws judged everything, new rules were needed, and it was a battle of survival where one could die the next moment. And I wouldn¡¯t be left behind. Not again. ¡ª I watched Liang Mei finish the stew, small spoonfuls slow and careful, like her hands weren¡¯t quite her own yet. She didn¡¯t speak again, but she kept smiling in that quiet way. She wasn¡¯t my enemy. But she wasn¡¯t my ally either. We both knew that. I took the empty bowl when she was done, left her with a blanket and a fresh bottle of water, and stepped out of the room without another word. The door closed softly behind me. The silence returned. But it wasn¡¯t heavy anymore. It was focused. I didn¡¯t mope. Didn¡¯t linger by the stewpot hoping for a knock that would never come. Instead, I walked to the corner closet and pulled out my coat ¡ª black, lined with reinforced seams, heavy enough to command attention but sufficient to move in. I¡¯d stitched the hem myself. I wanted something that made people pause when I walked into a room. I stripped off the sweat-damp shirt and changed, tying my hair into a sharp side-part and tucking the ends clean. No frizz. No strands out of place. My face in the cracked mirror didn¡¯t look soft. It looked prepared. If John were on the third floor, he¡¯d see that I wasn¡¯t idle. And if he wasn¡¯t? Then I¡¯d start without him. Food quotas. Patrols. Water purification schedules. Night watch shifts. I had it all sketched in my head ¡ª like muscle memory from the old world. The kind of plans I¡¯d once buried in a folder and left behind. This gave me a sense of motivation and a desire to act. There were many mundane things to do after ten years working in the force as a woman. However, I got used to these things... I leaned back against the elevator wall, the cold steel calming my mind as I wondered what feelings John felt when facing everyone. John¡¯s actions and choices determine everyone¡¯s life... I know he held some sort of a magical system, like a game. He told me that much, but it couldn¡¯t make us immortal... nor him. "How much pressure are you under as our leader?" My voice echoed off the walls, as I closed my eyes and remembered his heat... the soft touch of his lips.... how he groped my body, and left his marks, light bruises that I wanted more... deeper. I was falling for a man more than five years my junior... And I couldn¡¯t stop. No... I didn¡¯t want to. Chapter 121: Preparing for the future (I) Chapter 121: Preparing for the future (I)John (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 7:12 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Third Floor ¨C Training Hall (Homebase Interior) ¡ª¡ª Not long after talking about the future with Tang Wei, we both headed to the third floor, where everyone started gathering on the third floor. I noticed Deng Hua, Chen Xun, Zhou Xue, Old Zhou, Liang Qiu, and Shen Yifei were already inside. Yifei sat on a training ball, bouncing slightly as she watched me walk in. Beside me, Tang Wei looked around the room with narrowed eyes. I couldn¡¯t recruit her the way I had others. Her Tier was high, just like her guard. She¡¯d be something else ¡ª part of my elite unit, if I could build it. That¡¯s why I brought her here. To see who else deserved to stand beside her. Old Zhou... well, he would help in another way. The third floor was starting to feel lived in. I sat at the edge of one of the heavy metal benches in the common room ¡ª map panels spread in front of me, stacked interface windows drifting in my HUD. A half-warm ration drink steamed beside my boot, forgotten. Liu Jiemin stood near the corner med-locker, restocking a sealed case of pressure gauze and field medkits with precise movements. Her coat was open, sleeves rolled. She didn¡¯t speak unless someone approached her directly. I noticed her husband playing with the children, who might have been bored. ¡¯Thank god I added a few small play area¡¯s for the younger kids...¡¯ Zhou Xue arrived next with her bow slung over one shoulder and Liang Mei, slow and delicate, beside her. Mei looked better, but she held Zhou¡¯s arm like the floor might shift under her feet at any second. "Leader," Xue greeted. "I found someone who graduated from our university." I glanced up. That¡¯s when I noticed that the people I saw before when leaving Jiang Roulan deal with the second floor survivors. Never did I imagine that there would be people whom Liang Mei and Zhou Xue would recognise, which made things easier. Some were people who seemed to have fled the university the day it collapsed. Eight of them. Mostly students, early twenties. Half looked like they¡¯d never handled anything heavier than a stylus. A few were tougher ¡ª ex-club captains, maybe. Athletic. Focused. One guy stepped forward. Dark glasses. Lean. Calculated. "I¡¯m Wen Qiming. I led the dorm defence group during the breach. We¡¯re not here to freeload." "I didn¡¯t ask you to," I said, meeting his stare. He nodded once and was quite respectful and measured. But clearly protecting his group. ¡¯I guess Jiang Roulan let them inside, well... there are only a few, and their Tier is only D. Only Qiming was Tier B.¡¯ ¡¯If they try something, I will kill them.¡¯ Luckily, the people who entered my system couldn¡¯t attack me, or the other members whom I had taken under my wing. Though this only applied to those whom I didn¡¯t give permission. Jiang Roulan, Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei could kill everyone in the building but me. I removed my attention from the system... lots of ZKP pings from recruiting over 30 people caused me to feel good. "Well, don¡¯t worry about it, and head into the other room. I will send Deng Hua and the others to you in a minute." "U-Understood..." Wen Qiming nodded. He was now a member of my team, my group, my followers, and I would slowly learn more about him and the others. Shen Yifei twirled her spear once and leaned back, lazily on the ball. "Mu Qinglan¡¯s not coming?" "Well... she was a little tired after I left her." "Sleeping like the dead. Looks like you broke her, Leader." Yifei called me a leader with her lips pursed. The quirk at the edge of her mouth was too smug to ignore. I didn¡¯t dignify that with a reply. And then¡ª Footsteps. Sharp. Steady. They cut the room¡¯s noise in half. Everyone turned as Jiang Roulan entered the training hall. She looked formal and smart in her long black coat. Her side-parted hair was slick and tied back. No makeup. No emotion. Just presence. She didn¡¯t falter. She didn¡¯t hesitate. Her eyes swept the room, slow, controlled, like she was already measuring us against expectations. I could feel the Jiang Roulan that I first met in those eyes and their passion. The desire to survive, maybe, or... something related to me. ¡¯At least I hoped.¡¯ I knew I wasn¡¯t that important to her, at least for now. But it was nice to see her recovering from earlier. She met my gaze. And held it for several moments, before her eyes closed slightly, and she smiled at me. I couldn¡¯t help but feel my heart thump... a pretty natural face. Jiang Roulan was my type after all... Then she turned and walked to the centre table, unrolling a worn notepad she must¡¯ve filled in the last hour. "Apologies for the delay," she said, voice even. "I¡¯ll be overseeing food distribution and infrastructure." Tang Wei raised an eyebrow. Zhou Xue straightened unconsciously. Even Old Zhou, who¡¯d been leaning against the armoury wall, let out a low grunt of respect. "Is that alright with you, Rou?" When I called her by her pet name, her face softened, and she rolled her shoulders, letting them drop before she let out a sigh. "May I ask if anyone has any ideas regarding water supply, rationing, or patrol shift rotations?" Her eyes scanned the room before she continued with a nod. "Please speak to me after our leader has spoken." "For those who might not know me, I am a former officer at the Longwan Police Department, and have served for ten years. I will be serving as a member of our group¡¯s rule makers and enforcing them should things go wrong." I watched Jiang Roulan with a sense of awe. She was beautiful and amazingly professional, her voice filled with confidence and sincerity. "I have over ten years of experience in the military, and would love to support you with the enforcement of rules and helping make rotations and shifts." Tang Wei stood from the wall, and her low, deep voice filled the room. "May I, Leader?" She asked me, her eyes almost shining with eagerness. "Of course, Jiang Roulan, Tang Wei, can you both take care of those issues for me?" Jiang Roulan looked at me, her eyes carrying the sparkle she had when I teased her before becoming this calm and collected. That¡¯s right... she didn¡¯t need to lean on me all the time, she was an adult and had her own life and aspirations. ¡¯Good.¡¯ It felt like she was saying... I¡¯m here. I¡¯m ready. And I¡¯m not waiting to be asked. It wasn¡¯t a challenge. It was a claim. Not for power. For relevance. And I didn¡¯t stop her. Because if Mu Qinglan was the sharp edge of my blade¡ª Roulan? She was the spine. Silence followed for a moment ¡ª not awkward, but settling like everyone in the room had just seen something shift. Not because of me. Because of them. Jiang Roulan and Tang Wei stood on either side of the table like anchors ¡ª two very different kinds of strength, and the rest of us could feel it. Old Zhou cleared his throat. "Since we¡¯re getting serious, I¡¯ll say it plain," he muttered. "This place ain¡¯t a bunker anymore. It¡¯s turning into a base. That means rules, routines... and someone watching who slips through the cracks." His gaze swept over each of us. Not judging ¡ª measuring. "I¡¯ve seen what happens when things get too comfortable. So if you¡¯re putting her"¡ªhe nodded to Roulan¡ª"and her"¡ªthen to Tang Wei¡ª"in charge of structure, make sure the rest of us fall in line." Shen Yifei gave a low chuckle, twirling her spear. "You saying we need a chain of command, Old Zhou?" "I¡¯m saying you¡¯re all alive because someone¡¯s been pretending we already had one." That shut things up. I nodded once. "That ends now." I gestured to Roulan. "She handles logistics, food, water, supply integrity." Then to Tang Wei. "She handles combat training, readiness, defensive rosters." After that, I noticed that Old Zhou¡¯s loyalty to me was already almost max, all because I saved his daughter, and because of that, his Loyalty++ was something that seemed to be unique to men or males... ¡¯Is it the difference between affection and loyalty that they gather?¡¯ "Old Zhou, can I ask you then, to be the one who gather¡¯s the non-combatants and takes the people¡¯s thoughts, complaints and worries? A so called Peoples Leader?" I turned to the others. "Zhou Xue. Assist Roulan directly. Take charge of resource storage and floor-to-floor inventory tracking." She blinked, surprised. "Me?" "You¡¯re sharp. Organised. I need that." She straightened a little, flushing faintly. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Yes, Leader." Chapter 122: Preparing for the future (II) Chapter 122: Preparing for the future (II)John (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 7:12 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Third Floor ¨C Training Hall (Homebase Interior) ¡ª¡ª "Chen Xun, Deng Hua, Liang Qiu ¡ª train with Tang Wei for the next three days. She¡¯ll evaluate who¡¯s fit for patrol and who needs more prep." They both nodded, visibly nervous under Tang Wei¡¯s gaze. "Liang Mei," I continued. "You¡¯ve got steady hands and a clear head. Assist Liu Jiemin with medical. Learn her system. Be ready to fill in when she can¡¯t." "...Yes, sir." Liang Mei¡¯s eyes looked sad. Maybe she wanted to stick with the other archers, so I stepped beside her, brushing my hand across her buttocks by accident, causing her to jump slightly, before whispering. "I will let you join the combat team, once I find a way to help your heart." "Please!" she whispered back, almost breathless with hope. I gave her a small nod. Then turned. "And Yifei..." Yifei raised an eyebrow while her hips twisted more delicately on the ball, with finesse of a dancer, maybe she had some past training in ballet. "Stay by my side, follow me when I leave, sleep with me when I sleep, eat when I eat." She arched one perfect brow, legs folded delicately over the training ball, hips swaying slightly like she was waiting for a cue. "Is that a confession of love, Leader?" The room didn¡¯t laugh ¡ª they weren¡¯t sure if she was joking. But I saw the glint in her eye. She was. Mostly. "Don¡¯t flatter yourself," I muttered. "But I¡¯m flattered anyway," she said with a smirk, twisting slightly on the ball so her legs crossed ¡ª smooth and practised, like she was still waiting for me to say more. Old Zhou let out a grunt behind me. "You assigning wives or soldiers, kid?" "Both," I said plainly. The room went quiet for a moment. Then Jiang Roulan, arms folded, ever regal, cleared her throat. "If the meeting¡¯s over, I¡¯ll begin planning tomorrow¡¯s ration split with Zhou Xue. We¡¯ll need access to whatever records the system keeps on stored inventory." "It¡¯s all in the terminal in the common room. I¡¯ve granted you interface access." She gave me the faintest smile. A professional one. But I still felt it. "Dismissed," I said finally, and people began to move. As the room cleared, I called out, "Bring Wen Qiming and the university group in." Deng Hua saluted ¡ª a little too enthusiastically ¡ª and jogged off toward the adjacent hall. Now it was time to test them. To see what kind of steel was hiding under all that campus rust. Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan remained in the room for a few moments, maybe waiting for everyone to leave, but Tang Wei didn¡¯t go either¡ªshe seemed amused by the comment about me assigning wives. ¡¯Damn Old Zhou!¡¯ Shen Yifei stretched, twisting her spine until it popped. "Wives, huh?" she said lazily. "Guess that makes you the jealous husband type." "Only if my wives dare to flirt with another man," I muttered, not looking at her. "Then you¡¯re safe," she said, smirking. "Because I only flirt with you." "Then don¡¯t bring home more strays," Jiang Roulan cut in flatly, stepping beside me with her arms crossed. "We¡¯re full." I glanced sideways. Her tone was a little playful. But her eyes were not. Tang Wei, leaning against the frame of the nearby door, chuckled low. "So this is the command team?" she said, arms folded. "One strategist, one wild cat, and a jealous, tyrant?" "Don¡¯t forget yourself," I said. "Oh, I¡¯m not part of your wives club," she shot back. "I¡¯m the one training them not to die." "That¡¯s what makes you attractive," Yifei said, flicking her a wink. Tang Wei raised one brow. "I eat kittens like you for breakfast." Yifei twirled her spear. "You¡¯ll choke on me." Tang Wei snorted, but she didn¡¯t seem annoyed or irritated as her fleeting gaze crossed mine, and her lips curled into a smirk. "I like this group." I sighed. These girls weren¡¯t the only ones driving me crazy. "I¡¯ll start assigning bunks based on sarcasm level if this keeps up." Before they could fire off more jabs, Deng Hua returned, slightly breathless, ushering in the university group behind him. "Leader," he said. "They¡¯re ready." Wen Qiming stepped in first, calm, shoulders squared, but his gaze flicked across the room like he was reading a battlefield. Behind him, the others followed in a tight line ¡ª each visibly out of place in the playful mood that we created, I noticed Old Zhou fiddling in the boxes, and somehow found some cigars... but he seemed to be a ¡¯my pace¡¯ type of old man. But the students tried their best to have a serious atmosphere. I activated the System Scan. Most of them would be useful in the long run, but right now, they were a work in progress. Wen Qiming was promising, but I couldn¡¯t do so. As the data scrolled in my vision, I watched them line up. Still ragged. Still uncertain. But I¡¯d seen worse. Wen Qiming took a single step forward. "We¡¯re ready to contribute. Whatever way you see fit." I nodded slowly. "Good," I said. "Then let¡¯s see what kind of people our university can raise." The group lined up near the back wall, shoulder to shoulder, eyes darting between me, Tang Wei, and Jiang Roulan. Wen Qiming stepped forward first. "Wen Qiming," he said, voice clear. "Mechanical engineering, third year. I led the dormitory defense unit when the breach happened. We lost twenty-seven people in forty minutes. Got six out." He didn¡¯t puff up his chest. Didn¡¯t dramatise it. He just said it. And stepped back. Beside him, a girl with short-cropped black hair and arms like she used to compete professionally shifted forward next. "Lin Mengfei," she said. "Judo team. Minor in teaching PE. Broke a guy¡¯s jaw the first night the infected showed up. Don¡¯t talk much. Don¡¯t panic, either." She stepped back. Zhang Yating took her place with a small, anxious smile. Her dyed auburn ponytail bounced slightly as she moved. "Zhang Yating. Fashion design. I¡¯m not good at fighting, but I don¡¯t freeze up. I can sew, patch clothes, and... I¡¯m a decent cook, if that still matters." Shen Yifei tilted her head slightly at that. "It does," Roulan said before I could. Huang Deyun stepped up, pushing his round glasses up his nose. "Huang Deyun. Chemistry major. I¡¯ve made stabilisers, firebombs, and a half-working filter for bad water. If I have ingredients, I can improvise most things... but I¡¯d rather be in the backline." His voice was soft. But his words were sharp. He backed off. Then came a heavy-set guy with cropped hair and thick forearms. The kind of guy who still looked like he belonged in a gym, not a bunker. "Zhao Ke," he said, scratching the side of his jaw. "Wrestling team. Second-year. Not a genius, but I¡¯ve held the line more than once." He grinned faintly. "And I¡¯m good with kids. They listen to me." Old Zhou raised an eyebrow at that, impressed. A petite girl with a scarf wrapped twice around her neck stepped up next. Oval glasses. Soft voice. "Shen Huali. Literature major. I... don¡¯t do much damage, but I don¡¯t hesitate. I¡¯m not afraid of blood." She bowed her head slightly and stepped back. Then came the thin boy with eyes too old for his age. He carried a broken laptop under his arm like it was still sacred. "Qiu Nansheng. Computer science. I used to design databases. Now I decrypt logs. And I¡¯ve been cataloguing infected behavior patterns since week two." His voice was even. But his stare was clinical. I liked that. Last was a wiry young man with sharp cheekbones and a wild energy behind his eyes. He stepped forward almost cockily. "Li Fangzhou. Track and field. Fastest guy in three provinces. Still am, far as I know." He tapped the chair leg slung across his back. "I fight like I run ¡ª fast, hard, and no second tries." He grinned. And that was it. Eight new bodies. Eight wild cards. I crossed my arms, letting the silence drag for a few seconds. Behind me, Tang Wei and Roulan were already scanning the group like picking names from a file. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. They weren¡¯t weak. Just green. Now it was time to decide what to do with them. Chapter 123: A Similar Pair? Chapter 123: A Similar Pair?Tang Wei (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 8:02 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Third Floor ¨C Common Room S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡ª¡ª¡ª After giving the roles out and telling people they could rest for the night... John left. Not in a dramatic way. Just... quietly. Like it was routine now ¡ª power shifting out with John, not because he demanded it, but because the rest of us let him take it by default. Typical of men like that. Shen Yifei was next to go. She didn¡¯t say goodbye. Just smirked, rolled off the training ball like a cat, and slipped out of the room with a stretch that didn¡¯t match the weight of the meeting we¡¯d just had. Probably going to his bed. I didn¡¯t care. Not really. Old Zhou muttered something about checking on the generator problem, which I took to mean the bottle of cheap liquor Xu Lin was hiding in the mechanical room. That left just two of us. Me. And Jiang Roulan. She stood by the far table, coat still on, flipping through her notepad like it was a tactical manual. I could see a ration graph already half-sketched. Water lines, food breakpoints, high-efficiency storage calculations ¡ª clean handwriting, dense margins. She hadn¡¯t said a word since the meeting ended. I liked that. I walked over and leaned against the edge of the table. "He leaves, and the room follows," I muttered. "He leads," Roulan replied, without looking up, "because he acts. Not because he talks." "Mm." Jiang Roulan wasn¡¯t wrong; he was quite interesting for a young man with zero experience, though there was room for improvement. He could see that and asked me and this woman to take the roles in order to cover for his weak points... I didn¡¯t dislike him, and the fact that he gave me a week¡¯s supply of medicine made it more obvious he was a good and honest man. ¡¯Handsome, strong... and thoughtful.¡¯ There must have been something bad about him, maybe that he clearly had something going on with several women. But... I¡¯d seen enough of that even before the apocalypse. ¡¯I¡¯ll keep watching him, because he¡¯s amusing.¡¯ I crossed my arms. "He¡¯s gathering them around him like a harem." She paused. Just briefly. Then continued writing. "I noticed." "You jealous?" "No." "Because I am his number two." Her words were a little cute, different from her sharp responses. The red blush of her cheeks and her body language told me... that this woman had already fallen. ¡¯It seems he¡¯s skilled...¡¯ She said it too quickly. I didn¡¯t call her out on it. Instead, I nodded toward the corner where the university group had clustered near the training mats. Some were sitting. Some whispering. A few were already asleep. "They¡¯re not combat-ready," I said. "Not yet. But three or four of them could be." "Qiming. Zhao. Lin." She ticked them off. "Possibly Li Fangzhou. He has speed and aggression ¡ª if we can teach him to aim it." I glanced toward Zhou Xue¡¯s archer unit near the far side. Quiet. Watching. Disassembled bows across their laps. Liang Mei had already left ¡ª probably to rest. "They¡¯re more cohesive," I said. "They¡¯ve trained together. React as a group. Strong base." Roulan finally looked at me. "You¡¯re just like John said, I¡¯m glad he managed to recruit you." That was surprising¡ªall I showed John was a horrible side of me, and he even left meals for my family after that. ¡¯Yeah... he¡¯s good at moving people.¡¯ The medicine forced me to move, but his kindness and the meals he left made it even harder to say no... a crafty man. I should keep my guard up, or I¡¯d probably be in his bed before I could even realise he tore my hymen. "Should we keep them together?" I shrugged. "No. They¡¯re different tools. The archers are your formation backbone. Patrol-ready. Discipline and coverage. The other students are reactive. Good for scouting or fallback security. Maybe rotating perimeter sweeps." But thinking back to John¡¯s words and actions... "I think John plans to use the archers, he seems to really focus on that girl... Zhou Xue and the soft one, who looks like a fluffy animal." She nodded. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a calorie bar and ripped it open between my teeth. "Want one?" When I noticed Roulan¡¯s glance, I offered her one. These things helped me survive the first two weeks, but the taste was like dry ass. "S-Sure..." She took the caramel-flavoured one I offered with a strange look. Although we had more food, I wanted to avoid eating when it wasn¡¯t meal times... I thought this might be smart and decided to tell Roulan. "I think we should limit meals, and eat them together as a group." "Oh?" Jiang Roulan¡¯s hand scribbled rapidly, her cursive writing so pretty and clear. I nodded, and she made a timetable that was friendly for the group. "What should we do about the patrols, Tang Wei?" "Just call me Wei, or Sister Wie, You handle logistics. I¡¯ll handle formation." "Agreed." We stood there for another minute in silence. I circled back to the patrol plan as I chewed. "Night watch should rotate in pairs. No solo shifts, even if they¡¯re skilled. I don¡¯t trust anyone to stay sharp for more than four hours. Put Qiming¡¯s group in the last rotation. He¡¯ll handle their groups decisions better than most." Roulan nodded, scribbling notes. "And Liang Mei?" "John asked me not to push her," I said. "Something about a heart issue." Roulan frowned faintly. "I thought she looked pale." "She is. Fragile. Like one good sprint might kill her." "Then no patrols for her. She stays with Jiemin." "Agreed." We didn¡¯t need words after that. Roulan¡¯s pen kept moving as my eyes roamed the room. I respected this woman. Not because she was strong, but because she knew what needed doing and didn¡¯t whine about it. Her kind got people through long winters and silent deaths. Eventually, she spoke again. "We¡¯ll announce the final schedule tomorrow. Let them rest tonight." "Smart. Let the hope settle in." I pushed off the table and stretched, bones popping slightly. "Want to do a final check downstairs?" Roulan nodded. We walked in silence ¡ª boots soft against the reinforced flooring as we made our way down the stairwell to the second floor. The lights had dimmed automatically. Some of the survivors had already fallen asleep. Others whispered around barrel heaters or makeshift tables. I spotted Xu Lin and Old Zhou through a side room¡¯s cracked door, quietly drinking over blueprints and old tools. Children slept in clumps, arms tucked around one another. Someone had moved pillows into corners to muffle noise. It wasn¡¯t chaos anymore. It was becoming a home. Roulan didn¡¯t say anything, but I saw the way she scanned every face. Checked the sleeping positions. Noted who had blankets. Who didn¡¯t? "Anyone who works gets a bed," she said quietly. "We¡¯ll need a system to reward consistency." I smirked. "You¡¯re already addicted, aren¡¯t you?" "To what?" "Order." Roulan smiled faintly. "Better than losing hope... and this is something he built, I want it to work." We reached the far end of the corridor, where only the soft hum of the generator echoed. Jiang Roulan stopped there, facing the empty bunk room we hadn¡¯t filled yet. "I don¡¯t plan on losing him either," she said, barely audible. I didn¡¯t respond. Not because I disagreed. But because for the first time in a while, I didn¡¯t feel like the odd one out. We stood there for a while, staring at the quiet base we were building. I wasn¡¯t part of John¡¯s bed. Wasn¡¯t part of his harem. But I was going to be part of what came next. And that was more than enough. For now. He treated me with respect, and although I notice him checking out my ass... and staring at my chest, that was rather a compliment. This country seemed to hold prejudice against people like me, and they prefer dainty women with pale skin and no muscles. Honestly, he was the first to compliment me. ¡¯I won¡¯t pretend it didn¡¯t make me happy... but that harem bastard. If he wants to fuck me it¡¯ll take a hell of a lot more than some gentle words.¡¯ Jiang Roulan told me about the floors... that the first four would be for the general group and only the elite... would be allowed further. I wondered if Elite was a code word. "Haha." ¡¯Whatever happens... I am just happy that my mother and family are safe now, it¡¯s almost time to take my insulin. Let¡¯s head back.¡¯ "Goodnight, Sister Wei." Jiang Roulan stepped into the elevator with a tired smile. I waved back and headed to the first floor where my mother and brothers were. "I¡¯m looking forward to the future." Chapter 124: Soft Shadows, Warm Mouths Chapter 124: Soft Shadows, Warm MouthsJohn (POV) March 18th, 20xx ¡ª 9:17 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Ninth Floor ¨C Stairwell Access ¡ª¡ª¡ª The floor was quiet. Not just low-traffic quiet. It was that deep, new quiet ¡ª the kind you only got when thirty-plus survivors were fed, sorted, and finally off your back for one damn hour. Shen Yifei walked beside me without saying much. She didn¡¯t need to. She¡¯d stayed behind after the meeting, helped the younger ones get settled, even checked the locks on the stairwell doors as if someone could climb in through the upgraded windows that only opened for select people now. But I appreciated her efforts. Sharp. Efficient. Still perched on the edge of smug. We reached the stair access between the ninth and tenth floors ¡ª my floor. Her steps slowed. So did mine. I turned, but she didn¡¯t look at me. Not at first. "Hey." "...Yeah?" She scratched at her arm once. Shifted her weight from foot to foot. Then huffed like someone forcing themselves through a cold shower. Then she moved in and hugged me. No warning. No words. Just arms around my chest, head against my shoulder, her breath warm against my neck. "...You¡¯re warm," she muttered. I didn¡¯t move. Since the past day or two, our relationship had changed¡ªit was some sort of strange situation between friends and lovers. But I was also guiding and teaching her how to fight and deal with the conditions outside. So I let her lean against me, my hands stroking her fluffy twintails... Then, quietly: "Goodnight hug?" I asked. "Don¡¯t read into it," she mumbled. "Too late." She pulled back slightly ¡ª just enough to tilt her chin up. There was a flicker in her eyes. Yifei seemed to like it when I went against her tsundere act sometimes, though I needed to be sure and couldn¡¯t go too far. But she looked happy, gazing up at me before closing her eyes. Then, barely above a whisper: "...Can I get a kiss goodnight?" That surprised me. Not because she asked. But because her voice was softer than I¡¯d ever heard it. "Sure..." I leaned closer, my thumb lifting her chin, she opening her eyes slightly, causing her long lashes to tickle my face as they fluttered. Then I kissed her. No tongue, no heat, just lips meeting lips. Soft. Close. Just long enough to taste the cherry sweet she was sucking a few moments ago... the sticky warmth of her lips and saliva. When I pulled back, her cheeks were pink. So I smirked. "Want another?" She blinked. Then shoved me lightly, but with a spark in her eye. "Pervert." "Still asking though." "Still letting you." However, despite her little action, she rushed towards me and grabbed my shoulders, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissed me again. "Nnnph...!" Yifei¡¯s soft tongue slipped through my lips, sticky, warm and delicious. The softness of her lips pressed against mine as she sucked on them. Her kiss deepened. Wet, sticky, desperate. Yifei¡¯s tongue slid against mine¡ªhesitant at first, then hungrier, tasting me like she¡¯d waited too long to ask. Her lips sucked at mine softly, clumsily, each sound wetter than the last. I felt her breath catch, then shudder against my cheek. Her body pressed up, chest crushed to mine, her fingers locked tight around my neck. "Nnph..." The sound slipped from her throat, quiet and startled, like she didn¡¯t expect her own body to want this. I pulled back slightly. Her lips stayed parted, glazed in spit and cherry sweetness. Her eyes were dazed. I smirked again. "You still want another?" Yifei didn¡¯t answer. I leaned my forehead to hers. "That didn¡¯t feel like a goodnight kiss," I murmured. She bit her lip. Then rolled her eyes and turned away ¡ª but I saw the pink still dusting her cheeks. "Shut up." "You¡¯re not denying it." "I¡¯m not letting you win." "Then I¡¯ll have to try harder next time." "Don¡¯t let Qinglan tire you out too much. You¡¯ve still got patrol tomorrow." "Yes, ma¡¯am." "I¡¯m not your ma¡¯am." "No, but you could be." Her face went red. "Just go already, idiot." She didn¡¯t answer ¡ª just flicked her twintails as she walked back toward her room on the ninth floor. And for once? She didn¡¯t slam the door behind her. ¡ª¡ª By the time I stepped onto the tenth floor, the lights were low ¡ª a gentle blue glow painting shadows across the walls. Mu Qinglan stirred under the sheets, hair spilling like ink across my pillow. She lifted her head just enough to see me. And smiled. "...Took you long enough." I crept inside with bare toes against the warm tiles. The door closed behind me with a soft hiss, and the sound of the world faded again. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t rise fully. She stayed there, curled under my sheets, naked except for the twisted fabric draped across her lower hips. The room smelled faintly of her shampoo, mixed with the subtle musk of skin and spent sweat. My bed still smelled like her climax from earlier. "You¡¯re still awake?" I asked, half-teasing. She rolled to her side, cheek pressing to the pillow. "Barely," she mumbled. Then, quieter: "But I didn¡¯t want to sleep without you." That stopped me for a second. Because the Mu Qinglan I knew, and the one in my bed looked completely different, and it made me shocked, now I wondered how Yifei and Roulan might change if we went all the way¡ªwould they become softer... or more fierce? Qinglan¡¯s desire wasn¡¯t all heat and fire. It was fire after the storm ¡ª the kind that warmed your bones when you weren¡¯t sure you¡¯d survive the cold. I stripped my shirt and stepped toward the bed. Then pulled back the corner of the blanket and slid inside, but Qinglan¡¯s body moved instantly like a predator. She then hooked around me like an octopus, using her arms to catch my chest and thighs to seal my legs. Mu Qinglan sniffed my body¡ªthen, using her long tongue, she licked my lips... still wet from the kiss with Yifei. "Hmm? Did you kiss someone else?" There was no jealousy in her voice. Just understanding. "I did," I said. A pause. Then, softly: "Did she like it?" "She kissed me again after." Qinglan chuckled against my throat. "Tch... sounds about right." Her fingers traced small circles on my chest. "I¡¯m not angry," she added. "But if she starts leaving hickeys somewhere visible, I¡¯ll put a knife between her ribs." I laughed under my breath. "You¡¯re not that possessive." "I¡¯m cultivating now," she said dryly. "I¡¯m allowed one delusion." I kissed the crown of her head and let my arms settle around her. For a few moments, neither of us said anything. But then... "Hey, John...?" "Yeah?" Her voice was low. Drowsy and dangerous. Her fingers traced the line of my waistband, playing with the edge like she was testing silk between her fingers. "You still have energy, right?" I looked down. Her face was half-buried in my chest, lips curled in the smallest, laziest smile I¡¯d ever seen from her. "Was that a challenge?" "It was a question." "Same answer either way." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She hummed, soft and warm against my skin. "Good," she whispered. Then, without asking, she slid the band of my waistband down just enough to free me. Her hand moved with care, guiding me. Her legs shifted slowly, parting, inviting. And then... she lowered herself. I sucked in a breath through my teeth. Warm. Tight. Alive. Qinglan exhaled like it was nothing. Her hips sank fully, skin pressing flush to mine. She didn¡¯t gasp. Didn¡¯t moan. She just smiled. "You¡¯re still hard from her," she whispered, voice brushing my ear. "That¡¯s fine." Her hands locked behind my neck. Her thighs curled around my waist. She shifted her hips just once, slowly, deliberately. Her body adjusted to mine like it had been made for this. "Mm... she made you sweet," Qinglan said, kissing the corner of my mouth. Her tongue grazed my lip, playful¡ªtaunting. "But I¡¯ll make you empty." I growled low in my throat, catching her hips just as she began to grind down. "You think you¡¯re still in charge?" I murmured. Her breath hitched¡ªbarely. But I felt it. She was slick. Already pulsing around me, her insides hot and soaked from anticipation, not control. Her body trembled just from having me buried this deep. "You¡¯re too sensitive for games tonight," I whispered, dragging my hands up her back, gripping her hard enough to make her flinch. She opened her mouth to protest¡ªthen gasped. I rolled my hips upward, slow but deep, forcing her to stretch, the head of my tip pushing into her again, harder now. She shook above me, her lips falling open in a soft cry she didn¡¯t mean to make. "John¡ª!" "I told you," I said, lifting her hips and thrusting again, reaching her depths with a wet slap. "You weren¡¯t ready." Her nails dug into my chest. The bed rocked and squeaked as the night drew closer. Time passed, and her body shivered once, then gave out. She slumped against me, breath warm against my throat, her chest still rising and falling like she couldn¡¯t quite catch up to what just happened. I didn¡¯t move. Just held her there. Her thighs stayed tight around my waist. Skin flushed. Lips parted. Her weight pressed into me like she belonged there. "...I hate how full you make me, and how good this feels," she whispered, voice hoarse and tired. I couldn¡¯t help but kiss her forehead gently, before I pulled the blankets over us both, the dismantle skill worked wonders... able to remove the mess. "You¡¯ll hate it again in the morning." She laughed¡ªquiet, tired, happy. "I look forward to it, hmmm... this is so nice." Then curled into me like she belonged there. Outside, the building creaked in the wind. But inside, it was warm and felt amazingly soft. Chapter 125: Threads in Motion Chapter 125: Threads in MotionJohn Wang (POV) March 19th, 20xx ¡ª 6:00 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Tenth Floor ¨C John¡¯s Apartment (Master Bedroom) ¡ª¡ª¡ª The morning was still grey. Ever since the world ended, I started to miss simple things. The things we once hated or complained about that now vanished. Things like the sound of people arguing in traffic or the horn of delivery trucks passing my apartment. No birds. No trucks. Just the soft hum of power filtering through reinforced walls. I opened my eyes to warmth. Heat pooled at my side ¡ª not just body heat, but the kind that lingered when comfort settled so deep into the bones, it refused to let go. Mu Qinglan covered me like a blanket. Leg hooked around my thigh. Arm across my chest. Her hair a dark fan against my neck and pillow. She was heavier than she looked, but it didn¡¯t bother me. I didn¡¯t want her to move. ¡¯The feeling of your girlfriend pressing against you in the morning, what bliss.¡¯ Her breathing was slow. Rhythmic. A small line of drool kissed the corner of her lips, and the edge of the sheet clung to her back just above the curve of her waist. The system clock blinked in the corner of my HUD. [06:00 AM, March 19th]The new day had come. But the warmth beside me made it easy to ignore. "...You¡¯re staring again." Her voice rasped sleepily, eyes still half closed. But her lips curled just a little into a seductive smile. "You¡¯re naked on my chest. You expect me not to?" "I expect you to keep doing it," she muttered, half into the pillow. I chuckled with a deep tone, noticing her hand... grasping my morning glory. My hand slid down her spine, then back up ¡ª slow, steady, like I was drawing a map. I felt her shift under it. Hips adjusting, thighs pulling me in slightly deeper beneath the tangle of limbs and covers. "Plans today?" she murmured. "Plenty." "Dangerous?" S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Probably." "Then hold me a little longer." Her fingers curled into the skin just above my ribs ¡ª not sharp, but enough to let me know she didn¡¯t want to get up yet. Not when the world was still quiet. Not when it was still ours. So I kissed her forehead. Then her cheek. Then lower, brushing the corner of her jaw before I buried my nose into the curve of her neck. She sighed. "Mmm... morning sex is a luxury in the apocalypse," she said, voice sliding into a smile. "But I¡¯m not complaining." "Neither am I." She didn¡¯t move. And neither did I. We didn¡¯t need to ¡ª not yet. Not this morning. And for a little while longer... ...we just lay there. Wrapped in warmth. Breathing the same breath. Slowly, our bodies became one... The room filled with a passionate heat and soft cries. I towelled the last of the damp from my hair, the faint scent of iron, sweat, and Mu Qinglan¡¯s shampoo still clinging to my skin. A low breeze brushed in through the reinforced window ¡ª chill but clean. For once, I didn¡¯t smell like blood. The system timer blinked softly at the corner of my HUD.[07:04] The steam curled from the half-cracked bathroom door behind me. Water ran slow ¡ª no splashes, just steady flow. Mu Qinglan was still soaking. She hadn¡¯t said anything after we finished ¡ª just smiled, kissed my collarbone, and padded silently into the bath. I didn¡¯t need her to say anything. She¡¯d said plenty last night. And this morning. I pulled on my shirt ¡ª dark, sleeveless, combat-fit ¡ª then slid the bandolier strap over my shoulder and checked the light pouch attached to my thigh. The new comms earpiece was tucked neatly against my ear, sleek and barely visible. These were items I bought after Qinglan fainted for the second time last night. They were quite cheap, only fifty ZKP each, so I bought twenty of them. [Comm Link Status: Online ¨C 2/20 Synced] Just mine and hers, for now. But that wasn¡¯t the interesting part. It was the notification that came after. [System Update ¨C Crafting Blueprint Acquired: Tactical Comms Unit (Short-Range)] [Materials Required: Plastic x 5 | Metal x 2 | Cloth x 1] [Crafting Station: Engineering Bench Compatible] [Items purchased through the store will now auto-generate craftable blueprints] [Authority Node Registered: Old Zhou ¨C Class: Master Mechanic] [Skills Detected: Analyse Item, Dismantle I, Basic Crafting] [Permission Required!] [Allow "Old Zhou" access to stored materials and system blueprint queue?] I blinked once. That was... new. So that¡¯s how it works. Anything I buy, I can eventually make. And anyone with the right class ¡ª and my permission ¡ª could make them for me. Old Zhou was the first. The only one with the right profile. It was good timing. I needed those earpieces distributed before noon. And more than that... I needed someone who could start building the backbone of this base while I was out breaking bones. So, time to move. I fastened the last strap on my boots and stood. Qinglan¡¯s voice drifted out from the bath, faint over the sound of the water. "Don¡¯t forget." The soft scent of steam and floral oils teased the air again as Qinglan¡¯s silhouette moved behind the glass. Her legs, bare and perfect, curled up inside the water. She was humming something tuneless but relaxed. "If I find a hickey on you that I didn¡¯t leave..." "Just give me another one. Lan¡¯er." Her laugh echoed once, light and pleased. "You¡¯re lucky that I can¡¯t chase you, John." Well, after last night, her legs seemed a little shaky and weak, but she bit my shoulder when I mentioned anything lewd in bed... It seemed Qinglan was a shy girl after the act finished. I strapped on the last of my gear and stepped toward the stairwell door. My eyes lingered once more on the foggy mirror and the outline behind the glass. No goodbyes. Just a quiet kind of trust. "Be safe," she said ¡ª soft enough that I almost missed it. I didn¡¯t answer. Just closed the door behind me and descended toward the mechanical floor. It was time to visit the old man. Time to start building. ¡ª¡ª¡ª March 19th ¡ª 7:16 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Third Floor ¨C Armoury / Mechanical Room ¡ª¡ª¡ª The door hissed when I stepped inside. Faint oil hung in the air ¡ª old-world mechanic scent. Not harsh. Just lived in. The workbench to the left was half-covered in tools and stripped casing parts. But it was the glow from the far corner that mattered ¡ª the Engineering Bench lit with faint pulses of neon-blue runes etched into alloy, subtle and alive. Old Zhou stood at the bench, sleeves rolled, cigarette tucked behind one ear. "Finally," he muttered without turning. "I thought you were gonna sleep through the damn ration clock." "Already ate," I said, stepping forward. "Needed your eyes on something." I set one of the earpieces down beside his tray of hand tools ¡ª sleek, black casing no bigger than a button. Zhou looked at it once, then picked it up between thumb and forefinger. He turned it over slowly. "This yours?" "It is now." "Didn¡¯t come from any stockpile I¡¯ve seen." "It didn¡¯t." He raised an eyebrow. I didn¡¯t elaborate. Instead, I nodded toward the Engineering Bench glowing faintly nearby. "And that?" Zhou¡¯s attention shifted, finally noticing the shimmering glyphs lining the crafting table¡¯s core interface. His brow furrowed. Slowly, he stepped toward it and hovered his hand above the panel. The display shifted. Lines of code. Material diagnostics. Craft queue options. System-linked data. "...The hell is this?" "You see it?" "Yeah," he muttered, eyes narrowing. "Some kind of... interface just lit up when I got close. It¡¯s listing blueprints. Metal, plastic, cloth. Same setup I was just planning to build by hand." That was fast. Most couldn¡¯t even feel the system unless I toggled access. But Zhou wasn¡¯t like most people. He turned to me slowly, squinting. "You going to tell me what I just touched?" I didn¡¯t lie. "I have something inside me. A kind of survival system. It upgrades me. Teaches me things. Builds things. It let me link this floor to a crafting interface only people I allow can use." Zhou was quiet. Then grunted. "You¡¯ve been feeding this base tech from a goddamn cheat code." "Not a cheat. Earned. Every step." He studied me for a second longer. Then nodded once. "I don¡¯t need the whole story. Just tell me what¡¯s next." "There¡¯s one condition." A system window opened in the air between us ¡ª blue text framed by binding runes. Chapter 126: Sparks and Steel Chapter 126: Sparks and SteelMarch 19th ¡ª 7:20 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Third Floor ¨C Armoury / Mechanical Room ¡ª¡ª¡ª [Confidentiality Link: Old Zhou] Accepting this link grants you access to system-based interface modules, crafting permissions, and tiered blueprints. In exchange, all system-related information will be bound to your memory via the Oath Protocol. Speaking of it aloud without John Wang¡¯s consent will result in memory lock or death. [Accept?] Zhou¡¯s eyes skimmed it, and without flinching, he reached forward and tapped [ACCEPT]. The screen blinked. Seal complete. The crafting bench¡¯s interface exploded with data only he and I could now see. "...Goddamn," he muttered. "This thing¡¯s better than any military-grade fab table I ever saw." "Use it. I need ten comm units before noon. Can you craft them here?" He cracked a grin ¡ª just a little. "Give me an hour." The difference between Old Zhou and me crafting using the system, he still needed to do some minor actions and build the frame, but in doing so, the cost and components became a fraction of what they were before. "I¡¯ll check on the others, don¡¯t overwork yourself." I patted the old man¡¯s shoulder, his scent like old cigarettes and whiskey. But the beaming smile on his face differed from the depressive and hopeless man I met a few days ago. "Ah... you do that. What¡¯s this design?! Oho... sneaky girl." However, before I could leave, he suddenly changed. "Wait Kid." Old Zhou leaned over the Engineering Bench, tapping through the interface like he¡¯d been using it for years. His fingers moved slow but deliberate ¡ª testing, memorising. He didn¡¯t say anything for a long while. Then: "You got more than just comms in this thing." I didn¡¯t answer. He kept scrolling. "Blueprint queue¡¯s got low-tier schematic slots. Mostly junk right now ¡ª cloth wraps, synthetic vests, rubber grips, some baton types... But with the right raw stock?" He glanced at me over his shoulder. "I could make basic combat wear. Light armour. For the kids." "You mean the students?" "Call ¡¯em what you want, but most of ¡¯em look like they¡¯ve never punched a wall. They¡¯ll break if you toss ¡¯em into that world with nothing but shoes and optimism." He wasn¡¯t wrong. Wen Qiming¡¯s people had backbone, but backbone didn¡¯t stop teeth. "And weapons?" Zhou clicked open another panel. "Basic gear only ¡ª batons, stun rods, old-world pipe blunts. Stuff that won¡¯t snap after three hits. Give me some hardened plastics and a few metal sheets, I¡¯ll craft a dozen in a day." "Wait... Old Zhou, what about this...?" I tapped through the system and noticed that the basic hunting bow that I bought and Zhou Xue¡¯s upgraded one also appeared in the list. "What if we aim to arm most of our group with these, though guns would be great. The sound might not help, at least for now. This is our limit." Old Zhou leaned closer, inspecting the blueprint I highlighted ¡ª the upgraded hunting bow now marked with system annotations. His eyes narrowed. "That model..." "Bought it for her," I said. "System let me upgrade it after a few fights. Balanced limbs. Reinforced draw. Not flashy, but it works." He hummed low in his throat, expression unreadable. "She used to shoot competition bows," he muttered. "Back before all this. I¡¯d tune them for her ¡ª cut stabilisers down by hand, sand the grips smooth, test spine flex on every arrow we made." He rubbed his jaw, the ghost of an old memory passing over his face. "She¡¯d string them herself. Never let me touch the nock once they were finished." I stayed quiet. Then he clicked his tongue and straightened. "If you¡¯re thinking of outfitting the rest with this design ¡ª smart call. Loud bangs are suicide in this city. But quiet string work?" He gave me a rare nod of full approval. "That¡¯s a war of ghosts. And ghosts don¡¯t bleed." I scrolled through the material requirements: lightweight plastics, synthetic cord, tempered wood. "I¡¯ll get you what you need. Think you can make a dozen?" "With what¡¯s in stock?" Zhou barked a short laugh. "You¡¯ll get fifteen." He turned toward the far bench, muttering under his breath. "Gonna need to train some hands to prep the arrows, though. Nocks, heads, flight... takes finesse. Not just elbow grease." "I¡¯ll ask around. Maybe some of the students." "If you¡¯re trusting your life to a bow, trust Xue¡¯er to teach them right. She still remembers my technique ¡ª whether she admits it or not." I gave a slow nod. This wasn¡¯t just forging gear anymore. It was the start of a style. A doctrine. The formation of his silent strike force that didn¡¯t need bullets to win a war. Although he knew guns would be important against other humans, if their shooting skill increased from archery, which seemed to rise alongside the Shooting skill. It made sense to practise and grow archery, then wait for the system to make guns that no human outside could forge or use. Bullets were finite in the current world, but not for me! ¡¯Shooting a gun just increases shooting... but a bow, upgrades Archery and Shooting.¡¯ Such a strange interaction made him wonder if other types of weapons or skills interacted in such a fashion. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Good," I said. "We¡¯ll make archers out of them." Zhou chuckled as he loaded the blueprint into the station¡¯s queue. "Let¡¯s just make sure they don¡¯t shoot their damn feet off first." ¡ª¡ª I took the stairs down. Eighteen comm units filled the pouch slung over my shoulder ¡ª light, silent, already synced to the base-wide channel I¡¯d set through the system. They pulsed faintly with a soft blue ring on the side, idle but ready. No one else knew what they were yet. Roulan and Tang Wei waited near the second-floor logistics hub, the desk already strewn with patrol sketches, meal breakdowns, and handwritten rosters. Tang Wei had ditched her jacket and stood over the map like a field captain. Roulan was seated, pen in hand, her long coat folded neatly over the back of the chair. They both looked up as I walked in. "You¡¯re early," Tang said, eyes flicking to the pouch. "You¡¯re both getting gifts." That got Roulan¡¯s attention. She set her pen down. I reached into the pouch and placed the first two comm units on the table. "Long-range, encrypted, silent-pair link. Group chat or private line. Lightweight. Durable. Auto-adjusts to interference." Roulan raised an eyebrow. "And where did you find these?" "Does it matter?" I said. "They work." Tang Wei picked one up, tested the weight. "Military-grade?" "Better." "How many?" "Eighteen total. We assign one to every patrol lead and command post. One to you," I nodded at Tang, "one to Roulan, and the rest to key members ¡ª Qinglan, Yifei, Xue¡¯er, the students¡¯ lead, our medics, and so on." I then pointed to my earpiece, barely visible because once they fit to your skin, it changed colour from raven black. Of course, you could customise them with the small digital screen they had. "Old Zhou is working on crafting more, so we can build a full communication network, they charge from electric, solar or body heat, so power isn¡¯t an issue. I can also encrypt them to only work with certain people." Tang Wei whistled, but her eyes narrowed, looking at the device in her hand, "I can¡¯t believe how amazing they are... let¡¯s see." She tapped once, and it connected to the area chat as she rushed out of the room, and a clear, deep voice echoed. "This is Tang Wei, test. Can you hear me, Over!" "Huh...? Who?" Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice followed, sleepy and a little irritated from the tone. ¡¯Oh... it can contact the tenth floor?¡¯ "Wow It really works!?" "H-Hey!?" Tang Wei sounded excited as she rushed back into the room, her eyes beaming as she tapped it again, and her voice stopped repeating in my ears. But I couldn¡¯t leave Mu Qinglan hanging... Then¡ª A soft double click. "Connect to Lan¡¯er" [Connected to Lan¡¯er.] To set private calls, you needed to call the assigned name to each device. "Qinglan, sorry, it¡¯s the headset I gave some to Tang Wei and Jiang Roulan to test. You can opt out of the group chat using the gesture command I told you before." I could feel the glance of Jiang Roulan and Tang Wei looking at me with a smile. [Tsk... I see, sorry you are busy, and I¡¯m here relaxing.] "Well, last night was a bit intense so just rest for now, okay?" [Mmmm... but don¡¯t take too long. I miss you.] "Sure, I¡¯ll be back soon." Another soft double tap, before the called ended. [Disconnected from Lan¡¯er.] Both women looked at me with a smile. It was embarrassing to think I just spoke with Qinglan, but sadly, the earpiece didn¡¯t have the power to read my mind. I could contact her using the system, but this was better. I needed to build my power outside of the system in case it vanished or broke one day. Chapter 127: Delicate Hands, Quiet Resolve Chapter 127: Delicate Hands, Quiet ResolveThe table was covered in lists. Real ones ¡ª not floating system windows. Roulan still liked handwriting her plans, neat block letters filling page after page with names, numbers, categories. Red ink for confirmed. Blue for uncertain. Black for dead. Tang Wei stood on the far side of the room, one hand resting on the butt of her holstered knife, her jacket slung over the back of the chair beside her. She looked like she¡¯d never really relaxed. Not once. Not even now. "I say we keep the leadership line tight," Tang said, tapping a pen against the map pinned beside the list. "You, me, Roulan. That¡¯s it. Everyone else reports to one of us." "Agreed," I said. "Qinglan should be included, or at least someone directly beneath me." Roulan glanced up. "I¡¯ll handle logistics, rationing, food distribution, medbay rotation, and general inventory. Already have an interim schedule drawn for four days." She passed me the sheet without asking. My eyes skimmed it ¡ª tight, clean. Efficient. I trusted her. Tang nodded once. "Then I¡¯ll handle perimeter patrols, scouting drills, threat level codes. And if we find survivors, I¡¯ll decide if they stay." "No... survivors will be my call. I won¡¯t budge on that, sorry." "I see... but I can still bring them and you decide?" "Yes, you can let them stay with Jiang Roulan¡¯s permission. I trust her judgement." S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Let me teach you how to use the earpiece properly." I changed the subject because Tang Wei looked a little different after I rejected her. I spread the remaining comm units across the table. Eighteen total. Sleek black devices, barely the size of a knuckle, each pulsing with a soft blue glow now that they were synced and charged. A tiny glyph shimmered on the corner of each casing ¡ª my mark. My system¡¯s anchor. No one else could craft them. Tang Wei picked one up, tapped it against her temple, and attached it just above her ear. It shimmered for a moment, adjusting to her body heat, then blended to her skin tone like ink bleeding into silk. "Damn," she muttered. "Feels like nothing." "They¡¯re keyed to your vitals. Syncs to your body heat and solar exposure. You don¡¯t have to think about charging them," I said, flicking my finger across the interface to open the user link table. "Right now, only this room is on the main channel. Private calls by voice tag." "Voice tag?" Roulan asked. "Say the name of the person you want to speak to, then tap twice. If they have one, it connects. If not, you get silence." Roulan didn¡¯t respond. Just fitted hers behind her ear, then brushed her hair back into place. "We¡¯ll need naming protocols then. No confusion in the field." "Already considered it," I said. "Unit tags by role ¡ª logistics, scout, combat, command. It¡¯ll update via the system terminal." Tang had wandered back to the map board, drawing patrol arcs with a red pen. "We rotate four-hour watches at night. Two pairs on patrol, one resting, one prepping. I¡¯ll cycle trainees with Wen Qiming¡¯s people ¡ª see who cracks and who manages to advance. Roulan was flipping through her notes again. "That means we¡¯ll need hot meals ready by 0500, bulk prep by 1600. Anyone injured or showing signs of stress gets dropped from rotation." I pointed to the final comm unit and slid it aside. "We leave this one unassigned. Emergency fallback or hand-off if someone goes down." "Smart," Tang said. "Necessary," Roulan corrected while adjusting her glasses. A knock sounded on the doorframe. Wen Qiming stepped in. Tall. Clean. Calm. His black-rimmed glasses caught the light for a second, like a signal. He nodded once to each of us before stepping forward and saluting me with two fingers ¡ª not military, but habit. Structure. "Reporting as requested." I passed him his comm. "You¡¯re running the student squad. You report to Tang, or directly to me." "Understood." Tang gave him a once-over. "We¡¯ll start basic training at 0600 and carry out advanced training at 1300. If they can¡¯t hit a target the size of my hand by Friday, they don¡¯t patrol, or eat well." Wen Qiming¡¯s face looked a little pale at first, but then he nodded, "Yes, ma¡¯am." He left without another word. "Not bad." "Well, he could hide his expression better." Roulan and Tang Wei spoke to each other, like bickering sisters, for a moment before we started to work on the routines and rota in more detail. We stood there in silence for a moment, the second-floor logistics room now humming with the low buzz of functioning tech, paper shuffling, and low conversation. Not chaos. But a structure that felt more real, like the past. ¡ª¡ª March 19th ¡ª 8:04 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Second Floor ¨C Hallway Outside the Medical Room ¡ª¡ª¡ª I left Roulan and Tang Wei behind as they went back to work ¡ª patrol plans, roster splits, food supply balancing. The logistics team was shaping itself faster than I expected. I headed for the stairs. Not the elevator. The motion helped me think. By the time I reached the second floor, the hallway became busy with people living their lives, and Wen Qiming had people jogging around. The buzz of tired survivors chatting behind curtains, a kettle whistling in the shared kitchen. But here? Just silence. The door to the medbay was slightly ajar. Inside, I saw Liu Jiemin working in near-total quiet, her back turned, organising antiseptic packs by type and expiry date. She didn¡¯t look up. But the girl seated on the side bed did. Liang Mei. She¡¯d changed into a light fleece zip-up and leggings, still too loose on her small frame. Her hair was tied back now, not well, just enough to keep it off her face. She looked up as I stepped in, her hands in her lap. Shy. But not scared. She smiled when she saw me. "Leader..." "You rested?" She nodded. "Better than before. My chest... doesn¡¯t hurt this morning." I stepped closer. Liang Mei became more focused and sat straight, her hands twitching slightly with both hands holding her knees. "I wanted to speak with you privately." "Did I do something wrong?" The cute sheep-like woman asked me with her big, round eyes that looked worried. "No." I sat on the edge of the chair near her bed. "You did everything right, Liang Mei. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here." She blinked. Once. Twice. "I want you to stay in medical for now. Learn from Liu Jiemin. Pick up everything you can ¡ª first aid, diagnosis, triage. All of it." She looked down for a second, her voice soft. "I¡¯ll do my best." "You already have. You¡¯ve been calm under pressure, and you pay attention. Those are rare skills here." I opened my system. "But I know you want to eventually head outside, right?" "..." Her mouth opened, and she looked at me with shining eyes. I knew just how much she wanted to answer me, and so I nodded. "Then give me some time, I promise to help you." [Liang Mei is available for recruitment.] [Current Loyalty: 187/500] [Would you like to recruit Liang Mei into your party?] [Yes] / [No] I didn¡¯t hesitate. [Recruitment Confirmed.] The moment passed ¡ª quiet, invisible. Only I could see the message blink into place. [Liang Mei has joined your party.] Her eyes flicked up to mine. "...I¡¯ll make you proud, John." The way she said it ¡ª her voice shy but sure ¡ª made me pause. I reached over and rubbed her fluffy hair with a smile. "I know you will." There was a special job that would be useful for her to take. And so Liang Mei became a Combat Medic. Chapter 128: Soft Resolve, Hidden Bloom Chapter 128: Soft Resolve, Hidden BloomMarch 19th ¡ª 8:07 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C First Floor ¨C Medical Room ¡ª¡ª¡ª The moment I recruited her, the system responded with a soft ping across my vision. [Liang Mei has joined your party.] [+2,000 ZKP earned.] [Skill Obtained: Steady Hands] [Status Page Unlocked.] I opened her profile instantly. [STATUS] Name: Liang Mei Role: Combat Medic Tier: A Stage: 1 Affection: [193/500] Health Condition: Stabilised ¨C Ongoing DCM monitoring required Average Attributes: 0.95 ? Strength: 0.6 ? Physique: 0.9 ? Agility: 0.4 ? Spirit: 1.6 Skills: ? Steady Hands [Level 6] ? Medicine [Level 3] ? Gentle Bloom Level 5] ? Unbreaking Will [Level 3] ? Frail [Level 9] ? Pretty [Level 10] Notes: Soft-spoken, introverted, but emotionally intuitive. Learns quickly, never forgets minor injuries or medical routines. Stubborn when protecting others. Responds especially well to verbal encouragement or acts of personal care. ¡ª¡ª¡ª "Wow..." I lowered the window and looked at her. Liang Mei still hadn¡¯t let go of my hand. She looked up, nervous ¡ª but glowing. "...Leader?" she asked softly. "I¡¯ve got you now," I said. Her eyes widened ¡ª and shimmered. The next moment her cheeks became bright red, and I realised she might be remembering the moment in the lift... and what she showed me. "Are you shy?" "O-Of course, who wouldn¡¯t be!?" The cute sheep hit the desk with a lovely little meep. Whatever fear had haunted her steps since I met her in that hellhole was gone now. She looked... lighter. And despite the weakness in her chest, the fragility in her hands... she looked strong. Liang Mei tucked her chin down and rubbed her hands together. The tips of her ears were burning pink now. "I-I¡¯m not used to feeling this... okay," she said softly. I stepped closer and sat on the edge of the medical table beside her. Her knees swung just slightly, toes barely brushing the floor. "Your heart?" "Mhm... it doesn¡¯t hurt. Not even a little." She smiled at her hands like they were finally hers again. "I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever get a day like this. Not without struggling to stand or waking up dizzy." My fingers brushed over her wrist, a faint pulse, steadier than it had been in days. I gave her a small nod. "The stabiliser worked." Her cheeks puffed slightly. "It worked too well..." I tilted my head. "...Because I let you do that with the needle..." "You mean the one that saved your life?" I said, mock serious. Liang Mei turned crimson. "...Don¡¯t say it like that! You saw... everything..." "What¡¯s wrong, can¡¯t you forget it?" She covered her face with her hands. Her sweater sleeves were a little too long and swallowed her fingers. Adorable. "You showed me everything," I teased. "I-I wasn¡¯t trying to! It was the loose rubber band!" "So you didn¡¯t mean to let your fluffy little sheep tail out?" "Leader!!" she squeaked, legs kicking lightly. I leaned in closer. "Soft pink..." "Stop!" She buried her face into my shoulder this time, trembling like a pot about to boil over. But she didn¡¯t pull away. Not once. Just stayed there, face hidden, fists balled into my shirt. After a pause, I whispered, "You¡¯re stronger now. You don¡¯t have to be scared." "I¡¯m not scared," she mumbled. "...Not when you¡¯re around." I exhaled slowly and wrapped one arm around her back. She smelled like soap and something sweeter ¡ª maybe rice candy. Clean, light. "...Then rest up. I¡¯ll come find you later when we move." She nodded into my chest. "I¡¯ll be ready," she said. "And next time... I¡¯ll make sure you see less." "Or more," I added. She squeaked again. But didn¡¯t say no. ¡ª¡ª Not long after, she kicked me out and scolded me, but with her blushing face, it didn¡¯t feel bad at all. Now I leaned against the wall just outside the infirmary with my arms folded. The faint sound of Liang Mei speaking with Liu Jiemin mumbled behind the door ¡ª soft, sweet, embarrassed. She was probably still blushing. My lips curled slightly. She¡¯d changed. Or maybe... she hadn¡¯t. Perhaps I was the one changing. I glanced up at the status overlay still hovering faintly in the corner of my vision. My ZKP balance had ticked up again. My body and mind had been evolving since the first stage of the Titan Marrow Sutra, and the second stage ¡ª Steel Frame ¡ª had done more than harden my bones. It hardened something else, too. Hesitation. That part of me that used to stall every time a woman got too close. The version of myself that second-guessed every touch, every compliment, every look... that voice was quieter now. Duller. It used to whisper things like: "Don¡¯t say that." "You¡¯ll creep her out." S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "You¡¯re not good enough." Now? It didn¡¯t whisper anything. It just wasn¡¯t there. And in its place was something simpler. Cleaner. Not cold, but... focused. When I looked at a woman now ¡ª Roulan¡¯s proud fire, Qinglan¡¯s stormy passion, Yifei¡¯s hidden softness, Liang Mei¡¯s trembling vulnerability ¡ª I didn¡¯t just want to protect them. I wanted them. And I didn¡¯t feel ashamed for it. Was that selfish? Dangerous? Maybe. But then again... I¡¯d been careful my whole life. Careful not to offend. Careful not to speak out. Careful not to hope for more than a thank you at the end of the shift. And where had it gotten me? Nowhere. Twenty-five years, untouched. Mocked behind my back. Overlooked. Forgotten. Until this system landed in my lap and gave me power ¡ª and more than that, gave me freedom. So no. I didn¡¯t feel guilty for kissing Yifei last night. I didn¡¯t feel guilty when Qinglan begged for more. I didn¡¯t feel guilty when I caught myself wanting Roulan to shove that chair aside and climb back into my lap again. And I sure as hell didn¡¯t feel guilty for teasing a blushing sheep who clung to me like I was her first taste of safety. I¡¯ve done everything I could to keep them alive. So, if I wanted to flirt? I¡¯d flirt. If I wanted to fight? I¡¯d fight. And if I wanted to fuck? Then I¡¯d fuck. The world had already ended. Why should I keep playing by the rules of one that no longer exists? As long as I protected them ¡ª as long as I led, kept us fed, kept us alive ¡ª then whatever I took along the way? It was mine to take. I pushed off the wall and started walking toward the training room. We would be sorting everyone into groups today, giving the people a reason to live, to keep going. This base wasn¡¯t the end... but was just the start of taking back a normal life. It almost felt like Liang Mei¡¯s gentle boost in morale affected me, too. I couldn¡¯t help but smile. I curved my lips into a crescent moon while heading to the room. I was confident and wanted to complete our plans. My blood felt hotter in my veins. Not just from desire. But for a purpose. Because today... We¡¯d leave the base. And head into hell. Chapter 129: Preparation To Scavenge the Mall Chapter 129: Preparation To Scavenge the MallMarch 19th ¡ª 8:20 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C First Floor ¨C Training Hall ¡ª¡ª¡ª Everyone was here. Not scattered. Not waiting. Already inside ¡ª seated, standing, watching ¡ª like they knew this wasn¡¯t going to be a casual update. Xu Lin sat with his back straight on the left row of benches, one hand resting on his knee. Beside him, Wen Qiming leaned forward, fingers laced, expression still and unreadable. His seven university militia were positioned around him ¡ª a loose cluster of faces that had stopped being students and started looking like survivors. Across the room, Zhou Xue crouched near the training mat, fletching an arrow from one of the newer shafts I¡¯d seen Old Zhou prepping. Deng Hua and Chen Xun were on either side of her, listening as she explained something, her voice low and precise. Liang Qiu stood near the wall-mounted racks, arms behind her back, posture stiff. But her eyes kept flicking toward me, then toward Liang Mei, who now sat on a padded stool near the med supply locker. She looked better today. Clearer. Shoulders back. Sweater fresh. She tied her hair in a half-loop behind her neck. She didn¡¯t fidget. Didn¡¯t shrink. But when I met her gaze, she smiled ¡ª soft, warm, grateful. And didn¡¯t look away. Mu Qinglan stood not far from the central post, one hand on the bench for support. She wasn¡¯t limping openly, but her gait gave her away. She hadn¡¯t changed clothes from this morning ¡ª still in her flexible combat bodysuit, slightly wrinkled. Some of the other women gave her sideways glances, quiet ones. Not mocking ¡ª curious. Roulan stood beside her, arms folded, her expression unreadable. Shen Yifei sat half-perched on the edge of a weight bench, spear across her thighs, twintails tied up tight. She watched me without blinking. Tang Wei stood to my right, near the command table. The air in the room had weight now. Like everyone knew, this moment was the beginning of something bigger. I let the silence stretch a second longer. Then I stepped forward and said clearly: "We move tomorrow. Two teams. Exploration and home defence." No one reacted. Not yet. "The mall in Zone 3C is the objective. We¡¯ll scout it, clear it, and recover what we can." Now they have shifted. Zhou Xue¡¯s head rose slightly. Qiming leaned forward. Even Xu Lin¡¯s brow tightened. I glanced at Roulan, then at Tang Wei, then finally at Mu Qinglan. She met my eyes and didn¡¯t look away. "We¡¯ll assign squads. Team leaders. Roles. If you have doubts, speak now." Nothing. I nodded once. And began to call names. ¡ª¡ª I didn¡¯t speak again. I didn¡¯t have to. Tang Wei stepped up beside me, straight-backed in her stripped-down combat fatigues. Her eyes scanned the crowd once, then dropped to her notepad ¡ª the one she¡¯d written out by hand this morning, filled with neat lines and checklists that didn¡¯t need decoration. "We¡¯re forming two teams," she said, her voice low but carrying. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Team One: John Wang, myself, Jiang Roulan, Shen Yifei." Roulan glanced toward me once, then forward again. Calm. Controlled. Ready. Yifei let out a low whistle and tapped her spear against the floor like a tail flick. "Team Two: Mu Qinglan, Zhou Xue, Deng Hua, Liang Qiu, Chen Xun." Qinglan didn¡¯t react, but her grip on the bench tightened. I caught the twitch at the corner of her mouth. Not quite a smirk. Not quite a frown. She knew what it meant ¡ª and so did the others. They were trusting her to lead. But the issue came with separating us. Qinglan looked at me, and her eyes transmitted all her feelings before she turned away and bit her lips. Tang Wei looked at me, a silent check for confirmation. I gave her a slow nod. "Team One will drop through the roof access. Team Two will secure the upper levels and roof while providing extraction oversight. We keep both doors open. We cover each other. If contact escalates beyond Stage One threats, fallback protocols apply. You follow your team leads. You stay quiet. You survive." A quiet shuffle from the crowd. Then a voice, thin, male, early twenties maybe. One of the older people who joined Wen Qiming¡¯s group. "Are we staying here to defend while you¡¯re out?" Tang Wei answered before I did. "Correct. Qiming and his unit will oversee base defence with Xu Lin, Old Zhou, and Liu Jiemin being in charge during absences. Your orders come directly from Qiming, unless overridden by John." Qiming didn¡¯t flinch. Just nodded once. Another voice piped up ¡ª older this time, female, one of the lower-floor residents. "What if the building¡¯s attacked?" Tang Wei met her gaze. "There are several evacuation plans written in the second training room. You follow evacuation pattern two. Roulan¡¯s mapped every stairwell. You retreat floor by floor ¡ª fallback point is the emergency vault on B1." Someone near the back whispered, "We have an emergency vault?" Roulan finally spoke, folding her arms. "You do now." A few people chuckled ¡ª nervous, but relieved. That was enough. Tang Wei glanced sideways again ¡ª one brow raised in silent report. I gave the nod. And then stepped forward. Just enough to be heard. "I know you might be tired, worried or scared. But with the help of Old Zhou who is helping craft armour to protect you from zombie bites and weapons to slay them. We will never send you to death like pigs to slaughter." "Focus on your daily practise and I will do everything to keep you and your families safe." The room went still again, not out of fear, but focus. The negative aura and words vanished, and it seemed they preferred this honest type of feedback. I couldn¡¯t become their friend, but I refused to become a cold dictator or tyrant who made them feel like numbers. ¡¯It¡¯s hard... I should try getting a skill that helps me.¡¯ Leadership seemed to have its limits and was more designed for small groups at most. Behind them, Mu Qinglan shifted her weight with a quiet grunt ¡ª one hand resting on her side, still sore, still walking with a limp. But her eyes stayed sharp as glass. I knew she was upset, the way she bit the corner of her lips and looked at me while wincing. I swept a slow glance across the room. Faces. Tired. Scarred. Hungry for something real to hold onto. They weren¡¯t just survivors anymore. They were mine. And I wouldn¡¯t waste a single one. "Those who fight will be trained. Those who work will be protected. And those who bleed for us will never be forgotten." No one spoke ¡ª not yet. So I gave them something to hold on to. "Today, you prepare." I paused ¡ª the weight of silence pressing against my words. "Tomorrow... we claim the mall." Gasps. A few whispers. Zhou Xue stiffened slightly, like she hadn¡¯t expected me to announce it so openly. But the silence held. Until one of Wen Qiming¡¯s people ¡ª a lanky kid with wire-rim glasses and a scratch on his cheek ¡ª raised a hand halfway. "Why the mall?" "Because it¡¯s close," I said. "And if we don¡¯t take it ¡ª someone else will." I also thought of something else, so I told them. "The mall opens up the south, the east and the biggest residential area in the city... some people might want to find family, and the hope for survivors... That¡¯s why." I nodded. "Get food. Get water. Get ready." Then turned away, walking toward the exit. I could feel the air behind me move ¡ª people turning to one another, questions rising, plans forming. Roulan and Tang would sort them. It was all in motion now. And when the door hissed shut behind me, I let the quiet settle. One step at a time. The mall would fall. Just like everything else in our path. The biggest issue for me right now was the blonde bombshell rushing up behind me, and the cold, angry queen limping against the wall. Shen Yifei and Mu Qinglan... What do they want from me now? Chapter 130: Nipping the buds Chapter 130: Nipping the budsMarch 19th ¡ª 10:25 AM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Ninth Floor ¨C Training Hall ¡ª¡ª¡ª The training room door sealed shut behind me with a low hiss. I didn¡¯t turn around because the two following me were people I knew well. Our footsteps echoed on the way to the elevator, light and quick, followed by slower taps. Shen Yifei was first, then Mu Qinglan "Leader~" I didn¡¯t need to turn. Shen Yifei¡¯s voice was unmistakable ¡ª casual, cocky, dripping with amusement. I kept walking. "Hey," Yifei called out in a bright voice, her arm wrapping around mine. Her twintails bounced lightly with each step, the tip of her spear tapping behind her like a tail brushing the floor. "You¡¯re not really leaving her limping like that, are you?" She said it with a grin, but I could hear the edge buried under it. "Didn¡¯t know you were the jealous type." "I¡¯m not," she replied, leaning in closer. "But I am the curious type." I gave her a look. She gave me one right back ¡ª chin tilted, lips pulled into that half-smirk she wore like armour. "I mean, if you¡¯re going to break your sword, you better have a spare in hand, right?" "...You calling yourself the spare?" "Calling myself the better sheath." Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I huffed. No answer would satisfy her. But before I could say more, the hallway grew colder. I stopped at the entrance to the elevator and looked at the blonde who was bouncing slightly with each step, clearly full of energy. Qinglan arrived a moment after, arms leaning against the wall and her limp still present. However, she didn¡¯t look tired or annoyed. Her face was glossy, bright as she curled her lips deeply, smiling at me. "Was it your idea?" she asked. "Splitting the teams, I mean." "No," I said. "Tang Wei and Roulan suggested it." "Then why didn¡¯t you stop them?" I turned slightly. "Because they were right." Qinglan¡¯s face became blank, frozen as if shocked, but I couldn¡¯t let her misunderstand me, so I stepped closer, dragging Yifei along. "Lan¡¯er, don¡¯t misunderstand..." Yifei stepped forward. "But¡ª" "What do you mean?" "You¡¯re strong enough to lead," I said, looking at Qinglan. "And you know how I fight. If something happens on that rooftop, I need someone I trust up there. You are the woman I trust most... haven¡¯t we known each other for years?" Her expression shifted ¡ª just a little. She didn¡¯t respond at first, instead biting her lower lip, and looking away, her face dark for a moment before it brightened. Qinglan¡¯s eyes became brighter, flicking back to me as she laughed. "I see... I see..." Yifei stepped in with a huff. "You could¡¯ve told us first." "I didn¡¯t want votes. I needed results." Neither of them spoke. Then Yifei muttered, "Idiot." I nodded. "I¡¯ve been called worse." But they didn¡¯t walk away. Qinglan glanced down the hall, then back at me. "You really trust me with this?" "I trusted you with my life already." Her shoulders trembled, she seemed happy, walking towards me with light steps. Then Qinglan leaned up and kissed my cheek. Her kiss was a warm, soft feeling... the stickiness of her lip gloss lingered after she pulled back. Yifei looked between us, then turned away quickly, her lips pushed out, pouting. "Fine. But when you get back..." Her voice dropped a note, eyes flitting down. "You¡¯ll owe me." Qinglan smirked. I tilted my head. "You both planning to fight over that?" "No," they said together. Then glared at each other. I walked past them, brushing my fingers along Yifei¡¯s shoulder, then Qinglan¡¯s hand and trying to show them my biggest, cheesiest smile. "I¡¯m going to speak with Lan¡¯er a little first Yifei, can you wait for me on the ninth floor?" I didn¡¯t wait for a reply. Their silence was enough. It was trust. And they were mine. ¡ª¡ª Yifei smirked as she pressed the elevator call button and turned toward us with a lazy stretch of her arms. "I¡¯ll take the lift. Stairs are for losers," she chirped. Before I could say anything, she leaned close to Mu Qinglan and stuck out her tongue like a smug little devil. "Don¡¯t limp too hard, General." Then the elevator chimed, and she slipped inside, leaving behind a silence far heavier than her voice. Qinglan let out a long breath through her nose. "She¡¯s unbearable sometimes," she muttered. I turned toward the stairwell. Qinglan followed, slower. She remained quiet at first, but forced her pace to increase. Her hips were stiff, and every few steps her right leg would lag just a half-inch too long behind. But the woman refused to show it. I stopped mid-step and held out my arm. She hesitated. Her eyes flicked up at me, sharp with pride ¡ª then softer, with something she wasn¡¯t ready to admit. Then she took it. No words. Just her fingers slipping around my wrist and her palm pressing lightly to my forearm as we walked side by side. Step by step. Her weight leaned in, but just enough to stay upright without limping. The quiet lingered until we passed the seventh floor. "I didn¡¯t want to be in the other team," she said finally. Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice sounded different from usual, a little like a sulking cat. It was cute. "I¡¯m not angry at Roulan or Tang Wei. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust the others. It¡¯s just..." She paused, her grip tightening slightly. "I wanted to be beside you when it mattered." We stopped walking, and I turned toward her. "Lan¡¯er..." She looked at me, her lashes low, but her expression unwavering. "I know you¡¯re stronger now. I know you¡¯re not the same man who used to work behind a desk and pretend to be invisible." Her words weren¡¯t cruel ¡ª they were a mirror. A reflection I couldn¡¯t deny. "But the mall... something about it feels wrong. I felt it the moment you said its name." "I know," I said quietly. "I feel it too." Her brows knit slightly, uncertain. "Then why go there without me?" I raised my free hand and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Because I trust you more than anyone in this base. That¡¯s why you¡¯re leading them. You are the ones who will save us if something goes wrong." Her lips parted. But nothing came out. Instead, she just looked at me with her sharp eyes, filled with worry and affection. Qinglan smacked her lips, and a wet pop sounded as she huffed. The next two flights passed in silence. By the time we reached her floor, her arm still looped with mine, her steps were slower, so I lifted her off the ground, wrapping my arm under her knees, causing the stoic ice queen to make a cute sound. "Kya... wait!" No one would actually wait, and so we climbed the stairs faster. "John, sometimes you are so strange!" Mu Qinglan blushed in my arms, we soon reached the tenth floor, which shocked me, because I didn¡¯t feel tired or exhausted, rather my breathing was calm and better than the past when doing nothing. "I am strange for you." Pah! She tapped my cheek and bit me. "Don¡¯t be so cringe!" Because the bite hurt, she really caught the flesh of my neck... and reminded me of when I first turned her four days ago. ¡¯It¡¯s almost been a week...¡¯ Though I didn¡¯t get the chance to wallow in my thoughts, we reached our room. At her door, she let go of me and dropped to her feet, then stood for a moment, looking up at me. Then kissed. The kiss was soft, a little wet and warm... it smelled like Qinglan. But as she reached for the handle, she stopped and looked back. "You better come back in one piece," she said softly. "Or I¡¯ll kill you myself." I smiled. "I¡¯d like to see you try." She laughed under her breath and finally stepped inside, letting the door slide shut behind her. I sat on the steps halfway between the ninth and tenth floors. Not long. Just long enough to breathe. The kind of breath that doesn¡¯t come from exertion, but from pressure. The kind that pushes up from under your ribs and wraps around your neck like a slow noose. Not enough to kill ¡ª just enough to remind you that you¡¯re responsible for more than yourself now. Thirty-one people. A base. A mission. Two teams heading out tomorrow, one of them led by the woman I just kissed goodbye ¡ª again. Another led by me. I leaned my head back against the cold concrete wall and closed my eyes for a moment. ¡¯Am I doing this right?¡¯ The stats were just numbers, but the marrow sutra... that was something else. The first few nights after awakening it, I didn¡¯t sleep properly. My bones ached like I was outgrowing my skin. Every punch felt heavier. Every glance from someone made my instincts twitch. It wasn¡¯t just power. It was a purpose. And maybe a little... hunger. The desire to act. To move. To claim. To touch. The hesitation I used to carry in my spine ¡ª the one that always whispered wait, hold back, stay quiet ¡ª that voice was gone. And I didn¡¯t miss it. I flexed my fingers, watching the faint shimmer of strength run through my skin like pressure under the surface of calm water. "Am I still me?" I muttered. The stairwell didn¡¯t answer. So I did. "...I hope not." I stood. Rolled my shoulders. Then opened the stairwell door. And stepped into whatever came next. Chapter 131: The Weight We Carry Chapter 131: The Weight We CarryMarch 19th ¡ª 12:09 PM Zone 3A-¦¤ ¨C Ninth Floor ¨C Corridor Outside the Common Room ¡ª¡ª¡ª The moment I opened the stairwell door, I saw her. Shen Yifei wasn¡¯t leaning, pacing, or even waiting in some casual, flirty posture. She was sitting cross-legged on the hallway bench, spear across her lap, arms folded, eyes closed. But she wasn¡¯t asleep. "Two minutes late," she said without opening her eyes. I didn¡¯t respond right away. Just stepped through the door and let it shut behind me with a soft hiss. Yifei cracked one eye open. Her gaze flicked to my face, then lower, scanning for something. "...You smell like Qinglan again." "Guess I didn¡¯t shower long enough." She snorted and stood, uncoiling with a dancer¡¯s grace. "Or maybe you just like the way she clings to your skin." "You jealous?" "Of her?" Yifei arched a brow. "Please. I just don¡¯t want my bed smelling like another woman." I tilted my head. "Is that a complaint?" Shen Yifei took a step closer, tapping her spear against my shin. Not enough to hurt, but just to make a point. Then she lifted it into the air, and it vanished, locked into her inventory¡ªunlike mine, she could only store a few weapons. "If..." "If I felt jealous, what would you do?" Then she smirked ¡ª the glint back in her eyes. "But don¡¯t get too cocky, Leader. You haven¡¯t earned exclusive rights yet." "Yet?" Yifei shrugged. "Depends how you treat me after the mall." Her voice softened a little before she looked up at me, and her eyes scanned my face intently. "...You okay?" she asked. I paused for a second, a little surprised by the sudden question. But couldn¡¯t answer her, because I felt worried. Not because I lacked confidence, but something in my gut kept telling me something bad might happen once we leave. Subconsciously, I might have needed someone¡¯s comfort... as my hands wrapped around Yifei¡¯s soft hips, pulling her close. I could feel the heat of her body, the taste of her breath and the scent of her hair flowing into me. "W-What¡¯s the matter, John?" Her hands came up between us, not to push me away, but to brace herself. Fingers spread against my chest. Her touch wasn¡¯t cold, just a little hesitant. I didn¡¯t speak or react. Not right away. Yifei tilted her head back slowly, eyes flicking up to mine. The half-smirk was gone. What remained was something more honest, her unshielded expression. "Are you scared?" I didn¡¯t lie. "A little." Her breath stopped, and she held it for a moment. And then gently, her hands slid upwards, across the fabric of my shirt, over my shoulders. Then pulled herself off the ground until our foreheads touched. "Don¡¯t worry, you have me." "Really?" "Mm..." I swallowed, her gentle groan comforting. My fingers gripped her lower back higher, the soft warmth of her skin spreading through my palms. I didn¡¯t pull her tighter, because we were already pressed together. She leaned in first. Just slightly. A soft press of her lips against the corner of my mouth. It could hardly be called a kiss, yet... I could feel her touch for a moment after. "I¡¯ll always be here," she whispered. "So don¡¯t break." I kissed her. This time with more passion, and force... our lips pressed together, the softness deforming as her mouth opened, letting our tongues brush against each other. Hot breaths and wet sighs as we became entangled, our bodies shifting back and falling onto the black sofa with a bounce. "Nnnph... Mmmn..." My hands slipped inside her clothes, stroking and rubbing her smooth skin, sliding into her panties, cupping her plump buttocks, squeezing the soft meat. Yifei, not to be outdone, began to unfasten my belt and shirt, her nose snorting hot air into my face as she bit my lower lip... sucking on my flesh with a wet, pleasant pop. With a wet pop, our kiss pulled apart, threads of saliva dripping from her breathless mouth as she peered down at me with a red face. "John... Haa..." I closed my eyes and breathed her in ¡ª mint from her toothpaste, the faintest trace of iron from training, and something else. Something that belonged to her and her alone. Yifei whispered next to my ear, "You¡¯re not alone, Leader. So stop acting like you have to be." S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I smiled, faintly. "Then stay with me tonight." A pause. Then she nodded. There was a strange moment of silence, where we just looked at each other, maybe things were going too fast, or was it slow... with Mu Qinglan, it felt different to Yifei. I couldn¡¯t hold myself back or found myself becoming more childish and reactive with her. "Are you sure?" Shen Yifei¡¯s cheeks bloomed a deeper red than before. Then she looked at the door, which I noticed was now locked. When did she do that? I couldn¡¯t help but stare up at her pretty face, both her twintails dangling across my cheeks. "Mm..." The sudden reality that people might die tomorrow, could I be making a mistake... the dread of guiding people towards their deaths made me hesitate. My stomach became tight as I struggled to breathe well... Yet Yifei didn¡¯t let go. She didn¡¯t ask what was wrong. She didn¡¯t fill the silence. She just leaned forward and let her forehead rest against mine, eyes closed, breath warm. Her fingers traced slow circles on my chest, not trying to arouse, just to anchor. "You¡¯re carrying too much again," she whispered. I swallowed. "Someone has to." "Do you think you need to do everything perfectly? Idiot..." She pulled back just enough to look me in the eye ¡ª her gaze firm, but soft around the edges. "We follow you because you¡¯re scared and still move forward. You are just like us, yet you¡¯ve stepped up and do everything you can... It doesn¡¯t matter if you fail, if you cry, or need help. We... No. I will always support you, no matter what happens." The knot in my chest eased ¡ª just slightly. "I¡¯m not as strong as you think." "Good," she said. "Then I won¡¯t feel bad holding you tonight." Her breath was hot on my neck. The weight of her body wasn¡¯t heavy, but it was grounding ¡ª a reminder that despite the pressure, the responsibility, and the endless ticking toward tomorrow... right now, I wasn¡¯t carrying it alone. Yifei straddled me on the lounge sofa, knees pressed into the cushions, her fingers slow and unsure against the hem of my shirt. Not nervous. Focused. Deliberate. "John," she whispered again, voice barely a breath. I opened my eyes. Her face was just inches from mine ¡ª eyes half-lidded, cheeks flushed. She didn¡¯t smile, but her lips were parted like she was holding something back. We weren¡¯t rushing. There was no panic in her movements. Only a slow, rising pressure, like the warmth in a room before the storm hits. Her fingers slid beneath the fabric at my waist, cold knuckles against my skin. "I¡¯ve never seen you like this before," she murmured. "The quiet. The weight." "I¡¯m still the same." "No," she said. "You¡¯re not." She leaned forward again, forehead brushing mine. "And maybe that¡¯s okay." The air between us pulsed. Her hands pushed my shirt higher, baring my stomach, then my chest, her palms trailing over my ribs as if mapping the changes ¡ª muscle hardened by cultivation, skin still warm with someone else¡¯s memory. "I want to know this version of you." Her lips brushed my jaw. "Before you change again." I didn¡¯t move. Didn¡¯t breathe. And then¡ª Yifei pulled back just far enough to grab the hem of her shirt. She tugged it upward in one slow, fluid motion and dropped it to the floor with a soft thump, revealing the smooth line of her waist and the slight tremble in her arms as she reached for my belt again. "...You might die tomorrow," she said quietly. "I might." Her eyes dropped to my lips. "Then you don¡¯t get to leave me wondering." She leaned in again. And this time, there was no room for hesitation. Our mouths met in heat, not clumsy, not rushed, but starved. Yifei¡¯s hips shifted, grinding down as her hands roamed under my shirt, over my ribs, possessive and needy. My fingers curled into the curve of her ass again, squeezing the softness I¡¯d memorised in the dark. "Yifei..." "Don¡¯t talk," she whispered. "Just... make me feel like I am the most important to you... at least for now" The tremble of her pupils and her quivering voice made me realise... Shen Yifei was scared, not playful, but maybe tomorrow¡¯s mission was too dangerous. Yet I couldn¡¯t stop now. That¡¯s why... just for now, just a little bit... I would drown in her gentle warmth. For both herself and me... Chapter 132: Shen Yifei’s First Orgasm [R18] Chapter 132: Shen Yifei¡¯s First Orgasm [R18]That¡¯s why... just for now, just a little bit... I would drown in her gentle warmth. For both herself and me. Yifei shifted in my lap, her thighs tightening around my waist. Her breath came faster against my neck, lips brushing my skin without kissing. She wasn¡¯t teasing. Just holding on. My hand moved to her back, slow and steady. Yifei trembled as I kissed her again. She parted her lips slowly, and I could feel the heat of her mouth. Not rushed. Just needy. Our mouths moved like they were learning each other ¡ª tongue brushing tongue, wet sounds filling the quiet space. I found the clasp behind her shoulder blades and unhooked it in one motion. Her arms stayed around me for a moment before she let go, just enough for the straps to slide down. She didn¡¯t cover herself. Her bra dropped to the floor. Her skin was soft, flushed, and warm. My hands found her sides, palms dragging upward until I cupped her chest¡ªnot grabbing, not pawing. Just holding. Her chest rose and fell faster beneath my fingers, and her eyes fluttered halfway shut as my thumbs brushed over her nipples. "Okay?" I asked. She nodded ¡ª barely. I leaned in and kissed the top of her breast, then lower. Her hands trembled on my shoulders, but she didn¡¯t push me away. Her knees pulled in tighter around my hips, grinding slowly now, underwear damp enough that I could feel the heat through both layers. Her breasts weren¡¯t large, but they were soft, perfectly fitting in my hands with a smooth, pale skin that blushed a faint pink, nipples stiff from contact and maybe tension. I touched them carefully at first, cupping both, watching her reactions. Her breath hitched. Then I squeezed, thumbs brushing her nipples. Yifei whimpered. Not loud. Not high. Just a broken little exhale that let me know she wanted more. She reached between us. She reached between us. Her fingers were slow, unsure. Not from fear ¡ª from need. She fumbled with my waistband, breathing harder now, forehead still resting against mine. I helped her, one hand covering hers, guiding her as we pulled my cock free together. It slapped up against her stomach ¡ª hard, veined, flushed dark with heat. Yifei gasped. She didn¡¯t speak. Just looked down, wide-eyed, her mouth parted. I reached for her soaked panties and pressed two fingers against the front. She flinched. "Already this wet?" I murmured. Her face burned. She didn¡¯t look away. "I... I couldn¡¯t stop." I dragged the fabric aside, slid my fingers lower, between her soft folds. She was drenched. Warm and throbbing around my hand. I didn¡¯t tease ¡ª I pushed two fingers inside, slow but firm, curling them against her walls. "Aa-ah... John¡ª" She clung to my shoulders, knees trembling on either side of me as I worked my fingers deeper. Every motion was deliberate ¡ª slow thrusts, curling pressure. I slid across her clit with my thumb, the soft, pulsing nub with tight circles. Yifei let out a sharp moan, before covering her lips, blushing red, before dropping her face into my shoulder as she bit down softly to muffle the sound. "You don¡¯t have to hold it in." "I-it¡¯s too much..." I pushed deeper and curled my fingers against her soft walls. Her thighs squeezed tighter around me, shaking her body with each stroke. She was dripping down my hand, her pussy clenching on my fingers like it didn¡¯t want to let go. "Fuck... you¡¯re tight." I pulled back and slapped her clit lightly with my fingers. She yelped. "Ah¡ª!" Her lovely moan revealed something... Then again. Slap. Slap. Wet smacks as her arousal coated my hand. "You like that?" She shook her head, but her hips rolled against my palm. "You sure?" I asked, thumb returning to her clit, rubbing harder now, watching her twitch with every stroke. "Because your pussy¡¯s squeezing like it does." "John¡ª! Don¡¯t say that¡ª" I pressed my mouth to her ear. "Say it. Say you like the way I finger your soaked cunt." She whimpered. Her breath hitched. Her legs were shaking now, her whole body leaning into mine. "Say it." "I... I like it¡ª" she gasped. "I like the way you¡ªaaah¡ªfuck me with your fingers." Her voice broke on the last word. I didn¡¯t stop. Kept fingering her harder, faster now, fingers curling up inside her, thumb grinding her swollen clit. Her hot sights became louder, breathless and desperate. She clung to me tightly while digging her nails into my back. Her cunt was fluttering around my fingers, wetter than before, her thighs trembling violently. "I¡ªJohn¡ªI¡¯m¡ª" She tensed. Then she came. Hard. Her whole body convulsed, pussy pulsing around my fingers in tight, frantic squeezes as she cried out into my shoulder. Her cum spilled down my wrist, hot and messy, soaking my palm and dripping onto my lap. I held her. Didn¡¯t say anything. Just kept my fingers deep inside until the shaking stopped, until her body slumped against mine. She was panting now. Face flushed. Hair sticking to her cheeks. Still twitching slightly as I slowly pulled my hand free with a wet noise. She looked down, saw the mess on my hand, and bit her lip. "That... wasn¡¯t fair," she whispered, voice raw. I licked her taste from my fingers. Then I grabbed her ass with both hands and lifted her slightly ¡ª cock twitching beneath her, nudging between her soaked lips. "You want fair?" I looked her in the eye. "Suck it." With a wet slap, I stood before her and slapped my cock against her face. My bulbous, wet tip pushed against her cheek... deforming the soft meat, letting my precum smear across her smooth skin. "Suck it." With a wet slap, I stood before her and slapped my cock against her face. The weight of it hit her cheek, smack, again and again. My swollen tip smeared precum across her skin, glistening lines streaking down from her cheekbone to her jaw. Yifei didn¡¯t speak. Her lips parted slightly ¡ª just enough. I pushed the head of my cock against her mouth, letting it sink against her lips. "Open wider." She obeyed, tongue sliding out with a trembling breath. Shlick... I pushed in ¡ª slow at first ¡ª until her lips wrapped around the head. Her mouth was warm. Wet. She groaned as I held her there, not moving, just resting the weight of it on her tongue. Gllck... slrp... She started sucking ¡ª hesitant at first, then deeper. I watched her eyes flutter as she took more. Her nose bumped into my stomach. Drool leaked from the corner of her mouth. Ghlck... ghlck... gllp... "Take it," I said, gripping the sides of her head. "You can cry if you need to, but don¡¯t stop." "Mnngf¡ªghlp!¡ªhaa¡ªshlrk!..." Her spit clung to me in thick ropes as I began to thrust. Slow at first and gradually gaining speed, faster and faster. Ghlk! Ghlk! Ghlk! Her eyes rolled back. Tears welled in the corners. Her hands gripped my thighs for balance as I fucked her mouth with wet, brutal strokes. The sounds were obscene ¡ª her throat convulsing, sloppy suction, spit splattering onto her chest with every thrust. Thump-thump ¡ª her knees hit the floor. Slrp... shhlk... glck¡ªglk! She gagged and looked up at me in tears, so I brushed them away with my thumb. But she didn¡¯t pull away. Her face turned red as I pushed deeper, forcing her nose flush to my skin. Her throat flexed around the head, struggling to keep it inside. "Look at you," I muttered. "So cute, and lovely." She moaned ¡ª even with my cock down her throat. "Mmn¡ªmnnghh¡ªglck!¡ªmmph¡ªslrrrp!..." I held her there, throat bulging, lips stretched wide. Pop. I pulled out. A thick line of spit clung to the tip, stretching from Yifei¡¯s tongue to my cock. Something about Shen Yifei ignited my passion, desire, and I wanted to make her cry, to squeal... nothing like Mu Qinglan or Jiang Roulan... a special... dark feeling. As a bubble formed from her nose, I could only grin. I gripped the base, stroking once, twice. Yifei blinked up at me, dazed and broken, mouth still open, tongue hanging out as drool dripped from her chin in thick strings. Her face was flushed, her eyes glassy, throat still twitching like it was trying to swallow something that wasn¡¯t there anymore. "Good girl..." I whispered, voice low, almost affectionate. Then I came. Spurt¡ª the first thick rope splattered across her cheek, streaking up to her eye. Spurt¡ªspurt¡ªspurt! Each shot hit her with a wet slap ¡ª painting her lips, her nose, her forehead. One strand clung to her eyelashes, another dripped slowly from the corner of her mouth. "Fuck... Yifei." She didn¡¯t flinch. Didn¡¯t wipe it off. Her eyes fluttered half-shut as my cum oozed down her chin, pooling between her tits. A final twitch of my cock left a weak trail across her collarbone. She stayed there. Covered. Used. Smiling faintly ¡ª and breathless. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "...Am I your favourite yet?" she whispered, cum sliding off her lip with a soft drip. I leaned down and brushed the semen from her lips, and kissed her lightly, right between the mess. "You¡¯re getting there." Chapter 133: A Sweet Little Shower [R18] Chapter 133: A Sweet Little Shower [R18]The moment of excitement faded. Shen Yifei looked up at me, blinking through the mess. Her face was flushed, smeared with cum ¡ª across her cheek, nose, even a long streak clinging to her temple. A line drooled down from her chin to her chest, tracing the curve of one breast. One thick bubble slid over her lips, barely caught before it could drip into her lap. She scowled. "Y-You...!" Her voice cracked, hoarse and raw from how deep I¡¯d been. "Why did you cum on my face? I¡ªI could¡¯ve swallowed it!" She pointed at me accusingly, twintails bouncing with each indignant twitch. "And now look! It¡¯s in my hair, on my chest¡ªmy leg!" She slapped the inside of her thigh, where a fat glob had landed and was slowly sliding downward. "What am I supposed to wear now?!" I didn¡¯t answer. I just looked at her. At the contrast between her pout and the way her body glistened ¡ª her soft skin streaked in white, hair stuck to her cheek, thighs spread and glistening from earlier. She was trying to be angry. But all I could see was the prettiest girl I¡¯d ever ruined. Before she could keep complaining, I stepped forward, slipped one arm behind her back, the other beneath her thighs, and lifted her into the air. "Wha¡ª!?" She flailed a little. "W-Wait, what are you¡ª?" I held her bridal style, her bare skin warm in my hands, the curve of her hips pressing into my palms. Her arms clung to my neck, mostly from instinct. "Putting you in the shower," I said simply. "You better not¡ª" She stopped when she saw my expression. My lips curved into a quiet smile. Then I gave her a light squeeze. She yelped. "John!" Her body pressed closer, thighs curling tighter around my side. She hid her face in my shoulder, and her breath tickled my neck. "Shut up," I growled while carrying her toward the bathroom. The water steamed around us, fogging the mirror and warming the tiled walls. I stood behind her, both of us already soaked. My hands moved through her hair, slow and methodical, working the shampoo into thick white foam. "Don¡¯t go rough," Yifei muttered. "If you pull on the bands again, I¡¯ll¡ªah!" I gently undid her twintails, letting her wet hair fall down her back. "You¡¯re hopeless," she grumbled, pouting under the stream. "And you¡¯re beautiful." "L-Like I¡¯m falling for that again..." But her voice softened. I massaged her scalp, letting my fingers sink into her hair, rubbing gentle circles. She relaxed without realising, head leaning back into my chest. Her bare back pressed against me, soft and wet, skin warm from the heat. My cock, already hard again, throbbed between us. She stiffened. "...It¡¯s poking me." "It missed you." "Idiot..." But she didn¡¯t move away. My hands slid down. I lathered more soap and dragged it over Yifer¡¯s shoulders, then down ¡ª palms full of her breasts. I squeezed gently, kneading the soft weight, thumbs brushing her nipples. "Haa... Nnng¡ª" She closed her mouth, squeezing her lips together, while trying not to make a sound. To stop her moans from leaking.. I kissed Yifei¡¯s delicate neck, nibbling before I whispered in her ear. "You¡¯re moaning." "I-I¡¯m not¡ªmnh¡ª" Shlick. I pinched one nipple and rolled it, while my other hand slid down her stomach, fingers parting the soft folds between her legs. Her thighs twitched as she struggled to breathe, looking back with a lovely expression. "You¡¯re soaked here too." "L-lying bastard¡ªah! John... don¡¯t¡ª!" Her hips jerked as my fingers circled her clit, slow and steady. She grabbed my wrist, but didn¡¯t stop me. I kissed the back of her neck, then her shoulder. Her voice cracked. "Stop teasing..." "You want more?" "...Shut up." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But her hips started moving. Grinding against my hand. Against my cock, trapped between her cheeks. Thump... thump... My cock slipped between her ass ¡ª hot and stiff, sliding up and down with the motion of her hips. She looked down. "...You¡¯re rubbing it between¡ªah¡ªmy ass...!" "You¡¯re the one moving." "I¡¯m not¡ª" But she placed her hands on the wall anyway. Bent slightly forward. Her thighs pressed together. Her back arched. She pushed back more deliberately now, rubbing herself on me, moaning into the steam as her ass squeezed my shaft with every motion. Shlick... thmp... thmp... "John... aah... if you keep¡ªrubbing it there¡ªmmn... I¡¯ll¡ª" I stroked her clit again. Her whole body shook. She moaned louder, hips rocking back against me without hesitation now. My cock slipped between her cheeks again and again, wet from the shower and Yifei¡¯s slippery petals, leaking honey. "Say it," I whispered, breath hot against her neck. "Say what you want." "I want... I want it inside," Yifei whispered. "But... but like this... first..." She reached back and spread her ass wider for me. "Rub it more. Make me cum like that." Yifei¡¯s plump buttocks jiggled as her soft blonde hair glistened from the shower, and her sticky juices dripped from her parted lips. Her grip on the wall tightened. I slid one hand around her waist and held her still, the other guiding my cock as I pushed it back between her thighs ¡ª thick, swollen, pressed tight between the soft press of her ass and dripping pussy. Thmp... thmp... shlick... The tip rubbed along her lower lips with each thrust. Not inside, but close. Each time my tip kissed her entrance, Yifei¡¯s little ass bounced, almost letting my cock slide right into her tight little cunt. She couldn¡¯t stay quiet anymore. Her hips rolled with mine, and she kept looking back ¡ª eyes glassy, lips wet. "F-Feels weird... haa... nnnn¡ªJohn..." "You like it." My voice was rough now. Low. "Grinding on my cock like a desperate little slut." "Don¡¯t say it like¡ªaaah!~" I drove forward harder, slapping against her cheeks. My length slid along her folds, pressing up against her clit with each pass. She jolted. "Mmn! Aah¡ªnnghh!" "Listen to the sounds you make." "This is what you are when you¡¯re with me." Thmp... thmp... shlick... shlick... Her thighs were soaked. Her juices mixed with the water, coating me completely. She moaned louder, back arching more. "Y-You¡¯re mean..." she whispered, but her voice cracked. "M-Maybe I like it..." "You do," I growled, thrusting harder between her legs. "You love getting used like this. You want me to ruin every part of you." Her breath hitched, then turned to broken moans. "Ah¡ªaaahhn~! I¡ªJohn¡ªI¡¯m gonna¡ª!" I reached down and rubbed her clit again. Fast. Rough. Overstimulation building. "Cum for me, Yifei." "I¡ª!" "Cum on my cock, even if it¡¯s not inside. Show me how dirty you can be." She cried out. Her legs buckled. And I watched Yifei reach bliss. Her body convulsed, ass squeezing tight, juices bubbling down her inner thighs as she moaned against the wall, voice high and choked and sweet. "Jooohn~! Mnh¡ªnnnnghh¡ªhaa~!" Yifei¡¯s moans melted into soft, breathy whimpers. Her fingers dragged down the tiles. Her body trembled against me, weak and powerless. I didn¡¯t stop. I kept grinding. Letting her feel the weight of my cock sliding between her sensitive thighs while she came again ¡ª twitching and gasping. When she slumped against the wall, I leaned in, kissed her neck, and whispered: "Good girl." Yifei turned her head slowly, face flushed, lips open, steam curling around her bangs. Her voice was weak and raspy. "...Can I have it inside now?" Lovely. "I want to feel it... for real this time." The tower barely clung to her body, while she trembled in my arms, she was far too cute. We were both still dripping ¡ª water running in slow trails down our skin, leaving damp footprints along the polished floor. Her wet hair clung to her cheeks and neck, and mine hung over my brow, heavy from the steam. Neither of us said a word. I carried her past the living room, down the long hallway that led to the back of the building, to the large bedroom I¡¯d claimed as my own. The lights on low, and air cooler than the bathroom, and the sheets were freshly replaced. Yifei wrapped her arms around me tighter, just enough to pull my attention to her as I stepped inside my huge room. The bed was bigger than king-size, and soft, as I placed her down and started to dry her body, brushing and rubbing her body with the towel that slipped off her shoulders. Once dry, she lay back and sank into the mattress with a cute sigh. I grabbed another from the nearby rack and began drying her off ¡ª slow, steady strokes along her arms, her legs, her hips. Shen Yifei looked up at me through damp bangs and lay back, one knee bent, her thighs spread apart, flashing a glimpse of her golden hair, and arms resting loosely beside her head. Then her eyes drifted lower. My cock stood tall ¡ª thick, veiny, curved slightly upward, the swollen tip flushed dark and twitching with every heartbeat. Her breath caught. "...It¡¯s still hard?" I smiled, stepping closer to the edge of the bed. "For you?" My voice dropped. "Always." Chapter 134: Popping Yifei’s Cherry [R18] Chapter 134: Popping Yifei¡¯s Cherry [R18]Yifei lay sprawled across the centre of the bed. She looked up at me with her big blue eyes, softly breathing through her nose while looking vulnerable, but determined. Not anymore. Her thighs were still damp from the shower, the trail of her orgasm glistening faintly where it clung between her legs. She didn¡¯t cover herself or even try. Nor did she ask what came next. I leaned over her. She closed her eyes. Our lips met again ¡ª slow, deep, her breath caught halfway through the kiss as I slid my hand up her side and cupped her breast, skin-to-skin. "Hnn... John..." She whispered it into my mouth. I kissed her again, this time softer. Her fingers curled into my shoulders. Her legs opened with no need to be told, one knee rising, the towel falling from her body entirely. She was already bare beneath me, flushed and slick and trembling. Then she asked me in a small and lovely voice. "I-It¡¯s going to hurt, isn¡¯t it...?" I paused. Looked her in the eye. "I¡¯ll be gentle." She nodded before brushing my cheeks with her delicate fingers. Yifei¡¯s eyes locked with mine, and it seemed she didn¡¯t want to miss a single moment. "...Okay." I reached down, guiding my cock to her entrance. She felt so warm. So soft. So tight. I pushed forward slowly ¡ª the tip spreading her open, parting her wet lips inch by inch. But she didn¡¯t pull away. "Ha¡ªhhhnn..." I paused when I reached resistance ¡ª shallow, firm. Yifei¡¯s first and final barrier. Her virginity, that thin veil of flesh... barely visible even if you looked for it. She swallowed. "...Do it." I kissed her again¡ªslow, warm, steady¡ªthen reached down and guided myself to her entrance. Her thighs twitched beneath me, skin damp and sensitive. The scent of soap, sweat, and something raw filled the space between us. Her breath caught. I pressed forward. Shlup. "Ah¡ª!" Her body jerked under me, legs stiffening as I pushed past the tight, untouched barrier. Her moist heat clamped down on me, squeezing around me, fluttering. The sound of her gasp echoed soft and sharp against the quiet air, like I had punched her chest. Her face turned to the side. Fingernails bit into the sheet. I stopped thrusting and looked down, while enjoying the feeling of Yifei¡¯s quivering ass and her insides tightly churning around my cock. Yifei¡¯s breath sounded like hiccups, and her face flushed as drops of water clung to her hairline from the shower, dripping down her body, forming an erotic picture. "H-Haa... it hurts a little... ahh... but... don¡¯t stop. Just... stay like that for a second... nn¡ªhaah..." I kissed her temple. Her skin tasted faintly of soap and salt. The inside of her pulsed around me¡ªtight, twitching, impossibly warm. My cock throbbed inside the clutch of her walls, still adjusting. "Mn... It¡¯s warm... and full... ffuuh... I didn¡¯t know it would feel this full..." Her thighs slowly relaxed, pressing against my sides with a breathy shiver. "You can move... ahn... but slow..." I pulled back an inch, then eased forward again. Shlick... She flinched again, thighs tightening briefly, but no cry came this time. Only a shaky inhale, lips parting slightly as her back arched under me. Her fingers, still tangled in the sheets, eased just a little. "I¡¯m really... haah... having sex with you... ngh..." "You are. And you¡¯re beautiful." Her face turned fast, burying against her shoulder. "Idiot... mmnh..." But her hips rose to meet me. Her legs wrapped tighter. The slow squelch of movement filled the room as I slid deeper again, her body now yielding. Shlick... shhlick... Her soft moans spilt into my ear, her breath warm against my jaw. "J-John... it¡¯s thick... inside... ngh¡ªhaah... I feel... full..." But her hips tilted up to meet the next thrust, and her voice caught in her throat as I kept moving¡ªslow, deep, careful. Letting her feel every inch. Her hips moved again. Not by accident. Not from pain. She tilted up to meet my next thrust, a soft sound catching in her throat. "Haa... aah... it¡¯s starting to feel good... I can¡¯t explain it..." Her thighs pressed tighter to my waist. Her nails brushed my back, no longer digging, just holding on. Every time I sank in, her body twitched, her breath spilt out against my ear. I kissed her again ¡ª lips soft and swollen now ¡ª and she kissed back. Warmer. Hungrier. Our rhythm picked up, still gentle but less restrained. I could feel Yifei¡¯s walls adjusting around me, her wetness growing as each thrust slid more easily. Shlick... shlick... She moaned again. "J-John... I can feel all of you... fuhh... it¡¯s too good..." Her voice cracked on the last word, and I felt it ¡ª that subtle flutter. The way her pussy clenched harder, a reflex now. Not pain. Not nerves. Her body was craving more. Her hands moved up to cup my face, then slid into my hair, pulling me down into a kiss. Mnph... shlick... thmp... She was melting beneath me. When I pulled back, her eyes followed me ¡ª heavy-lidded, needy, cheeks glowing. "I want more," she whispered, hips rolling up again. "Please... more..." I leaned up onto my knees. Took her thighs. And lifted them back. Her breath hitched. "H-Hah?!" Then I pushed deeper. Her eyes went wide. "W-Wait¡ªJohn¡ªahh¡ªn-not like thaaat¡ª!" I pushed her legs back, knees nearly to her shoulders. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her pussy opened wider, lips stretched around my cock, swollen and flushed red from the slow fucking I¡¯d given her so far. A string of wetness clung from her entrance to my shaft, and as I rolled my hips forward again, I watched the head vanish inside with a slkch, swallowed by heat. "Hahh¡ªaaahh...!" Her mouth fell open. Her thighs jerked in my grip. Her eyes locked on mine, wide and glassy, her lips trembling as my cock sank deeper than before¡ªdeeper than her body had prepared for. Her belly twitched. "It¡¯s¡ªit¡¯s pushing in too far¡ªnnnh¡ªtoo deep¡ª!" "You can take it," I growled low, hips grinding against her. Each thrust now filled her to her cervix, stretching her open from the inside. Her body writhed beneath me, the wet slap of flesh meeting flesh filling the bedroom louder with each thrust. Smack. Smack. Slap... shlick... slmp... Her cunt was dripping. Loud. Leaking with every thrust. I could feel the mess on my thighs, sticky and hot. "Yifei¡ª" I leaned down, pressing my chest to her bent knees. "You¡¯re clenching so hard." "Aaah¡ªnggh... I c-can¡¯t help it... you¡¯re so deep inside me¡ªhaaah¡ªJohn!" Her walls pulsed in erratic waves around me. Her back arched. Her breath came in ragged bursts, broken up by high moans she couldn¡¯t control. "Mnnh¡ªaaah¡ªhaaah¡ªmmph¡ª!" I drove harder. Faster. My balls slapped wetly against her ass with every stroke now. Slap¡ªslap¡ªslap! Her juices squirted out in bursts, spraying around my cock and making the sheets beneath her damp and shining. Her nipples were stiff and red, breasts bouncing with every movement. She tried to speak again. Failed. Her mouth only made broken sounds now. Her hands scrabbled at the sheets above her head, her body helpless against the pressure inside her. "Aaaah¡ªs-so big¡ªhnn¡ªfuhhh¡ªtoo much¡ªmmph¡ª" And still she kept cumming. She wasn¡¯t resisting anymore. She couldn¡¯t. Her voice had melted into breathy cries and hoarse moans, her body soaked with sweat and fluid, trembling beneath the force of each thrust. Slap¡ªslap¡ªsmack¡ªsquelch! I drove into her without pause, my hands gripping the backs of her thighs, folded tight to her chest as I slammed home again and again¡ªballs slapping against her ass, cock dragging along every swollen, sensitive inch inside her. Her eyes closed tight as if riding a roller coaster. Her mouth opened. Drool covered her lips. "Nnn¡ªn-not again¡ªhaaah¡ªJohn¡ªJohn!" Spurt¡ªshlick¡ªsplat! She squirted. Her pussy clenched violently, then burst around me¡ªspraying clear fluid that splashed against my hips, her ass, even up to her own chest as her body lost all control. She screamed. It wasn¡¯t even words anymore¡ªjust raw, broken sound. Her nails dug into the sheets above her head, her thighs trembling in my grip, her face contorted in messy, tear-streaked ecstasy. "Yifei¡ªtake it¡ª" "Hnn¡ªAAAH!¡ªI¡ªI love it¡ª¡ªhaaah¡ªfeels too good¡ª" Her entire body jerked violently again. Another squirt. Another contraction. She came again. And again. Her pussy pulsed wildly, milking me, clinging, spasming. She looked up at me¡ªhair sticking to her cheeks, face flushed and ruined¡ªand through the chaos, through the pleasure, she gasped: "I¡ªI l-love y-you¡ªaaahh¡ª! I love¡ªlove¡ªhaaah!" I growled. Then slammed in deep¡ªburying myself fully to the hilt. And came. Spurt¡ªspurt¡ªSPURT! Thick globs of cum exploded inside her. Hot. Endless. Pouring into Yifei¡¯s twitching pussy in heavy, slimy, wet bursts. She moaned again¡ªlegs shaking, cunt clenching around the rush of heat. I stayed there¡ªgrinding the base in¡ªuntil I was sure every last drop was in her. "...So full..." Yifei¡¯s voice was soft now. Dazed. Slurred. "...still cumming... still inside..." I slowly pulled out. Shlrrrp¡ªslkch¡ªplop. Her abused cunt twitched open¡ªwhite cum immediately bubbling out, overflowing in thick waves. It slid down the curve of her ass, dripping onto the soaked sheets, pooling beneath her in warm streaks. Her body was twitching still. Her thighs trembled, her stomach gently rising and falling. Cum smeared between her cheeks. Drooled down her hole. Leaked onto the bed. I watched it all, breathing hard, chest heaving. Yifei¡¯s eyes fluttered open. "...Still hard...?" she whispered, a weak smile on her ruined face. I leaned down. Kissed her forehead. "I¡¯m not done with you." She blushed¡ªexhausted, dazed, messy. And smiled again. "...Mm..." And so... we started again, this time... with her face buried into the pillow, and her cute ass lifted with a pillow under her hips. Chapter 135: Something to Protect Chapter 135: Something to Protect Shen Yifei lay unconscious. Not dead ¡ª just broken. Soft. Flushed. Spent. Her body was curled slightly on her side, chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm. Damp strands of hair stuck to her cheeks. Sweat glistened faintly along her collarbone. Between her thighs, the mess we¡¯d made continued to leak out, thick and heavy, pooling beneath her hips and soaking the sheets. Her breasts lifted with every breath, the tips still stiff and red. A slow twitch passed through one thigh, then the other. She looked at peace. The basin nearby held a stack of clean towels. One was pulled free, soaked in warm water, then wrung out until damp enough. The first stroke along her stomach was slow, with a soft cloth dragging across flushed skin, careful not to startle her. She didn¡¯t wake. One leg was lifted gently, parted further. The inner thighs were worse ¡ª still sticky with dried cum and sweat, her lips red and swollen. The towel moved through carefully, soaking, wiping, and cleaning. Her pussy clenched once, twitching as the cloth passed between. A small moan escaped her lips ¡ª faint, breathy ¡ª but her eyes stayed shut. Every part of her had been used. Now she was being cared for. The towel grew heavier as it absorbed the trail down her thighs. Another passed across her calves, her ankles, the tops of her feet. Once more up her legs ¡ª slower now. Reverent. A second towel was used to pat her dry. Yifei¡¯s unique scent lingered in the air: soap, sweat, sex, and faint traces of shampoo. I stroked her cheek, tucking her damp hair behind Yifei¡¯s ear. Her lips parted slightly as she shifted on the pillow. Words were not meant for her ears, but maybe they were anyway. "...I¡¯m a scumbag." No bitterness. No excuse. Just honesty. "Could¡¯ve stopped, no I Should¡¯ve, maybe. But didn¡¯t." The silence between breaths gave space for more. "I could¡¯ve stopped. Or at least slowed down. I didn¡¯t have to keep going. Not four times." A glance down showed her legs still twitching every so often. The outline of my load still leaking from her, drooling into the sheets. "I don¡¯t know how deeply she feels, but in this hellish world feelings and affection become distorted... I cannot say I love her. But I still want her... Like a selfish child." My fingers... spread out, flexing ¡ª the same hand that held her soft hips, dragged her back, and pushed too deep ¡ª still tingling with memory. "But I won¡¯t pretend to be someone I¡¯m not." I lifted myself from the bed and let out a long sigh. "I¡¯d take that label. Scumbag. Bastard. Whatever they call me." My lips curled into a smile while watching her sleeping quietly, and I realised I might like her. No, I probably liked her a great deal. "If it¡¯s not love now, then I just need to treat her well and let it become love." I let my hand rest over hers. I turned off the leading light, leaving only the dim bedside lamp on. She looked smaller in the glow. Her back rose and fell. The sheets were clinging to her skin. Her lips slightly parted. I reached down one last time and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. "Sleep well." Then I stepped out of the room. The hallway outside was dark and quiet, and the sound of the city was nothing more than a hush behind the windows. I was guided to the rooftop, somewhere I hadn¡¯t checked yet. ¡ª¡ª¡ª The metal door creaked open, letting in the warm dusk air. It was a calm but more violent wind up here. The sky stretched wide and cracked with fading pink and soft orange. The sun hovered low, above the horizon, a molten disk smeared behind a wall of haze. Footsteps echoed faintly against the rooftop tile ¡ª slow, steady, slightly uneven. I noticed some fluffy figures moving from the corner of my eyes before sitting on theedgee of the roof, my legs dangling from the side. "Yin?" Yin was curled on a patch of concrete near the corner, where the wind was blocked and the air still carried a hint of heat. His tail twitched once, then stilled again. A second figure lay beside him. Smaller. Dirtier. A female cat, thin, with patchy fur and bruised ribs showing through the curve of her body. She lay with her face tucked beneath her forelegs, her breathing shallow, stomach barely moving. Her paws were covered in old soot and dust. Yin didn¡¯t move. But his eyes opened when the steps stopped. The message appeared the moment I focused on her. [Feral Domestic Variant ¡ª Female, Juvenile] Vitality Low. Immunity Damaged. Infection. None. Would you like to administer an evolution Injection? Cost: 2,000 ZKP ¡¯What would that do, will she be saved?¡¯ [The cat will be injected with a similar bloodline to Wang Yin, restoring health and improving attributes and survivability.] "Yeah," the answer came out quietly. The green confirmation window pulsed once and vanished. The air around the stray shimmered, just for a moment ¡ª a faint pulse, like heat rising from metal. Her back arched slightly. Then she settled again with steady breathing. Her ribs no longer moved so sharply. The dirt along her paws began to flake, and her fur darkened to a healthy gloss, matching Yin¡¯s moonlight coat. Her body tucked in tighter beside him, head sliding to rest against his flank. Yin¡¯s ears flicked, then he meowed at me. He stood up slowly, stretched his legs, and walked over with measured steps, tail curling high. He rubbed his head against my leg, then leaned into my thigh, purring deep. "You like her?" "Meow!" "Well she should be better in a few hours, you need to feed her well, so work hard with me." He meowed again. The female didn¡¯t move or cry; instead, she rolled onto the warm patch he¡¯d left. I crouched beside them and lay on my side, watching the horizon and the cute cats flirting. It was relaxing and I felt relieved. While resting one elbow on the concret,e I watched the pair for a while. Yin didn¡¯t just want to eat or nap. He¡¯d brought her up here, lain beside her, and even shielded her with his warmth. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Maybe he wasn¡¯t just another survivor. Maybe he was like me. Looking for something to protect. To keep warm. To carry into the future. I looked around the rooftop ¡ª cracked tile, scattered leaves, and the distant sound of wind brushing against antennas. It could be better. "Open system." [ZKP Balance: 27,000] [Available Enhancements Detected ¡ª Rooftop Zone] ? Rooftop Conversion (Feline Sanctuary Module) ? Dome Enclosure + Environmental Comfort Grid ? Multi-Level Cat Trees + Territory Enrichment ? Passive Safety Barrier (Prevent Falls) ? Automated Feeder/Water fountain. ? Solar Panel System (Power Storage) Cost: 3,000 ZKP [Confirm?] The System screen was transformed into a digital 3D blueprint of the apartment. The dome on top was physical and looked like an energy barrier for extra protection. "Do it." The rooftop didn¡¯t shake, but the air did. Thin blue light swept the concrete, drawing lines like threads across the surface. One by one, curved support poles rose silently at the roof¡¯s edges, forming a dome lattice of transparent material that shimmered only in the right light. The wind softened immediately. Then came the rest. Padded catwalks unrolled from the edges. Soft, spiralled towers rose from the corners and were made of treated wood and reinforced foam. Rope bridges stretched between large tree-like climbing structures, each dotted with perches, dens, and swinging platforms. Multiple water dishes appeared. A small automated feeder. Heated bedding domes with cosy, plush linings. Within seconds, the rooftop had transformed. It wasn¡¯t a war zone. It was a home. Yin sat beside me, tail flicking slowly as he watched it unfold. He didn¡¯t move yet ¡ª as if he knew the space wasn¡¯t just his anymore. The female stirred, eyes blinking open, soft and unfocused. Her head turned slightly. When she saw him, her tail thumped against the tile once. They didn¡¯t meow. They didn¡¯t touch. But she shifted closer. He let her. We sat at the edge of the roof together, two cats and one man. I rested both hands on each cat, stroking the struggling female and reassuring Yin she would be fine. My body ached from the past few days... maybe I needed rest too, and the cuts and marks from Yifei also burned slightly, so I removed my shirt. The sun continued casting long shadows through the dome¡¯s ribs. Yin rubbed against me again, then curled up beside my hip. We sat in silence for a while. Watching the city. Smoke still rose from one of the distant streets. Somewhere far off, a dog barked. Drones passed overhead, red lights blinking against the haze. I leaned back slightly, eyes half-lidded. "Yin," I murmured. He looked up at me with his cute face and slowly blinked. "Do you think tomorrow will be a good day?" He didn¡¯t answer. But he stayed. Chapter 136: The Weight That Waits Below Chapter 136: The Weight That Waits BelowMarch 19th, 7:45 PM ¡ª Jiang Roulan¡¯s Building, 2nd Floor ¡ª The hallway lights dimmed during the early evening to save power, creating a long golden shadow across the freshly upgraded walls. I looked around the standard room, but most survivors had retired, and some voices echoed through the open doors. Footsteps echoed down the padded corridor. Mine. I probably looked a mess, with a half-buttoned shirt and pants hanging loose because Yifei threw my belt somewhere. My skin was still warm from the rooftop sunlight and scratches that marked my chest, arms and back. A dull ache lingered in my thighs, hips, and neck. Not to mention Yifei¡¯s scent that lingered on me, even after the rooftop¡¯s air. A voice leaked out from the stairwell landing below. Male. Nervous. "...You think the mall¡¯s safe enough to raid tomorrow?" A second voice followed it, much sharper and feminine. "No. But it¡¯s not about safe, is it? He said we¡¯re going. So we¡¯re going." I paused by the railing, just out of sight. Kept my back against the cool wall and listened to them. There was truth in their words, and the sense of fear was worse than I thought. "I¡¯ve got family across town. If they die there... I¡¯ll never know if they made it." A pause. "He brought us back from the brink, didn¡¯t he? Miss Jiang¡¯s building used to be a graveyard. Now it¡¯s the safest place we¡¯ve had in weeks." "But for how long?" Silence. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Then a quieter voice, resigned. "We¡¯re following him now. It doesn¡¯t matter if we¡¯re scared." A door creaked open on my floor. I turned, instinct kicking in. Liang Mei stood at the threshold of her room. A cup of water in hand. Barefoot. Wearing an oversized grey T-shirt that hung just off one shoulder. Her hair was tied up messily, and her eyes were ringed faintly with fatigue. She looked at me, and her face turned pink. Her eyes dragged across my chest, focused momentarily, then traced to the red lines around my neck and the muscles on display from my half-opened shirt. The little sheep¡¯s eyes lingered for a long time before she reacted. Then her lips parted slightly. "...Rough night?" Her voice was casual. But something sharp glittered beneath it. She wasn¡¯t teasing. I didn¡¯t answer. She didn¡¯t expect one. "Extremely..." So I gave an answer that made the lovely girl blush more. Her gaze stayed locked on mine for a second too long, then dropped to her cup. She took a sip without breaking eye contact. The silence held between us like a thread. She stepped aside to let me pass. But I didn¡¯t move. She looked up again, and she looked uncertain for the first time since I¡¯d met her. Not nervous. Just thinking. Her hand shifted on the cup. Her knuckles tightened slightly. Then she turned without a word and stepped back inside her room. I didn¡¯t know why seeing her felt so strange, but my heart felt uneasy as it thumped faster. Then her door clicked shut. There wasn¡¯t a smile or a comment... but something had changed. Today wasn¡¯t the time to pursue that, though, either. I walked on. Each step was quiet, steady, leading down toward the lower floors. ¡ª March 19th, 8:15 PM ¡ª Second Floor Canteen The room smelled like old soy, fresh rice, and recycled heat. Steam curled up from a large pot near the far table where Deng Hua sat cross-legged with his back against a pillar, waving a ladle like a baton. Chen Xun leaned back in a folding chair with his boots on a box of dry noodles. Old Zhou smoked something that wasn¡¯t a cigarette and coughed twice, loudly, before laughing at his wheeze. "Ahh¡ªspeak of the devil," Deng Hua grinned as I entered. "We were just talking about you boss, are you gonna join us?" "Of course I am." Chen Xun gave a slow, impressed whistle. "You look like you survived a storm, boss." I pulled up a chair. The stool creaked under my weight as I sat down, one elbow on the table. Deng handed me a bowl without asking. Rice. Something spicy. It burned well and reminded me of the first day of the apocalypse. Could I trust these people? Will we become comrades and friends? Yang Ping¡¯s change... well, it wasn¡¯t his fault as I was the one who rushed out and didn¡¯t think logically, but the pain when he closed the shutters and door on me lingered. I didn¡¯t know that I was so sentimental. Old Zhou leaned over with narrowed eyes. "Women¡¯ll ruin your back, boy. Make sure you stretch and wrap it up first!" I snorted. The old bastard made me blush; he seemed to have seen the love bites and scratches the blonde cat left on me. The laugh was quiet, but it came out. Somehow... with Old Zhou and the males from the university, I felt alive... normal... and didn¡¯t want to see them die. "This is nice..." I whispered, but the others didn¡¯t even react. We ate while chatting about dumb things, like boys do... and for a while. It wasn¡¯t awkward. Just nice. The walls hummed faintly with the generator. Outside, someone shouted about water rotation, but it faded quickly. Everyone was starting to settle in again. After the second bowl, I stood. "I¡¯ll see you tomorrow," I said. None of them asked where I was going because I mentioned Mu Qinglan earlier. However, when asked about the marks, I folded and told them about Yifei. The younger guys looked at me with shining eyes... but Old Zhou offered me a cup of strong, sharp whiskey and sighed. They knew. ¡ª¡ª March 19th, 10:57 PM ¡ª Jiang Roulan¡¯s Building, 10th Floor -> Qinglan¡¯s Bedroom The hallway was quiet by then. Lights dimmed¡ªno more chatter. The hum of building systems and the faint metallic creak of air ducts shifted as the temperature dropped. Mu Qinglan waited by the door to the private room I¡¯d set aside for the night. Black nightdress. Thin straps, with a mid-thigh hem. Mu Qinglan folded her arms just beneath her breasts, pressing the fabric and lifting her melons higher. I could see her nipples through the thin material... she wasn¡¯t wearing a bra. Her eyes met mine before I even spoke. "You reek of sex." I stopped two steps from her. No point denying it. "Ah." She stepped forward and hugged me, her hands brushing along my stomach, chest and slipping around my back, as she examined the marks on my body. The faint tremble of her hand made my heart tighten. "You fucked her." I said nothing. She tilted her head, then reached up and pressed two fingers to a red line on my neck. Her nails lightly scratched the healing edge. "She made you cum hard enough to leave marks." Still, I said nothing. Qinglan stepped closer, now inches from me. Her voice was quieter now, but not softer. "Was it good?" "I didn¡¯t plan any of it." A faint smile touched her lips. The same kind she used when watching someone bleed out. "Is that what you¡¯re telling yourself?" The tension held a moment longer. Then she sighed, turned around, and pushed the door open. "It wasn¡¯t Roulan." That made her pause. "...Who?" "Shen Yifei." The reaction wasn¡¯t dramatic. Not from Qinglan. But it was there ¡ª a blink, slower than usual. The slightest shift in posture. She sucked in the air and drew a breath more sharply through her nose. "...That girl?" "She¡¯s not just a girl." "No," Qinglan said, almost absentmindedly. "Apparently not." She didn¡¯t ask anything else. Just turned, pushed the door open, and walked inside. I followed. Then she reached back, pulled at the tie behind her neck, and let the nightdress fall to the floor. The thin fabric slid down her back, catching at her hips for half a second before pooling at her feet. She stepped out of it and kicked the door shut with her heel. Then she turned. And flung me onto the bed with one firm shove. The mattress caught my weight as I landed, half-laughing, wind knocked from my chest. Mu Qinglan climbed onto me, graceful, deliberate, eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. Her bare thighs straddled mine. Her hair spilt forward, brushing against my chest as her fingers pressed down my shoulders. "Well... don¡¯t forget your promise," she said, voice low and velvet. I looked up at her ¡ª at the gleam in her eye, at the faint smirk on her lips that didn¡¯t quite hide the hunger underneath. "How many times?" "...Four." She grinned. Not cruel. Not jealous anymore. Just competitive. "Then I¡¯ll make you forget her name by the third." I reached up, fingers grazing her waist. "Is that so?" Mu Qinglan leaned down until her lips brushed my ear. "We¡¯ll see who¡¯s holding who by morning." She kissed me ¡ª slow and deep ¡ª as the sheet fell over us both. And in that heat and friction, her scent started to replace the one she hated. And she didn¡¯t let me sleep for hours. Chapter 137: The Blade at Her Hip Chapter 137: The Blade at Her HipMarch 20th, 5:45 AM ¡ª Base -> Tenth Floor ¡ª¡ª Qinglan slept with her cheek on my chest, one leg hooked lazily over mine. The sheet barely clung to her hips. Her breathing was soft, but steady. Slow enough to know she hadn¡¯t woken yet. Her skin was warm against mine, her body relaxed. She didn¡¯t cling or hold¡ªshe rested like she didn¡¯t need to prove anything. There was a strange comfort in that. The room was still dim, touched by the faintest edge of sunlight. The blackout curtains were drawn, but a crack between them let in just enough to paint the dust in the air. I could hear the pipes ticking through the wall. The faint murmur of wind against the outer panels of the building. I didn¡¯t move for a while. My hand rested just above her waist. Her hair smelled faintly like soap. There was a heat between us, but not from tension or lust. Just leftover warmth. The two women were so different. Yifei slept like the world might end in her dreams. She¡¯d hold tight, curl close. Possessive even in sleep. Qinglan was different. She knew I wouldn¡¯t leave. Not before she did. Eventually, I shifted and slipped out from under her carefully. My shoulder and back ached like hell, but Mu Qinglan remained sleeping. I got up and stretched, swiping the screen to confirm the item I purchased earlier for Qinglan, away with a yawn. My thighs ached a little, and it seemed pleasuring two women completely exhausted me. In the mirror¡¯s reflection, I noticed my body. The marks from both women, almost like feral cats competing for food. "These women will be the end of me." I pulled on my shirt and pants without a sound. Buckled the belt. Checked the gauntlets near the nightstand and hesitated. Her broken and damaged bat leaned against the wall. I picked it up. Behind me, the sound of her moving in the quilt caught my attention. "Are we leaving already?" Her voice sounded sore, hoarse and as if she swallowed several blades and some sandpaper. I looked back. She sat up with the sheet pooled around her waist. Her hair was messy with dried clumps of semen and sweat mixed. But her skin shone faintly with a glossy sheen before Qinglan smiled. I tapped the blue box in the corner of my vision and reached into the air, dragging it out. Before she could react, I placed the long sheathed blade beside her and gave her a wink. "Something for you, to make up for everything." Her eyes dropped to it, as she sucked in cold air, gasping and reached for it. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [New Weapon Purchased] Name: Endless Night Type: Martial Weapon Rarity: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï Requirements: Strength 4.5 | Physique 4.5 | Qi Affinity: Darkness | Ice Weapon type: Zhanmadao (single-bladed anti-cavalry Chinese sword) Length: 78 inches (200 cm) Blade Length: 59 inches (150 cm) Special Traits: ? [Unbreakable Blade] - Absorbs Ice Qi to temper and repair the blade constantly. ? [Ice Orchid Aura] - Projects a thin layer of ice that sharpens the blade. ? [Heavy Weapon] - Designed for users with enhanced strength and physique. ? [Anti-Cavalry] - Deals more damage against large enemies Thanks to her trust reaching the limit, she should now be able to see the status screen of the items she holds. Her fingers touched the sheath like she already knew it belonged to her. Qinglan lifted it slowly, running her thumb across the black lacquered wood. The hilt was wrapped tight in cord, her hand fitting around it without hesitation. She didn¡¯t unsheathe it yet. Just weighed it in her palm, turned it slightly in the morning light. "For me?" I nodded. "Wow... it¡¯s so heavy, but..." She didn¡¯t thank me. Qinglan wasn¡¯t the type. But her grip on the weapon shifted, and she looked at it a second longer before setting it across her thighs. The sheet had slipped lower now, but she didn¡¯t seem to notice. Or didn¡¯t care. "You¡¯ll wield it better than anyone else," I said. She looked up. There was a long pause¡ªnothing heavy, just a shared silence. Then she stood. The sheet slid off completely as she rose from the bed, her body bare, unmarred, steady. She took her time, strapped the blade to her hip like she¡¯d done it a hundred times before. No rush. Just the way she moved, like she owned the weight of it. She adjusted the angle slightly. Tilted her hips. Turned once. Her hair brushed her shoulder as she looked at me. "Do I look like someone worth following?" Although I wanted to answer her properly... "You look like someone worth following into bed." But when I laughed, her cheeks became red and she seemed to have understood what happened. "Ah..." "A naked swordswoman... erotic, but I don¡¯t want other¡¯s seeing your body" "Nn... I know, im just so happy for the gift. Thank you." It seems I was wrong about Mu Qinglan. Qinglan swayed her hips with a controlled arc, as if seducing me on purpose. Her presence filled the room more than her words ever did. She stopped close, just enough that I could see the faint marks from last night down the side of her neck. The way her breathing had changed. Shallower now. Her lips brushed mine. Not a kiss. Not quite. Then she turned her head and stepped past me, picking up her discarded clothes from the chair. "You should get moving," she said, pulling the straps of her bra into place. "The others will be wondering why their fearless leader is still in bed." I didn¡¯t answer right away. Because I really enjoyed watching Mu Qinglan and the strange things she did. I also bought her an outfit... but it didn¡¯t suit the mission. So I would give it to her later. She buckled her belt with the sword at her hip and opened the door. Then she looked back once, expression unreadable. "John... I really like it!" she said with a beaming smile, and then she left. The hallway was cooler than the room. The lights buzzed faintly overhead, motion sensors catching my steps. I noticed someone must have cleaned the floors recently. Still smelled like diluted bleach and ammonia. Yifei passed me halfway down the corridor. She wore her training gear¡ªa tight black top, spear strapped to her back. Her hair was pulled into a tight tail, still damp at the ends. She looked at me with a glance, a slight smirk on her face. Her eyes drifted down. Took in the belt, the shirt, the gauntlets still unsealed on my wrists. But she didn¡¯t say anything. Neither did I. She kept walking. Around the corner, a voice murmured something low. Then the footsteps stopped. Liang Mei leaned against the railing by the stairwell. She had a cloth in one hand, wiping down the grip of her bow. Her gaze lifted as I passed, curious and a flicker of delight shining in her eyes. "Morning, Leader." She spoke before returning to her actions. "Are you coming?" Though I didn¡¯t add her to the list because of her heart... it seemed she truly wanted to come with us, and that made me consider it. Another voice echoed up from below. Survivors started moving through the lower floors. Someone coughed. Someone laughed nervously. They all felt it. The shift. The tension. The weight in the air before a raid. I kept walking. The temporary planning room was set up on the third floor¡ªa small kitchen that I added to the second training room, repurposed. The walls were still spotless, and some shelves were taken from downstairs. But it worked. A fold-out table had been covered in maps, hand-drawn layouts of the mall. A battery-powered lamp buzzed softly beside a half-drunk cup of instant coffee. I leaned over the map and opened the system interface. [Tactical Overlay Enabled] Location: Central East Mall Complex Status: Partial Structural Damage Threat Density: High Detected Variants: Screamer-Type, Burrower-Type Survivors: 3 Signatures (unconfirmed) I tapped the three entry points. Main entrance. Loading dock. Rooftop service stairwell. Each one was bad. I drew a line through the side entrance. Too narrow. Not enough cover. But in the end, it was the rooftop and the third floor that would be the best chance. Qinglan could lead the front for the second team¡ªher new blade was best for open-floor combat. I didn¡¯t want her to suffer without me. I almost regretted this choice for a moment, but... I knew it was the best chance. If we all took one door and it went badly. Everyone could die. The time ticked closer to the departure time, as people gathered in the first training room. I didn¡¯t plan to give a speech or rallying words. No one needed to hear anything from me right now. They just needed to follow. And not die. Chapter 138: The Approach Chapter 138: The ApproachIt took twenty-two minutes to reach the mall. Tang Wei¡¯s old military van handled better than it looked. The engine coughed like a dying smoker, but it held steady over cracked pavement and broken debris. Windows reinforced with scrap metal. Rust around the wheel wells. She must have kept it hidden for weeks. "I¡¯ve had her since before the Fall," Tang said from behind the wheel, eyes on the road. "Kept her under a tarp in the substation parking lot. Guess it paid off." In the back, no one answered. Just a few nods. Weapons were checked. Belts tightened. SMGs cradled or slung low. Yifei stared out the window, face unreadable. The city watched us through hollow windows and cracked glass. We passed burned storefronts, overturned bikes, and a bus turned on its side. Somewhere in the distance, something moaned ¡ª not close. Not far. Just enough to remind us the dead were still listening. I sat by the rear door, gear strapped tight, gauntlets resting across my lap. Qinglan had claimed the passenger seat without asking. Yifei sat directly behind me, silent, eyes closed like she was meditating. Liang Mei stayed near the back, holding her bow across her knees like she didn¡¯t trust anyone else to touch it. The others were quiet and focused. When we finally reached the perimeter, Tang Wei slowed the van behind a half-collapsed bookstore across the street from the mall¡¯s southern face. From this angle, the building didn¡¯t look dead. Just abandoned. Glass cracked but mostly intact. Signs still hanging. A few storefront banners flapped in the breeze. We moved up on foot. Tang Wei led us through the side alleys, staying low. I took the point once we cleared the last corner. Two minutes later, we were on the roof. The ascent was slow. Tang Wei found the fire escape still intact, though one landing was partially collapsed. We climbed single file, checking for trip lines, loose panels, and pressure plates. None. Either the place hadn¡¯t been trapped yet, or whoever set the bait hadn¡¯t expected a team this careful. The roof was wide, concrete cracked from age and weather, broken glass scattered from old skylights. A ventilation unit sat off-centre, humming faintly. The upper access stairwell door was broken and damaged. Reinforced doors warped. Someone had used it before. We regrouped near the roof ledge. "If there is no response on the headset after twenty minutes, get in touch," I said. "No noise unless we make it first." Qinglan stretched her arms above her head, rolling one shoulder. "Make sure you don¡¯t get hurt..." Yifei clicked her spear into place behind her back. "We¡¯ll make less noise than your heels." "Mm." Qinglan didn¡¯t smile. Just adjusted the sword at her hip. "Try not to die before we split." I looked at them both and couldn¡¯t help but worry, thank god I split them up. The rooftop was wide and broken. Skylights shattered long ago. One vent unit still worked ¡ª low hum, like something breathing underground. We took positions by the access hatch. Team One would enter first ¡ª me, Tang Wei, Yifei, and Roulan. Team Two ¡ª Qinglan, Deng Hua, Zhou Xue, Liang Mei, Liang Qiu, and Chen Xun ¡ª would wait. Hold position until we give the signal. No room for errors in timing. If we triggered a nest too soon, we¡¯d be split before either group hit the ground. I looked across the rooftop. Qinglan leaned against the ledge, one leg up, blade resting in the crook of her arm. She didn¡¯t speak. But when I met her eyes, she nodded once. It was time. I crouched near the ledge and checked the comm. "Lan¡¯er." Her voice came back immediately. "I hear you." "Wait for the signal." "...Don¡¯t take too long." When I stood, she met my eyes. Maybe for the first time, I noticed how much emotion she showed through her ice-blue eyes, fear, worry, anxiety, affection and her growing love. "I won¡¯t. Please be safe, Lan¡¯er." "Nn, I will, John." The door creaked louder than it should¡¯ve. Tang Wei pushed it open with her shoulder, shotgun raised. The hinges screamed. Metal grated against rusted concrete. Something scurried across the far corner and vanished behind the ventilation shaft. Yifei and Roulan slipped in after her. I followed last, letting the door swing back on its own. It didn¡¯t close properly. Inside, the air felt wrong. Still, but heavy. A layer of moisture clung to the walls ¡ª not from rain, but from something else. In places, dark streaks trailed toward a cracked drain. Twenty days shouldn¡¯t have done this much. The upper stairwell wound down three flights before it reached the third floor. Graffiti, old warnings, and smeared handprints covered the walls. A few dried streaks of blood along the rail. No bodies. Just stains. I glanced at Yifei. Her fingers were tight around the spear grip, but her face stayed calm. Roulan was focused, breathing slow. Tang Wei moved like she¡¯d done this a hundred times ¡ª each corner cleared, every landing checked twice. On the third floor, we found a closed door. No light from the other side. Yifei tilted her head slightly, listening. Then a whisper. "I hear breathing..." She didn¡¯t mean ours. Roulan stepped forward, SMG raised, ready to cover. I pressed one hand against the steel and gave it a slow push. The mall¡¯s third floor opened in front of us like a gaping mouth. It was darker than expected. Most of the overhead lights were dead. A few flickered faintly near the far end of the corridor, casting long shadows across busted tile and collapsed shop signs. Luckily, each of us wore a helmet with night vision that I bought for everyone, along with these tactical outfits that cost 1000 points each. Dust floated in the air. Not stirred. Not moving. Just there. The silence wasn¡¯t peaceful. It was crouching. Holding its breath. We moved in. The floor was soft in places. Some kind of moss or mould had spread across the edges of the walkway, like the building had been sealed too long. A shattered display window revealed a clothing store gutted from the inside. The mannequins were gone. Racks overturned. Still no bodies. No sound. No undead. Too clean. Tang Wei glanced at me. Her lips pressed into a thin line. "This isn¡¯t normal." "I know." I tapped my comm twice. "Lan¡¯er. We¡¯re in." A soft crackle, then her voice. "Copy." I looked at Tang Wei, then at Roulan. Yifei stepped ahead, angling her spear down the far corridor. She didn¡¯t speak, but her shoulders had stiffened. Whatever had happened here... It wasn¡¯t just rot and time. Something was watching. I tapped the side of my headset again. "Lan¡¯er. It¡¯s clear enough." Her response came a second later, low but steady. "Understood." I looked at Tang Wei. She nodded, then moved up the corridor with Roulan. Yifei stayed beside me, eyes scanning every broken sign and glass shard like they were tripwires. The place still felt wrong. I could hear the lights. Not the hum ¡ª the flicker. That weak, uneven buzz where bulbs were still trying to stay alive. It made the silence worse. Yifei moved ahead. I stayed by the stairwell door just long enough to hear the click of the comms again ¡ª faint background noise, a soft intake of breath on the other side. Mu Qinglan¡¯s team had started moving. ¡ª¡ª Rooftop ¡ª Five Minutes Earlier Mu Qingaln POV ¡ª¡ª I stood close to the door, one hand resting on the hilt of my blade. The others were behind me, mostly quiet, listening for the signal. Zhou Xue checked her weapon again, clicking the magazine into place with too much force. Liang Qiu muttered something under his breath and got no reply. Liang Mei adjusted the strap on her chest twice, then again. Her hands wouldn¡¯t stop twitching. I didn¡¯t speak until John¡¯s voice came through the comm. "It¡¯s clear enough." I exhaled. "Understood." Then I turned. "Let¡¯s go." No extra words. No theatrics. I just wanted to get things done. Deng Hua took the lead, Zhou Xue right behind him. Liang Qiu moved on his rhythm, quiet, careful. Chen Xun stuck near the back with Liang Mei, who hesitated at the first step. I waited. When she didn¡¯t move, I stepped beside her and leaned in slightly. "You¡¯re here because he gave you the chance. Don¡¯t waste it." Liang Mei nodded. Swallowed hard. Then followed. The stairwell down to the third floor was narrow, with concrete chipped at the corners. Someone had kicked a dent in the wall ¡ª maybe rage or fear. It didn¡¯t matter. As we descended, the tension in the group shifted. Less talking and movement. Just the thud of boots, the soft scuff of fabric, the creak of old gear. We reached the access door to the third floor on the north side. I stopped them just before the push. Glanced at Deng Hua. He nodded. Pulled the door open slow. The mall swallowed us in silence. The smell hit immediately ¡ª not just rot, but damp plaster and something chemical. I shifted my grip on the blade as I stepped through. My boots didn¡¯t echo. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Across the open floor, I saw John¡¯s team already moving. He gestured toward a store up ahead. "Contact¡¯s yours if it shows," he called. I gave him a nod and followed. Whatever was waiting in here, it hadn¡¯t shown itself yet. But it would. Chapter 139: Into the Nest Chapter 139: Into the NestThe third floor was too quiet. Shen Yifei moved ahead of me, spear angled low, her steps careful and light. Jiang Roulan kept to the left, hugging the storefronts, her tonfa in hand. Tang Wei brought up the rear. She kept her pistol holstered, one hand on the machete strapped across her back. No one spoke. The layout was worse than I remembered. Metal trash bins were overturned. Paper signs rotted off display windows. Shelves stripped clean. But nothing about it looked rushed. No panic. Just... emptied. Like someone had erased the life from the place, piece by piece. "Don¡¯t see any bodies," Tang Wei said, voice just above a breath. I didn¡¯t answer. Neither did the others. It wasn¡¯t a question. It was her version of a warning. A children¡¯s shoe sat at the entrance of a store called "Little Tails." The size was too small for anyone over five. No blood. Just placed there. Facing outward. Shen Yifei froze at the corridor¡¯s bend and held up one hand. We stopped instantly. I moved beside her, crouched low. She didn¡¯t look at me ¡ª just nodded ahead. A movement. Thin. Low. Behind the sagging edge of a tarp near the broken rail. It didn¡¯t shuffle. It ducked. Roulan¡¯s hand inched toward her SMG. I shook my head once. Too loud. We waited. The tarp swayed for a moment, then stilled. Nothing came out. Tang Wei stepped beside me, crouched low, eyes scanning the angles. "They¡¯re hiding," she murmured. I nodded once. We moved again. Slower now. Whatever was here hadn¡¯t left. It had gone quiet. There was something wrong with this situation... I didn¡¯t like it, and when I glanced over. I couldn¡¯t see Qinglan¡¯s group anymore. "Let¡¯s move." We kept moving. Tang Wei dropped back a little, letting Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan stay ahead. I stayed close to the middle, keeping pace, trying not to think about how deep the silence had settled into my spine. The air didn¡¯t move. Somewhere behind the walls, I swore I heard water dripping. But when we passed the next junction, there was no leak. Just a cracked floor tile. Some dirty trail curving into an old cafe with all its chairs missing. We hadn¡¯t seen a single corpse. Not one. No groaners. No crawlers. Not even the smell. Just mould. Damp wood. Rotted plastic from old signage that hadn¡¯t been touched in weeks. But someone had been here. Something. Jiang Roulan crouched beside a knocked-over display rack. Her fingers touched the edge of the broken plastic, then tapped the tile beside it. Dried fluid, not blood. Something thicker. Mucus-like. Black, but flaked at the edges like it had dried too fast. She didn¡¯t say anything. Just stood again and kept moving. Shen Yifei glanced at me, her face set. Focused. She wasn¡¯t scared. But her hand hadn¡¯t left her spear since we entered. We passed a toy store with shattered glass framing the entrance. The mannequins inside had been knocked down ¡ª all of them face down, arms bent inwards like they¡¯d been rearranged. A faint sound echoed from somewhere below us. It wasn¡¯t a scream. Just a scrape. The wet and sharp echo lasted two seconds. Maybe three. Then gone. We all stopped at once. Tang Wei pressed her back to the wall beside a deactivated elevator, her hand hovering near her pistol. Shen Yifei didn¡¯t move, but her blue eyes were focused like torches. I scanned the upper walkway, the shadows behind broken skylights. The flicker of one failing light was all the movement I could see. Nothing ahead. No movement. But my instincts didn¡¯t care, and the tingling feeling of my danger sense, also the visual ripples from my Predator¡¯s Sense, revealed something. "Something¡¯s above us," I said, voice low. Jiang Roulan looked up, eyes scanning the decorative arch near the food court sign ahead. Then she nodded, once. I tilted my chin toward the corridor to the left ¡ª a blind corner, a stair access that might lead to the utility rooms. We moved again. Slowly. Tang Wei checked our rear, eyes sharp. Just before we passed the corner, I looked back. And something was there. Not in full. Just the edge of a shadow. A pale hand pulling back into the vent shaft above the hallway we¡¯d crossed twenty seconds ago. No, my hunch wasn¡¯t a mistake... "This bastard." "What?" Tang Wei looked back at me, her skin dripping with sweat from the horribly humid heat. "The fucker... it¡¯s trying to trap us." The hand... Not a trick of the light. It had waited for us to pass. "Tsk... damn this is annoying." I couldn¡¯t agree more, but we could only continue, aiming to understand what they were. The hallway turned left into a wider space. Half the ceiling had collapsed ¡ª beams and broken tiles scattered across the floor like someone had tried to bury whatever lived beneath. We stepped over them one by one. Shen Yifei led us in, her spear angled low and steady. Though she didn¡¯t hesitate, Yifei¡¯s speed decreased the closer we got to our goal. She tipped her head every few seconds as if listening to the distant sounds, or footsteps that didn¡¯t exist. Tang Wei swept the corners. Her blade stayed sheathed across her back, but her fingers curled around the handle. Jiang Roulan glanced back at me. No words. Just a quick look. She didn¡¯t like this either. We passed the skeletal remains of an information kiosk. Someone had scrawled something in black marker across the wall behind it, but half the message had been scratched out. I could only read the last line: "...they don¡¯t make noise unless you do." My fingers clenched unconsciously. Shen Yifei suddenly stopped. She raised her left hand slightly, palm facing down. A signal to freeze. We halted behind her. I followed her eyes. Down the corridor, something stood just out of the light. A human shape. Slender. Still. We didn¡¯t breathe. Shen Yifei took a single step forward. It moved. But not toward us. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The figure turned sharply and walked away ¡ª fast and quiet, vanishing around the next bend without a single groan, growl, or stagger. "What the hell..." Jiang Roulan whispered. "Was that¡ª" Tang Wei started, but didn¡¯t finish. It hadn¡¯t acted like a groaner. It didn¡¯t lunge. It didn¡¯t charge. It turned and left ¡ª like it knew we were too strong or too early. Shen Yifei exhaled. "They¡¯re leading us." We moved again, slower than before. We didn¡¯t speak. I kept thinking about the hand I¡¯d seen earlier, pulling into the vent. Now this ¡ª a runner with no interest in attacking. The mall didn¡¯t feel dead anymore. It felt aware. As if we stepped into the belly of a beast, and it was trying to devour us with its stomach acid and enzymes. The layout made less sense the deeper we moved. Shops weren¡¯t ransacked ¡ª they were empty, with objects missing in patterns. Storage rooms cleared out. Shelves rearranged. A stack of old mannequins leaned against a broken coffee stand, arms out like they¡¯d been set there on purpose. Shen Yifei pointed ahead. Two staircases descended toward the second floor. The air was colder near the rail. Something below us waited. Not moving. Not breathing. Just... watching. "We¡¯re being pulled in," I said. Tang Wei nodded grimly. "Then pull back," Jiang Roulan muttered. "No," I said. "Not yet." I stared down into the dark. "They want us to follow. So let¡¯s follow and kill them all." The whirring sound of my gauntlets spun to life, clicking softly as the charge built. Jiang Roulan looked over at me ¡ª her tense expression shifted. A half-smile crept up the side of her mouth, and the twitch in her fingers eased. We descended the stairs in silence. The lower floor felt worse. The shadows ran deeper between the storefronts. A few half-broken signs hung overhead ¡ª dangling, crooked, swaying slightly with no wind. We didn¡¯t hear breathing. No dragging footsteps. Just that pressure. Like the mall itself was holding its breath. A disgusting musky scent filled the air, it made my chest want to heave, and gag... like milk and raw fish left for months being placed beside a radiator. We stepped past an abandoned shoe kiosk. A cracked mirror reflected our shapes at us, warped and too tall. Tang Wei raised one hand. Her voice came in a whisper. "Something just ducked behind the elevator." We kept moving. Straight into it. Chapter 140: Cold Corners Chapter 140: Cold CornersMarch 20th, 8:12 AM ¡ª Longwan Mall, West Wing Service Hall Mu Qinglan POV ¡ª The air changed the moment we stepped off the main corridor. The tiled floor gave way to cracked linoleum. The overhead lights dimmed behind us, swallowed by yellowed walls and hanging exit signs that no longer glowed. A faint chemical stench clung to the corridor, like damp cleaning fluid mixed with rusted steel. Not rot. Not blood. Just... something off. I motioned Zhou Xue forward. Her black bow angled low, eyes sharp, calm. Liang Qiu and Deng Hua stayed middle formation. Chen Xun brought up the rear with Liang Mei trailing beside him, tense and too quiet. We passed under a low archway marked SERVICE STAFF ONLY. The mall¡¯s backrooms opened into a tangle of old storerooms, rusted folding chairs, broken mannequins, and disused stage props. No windows. No airflow. Only the smell of dust, faded paper, and something electrical sparking behind the walls. Liang Mei coughed once. "Don¡¯t," I said without looking. She bit her lip and stayed quiet. My sword, Endless Night, hung against my back. Not drawn yet. Not needed. Not unless something touched my team. We moved slowly. Our boots scraped over curling floor tiles and faded murals of smiling cartoon mascots long since forgotten. Every shadow felt deeper than it should have been. The corners didn¡¯t end clean ¡ª they bent, warped by uneven lighting and collapsed beams. A crumpled employee vest lay near a bench with red faded lettering: Talent Showcase Week ¡ª March 1st. The stage was just ahead. We stepped into the performance area. The lights here still worked. Half of them, at least, casting a sickly green hue across the half-collapsed risers and curtain rails. A children¡¯s piano sat off-centre, keys warped, one middle note jammed halfway down. Something scrawled in marker along the edge of the stage: "They said it wasn¡¯t real." My grip tightened around the hilt of my blade. Zhou Xue moved toward the side curtain, bow raised. "I don¡¯t like this," she said. "You don¡¯t have to," I replied. "Just watch the gaps." She swallowed and nodded. Liang Qiu tapped a dressing room door with the tip of her arrow. "Back here, too." "No one moves alone," I said. Even with John gone, his way of handling people stuck in my head. I¡¯d never cared much for that. But these kids were here because of him. And I¡¯d protect them. No matter what crawled out of the dark. Even if I was terrified when he wasn¡¯t beside me, he gave me confidence... ¡ª¡ª We reached the West Wing Stage Access, at least according to the signs and came to a large dressing room, though the doors weren¡¯t locked... They didn¡¯t open easily, either. Liang Qiu pressed her shoulder into one, then stepped back as the hinge groaned and swung inward just enough to let the smell out. Old cosmetics. Something mouldy. Hair dye gone chemical. Beneath it, the bite of dust was disturbed too recently. "Don¡¯t step in yet," I said. Liang Qiu stopped immediately, nodding without turning her back to the dark. Her braid had come loose at the end, a few strands sticking to her cheek with sweat. She was young, but she moved with good instincts. Maybe better than some of the men who used to guard my father... near the southern checkpoint. Zhou Xue knelt at the corner near a cracked makeup station. She dipped one gloved finger into the fine grey layer covering the tiles. A tiny swirl broke the surface. "Someone passed through here," she murmured. "Undead?" "No shuffle. No drag. Straight feet. Two sets." I nodded once. "They¡¯re not dumb." Deng Hua stood near the backstage hallway, arrow drawn halfway. He hadn¡¯t said much since we entered the backrooms. That wasn¡¯t strange. Deng only spoke when he was about to kill something, or when something caught him completely off guard. Right now, he was breathing through his nose, steady, silent. His eyes kept flicking to the half-open bathroom door past the vanity stations. Chen Xun moved to his side, checked the frame, then whispered, "No mirror." Deng Hua didn¡¯t move. "No reflection," he said flatly. Liang Mei hovered at the back of the group. She kept close to Chen Xun, one hand always near her quiver. Her bow was good quality ¡ª real wood, real grip, not one of those salvaged pipe frames the slum archers used. But her shoulders stayed too tight. Her balance shifted from foot to foot too often. I stepped closer to her, quietly. "You¡¯re crowding the middle." She blinked at me, startled. Then adjusted. "...Sorry." "Don¡¯t be, are you alright? John worries about you a lot..." "He does?" The way her eye sparkled and the faint blush on her cheeks told me everything, another girl... maybe it wouldn¡¯t go further, but knowing he slept with Yifei made me jealous and insecure. Is that why he bought me this sword? John, was this a message to me? A sword that cannot break... I shook my head quickly, as Liang Mei nodded back to me and hopped to the side, her movements were good, but her heart... "Do your best, he does." The hallway broke into three paths. Left: locked security door with a burnt keypad. Middle: The storage walk lights were dead. Right: a stairwell down into the sublevel costume archive. I pointed to Zhou Xue and Liang Qiu. "Check the storage hallway. If anything moves, fall back. Don¡¯t engage unless you are in danger. first contact the team." Zhou Xue gave a quick nod, eyes already narrowing. Liang Qiu followed without a word, drawing her bow as she moved. The rest of us waited outside the dressing room door. Something tapped once inside. Not loud. Not sudden. But deliberate. Deng Hua didn¡¯t blink. He just drew his bow to full tension and aimed at the floor near the couch. I drew Endless Night. The weight settled instantly into my hands, comfortable, expected. Not ceremonial. I stepped through the door first. The light above the mirror flickered once, then died as I stepped inside. It took my eyes a second to adjust. The dressing room wasn¡¯t big. One cracked mirror, two bolted-down stools, a torn couch in the back corner, and a wardrobe with half its doors broken. Makeup powder covered the counter in a thick coat of grey. A pink wig lay on the floor like it had been stepped on, then left to rot. But the air... The air moved. Behind me, Deng Hua stood in the doorway. Chen Xun covered the left angle, aiming into the shadowed gap beneath the couch. I scanned the space. Nothing obvious. No groaner. No lurker. But that pressure ¡ª pressure-the same pressure I¡¯d felt in the food court¡ªpressed against the back of my neck. There was no reflection in the mirror. The frame was intact. The glass had no cracks. But the surface was dead black. It swallowed light instead of bouncing it. I stepped closer. Behind me, I heard Deng Hua murmur under his breath. "That¡¯s not glass." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I nodded once. Liang Mei hovered outside the door, bow held stiffly in both hands. "Do we... go in?" "No," I said. "You stay there." She didn¡¯t argue. Good. I crouched near the couch and tilted my head low, looking for any hint of movement beneath. No breathing. No limbs. No shadow that didn¡¯t belong. But something stared back at me. Not from under the couch. From inside the mirror. Just for a second. A pale face, no mouth, no eyes, no expression ¡ª just flesh pulled tight across a smooth skull. It vanished the moment I blinked. Endless Night hummed faintly in my hands. Not literally. But I¡¯d held it long enough to know when it wanted to be used. I slashed the mirror. Glass didn¡¯t shatter. It peeled like the layers of a rotten onion pasted over something too soft. Behind it, the wall was pulsing. Veins. Faintly black. Spread like mould across the plaster. Chen Xun stepped closer. "What the hell is this?" Deng Hua didn¡¯t speak. He was already watching the ceiling. "Above us." I looked up. A hand gripped the vent frame. Long thin fingers... inhuman... strange... Not rotten. Not bloated. Fresh. It wasn¡¯t normal... a pure white body, with long limbs... no genitals... eerie, so eerie that my spine tingled in fear upon seeing it. My teeth jittered and clacked together before I sank my teeth into my tongue. The monster watched us before it leapt into the vent and vanished. Even the others remained shocked... terrified. Then a thud echoed behind the wall, light, like someone crawling fast. Back toward the storage corridor. "Zhou Xue," I snapped into the comm. "Status?" Silence. Then static. Then... "Saw something. It ran, but I hit it¡¯s thigh... it¡¯s blood was white... like glue" It ran? My jaw tightened as I bit my lips. "They¡¯re herding us." I stepped into the hallway, blade ready. "They think we¡¯re prey." Chapter 141: Screamer’s Nest Chapter 141: Screamer¡¯s NestMarch 20th, 8:24 AM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Second Floor, North Wing John Wang POV ¡ª The moment my foot hit the second-floor landing, I knew we were walking into something worse. The air was thicker here. Not warmer. Just heavier. It clung to the skin like a leech, quietly sucking each person¡¯s lifeblood. It smelled faintly of wet rust, like copper that had been left in a damp sink too long. Behind me, Tang Wei swept her shotgun across the darkened corners, keeping low and steady. Jiang Roulan took the left side with both tonfa in hand, twirling one once in a habitual motion before locking her grip. Shen Yifei didn¡¯t speak, but her fingers tensed around the shaft of her spear, loosening and tightening in a slow, deliberate rhythm. Something was stalking us. I couldn¡¯t see it. Not directly. But I felt the shift in pressure, the small tremors in the air¡ªvibrations running along the ground, just beneath conscious notice. They were faint, but unnatural. Coordinated. Like something was testing how close it could get before we noticed. We moved forward past an abandoned smoothie bar. Half the signage had collapsed, and the tiles were smeared with a strange, chalky residue. Not blood. Not human, at least. Something darker and flaking, like dried sap boiled out of concrete. The escalator to the left had been torn apart¡ªmetal teeth bent backwards, the handrail snapped and hung like a torn ligament. No bodies, no signs of gunfire, just a quiet aftermath that didn¡¯t belong to a random outbreak. It was methodical. Too clean in the wrong places. "Movement¡ªleft side," Tang Wei said under her breath, steady but tense. I turned toward the food court¡¯s outer edge. The darkness wasn¡¯t full, but the way the light broke through the broken ceiling made shadows stretch longer than they should. Behind the central map kiosk, something shifted. It moved fast, not in a stagger or lurch, but in a straight line¡ªpurposeful, like it knew the layout better than we did. Jiang Roulan whispered near my shoulder. "That wasn¡¯t a normal zombie." "No," I said. "They¡¯re not acting like the ones outside." She tapped one tonfa softly against her thigh, jaw tight. "A little too smart." Shen Yifei took a half-step forward, pausing near a decorative fountain filled with murky water and the remains of what looked like a store sign. "Are they watching?" she said. "Waiting for something." And then we heard it. A sound rose from the far end of the floor, high and sharp. It didn¡¯t shriek. It pierced¡ªa clean, narrow tone that slid beneath the skin and curled into the bones. The walls didn¡¯t shake, but the light flickered. One bulb snapped and shattered above the seating area. Shen Yifei hissed and covered one ear. Jiang Roulan muttered something and moved to intercept. My gauntlets clicked into place around my wrists. "Eyes up. We¡¯re not alone down here anymore." The noise didn¡¯t stop. It didn¡¯t climb or drop. It held steady, threading through the air like a wire pulled tight. Not loud enough to cause panic, but sharp enough to set every nerve on edge. It didn¡¯t feel like something meant to scare us. It felt like something meant to guide. Shen Yifei adjusted her grip, spear angled low but ready. Her shoulders didn¡¯t move, but I could see the stiffness in her movements, the way her body moved, and she hesitated. We moved past the central court, where several escalators formed a crossroads. The upper floors were silent, but I didn¡¯t trust the shadows watching from the railing above. "They¡¯re not attacking," Tang Wei murmured, sweeping her shotgun through a broken dining stall. "They¡¯re trying to separate us." The pitch in the air spiked slight, barely noticeable. But Jiang Roulan flinched. "They know we¡¯re listening." At the far end of the lounge, something stepped into view. It wasn¡¯t like the zombies we¡¯d seen in the first few days. This one stood tall¡ªmaybe six feet three¡ªwith a narrow, stretched body. Not emaciated. Just elongated. Its head tilted unnaturally to the left, like its spine hadn¡¯t formed properly, or it had broken too many times to heal right. Its eyes weren¡¯t white. They were black. Wet. Reflective. The mouth didn¡¯t open. But the sound got louder. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Shen Yifei swore under her breath. "What is that?" "Something worse," I said. "Don¡¯t let it speak." It didn¡¯t charge. It didn¡¯t run. It walked¡ªcasual, measured¡ªlike it had nothing to fear. That was worse than screaming. Jiang Roulan moved first, her feet hitting the tile with sharp precision as she broke right. Her tonfa struck the railing once, loud enough to bounce through the open space. The creature stopped. Its neck twitched. Not turned. Twitched¡ªshort, erratic movements, like it was testing its limits. Then it opened its mouth. There was no scream. Not yet. Just pressure. The air compressed in my ears. Shen Yifei stumbled, catching herself against a kiosk frame. Tang Wei grimaced, her hand shaking for a second before she reset her grip. The sound didn¡¯t come out in a wave. It came out like a drill¡ªdirected, thin, precise. My vision blurred slightly. Then I moved. I slammed forward, both gauntlets primed, steps quick and heavy. The creature tilted its head again, but didn¡¯t move. It just stared. And then it opened wider. The shriek hit us in a straight line. Not from the throat. From somewhere deeper¡ªchest, stomach, maybe even the lungs if it still had those. The pitch scraped against the metal in my gauntlets and sent a ripple through the floor tiles. It wasn¡¯t meant to deafen us. It was meant to call. I caught a flicker of movement from the upper floor. Then another. And another. "They¡¯re coming," Shen Yifei called, already setting her feet to brace. "A lot of them." The Screamer tilted its head again. And smiled. No, was that really a smile!? Muscles didn¡¯t shape a smile torn into place. The corners of its mouth stretched too far, splitting skin that had once tried to heal but never closed right. Each time it moved, the flesh peeled back slightly, exposing more of the black-stained gums. Thick, tar-like residue clung to its teeth in broken threads. Not blood. Something else. Something rotten that wasn¡¯t decaying fast enough. Its teeth weren¡¯t crooked or shattered ¡ª they were filed, dull, shaped like a predator¡¯s idea of control, like it wanted to tear, but slowly. It didn¡¯t blink. Didn¡¯t shift. It smiled and stared. Not because it was mocking us, but because we were in place. It had waited, listened, and brought us exactly where it wanted. Above us, the sound changed. Not the scream. That stayed constant ¡ª a frequency just sharp enough to crawl under the skin but never loud enough to justify covering your ears. But the echo... that shifted. Something else was coming. I caught the sound of bare feet slapping metal. One pair. Then two. Then more. From the floor above, down the vent shafts, across broken tiles. "All directions," Tang Wei said, already spinning around. Jiang Roulan drew in a breath and clicked her tonfa against each other once ¡ª not a flourish, just tension. A warning to herself. Shen Yifei didn¡¯t say anything. She moved to cover the western corridor, near the broken sign for the subway stall. She planted her back foot, braced the spear, and waited. The first one dropped from the ceiling vent ¡ª legs bending hard, hands out like a mantis, body far too long. Its arms scraped the tile as it skittered forward. The shriek hadn¡¯t stopped. Then came the second. And the third. Four of them. Not like the one that led us here ¡ª smaller, but similar in shape. Same thin limbs. Same distorted posture. Not wild, not drooling ¡ª coordinated. A different type of zombie. "Right side," I called. Tang Wei fired once, her shotgun¡¯s boom echoing. A spread of shells caught one in the shoulder, spinning it off course, and tearing off its arm, but it didn¡¯t stop. It just shifted its weight and kept crawling. I charged forward, both gauntlets snapping into active mode. The first impact shattered a half-table that the thing had just leapt over. My punch landed square in its ribs. I felt the bones break ¡ª but it didn¡¯t scream. It didn¡¯t flinch. It only twitched ¡ª then turned, trying to bite my wrist through the gauntlet housing. Jiang Roulan tackled it from the side, both tonfa striking down in a double arc, cracking the skull clean. Shen Yifei caught another mid-air with the butt of her spear, pivoted, then ran it through. Tang Wei backed against a pillar, shooting twice more, holding the corner. More were coming. A scream tore through the hallway again ¡ª not from the one we fought. From deeper inside. Another Screamer. Closer. "They¡¯re trying to split us," Roulan snapped. "Crush them!" She took out the Type-9k and aimed it at the screamer. I moved toward the next shadow. "They don¡¯t want to win," I muttered. "They want to pull us apart." Chapter 142: Noise Wakes the Deep Chapter 142: Noise Wakes the DeepMarch 20th, 8:31 AM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Second Floor ¨C North Wing branching into Service Tunnels -> Central Atrium Overlook John Wang POV ¡ª Dozens of flickers became hundreds as they filled my sight... if not for the situation, it might be a beautiful moment as the fluttering colours entered my view. I smashed another screamer¡¯s face with a brutal hook, its brains exploding into a grey mush, before another appeared near Shen Yifei, who was standing near the escalator, stabbing at the group of zombies desperately. "Damn it!" The monsters¡¯ disorientating voices caused my head to throb, rattling with their layered screams, driving me mad. If I suffered this much with over six times the spirit of a normal human, then how were the others?! Da-Deng! With a burst of light, super-heated shotgun shells spread into the distance, popping the brains of several screamers. My only goal was to stop their voices. More figures dropped from above ¡ª lean bodies folded over like skin-wrapped insects, their limbs too long, elbows and knees bending in unnatural directions. They scrambled over the broken ceiling beams and signage, then lunged. I twisted in time to catch one on my forearm shield. Its jaw scraped against the steel, teeth grinding against the reinforced surface as it hissed and clawed. I twisted my wrist, powered the gauntlet¡¯s vent to max, and let the shell blast straight through its torso. The thing popped like overripe fruit. More were coming. Fast. "Fall back to the corridor!" I shouted. "Yifei, move!" She spun her spear in a wide arc, taking two of them in the gut before they could flank her, then jumped down the broken edge of the escalator, landing hard and rolling toward me. Jiang Roulan sprinted in the opposite direction, covering Tang Wei as they tried to regroup near the central information desk. Their path was already blocked ¡ª more of the things poured in, some crawling along the walls like centipedes. Their feet made no sound, but the screaming didn¡¯t stop. One slipped between me and the others ¡ª a skinny, twitching figure with arms that reached almost to its knees. It darted into the gap between our formation. "John!" Tang Wei called. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I turned and caught it mid-lunge ¡ª grabbed its neck with my left gauntlet and slammed it into the wall hard enough to crack the plaster. Bones snapped beneath the pressure. Then the light above me blew out with a loud pop. Another screamer stepped forward from behind the counter. It opened its mouth. I didn¡¯t let it finish. DA-KUNK! The gauntlet burst flared again, shredding its head in a wave of force. Muck hit the tiles. Black strands twitched like worms across the ground. I stepped back to check the left corridor. The thing I¡¯d slammed into the wall was gone. Not a smear. Not a trace. Just an empty tile and a hairline crack running down the plaster. It hadn¡¯t died. It had just stopped. "How... I broke its spine!?" That¡¯s when a hand grabbed me, it was Shen Yifei who reached me, panting, bleeding from her cheek. "We¡¯re cut off!" I looked past her toward the service corridor ¡ª dark, narrow, but clear. "This way!" We pushed through just as another one dropped behind us. I felt the heat of its breath. Shen Yifei turned mid-step and stabbed upward, the spear piercing its chin and skull in one clean motion. She kicked it off the blade and ran with me. The hallway swallowed us in the dark. Shen Yifei and I ran through the service corridor, our boots hammering broken tile and dust-coated concrete. The flickering lights above us hummed and spit sparks. The screeching behind us had changed pitch ¡ª it wasn¡¯t calling anymore. It was chasing. "They¡¯re faster than before," Shen Yifei hissed between breaths, sweat clinging to her jaw. Her cheeks were streaked with ash and blood, and her grip on the spear was tight enough that her knuckles had paled. "We¡¯re not faster," I muttered back, vaulting a pile of collapsed signage as something behind us skittered through the dark like wet claws on steel. One of the things lunged from behind the shattered vending machine ahead, not one of the shriekers. This one was broader through the shoulders, moving on all fours like it hadn¡¯t stood upright in days. Its limbs hit the ground out of sync. The bones in its arms looked longer than they should¡¯ve been, elbows angled backwards. Flesh peeled across its back like it had been dragged over metal too many times. It didn¡¯t growl. It didn¡¯t shriek. It lunged. I dropped low, let it leap over me, then twisted and drove a hook into its back. The gauntlet flared¡ª Da-KENG! ¡ªflesh and cartilage tore free, spraying chunks of rib and spine across the wall. It hit the floor still twitching. Another burst of wind passed by me ¡ª Shen Yifei vaulted forward and speared one of its companions through the mouth as it tried to flank me. Her blade tore through the base of the skull with a crunch, then she kicked the body aside without hesitation. More footsteps echoed from behind. Then another. Then dozens. "They¡¯re coming in waves¡ªsame spacing, same timing," I said, voice low but fast. "Like a trigger." She nodded once, breathing harder now. We reached the turn in the corridor just as another shadow dropped behind us. I turned in time to see two of them¡ªbent, almost crawling, mouths spread wide like frogs. Their jaws opened sideways, bones clicking in a pattern that didn¡¯t sound human. They moved together. We couldn¡¯t fight both in this space. It was too narrow. My gauntlets wouldn¡¯t clear the wall. "Move!" I shouted. Shen Yifei didn¡¯t ask. She sprinted into the next hallway, ducking under a collapsed beam and vanishing into the dark beyond. I turned, caught the first one with a shoulder-check, and rammed it against the doorframe. The thing gurgled, jaw still stretching sideways, trying to bite at my throat. I pulled my left arm back, charged the vent¡ª Da-THUMP! Its spine crumpled. Its body dropped like a sack of wire. But the second refused to die. It clawed its way up the wall, then leapt toward my back. Shen Yifei¡¯s spear flashed ¡ª it entered through the base of the jaw and punched out the skull. The creature sagged and collapsed behind me. Yife¡¯s attack was silent and brutal. Each time we fought together, our synergy grew stronger. She just pulled the spear free and looked at me. We ran again. Down the hallway, past what looked like a locker room door. I kicked it open. And inside... Warm light. A heater. Open water bottles. A single red jacket hung on the wall. Someone had been living here. Recently. "Haa...Haa..." Click! I tapped the headset and tried to contact Jiang Roulan and Tang Wei... but the sound of Roulan¡¯s gun and shouting from down the corridor echoed. They were moving further away from me. From this point, they were moving further away from me. The corridor opened into a split-level overlook ¡ª glass shattered across the floor, old banners tangled around metal posts, and distant screams threading through the ruined air. Shen Yifei didn¡¯t hesitate. Her spear cut down another infected closing in from the right. I crushed one against the column with my forearm, then turned toward the railing. Crushing Moon was vibrating ¡ª not from heat, but pressure. The Qi inside me surged upward, spiralling through my wrists. Segments of the gauntlets unlocked, snapped outward, and from beneath the wrist housings, two twelve-inch blades extended ¡ª forged steel wrapped in pulsing Earth Qi. They glowed faintly gold, the aura clinging to the metal like smoke in a forge. I didn¡¯t need to will it. The weapon responded to the kill count and my instinct. But when the blades locked into place, the shriek came ¡ª human, not infected. I looked up. Jiang Roulan fell. Her body twisted mid-air, then slammed into a rusted cargo box on the atrium floor. Steel snapped under her weight. The balcony railing gave way after her, tumbling with a scream of sheared bolts and groaning iron. "Roulan!" I leapt the ledge, Qi-forged blades flaring. Shen Yifei followed, vaulting beside me with a sharp breath. Behind us, Tang Wei shouted, "More incoming!" I caught her silhouette as she dropped from the upper walkway to our side, shotgun slung over shoulder , blade at the ready. Jiang Roulan tried to sit up ¡ª blood soaked her side. She clutched at the edge of the box, gasping through her teeth. Dozens of shapes poured out from both ends of the lower atrium. The horde had found us. And this time, they weren¡¯t scattering. They were surrounding. These damned crawlers... as if the screamers weren¡¯t enough! "Shen Yifei, grab your Type-9k! Tang Wei, grab this!" I tossed Roulan¡¯s Type-9K and flicked the permission for Tang Wei to reload automatically for ZKP, too. Chapter 143: Last Line Chapter 143: Last LineMarch 20th, 8:44 AM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Lower Atrium Level John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª Crawlers streamed in from every direction, angle and hole in the wall. Not shambling. Not screaming. Just movement ¡ª pure velocity. Arms and legs pumped like blades as they dropped from the rafters, skittered up walls, and launched across the ruined tiles. The ground shook beneath them. Shen Yifei fired first. The bark of the Type-9K cut through the noise, three-round bursts slamming into the front line of bodies. Crawlers flipped mid-sprint, black blood spitting from the air where their chests used to be ¡ª but the tide didn¡¯t stop. Out of shells, Tang Wei caught the rifle I tossed and dropped to one knee near the overturned bench. Her aim was sharp, military clean, each burst precise. Spent shells pinged off the floor around her feet, bouncing and spinning in glinting arcs. Her magazine clicked dry and reloaded in less than a breath. I pressed Jiang Roulan down behind the steel cargo box. Her side was soaked red, but she gripped her tonfa tight in her left hand, the other braced against the edge. "Don¡¯t move," I said, then stood between her and the tide. Dozens of crawlers hit the perimeter at once. My gauntlet blades extended with a screech of metal ¡ª twelve inches of tempered Qi-lined steel snapped outward from both forearms. The Earth Qi swelled through my veins like pressure from below, pulling from the broken tiles beneath me. I punched the first one mid-leap ¡ª its skull caved in with a wet crunch as the impact folded its neck backwards. Another dived from the side ¡ª I spun and cut it in half, clean through the ribcage. Viscera hit the wall and stuck. Still, they came. Shell casings rained around me. Dozens. Then hundreds. Type-9Ks screamed beside me as Yifei and Tang Wei both fired full-auto now, the recoil shaking through their arms as muzzle flashes lit their faces. Empty brass bounced and piled near our boots. "John¡ª!" Tang Wei shouted. "Rear corner!" I turned too late. A crawler lunged from the far end, claws extended. Jiang Roulan moved first, weak but not broken. She braced on her good arm and threw her tonfa like a hammer. It struck the crawler¡¯s jaw, breaking its momentum just enough for me to catch it and drive it headfirst into the marble column behind us. Its skull popped like overripe fruit. Yifei pulled another mag, slammed it home. Her face was flushed, her hair sticking to her cheek, and blood streaked down her left arm. "They don¡¯t stop!" "They¡¯re not meant to," I growled. The corridor behind them lit up ¡ª not from fire. From movement. Shadows crawled just above the flood of monsters. Silent. Unmoving. Three shapes. Too still to be ferals. Faceless. Watching. Ghouls. One stood perfectly upright. Pale skin gleaming like bone, limbs long and even, head tilted slightly ¡ª not in curiosity, but calculation. I felt its presence before I saw it move. Yifei stopped firing for just a breath. Tang Wei caught herself staring. The crawlers didn¡¯t touch the Ghouls. They ran around them. And we were being crushed beneath them. "W-What the hell is that?!" Shen Yifei¡¯s voice cracked across the hallway, not from panic, but something just under it. Her breath hitched at the sight of the towering figure at the edge of the crawl tide. It stood still. Unmoving. Unbothered by the gunfire, the corpses, or the screams. A white monster ¡ª smooth flesh, skin stretched tight across an almost-human frame. No face. No eyes. Just pale, glistening skin like wet marble and a head that tilted... too far, as if curious. Seven feet tall. Maybe more. And yet, it didn¡¯t crouch. It didn¡¯t flinch. The system in my head flashed once. [Ghoul] [Evolved - Half-Human] [Devoured Human Meat] [Cannibal] My pulse thudded in my ears. The only thing worse than a monster is a human who chose to become one. Tang Wei¡¯s jaw clenched. "Is that even infected? It¡¯s not... It¡¯s not moving like them." Yifei was still frozen, gun braced. "I-it¡¯s not attacking..." "It¡¯s watching." Crawlers poured forward, screeching and scratching over broken tile, slipping in gore, dragging what was left of their own dead aside as they charged in renewed waves. "Focus!" I shouted. The three of us moved in rhythm, while Roulan tried to help. Yifei stepped on a crate, her lips curled into a smirk, showing her fangs. It seemed she was starting to like shooting zombies. Her SMG barked with a short burst. TAT-TAT-TAT! ¡ª Three crawlers exploded mid-sprint. Limbs flew like torn rags. Tang Wei switched to full-auto, spraying across the right flank. "Suppressing!" Shell casings bounced around her boots like golden rain. I fired point-blank into a pack ¡ª DA-KENG! DA-KENG! ¡ª The gauntlets bucked as both barrels launched heated buckshot into the horde. Two crawlers lost their torsos, a third flipped backwards mid-pounce, legs twitching. Roulan propped herself against the cargo box, breath short. "I really hope someone¡¯s recording this." "I am," I growled. "For your funeral." She smirked ¡ª blood-stained teeth. "I¡¯ll haunt you." Then came the click. No one spoke. No one moved. The sound of the empty mag wasn¡¯t loud ¡ª just a soft metallic snap in the blood-slicked silence. But the Ghoul moved the instant it echoed. As if it had been waiting for it. No warning. No signal. Just the blur of a pale shape, crossing the floor without a single footstep. It didn¡¯t lunge ¡ª it cut space like it knew the distance. The way it moved wasn¡¯t instinct. It was a memory. Deliberate. My eyes tracked the motion half a second too late. "Shit¡ª!" It glided forward, clearing five meters in a heartbeat ¡ª no sound, no build-up. Like it had decided to be closer, and the world simply obeyed. "Contact¡ª!" Tang Wei shouted. It twisted as it moved ¡ª limbs bending at wrong angles, joints popping as it ducked low and skimmed across the floor in an unnatural crouch. Its body seemed to ripple, spine snapping in and out of alignment as it sidestepped the muzzle flash from Shen Yifei¡¯s Type-9K just as the weapon hissed with fresh heat. I barely got my gauntlets up. Metal met flesh ¡ª or something close to it. My left blade caught its forearm. Sparks flared. Qi hissed. But instead of pulling away, it bent its arm twisting backwards, too far, too smooth, like it had no ligaments. One long limb coiled behind my back like a scythe. Shen Yifei¡¯s spear drove forward. The tip scraped across its ribs, scoring deep ¡ª but the Ghoul didn¡¯t react. It dropped flat to the ground mid-motion, in a sprawl that no human body could replicate, then twisted under her and vanished into the wall of crawlers at our flank. Gone. No roar. No snarl. Just gone. "What the fuck¡ª" Tang Wei¡¯s voice dropped, low and dry. "It¡¯s not dodging," I said, eyes scanning the movement. "It¡¯s slithering." The crawler wave shifted ¡ª not retreating, not pausing. Just enough to make space. Somewhere behind it... the Ghoul was repositioning. And it would strike again. Soon. The crawlers didn¡¯t rush us again. Not yet. They shifted in slow ripples ¡ª a living tide that parted in waves. I tracked the gaps. Watched the unnatural rhythm. Something wasn¡¯t right. And then I saw it. A flicker of white between their spines. A too-long limb sweeping across the ground without touching it. A ripple of motion where none of the infected dared to tread. "There¡ª!" I turned¡ª The Ghoul emerged sideways, not walking, not charging, skimming across the floor with its limbs bent and dragging. Its body folded low, torso bent backwards as if its spine had snapped, then reformed just to wrong-foot me. It leapt ¡ª an explosion of motion from silence. I braced. It struck me in the ribs with both feet. Not like a kick ¡ª like a collapsing insect flinging its weight in reverse. My back hit the column behind me. Hard. Air left my lungs. I dropped to one knee. It was already gone again. Yifei fired into the opening, rounds tearing into the retreating crawlers, trying to catch that pale figure. "No blood¡ª! I hit it, but nothing¡ª!" Tang Wei flanked left. "It¡¯s not retreating. It¡¯s cycling." It was testing us. One of the crawlers lunged. I took it in the jaw with a rising elbow, then caught a glimpse ¡ª just a flicker ¡ª of the Ghoul crawling upside-down along the ceiling support like a spider, limbs hooked across the pipes, head tilted downward. It dropped¡ª Straight at Jiang Roulan. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "No¡ª!" I moved without thinking. Drove forward. Roulan rolled aside a second too late. The Ghoul¡¯s claws scraped the edge of the cargo box, tearing steel like foil. I slammed into its side mid-lunge, and we crashed into a shattered bench, metal buckling beneath us. I mounted it ¡ª blades drawn back, gauntlets screaming with Qi. Boom ¡ª my fist cracked across its collar. Boom ¡ª another to its chest. Boom ¡ª third to the jaw, and I felt the bone cave. But the thing didn¡¯t cry out. It didn¡¯t thrash. It snapped. Its arm shot up, then whipped sideways. Not a punch. A lash. Its forearm bent mid-swing, doubled backwards, and struck me across the face with a force that sent my ears ringing. Another hit ¡ª the opposite arm. It whipped across my side like a wet steel cable, knocking the air from my lungs. The third blow caught my shoulder and twisted me off its chest. We both skidded across the tile, blood and ash trailing behind us. The Ghoul flipped backwards unnaturally ¡ª spine bending the wrong way, then realigning as it landed in a low crouch. No sound. No breath. Its body sagged like it was made of tendons and cords. My gauntlets reset with a sharp hiss. Shen Yifei rushed to my side, spear drawn, planting herself between me and the recovering mass of white flesh. Tang Wei took position across from us, her rifle steady but not firing yet. Jiang Roulan crouched low behind the cargo box, teeth clenched, hand over her wound ¡ª but watching. Focused. The Ghoul didn¡¯t charge again. It watched. "Why isn¡¯t it attacking?" Yifei muttered. "Because it doesn¡¯t have to," I said, rising again. And deep inside, I felt it. This wasn¡¯t a berserker. It was thinking. Chapter 144: The Ghouls Intent Chapter 144: The Ghouls IntentMarch 20th, 8:48 AM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Lower Atrium Level John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª The Ghoul didn¡¯t move. Neither did we. Every infected in the room stood like stone ¡ª Crawlers twitching in place, heads angled wrong, spines coiled as if waiting for something unseen. The air was heavy. It pressed in from all sides, thicker than blood, heavier than smoke. Crawlers halted mid-step. Their clawed hands twitched like nerves misfiring. A hundred bodies, frozen ¡ª but not confused. Waiting. And at the centre of it all, the Ghoul stood, still as a pillar of salt. White flesh. Limbs too long. Shoulders hunched like a beast that had never quite learned to stand. The Ghoul¡¯s body sagged, but its head remained steady, with smooth yet empty movements. Then it raised its arm. One slow, deliberate motion, and pointed. Straight at me. Nothing else moved. Not even the air. It didn¡¯t growl. Didn¡¯t shriek. It just indicated. "...Did it just¡ª" Tang Wei¡¯s voice trailed off. "John," Yifei said, her voice quiet. "It¡¯s looking at you." That long, unnatural limb aimed straight at my chest like it was identifying a target. My skin went cold. "What the hell is it doing?" Tang Wei muttered. Shen Yifei stood beside me, spear tight in both hands. "John..." "It¡¯s singling me out." As if in answer, the Ghoul moved. I felt it. No rage. No hunger. Just... focus. Then it moved. No blur. No sprint. It simply bent backwards and then snapped forward ¡ª its body folding like it had no joints at all, its momentum uncoiling like a released spring. Not toward Yifei. Not toward Tang Wei. Not even toward Roulan, still half-exposed and vulnerable. Its limbs curled and unfolded mid-air. Every joint flexed wrong, snapping sideways and backwards as it coiled toward me. I ducked and met it head-on. Metal slammed against bone. My gauntlets caught its strike, and the sound was something between a chime and a crunch. Sparks flashed. My arms shook. Qi flared down to my fingertips. The Ghoul¡¯s momentum didn¡¯t stop. Its body slid around mine like a snake wrapping a tree. One limb whipped behind me. Another coiled under my chin. I shoved back, blades scraping, and the ground split where its foot landed behind me. "MOVE!" I shouted. Yifei rushed the flank, spear drawn. Tang Wei dropped to one knee and fired upward ¡ª a three-round burst cut the Ghoul¡¯s shoulder open. No scream. Just a jerk of meat, then that pale, eyeless face twisted in my direction again. Not at them. Only me. "Back!" I shouted, taking a single step forward as the Gauntlets flared. The Ghoul was already in the air. Its limbs curled in mid-flight like ropes ¡ª then lashed outward as it collided with me, all force, all pressure. I slammed into the column behind us with enough force to crack the base. Pain exploded through my shoulder. I swung upward, blade to rib. It ducked under, rolled around me like smoke, and slammed me into the wall again, harder. This time, I dropped. Before I could lift my arms, it was on me. The Ghoul didn¡¯t claw. It beat. One long, pale arm rose, then dropped with the weight of a mallet. Thud. My vision rang. My nose cracked. Blood exploded across my mouth. Thud. Another. Across the cheek. Lights burst behind my eyes. I raised my gauntlet just in time to block the third ¡ª sparks flew as it crashed against reinforced metal. I twisted my wrist ¡ª brought the left blade across its thigh. The edge caught, tore open pale flesh ¡ª but there was no cry, no blood, just a hissing release like steam. It leaned in closer. No breath. No scent. Just silence ¡ª and that smooth, eyeless face hovering inches from mine. Then it shrieked. Not with sound ¡ª with pressure. The kind that made my ears ring without noise. My thoughts fuzzed, like static drowning out instinct. "Get off him!" Yifei¡¯s spear cracked against its spine. The impact sent it sprawling sideways ¡ª but not far. It rolled, caught itself on all fours, and sprang back before I was fully up. Tang Wei fired from the flank, bullets tore into its side, staggered it ¡ª but again, no scream. Just movement. Liquid motion. It dodged every follow-up shot. Slid low to the floor and swept a leg ¡ª nearly took my feet out as I staggered backwards. "Bastard," I spat, blood running down my chin. I kicked upward, caught it under the chin, and the motion staggered it just enough for me to rise fully. I didn¡¯t wait. I lunged forward with both blades ¡ª a shoulder-first, full-force rush. The Ghoul twisted mid-step, spine bending sideways, arms hooking behind its knees, like its body was trying to escape itself. I still caught the edge of its ribs. Metal tore muscle. Qi flared hot. It slammed both arms down onto mine, not punching, just hammering. My arms dipped under the weight. Its knee slammed into my gut. Hard. I staggered. Tang Wei rushed in beside me, dropped to one knee, and fired point-blank. Rounds punched through its side, and it jerked backwards, one arm twitching. Yifei moved on instinct, catching it mid-turn with the butt of her spear. A sharp CRACK sounded as the impact met the side of its head. I saw my chance. I stepped in. Both gauntlets shifted. The vents glowed red. Internal chambers rotated. Eight shells loaded. Eight slugs are ready. The Ghoul stood again. Even with blood or whatever passed for it pouring down its face. It wasn¡¯t retreating. But its balance was off. "Come on," I hissed, raising both arms. It lunged. I met it with both fists. DA-THUMP. The first two slugs blew into its chest; a white matter erupted in chunks. DA-THUMP. The next two hit its shoulder and arm, and one of its limbs flopped loose, still twitching. DA-THUMP. Two more to the ribs. The Ghoul staggered. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I stepped forward. DA-THUMP. The last two slammed point-blank into its face. Half its head vanished. The impact sent it twisting backwards into the marble floor, where it rolled once, then collapsed. Silence. Smoke rose from the wound. And then¡ª The Ghoul twitched. White fluid oozed from the ruin of its face ¡ª not blood. Not pus. Something thicker. Cream-like, unnatural, flowing into the air as it hissed and started to seal the wound. I raised my gauntlets again. But it was already standing. And running. "Shit¡ªno!" It retreated ¡ª arms dragging, spine bent backwards, head half-missing. It didn¡¯t leap. It didn¡¯t flail. It slid through the open corridor, vanishing into the crowd of still-frozen Crawlers like a stone sinking into water. And with its disappearance, the Crawlers began to move again. All at once. Roaring, screeching, launching toward us. "Here we go again!" Tang Wei shouted. Yifei reloaded, ready to fight. I stood over Roulan, eyes still on the dark corridor where the Ghoul had vanished. And for a second, I swore I felt it. Watching. The first wave hit like a stampede. Dozens of Crawlers tore across the ruined atrium ¡ª clawed limbs slapping the tile, jaws snapping, blood spraying from still-open wounds. Tang Wei emptied another burst into the lead pair, dropping them mid-leap. Yifei swung her spear low, tripped one, stabbed the next through the eye socket with a quick, brutal twist. Her breath was sharp, ragged, but steady. I stepped forward. Pain surged through my skull. My balance shifted. Blood poured freely from my nose ¡ª hot, thick, soaking the inside of my collar. The world tilted slightly. Not enough to fall, but enough to make me blink twice before I adjusted. My footwork slowed. A crawler broke through the left flank, claws raised. I punched it mid-air, a half-lunge with my right gauntlet, blade punching through its ribs. The creature shrieked as it split ¡ª but my legs felt like stone. Another scream ¡ª Yifei¡¯s voice, calling something. Distant. I turned, vision blurring for a moment. "John! Your head¡ª!" "I¡¯m fine," I lied. The truth was worse. I could taste metal and static. I felt every heartbeat inside my skull. We pressed back-to-back. Tang Wei reloaded. Yifei¡¯s movements grew more frantic, tight, and efficient. Roulan stayed behind the cargo box, tonfa back in her hand, swaying slightly but alive. Then, just as fast as it came, the pressure changed. The Crawlers... paused. Just a beat. Then, mid-charge, they turned. Split left and right. Peeling away from us. Disengaging. "What the hell..." Tang Wei muttered. I wiped blood from my mouth. "They¡¯re leaving." Yifei lowered her weapon, panting. "Why?" I didn¡¯t have an answer. Only a suspicion. Because the Ghoul hadn¡¯t vanished. It had redirected them. Somewhere else... someone else was about to be attacked. And I had a name already on my lips. "Qinglan." The name left my lips, but I wasn¡¯t sure I heard it. Suddenly, the pressure in my head became a painful throb, and the world started spinning. My knees buckled without warning. I hit the tile with a loud thud, the impact like electricity shocking my brain. I couldn¡¯t speak... only a groan came out. Just a dull, heavy bang. The cold surface met my cheek. Warm blood slid from my deformed nose, dripping in slow taps between the cracks. Someone shouted my name. A hand gripped my shoulder. But the lights above me blurred, and the noise of boots and breath became distant. Then the dark. Chapter 145: Echoes from the Atrium Chapter 145: Echoes from the AtriumMarch 20th, 8:51 AM ¡ª Longwan Mall, West Wing ¨C Rear Service Passage Mu Qinglan POV ¡ª We heard them before I saw anything, not footsteps, howls or screams... Gunfire. Sharp cracks and controlled bursts. Although I didn¡¯t use guns often, the one John gave us all had a distinct sound and rhythm I recognised too well ¡ª even if my chest tightened each time the echo reached us. It was coming from below, but we couldn¡¯t rush to them now. "Is that... them?" Deng Hua¡¯s voice was low. Uncertain. His hands kept fidgeting with the fletching on his arrows. He wasn¡¯t trying to be useful. He was just nervous. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "They¡¯re fighting again," Zhou Xue muttered. Of course they were. I hadn¡¯t heard John¡¯s voice yet, but the sound of that many bullets? It was clear the enemy wasn¡¯t just a few zombies and could be called a horde. He was down there, and probably bleeding. I stopped at the end of the corridor and watched the shadows and flickering lights that led into the back hallway. The concrete looked unsafe, cracked and water-stained with the stench of moss and rotten eggs. Behind me, the others shifted restlessly. No one wanted to speak. Or maybe no one wanted to say what we were all thinking. "They¡¯ll be fine... right?" Liang Mei asked. I didn¡¯t answer and stepped forward, into the space where the old department loading dock opened up. The smell hit me first. Not blood. Something older. Like dust, copper, and burned fabric ¡ª but heavier than any normal rot. It clung to the tongue. Metallic and bitter. The hallway ahead had once been part of the staff rest area ¡ª cheap vending machines half-melted into the floor, posters warning against loitering or slacking on shift hours. All that remained now were cracks and silence. "Stay close," I said over my shoulder. "Miss Mu..." Liang Qiu¡¯s voice trembled a little. "Was that a scream just now? I mean, a human scream?" "No." At least I hoped it wasn¡¯t. I moved down the hall slowly. My fingers rested on the hilt of my sword, Endless Night, still sheathed at my hip. I hadn¡¯t drawn it since we entered the mall. Not yet. Something told me I¡¯d need it soon. The others followed ¡ª Zhou Xue behind me, bow nocked but lowered. Deng Hua hovered near Liang Mei, probably more for his own comfort than hers. We weren¡¯t a squad. We weren¡¯t trained. We were students, a businesswoman... a mob at best. But John asked me to keep them safe. I¡¯d already come to terms with what that meant. The others hadn¡¯t. Not fully. Another burst of gunfire echoed from below ¡ª louder this time. Then... silence. No shots. No yelling. Just a low, hollow roar. Like wind over broken glass. Then it stopped, too. The whole mall seemed to hold its breath. That¡¯s when I smelled it. Not rot. Not the infected. Blood. His blood. Ever since I returned to a normal human... well, at least a mutated one, I realised that many of the things from being a living dead remained, though I didn¡¯t need blood anymore, I sometimes caught a whiff of John¡¯s... and a temptation stirred in my heart. My fingers tightened on the hilt of the sword he bought me, the strange warmth that sprouted just for a simple thing. ¡¯John... I miss your voice...¡¯ Tempted to tap my communication device, but I stopped. There was something more important to face right now. "Mu Qinglan...?" Chen Xun¡¯s voice came from the back. I didn¡¯t stop walking. Because whatever had happened down there... it wasn¡¯t over. And I knew, without a single word or call on the radio¡ª John was hurt. And something was still watching us. ¡ª I guided us to the service stairwell slowly. The lights were dead. Nothing but dust and old handprints marked the rails ¡ª some fresh, some blackened with age. A few looked too long, almost like someone had dragged their fingertips rather than held on. When I reached the second-floor landing, I stopped. The door had been torn open. Not broken. Torn. Bent from the inside out, with two warped impressions where the hinges used to be. The frame groaned slightly when I pushed it. Beyond it was... quiet. I stepped into the corridor. It was wide, open. The tile here was newer, less stained ¡ª the remains of a tech outlet sat ahead, shelves still lined with cracked phone boxes and dead display screens. Everything had been pushed aside. Not by looters. Not carefully. Dragged. The others crept behind me. No one spoke. Even Liang Mei kept her mouth shut ¡ª I could hear the nervous swallow in her throat. Ahead, the light dimmed. No overheads here. The few skylights were coated in grime. Zhou Xue edged closer to me. "Miss Mu... the floor." I looked down. A dried blood trail leading into the distance. Thick in some parts, smeared in others. As if something had been dropped ¡ª or pulled. It¡¯s not his... I told myself, a moment of panic growing within my chest. I followed it, not rushing but just enough to keep the others behind me moving. It led past the broken glass counter of a jewellery store. A crawler lay crumpled against the back wall, its skull caved inward like wet plaster. I didn¡¯t stop to check if it was dead. The blood continued. We passed claw marks. Deep ones. Ripped through wood. Through tile. Then... white. Not a mark. A smear. Across the wall ¡ª about chest height. A huge palm, a little deformed, but this was definitely a palm print, and there was no blood, only a strange white goo. The edges were faint, drying now. But the shape was clear. Five long fingers. Too long. A thumb in the wrong place. Liang Qiu let out a tiny gasp. She tried to cover it, but I heard it. Even I felt the hair rise on my arms. "What kind of infected bleeds like that?" she whispered. "None," I said. "That¡¯s not blood." At least I needed to say that... to keep myself focused, there was something here which could even affect me. I couldn¡¯t remember anything so far that could do that. "Let¡¯s keep following." "A-Ah... okay." Deng Hua seemed scared, his voice trembled, but there wasn¡¯t any need to blame him. I could see that only Zhou Xue remained focused after meeting that white freak in the vents. We kept walking. One of the benches up ahead had been flipped. Scorch marks pocked the wall. A small, clean crater in the tile. Slug impact. John¡¯s work. He¡¯d been here. Recently. The scent of his blood was stronger now ¡ª copper and heat, mixed with gun oil and that strange, scorched scent from before. The trail continued. Down another hallway. Then it opened up. A broken railing. A wide gap. And below it... the atrium. My breath caught. Blood pooled near the broken central fountain. Brass casings shimmered in the faint light like gold dust. Bodies. Dozens of them. Mostly Crawlers, twisted and ruptured. Something had torn through this space with power. Their bodies were torn, not slashed. Most of the Crawlers lay broken at the base of pillars or half-folded over benches. One had been nailed to the floor with a spear of glass through its chest ¡ª blood soaked into the cracks around it like ink bleeding across stone. I leaned over the shattered railing. The chaos hadn¡¯t just happened. It had been focused. Controlled. The way the corpses spread outward from the fountain, the burn marks against the lower column, the splash of what looked like white paint trailing along the far wall¡ª My breath hitched. That wasn¡¯t paint. It shimmered faintly. Pale cream, semi-translucent, still drying in stringy streaks. The same as the white goo we found earlier, and somehow I thought it was linked to that big white monster that kept running away. I tightened my grip on Endless Night¡¯s hilt. "...Are they all dead?" Deng Hua asked behind me. He didn¡¯t step forward. No one did. "I don¡¯t know." "What should we do?" Liang Qiu stepped forward with Chen Xun, the pair seemed to have improved their minds since we were at the university, and they started checking boxes and other things, maybe even trying to find a human corpse. "We should follow the blood." After all, this trail was John¡¯s blood. He was wounded... seriously wounded, and I was losing control of myself. A heat grew in my chest, the cold qi in my stomach freezing over as my emotions and face became stiff. "Follow me." Chapter 146: Trail of the Pale Beast Chapter 146: Trail of the Pale BeastMarch 20th, 9:02 AM ¡ª Longwan Mall, 1st Floor West Atrium Corridor Mu Qinglan POV ¡ª¡ª After we checked the area, I could tell these monsters were killed by John and his group, but there were no signs of injuries apart from John¡¯s. So after we finished checking for any supplies, something he taught me to do no matter what the situation... I prepared to leave. Zhou Xue finally came to stand beside me. Her bow lowered, her voice a whisper. "It looks like they fought an army in here." "Yeah, but it seems they won... using John as a sacrificial shield as usual." I knew it was petty and stupid to take my anger out here, but it¡¯s true. These people have no idea the level John went to keep them safe. He could have only protected me, Yifei and Roulan and been selfish... but he didn¡¯t. "..." The others looked sullen at my words. Well, it¡¯s the truth. The more time I spent with him as a woman, the harder it became for me to pull away and adjust my emotions. I knew it wasn¡¯t healthy, and my obsession with him was growing. But I cannot help it. I didn¡¯t know love could feel this good, this addictive... and pleasant. To change my mood, I slapped my cheeks and scanned the overlook one last time. The western balconies hung open in the gloom, but no shadows moved. The shattered skylight above let in grey light. No footsteps. No sound. Except one. Click... Click... Click... From below. Slow. Barely audible. Claws on tile? Or something else. Liang Qiu stepped up beside me. "Miss Mu... should we go down there?" No. Yes. We didn¡¯t have a choice. "Get ready," I said. I moved first. Back from the railing, toward the emergency stairs that spiralled down to the lower level. The metal groaned beneath my boots ¡ª not from weight, but from disuse. Halfway down, I paused. The wall beside the landing was marked with five streaks ¡ª thick, jagged gouges torn through plaster and brick. Each one was longer than my arm. Something had climbed this way. Or crawled. I descended slowly, each step like holding my breath. Something had died down here. And something else had walked away from it. The trail led down the emergency stairs ¡ª the kind mall staff used to avoid the public during restocks or fire drills. Now, it was just dust and claw marks. However, with each step, the smell of him grew stronger. John¡¯s blood ¡ª I could smell it in the air, warm and iron-rich, mixed with gun oil and the faint scent of sweat I remembered from the nights we¡¯d stood side by side on the rooftop. I bit the inside of my cheek. Stay focused. Zhou Xue led the others behind me, quiet but alert. The girl never wasted a word. I respected that. Liang Mei, surprisingly, had stopped shaking. She looked more curious than afraid now. Her gaze flicked toward the darker corners like she wanted to challenge whatever was waiting there. Maybe because he lacked confidence in his archery, Chen Xun held a short knife in both hands, knuckles pale. He didn¡¯t speak, didn¡¯t breathe too loud either. Maybe that made him the smartest of the bunch right now. We reached the ground floor service hall. A blood smear led from the stairs, sweeping low across the wall like someone had been half-dragged. I crouched next to it and pressed my fingertips near the dried edge. Still tacky. He wasn¡¯t far. But there were no bodies here and no sign of his team. Only something else. Another white smear ¡ª thin, like a trail left behind by something crawling or leaking. It ran from the main path and curved toward the interior halls that led to the central loading zones. The direction felt wrong. Like something had taken a different path, not to escape. But to hide. Had I taken a wrong turn? Were we chasing not John but that creature instead? There was no answer to my thoughts... I gazed back and noticed their pale faces. Because something in my gut told me this wasn¡¯t going to end well. But we had to move forward. I followed the white trail deeper. It had thickened. The smear on the tile wasn¡¯t just a line anymore ¡ª it was a winding path, twisted and uneven, sometimes pooled, sometimes smeared as if whatever left it had dragged itself while leaking. Whatever it was... it bled. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The service hall we entered had a low ceiling and no light fixtures. I tapped the side of my comm band, casting a faint beam ahead. Shadows split apart as I moved. The air here was different ¡ª not just colder. Damp. Still. The kind of quiet you only find in sealed places. I stepped over a fallen bucket. The smell hit harder now. Iron and disinfectant. Rot and something sharp beneath it ¡ª like ammonia, or bleach that had gone wrong. Zhou Xue whispered from behind me, "Do you think this was the white thing?" "No doubt," I said. "But it¡¯s not moving fast." That was the problem. Was it fleeing after fighting John¡¯s group, or was it fleeing to guide us into a trap? I couldn¡¯t understand the freakish monster. We passed a series of crates covered in plastic wrap. Old electronics, maybe. I glanced down at the floor and stopped. More white. Not just smeared but peeled. A ragged, translucent skin lay half-curled near the wall like something had burst or moulted. "What the hell..." Chen Xun muttered. He crouched to look ¡ª but didn¡¯t touch. Good. Even he knew better. I didn¡¯t like how the residue shimmered in my light. Not wet. Not dry. Just alive. Something had stood here and reformed. Liang Qiu tugged on my sleeve. "Miss Mu..." She pointed down the next hall, where something torn and forced a steel security shutter halfway up. The edges bent outward. Black streaks led through ¡ª either ash or burn marks. From somewhere past that gap, I heard it. A thump. Dull. Not urgent. Like a body falling sideways. My fingers itched toward the hilt of Endless Night. I didn¡¯t draw it yet. Not until I saw John, or what was left of what he fought. "We¡¯re moving in," I said, keeping my voice steady. Behind me, I heard Deng Hua murmur, "If something jumps out, I¡¯m going to scream." That made Liang Mei snort. It wasn¡¯t a real laugh. But it was enough to calm her clear nerves... and helped the group¡¯s morale. We passed beneath the shutter one by one. And the white trail was still ahead. Leading deeper. Somewhere inside, I prayed we weren¡¯t following the wrong thing. Or maybe we were. And I didn¡¯t care. So long as it led me to John. The hallway opened into a wide, dark space ¡ª clearly the main loading zone. Half the shelves had collapsed, scattering cardboard boxes, broken signage, and dusty display racks. One of the delivery doors at the far end looked buckled, as if something had crashed into it from the inside. We moved slowly. There was a blood smear on the floor just ahead, leading to a metal dolly tipped on its side. I approached it, the others watching my steps. That¡¯s when I saw the print. A bloodstain across the side rail ¡ª not shaped by accident, but pressed deliberately. It looked like a handprint. Five digits. Except they were stretched unnaturally long, one finger curving too far inward, like it had an extra joint. At first, I assumed it was John¡¯s. But it wasn¡¯t his shape. It wasn¡¯t human. The blood was his. But the shape was that thing¡¯s. I stared at it for a moment longer, fingers curling tighter around my sword. "...It used his blood." Not spilled. Not splashed. Used. Liang Qiu took a step behind me. "Did it go this way?" "No," I muttered. "It was here." Something shifted in the dark, too far to see. A faint rustle, like skin brushing against plastic. Whatever left that handprint was still nearby. I drew Endless Night. "We move together," I said. "If it shows itself¡ªI¡¯ll cut it down." No matter how quiet the loading zone seemed, I knew we weren¡¯t alone. And if that thing had time to use his blood... It wasn¡¯t just watching. That thing was hunting us, not fleeing. It was leaving a message. One meant for me. And I planned to answer it. Chapter 147: Bleeding Hour Chapter 147: Bleeding HourMarch 20th, 12:37 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Unknown Room John Wang POV ¡ª The first thing I noticed was the smell. Cheap antiseptic. Damp cloth. Something bitter beneath it ¡ª blood and burnt powder. I opened my eyes slowly. There was a cracked ceiling above me, yellowed stains from the water, and several dead flies trapped in the light cover. My head throbbed with a dull pulsing ache the moment I tried to sit up, and the world tilted sideways. "Don¡¯t." Shen Yifei¡¯s voice drifted in from nearby. It wasn¡¯t a harsh sound, but it wasn¡¯t steady either. I blinked a few times, turned my head and noticed that we weren¡¯t in the atrium anymore. "Y...Yifei..." My throat hurt... dry, sore and a little swollen. It looked like the back of an old nail salon ¡ª torn chairs, mirrors without glass, and a thick, dusty curtain draped across what used to be the entrance. Someone had dragged a pair of old couches together to make a makeshift bed. My back stuck to a folded towel soaked with sweat and blood. Yifei sat nearby on an overturned stool and looked tired. The kind of tired that meant everything hurt, but she couldn¡¯t afford to stop moving. "How long?" "An hour. Maybe more." She passed me a plastic bottle with the label half-scratched off. "You blacked out after the Ghoul left." The word sat in my mouth. Ghoul. I remembered that horrific monster, its strength not in pure force, but how it could move, twist and bend its joints using all its strength. The moment its arms hammered down. The sharp pop of my nose breaking, and bones cracking under the force. The weight of its body when it pinned me, like steel cables wrapped in skin. I sat up slowly, ignoring the rush of heat in my face and the crackle of pain in my ribs. Yifei didn¡¯t stop me this time. Roulan was asleep on a folded blanket a few metres away, her side still bandaged. Tang Wei leaned against the far wall, cleaning her shotgun in silence, her shirt torn across one arm. No one spoke, but it was clear that we barely survived. The girls had blocked the doors with cloth and heavy shelves... so I couldn¡¯t see outside, but the lingering anxiety of that ghoul remained. It was too quiet. "You didn¡¯t carry me here." "No." Yifei¡¯s tone sharpened slightly. "Tang Wei did." I glanced at the old mirror behind her. My face looked like hell. Dried blood under my nose. Red along my jaw. A dark bruise blooming near my left eye. "I look like I lost." Yifei didn¡¯t smile. "We didn¡¯t win either." Fair enough. I leaned forward, grabbed my gauntlets from where they rested on the floor. They were scratched, scorched, but still intact. A smear of white had dried along the edge of one blade. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It¡¯s blood. Or whatever passed for it. "I think it could¡¯ve killed me." Yifei¡¯s body shuddered at my words, her hand clasping around mine as she shook her head. "You can¡¯t..." Her fingers clenched me tightly as she rubbed my fingers. "It didn¡¯t." She didn¡¯t add anything more. I tapped the comm device in my ear twice while trying to contact Qingaln and brought up the interface. The screen flickered for a second before stabilising. Static lines scratched across the corner, but the local systems were fine. [Status: Minor trauma.] Good enough. No warnings about internal bleeding, no critical damage. Still... the pain behind my eyes hadn¡¯t faded. I rubbed my forehead slowly. That thing didn¡¯t fight like a zombie. It didn¡¯t flail or pounce blindly. It moved ¡ª with intention, with awareness. It studied us. Ignored the others and came straight for me. And even when we surrounded it, it didn¡¯t lash out in panic. It chose its moment. And it tried to kill me, not because I was closest... but because I was a threat. I pulled the system overlay up again, navigating toward the recent enemy registry. [Ghoul] [Evolved - Half-Human] [Devoured Human Meat] [Cannibal] [Status: Unknown] [Current Threat Level: S-Tier] I¡¯d seen that before... right before it vanished into the walls. I didn¡¯t say anything aloud. The others didn¡¯t need more to panic over. Because I didn¡¯t have time to check the system while fighting, the amount of ZKP and experience I gained made me realise just how intense the battle was. Even with me killing a large amount... I¡¯d gained over three thousand of each. For the first time in a long while, I checked my status and made a decision. ¨‹ STATUS Name: John Wang Title: Harbinger of the Lunar Beast Titan Marrow Sutra¡ªStage 2: 27% [Steel Frame] Stage: 2 [Soul Bond (Yin): 28%] Rank: Outpost Commander [38/60] ¨N S-Tier: Mu Qinglan [499/500] ¨N S-Tier: Wang Yin [500/500] ¨N S-Tier: Jiang Roulan [345/500] ¨N A-Tier: Liang Mei [187/500] ¨N B-Tier: Shen Yifei [385/500] [Current Qi: 100%] ¨‹ Attributes Strength | 6.1 Physique | 7.6 Agility | 6.1 Spirit | 6.2 ¨‹ Skills Leadership: [Level 5] Self-Defence: [Level 5] Iron Will: [Level 3] Dash: [Level 4] Danger Sense [Level 3] Spear Mastery [Level 2] Unbreaking Will [Level 4] Point-Blank Discipline [Level 2] Shooting [Level 4] SMG Mastery [Level 3] Steady Hands [Level 3] Urban Predator Instinct [Level 1] ¨‹ Building Status Stage 5 Building Area: Moonlit Terrace Safety: Extreme Safe Zone: 48,000 sq ft total space Current Battery Levels: 14% (44 Hours) ¨‹ Total Resources. Wood: 125 Metal: 45 Plastic: 130 Glass: 190 Cloth: 130 ¨‹ Currency ZKP: 29,550 EXP: 7,910/25,000 The moment I slipped open the shop tab, Tang Wei called out to me. "Your nose might need setting later." She hadn¡¯t looked up from her shotgun. "Couldn¡¯t do anything about that with what we had. I focused on your ribs and internal bruising." "Thanks." She shrugged. There was dried blood on her sleeve. She hadn¡¯t cleaned herself, only her weapon. "You saw it move," I said. Tang Wei paused, then nodded once. "I did." "And?" "Honestly... it felt more human than beast or zombie." She looked up at me, her eyes were swollen, and a big bruise was swelling her right eye. "You mean human." Tang Wei didn¡¯t answer. That was enough. Shen Yifei seemed happy to hum to herself while brushing the healing cream I bought before coming here onto my wounds. It stung, but thanks to the Titan¡¯s marrow, I no longer flinched or moved when feeling slight pain. The first thing I did was buy elixirs for all the women and myself, enough to boost our current combat abilities significantly. Tang Wei still didn¡¯t trust me enough to join, but that didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t buy her these items. It wasn¡¯t the time to bother about being stingy or protecting my secret. The ghoul was too dangerous. But there wasn¡¯t enough time to give her the top-grade marrow washing potion... since that could take hours to process. Phew... After I bought the elixirs, the glass clanged as I handed them in a small box to Yifei. "Take one of each colour, then pass them on to the others." "???" She looked confused, but still nodded and took them. Meanwhile, I adjusted my seating and reached for the comms again. Maybe the signal was still blocked... but something had changed when the Ghoul left. Static buzzed for a moment. I wanted to hear Qinglan¡¯s voice... Then¡ª "¡ªghhh¡ªJohn...?" The voice cracked through faintly, but the sound of the Type-9k firing and the strange, eerie sounds that the ghoul made while flinging itself echoed with the clang of steel. Mu Qinglan. She sounded distant. Clipped by interference. "...Qinglan. Get out of there." More static. Nothing else. But the connection wasn¡¯t dead anymore. I sat up straighter. The pressure in my head hadn¡¯t gone away, but I ignored it. If Qinglan was close to whatever I just fought... then she was in danger. Chapter 148: Pale Eyes in the Dark Chapter 148: Pale Eyes in the DarkMarch 20th, 12:55 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Ground Level ¨C Rear Loading Corridor Mu Qinglan POV ¡ª Finally, after chasing the monster, we found a fairly secure room to rest and eat... The area we¡¯d stopped in used to be a merchandise drop point, with sealed overhead shutters, stacked pallets, and a chain-link partition dividing the hallway from the main loading floor. It was one of the few places left that felt untouched by the chaos. For the moment. Deng Hua was sitting on a crate, chewing on half a protein bar like it might run away from him. Liang Qiu and Zhou Xue checked over their bows. Chen Xun hadn¡¯t spoken since we entered this space, but he kept glancing at the shadows behind the plastic-wrapped shelves with a nervous expression. Liang Mei was near the wall¡ªher heart didn¡¯t cause issues, and she only ate a small biscuit from the MRE I shared. She didn¡¯t speak like earlier either, probably spooked by the white monster and the eerie atmosphere. Just sat quietly with her knees drawn to her chest, watching me. I didn¡¯t eat either. John¡¯s scent was long gone now. The blood trail had faded, and that strange white substance had disappeared too. But I still couldn¡¯t shake the pressure in my spine, like something was just out of sight, but not gone. Zhou Xue pulled her water bottle from her pack and glanced at me. "Should we keep moving?" "I think we should rest up a bit more, it¡¯s only been an hour since we came here." "I see, well... I will keep my eyes out." Then something changed. My earpiece clicked once, just a faint static pop ¡ª and I heard his voice. "...Qinglan, can you hear me?" The connection warped, faded, then snapped again into static. I sat upright. My fingers brushed against the hilt of my sword. John¡¯s voice. He sounded strained, out of breath and full of worry. But alive. "Did you hear that?" I asked quickly. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhou Xue nodded. "It was him. It came through." Why now? We hadn¡¯t moved far. We¡¯d been in the same area for the last hour, so what stopped us from communicating earlier? The signal had been dead the whole time. I hadn¡¯t even felt interference since we arrived. Then my heart skipped. I looked down at my hand. It was trembling. His voice came through once more, but the crackle became worse as I called out to him, trying to hear his voice clearly. "...Qinglan. Get out of there." "John! John! Are you alright, It¡¯s me!" I remembered that feeling from earlier, right before the air grew heavy, the moment just before the comms cut out the first time. My skin felt cold. Too still. Like something was nearby again. The signal hadn¡¯t come through because it got stronger. It came through because the thing that had been blocking it had moved further away. And now it was back. "...Everyone stand up," I said, pushing off the crate. Deng Hua flinched. "Huh? What¡ª" "Now." Something was watching us again. I could feel it breathing. Somewhere, just beyond the shelves. "It¡¯s here!" I didn¡¯t hesitate. "Liang Qiu. Zhou Xue. Take the others. Back to the atrium. Now." "What?" Zhou Xue blinked. "Why¡ª" "Because it¡¯s here." I had already drawn my sword ¡ª the curved black blade glinting dully in the low light. The scabbard dropped to the floor behind me with a soft clatter. They hadn¡¯t felt it yet. But I had. A distortion in the air, like pressure dropping before a storm. Cold seeped into my fingers. My heartbeat slowed. Every instinct that once let me survive as something not human screamed at me to run. Which meant I had to stay. Deng Hua stepped forward. "We can fight¡ª" "No, you¡¯ll die." I didn¡¯t shout, but the edge in my voice stopped them. I met Zhou Xue¡¯s eyes. She understood. "Move." The others started backing away. Liang Qiu helped pull Liang Mei to her feet. Chen Xun stayed frozen for a second longer, but Zhou Xue shoved him hard enough that he staggered. They moved fast ¡ª disappeared behind the curtain of stacked boxes and dark shelving. I took one breath. And then it came. Not through the front. From above. A shadow dropped behind me ¡ª silent, no sound of feet, no growl. I turned just in time. It was on all fours, crawling across the wall like some faceless ape. Long limbs bent backwards, the weight of its body pulled by unnatural joints. No mouth. No eyes. Just a pale, blank surface where a face should be. White flesh. Thin and stretched like wet leather over bone. John¡¯s messages called it a Ghoul. Its head tilted the moment I faced it, slow and jerky, as if it was unsure I had value. Then it lunged. I stepped back just in time to catch the swipe against my blade. The shock of the blow ran up my wrist, but I didn¡¯t fall. It was stronger than anything I¡¯d fought before. Its speed didn¡¯t match its size ¡ª it twisted through the air, slammed into the floor, rolled upright, and came again without pause. Another slash. I turned, parried. Sparks jumped from the steel of my sword as the Ghoul¡¯s claw skimmed the flat of the blade. I saw my opening and stepped forward. Slash¡ª! My blade sliced through the white skin, thick like leather, but it didn¡¯t bleed, only hissed with a strange white goo. Like steam escaping a vent. The Ghoul recoiled. Not in pain ¡ª in confusion. Like the thing had expected no resistance. I set my stance again, eyes narrowed. "You¡¯re not touching them." Its body turned low, long arms dragging along the tiles, it was watching me now. Me, not the others. Whatever it was... it understood threats. And I was the only one left. The Ghoul moved again. It didn¡¯t run. It snapped forward like a whip of pale muscle, limbs coiling under itself before unfolding mid-air. I ducked beneath the first strike, rolled along the crate¡¯s edge, and slashed upward across its back. My blade met flesh ¡ª but didn¡¯t dig deep. The tension of its skin was too dense, like cutting through a half-frozen slab of meat. It didn¡¯t cry out. Didn¡¯t even flinch. It pivoted its entire body with one leg and swung both arms wide. I blocked with the flat of my sword ¡ª the force of the impact threw me against the wall, my ribs screaming from the shock. My breath caught for a second, but I didn¡¯t drop the weapon. Endless Night thrummed in my grip ¡ª the weight of it familiar. Comforting. The Ghoul¡¯s faceless head turned to follow my movement like it wasn¡¯t reading my body... but my soul. Then it darted forward again, striking low this time. I kicked a shelf unit into its path. The metal frame cracked as the Ghoul tore through it, but the second of resistance gave me time to leap sideways, land hard, and draw a fresh breath. I¡¯d seen monsters. Killed them. Even been one, once. But this was different. This thing wasn¡¯t just fast. It was adapting. The first few strikes had been wild. Testing. Now they were precise. Reading distance, weight, and momentum. Not a beast. A hunter. It lunged again ¡ª I spun, ducked low, then came up under its ribs and slashed hard. This time, the blade bit deeper. A slice opened across its midsection. White fluid splattered the tiles ¡ª thick, creamy, and steaming. The Ghoul jerked back, hands splayed like a dancer bracing for balance. I pressed the attack. One step. Two. Another cut. A third. It blocked the fourth, catching the flat of my blade with its wrist before twisting sideways and flipping over me. I barely turned in time to stop the counter-blow ¡ª its forearm slammed into my side, knocking me across the tiles. It hurt... it really hurt... so much I could taste the sweet iron in my throat flowing back. The bastard almost made me vomit blood. Immense pain bloomed through my back. My teeth clenched as I gasped through it. The Ghoul stood over me now. Silent. Observing. I rose slowly, one knee braced against the floor, sword dragging beside me. My hands trembled, but my stance didn¡¯t break. The monster crouched. Limbs curled beneath it again. Ready to strike. I gritted my teeth. "Come on, then," I whispered. "Let¡¯s finish this." Chapter 149: Cold Steel and Pale Flesh Chapter 149: Cold Steel and Pale FleshMarch 20th, 1:05 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Rear Loading Corridor Mu Qinglan POV ¡ª¡ª It didn¡¯t wait. The moment I shifted my footing, the Ghoul exploded forward ¡ª no wind-up, no snarl, just speed. It leapt across the blood-slick tiles like its body lacked weight, like a cloud, long arms arcing down like blades. I raised Endless Night. Steel rang as its claws met my sword. The impact shot down my bones. I twisted, deflected ¡ª but it¡¯s second strike coiled in from the side, joint twisting in a way that wasn¡¯t human. Not even close. I stepped back, breathing shallow. One gash opened across my thigh, cloth tearing, blood spreading through the fabric like ink in water. Its claws dragged across the tiles as it followed, crouching, shoulders hunched like a stalking hound. No sound. Just breathless intent. Its face was still blank, still silent ¡ª and yet I felt it watching. Calculating. Trying to understand how much I had left. Another strike. Low this time ¡ª it skidded into a slide, arms scissoring at ankle height. I jumped ¡ª barely. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The edge of its forearm carved through the hem of my coat. My boots hit the ground again with a jolt. I planted one foot, twisted, and slashed down hard. The blade kissed flesh. White fluid hissed against the air, spraying across its chest. It staggered back two steps ¡ª but didn¡¯t fall. Not even close. My lungs burned with fire, from lack of oxygen and overuse. My legs ached. Still, I kept moving. Cutting. Blocking. Every strike now was a split-second away from death. The Ghoul wasn¡¯t just fast. It was aware. It pressed again, claws dragging sparks from the blade¡¯s edge as we locked. I turned my hips, shifted left, then rammed the hilt of my sword into the hollow between its ribs. It flinched. Just slightly. Then its head twisted. I mean, really twisted. The neck bent back on itself, too far, the motion cracking like bones rubbed raw ¡ª until the blank face was staring upside-down into mine. I swallowed bile. Its arm came crashing down. I blocked, but my right hand numbed on contact. My shoulder buckled. I stumbled sideways, gasping as blood rushed back into my arm. "¡ªglhh... Qing¡ªlan..." The sound crackled through my earpiece. I froze for a heartbeat. My body moved on instinct ¡ª roll, dodge, slice. I pivoted away, heart pounding harder now for more than one reason. "John...?" Static. Nothing more. The Ghoul had paused, too. It turned its head slowly, as if it had heard something too. Then it pounced again. This time, I caught the claws with the flat of my blade, kicked off a crate, and sent both of us crashing sideways into a display shelf. The impact split wood and bent metal. I hit the floor first. The Ghoul landed above me. I rolled, slashing across its leg ¡ª it jerked back, hissing steam from the open wound. I stood again. Breath rough. Ribs burning. It was learning. Every second we fought, it became more precise. And yet¡ª So was I. Clang¡ª! It struck again. A whip-fast arc aimed for my throat ¡ª too wide, too early. I moved before it committed, ducking low under the swing, blade slicing upward from my hip in a counter-motion. Steel tore across its chest. White fluid sprayed the tile again. It twitched¡ªstaggered, but didn¡¯t fall. Its claws scraped the wall as it backed away. Not retreating. Resetting. It¡¯s learning. But so was I. I breathed through grit teeth, grounding my stance. I could feel the torn muscle in my thigh, the pulsing in my ribs. Wounds that should¡¯ve crippled me. But they didn¡¯t. The pain was distant, real, but thin. Like something beneath my skin filtered it. Softened it. No. Not softened. Adapted to it. My body moved before my thoughts finished. Each breath was easier now. Sharper. The pain was there, but it no longer dictated my motion. I could feel my pulse slow, muscles tightening in rhythm, movements syncing not with panic... but with precision. This wasn¡¯t just training. It was evolution. My eyes locked on the Ghoul. We¡¯re the same, I thought, just for a heartbeat. No... not quite. I¡¯m still me. Then I rushed forward. The Ghoul shifted, prepared for a high swing. I didn¡¯t swing. I kicked. My boot drove into its shin, cracking the limb sideways ¡ª the joint bent with a sickening crunch, but it still didn¡¯t fall. It turned mid-motion, letting itself fall backwards to roll and recover. I chased it. No hesitation. My sword came down in a sideways slash, but it caught the blade again. This time with both arms. The force of the clash sent a spike through my shoulder. The Ghoul shoved forward ¡ª we slammed together. I twisted, dug my foot behind its leg, and threw us both against the crates. It flailed. My blade pulled free. Then¡ª "¡ªssssss! Qing¡ª... Coming¡ªnow¡ªHold On!" John again. His voice staggered through static ¡ª distant, broken, strained. But there! He was coming, he said he was coming to me! I don¡¯t understand, and those simple words created a storm in my body and mind. Cold... streaks of ice grew along my blade... my stomach felt hot, despite the frigid ice qi inside me. "John! I¡¯m¡ª" The Ghoul reacted. It struck the side of my head with its elbow, sharp and deliberate. My skull rattled. My legs buckled. It knew that voice mattered. I fell to one knee. My grip loosened. The Ghoul¡¯s claws came down¡ª I rolled, barely escaping the strike. The tile shattered where my head had been. I came up, coughing blood, hand still gripping Endless Night. My fingers trembled. The blade¡¯s edge gleamed with smeared white and red. End it. I turned my stance, exhaled once, and the world seemed different... everything turned blue and red... the ghoul¡¯s body with several red lines and marks... What is this? Ice qi flowed through my blade and around my wounds, closing them temporarily. Cold, yet secured. The Ghoul was shifting again, slower this time. One leg twitched wrong. A cut leaked too much fluid. The chest wound hadn¡¯t closed. It was healing slower. That was all I needed to see. I could win this. Even if I had to kill it piece by piece. Its limbs moved out of rhythm now. The Ghoul¡¯s balance had shifted. A damaged leg. A slower coil in its spine. The marks across its chest still hissed, still leaked that pale sludge. It was weakening. But so was I. And yet¡ª I didn¡¯t feel pain. Not anymore. A low mist crawled over the floor. Not smoke. Not dust. It was cold. Coming from me. The hilt of Endless Night had frost along the guard. A faint glow bled from the runes carved into the base of the blade. Pale blue veins crawled up my wrist, webbing beneath the skin. My blood had slowed. But I wasn¡¯t slower. I was clearer. Like my breath had become glass, my nerves wired into every motion. This must have been the thing John gave to me in bed... after I made love to him to remove Shen Yifei from his mind... The Ice Orchid Sutra... something that made sex amazing. It was awake now. The Ghoul moved. I moved faster. A pivot off the right foot. I slid under its outstretched arm, the edge of my sword brushing along its ribs ¡ª not a slash, a cut, deliberate and sharp. The white liquid burst across the wall behind it. Then froze... the healing stopped. It twisted mid-air, trying to catch me with an elbow strike, but I was already past it. My movements flowed like water around it. No, not water. Like ice. Cold. Sharp. Unstoppable. The Ghoul turned, faster now, desperate ¡ª its claws flashed toward my throat. I stepped forward instead, under the arc of its arm, and slammed my hilt into the side of its skull. Crack. Bone split. It reeled. I didn¡¯t give it a breath. I stepped into its space, chest to chest. My left hand gripped the back of its arm. My right thrust Endless Night upward, into its torso. All the way in. The blade hissed ¡ª frost laced the wound, and a violent spasm ran through its limbs as Ice Qi exploded into its chest. It tried to scream. But it had no mouth. Instead, it shivered. Violently. Head twitching. Back arching. I twisted the blade once and pulled it free. It staggered, two steps back. Three. Then it dropped to one knee. Steam poured from its wounds. White matter leaked in pulsing waves, but the ice qi started to freeze... causing the healing to slow, almost stop! It tried to stand again. Didn¡¯t make it. And for the first time... it didn¡¯t recover. Its body slumped forward. Limbs twitching. But not rising. I stood still, sword low, chest heaving. The mist crawled along my skin. And the cold receded. Endless Night still shimmered. But the frost faded from my arm. "Just a little more... please...." I begged my failing body ¡ª the pain, damage, and injuries only slowed by the ice... "¡ªQinglan¡ªcan you... hear me now...?" I tapped the side of the comm. "I¡¯m here." His breathing sounded horrible ¡ª breathless, relieved. "I¡¯m coming." The Ghoul twitched again, once, and then flung back into the vent... a loud bang sounding before it vanished. My hands thrust Endless night into the ground, as my body collapsed to the ground. I wasn¡¯t supposed to survive. But then again... I¡¯ve never been good at dying on time. Chapter 150: Steel Steps in the Silence Chapter 150: Steel Steps in the SilenceMarch 20th, 1:15 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Lower Atrium Level John Wang POV ¡ª Jiang Roulan was already on her feet when I finished strapping my gauntlets. She moved slowly, still favouring her side, but her eyes were sharp again. Whatever strength she¡¯d lost, she¡¯d found enough to walk. Fight, if needed. After taking the potions, the girls seemed to suffer for a moment, but now they look much better; the cuts and bruises from fighting vanished. However, they probably had many questions for me. "You good?" I asked without turning. "Better than you looked an hour ago," she muttered. "Let¡¯s go." Tang Wei slammed the breach of her shotgun shut with a clack and nodded once. She looked ready, her coat a little dirty with blood, but everything else was good to go. Shen Yifei gave a small stretch, testing her shoulder, then clicked her spear into its holster across her back. "I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong, but I¡¯ll follow you..." Yifei¡¯s quiet voice echoed as she flicked her face away from me and stepped over the boxes, sealing the entrance. Thanks to their quick movements, we pushed out into the corridor with no more hesitation. No chatter. No wasted breath. Mu Qinglan was in danger. I could feel it. The moment we re-entered the western overlook, the scent of blood and scorched tile hit my nose again. It hadn¡¯t faded. It had just dried into the concrete. That¡¯s when I noticed someone standing ahead. "Hey!" Liang Mei¡¯s head turned at the sound of our boots. She stumbled back from where she¡¯d been peering over the railing. Zhou Xue stood beside her, bow drawn, jaw tight. The moment she saw me, she lowered it. I couldn¡¯t believe that we found them so easily, but as I checked over them, I noticed that everyone but Qinglan was with them. "Where¡¯s Lan¡¯er?" Liang Mei¡¯s body trembled from my question. She looked away, but I couldn¡¯t get angry at her, thankfully, Zhou Xue stepped forward and spoke to me. "She¡¯s still fighting," Zhou Xue said. "She stayed behind. She told us to run." "Is she¡ª" Yifei began. "She was alive," Liang Mei said softly, "when we left." I stepped forward, past them. That was all I needed. "She¡¯s still alive." S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The others moved around me. I caught Zhou Xue¡¯s eyes briefly ¡ª sharp, focused. She¡¯d seen something down there. The frost on her cheeks told me it wasn¡¯t just a guess. "We go now," I said. Roulan snorted behind me. "What took us so long?" I didn¡¯t answer. We moved toward the side hall ¡ª weapons raised, eyes scanning every corner. Mu Qinglan was close. And whatever was down here wasn¡¯t finished. Not yet. The deeper we moved, the colder it got. Not just in temperature, but in the atmosphere. The kind of cold that soaked through boot soles and set itself into your joints. Tang Wei slowed near a broken display stand and crouched without needing instruction. There were footprints. Qinglan¡¯s size. Beside them, frost trailed along the tile in uneven patterns. Some looked like boot scrapes, others... claw drags. Deep. Clean. "She passed through here," Tang Wei muttered. "But she wasn¡¯t running." "She couldn¡¯t," I said. "Not from that thing." Yifei brushed her fingers over a scorched metal shelf where something had torn through. "It followed her." Jiang Roulan leaned on a crate and scanned the roof. "No drag marks. She was still standing when it ended." I didn¡¯t comment ¡ª just kept walking. Every corner we turned showed more of the battle¡¯s aftermath. A shelf split down the middle. A dent in the steel doorframe. Stray shards of ice cling to the wall. Steam still hissed from a melted container near the end of the hall. "She really fought it here?" Yifei asked quietly. No one answered. We reached a point where the air stopped moving entirely. The kind of silence that came after something enormous had passed. "Look," Tang Wei whispered. A long smear of white ran along the wall. Ghoul ichor. Viscous, shimmering faintly. Like mucus made of wax. It trailed off into the next corridor. "She wounded it," I said, stepping past. "Then she¡¯s not dead," Yifei said. "She¡¯s not." A faint hiss of static crackled in my earpiece. I paused. "Qinglan...?" Nothing. Just low background buzz ¡ª like interference from a distant storm. The hallway narrowed again. The frost thickened near the far wall ¡ª the edges of crates iced over in a thin crust. A broken crate lay open, its wooden edge splintered in a perfect crescent, like something had been thrown through it. In reality, I could see the direction to where she was thanks to the system¡¯s GPS, but there were several large red dots that we couldn¡¯t afford to fight... So I took a longer route. I crouched and pressed two fingers to the floor. Still cold. Not long ago. "She¡¯s close," I said. "We¡¯re nearly there." Roulan didn¡¯t speak, but she kept her weapon up now. Every single one of us moved faster. Quieter. And not a single crawler came to greet us. That silence wasn¡¯t safety. It was a warning. ¡ª¡ª It didn¡¯t take long to wrap around the ghouls watching from above, but now that I fought one, the system could identify them on the map along with the tiny dots for crawlers. I smelled her before I saw her. The thick scent of Mu Qinglan¡¯s sweat and qi mixed, forming a sweet aroma. And then the white stench. Like scorched plastic mixed with spoiled milk. We turned the final corner together. The corridor looked like a tragic accident site, with a room that seemed to have been bombed, ice and white goo spread across the entire floor and walls. One side had collapsed inward ¡ª crates splintered, racks overturned. The ground was slick with water and frost. A long crack ran through the tiles from end to end, and the far wall bore a thick smear of pale slime ¡ª Ghoul fluid, hissing as it evaporated. A smear of white trailed along the far wall ¡ª thick, semi-translucent, bubbling faintly. But there was no body. No Ghoul. Only a few lingering signs of its retreat. Deep scratches. Fluid trails. And a strange ripple in the air, as if the battle had left behind a pressure that hadn¡¯t yet lifted. And in front of it all¡ª Qinglan... she was sitting holding her sword, eyes closed, while bathing in the ceiling¡¯s broken light. It almost made her look divine, like a fallen angel with crimson blood painting her lips and dripping down her chin. Mu Qinglan leaned against the wall, Endless Night resting tip-first against the tile. Her other hand was braced against her thigh, knuckles pale. Her eyes found mine first. "...Took you long enough, John." Her voice sounded rough; each time she spoke, her eyes close, and she winced in pain. I rushed to her side and grabbed her shoulders, unable to control my worry. She didn¡¯t resist when I pulled her into my arms. "You¡¯re freezing." "It ran." "Are you hurt?" "Not enough." Her head rested against my chest, hair damp, breath light. I held her close. "It fled before I could finish it," she murmured. "It was healing... too fast." "You scared it off. That¡¯s enough." "No," she whispered, almost to herself. "It¡¯s still watching. I am sure... of it." My eyes flicked to the GPS and noticed that two red dots were flashing close to me and Qinglan. It seems they might have been waiting for this moment, but I remained calm, looking back at Liang Mei. "Can you help her?" "O-Of course!" Thanks to her combat medic class, her first aid skills were extremely useful, and I didn¡¯t think someone who knew how it felt to be sick would treat Qinglan roughly. "Good... come and help treat her wounds, Mei." Qinglan¡¯s fingers curled against my back. And then she exhaled ¡ª the kind of breath that only comes after surviving something that should¡¯ve ended you. "I¡¯m glad you came." I brushed her hair back from her cheek and pressed my forehead to hers. "I always will." Though I couldn¡¯t fully relax because those large red dots were gathering around us, a total of five, each corner of the building covered... but where would they come from? I couldn¡¯t tell, but I somehow needed to tell the others. Mu Qinglan leaned against my chest, while Liang Mei approached... At the same time, the Ghouls stirred. Chapter 151: Encirclement Chapter 151: EncirclementMarch 20th, 1:25 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Rear Loading Corridor John Wang POV ¡ª S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Liang Mei¡¯s hands worked fast, clumsy but careful, pressing gauze and wrapping bandages across Mu Qinglan¡¯s side. The salve I¡¯d given her was already melting into the cuts, white cream bleeding into red. Qinglan didn¡¯t flinch. Just sat there quietly, eyes half-lidded, lips pressed into a thin line. "She¡¯ll be fine," Liang Mei said, not quite meeting my eyes. I gave a short nod. "Good." But my attention was already elsewhere. Five red dots. No labels. No signs of retreat. They weren¡¯t Crawlers. They were closing in ¡ª each one from a different side of the map. Slow at first, now accelerating. Angled. Coordinated. The Ghouls had learned how we moved, or reaction, and now they were tracking us. What made them the most dangerous was how they didn¡¯t act like normal zombies, able to control their desires and hunger just a little, which gave them an edge. Unpredictable attacks and a body that could keep up with them. Tang Wei caught my look. "What is it?" I didn¡¯t answer. Not directly. Because there wasn¡¯t enough time to explain everything and convince her and the others, before the Ghouls tried to take our lives. Instead, I checked the system map again, tracking their location. One was moving faster ¡ª the far south corridor. Another had just changed direction, sweeping around to the north. They were going to box us off completely soon, and with our current group, fighting one of them was probably our limit. "We need to move." "W-What? Why, John?" Jiang Roulan asked, while Shen Yifei looked at me with a strange expression before she picked up her things and gripped her Type-9k tight. "Those white things will soon completely encircle us, six of them." My words brought a sense of doom to the group, knowing the strength of one, and the throbbing of my nose and ribs reminded me how dangerous and deadly they were. Zhou Xue tensed immediately. "Ghouls?" I nodded once. Tang Wei stood and slammed the breach shut on her shotgun. "Direction?" "Everywhere." No one laughed. No one spoke again. I turned to Mu Qinglan and dropped to one knee. She opened her eyes as I touched her cheek. "You stay here, you die," I said quietly. "So don¡¯t move without me." "...Understood," she said, breath thin. "But I can walk." "Not now." I stood again, and the smell hit me first ¡ª the same chemical stench, that mix of scorched rubber and decaying resin. Not strong. Not close. But rising. "Yifei," I said. She nodded, already pulling her spear from its holster. Her jaw set tight. "I¡¯ll hold the front." "Zhou Xue, Deng Hua, cover the flanks. Arrows only. Don¡¯t waste shots." "Understood." "Chen Xun," I turned toward him. He flinched slightly but met my eyes. "Stay close to Liang Mei. Shield her if anything breaks through." He nodded stiffly. Liang Qiu didn¡¯t wait for instructions. She was already by the door, checking the crates we¡¯d passed for a fallback route. "We can pull back along the western ramp. It¡¯s narrow, but easier to defend." "Good." I looked at Tang Wei. "You¡¯ll take point if we move." "I was going to anyway." Despite her tough and confident words, I noticed the momentary shake of her voice and body; the Ghouls were something beyond human reason. Zombies remained in the humanoid category, something that could be explained with a lot of pseudo-science... but Ghouls? Roulan stood beside me now, silent, her fear obvious for anyone to see, a pale face, her legs trembling, but I needed her... so the only way I could get her attention and to focus on me, not the situation, was simple. I reached out and grabbed her ass. She jolted. Roulan spun around, her breath catching as my hand lingered a second longer than necessary. Her ass was firm, warm even through the fabric. Soft in a way that didn¡¯t match the panic in the air. Her eyes locked with mine¡ªwide, confused, a little embarrassed, but not angry. "You¡ª" she started. I stepped closer, just enough that our bodies almost touched. Her back hit the wall behind her, and I leaned in, voice low and rough. "Stay with me. You zone out again, you¡¯re dead." Her lips parted, but this time nothing came out. Her gaze dropped once to my chest, then lower. Her cheeks flushed a deeper red. "I¡¯m not some helpless girl," she whispered. "Good," I murmured, dragging my hand away slowly. "Then don¡¯t act like one." Tang Wei gave me a look from the side ¡ª a twitch of the eyebrow that said, Really? Now? ¡ª But she didn¡¯t argue. The Ghouls were closing in, faster now, one on the upper level. Another flank is near the service stairwell. I pointed. "Two minutes. Then we shift. If we wait longer, we¡¯ll be in danger." But I stepped back anyway. The mood cracked instantly, reality slamming back in. The map flickered on my display¡ªfive red dots, moving faster. One was near the upper level. Another sweeping wide, approaching the loading corridor from the west. "They¡¯re adjusting. Trying to force us back," I said. Tang Wei didn¡¯t need a cue. "We shift in two minutes?" "Less, if they keep this pace." Deng Hua fumbled with his shotgun. "Do we even have two?" "Not if we keep standing here." Something scraped above us¡ªmetal on metal, slow and deliberate. I looked up. Ceiling tiles. Then silence again. But we all knew it wouldn¡¯t last. Tang Wei moved first, sweeping the corridor ahead with her shotgun. I followed right behind her, crouched beside Mu Qinglan as she gritted her teeth and tried to stand. "Don¡¯t overdo it," I said, slipping her arm over my shoulder. "I¡¯m fine," she lied, her breath warm against my ear. Her skin was clammy, her ribs too sharp beneath the bandages, but her steps didn¡¯t falter. Chen Xun and Deng Hua flanked us, nervous, eyes flicking at every corner like the walls might peel open. Roulan was behind me, quiet, but she hadn¡¯t spaced out again. Her fingers gripped her pistol too tight, knuckles white. We turned onto the narrow west ramp. Concrete walls. Flickering lights. A bottleneck. Tang Wei didn¡¯t speak, but I saw her nod to herself. Defensible. That was all we needed. We kept moving, each step echoing too loud. Qinglan stumbled once, but didn¡¯t fall. I adjusted my grip on her and squeezed her side, just a little. "You feel light," I murmured. "Are you flirting with me while I¡¯m bleeding?" "I multitask." A ghost of a smile crossed her lips, but then she stopped, and everyone stopped because there was a sound ahead. Not the scrape of claws. Not the wet thud of meat. A voice. Low. Gurgling. Like someone trying to remember how to speak. "...Lan... Lan¡¯er..." Mu Qinglan stiffened. Her mouth opened wide as she gripped my shirt. "That¡¯s your voice," she whispered, eyes wide. "John... that¡¯s you." I froze. My name in her mouth sounded like disbelief. Then came the sound again, closer this time. A wet cough buried under a mockery of human tone. "...Lan¡¯er..." It wasn¡¯t my voice. Not really. It was wrong¡ªtwisted, like I¡¯d been dragged across glass, slowed down, distorted. But the cadence was right. The way I said it when we were alone. Tang Wei raised her shotgun, her voice low. "What the fuck is that?" "It would seem to be a Ghoul..." Even I couldn¡¯t control the cold, tickling jolt down my spine. The voice calling Qinglan affectionately, just like I did earlier... "But why your voice?" Roulan asked, her hands shaking now. Because it had heard me. From before. During the last fight. When I called out to her. It remembered. It chose her. And now it was using me. Or... another theory was that it knew I was the centre of the group, most trusted and using my voice could cause the team to fall apart faster. Either choice was terrifying. The corridor ahead glowed faintly under flickering light. Just around the bend, something moved. Slow. Deliberate. We couldn¡¯t see it, but I could feel it watching. Not charging. Not howling. Just... waiting. "Hold," I said. "No sudden noise. We backtrack to the side path, regroup there." But then the light above us died. And the voice came again, right behind us this time. "...Rou...lan..." Chapter 152: Whispers in the Dark Chapter 152: Whispers in the DarkMarch 20th, 1:27 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Western Ramp (Lower Access) John Wang POV ¡ª "...Rou...lan..." Her name, dragged out like a predator savouring the taste. Everyone turned. Weapons raised. But the hallway behind us was empty¡ªjust the dim stretch of the western ramp, the flickering ceiling light that hadn¡¯t gone out. The voice hadn¡¯t echoed. It had whispered right into our ears, like something standing just behind us, exhaling words into our necks. Roulan¡¯s Type-9k shook in her hand. I stepped in front of her and scanned the rear. Nothing. But I could feel it. We were on a downward incline now. The western ramp sloped at a slight angle, about thirty meters ahead until it hit a steel loading dock door, half-shut with an old maintenance override box beside it. The space was tight¡ªthree meters wide, just tall enough for the average truck to pass through. Overhead piping ran along the ceiling in bundles, dripping water from some broken line. Trash bins, wheeled carts, and torn pallets lined the right-hand wall. The left was mostly bare, reinforced concrete with stains I didn¡¯t want to think too hard about. That was our space. A straight corridor with only two exits: the dock ahead... and the ramp behind. Which meant the moment something came from both sides, we were trapped. "Fan out," I said quietly. "Zhou Xue, Deng Hua¡ªtake the left. Liang Mei, stay centre. Chen, keep close. If it¡¯s behind us, don¡¯t waste time shooting¡ªjust scream. Tang¡ª" "I know," she muttered, already sweeping her sightline along the far end. Mu Qinglan hadn¡¯t moved. I looked at her. "You can stand?" She nodded once. Her skin was pale, but her grip was steady. "I won¡¯t be a burden." "You¡¯re not." Her eyes flicked toward me. "Even now?" "Especially now." She exhaled, lips tight, then took her stance¡ªweight on her back leg, knife in one hand, sidearm in the other. No sword this time. Too close. Too dangerous. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. We waited. Every drop from the pipe above sounded like a bullet. Then came the sound. No voice this time. Just a scrape. Something long. Bone-like. Dragged across the floor. Not from behind. In front. The scrape echoed again. Closer. The scrape echoed again. Closer. It wasn¡¯t dragging anymore¡ªit was sliding. Something wet and heavy pulling itself forward, letting the sound stretch and smear across the silence like a taunt. I stepped up beside Tang Wei at the front. She didn¡¯t speak. Neither did I. I flexed my fingers. The gauntlets responded instantly¡ªCrushing Moon humming with subtle, hungry tension. The inner blades hadn¡¯t extended yet, but I could feel the weight shift inside the frame, cycling pressure toward the shotgun chambers. Buckshot loaded. Eight shells ready. "Distance?" Tang Wei whispered. "Eight meters. Single contact." Then it stepped into view. It crawled at first¡ªelbows bowed out, shoulders unnaturally loose, like they¡¯d been broken and never healed. Its skin was the wrong colour, white with a sickly film over it, bloodless and stretched thin. One leg dragged like it was boneless. The other twitched with every few steps, smearing something dark across the floor. Then it rose. No resistance. Just a long, steady push, spine clicking straight one vertebra at a time. The sound was soft, but it grated. Too slow. Too patient. Its head turned. Eyes black. Lips slack. It saw us. It smiled. Then¡ª "...Rou...lan..." Roulan stiffened beside me, her tonfa already drawn, but her grip faltered. The terrifying voice was like a creature from hell. What... Why does this one have eyes? Is it because we destroyed its white mask? Is this what lingers beneath them? I took one step forward. Tang Wei fired. Buckshot ripped through its chest, bursting meat and membrane against the wall. It staggered, but the blast didn¡¯t make it fall, and the bastard ignored her. My gauntlets discharged a half-second later. Twin bursts from the wrists¡ªone to the sternum, the other square into the throat. It flinched, with chunks of white flesh torn, but it just shrugged off the damage. The Ghoul didn¡¯t stop and launched forward. Not at Tang Wei but at Mu Qinglan. My shoulder slammed into Qinglan, driving her out of the way. The Ghoul¡¯s claw sliced through the space she¡¯d stood in a second ago¡ªtoo close. The edge caught my coat, but only sliced my ribs as I smashed the Ghoul¡¯s head with my elbow. I twisted with the impact, swung my left arm low. Crushing Moon¡¯s blade extended mid-swing¡ªearth Qi surging down my wrist, filling the blade¡¯s edge with weight. The force helped me plunge my blade into its thigh. Roulan rushed in behind me, tonfa cracking hard against the Ghoul¡¯s knee. Still, it didn¡¯t fall. Deng Hua¡¯s arrow struck a heartbeat later, straight through the side of the skull. The shaft quivered on impact, before Tang Wei jumped off the broken wall and spun with a brutal roundhouse kick to the back of the monster¡¯s head. The Ghoul collapsed. Still twitching. Still moving. "Back!" I shouted. "Side corridor, now!" Everyone shifted. Then something hit the floor behind us with a wet crack. Heavy. Direct. Right on top of Liang Mei. The second Ghoul dropped. "I should have killed the Ghoul..." It was right there. Bleeding. Twitching. Down. And I chose to retreat. Chose to protect the group instead of finishing it off. Because the second one had dropped from above. Because my head was already tracking threat vectors, corners, fallback positions¡ªthinking like a survivor, not a killer. Now Liang Mei was paying for it. She didn¡¯t even scream. Just hit the ground hard¡ªpinned by a pale blur of limbs and bone. The Ghoul¡¯s claws tore through her coat like paper, raking across her back as it straddled her, teeth gnashing against the base of her neck. "Move!" I roared. I didn¡¯t think. I just grabbed the back of its skull and ripped. The meat of its scalp came off in my grip¡ªthin, rubbery skin sloughing back as it shrieked with no mouth. I slammed my knee into its ribs, once, twice¡ªthen plunged my left gauntlet into the space between its shoulders. Bang¡ªBang. The double burst of slug shells cracked through the meat like stone hitting water. The recoil shot up my arm, but the thing folded¡ªbone crumpling inward, twitching, collapsing onto its side. I dropped, grabbing Liang Mei by the waist and dragging her up into my arms. Blood soaked through her uniform. Warm. Sticky. Not arterial¡ªbut deep. I could see it in her eyes. Shock hadn¡¯t hit yet. She was still processing what had happened. "I¡¯ve got you," I said. Quiet. Rough. "You¡¯re fine." She blinked slowly. "Am I...?" "Yeah. You¡¯re fine." She wasn¡¯t. But I needed her steady. "Deng¡ªrear!" Tang Wei barked. A third Ghoul was crawling along the ceiling. Fast. It skittered forward with limbs bent backwards, like a spider on wet glass. The lights above flickered again, casting long, warping shadows across the loading ramp walls. Chen Xun drew and fired in one motion, the arrow flying clean. Hit. The Ghoul spun from the force, falling onto its back, legs kicking like a broken insect. It screamed. High-pitched, raw, jagged. "Now!" I barked. "All of you¡ªclear the ramp!" Tang Wei took point again, blasting forward with short, precise steps. Roulan followed close behind, her tonfa dragging blood with each spin as she struck the twitching first Ghoul still moving near Qinglan¡¯s feet. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t wait to be told. She moved with them, slow but upright¡ªher steps stable. I held Liang Mei against me, breathing hard, blood coating my forearm. "John!" Chen Xun shouted. "They¡¯re regrouping!" He was right. The one I didn¡¯t finish... It was still moving. Crawling now. Pieces of its head were gone. But it was smiling again. "What are you smiling at, fucker?!" I bought the most expensive grenades available to me right now¡ªshrapnel and needle types. Four of them. No discounts. No hesitation. Like the others, I rushed for the door. The ramp behind us echoed with wet footsteps and bone clicks. The warehouse ahead was our only safe zone. "JUMP and close the shutter!" Everyone leapt¡ªRoulan rolled first, then Chen Xun, dragging Deng Hua with him. Mu Qinglan landed hard, stumbled, but didn¡¯t fall. Tang Wei kept low and covered us as we crossed. I slowed my pace. Just enough to draw them in. The three Ghouls were crawling forward¡ªtwo shattered, one still half-standing, legs twitching, dragging broken claws across the concrete. Their flesh was torn, but not enough. Not dead. Good. I wanted them closer. The metal shutter began to lower behind me, slow, grinding, the security system flickering as it engaged. A red bar blinked above the panel. Twenty seconds. I unpinned the grenades and tossed them behind me. Two bounced¡ªone rolled. One landed perfectly under the crawling Ghoul¡¯s chest. The smile didn¡¯t fade. It twitched wider. "Get down!" I screamed, covering Liang Mei¡¯s soft body with my arms as we hit the floor. The shutter slammed down behind us. And then¡ª BOOM¡ªBOOMBOOM¡ªKRKTCH A high-pitched snap of needles and metal tore through the silence, followed by the shudder of the walls as the air shifted. Dust and blood blew under the shutter¡¯s edge, with huge holes in the shutter, it collapsed, and the scent of melting flesh filled my nose. "Now! We have to kill them now!" Chapter 153: Desperate to Live Chapter 153: Desperate to LiveThe moment the aching ringing faded from my ears, I pushed myself up and rushed towards the destroyed shutters. Three of the Ghouls lay on the ground, torn to shreds¡ªflesh opened like split sacks, innards cooked black and melted into the concrete. But two shadows¡ª I saw them dart. Fast. Limping. One clawed its way along the wall, the other practically leapt down the stairwell. Like terrified lambs. No. Like intelligent predators retreating to adapt. "Hurry..." My voice barely carried. I couldn¡¯t hear it, not clearly, but I felt the weight of it in my throat, low and sharp. Behind me, Roulan was already pulling herself upright, blood streaking her sleeve, her hair matted to one side. Tang Wei was checking Deng Hua¡¯s arm, burned, but not bleeding. Chen Xun crouched beside Qinglan, offering her water. She didn¡¯t take it. I took two steps toward the shredded Ghoul closest to the shutter. Its torso was almost gone. Shell fragments were embedded deep. One leg was missing below the knee, bone jutting out like cracked marble. But its head¡ª Its head was still trying to move. The jaw was gone. No tongue. Just a quivering cavity of scorched meat. And yet, it was making a sound. Not words. Not a growl. Something like... clicking. I crouched beside it. It turned toward me, what was left of its face twitching like it wanted to reform. The faintest whisper escaped the ruin of its throat. "...La...n¡¯er..." My gauntlet blade extended. I didn¡¯t hesitate. The strike was clean. A downward slice that carved straight through the skull and brainstem. The twitching stopped. I stood, panting. "They¡¯re not afraid," [You Killed A Stage Two - Mutated Human] [Gained 1000 ZKP] [Bonus: 2000 ZKP] The next moment, I noticed Jiang Roulan from the corner of my eye with a surprising girl, Jiang Me, slamming down a huge rock on the Ghouls¡¯ head. Pop! With a wet squelch, the monster¡¯s head exploded like a watermelon! [Liang Mei Killed a Stage Two - Mutated Human] [Gained 1000 ZKP] [Gained 500 EXP] I almost forgot about the system for a moment when killing the two Ghoul¡¯s but now I knew these things could offer me so much, I wanted to kill more. [Mu Qinglan Killed a Stage Two - Mutated Huma] [Gained 1000 ZKP] [Gained 500 EXP] I almost forgot about the system for a moment when killing the two Ghouls. But now? Now I knew. These things were worth more than Crawlers, more than normal infected. Not just a threat. An opportunity. A fuel source. I want to kill more. The thought didn¡¯t even feel strange. Just logical. Natural. Tang Wei helped Liang Mei sit against the side of a crate, carefully checking the deep cuts along her back. Blood loss was slowing. The bandages we had wouldn¡¯t last long, but she¡¯d live¡ªfor now. Roulan crouched beside her, still gripping that same rock in her hand like she wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d need it again. I walked over to Mu Qinglan. She didn¡¯t look at me. Her hand was still raised¡ªThe Endless Night hanging loosely, blood dripping from its tip. She hadn¡¯t moved since the kill notification appeared. Her eyes were fixed on what was left of the Ghoul she¡¯d split open. Her breathing was calm, almost too calm. "Qinglan," I said. No response. Just the tiniest flick of her eyes. "I¡¯m not hurt," she said finally. "That¡¯s not what I asked." She swallowed. "It was smiling. Before it died." I looked at what was left of its face. It wasn¡¯t. But maybe it had been. "They were mimicking voices before. Now they¡¯re mimicking... emotion?" "Why?" she asked quietly. "To unsettle us." Or to learn. Rather than learn, is it to remember? She didn¡¯t say anything else. Neither did I. [Shells Reloaded ¡ª 8 Buckshot][Auto-Cycle Complete] I rolled my shoulders. Crushing Moon felt heavier now, like it was feeding off the tension in the air. The system pinged once more. [Notice: 2 Mutated Entities Escaped ¡ª Adaptive Traits Detected][Tracking Unavailable ¡ª Interference Detected][Warning: Estimated Time Until Re-Engagement ¡ª Unknown] "They¡¯re going to evolve again," I muttered. Chen Xun turned to me, frowning. "What?" "They¡¯re not dead. Two got away." Tang Wei¡¯s grip on her shotgun tightened. "Then we hunt them before they come back." "No," I said. "We let them think we¡¯re weak. Let them come to us." Because next time, I wouldn¡¯t let any of them crawl away. Because of the constant battles back to back, our current state wasn¡¯t good, and even if we wanted to return home tonight, it would be impossible. The last of the notifications faded. I stared down at my gauntlets, blood and black residue already drying across the knuckles. Crushing Moon pulsed faintly in my wrists¡ªlike it wanted more. Like the weapon was alive, and disappointed the fight had ended so soon. I turned back to the group. Liang Mei was propped against the crate now, conscious but pale, hands trembling in her lap. Roulan hadn¡¯t left her side, and she still clutched the rock in her hand. Her expression looked unreadable. Not shaken¡ªbut grim. Focused. Ready. "You alright?" I asked. Liang Mei didn¡¯t look up. "I didn¡¯t hesitate," she said quietly. "That thing almost got her. And I didn¡¯t hesitate." "That¡¯s what kept her alive." There was a moment of silence before Jiang Roulan and Liang Mei seemed to snap out of their strange trance and gazed up at me. She finally set the rock down, hands resting over Liang Mei¡¯s legs. "Doesn¡¯t feel like enough." I didn¡¯t answer that because I felt the same. This world wasn¡¯t the same one we lived in before, and we were all guilty of taking it for granted sometimes, even after the zombies came. Even I became complacent. On the far side of the room, Qinglan still hadn¡¯t moved much. Chen Xun remained close, guarding her and Liang Qiu with one hand on his dagger, eyes scanning the corners like something might crawl through the shadows at any second. I exhaled slowly and stepped back from the ruined bodies. The mutated humans didn¡¯t have a core; this was something I realised without the system¡¯s help. The floor was slick. Littered with bone shards, torn limbs, fragments of cart wheels and crushed pallets. The warehouse lights flickered above, old industrial halogens blinking like they hadn¡¯t been maintained in years. We couldn¡¯t stay here long. "We rest for thirty minutes," I said aloud. "No more." Tang Wei nodded. "I¡¯ll post watch." "I¡¯ll join her," Chen Xun offered, already standing. I turned to Qinglan one last time. She didn¡¯t say anything. Just sheathed The Endless Night and finally sat down, her back against a low wall with blood staining her hands. So was her throat. But her breathing had eased. "John, that was really close." "I know, we both had a close call..." The shine in her eyes carried a strange emotion, which made me feel uncomfortable, so I sat beside her and closed my eyes. I couldn¡¯t help but feel relieved we survived, but at the same time, a sinking fear grew in the back of my mind. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t move when I sat beside her. But I felt her shift slightly. Not closer. Not away. Just... different. The intense emotions lingered in her eyes, but I couldn¡¯t help her right now. All I could do was sit beside her and wait until she recovered. "You¡¯re not used to this yet, are you?" She didn¡¯t answer right away. Then: "Not when it¡¯s something that talks like you." Her voice cracked a little, and that was the most human sound I¡¯d heard from her in days. "I think I almost believed it," she whispered. "Just for a second. That it really was you." I turned to meet her gaze, but she avoided me... her soft blue eyes filled with tears. "That¡¯s what made it worse!" The cold wall helped me keep calm when I leaned back, resting both arms on my knees. "They¡¯re learning." "But they¡¯re not you. Or me. They¡¯ll never be." She finally looked at me. "But they remember." "Do they? For all we know, they are just mimicking us and don¡¯t understand anything. The silence lingered for a few more minutes. It just was. A pause between the chaos. A break in the momentum. Everyone was still too shaken to fill it. Across the room, Roulan finally stood, stretching her legs with a soft grunt. Liang Mei was asleep now, or close to it¡ªchin resting on her chest, breath shallow. Tang Wei stood near the door, shotgun resting against her shoulder. She wasn¡¯t relaxed, just alert. Focused. I saw the same thing in her eyes that I saw in mine. They¡¯re not going to stop. Not until we¡¯re all dead. Or until something worse replaces them. A low hum pulsed in my gauntlets. Crushing Moon¡¯s pressure gauge flicked¡ªauto-cycling again. Shells topped off. Systems normal. Everything inside me said I should be grateful for the quiet. But instead, I felt uneasy. Like this wasn¡¯t the end of something. Just the beginning. I glanced back toward the shutter¡ªits bent frame still dripping blood underneath. "They¡¯ll come back," I said under my breath. Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice was soft. "I hope they do." S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 154: A moment to catch breath. Chapter 154: A moment to catch breath.March 20th, 5:00 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Ground Level (Storage Wing) John Wang POV ¡ª Time passed slowly, before an alarm sounded... my phone¡¯s alarm for five o¡¯clock. The moment I stood up, dazed, tapping my phone several times before it turned off, the others all looked exhausted, but we couldn¡¯t rest here. "We should find a room to rest... returning home is probably impossible, right now." Without killing those intelligent Ghouls, there was a chance they could follow us back to the base and set up in the buildings around us, killing anyone who stepped out. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. So, killing everything was the only option right now, and to get some rest, they needed a place with no vents and only a single entrance. A place they couldn¡¯t crawl into, nor attack them while resting. I scanned the interior again. This warehouse had too many weaknesses¡ªmultiple shutters, broken vents, raised platforms, and stacked shelves with blind spots. It wasn¡¯t secure enough. And worse, the air was starting to smell like blood and rot. Liang Qiu, ever quiet, was the first to speak. "There¡¯s a maintenance wing two halls west. Behind the emergency boiler room. Some kind of service office." "Single entry?" "I think so." "Vents?" "Maybe one above the door. Could be sealed. It¡¯s small." I nodded. "Let¡¯s check it." Thanks to the system, I could see most of the mall¡¯s layout and found three rooms that could suit our needs. Time was ticking, and soon it would be nightfall and even though this place remained dark, with the faint lights... After dark, it would be even worse. "John, I¡¯ll trust you." "Me too." Mu Qinglan, Jiang Roulan and Liang Mei all nodded at me, while the others smiled at best. It wasn¡¯t the time to be high energy, and we didn¡¯t have the leeway to do so. The group moved slowly. No one said much. Mu Qinglan stayed near me, but didn¡¯t speak. Yifei walked just behind her, quiet as always, spear sheathed. Deng Hua leaned on Chen Xun with a tired grunt. Liang Mei, still pale, walked under Roulan¡¯s arm. Tang Wei swept the back, watchful but loose. We looked like survivors now. Not fighters. With broken gear and damaged clothes, it changed the atmosphere completely. I led us through a narrow side passage, dimly lit by yellow security lights. The sounds of distant groans and dripping pipes echoed faintly, but no movement. No signs of the Ghouls. Eventually, the hallway ended at a rusted metal door with an old keypad that had long since shorted out. I gave it a light push. It didn¡¯t budge. "Move," Roulan said. She passed Liang Mei off to a waiting crate, then stepped up, slammed her shoulder into the lock mechanism twice, and the frame gave. The door creaked open. A stale smell greeted us. Dust. Oil. A faint chemical sting. But no rot. No blood. No sound. The room inside was large¡ªmaybe eight meters across. It had a square layout, old lockers along one wall, an overturned desk, and a broken vending machine filled with what looked like ancient electrolyte drinks. The far wall had an emergency light flickering near a narrow ventilation shaft, sealed with a heavy grate. There was even a small shower room... and a changing area. More importantly, only one door in. No other paths. No upper levels. No windows. "This¡¯ll do," I said. Everyone moved inside without hesitation. They didn¡¯t collapse, not right away, but the relief was obvious. Tang Wei slid down the wall with a sigh. Deng Hua dropped beside Liang Qiu, arms limp. Roulan returned to Liang Mei¡¯s side and helped her sit properly near the lockers. Even Chen Xun finally relaxed, sitting cross-legged, bow across his lap. I locked the door behind us and jammed the internal bolt. Then dragged the desk in front of it. Added a few crates for weight. Tang Wei nodded at my handiwork. "Good enough for now..." I turned back toward the others and took a breath. The silence that followed wasn¡¯t empty. It was something we earned. After everything, the air finally felt still. Qinglan stood near the far wall, head lowered slightly. "We should create partitions and beds..." "I will help you!" Liang Mei replied to Jiang Roulan as the pair began to pull tables and shelves to create two small rooms and a place to cook with the hotplate that Tang Wei brought in her backpack. After an hour, a large pot of broth bubbled with various vegetables and meats in the pot, while we prepared to eat a meal. Mu Qinglan leaned against me as I sat against the wall, hidden from others. Her hair had come loose again, strands falling over her cheek, damp with sweat. She was trying not to shiver. This time, when I sat close, she didn¡¯t shift away. She leaned into me, just a little. "Thanks," she said. I didn¡¯t answer right away. We had time now, with no system alerts. No screaming. It was just a room, with the vent blocked and sealed... I found myself wanting to rest one breath at a time. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Jiang Roulan, Shen Yifei, Liang Mei, and Mu Qinglan sat in a circle around me, all holding their bowls of hot, spicy stew, each of them slurping their noodles. The steam filled the room and warmed our faces, the scent of thick seasoning, boiled meat and just enough chilli to burn the top of the nose. It wasn¡¯t the best in the world, but who could complain about that? The food was delicious, and for the first time all day, everyone started to unwind. "This is better than I expected!" Roulan said, tapping her spoon against the edge of the bowl. "It¡¯s because I added my own secret blend," Liang Mei said proudly, gesturing with her chopsticks. "Good for circulation. Especially after blood loss." Yifei arched a brow. "You mean Tang Wei¡¯s spice packet?" "Seasoned with care," Liang Mei shot back, grinning. Yifei scoffed softly and slurped another mouthful. "Doesn¡¯t change the fact I caught more meat pieces than you." "You stole my bowl when I wasn¡¯t looking!" "You hesitated." I watched them, amused, but didn¡¯t say anything. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t join the squabble. She simply sat close, eating slowly, deliberately. Her shoulder still leaned against mine. When I reached for a new napkin, her hand brushed mine. She didn¡¯t pull away. "John," Liang Mei said suddenly, tilting her head with a sly look. "You stink." I blinked. "We all do." "Exactly," she said, setting her bowl aside. "We¡¯ll shower in shifts. That little room over there still has working pipes. I already checked." Yifei stood immediately, straightening her uniform and tossing her braid over her shoulder. "Then I¡¯ll go first." "I already set my towel there," Liang Mei said, standing up at the same time. "So?" "So I called it." They stared at each other for a moment, not angry, but sparks danced in the silence. I leaned back against the wall and sighed, rubbing my forehead as if I could erase the mess this day had become. "Don¡¯t fight over the damn shower." Yifei¡¯s eyes flicked to mine. "Then you should go with one of us to keep the peace." Liang Mei grinned. "Or supervise both." Mu Qinglan finally spoke¡ªvoice dry, deadpan. "He¡¯ll pass out from blood loss halfway through." Yifei didn¡¯t even blink. "Then we¡¯ll bathe him." I coughed into my bowl. The stew didn¡¯t help. Across the room, Tang Wei gave me a look like Don¡¯t drag me into this and focused on her food. Roulan just smirked and kept eating. The stew was long gone, the pot scraped clean. Deng Hua and Zhou Xue had already curled up on makeshift mats near the lockers, their heads barely visible beneath bundled coats. Liang Qiu had taken first watch with Tang Wei and was sitting near the sealed door, sharpening a knife in slow, quiet strokes. Mu Qinglan had dozed off beside me, head resting on my shoulder, her breathing light. Shen Yifei was lying on her side nearby, eyes closed but not fully asleep. She was listening¡ªwaiting for something. I was about to take a shower or get some rest myself when someone tapped my boot with theirs. Roulan. She stood near the shower room door, a small curtain blocking vision, while hanging a towel from her shoulder. Long, brown hair, wavy and low and an unbuttoned shirt revealing her deep cleavage and a few cuts from the earlier fight. "Are you going to sleep like that?" Her eyes scanned over me. "Come rinse off." I didn¡¯t answer right away. She didn¡¯t wait. Roulan stepped back into the darkness of the shower room and looked over her shoulder once. "...Or are you scared you¡¯ll enjoy it?" Then she disappeared behind the curtain with a soft sound of running water. Chapter 155: Roulan’s Temptaion - A wonderful Ass [R18] Chapter 155: Roulan¡¯s Temptaion - A wonderful Ass [R18]The water echoed softly as I stepped inside, the curtain falling shut behind me. Steam rolled across the cracked tiles, fogging the overhead light into a dim glow. The showerheads were older models¡ªone was leaking slightly, ticking against the metal drain. Roulan stood beneath the working one, back turned to me, her dark hair now unpinned and soaked down to her shoulder blades. Water slid down her spine in slow rivulets. She didn¡¯t turn. "You took your time," she said, voice calm, like she hadn¡¯t just invited me into a fogged-up stall with her shirt already half off. I didn¡¯t answer. Just let the water hit my shoulders, trailing down skin that still carried grit, dried blood, the sharp tang of gunpowder. "Still so serious," she added, reaching up and adjusting the water as it sprayed between her breasts, creating a lewd puddle in her cleavage. My breath caught¡ªnot from nerves, but from the way her bare back flexed with the motion. The muscle was lean, marked by a few old scars, but it was the curve of her hips that caught my eye. She didn¡¯t cover herself. Just bent slightly under the stream, letting the water coat her fully. "You gonna wash or just stare?" "Depends," I muttered, stepping closer. "You doing this to tease me again?" Roulan laughed¡ªa short, low sound, warmer than I expected. "You¡¯re the one following me into the shower, John." "Because you asked me to." "Mm. That¡¯s how it starts." Her tone was playful, but her movements weren¡¯t. She turned then¡ªslowly, deliberately¡ªand leaned forward to grab the shampoo bottle resting on a cracked soap tray. The shift in posture pushed her ass back just enough that it pressed against my hip. Her skin was slippery, warm from the water, and that contact lit a spark low in my gut. "Relax." She said, glancing back over her shoulder with a smile, winking at me. "I¡¯m just washing up. You¡¯re the one reacting." I didn¡¯t move. Couldn¡¯t. The pressure building between my legs wasn¡¯t subtle anymore. My cock brushed the top of Roulan¡¯s ass, twitching from the heat, from the softness of her skin and the way her body stayed close without pretending to notice. She shifted again, slightly. Enough that the underside of my shaft nestled right into the crease between her cheeks. Not accidental. "You gonna keep pretending this is nothing?" I asked, my voice rough and more aggressive than usual. She tilted her head, water tracing the line of her jaw. "Why ruin the fun?" Then her hips moved¡ªslow, controlled. Not a grind. A press. She squeezed them back, trapping my length between the plump meat of her ass. With each shake, her buttocks bounced, and the skin along my shaft dragged back, sending tingling sensations of pleasure through my body. "You¡¯re really playing with fire," I murmured. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I¡¯m not the one that¡¯s hard." Then she rolled her hips again. Shlick¡ª! My cock slid between her cheeks¡ªfriction softened by the water, but tight enough to feel everything. And still, she didn¡¯t turn around. Didn¡¯t touch me with her hands. Only her ass. Only slow, steady pressure. She kept rocking her hips¡ªslow, deliberate strokes that sandwiched my cock between her soft, wet ass. The pressure was perfect. Water flowed down both our bodies, amplifying the heat, the friction, the obscene slide between her cheeks. "You¡¯re so tense," she said, breathily. "Let your big sister take care of you, hmm?" I exhaled hard through my nose, jaw clenched. My cock throbbed helplessly between the plush meat of Roulan¡¯s bouncy ass, already slimy from more than just water now. She arched her back slightly, the movement soft but practised¡ªlike she knew exactly what effect her curves had on me. "Bet you¡¯ve been holding back this whole time," she murmured. "Acting so strong. Always leading. Always thinking." Her voice dropped lower. "You don¡¯t have to think here. Just fuck my ass... nice and slow... just like that..." She shifted her stance¡ªfeet spreading, hips lifting. My tip brushed higher into her crack. The heat there was searing. I growled under my breath. "You really don¡¯t know when to stop." "Oh, I do," she whispered. "But I like playing with fire." Then she gave a little bounce, smack, the sound wet and loud in the shower¡¯s tight space as my cock jumped and the tension snapped. I grabbed her hips, and grunted thrusting my cock against her ass, the soft meat spreading and dragging against my glans. She gasped as I slammed forward, driving my shaft deep between her cheeks, the wet grind of skin on skin making a lewd schlick with every thrust. "Oh¡ªhnn... John¡ª!" Her hands hit the tiled wall, palms flat as I began to move¡ªhips driving forward, slapping into her backside with rhythmic, growing force. She tried to stay composed, tried to keep the act going, but her voice started to break with each wet slap. Smack. Smack. Schlk. Her moans came unbidden now¡ªsoft at first, then higher, breathier, cracked with heat. "You like this?" I rasped. "Still gonna pretend you¡¯re just helping me?" She turned her head slightly, cheek brushing the tiles with parted lips and glazed eye. "That depends," she moaned. "Is your big sister doing a good job?" My hands tightened around her waist. I pressed against her asshole, my tip pushing it apart with a wet squelch, before slipping deeper into her crack¡ªthick, hot, every inch grinding into that narrow valley, coated with water and slippery arousal. Her ass swallowed me up with each pass, soft and heavy and perfect. She whimpered. Then her fingers slipped lower¡ªone hand between her legs, stroking herself while I fucked between her cheeks like she was going to die. "Oh god..." she whispered, voice shaky. "You¡¯re so fucking hard... it¡¯s twitching..." "You brought this on yourself." I grunted, hips slapping harder. Jiang Roulan¡¯s body jolted forward with every thrust, tits pressing flat against the tiles, her breath fogging the wall as she tried to brace herself¡ªfingers still working between her legs, messier now, wetter. "Then don¡¯t stop," she begged. "Don¡¯t you dare¡ªstop¡ªuntil you cum all over my ass." She was moaning by now¡ªvoice thin and sweet, eyes lidded, her mouth open against the wall. Every thrust of my cock between those fat cheeks made her body rock, tits smearing wet across tile, her hand furiously working between her legs as she chased her orgasm like a girl starved for it. "You¡¯re close," she breathed, barely able to get the words out. "I can feel it... you¡¯re twitching..." I didn¡¯t answer. Didn¡¯t need to. I reached up and grabbed her tits¡ªboth, wet and heavy, squeezed them so tight they bulged between my fingers. She squealed, high and cracked, her hips jerking in rhythm with my thrusts. Her ass bounced against me, soft and greedy, swallowing my cock again and again into that slimy, tight valley. Then she came. Hard. Her legs trembled, her whole body locking as she squirted across her own thighs, juice spilling out in hot, messy spurts that mixed with the water and dripped down her legs. She gasped, open-mouthed, whimpering. I kissed her while filled with arousal, hard and sloppy. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. My tongue dominated hers, sucking it into my mouth like I was claiming her with every pull. Her body melted into mine, hips still shaking, her moans muffled by the way I kissed her like I owned her. And I did. I wasn¡¯t gentle. I thrust harder¡ªgrinding my cock between her cheeks until my tip found her tight, twitching asshole. She felt it. "Wait¡ªw-wait, don¡¯t¡ª" I didn¡¯t stop. I pushed forward, not inside, just against that soft entrance¡ªand came. Thick, molten ropes of cum pumped straight inside her hole, the pressure making her whine as it seeped down, warm and obscene, coating her back entrance in a mess of heat and sperm. It pooled there, slipping down the backs of her thighs as she trembled, helpless and overstimulated. "Aah... haah... oh my god... It¡¯s so warm... you came on my ass¡ª" "No," I whispered. "I came into it." Her breath hitched. Her asshole fluttered. But just as I exhaled¡ª I felt arms around me. Slender. Wet. And then¡ª Schlk. A hot mouth swallowed my cock. I flinched, hips jerking back¡ªbut the grip held firm. Warmth. Suction. Wet, eager pressure dragging every last spurt out of me. Then I looked down. Mu Qinglan. Kneeling in the steam, water pouring down her cheeks, hair plastered to her face. Her mouth was full of me¡ªstuffed¡ªher blue eyes never blinking, never breaking contact. She moaned around my cock, her throat tightening with each slow, deliberate pull. One hand gripped my base. The other cupped my balls, squeezing gently as she milked the last drops out like it belonged to her. And then¡ªpop¡ªshe let me go. Cum ran down her chin. "I told you it was mine," she whispered. Chapter 156: The Things We Don’t Say Chapter 156: The Things We Don¡¯t SayMarch 20th, 6:00 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Service Wing Jiang Roulan POV ¡ª¡ª Steam still clung to my skin when I slipped out of the shower. The curtain barely whispered closed behind me. My legs trembled¡ªnot from exertion. Not really. But the memory of the heat spreading inside made it feel like some was still inside me as the cold air pricked my chest. My throat felt dry even though I¡¯d just rinsed my mouth out. But I hadn¡¯t said a word when I left. Nor did I even look back. And I wasn¡¯t followed. The others were still in the main room, dim light casting long shadows across the broken vending machine and cluttered lockers. Tang Wei sat near the barricaded door, her shotgun resting across her knees, eyes flicking toward me the moment I stepped through. Chen Xun and Liang Qiu barely glanced up. Shen Yifei, though... her sharp gaze penetrated through me... as if she knew everything with that smirk. No one said anything. But they¡¯d heard something. The room wasn¡¯t soundproof. Maybe the water drowned out most of it. But not all. Perhaps they didn¡¯t hear the words. Just the rhythm. The voice. The soft, unmistakable sound of a body reacting. Of skin on skin. And maybe it was enough. I didn¡¯t meet anyone¡¯s eyes as I moved across the room. Just brushed past them, silent, damp towel clutched around my shoulders. My steps felt heavy, stupidly loud even though I wasn¡¯t wearing shoes. I made it to my sleeping bag, slid down slowly, and pulled one of the spare blankets over my body even though I wasn¡¯t cold. I was burning. But not from outside. From inside. To avoid the outside, I clenched my eyes and rolled onto my side, desperately avoiding making too much noise, shame and lust burning away inside my chest. I writhed into the silky soft warm blanket, trying to keep still and avoid thinking. But it was impossible. Every time I shifted, every time the blanket pressed down over my hips or my thighs brushed together, I could still feel him. The weight. The pressure. The heat. His chest was solid against my back, his body radiating heat. Every shift pressed hard muscle into me, and his hands moved with intent, gripping my waist, sliding up, squeezing my breasts like he owned them. There was no hesitation. No gentleness. Just hunger. I remembered how hot his skin felt against mine, how his touch made my breath hitch and my body tighten with each pass. I stopped pretending it was just teasing. I stopped pretending I had control. I wanted it. God, I wanted it so badly my thoughts just vanished. I don¡¯t even remember how I moaned, what I said if I begged him. But I remember the moment. The exact moment I felt the head of his cock press into my asshole¡ªright at the end. Just the tip, hot and pulsing, like it didn¡¯t care what I was ready for. And then it came¡ªhe came¡ªinside me. That thick heat spilt where I was weakest. I could feel it dripping even now. My body clenching like it still wanted to hold him inside. I¡¯d never done anything like that before. Never even thought about it seriously, not until today. Maybe at first I was just playing. Testing him. Perhaps I thought dragging him into the shower would prove something¡ªthat I could still be desirable, still be the bold, mature one. But once he touched me, once he kissed me... All I wanted was more. More of his hands. More of his voice. More of that slow, heavy cock sliding between my ass like it belonged there. And now? Now it felt like I¡¯d lost something by giving in. Or maybe I¡¯d just revealed something I¡¯d been too proud to admit. I pulled the blanket tightly and wrapped it around my body, folding up on the ground like it could protect me from the mess I¡¯d made and kept thinking¡ªI shouldn¡¯t have done it. I was one of the oldest in the group. The one who should¡¯ve stayed steady, stayed calm. We weren¡¯t in high school. This wasn¡¯t some fantasy dorm with a boy-next-door situation. We were surviving. Living on edge. Fighting monsters. So why did I drag him into the shower like that? Why did I press my ass against him and moan into the wall like a needy brat? The worst part? I¡¯d liked it. I¡¯d loved it. And I hated myself for how much. But then¡ª I heard it. Soft at first. Muffled by the water and the curtain and the wall. But it grew. A moan. High, breathy, feminine. It wavered and gasped and then came again, clearer this time. "Ahh... John..." My eyes snapped open. It was Mu Qinglan. The sound of her back hitting the tiles was faint but unmistakable. So was the rhythm that followed¡ªflesh on flesh. Water slapping and their breaths growing faster. They were fucking. They hadn¡¯t even waited. And just like that, the guilt that had been strangling me... evaporated. Yifei had already slept with him. Now Mu Qinglan. And they were doing it so easily. So shamelessly. As if I¡¯d never been there at all. So why the fuck was I the one lying here, curled up like a fool, pretending I did something wrong? I wasn¡¯t the only one with feelings. I wasn¡¯t the only one who wanted him. Sometimes I wanted to wrap my arms around his chest and feel him hold me like I mattered. Other times I tried to push him down, climb over him, smother him with my tits and watch his eyes go wide as he begged for more. It didn¡¯t have to make sense. It didn¡¯t have to be romantic. But I wanted it. And just once... I wanted to hear him cum while saying my name. ¡ª¡ª A while passed, and the moans from the shower eventually faded. Not sharply. Not like a switch turning off. They melted slowly¡ªsoft whimpers swallowed by the running water, the occasional thud of skin meeting tile, and then nothing but shallow breathing and steam. I listened. Not because I wanted to. But because I couldn¡¯t stop. Across the room, the others were still. No one mentioned it. No one even shifted. But the air had changed. Like everyone had heard something, and no one wanted to admit it. Liang Qiu sat with her arms around her knees near the broken vending machine, staring quietly at the door. Tang Wei leaned against a crate with her shotgun resting in her lap, checking the safety with calm, mechanical movements. Shen Yifei was lying back, her braided twintails spread across her chest, face expressionless, eyes open but focused somewhere else entirely. I watched all of them from beneath my blanket. No one looked at me. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. No one asked if I was okay. And for once, I was glad for that. Because I was okay. I let my legs shift slightly under the blanket, knees curling inward, thighs brushing. A faint wetness still clung between them, warm and sticky. The slow, quiet threads of cum sliding from my ass tickled faintly, the sensation both embarrassing and satisfying. It smeared across my skin with every twitch of my hips. My muscles were still sore from how I¡¯d held myself against the wall. Still tingling from how hard he¡¯d grabbed me and crushed my breasts in his lust. I closed my eyes and pressed my face deeper into the fabric, sighing against the cotton. It hadn¡¯t even been sex, but my body felt exhausted just the same. He didn¡¯t kiss my lips for long, but they were still swollen. He didn¡¯t push inside, but I¡¯d made him cum. Just with my ass. My tits. My body. I made him cum. The memory was vivid¡ªtoo vivid. The way his cock had ground between my cheeks, fat and hard, twitching with each pass until the heat built and surged. The moment I felt the first pulse, my back arched without meaning to, and I moaned despite telling myself to stay composed. Then the warmth spilt in. Right there. There. It didn¡¯t stop after one burst. It just kept going. Ropes of it. Spurts. Each one hotter than the last, until it felt like he was carving a memory into my body that water couldn¡¯t wash away. And I hadn¡¯t hated it. I hadn¡¯t even regretted it. I¡¯d loved it. I was supposed to be mature. One of the older ones. Collected. Responsible. But I¡¯d let John join me like some blushing college girl in heat. And now? Now I felt proud. Not jealous. Not guilty. Not even humiliated. Just... proud. I wanted more. I didn¡¯t know what that meant for our relationship yet, but I didn¡¯t care. The thoughts from earlier became solid, and even when Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice started again,... clearly wanting to do it again. I felt nothing, only the heat that made me want to touch myself... to lie with him again and feel his arms around me while I pretended to be asleep. Maybe I¡¯d to climb on top of him while the others watched and fuck him in full view of everyone. Maybe I¡¯d just want to hear him say my name when he came next time. Whatever it was, I wouldn¡¯t pretend anymore and smiled into my pillow, with a small and quiet smile. Let them think what they want. I¡¯d earned that moment. And I wasn¡¯t giving it up. Chapter 157: A sense of Pride and Self worth. Chapter 157: A sense of Pride and Self worth.March 20th, 7:45 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Service Wing John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª Mu Qinglan lay limp in my arms, completely spent. Her body was soft with heat, damp from the steam, and glowing faintly where the water had washed away the blood and sweat. Her towel clung to her loosely, breasts shifting with each breath, legs exposed down to her thighs. She didn¡¯t stir. Didn¡¯t say a word. Just let out a soft sigh against my chest and sank deeper into sleep. I left the shower room with long, confident strides while still naked. Because Roulan dragged me inside, and Qinglan needed a towel... I couldn¡¯t help it. No shame. Not tonight. My cock still hung heavy between my thighs, half-erect, marked by Qinglan¡¯s body, her mouth, her hands. It lurched to the side with each step, thick, veiny, unapologetic. The moment I stepped into the room, I felt the shift. Silence. Liang Mei reacted to me first, and to be honest, I knew this girl was a little pervert. Her eyes dropped before she even realised it. She froze, face flushing deep pink, lips parted slightly in pure instinct. She tried to glance away, but failed, her gaze catching again on the sway, the size, the quiet weight of it before she turned her whole face away. Roulan didn¡¯t look up. But she didn¡¯t need to. She¡¯d felt it earlier. Deep between her cheeks. Hot against her skin. She stayed under her blanket, but I saw the way her body stilled. Chen Xun mumbled something in his sleep, still out cold. Tang Wei, seated near the entrance with her shotgun across her knees, gave me a long, unreadable look. Her gaze dropped. Stayed. Her jaw shifted slightly. The smallest intake of breath. Stoic or not, she wasn¡¯t immune. I didn¡¯t cover myself. Didn¡¯t rush. I stood there for a moment¡ªlet them all see it, feel it, the presence that came with me now. Confidence wasn¡¯t something I had to fake anymore. Not after Yifei. Not after Roulan. Not after Qinglan fell asleep in my arms with her body soaked in sweat and cum. I smiled. Just a little. Tang Wei looked away at last, much too fast and then let out a sharp, dry cough. I walked past her with Qinglan still in my arms. She didn¡¯t say anything, but her cheeks told me more than words could. I laid Qinglan down on her mat, tucking her in gently. She curled on her side, towel still barely clinging to her chest. Her breathing stayed calm. Deep. I stood, stretched, still fully naked. Then, casually, I pulled on my pants¡ªleft them hanging low on my hips, the waistband still damp from steam. No shirt, because my body was still damp, and I hated the feeling of cloth clinging to my skin, and I had no reason to hide anything. Then I turned toward the door and headed towards Tang Wei. Her eyes avoided me as she pretended to clean and maintain her gun, but I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at her. Though from the corner of my eyes, I could see that Liang Mei was still watching me while hiding half her face with her quilt. Tang Wei¡¯s eyes followed me as I sat down beside her. Her nose flared as she huffed and gave me a small glance from the corner of her eye. I slammed against the wall and crossed my arms, wanting to avoid causing trouble. I watched Tang Wei for a moment before slipping my hand into my backpack, searching for something cold or simple to eat. "Comfortable?" she asked, voice low. I shrugged. "As comfortable as we¡¯re going to get in here." She stared ahead for a while. Then: "You know... you really shouldn¡¯t walk around like that." "Like what?" She turned her head, met my eyes with a flat look. "Like your dick has its own gravitational field." I laughed. "Didn¡¯t hear any complaints." "No, just quiet internal screaming," she muttered. My brows lifted, and I asked. "You alright?" Tang Wei tapped the side of her shotgun. "I¡¯ve seen plenty in the barracks, don¡¯t flatter yourself." "Uh huh." "Just... never one that huge... like it could bludgeon someone to death. Qinglan must have hurt... or did it feel that amazing?" I smirked and pretended to ignore the last part she whispered, and Tang Wei was someone who made me feel relaxed and neutral. Not taking my shit and helping me to adjust my mental state when needed. She rubbed her face, muttering, "Forget I said that." We sat in silence, eyes on the dark hallway outside the room. The dim glow from the wall-mounted emergency lamp flickered every so often. No sounds. No movement. After a moment, she cleared her throat. "So. You planning to sleep at all?" "Not yet. Thought I¡¯d take first watch with you." She nodded. "Appreciated." I unzipped my pack, reached inside¡ªexcept I didn¡¯t pull anything out. Instead, I opened the system window silently in my mind. [Purchase: Heavy Ammo Case ¨C 9mm / Buckshot][300 ZKP] The case appeared behind my pack in the shadows. I pulled it forward, opened it, and began stacking magazines beside my leg, each one heavy, fresh. Tang Wei blinked. "You packed that?" "Let¡¯s say I¡¯ve got good connections... and we found a fallen outpost on the way back." Because I still hadn¡¯t told her about my secret in full, but I am sure someone smart like Tang Wei would notice quite quickly, especially the system modifying the base. [System Note: The System mentally affects people who see your actions, and any changes made by the system are viewed as normal things by humans. Only those with a High Spirits will notice something wrong!] ¡¯...¡¯ This truth made me speechless. Why didn¡¯t the system tell me sooner... [System Message: You didn¡¯t ask me~] I handed her two sealed packs of buckshot. She took them, brushing her thumb over the plastic with a grunt of approval. "Thank you." "Figure we¡¯ll need it tomorrow." She nodded, tone shifting. "We tracking those three?" "Yes. I don¡¯t like them. Those Ghouls could kill everyone if we¡¯re not careful." "I agree." She loaded a round into the breach and leaned her head back. "And tonight?" "We rest. Let people recover. Take turns. Make sure no one slips." She glanced at the door to the main room, voice low. "And if they come again before morning?" "Then we kill them," I said. Simple. Quiet. And final. The coffee smelled better than it had any right to. Tang Wei poured two enamel mugs full and handed me one. Her movements were quiet, practised. She didn¡¯t fumble or rush. Just scooped a finger of instant mix from the sealed ration, stirred it slow with the butt of a spoon, and passed it over without a word. I took it, nodding. The heat soaked into my palms instantly. "Where¡¯d you find this?" "Emergency locker. Same place as the stove," she said. "It¡¯s probably expired." "Doesn¡¯t matter." We drank in silence for a while. Inside the room, it had grown quieter. Someone was snoring¡ªDeng Hua or Chen Xun, probably. The occasional rustle of a blanket. Nothing else. Mu Qinglan hadn¡¯t made a sound since I laid her down. Roulan hadn¡¯t moved. Even Liang Mei was out, curled up near the vending machine, her face hidden beneath an arm. The only light came from the soft blue glow of the system window in my peripherals and the orange dot of Tang Wei¡¯s burner, flickering low beside her leg. She finished half her mug before speaking. "So..." I looked at her. She didn¡¯t meet my eyes. Still staring at the hallway. "...are you dating all three of them?" she asked, then took another sip. "Or is it just sex?" I didn¡¯t answer right away. She glanced at me, expression unreadable. "That obvious?" I asked finally. Tang Wei snorted. "Please. I¡¯m not blind." She let the silence hang a moment longer before continuing. "Yifei won¡¯t stop staring at you. Mu Qinglan moans your name in her sleep. And Roulan came back with cum dripping down her thighs and acted like nothing happened." I blinked. "Okay, that last one wasn¡¯t as obvious to everyone," she said, sipping again. "But I noticed." "And you¡¯re asking because..." "Curious," she said. "Not judging." That was a lie. There was something under her tone. Not bitterness. Not interest. Just... something unsaid. I sipped from my mug. "It¡¯s not dating. Not really," I said. "But it¡¯s not just sex either." "No?" Her eyes flicked over me as her lips curled into a smile, drinking the last of the god awful coffee. She chuckled, almost snorting, before leaning against me with her muscular arms, the heat causing her caramel skin to drip with sweat. "Well... I can tell you aren¡¯t just using them, that¡¯s alright... just don¡¯t become a monster." "Don¡¯t worry, I only sleep with the willing." Her eyes narrowed into slits, "Haha, good... well I am sure many women are after you." "Maybe." The flicker of her burner went out as she tapped my shoulder. "I¡¯m going to get some sleep, wake me if something happens." "Sure, sleep well." "Heh..." I watched Tang Wei remove her jacket... and shirt, revealing her soft, brown skin and tight black sports bra, but her breasts were quite... "Stop staring at me, pervert." "Ah, you caught me, my bad." "Hmph." With a huff, she turned away and peeked back over her shoulder before climbing into her sleeping bag. What a provocative woman... S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 158: First Step into Madness Chapter 158: First Step into MadnessMarch 20th, 10:12 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Service Wing John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª¡ª The silence was almost perfect. Tang Wei had fallen asleep forty minutes ago, bundled beneath her jacket and half-zipped into her sleeping bag, one hand still resting near her shotgun. The others were out cold¡ªsnoring lightly, breathing slow, no movement beyond the occasional twitch of a leg or turn of a head. I sat cross-legged beside the ammo case, sliding rounds into magazines by feel. The rhythm was simple. Calming. Click. Slide. Tap. Stack. Nine-millimetre rounds for Chen and Deng Hua. Buckshot for Tang Wei and Liang Mei. The motion kept my hands busy and my mind still, one mag at a time. My system pinged softly with restock notices. I ignored them. Then¡ª clink A sound. Soft. Faint. But there. My fingers paused above the next magazine. I didn¡¯t move. Just listened. A slow drag. Like bone scraping metal. Then a pause. Then again. Drag. Scratch. Silence. It came from above. The vents. I glanced at the door¡ªsealed. Nothing had passed us. But I heard it again. This time clearer. Close. "Nnnhh... ahh... Jooohn..." My skin crawled. The voice wasn¡¯t loud, wasn¡¯t right. It had the tone¡ªRoulan¡¯s tone¡ªbut none of the breath. No weight. Just sound. Like it was remembering the shape of her moan and trying to echo it back. I stood slowly, grabbing my smaller knife¡ªone I used for gear work, not combat. The vent was half-blocked by crates nailed to the floor and wall, which Yifei had stacked. Smart. If something tried to crawl through, it¡¯d bottleneck. I stepped onto the lower crate, the wood groaning softly under my weight. My other boot followed, then my knee. From here, the shadows swallowed the upper vent completely¡ªjust a dark square cut into the ceiling, surrounded by water stains and spiderweb cracks in the concrete. The air was colder up here. Not moving. Just still. Too still. I leaned forward, slowly, easing onto the top crate until my eyes were level with the vent slats. That¡¯s when I saw it. A shape. Pale. Distorted. Pressed up against the metal mesh from the inside. Not breathing. Not blinking. Just... there. The face was wrong. So wrong. It had no nose... just smooth skin where one should¡¯ve been. The lips weren¡¯t lips, just a tight seam. The sockets where eyes belonged were caved in, blackened, as if burned out. Its cheekbones jutted sharp and cracked under the surface like marble under pressure. The skin looked almost stretched, stapled to bone. But the worst part? It was smiling. Not with a mouth. But with the angle of its face, the curve of the cheek, the soft, grotesque pressure of its head pushing just enough against the mesh that it formed an imitation of emotion. A mockery of one. Its flesh twitched when I leaned closer. Not a flinch. Not fear. More like... curiosity. I could hear it. A low clicking in its throat. Like a dying animal trying to speak. A wet sound, full of phlegm and hunger. Then¡ª "...John..." A whisper. Distorted. Coming from inside its chest. I didn¡¯t breathe. It had no mouth. No lungs. But it spoke anyway, like it remembered the sound of her voice. The pattern. The rhythm. Like it wanted to wear her moan like a skin. My stomach turned¡ªnot in fear. But in something colder. Deeper. Like I was staring at something that shouldn¡¯t exist. Something that wasn¡¯t pretending to be human. A monster that remembered being human. The Ghoul didn¡¯t move. Its face was still flush with the vent screen, mashed up against the mesh, like it had grown content just listening. Observing. Waiting. The pale skin glistened faintly under the flickering hallway light, stretched thin and oily, translucent in places¡ªlike meat left in bleach. I didn¡¯t speak right away. I didn¡¯t need to. The blade I held was small¡ªjust a black-handled utility knife I used to open crates. But the edge was sharp. Clean. One I¡¯d honed earlier while everyone else slept, just to give my hands something to do. I pressed the tip into the mesh. The Ghoul didn¡¯t flinch. Its head shifted slightly¡ªa faint tilt. Curious. Like it was wondering what I¡¯d do. I pushed the blade through the gap in the vent screen just far enough that the tip met skin. Not stabbing. Not yet. Just... touching. Its flesh dimpled inward with almost no resistance. It didn¡¯t react. No twitch. No hiss. Just the same quiet watching. Then it copied Roulan¡¯s voice again, and my anger peaked. "Aah... haah... oh my god... It¡¯s so warm... you came on my ass¡ª" I exhaled through my nose, then whispered, "You really like her, huh?" No answer. Just that same low clicking from somewhere in its chest cavity. Wet. Rhythmic. "...Lan..." My grip tightened. The way it said her name made my skin crawl¡ªbut not from fear. It wasn¡¯t the word itself. It was the intent behind it. The imitation. The mimicry. Like it wasn¡¯t saying her name. It was remembering how I said it. Like it wanted to be me. Like it thought that would bring her closer. I smiled. Calm. Even. My hand moved on its own. The knife dragged slowly across its cheek. Not deep. Not fatal. Just enough to slice a shallow line beneath where an eye should¡¯ve been. The Ghoul didn¡¯t scream. It couldn¡¯t. But its head twitched with the cut. And the clicking grew faster. More agitated. I leaned closer, voice soft. "Do you feel that?" I made another cut. This one longer. Across the jawline. Blood¡ªnot red, but dark grey¡ªoozed out in thick globs, clinging to the mesh like oil. Still no sound. No rage. Just... watching. "You shouldn¡¯t have copied her," I said, almost gently. "She¡¯s mine." Another slice. This time down the bridge of the nose. I split the skin clean to the upper lip. Watched it peel slightly with the tension. "You¡¯re not human," I said quietly. "You don¡¯t get to talk like one." The Ghoul blinked. Or tried to. The sockets pulsed like jelly, and the clicking suddenly stopped. My hand hovered. Then I dragged the knife across the same line again¡ªdeeper this time. Grey blood spat against the crate. Even so, I spoke like I was soothing a friend. "You¡¯re going to stay right here," I whispered, voice low, steady. "And I¡¯m going to cut you until you forget what she sounds like." I¡¯d carved four lines now. Two across its face. One tracing the soft curve of its lower lip. One straight down the side of its neck¡ªjust beneath where a pulse should¡¯ve been. The Ghoul wasn¡¯t fighting. Wasn¡¯t resisting. Just breathing wetly through a throat that didn¡¯t move. It did not attempt to crawl free. It couldn¡¯t with its chest wedged between crates and steel. But that wasn¡¯t why it didn¡¯t struggle. It wanted to stay here. It was listening. I wiped the blade against the mesh, slow, smearing the oily blood across the grating. My fingers itched for something to do¡ªso I flipped the knife in my hand, caught it by the spine, then gripped it again. "You heard us, didn¡¯t you?" I said, voice low. "You heard her cry out my name." The Ghoul clicked once. A wet, heavy tick from inside its chest cavity. I leaned in closer¡ªso close I could smell it now. The scent was sour. Not rot. Not sweat. Just... wrong. Like melted glue and old teeth. I didn¡¯t pull away. "I bet you were jealous." I pressed the flat of the blade under its jaw. No reaction. No twitch. "I wonder what you were thinking about, when you curled up in here. Were you imagining it was her under you?" My insides were burning, my chest racing as my muscles throbbed... I wanted to move, to fight, to hit something... a violent desire. I didn¡¯t notice the way my hand had started to shake. I didn¡¯t notice that I was smiling again, even as I pressed the blade harder and watched its skin stretch under the pressure. But somewhere behind me, I heard a sound. Shift. Someone rolled over. Another breath. Different. Faint. A sigh. Maybe Tang Wei. Maybe Yifei. I didn¡¯t turn around. Didn¡¯t pause. My hand tightened unconsciously on the knife, the urge to carve growing sharper. A slit formed¡ªnew. Splitting down the centre of its face. Not natural. Just skin pulling itself apart. But no voice came. Not this time. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Just dripping. From the wound in its jaw. Blood pooling between the vent mesh and its chin. Slow. Viscous. Silent. "You¡¯re learning," I whispered. Another cut. This one is shallow. Just to see it twitch. I didn¡¯t even blink. The air had changed¡ªthicker, heavier, like it was pressing down on the back of my skull. The silence behind me wasn¡¯t peaceful anymore. It was watching me. Just like I was watching it. The blade stopped mid-drag. My hand hovered. There was a tightness in my chest. I¡¯d ignored it. I thought it was tension or habit. Residual adrenaline. But it wasn¡¯t. It coiled behind my ribs¡ªhot, sharp, ugly in a way that didn¡¯t feel foreign anymore. I looked at the Ghoul¡¯s face again. Pressed against the mesh. Still smiling without lips. Still watching me. And I knew what it was. Jealousy. I wasn¡¯t angry that it tried to kill us, or that it mimicked Roulan¡¯s voice, but because it heard her. That it listened to the way she moaned under me and remembered it better than I expected from a monster. I hated that something not human had shared that moment. I hated that it wanted it. And I hated that part of me wanted to erase that memory from my mind¡ªcarve it out¡ªso no one else could have it. Not even this thing. Especially not this thing. "Ah... maybe I am going crazy." I muttered, sliding both gauntlets into place¡ªCrushing Moon humming as the slug chambers locked in with a click. "But I¡¯m still sane enough to pull the trigger." Chapter 159: Seal the Vent, Seal the Madness Chapter 159: Seal the Vent, Seal the MadnessMarch 20th, 10:23 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Service Wing John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª "Ah... maybe I am going crazy," I muttered. I slid on the gauntlets¡ªCrushing Moon clamping tight around my forearms with a low, mechanical purr. The chambers spun. Slugs loaded. The weight of them settled into my bones like gravity, like ritual. I raised both hands. The Ghoul watched me. It didn¡¯t retreat. Didn¡¯t scream. Just listened¡ªlike it wanted to hear the last thing I¡¯d ever say to it. "You don¡¯t get to keep what you heard," I whispered. "That moan wasn¡¯t for you." And I shot. BOOM¡ªBOOM The twin blasts tore through the vent at point-blank range. The first shells blew open its face¡ªbone, flesh, mesh, and pressure all ripping outward in a wet explosion. The second burst caved in what was left. Bits of white skull and grey tissue sprayed against the inside of the duct like paint. The scent of blood and scorched metal hit me instantly, hot and sharp, burned into the air. The recoil kicked through my arms. Hard. But I didn¡¯t move. Didn¡¯t blink. The silence after was thick. Ringing. Then¡ª "W-What the hell?!" Liang Mei¡¯s voice, shaky and too loud in the dark. I looked down. She was staring up at me from the hallway, hair mussed, eyes wide, face pale in the low light. Zhou Xue stood behind her, halfway crouched with a small combat knife clutched awkwardly in both hands. But neither of them was looking at the duct. They were staring at me. Their eyes weren¡¯t afraid of the noise. Or even the blood. They were afraid of how calm I looked. I stepped down slowly from the crate, smoke curling from the barrels of my gauntlets. Behind them, the others were waking. Tang Wei sat up fast, gun already in hand. Yifei shifted onto her knees, posture tense. Roulan pushed her blanket aside and froze. Qinglan stirred slightly but didn¡¯t rise. "What happened?" Tang Wei asked, clipped and low. I didn¡¯t answer immediately. I wiped a bit of black ichor from my gauntlet with my fingers, then let it smear down my leg. The mesh vent above still smoked faintly with flesh stuck in the cracks. "Target in the vent," I said evenly. "It¡¯s dead now." No one spoke. Zhou Xue¡¯s knife lowered just a little. Liang Mei hadn¡¯t moved. The stares were heavy. The scent of spent gunpowder still hung in the air. But under it... Something else lingered. The aftertaste of wrongness. Like whatever I¡¯d killed hadn¡¯t been the only thing bleeding. [System Notification: Target eliminated ¡ª Stage 2 Ghoul (Stalker Variant)] [+1000 ZKP] [System Notice: Mental Drift Detected ¡ª Monitoring Status] [Stability: 89% ¡ú 86%] I didn¡¯t blink. Didn¡¯t even notice it until the corner of my vision caught the change. Then, quieter than I meant to, I said aloud: "...Now it won¡¯t remember her voice." No one responded. But I heard someone draw in a breath behind me. A slow, careful one. Like they were trying not to be heard. The air in the room had shifted. Not panicked, not fearful¡ªjust... cautious. Like everyone had quietly realised something wasn¡¯t right with me. Like everyone waited to see if I¡¯d go any further. But I didn¡¯t. Instead, I opened my system and pulled up the Utilities tab. My mind was still buzzing, too sharp in places, too numb in others. It was like adrenaline without the heat. Like I¡¯d gone somewhere I wasn¡¯t supposed to, and only now noticed the door behind me was still open. [Purchase: Industrial Quick-Set Concrete Pump ¡ª Vent Sealing Model] [Cost: 150 ZKP] [Item will appear at your feet. Stand clear.] The pump dropped beside me with a low hiss of compressed air. A thick hose uncoiled with it, already primed. The tank was squat, heavy, and designed for single-task sealing¡ªpress and flood. I stepped over to the stacked crates and raised the hose to the shredded ductwork. No one stopped me. No one said anything. They just watched. The concrete hissed as it sprayed¡ªfoamy and white at first, then hardening as it met metal and debris. It spread through the vent¡¯s interior, layering over the blood, the bones, the mesh. It didn¡¯t erase what had happened. But it would bury it. By the time the tank sputtered empty, it had completely sealed the vent. No air. No sound. Just a hardened wall where a face used to be. [Stability: 86% ¡ú 90%] Good. Next, I opened the catalogue again. [Purchase: Advanced Environmental Purification & Cooling Unit ¡ª Compact Model] [Cost: 1,000 ZKP] [Installation Time: 2 minutes] [Storage Compatible: YES] The machine blinked into place beside me¡ªa sleek rectangular unit with smooth black plating and recessed vents. It emitted a low hum as it came online, filtering the stale, blood-tainted air and recycling it through layered filtration and micro-compression. Cool air passed over my skin. I felt... cleaner. A little clearer. My fingers stopped shaking. Zhou Xue was the first to speak, her voice quiet. "What is that?" "An Air filter and cooling device." She didn¡¯t question it. She just nodded, eyes flicking once toward the now-sealed vent before she moved back toward her bedroll. One by one, the others did the same. Even Liang Mei, though she hesitated, just for a second. Not in fear or doubt. But like she was trying to decide if she should say something. In the end, she didn¡¯t. She lay down beside Roulan and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Tang Wei, though, didn¡¯t move. She waited until the others settled. Then rose. And walked toward me. I knew from the weight of her steps that this wasn¡¯t casual. Her palm struck my cheek. Not hard. Not gentle either. Just enough to get my attention. "You¡¯re not okay," she said. I blinked once. "I¡¯m fine." "No. You¡¯re not." Her voice wasn¡¯t angry. Not emotional. Just steady. "You were talking to it." I opened my mouth, but she cut me off. "Not shouting. Not threatening. Talking. Like it was human. Like you forgot what it was." I looked down at my hands. The gauntlets were still warm. "You looked like someone else," she continued. "Like your mind had wandered somewhere, and you hadn¡¯t noticed." I didn¡¯t argue because part of me had. She exhaled, then stepped back. "You¡¯re still in control," she said, "but not by much. Don¡¯t let it slide again." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She didn¡¯t wait for a response. Just turned around and walked back to her watch spot, her silhouette vanishing against the crate-stacked wall. I sat down beside the ammo case. Opened a new mag. Started filling it. Click. Slide. Tap. Stack. [Stability: 90% ¡ú 92%] I¡¯d come back. But I¡¯d taken a step somewhere dark to do it. And I knew it wouldn¡¯t be the last. The room fell still again. Not the silence of rest, but the kind that came after something just barely passed without breaking. People shifted. Blankets rustled. Someone cleared their throat. The type of quiet that didn¡¯t come with peace, but exhaustion. I looked at the air scrubber. It was still humming, casting a pale blue glow across the far wall. The recycled breeze it pushed out felt sterile and safe, but temporary. That thing had crawled into our vent to listen. Not to strike. Not to feed, but only to listen and repeat what it heard. And if one did it, more could. I sat there for a while longer, finishing the last few magazines, before opening the system one final time. I¡¯d need more. Larger models. Stronger defences. Permanent reinforcements back at base. Because if they could think... Then they could plan. And if they could plan... They¡¯d be back. And next time? I refused to patch up cracks after it was too late. A soft rustle to my right. I didn¡¯t look¡ªjust felt the faint shift of air as Liang Mei sat down beside me, her knees pulled up to her chest. She didn¡¯t say anything at first. Just watched my hands work. The gentle clink of brass and steel filled the space between us. Then, quietly: "You¡¯re not really going to stay up all night, are you?" "I¡¯ve done worse," I murmured. She didn¡¯t laugh, but her mouth tugged into the ghost of a smile. "John," she said after a moment. "Are you always like this... so busy?" I shrugged. "It keeps me grounded." She nodded, eyes half-lidded. "Then keep filling those mags. I¡¯ll sit here until I fall asleep." And she did. Quiet. Still. Just her presence and mine. In the hum of the purifier and the steady rhythm of bullets sliding home, something fragile began to feel steady again. Chapter 160: The First Quiet Morning Chapter 160: The First Quiet MorningMarch 21st, 6:08 AM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Service Wing John Wang POV ¡ª It was the sound of quiet movement that woke me. Soft feet brushing across concrete. A kettle lid clinking open. Someone yawned into their sleeve. Nothing sharp or frantic. But somehow, with everyone still alive, the air filtered clean, and a sheep drooling into my chest¡ª I stared at the ceiling, blinking. First full night I¡¯d slept in... what? Four? Five days? I didn¡¯t mind. Just... calm. I blinked against the dim blue light of the air scrubber still humming in the corner. It took me a second to notice I wasn¡¯t cold. Or alone. A comfortable warmth pressed against my right side¡ªsomething soft and breathing slow. My arm had gone numb. My chest felt sticky. Then I noticed the weight. The arms looped tightly around my waist. The tickle of hair against my chin. And the drool. Liang Mei lay curled beside me, wrapped in the same blanket, her face nuzzled against my shirt with her mouth half open. A small wet patch spread across the fabric beneath her cheek. Every few seconds, she mumbled something unintelligible¡ªhalf dream, half mumble¡ªbefore shifting closer, sighing. I didn¡¯t move. Didn¡¯t have the heart. It was the first time I¡¯d slept through the night in... I couldn¡¯t remember. My muscles weren¡¯t tight. My head didn¡¯t ache. My breathing felt easy. I let my eyes close for another ten seconds. Then gently nudged her. Her brows pinched, and she mumbled something that sounded like "just five more..." "Mei," I said softly. She blinked awake, confused for a second, then realised exactly where she was. And what she was doing. "Oh my god," she whispered, eyes wide. "I¡ªI didn¡¯t¡ªuh..." "You drooled on me." "I did not!" I looked down at the spreading stain. She followed my eyes and groaned, covering her face with both hands. "I want to die." "I¡¯ve had worse things on me." She peeked between her fingers. "You¡¯re not mad?" "Not unless you try to wipe it with your sleeve." She scrambled back, flustered, nearly rolling out of the blanket. "I¡¯ll¡ªI¡¯ll clean it! I didn¡¯t mean to¡ª" "You fell asleep," I said simply. "It¡¯s fine." Liang Mei bit her lip and nodded quickly, cheeks still flushed, before grabbing a clean cloth from her bag and muttering about water. Across the room, others were stirring. Zhou Xue was brushing her hair, still half asleep and wrapped in her blanket. Chen Xun yawned while cross-legged, stretching his arms and cracking his neck with a grunt. Deng Hua leaned against a crate, still blinking sleep from his eyes. Then the two men started kicking each other and fighting. Jiang Roulan stood quietly near the vent, examining the concrete seal like it might open again. But when she noticed my gaze, she frowned, narrowed her eyes and turned away with a strange reaction. Tang Wei yawned into her fist and gave me a nod. "You¡¯re up." "Yeah." "Sleep well?" "Surprisingly." She glanced at the still-purring air unit, then at the others. "We¡¯ve got some daylight. I want us moving soon." "Agreed." Breakfast was quiet. No decent food¡ªjust heated nutrient blocks, boiled water, and the leftover broth Tang Wei had reboiled from the night before. It tasted like salted fish and spongy mushroom, but it was warm, and no one complained. The MREs that I brought from my apartment started running out, and I became a little sad; I might never see them again. A memory of my past self that would fade with this horrific world. ¡¯Even if the system offers replica¡¯s...¡¯ Although I could have brought out the cooking of Jiang Roulan or Shen Yifei from the base, I didn¡¯t want to rely on the system too much during missions. How would they survive without me? Could they still deal with situations where I can¡¯t create things? I was their leader now, not just a simple businessman. Liang Qiu passed out rations with the same expression she always wore: silent, focused. She gave me two. Probably thought I needed them more than most. I handed one to Qinglan, who still hadn¡¯t spoken since last night. At first, I thought that Mu Qinglan was angry, but then I noticed her swollen lips and throat... she looked at me before her cheeks turned red, and she flicked her face away, looking in the other direction. It seemed... I was a little too rough. Roulan ate beside Liang Mei, unusually silent. She didn¡¯t touch her bowl until after everyone else had finished. Zhou Xue sat against the wall, eating mechanically, while Deng Hua leaned back and rubbed his burned arm through his sleeve. The skin looked better, scabbed, tight, but not infected. "Do we have a direction?" Chen Xun finally asked. Tang Wei nodded. "They headed north and northwest after the blast. John, can you still track them?" "Interference¡¯s still active," I said. "But I¡¯ve got the map cached from last night. I know the most likely routes." S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Yifei shifted. "Then we sweep those sectors?" "We don¡¯t split up," I said. "We move as one group. Tight formation. They¡¯re faster than we are, smarter than zombies. We don¡¯t get a second chance." Everyone nodded¡ªsome more reluctantly than others. I stood and walked over to the purifier unit. Its glow was steady. It had done its job, silently scrubbing and recycling air for hours. But we couldn¡¯t afford to leave something this valuable behind. [System: Storage Command ¡ª Environmental Purification Unit][Storage: Confirmed][Durability: 100%][Status: Ready for redeployment] The unit blinked once, then shimmered before vanishing in a smooth flash of light. Gone. I exhaled. We¡¯d need more of them. Bigger ones. Systems that could purify an entire base, even if something worse than Ghouls came knocking. Radiation. Toxic rain. Smoke. Disease. If we were going to survive long-term, we needed more than strength. We needed infrastructure. There was something ritualistic about gearing up. Gear was strapped down. Weapons loaded. Comms checked. Everyone moved with that sluggish quiet you only saw after a long fight and a short rest. No one was talking much anymore. The tension hadn¡¯t returned, but the focus had. Tang Wei finished checking Deng Hua¡¯s straps and gave me a look. "You sure they¡¯ll come back to this area?" "No," I said. "But they¡¯re smart. They¡¯ll circle the area, track us and then wait. "Then we catch them before they do." I nodded. Tang Wei injected herself with insulin before she broke the silence. "Two minutes. Final checks." Zhou Xue tightened her boots. Chen Xun sorted his arrows again, fingers trembling just slightly as he touched each fletch. Yifei remained quiet and watched me before taking up her spear and standing beside the door like she was already ahead of us. Liang Mei slid beside me, holding her hunting bow a little too tight. She didn¡¯t meet my eyes, but her hand brushed against mine when she passed. Not intentional. "You ready?" I asked. She looked up, eyes clearer than I expected. "Yeah. I¡¯m not scared anymore." Clearly a lie¡ªbut that was fine. Everyone lies a little before a fight. I glanced over. Her cheeks were red again. "Stay close to Roulan," I said. "And only shoot if you¡¯re steady." "I know," she mumbled. Chen Xun strung his bow and gave Zhou Xue a nod. Yifei checked the vents again¡ªhabitually. And Roulan... she looked different. Still quiet, but lighter somehow. Like she¡¯d stopped punishing herself for something only she knew. I walked last, scanning the walls and exits, the empty shelves, the ceiling. No sound. No whispers. No more voices in the vents. The concrete seal was still dry, clean, and unbroken. That was good. Because even if they were watching and waiting, we would lose all of our advantage, and it would end like yesterday. We were ready this time. And I wouldn¡¯t let them crawl in through the cracks again. I turned toward the exit and activated the map overlay in my vision. Red markings still flickered¡ªghost traces of the Ghouls¡¯ last known paths. The system hadn¡¯t locked new coordinates yet, but I could feel the pull in my chest. Those things hadn¡¯t gone far and were waiting. Watching. Just like last time. This time, I wouldn¡¯t be the one reacting. This time, I¡¯d be ready. "We find them," I said. "And this time, they don¡¯t get to crawl away." Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes shone light blue as she held Endless night, and watched me with a keen gaze, before we opened the doors. Chapter 161: They Won’t Crawl Away Again Chapter 161: They Won¡¯t Crawl Away AgainMarch 21st, 8:02 AM ¡ª Longwan Mall, North Wing Concessions John Wang POV ¡ª The mall was quiet in the way that only dead buildings could be¡ªlights flickering overhead, dust curling in the air like smoke, and the faint sound of metal expanding in the heat. The system map flickered inside my vision. Still scrambled, showing signs of interference, but the trails I¡¯d cached were enough. Two marked red paths. Both thin, like hairline cracks winding through concrete. One led west. The other deeper north. We followed the northern line. Tang Wei and Mu Qinglan took point. I walked third, right behind them, keeping eyes on both the path ahead and the high ceilings. Roulan and Yifei flanked the group, sweeping corners and broken store gates with silent discipline. Chen Xun, Liang Mei, and Deng Hua watched the rear. We moved through the skeletal remains of the concessions hallway¡ªbroken drink machines, gutted stalls, paper wrappers curled into corners. The deeper we went, the colder the air felt. Not naturally cold. Wrong cold. Like the walls remembered something and hadn¡¯t let go of it. I raised my fist. The group halted immediately. "Blood," Tang Wei said, pointing with her shotgun. She was right. Just ahead, smeared across the base of a soda cart, was a single handprint. Grey. Not red. Fingers long and narrow¡ªstained like someone had dipped them in ink and scraped their way past. No dragging trail. Just one mark. High up. They had crawled. Not walked. And they¡¯d watched us from above. My gauntlets clicked softly as I flexed them, adjusting my grip. The shotgun chambers in Crushing Moon were already loaded¡ªfour slugs and four buckshot. I wouldn¡¯t hesitate this time. Listening to the whirring chambers helped calm my mind as I traced the dots on the system, and the flickers of movement from my predator skill. "Signs of a break-in here," Roulan muttered from the left. "Shelf knocked over. Wrapper torn. Looks fresh." Chen Xun crouched by the trash bin, his fingers hovering over some blackened scrap. "This isn¡¯t just rot. Something¡¯s been feeding." Not zombies, because they didn¡¯t eat the wrappers. They tore through people. But these things? They learned. A dull thud echoed from above, as Shen Yifei¡¯s spear thrust upward, penetrating the shaft... and a sticky white goo dripped from the penetrated metal. The Ghoul groaned... but we couldn¡¯t chase it. Yifei held up a palm. "Movement. Vents above." Everyone froze. There¡ªjust a flicker. A blur shifting behind a vent grate high above the hallway. It didn¡¯t move like a crawler. Too smooth. Too... slow. "One contact," I said softly. "Eight meters. Moving along the pipe." Tang Wei raised her weapon. "Permission to fire?" "Not yet." "Get ready..." Tang Wei¡¯s shotgun, Jiang Roulan¡¯s Type-9k and the others using bows all drew and prepared, ready to shoot in the direction I pointed. Behind. Though the one Tang Wei mentioned was ahead, this one was trying to strike us from behind, a sneaky tactic. However, with myself standing at the lead, and Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei flanking me, watching the faint ripples of the one aiming to sneak attack. I felt confident as it dropped. Not toward her. But behind us. Straight down into the centre of the group. The Ghoul landed hard. A wet, meaty smack¡ªits body collapsing like bone and muscle weren¡¯t speaking the same language. "Fire!" Tang Wei was first¡ªher shotgun barked with a thunderous crack, spraying buckshot into the creature¡¯s torso. White flesh tore back, but it didn¡¯t fall. Roulan¡¯s Type-9k rattled next. Short, controlled bursts. Two struck the left leg, one hit the shoulder, and tore chunks of grey-black meat out of its neck. No hesitation in her stance. No wasted motion. With a loud rattle, she switched to full auto and melted the Ghouls¡¯ flesh with her full clip with the muzzle flare turning the barrel red. "Reloading!" A volley of beautifully aimed arrows flew across my shoulders, brushing my face with feathers and cold air. Chen Xun and Deng Hua pierced through the monster¡¯s muscular thighs, then Zhou Xue landed with a thunk! Impaling the bastard¡¯s chest and finally the Liang Girls shot each side of its body, through its shoulder joints. If this were human, they¡¯d be dead or pinned to the ground like a lab rat. The Ghoul hissed. Its body arched like it had no bones¡ªits torso spun with unnatural rotation as it lunged toward Deng Hua, claws raised. My gauntlets fired. Da¡ªDang! Four slugs brutally tore through its chest in a fist-shaped arc. Followed by the four buckshot ripping the surface of the Ghoul¡¯s flesh, revealing the vile, gooey black innards that looked like rotten meat and vegetables. The force sent the creature flipping midair, back cracking against the concrete floor. Its limbs twitched. It hissed. But it was trying to crawl now¡ªno balance, no coordination. "Qinglan!" She was already moving. The Endless Night sang through the air, a blur of blue steel in her hand and beside her, Shen Yifei¡¯s legs shifted rapidly, dashing with her spear. One step. Two. Then the Ghoul tried to rise¡ªand she severed it at the waist. SHLIK-CRACK. The body buckled backwards, with its upper half slammed into a wall. The bottom flopped sideways, twitching before falling still. As it bounced off, Shen Yifei leapt from the ground. Her legs lifted in the air as she penetrated its head with a brutal thrust, while stomping on the monster¡¯s chest with both feet. She pushed herself off with a faint flip... landing a few steps beside me, a masterful and agile display. "Enemy down." "Nice moves, Yifei." Mu Qinglan¡¯s hoarse voice sounded as she looked at Yifei with a nod. It was rare for her to acknowledge other... [Stage 2 Ghoul Eliminated ¨C Stalker Variant] [1000 ZKP | 500 EXP] [Skill Up!] [Point-Blank Discipline Reached Level 3!] Qinglan breathed hard, her sword dripping. Her stance was wide, firm, not trembling. She looked back at me. "Still hate that they run," she muttered. I walked up beside her and nudged the torso with my boot. Still twitching. I extended the Crushing Moon blade and drove it through the skull. Now it was still. Although it was dead from the moment I saw the system message, it made me feel disgusted. "Let¡¯s turn back, the other one won¡¯t wait for us." We regrouped in silence, taking the arrows from the flesh... Deng Hua checked his shoulder where a claw had grazed him¡ªlight bleeding, nothing deep. Tang Wei reloaded her shells, with a grin as she pumped the forend. Chen Xun picked up his arrow from the corpse and wiped the tip clean, but it slipped off and became soggy, like a melted chocolate bar. But the tips were deformed, something inside the Ghoul¡¯s body melting the steel. "Damn..." "Well, we¡¯ve been lucky none of them have broken so far." Deng Hua comforted Chen Xun, who held his broken arrow. We regrouped in a few moments, although not a military group... our synergy and the trust each one of them showed in my calls improved greatly. At least that¡¯s how it felt... with our calm and adjusted movements. I watched Mu Qinglan for a moment. Her breathing slowed. Her grip on the Endless Night eased, but her eyes were still sharp. "They¡¯re not invincible," she said. "No," I agreed. "Just dangerous." The system map was updated again. For a split second, one red dot flickered south¡ªthen vanished. "Is it running?" It was deliberate. Like a trail. "Maybe it wants us to follow..." I answered Tang Wei, looking at the dots... the Ghoul was leading us towards a swarm of smaller red dots. A room of Crawlers. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chen Xun squinted at the blood. "That looks... placed." I nodded. "It¡¯s baiting us." Ahead, a stairwell door creaked open slightly¡ªjust enough to be noticed. A single blood smear trailed down the stairs, into the darkness. Basement access. Subterranean level. Old parking, storage, maybe sub-generator halls. Too many paths. Too many blind corners. I stopped the group. "This is a lure," I said. "It¡¯s not just escaping. It¡¯s waiting." Tang Wei stepped beside me, shotgun lifted. "Then what do we do?" "We control the terrain," I said. "We don¡¯t go in like last time." Mu Qinglan stared at the stairwell, then nodded. "Then we turn the trap around." And we started planning. The first thing I did was buy a large amount of flares, and flashbangs from the system and though we had some nightvision goggles... I thought it might be best to use our natural eyes to fight this... adding high vision torches that could strap onto our clothes. The total cost me quite a bit... [High Grade ¡ª Combat Torches x 10] (2,000) [Top Grade safety Flares x 20] (1,000) [Shotgun Bayonet/Torch x 1] (1,500) [Type-9k Light/Suppressor Module x 3] (3,000) [High Grade Bow Scope/Laser Dot x 5] (2,500) [Top Grade Flashbangs x 5] (5,000) [Total Cost: 15,000 ZKP] [Remaining: 12,550 ZKP] Once the items appeared in small boxes from thin air, everyone but Jiang Roulan, Shen Yifei, and Mu Qinglan looked stunned. "I know it¡¯s weird, but if you can trust me now, I will tell you everything." Now it was time to earn their trust and... make things easier for me in the future. Chapter 162: The Lure Below Chapter 162: The Lure BelowMarch 21st, 8:31 AM ¡ª Longwan Mall, South Basement Stairwell John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª The steel door creaked open. Damp air seeped up from below, thick with dust and mildew. It clung to the inside of my nose like a wet cloth. The concrete stairs spiralled downward into near-black, and the emergency light over the threshold blinked in a slow, dying rhythm¡ªlike a heartbeat that was forgetting how to beat. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chen Xun lit a flare. Red washed the stairwell. Everyone¡¯s shadows stretched long and jagged against the walls, flickering with every step. I handed out gear one at a time¡ªtorches, flashbangs, sighting modules. I kept my voice low as I clipped each item into place. "Don¡¯t rely on electronics too much. These creatures might adapt again." Zhou Xue blinked at the laser module on her bow. "John, how the hell did you¡ª?" "I¡¯ll explain later." And I meant it. I would have to earn everyone¡¯s trust normally, the way they earned mine. I¡¯d show them everything soon. Just not while a Ghoul was luring us into a fucking basement filled with crawlers. We moved slowly, each step measured. The stairwell echoed with every shift of weight, every click of boot heel on metal. Mu Qinglan had taken point. I followed just behind her. Roulan and Yifei watched our rear. Tang Wei walked beside me now, her hand never leaving her weapon. "Sound¡¯s weird in here," she muttered. "It¡¯s funnelling," I said. "Architecture forces everything upward. Makes it feel like something¡¯s always behind us." "Is there?" "Probably." This information wasn¡¯t my knowledge, but a warning from the system. Well, nobody would care about that... The stairwell ended at a double steel door, slightly ajar and rusted. Mu Qinglan pushed it open with the flat of her blade. The hinges groaned like something dying slowly. A wave of stale, fetid air rolled over us, hotter than the upper level, like it sealed in the rot and allowed it to cook. The red flare light flickered across a concrete loading dock: old generator housing, broken lockers, stacked pallets in the far corners. The emergency lights here had long since gone out. Just shadows. And stains. A wide drag mark crossed the centre of the floor, wet and glistening, trailing off toward a collapsed access tunnel on the far end. "It pulled something down here," Tang Wei said. "No," I murmured. "It dragged itself back." I stepped ahead, torch clipped to my hip, casting a white cone over the ground. Footsteps crunched over shell casings, cracked tile, and brittle bones. Human-sized. Nothing fresh. But ahead, just past a stack of crates, was something else. "Movement," Yifei whispered. We froze. Chen Xun lifted his bow. The string trembled. But there was nothing in sight. Just... a rhythmic wet sound. Click. Drag. Click. Drag. Mu Qinglan stiffened beside me, eyes narrowing. "That¡¯s it." "No," I said, holding up a hand. Everyone paused. Weapons half-raised. Breaths held. I stepped toward the far wall where the sound echoed louder. Traced the source with the cone of my torchlight. A tangle of exposed ductwork ran just overhead, cracked open in places, insulation spilling out like dead roots. The noise came again. Click. Drag. Click¡ªwhirr¡ªdrag. Then silence. Then a slow mechanical gasp, like something sucking air with a crushed throat. Tang Wei frowned. "Ventilation?" I crouched beside the wall panel and tapped the rusted grill. "Not the Ghoul," I said. "The sub-basement¡¯s filtration system. Might be trying to cycle on." "Why now?" Liang Mei asked softly. I stood and turned back to the others. "Power fluctuations, or maybe it¡¯s another trap?" Whatever it was, it meant the Ghoul hadn¡¯t made its move yet. But we weren¡¯t alone down here. Not with the stains on the walls, the drag trails in the dust. And the scent. The kind of rot you didn¡¯t see unless it was fresh. I tapped my comm. "Yifei, Roulan¡ªsweep the far storage doors. No separation beyond three meters. If it moves, attack it with everything you have." The two looked at each other before nodding. It had lured us down. Now we were hunting it back. The air down here didn¡¯t move right. Too still. Too heavy. Even after confirming the filtration system¡¯s sputtering coughs, every corner felt loaded. Every shadow stretched too far. We spread out slowly in a tight formation, avoiding noise. Tang Wei covered the centre with her torch and shotgun raised. Chen Xun and Liang Mei moved beside Zhou Xue, sticking to the left flank near an old parts cage. The room was wide, maybe thirty meters across¡ªbut packed with collapsed lockers, forklift pallets, and black stains that hadn¡¯t dried right. Yifei and Roulan moved toward the far double doors, checking each nook with blade and barrel. I walked behind Qinglan. Every few steps, I stopped to mark the trail behind us. Not just for us. But so I could see later, if anything doubled back. Qinglan raised a fist. We froze. Ahead of her was a thick maintenance door, cracked open an inch. Yellow paint peeled down the centre. A dark smear arced across the lower edge like something had been dragged in sideways. "Crawler?" she asked. "Maybe," I murmured. I pulled a flashbang from my belt, adjusted the fuse with a quick twist, and nodded at Qinglan. [Deploy: Flashbang ¨C High Grade (Silent Fuse)][Trajectory: Low, Bounce ¨C Arc Entry] I lobbed it just under the crack. The burst went off in a searing pulse of white light¡ªa low pop, no smoke. Just raw disorientation. From inside, the first shriek came. Then a second. Then, skittering... dozens of limbs scratching against concrete. A swarm poured out like something kicked them into motion. Four, five, seven Crawlers scuttled into view, flailing blindly. The first Crawler slammed into the door, scraping wildly at the frame, its limbs flailing in blind fury. Another tumbled over it, skidding along the concrete, hissing through a jaw that snapped at the air. Then five more. They didn¡¯t hold formation. They didn¡¯t circle. They poured out like rats from fire¡ªdisoriented, crashing into shelves, each other, anything they could reach. Tang Wei fired once a slug through the closest one¡¯s neck. Roulan¡¯s Type-9k lit up, cutting down the second and third before they fully righted themselves. Arrows struck from both sides¡ªChen Xun, Zhou Xue, Liang Mei¡ªclean shots, fast, fast, fast. None of the Crawlers were ready. I stepped forward as the last one tried to leap. Crushing Moon¡¯s chamber fired point-blank. BOOM. Headless. Blood sprayed backwards against the wall as its body folded, twitching twice before going still. Silence returned. Nothing followed. The door swayed from the gunfire, revealing an empty room. And deeper inside... The real threat waited. The door opened with a metal groan, swinging inward to reveal a wide storage hall, at least twenty meters across and with a low ceiling. The walls were lined with rusted supply cages and overturned shelving. Crates, drums, and torn black bags were strewn across the floor like someone had ransacked the place with both hands. The stench hit hard. Foul. Metallic. Thick with heat. And the Crawlers were waiting. Not neatly. Not tactically. Just crouched in clusters along the walls and under shelves¡ªsome perched on broken crates, others halfway up the ventilation cages, clinging to torn insulation like parasites. Pale limbs. Gaping mouths. They hissed the moment we stepped in. No stealth now. No subtlety. Only slaughter. "Flash!" I shouted. Two white canisters arced across the room¡ªmine and Tang Wei¡¯s. The second they hit, the space exploded in blinding white. The Crawlers shrieked, flailing against each other, smashing into walls as the light stripped their senses. "Push!" Thanks to Tang Wei we learned simple terms, helping the others follow commands or take action without complex bullshit. We charged in. Tang Wei led the centre, her shotgun barking in controlled rhythm¡ªleft, right, reload, repeat. Each blast split a Crawler clean in two or sent it crashing into steel. Roulan backed her up with short, tight bursts¡ªher suppressor humming with fire as three Crawlers dropped in quick succession. Chen and Deng fired from the flank¡ªarrows snapping through twitching spines, leaving bodies limp before they hit the ground. Zhou Xue fired low, disabling legs and leaving openings for Yifei to rush in. Mu Qinglan¡¯s blade carved a path through the right. She didn¡¯t hesitate, didn¡¯t stop moving. The Endless Night flickered like liquid as it cut through one throat, then plunged through a chest, then back into the ready stance like a reaper at work. Yifei vaulted over a crate, slammed her spear down through a writhing torso, then flipped backwards as two more Crawlers lunged past her and ran straight into Deng Hua¡¯s boots¡ªhe stomped the first, impaled the second with a hatchet. Liang Mei and Zhou covered the rear, taking out stragglers and making sure no one circled behind us. In less than sixty seconds, the room fell quiet again. Blood pooled across the floor, slick and black from the crawlers that exploded. Their limbs twitched, and their heads rolled. None of them kept breathing. If they ever had breath to begin with. But the Ghoul wasn¡¯t here. I stared toward the open storage corridor ahead. "Where is it?" Mu Qinglan¡¯s slightly breathless question came as she cleaned the blade of endless night. But the only answer I had was.... "I don¡¯t know..." Chapter 163: What Devours the Dead Chapter 163: What Devours the DeadWe pushed deeper into the back corridor¡ªeach step quieter than the last. The lights here were different. Flickering, yes, but not all broken. They blinked in a steady rhythm, almost timed. An old maintenance grid was still feeding partial current, wiring hissing softly inside the walls. But it wasn¡¯t the sound that bothered me. It was the smell. Like meat left to rot in a sealed coffin. Sweet at first, then acidic. Every breath felt like it left something behind in my throat. I covered my mouth with the edge of my shirt. "I smell blood," Liang Mei muttered. "No," I said. "It¡¯s worse." The corridor opened up into a chamber, ten meters wide, much smaller than the room behind us, and filled with debris. Bent rebar jutted from the walls. A forklift rested against a collapsed stairwell, its metal skeleton picked clean. And the bones. Everywhere. Crawlers. In pieces. Limbs twisted like rope. Backs torn open from inside. Some were fresh. Some were old, but half devoured like husks. In the centre, it crouched. The Ghoul. It¡¯s back hunched, limbs longer than before, skin hanging from its body like paper soaked in oil. Its spine jutted upward like jagged mountain peaks, twitching with every movement. Its arms were buried elbow-deep into a corpse¡¯s ribcage¡ªno ceremony, no hunger. Just... instinct. It didn¡¯t chew. It drank. A slurping, sucking sound filled the chamber, wet and hollow, as if it were trying to extract more than just blood. Tang Wei stopped beside me. "It¡¯s... feeding." "I have no idea..." "It¡¯s disgusting." Yifei complained. "Can¡¯t we just kill it now, John?" Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice caused it to shift, still kneeling, and gorging, but now the skin along its back started to pulse. Once. Twice. Veins bulged. The sack of flesh rippled unnaturally, like something was moving inside it. Like bones were bending. Shifting. Then it stopped feeding. The head turned. There were no eyes. No lips. Just leathery flesh stretched across its skull, but we all felt it. That gaze. Even without sockets, it found us. And it smiled. The group froze. Chen Xun stumbled a step back, his arrow trembling against the string. Liang Qiu lowered her weapon slightly, her eyes locked on the creature, but not blink. Even Zhou Xue¡¯s stance, normally firm, shifted¡ªher feet dragging an inch as she recoiled. In the centre of the chamber, the Ghoul slowly began to rise. Its limbs extended one at a time¡ªdeliberate, unnatural. The movements weren¡¯t smooth. They dragged. The joints swelled and strained beneath the skin, like the bones inside were too large for the frame that held them. Its spine snapped upright in a long ripple, vertebrae swelling and locking into new shapes. The sound of it was muffled and wet, rearranging bone and meat beneath a layer of rotting cloth. Then its head turned. Not quickly. It twisted to the side, the skin on its neck bunching and tearing slightly as it moved. There were no eyes. No nose. Just smooth, slick tissue stretched over a skull that looked more alien than human. A faint ridge along the front began to split, slowly parting down the centre. It didn¡¯t open like a mouth. It tore open, straight down from chin to navel. A vertical slit, lined with twitching, red-black muscle and rows of pulsing flesh that looked too wet, too soft, like something that had never seen open air. The mouth wasn¡¯t something for speaking... but designed to consume, devour. Then the lights flickered. Once. Twice. And the sound began¡ªlow at first. Bones grinding. Flesh separating. Tendons tearing like soaked rope. The Ghoul didn¡¯t flinch. It embraced the noise. Its shoulders swelled, then cracked outward. Arms lengthened. Fingers snapped into segments. Its legs bent at the knees and then again at the ankle joints, reforming with sharp, fluid jerks as if something inside was clawing for more room. Something was happening to its skin. The colour changed¡ªfrom sickly pale to a slick, glistening grey, like something born underwater and dragged into the heat. The blood from the Crawlers it had devoured clung to its body like oil, soaking in instead of running off. Its breathing changed, too. Deeper. Hungrier. It wasn¡¯t just transforming. It was becoming something new. And this wasn¡¯t the end. Its body convulsed again. This time, the sound wasn¡¯t just internal. Something split open down its back¡ªa wet tearing that made Liang Mei gag beside me. Spines erupted, thin and long like exposed roots, curling upward from its shoulder blades. They writhed in the air like they were tasting it. One of them snapped sideways, cracking into a nearby pipe with a loud clang. Sparks fell. The lights flickered again. Then the smell hit us. Worse than rot. Worse than blood. Like everything it had eaten had fermented inside and now seeped through its pores¡ªacrid and organic, layered with bile and something bitter I couldn¡¯t place. The Crawlers¡¯ corpses had begun to melt where the fluid touched them, their bodies dissolving into a black slurry that hissed softly. "Don¡¯t breathe through your mouth," Tang Wei said, her voice low but hoarse. Liang Qiu was shaking. I could see her fingers twitch where she held her bow, her body leaning too far to the left, trying to put space between her and the thing in front of us. Chen Xun had backed against the wall. His quiver clattered at his hip. His mouth moved like he wanted to say something, but no words came. Deng Hua¡¯s weapon dropped a few centimetres. Its legs bent, ready to move... but not forward. Even Liang Mei had stopped breathing. I saw her lips parting in shallow gasps, and her shoulders locked. She wasn¡¯t looking at the Ghoul anymore. She was staring through it. Frozen. Their Spirit was low. They weren¡¯t ready for this. The Ghoul¡¯s limbs cracked again. Not violently¡ªjust a long, slow pull of pressure as it lifted both arms and opened that vertical maw wider. A sound escaped its throat this time¡ªnot speech, but something closer to a choked hiss. Then its feet shifted. Only a few inches. But the tiles cracked under the weight. It was testing its new form. And it liked what it felt. I stepped forward and raised one gauntlet slowly. "Back," I said, not turning my head. "Now." No one moved. I repeated it. Louder. "Get back." Zhou Xue was the first to obey. She grabbed Liang Mei by the wrist and pulled her toward the hallway. Chen Xun followed, stumbling as he turned. Deng Hua caught Liang Qiu before she fell and dragged her with him. The others stayed. Qinglan. Tang Wei. Roulan. Yifei. Fighters. The door behind us was still open¡ªbut not for long. As the students ran, the Ghoul took its first full step forward. It didn¡¯t sprint. It walked. Confident. Predatory. Like it wasn¡¯t afraid of anything. And that meant the time to hesitate was over. Even with my current spirit, there were tingling sensations travelling up my spine, an uncomfortable warning in my chest and mind. Danger. "Qinglan, Roulan¡ªcan you shut the door?" However, they seemed a little dazed by the monster¡¯s appearance. "Qinglan, Roulan¡ªshut it. Now." They moved without hesitation. Roulan kicked the door¡¯s inner bolt while Qinglan yanked the rusted locking bar into place. I stepped in and slammed my gauntlet against the latch, crushing the metal into place with a solid crunch. It wouldn¡¯t hold forever, but it didn¡¯t need to. Just long enough. I turned back. Six of us were left in the chamber: me, Qinglan, Roulan, Tang Wei, Zhou Xue, and Shen Yifei. The rest were behind the door. Safe. The Ghoul watched from ten meters away¡ªspine curled slightly, limbs swaying with grotesque weight. Its skin had finished changing: no longer pale, but wet and grey, slick like a newborn beast. Its body was twitching¡ªeach joint shifting with thick, deliberate tension. The sound it made wasn¡¯t a growl. It was breathing. Low. Wet. Rhythmic. Like it was savouring the moment. My spirit stat was higher than most of the group, but even so, I could feel it pressing against my skin¡ªan instinctive, bone-deep discomfort that refused to fade. It moved. One step. Then another. Slow at first. Then it charged. No scream. Just the brutal sound of claws shredding across the concrete. "Spread and fire!" I shouted. Tang Wei dropped to a knee and fired¡ªslug round to the left shoulder. It staggered for half a second, but didn¡¯t fall. Roulan lit it up next, full-auto burst. The bullets stitched across its flank, but the meat swallowed them. They didn¡¯t pass through. I fired both gauntlets¡ªdouble slugs to the chest. The recoil rocked me back a step. Gore sprayed¡ªbut it still kept coming. Shen Yifei intercepted it. Her spear drove in, full-force, right beneath the collarbone. A direct strike. It gripped the shaft. Then hurled Yifei sideways like she weighed nothing. She crashed into a shelving rack, metal clattering down. I heard her groan¡ªshe was still moving. Zhou Xue stepped into the gap and loosed two arrows in quick succession. The first one slammed into the thigh; the second struck the creature¡¯s exposed spine. It flinched. The first real reaction we¡¯d seen. Qinglan lunged from the right¡ªThe Endless Night flashing across its chest. Her swing struck clean, the blade biting deep into the flesh. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It twisted with an inhuman motion, but didn¡¯t flee. Adapting. Watching. Its vertical mouth opened again. Not to scream¡ªbut to breathe in. Like it could taste our movements. "We hold here," I said coldly. "No retreat." And then it came again. Chapter 164: In the Dark Chapter 164: In the DarkMarch 21st, 9:12 AM ¡ª Sub-Basement Storage Hall John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª The Ghoul came again¡ªsilent and fast. Its feet didn¡¯t slam the floor like a brute. They skimmed it. Its body moved like liquid muscle¡ªshoulders low, head tilted forward, arms spread like hooks about to close. "Watch the left!" I called out. It swerved, just as Tang Wei fired another round. The slug whistled past its ribs and shattered a support beam. Dust fell, and sparks jumped from the impact point. I met it mid-lunge. Both gauntlets fired simultaneously as my fists hammered its chest and abdomen with a double punch. Point-blank slugs¡ªtwo straight to the chest. They burst with a loud pop, tearing meat, breaking bones, causing the beast to reel. But not like it was in pain. More like it had lost its balance, or misjudged my position. "Xue¡ªnow!" Zhou Xue lost her shot. One arrow, black-fletched and heavy, slammed directly into the Ghoul¡¯s thigh joint. It punctured the white flesh, piercing the meat, but the beast didn¡¯t fall. It crouched low and rotated with inhuman grace¡ªits back leg twisting beneath it, heel sliding around like it had no kneecap. A spine along its back shot out suddenly, twitching. Not projectile. Just a feint. Enough to distract. Roulan almost stepped forward, but caught herself in time as the Ghoul flicked one of its arms, sharp fingers slicing the air. They passed inches from her chest. "Don¡¯t rush it!" I barked. "It¡¯s trying to split us!" Mu Qinglan circled to the right, eyes sharp, breathing steady. She was waiting, not striking until the opening came. Her grip on Endless Night was light, like the weapon floated. Tang Wei reloaded again, fast, sliding a fresh shell into the chamber. Shen Yifei was back on her feet, breathing through her nose, blood trailing down one temple. "Urk..." Blood dribbled from her soft lips as she pushed herself up, eyes flickering with a blue light, as the tip of her spear hummed with heat. She didn¡¯t wait for permission. Yifei darted in again, her spear glinting with the tip pointed to the floor, each step masterful and filled with power and agility. The Ghoul snapped to intercept her. But that¡¯s what I¡¯d waited for. Crushing Moon roared as I rushed at it, hammering it with a four-punch burst, each time my muscles screamed, back tight, legs locked as my blows caused its meat to tenderise, then with the last punch I released another burst of buckshot. The shot hit it just above the spine, and meat exploded. The creature shrieked¡ªnot with its mouth, but that long vertical wound down its chest, which pulsed like a screaming throat. The noise was awful. Like metal screaming underwater. We all flinched. It spun again, bleeding now. Staggering. But not down. Not yet. Tang Wei whispered through clenched teeth. "What the fuck does it take to kill this thing?" I adjusted my stance. "We..." "Since it bleeds, we make it bleed more!" Shen Yifei¡¯s back leaned against mine, hot and sweaty... her scent thick, but the blood causing me to worry. The Ghoul backed away, moving in a small arc around us, while limping slightly, its body hunched, that vertical maw twitching open and shut like a broken muscle reflex. But it wasn¡¯t panicking. It was watching. Analysing Its posture was no longer wild. It adjusted its stance, feet planted wider, arms lowered. It understood we were dangerous now. That was the part that chilled me. Not that it was fast. Not that it was tough. But how fast it was learning. "Stay loose. Don¡¯t give it a chance to attack two people!" Zhou Xue shifted position in the back of the room, moving right, and keeping her bow drawn while low and out vision low. I noticed the moment her eyes narrowed, with sweat trailing from her jawline. She shot another arrow. "Qinglan," I said. "Right side. If it attacks Zhou Xue, cut it." "Of course." Yifei moved opposite her, silent. Her spear glinted faintly from the blood coating its shaft. Tang Wei and Roulan held the centre with me¡ªshotgun and Type-9k trained. The Ghoul moved again, and as I thought. It rushed toward the far wall. A rapid dash towards the right, constantly circling as if to keep everyone on their toes. The five of us rotated to keep up. It was testing our formation. Then it lunged straight for Zhou Xue. I fired again. Slugs cracked through the air. The first clipped its side, the second slammed into its knee, and the aftershock and impact spun it midair. Zhou stepped back, drawing her bow tight. The Ghoul twisted in the air and threw something¡ªone of its spines. The bone spear cut the air like a javelin. Zhou ducked too slow. The spine grazed her temple and embedded itself into the concrete wall behind her. She collapsed. "Zhou¡ª!" Roulan darted toward her, unloading suppressing fire. The Ghoul slammed into the floor, rolled, and vanished behind a toppled shelf. Gunfire sparked along the crates as it moved. Tang Wei dropped to one knee and fired two more shots into the shadows. Chunks of meat sprayed¡ªbut the Ghoul kept shifting, crawling now, vanishing between storage units like a snake. Mu Qinglan rushed to Zhou¡¯s side. Blood stained her hairline, but her eyes were open, blinking, dazed. "She¡¯s alive," Qinglan said. "But out for now." "Yifei," I called. "Flank left. I¡¯ll draw it." I cracked my neck once, raised my gauntlets, and stepped into the aisle. "Come on," I muttered. I could feel it breathing in the dark. Close. Waiting. Smarter now. I moved fast, without hesitation. Blades out. The inner edges of Crushing Moon hissed free, each one sliding from my forearms with a mechanical click-thunk, their obsidian curves pulsing faintly with stored earth Qi. Reinforced and ready to brawl. The Ghoul came out of hiding the moment I stepped clear of the shelves. It didn¡¯t pounce. It walked. Not slowly. Not clumsy. Just... like a man. Its arms hung low, spines twitching behind its back like coiled whips. Its head tilted slightly as it sized me up. And then it charged. I met it halfway. Our bodies collided with the sound of wet meat hitting stone. My left blade caught its shoulder deep enough to slice a tendon¡ªbut it didn¡¯t stop. Its claw raked my ribs, cutting through the side of my coat. As if something exploded inside my stomach, a burning sensation spread through my abdomen. I pivoted on instinct, driving my knee up into its gut and slamming both gauntlets into its chest. Bang-bang! Twin slugs fired point-blank from the chambers beneath my wrists. The impact cracked bone, and the monster staggered, but using its back legs to dig into the ground, it remained still. I followed through, spinning my right arm and burying the blade through its upper bicep. It screamed. Not through its throat. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Through that vertical maw¡ªan echoing, wet howl that made my vision blur for half a second. Behind me, Roulan opened fire, controlled bursts. Bullets tore through its legs as it reeled. Yifei came in low from the right, her spear jabbing under its ribs and yanking back just as fast. Qinglan cut the other side¡ªa rising slash that opened a diagonal wound from hip to shoulder. Tang Wei fired again. A slug shattered part of the creature¡¯s left hand as it tried to swipe at me. I slammed my elbow down into its collarbone. Crack. The bone gave way. The Ghoul dropped to one knee, wheezing through that split chest like a bellows full of acid. I pressed my foot to its sternum and drove it back. The impact threw it across the floor¡ªit skidded, crashed into a metal shelf, and collapsed in a heap. It twitched. Then rose again. Slower now. Parts of it hung wrong. It wasn¡¯t healing like before. Its breath rasped. Its movements were no longer fluid. But its eyes¡ªor whatever watched us through that faceless skull¡ªwere still focused. Still hungry. Still planning. "It¡¯s wearing down," Tang Wei said behind me. "Thank fuck for that..." The Ghoul didn¡¯t move. It crouched low again, arms spread, claws flexing across the blood-slick floor. Its mouth twitched¡ªless like a wound now, more like something learning to shape itself into an expression. Not fear. Not rage. Something else. A long, slow exhale escaped from its ribs. Wet. Laboured. Then it smiled. Not with a face, but with posture and its stillness. As if it knew something we didn¡¯t. The lights overhead flickered again. A few sparks fell. The air grew denser. Not from heat, but presence¡ªlike something old and patient had finally decided to wake up. Mu Qinglan stepped closer to me, blade still at the ready. "Why is it smiling?" she asked. I didn¡¯t answer. Because deep down, I already knew. It wasn¡¯t finished. Not yet. Chapter 165: Eerie Smile Chapter 165: Eerie SmileMarch 21st, 9:18 AM ¡ª Sub-Basement Storage Hall John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª The Ghoul crouched in the blood, still smiling. It wasn¡¯t the twitchy grin of a beast cornered. It was quiet. Steady. Like it had reached the next stage of its design. Its body shifted again, not to attack but for some other purpose. The ribcage flexed outward¡ªonce, twice¡ªlike something was expanding inside it and stretching for more space. Tang Wei took a step forward, shotgun raised. Her voice was tight. "It¡¯s doing something." "Kill it now," I said, already moving. Mu Qinglan struck first, her blade flashing silver-blue under the flickering lights. She cut across its right side, splitting through skin and sinew. At the same time, I drove both blades of Crushing Moon into the opposite side, carving deep. Blood poured¡ªbut something else moved under the surface. A twitch. A bulge. Too late. The Ghoul¡¯s chest convulsed. It inhaled with no lungs. Just a sucking contraction of flesh. A thick black vapour spewed from the open wound¡ªwet and warm, with the weight of rotted meat and acid bile. I inhaled it by reflex. It hit like a body blow. The taste was chemical, like dead plastic and burned sugar. My throat closed up. My lungs burned as if someone poured hot oil inside them, and I stumbled back, coughing violently, vision swimming. Tang Wei fell to one knee behind me, retching into her sleeve. Roulan backed into the wall, eyes squeezed shut, her gun clattering against the floor as she dropped it. Even Shen Yifei pulled away, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, trying to steady her stance. Only Qinglan didn¡¯t move. Her stance was solid¡ªcentred. Blue light flickered faintly around her boots, Qi pooling in her legs to anchor her body. She stepped forward into the miasma like it wasn¡¯t even there and slashed again¡ªone clean stroke that bit deep into the Ghoul¡¯s exposed stomach. Then came the pop. A wet, bursting sound. Muffled. Like a balloon rupturing underwater. The Ghoul¡¯s chest split open further¡ªnot like a wound, but like something giving birth. Mutated crawlers plopped out. Small at first. Pale, boneless things. Misshapen limbs. Twitching, eyeless heads. They fell onto the floor in a wet, slapping cascade¡ªlimbs folding beneath them, some dragging uselessly. Then they moved. Crawling. Snapping. Dozens of them. "Oh fuck¡ª" Tang Wei shouted hoarsely. She fired into the nearest cluster. The buckshot blasted a wave of half-born monsters into shredded meat¡ªbut more kept coming, skittering over the bodies of the dead. Zhou Xue, barely upright, notched an arrow and loosed it into one of the crawler¡¯s gaping mouths, pinning it to the concrete with a wet thud. The Ghoul watched it all. Standing in the centre, unmoving, blood running down its body in thick streams. Still waiting with an eerie smile. The floor writhed. Crawlers rolled off the Ghoul¡¯s body in waves, each of them half-formed¡ªgrey-skinned, hunched, their limbs long and bent in the wrong places. Some didn¡¯t even have proper jaws¡ªjust splitting cartilage where teeth should have been. Others were fused in places, stuck to each other like malformed twins. But they moved. And they were fast. "Keep them off the walls!" I shouted. "Don¡¯t let them surround us!" Roulan grabbed her Type-9k and fired short, controlled bursts into the tide. Three crawlers dropped, headless. Two more climbed over their bodies, shrieking without sound. Mu Qinglan stepped beside her, sword flicking left and right in brutal, efficient arcs. Each cut split flesh, bone, and meat. I charged forward, fists raised. Crushing Moon fired mid-step¡ªbang, bang¡ªsending slugs into the swarm¡¯s front line. Limbs exploded, torsos crumpled. I drove through the gap, kicking aside a twitching crawler that tried to latch onto my leg. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Behind me, Tang Wei was on one knee, reloading with one hand and firing with the other. The shells ripped through another line, spraying black fluid across the tiles. Zhou Xue was on her second quiver, arrow after arrow punching into skulls with near-mechanical precision. Shen Yifei spun her spear in tight sweeps, clearing space. Blood soaked her arms, and a deep scratch ran down her side, but she didn¡¯t stop. Still, they kept coming. They weren¡¯t coordinated. Just endless. And the Ghoul¡ªstill bleeding, its body twitching¡ªhadn¡¯t moved an inch. It was letting them fight for it. I slammed a crawler against the wall, crushing its spine beneath my gauntlet. The impact left a black smear, but two more came from under the shelf. We couldn¡¯t hold this forever. I turned to Tang Wei. "Flashbang! Left side!" She didn¡¯t hesitate. The canister arced into the crowd and popped¡ªwhite heat and thunder. The Crawlers recoiled, spasming. I used the gap. My blades tore a path through the dazed cluster. I could feel the strain building in my arms, the drag of Crushing Moon growing heavier with each pulse of Qi. But I kept pushing. Every blow mattered. Every meter we took back mattered more. I didn¡¯t feel the weight anymore. Not really. The gauntlets felt like extensions of my will¡ªblunt, brutal, and hungry. Every step forward slammed another body to the ground. The Crawlers were slowing. Weakening. Then I saw it. The Ghoul had stepped forward. Not running. Just walking. Each footfall is deliberate. Confident. It stepped over its spawn like they were garbage, like they didn¡¯t matter. Its body still bled from a dozen wounds. Its arm hung at the wrong angle, broken, dangling. But the wound across its chest had stopped leaking. The vertical maw had closed, stitched itself partially shut with black sinew. Not healed. Just rearmed. It raised its one good arm and pointed. At me. No words. Just that motion. The others were ready. "Now," I said. Tang Wei raised her shotgun. Roulan raised her SMG. Zhou Xue knocked two arrows. Yifei and Qinglan moved with me, one on each flank. I sprinted straight at it. So did the others. The Ghoul didn¡¯t flinch. I hit it first. Crushing Moon slammed into its chest with a shotgun burst¡ªpoint-blank. The force sent it staggering. Qinglan¡¯s sword came down across its left side, slicing clean through its remaining arm. The limb hit the floor with a dull thud. Then Yifei¡¯s spear pierced through its knee, twisting hard. The joint snapped sideways, and it dropped half a meter into a knee. Tang Wei fired. One slug. Straight into the side of its head. The impact ripped away part of the skull, but it kept moving. Roulan followed up, full-auto burst, bullets ripping into the creature¡¯s core. I saw the change. Its chest didn¡¯t close this time. It couldn¡¯t. It tried to stand, but Yifei shoved her spear down again, and Zhou Xue¡¯s double-shot hit it through the throat. Then Qinglan moved past me¡ªno words, just presence. The Endless Night flickered once. Twice. Three times. Each swing was precise. Controlled. Beautiful. The third strike split the Ghoul clean down the centre, from the top of its head to its sternum. Its maw, already half-healed, tore fully open again, flaps of meat and bone falling apart in slow motion. It dropped. Black ichor oozed across the floor, steaming and still. [Stage 3 Ghoul Eliminated ¡ª Aberrant Variant][ZKP Gained: 3000] [Titan Marrow Sutra¡ªStage 2: 35% -> 62%] [Mu Qinglan¡¯s Swordsmanship Levelled Up!] [Shen Yifei¡¯s Spear Mastery Levelled Up!] It didn¡¯t twitch. Didn¡¯t scream. Just... died. The silence after was deep. Thick. We stood there for a moment, weapons still raised, breath still held. Then Tang Wei muttered, "Is it over?" I looked down at the monster that caused us so much trouble. And for the first time in hours, I nodded with a sense of peace, falling to my ass and dropping onto the ground, even with the sticky blood... I was exhausted, so damn tired and everything felt so tiresome. "Yeah." It was dead. Finally... I watched quietly as Zhou Xue slumped against the wall, her bow lowered, sweat streaking her face. Tang Wei sat down hard beside a crate and exhaled slowly, shoulders trembling. Yifei retrieved her spear in silence. Qinglan stood motionless beside the corpse, the tip of The Endless Night still dripping. Roulan stepped past me and stared at the thing¡¯s ruined body, then looked back at me. "You sure it¡¯s dead?" I turned to look at Roulan and shrugged. "I¡¯m sure." Mu Qinglan sheathed her sword and snapped. "Then let¡¯s get out of here." I didn¡¯t argue; we finished them all, and so my quick break ended, and I climbed up, with help from Tang Wei, who grinned at me bitterly. But even as we turned to leave, I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the way it had smiled. Like it had seen something coming. Like it hadn¡¯t been afraid of dying. Just... waiting. Chapter 166: Gathering Supplies Chapter 166: Gathering SuppliesMarch 21st, 1:18 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall - Main Hall John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª Not long after we killed the last Ghoul, Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei left with the students and leaving me Jiang Roulan, Zhou Xue and Liang Mei behind. The plan was to search for any lingering zombies so that we could gather supplies and head back to base without issue. "Don¡¯t you want to join them?" Jiang Roulan always asked me the right questions... but finally, she stopped avoiding me due to what happened in the shower. We sat on some benches in the main hall. I spent almost an hour dismantling and gathering items from the basement. "Yeah..." Honestly, I was tired after spending the past two days fighting, stressed and on guard. My eyes scanned the holographic map and saw that Qinglan and the others were killing the last of the few zombies, granting me some nice rewards. [Mu Qinglan Killed a Crawler] [10 EXP | 20 ZKP] "I¡¯m so tired." Though it was a little pathetic of me to complain, the only people who wouldn¡¯t mind and pamper me were in the room with me. It was quite delightful, on one side a mature beauty like Roulan, on the other a young and fluffy sheep like Liang Mei. [Deng Hua Killed a Crawler] [10 EXP | 20 ZKP] The numbers kept growing, adding to my current growth and wealth. There was a need to empower the people who fought beside me, because the zombies were evolving and growing stronger each day. "Are you alright, J-John?" Liang Mei¡¯s cute voice came from my side, her little hands pulling on my bloody and torn shirt, her eyes filled with concern. In fact, everyone was worried... I rely on my Titan¡¯s Marrow too much. However, there was something more important right now. Zhou Xue approached from a small shop to the west, brushing plaster dust from her sleeves. Her boots were scuffed, and the left strap of her quiver had nearly torn free. She stopped a meter away and folded her arms. "Xue! Did you find anything?" Liang Mei hummed to her best friend while Zhou Xue huffed and gave a thumbs up, showing a packet of premium candy shaped like ice cream cones and chocolate mushrooms. "Ah!?" She tossed them to Liang Mei while placing her hands on her hips. "You look like hell," she said. I gave her a tired smile. "You should see the other guy." She didn¡¯t smile back. Just tilted her head. "You called me back here for a reason?" I stood slowly, stretching my back. My shoulder cracked. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Yeah," I said, flicking open the system menu. The interface responded instantly¡ªXue¡¯s name now glowed pale blue under the recruitment panel. Eligible. "You look good in that outfit." Zhou Xue pulled away and covered the ice cream candies. "I¡¯m not giving you any..." "Damn!" I chuckled, though I didn¡¯t mind... Deng Hua, Chen Xun and Liang Qiu all worked hard¡ªdespite being C-Tier, they always tried their best. I planned to upgrade them to at least A-Tier. "Will you keep fighting with me, Liang Mei, Zhou Xue?" The pair seemed shocked at my question, both mid-popping the packets of their sweets, while shifting their gaze to me. "Do you really want me, or just Xue?" Liang Mei¡¯s voice lowered. "Honestly, I made you a promise..." I reached out and tapped Liang Mei¡¯s cheek before whispering in her ear. "I have two more injections for you." "Ack!?" Liang Mei bounced and turned bright red, almost losing her chocolate mushrooms as she did. "Stop teasing her, John..." Jiang Roulan¡¯s voice sounded soft, but her eyes were scary! "I¡¯m not, both of you are experienced and skilled archers, I am sure you can do well with even better equipment and help... I am sure you¡¯ve noticed the difference between me, Roulan, Qinglan and yourself... right?" "Y-Yeah..." I noticed the change in Zhou Xue instantly, but Liang Mei continued smiling at me, even though she saw it seemed the two were different in their reactions. "Can... Can we become that strong?" It might have been the first time that I noticed Zhou Xue looking at me with such a powerful and determined gaze. "You can." Her gaze lowered briefly, thoughtful. "You sure?" "Yes." "...Then I¡¯m in." Jiang Roulan¡¯s gaze on Zhou Xue seemed to transform. Her lips parted, but she didn¡¯t speak, though I wondered if she might have an issue. Tension seemed to build when multiple women gathered... "Well then, welcome to the team." "What about¡ª" She paused and looked at Liang Mei. "Don¡¯t worry, I plan to help you all grow stronger, so we don¡¯t lose anyone else." I cut in before she could finish, knowing that Zhou Xue cared about her club members. There was no need to hold back anymore, and so I accepted her recruitment and purchased enough of the Elixirs for her to take for each attribute. [Zhou Xue Recruited (S-Tier)] + Zhou Xue¡¯s attributes are now visible. + 100 Experience. + Archery [Level 1] + Random Skill Charisma [Level 1] She exhaled through her nose. "Guess I¡¯ll stop wondering if I was just temporary." "You were always useful," I said. "Now you¡¯re just official." Roulan leaned closer to me, one arm draped across the back of the bench like she belonged there. "You sure you didn¡¯t just want another cute girl to follow you around?" I gave her a look. Then took the bottles out and handed them to her. "These are something that will make you stronger, faster and better." "Hmm... do I just drink them?" Zhou Xue turned the bottles in her hands, the light catching the coloured glass¡ªred, gold, silver, and indigo. Each shimmered faintly, like something alive stirred inside. She eyed me. "You¡¯re giving me all four?" "You earned them," I said. "I want you strong enough not to need saving." Her expression didn¡¯t change, but the faint crease between her brows softened. She uncorked the red one first. The Strength Elixir. Fiery red. It caught the light like liquid glass. She sniffed. "Cinnamon and... pepper?" "Smoked ghost pepper. It¡¯ll hit hard." She drank without hesitation. The reaction was immediate. Her jaw clenched. Shoulders locked. "Shit. That¡¯s¡ªhot." I smirked. "That means it¡¯s working." "Feels like someone set my chest on fire." "Now try moving your fingers." She did. The surprise hit her second. "They feel... lighter. Stronger." "You¡¯ll notice the rest later." One by one, she drank the others¡ªsilver first, then gold, and finally indigo. Each one was ridiculous in its own way. The silver vial made her blink twice and flex her legs. "That¡¯s like drinking cold lightning." The gold made her lean back slightly, her lips parting. "It¡¯s sweet... but heavy. Feels like it¡¯s soaking into my bones." And the indigo... She went still. Quiet. "...This one¡¯s strange." "Chocolate and anise," I said. "No. Not the taste." She opened her eyes slowly. "Everything¡¯s slower now. Clearer." She exhaled. "So that¡¯s what it¡¯s like." "You good?" I asked. "I¡¯m better." Both Liang Mei and Jiang Roulan knew what those elixirs were, and they¡¯d both drank them a while ago. "Well, we should start looking for anything useful for the base, right?" Jiang Roulan and Liang Mei nodded, but seemed a little upset. The others were still fighting and increasing my ZKP like useful worker ants. In the corner of my eye, I noticed something strange... Zhou Xue¡¯s role was already chosen, and the elixirs made her quite strong for a stage one. [STATUS] Name: Zhou Xue Role: Ranger Affection: 172/500 Stage: 1 Health: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100%(calm) Morale: [¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ] 100% Strength | 1.4 Physique | 1.5 Agility | 1.9 Spirit | 2.3 [SKILLS] Archery [Level 6] Shooting [Level 2] Leadership [Level 3] Charisma [Level 2] Business Management [Level 2] Self Defence [Level 4] Painting [Level 2] Driving [Level 1] Edging [Level 6] Tracking [Level 1] Eagle Eye [Level 1] ¡ª¡ª Tracking [Level 1]Allows the user to identify and follow faint trails left by enemies.¡ú +15% success rate when locating recent tracks or signs of movement.¡ú Reduces the time required to detect hidden or fleeing enemies. Eagle Eye [Level 1]Improves vision and detail perception at long range.¡ú +10% accuracy for attacks beyond 20 meters.¡ú Slight zoom enhancement during aim reduces environmental visual blur. ¡ª¡ª As for her skills, I wish I could have taken them, but these seem to have come after I chose. I learned something new. I could only copy their initial skills before choosing a role. But Zhou Xue would grow faster now and help me in the future. That was enough. Chapter 167: After the Hunt, Before the Storm — Part 1 Chapter 167: After the Hunt, Before the Storm ¡ª Part 1March 21st, 1:42 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall, Upper Retail Sector John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª The mall felt different now. Not quiet or peaceful. Just... less tense. The kind of calm that comes after a battle, when the blood¡¯s still drying and the air hasn¡¯t moved yet. We¡¯d killed the Ghouls. Cleared out most of the Crawlers. For now, there were no alarms, no red dots blinking on my system map¡ªjust grey. Static. Zhou Xue moved ahead with quiet precision, her steps sure, shoulders relaxed. The four elixirs had kicked in¡ªher balance was tighter, breath quieter. Her bow moved with her like it belonged on her back. I walked beside Roulan while Liang Mei moved along the other side, occasionally drifting toward Zhou Xue. "Upper sector¡¯s clear so far," Roulan said, checking her Type-9k¡¯s chamber. "Two dead Crawlers by the jewellery counter. They¡¯ve been dead a while. Looks like Qinglan passed through here earlier." We were heading north, toward the old electronics chain near the cinema wing. One of the few places that hadn¡¯t been looted to the foundation. I remembered passing through it in the past before I was fighting zombies and leading a group. "Stay sharp." Although the system couldn¡¯t identify any dangers... I had to keep sharp. Old caution didn¡¯t go away just because the map was clean. It lingered like smoke. Zhou Xue pointed to a side hallway. "Let¡¯s try down here. Signage says staff lockers. Might be tools or chargers inside." Liang Mei nodded. "Maybe snacks too." "You only just ate." Her eyes sparkled. "I said maybe." I let them chatter. It was strange how normal it sounded now, like students whispering between classes. Not survivors in a warzone. We entered the corridor together. The tiles here were cleaner, probably because the area had remained sealed until yesterday¡¯s fighting shook half the place loose. Sunlight filtered through the cracked ceiling. Dust caught in the beams like glitter. Zhou Xue stopped beside a shuttered storefront. "Security lock¡¯s bust," she said. "I can pry it open." "No need..." I gripped the lock and yanked it, causing the rusted metal to crack and break like a piece of glass dropping to the floor with a thud. "See?" Old locker room. Empty shelves. A few scattered staff uniforms. Most of the lockers were already broken open, but a few still held sealed kits¡ªemergency rations, chocolate bars, flashlights, ID tags. Roulan picked up a dusty thermos. "This place feels untouched." Liang Mei found a charger dock for handheld radios, phones and other devices. "Well, it should help." Zhou Xue tossed me a full bottle of electrolyte and water. I caught it and smiled. "Not bad." Sometimes, survival wasn¡¯t about killing monsters. Sometimes, it was just about small wins. ¡ª¡ª It was strange how much was left intact. Not untouched¡ªjust forgotten. We moved past a frozen yoghurt stall and a makeshift massage kiosk through the employee-only corridor. Liang Mei found the entrance to a chilled storeroom and pushed it open with her shoulder. The air that greeted us was dry, cold, and stale. But not rotten. That was rare. Inside, rows of metal shelves held sealed boxes, some collapsed, others still banded with brittle plastic wrap. One was marked Health & Personal Use. Another had March Shipment half-faded across the top. "Jackpot," Zhou Xue muttered. She was right. It wasn¡¯t just emergency rations. Cans of beans. Sliced fruit. Compressed sweetbread. Tinned fish. Some were dated next year, others with months left. More importantly, female hygiene packs. Basic meds. Water-purifying tablets. Antibiotic sprays. Half the group gravitated toward the sweets aisle. Liang Mei found a tin of caramel hard candy, popped one in her mouth and nearly moaned. Zhou Xue raised an eyebrow. "Control yourself." "It¡¯s good..." I didn¡¯t stop them. Even if I could spawn half this from my system store, they didn¡¯t know that. And frankly, this was better. It felt genuine, like the reward for us clearing the mall... but I still couldn¡¯t forget the amount of corpses and bones in the basement. How many survivors died here? Plus, if this food hadn¡¯t rotted? Then it was better to use it for a greater good, right? I glanced up at the ceiling. The air was colder here with sealed vents with mesh, no sign of leakage or mould. There were small solar panels still fixed outside the corner skylight¡ªthe emergency backup system was probably still trickling power into the isolated freezers. Zhou Xue pulled out a pack of flatbread and turned it over. "Still sealed." Roulan examined a crate of tampons and birth control packets without a word. Her expression was unreadable. Liang Mei hummed, cheeks puffed with sugar. "We could live off this stuff for weeks." "We¡¯re not taking all of it," I said. "Just what we can carry. Prioritise long-term shelf stability. Protein, carbs, water aids, and medicine." "What about flavour?" she mumbled, stuffing another candy into her cheek. Zhou Xue opened a satchel and began sorting. "He¡¯s right. This stuff might be fresh now, but it won¡¯t last. Don¡¯t be greedy." "No, I was wrong... if you can fit it into the extra bag, then you can keep it." I realised that being too stingy was stupid. Why should we hold back? Others would have died before even coming here. The girls worked smoothly, like this wasn¡¯t their first supply run. I leaned back against a wall and watched them. Roulan caught my gaze, then smiled slightly. "You look like a proud father." "Don¡¯t ruin it." She chuckled and tossed a bottle of heated lube at me and winked. Sometimes, it was easy to forget the world was broken. My comm crackled to life with a faint burst of static. "John?" Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice came through, calm but slightly breathless. "We¡¯ve swept the upper levels. No more movement. Just a few Crawlers in the emergency stairwell, but the others handled it." S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I tapped the side of my earpiece. "Everyone alright?" "We¡¯re in one piece. Packs are full. Standing by on the rooftop now." "Copy. We¡¯re en route." She didn¡¯t reply immediately. Then: "You¡¯ll want to see the view. Clear skies today." I smiled faintly. "We¡¯re coming." I turned to the others. Zhou Xue finished cinching her pack, one of the heavier-duty types from a staff locker. Full to the brim. Roulan had looped several medical bags over her shoulder and was tucking a flashlight into her belt. Liang Mei waddled slightly under the weight of two plastic bins stuffed with tins and snacks, her cheeks puffed with effort. "We good?" I asked. "We¡¯re good," Zhou Xue answered, pulling her hair back into a tight ponytail. The walk to the rooftop access stairwell wasn¡¯t long, but we moved slowly. No urgency. No need. Our boots echoed against the concrete steps, mingled with the soft clink of metal canisters and crinkling food packs. At one point, Roulan reached out to steady Liang Mei, who nearly tripped on her enthusiasm. "I¡¯m fine!" she whispered. "Just... not used to carrying so much." "That¡¯s because you packed every sweet you could find." "I have priorities." Roulan smiled, but her fingers never strayed far from her weapon. Even now, she didn¡¯t relax completely. And neither did I. At the final landing, we paused. Sunlight spilt in from the open hatch above. Clear blue sky. Warm breeze. Mu Qinglan waited for me near the door, her dark outfit rustling lightly as wind tugged at the hem of her coat. Shen Yifei crouched beside a small pile of salvaged supplies, checking for damage. The students¡ªDeng Hua, Chen Xun, Liang Qiu¡ªwere resting, seated in a loose circle near the ventilation tower. They all looked exhausted, barely keeping themselves awake after the past two days... I couldn¡¯t blame them. I stepped out onto the roof and let the sun hit my face. It felt amazing. The warmth enveloping me and the light helping my eyes to relax, though it hurt for a moment, and after a few seconds, I was alright. No blood. No screaming. Just the low hum of wind, and the soft voices of my people. It felt almost... safe. Mu Qinglan sat on the edge, her hair blowing in the wind. She looked almost like a fairy from another world, but the moment I was about to call out, something echoed in my mind and everything shattered. . . . [Danger!] [Stage 2 Horde Detected] [Parasite-Type Mutation Detected ¡ª Stage 3 Confirmed] [Stage 3 Ghoul | Awakened | Type: Parasite Caster] [Subject: Zao!] Chapter 168: After the Hunt, Before the Storm — Part 2 Chapter 168: After the Hunt, Before the Storm ¡ª Part 2March 21st, 2:54 PM ¡ª Longwan Mall Rooftop John Wang POV ¡ª S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I didn¡¯t hear the alert. I felt it. A weight settling in the air. Like every breath took longer. Like the rooftop suddenly tilted underfoot, pulling my thoughts in one direction and refusing to let go. Mu Qinglan turned toward me, sensing the shift. Her eyes locked on mine. "What is it?" I didn¡¯t answer right away. My system window glowed against my retina, text forming quietly, as if afraid of being seen. I scanned it, my jaw tightening with each line. Not a Ghoul. A horde. And not just random shamblers or Crawlers. Stage 2 variants. Clustered. Moving in waves. And something worse was guiding them. I closed the window. "Everyone," I said, voice low. "Get over here. Now." The others stirred slowly¡ªYifei stood first, followed by Roulan, then Chen Xun and Liang Qiu. Zhou Xue stepped away from the edge. Even Deng Hua sat up straighter, eyebrows furrowing. When they reached me, I tapped the side of my neckpiece. The mall¡¯s crude rooftop terminal synced up with the group comms¡ªQinglan¡¯s, Yifei¡¯s, and Tang Wei¡¯s. I projected the regional map. It took them a moment to see it. Then I heard Liang Mei gasp. The red zone expanded in a bloom of moving heat signatures, like veins spreading from a core. The outer edge pulsed erratically, but the centre moved with purpose. Roulan blinked slowly. "That¡¯s..." I nodded. "Thousands. At least." Chen Xun swallowed hard, visibly paling. Deng Hua took a step back. "Is that¡ªcoming here?" "Yes." Tang Wei didn¡¯t flinch. "Can we defend?" "No. Not here. Not now." I paused. "And not even with all of us at base." A long silence followed. Not disbelief. Just fear. It crept up slowly¡ªthe kind that dried your mouth and made your arms feel heavy. Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice was quiet. "Then what?" "We move," I said. "Southwest. Circle wide. It¡¯s going to take time, but if we push now, we avoid the worst of it." Her lips pressed together. She didn¡¯t speak. But Jiang Roulan did. Her tone was lighter than expected. "That path... it leads through Fengye District." I glanced at her. She met my eyes. "My family¡¯s safe house is there." Yes, this was also part of my plan, because Jiang Roulan asked me for this when we started getting along. After the thing in the shower, I believed that taking action would be the only fair way to progress. I liked her, but also wanted to respect her. When our eyes met, she lingered for a moment before her cheeks turned red and she turned away with a faint smile on her lips. It seemed Roulan also understood. "How long until they reach the base?" Liang Mei¡¯s voice shook with each word because she wasn¡¯t fully recovered, which made her sound like a scared rabbit. "Less than an hour, but their speed types are only a few minutes away, over ten are lingering around the area." "Wait!" Tang Wei shouted, rushing up to me, before she grabbed my shirt and pushed me against the brick wall with a thud. Her eyes were sharp, wet and teary while her hand trembled with rage. "What about my mother, and her insulin!?" Ah... I understood her worried look now. At first, I was going to hit her for stepping out of line. Now it made sense. "You don¡¯t need to worry, I left enough for a year in the medicine station with our new doctor before we left for this mission." "E-Eh..." "You did?" Tang Wei looked confused, before I shrugged and curled my lips into a smile, trying to disarm the situation. "If anything happened, I knew you might worry, so I made sure to have it in stock to avoid any har¡ª" "Mmmnph!?" Her lips tasted warm and bitter like coffee milk as she kissed me. It was strange... Her lips forced mine open as her tongue pushed into my mouth, swishing around several times, before sliding her head back with a wet slurp. God, she is hot. Tang Wei used her thumb to brush the drool from her lips. "T-Thank you, that was... a sign of my appreciation." Tang Wei stepped back, coughing once into her fist, eyes deliberately avoiding mine. "I didn¡¯t mean¡ªjust shut up." I grinned. "I didn¡¯t say anything." Liang Mei looked like her soul had just fled her body. Zhou Xue stood dead still, lips parted like she was deciding whether to pretend nothing happened or write it down. Roulan? She just smirked. That scary, knowing smirk. Even Yifei had raised an eyebrow. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t say anything because she looked at Tang Wei and then nodded, seeming to understand it wasn¡¯t anything but a thank you. Though I didn¡¯t know why Zhou Xue acted so strangely, I could only shake my head and enjoy the lingering taste of Tang Wei¡¯s tongue. She stared off toward the west, where the skyline dipped and rooftops blurred into smoke and haze. I followed her gaze. That was the direction we¡¯d take. Away from the mall. Away from our home. But not away from purpose. I tapped the comm again, this time accessing the secure frequency to base. "Old Zhou," I said, "You there?" A faint click, then his voice crackled through, rough and tired. "You¡¯re alive?" "Barely. And we¡¯re not coming back right now." Pause. "...what happened?" "There¡¯s a horde coming. Stage 2s. Thousands and there¡¯s a damn powerful guy leading them." "You can¡¯t fight that." "I know. That¡¯s why you¡¯re in charge of the base while we¡¯re gone." Another pause. Then: "Understood. Everything¡¯s sealed. We¡¯ve reinforced the gates with tungsten bars, and the outer wall is stable. We can hold." I nodded to myself. "Good." "You want me to prep evacuation protocols?" "No. You¡¯re safer there than anywhere else." He exhaled. "Take care of the kids." "I will." "How about you drink some of that good luck whiskey for me, Old Zhou. When I get back, let me bring you something good. Also, there¡¯s a storage box on the ninth floor, it should have emergency rations and food if the stuff downstairs runs out." "Is Xue¡¯er okay?" "She¡¯s amazing, you can talk to her, you know?" "Ah... you know how it is... what should I say?" "Haha... just tell her you miss her, and will wait for her to come back." "..." "Anyway, make sure to visit the rooftop and feed Yin and his wife from time to time." I wanted to give more orders, but the horde of undead didn¡¯t need to sleep and would arrive in minutes if we lingered here too long. There was also a chance Zao was looking for me. The line was silent for a moment, before his hoarse and old voice sounded one last time. "Kid... be careful." "I¡¯ll be waiting for you to come back in one piece." The comms shut down with a faint beep. When I looked back at the others, most of them had sat down again¡ªsome staring at the rooftop gravel, some at the sky. Chen Xun was whispering to Deng Hua. Liang Qiu had her head down, arms wrapped around her knees. "They¡¯re scared," Roulan said. "They should be," I replied. "But you¡¯re not." I gave her a look. "You¡¯re calm," she said. "Even with all that." "I have to be." "But it¡¯s easier for me because I have you, Lan¡¯er." "Eh?" The moment I complimented her, Mu Qinglan¡¯s face turned bright red, and she turned away and hurried towards the emergency stairs. "Come on... let¡¯s go!" We weren¡¯t strong enough to fight Zao. But we didn¡¯t have to be¡ªnot yet. We just had to survive. And make it somewhere safe. Mu Qinglan finally turned around. She wasn¡¯t angry anymore. Just quiet. "You really can¡¯t kill him?" she asked. "Not today." She looked at the group. At the bags. At the exhausted faces. Then she nodded. But my goal was not secured. I would focus on my strength first¡ªonce I could defeat Zao, then we would return. After I calculated how much I would gain from drinking the elixirs, and prepared to drink them when we found somewhere to rest for the night. "We are about to leave, so stretch finish eating and take a piss, because from this point on until we find a place to stay... we¡¯re homeless." Zhou Xue rose to her feet. "Understood." Liang Mei wiped her face and gave a nod. Even Chen and Deng, shaken as they were, stood with that same resolve. No one ran. No one complained. They all waited for my signal. And I wouldn¡¯t fail them. Chapter 169: A New Direction Chapter 169: A New DirectionMarch 21st, 3:18 PM ¡ª Outskirts of Longwan Mall, South Sector Streets John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª We moved quietly. Boots against concrete. No chatter. Just the shuffle of packs and the occasional creak of gear straps. South of the mall, the air felt fresh. Cleaner. Sharper. Like the wind could move again, now that the Ghouls were dead. But I didn¡¯t trust it. Calm wasn¡¯t safety. Silence wasn¡¯t peace. Ahead, the high-class district rose like another world¡ªgated roads, elegant signage, private driveways with stone lions still standing guard. This was where the rich lived. Or died. Most homes were sealed shut. A few had signs of looting¡ªbroken glass, scorched walls, rotten drapes fluttering through shattered windows. But others looked untouched. Too untouched. Like something had kept scavengers away. "There," Zhou Xue pointed toward a low-rise apartment block behind a vine-covered gate. "That looks sturdy." I nodded. "Worth checking." It wasn¡¯t ideal. Too exposed. But we needed something. Somewhere with space, no open vents, and strong enough walls to hold for a night. Ten of us couldn¡¯t cram into a single flat or bunkhouse without stepping on each other¡¯s throats. Mu Qinglan moved beside me, her eyes scanning the rooftops. "No movement. No scent either." Good. That meant no immediate threats. Roulan and Tang Wei took the left. Chen and Deng covered the rear, keeping an arrow nocked and an SMG raised. Yifei remained silent at the edge, watching from the shadows with her spear lowered. We moved house to house, street by street¡ªsearching, sweeping, choosing our direction by terrain and instinct. One mansion had too many windows. Another had a broken fence. A third had blood on the walls. The fourth looked promising. Gated, with solar lights still hanging intact, two floors, a garage, and only one side entrance. "Here?" Liang Mei asked, panting slightly under her load. I nodded. "Let¡¯s check it." I moved first, over the gate, through the hedge. Zhou Xue followed behind, then Roulan. The property was big. Private. Thick trees fenced in the sides like an overgrown curtain. The yard had collapsed in patches¡ªgrass overrun by weeds, paving stones cracked and crooked. But the air was clean. No blood. No bodies. That was rare. "Clear front," I said. Tang Wei led the group behind me, her eyes struggling to meet mine after the kiss. Zhou Xue crouched beside a rusted garden lamp. Her bow flicked left, right¡ªsmooth, quick. Liang Mei and Deng Hua slipped through next, then Chen Xun and Liang Qiu. Qinglan and Yifei came last, silent shadows behind us. We¡¯d hit three properties before this¡ªone burnt out, one filled with rot, one torn apart by something that had chewed its way through the walls. But this one was intact. Not untouched. Just unbothered. The building was tall¡ªtwo floors, balcony, windows reinforced with roll-down shutters. Solar panels lined the roof, and a small satellite dish still blinked red. Maybe old security systems. Maybe working. Hard to tell. Roulan tried the door. Locked. "Window?" I asked. "Basement entry might be easier." Qinglan pointed around the west side, past the empty pool and into a patio stairwell. We moved quickly. No words. Just signals. Roulan covered the hallway while I forced the basement hatch open. Hinges screamed. Inside, nothing moved¡ªjust dust and the dry smell of old storage. We filed in and swept the rooms. Bunkered pantry. Cold wine rack. Furnace dead. We checked the upper floors room by room. Six total. No infection. No signs of a fight. Just silence. "This¡¯ll do," I muttered. What surprised me was how the group started to evolve, improve and learn... with Zhou Xue¡¯s ranger class, she helped scout zombies along the way, and now she could help protect us from danger much easier. I planned to purchase the Eagle Eye and her tracking skills for all my women. Yifei and the others started covering vents, boarding up the windows and doors, leaving an escape route for us and nobody else. Mu Qinglan and Jiang Roulan vanished, but from the noise it seemed they were preparing our rooms and where everyone would sleep. We couldn¡¯t keep sharing one room... Yifei nodded once. "Doors and vents are all sealable." Tang Wei tapped the generator tucked behind a cabinet wall. "Low fuel." "Enough for a night?" "Maybe." "I see, good work." "Ah..." Embarrassed, she left the room, while I examined the generator and what fuel it used.. [Purchase Request] Generator Fuel - 1L S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. MREs x 10 Water x 10 [Cost] 1500 ZKP "This should do?" The moment I paid the price, a red canister like one you might find in any garden or survival game, filled with the smelly petrol or gas, honestly I wasn¡¯t that knowledgeable but still I poured it all into the generator and the needle increased to just past halfway. "Good!" Tang Wei was the one who advised me that the electric grid might not last much longer, because we weren¡¯t at the base it never even crossed my mind. Water Electricity Food These were things more important than guns or gold right now. The others started unpacking. Sleeping gear. Rations. Zhou Xue stripped her boots and sat with her legs crossed by the window, watching the dark street. Deng Hua found a water tank in the laundry room. Still flowing, slow and cloudy, but usable. It wouldn¡¯t last forever. But for now? It was safe. We¡¯d made it through the week. And this time, the roof wasn¡¯t falling. The sky turned copper, the kind of glow that made even ruined cities look golden. We were still in the main room¡ªliving area, wide windows, sectional couch half-split down the middle but soft enough to sit on. Everyone was spread out. Resting. Talking in small groups. Bandaging light scrapes. Sorting gear. Zhou Xue dozed with her back to the wall and her bow across her lap. Liang Mei sat nearby, arms wrapped around her knees. Every few minutes, she¡¯d glance at me, then pretend she wasn¡¯t. She was always easy to read. That was part of her charm. Roulan swept through the kitchen, inventorying canned goods and condiments. Her sleeves were rolled up. She didn¡¯t ask me for help¡ªjust moved like the house was already hers. Yifei leaned against the wall near the front door, wiping her spear with slow, deliberate strokes. Her expression hadn¡¯t changed since we left the mall. Calm. Neutral. Watching. I¡¯d brought out more fuel earlier¡ªtwelve litres just to be safe. We¡¯d be able to power everything from the fridge, the lights, and the purifier if anything went wrong. Well, I bought a special canister that could hold up to twelve litres of fuel, roughly two and a half gallons. So if it needed filling, it wouldn¡¯t matter. That alone made this place feel like a miracle. "Hey," Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice called from the hallway. She stepped out barefoot, her coat off, wearing just a snug black top and loose pants cut at the thigh. Her hair was damp¡ªsomeone had found a working tap. "I set up sleeping arrangements," she said, eyes flicking between me and Yifei. "One room for the male students, another for the females and one for the rest of us." I raised a brow. "You mean the adults?" She smirked faintly. "I mean the ones who might enjoy some nightly activities." Roulan snorted from the kitchen. "Power might be cut soon," Tang Wei said, stepping down from the upstairs hall. "Lights are starting to flicker, and the grid¡¯s been failing across the city for days." That meant the blackout was coming. And with it, darkness. Real darkness. Not flickering hallway bulbs or shaded stairwells¡ªbut black, pressing silence. No hums. No buzz. Just breath, heartbeat, the creak of settling foundations. I stood and stepped over to the main breaker box. [System Store Opened] I bought a portable lantern, two long-life candles per person, and boxes of matches. I passed the lantern to Zhou Xue and gave the rest to Roulan and Yifei. The last candles and a lighter I kept for myself. "Everyone I know, it feels scary to be sleeping in the wild... but we have to survive this, please understand." "No problem, boss." "It¡¯s fine, but... the meals suck!" Deng Hua and Chen Xun headed to their room, while amusingly, Liang Qui joined them... it made me wonder if she planned to seduce one of them. In the other room, Jiang Roulan, Zhou Xue, Liang Mei and... well... that¡¯s who would be sleeping there and in the final, largest room. It was mine! Hahaha, a comfortable bed to myself.... At least I thought. Until in the dead of night, Mu Qinglan entered my room, without knocking, followed by a blonde maid. Chapter 170: I Want All of You [R18] Chapter 170: I Want All of You [R18]I thought I¡¯d get the room to myself. One night with a bed, a door, and silence. No blood, no growls, no sirens. But then Mu Qinglan slipped in without knocking, her black hair damp from the shower, her chest stretching the limits of a tight tank top. Her thighs caught the lantern light as she stepped in barefoot, no hesitation or shame. And behind her? Yifei. That bratty blonde followed in with a scowl, her cheeks already pink, muttering something about not wanting to sleep with the others because they snore. She wore her usual clothes, a simple night gown with ribbons. Her skin glowed in the light, smooth and pale. Bare legs and her blonde fur flashed each time she moved. They didn¡¯t say a word to me at first... just looked at me in the darkness. Qinglan came close and sat beside me, looking down at me, her lips glossy and wet. Yifei, on the other hand, came to the other side, a little less aggressive, holding the tips of her long twintails and inching closer. ¡¯What do they want...¡¯ Tonight, I wanted to give them a good rest and hold myself back. I exhaled with a sharp breath through my nose and sat up, rubbing the back of my neck, curling my lips into a bitter smile. My eyes found Qinglan first, the way she leaned back slightly, chest rising with every slow breath. Her blue eyes were half-lidded, pupils dilated just enough to give her away. Then I glanced at Yifei. She averted her eyes like a stubborn kid, but her see-through clothes gave everything away, They wanted something from me. And I... wanted everything from them. That was the problem. Qinglan was my first woman and held an important place in my heart. She was steady. Sharp. Ridiculously beautiful. The kind of woman that made other women look like placeholders. And maybe I started to favour her without realising it. But now? Sitting there with both of them breathing in the same room, waiting for me to move? I understood something ugly. If I kept putting all my affection on one of them... the rest would fall apart. The group of women who were closely related to me would clash and the structure, the trust I¡¯d built. I couldn¡¯t have favourites anymore. Didn¡¯t mean I¡¯d stop wanting them differently. I stood and walked over to Yifei first. Her eyes widened slightly as I stepped in close. She tried to look unimpressed. "You gonna keep sulking in the corner?" "I wasn¡¯t¡ª" She started when I grabbed her chin, tilting her face toward me. She became still and obedient, watching me quietly. "Come to bed." Yifei looked at me, then nodded with her cheeks turning red, moving to the bed before she argued. She slid past me, and I let my hand trail down her lower back until I grasped the plump meat of her buttocks. When I turned, Qinglan had already peeled off her top¡ªher breasts bounced free, full and heavy, her nipples swollen from her arousal. "I thought we would start slow!?" Sliding onto the bed, I grabbed her thigh and squeezed her soft meat. The feeling of her body always drove me crazy. Qinglan¡¯s hips shifted forward while she used her hands to stifle her breathing as it became heavier. "Who said anything about slow?" "!!!" My fingers brushed her crotch as she whimpered. Yifei climbed onto the bed behind me. I could feel her gaze, but ignored it. She took the spot opposite Qinglan as if to compete and sat cross-legged, her nightgown riding up to reveal her exposed petals and soft golden hairs. Enjoying her thigh, I reached forward and stroked Qinglan¡¯s breasts, squeezing the tip while caressing the soft, marshmallow-like mounds. Warm, heavy and soft... enough to let my fingers sink deep into them. She let out a breathless moan that was so cute I couldn¡¯t help but bite her lower lip. Qinglan¡¯s eye snapped open. "I love your face," I muttered. "Like a damn fairy from some old cultivation novel." She moaned again as I pinched her nipple, then looked over my shoulder. Yifei looked stunned, her lips open wide while spreading her thighs apart, lost in what I was doing to Qinglan. "And you, Yifei..." I reached back and grabbed Yifei¡¯s wrist. "I love that bratty mouth of yours, and how cute it moans." "I don¡¯t¡ª!" She tried to answer back, but I yanked her into my arms. She tried to answer back, but I yanked her into my arms. Yifei gasped, small hands pressing against my chest like she meant to resist¡ªbut she didn¡¯t. She melted quickly. Her body always said what her mouth wouldn¡¯t. "Shh!" I kissed her. Hard. Her lips were soft, warm, and just slightly trembling. She moaned into my mouth, and I felt her whole body twitch when I dragged my tongue along hers. Her back arched before I even touched her chest. Her little tits pressed against me, perky and barely covered by the loose fabric of her nightgown. I pulled it down in one swift motion, letting it fall around her waist. I leaned in and bit her neck, dragging my teeth along her collarbone, just to hear that tiny gasp she always tried to hide. "You pretend to hate this," I growled against her skin, "but your cunt¡¯s already dripping, isn¡¯t it?" "N-no it¡¯s not¡ª" I shoved her down flat on the bed beside Qinglan. The two of them looked up at me, one flushed and curvy, the other small and twitching, breath catching in her throat. Qinglan spread her legs wider, her inner thighs glistening with heat. Yifei¡¯s face flushed scarlet as I tugged her legs apart next, revealing the delicate, wet folds between them. Pale gold hairs framed her pretty little slit. I ran my fingers between them both¡ªtwo sets of thighs, two wet pussies, two women breathing in unison under my hands. And I just smiled. Because I knew I was a scumbag, and no longer planned to hide it... power and authority might have corrupted me, but outside... the world was fucked. So why can¡¯t I enjoy a bit of debauchery and madness? S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡ª I dragged Qinglan¡¯s thighs wider with one hand while pulling Yifei¡¯s legs over my lap with the other. Two women, completely exposed. Their pussies glistened under the lantern light. Qinglan¡¯s folds were thick, full, and dark pink with arousal, twitching as they clenched. Yifei was smaller, neater and light pink, soaked and shy, twitching each time my breath came close. "Let¡¯s see who cums first." slipping two fingers into Qinglan. "W-What!?" She gasped and grabbed the sheets the moment my fingers sank deeper inside. God. It was like her pussy sucked my fingers deeper. Her walls were soft but greedy, like they had a shape of their own¡ªlike they remembered me. Every push met a squeeze, like her body refused to give me space. "Yours has folds I can¡¯t even count," I muttered, pumping slowly. "I could get lost in here." Qinglan moaned, hands clawing the sheets. Her legs kept twitching as my fingers spread apart and curled inside her. Then I slipped a single finger into Yifei. She choked on a breath, her whole body jolting. Tight. Burning hot. Like dipping into molten silk. Her Fire Qi flared the moment I sank in, heating the inside of her pussy like it was begging for my Earth to fill it. Juices ran down her thighs immediately, soaking my knuckles. I twisted my fingers. She let out a shriek, legs locking, eyes wide. Her cunt squeezed hard¡ªthen again. She came fast with three sharp pulses, her juices bubbling around my fingers as her Qi clashed with mine. "Ack... Nnnngh!?" Yifei¡¯s Qi became wild, surging through her body as she thrashed her hips against my finger, rubbing deeper as it poked her favourite spots as she came again, and again... the effect of our Qi merging and mixing so violently. "F-fuck... I¡ªI¡ª!" She collapsed against the pillows, shuddering. I didn¡¯t stop. I plunged deeper into Qinglan, curling my fingers just right. Her thighs clamped tight around my wrist. She was right there. Then she snapped. "Ah¡ª! J-John¡ª!" Her body tensed, then erupted¡ªthighs shaking, pussy clenching hard, and then¡ª She squirted. Warm fluid sprayed across my hand and wrist, soaking the sheets as her body trembled in one long, drawn-out cry. Our Qi was too compatible... leading to an explosive burst of pleasure. I pulled my fingers out and looked at them. One hand coated in fire. The other, drowned by a cool flood. I looked at them both. Panting. Eyes unfocused. Legs twitching. Mine. "Round two¡¯s not gonna be gentle." And I stood, already hard, looking at my prey Chapter 171: No Mercy Between the Sheets [R18] Chapter 171: No Mercy Between the Sheets [R18]I caught Qinglan by the waist, her thighs still shaking. "Wait!" I didn¡¯t let her finish, though. I pushed her back against the wall after lifting her as if she were nothing. Her thighs automatically locked around my hips as she let out a cry, and her shoulder blades pounded the wall softly. My shaft covered in a slippery mess from her pussy. "J-John... W-wait, not in this manner. "Why?" I leaned closer. My breath was hot against her ear as I spoke calmly. "Yifei¡¯s being here is embarrassing? Or was it that you enjoyed squirting all over my hand? She pressed both hands feebly against my chest, her cheeks flushing deep red. "I didn¡¯t intend to. That was simply, I couldn¡¯t stop¡ª" "Exactly." I kissed her hard. Her lips were warm and soft, but she moaned the moment I bit her bottom lip and forced her mouth open. Her hips bucked once. I could feel the throbbing between her thighs using my cock. Her body was soaked, desperate, twitching even before I lined myself up. I adjusted her weight against me, grabbed my cock, and pressed the thick, veiny head against her dripping entrance. She gasped. "J-John... wait...!" I slid in. Shlk... shlurp... shhhck¡ª Her pussy swallowed me like it had missed me. The folds hugged every ridge of my cock, pulsing around me as I drove deeper. "Ohh¡ª!" Her voice cracked. Legs locked tighter around my waist. Her nails dug into my shoulders, teeth biting her bottom lip as I sank deeper. Squish¡ªshlurp¡ªfwop¡ª The wall behind her creaked. I pulled back and thrust again, harder. Her tits bounced with the movement, pressed against my chest, nipples dragging against my skin. She moaned louder now. "Ahh¡ªs-stop... too much..." But her body said otherwise. Her pussy kept pulsing around my cock, dripping wet with every thrust. The room echoed with the sounds¡ªwet, filthy, lewd. Squelch... slop... fwop-fwop-fwop... Each thrust slammed her against the wall again. Her moans turned into gasps, then into short, broken cries. "Y-you¡¯re not s-supposed to¡ªhahh!¡ªDo it this hard!" I leaned down and bit her neck again. Qinglan arched into me, her breath shattering into sharp gasps as her legs bounced against my hips, pushing me deeper. I grabbed under her ass and angled higher, lifting her hips slightly so my cock penetrate deeper and deeper. "Oh~ John¡ª!" Her voice cracked again, loud, needy, echoing in the dim room. Shlk¡ªshlkk¡ªfwop¡ªslap¡ª Our skin collided over and over. Her ass smacked against the wall. Her juices ran down my thighs, dripping hot and fast with every stroke. Her body clenched tighter, arms wrapping around my neck, pulling me close. "I c-can¡¯t¡ªJohn¡ª!" "You will." I didn¡¯t slow down. I fucked her against the wall like I owned her¡ªbecause I did. Her whole body tensed. And then she snapped. Qinglan¡¯s pussy clenched so hard I nearly lost it and shot my load right there. Her voice was like a muffled scream as she banged her head on the wall, throwing it back, she clamped down, locking me in her grip as she convulsed several times. "Aahhh¡ª! J-John¡ª!" Splrrch¡ªshhhk¡ªsquelch...! She came hard. Violently. Her pussy gushed again, not just a trickle but a hot spray that coated my balls and stomach. She trembled in my arms, twitching, breathless, completely undone. I held her through it, hips still grinding into her overstimulated hole. "Fuck..." I muttered, feeling her flutter around me. "You¡¯re a goddamn mess." Her breath hitched, head buried in my neck. "...sh-shut up..." Her voice was weak. Almost tearful. But her smile against my skin gave her away. I slowly pulled out, her pussy clinging to me the whole way. Pop. Her legs gave out the moment I lowered her, so I caught her and placed her on the bed, head on the pillows. She was still shaking as her thighs spread apart, revealing her glossy snatch and stared up at me with wet, unfocused eyes. And then I turned. Yifei didn¡¯t notice me at first. She lay on her back, legs parted, lips parted even more. Her chest rose and fell quickly, her whole body twitching with the aftershocks of what I¡¯d done to her. Her twintails were half undone, strands sticking to her forehead. Her hand was still between her legs, fingers curled like she didn¡¯t know where to put them now. I crawled over her slowly. She didn¡¯t move. Not until I grabbed her knees and pushed them up toward her chest. Then her eyes fluttered open, hazy with heat and tears. "John...?" she breathed. I didn¡¯t answer. I pressed the tip of my cock against her soaked entrance and shoved it in with one long stroke. Shlrk¡ªshhhhck¡ªsplrrrch. She cried out. Not in shock¡ªpleasure. "Ah¡ªahhnn...! Mmm... i-it¡¯s... inside... already..." She instantly put her arms around my back as her voice erupted into a moan. Her entire body clung to mine as if I were everything, her legs hooking behind my shoulders and keeping me there. Through her gasps, she smiled and whispered, "You didn¡¯t even warn me." "So cruel." I retreated and pressed deeper once more. "Ahhh¡ª! Hnnngh...! I-It hurts¡ªbut it¡¯s so good!" She bit her bottom lip and moaned louder, her nails dragging down my back, eyes crossing as I buried myself to the base. "Y-yes... yes¡ªfuck me like this... don¡¯t stop, I want more¡ª!" Shlrp¡ªfwop¡ªfwop¡ªsplrt¡ª Her Fire Qi surged the moment our hips met again. I could feel it licking at my skin, hot and hungry, wrapping around my cock from the inside. My own Earth Qi pushed back¡ªsteady, crushing, unrelenting. The clash was violent. Beautiful. Yifei screamed, legs trembling, pussy clenching hard as her body lit up from the inside out. "Ohhh¡ª! Your cock¡ªyour energy¡ªit¡¯s... nghhh, I can feel it melting me¡ª!" Her cunt was tight. Way too tight. Like she was trying to trap me inside. Her insides pulsed around me with every thrust, her moans getting higher, faster, needier. "I love this¡ªf-feels even better than last time! I wanna cum like this¡ªlike a mess¡ª!" Her words drove something wild through me. I pressed her knees harder against her chest and fucked her into the bed, balls slapping against her ass, hips drilling her with brutal rhythm. Fwop! Fwop! Slrp! Squelch! "J-John¡ªJohn¡ª! I¡¯m gonna¡ªI¡¯m¡ª!" Her pussy exploded around me, soaking my cock as she climaxed, her body convulsing under mine. But she didn¡¯t stop moaning. She pulled me down and kissed me hard, tongue sloppy, hips grinding into mine. "I can take more¡ªdon¡¯t pull out¡ªdon¡¯t stop¡ª!" She came again before I could answer, her Fire Qi sparking wildly, her body twitching like it was trying to burn me alive just to keep me inside her. "Keep fucking me, John¡ªfill me up¡ªplease!" Her words weren¡¯t begging. They were like worship. I gritted my teeth, balls tightening. I didn¡¯t stop. Couldn¡¯t. Yifei¡¯s legs were locked around me like chains, and her cunt had turned into a tight, clenching furnace. My hips slammed into her over and over, burying my cock until I poked her cervix each time, her soft ass bouncing off the mattress with every impact. Shlrk¡ªfwop¡ªsplrrt¡ªslap! The wet sounds of fucking were louder than her moans now. But she still moaned. Louder. Higher. Desperate. "Harder¡ªJohn¡ªplease¡ªf-fuck me harder!" She didn¡¯t have to ask. I took hold of her hips and raised them, slamming into her as if to discipline her. She screamed out loud. Her Fire Qi flared¡ªwild, frantic, and hot. It didn¡¯t deter me. It gave me energy. I continued to fuck her faster and harder due to the heat on my cock until the bed began to rock beneath us. She clawed my back like a beast. "D-don¡¯t stop! Hnnn¡ª!" She came again, her pussy clenching so violently my cock jerked inside her, thick wetness flooding my balls. I grunted. My body stiffened. Balls drew tight. Then thick, hot cum shot from my tip and surged deep inside her, flooding her with pulse after pulse. My hips jerked as I poured into her womb. But I wasn¡¯t done. I pulled out fast, cock throbbing¡ªstill half-hard, soaked in our fluids. Yifei moaned in bliss as my seed dripped out of her, painting her thighs. Mu Qinglan sat up slowly beside us, still flushed from before. "Still hard?" she asked, voice low. I grabbed her by the hair. Pulled her in front of me. "Open your mouth." She did. Slowly. Her bare chest rose with every breath, sweat still glistening across her pale skin. I stroked once. Twice. Then came. The first shot hit her collarbone. The second¡ªher left tit. The third, right between them, dripping down to her stomach and across her face. Splrt. Splrch. Spluck. Qinglan didn¡¯t flinch. She just looked up at me with those cold, beautiful eyes¡ªcheeks flushed, nipples stiff. Not ashamed. Not shy. Just waiting. Still. For more. I grinned, cock twitching as the last drops clung to my tip. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "...Round two?" She smiled. "I thought you¡¯d never ask." Chapter 172: The One I Hurt - Part 1 Chapter 172: The One I Hurt - Part 1The sky was still dark. I didn¡¯t know the exact time, but the air told me it was late¡ªsomewhere between midnight and regret. Mu Qinglan and Yifei were still asleep. Yifei clung to the blanket like a child, one leg draped over Qinglan¡¯s hip. Both of them looked peaceful. But I only needed a few hours... so I wasn¡¯t. Slipping out of bed, I pulled on some clothes and tiptoed toward the second floor. I didn¡¯t bother with a lantern. I didn¡¯t want light. I wanted cold. The kind that bit at your skin and made you remember you were still alive. The hallway creaked under my steps, but no one stirred. The doors to the balcony were already cracked open. That was the first sign. Then I heard it¡ªa shift, the soft scrape of bare feet on wood. Someone was already out there. I stepped through. Jiang Roulan stood on the balcony while leaning over. She held the bars while wearing a pair of tight jeans, revealing her thong and a loose t-shirt and tied up hair with loose strands hanging by her ears. She seemed in a trance, watching the distance. I stopped a few steps behind her. She finally spoke. "Thought it might be you." I didn¡¯t answer. She kept her eyes on the skyline, where the ruins of the city met the low clouds. No stars. No moon. Just silence. "Too much noise in your head?" she asked. "Something like that." She nodded, but there wasn¡¯t a smile. "You fuck them both?" she asked, voice flat. "Qinglan and Yifei?" "...Yeah." "Of course you did." The silence stretched again. She didn¡¯t cry. Didn¡¯t raise her voice. But the hurt was still there¡ªsettled in her posture, in the stiffness of her shoulders, in the way she didn¡¯t look at me. I exhaled slowly. "I was a fool. Back at the base." "You left me alone," she said. "I know." "I waited for you." I nodded. Her voice didn¡¯t break, but I could hear what she was holding in. "You told me I was yours. And then I watched you leave. Watched you walk right into Qinglan¡¯s bed like I didn¡¯t exist." The air felt sharper than before. "I wanted to come after you," she said. "To scream, to slap you, to throw something. But I didn¡¯t. Because I thought you¡¯d come back. And you didn¡¯t." I stepped closer, resting both hands on the railing beside her. "I was too caught up chasing something that made me feel good," I said. "You were right there. And I looked past you." She glanced at me then, just a little. Her eyes were tired, but clear. "Why?" I didn¡¯t lie. "Because I could. And I thought I deserved it. The power, the attention, the women. I thought it meant I was winning." "And now?" I swallowed once. "I don¡¯t even know what I feel half the time anymore," "It¡¯s like... I want them. All of them. You included. To hide my insecurities and worries. But I can¡¯t tell where the want stops and the need begins." She remained silent, but I felt her eyes on me now. "I tell myself it¡¯s strategy. That if I keep them close, they won¡¯t betray me. That it¡¯s smart and tactical." I let out a quiet breath and stared at the horizon, the dark ruins lit by nothing but memory. "...But I am just a fool, who wanted to bite off more than I could chew, without thinking and just taking constantly." Roulan didn¡¯t stay quiet this time. She turned, grabbed the front of my shirt, and pushed me¡ªhard¡ªback into one of the old balcony chairs. My back hit the frame with a dull thud. Before I could even speak, she stepped between my legs, straddling the edge of the chair. Her hands gripped mine, pinning them down to the wooden arms, her eyes locked onto mine like knives that didn¡¯t want to kill¡ªjust carve truth out of me. "I won¡¯t give you another chance," she said. "This is it." "Rou¡ª" Her finger pressed against my lips. "Don¡¯t speak," she whispered. "Just shut up and listen for once, John." I did. "I¡¯m not looking for some quick fuck. Not some childish campfire romance where we kill zombies by day and screw under blankets by night. I want more than that. I want someone who stands with me. Someone I can support. Someone who supports me back. I want a man who¡¯ll face this miserable, broken world beside me¡ªand not forget I exist just because some girl with nice thighs walks by." Her knee pressed between my legs, firm enough that I felt it. Not playful. Not seductive. Just pressure¡ªcontrol. Her breath ghosted against my cheek. "I like you," she said. "It¡¯s not love¡ªnot yet. But it hurts when I see you flirting with Qinglan, when I hear Yifei moan through the damn wall, when you make the whole damn camp revolve around you and I¡¯m just another name in your group." I stared at her in complete shock. Yet Roulan just stared back. "Maybe it¡¯s easier for you. You¡¯re the leader. The centre of everything. But I¡¯m not. I¡¯m just Jiang Roulan. The one you left behind." My throat felt dry. "But I won¡¯t be just another one of your women. Not ever again. If you want me¡ªit¡¯s as your equal." She let go of one wrist, brought her hand to my chest. "I don¡¯t want a relationship based on sex. I want a partnership. One where we carry each other¡¯s burdens. Where I know you¡¯re not just holding me when you¡¯re horny¡ªbut because you choose me." She leaned in until our foreheads touched. "If you betray that," she whispered, "if you forget my heart again, I will leave. I won¡¯t cry. I won¡¯t scream. I¡¯ll walk out of that gate alone, and even if the monsters tear me apart¡ªI won¡¯t come back." I couldn¡¯t breathe. "Tell me..." "Should I forget you now... or will you become my partner?" I couldn¡¯t answer her right away. My mouth felt dry, and countless thoughts with no relevance flew through my mind, confusing me. Yet I wanted to face her... Roulan didn¡¯t look away. She just held me there¡ªhands pressing mine against the chair, her knee between my legs, breath hot against my cheek. Her presence filled everything. And I couldn¡¯t move. Not because she was stronger. Because I knew I deserved this. Her words hit me somewhere I wasn¡¯t used to feeling anything¡ªsomewhere past my cock, past the instinct to command or take. It wasn¡¯t anger in her voice. Or even pain. It was a decision. And it scared the shit out of me. This wasn¡¯t teasing. It was real. "I won¡¯t give you another chance," she said again. Her voice didn¡¯t shake. "I need to know right now. Not next week. Not after your next round with Qinglan." I nodded once. Then again¡ªsharper. "You¡¯re right." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "I was selfish. I left you behind, knowing exactly what that meant. Because I wanted to fuck her." She didn¡¯t blink. "I didn¡¯t think about you. Or anyone. I just wanted what I wanted. I didn¡¯t even feel guilty." "Then why are you here now?" she asked. "Why bother crawling back to talk like you care?" I didn¡¯t hesitate. "Because you were right." Roulan¡¯s expression didn¡¯t soften. She took the words, but she didn¡¯t let them soothe her. She¡¯d waited too long to be soothed. "I don¡¯t need pretty words," she said. "I need actions. I need you to remember this moment." Everything Roulan said to me was like another slug being shot into my gut, yet... the hands holding me loosened the more I listened. "If I forget again... you¡¯ll walk." "I won¡¯t just walk," she snapped. "I¡¯ll disappear. I¡¯ll vanish so far into the zones no one will even remember my name. And it¡¯ll be because you made me believe I mattered... and then threw me away." The words didn¡¯t echo. They were heavy enough to sit between us like a loaded weapon. I tried to say something, but she shoved a hand against my chest. "Don¡¯t talk your way out of this. Not this time." Her hand lingered there, flat, steady, like she was feeling for weakness underneath all the strength I pretended to have. "I know what I look like," she muttered. "Sexy, soft, reliable and easy... I like to make sexual jokes and you feel that you can lean on me." "And that¡¯s true... but i am not your doormat, John." I didn¡¯t argue. She wasn¡¯t wrong. "And I know what you are too," she went on. "Strong, cocky, smarter than you act¡ªand yet you¡¯re so vulnerable and lonely... yet you don¡¯t even realise it. So when they fall into your bed, you feel complete and safe in those few hours together..." Still, I didn¡¯t speak. This wasn¡¯t the moment for me to defend anything. Her knee remained pressed up, holding me in place as she lowered her face closer to mine. She muttered, "I¡¯m not here to compete for your attention." "I¡¯m not here for convenience. And I won¡¯t beg for scraps of your affection when you¡¯re in between orgasms." She paused, eyes narrowing. "I want a man I can fight beside. Kill for. Sleep beside without wondering if he¡¯s already planning whose bed he¡¯ll roll into next." The tension in my jaw pulsed. Not from anger. From guilt. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. From the heat rising in my chest that I couldn¡¯t name. Not lust. Something new. Something that stung. Chapter 173: The One I Hurt - Part 2 Chapter 173: The One I Hurt - Part 2I sat silently, taking deep breaths while recalling what she had said. "You¡¯re right..." Somewhere along the line, I became lost in the thought that I was some kind of hero. A protagonist who could do anything. I began to see those around me as NPCs or as individuals meant to enhance me. However, they were real... all with feelings, desires, and thoughts. The John Wang I used to be was gone. The hardworking man who suffered in order to succeed against all odds. I wanted to change, to regain that part of myself. But even as I thought it, I knew words wouldn¡¯t fix anything. Not with Roulan. Not anymore. She still stood there, arms crossed. Watching me. Not waiting for an apology. Waiting for clarity. I didn¡¯t stand. "I¡¯m not asking for your forgiveness." "But if there¡¯s a version of me that you will accept and stand beside... I want to find him." She remained motionless. Just stared in the dim moonlight, eyes icy and piercing. "Good," she finally said. "Because the version of you I¡¯ve seen so far? That guy doesn¡¯t deserve anything but silence." That hurt. But I didn¡¯t flinch. "You think you¡¯re better than the others because you lead," she said. "But leadership isn¡¯t fucking your way through the women who trust you. It¡¯s holding them up when they¡¯re falling. And knowing when you¡¯re the one who needs to grow the hell up." Her voice wasn¡¯t angry. Not now. Just tired. "You¡¯re not a monster, John," she said. "But you¡¯re not a man yet, either. Not the kind I can trust with my back." I nodded, slowly. "Then let me earn that." Roulan¡¯s eyes flicked away for the first time, but then returned with a more gentle shape. "I don¡¯t need your promise, because I know there is a kind and warm man inside there who is willing to sacrifice himself for us all Look..." She stopped before stroking my cheek. I enjoyed her cold palms that rubbed against me. "I say this because I care about you¡ªa lot," her voice softer. "If I didn¡¯t, I¡¯d have walked away without a word. But I couldn¡¯t." I stared at her, unsure of what I could say next. So I didn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t let go. "You hurt me," she said, "but I don¡¯t want you to vanish into guilt. That¡¯s not what I need from you. I need you to be present. Aware. Honest. I need you to look at the people around you and see them¡ªsee me... not what they give you." The ache in my chest deepened, but not painfully, like when a cut starts healing, still tender when touched. She didn¡¯t move her hand. Her thumb slid once under my eye. "See me," she said again. "Not the role I play. Not the body. Me." I met her gaze and didn¡¯t blink. "I do." "Now." "Yeah," I admitted. "Now." The silence between us wasn¡¯t romantic. It wasn¡¯t dramatic. It was thick. Stiff. Like breathing got harder the longer it stretched. "I¡¯m still angry," she muttered, lowering her hand. "I¡¯m still fucking angry, John. You walked past me like I was background noise." I didn¡¯t argue. She wasn¡¯t wrong. "I¡¯m not looking for flowers and a sorry," she said. "I¡¯m not fragile." "But..." Her hands slid behind my neck. "...if there¡¯s even a piece of you that still remembers what it means to stand next to someone instead of in front of them, I¡¯ll give you that chance." "You don¡¯t need to love me." "Not tonight. But I want to be the person you think of when you stop pretending everything¡¯s fine." My hand found her waist, light, unsure. She didn¡¯t push it away. But she didn¡¯t lean in either. "I¡¯m not giving you everything," she whispered, "but I¡¯m not giving up either." Before I could respond, a warmth covered my lips... Roulan¡¯s beautiful face moved closer as she kissed me with a soft, gentle peck. She pulled back just as delicately as she had come, her gaze remaining focused on mine. There was no hunger in the kiss; it was gentle and relaxing. It¡¯s just presence. "I needed that more than I thought," she said quietly to herself. I did not speak. Still clinging to this feeling of tranquillity and warmth. She traced the skin of my neck before taking a step back while smiling. "I¡¯m going to bed." There was a slight pause before she added. "Alone." My lips curled into a smile at her pouting face and upturned nose that vanished into the distance. As she walked away, I felt like something shifted inside me. I sat in the same chair, staring out into the darkness¡ªeverything was still, no wind or noises. And yet, inside me, something had moved. It wasn¡¯t joy. It wasn¡¯t guilt, either. It was something deeper. A kind of awareness. Like I¡¯d finally seen a mirror I¡¯d been avoiding for too long, and I couldn¡¯t look away from the cracks. Roulan wasn¡¯t dramatic. She didn¡¯t scream, or break down, or throw anything at me. She just told the truth. And that truth had more weight than anything a monster ever hurled my way. I leaned back in the chair, ran a hand through my hair, and exhaled. All this time, I¡¯d been so focused on control over the group, over the chaos, over myself. But I¡¯d mistaken control for care. I thought if I made the hard calls and kept us alive, the rest didn¡¯t matter. What I said. What I did. Who I ignored. I thought they¡¯d just... accept it. Because I thought being a leader meant standing above them, not beside them. And maybe that¡¯s where I started losing something I hadn¡¯t realised I still wanted. Connections. I tapped the communication device twice... hoping to hear Old Zhou¡¯s complaints for waking him up, but only the buzz of static followed. "It figures..." His last words made more sense now. He was worried about Zhou Xue, that was obvious, but he also worried about me... I looked up at the sky. Only clouds, no stars and the moon was a faint curve. But the silence was comforting. I had hours until morning, lots of time to think. "Let¡¯s do our best." ¡ª¡ª Four hours later, I finally heard the others stirring. I heard echoes down the halls¡ªinaudible whispers, yawns, someone bumping a pan in the kitchen. The sound of Roulan¡¯s laughter and her telling Liang Mei about her job and previous police arrests. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I sat on the balcony a little longer, watching the morning light creep over the edge of the city. It was beautiful to be honest. My legs were stiff as hell when I stood up. But something inside me felt... less tangled. I stepped inside to find Qinglan already at the table, dressed, hair brushed, her blue eyes calmly flicking between a can of fruit and Yifei¡¯s messy attempt at heating something over the portable stove. The blonde grumbled under her breath, stirring a pan with the kind of stubbornness only she could manage. Zhou Xue was already geared up and checking her bowstring by the door. She nodded once when she saw me, but didn¡¯t speak. The group was forming again¡ªquiet, functional, maybe even a little lighter than the night before. Roulan entered from the hallway, tying her sleeves with a practised ease. Our eyes met briefly. She didn¡¯t smile. But she didn¡¯t look away either, instead teasing me with a wink. "Morning, John." "Morning, Roulan." That¡¯s when she smiled and nodded, slapping my ass before picking up her tonfa. That was enough. "Pack up in twenty," I said, my voice steady. "We move on foot to the highway checkpoint." "Where to after?" Chen Xun asked. "We¡¯ll see what¡¯s there first." After we ate breakfast, I took the time to sit with Chen Xun and Deng Hua... listening to them speak as we geared up and prepared to leave. I would make the effort, even without being told by Roulan, not just women... I also needed friends to avoid becoming mentally ill. When we left, the front gate creaked open as we stepped out into the dead street. It should¡¯ve been a clean exit. But halfway down the block, on the way to the south, we heard the engines. Jeeps. Three of them. Then five. They came from opposite ends of the street, tires screeching across the concrete, soldiers in mismatched gear standing upright with rifles raised. "What the hell!?" Deng Hua complained. "Shit..." Chen Xun followed because their guns were trained on us, not zombies. "..." Tang Wei looked nervous¡ªshe gazed at me before shaking her head. "Hold, don¡¯t fight them." Once I spoke, even Jiang Roulan and Qinglan lowered their arms and stopped holding their weapons. The soldiers didn¡¯t speak. Their guns did. All trained on us. One wordless message: Don¡¯t move. The door of the middle jeep opened. A man stepped out. Clean boots. Military cap. Dark gloves. And a pistol was already in his hand. "Who is your leader?" He asked. I didn¡¯t answer. But I stepped forward. His lips curled into something too sharp to be a smile. "You¡¯re all coming with us." Chapter 174: Gu Tianhao - System Upgrade! Chapter 174: Gu Tianhao - System Upgrade!Not long after following the men in military clothes, I got smashed in the face by the but of a rifle and collapsed. Something was covering my eyes, and only the flashing of my skill allowed me to see my situation. Surrounded by enemies. At least that¡¯s what I labelled them. Now the low hum of their jeeps faded and came to a stop. "Hurry up, leader Gu gave us an hour!" Gu... The moment I heard that name, my blood almost seemed to freeze, my body became hot as my Qi surged in anger. Gu Tianhao? That¡¯s when I realised why I was avoiding the south... not the zombies, or the mall, but the Gu family, and that bastard! ¡¯Shit!¡¯ Mu Qinglan... If he noticed her, then this could never go right. Just after fixing things with Jiang Roulan, how would I survive this? There is no chance that he won¡¯t try to use me against her. Not that it would work... ¡¯But what can I do...¡¯ That¡¯s when a familiar voice sounded... the gentle yet seductive tone echoing within. [System Upgrade Available - 5,000 ZKP] [Accept?] [Yes/No] I don¡¯t know why, but whenever her voice appeared, it was always something that benefited me most: the Titan Sutra, the tutorial mode, and helping Mu Qinglan on the very first day my system awakened. So only a fool would refuse! ¡¯Yes!¡¯ [Confirmed ¡ª 5,000 ZKP Deducted!] [System Upgrade Initialised... 2%] The moment the update started, my body became heavy, and a dull pain spread through me, beginning from my abdomen where the Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra gathered aura... My predator¡¯s vision vanished, and suddenly it felt like I had returned to the first day. Before I awakened my system! ¡¯Wait!?¡¯ ¡¯Show Status!¡¯ ¡¯System!?¡¯ ¡¯Hey!¡¯ No matter how much I tried, the system panel or my skills seemed to work... even the rock of the van hurt, my body as if wrapped in soft, swollen flesh. The truck rattled to a stop. The grinding of tires on gravel silenced everything else. I didn¡¯t need to see to know what came next. The moment the truck stopped, silence rushed in like a vacuum. No voices. No gunfire. Just the low mechanical hum of idling jeeps and the shuffle of boots on dirt. Then the door swung open. Rough fingers grabbed my collar and dragged me forward. I hit the ground, knees and palms first. Gravel bit into my skin, and the sack over my head muffled the sound of voices yelling in the distance. "Drag him out!" I didn¡¯t resist. There was no point. The sack was ripped off, light stabbing into my eyes like needles. My pupils narrowed. A dirt-covered field. Floodlights mounted on broken walls. Sandbags and scrap metal formed makeshift barricades. Armed men in mismatched fatigues stood at every corner, some wearing military tags, others clearly just thugs with guns. And standing ahead, polished and perfect, was a man I hadn¡¯t seen in years. Gu Tianhao. Hair tied in a tight bun, uniform spotless, boots gleaming even in the filth. He looked cleaner than the world around him, like he belonged to a different time, one where the Gu family ruled over Longwan with money, politics, and quiet violence. And then his eyes met mine. He smiled. Like it was personal. I barely had time to brace. CRACK. The butt of his rifle smashed into my jaw. My body reeled back, blood flooding my mouth. A tooth spun out and hit the ground near my feet. Pain bloomed white-hot across my face. "Did that hurt?" he said, voice calm, as if he were commenting on the weather. Then came the second blow¡ªstraight to my ribs. "Stay down, you worthless rat!" he barked, pacing in a slow circle. Each step of his boots echoed. "You know, I really hoped this was just a misunderstanding. That maybe you had some respect." His boot crashed into my side again. "But then I see you..." Another kick. "Crawling after my woman." I coughed. Blood dripped down my chin, pooling against my shirt. "Gu... Tianhao..." I spat. His smile widened. "So you do remember me." Behind me, I heard shouting. Movement. Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice tore through the haze in my head. "Stop it! Stop¡ªwhat are you doing to him?!" I turned my head just enough to see her. Wrists bound, being held back by two guards. Her eyes were wide with panic. "You touch him again and I swear¡ª!" "Still defending him?" Tianhao asked, almost amused. He crouched down next to me, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and lifted my blood-smeared face toward her. "Look at him," he said coldly. "This is the man you defend? This filthy, pathetic little insect?" He spat on me. His saliva ran down my cheek and mingled with blood. I didn¡¯t react. I just stared. Then smiled. "Better an insect," I muttered, "than someone with a tiny cock." His face twisted. "You piece of shit¡ª" He raised his hand again, but Mu Qinglan screamed. "IF YOU HURT HIM I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!" Her voice didn¡¯t waver. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It cut through the air like a blade. Her eyes were wild, glowing faint with power. Something in her Qi flared¡ªa blazing pressure that made the guards flinch. But she didn¡¯t get far. A female soldier stepped in and drove the butt of her rifle into Qinglan¡¯s temple. She crumpled. Like a puppet with its strings cut. My heart stopped for a second. Tianhao didn¡¯t even blink. He turned to me, voice low. "What did you do to her, you maggot?" I looked up at him, eyes narrowed. Then I spit again. Right in his face. He recoiled slightly. "I showed her a real man." That was the last thing I said before the kicks came. Again. And again. My vision blurred. Bones cracked. The ground swallowed my blood like it was nothing new. And just before I blacked out¡ª [System Upgrade In Progress... 10%] [Merging Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra with ?????] [Regeneration Protocol will activate at 50% Completion] Everything went quiet. Only the faint warmth in my gut told me I hadn¡¯t died yet. ¡ª¡ª The cold bit deep. Concrete walls. No light. Just the hum of static somewhere overhead and the occasional clang of something metal dropping outside the locked door. My wrists had long since stopped hurting. Same with my ankles. Everything just ached now¡ªdeep in the joints, in the ribs, in the back of my throat. My lips sore and cracked. My stomach was empty. Every breath felt dry and useless. But I didn¡¯t sleep. Couldn¡¯t. Every time I shut my eyes, I saw Mu Qinglan¡¯s face. Her screaming, her tears, the blood streaking down my face when he kicked me in front of her. Again. And again. Gu Tianhao. That bastard. My teeth ground together every time I thought of his voice. That smug, sharp edge. Like everything he said was a blade meant to humiliate, and for a while... it worked. But I had something he didn¡¯t. [System Upgrade Progress: 43%] [...44%] I stared at the faint blue text burned into my vision. The only comfort in this fucking room. My fingers twitched. My toes had no feeling. I was starving. Dying. But I waited. [...49%] And then it hit. A sharp twist in my gut¡ªlike something reached in and grabbed the marrow of my bones. I doubled over and immediately vomited. Thick, red. The second wave came fast. More blood. Too much. My stomach heaved violently, and I collapsed onto my side, shaking, coughing. Each time I opened my mouth, more came out. It felt like I was dying. No. It felt like I already had. [System Upgrade Progress: 50% ¡ª Initiating Phase II] Suddenly, the blood turned black. Not dark red. Not dried. Black. Sticky, thick as tar, like oil bubbling up from my guts. It splattered onto the floor with a sickening slop. My body jerked again. My arms twisted, bones cracking under the skin. I screamed. My spine arched as every muscle contracted at once. Something inside me was shifting¡ªmoving like liquid iron poured through the hollow tubes of my veins. I clawed at the floor, nails splitting, toes curling as my tendons tore and healed, over and over. It didn¡¯t stop. My vision blurred. My ears rang. But the pain never dulled. Every breath was fire. My limbs throbbed. Bones splintered and reformed. Skin split and sealed again. Time vanished. I don¡¯t know how long I stayed like that. Crawling, twitching, howling into the dark. But when it finally ended, I lay there, drenched in sweat, tar, and blood. My body burned with terrifying heat. Not fever. Power. Real power. I sat up slowly, gasping. My breath was sharp, clear. My limbs didn¡¯t tremble. I looked down and saw bronzed skin, tight and defined. Not huge, but carved¡ªlike stone moulded by pressure. My hair clung to my back, longer, darker, silky like water. My fingers flexed without pain. And when I looked down¡ª "...what the fuck?" Even my cock was different. I reached up, brushing damp hair from my face. That¡¯s when the new system panel appeared... and made me gasp. An image of me naked sitting appeared beside the usual status page, but everything looked strange, and different... making me confused, yet what changed the most might have been my eyes... Neon blue. My eyes glowed like the sky at midnight. [Welcome to the Ruler System 2.0] The voice... I knew it. Soft. Seductive. Comforting. [I¡¯m happy you¡¯re alive... John.] Chapter 175: Shackles of the Living Chapter 175: Shackles of the LivingMarch 22nd, 12:04 PM ¡ª Gu Tianhao¡¯s Compound, South Longwan Jiang Roulan POV ¡ª¡ª The sun was high, but it felt like night. They headed us in like cattle, hands tied behind our backs, boots scraping dirt as the men in military gear barked orders. Their uniforms didn¡¯t match. Some were from the army. Others wore patched jackets or scavenged riot vests. Fake soldiers. Real thugs. Beyond the gates of the Gu estate, a sea of suffering greeted us. A field, divided by wire fences and guarded by gunmen, stretched out before the main mansion. Rows of tents filled with the broken. Pale faces, hollowed eyes. Men with untreated wounds. Women carrying buckets, dragging sacks of grain too heavy for their frames. Kids with dirt-streaked skin and too-silent mouths. Not zombies. Just survivors. Enslaved. My hands clenched. They dragged the group to a halt in the courtyard, with guns trained on us. Qinglan stumbled beside me, her hair a mess, her lip split from shouting earlier. I wanted to reach for her. Touch her. Something. But the guards were already barking again. "Women to the left! Men to the right!" "No!" I snapped before I could stop myself. "You can¡¯t¡ª" A rifle butt struck my gut. I dropped to my knees, wheezing. "Roulan!" Tang Wei hissed, trying to lunge forward, but two guards pinned her. "Don¡¯t give us trouble," one growled at me. I looked up, glaring. "I¡¯m not afraid of you bastards." He kicked me in the side, but I didn¡¯t scream. They didn¡¯t care. They pushed us apart anyway. The men were lined up on the far side, forced to kneel with sacks still over their heads. I couldn¡¯t see John. I searched for him anyway. My chest felt hollow, cold, like they ripped something vital away when we separated. He was an idiot. A womaniser. A selfish, reckless bastard. But he was ours. And whatever this place was, we weren¡¯t safe without him. "Move!" a woman¡¯s voice shouted, and then Mu Qinglan cried out as they dragged her away with eyes red and a voice shaking with rage. "If you hurt him," she screamed, "I will kill all of you!" I wanted to scream with her. Instead, I watched the guard knock her out. Watched her body hit the dirt like trash. Watched the man standing near the mansion steps¡ªGu Tianhao¡ªlaugh to himself, arms folded. His eyes were empty. Not amused. Not cruel. Just cold. And I knew. This wasn¡¯t just a camp. This place was just an unfilled graveyard. And if John didn¡¯t come back soon... We would rest here. ¡ª¡ª Rows of tents, ragged, brown and sun-faded, stretched across a dirt field. People bent over troughs, digging, dragging, hauling. Some barely looked older than teenagers. Their eyes were hollow, and their clothes were filthy. One man collapsed¡ªtoo slow¡ªand was whipped by a guard before being dragged away. Tang Wei moved closer to me, her shoulder brushing mine. "What the hell is this place?" "A prison," I muttered. "Dressed up like a rescue." Mu Qinglan was gone¡ªdragged somewhere else almost immediately after the trucks stopped. Probably to face Gu Tianhao. And without her... the girls started looking at me. Not with fear, not yet. Just confusion. Questions. Unspoken panic. I couldn¡¯t let them fall apart. When the guards ordered us into the showers, I was the first to step forward. If someone had to get sprayed down with freezing water and stripped of her clothes first, it¡¯d be me. I wouldn¡¯t flinch. The female militia gave no warning. No pause. One pulled my shirt up with the barrel of a gun. The other grabbed it from behind and yanked. I didn¡¯t fight and remained calm. The cold water followed. It hit like ice, knocking the breath out of my chest. Mud, blood, and grime ran down my body. My boots were gone. Then my pants. Then my underwear. They didn¡¯t even look away. Just hosed us down and tossed us the new clothes. If you could call them that. Thin, stretched fabric. A torn tank top that barely covered my chest, and ragged shorts that hugged too tight. My hips strained against the waistband. Almost fully exposing my ass and crack. But I wore them. I stood tall. I turned back to the others and nodded. "Put them on. It¡¯s just fabric. Don¡¯t let them break you." Zhou Xue seemed terrified, but strangely Liang Mei looked calm; she pulled off her clothes first, revealing huge, swaying breasts with puffy inverted nipples... then Liang Qiu and Tang Wei followed. Tang Wei¡¯s body looked beautiful, bronze like caramel and covered in muscle, though she had many scars. They moved us into one of the side buildings. A place with broken windows and an old concrete floor. Mattresses lined the walls¡ªthin, stained, probably reused a hundred times. This wasn¡¯t about humiliation anymore. They were trying to tame us. Not now. Not after what they did to him. Because only one man could tame me. ¡ª The room smelled of old piss and bleach. A fan creaked above, too slow to move the heat, and the walls dripped with the kind of damp that never dried. Tang Wei sat beside me on one of the old mattresses, arms around her knees, eyes still scanning every inch of the room like it might change if she stared long enough. Some girls whispered about Mu Qinglan. About John. About what they¡¯d seen. One mentioned he was dragged away by force. Another said he was bleeding. And one, about how Mu Qinglan screamed his name before they knocked her out. Liang Mei closed her eyes and meditated, but I worried for her. I stayed silent. Not because I wasn¡¯t listening. But if I opened my mouth, I¡¯d break something. I had to stay steady, even if it felt like someone dragged the ground from under me. I shifted, sitting straighter. That¡¯s when I remembered my inventory... they might have stolen our bags, but I still had the system that John told us about. Half the girls had lost theirs already. Either taken or stolen. But mine¡ªmine was still secured to my belt. My fingers moved automatically, clicking through the contents. And that¡¯s when I saw it. Inventory Slots: [10/10] "...What?" My eyes narrowed. That wasn¡¯t right. I¡¯d only ever had my weapons in here. I tapped the log access that John had shown me how to use. Scroll¡ªscroll¡ªpause. [+ Cultivation Manual: Verdant Stone Sutra] [+ Emergency Rations x3] [+ ZKP Transfer: 6,000] [+ System Access: Permission Granted] [+ Personal Note ¡ª Read Me, Idiot] My throat caught. That bastard. I looked around, even though nobody could see this screen, to make sure no one was watching. Then I slid my back closer to the wall, curled one leg up, and tapped the final item. The screen expanded. ¡ª¡ª Roulan, I don¡¯t know how this ends. I really don¡¯t. Maybe I¡¯m overthinking it. Perhaps you¡¯ll never see this until I show you when we reunite. But I¡¯m giving you what I can. Because you¡¯re not just someone I rely on. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. You are someone I care about and trust. I¡¯m not good with words. Or feelings. But if I¡¯m gone, I wanted to say it at least once. You¡¯re the one I think about when I¡¯m quiet. The one I feel most ashamed to disappoint. If I die... then at least know you mattered. Lead the group, and wait for me ¡ª Love John P.S. Don¡¯t die, dumbass. And if you get stronger than me, I¡¯m going to be so pissed. ¡ª¡ª Although I wanted to cry, I couldn¡¯t... this bastard just knew how to piss me off! No, maybe this was him trying to stir me up to ignite my boiler to stop me from losing hope and becoming a wreck like Qinglan. I sat still with trembling lips, reading his message over and over, like a fool. "...You idiot..." He thought he was dying. Even so, he thought about me at the end. The Cultivation Manual was shocking. When I read the first few lines and the implications, it made me want to beat the perverted bastard. That was until I saw the effects and found myself humming in delight and warmth. My heart thumped hard in my chest. So I learned it... because he gave me this, like many things. Tap! Pressing the manual caused it to flash green before fading. A woman¡¯s delicate voice whispered in my mind, causing my spine to shudder. [Welcome to the Queen Consort Sub-System] ¡¯Another woman?¡¯ ¡¯Queen!?¡¯ ¡¯Consort!?¡¯ The words made my cheeks hot¡ªwas I blushing right now? Maybe the others will think I am some kind of pervert!? ¡ª¡ª [Cultivation Pair Selected!] [Foundation Technique Learned] Name: Verdant Stone Sutra Type: Earth ¨C Paired Body Cultivation Rank: Elite Stage: 1/5 Effect: - Enhances physical strength and durability while refining skin, muscle tone, and body structure to ideal symmetry. - Strength growth is bond-linked¡ªprogress is amplified when trained or... shared... with a user of Titan¡¯s Marrow Sutra. - Youth retention and beautification are side effects. - Sexual pleasure with a pair increased by 150% Pair: John Wang (permanent, eternal) ¡ª¡ª I¡¯d wanted to hate him for ignoring me for choosing others first. But now... Now I wanted nothing more than to slap him, hold him, and then kiss him until my lips became swollen! ¡¯John... Oh John, why don¡¯t you show this side of you!? I would never have complained if you didn¡¯t hide this side of you...¡¯ Tang Wei glanced over. "Roulan?" I closed the screen. Looked up. "I¡¯m going to get him back, save him!" I hissed. "No matter what it takes." She didn¡¯t argue. She just nodded. "Then I¡¯m with you." Chapter 176: Jiang Roulan Blooms! Chapter 176: Jiang Roulan Blooms!March 22nd, 1:47 PM ¡ª Gu Tianhao¡¯s Compound, South Longwan Jiang Roulan POV ¡ª¡ª The sun had shifted. The long shadows now curved toward the west, painting the walls of the broken shelter in soft orange light. But nothing inside the room softened. Nothing warmed. An hour or two had passed... But I found myself lost in my thoughts. Just sweat, hunger, and the weight of silence. I sat on that creaking mattress like a general pretending to be calm. My back was straight, but every second, the pull in my chest grew worse. John¡¯s bloodied face flickered in my mind. That idiot. I could¡¯ve protected him. I should¡¯ve dragged him to bed. Held him. Made him understand. And now... My fingers brushed over my bare thigh, where the edge of the short rags they gave us barely covered anything. I hated how exposed I felt¡ªbut more than that, I hated how normal it already seemed. "Roulan," Tang Wei whispered beside me. Her voice was quiet, but alert. "That one in the corner¡¯s watching again." I followed her gaze. One of the female guards. She was chewing on something, leaning by the door, her eyes flicking between the girls like she was choosing which cut of meat she wanted tonight. My lips thinned. "Let her watch." I rose to my feet, sauntering across the room. The girls shifted their attention toward me again. I wasn¡¯t the strongest or the bravest, but the oldest. But when Mu Qinglan wasn¡¯t there, it was like their eyes just expected me to move. So I did. Liang Mei opened her eyes the moment I neared her. She nodded once, silent. No questions. Tang Wei joined me after a beat, brushing her dark hair out of her face and rising with that same quiet dignity she always carried. Liang Qiu hesitated. She wasn¡¯t the most confident. But when she saw the three of us standing, she bit her lip and stood too. "Zhou Xue," I said, turning to the small girl still curled near the wall. She looked up at me¡ªdespite her usual style, she seemed fragile, even her arms were shaking. "Come." She swallowed for a moment as her throat moved slowly, but she got up. Five of us. Just five. But enough to start something. We gathered by the back window, half-broken and smeared with dirt. The air coming through it stank of sweat and ash. But I breathed deep and accepted it. "Alright," I said, my voice low but firm. "We don¡¯t panic. We don¡¯t scream. We hold together. Every day. Every task. No matter what they throw at us, we¡¯ll respond like one body." I felt my words carried some sort of power, maybe because of his message. My mind was in a better state than theirs, or it could be my new cultivation... because of the constant pulse of earthen qi between me and John, it felt like he was beside me. Tang Wei cracked her knuckles. "Don¡¯t worry, sister, we won¡¯t break." Liang Mei gave a rare smirk. "I... I will do my best, Big sister!" The others nodded as if a fire kindled in their eyes. And me? I turned away from them for a moment¡ªjust one¡ªand opened my system again. There, glowing softly in the corner of my vision. [ZKP: 6,000] My fingers hovered. ¡¯It¡¯s time I used this.¡¯ ¡ª¡ª John left a note for me about how this works... Roulan, Cultivation exists, and it¡¯s not as complex as I thought... well, the most difficult is learning a person¡¯s elemental path. There seem to be four basic elements. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Earth, Water, Wind, Fire I didn¡¯t know how to tell the difference before I started touching you girls... Your element is Earth, Shen Yifei is Fire and Mu Qinglan is Ice/Water. Should you need to buy manuals for Tang Wei, Zhou Xue and Liang Mei, I can give you their elements, which should help you get stronger. Zhou Xue = Wind Tang Wei = Fire Liang Mei = Water Liang Qiu = Wind I believe in you... Do your best and please, take care of Shen Yifei. Right now, I think she¡¯s suffering... Ignore me and look after your fellow sisters. Take care. ¡ª¡ª "This...?" He seemed to have sent the message only a few minutes ago, which meant that John was alive and had removed a heavy weight from my shoulders. But... the intense qi flowing into me... does that mean they are beating him right now? ¡¯Forget it... let¡¯s check... What¡¯s the best thing to buy¡ª¡¯ [Would you accept my recommendations, Queen?] There she goes again... calling me queen! [System Help] [Suggested Items to help] Iron thread Lung Practice Rank: Common (Grey) Description: A breath-expansion method to increase oxygen intake and lung efficiency. Effect: Enhances sprinting, physical labour output, and loud vocal projection. Cost: 500 ZKP Steady Pulse Method Rank: Common (Grey) Description: A basic breathing rhythm for controlling adrenaline and fear responses. Effect: Improves calm under pressure, minor mental clarity boost. Essential for novices. Cost: 500 ZKP The two techniques appeared, and the names beside them were Liang Qiu and Liang Mei, then an explanation for why. [Liang Mei cannot handle a stronger technique, and the Iron Thread Lung would help improve her heart condition and stop her from falling behind.] [Liang Qiu has low talent because of her current Tier; thus, taking this basic technique, the Steady Pulse Method, will prepare her for upgrading in a Tier once John unlocks it and also improve her archery to Zhou Xue¡¯s level.] [The other women only need to be given a suitable weapon and kept fed. Save your ZKP for that moment and for now, please do your best.] [Queen Roulan] ¡ª¡ª I kicked dirt towards the guard. "HEY!?" Then handed the two manuals to the girls... "Read this and you¡¯ll understand. Please don¡¯t ask questions." The two Liangs looked at me with a confused look, before they opened the books and light shone before flowing into their mind. Liang Mei looked at me with her lips parted and stunned. "Let¡¯s discuss our plans once we¡¯ve learned more of what they want us to do." "...Understood." Tang Wei looked mystified by the books that vanished, and then the two Liangs sat down and started meditating with their hair fluttering as if a breeze blew around their bodies. With that, I closed the system screen and exhaled, letting the quiet hum of Qi settle in my bones. It was hard to tell if the heat in my chest was from cultivation or emotion anymore. Probably both. Then I looked up¡ªjust slightly¡ªto the far corner of the room. Yifei sat with her back pressed against the wall, knees to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around them like a girl trying to shrink out of the world. Her red eyes were glassy, rimmed with fresh tears. She hadn¡¯t moved in a while. She didn¡¯t cry out loud. Not the way Mu Qinglan would¡¯ve. No rage or fire. Just silence. Like she¡¯d folded in on herself. I walked over slowly. The others were resting, or pretending to. Liang Qiu was whispering something to Zhou Xue about her old bow. Tang Wei paced by the window. Nobody looked at us. Good. I crouched down next to her and said nothing. Yifei didn¡¯t lift her head. But I saw her body tremble when she finally spoke. "I should¡¯ve stopped him..." Her voice cracked. "We could have fought..." I didn¡¯t answer and just let her spill whatever had built up. "I thought he¡¯d always have a plan, an answer.. that no matter how arrogant or stupid he acted... he was untouchable. You know? That kind of idiot hero invincibility." She sniffled and finally turned her head just enough for me to see her swollen cheeks. "But when I saw them drag him away, Roulan... I¡¯ve never felt that kind of fear before. I thought, ¡¯This is it. That¡¯s the last time I¡¯ll ever see him.¡¯" I reached over and took her hand. Yifei flinched at first, but didn¡¯t pull away. "I couldn¡¯t yell," she said. "I couldn¡¯t even threaten to kill them. I¡¯m not strong enough to do anything... I¡¯m not Qinglan. I¡¯m not you. I just complain and cry like a fucking kid while he gets beat bloody and tries to make us all happy." "You¡¯re not weak," I breathed. She scoffed. "I¡¯m fire, Roulan. That¡¯s what he said. But fire without control just burns everything. I hate that I couldn¡¯t protect him. I hate that I said all that stuff about not caring before, and now it¡¯s all I think about." Her voice got smaller. "I love him. I think I do... I¡¯ve never felt like this before... It¡¯s confusing, infuriating and makes me feel helpless!" I didn¡¯t tease her, because I understood... and the jealousy and anger I felt shrank. We were all the same. "You¡¯re not alone." She blinked. I pointed toward the others. "Look around. None of us are. And you think he doesn¡¯t know that? That idiot gave me 6,000 ZKP, a cultivation manual, and a handwritten letter. All without saying anything." Her eyes widened. "He gave you what?" "Check your inventory. He¡¯s alive. I can feel it in the Qi. And he¡¯s betting everything on us not falling apart." Yifei wiped her eyes with the back of her arm, then her eyes traced the air for a moment, before they widened, tears built up, and she gripped me tighter... but then a subtle flash of red appeared in her eyes, then a heat... ¡¯Ah... he sent her a cultivation manual too, then did he also send one to Qinglan?¡¯ The area around Yifei became hot... but comfortable like a passionate love. When I looked at her, the "Cultivatior" changed from no... to something else. [Fire-Type Cultivator] "I¡¯m going to get him back," I whispered. And Yifei¡¯s hand squeezed mine in reply. "Then let¡¯s do it together." Chapter 177: The Locked Room of Regret Chapter 177: The Locked Room of RegretGu Tianhao¡¯s Estate, Inner Compound Mu Qinglan POV ¡ª¡ª The room stank of old lavender and rust. It was decorated like a memory, like someone tried to preserve an idea of elegance and failed. I lay on the bed, not by choice. Chains, cold and tight, wrapped around my wrists and ankles, biting into skin already red from struggling. One length ran up from my right ankle to the iron bar bolted to the floor beneath the frame. The other looped from my wrist to the top of the headboard. They didn¡¯t gag me. Maybe the bastard wanted to hear me scream. I didn¡¯t give him that. The door creaked open half an hour ago and hasn¡¯t shut since. It¡¯s like Tianhao wanted to remind me that I wasn¡¯t just restrained¡ªI was being watched. Only that damn woman who knocked me out stood quietly. Gu Tianhao never had the guts to touch me in the past, and he still didn¡¯t. But I couldn¡¯t trust the food or anything that he tried to give me. I closed my eyes, pretending it was all a nightmare. That I¡¯d wake up, and the mattress wouldn¡¯t feel like it was suffocating me. That the faint ticking of the grandfather clock on the wall didn¡¯t sound like it was counting down my dignity. Then the footsteps came. Heavy. Slow. Measured. Gu Tianhao stepped into the room with a smarmy face, but didn¡¯t speak. He looked like a cheap villain, tacky black suit, leather gloves and boots along with his unbuttoned shirt showing his disgusting chest and gold chain. Hair slicked back like some kind of CEO from a cheap drama. He stared. Like he was waiting for me to cry. I didn¡¯t. There was nothing he could do to affect me, thanks to everything John did for me. In fact I could escape now. But, first I wanted to understand where they locked him. Once I found that there was no chance I would stay here. "You still think about him?" His voice had the same arrogance it always did. Like, he couldn¡¯t comprehend the idea of being second to anyone. I turned my face away. He stepped closer, the chain on my ankle pulling tight with the bed¡¯s tension as I shifted. "I asked you something," he said, voice low now. "Get out." He knelt beside me. Close. Too close. I smelled his cologne¡ªsomething artificial, bitter, like disinfectant sprayed over cat piss. "Is he better than me?" he asked, his voice rough. No answer. He reached for my cheek. I flicked my body away, causing the chain to rattle, but he got the message. "Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t need to touch garbage that licks the boots of mongrels." I met his eyes then. "He¡¯s ten times the man you¡¯ll ever be." Crack. The slap came out of nowhere. My head snapped sideways, stars bursting across my vision. "Still so proud?" he hissed. "Still dreaming of your little dog?" "He¡¯s bigger than you could ever imagine." The words were a sore point for this loser. Gu Tianhao turned bright red before slapping me once again, eyes still wild, before he turned on his heel and left. The door slammed. And I was alone again. I didn¡¯t cry. Not then. But my throat burned. And for the first time in years, I started thinking¡ªwhat would it take? A single slice. I could end it on my terms. No one would touch me again. But just as my eyes moved toward the edge of the headboard... There was a strange icon flashing in the corner of my eyes, it was a mail icon... at first, I didn¡¯t understand what it was. However, then I remembered John¡¯s bizarre system. [Message: John Wang] [Unread] My breath caught. He... sent me a message!? My pulse thudded louder than the old clock on the wall. The message hovered at the edge of my vision, soft and bright like something sacred. My fingers trembled as I blinked twice, activating it. A panel unfolded. Just text. No voice. No visuals. Just his words. But that was enough for me for now... I couldn¡¯t wait to read it. ¡ª¡ª Qinglan, I don¡¯t know where they¡¯ve taken you. I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re doing to you. But I swear I¡¯ll find out. I¡¯m not dead. Not yet. Not ever, if I can help it. You once called me a reckless fool. You were right. You always are. But I¡¯m still breathing. Still thinking about you. Still remembering the way you stood in front of the others when we first fought together, like your spine is made of steel. That¡¯s what you are to me. A pillar. Something I lean on when I forget how to stand. Don¡¯t break now. Please. Not now. ¡ªJohn P.S. I still think you look best when you¡¯re mad, covered in blood and staring at me with those obsessive red eyes. ¡ª¡ª The breath I didn¡¯t know I¡¯d been holding finally escaped. Sharp and shaky. And then, finally, I cried. Not loud. Not desperate. Just quietly, as the tears trailed down both sides of my face. Because I remembered now. That day on the rooftop. How he stood between me and that mutated freak. Blood streaming down his arm, grin crooked, like death didn¡¯t scare him as long as we were alive. The idiot. The damned, stupid, beautiful idiot. I whispered to the empty room, voice cracking, "You¡¯re alive... you bastard..." I rolled onto my side, unable to stop my smile¡ªa powerful thump echoed in my chest, but it felt great. I read the message over and over, like it was some kind of magical text. Even though it wasn¡¯t physical and just pixels in my vision... It felt like he was here with me. His words had weight. They knocked the knife from my thoughts. Shattered the despair like brittle glass. The idea of dying by my hand, of choosing silence instead of enduring him¡ªit felt cowardly now. It felt like betrayal, not of myself, but of John. Because he didn¡¯t need a victim. He needed Mu Qinglan. Because we became lovers, I started to worry if my violent nature might turn him off... so I held back, resisted and kept it contained. However, he said he liked it and I¡¯m best like that... The rings around my eyes flashed red while looking into the small broken mirror on the wall... the feelings I kept tightly wound in my chest. Those violent and obsession emotions that only came out thanks to my zombie persona... so I let them out. Time passed, while looking at the things John left for me... food, and other items... even a tight black and ice blue bodysuit... it was tight and sexy, but I really wanted to wear it for him... to seduce John with a bat in my hand. And sit on his face... yes... he made me feel this way. So I will do that! ¡ª¡ª More time passed... I stared at the ceiling, chained, filthy, aching, and smiled. "You¡¯re not allowed to die either," I muttered. "So don¡¯t make me regret this." The door hadn¡¯t opened again. But I knew Gu Tianhao would be back. And when he came, he wouldn¡¯t find the broken girl he thought he left behind. This fight wasn¡¯t over, not even close. The lock turned again. That slow, deliberate metal clack. Not hurried. Not careless. He wanted me to hear it. I didn¡¯t move. Not even when the door creaked open and the soft thud of polished boots tapped against the floor. I lay there, one arm chained to the bedframe, the other resting across my stomach. My legs curled slightly inward. The air still reeked of metal and mildew. My sweat had dried on my skin, sticky in the heat. But I didn¡¯t look away. And I didn¡¯t close my eyes. "Still alive?" Gu Tianhao¡¯s voice echoed lazily. "That surprises me. I thought your fragile pride might¡¯ve snapped by now." I slowly turned my head, meeting his gaze. There was something so... off about him now. Something hollow behind those handsome features. His tailored uniform was spotless. His hair, carefully brushed. But his smile looked like a cracked mask barely holding shape. He walked closer. Stopped just at the foot of the bed. His arms crossed, lips curling in mock sympathy. "I was expecting screaming," he said. "Or begging. Maybe some righteous fury." However, he didn¡¯t realise... he wasn¡¯t the only one who was different right now, the metal bat shimmering in the corner of my vision. A new, upgraded bat that John bought for me. I was going to bash this man¡¯s head in. To return to John. I kept silent. "Oh?" He stepped closer, leaning forward slightly. "Playing stoic now? Is that what gets you attention from him? That weak little cockroach?" My jaw tensed, but I didn¡¯t reply. He smirked. "You don¡¯t deny it." "I don¡¯t respond to jealousy," I said flatly. "It¡¯s beneath me." That cracked something. His nostrils flared, but he forced the smile to stay. "Jealousy? I¡¯m not jealous, Qinglan. I¡¯m disappointed. You lowered yourself to fuck some mutt who hides behind women and tricks." He crouched, his voice lowering. "You could¡¯ve had me. You still can. I¡¯ll forgive this. You were confused. Scared. The world fell apart. You needed protection, and you grabbed the first man you could find. I understand." I didn¡¯t blink. "I don¡¯t need protection," I said. "And I¡¯m not confused." His face twisted for half a second, just enough to catch. Then he laughed, rising again. "You know what the funny part is, Qinglan?" He gestured at me. "I haven¡¯t even touched you. Not once. I could¡¯ve. I should¡¯ve. But I didn¡¯t. Because I wanted to see if you¡¯d come to your senses." He leaned closer, whispering. "But I won¡¯t wait forever." I met his eyes and noticed the insecurity in him. "Wanna know what I see, looking at you?" Gu Tianhao¡¯s face shook, his eyebrow lifting. "A child," I said. "A spoiled little boy throwing a tantrum because someone else took the toy he thought was his." Pah! He slapped me. I turned my face back slowly, eyes still locked on him. That¡¯s four times now. "Does that make you feel strong?" I asked. He said nothing. "You¡¯re not the man I once knew," I said. "And I don¡¯t think you ever were." For a long second, he just stood there. Breathing. Then he stepped back, composed himself, and walked toward the door. "Stay here and rot then. Maybe I¡¯ll bring him in next time. Let you watch what I do to him." He opened the door. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Paused. Then, without turning back, said: "I really did love you once." The door shut with a soft click. I closed my eyes. And whispered, "Sorry, I¡¯ve only ever loved John." Then climbed off the bed and grabbed my metal bat and the tight black bodysuit. Chapter 178: Break the Chain, Burn the Shame Chapter 178: Break the Chain, Burn the ShameMarch 23rd, 3:11 PM ¡ª Gu Tianhao¡¯s Compound, South Longwan Jiang Roulan POV ¡ª¡ª The sun cooked the earth beneath our feet. Dirt clung to our ankles and knees, sticking in gritty layers as we shovelled compost into rows of withered plants. The field was boxed in by rusted fencing, each corner watched by men with guns and empty eyes. Survivors moved in tired lines, hauling crates, turning soil, or dragging water buckets heavier than their strength allowed. No one smiled. Tang Wei stood next to me, sweat rolling down her neck as she jammed the rusted spade into the ground. Liang Mei and Zhou Xue were on compost duty. Liang Qiu handled water, face pale but expression firm. None of us spoke unless we had to. Every breath tasted like dust and rot. "Faster," a voice barked from behind. I didn¡¯t turn. I knew the tone. One of the guards, the younger one who¡¯d been eyeing us since we arrived. "Bend lower, sweetheart," he said, not even trying to lower his voice. "You¡¯ll get a better angle." Tang Wei froze for half a second. Then kept digging. "Aw, come on," another guard laughed. "You¡¯re gonna ignore us all day? That¡¯s no fun." I straightened, wiping sweat from my temple, and looked at them calmly. "If you¡¯re bored, you can help." He snorted, clearly unused to women answering back. "I can help, alright," he said, stepping closer. "You and your friend over there can take a break in the barracks. Beds are cleaner than this dirt." Tang Wei¡¯s shovel crunched into the soil again, hard. He smirked and leaned in beside her. "Bet you¡¯d be fun. All those muscles. Got a lot of fight in you?" Tang Wei looked up. "Plenty. Want me to show you?" His grin faltered for a second. But he didn¡¯t back off. "Easy there, bitch. Keep acting cute and I¡¯ll¡ª" The other guard grabbed his arm, whispering something. Probably reminding him not to leave visible marks. Or maybe a warning about my eyes, because I was already walking toward them. "Let¡¯s work," I said, calm and flat. "You¡¯re wasting time. We finish the quota, or your boss gets angry, right?" The first guard¡¯s eyes flicked to mine. His mouth curled. "No need to get snappy, princess. We¡¯re just offering a little incentive." "You¡¯re not offering," Tang Wei said. "You¡¯re begging." The two guards stared at her. For a moment, I thought they¡¯d back down. Instead, one of them spat on the dirt and gestured toward the corner of the fence, where the patrol didn¡¯t reach. "You. You two. Come here. You think you¡¯re funny? Let¡¯s see if you¡¯re still laughing after." Tang Wei looked at me. I gave the faintest nod. Let them lead us away. We¡¯d been waiting for this. The guards left and sent us to the fields to help with the farming... it was harsh. It wasn¡¯t even evening, and the sun was still punishing. The sky had no clouds¡ªjust an endless blue glare that baked the earth and sweat-soaked our backs as we worked. The guards had brought us to the southern fields. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Told us to "earn our food." It was a joke. Sacks stuffed to the limit, some with holes, broken tools, and most of the so-called farming was just moving dirt from one side of the fence to the other. A distraction. Something to exhaust us. I saw what it really was. Control. Tang Wei wiped her brow, muscles taut and glistening under the sun. Liang Mei stumbled but didn¡¯t fall, and surprised me. But Zhou Xue wasn¡¯t made for this kind of work. She swayed more than once, with swollen and blistered hands from the rough grip on the hoe. A pair of guards stood nearby, doing nothing. Just watching. One leaned on his rifle. The other drank from a water bottle he hadn¡¯t offered to anyone. When I glared at them, they smiled. Not kindly. "You¡¯re the one with the mouth, right?" the taller one said to me. "Guess that explains the attitude," the other added. "Leader Gu should¡¯ve tamed you bitches when you arrived." I turned my back while grinding my teeth in anger. But it didn¡¯t stop there. Later, during the break, they came closer. Words low. Vulgar. Promises of food, clean water. "You girls like soft beds? Leader¡¯s got a few. Play nice and we¡¯ll talk." Liang Mei flinched. Tang Wei clenched her fists. I stared them down. "Get lost." The smiles dropped. One stepped forward. "You¡¯re real proud for a bitch in rags." That¡¯s when the atmosphere changed, and I realised these bastards didn¡¯t plan to let us go from the start. It seemed Gu Tianhao was a bastard. He wanted to break us, likely to help break John or Qinglan. Then came the order. "You three. Come with us." "No," Tang Wei barked. They didn¡¯t care. One grabbed her by the arm. "You¡¯re not being asked." The men dragged us way past the main path. Behind the warehouse, out of view. It was dirty, and the scent of sex lingered inside. A strip of dead ground, shaded only by rotting wood and corrugated metal. No eyes. No workers. Just us. And them. ¡¯Ah...¡¯ ¡¯So this is where they raped the other women.¡¯ Many of the females we saw during work looked broken, their eyes dull and lacking light. The moment they saw us, it almost seemed like they made a prayer and asked for forgiveness despite doing nothing. "This is where the good girls get their perks," one said, already fumbling with his belt. "You scream," the other warned, "you don¡¯t get to walk back." These bastards made my heart race, anger and violence growing inside. The first beast tried to pin Liang Mei¡¯s arms against the wall. Tang Wei¡¯s wrists were still bound as she kept her distance. Then another pushed me towards the wall, but the moment he reached for my thigh. I lowered my hips. Shifted my weight and smashed him in the face with a swift roundhouse kick that sent him flying. I wouldn¡¯t let another man touch me there. Tang Wei grunted behind me¡ªshe¡¯d unfastened her wrist rope using the hook from her shovel. One guard reached for her, and she drove her elbow into his throat. "Ack...!!!" He clawed his neck, unable to breathe. Then she kneed him in the crotch, crushing his balls. Liang Mei screamed¡ªnot in fear, but rage¡ªand slammed her head into the male trying to grab her chest. The moment he dropped, she bounced on his face, stomping over and over as the sound of bones breaking echoed. "You filthy pigs!" she shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Touch me again and I¡¯ll kill you!" The three guards were on the ground now, moaning, twitching. One was vomiting. Another curled into a ball, gasping for breath. I spat on the one nearest. "You think we¡¯re weak because we¡¯re women? Try it again." Tang Wei pulled a discarded blade from the dirt and leaned close to the barely conscious man. "Where are they." "W-Who!?" "The hot male and the woman your boss took!" I added to Tang Wei¡¯s deep voice. The man wheezed beneath Tang Wei¡¯s boot, spitting blood through cracked lips. His eyes twitched, darting from her blade to my expression. I crouched beside him, fingers tightening into fists. "Where. Are. They." He tried to turn his face, but Liang Mei kicked him in the ribs. The wet crunch made him scream. "Tell us," she growled, chest heaving. "Or I¡¯ll peel off your face and feed it to the dogs out there." Tang Wei pressed the blade down¡ªjust enough to draw a line of blood under his jaw. "The... the dungeon," he gasped. "Who?" I demanded. "The guy... the man you¡¯re looking for. He¡¯s in the lowest floor. Below the storage wing. Only officers can go there. No cameras." "And Qinglan?" I asked, stepping closer. The bastard whimpered. "She¡¯s... the top floor. Master Gu keeps her in the Jade Room¡ªlocked, chained. Says she¡¯s his bride..." Liang Mei let out a sharp breath and turned away. I saw her fists shaking. Bride? Tang Wei twisted the knife just enough to make him sob. "What¡¯s the guard rotation?" "N-No one stays up there. Only Gu. He doesn¡¯t let anyone near." "And the dungeon?" "Shifts change every four hours... next one¡¯s in twenty minutes. They bring food and... and medicine sometimes." I stood and looked at the others, trying to keep my face calm, but only on the surface. "We move at night," she said. "Too risky," Tang Wei answered. "They¡¯ll notice these three." Liang Mei looked down at the twitching bodies. "Then we dump them." I nodded. "Strip them, tie them, gag them. If we¡¯re lucky, the camp thinks they got drunk and wandered off. If not¡ªthen we fight our way out when it¡¯s time." Tang Wei gave a tight nod. "I¡¯ll handle the ropes." Liang Mei bent down and pulled a boot from one of the unconscious pigs. She didn¡¯t speak, but her glare said enough. "We should get the others; We¡¯ll move tonight." I remained behind last, watching Tang Wei and Liang Mei skipping back to the group... when I gazed at them, my heart raced faster. Anger built up. If we didn¡¯t get stronger, thanks to John... ¡¯What would have happened!?¡¯ I didn¡¯t tell the others... There was another message... a dark and grim message. - If you kill someone, the system will allow you to "Dismantle" their corpse, removing all evidence. So I cut their throats... and dismantled them. My heart dropped, and I thought everything ended... Yet even that emotion lasted only a few moments before a sense of euphoria filled me... and it made me wonder if something, somewhere had gone wrong. And I realised that with each day that passed... I became more and more like John. Chapter 179: Waiting, preparing... the Viper coils Chapter 179: Waiting, preparing... the Viper coilsMarch 23rd, 6:42 PM ¡ª Underground Cell, Gu Tianhao¡¯s Compound John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª "Haa..." I gritted my teeth and lowered myself. Drip! Air pushups weren¡¯t real pushups. You hover, a fist-width above the floor, then explode back up without touching. "Hap!" Again. And again. Blood and sweat smeared the floor beneath me. My arms burned with agony as I held myself in the air, vertically holding my body as I performed air pushups. From the moment I was attacked for the second time. I decided that sitting here would only lead me to become useless. One more. The chain on my ankle clinked softly with each repetition, too short to let me stand, just long enough to move. My body felt heavier than usual, but also stronger. Like my bones had grown thicker overnight. The dull bruises across my ribs and back pulsed with a slow, aching heat, but no longer felt like they were breaking me. My skin had darkened slightly, bronzed and glistening with sweat. Not golden. Not tanned. Just... tougher. [System Upgrade Progress: 91%] The number hovered in my vision, flashing faintly with every breath I took. "Phew..." After the first time I woke up, the system and my body changed several times as if it was being destroyed and reborn in four-hour intervals. But now... this one seemed to be the last. I would probably black out once more before tonight. [Intense Exercise Complete!] [Cultivation Increased: 2%] [Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture ¨C Passive Absorption Active] [Elemental Affinities Detected: Water (Medium), Fire (Medium), Earth (Strong), Wind (Weak)] This thing was something I gained from the moment I woke up after blacking out. I never realised that upgrading the system would change things so much. It almost felt like I¡¯d fallen into a fantasy world... Dancing particles of colour appeared around me when I focused my eyes, and those particles would slowly swirl through the air and enter my body. Be it through my lips, nose, skin... Then that message about absorption would pop up. The moment the new scripture awakened, I understood it instinctively. I didn¡¯t need a teacher. Just pressure. Pain. Sex. And time. Time I didn¡¯t have. Mu Qinglan... Jiang Roulan... Shen Yifei... Thanks to this technique, I could sense their general direction, feelings, and emotions. That¡¯s why I woke up despite the pain. Mu Qinglan¡¯s determination, darkness and fury to kill the man who hit me. Jiang Roulan¡¯s affection, loyalty and desire and her dark emotions... I stole those feelings from them after she used the system to dismantle their corpses. The issue was Shen Yifei. Because of her intense self-hatred and insecure feelings, I couldn¡¯t use the cultivation technique to remove them... only decreasing them slightly. Although I could dull their negative feelings a little, it was impossible to create false feelings or improve the positive ones. So I could only wait... for my time. I remembered Roulan¡¯s lips the night before they captured us. The way her hand lingered on my arm. I remembered Qinglan¡¯s cries when they beat me bloody. I pushed again. The wounds would heal. But if I broke here? There¡¯d be nothing left of me to save. Again. Again. Again. My training might have lasted hours... until. The sound of footsteps had become a rhythm, and solid boots paced down the corridor. A pause. Then the clink of keys. The metallic screech of the barred door swinging open. I didn¡¯t look up. My body hurt, but it wasn¡¯t the pain you could grit your teeth through and ignore. This was a cold ache that lived in your bones. But I wasn¡¯t broken, because the past few hours helped to reinforce my body and will. The bruises hadn¡¯t vanished completely. They just sat there like reminders¡ªmy reward for surviving. Dull purple patches across my ribs and shoulder, one on my cheekbone, and dozens lining my forearms. But under the skin, I felt it. The new technique was working. I almost feared that I might shatter Qinglan¡¯s pelvis if I thrust into her at full power. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [System Upgrade: 96%] My ribs hurt every time I exhaled, and there was a raw, constant burn under my skin, like someone had buried coals inside my body. Still, I kept moving. Each air pushup strained my arms. My chest dipped low over the cold, filthy floor, the smell of blood and mould thick in my lungs. I didn¡¯t care. I needed to move and feel something that wasn¡¯t helplessness. The moment I paused, I knew they¡¯d come again. Gu Tianhao¡¯s goons liked to play executioner, making sure I stayed weak. But they didn¡¯t know something was brewing under the surface. I grit my teeth while lowering myself, prepared for the coming beating. My body was better than before¡ªstronger, denser¡ªbut still not enough. [98%...] Footsteps. The echo of two voices. "Is he still alive?" "Doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯re not allowed to kill him... yet." I didn¡¯t look up. Not until the door opened and the cell lights flickered. The two guards stood there, smug as ever. One had a baton. The other held a metal rod. They stepped in, slow and casual, like they were walking into a stable. "Time for your daily reminder," the one on the left said, twirling his baton. I didn¡¯t flinch, not this time. "Say something, asshole," the right one snapped. I smiled, just barely. And that seemed to piss them off more than anything. The first hit landed on my shoulder. The next was against my gut. I coughed blood, spat it to the side, and took another blow to the back. [99.8%...] I curled forward¡ªnot from the pain, but to shield my core. That was when the rod struck my spine. Something cracked. My mouth opened in a silent scream¡ª [System Upgrade: 100% - Complete.] Time froze. A warm chime echoed through my skull. The pain numbed instantly. Not gone, but dulled¡ªlike a painkiller had been shot into my soul. Then...That voice. [Hello, John... It¡¯s been a while.] It was soft. Feminine. Older than me, but sweet. Her tone was teasing, like a neighbourhood older sister who¡¯d caught her little brother doing something dumb again. [You sure know how to get beaten up. What am I going to do with you?] My eyes widened. My breath caught. [System: Ruler Interface 2.0 ¡ª Activated.] [Primary Cultivation Technique: Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture] [Link Confirmed: Mu Qinglan, Shen Yifei, Jiang Roulan (weak bond)] [Qi Type Absorbed: Fire, Ice, Earth ¡ª all stable.] [Body Status: Enhanced, Regenerating.] [Welcome back, my precious pervert.] "...you¡¯re real," I whispered. "The hell is this kid saying!?" "Who cares? Just hit him!" [Of course I am. Who else would bother saving your silly and reckless ass?] I started laughing. The guards blinked, confused. That was when the glow beneath my skin began to fade. My wounds pulsed, leaking steam. My bones cracked again¡ªthis time, realignment. My muscles tightened, and I felt my heart thump like a war drum. I stood. Not fully healed. Not fully ready. But enough to return the favour to these fools. My bare feet touched the ground like thunder. The guards flinched. I could feel it now. Not just the power from the upgrade, but my blood, my core, myself, finally waking up. Like all the pain, humiliation, and despair had forged a second spine through my body. A dantian pulsed low in my abdomen, deep and hot, like an ancient furnace. The air crackled around me. Moisture trembled. The metal rod in the thug¡¯s hand wavered from condensation. The other one raised his baton¡ªand then dropped it as soon as I met his eyes. "What the fuck¡ª?!" "Shit! Call backup¡ª!" My body rushed forward. I grabbed the man¡¯s face, fingers sinking into flesh as I slammed his skull against the wall. The crack rang out like a dropped coconut, and he collapsed in a heap, twitching. The other tried to run. Bad choice. I kicked the baton from the floor, caught it mid-air, and drove it into the back of his knee. He screamed, toppling over as it bent inward. A gruesome wound. Then I pressed my foot against his back, forcing him down. "Still think I¡¯m the trash around here?" I asked, voice low, raspy. He whimpered something¡ªtoo wet to understand, but I couldn¡¯t wait. I dropped beside him and leaned close. "Where¡¯s Mu Qinglan?" He didn¡¯t answer. So I twisted the baton, pressing it into the joint of his shoulder until it popped. "Where!?" "S-Southeast wing¡ª!" he gasped. "Second floor, she¡¯s locked there¡ª!" "And me?" I asked, eyes narrowing. "B-basement. No guards down here except us. No one wants the job..." That tracks. I stood, breathing hard. Then I turned and looked toward the iron door, still ajar. The hallway beyond was dim, the torches barely lit. [Now that we¡¯re finally synced, John... I¡¯ve unlocked your internal map.] The voice returned¡ªgentle and warm, like she was whispering from the side of my neck. [You¡¯ve got one floor between you and the mansion¡¯s outer structure. Another two to reach her. If you want, I¡¯ll start highlighting optimal paths.] "Do it," I muttered. [And John?] "Yeah?" [Your body¡¯s still recovering. You¡¯re not invincible.] I snorted. "Wasn¡¯t planning to go full Superman just yet." [Good. Because this isn¡¯t a hero story, it¡¯s yours.] "Then... make me a one!" Chapter 180: Moonlit Butcher Chapter 180: Moonlit ButcherMarch 23rd, 6:30 PM ¡ª Women¡¯s Holding Block, Gu Tianhao¡¯s Compound Jiang Roulan POV ¡ª¡ª The sky outside dimmed, though inside our cell block, it was always the same¡ªhumid, cracked walls, stale air, and the stink of fear. But tonight, the air was different. Something was coming. I didn¡¯t know how. But I felt it. "Now," I whispered. Tang Wei gave a small nod and rose from her mattress. She moved like a shadow, her body still aching from the work yesterday, but her eyes sharp. Liang Mei and Zhou Xue followed, their silence tense. We¡¯d practised this. Again and again in whispers and gestures until the timing felt second nature. Liang Qiu lingered near the back, nervous. But she didn¡¯t speak. I adjusted the dirty cloth shirt they gave me¡ªit still clung too tight to my hips¡ªand walked toward the barred door. The female guard sat outside, half-dozing, a radio lazily looped on her belt and a sidearm at her hip. Same one as last night. The same one who kept licking her lips when looking at the younger girls. "Help," I said, my voice weak, trembling. The woman glanced up, annoyed. "What?" "I think I¡¯m bleeding. It¡¯s... that time of the month." "Seriously?" she muttered, grabbing the keys and approaching. I didn¡¯t blink. The moment the bolt turned, Tang Wei shot forward with no hesitation. Her palm crashed into the guard¡¯s face. Blood sprayed. Zhou Xue caught the radio and tossed it into the far corner before it could squawk. We dragged her inside. No sound. Just precision. Liang Mei tied her hands with the woman¡¯s belt while I stole her pistol. Tang Wei pulled on the jacket. It didn¡¯t fit perfectly, but from a distance, it would do. "Doors next," I hissed. There were only two guards on this side. If we moved fast... I didn¡¯t know if John was still alive. But I knew this was our chance to act. And I refused to let it slip. We moved through the hall like a ripple¡ªsilent, tense, bodies taut. Tang Wei walked ahead, wearing the stolen jacket with her chin dipped low. Liang Mei carried the empty mop bucket she¡¯d stolen to look like a cleaning girl. Zhou Xue clung to the back with Liang Qiu close behind. I kept to the middle. One hand in my waistband, fingers wrapped around the pistol. The corridor was wide and had many windows that let in dim orange light from the courtyard. A few guards passed by, but none paid us more than a glance. Until one did. He was tall. Too tall. His gaze landed on me, and his brows furrowed before he stopped. "Hey!" He stopped walking and seemed to doubt me before he grunted. "I don¡¯t know you." Tang Wei kept walking, but I stepped forward. "She¡¯s new," I said, voice flat. "Shift change." He frowned. Too late. The butt of my pistol slammed into his jaw before he could reach for his comms. His body dropped like dead weight. Tang Wei caught him and dragged him behind the open door of an unused storage room. Liang Mei kicked it shut with her heel. "What now?" Zhou Xue whispered. "There¡¯s a side stairwell," Liang Qiu said quickly. "It leads up to the third floor of the main house. If she¡¯s locked somewhere... that¡¯s where she¡¯ll be." She was right. That mansion had been where Mu Qinglan was taken. And John? Underground, they said. Beneath that same building. "Then we split," I said. "I¡¯ll go for Mu Qinglan. Tang Wei, you lead the rest to find John. If he¡¯s alive, bring him up. If he¡¯s not..." I swallowed. "Bring him back anyway." Tang Wei didn¡¯t argue. She just nodded and passed me the jacket. I took it. And we moved. Although I wanted to find John, it would be best if I met up with Qinglan first... So I offered to go alone and sent Shen Yifei with the other group. She looked more focused as she followed Tang Wei in silence. ¡¯I hope that seeing John will help her...¡¯ ¡ª¡ª The stairwell reeked of mildew and gunpowder. Dim emergency lights blinked at intervals, half of them broken. My bare feet slapped softly against the cracked stone steps, each movement precise, measured, and silent. The air was thick with dust, and every breath scratched my lungs. The air grew colder as I climbed. Each floor I passed, the temperature dipped. Or maybe it was in my head. My fingers curled tighter around the pistol. The jacket Tang Wei gave me stuck to my skin with sweat, but I couldn¡¯t feel the heat. Only the pressure was building in my chest. There was something strange here... Though the second floor looked no different to the other floors, the same carpets and decor, but... the stench and eerie darkness weren¡¯t the same. The silence wasn¡¯t clean. It was the kind of silence you would see in a horror movie... right before the monsters came out. I stepped forward and tried to track everything. No sign of guards. No footsteps. Just a broken vase on the floor near the far wall and the smeared drag of what looked like blood. Fresh. I moved faster. Near the stairwell up to the third floor, I paused. The door was ajar. A single trail of red ran up the last steps, dotted and streaked. Blood. And not a little. My breath hitched. I remembered then dragging Mu Qinglan away, unconscious, arms limp, rage on her face even as they knocked her out. And now this? Had they done something to her? No. That¡¯s not what this looked like. This stain couldn¡¯t be from someone¡¯s torture. This mark was someone fighting back. I touched the edge of the wall and crept up two more steps. More blood. Thicker now. A small spray on the wall. A boot print. Part of a glove, fingers still inside, twitching. My stomach twisted. My mind raced. All this stress just to save my love rival... it made me nervous and part of me wanted to give up and leave... but I couldn¡¯t. The smell hit first. It wasn¡¯t just blood. It was metal and bile and the sickly stench of burst intestines. I swallowed hard, tasting it on my tongue. I gripped the wall, heart pounding. Each step toward the third-floor landing felt heavier than the last. Not from fear, but from some invisible pressure in the air. Like the weight of violence still lingered, clinging to every inch of stone and wood. Then I saw it. The hallway beyond the stairwell entrance... wasn¡¯t a hallway anymore. It was a massacre. Blood soaked the floor like rainwater after a flood, thick and black under the weak flicker of hallway lights. Torn limbs¡ªarms, a leg, a jaw¡ªwere scattered in pieces. One torso hung from a shattered lamp thrown hard enough to break metal. The walls had deep gouges in them. Finger marks. Scratches. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Like someone had tried to crawl away. But there was no sign of Mu Qinglan. Not yet. My breath grew shallow. I stepped slowly into the carnage, the wet squelch of blood underfoot making me want to gag. I kept the pistol raised, just in case. That¡¯s when I saw her. Saw Mu Qinglan She stood at the far end of the hallway like a moonlight goddess, standing under the cracked balcony window. The glass shattered, moonlight pouring inside, bathing her in the argent glow. Mu Qinglan stood still. Silent. Her huge blade rested loosely over her right shoulder, the blade dripping with fresh blood, with long hair stuck to her shoulders and back, soaked. A thick trail of blood ran down her thigh. Her other hand twitched slightly at her side. And her eyes¡ª Her eyes glowed red. Not bright. Not demonic. Just a faint, eerie pulse. Almost like the afterimage of a fire smouldering behind Qinglan¡¯s pupils. She hadn¡¯t noticed me yet. She just stood there, gazing out the window like the night could explain everything. And for the first time since this hell began... I wasn¡¯t sure if I was looking at another human or my rival anymore... Snap! Qinglan¡¯s head turned to me. Her gaze was fierce and filled with pressure, like a beast watching her prey, but she didn¡¯t move, only swaying slightly... with a dazed look in her eyes. "Jiang.... Roulan?" A soft, yet devilish voice. I didn¡¯t respond. But she didn¡¯t seem to care and tilted her head, the blood dripped from her lips as she spoke again. "Where is John?" Chapter 181: Moonlit Requiem Chapter 181: Moonlit RequiemMarch 23rd, 6:05 PM ¡ª Third Floor, Gu Tianhao¡¯s Mansion Mu Qinglan POV ¡ª¡ª It was cold. Not just the stone pressing into my spine, or the metal links biting at my wrists. It was something deeper, crawling through my bones. I¡¯d lost track of time. Day and night didn¡¯t matter anymore, not inside this room, chained to a bed like a dog. My wrists ached, skin rubbed raw from the cuffs. My hair stuck to my cheeks. The taste of blood filled my mouth, but it was nothing compared to what John must be enduring. ¡¯I miss you...¡¯ There was nothing here for me to do but glare at the wall, and outside the window, there was nothing but the room where that bastard stayed. If only the moon would rise, spilling pale blue light across this dark room. I heard every sound in the hall, every footstep. Sometimes, Gu Tianhao¡¯s men would laugh just outside my door. Sometimes they just listened, as if waiting for me to break. I refused. The humiliation stung worse than any bruise. My ex-fianc¨¦. That bastard Gu Tianhao had locked me here, wrists chained, ankles bound to the bedpost. He visited hours ago, spitting venom, eyes glittering as he taunted me. "If you beg, I might let you go. Otherwise, tomorrow you¡¯re a prize for my men." He hit me, but not enough to matter. Not like he wanted to hurt me, like he wanted to break something else. He only visited to gloat, his eyes gleaming with jealousy and hate. He wanted me to beg, so I spat in his face instead. Now my mouth was dry, and my arms throbbed from straining at the cuffs. My mind raced in circles. I¡¯d been angry for so long I didn¡¯t know how to stop. Shame and fury mixed in my stomach until I felt sick. If this is what I¡¯d come to... Trapped, chained, taunted and threatened by the one man I hated most. Then maybe I should finish it on my terms. I glanced at the shard of glass hidden beneath the pillow. I could feel the edge calling me. One quick stroke. Better than being paraded as a prize for these animals. But I hesitated. His face remained in my thoughts, always there, smiling at me... John. When it happened, I have no clue, but it was clear... I was in love with him. I loved him, even if he wanted other women. But I needed to know his feelings. Am I a simple fling? Will he discard me once he fucks Jiang Roulan? Maybe he would choose Shen Yifei or that girl with the huge ass who always fawns on him like a little animal. These toxic thoughts increased the longer I sat in the darkness, waiting. My hand trembled. I closed my eyes. Then a faint chime echoed through my mind. [New Message: John Wang] I blinked. The system interface flickered into being, words glowing faintly above my vision. I sucked in a breath. Qinglan¡ª If you see this, then I am alive and well. No matter what happened, I will come and save you. I¡¯ve realised just how important you are to me... and I cannot let you suffer there alone. I¡¯ll come for you, no matter what. Don¡¯t let them break you.You¡¯re mine. Only I can break you! I read it once. Twice. My chest tightened. That idiot was always trying to sound like a hero when he was barely holding on himself. But it was enough. Because of his words, the darkness and doubt faded... my heart and anger became focused. My hand crept beneath the ragged pillow and gripped the shard of glass¡ªnot to turn it on myself, but to wedge it between chain and wood. My eyes adjusted in the moonlight, scanning the familiar outlines of my system¡¯s menu. My Zhanmadao. I¡¯d hidden it away, hoping I¡¯d never need it. My fingers tapped twice. [Retrieve: The Endless Night] A ripple of Qi passed through my palm. The sword appeared¡ªmassive, heavy, beautiful, the ice-etched blade glimmering with cold darkness. The Zhanmadao, my last piece of power. Seventy-eight inches of perfect, unbreakable hatred. The blade hummed, absorbing the thin trickle of Ice Qi I could muster, the [Ice Orchid Aura] sharpening its edge. The moonlight poured over it, silver turning blue, the unbreakable blade gleaming. My pulse steadied. If they wanted a show, I¡¯d give them one. I wrenched the chain tight, then slammed the blade into the links. The metal screamed, then shattered under the force, splinters of iron bouncing across the filthy floor. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I was free. Since you told me what I needed, I am the one who will save you. ¡¯My John~ I am coming!¡¯ *** My hands shook, but not from fear. The chain fell away with a harsh clang, bouncing across the broken tiles. I flexed my wrist, fighting through the pins and needles in my arm. I wanted to scream, to sob, but I swallowed it all down and rose to my feet. I gripped The Endless Night with both hands. The weight was a comfort¡ªfamiliar, brutal, real. My ice Qi trickled through the blade, sharpening the edge, feeding that thin, deadly aura. Each breath tasted like metal and hate. Footsteps echoed outside the door. One, then two. Voices¡ªsmug, bored, certain. "Boss says she gets nothing to eat tonight," one snickered. "He wants her hungry." The lock clicked. The door creaked open. I moved before I could think. My body was empty and full at once¡ªrage burning through me, pain sharpening every sense. The first man barely got a word out before the flat of my blade slammed across his face, teeth and blood flying. The next reached for his gun, but I was already there, swinging the Zhanmadao in a wide, whistling arc. The blade met flesh. The [Ice Orchid Aura] whispered as it sliced clean through bone and muscle, leaving a streak of frozen blood on the wall. A scream echoed down the hall. Someone shouted for backup. I moved faster, boots silent on blood-slick floorboards, cutting through the first wave of guards like a nightmare. Some tried to run. One fired at me¡ªa wild shot, ricocheting past my head. I lunged, blade coming down hard, splitting him from collarbone to hip. Another charged me, knife raised, but I slammed my shoulder into his gut and brought the hilt up under his chin. He dropped like a sack of bricks. The hallway was narrow, but the sword... no, I was made for this. My strength was more than enough. The Endless Night drank in my fury, the blade shimmering with frost as I moved, each swing slower, heavier, more controlled. Bodies hit the ground. Blood pooled in the cracks. My breath came harsh and ragged. When everything ended, I stood over the corpses of the ten, maybe twelve men who were all dead, and torn into pieces with blood sprayed like paint. The walls became red and streaked with gore. My arms felt heavy with exhaustion, but my heart beat with excitement. I held the sword tight, letting it rest on my shoulder. I wiped blood from my eyes and walked to the window. The moon streamed through broken glass, painting the carnage silver and blue. My reflection looked quite amusing and nostalgic, a wide grin pasted on my lips, blood red eyes and hair like I¡¯d just been pounded by John all night. The nostalgic thoughts from back then, when I could be honest and tell him my feelings as a zombie returned. Would John accept my honest and direct feelings still, even now that I am a crazy bitch who got wet from killing men with a huge sword...? Suddenly, the door behind me creaked open. A voice¡ªfamiliar, shaking.a "Qinglan...?" I turned, just as Jiang Roulan stepped onto the third floor, wide-eyed and pale. She saw the carnage. She saw me. For a long second, neither of us spoke. Jiang Roulan seemed to struggle breathing, eyes wide as she observed the mess I¡¯d made. Yet I couldn¡¯t remove my gaze. The look of her shock, worry, and the faint tears in the corner of her eyes made me want to gloat... Ah~ I am a freak. I tried to speak, but only air and a twisted smile escaped. She stepped forward, trembling, voice soft but unafraid. "...You¡¯re alive." And for the first time since I woke, my chest loosened. I nodded once, just enough to keep standing. Ah... Jiang Roulan... You are my number one rival and someone I want to befriend. Don¡¯t run away! Chapter 182: Reunion Chapter 182: ReunionMarch 23rd, 7:13 PM ¡ª Third Floor, Gu Tianhao¡¯s Mansion Mu Qinglan POV ¡ª¡ª Jiang Roulan stood frozen in the doorway, jaw slack, eyes darting from the puddles of blood to the twitching hand half-smashed under the bust cabinet. I let The Endless Night drop against the floor with a heavy clang, grinning like an idiot while I wiped some splatter from my chin with the back of my hand. "You look like you walked through a slaughterhouse," Roulan breathed, voice thin as glass. I spread my arms, letting blood drip from my elbows, half-giddy and half just high off surviving. "What, you don¡¯t like my new perfume?" My voice cracked into a giggle. "It¡¯s very... sweet. Maybe John will go wild for it." Roulan just blinked at me, mouth opening and closing. She didn¡¯t look scared, just... rattled. I loved it. If she screamed, maybe I¡¯d feel normal. Instead, she stepped into the carnage. Her bare feet almost slipped in a streak of gore. "Holy shit, Qinglan, are you¡ªdid you do all this?" "Obviously." I flashed her a full smile, the kind that said I might be two heartbeats away from cackling or crying. "You want a demonstration? Maybe I should¡¯ve let the last one live so you could see." Somehow... being myself in front of Jiang Roulan felt great! No, father. No family. No bullshit! Only Me. The real me! Roulan¡¯s lips twitched. "No thanks. I think you made your point." The silence that followed wasn¡¯t awkward. It was raw, hot, and a little crazy. I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears, the high of violence still coiling in my gut. She stared at my sword, then at my face, then at the ruined guards. "You... you really were always like this, weren¡¯t you?" I shrugged, running a blood-soaked hand through my hair. "What? Insane? Please. You should see me after sex." That finally did it¡ªRoulan burst out laughing, even though tears shimmered in her eyes. "God, I almost forgot this side of you, you psycho." I grinned wider, teeth stained pink. "Don¡¯t get soft on me now. You¡¯re supposed to be my rival, not my therapist." She walked closer, still tense, still on edge, but not backing away. "If you can walk, we need to move. The others¡ªTang Wei¡¯s leading a breakout." "Yeah?" My chest squeezed, not with fear, but maybe something like hope. "John¡¯s alive, isn¡¯t he?" Roulan hesitated, but nodded. "He¡¯s fighting. We all are. So save the crazy for the bad guys, alright?" I hefted The Endless Night, feeling the rush of Qi slide through me again. "No promises. John loves it when I act this way." "Eh? Really!? Damn pervert..." Jiang Roulan wasn¡¯t boring. I used to think she was, but it¡¯s clear that was me being stupid. "Do you want to try? I have this...." A short blade rolled in the palm of my hand, shimmering in the moonlight. "Stop being a freak! I have these!" She patted her black tonfa, but they seemed to be stronger than before. "Whatever!" Together, we walked through the ruins of my fury¡ªrival and rival, both grinning, both shaking, and neither quite sure which of us was the scarier bitch in the room. But at least, for now, we were alive. And that was enough. *** Roulan led, but every step I took felt like peeling a mask off my skin. There was nothing left to hide. No, scolding, no warnings, no etiquette lessons. Just the rush of power in my muscles, the cold bite of The Endless Night in my grip, and the rhythmic pounding of my heart. We slipped down the stairwell, shadows dancing across the walls¡ªone blood-smeared psycho and one pissed-off queen, both too stubborn to die. Guards didn¡¯t expect women to fight. That was their first mistake. Two more idiots rounded the corner near the old study, probably looking for the source of the screams. I smiled so wide my jaw ached. Roulan didn¡¯t hesitate. Her tonfa smashed the first in the gut, folding him in half. I spun in behind her, blade singing as I lopped the second¡¯s weapon arm at the elbow. He shrieked. Blood splattered the floor. Forgive me, I am a bad... bad... girl. John... I¡¯m so horny right now; hurry and push me down! I giggled. Couldn¡¯t help it. Maybe I was losing it. Perhaps I¡¯d already lost it. Roulan glanced at me, breathless, lips twitching. "You¡¯re enjoying this too much." "After the time I¡¯ve had? I deserve a little fun." I planted my boot on the groaning man¡¯s chest, kicked him down the stairs, then dragged the flat of my blade across the blood-slick tiles. The ice Qi left little frosted patterns in its wake. We crept through a trashed bedroom, broken vases and torn bedding underfoot. The air stank of fear and sweat. Somewhere below, someone was shouting orders. Tang Wei¡¯s voice? Maybe. I crouched by the balcony, eyes flicking over the chaos below. Spotlights swept the yard. More guards converged on the front steps, guns drawn. The alarm must have gone up. Didn¡¯t matter. We just had to cut through. Roulan tapped my shoulder, eyes narrow. "Ready to meet the others?" I grinned. "Let¡¯s see if they¡¯ve left any fun for us." My heart beat harder¡ªanticipation, not dread. I¡¯d almost forgotten what it felt like to move without fear. To be myself. Even if that new self became stained red. We burst from the hall, moving as one¡ªme with my blade, Roulan with her tonfa, laughter and curses trailing in our wake as we raced for the stairwell, for Tang Wei, for the bloody, beautiful, wild road to freedom. Tonight, nobody was holding us back. Not men. Not monsters. Not even each other. *** We didn¡¯t have to search for long. Even in chaos, survivors found each other by instinct or scent¡ªor, in our case, by the trail of battered guards. I spotted Tang Wei first, halfway down the main hall. She still moved with that quiet, deliberate force¡ªbroad shoulders tense, a blade in her hand, blood soaking the cuff of her shirt. Zhou Xue flanked her, eyes hard, rifle cradled awkwardly against her side. Liang Mei and Liang Qiu stuck close behind, wary but unbroken. Roulan barely paused. "Tang Wei." Her tone was low, clipped. Tang Wei¡¯s eyes swept over us, lingering on the blood and filth smeared across my shirt, the weight of The Endless Night in my grip. Her face didn¡¯t change, but her nod felt like a small sigh of relief. "You two look like hell," she said, voice level as ever. "Better than the men upstairs," I replied, letting a sharp smile curl on my lips. She took that in stride. "We¡¯re moving for the basement. They said John¡¯s down there. He¡¯ll need help¡ªassuming he¡¯s alive." I met her gaze, letting her see I was just as ruthless, just as ready. "Lead the way." The others fell in behind, tense, silent, moving like soldiers on a raid. Every creak in the mansion made my fingers tighten on the sword hilt. The house felt like it was holding its breath. At the stairwell, a guard stepped into our path¡ªmaybe thinking he could play the hero. Tang Wei didn¡¯t hesitate. She blocked his swing, twisted his arm, and shoved him into the wall with a quiet efficiency that made my heart thump. He slid to the floor, out cold. We moved on. The lower level stank of mould and metal. Somewhere ahead, boots pounded, and angry voices barked orders. But all I could hear was the hum of my own nerves, the promise of steel and violence. A loud bang rattled the pipes overhead. Everyone froze, eyes wide. The next instant, a body¡ªone of Gu Tianhao¡¯s guards¡ªcrashed through the corridor ahead. He hit the far wall with a sickening crunch, blood smearing a jagged streak as he slumped to the floor. Nobody spoke. Not even Tang Wei. In the sudden silence, another shadow loomed in the basement doorway. He stepped out¡ªtall, bare-chested, body marked by fresh wounds and old scars, eyes burning neon blue in the low light. His hair was longer, darker, and the set of his jaw looked so hot and dangerous. John. For a second, the world held still. Then Tang Wei¡¯s lips twitched in the barest hint of approval. Roulan breathed out, "He¡¯s alive..." And me? sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I smiled, wild and reckless, gripping The Endless Night as shouts rang out above us. He looked so hot that my ovaries must notice... taller, stronger and sexier. Damn, I wish these women weren¡¯t here. Behind him, two other people staggered out of the doorway with bloody faces and swollen lips; it was Deng Hua and Chen Xun. No way did I almost forget these guys. "Let¡¯s clear a path," Tang Wei said. John¡¯s grin cut through the tension as he moved forward, approaching me... then he touched my chin with a faint smile. "J-John¡ªMmmmn!?" The kiss was intense, dirty and wet... the feeling of his tongue wrapping around mine and the suction made my mind blank. It was passionate enough to make me press against the wall and stick out my ass and let him fuck me... damn it. Finally, we were together. And hell was about to break loose. But the hell in my panties was already beyond control... Chapter 183: Let Them Be Free Chapter 183: Let Them Be FreeMarch 23rd, 7:27 PM Mansion Basement, Gu Tianhao¡¯s Compound John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª The world smelled like rust and sweat. My fists still throbbed from the last blow, but it wasn¡¯t painful, just a pulse, echoing through the new body the system gifted me. Hair clung to my jaw, damp with blood that wasn¡¯t all mine. My eyes adjusted fast, neon blue cutting through the gloom. The door burst open behind me. I spun, teeth bared. I expected another wave of Tianhao¡¯s dogs. Instead, I saw Tang Wei leading a battered, beautiful mob: Roulan, Zhou Xue, Liang Mei, and then¡ªMu Qinglan, sword gripped, blood dripping from her shirt, grinning at me like the world was ending and she wanted to be the one who ended it. I almost laughed. She looked feral, hair wild, eyes burning. Roulan stood beside her, one arm streaked red, but her face sharp and proud. Tang Wei said nothing¡ªher eyes swept over me, checked for wounds, checked for weakness. Then she nodded once. "You look like shit, John." I grinned. "You should see the other guys." Behind me, Deng Hua and Chen Xun staggered out, battered but alive. For the first time since I woke up in this hellhole, I felt a sense of a group, not just strays clinging to life. "We¡¯re breaking out," Tang Wei said, voice like stone. "You in?" I wiped blood from my lip, flexed my fingers, and nodded. "Always." Qinglan stepped closer, swinging her sword with a loose, hungry confidence. "Let¡¯s make it a real party." Roulan just smirked. "Move your ass, hero. We¡¯ve got people to free." I couldn¡¯t help but look at her and think¡ªdamn, maybe I was the lucky one. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The alarm still howled upstairs. Distant voices shouted, doors slammed. It was now or never. *** We burst out of the basement area, boots pounding tile, blood spattered on our clothes. The first guards didn¡¯t know what hit them. I raised my fists and let my system flare. [Summon: Twin Gauntlets ¡ª Crushing Moon] The weight slammed down on my arms, metal plates wrapping tight. My hands disappeared into bone and steel, blades catching the courtyard¡¯s lantern glow. I flexed, feeling the Qi gather at my knuckles, ready to tear the world open. Shots rang out. Bullets whined off the stone and metal. Zhou Xue and Liang Qiu ducked behind a broken column, bows snapping up. Liang Mei bared her teeth, loosed three arrows in quick succession¡ªone caught a guard in the throat, another in the gut, the third in the thigh. The man toppled with a wheeze, rifle clattering from limp hands. Tang Wei and Roulan rushed forward, moving as a pair. Her blade shone in the dark before cutting down a man before he could aim his pistol. Roulan swung both tonfa, smashing kneecaps and ribs. She looked almost elegant, but her eyes were cold, every movement measured. Mu Qinglan was somewhere ahead, a streak of blood and laughter, The Endless Night painting the dirt red. She didn¡¯t hesitate, didn¡¯t slow, didn¡¯t spare a single bastard who tried to grab her. Her shirt stuck to her, tits bouncing with every swing and honestly, I nearly tripped watching her. Chen Xun and Deng Hua, half-dead but stubborn, snatched up fallen rifles and sprayed the guard posts. I didn¡¯t need to give orders. They all moved on instinct. Survival, rage, and maybe the hope of something better. I felt it, too. My blood burned. The gauntlets tightened as I slammed into a man with a submachine gun, my fist crunching through his guard and breaking his jaw. The [Shotgun Core] primed, and I squeezed the trigger. A burst of raw force exploded from my wrist. The blast caught two men in the chest, sending them spinning like dolls. The air was filled with screams and the smell of gunpowder. Liang Mei froze for a second as she saw the far field, human shapes chained to posts, people huddled in rags, faces thin and desperate. "They locked them up...!" she gasped. I growled, swinging at another thug and sending him sprawling. "We¡¯re getting them out. Zhou Xue! Liang Qiu! Cover us!" Tang Wei and Roulan cut a path to the cages, smashing any fool who tried to block them. I moved for the chains. My gauntlets sparked, the metal hungry for Qi and violence. Time to show these bastards what real power looks like. The compound was in chaos. Bullets cut the air, snapping past my ears, sending pebbles dancing across the stone. The field was a patchwork of shadows and broken lights. Guards screamed and scattered as we tore through the open, moving like a single wild pack. Tang Wei and Roulan crashed into the first wave. Tang Wei¡¯s blade sliced a rifle barrel in half. She jammed the pommel into a man¡¯s solar plexus, and when he bent over gasping, Roulan swung both tonfa into his skull. His body hit the ground, limp, blood pooling under his cheek. Neither of them slowed. They became a storm, and looked like they¡¯d been doing this forever. A spray of buckshot peppered the wall behind me, dust stinging my eyes. Zhou Xue didn¡¯t even flinch. She was already moving, loosing arrow after arrow. Her hands blurred. Liang Qiu covered her from the side, picking off any bastard who tried to flank us. Mu Qinglan was a vision out of a nightmare¡ªbarefoot, shirt clinging to her, sword carving lines through the chaos. She laughed, blood splattered across her jaw, ice Qi misting off the blade. Every time she swung, her tits bounced, her hair whipped, and a man went down clutching something broken. She was beautiful and terrifying. I caught myself staring a little too long, got a rifle butt to the ribs for it, then grinned as I hammered the guy¡¯s face in with my gauntlet. Liang Mei and Deng Hua moved together, bows up. ¡¯He¡¯s already used all the ammo from the gun...¡¯ They fired two guards trying to get to the chained prisoners. One went down clutching his thigh, the other spun, dropping his gun. Liang Mei hesitated, just for a second, eyes wide as she took in the cages. It was worse up close. People chained to metal posts. Old men, battered women, kids with haunted eyes. Some stared, hollow and unmoving. Others whimpered, shielding their faces. A few just watched us, hope flickering for the first time in ages. "They¡¯re just... left out here," Liang Mei whispered, trembling. "Like animals." Not tonight. "HELP!" "Please..." "I can¡¯t take it anymore..." Their cries continued almost making me want to turn back. I slammed my fist against the nearest lock. My gauntlets hummed, Earth Qi pooling at my knuckles. The metal shattered, snapping into splinters. The prisoners recoiled, afraid, until they realised I wasn¡¯t there to hurt them. "It¡¯s alright!" I barked, pulling at the next lock. "Move! Head for the gate when we clear a path." A woman¡¯s arm shot through the bars. "Thank you... thank you....thank you..." I grabbed it, hauled her to her feet. She stumbled, eyes darting to the blood soaking my shirt, then nodded and ran for the nearest cover. The others started to move, some crawling, some limping. A boy tripped on his chains. Roulan rushed over, broke the link with her tonfa, and pulled him up. More guards came running. Chen Xun and Deng Hua gunned them down before they could reach us, but bullets still whined past, thumping into the dirt. Liang Qiu was breathing hard, hands shaking as she dropped another arrow into a guard¡¯s throat. "Faster!" I shouted. Mu Qinglan whirled, sword catching a rifle shot, the blade ringing. She closed with the shooter, kicked him in the gut, then caved his chest in with the flat of her blade. Her eyes caught mine. She grinned, wild, tongue flicking blood from her lip. ¡¯Even though she¡¯s crazy.... damn is my girlfriend hot.¡¯ I made my way to the biggest lock¡ªa heavy iron bar that kept the last pen closed. My gauntlets surged, the [Shotgun Core] ready. I fired point-blank. The lock burst apart, metal shrieking, and a dozen people poured out, blinking and stunned. All around us, my women fought like hell. Tang Wei grabbed a guard by the wrist, snapped it, then kneed him between the legs so hard he dropped screaming. Roulan cracked a skull, then caught a stray hand trying to grab her and bent the fingers backwards until the bone popped. The ground became a mess of running feet and trampled bodies. Prisoners fled for the open gate, faces lit with terror and relief. Me? I let my eyes drift for a second, just to admire the way Mu Qinglan¡¯s shirt stuck to her tits and the way Roulan¡¯s hips bounced as she spun to face another threat. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Maybe I was just a bastard. Didn¡¯t matter. Not tonight. Tonight, we were breaking out. And I was going to blow the gate wide open. Chapter 184: Dominion at the Gate Chapter 184: Dominion at the GateMarch 23rd, 7:45 PM Mansion Gate, Gu Tianhao¡¯s Compound John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª The last lock snapped under my fist, and prisoners were streaming like a flood. Women with ripped dresses, kids clutching scraps, and men who looked like they hadn¡¯t seen the sun in weeks ran for the shattered gates. My group fought like wolves, covering them as bullets cracked overhead. One guy tried to crawl through, only to have half his scalp taken off by a passing round. "Get down!" I bellowed, yanking a girl flat as the dirt around us exploded. Zhou Xue and Deng Hua kept up a relentless stream of cover fire. Tang Wei barked orders, her voice slicing through the noise. Roulan dragged a limping old man through the dust, never looking back. Then the world split wide open with the chatter of a heavy machine gun. Ratatatatatat¡ª Screams. People dropped. Blood painted the gateposts. Three villagers pitched forward, twitching in the dirt. I spun, body moving before my mind caught up, but I couldn¡¯t catch them all. Couldn¡¯t stop it. I watched a little boy fold up, his legs spinning beneath him as he crashed behind a rusted drum. Shit. I found the source¡ªthe bastard standing tall in the back of a black military jeep, one foot braced on the bumper. His uniform wasn¡¯t even straight. He had a gun in one hand, a radio in the other. But I¡¯d know that face anywhere. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Gu Tianhao. His eyes swept the yard, zeroed in on me. "All this trouble for a pile of trash, John Wang!" he called, voice echoing over the screams. "You thought you¡¯d waltz in and steal my woman, my compound, and live?" I watched him, slow, letting my breathing settle. The machine gun on the roof swept left. Two more people screamed and ducked, the crowd scattering. Gu Tianhao smirked, seeing me freeze and the women huddle close behind. "Don¡¯t bother running," he spat. "You¡¯re not the king here. You¡¯re not even a man." My blood ran hot. Not with fear¡ªnever that. But with a wild, stupid urge to wipe that smirk off his face forever. I raised my arm, flicked my gauntlets to the ground with a heavy clang. "You want to settle this? Come down here. Man to man." The girls started to shout¡ªRoulan¡¯s voice cut through first. "John! Don¡¯t be stupid!" Tang Wei grunted. "He¡¯s armed, you¡¯re not¡ª" Mu Qinglan just smirked, but I caught the tension in her eyes. Shen Yifei hadn¡¯t spoken, but her blue eyes burned. I ignored them. Walked straight up to the line, the crowd parting around me. The machine gun barrel tracked me, but Gu Tianhao held up a hand. "Let the little bastard come," he said, voice cold. "I want everyone to see what happens to thieves." As he jumped down from the jeep, I stepped close to Roulan, my hand brushing her waist just long enough for her to tense. "I¡¯m not doing this to show off," I murmured. "I want you to see me for real, not just as some asshole." Her lips parted, eyes narrowing, but she didn¡¯t move away. I moved on, pausing beside Mu Qinglan. "You look so sexy right now," I whispered, my lips close to her ear. "But I want you to stay alive. Stay behind me." "If you die, I¡¯ll kill you myself." Qinglan retorted with a wild voice, causing Gu Tianhao¡¯s face to twist. The last stop was Yifei. She hadn¡¯t been the same since I saw her after being caught. I couldn¡¯t leave her like this so I grabbed her, enjoying the soft feeling of her ass as she yelped. "John!?" Then kissed her dirty cheek. If I get infected, so be it! I thought. "I¡¯m trusting you, Yifei, keep them safe. I¡¯ll handle this." Her fingers squeezed my arm, her mouth trembling. "I believe in you." I turned to Gu Tianhao with a smirk, my hands groping and enjoying the woman he was so crazy about. It felt amazing. "Y-You bastard!" Gu Tianhao tossed his gun aside, chest puffed out. "You want a fight? You got one. How dare you touch her like that, you beast!" The girls shouted, voices blending, but I waved them back, rolling my shoulders. My body felt electric, like the world was vibrating just for me. The new power from the Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture made every step feel weightless. Gu Tianhao came in swinging, fists up, muscles bulging. His footwork was quick and credit where it¡¯s due¡ªbut he hit like a child compared to me now. I took the first punch on my jaw, let it roll off me, and grinned. "Is that it?" I spat at his feet. "You done posturing?" He roared, tried to tackle me, but I danced around him, letting my fists find his ribs, his gut, his jaw. Every hit crunched, bone against bone, and each time he staggered, my new Qi roared in delight. I was learning. Testing. Mastering myself as I used Gu Tianhao¡¯s body as my training dummy. I was twice his size, twice as strong, twice as fast. He never stood a chance. But I wanted him to see it. I wanted everyone to see it. That I was the man now. That nobody was ever going to chain us again. Gu Tianhao¡¯s face was red, and he was breathing unevenly as he lunged for me again. I could feel every movement, every shift in his weight, like time slowed. My senses sharpened by the building Qi in my veins, and so I let him swing, ducked, and rammed my elbow into his chest with just enough force to knock the air out of him. Not my full power. Not yet. I wanted to test myself and see what I could do with this new body. The Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture wasn¡¯t just muscle and toughness. I felt energy flowing through me, something denser, richer, coiling tightly around my dantian. I could move it if I focused¡ªdirect it to my fists, legs, and the next strike. I let a trickle of Fire Qi flow down my arm. When my fist connected with Gu Tianhao¡¯s ribs, he shrieked and staggered, the impact burning hotter than it should. He spat at my feet, clutching his side. "You think you¡¯re special? I¡¯m not done yet, Wang!" I shrugged. "Then stop whining and get up." He came at me with a wild haymaker, but I weaved aside, using Earth Qi this time. My balance became rooted, every movement deliberate, unshakable. I caught his wrist, twisted, and slammed my knee into his gut. He folded with a gasp. One of his men shouted from behind the jeep, but nobody dared approach. I could see my group in the periphery¡ªTang Wei tense, Roulan¡¯s fists clenched, Mu Qinglan almost grinning. Shen Yifei¡¯s blue eyes were huge, locked on me. Gu Tianhao spat blood, his mouth already swelling. He bared his teeth. "You want her, huh? You want all of them? You think I¡¯ll let you?" He faked a stumble, his right hand dipping to his boot. I caught the gleam of metal a half-second too late. A pistol flashed into his grip, jerking up to point at Shen Yifei. The crowd screamed. My heart lurched, rage colder than ice surging through me. He grinned, ugly and triumphant. "Back off! Or she dies!" My voice was steady. No hesitation. "Shoot me. I can¡¯t let you harm Yifei. She¡¯s precious to me." He sneered as if waiting for me to say that and squeezed the trigger. Bang. The shot cracked through the night. My body moved on instinct¡ªI surged forward, catching the bullet high in my chest to protect her... using Dash and all skills I had. The impact was like being kicked by a bull. Heat flooded my lungs¡ªpain, white-hot and wild. "JOHN!?" Yifei¡¯s pained scream woke me from that feeling as I snapped back towards Tianhao. I barrelled into Gu Tianhao, my knee snapping up and shattering his jaw with a sickening crunch. He collapsed and dropped the pistol. Blood fountained from his mouth, teeth scattering into the dirt. Something inside me snapped. The world faded to red. I grabbed him by the collar, dragged him down, and started punching. My fists rose and fell¡ªheavy, brutal, relentless. I felt bone give, cartilage snap. His face became a ruin. Every blow drove Qi through my arms, my heart hammering as the Tyrant Scripture howled for dominance. Thud. Crack. Thud. Crunch. Over and over. He stopped struggling. His men tried to raise their rifles, but by then, the crowd surged. Armed villagers, emboldened by the chaos, tackled them. Zhou Xue fired an arrow into a guard¡¯s leg. Roulan charged the line, pistol raised, face fierce. Tang Wei moved like a reaper, her knife flashing in the dusk. Shen Yifei screamed my name. I heard her, even through the haze. I kept hitting Gu Tianhao until my hands dripped with blood and my arms shook with exhaustion. When I finally let go, he was unrecognisable¡ªa pulp of flesh and bone, barely alive, twitching on the ground. I staggered, blood gushing from my chest wound, but I stayed on my feet. Yifei rushed to my side, sobbing. "John¡ªoh god, you idiot, you should¡¯ve let me¡ª" "I wont let anyone hurt you. Not now. Never." My hand brushed across Yifei¡¯s cheek as the brightness returned to her eyes. I felt so good... so alive. More alive than ever. And I wasn¡¯t letting anyone take it. However, before speaking, my vision went blank and everything vanished. Chapter 185: After the Storm, Before the Dawn Chapter 185: After the Storm, Before the DawnMarch 23rd, 10:21 PM Gu Tianhao¡¯s Compound, Main House John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª I woke up on something softer than a stone floor. For a second, I thought maybe I was dead. But then the aches came back in slow, spreading, dull aches. My ribs pulsed. My knuckles stung. The familiar aftertaste of blood and victory clung to the inside of my mouth. I cracked one eye open. Someone had laid a thick blanket over me, patchy but clean. Lamplight glowed from a few battery lanterns set around the main room. The floor was still dirty, streaked with muddy footprints and scuffed from boots, but no gunshots, no shouting. Tang Wei knelt by the far wall, helping a couple of older men out of broken cuffs. The room hummed with low voices, villagers, refugees, a handful of girls huddled by the hearth, all looking hollow-eyed but safe. Mu Qinglan was sprawled beside me, head pillowed on my arm, breathing slowly. Blood streaked her hair, but it wasn¡¯t hers. Jiang Roulan sat on my other side, back against the wall, knees pulled up, jaw set, and eyes focused on the flickering lantern. My heart settled. I was alive. We all were. I reached up, tracing the scar where Gu Tianhao¡¯s bullet had passed through my chest. The wound itched, but already felt closed, skin rough and tight with new flesh. [You¡¯re too reckless, John!] [Regeneration Complete. You are now at full health!] I almost laughed. Tang Wei noticed I was awake, then tossed a grim smile my way. "Nice of you to join us, leader." I sat up, blinking the exhaustion out of my eyes. "Did we lose anyone?" She shook her head. "A few hurt. Most just shaken up. but the villagers... many died and most are still in shock. You took the worst of it. Except maybe for Gu Tianhao." Mu Qinglan groaned, stretching her arms and shooting me a look that said, Don¡¯t you dare act like a martyr! I met her gaze and grinned. Outside, the moon was rising over the ruined courtyard, shining silver on broken glass and bodies dragged out for burning. We¡¯d survived for now... I just wanted to leave this place and return to the safety of our base... Gu Tianhao died. I didn¡¯t ask how it happened. Someone cut off his head when I was unconscious. The heat from Mu Qinglan¡¯s cheek pressed against my shoulder, her breath tickling my skin. I let her linger a moment longer, then eased her off, careful not to wake her. My body protested every movement¡ªmuscles tight, joints aching from yesterday¡¯s fight. Still, I sat up, rubbing the bruise under my ribs. "Where¡¯s Roulan?" My voice was hoarse, quieter than I intended. Tang Wei wiped her brow and nodded toward the kitchen. "She¡¯s with Shen Yifei. Both are keeping the others from panicking. Some villagers are unstable, but we¡¯ve stabilised the worst cases." I nodded, a twinge of relief sneaking through my fatigue. "Thanks. You¡¯ve saved my ass more times than I can count." "Wei... you¡¯re so good at this." My voice faltered, but I didn¡¯t regret it. She looked at me with wide eyes, and I could only shrug my shoulders and respond with a bitter smile, "I¡¯ve got a lot to learn from you." In the corner of my eyes, Qinglan scowled at the caramel-skinned beauty, but I didn¡¯t care... the truth was she really helped me. She gave me a mixed look, part amusement and something else. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "You¡¯ll get used to it, don¡¯t doubt yourself... we are here because you brought us this far." "Haha, thanks Wei. I¡¯ll go visit the others." Qinglan gripped my clothes, but I gently pushed them off. "You should rest, Lan¡¯er." I pushed myself up, feet bare on the chilly floor. My System still hummed at the edge of my thoughts, the ache in my chest fading as the last healing process finished. Every step sent a new warning through my body, but I forced myself forward. Past the main room, I found the kitchen crowded with survivors. Zhou Xue was ladling thin soup into tin cups. Liang Mei and Liang Qiu sorted through boxes of scavenged supplies. In the corner, Shen Yifei sat perched on a stool, hands folded, eyes focused on nothing. It was apparent she was far too worried to eat right now. Jiang Roulan stood behind her, one hand on Yifei¡¯s shoulder. She appeared to be whispering something in Yifei¡¯s ear. The moment I stepped into the doorway, Roulan¡¯s gaze shifted to me, sharp and doubtful for a moment before it relaxed, widened, and I saw her shoulders drop. She didn¡¯t speak, but her lips curled into a brilliant smile. "John." Shen Yifei¡¯s voice was soft, and the edge of anxiety lingered. She hopped off the chair and darted through the room. Then leapt. I spread my arms and caught her flying body, the softness and warmth of her body filling my senses as our lips pressed together. Her eyes filled with worry and delight as tears welled and dripped down her cheeks. But the softness of her tongue inside my mouth was too addictive. The wet sound of our kiss lingered as my hands sank into her buttocks, squeezing the cute blonde bombshell. "Nnnph..." The warmth of Yifei¡¯s tongue wrapping around mine as her lips sucked on me feltterrificg, but the others were staring so I pulled away with a slow, wet pop. Saliva dripped from our lips, forming a bridge as her eyes glistened with light. With a sigh, she complained again. "...I really worried about you." "Hey," I said, trying to smile. "I¡¯m still here. Bit uglier, maybe, but still breathing." She scoffed, lips twitching into something like a smile. Roulan didn¡¯t let go of her. "You shouldn¡¯t be walking around yet." "I can¡¯t sit still. Not when there¡¯s this much to do." I took a moment to look around, taking in the battered faces, the tension and the chaos that still lingered in the survivors. Even with the camp secured, the air felt heavy. Like all it would take was one bad move to unravel everything we¡¯d fought for. I stepped forward and put a hand on Roulan¡¯s arm. "How are you holding up?" She didn¡¯t answer right away. Her hand squeezed Yifei¡¯s shoulder once, then she looked up at me. "We¡¯re alive. That¡¯s enough for now." I nodded, throat tight. Outside, the wind rattled the broken windows, carrying the sounds of survivors and distant, cautious hope. We¡¯d survived the night. But there was no time for rest. Not yet. The others were gathered around the battered dining table, soup bowls in hand. Most villagers were in another room, thankfully, there was someone who could take control and act like a leader for them. I don¡¯t think they will ever forget this massacre and the horrors... we would leave most of the weapons for them to protect themselves, but we asked for two of the jeeps and half the gas to use them. At the table, our group all looked at me happily. I took a breath, steadying myself against the table¡¯s edge. Tang Wei motioned for quiet, and soon everyone¡¯s eyes were on me. For a second, I felt naked, exposed in a way that fighting never made me feel. I cleared my throat. "We¡¯re not staying here." My voice sounded stronger than I felt. "We can¡¯t risk another Gu family raid. Or worse, someone trying to take revenge for what happened last night." Zhou Xue set her bowl aside, looking up with tired, sharp eyes. "Where then?" I glanced at Jiang Roulan. "West. Toward Roulan¡¯s family¡¯s land. She knows the area, and it¡¯s defensible. If we can reach it, we¡¯ll have a shot at building something safe. For all of us." Liang Mei frowned. "How far is it?" Roulan looked at me, shocked. Her eyes and mouth opened wide as if she never expected me to say this... but I¡¯d never forgotten the quest and thing she asked me over a week ago. When she recovered, her answer came. "Because of the change in the world, it probably won¡¯t take a few hours like the past... but if we take it slow maybe it won¡¯t take longer than a day or two?" Mu Qinglan yawned, stretching as she leaned against my side. "And what if another gang or horde tries to stop us?" "Then we deal with it." Tang Wei¡¯s tone was iron, her words cutting through the doubt. "We have weapons now. Not to mention we understand the world better... and each other." I looked around the room, trying to gauge their faces, some still hollowed by hunger and fear, others flickering with new resolve. "We¡¯ll leave at first light. Tonight, everyone gets rest, food, and a chance to breathe." I ran fingers through my hair while glancing at Yifei, who remained quiet. I hoped she could recover, but because she revealed her feelings. I wouldn¡¯t ignore her or the others anymore. "If you need anything or want to take anything, ask for it now. Because we probably won¡¯t be coming back." Though I wanted to recruit more people, they were adamant about staying here, in this area, because they grew up here. Roulan came to stand beside me, chin raised. "You heard him. Get what you need, then get some sleep. Tomorrow, we walk." No one argued. I felt her hand slip into mine, just for a moment, steady, warm, grounding me before she let go. Around us, the survivors began to move, and I knew we weren¡¯t out of danger. But... that¡¯s just how the world works. Chapter 186: Spring’s Thaw Chapter 186: Spring¡¯s ThawMarch 23rd, 11:21 PM Gu Tianhao¡¯s Compound, Main House John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª After eating, everyone split up and followed my words. Night settled over the shattered mansion. The lamps flickered with their last drops of battery, painting the walls in dim yellow and shadow. I moved through the rooms quietly, checking on the wounded, helping Tang Wei settle a few restless survivors, and trying to convince myself that my heart wasn¡¯t pounding from exhaustion and relief. Then I found Shen Yifei, who sat by the window with her knees pulled up, leaning on the cold glass with her tangled hair dangling to the side. ¡¯She must be tired... She didn¡¯t even tie her twintails.¡¯ I thought. Yifei didn¡¯t look back or react until I sat beside her, and she scowled outside. "Hey..." She huffed and turned her head away with a flick. "You¡¯re too noisy. And you stink." I grinned, nudging her with my shoulder. "So do you. But I missed you." She puffed her cheeks, trying not to smile. "Liar. You were too busy showing off for everyone else." I leaned closer, voice softer. "You worried about me?" Yifei tensed, ears practically twitching and face making an amusing shape "No! Of course not... idiot, why would I care if some dumb muscle-head gets killed?" Yifei gripped my hand and squeezed it twice before she pulled it away. "Don¡¯t do anything reckless again... or I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll bite you." "Looking forward to it." To my response, she squeaked and jumped on me after batting at me with her hand. I stayed beside Yifei until her breathing evened out, her head resting lightly on her arms. For all her bluster, she was still just a young woman lost in the middle of hell, pretending she was alright. When I finally stood, she didn¡¯t look at me. I let her have that last scrap of pride. Though the blushed cheeks and that cheeky smile of hers made me realise that Yifei was doing better. ¡¯That¡¯s enough for now...¡¯ I left her without a sound, creeping through the dark corridor, avoiding the survivors and makeshift beds. The noise faded, replaced by gentle snores and the sound of cleaning bowls. My body ached like hell, but thanks to my dantian brimming with energy, I felt lighter, like gravity became weaker. That¡¯s when I caught the familiar, sharp tang of metal and perfume. A shadow moved ahead, laughter trailing behind her like a warning. Someone was waiting for me in the hallway. Mu Qinglan found me and rushed at me in a blur of black and blue, blood still covered her clothes, but she smelled of soap. She pushed me against the wall with a loud thud, with a wicked smile on her lips. "You look even hotter all banged up," she hummed with a soft voice, glaring at me in dark eyes glinting like a horror movie killer. "I was ready to tear down the entire mansion if you died." "You¡¯d look sexy doing it," I shot back, letting her press her forehead to mine. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She giggled, low and dangerous, her hands sliding under my shirt. "Maybe I¡¯ll do it anyway. For fun. Don¡¯t you dare let another woman touch you first, John. Or I¡¯ll cut your¡ª" "Yeah, yeah. You love me too much." I caught her mouth in a quick kiss. She bit my lip, just hard enough to sting, then let me go. "I¡¯ll keep you in one piece for now, idiot..." Mu Qinglan pulled away, blushing as she vanished down the hall. Qinglan¡¯s laughter still echoed in my ears as I stepped away, leaving her to prowl the halls like a wolf in borrowed skin. She¡¯d always been wild, always brighter at the edges. My lips still stung from where she bit me... but I couldn¡¯t complain. I wandered toward the back of the house, heart hammering in the hush. Each step led me past people I¡¯d fought for, faces lit by candlelight, eyes wide with hope or exhaustion. Somewhere, a baby started to cry, and someone shushed it gently. I didn¡¯t have to search for Roulan. Jiang Roulan found me last, when I¡¯d just finished setting out blankets near the kitchen. She looked at me as if struggling to focus her eyes, then her eyes softened with the glow of the lantern. "You never stop moving, do you?" "I will die if I stop." She knelt and brushed my hair back from my brow, like an older sister or a lover or both. "You did good, John. You really did." Her hand lingered a second longer before she rose. "Rest. Tomorrow¡¯s going to be hell." I caught her hand, just for a second. "Stay?" Roulan hesitated, then sighed, lying down next to me, close enough for our arms to touch. "Just sleep, idiot." With her beside me and the others close by, the worries of tomorrow faded for a while. We were together. Alive. And as sleep pulled me under, I let myself believe, if only for tonight, that maybe we¡¯d earned this peace. As I finally settled back on the battered mattress, the camp outside went quiet. Before I noticed... Shen Yifei hand snuck into the room and into my bed, before lying against my chest, her sweet breath blowing against my neck, with one hand sliding under my shirt. My eyes closed when I heard the door creak open again. Qinglan slipped inside, her hair a wild mess, eyes glittering with the kind of trouble that never let me sleep easy. She flopped down on my right, head on my shoulder, sword propped against the wall. "Move over, pervert. It¡¯s cold." A heartbeat later, Roulan padded in barefoot, arms folded, face unreadable. She glanced at Qinglan, then at Yifei, then at me. She didn¡¯t ask for permission. She just slid in on my left, pulled the threadbare blanket higher, and sighed. "We¡¯ll leave at first light," she whispered. I wanted to complain, but my words caught. All three of them seemed to want the same thing and pressed against me. I stared up at the cracked ceiling as Qinglan pinched my side and Roulan muttered something about not hogging all the heat. The night was cold, but with a woman¡¯s heat, I might just feel warm. However, the battered mattress wasn¡¯t the most comfortable. Yifei curled against my chest like a portable heater, purring. Her hair tickled my neck with every breath, one small hand clinging to my shirt. I was just drifting when the door creaked again. Mu Qinglan slipped in without a word, blood still streaked on her sleeve, eyes shining with the kind of wild energy that made my heart race for all the wrong reasons. She flopped down beside me, stealing the blanket with a wicked smirk. "Shift over, John. I¡¯m freezing and you¡¯re warm." I barely had time to grumble before another shadow appeared. Roulan entered quietly, barefoot, her long hair loose, eyes sweeping over the scene. She hesitated¡ªjust for a heartbeat¡ªthen slid in on my other side, the blanket stretching tight across all three of us. She nudged Qinglan aside, claiming her share of warmth, then shot me a look. "If you snore tonight, you¡¯re sleeping outside." Yifei mumbled something half asleep and hugged me tighter. Qinglan poked my ribs, grinning like a devil. "Try not to wake her up, old man." Roulan gradually became quiet, but she draped her arm across my chest, heavy and comforting. We didn¡¯t need words. The tension, the terror, the blood and madness¡ªall of it faded for a little while, lost in their warmth. For a long moment, I just listened to the slow breathing of the women around me, letting myself believe in something gentle again even if it was only for a night. Maybe tomorrow would be hell all over again. But for now, I was surrounded. And somehow, I didn¡¯t mind at all. I thought maybe... just maybe that soon spring would fade and summer would warm this cold world. Chapter 187: To the West, Through Blood and Dust Chapter 187: To the West, Through Blood and DustMarch 24th, 6:47 AM Former Gu Compound Courtyard John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª The morning was sharp with cold spring air brushing across my face as I opened my eyes. The weight across my chest was warm, soft, and breathing was slow. Yifei. Her petite frame curled tighter, a soft whimper slipping from her lips as if she sensed I was trying to move. To my left, Mu Qinglan had tangled herself in the thin blanket we¡¯d shared, her leg hooked around mine like she was keeping me prisoner. Her cheek was bruised. There was blood in her hair. She looked serene. It didn¡¯t match the woman who¡¯d slaughtered a dozen men two nights ago with laughter in her throat. To my right, Jiang Roulan lay on her side, arms folded under her head, back turned toward me... but close enough that I could feel her quiet breathing. I didn¡¯t even bother complaining. My back ached, my shoulder throbbed, and yet... I didn¡¯t hate waking up like this. But right now? This wasn¡¯t hell, it was great. Their warmth, pain, and the slow ache of something human. I raised a hand, brushing Yifei¡¯s messy hair back from her face. Her lashes fluttered. "...Mmgh. John." Her voice was still half-sleep, but the edge was there. Sharp and sweet. Her eyes cracked open. "You¡¯re not allowed to die." "I didn¡¯t," I said. "So quit drooling." "I wasn¡¯t¡ª!" she snapped, pushing off my chest with a blush so sharp it hurt to look at. "Stupid pervert...!" Qinglan didn¡¯t move. "Crazy girl¡¯s still pretending to sleep," I muttered. "I heard that," Qinglan replied flatly, cracking one crimson eye. "Say it again and I¡¯ll stab you with my love." "Not sure if that¡¯s a threat or a proposition." She grinned, eyes gleaming with madness. "Why not both?" "Where¡¯s Roulan?" I asked. "She left before you woke. Said she needed to check on Tang Wei," Yifei replied, stretching with a yawn. "You¡¯re really getting spoiled with three warm bodies, huh?" "I¡¯m sleeping in a den full of wolves." "Awoo?" My joints popped, and a dull ache spread through my torso, but I pushed through. I couldn¡¯t afford to rest anymore. Too many people were waiting, and there was far too much to be finished today... It was time to get up. By the time I limped out into the courtyard, the sky was already pale and cloud-streaked, the air still heavy with yesterday¡¯s ash and gunpowder. Tang Wei stood at the centre of the yard, directing the villagers with clipped commands. Her uniform jacket flicked in the wind, but she looked solid, composed. Unshaken. Jiang Roulan leaned against the frame of the burned-out garage, arms crossed. She saw me and nodded once. Most of the pain vanished, but I woke up with a muscle cramp. "You look horrible." "Well... I¡¯m still alive, right?" Roulan seemed to like teasing and making fun of me as she bumped against my shoulder. "Idiot." Her voice was flat, but I caught the tiny twitch of her lip. "We¡¯re ready." The villagers¡ªthose who could stand¡ªhad gathered near the main fire. Some were wounded. Some just looked hollow. All of them watched me the moment I stepped into view with expectant eyes. I was about to announce whether they¡¯d live or die. I didn¡¯t sugarcoat it. "You¡¯re free now," I said, loud enough to carry. "You can stay here, or go wherever you want." The crowd shifted, murmurs passing through them like ripples. "But," I continued, "if you want to survive what¡¯s coming, and if you want a future that¡¯s more than just running or hiding... you can follow me." That got their attention. "I won¡¯t lie. It won¡¯t be safe. I¡¯m not a saint, and I¡¯m not building a utopia. What I¡¯m offering is a hard road. Long days. Blood. Maybe worse. But if you follow me, I¡¯ll give you a place. A role. A chance to fight back and carve something of your own." I paused, letting it settle. "I¡¯ll ask once." sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The villagers didn¡¯t look strong, most of them were D-Tier, but honestly, with the amount of ZKP that many troops could bring, it would probably be worth taking them, especially since I reached Rank Six. But thanks to reaching Stage Four, it seemed the difference between my power and leadership was levelling out. Ten people stepped forward at first, nobody amazing... then a few more. One by one. No fanfare. A middle-aged man with burns across his chest. A quiet woman holding her teenage son¡¯s hand. An older hunter with one eye. They weren¡¯t strong. But they were willing to join me, so I instantly recruited them... All of them. [You have gained Farming Lv.1] [You have gained Cooking Lv.1] [You have gained Sneak Lv.1] [Your Charisma Skill has increased Lv.1 --> Lv.3] [Your Shooting Skill has increased: Lv.4 --> Lv.6] [Your Archery Skill has increased: Lv.1 --> Lv.4] [Your Leadership Skill has increased: Lv.5 --> Lv.8] [You have gained 10,000 ZKP] Once the twenty people were added, I noticed that a few skills were added, and many of my skills improved quite a lot. That was enough. "Alright," I muttered, turning to Tang Wei. "Gear up the Jeeps. We¡¯re heading west." "How far?" she asked. I looked at Jiang Roulan. "Your family¡¯s estate. That¡¯s our next stop. After that... we circle back." "Back to the base?" she asked quietly. I nodded. "I¡¯m done running. It¡¯s time we take it back, but your request for me comes first." [Jiang Roulan¡¯s Affection Increased] "John... thank you." "You don¡¯t need to thank me... aren¡¯t we lovers?" "Heh, I wonder~ I¡¯ll think about it." [Jiang Roulan¡¯s Affection Increased] This was more than enough for me now. I looked back at the damaged mansion and wondered if somewhere like this would be better in the future. The apartment was decent, but sadly, it wasn¡¯t perfect, and the amount of natural land to farm or grow food and collect water was limited. ¡¯Forget It...¡¯ *** The Jeep rolled slowly down the damaged streets, engine humming quietly beneath Mu Qinglan¡¯s steady hands. Her eyes remained locked on Jiang Roulan¡¯s Jeep ahead, her posture sharp and calm as always. Behind us, Shen Yifei slouched deep into the seat, her blonde twintails curled around her fingers, her gaze flicking anxiously toward the ruined buildings passing by. "Even the South District looks like this now?" Yifei murmured. Her blue eyes narrowed as they passed a burned-out storefront, glass shattered, shelves looted bare. "I remember shopping here. It was always so lively..." Liang Mei leaned forward, peering over the back of my seat. "I visited a friend here once. This district was one of the nicest in the city." "Not anymore," Liang Qiu muttered softly, her voice distant as she stared through the window, lost in thought. "It¡¯s all gone now." Mu Qinglan¡¯s grip tightened slightly on the wheel, her gaze still ahead. "We need to adapt fast. Nothing¡¯s coming back to normal." Yifei sighed, closing her eyes and sinking further into the seat. "I just wish we could have one day without danger." "Those days are gone..." I leaned my head back against the headrest. "But we¡¯ll build something better. Eventually." I opened the system interface, quietly considering what needed to come next. I checked my ZKP balance first, scanning through the menus as Qinglan smoothly navigated around debris and abandoned vehicles. The mini-map was clear for now, thanks to Gu Tianhao and his men clearing out the bulk of the zombies. I put my hands together in a prayer for them who were now dead. "Well let¡¯s keep our eyes out for Stage Two or Three zombies... and Ghouls." My fingers tapped lightly on the system window, browsing available items: [Simple Meals]Cost: 10 ZKP each.[Purchase quantity: 30] [Water Bottles]Cost: 5 ZKP each.[Purchase quantity: 30] I confirmed the purchases with a single tap, feeling the familiar tug of resources as my ZKP dropped accordingly. ¡¯Better safe than sorry,¡¯ I thought, quietly glancing back at the recruits trailing in the Jeeps behind us. Most had only ever fired guns in self-defence. Five of them looked more suitable for farming, cooking, or handling supplies. I would assign them properly when we returned to our base; I had made the other recruits into Soldiers, Militia and scouts. After all, rebuilding meant more than just killing zombies. It meant living again, creating something sustainable. I stared at the locked feature on the corner of my vision: [Base Relocation] ¡ª Unlocked at Rank Six. This cool ability could be used once a week, and once I found somewhere with suitable land... then I would switch our base. Although the apartment was great, it didn¡¯t have the potential that a place with fresh, fertile land did, and it was too far into the city centre. Now I am Stage Four... I could probably fight Zao and kill him one-on-one. Chapter 188: Southern District - Old Train Depot Chapter 188: Southern District - Old Train DepotI planned for Zhou Xue to lead the future scouts and rangers I recruited, maybe having Chen Xun and Deng Hua lead the male scouts. Meanwhile, Tang Wei would be the ideal leader for those given the Soldier role. Mu Qinglan and Shen Yifei would probably be good with Militia and those who fight in close combat, but those girls were too unstable to work with others. I think that Jiang Roulan might be the best leader for a Police force, or something along those lines, but so far nobody suited that role. ¡¯Something to keep my eye out for I guess...¡¯ The streets turned quieter the farther west we drove. Trees lined the cracked pavement in patches, their blossoms faded into wilted husks. Trash rustled in the gutters. Street signs hung crooked. Everything felt frozen in time¡ªabandoned lives and forgotten routines lingering like ghosts. Mu Qinglan handled the Jeep well, even when we hit uneven terrain. Her posture never changed¡ªfocused, spine straight, a slight tension in her jaw. She was calm, deadly, and beautiful, blood dried on her sleeves, her grip on the wheel still stained. I liked that about her. Behind me, I could hear Yifei shuffling. Her face rested on the cool glass, fogging it with her breath. But when I glanced back, she turned away and pretended to be looking elsewhere. But her twitching twintails gave her away. Cute as hell. Liang Mei and Liang Qiu whispered about bullet trajectories and what they¡¯d done wrong in the last shootout. They were trying, and I respected that. Zhou Xue was in the other Jeep, I assumed, probably watching the road like a hawk. Tang Wei would¡¯ve told her to. I tapped my ear and contacted Roulan. "Roulan," I said. "Status?" Her voice crackled back. "Still clear. We¡¯re taking the left fork in two minutes. That¡¯ll cut through an old train depot and bypass the collapsed bridge." "Copy that. Make sure no one lags behind." "Already on it," she replied smoothly, before the line clicked off. I exhaled and checked the mini-map again. A few red blips flickered at the far edge¡ªzombies, maybe a roaming group. Nothing nearby. My gaze shifted to the inventory list. Still had plenty of rounds, at least four decent rifles in the back trunk, and a few blunt weapons I hadn¡¯t assigned yet. My people here, close to thirty, were armed enough. All thanks to the guns and other weapons used by those Gu clan thugs. But we weren¡¯t strong yet. I wasn¡¯t strong enough yet. My thoughts drifted to Gu Tianhao, his broken jaw, and the blood staining my fists. That kind of rage... I wasn¡¯t sure if it was the Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture or because I wanted to protect everyone that I became that enraged. Maybe it¡¯s because he tried to shoot Yifei... I wanted to protect Yifei, but I also wanted to destroy anything that threatened what I¡¯d built. ¡¯Was that wrong?¡¯ Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice broke the silence. "You¡¯re doing it again." "Doing what?" "That thing where you stare off like you¡¯re about to kill someone." I blinked. "I wasn¡¯t¡ª" "You were," she said flatly, then glanced at me. "You¡¯re cute when you look like that, though." I smirked, but said nothing. The sky was turning orange ahead. We still had a long way to go before reaching Roulan¡¯s family estate. And when we got there? I¡¯d need answers. What resources did they have? What allies remained? Whether their home was secure enough to serve as a rally point... or if I¡¯d need to use [Base Relocation] sooner than expected. Either way, the convoy kept moving. And I kept planning. Somehow, this didn¡¯t feel real. Maybe something was hiding and just waiting for me to let down my guard. However, I didn¡¯t plan to do that. The ride was quiet for a while. But not silent. Mu Qinglan liked to hum under her breath when she drove, and Liang Mei kept whispering something to her in the backseat, but there was a strange feeling in the air. The kind that came after bloodshed and before something worse. I leaned back in the passenger seat, arm braced against the door, and let my eyes wander. Broken windows, burnt cars, collapsed storefronts. It appeared to be a shopping district. Now it looked like something had chewed it up and spat it out. "I remember this place," Liang Qiu murmured behind me. "My school used to be just up that hill..." No one answered her. Not out of cruelty. Just... what do you even say to that? Mu Qinglan tapped the steering wheel with her thumb, slowing the Jeep to crawl over an overturned delivery truck. "South District looks like shit," she said casually, lips curled into a smirk. "Almost makes me miss the slums." "There¡¯s less blood in the slums," Shen Yifei muttered, curled up against the window with her arms crossed. "Fewer bite marks too." "Fewer assholes," I added, shifting in my seat. We drove on. Ahead of us, Jiang Roulan¡¯s Jeep dipped around the rusted remains of a barricade, her brake lights flickering as she turned down the ramp that led toward the old highway. I opened my system window with a thought. [SYSTEM STATUS] ? Followers: 78/150 ? Supplies: 23 days (based on 2 meals per person/day) ? Weapons: 51 (Ranged: 35, Melee: 16) ? Medical Stock: Medium ? Vehicle Fuel: 4 days (w/o refuel) ? Shelter Capacity: 150? Base Rank: 6 ? Special Feature (Unlocked at Stage 6): [Base Relocation] My eyes lingered on that last part. ¡¯Relocate the base, huh...¡¯ Once we reached the right milestone, I could move everything. Not just relocate a tent or storage, but drag the entire base, with all its upgrades. Somewhere we could dig farmland, build defences. Somewhere safer than the old commercial strip where our current base sat, surrounded by half-eaten corpses and goddamn sewage lines. We kept moving. The South District had gone eerily quiet since Gu Tianhao¡¯s people ran wild here. Streets were cracked and pitted, and most of the buildings were burned or hollowed out. But there weren¡¯t many zombies. Not anymore. Guess when you dump that much blood in one area, even the undead stop showing up. Ahead, Roulan¡¯s Jeep slowed down, signalling a turn. I sat up straighter, watching her roll toward a split in the road¡ªone led to the river highway, the other toward a ridge overlooking the ruins of the old stadium. Mu Qinglan turned toward me. "Which way?" I pointed. "Highway. If we stay above the floodplain, we¡¯ll avoid the bridge that collapsed last month." "Got it." She shifted gears and followed Roulan¡¯s path. I leaned back again. My fingers tapped against my thigh. I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the ten new people. No actual combat experience, barely any gear, just the kind of fear you can smell from a mile away. But they chose to leave the comfort of numbers. They gave up the security of walls, weak as they were. All because I asked. Or maybe because they saw me fight. ¡¯Whatever the reason, I have to make it worth it.¡¯ I opened the digital map again, checking the marked routes and fuel estimate. We had maybe three days of driving, max, before we had to siphon more fuel or stop and forage. The shortcut to Roulan¡¯s family estate passed through industrial zones. If we were lucky, we¡¯d find an old supply truck or diesel tank still intact. ¡¯Of course I could use ZKP to buy fuel, but I wanted to stop wasting it when we could use the cities resources first.¡¯ I flagged two potential supply points on the route. Shen Yifei¡¯s voice broke my focus. "Are we really going to her family¡¯s place?" Her tone wasn¡¯t annoyed¡ªjust cautious. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Yeah, I promised her." "Hmph... I see." She flicked her head away, clearly upset. "Can we trust her family?" Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes looked a little scary as she flicked the indicator, and the other jeeps followed suit. "Yeah! Do you trust them?" Yifei asked, quieter this time. That made me pause. Mu Qinglan looked over, just once, her expression unreadable. To be honest, I didn¡¯t know what to expect, but what would happen in the future? Would she choose to stay with her family and leave us? Thoughts like this made me feel a little weird. "...No," I said at last. "But I trust Roulan. That¡¯s enough." Nobody spoke after that. The silence was... heavy. But not uncomfortable. Just a reminder. This road wasn¡¯t leading us toward safety. Only toward the next battlefield. Chapter 189: Trainyard of the Dead Chapter 189: Trainyard of the DeadMarch 24th, 10:06 AM Collapsed Bridge, Southern District John Wang POV ¡ª¡ª The wheels rumbled to a stop. "Here¡¯s as far as we go," Jiang Roulan said over the radio, her voice calm, even though her knuckles were white on the wheel. She pointed ahead where the road just... dropped. One half of the old bridge had collapsed into the riverbed, a jagged mess of rusted beams and concrete slabs. Just beyond that wreck, I saw it. A train depot. Big. Cracked. Haunted. Dozens of train cars sat scattered around the yard, half of them toppled over or scorched. Some hung off the edge like toy models after a tantrum. Metal gates dangled open, twisted by time and chaos. The buildings nearby were wrecked convenience stores, warehouses with graffiti, and the husk of a supermarket missing most of its roof. I opened the door and stepped out into the cold morning air. The scent of wet iron and damp asphalt hit first. Then came something worse. Something rotten. The wind shifted. I heard the distant growl of one. Then another. "Zombies," I muttered. "They¡¯re still here." Well, we couldn¡¯t count on Gu Tianhao killing every single zombie. This was a good time to let the villagers and recruits get some experience. So I didn¡¯t mind. Mu Qinglan stepped beside me, sword slung across her back, unbothered by the smell. "Of course they are. Not everyone¡¯s as lucky as that bastard Gu Tianhao to have a playground to cull them." She cracked her knuckles. "Let¡¯s move." Roulan took charge of the left group, scanning the shops closest to the bridge. She motioned to Deng Hua and Chen Xun, who moved fast despite their injuries. I nodded to Mu Qinglan, who immediately darted toward the corner market with Shen Yifei trailing behind her, that usual pout on her face, muttering about how she hated dirty places. Tang Wei moved back to stand beside the recruits, wrapping around the other side of the jeeps. The train station was an elevated bridge over the river, with a series of markets and shops for those travelling through the station heading to the north and south. I stayed back for a second, just breathing. Something about this place made my skin crawl. Maybe it was the silence, not the good kind but the kind where something was watching, waiting, just out of sight. A low groan echoed between two train cars. Liang Mei and Liang Qiu froze. "Cover me." I flexed my hands and summoned the Crushing Moon gauntlets. They clicked into place over my wrists with that heavy, perfect weight. My Qi pulsed through them, stirring the cores awake. The faint grind of gears and runes hummed beneath the plates. Zhou Xue raised an eyebrow. "No blade?" I smiled. "Blades cannot punch trains off tracks." Liang Mei and Zhou Xue moved behind me, already checking the perimeter. Yifei followed Qinglan near the market a little more focused than before. She seemed to have worked through some of her issues earlier, but I still needed to pay attention. Women were difficult creatures... The villagers were more of a problem. They clustered near the Jeeps, watching us like scared animals. A few held weapons but nothing special; rusty machetes, batons, scavenged rifles, most had nothing but kitchen knives or farming tools. "They¡¯ll slow us down if we take too long," Tang Wei muttered as she stepped past me. "This place is worse than it looks. Train yards are death traps." "I know." She glanced back. "Then why stop?" I cracked my knuckles inside the gauntlets, metal grinding softly. "Because this is the fastest route. And we¡¯re not cowards. and to give them all a chance." I gazed back, my feet bouncing to build momentum. "Tang Wei, can you deal with the newbies?" "Hah! Of course I can leader." She didn¡¯t smile, but her nod was enough. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. We spread out. The supermarket was picked clean, but I found a few dusty crates of protein bars and a half-open case of bottled water behind a toppled shelf. I waved Liang Qiu over to help carry them. "Give half to the villagers," I said. "Remind them they had a choice." Her lips twitched. "And the other half?" "For us. This journey isn¡¯t ending anytime soon." Qinglan returned with a tattered shopping basket full of energy drinks and ramen packs. She looked smug. "See? Even crazy bitches can be useful." I gave her a look. She just winked and walked off, humming to herself. However, the twitch of her lips let me know I would pay for that comment later... We regrouped at the depot¡¯s edge. The closer we got, the worse it smelled. Rot, mildew, stagnant water. Corpses, long-dead and recent, lay in slumped piles beneath the train cars. The shadows moved. We had a long way to go. But this was the first step. And if it meant crushing a few skulls and clearing a path through the dead, I¡¯d gladly break a few more bones to make it happen. "Go," I ordered. "Tang Wei, take the new ones. Deng Hua, Chen Xun¡ªRoulan will handle you. Stay sharp." I cracked my neck, activated my gauntlets, and felt the rumble of Earth Qi roll down my arms. "Liang Mei, Liang Qiu, Zhou Xue¡ªyou¡¯re with me. Shoot the bastards without worry, I¡¯ll protect you." "R-Right!" "Leader, protect me well." Liang Mei¡¯s cheeks turned red, while Zhou Xue and Liang Qiu looked overjoyed. It seemed these girls truly loved shooting thier bows. "Thank you." The moment we crossed the crumbling fence, the first groan echoed like a warning bell. The zombies stirred, their heads snapping toward us as if drawn by the warmth of human flesh. They weren¡¯t fast. But there were too many. Dozens poured from between the trains, tumbling out from broken cargo cars and rotting ticket booths. Their skin sagged. Eyes burned white. Teeth snapped as they picked up speed. Tang Wei didn¡¯t flinch. "Form up!" she barked. "Watch the flanks. Aim for the head or crush their legs!" What surprised me was that she gave them all makeshift spears, or longer weapons, and the ones with a little more confidence held the old rifles. The recruits hesitated¡ªwide eyes, shaking hands. Their fingers twitched on their triggers, sweat dripping down their brows. Too slow. Too green. Roulan¡¯s group split right. Her voice was firm, sharp. "Deng, circle wide. Chen, stay with Yifei¡ªshe covers you. Don¡¯t run ahead. Don¡¯t lag behind." From the rooftop of a maintenance shed, I heard it¡ªarrows singing. Thup. Thup. Thup. Zhou Xue¡¯s shot pinned one to the wall. Liang Qiu nailed another through the mouth. Liang Mei barely missed, but I stepped in. My gauntlet crashed into the staggering corpse¡¯s temple. The zombie¡¯s head exploded, before I pulled the trigger and a blast of buckshot ripped apart four other zombies following. ¡¯This is it!¡¯ I grabbed the next one by the throat and crushed it like paper, tossing it into the crowd before slamming my fist into the earth. The blast flung five zombies into the air like dolls, their limbs snapping mid-flight. Liang Mei¡¯s eyes widened. "H-How are you¡ª?!" "Focus," I growled. "Kill first, gawk later." They listened. The girls found rhythm, stepping with me as I cleared the front. More arrows flew, sharper now. More confident. Tang Wei¡¯s recruits screamed as one of the zombies got too close, but her shotgun blast it away with a single burst. ¡¯She loves that shotgun...¡¯ No second scream followed. Off to the left, I caught a glimpse of a black shadow weaving between train cars, a trail of blood and frost in her wake. Mu Qinglan. Gone again, like a ghost with a sword. She was terrifying. Good. I wanted to say that my hands were full, but... it wasn¡¯t hard anymore. Only the danger of a bite lingered in the back of my mind. Another wave poured from a derailed passenger car. I met them head-on. My fist went through one skull. My knee shattered another¡¯s spine. With each blow, various elements of Qi thickened my skin, hardened my bones. They couldn¡¯t hurt me. But they could still reach the girls. So I didn¡¯t let them. "Keep firing!" "Yes, John!" Zhou Xue shouted. Liang Qiu dropped one mid-sprint. Liang Mei finally pierced one clean through the eye. I let myself grin. They were learning. The recruits behind Tang Wei weren¡¯t doing as well, but they hadn¡¯t run either. That counted for something. This was the first real test, and their ZKP and EXP seeped into my system. ¡¯Hahaha! Let¡¯s go!¡¯ Chapter 190: Stage 3 Stampede!? Chapter 190: Stage 3 Stampede!?The Brute¡¯s skull caved under my gauntlet. I felt the crunch in my forearm, wet and brutal, like pounding a watermelon wrapped in rotted leather. Blood sprayed up my arm, half-congealed and thick with black veins. The body crumpled, convulsed, and then stilled, its head twisted at the wrong angle. "Two down," I muttered, scanning the yard. "How many more?" The train depot was a goddamn maze. Cracked tracks, rusted rails, overturned cargo cars. Some containers still had old shipping logos barely visible under scorch marks and splattered gore. And deeper in the yard... I saw movement. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Too many. Too fast. They weren¡¯t the slow, twitching kind. But the sprinting and violent kind, like starving wolves. A wave of them, over twenty, poured from between two crushed train cars. They came in different shapes. Some short and hunched, their blades fused to arms like living machetes. Others were tall, lean, and jittering with speed, heads twitching too fast to track. At the centre, five more Brutes stomped forward like fleshy tanks, their backs hunched with layered muscle. Stage 2. All of them. Though it¡¯s not too hard for me... the rookies... "Fuck me..." I exhaled, pressing the side of my gauntlet. "Tang Wei! Pull the rookies back. Liang Qiu, Liang Mei¡ªgo with them. Zhou Xue stays on me." "Understood!" her voice came sharp and fast through the comm. Behind me, Zhou Xue took a position by the rusted scaffolding, drawing her hunting bow without hesitation. Her fingers moved fast, eyes locked. Mu Qinglan was nowhere to be seen¡ªuntil I looked left. A flash of black steel. The Endless Night shimmered in the sun, slicing through a Speed-type with a whip of ice. Her face was twisted between joy and madness, her lips curled, her hair wild, and her cheeks red. The body fell apart into two neat halves behind her. Shen Yifei was with her. Her black spear spun in wide arcs, keeping the Ghouls from swarming. One went low and tried to crawl under, but she stomped on its head, splattering bone and brain across the tracks without blinking. I grinned. Good. The girls were fine. Which left me with the Brutes. I dashed forward. Dust and rusted gravel exploded beneath my boots. One came at me swinging a jagged pipe fused to its wrist. I ducked under the arc, drove my fist into its ribs, and fired the [Slug Shotgun Core] point-blank. BOOM. Half its torso blew out, the rest tumbling backwards like a cut sack of meat. They roared louder. Three more rushed in. Perfect. The ground cracked beneath me. One Brute down. Two more coming. I ducked low, my gauntlets gleaming with blood and Qi. One swung a pipe like a bat, roaring as its mutated muscles bunched beneath blotchy, oily skin. I lunged inside the swing, my knee driving up under its jaw. Bone cracked. I followed up with a shotgun burst from the Crushing Moon, and half its skull turned to wet ash. "Behind!" Zhou Xue shouted. I twisted. The second Brute was already mid-swing¡ªsomething long, rusted, maybe a car bumper. It whistled toward my head. Too close. I took the hit on my gauntlet, felt the metal groan, and rolled with it. Pain lanced up my arm. My feet dug into the dirt, skidding a few steps. He was strong. Stronger than the last ones. But not smarter. I bared my teeth, blood still warm on my lips. "Come on, fucker." I shifted my stance and smashed my fist into its side, channelling Earth Qi through my core and into the gauntlets. The impact was solid. The ribs cracked. The zombie staggered, leaking black fluid, its face twisted in rage. Then it shrieked. Not screamed¡ªshrieked. Loud. Wrong. Like a siren echoing through its lungs. The sound made every other infected freeze for a heartbeat. Then I saw it. Something was moving in the distance across the field of overturned trains and mangled debris. No¡ªchanging. A Brute, half its torso caved in, but still standing, was trembling violently. Muscles tore open. Bone split and regrew. Its size doubled. Its skin peeled back into raw meat and cables of muscle. The smell turned worse, sharp and oily. A System notification blinked faintly in my vision: [John, be careful!] [System Warning: Multiple Stage 3 Signatures detected!] "Shit." I dropped low, spinning to the side as Zhou Xue fired another arrow past my shoulder. It thudded into a Ghoul¡¯s eye. She had my back. Good. Tang Wei¡¯s voice came through the radio. "John! More incoming! We¡¯re falling back¡ªtaking the rookies and archers!" "Do it!" I roared, then turned to Zhou Xue. "Go with them." She hesitated. "Go! I¡¯ve got this!" She nodded once and sprinted after the others. That left me. Alone. I smirked, heart pounding. Then the Stage 3 Brute charged. It wasn¡¯t just strong. It was fast. We scattered. Mu Qinglan went right, blade trailing frost across the dirt. Shen Yifei backed up, launching a piercing thrust that forced it to angle its bulk away. I met it head-on. Fists out, Qi roaring through my dantian. It was time to push my limits. *** The monster charged. Every footstep it took left craters in the concrete, cracked and steaming from the pressure of its mass. A Stage 3 Brute wasn¡¯t just muscle¡ªit was pure carnage wrapped in meat, like a siege weapon with teeth. I darted left. Its fist slammed down where I¡¯d been a heartbeat ago. The impact sent a shockwave through the ground, spraying dirt into my eyes. I didn¡¯t stop. My gauntlets pulsed with Qi. I jumped, twisting in the air, and drove both fists into the back of its knee. There was a nice give in the thick tendons shredding under my blows, but not enough. It howled, and its backhand clipped my ribs. Pain. Blinding and deep. I hit the ground hard, rolled twice, then spat blood. Mu Qinglan moved in. Her sword danced, carving deep gashes across its thigh, leaving a frozen trail that spread like blooming frostbite. The Endless Night sang in the air, wild and hungry. Shen Yifei¡¯s spear came from the opposite angle, stabbing under the Brute¡¯s arm and drawing black sludge with every precise jab. Her breath was steady, her form almost graceful. I stood, wiped my mouth, and charged again. This wasn¡¯t just a fight. It was a test. Every movement, swing, and jolt of pain sharpened me. The Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture pulsed through my core, drawing in Qi from three women who meant everything to me. Mu Qinglan¡¯s Ice Qi cooled my mind, keeping my footwork tight and lethal. Shen Yifei¡¯s Fire Qi surged in my limbs, crackling with heat, turning every strike into an explosion. Jiang Roulan¡¯s Earth Qi was quieter¡ªsettled in my bones, stance, and spine. Unshakable. Centred. It flowed through me now, mixing inside the Scripture¡¯s furnace. The Stage 3 Brute roared and charged again, its massive arms tearing up gravel with each swing. I didn¡¯t back down. My boots dug in. Earth Qi reinforced my balance. I tanked the hit with my shoulder, twisted under the second, and countered with a straight punch to its ribs. The Crushing Moon gauntlets cracked loudly as my fist connected. The monster didn¡¯t slow. It grinned. Blood poured from its mouth, black and thick, but it wasn¡¯t finished. Neither was I. My dantian swirled with rising pressure. Not unstable. Not overwhelming. Rising. It responded to contact, to combat, to danger. That was how the Scripture grew¡ªthrough sex, through training, through raw violence. I baited the Brute in again. Sidestepped low. Ice Qi flooded my arms, and I drove an uppercut into its throat. The blow knocked it back, gagging. I closed in, raining down hits. Left. Right. Spin and slam. The Brute swung wild, dazed, but still breathing. That¡¯s when I felt the shift. From deeper in the depot, more Stage 2s were coming¡ªthen one, no, two others began to mutate. Their bodies rippled, flesh thickening, bones cracking. More Stage 3s. "Shit," I hissed. Then she was there again... Mu Qinglan. Laughing like a devil, her eyes glowing as she danced into the fray, her black Zhanmadao gleaming in her hands. The Endless Night carved through a Speed-type in a single brutal arc, her feet sliding through gore with the grace of a woman enjoying herself far too much. "John~" she giggled. "I missed you!" "You picked a great time to show up," I called out, dodging a swing and crushing a Brute¡¯s kneecap with my gauntlet. Shen Yifei stabbed one through the back with her spear, her braid flicking over her shoulder as she kicked off a corpse, flushed and breathing hard. "Don¡¯t ignore me either, idiot!" Zhou Xue and Jiang Roulan fired from the flank. Arrows whistled through the air, striking clean and deep into rotted skulls. Roulan¡¯s tonfa cracked another¡¯s neck clean to the side. Tang Wei barked orders at the recruits, forcing them to pull back. I spotted Liang Mei and Liang Qiu covering the rear, arrows trembling in their hands, but they fired. They were scared. But they didn¡¯t run. Good. I dropped my stance low as another Stage 3 Brute lumbered toward me, twice the size of a normal man, arms like concrete pillars. Mu Qinglan appeared beside me, her blade resting against her shoulder. "Back-to-back?" she purred. My lips curled. "Let¡¯s make them regret evolving." The real fight was just starting. Chapter 191: Cradle of Flesh and Bone Chapter 191: Cradle of Flesh and BoneWe stood back-to-back. The new Stage 3 Brute stomped forward. Not running¡ªstalking. It didn¡¯t need to rush. It knew it could take a few hits. Knew most things wouldn¡¯t survive past their second swing. Too bad for it, I wasn¡¯t most things. Mu Qinglan leaned in, her shoulder brushing mine. Her breath was ice against my neck. "I¡¯m going for the knees. You aim higher." "No fancy plans?" She grinned. "Just kill it." The monster roared. We moved. Mu darted low. Her blade flashed in a sideways cut, frost coiling down the Brute¡¯s thigh. The ice spread fast, cracking skin, hardening muscle. She twirled, blade up, cutting the same leg again¡ªdeep this time. It stumbled giving me a chance as I charged, one fist cocked back, the other glowing as I flooded it with Fire Qi. The Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture responded like a living thing. It pulled Qi from my dantian, mixing it with Mu¡¯s Ice and Yifei¡¯s Fire, until it hissed inside my gauntlet like a furnace ready to burst. The blow hit just below its jaw. Something snapped. A piece of tooth or bone. It reeled, roaring, and swung blindly. I ducked, pivoted around its flank, and jammed the Crushing Moon into the back of its skull. BOOM. The blast ripped open a fist-sized hole. Black gore sprayed. It didn¡¯t drop. "Tsk!" I cursed. It twisted, flailing. Mu Qinglan slid away under the swing and carved a frozen gouge down its arm. Still not enough. Its wounds smoked, then sizzled¡ªhealing. My eyes narrowed. "Fuck. It¡¯s regenerating." Mu didn¡¯t answer. She was already sprinting away, baiting the Brute after her, legs flicking up blood with every step. Shen Yifei launched from the side, her spear trailing fire. She stabbed clean through the Brute¡¯s armpit and twisted, yanking back as the weapon erupted in flame. The burst tore open its shoulder. That got its attention. It spun to grab her. Too slow. I lunged from the rear, slammed my foot down, and jumped. Up. Over its back. Both fists crashed into the sides of its neck, and I unleashed another shotgun burst. The head tilted. Mu Qinglan came in again. This time, she didn¡¯t stop. One clean vertical cut¡ªher blade gleaming with frost and black ichor. It split from the collar to the navel and collapsed like a snapped crate. Silence for a beat. Then the ground shook. Three more Stage 3s breached the perimeter. One sprinted, fast for its size, knuckles dragging on the dirt. Another crouched low, its muscles rippling with unnatural coordination. The last was still mid-mutation¡ªskin bubbling, bone stretching, but nearly there. I ground my heel into the dirt. No time to breathe. "How long until we¡¯re overwhelmed?" Shen Yifei called, flipping her spear and backing up toward us. "Five minutes," I said. "Maybe less." Jiang Roulan¡¯s voice cut in through comms. "We¡¯re down to our last arrows. Tang Wei says the rookies are holding, but they won¡¯t last if anything stronger than Stage 2 gets through." "Then we end this now," I muttered. "We break the ones here before the next wave mutates." Mu tilted her head. "You planning to blow yourself up or something?" "No." I took a deep breath. "I¡¯m going to use everything." The Scripture pulsed. It drank Qi from every woman who shared a link with me. Ice. Fire. Earth. Then something else¡ªfaint, new. Lightning. Tang Wei? It flickered in me, unstable, but sharp. I accepted it. Instead, I let it in. My gauntlets crackled. The Primordial Tyrant Body Scripture screamed inside my blood, refining Qi into something denser, heavier. My bones tightened. Skin flushed. Muscles surged with raw potential. The pressure built in my chest, like my heart was a second core. My weak bond with Tang Wei made the wind element flow slowly... painfully burning my veins as it sank into my flesh. I could take maybe ten seconds of this strain. Any longer, I¡¯d tear myself apart. "Lan¡¯er," I said. "Can you hold the side?" She winked. "For you? Of course." "Yifei, Roulan¡ªcover fire. Zhou Xue, find high ground again." With the swipe of my fingers. I bought ammunition, arrows, whatever was needed and tossed it to them. "Don¡¯t hesitate use the Type-9k¡¯s!" I stepped forward alone. Toward the Brute, that was mutating. Its spine twisted¡ªflesh split. A second jaw opened under the first. I didn¡¯t wait for it to finish. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I ran. The Qi in my legs detonated. Earth and Ice fused, locking in my footing. Fire and Lightning surged through my fists. I jumped high. Too high. The Brute looked up. Too late. My gauntlets slammed down. Double impact. One in the chest. One to the temple. It didn¡¯t scream. Its skull collapsed in, like a sack of thick tar. The body hit the ground half a second after I did. The other two Brutes reacted fast. One roared, charging with a heavy metal door fused to its arm. The other tried to flank. "Not today." Shen Yifei intercepted the flank. Her spear burned with Fire Qi drawn from me. The tip pierced the zombie¡¯s eye and burst in a flash of red, staggering it. The first Brute reached me. I didn¡¯t dodge. I met its swing with my fist. A blast exploded from the point of contact. The bone fused with muscle in the Brute¡¯s hand shattered, while my gauntlet creaked, almost cracking. However, the Brute¡¯s shoulder collapsed inward. It screamed. I roared louder, pressing in, punch after punch, until its spine gave. Then it dropped. "Status!" I shouted, dashing at the second one. "Rear¡¯s holding," Tang Wei said. "Barely." "One left," Shen Yifei panted, backing off. Mu dashed past me, her sword glowing with cold. She didn¡¯t hesitate. She drove it through the last Brute¡¯s neck and twisted. The head slid off a heartbeat later. Silence. Real silence. Only the wind whistling over bent tracks and ruined metal. I dropped to one knee. My arms trembled. My Qi burned low. The System pinged. [John, the threat has diminished; get some rest.] [Stage 3 Threats: 0] [You have gained 11500 EXP] [You have gained 6600 ZKP] [You have gained the skill "Brawler"] [Jiang Roulan¡¯s Affection Increased] [Tang Wei¡¯s Affection Increased] [Zhou Xue¡¯s Affection Increased] I exhaled once, a long breath to calm myself. Lightness flooded my head. I dropped onto my ass, arms resting on my knees. Seven massive yellow cores. Four smaller ones. A scattering of green and red. They steamed in the open air like butchered organs left to cool. "Status on everyone?" "Alive," Roulan answered. "Barely," Mu muttered. Her sword dragged behind her, carving a line in the dirt. "I think I pulled my shoulder." Shen Yifei knelt beside one corpse, pried out a green core, then stood. Her twintails were soaked with blood and sweat. She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, looking at me from the corner of her eye. "Depot¡¯s quiet. But for how long?" I turned toward the main terminal. Broken windows with smoke leaking from the upper level. No movement yet. Didn¡¯t trust it. "Mu. Yifei. Check the control tower. Zhou Xue, regroup with the archers. Roulan, secure the east platform and watch for movement on the streets." "Alone?" Roulan asked. I looked her in the eye. "You¡¯ve got Qi-enhanced tonfa and the best eyesight here. You¡¯ll be fine." She didn¡¯t argue. The others moved without delay. I stood again, boots grinding against broken stone and caked blood. The depot smelled like death. Old and fresh. Smoke. Oil. Rotten flesh. But it was ours now. For the moment at least... then I heard it. A soft ding. My visor blinked. [New Side Quest Available ¨C Origin of Infection: Train Depot Terminal] [Objective: Investigate the Source of the Mutations] I tapped the interface, and the map shifted, highlighting a metal hatch near the far end of the platform. Hidden beneath a half-flipped vending machine. ¡¯Can we succeed without danger?¡¯ [Of course, John! It¡¯s not a challenging quest, but essential for you.] ¡¯Why?¡¯ [The source and method they evolved...] Because this voice had never guided me wrong before, I couldn¡¯t help but trust her. So I pulled the panel over and wedged a pipe into the hatch. Clack! It opened! The seal was rusted, but not broken. Beneath it, faint traces of heat and something that resembled Qi. I didn¡¯t smile. I just clenched my fists and turned toward the group. "Yifei. Lan¡¯er. Change of plans. We¡¯re going underground." Chapter 192: Beneath the Depot, Flesh Feeds Flesh Chapter 192: Beneath the Depot, Flesh Feeds FleshThe hatch gave a soft clack as the rusted seal cracked. Air rushed up¡ªhot, damp, and faintly metallic. I saw no movement down the tunnel, but the Qi leaking from below wasn¡¯t natural. It pulsed in slow waves, like something alive was breathing beneath the depot. I stepped back. "I¡¯m going with backup." The others regrouped quickly. Zhou Xue dropped from a wrecked freight crate, her bow slung behind her shoulder. Roulan approached from the east platform, her tonfa still wet with black gore. I turned to Tang Wei first. "You stay topside. Keep the Jeeps ready. Sweep the outer perimeter. If more come, you pull the rookies out and fall back to the highway. Don¡¯t wait." She nodded, eyes serious. "Got it. I¡¯ll take Liang Mei, Qiu, and the others. The streets are quieter, but I¡¯ll stay sharp." Zhou Xue joined her without being asked. "I¡¯ll cover her. This bow¡¯s useless in a tunnel." "Good." I glanced to the side. "Roulan. Yifei. You¡¯re with me." Shen Yifei didn¡¯t flinch. "Understood." Roulan gave a sharp nod, checking the blade inside her tonfa. "Lead the way when you¡¯re ready." Then I felt her eyes on me. Mu Qinglan. She tilted her head, walking slowly and deliberately across the cracked concrete, sword resting lazily on her shoulder. Her gaze moved from Yifei to Roulan, then to the open hatch. She didn¡¯t speak right away. Just watched me. I shifted, waiting for the obvious comment. Instead, she smiled. Lan¡¯er skipped towards me and hugged me tight, her arms squeezing my butt as she kissed my neck, her warm lips comfortable until she started sucking violently. "L-Lan¡¯er!" "Mmnnph~ fufu, your neck is full of my spit and marking now." She then hugged me tighter. The faint scent of her sweat made my crotch swell, but it wasn¡¯t the time... and then she whispered in a huskier voice. "Looks like you¡¯re finally acting like a leader." She winked. "I¡¯ll help up here. Can¡¯t leave Zhou Xue and Tang Wei alone with these rookies." It was strange... and made me a little confused. "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep them safe, my beautiful little man." Qinglan¡¯s hands pressed against my cheeks, squeezing my face, before she turned away with squinted eyes. "Your ass is so fine." "W-What is she doing!" Yifei¡¯s complaints echoed from behind me. Meanwhile, Jiang Roulan chuckled, trying to calm her down. That threw me. I blinked. Somehow, it felt that Mu Qinglan was coming out of her shell... I found myself watching her swaying hips as she approached Tang Wei. "...Yours is much finer." This situation was improving. I no longer felt so suffocated, and our group¡¯s relationship and dynamics have increased and improved. I looked at Roulan, then Yifei. "Let¡¯s move." We dropped into the dark. *** The ladder groaned under my weight. Below, nothing but thick air and blackness. I kept one hand on the rusted rung, the other gripping a Type-9K. My boots hit the bottom with a wet squelch. The smell hit first. Rot. Not fresh. Old, dense, and wet. Like meat left too long in a sealed room. Mixed with stagnant water and mould. My visor adjusted slowly, filtering some of the air, but it didn¡¯t stop the taste from clinging to my tongue. Behind me, two more sets of boots dropped. "Lights," I said. Two beams cut through the dark. Yifei raised her Type-9K, flashlight mounted under the barrel. The pale cone of light revealed the tunnel ahead, thick with grime, waterlogged, and lined with rusted pipes. Her spear was slung behind her back, but I saw her fingers brush it once before she took point on the right. Jiang Roulan stood on the left, tonfa drawn and silent, her light scanning low along the ground. Rats scattered ahead of us, fat and slow. She didn¡¯t flinch. Before we¡¯d dropped, I burned 6,000 ZKP to upgrade all three of our Type-9Ks to increase various parts and doubled the capacity. I swapped the standard 9mm for .45 ACP +P tungsten-fragmentation rounds. Slower velocity, but heavy, hot, and brutal on flesh. Especially rotting flesh. A round that didn¡¯t just punch through¡ªit carved. I checked the ammo counter in my HUD. Full mags. Four spares. Our boots splashed through ankle-deep water that stank of chemical rot. The tunnel narrowed slightly. My flashlight beam caught moss spreading across the lower pipework¡ªdark green with veins of purple. It pulsed faintly, but didn¡¯t react to us. Not yet. Yifei stayed ahead, her gun up, flashlight leading. Her back straight, steps measured. Her spear swayed behind her, secured with a shoulder harness. Roulan mirrored her pace, silent. Tonfa ready. She kept her beam low, tracking for movement. Drainage tunnels fed into this artery every few meters. Any of them could hide something. The silence pressed in tighter the farther we walked. Twenty meters in, we passed a rusted maintenance door. The keypad blinked green, impossibly still powered, but the steel frame became bloated with corrosion. I didn¡¯t stop. The Qi in the air kept thickening. Sticky now. Almost hot. Yifei raised a fist. We halted. She turned slightly. "You feel that?" Roulan¡¯s answer came without delay. "John... this feels like the pressure that you emit during combat... is this Qi? But it feels strange, almost twisted. Like it¡¯s being squeezed and dark." I nodded once. The qi pressed against my spine in waves, slow and regular. It didn¡¯t feel hostile or welcoming¡ªjust dark, thick... and heavy. Somehow, the scent it carried lacked the freshness of the other elements. ¡¯What¡¯s making it like this?¡¯ Almost like something alive beneath the concrete was pushing breath through the walls. We moved again. The tunnel curved, and at the end it split into several roads. Left, toward tighter sewage lines. Right and down into a wider, more reinforced area. A maintenance hub, maybe. Some kind of platform. Then came the sound. It wasn¡¯t footsteps. Instead... the sound of zombies or something chewing? "W-What¡¯s that disgusting sound!?" Yifei seemed slightly unsettled, while Jiang Roulan became silent; instead, she looked at me with resolute eyes. "It¡¯s probably something horrible..." Roulan mumbled. ¡¯Yeah, it sounded like something being eaten.¡¯ There were small traces of humans living down here, and if they escaped to the sewers to survive during the initial outbreak. Then what if... I raised my gun, flicked the safety twice, then pointed toward the right. "This way." We descended. *** The tunnel sloped downward in a shallow curve. The air got hotter, and there was an irritating and wet heat. That came from the dead bodies. The chewing grew louder. It wasn¡¯t rhythmic. Just messy. Fast. Ripping flesh... bone crunching, something gulping wetly. None of us spoke. Even Shen Yifei¡¯s breathing had slowed. Roulan didn¡¯t blink. Every step we took echoed louder than it should have, boots splashing through rank water and filth. My flashlight beam caught deep scratches along the tunnel walls. These were clean, parallel, and precise cuts, which were far too accurate for Brutes. I lowered my stance. We cleared the curve. Then we saw it. The tunnel opened into a circular chamber¡ªan old maintenance hub, maybe six meters wide, the ceiling cracked and sagging. A collapsed staircase led deeper into darkness. Around the edges of the room, stacked in piles, were bodies. Human. Hundreds. Bones stripped of all their meat and flesh. Others looked freshly killed, still twitching. All of them were adults. Some wore scavenger armour. Others had shredded guard uniforms. No children. No civilians. Just fighters. ¡¯A massacre...¡¯ "Oh my god..." Jiang Roulan¡¯s voice trembled... likely because of the police uniforms in the pile. Roulan took a step forward, covering her mouth with her sleeve. Her beam passed over the bodies and landed on a hunched figure tearing into a corpse¡¯s chest cavity. It didn¡¯t look up. Not right away. But the one beside it did. Its head snapped toward us. Its focus was precise and calculating. Two disfigured faces with tight skin wrapped around angular bones. No lips. No nose. Just a half-rotten skull and yellow eyes glowing beneath the sockets. Although disgusting, the eyes looked more human than before. ¡¯Shit!¡¯ Its arms¡ª They weren¡¯t arms anymore. Long blades extended from its elbows to its wrists. Black metal fused with bone. They gleamed in the light. It rose slowly. The other one followed. Two Blade-types. [John! Blade Types!] [System Warning: Stage 3 Blade Types Detected!] They didn¡¯t scream. They didn¡¯t roar. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. They moved. Fast. Not like Brutes¡ªno stomping, no wind-up. But like shadows that cut through the air, they darted towards the group. The first one dashed across the room, slicing through a ribcage like it was paper as it passed. The second cut a pipe as it jumped, using the rebounding pressure to twist in the air and aim straight for Yifei. I raised both guns. "Roulan! Yifei! Move!" The tungsten-frag rounds barked out of both barrels. I didn¡¯t hesitate, even when the blades were slashing towards me and the source of the strange QI waited... deeper while stirring in the pit. Chapter 193: A Mutated Beast!? Chapter 193: A Mutated Beast!?The rounds hammered into the first Blade-type¡¯s chest, spraying black flesh and shards of bone, but it didn¡¯t slow. It skittered sideways, impossibly fast, metal arms flashing. Roulan rolled away, tonfa scraping sparks off the tiles as she slid under a wild swing. Yifei lunged, spear whipping up to parry the other mutant¡¯s slash. Metal screeched on metal. Sparks burst as the edge glanced off her weapon, missing her cheek by a hair. She spun, drove her spear into the mutant¡¯s thigh, and ripped free. Rotten flesh tore, but the Blade-type only grinned wider, jaws unhinging. The first one was already on me, blades crossing in a scissor slash aimed at my neck. I dropped low, firing point-blank. The tungsten rounds chewed a hole through its ribs, but its blade caught my shoulder, biting deep and burning cold. I grunted, kicked out, and sent the mutant staggering. Roulan came up behind, tonfa smashing into the back of its knee. It dropped briefly enough for me to plant a round in its skull. Bone and gore sprayed, but the thing kept twitching. The second mutant lunged for Yifei again. She twisted away, using the curve of her spear to catch its blade, wrenching it aside. She moved in close, elbow cracking into its face. For a heartbeat, they were locked¡ªher strength against its inhuman fury. Roulan called out, "John! These bastards are strange!" No time to answer. The air thickened, Qi pressing in from below. More shapes moved in the dark behind the chamber, claws scraping stone. Mutants, maybe worse. My HUD flashed a new warning. [Life Signs Detected: Stage 2, Stage 3. Quantity: Unknown.] Yifei¡¯s spear flickered, Roulan braced for another charge, and I raised both guns, sweat slicking my grip. The Blade-types came again. From the pit beyond, something massive stirred, breath rattling through the tunnel. We were just getting started. My points and experience exploded with each kill: ten for a stage one, a hundred for a stage two, a thousand for stage three... the counter and ping like a melody of grace. ¡¯How many cores have I collected...¡¯ Dozens of each type filled my inventory, red, blue, yellow and green enough to boost everyone into Stage Three or Four. I would take the Stage three cores for myself. Maybe I can sell a few. Clang! My first two shots blew straight through the Blade-type¡¯s chest, punching fist-sized holes through bone and black lung. It barely slowed the fucker! The second one came in low, metal arms scissoring for my legs. I fired again, tungsten rounds howling with sweet pops, emptying both mags in a heartbeat¡ªsixty shots, sixty direct hits although the mutants looked like shit but didn¡¯t drop. I moved before they could recover and spun, lining up a full-auto burst, and emptied the mag into the first Blade-type¡¯s spine. It jerked, smoking, but didn¡¯t drop. Both guns clicked dry, and I tossed them high with a flick of my wrists. Metal vanished into digital haze as the inventory absorbed them, leaving my hands free. Blades hissed through the air, carving shallow lines in the concrete by my feet. I dropped my stance, boots covered in muck, fists rising. The gauntlets hummed, dark steel bristling with elemental Qi. These things didn¡¯t need a weapon. The first mutant lunged, elbows flashing. I weaved inside its reach, caught the blade with my gauntlet, and shattered it at the joint. Bone splintered. My other fist slammed into its face¡ªonce, twice, three times¡ªuntil the skull caved with a wet crunch. The second went for my flank, scuttling sideways like a spider. I pivoted, slammed a knee into its gut, then buried my fist in its chest with a bang. Its ribs broke under my knuckles. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The mutant twisted, shrieking, but I couldn¡¯t stop. My elbow crushed its throat, then I wrenched it by the arm and tossed it into the wall. Yifei parried a blade with her spear, turning the mutant¡¯s momentum against it. She danced in and out, jabbing under its guard, moving with crisp, precise aggression. Roulan broke the wrist of another, spinning her tonfa in a blur, then smashed it down on the mutant¡¯s temple. Blood hit the floor in sheets, pooling with the filth. I caught my breath, knuckles tingling from the impact. My Qi thrummed, hungry and hot. More shadows moved¡ªStage 2s crawling from the drainpipes, a third Blade-type slinking along the wall. I counted at least six in the next wave, and felt even more eyes in the dark. It wasn¡¯t enough. This power surging through me needed more to endanger me¡ªsomething fit for a Stage 4 I could crush these things. The ground rumbled again, shaking the foundations, and it became clear something massive stirred below¡ªa weight that pressed against my Qi. I stepped over the twitching corpse, cracking my knuckles. "Bring it on." The next wave was coming. *** How long did we fight? A shriek echoed from deeper in the tunnel¡ªhigh, guttural, and full of hunger. Stage 2 zombies began pouring from every side passage, skinny but fast, some with twitching limbs, others crawling over the mounds of corpses. One leapt at Roulan, fangs bared. She smashed its head sideways with her tonfa, the wet crunch barely audible over the waning gunfire. I lunged into the thick of them. A Blade-type came straight for me, blades flashing in a double arc. I caught the first strike with my gauntlet, locked the bone blade between my fingers, and twisted until it snapped with a sickening pop. The mutant spat black blood, mouth hanging open, then tried to bite. I slammed my forehead into its face and shattered its frontal lobe before grabbing it by the throat, lifting, and ramming it headfirst into the stone. [1,000 EXP] [500 ZKP] [Acquired Stage 3 Core: Red] [John Wang: Brawler Lv.1 --> Lv.3] Roulan ducked under a lunging mutant, rolled behind its back, and brought both tonfa down in a cross-strike that crushed its spine. Yifei spun in a tight circle, her spear flickering, slicing through the neck of a crawling Stage 2. Blood geysered across the tiles. The air was hot now, thick with the stench of Qi, gunpowder, rot, and something else. The ground kept trembling, every footfall sending vibrations through my boots. Sweat stung my eyes. A cluster of Stage 2s came at me in a pack, howling. I ploughed into them, swinging wide with both fists, shattering skulls, breaking arms, ripping through rotted muscle like paper. One tried to bite my throat. I twisted and wrenched its jaw sideways, tearing it off in a single motion. The rest barely registered¡ªflesh collapsing beneath my blows. Behind me, Yifei let out a sharp cry... "On your right!" Another Blade-type, even faster, nearly invisible against the wall. It scythed at my side. I ducked, letting it slice air. My gauntlet found its gut, a single jab that sent it flipping end over end into a pile of bones. Shen Yifei¡¯s spear sliced through its body like a huntress in the dark. [1,000 EXP] [500 ZKP] [Acquired Stage 3 Core: Red] Roulan¡¯s tonfa whistled, catching a leaping mutant across the face. Teeth scattered. She looked wild, almost grinning. "Don¡¯t let them surround us!" A Stage 2 grabbed my arm, nails digging into the flesh between my gauntlet plates. I ripped it free, then stomped the creature into mush. More and more poured in. I could see at least a dozen Stage 2s in every direction, and four more Stage 3s circling just outside the torchlight¡ªblades gleaming, teeth bared, eyes reflecting the dim, blood-stained light. "Yifei! Roulan! Stack up!" I called, stepping back to bring us together. Yifei dropped to my left, spear spinning defensively. Roulan to my right, her tonfa raised, breathing hard but steady. We formed a rough triangle, backs nearly touching. Zombies closed in from every direction, hungry and fearless. The pressure from below was almost physical now. My Qi pulsed in warning. Every sense screamed at me: something was coming, something worse than these freaks. Roulan spat blood from a split lip. "How long until that thing shows itself?" I grinned, even as I cracked another mutant¡¯s neck. "I don¡¯t know!" Suddenly, the ground gave a sharp tremor, and dust poured from the ceiling, and in the next moment, a hole tore open in the far wall. Something gigantic and pale slid through, dragging its bulk, covered in bone spines and scales slick with sewer filth. My HUD flashed a new alert, red and insistent. [Unknown Mutant Detected: ??? (Stage 5)] [Warning: Proximity Critical. All combatants are at risk.] [John, that thing is something only you can fight!] Yifei swallowed, voice raw. "That thing isn¡¯t even close to a zombie." That thing was a damn monster. And it was coming straight for us. Chapter 194: Monster vs Tyrant Chapter 194: Monster vs TyrantThe tunnel stank of hot rot and sewage, but all I could smell was adrenaline. The mutant crawled into the chamber. For now, let¡¯s call it: ¡¯Boss Mutant.¡¯ Its massive body scraping flesh and bone from the walls. A single swipe of its tail splattered a Stage 2 across the bricks. My HUD struggled to lock onto its shape. Red name, skull marks and danger flashing. The monster was covered in overlapping plates of bone and yellowed scales, each as thick as my forearm. Dozens of red eyes glimmered above a maw of broken, mismatched teeth and steaming breath hotter than an engine block. Yifei and Roulan opened fire without waiting for orders. Type-9Ks chattered, tungsten rounds slamming into its chest and neck. The bullets sparked and ricocheted, not even scratching the plates. Yifei swapped mags and kept firing while Roulan cursed about the waste of bullets. "This bastard is tough!" "Sister Roulan, the gun is useless!" No damage at all. Mu Qinglan¡¯s voice came crackling through the comms from above. ¡¯Thank god her voice sounds relaxed...¡¯ "We¡¯ve cleared the area, most of the zombies are dead, how is it on your side, John?" "Honestly... were fucked." The monster lunged, jaws snapping at Yifei, forcing her to jump aside, barely avoiding its teeth. The boss spun, slamming its head into a support beam, causing concrete to explode and dust to shower us. I pulled Roulan behind me as another tail swipe demolished the far wall. It moved like a landslide, unstoppable and yet she kept shooting, but it was hopeless. A Stage 3 zombie tried to leap onto its back. The beast spun and bit it in half. "My points you fucker!" My shout echoed through the cavern, unable to hold back my anger... the money from that core was enough to upgrade and kit out a soldier to A-Tier! I heard the fear in Yifei¡¯s breathing and saw Roulan¡¯s eyes narrow in cold calculation. Even with their strongest attacks, it still wasn¡¯t enough. It fell short by miles. Not even close. My body hummed, Qi running wild under my skin. I tore open my inventory, hands shaking only a little as I grabbed a fistful of Stage 3 monster cores¡ªred, yellow, green. They pulsed in my palm, glowing with raw energy. [Warning: Overdose Risk!] [JOHN!] [Warning: Danger of Side Effects and Mutation!] "Roulan... Zhou Xue... Yifei, back off... run back to the tunnel." "John?" Roulan¡¯s voice shook as she reached for my hand, glancing at the orbs inside my palm, she knew my plan. "You can¡¯t do this... John! Listen to me!" "Yifei, speak some sense into him!" Roulan turned away from me as if seeking Yifei¡¯s help. Before I could react, a golden shadow appeared behind her and snapped the back of her neck with her spear. Thud! Yifei held the fallen Roulan, her soft blue eyes gazing at me. "Don¡¯t die, don¡¯t get hurt... please... be safe." The monster¡¯s rage ended, and the last zombie inside its stomach. "Please, take care of them and tell Mu Qinglan to eat these, and come to me after the pain fades." I handed almost twenty stage two cores... green, red, and yellow. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Are you sure, John?" Zhou Xue had no ties to me and no reason to listen. Still, her eyes held worry, concern, and regret equal to Yifei¡¯s. "Of course." Thud-Thud-Thud! The girls didn¡¯t make me wait. With one look at the monsters stomping their feet against the ground, a mixture of an alligator, rat and some other genes... and they rushed away, but what stayed with me were Shen Yifei¡¯s wet eyes. I tapped the communicator. "You heard that right Lan¡¯er? We¡¯ll be in danger soon, so eat the candy and join me down here." "...I got it." A cold tone, but the emotions she struggled with would surely explode the moment we next met, and I would suffer. ¡¯Forgive me System girl, I have to do this. You know I cannot afford to delay things.¡¯ [John... I have a name!] "Hahaha I see, then tell me after I kick this fuckers ass." I swallowed them whole. Heat surged down my throat, burning bright and vicious, pain splitting my chest wide open. Qi flooded every cell. My heart hammered, veins throbbing like cables about to snap. The world pulsed red at the edges. Primordial Tyrant Scripture activated, drinking in every trace of elemental energy. I looked up at the monster, and for the first time, I felt ready. It stared back, jaws dripping with venom. I grinned, blood on my teeth. "Let¡¯s see if you die like the rest." *** We clashed like beasts... My vision bled with streaks of colour. Every heartbeat thundered in my ears. The cores roared inside me¡ªQi detonating through my veins, fire and lightning and iron crushing my insides into something new. For a second, I thought my bones would burst. My muscles twisted, fibres snapping and rejoining. My skin crawled as the Primordial Tyrant Scripture forced the raw energy to obey, devouring every drop of elemental power. The agony blurred everything. I dropped to one knee, fists pressed into the cracked stone. Nails bit into my palms. My breath came in short, ragged gasps, every cell inside me fighting to contain the flood. Red steam curled off my skin. I felt myself changing with each moment. My body, mind, and Qi changed. Each part grew denser, heavier, and sharper at the edges [I won¡¯t let you suffer more!] [Overloaded QI Being Channelled to Meridians Automatically!] [Integration... 89%... 96%... 100%.] [Overload: Stabilised.] Pain snapped into focus. A new strength settled in my limbs, thick and deep, coiling under the surface. My senses expanded rapidly, and my world grew. I felt every vibration in the ground, every gust of air, and the monster¡¯s heartbeat echoing. The Boss Mutant bellowed, sensing the shift. It crouched low, alligator-jaw gaping, rat-like whiskers twitching, bone-plated body flexing as it sized me up. Qi oozed from its fangs, venom burning pits in the floor. I stood, feeling taller, heavier. The gauntlets on my arms pulsed with power, the steel vibrated like it could sing. I cracked my neck and stepped forward, each stride sending ripples through the cavern. The beast groaned before charging me in a blur of scales and muscle, snapping at my head. I stepped in and met it halfway. I threw my fist straight into its snout¡ªsteel knuckles smashing through scales, bone, and rotting flesh. The impact jolted up my arm. The beast¡¯s head snapped sideways, a line of black ichor spraying the chamber wall. It staggered, stunned, but its tail whipped around, aiming to crush my ribs. I braced and caught the tail on my forearm. It felt like stopping a truck. Pain lanced through me, but my bones held, reinforced by the Qi flooding my marrow. I twisted, swinging the mutant by its tail and slamming it back into the ground. The whole chamber shook. Blood, flesh and bone broke free with each blow. The monster shrieked, gnashing and digging furrows in the concrete as it recovered. It rushed again, jaws open wide. I ducked the bite, planting a palm against its lower jaw, then drove my knee up, crunching into the base of its skull. Cartilage and teeth were shattered. Venom sprayed over my chest, burning hot as it melted my skin. The Primordial Tyrant Scripture absorbed the Qi, dulling the acid¡¯s bite. The beast reared, swinging with one massive claw. I dodged, barely, feeling the wind slice past my face. Its claws raked sparks off my gauntlet, leaving only shallow grooves. I grinned, blood still seeping from my mouth. This felt amazing; this was it¡ªa real fight. I surged in, fists flying¡ªeach punch crashing into bone plates, splintering armour, driving the monster back. My Qi surged with all three elements. Each movement hit harder and flowed sharper. But the monster wasn¡¯t done. It lunged, jaws snapping down. This time, its teeth grazed my shoulder, drawing blood, cold, sharp, and burning. We grappled, flesh and steel, man and monster. The whole chamber shook, cracks racing up the walls. Voices echoed in the distance. I kept silent. It was just me and the monster now. I would not run or falter and locked eyes with the beast. And I roared, pouring every ounce of will, strength, and Qi into the next punch. The fire of Yifei, the ice of Lan¡¯er and the comforting and steadfast earth of Roulan and me. "FALL!" Chapter 195: Stage Five Core Chapter 195: Stage Five CoreMy fist crashed through scale, flesh, and bone, slamming the monster¡¯s head into the tunnel wall. Concrete shattered on impact. The fragments pelted my shoulders as the beast let out a guttural shriek, its skull nearly splitting beneath my knuckles. The blow¡¯s backlash reverberated through my arm, the explosive rush of qi in my veins muting the intense pain. My Primordial Tyrant Scripture devoured every fragment of elemental Qi around us, flooded my muscles, and sharpened my senses, making each heartbeat an explosive thud. I breathed in sharply. The monster reeled, massive body thrashing, tail whipping violently. Its jaws snapped shut inches from my face, breath searing hot, venom sizzling as it splashed across my chest and arms. The Qi surged across my skin, shielding me from the worst of it. I moved faster, each step closing the gap before it could fully recover. It swung at me again with a massive claw, slicing the air, but I ducked beneath it, fist driving up under its jaw. The impact lifted cracked its teeth, sending them skittering across the flooded floor. The beast stumbled back, disoriented. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I controlled each breath¡ªcalm, focused, ready. The hunt had begun. "Is that it?" I spat blood, stepping forward through clouds of settling dust, cracking knuckles already healing from the fracture. "I thought Stage Five would mean something." I hit it with everything. My arm throbbed, but I kept steady and pushed forward without hesitation because Qinglan¡¯s signal came closer. She must have taken the cores. [Mu Qinglan has reached Stage 4] [Mu Qinglan has entered a berserk state!] The monster adjusted itself, red eyes burning with fury, intelligence inside its gaze. I laughed with a grainy, low sound. ¡¯Good. I want to see everything you¡¯ve got.¡¯ The beast drew a heavy breath, gathering Qi in its maw. I braced, gauntlets humming with anticipation. The boss mutant¡¯s mouth glowed a vivid crimson, heat shimmering through the surrounding air. My gauntlets surged while feeding off the rising Qi. My pulse slowed, and so did the world. I found clarity sharpened every detail. Fragments of bone on the floor, droplets of venom evaporating, the muscles rippling along the beast¡¯s flank as it charged its breath attack. A bolt of savage energy erupted from its jaws. I sidestepped at the last instant. The blast grazed my shoulder, leaving a scorch-marked gouge. My Qi rushed inward, knitting the wound. The tunnel wall exploded behind me, stone and metal vaporising instantly. Steam filled the chamber, heavy and choking. The mutant lunged through the mist, mouth open wide. Sharp teeth glinting with acidic venom, it slashed blindly with its claws. I avoided the blow, planting my feet on an outstretched rock and delivered a crushing blow to its soft underbelly. Its scales cracked from the impact, my fists sending the beast to the ground with a crash. It didn¡¯t stay down. The monster spun around, whipping its tail in a blurred arc. Too fast for me to evade, I tried to brace while blocking my ribs. Bang! The force sent me flying backwards, skidding along the rocky, corpse-filled ground until I slammed into the far wall. Stars flashed in my vision. A sweet taste of blood filled my mouth. The beast advanced, scales rasping across concrete, red eyes blazing through the gloom. My HUD pinged sharply, a message piercing the haze: [Mu Qinglan approaching rapidly] [Warning: Qi signature dangerously unstable!] I spat out blood, grinning fiercely. "Took your damn time, Lan¡¯er!" A howl echoed through the tunnel¡ªfamiliar, furious, unmistakable. Mu Qinglan¡¯s figure burst from the darkness, blade trailing a crimson mist. Her eyes blazed scarlet, pupils narrowed to needle-thin slits, hair wild as a thundercloud. Ice Qi erupted around her, chaotic and thick, each step freezing the ground. She shot toward the mutant in a blur, sword cleaving through the air. The beast turned, massive jaws snapping toward her, far too late. Her strike connected, an explosion of energy rippling outward, shattering scales and gouging deep into bone. The mutant recoiled, roaring in agony. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t pause, instead launching herself after it, blade weaving vicious arcs that sliced through its defences, freezing each scale. Her Qi burst outward¡ªviolent, unrestrained, and berserk. "Lan¡¯er, careful!" I shouted, rising to my feet. "Don¡¯t let it take you over!" She couldn¡¯t hear me, lost in the berserk frenzy, her eyes wild with reckless abandon. Every swing pushed the beast further back. Each strike stripped her defences and pushed her balance closer to collapse. I ran in after her. My chest was pounding, my heart palpitating, and Qi was surging to match hers. "Lan¡¯er!" Mu Qinglan moved like a blizzard, each swing of her sword sending icy shards crackling across the tunnel walls. Her blade gouged deep and freezing flesh with every vicious arc. The beast roared, lunged, and missed, thick frost already spreading across its limbs. Though it slowed down, the danger of a single blow was still deadly. I dashed forward, channelling my Qi to match her rhythm. My gauntlets hummed as I hammered the beast¡¯s underbelly, driving it off-balance. Our blows synchronised, each strike a harmony of ice and earth. The mutant reeled, desperate, venom spilling from its jaws, sizzling into the ice forming underfoot. Its eyes flared, bright and furious, before its tail swung violently toward Qinglan. "Lan¡¯er, dodge!" I shouted. She ignored my warning, meeting the attack head-on. Her blade cut through the air vertically, slashing in an arc of shimmering frost, slicing cleanly through scales and sinew. The beast shrieked, a chunk of its tail severed and skidding across the floor. Mu Qinglan didn¡¯t stop. Her eyes shone bright with a twisted smile, an almost feral grin as frost engulfed her entire body. Thick veins stood out under her pale skin, blue against porcelain white. She leapt high, blade raised, descending like a comet of ice and fury. The sword punched through the beast¡¯s skull, cracking the bone plating wide open. Ice exploded outward, freezing chunks of gore mid-air. The boss mutant staggered, claws scraping helplessly against ice-covered stone before finally collapsing, twitching weakly in death throes. [Stage 5 Mutant Slain!] [15,000 ZKP] [15,000 EXP] [Acquired Stage 5 Core: Red] [Congratulations!] [Rank 6 (Enclave Chief) --> Rank 7 (Warlord)] [Gained Ability to Place Defensive Structures] [All Combat Troops Empowered] [CURRENCY & EXP] ZKP (Zombie Killing Points): 82,750 EXP: 7,910 / 200,000 I flicked the endless information from my view, because the fight wasn¡¯t over. Mu Qinglan¡¯s rampage didn¡¯t stop. Her breath steamed violently, red pupils narrowing into thin, predatory slits. Her Qi roared in chaotic pulses, turning sharply inward, twisting violently. "Lan¡¯er?" My voice was raw, chest tightening painfully as dread surged. "Calm down. The fight¡¯s over. She spun towards me, thrusting Endless Night at my throat with a snarl; the next moment, her leg flew across my cheek as I stepped back. "Qinglan!" My shout echoed uselessly. Her eyes had changed entirely¡ªnow black, glossy pools dominated by vicious, glowing red pupils. Veins throbbed beneath her skin, branching dark and blue like frostbite consuming her. Her lips curled back, teeth gritted with tension, and she lifted her sword again, pointed at my throat, trembling in her grip. "No..." Her voice trembled with effort, eyes briefly flickering. "John¡ªget away...!" Her body moved against her will... the berserk Qi driving her forward, blade slashing wildly. I barely deflected the blows, gauntlets sparking from impact. Her power had surged uncontrollably, dangerously close to matching my own. "Fight it, Lan¡¯er!" I pleaded, desperate to reach her through the haze of violence. My Qi surged, defensive and controlled. I needed to hurt her, to save myself. Yet her swings grew faster, harder, each attack deadly precise despite her chaotic state. Her berserk Qi screamed in her veins, overwhelming her senses and consuming her sanity. "John..." Tears streamed from those monstrous eyes. Her voice broke between begging and warning. She lunged again, blade raised high, murderous intent flowing from her body despite Qinglan¡¯s agonised face. I braced myself, ready to do anything to save her. Mu Qinglan¡¯s blade halted inches from my throat, her hand trembling violently, red-black eyes wide and wild. Her lips parted, voice fractured with desperation, each word a tortured whisper. "John... stop me... please..." Ice crawled along my skin, her berserk Qi biting deep. She leaned close, tears frozen mid-stream. "Kill me... before I kill you." The sword plunged forward, aiming directly at my heart. Chapter 196: Don’t... Chapter 196: Don¡¯t..."Don¡¯t be so dramatic!" My body slipping past her guard as I slammed my fist into her abdomen. Mu Qinglan gasped sharply, doubling forward, eyes widening as my Qi surged into her core. It was a harsh and decisive blow. The force broke through her rampaging flow and injected my earth Qi directly inside her body. I caught her before she could hit the ground, feeling ice-cold energy crackle violently along my skin. She struggled briefly, eyes flickering between black and her familiar electric blue. "John¡ª" Her voice was soft and pleasing to the ears. "Shut up," I snapped gently, pressing my forehead against hers. I forced more Qi inside her. To overwhelm and suppress the berserk storm in her veins. "I know you can endure!" I kissed her to increase the flow sucking the Ice Qi from her body. An icy chill immediately reached my lips and throat. I closed her lips and kissed her, sucking the icy energy from her body, allowing it to chill and freeze my lips, and throat. It tasted like her. Her body trembled, the chaotic Qi gradually subsiding beneath mine. The blue veins faded, her breathing finally easing into steady, shaking gasps. Her tongue pushed into my mouth, it felt wet... and slimy as she wrapped around me sucking on the tip. I grabbed her buttocks and lifted her; standing on her tiptoes, she snorted and hummed into my mouth. I let my guard down, and she wrapped her arms around my back, digging her nails into me. It burned for a moment, but I forgot because she started kissing me aggressively. "Mmmph... John... this is good, your lips are sweet, and hot..." My body a furnace for all four elements, soothed Mu Qinglan¡¯s body, with everything she needed, bringing pleasure as her swollen dantian returned to a normal state. [Wow...] [Mu Qinglan¡¯s Qi signature stabilising.] [Berserk state subsiding.] "Idiot." I brushed the stray hairs from her face. "You trying to scare me to death?" Mu Qinglan gave a shaky, broken laugh. "You¡¯d miss me." I managed a grin, despite the blood running down my jaw. "Yeah. So don¡¯t make me go through that again." Around us, the tunnel settled into silence. Only our ragged breathing remained. But the next threat waited deep in the dark, patient and hungry. *** After Qinglan¡¯s rampage, the silence felt hollow, broken only by the distant trickle of water through cracked pipes and the echo of our breath. Her head rested on my shoulder, breath cooling against my neck as I eased her to her feet. "You good to walk?" I kept my voice low, more gentle than I meant. She nodded, wiping tears from her eyes with her wrist. The red haze was gone, her gaze sharp again, but she clung to my arm with a grip that trembled. "Let¡¯s move," I said, pushing the pain aside. The faint pressure of that strange Qi pulsed deeper in the tunnels, a cold current tugging at my nerves. The boss mutant¡¯s corpse steamed on the stone behind us, scales crusted with frost and blood. I pulled a core from its chest¡ªmassive, dark red, hot enough to sting my palm. I tossed it into my inventory and kept moving, guiding Qinglan past broken bones and shattered weapons. We advanced deeper, each step taking us further from the carnage and into a chill that had nothing to do with Qinglan¡¯s ice. The Qi pressed harder, slow and steady, pulsing with every heartbeat. It wasn¡¯t like anything I¡¯d felt from zombies or mutants¡ªthis was older, heavier, and far less welcoming. After a hundred meters, the tunnel widened into an old maintenance vault, ceiling sagging and walls patched with calcified moss. Water dripped from rusted beams. The ground sloped toward a pit where all the sewer filth seemed to collect. That was where the Qi was thickest. I motioned for Qinglan to stay back, then stepped to the edge. Something glimmered at the bottom, a faint, unnatural light. [System: Warning¡ªUnknown Qi Source Detected.][Analysis Failed.][Potential Threat: Unclassifiable.] S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. For the first time since this started, the System sounded unsure. I lowered myself carefully, boots squelching in the muck. The closer I got, the more the Qi pressed against my bones. It felt... cold and hot at the same time. My vision swam. Nestled in the slime at the pit¡¯s centre were two perfectly round cores, side by side. One black, like ink trapped in glass, radiating a chilling void. The other white, glowing faintly, warmth flickering at its heart. [System: Analysis Failed. Data Unknown.][Warning: Unknown effect. Handle with caution.] "John?" Qinglan¡¯s voice echoed down. "What is it?" I crouched, studying the cores without touching them. The black one seemed to pull all the light around it into nothing, the white one pulsing gently, illuminating the filth with a ghostly radiance. Together, they felt... wrong like a riddle or a trap. "I don¡¯t know," I admitted, and the words tasted bitter. "The system¡¯s never seen anything like these." Qinglan slid down beside me, her hand instinctively reaching for mine. Her eyes narrowed, studying the strange pair. "Do we take them?" "Eventually," I muttered, unable to look away. "But not until we figure out what they¡¯ll do." The Qi in the air vibrated, both inviting and threatening. I¡¯d faced monsters and mutants and the worst of this apocalypse. But this... this felt like the start of something entirely different. We stared at the black and white cores, and somehow our hands reached out... Qinglan grabbed the white core, and I chose the black one. [Wait...!] [System Warning!] "Are you thinking what I am?" "John... you look so evil right now!" Ignoring the fact that we both almost died... and that she only just calmed down, something about this core called out to me. I don¡¯t know what it does or if it will help me. Mu Qinglan looked the same and looked at the white core with enchanted eyes. *** The core pulsed in my palm. It was cold, heavy, inviting, and threatening. Qinglan¡¯s eyes met mine, wild with anticipation and a little fear. A voice in my head screamed Don¡¯t for a moment, but the urge to swallow it was too strong. A question with no answer, a promise never fulfilled. I raised the black core to my lips and swallowed it whole. The sphere slipped down my throat like ice. My chest seized up. I heard Qinglan gasp, then watched her tip the white core between her lips, swallowing with a shudder. It was nothing like taking monster cores before. For a split second, the world stopped. The tunnel faded. My body went numb, my vision tunnelling in on the afterimage of the core sliding down my throat. Then the reaction hit. Cold exploded through my veins, radiating from my stomach, racing to my heart and brain. The sensation wasn¡¯t just pain¡ªit was as if something old and vast pressed itself into the core of my being, rewriting me from the inside out. My Qi shrieked in protest, lashing against the invader, but the black core devoured it all, crushing my will with a pressure so deep it almost became silence. Next to me, Qinglan dropped to one knee, hugging her stomach as white qi flowed from her pores. The air around her vibrated, creating a sharp pressure. I saw frost shimmer in the air, ice climbing the walls and pooling beneath her feet. Her scream echoed through the darkness. My mouth opened, but no sound escaped. Memories flashed through my sight, burned away, tearing open old wounds and thoughts I wanted to hide... Mother, Father... and for a moment, I hovered on the edge of remaining trapped in them forever. The black core shattered in my gut, its shards digging deeper, rearranging something essential inside me. [System Error: Unidentifiable Core Consumed.] [Warning: Host Physiology Adapting¡ªMutation Level Unknown.] [Analysis: Failed.] The pressure rapidly faded. I collapsed, chest heaving, sweat streaming down my skin. The world snapped back. My senses were too sharp, every shadow flickering with hidden meaning. The Qi inside me wasn¡¯t just different. It almost doubled in amount... [Elemental Body Refinement ¨C Phase 2 --> Phase 4] However, the most significant change must have been in Qinglan. "What?" She snorted, looking at me with her vivid eyes. "Nothing, you just look stunning." Her face was pristine with creamy skin. All minor blemishes had vanished, and it looked like small ice crystals floated inside her pupils. Each of her breaths created a cooling mist or fog, but her Ice Qi was stronger and stable. "Haha~ I know." Qinglan smiled back at me before snapping her fingertips as the blood, gore, and slime froze instantly. She then flicked her hand, creating a gust of wind that shattered them into shards that flowed into the tunnel. ¡¯How the hell did she...¡¯ "Hey, John!" She called out to me, and my jaw dropped when I looked at her. Chapter 197: A Warlords Titjob [R18] Chapter 197: A Warlords Titjob [R18]Mu Qinglan tossed her shirt to the side, her heavy breasts swaying with each step. Round and full, their subtle movements caught my attention. Swollen pink nipples contrasted with her soft, pale skin. I swallowed, watching them drop free and bounce. ¡¯Erotic!¡¯ Qinglan bit her lips as she moved closer, swaying her hips like a pendulum. "Do you like what you see? I¡¯ve been waiting to get you alone." The other left for the surface, and the zombies were dead; my pants felt tighter with each passing moment, before she reached out and groped my crotch. "Huhu, it seems you feel the same as me." A shiver went down my spine as I felt her warm hands. The desire to pin her down against the cold cavern floor and penetrate her overwhelmed me. But... I wasn¡¯t a virgin anymore. I had two women to look after, and this was dangerous territory. I looked into her eyes, searching for something, but her face was too close, and the desire in her eyes too strong. She stroked my length, squeezing it before touching the zip, a sly smile on her lips. "I¡¯m glad~ Look how hard you are." "Who wouldn¡¯t be happy, with tits like those." She giggled, unzipping my pants and pulling out my cock. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "It seems...this part of you likes me a bit too much... how hot and the tip is already wet." She squeezed my shaft and stroked me up and down with a wet sound, my precum smeared over her palm. I could feel her gaze watching me. "Do you want me to keep going, like this?" Shlick! Shlick! Shlick! Qinglan pumped my cock, slowly, teasing me with her soft hand while I stared at her massive breasts. If it kept going like this, there would be trouble. With each full motion, her eyes narrowed further, glowing a deep electric blue while breathing heavier. "How about you use your tits to get me off?" "Oh?" Her lips curled before she gathered spit in her mouth and lowered to her knees, "Then... make sure you make me feel good too." I enjoyed her spurring me on, it made me so horny, grabbing her breasts my fingers sank into her squishy tits as my thumbs crushed her hard nipples. "Nngh.... Hnnng, don¡¯t be so rough..." Qinglan moaned, taking the tip of my cock into her mouth and sucking it with hollowed-out cheeks. Her mouth felt heavenly. Hot and warm, while she bobbed her head up and down. I gaze down at her devilish gaze, each wet pop and warm slimy slurp making my hips push forward, while she gazed back at me. "Gluk gluk gluk~" Her lips tightened around my glans while she jerked my shaft with one hand. My fingers sank into her tits. It felt incredible, deforming their shape and crushing them. Now fully erect I slotted my cock between them... Qinglan closed her eyes as she drooled onto the tip of my cock. "Blehhh... Schluuuuupppp~" Then Qinglan spat on my cock and spread it over my shaft with her hand. "How are my tits, John?" She smiled before using her elbows to squish her tits around my cock, her spit pooling in her cleavage to lubricate them. My balls clenched at the sight, cock throbbing. "You¡¯re a natural." "A natural... Nnngh... It¡¯s throbbing against my chest... so hot and dangerous." Each time she moved, they bounced and shook, squeezing around me, and I felt comfortable. I grabbed them and squeezed them together while thrusting into her cleavage the tip of my cock pressing against Qinglan¡¯s nose, as she snorted like a pig. "Nnngh, so damn violent... I can smell your sweaty cock, peh!" She spat on me before swallowing the tip of my glans with her warm, slimy mouth... "Ngh... Qinglan!?" ¡¯Her mouth is so amazing, like a pussy filled with drool... each time her tits squeeze me she slides her tongue on the underside!¡¯ "Gluk... Gluk... Gubuh..." Her tongue curled under my shaft with every downward stroke, as if she were trying to milk me from both sides. I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to lose control. But she wanted that. Qinglan pulled back with a wet pop, saliva trailing from her lips to my tip like a strand of silk. Her hands stayed on my cock, stroking lazily while her breasts squished and slid across the base, leaving trails of slick heat in every motion. "You¡¯re holding back," she teased, her voice low and breathy. "Don¡¯t you want to cum? Or maybe..." She slipped off her knees before turning away from me, sliding down her pants to her thighs and leaning forward. "Do you want to cum inside here?" "Wow..." Mu Qinglan pulled apart her buttocks, revealing her sticky crotch, silver threads of her honey dribbling from the tip of her pussy to her underwear. Soft pink folds, a neat puffy labia... Mu Quinlan¡¯s hips swayed as if to entice me further. My cock throbbed, swelling with thick red veins. "Lan¡¯er, you¡¯re playing with fire..." "Am I now?" Her voice sounded amused as she turned to face me again. She giggled and opened wide, letting her spit drip onto the tip again. "That¡¯s it... let go, John. Let me taste it... all of it." Her breasts enveloped my cock again before she kissed it gently. I gritted my teeth. "Qinglan... I¡¯m going to¡ª" "Good... Good! Nngh... Mmmph!" She wrapped my cock with her tits, squeezing the shaft as they bounced faster and faster. Her tongue flicked out, teasing my tip each time it peeked from her cleavage. "F-Fucke!" Her mouth sealed over my glans, slurping hungrily with a bulging throat. The feeling of her soft lips and slimy tongue wrapping around my cock sending electrical jolts through my mind as I gripped her tighter. "Mpphh!?" Qinglan¡¯s pupils dilated as her nose flared, snorting. She couldn¡¯t pull away and just sucked harder, clenching my shaft with her soft cheeks blowing me faster as I pushed my glans pushed into her throat. ¡¯God, this feels amazing!¡¯ My legs shook, balls tightening as I thrust harder, fucking Qinglan¡¯s mouth while my fingers dug into the back of her skull. "Mmmmphhh!!!" Qinglan¡¯s muffled cries sent shivers down my spine and made me fuck her faster until... "God damnit... you¡¯re too sexy." Her throat bulged as she seemed to struggle for air, gagging on my cock as a bubble formed from her nostrils and saliva dripped from her chin. "Gluk!? Gubuh... Nngh.... Hnnngh!?" She reached out, nails digging into my thighs for stability. My balls clenched, muscles tightening. "I¡¯m cumming..." Her throat vibrated around my shaft. That was it. I grabbed the back of her head and thrust forward, burying myself deeper between her tits and lips, unable to stop. Throb. Throb. Throb. Hot jets spurt from my tip into her mouth. I groaned as she swallowed every shot, sucking until I twitched from oversensitivity. When I finally let go, Qinglan pulled back with a lewd pop, a strand of cum still connecting us. Burp~ She covered her mouth with bright red cheeks, looking at me as if she didn¡¯t expect to make such a noise. "Hnngh... Ngh... Gulp~ Ahhh~ I swallowed it all." I lifted her chin, enjoying the sight of sperm leaking from her lips. Her eyes watched me quietly as she licked her lips with a pop. "Mmm... salty, but thick. Just how I like it." Qinglan looked up at me, face flushed and eyes glowing faintly blue. She looked beautiful knelt between my legs, face flushed red and tits smearing with drool and cum while panting. I grabbed her thighs and forced them apart "Wow." Her panties were wet... my fingers slid along the soft material letting it dig into her pink folds, as she moaned under her breath. "You¡¯re completely soaked." "Wh-What do you expect... after sucking you like that... Hnngh," She groaned with both legs trembling as I rubbed the thin fabric. I hooked two fingers under the edge and tugged them aside. Hot. Soaked. Her folds glistened in the low cavern light, already twitching and swollen from arousal. I slid my fingers along her slit, spreading her wetness, then pressed one inside. Warm, slimy and tight. That¡¯s Mu Qinglan¡¯s pussy... I pushed deeper, as her head flung back with an exaggerated sigh. "Ah...!" Her insides clenched around my fingers. I spread my fingers while rubbing against her soft folds and ribbed walls, and looked down at the breathless beauty. "Don¡¯t you want to feel good too?" Chapter 198: Taming the Wild Cat - Anal [R18] Chapter 198: Taming the Wild Cat - Anal [R18]Her moan echoed faintly, swallowed by the stone walls around us. I kept my eyes on her face. Not her thighs, not her glistening folds twitching around my fingers¡ªbut her eyes. That brilliant blue glow was flickering, losing focus. "John~ Nnngh..." I pulled her panties aside and pushed into her wetness, twisting it inside as she squirmed and clung to my arm. "You like that?" "Hnngh~ Yes... It feels so good..." Qinglan panted as she arched her back. "Mmm..." She moaned with half closed eyes, unable to stop the pleasure flowing through her body as she spread herself wide open, exposing her wet pussy and black pubic hair. I watched her swollen clit peek from behind her puffy folds. "Are you jealous?" My fingers dragged against her sensitive walls as I plunged deeper until... "Nngh... Oh... Oh my god...!" Her juices soaked my hand as she threw back her head with pleasure, and her insides tightened around my fingers, squeezing them like a slippery vice, creating a wet pop. Tough she didn¡¯t cum, I could feel her insides throbbing... her chest heaving as she looked up at me with beautiful blue eyes. "Do you want more?" Her answer was a whisper, breathless and soaked in need. "...Yes." I didn¡¯t pull my hand away and slid deeper, curling two fingers inside her soaking tunnel while my thumb rubbed slow, deliberate circles around her clit. Slowly, just enough to make her hips bounce on the rock, moaning in my ears over and over. Qinglan gripped my arm with both hands, biting her lips and looking at me as if aggrieved. "Nngh... John, you¡¯re being cruel... Ahhhn...!" Her thighs closed tight around my hand as her insides quivered, squeezing with a wet squelch with each movement of my fingers. The warmth of her smooth folds became sticky as I dragged both fingers along her entrance walls. "John... please..." That word. Please. I watched her lips quiver as she bit back a louder moan. Her thighs clamped around my wrist, tight and trembling. The pressure in her walls increased with each pulse of her heartbeat. She was close¡ªvery close. But I didn¡¯t let her fall over the edge yet. I slowed my fingers just enough to drag it out, savouring how her face twisted with frustration and hunger. Her pupils were blown wide now, cheeks flushed, her breath catching with each minor stroke that sent sparks through her nerves. "You¡¯re holding back," I said low against her ear. "Let go." "I... I can¡¯t..." "You can." She tried to answer, but her words died as my fingers plunged again, this time faster, harder, right into that sweet spot that made her eyes close tight. "Ahh¡ªahhn...!" She cried out, not even trying to muffle it this time. Her body locked up. Qinglan grabbed me tight, her fingernails sinking into my flesh as she gasped hot hair into my face. She bounced on the stone while enduring her climax, her eyes closed, and she let out a cute series of sounds. Hot, slimy and tight... she clenched around my fingers. "Does it feel good?" "Ahhhnnn~ Mmmmnh!" Still trembling from her climax, she could barely hold herself up. I lifted her off the spot, a thick pool of sticky juices dripping down the edge of the rock, before guiding her to the rocky wall and pushing her face first. She let out a startled moan. Her cheek pressed to the wall, one leg lifted, trembling slightly from the last orgasm that hadn¡¯t even entirely faded. I kept my hand on her hip, steadying her. "Nngh... it¡¯s sensitive..." she whispered again, half gasping, her voice rasped and husky with leftover moans. "I know," I said. "That¡¯s why it¡¯ll feel even better." Her skin was hot under my palm. The slope of her ass, the quivering line of her thighs, the way her inner walls had just soaked my fingers and still throbbed with leftover contractions... all of it burned into my senses. I haven¡¯t entered her yet. Instead, I dropped my free hand between her legs again, tracing her drenched slit with slow, teasing pressure. "Ahn~!" She jolted, trying to move her hips away, but I caught her easily and pinned her tight against the stone. My fingers returned to her core, dragging through the slick mess between her folds and curling back inside. Her body was still fluttering from the last climax, twitching and clenching around me with every gentle pump of my fingers. "Sensitive?" I asked. She nodded weakly. I moved slowly. Curling two fingers deep again, I found the soft spot, the same one I¡¯d abused earlier. I stroked it with rhythmic pressure, timing each thrust of my fingers to the beat of her breath. Qinglan whimpered into the wall as her hips lifted, revealing her cute buttocks and the small mole on the inside of her ass cheek. "John¡ªno... I¡¯ll¡ªI¡¯ll cum again... I can¡¯t..." "You can cum, just not like this." She tried to move, to wriggle away, but I kept her pinned with my hips. My cock slid against the cleft of her ass, smearing precum along her skin. Her body arched again the moment I lined up against her. Not her soaked folds this time, but the tighter hole nestled between those perfect cheeks. "Nnngh... John¡ª" Her voice cracked, soft and unsure. "You¡¯re not..." "I am." Her thighs trembled. Qinglan tried to look back, her cheek still pressed to the wall, her lips parted with a breathless whimper. I could see the flush rising down her neck, her ass clenching as if it already knew what was coming. I spat into my hand. Then rubbed the slickness between her cheeks. My cock twitched as I dragged it across her rear, teasing the entrance. She jerked with each touch, body still recovering, still soaked and shivering from the climax I¡¯d forced out of her just moments ago. "You¡¯re soaked down here," I muttered, thumbing her twitching rim. "And so warm..." "John, w-wait¡ªit¡¯s tight... I¡¯m still..." I pushed my cock against her, not forcing it in, just letting her feel the pressure. Her hips twitched, but she didn¡¯t pull away. I leaned down close to her ear. "Tell me no, and I¡¯ll stop." She didn¡¯t. She shuddered. "...Just go slow." I lifted one hand from the wall and wrapped my fingers over her lips. Qinglan panted against my palm, chest rising and falling. Her voice muffled under my hand, she opened her mouth wide to catch my thumb, and bit down gently, groaning around it, while I worked the tip in slowly. "Oof... Ahh~!" The tight ring of flesh gave way suddenly. Qinglan jolted when I buried the first inch in her ass, sending another deep groan of pleasure as she trembled in my arms, whimpering from her nose. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Her eyes shut tight. Her other leg rose to stand on tiptoe. The sharp angle made her arch her hips, which sank me further into her warmth, into the soft flutter of her insides. The extra height did little else. In response, she writhed, but I held her tight in place. "Mm-mffh... Mmhhph~" Her sounds were music in my ears. Her body clenched instantly, her inner muscles resisting the intrusion, even as her slick entrance eased me forward, inch by inch. "Ahhn¡ªnggh...!" Her hands curled into fists against the wall, her back arching instinctively, ass lifting into me as I pushed in deeper. The pressure, the tightness¡ªshe was practically sucking me in with how hard she clenched. "Still breathing?" I whispered. She nodded against the wall, a tear slipping down her cheek from the shock of it. "Just... don¡¯t move yet." I didn¡¯t. I stayed still, buried halfway, one hand on her hip, the other stroking her back gently while her body adjusted. Her walls trembled around me, squeezing and fluttering without rhythm. Her breathing slowed as she settled into the feeling. "You¡¯re doing good," I said. She gave a shaky laugh. "It feels... full. Like I¡¯m going to break..." "You won¡¯t." I slid in a little more. My cock plunged further into her asshole, until my hips slapped against her buttocks with a smack, causing them to jiggle. "Haaah!? Hnnngh!" The stretch made her moan again¡ªthis time lower, more primal, even as her body tensed around me like a vice. Inch by inch, I sank in until her ass pressed flush against my hips. Qinglan groaned into the wall. "Oh fuck... John..." "Still okay?" "I... I don¡¯t know..." I pulled back slowly, and her entire body jolted. Then I thrust in again, just halfway. Her voice caught in her throat, becoming a choked, breathless squeal. "Sensitive... John¡ªhnngh... I can feel it so deep... you¡¯re spreading my ass so much!" "That¡¯s the idea." I set a rhythm. Slow, careful thrusts, just enough to make her toes curl and her hips jerk. She tried to push back, but every time she did, I went still, holding her there, teasing her as I ground my hips against her. "You like it?" "I¡ªI hate how good it feels," she gasped. "It shouldn¡¯t... feel this good..." Her body trembled around me again. I could feel the heat of her insides, the raw tightness, the way she tried to muffle every single moan but failed. I fucked her ass slowly, deliberately, every stroke making her writhe. And when I gripped her hips tighter and pushed in all the way. She clenched tighter, her body shuddering while gasping for air after reaching a light orgasm. Qinglan came from anal. Chapter 199: Tasting Lan’ers Ass in the Apocalypse [R18] Chapter 199: Tasting Lan¡¯ers Ass in the Apocalypse [R18]Soft, plump and peach. Qinglan¡¯s buttocks slapped against my pelvis with each thrust into her moist ass squelched as I moved her like a toy on my cock. She was naked, and the glow from the minerals on the walls gave enough light for me to see her with no candles. Her voice was soft and low; she moaned with every thrust. "Mmm, oh, mhm... Mnnnn!" she gasped and cried, her voice high but low, pleasurable and lusty, but quiet at the same time. I focused on pounding her with all my strength. Her hips slapped against my pelvis rhythmically as she panted, snorting through her nose, desperate to catch her breath. I gripped her hips as I fucked her harder, the tip of my cock dragging against her inner walls with a slippery sound; each time I pulled back her ass made a wet squelch. I pushed deep into her and grunted, enjoying the warm walls around me. She felt amazing as I slid inside her. Qinglan¡¯s tight ass gripped me like her greedy mouth when sucking me off. It was soft, comfortable, and wet. Qinglan¡¯s voice became cute and distorted as she cried out in pleasure. She trembled against my hips as she reached another light climax, whimpering as she snorted, unable to breathe. With time, her hips rocked back and forth in time with my thrusting. "Oh fuck... Oh fuck..." She moaned over and over, her voice breaking each time. "You like this?" I said. "Y-yes," She cried out, "Yes!" I felt her tighten around me, a squeeze that made her gasp and her back arch. "I¡¯m gonna cum... I¡¯m gonna cum again!" She shouted. And I felt her body shake with orgasm, and then she let out a long, slow breath, her body going limp, but I didn¡¯t stop moving. The more she clenched, the more I wanted to make her cum, to enjoy a pleasure like none before. "It seems you love being fucked in the ass, Lan¡¯er." I pulled out of her suddenly and flipped her over. She moaned as her back hit the wall and her arms and legs wrapped around my body. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "John, it¡¯s too sensitive... you¡¯re too strong," she moaned softly. Her legs were spread wide open, exposing her soaking entrance and her ass, now gaping from my rough treatment. I let go of her thighs and wrapped one arm around her waist while the other grabbed her ass, squeezing it as I pushed my cock into her ass again with a wet, slippery pop. Unable to control my arousal, I pushed her against the wall, able to feel her breasts squashed against my chest and her racing heart that surpassed that of a normal human. I grabbed her waist and began to pound her, fucking Qinglan with my superhuman strength. Each thrust caused her entire body to jut and jolt. "Hnnng! Nnnngh... it¡¯s too strong... my ass will break~ J-John... I love you." Her voice cracked with that last cry, eyes rolled back, lips parted, her breath shallow and broken between moans. I didn¡¯t let up. My hands dug into her ass and waist, holding her firm as I slammed her down against my cock again and again. Her legs trembled, wrapped tight around me, but she didn¡¯t let go. Couldn¡¯t. Her nails raked down my back, barely able to grip. "Mnnn... ngh... J-John, I¡¯m gonna... I can¡¯t hold¡ª" She screamed again, her whole body locking up as another orgasm tore through her, more violently than the last. I felt it. The way her ass spasmed, gripping me in waves, pulling me deeper with every squeeze. Her pussy dripped down her thighs, a messy trail of slick and heat as her body convulsed from both holes being stretched and used. I buried myself inside her one last time. My release surged through me, hot and deep, and I growled her name against her throat as I filled her ass with thick, pulsing ropes of cum. She shook beneath me, gasping, twitching. "John, John..." she panted weakly. "It¡¯s so hot... it feels so thick inside me." I groaned at her words, my hips jerking forward as I pumped her full, and her eyes fluttered shut, the corners of her lips curling up in a blissful smile. *** Over two weeks ago, the world ended in a disaster that made most of humanity disappear and now... I had one of the world¡¯s most beautiful women, sucking my cock while her ass bubbled and leaked my sperm while gaping. "Ngh... Lan¡¯er!?" "Gubuh~ Nngh.... Mmph!?" Qinglan choked when my cock hit the back of her throat. I looked down, seeing her look up to me with her face blushing and her mouth full of my cock. There was no trace of the beautiful businesswoman. Her tits full of kiss marks, nipples swollen and red, while her eyes shimmered with a red light. She took my length in one go, almost choking on it. My dick swelled up inside her throat as she held onto my thighs. Her head began to bob back and forth while she sucked, eager and hungry; ever since I came in her ass, she became obedient and more affectionate. I couldn¡¯t stop her crawling onto my lap and giving me a cleaning blowjob. "I can¡¯t believe it... You¡¯ve become such a pervert..." The beautiful young woman kept sucking, and with each movement, her breasts bobbed up and down. "Lan¡¯er... you¡¯re so beautiful." My words came with a groan as I felt the pressure rise. "You are going to make me cum again if you keep this up." "Mmm, mmmph..." Qinglan moaned happily around my cock. Then she licked and slurped. I groaned again, my fingers digging into her hair as my hips bucked forward. However... she kicked me down, her lips curling into a twisted smirk and she sat on me, her pussy swallowed my dick, making loud squelching sounds. "J-John~ I need it now," The cold ground felt annoying as it scraped my back, but the moment I felt Qinglan¡¯s slimy, gooey depths clinging to me I didn¡¯t give a fuck. Qinglan rode my cock with a victorious smile. Her hips swayed from side to side, and her mouth hung open with drool. The cave was filled with our sounds as she made the most erotic expression and moaned like a bitch. She was the most beautiful, yet sexiest, woman I had ever seen. I hugged her waist and began to pound her pussy from below. Qinglan¡¯s tits jiggled before my eyes as her face melted in pleasure. Yet, this was a pleasure a normal human couldn¡¯t reach. The force of my thrusts superhuman and her pussy squeezing with a similar force, yet remaining silky soft inside. "Ah~ it¡¯s throbbing inside me, you¡¯re gonna cum right?" Qinglan leaned on top of me and began to kiss and lick my face, leaving a trail of saliva as her pussy spasmed. "I¡¯m cumming too, John. I love this... You gave me so much~ I think you¡¯ve flooded my stomach with your hot milk... Now my womb, mark my womb!" Qinglan¡¯s tongue slithered inside my mouth, and I kissed her back, grabbing her hips and thrusting harder than before. Her moans became rougher, and more violent as she bit and sucked on me. "I can feel you... Give it to me! Cum inside me! John!" I felt her body shudder, and her insides clench down even harder around me. She let out a loud cry as she orgasmed, squirting, and I followed after her, as my cum spurt inside her womb. My cock throbbed inside Qinglan¡¯s tight pussy as she kept rocking above me, her juices squirting across the stones. "Haaah~ So much... Ngh... Ha-ha-ha, John... John, I love you." *** Qinglan and I had sex like crazed rabbits for two hours... Shortly after she fainted, Jiang Roulan contacted me on the comm device... "John... are you alright? Is everything okay?" "Yes, everything is fine, sorry for worrying you. We¡¯ll be back in a short while, prepare to camp inside the train station." "..." Mu Qinglan¡¯s eyes fluttered as she rolled onto her side and gazed at me weakly. "Y-you bastard..." she whimpered, barely able to lift her head. "...my ass... my pussy... they are ruined. It still feels like you¡¯re inside and my legs are throbbing!" I kissed her cheek. "Good." She smiled weakly. "Still... I loved it." "Do you forgive me for Roulan now?" She looked up at me and smiled before hugging my chest. "You... noticed?" "Of course, you are my first girlfriend..." Chapter 200: Returning to the Surface Chapter 200: Returning to the Surface[Core Assimilation Complete] ¡¯Ah...¡¯ The voice returned to the cold, machine-like voice; this only happened when I did something that upset the System sister. After the time passed, I calmed down and wondered what benefits the strange orbs gave us. Mu Qinglan leaned against me, breathing slowly with her mouth half open and exhausted. Her sweaty hair stuck to her forehead, but she didn¡¯t move when I shifted it and only let out a small groan before embracing me tightly. "Hnnn... everything hurts..." S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I chuckled, brushing my fingers through her tangled hair. "Serves you right." Her hand twitched, trying to slap my chest, but it flopped back down uselessly. I felt her breath shudder as she spoke. "You... absolute beast..." "You climbed on top of me, Lan¡¯er. Don¡¯t act like I forced you." "Shut up." She buried her face into my chest and groaned again. "I can feel every... goddamn thrust in my spine." I kissed her forehead. "You looked like you were enjoying it." "Enjoying you splitting my ass in half?" "It¡¯s already split in two..." "You... Ack!!" Seeing Mu Qinglan acting so soft and lovely was something I never believed could happen. One might say I was living a dream right now. The moment she tried to punish me, her face scrunched up, and she collapsed on my chest. ¡¯This is great.¡¯ She sighed and finally opened one eye, looking up at me with the faintest scowl. "I hate how good it was." I ran my hand along her back, feeling the fine tremble in her muscles. "You¡¯ll get used to it." "I don¡¯t want to get used to it... how about I put something that thick in your ass?" "Hahaha, no thanks." Pah! "John." I slapped her buttocks on instinct, forgetting what I did to her... Qinglan made a lovely sound as she squealed at me with a red face, body flushed pink from sex and surging Qi. Because of how crazy we became, her thighs and crotch were a mess. I reached into my inventory, grabbed a spare cloth, and started wiping her down. She twitched. "Tch¡ªstop being gentle now. You¡¯ve already ruined me." I snickered at the sight. She grabbed the cloth and tried to do it herself, but her arm failed halfway and dropped onto her chest with a sigh. "Fuck it. I¡¯ll just lie here and rot." "You¡¯re dramatic when you¡¯re tired." Instead of arguing back, she just lay against me and continued breathing slowly, looking at me from time to time as I finished cleaning her body. Unlike when we first entered. The cave became warmer once that mutant died, some of its body blocking the half-broken filtration system. I also needed a moment to recover, because my body ached, and Qinglan¡¯s weight felt comfortable. Qinglan shifted, wrapping her arms around me tightly and whispering. "... I¡¯ll get you back for this, you bastard." I rested my chin on her head and whispered. "Looking forward to it." *** "We¡¯re going to head back up, Roulan." My fingers rested on the communication device. After spending so much time, the others seemed worried about us. Because of that, we needed to head back up soon, but Qinglan remained in her soft phase. "John, help me." Her voice was a whisper, rough and low, but laced with annoyance. She lay sprawled on her side, one leg twitching slightly. Her clothes were a pile near the rock she collapsed on earlier, but her arms refused to cooperate. "Are you seriously just lying there naked?" "You broke me." I shrugged and reached for her underwear first. She watched me with one eye open and a tired frown. "Don¡¯t you dare smell them." "Tempting." I crouched and helped slide her panties up her legs, careful not to rush. Somehow, it didn¡¯t make me annoyed when Mu Qinglan acted so needy. Bruises covered the inside of her thighs, shaped like my fingerprints... and her crotch looked swollen and a little red. It seemed my full force caused a lot of damage. She hissed when the fabric brushed her overstimulated skin. "Fucking hell..." "Still sensitive?" "No, I just enjoy wincing for fun." Her glare was like a paper tiger¡¯s, all bark and no bite. I helped her into her bra and enjoyed the jiggle of her soft boobs, but she grunted at me. Though the bra was messy, it twisted slightly, and the front clasp barely held those heavy melons inside. ¡¯Well I sucked on them enough for now...¡¯ "It looks like I ruined this, too..." "You owe me three things now," she muttered. "Underwear, pride, and functioning legs." "You don¡¯t get to talk about pride, who was the one drooling on my chest five minutes ago." "Hmph!" Qinglan turned away, giving up the argument. Instead, she leaned forward and climbed over my shoulder, hugging me like a koala bear. "Carry me up there." I was about to say the cave became cold when she moved away from me, but the irony of someone with ice Qi making me warm was quite amusing. "Well don¡¯t cause any trouble, okay?" "Nn..." There was a warm breeze as we walked back; the only noise was my footsteps echoing off the stone. I checked on Qinglan only to find her sleeping, so that someone at Stage Five could sleep like this... I worked hard. ¡¯Good job me!¡¯ The black core seemed to be something different. It didn¡¯t have a rank, tier, or stage; it was an anomaly and appeared to cause the mutations in this tunnel. ¡¯Was swallowing that thing dumb?¡¯ The white core was weaker, but seemed to keep the corruption at bay, with the stronger mutants locked in the chamber... did that mean that it could resist or at least affect the disease or virus that turned people into zombies completely? ¡¯Is Lan¡¯er a walking cure now?¡¯ With each step towards the real world, I pondered thoughts and reflected on the past few days, wondering what might happen when we reached Jiang Roulan¡¯s home... I hoped they were friendly people and nothing like Gu Tianhao¡¯s mansion would happen. ¡¯Well, whatever...¡¯ The once sour and corrupted air tasted sweet to me now; maybe I had changed it to be the opposite of Qinglan. [Host Mutation: 12%] I felt a sense of dread at what might happen if it increased further, so I walked silently. The laughter from earlier was gone. *** We stepped out of the side tunnel and re-entered the depot ruins silently. The flicker of torchlight and makeshift lamps cast long shadows across the broken concrete, most of the others settling in. A few were cleaning weapons and listening to Tang Wei. Some half-dozing. Others still watched the corners like hawks. But they all looked more confident, their faces less pale, and some were eating with a smile. ¡¯I didn¡¯t think that one night would change them so much...¡¯ "John?" A cheerful voice called out. Zhou Xue sat atop a crate, doing what seemed to be maintenance on her bow and keeping her eye on, with Deng Hua and Chen Xun behind her doing the same. "Boss, you¡¯re back?" "Did you get her Leader?" The two men became increasingly trusting of me; I didn¡¯t know how far or when it developed, but they looked at me like their older brother now. ¡¯I remember when they doubted me and looked eager for me to die.¡¯ "Yo, how is the watch going?" I couldn¡¯t think about how to respond, so I tried to be friendly. "Not bad, we¡¯ve killed four Z1¡¯s tonight." Chen Hua bragged, his chest pushed out, but the term confused me. "Z1?" "Ah!" This time, Deng Hua jumped in. "Zombies, and Stage one... we thought a short name would be best for the comms. Z1, Z2, B2 and B3. G for ghouls..." Somehow, it felt more like a military style game or the horror games I played when I was younger. ¡¯How could I not come up with that!?¡¯ "It¡¯s a pretty good idea. It helps; maybe we should teach all recruits about this System. The faster they know the enemy in the future, the better it is." "Haha!" "See captain I told you he would be pleased!" Chen Xun spoke to Zhou Xue, who looked a little embarrassed. She looked at me with her big eyes and covered her lips. "Really?" "Yeah, was it your idea?" "Mm." "Good job, but have you seen Yifei and Roulan?" "Ah¡ª" Before she could speak, a low, rough voice called me. "Leader!" Tang Wei spotted us next. She was crouched near the Jeeps, fiddling with something in the storage case. Her gaze flicked up once, down to Qinglan¡¯s legs, then back up. Her brows twitched, but she stayed quiet with a faint smile. "You should let her sleep first; I can wait." "Thanks, I won¡¯t be long." I headed towards the depot, where most people huddled around a fire. Luckily, everyone had their sleeping bags, and that¡¯s when I found a small room... and the silhouette of Roulan and Yifei in the small windows. ¡¯I hope they don¡¯t complain.¡¯ Chapter 201: Wang Yin’s Daily Life Chapter 201: Wang Yin¡¯s Daily LifeThe morning started with a strange noise, zombies roaming the building again, causing trouble outside. Since my brother John left and never came back, those guys appeared and won¡¯t leave. "Darling?" (Mew?) My first wife meowed; her pretty eyes sparkled like gems, and I couldn¡¯t resist. "What¡¯s the matter?" (Meow?) I couldn¡¯t think like this in the past, before everything felt jumbled like a piece of salmon squished together. Sometimes I wanted to claw the wall, and sometimes I needed to chase the fluff. "Nothing, just preparing to go out." "Hnnngh~ don¡¯t get hurt." She stretched out and rolled on her back, patting my chin with her paws, kneading my chest, but today I couldn¡¯t enjoy her company. Of course, until John saved me... and fed me the strange glowing orb. I heard the old man speaking about Zombie cores in his room. Master called him Old Zhou, and he reminded me of my first owner. I like the old man, even if he smells bad... he gives us tuna and expensive food. "Phew..." I lifted my back, stretching my legs, and clawing the gravel. The grooves forming reminded me that I... no, we, weren¡¯t normal cats anymore. My darling also became stronger and bigger like me. She wasn¡¯t fluffy; her short fur was soft and silky, but her tail was thick and hurt when she slapped me with it. "Don¡¯t get hurt, I am sure Master will come back soon." My darling¡¯s eyes calmed my worries; she knew how much I missed John, and once he helped us build this home, even my darling started to show human-like intellect. Still, we could only meow, and only John could understand us. The other kids in the building were lovely, though, sharing food or stroking us when they finished training. That Weiming guy is doing great as the sub-leader. I have to tell John when he comes back. ¡¯However, they keep trying to leave the building to fight...¡¯ The kid made me stressed, because outside... He was waiting, as if the bastard knew John would return. He was dangerous, with a colossal figure; unlike standard arms, both became massive blades that pulsed and squirmed. ¡¯Not tasty.¡¯ I tried to fight him and lost, but that man didn¡¯t kill me. Forget it, John will deal with him. I have been killing the idiots who followed him and tried to get into our home. "I¡¯m leaving." "Nn~ I hope we can eat something nice today." "I¡¯ll bring tuna." "Hehe~ Yin, you¡¯re such a great husband." Her soft, slightly wet nose tapped mine, purring into my ears as she nudged me towards the door. Though I knew she wanted to join me, I couldn¡¯t be like John. I didn¡¯t want to have my wife fighting out there... but if she asked. I am sure I would collapse and let her. *** [Identifying...] [Wang Yin - Confirmed] [Door Opening] After leaving the roof, the door opened after it scanned me. John wastes too much time on these stupid things; he should build huge cold boxes to store fish and meat to make the women happy. I should tell him this when he¡¯s back. Meow! "Hmmm?" The humans in the base looked more confident after a few days. When John first contacted the old man, everyone panicked and tried to leave. ¡¯That scary woman with the scalpel appeared and made them give up though...¡¯ However, I didn¡¯t like that strange woman; she once asked the old man if I had been neutered, and that word made me tremble. ¡¯Stupid woman... I will ask John what she meant later.¡¯ "Ah!? It¡¯s Yin!" "Oh my gosh, he¡¯s so fluffy~ hehehe, come here Yin!" The two young girls sitting against the wall while their mothers trained came to me and clicked their fingers while making strange sounds with their mouths. I approached them, despite my goal... why can¡¯t I resist them? ¡¯Maybe they have some fish, or treats?¡¯ "Mia look, his tail is so fluffy and big!" The more petite girl liked to stroke my tail; sometimes she came too close to my ass and I had to warn her, and show her I am a man! "Ah, don¡¯t do that Mari you know that Yin doesn¡¯t like it!" My special move, lifting my butt in the air and kneading her thigh super fast! "Kya~ he¡¯s making cakes! Mia he¡¯s making cakes!" "He¡¯s purring really loud, it¡¯s so deep and different from princess." ¡¯Hmph... they call my cute wife princess. Well these girls aren¡¯t so bad.¡¯ *** I don¡¯t remember what happened after the girl named Mari started rubbing the bottom of my chin, but there was no instance of me rolling over and letting them stroke my belly. I swear on my honour. Believe me... Now that I looked at the zombies from the outside... I sat and closed my eyes. [John... are you there?] Sometimes I could hear his voice... Although I am a strong cat that doesn¡¯t need a master, I missed John; he never restricted me, but always cared for my safety. He saved me when I was lost in darkness and loneliness... covered in a mess. That¡¯s why I do this, so that he can come home sooner. [I will keep fighting, Master] [Identifying...] [Wang Yin - Confirmed] [Door Opening] The door was smaller, and there was a flap on the side of the wall. A metal sheet lifted so I could step into the box. Then it would close behind me to stop anything from climbing inside. Clack! Slowly, the doors opened and revealed, outside, a metal door and then a glass sheet opened one at a time. I don¡¯t know how John built such a complicated device; maybe he will tell me in the future. I stepped out into the street. My pads bounced on the stone; it felt different from the base, and each step was comfortable. Now, jagged rocks and debris would dig into them. Meow! These idiots didn¡¯t react to me, not the skinny green guys, the fat guys, or the ones with swords... I¡¯ve been aiming for the nasty blue ones most. The blue orbs are like my darling¡¯s eyes... and she likes to eat them. I save one or two for John, and the rest I¡¯ve been giving her, for me... I enjoy eating the fast green guys since it makes me even faster! Hehe~ Before, when I was a kitten, my first owner called me fatty... because I couldn¡¯t control myself and always overate. My darling has also been bigger, but her fur became silky, and she wasn¡¯t as plump and fluffy as before; instead, her strength and muscles might rival mine. I could see the world like him thanks to John. So many more colours and vibrant shapes. Let¡¯s hunt some for myself today... ¡¯Oh!? A green guy!¡¯ The green zombie, dried up and tall, with an emaciated figure, shambled about 30 yards from the building. I lowered my body, shaking my hips slightly, and flicked my tail, my eyes focused on the green guy. I could feel it... ¡¯3... 2... 1...¡¯ *THWIP* My body moved fast, faster than the wind. It felt like flying! The green zombie couldn¡¯t react before I pounced into his chest with my paws, claws digging into rotten flesh and tearing his green core out directly. These things taste strange, but I couldn¡¯t help but swallow them in one bite. "Shaaa!" A nasty big guy came close, and when I hissed at him, he looked down at me for a moment and then turned away. ¡¯Heh... scared another one away!¡¯ [Dash Lv.7 --> Lv.8] This was my method of hunting... sometimes I heard a strange voice in my mind, but it reminded me of John. [John, can¡¯t you hear me...] The next target came into my eyes, the creepy guys who walk on all fours... I slipped through the legs of the bladed zombies. Their sharp movements freaked me out each time, but they only attacked humans. Not a cool cat like me. *** "Meow... Meow..." I sat and complained to myself. There were no more green zombies, and I killed all the blue guys who liked to hide. The fat guys couldn¡¯t keep up, and the red zombies didn¡¯t taste good; one time I bit their neck but their blade almost chopped off my whiskers, so I learned my lesson... Hehehe, five cores for my darling! Let¡¯s run before that big guy comes back... he¡¯s the only one that looks at me like prey! The door started to open, but that¡¯s when I heard it. I listened to his voice for the first time in a while and could not control myself. [...Yin?] sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [Yin, can you hear me?] "Meow~ Meow!!!" I forgot one important fact... John probably can¡¯t understand me right now. How embarrassing... Chapter 202: Young Rich and Powerful Chapter 202: Young Rich and PowerfulThe moment I entered the small room, the inquisitive gaze of Jiang Roulan and Shen Yifei greeted me, one with puffed-out cheeks and a frown. I placed Mu Qinglan on the black sofa against the wall as the other rushed towards me. "John!" Roulan¡¯s curves jiggled with each stride until she rammed me against the wall. The pain could barely match a slight ache as I wrapped both arms around her hips and lifted her off the floor. ¡¯I love how soft and squishy her body is...¡¯ "Roulan, are you alright? Yifei... you look as pretty as always." "Hah!?" Since our slight fight, Shen Yifei has become distant and has returned to her strange, shy, and rebellious phase. However, each time I looked her way, it was a given that she would be looking at me in some form. I wasn¡¯t an idiot; Yifei wasn¡¯t good at handling jealousy and her feelings like the other women, so I should keep my eyes open. A small compliment here, and a gentle touch there. From the moment she let me inside her, it was too late to escape. I seem to be extremely possessive and hate the idea of my woman leaving me. ¡¯I might even kill them if they tried...¡¯ "Hmph, what pretty? You say that to everyone." "No way, you¡¯re my pretty blonde princess. Come on, stop frowning." Roulan¡¯s eyes narrowed clearly onto my bullshitting, but Yifei¡¯s eyes opened wider and her cheeks turned a darker shade of pink. ¡¯See... how could anyone now love that cute woman?¡¯ "Roulan, your body smells like soap." "Nn... we took a quick wash before you came back, does it suit your taste?" I knew Mu Qinglan and Roulan had more experience in life. Their subtle seductive charms and ability to notice subtle cues. Little thinks that Shen Yifei lacked; she was just a typical girl who enjoyed clubbing when we first met. And I forced her into a maid-like role, yet look at her now. "You always smell good, like a fresh forest of pine and aloe vera... it¡¯s calming and makes me thirsty." "Oh my, thirsty for what, exactly?" Roulan stood on the tip of her feet and pressed her soft, heavy breasts against my chest with her lips pushed out. Even though I noticed Yifei¡¯s frown from the side, I couldn¡¯t prioritise one over the other. I leaned closer to Roulan and kissed her. The softness of Roulan¡¯s lips felt like silk as they stroked mine. Roulan liked to use her lips to wrap around mine, sucking on them at the start of the kiss before she pushed her tongue inside. "Nnnph.. Mmmmn~ John..." With a soft pop, our lips parted, and Roulan whispered into my ear with a low, slightly angry voice. "Your tongue taste like pussy." "..." "Hehe~ I see, that¡¯s why you were so late." Roulan looked at the sleeping Qinglan and shook her head, stroking my crotch as she headed to the other side of the room. The room wasn¡¯t huge... around four metres each way, two black couches and a pair of mattresses pushed together in the corner: a coffee machine and some half-rotten and dusty books on the shelf. [Meow~] Suddenly, a familiar cry sounded... and while I wanted to tease Shen Yifei, I knew it was someone I dearly missed. ¡¯Yin?¡¯ ¡¯Yin can you hear me?¡¯ There wasn¡¯t any response, but from time to time I could hear the movement of gravel, the groan of zombies and the hiss of an enormous cat. Yin was probably fighting right now. Many things passed through my hands during the last month. I made mistakes and could have led people much better. However, this wasn¡¯t some game where I could reverse time, and I wasn¡¯t perfect. ¡¯In the future, I will prioritise the group, my strength and building a force that can fight any horde, enemy and rule this wasteland!¡¯ I didn¡¯t want to be someone who followed another. Since my System was called the Ruler System, I should become a ruler and start acting like one. "John, are you alright?" A warm hand brushed against mine. It wasn¡¯t normal warmth, but the heat created by Shen Yifei¡¯s natural fire Qi. "I¡¯m alright, can I sit there?" "Mm, you can." "Kya~ wait!?" I flopped beside her, pressing her against the corner as she let out a cute sound. To be honest, this reminded me of the night I took her virginity, a similar couch and feeling, but right now I only wanted to feel her warmth. "Come here, Yifei." "W-Wait! Roulan and Qinglan are here... John~ Ahhh, you idiot!" ¡¯Huh?¡¯ Although her mouth sounded like she resisted, her arms wrapped around my back, and she slipped her hips onto my lap. She sat there blatantly without issues from the moment John hugged her. Even Roulan, who watched with half-closed eyes, couldn¡¯t help but smirk. [Meow~ Meow~] S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Yin sounded so happy, but crunching bones and wet flesh made me slightly nervous, though the cat on my lap seemed pleased. ¡¯Yin, please be safe. I will be home as soon as possible.¡¯ [Message translation Upgrade available] ¡¯Oh?¡¯ That sounded great, since Yin was important and only people deeply bound to me could communicate through the System. I needed a device to speak with Qinglan and the others. But pretended with the comm device, because they couldn¡¯t hear me otherwise. ¡¯Stupid System limitations...¡¯ Earlier in the outbreak, it seemed like I could call them and do everything using just the System, but the others appeared to need a phone or device connected to me. [Forgive me, but I can¡¯t do too much; they will punish me again!] ¡¯Yeah, I know... what are the limits of this thing with Yin?¡¯ [Purchased: Soul Beast Communication System - 5000 ZKP] - Allows communication with ANY beast that holds you in high regard and accepts you as their owner/master/friend. - Allows complete translation of their intended thoughts/words to all people linked to you with a loyalty above 400. - Current eligible targets: Wang Yin, Princess. ¡¯Oh? Who is the Princess?¡¯ [My wife!] "Huh??????" "What¡¯s wrong, John?" "N-No..." I never expected that my little brother¡¯s voice, the cute Wang Yin would have such a gruff and manly voice, the pretty silver fur and his beady eyes made it feel like some kind of scam like where middle aged men used software to pretend to be anime girls online. ¡¯I see, so she¡¯s called Princess?¡¯ [The kids call her that because she¡¯s so beautiful and precious!] Wang Yin sounded excited and happy; the pride in the cats voice made me realised that it wasn¡¯t just me alone anymore. ¡¯That¡¯s a good name. I hope you are both doing well... is everything going well there?¡¯ While speaking to Wang Yin, I slid my hands into the warm shirt of Yifei, stroking her soft mounds, tracing the growing tips with my finger. [That annoying guy won¡¯t leave, but I have been killing the guys who give shiny orbs!] ¡¯Shiny orbs? Have you been killing Stage Two zombies, which types?¡¯ It was pretty interesting for me to listen to Wang Yin describe his adventures in the perspective of a cat, how the fat and big guys were too annoying to kill and didn¡¯t taste good, but the orbs from the green and blue guys tasted like salmon. ¡¯Yin, you don¡¯t need to save any cores for me give them to your Princess.¡¯ It sounded like Wang Yin had already killed dozens of Stage 2 zombies, including a few of the rarer variants. It was also good to hear that he wasn¡¯t slacking off in protecting our territory. Sometimes the translation would error out and his meows would continue for several minutes... Then the call ended. Thanks to him, I gained knowledge about the state of the base, and my desire to return increased. "Nnngh... John... Haaa.... my breasts... stop...." "Oh... sorry, Yifei. Your breasts are just too soft and addictive." "Liar... you¡¯re thinking about something else..." "Hmm? Maybe..." Yifei leaned back, pushing her back against my chest while looking up at me, my hands sinking into the soft, warm pillows inside my palms. I gently rubbed my fingers against her stiff nubs and enjoyed her warmth. ¡¯I can never get enough...¡¯ "Hnnng~ do you like my breasts, John? Aren¡¯t they small?" Her eyes looked at the resting Roulan, lying on her sides, those huge milkers squished together with a deep cleavage... more than twice Yifei¡¯s size, and drooping slightly with a sexy shape. But Yifei¡¯s smaller melons were still adorable and perfectly ripe... They fit in my hands just perfectly. "I love them, they¡¯re so soft and warm; I could stroke them all day..." "Hmmm~ then, let¡¯s.... get under the sheets..." "What happened to not being happy to see me?" "Hmph! That¡¯s what happens when you play with my body... I¡¯m only human!" While talking, Yifei slipped into the sheets and pulled them above her head. She did it with such grace and smoothness that I was surprised, and with a single movement, her shirt dropped off her shoulders, revealing her naked upper body. The blanket popped up in a tent over my crotch. Her head nestled between my legs with a soft purring noise, followed by a sudden chill as she pulled my pants down. Smack! My cock flopped out and slapped her cheek, as she narrowed her cheeks and licked her lips sexily. "Well... how did it get thicker... can my mouth even open that wide?" Chapter 203: A Midnight Conversation Chapter 203: A Midnight ConversationThe hot water hissed as we stood inside the shower, the blonde kitten in my chest hissing at me because of earlier. "Yifei, don¡¯t be mad." "Hmph!? You! Why did you get it all over my face... it¡¯s slimy, clung to my hair and even my breath smells like it now!" After her complaint, Yifei cupped her mouth and blew into it. Then her sharp eyes narrowed, with a glowing blue light, as she suddenly opened her mouth wide and bit me. "Agh... did you become a Z!?" "Hnngh....!" The pain of her teeth sinking into my neck wasn¡¯t bad, a light ache, if anything, it was a turn on, my crotch raised and pressed against Yifei¡¯s thigh. ¡¯Oh?¡¯ The moment it did, her sharp gaze loosened, and she pulled away with red cheeks. "W-Why are you hard again!? I¡¯m not sucking it again!" "..." Shen Yifei... This girl reacted in ways different from Roulan, who would seduce me like a mature older sister, and Lan¡¯er, who was violent and possessive. The way she trembled and backed off, covered in soapy shampoo, blonde hair draped across her modest, but alluring figure... she still couldn¡¯t hide her quick gazes at my crotch, and the hands that wrapped around my ass. ¡¯This closet pervert, her upper lips say no... but her lower lips are clearly hungry!¡¯ However, this isn¡¯t why I finished in her mouth this time... I planned to take Shen Yifei with me and scout the area, even though I loved sex. There was something more important to me now: survival and getting stronger. Mu Qinglan¡¯s strength was more than triple the other women close to me. Jiang Roulan might follow me, but the woman who has given me her heart the most after Lan¡¯er is this little tsundere kitten. ¡¯The error with Gu Tianhao cannot happen ever again.¡¯ "I won¡¯t let you be in danger, Fei-Fei." "!!!" The words must have shocked her. After hearing my words, Shen Yifei froze with eyes opened to their limits. Her big blue orbs trembled slightly as the soap dripped down her face. "W-What did you call me...!?" "Fei-Fei~ isn¡¯t it cute, it suits you well." "N-No way!" Fwip. Her hair flicked around the shower as she turned away, the red of her cheeks spreading to the tip of her ears. "Are you stupid?" "How can I be stupid when you look so happy?" "Liar!" "Kya!?" I lifted her off the ground, the water pooling between us as I squashed her perky tits against my chest. The feeling of her meaty rump jiggling in my hands was amazingly erotic, Yifei¡¯s butt was shaped like a heart, with a bouncy surface. Pah! "Y-You!? Don¡¯t spank me!" "But you looked so happy when I did earlier." "N-Never..." Fei-Fei seemed to be a little shy due to the door being a few draped curtains, but under the covers, she was so active... Well whatever. "After this, let¡¯s go outside together." "Huh, wait... what about my sleep?" "Haha." "Don¡¯t just laugh!" *** The shower with my blonde tsundere girlfriend was fun. She let me tease her to the limit, but we couldn¡¯t go further because Tang Wei scolded us... "I told you not to try putting it in my butt! How will I face Sister Wei tomorrow?" "Well it¡¯s not like she hasn¡¯t seen someone fucking before." "John Wang!" Shen Yifei¡¯s voice sounded stern, and I realised this was her limit. I stopped teasing her, gripping her hand and pointing to the distance. We sat on the edge of the abandoned train station roof, and in the northeast were dozens of zombies roaming inside a small mall with a fully glass wall. "When it was first built I used to shop there with my friends." "Really?" "Yeah, we would spend half the day window shopping, then hang around the food court like fools, trying to pick up rich guys." "Did you succeed?" I had to admit it was annoying to hear, and I felt jealous. "Hah... if I succeeded, would you have popped my cherry?!" Yifei looked at me with the most pitiful gaze before leaning against me. "I didn¡¯t like it, to be honest I just wanted to fit in with them. If you didn¡¯t follow their rules, then you became their next victim." Is bullying worse for girls? "Hmmm, I see... that¡¯s interesting. For me, there wasn¡¯t anything significant in my memory, once a guy tried to bully me and I broke his nose. That¡¯s when I got kicked out of school, forced to attend another. Like this, the rumour followed, grew worse, and they ended up fearing me as a murderer." "W-What!? That¡¯s so over the top. Why did you do that?" The way Yifei got angry, her twintails fwipped with each movement, slapping my cheeks, but I could see the concern in her eyes. "They called my mother a traitor, that she was a whore for sleeping with an outsider." She didn¡¯t speak but gripped my fingers tightly. I didn¡¯t know when our hands intertwined, but it was nice. Shen Yifei reminded me of the past, Mu Qinglan, my present and Jiang Roulan, the future I kept chasing... Maybe that¡¯s how I could relax and calm down with her. She looked up at me with blue eyes unstained by the world. Clear and calming. "Fei-Fei." "Y-Yeah?" "I love you." "Hmph!? What are you stupid, who would love you..." ¡¯Then why are you hugging my chest and not letting me go?¡¯ The nighttime during this apocalypse felt calming to me. I listened to the undead on the wind, my senses and body now beyond human and practically a superhuman. [A bullet would still kill you...] ¡¯For now at least!¡¯ [Mm] That¡¯s when I smiled bitterly and remembered why I brought Yifei out of the room and to the rooftop; like me, she only needed an hour or two of sleep. Was it our unique traits, or maybe the intensity of the Qi inside her, that stopped the poor girl from relaxing for too long? My talent came from hard work and the System, but Jiang Roulan and Shen Yifei were naturals with their QI. Mu Qinglan wasn¡¯t good with QI, but her combat awareness and movement were superhuman. "Fei-Fei, do you want to become stronger than the others, able to fight even alone?" "Stronger... but I¡¯m already strong!" "Stronger than Sister Wei, than Lan¡¯er or even Roulan, so you don¡¯t have to cower in fear of the dark again." Shen Yifei shuddered at the memory, her lips pressing tightly before she looked up at me. There were hints of fear on her face. Back when we were captured, I realised that not everyone had mental issues like me or Mu Qinglan. Many people who follow me in the future won¡¯t be able to cut off their fears and worries. So I needed to learn how to help them. Because if I lost Shen Yifei because of a mistake, it would eat me for the rest of my life. I¡¯ve never felt so connected to a person other than my mother. It made me realise how much it would hurt if they died. Maybe they helped me discover I had mental issues, was it something serious or just because I detached myself from reality for years to endure the suffering of a poor man¡¯s life? I didn¡¯t know, but now, there was a reason to try to improve myself and them. "I can make you stronger, Fei-Fei." "If I become stronger will you..." Her words stopped, but her lower lip¡¯s slick, glossy shine pulled me in. She looked like a beautiful blonde kitten, and her hands were gripping mine tightly now. "Will you... be with me, always?" The tone she said it in was a mix of worry and happiness. "I will never let you go, Fei-Fei." Her eyes widened before she turned away, "Then." She grabbed her old spear, which looked decent because of repairs, but I felt she deserved better now. [Would you like me to suggest a good spear?] ¡¯Please choose one to help her survive... not just fight better.¡¯ [I see...] [Scanning Item Store] Items: Glaive of the Northern Warlord A spear crafted in the Northern Mountain tribes, made from a special ore and used by their strongest warrior clan. This weapon was crafted with the use of Qi to forge it in a low flame, allowing for a perfect mix of flexibility, Cost: 6000 ZKP ¡¯Can¡¯t you rename it to suit Shen Yifei?¡¯ ... ... I felt the System was rolling her non-existent eyes as it did the work. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡¯I like you.¡¯ ... ... [Glaive of the Fiery Vixen] An altered spear, crafted in the shape and style of a Golden Fox, a mythical being said to be both a goddess and a monster. Made from a special ore and used by only those it acknowledged. A weapon crafted using Qi to forge it in a High flame, allowing for a perfect mix of flexibility and fire Affinity. +2 Speed +5 Attack Grant¡¯s Skill Intermediate Spear Skill Lv. 10 Type: Short Spear Shaft (1.4 Metres) Blade Length (50 Centimetres) Cost: 10000 ZKP A glaive usable with one or both hands and is larger than a spear with a broad, wide blade. The shaft was beautiful with a golden fox engraved around the pole helping grip, with a sharp butt and a cute fox-like tail attacked that fluttered, but the best part was the wide blade at the tip like the hero¡¯s from the three kingdoms. It was wider than a palm, sharp, curved and thick with small nostril openings on either side of the tip where flames would pour when she used fire Qi. Its entire design is like a Golden Kitsune. Or, looking at Shen Yifei, it¡¯s more of a Megitsune. This blade made the weapon heavy, but when Yifei saw it appear, she looked excited. Chapter 204: Midnight Hunting - Fox and Beast Chapter 204: Midnight Hunting - Fox and BeastThe weapon was so expensive, and as I wanted to complain to the System sister, she responded first! [Do not worry, this weapon isn¡¯t cheap for a reason.] ¡¯Oh, do tell me?¡¯ Meanwhile, Yifei looked at the spear with a curious sparkle in her eye. She reached out and let both hands grasp the smooth shaft. Then her eyes widened, with a slight grimace as she tried to lift it. "Ngh, it¡¯s a little heavy." [The weapon cannot be damaged or destroyed as long as the wielder uses Fire-Type Qi] [With Shen Yifei¡¯s growth, the weapon will improve after each stage upgrade.] [Finally, only Shen Yifei and you can wield this weapon; the weight of the spear for other people will increase tenfold for each stage they are.] ¡¯Hmmm, that¡¯s quite a good deal, but tenfold for each stage? So it would weight forty times more for a Stage four?¡¯ "Do you like it?" The System Sister outdid herself. To be honest I was half against spending so many points with only fifty thousand remaining I planned to send a lot to Old Zhou using my new connection to Wang Yin. Shen Yifei started to twirl the glaive slowly at first, the fox tail swishing through the air, before she rapidly sped up, slashing the air; her movements looked refined. She looked like someone who had trained in martial arts for years, with expertise like a mixed martial arts veteran focused on weapons and armed combat. "Haa... Ngh!" ¡¯She looks like a golden fairy dancing in the moonlight.¡¯ I didn¡¯t know if it was because of the moment, but my feelings for Yifei holding the glaive made my chest tighten as my heart throbbed faster. A heavy glaive larger than Shen Yifei, yet her muscles tensed and bulged with each strike, and the sword thrust moved with enchanting grace. Deng! The blade cut into the concrete with a thunderous sound, creating a deep crater and a burst of dirt and dust. "I love it... I really, really meant it, John! It¡¯s like it was made for me!" Fei-Fei rushed at me, her body glowing slightly as the fiery qi flowed through her veins and muscles, constantly keeping the fox on the glaive shimmering golden. Did I make the right choice? [Of course you did, look at that smile...] [Shen Yifei¡¯s Affection Increased to MAX] Before the notification registered, her warm body leaned against me, her slightly damp hand pressed against my chest as she gazed up at me. Her beautiful blue eyes were beaming with a glowing aura. "John, how can you be so good to us?" I looked down at her and realised that I¡¯d been overcomplicating many things and trying to come across as mysterious or some kind of leader from the novels I used to enjoy. Maybe the best policy was just being myself. "At first, because I liked pretty girls and wanted to make you my women." Her blue eyes narrowed as if I just said something strange, she seemed to retract slightly into herself, and her fingers gripped my chest tighter, but I didn¡¯t finish here., "No that¡¯s actually not true... after learning more about you, spending time with you I honestly never expected to fall for you Yifei, you were everything I dislike in a woman." "Really?" "Well, do you remember how we first met?" The day we met, she was terrified, weak and got someone killed because she fled from the group and tried to cling onto me. Her face suddenly flushed red. "I-I¡¯m sorry..." "I¡¯m not saying you should be. What I¡¯m saying is, I didn¡¯t expect to fall for a girl who just happened to follow me, but now... You¡¯re special to me, as much as Mu Qinglan and Jiang Roulan... so this might have been expensive, but you¡¯re worth it. So if you feel it¡¯s heavy, then hunt lots of monsters and help me grow stronger." I wanted to know how Yifei felt and what she thought about me, but I was apprehensive. However, she smiled brightly and parted her lips, revealing a row of white teeth. "I¡¯m the same John, because I only liked you for your good looks at first..." "Hey now..." "Hehe~ Well now, I think you¡¯re special to me too. When I am lost in the darkness, it¡¯s always you who comes to save me. So, I promise that I¡¯ll become as strong as I can, as fast as I can." Her hand brushed my cheek, sending a shiver down my spine and causing me to blink rapidly. "I like you, not because of the spear, or... what we do together. You saved me from death and gave me a second chance to make my life matter. So please let me stay by your side and make myself a useful woman." The words came from deep inside Shen Yifei¡¯s heart. "You don¡¯t need to be useful, or anything... Just remain yourself." "What if I am selfish?" "It¡¯s fine." "Then if I keep being cheeky, and tease you?" "Then I¡¯ll get revenge." With each sentence, her lips moved closer, our bodies pressed together under the moonlight... she let the glaive hit the floor, as she gradually closed her eyes. I could feel her warm breath as we closed in... The moment our lips connected, a searing heat flowed into my body, and I felt the warm embrace of her soft flesh. A small gasp escaped Yifei¡¯s throat as her fingers grasped my shirt, but she didn¡¯t resist, instead leaning deeper and kissing me back with a fire I hadn¡¯t felt before. We stayed like this for several moments before our bodies separated, our hands linked, and a strange expression crossed her face. "I¡¯m going to do something... to clear this heat. Will you watch me?" Shen Yifei lifted the glaive and stepped towards the edge of the rooftop. A small rusted emergency ladder led to the bottom, and after a few moments of waiting, I heard the sound of the door opening below, followed by a low growl from a zombie. However, I didn¡¯t rush after her; I leaned on the rooftop railing and waited. *** Yifei¡¯s body landed, her hips lowering into a squat as she dropped, holding the glaive over her shoulder. Yifei spread both legs apart and looked at the shambling zombies. I sat on the edge, observing her quietly. She asked me to watch her. Now wasn¡¯t the time to show off or insist on my bravado, but to watch Shen Yifei and the growth she wanted me to see. This moment was important to her and to us as a couple. Two zombies rushed towards her, their mouths hanging open, drooling with a rotten black fluid, each step strange and unpredictable. ¡¯Fei-Fei...¡¯ To my surprise, it was Yifei who moved first. She pushed off the ground with her light leg and swung across the air diagonally with her glaive, cutting towards both zombies. Slash! The sharp blade of golden light swept through both zombies, cutting their necks and sending their heads flying while blood sprayed out from their bodies. Yifei used the blade¡¯s momentum to carry her towards the horde, dashing towards them as she twirled the blade from left to right, and pulled it below her left thigh. Whoosh! She then struck out horizontally like a reed in the wind. The movement was both beautiful and powerful as she swung at them and ripped through the zombies¡¯ bodies, leaving them in pieces on the ground. "Damn." Yifei looked back at me, her face beaming with a slight, shy expression. "I had a lot of time at without you at the base. So, I practised fighting every day after we came back from the University." However, the next moment she turned back, narrowed her droopy eyes, and took a defensive stance; she seemed to sense something. That¡¯s when I noticed the approaching pack wasn¡¯t Z1¡¯s but a pack of two S2¡¯s and a Brute. The speed types didn¡¯t care for her preparation and shot towards her with S2¡¯s strange, unpredictable, and swift movements. She blocked one with the edge of her spear and then struck upwards into its shoulder. "Hah!" She screamed out while trying to pull it free from her glaive. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Slash! The blade severed its arm, causing the zombie to drop to the floor. It crawled forward, still determined to bite her, but Yifei¡¯s attack was successful. She kept her distance from the brute, its huge body slow and unable to keep up, while the other speed type continued to harass her. ¡¯Come on...¡¯ Yifei jumped back as she dodged a swipe from the zombie, then spun the glaive behind her back before pushing it forward with a thrust at the zombie¡¯s head, piercing its skull and stomping on the first speed type. [ZKP 100] [EXP 200] However, the movement of the attack threw her off-balance and exposed her left side to the brute, which closed the gap with an unnatural burst of speed. "Yifei!" Chapter 205: Death QI Chapter 205: Death QIShen Yifei¡¯s body twisted as she threw her front leg forward, spinning faster with both hands gripping her glaive as it revolved, creating a whirlwind slash. Woosh! The Brute lunged at her with both arms before the long blade sliced cleanly through both limbs, cleaving them from its body. ¡¯She¡¯s really good with that thing...¡¯ I watched her body lift into the air, avoiding the monster¡¯s bite using a pole vault. Her body curled in the air and landed almost two metres away from the Brute. My eyes focused on every movement she made, the way her hips lowered, twisted and snapped forward with her next attack. "I want to fight too..." The words left my lips before I could stop them. A rush of bloodlust filled me as I stepped closer to the edge, and tried to locate something, someone I could fight. "Scan the area." [Scanning area for threats] Yifei¡¯s body danced like a sword dancer, twisting and sweeping under the desperate attacks of the weak zombies and the Brute without arms. Searching: Southern Longwan City Status: Red ZONE CONFIRMED Last Updated: 03:22 AM, March 23rd Estimated Survivors: 5,000-10,000 Military Presence: Moderate Known Threats: Stage 1 Hordes, Stage 2 Clusters, and Stage 3 Groups. Infrastructure Status: Collapsing [Remark: Human activity is often in small strongholds... Military and survivors have created several base camps.] "Well, the same story as the rest of the city. I need to build more forces." "Let¡¯s go, guide me to a group of Stage Two zombies, so I can give Yifei a gift." The last moment I saw her, the glaive cut off the head of the huge Brute, and she just flicked the blood away and dashed towards the next zombie, like a killing machine. ¡¯Keep an eye on her for me. If Yifei is in danger or about to be overwhelmed tell me.¡¯ [Understood, John, but don¡¯t be too reckless.] ¡¯I won¡¯t.¡¯ S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Tap! "Yifei, I am going to hunt some zombies too. I won¡¯t be far away, so do your best." Bzzzt! The instant the communication device silenced, I leapt from the building. The feeling of falling through the air felt strange... my stomach danced, and the pull on my muscles felt comfortable before I hit the ground with a thunderous noise. Bang! With a roll, I regained my balance, both arms wrapped in metal. I broke the fall using my gauntlets, and a low whirring echoed within each chamber, loaded with buckshot shells. Two arrows appeared in my vision, a green arrow dotted the ground, leading towards the east. This marker led to where Shen Yifei rushed off, and then a red marker headed deeper into the city. "Phew..." Although there was a part of me wished to remain and watch her fight. I also understood that the women around me also needed space to grow, to improve and have a sense of self. They weren¡¯t waifus for me to protect and keep locked away while I enjoy everything. After the first step, my regret and desire to turn back faded more with each step, and the crunch of gravel and distant groans built my desire to kill and fight. Fire Qi searing inside my veins poured through my arms and legs, boosting my speed and explosive power. Earth Qi flooded my muscles, enhancing my stamina and endurance, while the cooling Ice Qi from Qinglan surged through my bones and skin, one last defensive and offensive boost. ¡¯I lack wind Qi...¡¯ A mixed aura of red and blue swirled around me as I dashed towards the target. [Estimated danger: Extreme] [Enemies: 10 Stage Two, 3 Stage Three, 50 Stage One] [No human signals detected] Vwoom~ The steel blades slid from my wrists, one wrapped in a faint icy layer, the other with a fiery aura that crackled every few seconds. [Be careful, John, I will notify you of any danger.] ¡¯Keep an eye on Yifei as well, and guide her towards this location if possible.¡¯ My ears strained to detect the zombies in the area, and the first few that appeared near the horizon made me stop moving. Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump! My heartbeat increased, and a smile spread across my lips, stretching from ear to ear. I scanned the surroundings and the path behind me before kneeling and placing both gauntlets against the ground. ¡¯Push the Qi to the soles of your feet...¡¯ The techniques I bought gave guidelines and ways to use Qi. My feet felt almost swollen as I filled them with burning Qi that was just shy of causing me pain. My palms rested beside me, and I drew another deep breath, just like the instructions said. "It¡¯s time." BANG! A cloud of dust, gravel and small rocks scattered as my body darted like a rocket. Both blades extended at my side, and I cut off the head of the closest zombie before twisting with a trail of icy aura following my blade, chilling the air around me. Slash! The next zombie lunged towards me, and I leaned sideways, slicing through its head, and its rotting claws just missed my face. However, the foul smell was disgusting. ¡¯Their rotten flesh... is such a turnoff, damn it.¡¯ Both arms whirred, and my eyes turned towards the clump of three zombies that seemed to share a similar deformed visage. My hands held high, I unleashed a volley of buckshot, popping their faces like a shrimp shell. BA-BANG! Eight shots from both arms sent their heads flying. The buckshot tore through their skulls, spraying their grey matter on the asphalt and dirt. "Hahaha!" This feeling was what I wanted: to be strong, to fight and kill these bastards. This sense of freedom and adrenaline pumping through me was what I craved. It boosted the movement and power of my Qi, leading to even more excitement. A zombie on all fours lunged, leaping towards me with a snarl, and its razor-like teeth gleamed. So I stomped on his head. Crunch! As the zombie¡¯s body slumped, my blades cut open two other zombies, but the remaining undead rushed towards me from the alleyways and the surrounding streets. BANG! These stage one zombies were like warm-ups for me now. I didn¡¯t need to use effort, but what surprised me was the notification that came after killing ten of them. [You have Learned a New Skill: Blade Mastery] [Blade Mastery: Increases the speed and accuracy with any blade. Defence and attack are both improved.] The moment I gained this skill, I felt the change; the strange feeling of stabbing with my left arm or trying to deflect a blow no longer felt awkward. Instead, controlling each attack¡¯s angle, speed, and power felt natural and easy. With a quick inhale, icy Qi surged through my left arm, and a slash swept towards three incoming zombies. A beautiful arc of frozen Qi cut through the air with a pale, icy hue. It tore through their flesh, sending their upper torsos across the street, while their legs stumbled before collapsing like marionettes without strings. "This is good..." [QI Reserves: 52%] The only issue with using all elements of Qi is that it drained my reserves faster... enhancing my bones, muscles, and body took a toll, and the moment I used too much, I would be open to attacks by the stronger enemies, or even a horde. [Stage 2 Zombies Detected: 300 Metres] [Number of enemies: 12] ¡¯I thought you said ten earlier...¡¯ [System Note: Even a pretty sister can make mistakes!] "..." "Types?" [Hunters: 4] [Brutes: 2] [Blades: 6] ¡¯Hunters?¡¯ [Hunter was the name given to the Speed Type by Mu Qinglan and Jiang Roulan.] "Aren¡¯t you my system?" [Aren¡¯t they Your Women?] Fair enough... I could see them at the corner of my sight, four hunters watching me. Maybe because I¡¯d evolved further than in the past, they targeted me with that hungry gaze instead of Mu Qinglan. Having a higher stage made my meat look tasty to these dead bastards. "System, load both barrels." Both gauntlets whirred, and the click from the loading chambers sent a shiver down my spine. Ready to fight, I stepped forward. The moment I did, the Hunters leapt from the buildings, moving faster than a car, and the first one lunged at me. "Fuck!" BANG! A Hunter¡¯s face blew up, sending grey smoke, bone fragments, and rotten brains all over my clothes. However, the other Hunters kept coming, darting from streetlight to building to the next streetlight, but they didn¡¯t realise it... that I wasn¡¯t the John Wang from two weeks ago. Eyes focused, I could feel their movements... a faint trace of Qi came from their bodies, corrupted, but that was the source of their power. Death Qi... the same energy that I used, but corrupted. My blades cut through the air, flickering between each incoming Hunter, their razor-sharp claws trying to cut my throat, remove my head. I danced between their strikes, cutting their limbs and swaying to avoid their teeth. However, the last one hopped from a wall and onto my back and pushed me down to the ground while snapping at my neck. Crack! I slammed myself into a concrete wall, crushing the last Hunter. When I looked ahead, two Brutes were charging towards me like fools. With a smile, I lifted my gauntlets and pulled the trigger. "Fall!" Chapter 206: A Team of Survivors? Chapter 206: A Team of Survivors?The red dots on my map interface vanished when my gauntlets blasted buckshot at the zombies ahead of me. I collected the yellow brute cores and strode forward to face the remaining Blade types. Though there were several stage three close, none of them seemed willing to fight me. ¡¯Or are they watching, observing how I fight?¡¯ I turned to face the stage ones, a couple of them remaining as they dragged their broken bodies across the ground. "Hm..." Opposite them, the blade-types started approaching, wanting to kill him. Their accuracy and strength are deadly, but not enough to bother me. A dull ache pulsed in the back of my mind, warning me of the danger with each slight vibration of the Stage Three zombies¡¯ movement. My predator instincts sometimes acted like a double-edged sword. The Blade-types moved. Their bodies were lean, half-mummified, and their skin stretched tight over the bone with sinewy muscle underneath. Each carried a jagged bone blade fused to one arm, curved and hooked like a butcher¡¯s cleaver. They didn¡¯t groan like the others. Just the sound of bare feet tapping concrete and the soft scrape of bone against stone. The first one attacked me with a low posture. Its legs coiled like a spring before it darted forward, too fast for its rotting frame. The blade came in wide, aimed for my gut. I shifted my weight, turned my left hip back, and smashed my elbow into the side of its head. Crack. The skull folded under my gauntlet as the zombie slashed again. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I ducked and buried my blade into its torso, cutting deep until it hit the spine. I kicked the corpse away and moved before the next two reached me. Clang! One scraped its weapon along my gauntlet, sparks dancing across the metal. The edge nearly reached my face. I pivoted, caught its throat with my left hand, and slammed it into the wall hard enough to leave a crater. Blood sprayed from its neck as the spine cracked. "Too slow." Although I was a little too cocky, as the third one managed to cut me. A faint slash across my ribs. Just deep enough to sting. If I hadn¡¯t twisted at the last second, that blade might have opened me up like a fruit. I growled and spun into a wide backhand, my gauntlet catching the Blade-type¡¯s head with a sickening crunch. The weight of the hit sent it flying across the street and into the windshield of a half-buried van. Another leapt from the top of the awning above, dropping like a shadow. Its arm blade aimed straight down toward my spine. I rolled forward, felt the wind slice behind me, and came up swinging. My Flaming gauntlet slammed into its chest before a volley of slugs and fire qi burst from the eight nozzles, turning flesh and bone into steam as the zombie disintegrated. With another flashing blade, lunge, and a rapid dash, these bastards didn¡¯t stop, circling and attacking from blind spots or using stage one to mask their approach. I bit my tongue hard enough to send a painful jolt through my mouth and forced myself to breathe slower. Sloppiness meant death. "Hah!" Desperate to end the battle, I went on the offensive. One ducked my black, before swinging for my knees. I jumped and twisted mid-air, blades sweeping like flame and ice arcs, cutting two clean in half. They fell twitching with their legs still kicking, torsos flopping to the ground like sacks of wet meat. The last one hesitated for the blink of an eye. I grabbed it by the face and crushed its skull against the pavement. Blood ran into the cracks. I stood there, chest rising, breath calm again. The Blade-types wiped out; I could now take a moment to breathe. "Phew... that was good exercise." Despite fighting for half an hour, my body felt cold, and the air felt heavier. [System Message: Survivors Detected!] "Huh? Here!?" I turned toward the eastern edge of the ruined block, my boots crunching over broken tile and scattered bullet casings. The notification pulsed again at the corner of my interface¡ªsoft green markers blinking from behind a nearby building, about 300 meters out. ¡¯They¡¯re close... closer than I expected. And alive.¡¯ A low growl echoed from the alley behind me. I glanced back. Just a Stage One missing half its face, dragging its gut like a leash. No reason to bother raising a weapon. Just crushed its head underfoot and kept walking. My eyes flicked through the current information, and I learned something interesting. "The Stage Threes didn¡¯t attack me because of these guys?" The green markers moved¡ªfour of them. One stayed stationary while the others shifted positions every few seconds. That meant they weren¡¯t amateurs or had adapted to the current situation. Two of them seemed to lure in the zombies, then the last one, appearing to be their ace, rushed in and managed to kill them. Although not fast, they were killing Stage Ones at a decent pace, but the ¡¯Military or hunter group?¡¯ Either way, they¡¯d have nice gear, or have reached Stage Two or maybe even Three. Maybe intel. Maybe a leader worth talking to. A few strays skulked in the streets ahead, gnawing on a half-eaten corpse. I sent a blade clean through all three and didn¡¯t slow down. The last zombie twitched once before falling. ¡¯I should approach them carefully.¡¯ The building between us looked like an old convenience store, half-collapsed with broken bricks, scorched glass and a melted sign. The survivors and Stage Three zombies were on the other side, and judging by their signal strength, it was probably a few hundred metres at most. I squatted twice, my bones and limbs flexible and easy to move, twisting my hips and waist before leaping onto the wall. "Woah, holy shit!?" I jumped over three metres with a slight run-up and gripped the broken window ledge. No time to waste; I scaled the wall. It would be easier to watch them from above without being seen to get vital information about them than to expose myself and get in trouble. I flicked my gauntlets into my inventory and grabbed my upgraded Type-9k with .45 ACP +P tungsten-fragmentation rounds. From here, I spotted them. Four figures were moving like trained hunters, two held rifles, one had a halberd with a bloody blade, and she seemed pretty interesting. The last carried a combat crossbow and moved between the trio, wearing a black hood covered in dust. "Interesting..." They weren¡¯t struggling, and their unique dusty clothes seemed to help with avoiding detection. My fingers twitched slightly as I watched the white-hooded figure draw back her bow and pierce a zombie¡¯s skull from thirty meters without adjusting for wind. "Really skilled." I crouched lower and watched¡¯ ¡¯Maybe it¡¯s time I introduced myself.¡¯ I crouched lower and watched. The woman with the halberd moved with crisp, practised rhythm¡ªchopping low at the ankles, pivoting into clean sweeps, using the weapon like an extension of her body. She was tall and strong. Her movements didn¡¯t have the speed of Shen Yifei, or the grace of Lan¡¯er, but something about her was brutal... amazing. ¡¯She¡¯s got a nice abdomen...¡¯ Every one of her movements was solid, deliberate and well-planned. She wasn¡¯t flashy, but steadfast. Her hair was striking¡ªbright red even in the dusk. Untied and free, she let it whip around as she fought. She didn¡¯t seem to care how visible it made her. ¡¯Bold.¡¯ I adjusted the grip on my submachine gun, took one quiet step across the rooftop, and knelt beside the ledge. There was barely any wind or zombies around me, but the Stage Three zombies were like me, sitting on top, watching. ¡¯Where did they gain this intelligence?¡¯ The halberd woman slammed her blade into a hunter¡¯s skull and turned around. Her head lifted, just slightly, like she¡¯d felt something. I swore her eyes locked with mine for a moment. A heartbeat passed, and then she looked straight at me again. "Tch..." She broke into a dash. I blinked. Her speed didn¡¯t match her size. She cleared the ruined car, the sidewalk, the broken sign, all in a single sprint and leapt up the wall like it was muscle memory. I raised my weapon, not aiming, just ready to guard *** The halberd came down like thunder. CLANG! Steel-on-steel. My gun took the hit on the frame as I twisted aside. The strike knocked me backwards a few steps, but the woman crumbled and almost fell from the building, boots scraping against the roof tiles. "Hah..." I exhaled, eyes narrowing at her striking figure. "Fast." She didn¡¯t hesitate. Another step, another strike. Her halberd whirled around like a scythe aimed to cleave through my side. I slid back, dropped the rifle, and summoned both gauntlets with a metallic flash. Shhk¡ªclick! The black and silver metal locked around my arms as I caught her next blow on the bracer. "You¡¯re not a zombie," I said flatly. "No. But I don¡¯t like being watched," the woman snarled, eyes burning with anger¡ªand a little pride. The halberd twisted again, this time aiming for my leg. ¡¯So that¡¯s how it¡¯s gonna be?¡¯ Chapter 207: Flesh and Blade Chapter 207: Flesh and BladeThe halberd scraped down my gauntlet and spun back toward my side. I twisted and caught it again with my forearm, letting the impact flow through my stance. She pressed in, eyes sharp, muscles coiled with tension. "You¡¯re fast, but lack the power." She didn¡¯t answer. Another strike. Then another. She aimed low, then high, then twisted mid-swing to catch me off-balance. I deflected every blow with a shift of my arm or a shoulder roll. My gauntlets rang like drums with each block. Her stance was solid, and she had strength, at least four times that of a normal human. Rather than brute force, it felt close to a more refined Stage Three Brute. Still... S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I wasn¡¯t even using half of mine. I planted my feet and didn¡¯t budge as she swung again, and against. The halberd slammed into my forearm, but she grunted, sweat oozing from her brows. Voices called out from below. "Liya! What are you doing?!" "Fall back, idiot! We don¡¯t know who he is!" "Do you want to die!?" She didn¡¯t answer them; she just narrowed her eyes and rushed at me again. This woman called Liya couldn¡¯t see the Stage Three zombies like me. "Hmph." I stepped back only enough to guide her strike off-centre, then caught the polearm¡¯s shaft and pushed her off with a light shove. "You¡¯re strong," I said. "But you¡¯re burning too much energy." "Shut up," she snapped. "If you weren¡¯t a threat, you wouldn¡¯t be on that roof watching us like a damn crow." "Maybe I just loved the bounce of your¡ª" Woosh! She tried to stab my eyes! Her stance dropped lower, hips twisting, shoulders tightening, and then she lunged once more, this time faster and more focused. I blocked the first blow, ducked the second and parried the third with my gauntlet, but she faked and stepped inside my guard, then used the half of her halberd like a club, slamming into my ribs with a solid thunk. "Nice...!" "W-What?!" Shocked by my response, she staggered, her breathing worse than before; her red hair clung to her face, and her eyes burned with rivalry. I caught the next swing with both arms and twisted, wrenching the halberd free and sending it skidding across the rooftop. I didn¡¯t follow through. "You done?" She gritted her teeth and lunged for it, but never reached it. Because the air behind us cracked like a whip. A roar followed, deep and guttural, vibrating through the stone. We both turned. One of the Stage Threes had finally moved. It exploded through the wall across the street like a cannonball, a blur of muscle, bone, and blackened Death Qi. My eyes widened. "Tch¡ª!" It wasn¡¯t just one. Two more leapt from the shadows behind the building, jaws wide and claws slicing through the air. The fight was over. The real one had just started. *** The first Stage Three lunged for her¡ªno warning, no buildup, just a blur of movement and a jagged claw arcing from above. "Shit¡ª" I grabbed her collar and yanked her back. The claw slammed into the rooftop, tearing a crater where her head had been a second ago. "Stay sharp," I snapped, spinning in place. The monster¡¯s body twisted with unnatural joints, black saliva dripping from its split jaw. I swung my leg into its midsection and kicked it back with enough force to send it crashing through the ventilation unit. Liya landed on one knee beside me, wide-eyed. She looked at me like she didn¡¯t know whether to thank or curse me. Her halberd lay behind the monster¡¯s crater. I sprinted forward, ducked under the second Stage Three¡¯s sweeping claw, and slid into the weapon. My boot caught under the haft, and I launched it toward her with a sharp kick. "Catch!" She snatched it midair, twirled it once, and rose to her feet without breaking rhythm. We stood shoulder to shoulder. Another roar echoed across the block as more black shapes crept into view¡ªStage Ones and Twos drawn by the noise, flooding the lower level. A voice screamed below. Her squad. The rifleman was being pulled backwards by a screeching brute. The other fired wildly, his shots bouncing off the creature¡¯s thick hide. The woman with the crossbow had an arrow nocked but couldn¡¯t get a precise angle. "Hold them off!" Liya shouted, stepping forward. "Focus," I muttered. I raised my gauntlets and angled both arms toward the street below. The chambers spun. The air hissed. Click¡ªVwoom¡ª "Eat this." BANG! BANG! BANG! Flaming Slugs buckshot across the alley like artillery. The Stage One pack disintegrated in the blast, limbs and heads tossed into the street like kicked trash. The Brute staggered, burned and half-blind, before the crossbow bolt slammed into its exposed temple and dropped it. Liya didn¡¯t speak. She just nodded once. "Back to back," I said. We moved like a combined unit. A Stage Three with exposed ribs rushed us from the left. I ducked, she spun, and her halberd cleaved its head clean off. Another tried to leap overhead, which I caught in midair, slammed it into the ground, and crushed its neck under my gauntlet. More came... Endlessly, we fought against Stages Two and Three. Unlike them, I could see their numbers dwindling... but something shifted in Liya¡¯s movements. Her raw aggression weakened; she matched her rhythm to mine as if trying to learn everything from me. Her halberd flowed more like water around my movements. I filled the gaps in her footwork with force, while she covered my blind spots with sheer skill and lethal accuracy. The rooftop felt like it might collapse from the weight of the fight. But neither of us moved an inch. Liya exhaled sharply as she slammed her back against mine. "You¡¯re not bad." I caught her sly smile; the beads of sweat dripping down her face made her look even more beautiful and wild. "I was about to say the same." The air became still again. Corpses piled in mounds across the rooftop. Blood pooled around broken stone. For a moment, it was just breathing and footsteps. Hers and mine, slow and sharp. "System, scan the area." [Scanning...] [Lifeforms Detected ¡ª Non-hostile: 4] [Hostile Threats Remaining ¡ª 15] [Classification: Stage Three] [Designation: Blade-Type (1), Unknown Brute Variant (1)] ¡¯Blade-Type?¡¯ [New form. Data incomplete. One arm resembles an organic cleaver. The other arm has mutated into reinforced bone plating. Speed rating exceeds standard Stage Three.] I clicked my tongue. That sounded like an issue. "Where?" I asked, already moving toward the ledge. [Southwest. Moving fast.] Liya leaned over next to me, her halberd¡¯s blade dripping with gore. "One of them¡¯s circling. It didn¡¯t join the rush." "No," I said. "It waited. The smart bastard." We both watched as the last of the lesser undead stumbled into the streets¡ªeasy cleanup. Liya¡¯s allies regrouped below, battered but alive, shouting up at her, but she raised a fist to silence them. Then it hit. A blur of grey and black streaked between the two buildings below, faster than the eye could follow. It moved like a phantom. Efficient with no wasted motion. A single jagged blade extended from its right arm, fused at the elbow, curved backwards like a butcher¡¯s knife made of metal and tendon. Its other arm was heavier, shield-like, thick with calcified flesh. It struck a broken wall in passing and left a three-foot gash. "What the hell..." Liya gasped. It wasn¡¯t just fast, but powerful and accurate. You might see the same movement from trained human fighters, not a shambling corpse but a hunting dog that looked for an opening. "Stay close..." "Huh? Why?" [Alert: Blade-Type closing in¡ªfast!] My eyes widened. It was above us. The damn thing had run up the building across the street and launched itself like a missile. The shield arm angled for a landing, absorbing the shock as it skidded across the roof with enough force to rip tiles from the surface. Liya moved to intercept¡ªbut the creature was already turning. Too quick. It feinted left, then twisted and stabbed toward her chest with its massive blade. There wasn¡¯t time for her to block it. I dashed forward, abandoning defence to save her life and stepped in. Steel clashed with bone. The tip of the cleaver slammed into my gauntlet hard enough to knock me backwards and send pain jolting through my arm. "You!" "Focus!" I barked, digging my heels in. The Blade-Type didn¡¯t retreat; it used the momentum to follow up. And I could feel the strain building in my wrist. Chapter 208: Slaying A Stage Three Blade Chapter 208: Slaying A Stage Three BladeThe Blade Type didn¡¯t hesitate to attack, twisting itself in abnormal shapes and patterns; then it rushed at me like flesh. ¡¯Fast!¡¯ I threw my body sideways and smashed its blade away with my gauntlet, creating sparks and a deafening clang. The edge caught the bottom of my jacket and shredded it clean off, stopping less than a hair from my ass. It didn¡¯t seem to want me to counter. By the time my feet landed, it was already attacking my left, even faster! My arm moved on instinct, the gauntlet blade clashing against the bastard¡¯s shield as it rammed into me like a freight train. I skidded across the rooftop, boots dragging sparks, and my shoulder throbbing, yet I could feel it. ¡¯It¡¯s weaker than me!¡¯ I dropped low and rolled forward, trying to regain momentum. But it was already coming again¡ªits blade dragging through the air in a reverse slash meant to cleave straight through my back. I blocked with both arms. Sparks exploded. My elbows locked as the impact rattled through my bones, and it pressed even harder. This one wasn¡¯t just a brute with speed, but a duellist. I snarled, pissed off that it was being so arrogant and headbutted it. The blow made it flinch and stagger back for a moment, just enough time to pivot and swing my left fist upwards with all my power, catching its jaw with a flaming uppercut. It flung back, almost collapsing with a shattered jaw, bone splintered to its eyes. Not an instant kill, but it was something. "Impressive," Liya muttered behind me. "Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d hold that off." I didn¡¯t respond. Because my lungs were burning... overusing Shen Yifei¡¯s fire element made it hard to breathe, the more I burned my Qi, the hotter my blood and body became. The Blade-Type recovered fast, too fast. It swayed low, blade dragging along the roof tiles, and lunged forward with an unnatural twist of its torso. I sidestepped, spun behind it, and slammed my elbow into its spine with everything I had. Crack! The thing hissed through its teeth. For the first time, it reacted. That should¡¯ve dropped a Brute. Instead, it twisted its shield arm backwards and smacked me across the ribs with enough power to lift my feet off the ground. I crashed through a chunk of a fallen air vent and rolled back to my feet with a grunt. Pain shot through my side, but it wasn¡¯t enough to knock me down. ¡¯This fucker!¡¯ It came again¡ªblade first. Not this time! I knew its pattern; tilting my head and blocking the blow, using the fiery qi blade to deflect and knock it off balance. Whnnng!Her halberd intercepted the strike mid-arc, wood and metal catching the edge before it reached me. Liya stepped in beside me, sweat gleaming across her collarbone. "You gonna hog all the fun? My turn." "A woman after my heart." "Tsk, shove it, pretty boy." The creature screeched and twisted¡ªbut her foot smashed into its knee, breaking its stance, just long enough for me to charge forward and slam my gauntlet into its ribs again. We moved together now. Two sets of feet. Two weapons. One kill zone. *** The Blade-Type shrieked again, swinging wildly for Liya¡¯s neck. She ducked low and drove the shaft of her halberd into its gut, stopping its charge for a breath. I stepped in, shoulder to shoulder, and buried my gauntlet into its exposed ribs with a bone-splitting crack. It staggered backwards, movements no longer smooth, off balance, off rhythm. Liya moved in for the finish. She spun the halberd once and brought it down like an executioner¡ªthe blade bit into its neck, severing half its throat. Blood sprayed in thick, black gouts. "Till breathing," she growled. I dashed behind it and hooked my arms under its shield limb. "Hold it." With a snarl, she drove the halberd all the way through its torso, pinning it to the rooftop, but I finished it with a swift swipe of the bastard¡¯s throat. The Stage Three zombies became more difficult to kill because of the bone armour and plating that grew under their skin, protecting vital sections like their neck. ¡¯Phew...¡¯ It gurgled once. Then went still. Silence. We stood there, surrounded by the mess as black blood steamed where it pooled. Liya pulled her weapon free with a sharp tug, not sparing the corpse a glance. She adjusted the band around her wrist and muttered, "That one wasn¡¯t normal." I wiped my gauntlet on my pants. "You mean compared to the other cute ones?" She gave me a blank stare. "Are you brain-damaged?" "Maybe a little. But if I was, you¡¯d be the first to know." "Tch." I leaned in a little, smirking. "You always this sweet to the guys who save your life twice?" "I wouldn¡¯t have needed saving if you weren¡¯t such a damn rooftop voyeur." I smirked. "Your ass made it hard to focus." She exhaled sharply through her nose. "One more word and I¡¯m planting you next to that corpse." I leaned in, voice low. "Careful, or I¡¯ll have you on all fours begging me to save you a third time." Her grip tightened on the halberd. "You talk too much." "Haha, I won." Before she could answer, the ground beneath us trembled. The scream that followed was nothing like the Blade-Type. It came from the street below¡ªthe other Stage Three that hadn¡¯t moved. Now it has moved. And the way its flesh bulged, cracked, and reformed told me one thing¡ª It was evolving. *** The roar from below tore through the air like a cannon blast. Tiles cracked under our feet. Liya and I exchanged a brief, silent look and vaulted off the rooftop without another word. I leaned hard, knees bent, gauntlets scraping the concrete to absorb the shock. Liya hit just behind me, halberd low, body coiled. Her squad was waiting in a loose formation. They were skilled and managed to kill several Stage Twos without Liya; they even knew how to collect the cores... ¡¯Of course I took the three stage three cores so far.¡¯ Two green, one red. "Hm?" The rifleman was young and tense. The girl with the crossbow has a broader stance and was better trained, while the third one, a heavyset guy with a short axe and an arm sling, stepped forward to block me from Liya. "What the hell was that!?" he snapped, looking between me and the bone-wrapped mass ahead. "What is that!?" "A stage three mutating." "You said there were two left¡ª" "Now there¡¯s one. And it¡¯s turning into something none of you want to be near." The crossbow girl narrowed her eyes. "Who the fuck are you, exactly?" "Your future big brother." "Nhaa!?" The cute girl looked shocked, looking at Liya before flipping her head to the side, clearly annoyed with me. I stepped past them, eyes locked on the thing ahead. "But if you want to live, you¡¯re going to leave." "We¡¯re not abandoning Liya¡ª" "She¡¯s not the one I¡¯m worried about." I didn¡¯t shout. I didn¡¯t explain. Just pointed. The cocoon of bone and muscle down the street pulsed like a living organ. Steam hissed from its seams. The monster inside was compressing its form, tightening, becoming more than it already was. "You see that?" I said. "Whatever comes out of that isn¡¯t a stage anything. It¡¯s a death sentence for you weaklings. One blow and POP! Like like your cherry." At first, Liya didn¡¯t speak; she glared at me for my crass jokes, but her eyes turned to the shape, a vein throbbing at her temple. She didn¡¯t argue or complain. But I could feel it¡ªher mind turning. "I can¡¯t protect them," she said, voice low. Her squad looked full of despair. She adjusted her grip on the halberd. "If that thing moves the way the Blade-Type did... I¡¯d have to choose who to save." I nodded. "Now you¡¯re thinking clearly." The heavyset guy stepped forward. "We¡¯re not leaving you behind." "You are," she said. "That¡¯s an order." They didn¡¯t like it, and I could understand that they might be the same if it were my group. On that note, I tapped my comms. "Yifei, how are you doing?" Yifei¡¯s excited voice came through, "John! I¡¯ve killed them all, hehe~ I swallowed twelve cores so far, so wait for me I am coming to you!" I blinked. "Twelve?" A short silence. "...Are you angry?" "No. I am just impressed, good job Yifei." She laughed. "Barely. I will rush to you now, okay?" "Yeah, stay safe." I cut the connection and turned back, looking at Liya. She was staring at me, expression unreadable. "You really planning to fight that thing?" "Not alone. I¡¯ve got backup." A long, slow exhale left her mouth. "I can¡¯t let you die when I owe you, so let me help too." "You can try. Just don¡¯t miss." The cocoon pulsed again. Bones cracked. And something inside it growled¡ªnot like a beast, but like something trying to speak. Liya stepped back, her squad falling in behind her. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. I turned to face the creature, flexing my fists as steam hissed from my gauntlets. "Come on then," I muttered. "Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve become." Chapter 209: The One That Speaks Chapter 209: The One That SpeaksThe cocoon pulsed with a throbbing beat. I watched Liya¡¯s team members arguing as they left and held my breath, hoping that thing wouldn¡¯t burst before they were safe. Though I didn¡¯t care for them... devouring stronger humans only made these freaks more dangerous. "We should attack that thing." "Oh? You finally had a good idea!" Liya mocked me while lifting her halberd. "Shut up. You shouldn¡¯t try¡ªlet me." I stepped forward, raising both gauntlets. The chambers rotated with a low whirr, locking the longer-range explosive slugs into place. Closer. Ten meters from the cocoon. Its outer shell rippled with black veins and sharp ridges, like it had grown armour. Da-DANG! Eight shots erupted from my knuckles, light and smoke flaring across the street. The blast lit the cocoon¡¯s surface in bright flashes, searing into its carapace. The cocoon shuddered¡ª Then stopped pulsing entirely. I narrowed my eyes. Liya¡¯s smirk faded. The cocoon stopped pulsing. Not suddenly, but like a machine winding down. The hiss of pressure bleeding off, the faint cracking of hard bone splitting open. Steam rose in threads from deep inside. The air carried the stench of burning meat and ash. We watched in silence. No roar. No charge. Just the sound of splitting marrow. The front shell peeled back slowly, curling like petals soaked in blood. A pale foot stepped out. Not huge. Not malformed. Just... perfect. Human-shaped. Smooth muscle wrapped around solid bone, not bloated like the Brutes before. Then came the second foot. Then the rest. It stood still. Roughly two meters tall, just over seven feet tall, but its posture was straight¡ªarms at its sides with dense and compact muscles. Four of them¡ªtwo resting at the waist, two relaxed near the chest. The symmetry was unnatural. Its head tilted slightly. No mouth tearing open. No screech. Just two cold, blackened eyes. Looking right at me. It took an unsteady step forward, silently watching us before it stopped. Something about the eerie way it moved made my spine tingle. My instincts screamed out. You might expect danger or a warning, but the pulse was that of excitement and adrenaline pumped through my veins. It stared. I stared back. Then its throat moved. At first, I thought it was just breathing. Then it spoke. "...En...nuh...mee..." The word rasped from its throat like a broken voice box straining against burned lungs. But it understood what it was saying, the precise use proved intelligence. Liya¡¯s team froze fifty meters away. I didn¡¯t blink. ¡¯Scan it.¡¯ [Scanning Entity...] [Classification: Stage Four ¨C Brute Variant] [Mutated Attributes Detected] The data slid into view¡ªand for a second, I thought it was a glitch. [Strength: 12.3x human baseline] [Speed: 9.1x] [Endurance: 9.5x] [Reflexes: 9.4x] [Regeneration: High] [Bone Density: Reinforced] [Weak Points: Unknown] "...shit." This one was a machine compared to a stage Three Brute, which generally only had five times the normal human¡¯s ability in its main attribute, endurance. No bloated weaknesses, the four arms evolved to make up for wide swings. It was a body created to fight with pure precision and brutality. It wasn¡¯t just a mutation. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This thing refined itself with great success. Its lower arms flexed slowly. Each hand formed a loose fist, cracking each joint, and looking over its changes, there was an irritating silence in the air. No... I could hear the chattering of teeth¡ªLiya¡¯s. "Enemy," it repeated, slightly clearer now and more formed but still a little broken and hoarse, like a human who smoked fifty a day. I stepped forward, slowly. My gauntlets hummed with pressure as I lowered my stance. It didn¡¯t move. Just kept watching. Its fingers twitched. Subtle. Almost too small to notice. But I caught it. It wasn¡¯t charging me because it needed to measure me, to see if I was worth the words. I copied the zombie and pointed at him. "Enemy! Come on then!" I dug my feet into the gravel and tensed my muscles. There wasn¡¯t any need for a System notification to tell me what to do. It wasn¡¯t just some monster now. It was a fight. *** The zombie stepped forward with no shambling or strange movements, just a controlled stride that rapidly built into a sprint. My eyes widened as it closed the gap in less than a second, without a warning or tell... the thing didn¡¯t even groan or roar. I barely brought up my gauntlets before the first blow landed. Clang! The upper left fist slammed against my right gauntlet with a shockwave that numbed my entire arm. Before I could react, its lower right hand hooked under my elbow and dragged me forward. My balance shifted¡ªand the bastard used it. A right hook from the lower arm punched straight into my ribs. Thud! Pain exploded through my side, a burst from the dull impact. It followed up with a second strike¡ªan uppercut from the other arm that snapped my head back. My vision blurred. The ringing in my ears drowned out everything but my breathing. "Ghh¡ª!" I stumbled back two steps, shaking my head, trying to clear the static. My brain rattled like a loose screw in a can. ¡¯It¡¯s using tactics¡ªshit!¡¯ The Brute wasn¡¯t just strong... Its positioning and movements felt like a human who knew martial arts, maybe not quite a master, but with that body, it didn¡¯t matter. "Four arms are fucking annoying..." It didn¡¯t press the advantage. It waited again. Watching me with an obnoxious smirk. Was it watching to see if I would come back swinging recklessly like a monkey? I spat the blood pooling in my mouth, then wiped my lips and lifted my guard. "You son of a¡ª" Boom! I dashed forward, this time throwing my full power into the charge. My flaming gauntlet slammed into its chest, launching it back five meters before it skidded to a stop. Dust exploded around its heels. I didn¡¯t let up. I closed in, letting the Ice Qi build in my left gauntlet while the right one blazed hotter. I feinted high and struck low, trying to test it now, to bait its counters. The Brute parried the ice strike with its shielded lower arm and returned a jab that would¡¯ve shattered bone if it landed. I twisted past it and slammed both fists into its sides. The air hissed as Qi surged through the impact. It stumbled back and looked at me with the strangest gaze. Though I didn¡¯t move it far... I proved one thing¡ªI could hurt it. From behind me, I heard Liya¡¯s husky voice exhaling sharply. "Fuck me, that thing is fast." She rushed past me, halberd held tight in both hands as she attacked with a low sweep. The Brute reacted much faster than Liya, but I caught its left arm mid-swing and twisted before it smashed her face. "Now!" Liya slid under its open guard and slashed across its leg, tearing a massive gash that sprayed black blood all over the place. It roared¡ªnot in pain, but frustration. The first sound it had made since it spoke. Its next strike came faster, more aggressive. It lashed out with all four arms at once. I blocked one fist, then a second, but then it grabbed my arm with its lower hands. I noticed it too late. "Shi¡ª!" The upper arms punched straight into my face twice. First to the jaw. Second to the cheekbone. Crack! My vision blacked out for a split second. I hit the ground hard, ears ringing like gunfire. Blood dripped down my nose. My neck snapped to the side and stayed there for a heartbeat longer than it should have. Liya shouted something but was distant¡ªmuffled under the hum in my skull. I blinked. Once. Twice. The Brute stood over me, still holding my arms. It didn¡¯t smile or gloat; it just raised its fists again. "Bitch, do something!" I called out to Liya before I growled and pushed off the ground with both legs and smashed them into its chest. Boom! The blow thundered through its chest, causing the Brute to wobble before lifting both hands, ready to strike me again. I stomped. I kicked and fought against the bastard¡¯s grip. Four arms were too unfair! Our eyes became level as it looked at me, a moment passed, before I spat at the fucker. "Fuck You!" If it wanted to fight... I¡¯d give it one. "Huh?" As it lifted its arms once again... A red star shone above the sky, but why was it getting bigger? Chapter 210: Buy Me Ten Seconds! Chapter 210: Buy Me Ten Seconds!"Huh?" As it lifted its arms again... A red star shimmered above us¡ªfaint at first, like a trick of the eye. But it grew larger. Brighter. Hotter. I blinked and instinctively looked up. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. A flash of fire. A warcry. A scream that split through the sky like a thunderbolt. [Warning! Shen Yifei Approaching at a dangerous speed!] Shen Yifei. Her body spun mid-air, descending with her glaive behind her back¡ªburning red with Qi, trailing a streak of heat that cracked the wind. She dropped like a falling blade from the heavens. Boom! The rooftop shattered. The Brute¡¯s head jerked back as the glaive carved a diagonal line down its face, splitting through its left eye, cheekbone, and jaw with a wet CRACK. A burst of black blood geysered out, sizzling from the Fire Qi. It howled like a wounded beast. Not like an animal. Like a man losing control. I felt its grip loosen as the shock rippled through its nerves. "Yifei!" I barked. "Move!" She kicked off its shoulder and flipped back, landing in a crouch beside me, panting, her glaive steaming. Her red robes fluttered with the wind, face flushed but calm. "You look like shit," she muttered without glancing at me. "I¡¯m trying a new skincare routine," I groaned, shaking off the blurred vision. "Zombie blood and Yifei sweat!" The Brute didn¡¯t fall. It staggered. Wounded and blind on one side. But still burning with raw, mutating Qi. Its remaining eye glowed like an open furnace, and the lower arms hooking my ribs tightened, while the upper ones grabbed my collar and belt. "No¡ª!" With a snarl, it twisted its hips and hurled me like a ragdoll¡ªstraight into Yifei. CRASH! The impact knocked the wind out of both of us. We slammed into a stone barrier, my back bending in ways it shouldn¡¯t as Yifei grunted beneath me. Her glaive skidded away in a blur of sparks. I rolled off her, coughing hard. "Fuck... that hurt more than it should have..." She groaned beside me. "Get off me, asshole..." "Then stop cushioning my falls." It wasn¡¯t the time to fight... but her cheeky smile made me want to tease her. We scrambled back to our feet. The Brute was already coming again¡ªface split wide open, exposed bone twitching, blood pouring in slow, thick waves. Yeah... this fucker didn¡¯t care about that. It stomped forward with full momentum, fists balled, jaws hanging open like a broken marionette. Liya¡¯s voice rang out from somewhere behind us. "Is that woman your backup!?" Yifei spat blood and raised her glaive. "Better late than never." The Brute leapt again. Faster than before. Twice as angry. I lifted my gauntlets and lowered my hips. Honestly, this was amazing. Maybe I should have taken up MMA when I was younger... I never knew there was such a beast inside me. *** The Brute charged. Face split open, jaw hanging crooked, left eye a melted socket. But none of that slowed it. If anything, it moved faster, burning through pain like it didn¡¯t matter. I stepped forward to meet it. "Support me!" I yelled. "Both of you!" Yifei surged left, her glaive flashing red as she moved like a flame-tipped arrow. Liya shifted to the right, halberd diagonally, expression hard and focused. The Brute lashed out with its upper arms¡ªone punch aimed for me, the other sweeping wide to catch Yifei. I caught the first punch with my gauntlet¡ªcrack! It still hurt. Yifei ducked under the second and sliced across the Brute¡¯s ribs. Her blade cut deep, searing flesh, the wound hissing from the heat. Its lower arms moved next, grabbing for Liya¡¯s legs. She jammed her halberd down, using the steel shaft as a brace, and kicked its grip aside. Her follow-up was clean¡ªan upward slash across its thigh, but the damage wasn¡¯t significant. "Shit!" "Hit it again!" I shouted, slamming both fists into its chest. Boom! The impact launched it back, but it landed on all fours like a beast, snarling, twitching. Liya huffed beside me. "You weren¡¯t kidding about unfair." "Told you." It looked mad... steam-like breath hissing from its wound with every breath. Though it could think, it seemed unable to do so after being angry as the Brute charged again, targeting Yifei this time. She rolled aside, barely dodging the flurry of four arms that punched into the street, cracking asphalt like paper. I dashed in while its arms were still buried and slammed a burning right hook into its shoulder. Yifei came up behind it. Her glaive flicked like a whip¡ªone clean, elegant arc. It sliced the creature¡¯s back open with a hiss of steam and a scream of torn muscle. Liya moved next. She slammed the bladed end of her halberd into its calf, twisting hard. The Brute¡¯s leg buckled¡ªjust a little¡ªbut enough. Its upper arms lashed out in response¡ªone grabbed Yifei by the forearm. "Nope." I launched into its ribs like a cannonball, knocking it off balance. The blow tore Yifei free, and she flipped backwards into a crouch. "Thanks," she said, barely winded. "Anything for you, Fei-Fei." "Hehe~" The Brute roared again and spun toward Liya. It charged her with all four fists, aiming to break through her guard or maybe crush her entirely. She stood her ground. Her halberd spun, deflecting the first two strikes with sheer skill. The third one clipped her shoulder with a crack. Yet she gritted her teeth and drove her blade into the Brute¡¯s chest as it crashed into her. It stopped mid-swing, blade stuck between its ribs. "NOW!" Liya flung past us as we attacked. I attacked the left, and she attacked the right. We both slammed our weapons into the same side of its body¡ªglaive and gauntlet¡ªice and fire. The Brute screamed in agony. Black blood bubbled and spurted from the wound, with bones cracking and the entire right side of the Brute¡¯s torso shattered like broken porcelain. It dropped to one knee. Still breathing. Still alive. Yifei exhaled sharply. "This thing just won¡¯t die." I clenched my fists, gauntlets humming with overloaded pressure. "Then we don¡¯t let it stand back up." With the flick of my wrists, two blades extended. Only the sound of blades tearing flesh followed. *** The Brute¡¯s body hit the ground like a demolished pillar¡ªchunks of flesh burned, bones shattered, and we ripped one arm entirely from the socket. We stood around it, weapons raised, breath ragged, blood smeared across our skin. Liya lowered her halberd slightly. "That did it?" Yifei didn¡¯t answer¡ªher glaive was still humming with Fire Qi, smoke rising off the edge. I kept staring. Something felt off. A twitch. Not subtle. Its shoulder jerked once, then again. The raw stump where its arm had been began to bubble. "Wait." I took a single step back. The shredded tendons wriggled like worms. Bone cracked back into place. Flesh stretched, tore, and rewove itself. "Holy shit... I forgot," I said through gritted teeth. "It can regenerate." A wet pop echoed from its throat as the broken neck corrected itself. It pushed off the ground. The fourth arm reformed¡ªslow, but steady¡ªand its foot stamped into the gravel as it rose. "What the hell...?" Liya muttered. "Don¡¯t just stare. Move!" The Brute¡¯s eyes locked onto mine again, with a mangled face, head hanging to one side. Yifei stepped beside me, weapon drawn. Liya mirrored her on my other side. Three of us. The Brute tilted its head again. "...En...uh...mee..." It was grinning. Good. I grinned back. "Round two, you bastard." There was a feeling of irritation building inside me, I hadn¡¯t tried using this... but since the damn zombie wanted to cheat I would too. My abdomen tightened, and there was a battle form in the Primordial Tyrant Scripture. It involved taking Qi into the Dantian. "Buy me ten seconds," I said to the two women who looked at me like a freak. Yifei didn¡¯t even question it. She leaned close and kissed my cheek, "You owe me, babe." Then she stepped forward without anything else. Liya glanced sideways before nodding. I closed my eyes. Qi surged toward my Dantian, heavier than usual. My chest burned. Muscles tightened. Every breath felt like fire, ice and rocks threading through veins. The scripture¡¯s battle form wasn¡¯t just a buff. It was raw conversion of Qi into elemental power... something a little fantasy for me. Qi became my power. Blood became my fuel. My heart thudded once, louder than before. Twice. I grit my teeth as the first seal on the Primordial Tyrant Form cracked, flooding my limbs with violent heat. Black veins bulged from my hands up my arms, pulsing with an icy chill, a fiery bite as the earth Qi caused my muscles to bulge and tighten. "Five more seconds..." Chapter 211: Primordial Devil Battle Body Chapter 211: Primordial Devil Battle BodyThe moment the elements became unstable and filled my body, from marrow to blood, blood to muscle, muscle to skin¡ª Something snapped. A resounding crack echoed inside my chest. Then came the burn. Fire Qi surged first, ripping through my bones like molten metal poured into a cold forge. My doubts didn¡¯t just vanish¡ªthey were incinerated. Rage, instinct, drive¡ªit all bloomed, molten and red. My vision tinted in crimson heat. Then came the cold. Ice Qi followed, threading through the pain like a blade dipped in frost. It didn¡¯t numb me. It sharpened everything. My heartbeat slowed. My nerves focused. The chaos clarified. Earth roared through me next. It didn¡¯t ask permission. It rooted. My legs hardened, stance unshakable. Every muscle clenched, locked into place like stone pillars braced for war. It grounded the storm raging through my core. And then wind. Wind exploded in my lungs¡ªlight, fast, violent. My breath hitched. My body moved before I told it to. Everything felt quicker. Brighter. My reflexes sharpened like they¡¯d been cut free from gravity. The four forces clashed as blood spurted from my mouth violently. And finally, they fused. My veins bulged, coursing with raw, unstable Qi. Across my forearms and neck, streaks of colour surged¡ªfiery red, glacial blue, earthen brown, wind-silver. They glowed through my skin in furious, pulsing lines. And my hair¡ª It turned silver. Not white. Silver. Metallic, reflective strands dancing in the unseen wind. It grew fast, past my shoulders in seconds, wild and loose, like a mane built for war. Each pulse of Qi made it flutter upwards like I was standing in a storm I created. I raised my head, and the Brute paused. Could he also feel this? My skin darkened by a shade but looked natural, like a warrior returning from the depths of a forge. My eyes weren¡¯t their usual shade either¡ªred ringed with a faint glow of shifting blue and gold pupils. My gauntlets transformed into a strange black gauntlet as if made by exoskeletal plating. Liya¡¯s voice was tight. "What the hell are you...?" Even Yifei paused, gripping her glaive tightly. "Your hair..." She scanned me a little, then whispered something I could barely hear. "Damn he looks so sexy..." I wanted to answer, but my breath felt like fire and my throat a searing crater. My skin buzzed with a tingling pressure, every heartbeat echoing like a parade horn. I wasn¡¯t sure what I looked like other than from what I could see. But I didn¡¯t care; since Yifei called me sexy, I wasn¡¯t a monster. My body moved easily and pleasingly. It felt right. The Brute¡¯s eyes twitched, ignoring the women altogether. I saw it step back, much more cautious of me than before. It didn¡¯t want to wait for me to adjust and lunged. But I could see it all. Every shift in its weight. Every tension in its stance and the orbit of its four arms. "Too slow." I wanted to rush forward, and with a resounding thud, cracking the street under my feet as I appeared in front ot it, my fist buried in its chest before it could blink. BOOM! The impact rippled through its torso¡ªbone snapped, black blood sprayed across the pavement. It flung back several steps, bleeding from its mouth. I stared at my hand, then at the beast. My voice was hoarse from the pressure, but steady. "Alright. Let¡¯s see how many times I can hit you before I break you." *** My fist hovered, gathering power and buzzing with Qi, before I lashed out again. Strike One: I slammed both fists into the Brute¡¯s sternum, sliding it across the cracked asphalt. The impact rang like a bell, echoing in my bones as it created a violent shockwave that destroyed the rocks beneath the zombie. Strike Two: I stepped in and threw an uppercut. Fire and ice roared together¡ªmy fist hit its jaw with a burst of steam. Bone splintered; the Brute¡¯s head whipped backwards, teeth cracking. Strike Three: I punched the ground. The shockwave launched debris at the creature and tore through its skin, throwing it back against the building. "Phew..." I was trying to control my strength, each blow draining my elemental Qi rapidly. The monster pulled itself from the wall. It smiled¡ªblood dripped from the split side of its face. With four arms, it lashed at once. I raised my gauntlets to block, feeling the sting of pressure not even a fraction compared to before. Test One: I grabbed one arm and twisted, stepping close. I could feel the raw electricity thrumming through its limbs. My silver hair danced with energy. "You feel that?" I muttered. It growled in response. I flung it in the air, then smashed the bastard down straight into the ground. BOOM! But it rolled free, rising on all fours, eyes glinting. Yifei and Liya acted quickly to stop it from fleeing. She slammed her glaive into its back, scorching blade searing the exposed flesh. Liya jammed her halberd into its thigh, then twisted, causing black blood to pool from its legs. The Brute howled, shifting to fight them, four arms raised to attack. However, I stepped forward, my knee smashing the Brute¡¯s chin, shattering every bone in its face, before placing my palm on its face and pulling the trigger. Da-Dang! The black plates that covered my arms like an exoskeleton spread, and four buckshot shells exploded in the zombie¡¯s face and sent him staggering back. So I stepped onto the corpse of a Stage Two zombie, pushed off, and soared upward with explosive power. I struck the Brute¡¯s head with a downward hammer blow¡ªblades of Qi splintered through bone and sent it to its knees. The air smelled like burning blood. I realised this form was more than strength. It was control¡ªfire burning pain, ice-sharpening clarity, earth-grounding chaos, wind-feeding speed. Every part worked in sync. The Brute no longer stood a chance. "Fei-Fei," I said without looking back, "slice its head off." There wasn¡¯t a snappy response or hesitation; she looked at me with starry eyes and nodded. Yifei moved in a blur of skin-tight pants and flame. She rushed past me with a single breath, her glaive lit with fire Qi, spinning it once before she brought the blade down like divine judgement. The Brute raised its arms to block¡ªtoo slow. The glaive carved through its shoulder and neck in one smooth motion. Bone cracked. The head twisted sideways and dangled by a single cord of flesh. Then it dropped. Liya let out a slow breath, lowering her weapon. Yifei stood tall, her glaive sizzling, black blood hissing against the metal. The Brute collapsed. For real this time. [10,000 EXP] [5,000 ZKP] Only silence remained, as I felt the strain of the technique pulling me apart. The battle form flickered with the last remnants of my Qi burning, and I was still ready to fight. I stood there, fists clenched, chest rising and falling with slow, steady breaths. The last echoes of battle faded, but my heartbeat refused to settle. [Qi Reserves: 2%] [Primordial Battle Form: Disengaging in 10... 9...] My muscles twitched. The glow along my veins dimmed with each countdown. The exoskeletal gauntlets cracked and crumbled, falling off in pieces that dissolved before they hit the ground. The heat in my chest faded to a slow burn. My silver hair began to darken again, strand by strand. I dropped to one knee¡ªnot because I wanted to. My legs gave out, like someone finally cut the strings. Hands hit the ground, blood dripping between my knuckles. Liya walked over quietly at first. She didn¡¯t speak, but she just looked at me, then at the Brute¡¯s corpse, and then back again. "Oi, are you alright?" "I will be." Yifei¡¯s lips curled into a wide grin. She crouched before me and handed over a pouch of cold water. Her eyes scanned my face, full of curiosity and... another familiar desire. "You were glowing, like some kind of super hero..." "Yeah, did it look cool?" "Mm, very!" "I see... but I am so tired now." I didn¡¯t elaborate because I couldn¡¯t. I wasn¡¯t even sure what the technique meant yet, the form and changes inside me when I used it. I knew nothing about the future and what followed, but I could feel it lingering in my bones. [Notice: DNA has absorbed residual elemental imprint. Adaption underway.] [Primordial Qi Constitution¡ªDeveloping.] Great. Another thing I didn¡¯t understand. I looked up at the sky. Clouds gathered. Thunder rumbled somewhere far off. "Let¡¯s move," I said, pushing myself back. "You can barely stand," Liya said flatly. "I¡¯ve had worse." I turned to them both. "Don¡¯t you need to meet up with your group? How about coming with us?" "..." Liya didn¡¯t respond. She bit her lip and turned away, and since I didn¡¯t want to waste time outside, Yifei and I followed in silence. The biggest thing I gained was the Stage Four Golden Core... it was the size of a tennis ball, almost triple the size of a Stage Three core. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡¯No way in hell I could swallow this.¡¯ But with the appearance of a Stage Four... it seemed the world would only get worse. Chapter 212: Red haired Battle Junkie Chapter 212: Red haired Battle JunkieLiya and her group gathered together, probably checking for wounds and discussing my offer, while I sat to the side, looking at all the cores collected in my inventory. "Why do you keep looking at her?" "Hm?" Since Yifei returned, she reverted to how she acted around Qinglan; she was probably jealous of Liya. However, I didn¡¯t show any interest that might trigger that. It seemed Yifei couldn¡¯t help but worry about that kind of thing. "Well she¡¯s pretty and has a great body, but most of all isn¡¯t her hair colour rare?" "...Hmph, it¡¯s just red." "Damn." I leaned back, clutching my ribs, "I¡¯m gonna feel this tomorrow." Yifei exhaled beside me and twirled her glaive once before slinging it over her back. She didn¡¯t look tired, but I could see the tension in her face and shoulders. The thrill of the fight still clung to her. So," she said, brushing ash from her sleeve with forced casualness, "is she your next one?" I raised an eyebrow. "You mean Liya?" "Y-Yeah..." Her voice became light and sweet. "She looked comfortable taking your orders and fighting beside you... I thought that might be your type." Yifei kicked her legs and puffed out her cheeks. "You jealous?" I grinned. She scoffed. "Hah?! Jealous? Of a dusty mercenary with no skincare routine and a dead look in her eyes?" ¡¯I see...¡¯ "Honestly, my type is strange..." "What do you mean?" Before the scared little cat could pull back and run away, I gripped her shoulders, "Well... there¡¯s this cute blonde girl who just happens to be my type right here." The way her shoulders quivered as she looked up at me with glistening eyes. "J-John?" I moved closer, enjoying the slightly deep scent of her body after fighting; it wasn¡¯t unpleasant, I liked it. "Oh? A dusty mercenary with shit skincare?" A voice came from behind, Liya¡¯s twisted smirk aimed at Yifei as she leaned against a broken pillar. Yifei flinched out of my grasp. "Tch¡ªwho said I was talking about you!?" Liya didn¡¯t respond; instead, she sat beside me, laying her halberd against the wall. She hadn¡¯t recovered much. Sweat trailed down her cheek and dripped into her cleavage. The battle probably exhausted her, and despite her acting like iron, I could tell her legs were one bad step from giving out. "You alright?" I asked. "Well... thanks to you, we¡¯ll live." She grabbed a cloth from her pocket and wiped her face. "You took most of the pressure, why are you acting so calm?" "If I start panicking then won¡¯t the others collapse and die?" "No kidding..." Liya smiled, looking at her team members sitting a short distance from me. I wondered if they were nervous or still doubtful of me. Yifei glanced at her, then back at me. "So... are we done here?" I looked around¡ªthe ruins of the street, the collapsed cocoon, the blood soaking the concrete. Our little evening date was over¡ªno need to linger. "Yeah, we should probably head back soon. The train station¡¯s not far. The others are probably waiting." Yifei brightened a little at that. "Does your offer still stand...? We are a little tired of wandering alone." Liya stood slowly and adjusted her grip on the halberd. "I¡¯ll come too. My team¡¯s already at their limits and cannot reach the next military checkpoint, and I¡¯ve got questions." "W-What!?" Yifei¡¯s face turned pale, her arms spread out as she looked at me with tearful eyes. I didn¡¯t bother to argue and nodded. "Well, you should follow us. I just hope you don¡¯t cause any trouble." "Of course, why would we do that?" Liya¡¯s group followed behind us as I walked out of the ruins. The sound of broken glass crunching under our boots echoed through the street. Yifei leaned a little closer as we walked. "You know... next time you want to ¡¯cheer me up,¡¯ maybe just try kissing me or getting me a gift instead of bringing another thieving cat home!" I laughed. "You had fun though right?" "...Hmph! Shut up." The train station was quieter than usual. The barricades at the front were still intact, reinforced with scrap steel and sandbags. A few exhausted people hovered near the perimeter while guarding. As we stepped onto the platform, I first saw Tang Wei. She stood before a large map table, arms crossed, talking to Jiang Roulan, who sat on a crate half-covered in thermal blankets. They both looked up as we approached. Tang Wei narrowed her eyes. "You¡¯re late." "John... we were so worried!" Jiang Roulan jumped into my chest, her soft breasts squished against my chest as she kissed my lips. The moment she hit me, I lost my breath, and I had to wrap my arm around her to steady myself. I wanted to speak, but Roulan¡¯s tongue was inside my mouth before I could say a word, and her hands clung tightly. "I was so worried," She whispered before kissing me again. This time, I saw Tang Wei and Yifei looking with shocked expressions, but neither moved. Eventually, Jiang Roulan pulled back, blushing, trembling, "Ahh¡ªsorry, I just wanted to make sure you were real." "Liar, you just wanted to take advantage and enjoy his tongue..." Yifei huffed before dragging Roulan back, pushing her down on the crate, and stepping between them. "Well, this is awkward." It was Liya who stepped forward from the darkness. She looked at Jiang Roulan, then back at me with a wry smile, then winked. "I didn¡¯t expect to see a familiar face here, Wei-Wei. You¡¯re still alive and fighting, huh?" [Li Ya¡¯s Affection has increased significantly] "I could say the same for you, Yaya! I thought you all died... Even Bruce... and Momo!? But I knew you would live on your own somehow." Tang Wei¡¯s voice was cold but had some emotion, unlike her usual tone. "Do you know them?" I asked her, honestly, this was quite exciting, and I thought I had saved friends of Tang Wei. "I knew them in the past, we were in the same regiment for quite some time." She put her hand on Tang Roulan¡¯s shoulder, who had been staring at Liya in awe. "That is Li Ya. She¡¯s an amazing fighter and part of the 49th long-range scouting battalion and is one of the best shooters I¡¯ve ever seen, and this is..." Tang Wei started to speak about the members who were all B-Grade, and Liya was S-Grade. Sometimes I thought the System only gave the S-Grade to women I would be tempted to fuck... [John, don¡¯t be so vulgar... It¡¯s just that you have exquisite taste, maybe?] ¡¯Why do you seem doubtful?¡¯ [Hehe~] "I see... Well, since they are close to you, take good care of them, there¡¯s enough rations left, right? If not, let me know." They stood at attention at my words and nodded before Tang Wei guided them in. "I think we should head to your room now..." Yifei said as she stared at the floor. "Why do you want to finish what we started in the shower?" I thought she might act bashful and avoid the subject... "Yeah... can we?" The shy response, her slightly red cheeks and the doubtful look from Jiang Roulan spurred me on as I reached out, took Shen Yifei¡¯s hand, and walked towards the room Mu Qinglan was probably sleeping in. *** There were only a few hours of darkness left until we would need to wake up, so Yifei seemed to be in a bit of a rush. The old place wasn¡¯t pleasant because of the foul smell of oil and rust. A few survivors drank coffee while eating small meals, and they nodded to me. Thankfully, they all seemed to have grown to trust me, not a single person beneath Loyalty+ in the camp, apart from Liya¡¯s group, of course, but that couldn¡¯t be fixed easily. The atmosphere was calm, but heavy. Yifei still held my hand, fingers interlocked. Despite her earlier confidence in asking me to join her in the shower, we didn¡¯t speak after leaving the campsite where Jiang Roulan sat alone with a pot of coffee. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Soon, I would help her, and after fulfilling her request, I would taste her. Give and Take. Fei-Fei didn¡¯t seem jealous anymore, at least looking at her blushed cheeks, holding my hands seemed to help her cope with the situation. Tang Wei gave a slight nod before peeling off toward the side entrance. Liya and her team followed quietly, their eyes sharp but their bodies running on fumes. That fight had taken more out of them than they¡¯d probably admit. We reached the familiar door. The one that smelled like Mu Qinglan¡¯s hair oil and Yifei¡¯s shampoo. "Phew, she¡¯s still sleeping~ good." Yifei celebrated, and hopped over to her bed, removing her jacket, and the padded parts of her belt and pants... when she stripped down to an oversized t-shirt and her fiery red thong... I couldn¡¯t help but swallow. Hard. "Hey Yifei... let¡¯s have that shower." So I called out to her and dragged her into the shower room.