《Zombie Thud: I Become Stonger When I Get Bitten!》


 Chapter 1

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    17th June 2028. Early summer.


    In the New York State University.


    An unforeseen disaster would shortly cause chaos to descend on the university.


    At this moment, in a classroom, a professor was teaching as usual. However, all of a sudden, something strange happened. The professor suddenly stiffened before his body began to shake violently. His eyes rolled up until only the whites could be seen, and a gurgling noise could be heard from his throat.


    Needless to say, everyone in the classroom was shocked. Some screamed and ran out frantically when they regained their senses while some rushed forward to help.


    Those who rushed forward to help tried to hold the professor down to perform first aid. Unfortunately, there was not much they could do. Even seven to eight strong male students were not able to hold him down.


    The professor continued to convulse violently as everyone who remained in the classroom watched helplessly as they waited for the medical staff to arrive.


    All of a sudden, the professor stopped convulsing. It was incredibly abrupt just like a sudden power outage.


    Upon seeing this, everyone could not help but sigh in relief. They were all university students, inexperienced and mostly sheltered, so they did not sense the danger in the air nor did they think much about the strangeness of the situation


    The students had just calmed down when a scream rang from outside the classroom.


    One of the students was about to rise to his feet to have a look when the professor who had abruptly stopped convulsing earlier suddenly sat up. His eyes were white, and he was salivating from his mouth. A fierce beast-like expression could be seen on his face as he snarled and snapped, spittle flying everywhere.


    While the students had yet to regain their senses from the shock, the professor lunged and bit a male student on the neck.


    The boy cried out in anguish from the sharp pain in his neck.


    At this time, the students in the classroom finally regained their senses. They rushed forward to help the bitten boy. Despite their good intentions, it would have been better if they did not recklessly rush forward to help.


    With so many people surrounding the professor, trying to get the bitten boy away, the professor suddenly turned his attention to a boy who was pulling on his arm, directly biting the boy.


    Pandemonium descended on the classroom immediately.


    At the same time, people from outside were swarming into the classroom. This provided the professor, who had clearly undergone some kind of mutation, with more victims.


    In just a short time, seven to eight students had all been bitten by the professor.


    By the time those who were unaffected reacted, it was already too late!


    At this moment, the students who were bitten by the professor rose to their feet lifelessly and rushed toward the students who were not bitten.


    ¡°Oh my gosh, they¡¯re zombies!¡± someone shouted, shocking everyone.


    Although the United States of America was a relatively young country, the country¡¯s technology was incredibly advanced. The country had always looked toward the future. This could be seen in the movies they produced.


    For this reason, zombies were not something unknown. Almost everyone had seen zombies on the television or in cinemas, or read about them in books. Zombies were almost an entire genre of its own.


    It was just that no one expected the scenes they had seen on the screen and read in books would one day be their reality.


    Who would expect the zombies would appear in such an abrupt and violent manner in their lives?


    ¡­


    Rhodes was a sophomore at the New York State University.


    He had been there when the professor began to convulse. At that time, he had a vague feeling that something was amiss. However, he dismissed that feeling and tried to help. When the professor sprang back to life, he narrowly avoided the attack. With that, he no longer stuck around and frantically ran out of the classroom.


    Rhodes was incredibly lucky to escape when he did. After all, the students who were bitten rose back to life as the first wave of zombies too quickly.


    It was rather unfortunate for those who were in the classroom. The first wave of zombies lunged, tore, and bit everything that moved.


    Rhodes managed to make it to the ground floor and was just a step away from the gates. He would have successfully escaped if he had just walked out of the gates. However, he hesitated when he was right in front of the gates.


    He had just remembered something, or rather, someone: his girlfriend, Julie. He still had not heard from her or seen her.


    Rhodes and Julie had a good relationship, and the two were very close. They became neighbors when they were in high school and even up until now.


    Julie was incredibly beautiful, and most people thought they would make a good match. They had feelings for each other as well even though neither of them admitted it. It was not until an accident happened in the second year of high school that they confessed their feelings to each other.


    Due to how long both of them had been suppressing their feelings, once they realized their feelings were mutual, their relationship progressed quickly. In just a short month, the two were inseparable. If it were not for their parents, they would have taken that last step in their relationship.


    However, in the early throes of love where feelings ran high, it was, naturally, difficult to endure or put out the burning flames of passion. In the end, both of them decided to rent a hotel room to take the last step in their relationship. In fact, today was the day they were supposed to check into the hotel room in the afternoon.


    Who knew something like this would happen?


    After a beat, Rhodes no longer hesitated and dashed toward Julie¡¯s classroom.


    There were people around everywhere, running, stumbling, falling. It was utter chaos.


    It took him a long time and a lot of effort navigating around the university hall and the people before he finally found Julie hiding in a corner of her classroom.


    When he saw how frightened she was, he felt an involuntary pang of pain in his heart. At this moment, he did not care about anything else and directly pulled her into his arms to gently comfort her.


    After Rhodes managed to calm Julie down, he said, ¡°The university is in chaos now. It¡¯s not safe here. We have to hurry home.¡±


    Fear still lingered on Julie¡¯s face as she nodded and asked, ¡°What happened? It was fine earlier¡­ Why did it suddenly become like this?¡±


    Rhodes remained silent. However, he had many theories in his mind. For example, a biochemical leak, a poison gas attack, and natural human mutation. However, these were only things he learned from movies he had watched. No matter how realistic a movie was, it was ultimately just a movie. Moreover, a movie could not truly convey reality. For example, the gruesome scenes in the movie could not compare to the things happening in front of them. It could not even describe or convey how frightened they were at this moment.


    Knowing they did not have much time for an explanation, Rhode pulled Julie along as he ran out frantically.


    Currently, the originally stately, beautiful, and bustling campus was drenched in blood. Severed limbs were strewn everywhere on the ground. It was as though the university had turned into a slaughterhouse.


    Many people were running frantically. The lucky ones managed to escape while the unlucky ones became the zombies¡¯ food. Not only that, but after becoming zombies¡¯ food, the virus from the zombies would enter their bodies, turning them into zombies as well.


    As Rhodes made his way to the gates with Julie in tow, he saw many students who were bitten. Many of them were also begging him for help. However, he did not dare to stay any longer than necessary. After all, based on the movies he had watched and his short experience earlier, he knew the longer they stayed, the more zombies there would be.


    The couple ran until the gate finally appeared before their eyes.


    However, at this moment, a student who was lying on the ground lifelessly suddenly sat up and grabbed Julie¡¯s foot. It happened so abruptly that none of them could react in time.


    After a beat, Julie cried out in fear, and Rhodes held Julie firmly in his grip as he kicked the zombie¡¯s head. However, the zombie seemed immune to pain as it ignored Rhode¡¯s kick and bit Julie¡¯s leg.


    Upon seeing this, Rhodes seemed to have gone berserk; he began to kick and punch the zombie in a frenzy.


    Unfortunately, the zombie did not let go. Moreover, it had tightened its claws around Julie¡¯s leg, leaving five vivid bloody scratches on her delicate skin.


    When Julie saw the wound on her leg, despair and desperation overwhelmed her. She knew once a person was bitten or scratched, they would be infected. It was only a matter of time before she mutated. She looked at Rhodes who was desperately trying to save her and held back her tears as she cried out urgently, ¡°Rhodes! Go! Leave me! I¡¯ve been scratched. It¡¯s only a matter of time before I turn into one of them!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Rhodes said vehemently despite being terrified when he saw the wounds on Julie¡¯s leg.


    Leave Julie behind and give up on her? No, this thought did not even cross his mind. Otherwise, he would not have turned back when he was so close to escaping earlier.


    Julie¡¯s injury seemed to burn away the last of Rhodes¡¯ sanity. He continued his frenzied attacks until he broke the zombie¡¯s neck. With that, the zombie¡¯s grip on Julie¡¯s leg finally loosened.


    However, no one expected that the zombie whose neck had been broken by Rhodes was still¡­ undead. When Rhodes let his guard down, the zombie opened its mouth and chomped down on Rhodes¡¯ leg.


    At that moment, Rhodes felt a pain he had never felt before. He could only describe it as soul-wrenching.

 Chapter 2

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The zombie¡¯s teeth weren¡¯t sharp; they retained their human teeth.


    When the zombie bit Rhodes¡¯ leg, it tore off a chunk of flesh that was the size of a palm. His bones and muscles were clearly visible. Blood immediately gushed out like a flowing river. It was a gruesome sight.


    Rhodes was afraid of worrying Julie so he gritted his teeth and endured the pain, refusing to make a sound. However, the pain was too intense. His face paled immediately, and beads of sweat began to drip from his forehead.


    Rhodes inhaled deeply to suppress the pain before he freed himself from the zombie.


    Both of them ran out of the university before quickly entering a small apartment near the university. When they found an unlocked apartment, both of them went in warily, making sure there was no zombie in there. After confirming there were no zombies, they began to move heavy furniture and placed them against the door.


    Now that they confirmed they were safe for the time being, Rhodes walked to the innermost bedroom.


    Julie who was walking behind him saw the pool of blood on the floor that Rhodes left in his wake. She asked anxiously, ¡°Rhodes, what happened? Did you get hurt?¡±


    Rhodes was taken aback when he heard her question. He turned around and mustered up a smile as he said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, he fainted immediately.


    ¡­


    When Rhodes finally regained consciousness, he discovered he was lying on the bed next to Julie. At this moment, he could see the anxious expression on her face as she wiped his forehead with a damp cloth.


    When she saw Rhodes had finally woken up, she began to tear up from happiness and relief. She hurriedly asked, ¡°Rhodes, you¡¯re finally awake! How do you feel? Are you okay?¡±


    Rhodes forced a smile on his face and asked, ¡°How long was I unconscious?¡±


    ¡°Half an hour,¡± Julie replied, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. If I didn¡¯t drag you down, how could you be bitten by the zombie?¡± As she spoke, she could not help but cry again.


    ¡°Silly,¡± Rhodes said lightheartedly with a faint smile on his face, ¡°I¡¯m the only one you have. If I don¡¯t save you, I won¡¯t be able to rest in peace for the rest of my life.¡±


    ¡°Rhodes¡­¡± Julie knew he was trying to console her. Nonetheless, she was still moved. She lay on his body and cried bitterly.


    ¡°You were scratched by the zombie, right?¡± Rhodes said with a sigh, ¡°Well, at least, with this, we won¡¯t be separated.¡±


    Julie nodded. Tears streamed down her face as she smiled. In her opinion, this was not a bad thing. If Rhodes was going to die, then, she did not want to live as well. However, she had one regret. Due to their families, they did not do much and only held hands and such. What a pity. With this thought in mind, her face flushed red immediately.


    When she looked at Rhodes again, she could see he was getting paler and paler. She knew he did not have much time left. With a sense of urgency, she pressed her lips against Rhodes¡¯ lips.


    Rhodes, who felt as though he only had half a breath left in him, shivered when he felt Julie¡¯s lips on his lips. He was taken aback but did not refuse her. In fact, he enjoyed the feeling. At this moment, he felt a slight pang of regret. Such a wonderful feeling would only last for a fleeting time.


    If he could turn back time, he would not be so passive. During freshman year, no, as soon as he met Julie, he would confess to her immediately. At this moment, he realized they had missed out on too many things. They had a beautiful love, but alas, it was a short one. He could not help but feel unwilling that it had to end so soon.


    A bitter smile appeared on Rhodes¡¯ face. It seemed like he had watched too many movies. Everyone hoped they would be like the main character of a movie, surviving disasters, like Alice. How ridiculous! As expected, fate was not in his hands. He knew he was going to die soon and become a zombie.


    He consoled himself inwardly and thought it might not completely be a bad thing. The world had already collapsed. Hopefully, the next time he opened his eyes again, everything would return to the beginning.


    As time ticked by, Rhodes grew weaker and weaker, and he could his consciousness slipping in and out. It was almost as though he could feel the emptiness as his soul left him. He was about to close his eyes, albeit unwillingly, when he heard a strange sound.


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations! You¡¯re lucky to have been bitten by a zombie. Vitality +1.¡±


    Upon hearing these words, Rhodes almost forgot the situation he was in.


    ¡®What the hell? Congratulations on being bitten by a zombie? Moreover, I¡¯m lucky to be bitten by a zombie? Is this person seeking death? Who was it who spoke? If you like it so much, why don¡¯t you get yourself bitten by a zombie instead, sicko!¡¯ A furious stream of thoughts appeared in Rhodes¡¯s mind instantly as soon as he heard those words.


    The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The images of a few people appeared in his mind at this moment. He was certain only these few people would be so despicable and sick! When he was alive, they would bully him. Now that he was dead, they mocked him. Once he turned into a zombie, he was going to kill them!


    Rhodes rose to his feet out of anger.


    ¡®Eh?¡¯ At this moment, he realized something was amiss. Was he not dead? Who could have spoken to him anyway? He looked around in surprise before he touched his face. Then, he pinched himself and confirmed he felt pain. ¡®Was I dreaming?¡¯


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations to the host for fulfilling the requirement to activate the system. Activating the Thug System. Activation completed!¡±


    Upon hearing the voice in his mind, Rhodes was overwhelmed with happiness.


    ¡®The system!!! The legendary system!!!¡±


    Everyone in this era was no stranger to systems if they liked reading fantasy novels about systems. Rhodes was one of those people. In fact, he had also published a few failed books about systems.


    He had countless dreams where he obtained a system that could change his terrible life. However, when he woke up, everything was gone.


    Who knew at the moment he thought he was going to die, the system would come to him at the final moment?


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Julie looked at Rhodes in stunned confusion. He did not seem to realize her presence. As she observed him, a flurry of questions appeared in her mind. ¡®Has he mutated? Why is it different from the movies? What should I do? Why is pinching himself? Why is he crying and then laughing? If this is a mutation¡­ it seems rather normal¡­ Maybe the strain of his mutation isn¡¯t bad¡­¡¯


    A smile of relief finally appeared on her face when she concluded that Rhodes¡¯ mutation must not be severe.


    At this moment, Rhodes finally turned to look at Julie, looking stunned as though he had just discovered her presence. When he saw his beautiful girlfriend in front of him, he grew even happier. He laughed heartily and said excitedly, ¡°Julie, Julie, look! I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine! I¡¯m really fine!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Julie was stunned and confused. After a while, she asked, ¡°So are you dead or alive?¡±


    ¡°Julie, how can you ask such a question?¡± Rhodes asked sulkily, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m alive. If you don¡¯t believe me, touch my skin. It¡¯s warm.¡±


    Julie tentatively reached out and touched Rhode¡¯s face. Sure enough, he was warm. ¡°How¡­¡± She was about to speak when she suddenly felt dizzy and almost fell to the ground.


    Rhodes hurriedly held Julie and sat her down on the bed. When he pulled her pants up, he saw the scratches from the zombie. Currently, the scratches had turned blue, and thick white pus was flowing out of the wounds. Moreover, the blue scratches seemed alive like moving veins, and they were beginning to spread in all directions. It was obvious that she was about to mutate and become a zombie.


    As though he just recalled something, he quickly looked at his leg. His wound was even more serious compared to Julie¡¯s. Logically speaking, he should be dead. Why was he fine? Then, he recalled the system notification he received earlier before it was activated.

 Chapter 3

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Rhodes recalled that before the system was officially activated, it had said he had gained +1 Vitality after being bitten by a zombie. Realization dawned on him at this moment. Now that he made a point of checking his body, he could feel his body was stronger than before. Did he survive because of the +1 Vitality? If that was the case, how could he continue to increase the points? Zombies?


    ¡®Wait¡­ A zombie?¡¯ Rhodes instinctively turned to look at Julie.


    Julie had been scratched by a zombie. At this time, strictly speaking, she was already a half-zombie.


    ¡®Did she bite me earlier? Is that how I gained the point?¡¯ He thought this theory was ridiculous. It was even more ridiculous than a Jim Carrey movie.


    Then, he called out to the system in his mind. Alas, the aloof system ignored him.


    ¡®Fine. For now, we¡¯ll go with that theory,¡¯ Rhodes thought to himself, ¡®But what about Julie? She doesn¡¯t have a system so¡­¡¯ He felt uneasy when he thought about this. Despite having a system and regaining his life, he could not save her. After all, how could his vitality points eradicate the mutation in Julie¡¯s body when it could not complete eradicate the poison in his body. The crisis was not over!


    Rhodes fell deep into thoughts. He knew he could not die now that he had the system. As long as he did not die, he would have the chance to find a way to save Julie.


    After thinking things through, he looked at Julie and calmly said, ¡°Julie, there¡¯s something I need to tell you. Don¡¯t panic, and just listen to me.¡±


    Julie nodded blankly.


    ¡°God has answered my prayer. I know, I know, you must think it¡¯s ridiculous. However, you saw me coming back to life! That¡¯s the best proof,¡± Rhodes said slowly, ¡°Think about this carefully¡­ When I lost consciousness, did you bite me?¡±


    Upon hearing Rhodes¡¯ words, Julie was stunned. Then, her face flushed red immediately.


    Looking at Julie¡¯s leg, Rhodes knew there was not much time left until she could no longer answer him. He had to figure out how to increase the points. What was the trigger? He said solemnly as he grabbed her shoulders, ¡°Look at me, Julie. Look at me. I¡¯m not joking with you. Tell me, when I lost consciousness, did you bite me?¡±


    Julie could tell Rhodes was serious so she suppressed her embarrassment and said, ¡°I did. I bit your lips.¡± Her voice grew softer than that of a mosquito at the end of her words.


    Fortunately, the system had granted Rhodes with +1 Vitality. Otherwise, he would not be here.


    After hearing Julie¡¯s words, Rhodes came to the conclusion that the trigger had something to do with a zombie¡¯s bite. With this in mind, he said to her, ¡°Come here. Try and do it again.¡±


    After he finished speaking, he did not wait for her response before he pressed his lips against her lips. In just a flash, the pleasurable feeling of being connected by the souls appeared again. This made him involuntarily groan in pleasure. However, he quickly reined himself back; this was not the time to be enjoying this. Julie was about to turn. He urged her again to bite him.


    Julie blinked before she gently bit Rhodes¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, host. You¡¯re lucky to be bitten by a zombie. Strength +1.¡±


    Similar to earlier, the system sounded aloof and cold.


    Rhodes did not have time to complain about the system. As soon as the system finished speaking, he could keenly feel the immediate changes in his body. His strength had increased, and his muscles seemed to have grown stronger. Moreover, the leftover poison in his body seemed to be suppressed and was spreading at a much slower rate.


    Now that he had confirmed the trigger, he hurriedly said, ¡°Julie, continue. My condition has improved. You¡¯re my Lady Luck!¡±


    Julie did not doubt Rhodes¡¯ words; she knew he was not joking. Therefore, she continued to bite him.


    If someone were here to witness this scene, they would definitely be shocked by the sight of a woman repeatedly biting a man¡¯s lips. It would definitely look like a joke.


    He could sense the changes in his body as the system¡¯s notifications rang in his mind. He immersed himself in the feeling of his body improving and Julie¡¯s lips against him. He truly did not mind using such a shameful method to increase his attributes,


    Now that he had the strength, if anyone dared to laugh at him, he would not hesitate to hit them with a rod and teach them about manners.


    ¡°Ding~ Congratulations, you¡¯re lucky to be bitten by a zombie. Vitality +1¡±


    ¡°Ding~ Congratulations, you¡¯re lucky to be bitten by a zombie. Strength +1¡±


    ¡°Ding~ Congratulations, you¡¯re lucky to be bitten by a zombie. Strength +1¡±


    ¡°Ding~ Congratulations, you¡¯re lucky to be bitten by a zombie. Spirit +1¡±


    ¡°Ding~ Congratulations, you¡¯re lucky enough to be bitten by a zombie. All attributes +1¡±


    Rhodes¡¯ attributes were still increasing rapidly. However, he could feel that Julie¡¯s life force was weakening; she was reaching her limit.


    At this moment, as Julie¡¯s life force dissipated, the increase in his attributes began to slow down.


    When Rhodes¡¯ attributes finally stopped increasing, he knew it was time to say goodbye. Thus, he gently pushed Julie away.


    At this moment, her face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Beads of sweat were dripping down her face.


    Rhodes lifted Julie¡¯s pants again. The place where she had been scratched had turned completely blue. Pus and blood that carried a rotten and fishy stench were constantly oozing out as well.


    Rhodes looked Julie in the eye and said determinedly, ¡°Julie, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely save you!¡±


    Julie forced a smile on her face as she looked at the man whom she loved with all her heart. His words might sound impossible, but she was willing to believe him. Regardless of what became of her, she was satisfied to see he was alive and well. Perhaps, this was God answering her prayer as well.


    Finally, Julie used the last of her strength to raise her right hand in an attempt to touch Rhodes¡¯ face. However, at this point, she was so greatly weakened that her hand fell as soon as she tried to lift them up.


    ¡°No, Julie!¡± Rhodes was heartbroken. He was unwilling to accept this outcome. He felt sadness and debilitating despair coursing through his entire body. For a moment, he wanted to turn into a zombie as well to accompany Julie. However, with the system he had gained, he knew it was impossible.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright¡­ You¡­.¡± Julie opened her pale lips, but she could not finish her words.


    However, Rhodes knew she wanted to tell him to live well. At this moment, he wailed and cried, and raged like he never did before. ¡°No, no, no! Julie! There¡¯s no meaning to life without you!¡±


    However, such was life. At this moment, although Rhodes had received a life-saving system, he still could not save her life.


    At this moment, Julie finally took her last breath. Her strength and life seemed to leave her body all at once as she fell back weakly. However, at the final moment before her death, there was no pain on her face. Instead, an expression of relief could be seen on her face.

 Chapter 4

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°No, Julie!¡± Rhodes roared as he fiercely hugged Julie to him when he sensed life completely leaving her body. It was as though by hugging her tightly, he could prevent her soul from leaving.


    Rhodes was still deep in sorrow and despair when the door of the apartment began to shake violently. He turned around instinctively to look at the door. It seemed like someone, or something, was outside the door. With such strong and violent movements, it was definitely not human.


    His face paled immediately. Just a moment ago, he was still an ordinary student, relatively sheltered from the dangers of the world. Now, he was thrust into a world that was even more terrifying.


    Meanwhile, Rhodes suddenly felt Julie twitching in his arms. For just a fleeting moment, he felt joy before despair weighed him down again. He knew it was impossible for her to come back to life; her mutation had begun.


    Rhodes¡¯ mind was blank at this moment. What should he do?


    Julie began to convulse even more violently in his arms now. It was as though she was a kitten that had been caught and was struggling to free itself.


    Rhodes hugged her even tighter than before, unwilling to let go. He closed his eyes, unwilling to see her rotting appearance. At this moment, he still wanted to hold on to Julie¡¯s bright smile.


    The poison in Julie¡¯s body had been in there for so long that it was a miracle she had lasted so long. Therefore, it did not take long before she rose again as something else.


    Her originally slender and frail body was incredibly strong at this moment. If it were not for Rhode¡¯s increased strength, he would not have been a match for her.


    At this moment, the door was shaking even more violently than before and the noise had turned louder. It was as though there were many hands knocking, pushing, slamming, and smashing at the door.


    When Rhodes looked at the door again, he knew the door would give way under the zombies¡¯ strength in less than ten minutes. No matter how he thought about it, there was no way for him to win.


    In the end, he inhaled deeply before he resolutely let Julie go. However, as soon as he let her go, she bit him without any hesitation.


    Rhodes was prepared for this, but for someone who had never even been in a real fight, he panicked. He tried to roll out of bed but Julie clearly had no plans of letting him go.


    She lunged at him, not caring about anything else. However, she had barely moved before she fell down, tangled up in the blanket. She could not move her lower body at all. She could only bare her teeth and swing her claws around to intimidate Rhodes.


    Now that Julie was under control, he heaved a sigh of relief. He was no longer as nervous as before. He stood up and called up the system to check his attributes.


    Host: Rhodes.


    Age: 22.


    Strength: 30 (original 11)


    Speed: 30 (Original 8)


    Vitality: 30 (original 15)


    Spirit: 30 (Original 13)


    After looking at the system interface, Rhodes discovered his four attributes had increased, at least, two times in such a short time.


    He clenched his fists and felt the abundance of strength his body contained. In the past, he struggled to lift a 100-pound weight. However, currently, he felt as though he could easily lift a 200-pound weight. Moreover, he could sense he was more agile and faster as well. It seemed like he would be able to put some of the boxing moves he learned in school to good use now.


    At this moment, he tried moving around. Sure enough, his speed was incredibly fast. He even produced a sound wave when he moved.


    As he familiarized himself with his newfound strength, Julie broke free and grabbed his hand.


    This time, Rhodes did not panic and easily freed himself from her grip. Then, he sidestepped her and picked up a pillow before smashing it against her head. With just the pillow, he sent her flying with a bang against the wall.


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Rhodes cursed as he panicked and rushed forward to check Julie¡¯s injuries.


    Fortunately, she had already mutated, and the pillow was hardly lethal.


    At this moment, she shook her head as she rose to her feet before charging toward Rhodes.


    Rhodes felt relieved when he saw she was unharmed. Then, he grabbed the blanket before twisting them into a rope and rushed toward Julie.


    At the moment they were about to collide, Rhodes lowered his body and wrapped the twisted blanket around Julie¡¯s waist. Then, he quickly grabbed her hands and bound them.


    However, Julie did not stop struggling. She kept struggling, snapping, and snarling, trying to bite him.


    In the end, he lifted her up at the waist and placed her face down on the bed before grabbing her legs and tying them with the bedsheet.


    Finally, he managed to get Julie under control. Apart from twisting her body in an attempt to free herself, she was mostly immobile.


    After subduing Julie, before Rhodes could even take a breath, the door finally gave way with a bang.


    Rhodes was shocked when he looked over. There was a hole almost as big as the door on the door, and all the furniture had been pushed aside. He could not see how many zombies there were, but the ones he could see were growling at him ferociously.


    ¡°This is bad!¡± Rhodes felt the weight of the danger pressing down on him at this moment. Just dealing with Julie alone had not been easy. If so many of them swarmed into the apartment, he would definitely die.


    With death looming over his head at this moment, Rhodes braced himself before he charged out.


    The zombies at the door grew agitated and excited when they saw a living person.


    Rhodes felt goosebumps rise on his skin as he drew closer to them. He had no idea what these zombies experienced while they were human. Their bodies were mutilated in every way possible. Some of them were missing mouths, revealing only rows of bloodied teeth. Some even lost their lower jaws. Some had no arms and legs. However, all these impediments did not stop them from determinedly making their way to him. If it were not for the fact there was no way out, he would have run away in fear. Moreover, Julie was behind him; he could not run. Therefore, he could only muster up his courage and charge at the horde of zombies.


    As he advanced, he grabbed an overturned stool and used all his strength to smash it on a zombie¡¯s head. With his boosted strength and speed, the stool became a lethal weapon in his hands.


    The zombie¡¯s head exploded, and brain matter splattered everywhere. It was a gruesome sight.


    Rhodes, who was caught off guard, was splattered by the brain matter as well. When he smelled the stench from it, he could not help but throw up. He retched a few times before he finally recovered.


    Despite that, he felt good. This was his first time feeling pure strength coursing through his body. To destroy and smash everything with his strength; it felt like one of men¡¯s darkest and most primitive desires. This feeling brought him to a strange state of twisted pleasure at this moment. All his fear had been swept away now. He was brimming with fighting spirit, and his eyes were flashing with killing intent; his hands and feet were eager to move.

 Chapter 5

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Rhodes had felt repressed for far too long. He had been bullied in school, but he did not dare to fight back because he was weak. Apart from that, there were little things in life that he had to constantly endure as well. On top of that, he just watched Julie died, helpless to do anything as always.


    At this moment, the boost from the system seemed to have unlocked a gate that unleashed his most primitive instinct as a man. During ancient times, men in the wild plunder and destroy to survive. However, as civilizations developed, men had lost this basic instinct.


    Now that the world had come to an end, the shackles of morality that held everyone in check had disappeared.


    At this moment, a peculiar smile appeared on Rhodes¡¯ face. He threw away the stool that was covered in brain matter and picked up a baseball bat. At the same time, he grabbed a zombie that was trying to pounce on him with ease. He gripped its neck tightly before slamming it on the floor.


    The zombie looked stunned, seemingly forgetting about its instincts. It lay on the ground like a corpse instead.


    However, Rhodes did not spare the zombie. He swung the baseball bat with all his might against the zombie¡¯s head.


    A soft sound rang in the air as the zombie¡¯s decapitated head flew against a wall. The entire room was now painted with white pus and blood. The stench was unbearable.


    The room was now like a demon¡¯s slaughterhouse.


    When the zombies smelled the blood in the air, they became even more violent and agitated.


    Rhodes swung the baseball bat again and killed a zombie. In the end, the baseball bat could no longer endure and finally broke.


    Rhodes was not bothered. He threw the bloodied bat aside. Then, he flipped the cabinet next to him and picked it before throwing them at three or four zombies that had just charged in.


    The zombies struggled and twisted in a frenzy under the weight of the cabinet.


    Rhodes did not give them a chance to escape. He leaped up and stomped on them without holding back. The zombies struggled and growled for a moment before they fell still and silent.


    Currently, the number of zombies at the door had decreased. There were only three or four of them left.


    Rhodes was more than ready to kill again, but he did not have any suitable weapon. He had no choice but to retreat to the bedroom door.


    With this, the three to four zombies charged in fearlessly. They spread out and surrounded Rhodes.


    Rhodes felt the pressure mounting. It was difficult for a pair of fists to fight four pairs of fists. Moreover, these were zombies, not humans.


    He did not let his strength get to his head or become stupidly arrogant.


    He grabbed the Sony 45-inch television next to him and threw it at the zombies, successfully retreating. However, before these zombies were completely dealt with, other zombies were approaching.


    Rhodes had to retreat again. He threw whatever he could grab: a keyboard, a remote control, a mop, a broom, a basin, and a pot.


    Two lucky zombies were hit on the head by the objects Rhodes threw. Miraculously, they fell to the ground and did not get up again.


    The two surviving zombies remained fearless. Whenever they saw an opening, they would try to lunge at Rhodes.


    At this time, Rhodes was hit by a wave of dizziness and was caught by one of the zombies.


    The zombie revealed its red teeth that emitted a fishy smell as its mouth drew closer to Rhode¡¯s eyes.


    Rhodes decisively bit his tongue to clear his mind. Then, he swiftly grabbed the zombie¡¯s head with his left hand before punching the zombie¡¯s head with his right hand. His terrifying punch immediately cracked the zombie¡¯s head open like a watermelon.


    Regardless, he was not having an easy time. After all, the head was harder than the fist. Although his strength had increased significantly, his body was still human! He might have cracked the zombie¡¯s head open, but his finger was fractured as a result. However, at this moment, he did not feel the pain. Or to be precise, he did not have the luxury nor the time to feel the pain.


    After all, at this moment, there was still one zombie left


    At this moment, Rhodes felt like he could no longer fight. Therefore, he could only retreat into the bedroom. When he saw the tied-up Julie, he felt lucky he had subdued her in advance. Otherwise, he would be attacked from both the front and the back.


    The remaining zombie persistently followed Rhodes into the bedroom. Its mouth was open, ready to bite down on Rhodes¡¯ arm.


    Fortunately, it only took Rhodes a short time to recover.


    He picked up the vase from the bedroom and smashed it on the zombie¡¯s head. However, this time, the zombie¡¯s head did not explode nor crack open.


    Rhodes was slightly surprised by this. ¡®Did my strength decrease?¡¯


    He had no time to dwell on the matter since the zombie had risen up to pounce on him again.


    Rhodes could only attack again. This time, he broke a broom and turned it into a long stake. Then, he aimed it at the zombie¡¯s head before thrusting it forward.


    When the stake pierced the zombie¡¯s eye, a soft ¡®pop¡¯ rang in the air, as yellow liquid burst out of the zombie¡¯s eye.


    Rhodes did not stop and continued to push the stake deeper into the zombie¡¯s head. However, before it could pierce through the other side of the head, it was met with resistance. He tried pushing the stake in again, but he could not move it at all.


    At this moment, the zombie looked incredibly wretched, but it was still alive and kicking. Its movements were not affected at all.


    Seeing as the zombie was about to pounce on him again, Rhodes loosened his hold on the stake. He was slightly shocked. It seemed like this zombie was different from the previous ones. It seemed much stronger and faster. The other zombies¡¯ heads had exploded easily; this zombie was clearly different. He could not even push the stake completely into its head.


    Left with no other choice, Rhodes could only grab the stake stuck in the zombie¡¯s eye as the zombie charged toward him. A searing pain spread from his fingers to his heart as soon as he grabbed the stake, and he quickly released his grip. He had forgotten that he had broken his right hand as well.


    Now that it was presented with another opening, the zombie charged over again at an even faster speed.


    When drew close enough, Rhodes kicked it away.


    However, the zombie only shook its head before it rose to its feet and charged toward Rhodes again.


    ¡°D*mn it! This is too much!¡± At this moment, Rhodes seemed to have run out of adrenaline that kept him going, and he had also seemingly woken up from his berserk state.


    Faced with such a shameless zombie, he could not help but feel his head ached.


    ¡®I thought I¡¯m the only one with cheats. I didn¡¯t expect this guy has cheats as well. This is ridiculous!¡¯


    When the zombie charged at him again, Rhodes grabbed the stake again as he kicked the zombie again.


    The poor zombie was like a sandbag. Before it could react, it was kicked out again! If it retained its intelligence, it would have called Rhodes a b*stard. If it could think, it would probably be thinking, ¡®You think you¡¯re f*cking suffering? If I weren¡¯t stronger, I would¡¯ve died a more miserable death than the other zombies! It¡¯s fine if you¡¯re really powerful. But why don¡¯t you kill me? Does torturing me like this make you happy?¡¯


    Alas, zombies no longer have any intelligence or humanity left in them. They were only left with very basic instincts. No matter how much damage they suffered, they would move, driven by their basic instinct to eat.

 Chapter 6

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Rhodes felt his head aching when he saw the zombie was unaffected. The battle had dragged on for too long. Fortunately, there was only one zombie now. If there were another one, he probably would not be able to defend himself from being attacked from two sides.


    If more zombies appeared, he would be exhausted to death sooner or later!


    After all, there were more than 10 million people in New York.


    Rhodes did not dare to be careless. After kicking the zombie again, he hurriedly searched for something useful in the bedroom.


    He opened the wardrobe; there was nothing!


    He looked under the bed; there was nothing!


    When he finally opened the cabinet under the television, his eyes lit up!


    He found a knife wrapped in canvas lying in the cabinet drawer. The knife was not big; it was only about the length of his forearm, and its width was about the size of his palm.


    He picked up the knife excitedly and tentatively touched its blade with his fingers. Then, his excitement was instantly reduced by half! The knife was blunt!


    At this moment, the zombie pounced on him again.


    He shook his head as he thought to himself, ¡®If it¡¯s blunt, then I¡¯ll just use it like a brick.¡¯


    With this thought in mind, he raised the knife up high before smashing it down on the zombie¡¯s arm.


    A muffled sound rang in the air when Rhodes broke the zombie¡¯s arm.


    Alas, the zombie¡¯s momentum did not decrease. It used its remaining hand and aimed for Rhodes¡¯ heart.


    Rhodes did not dare to be careless. He rolled on the ground and slipped behind the zombie.


    The zombie was stunned. Where did the human go? It searched around in confusion.


    While the zombie was looking around in confusion, Rhodes definitely would not show it mercy. ¡®I¡¯ll kill you when you¡¯re unaware!¡¯


    Rhodes raised the knife in his hand and cut the zombie¡¯s neck. Unfortunately, the knife was no different from a straw. It did not cause any damage at all. On the contrary, the rebound almost made him lose his grip.


    Roar!


    The zombie spun around and roared angrily as it tried to grab Rhodes with one hand.


    Rhodes slapped away the zombie¡¯s hand before he raised the knife again and smashed it on the zombie¡¯s head.


    This time, the blunt knife showed that it still had a little use.


    A half-a-finger deep gash could be seen on the zombie¡¯s head. It seemed like this attack affected it since its movement began to slow down.


    Upon seeing this, Rhodes was overjoyed. While the zombie seemed to be in a daze, he kicked it away again. Then, he rushed forward, raising the knife in his hand before he attacked the zombie in a frenzy.


    In just one second, Rhodes managed to land three or four cuts on the existing wound on the zombie¡¯s head. The gash became bigger and bigger; the brain matter began to slowly flow out of the huge gash.


    At this moment, the zombie was already on the ground. However, its body was still twitching.


    Rhodes knew it would not do to underestimate this zombie so he did not stop and continued his frenzied attacks on the zombie.


    Poor zombie. If it was conscious, it would have gone crazy. Its head was almost cleaved into two by Rhodes.


    During Rhode¡¯s final strike, he used all his strength as he brought the knife down on the zombie¡¯s head. With a crack, the zombie¡¯s head fell off; its face turned to the side.


    The zombie was finally dead.


    Rhodes let out a long sigh of relief. He slumped down and sat across the zombie, exhausted.


    He had spent the same amount of energy to kill the first five or six zombies just to kill that last zombie.


    He was still gasping for air when he suddenly heard a noise behind him. A bitter smile appeared on his face immediately. He was completely exhausted. His fingers were numbed, and he could hardly move them. Moreover, he had broken his arm. If more zombies appeared, he would be in danger.


    Rhodes turned back to have a look. He saw Julie, who was tied up, twisting and trying to crawl toward the zombie he had just killed.


    At this moment, the expression on her face was one of greed as she looked at the zombie¡¯s decapitated head.


    Rhodes could not help frown upon seeing this. When he killed the other zombies, Julie did not react this way. She did not react to the brain matters or heads of the other zombies. How strange! He also wondered if it had anything to do with him that Julie gained an appetite for zombie flesh? However, he dismissed the idea when he saw Julie ignoring the zombie¡¯s severed arm.


    In the end, Rhodes took a deep breath to muster up a little strength and forced himself to stand up. Then, he lifted Julie who had already gotten her hands on the zombie¡¯s head.


    Thud!


    A soft thud rang in the air as soon as Rhodes lifted Julie up. It sounded like something small had fallen on the ground.


    Rhodes put Julie down and held her with one hand as he pushed the zombie¡¯s severed arm and decapitated head aside. He saw something resembling a rock that was covered in brain matter.


    No, wait.


    Rhodes looked at the object carefully. It seemed to be a¡­ diamond?


    Julie grew even more agitated and excited when she saw the diamond.


    ¡®Is this thing attractive to zombies?¡¯ he wondered inwardly. Then, he picked it up and wiped it on the bed, revealing a dark and irregular-shaped stone.


    Rhodes was still trying to figure out what it was when the system¡¯s voice suddenly rang in his mind.


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully found a low-level energy crystal.¡±


    Rhodes was slightly startled by the system¡¯s voice. He complained inwardly, ¡®So the system is still alive!¡¯


    After that, he asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s a low-level energy crystal?¡±


    ¡°A low-level energy crystal is an unknown energy crystal. Zombies with energy crystals are stronger and faster compared to ordinary zombies. By consuming energy crystals, zombies can gain experience and level up.¡±


    Upon hearing the system¡¯s explanation, Rhodes could not help but feel excited. ¡®It can help zombies level up? No wonder Julie reacted to it so strongly!¡¯


    After a moment, Rhodes could not help but wonder if energy crystals were useful to humans. If he consumed it, would he become a high-level god like in online games?


    After mulling over it for a while, he decided against consuming it. After all, it was clearly the zombie¡¯s essence. If he ate it, who knew if the system would be able to save him?


    Rhodes looked at the low-level energy crystal in his hand before he shifted his gaze to Julie who was getting more and more agitated.


    In the end, he dismissed the thought of giving the energy crystal to her. Now was not the right time. If Julie ate the energy crystal, she would grow stronger, and it would not be difficult for her to break free of her restraints. With his current strength, there would be nothing he could do about it. Therefore, if he was going to give her the low-level energy crystal, he would have to improve his strength first. Now that he had made up his mind, he put the low-level crystal away.


    After that, he forced his exhausted body to move and drag all the dead zombies out of the apartment. The zombies were corpses, after all. With so many corpses in the room, put aside the stench, who knew if he could catch some disease as the corpses decayed? Moreover, he really could not get used to the appearances of zombies and corpses. They were too gory and gruesome.


    Due to Rhodes¡¯ sudden increase in strength, he could not control the strength of his attack very well. All his attacks were aimed at the zombies¡¯ heads. With this, the already mangled zombies looked even more wretched with their heads smashed in or completely missing.

 Chapter 7

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After dealing with the zombies in the apartment and closing the door, Rhodes tightened the rope around his zombie girlfriend, Julie. Once he made sure Julie would not be able to break free, he took out a spare blanket from the wardrobe in the bedroom before closing the bedroom door. This way, if Julie broke free, he would be alerted and would have time to react.


    Finally, Rhodes looked at his body. Due to the commotion earlier, he neither had the time nor the luxury to pay attention to it. He discovered his body was covered with white substance, blood, and brain matter. The stench from his body was ten times more disgusting than a garbage truck. Now that he smelled the stench, he could not help but retch.


    He quickly went to the bathroom to wash himself. After that, he did not leave the bathroom but slept in the bathtub instead.


    ¡­


    Early the next morning.


    Rhodes was woken up by an angry roar. He startled awake and rushed out of the bathroom to look at the bedroom door. He discovered the sound did not come from the bedroom.


    Then, he checked the door and windows and found no sign of further damage.


    After making sure it was safe, he opened the bedroom door and found Julie still tied up.


    How strange! Where did that sound come from?


    He surveyed the apartment warily. If he was not mistaken, the sound had come from the house. However, all of the zombies had been cleared out of the house yesterday¡­


    He suddenly thought of a possibility. Could it be that?


    This was New York City. The price of a house was exorbitantly high. Now that he thought about it, it was strange for an apartment in such a good location to be empty. Moreover, it was a duplex. When he had first entered the house, he noticed there was no dust, and the electrical appliances were working well and seemed to be frequently used. This meant the house had an occupant or occupants. In that case, where is he or she or they?


    With this thought in mind, he could not help but feel a surge of fear. To think he was sleeping defenseless in this place. How terrifying!


    Now that there was a possibility of a threat in the house, he began to feel uneasy. He picked up the blunt knife he had kept with him in the bathtub.


    Since he was constantly in danger yesterday, he had no time and had forgotten to check the second story of the apartment. If there were still people or zombies in the apartment, they had to be upstairs.


    Rhodes climbed up the wooden stairs as silently as he could, but the creaking noises resonated loudly in the empty house. Normally, nobody would pay attention to the creaking noises of stairs, but at this time, it sounded incredibly eerie.


    After a while, he finally arrived upstairs. The space upstairs was smaller. There were three rooms, and the doors were closed.


    Based on the decorations and ornaments on the doors, he speculated the rooms must be guest rooms and a child¡¯s rooms.


    The certainty of whatever it was that made that sound was in one of the rooms grew stronger and stronger.


    Rhodes instinctively raised the knife in his hand as he slowly walked toward one of the rooms he assumed to be the guest room. He stopped at the door and put his ears against it, listening for movements. After confirming there were no movements in there, he slowly opened the door. He did not find anyone there. He only noted that the picture on the wall was crooked. After determining the threat was not in this room, he slowly backed out of the room.


    He made his way to the second guest room. Similar to the first time, he made sure there were no movements in there before opening the door. The layout of the room was similar to the one before. However, there were a few holes in the wall of this room. He rummaged through the wardrobe and cabinets and found a few solid iron marbles. He kept them and left after finding nothing of value.


    Finally, he made his way to the child¡¯s room. The door was painted pink, and stickers of cute cartoon characters were stuck on the door. Ordinarily, he would find this cozy and warm, but he could not help but shiver at this moment. Who knew what lay behind the door? The unknown was the most frightening, after all. For a brief moment, he was overcome with the urge to turn tail and run. It was too terrifying!


    After a while, he forcibly suppressed the rising panic and fear in his heart. In the meantime, it was best to stay in this apartment. He could not recklessly venture out without a plan; it would likely get him killed if he did that. Moreover, Julie was here. Therefore, he steeled himself to check for threats in this room despite his reluctance.


    Similar to earlier, he pressed his ear against the door. Initially, he could not hear anything. He was about to pull away, somewhat relieved, when he heard noises in the room. It sounded like the creaking sound of the wardrobe door being opened.


    Rhodes felt as though his heart was going to jump out of his chest. He stilled his movement and continued to listen. After a while, there was no more sound so he decided to open the door.


    He squatted on the group as he slowly opened the door. He did not open it all the way; it was just slightly open. However, it was enough for him to have a quick look at the room.


    As expected, it was a child¡¯s room.


    It was obvious something had happened here. The books on the shelves were scattered messily on the ground. The bed was in a mess. The lamp and toys on the desk had clearly been swept to the floor. The floor was littered with all kinds of things.


    However, he did not see anyone in the room! Instead of feeling relieved, chills ran up his spine immediately. Then, he recalled the sound he heard earlier seemed to be the sound of the wardrobe opening or closing.


    He inhaled deeply and rose to his feet. He entered the room and cautiously approached the wardrobe. With swift movements, he opened the doors. To his surprise, he did not see anything. However, the wardrobe was rather big and dark so he moved closer to have a better look.


    At this moment, a head appeared in front of him, causing him to jump back in shock and fear.


    He retreated three to four meters back before he stopped moving and looked at the thing in the closet again.


    It was a zombie!


    He thanked God for his luck. He was only hair¡¯s breadth away from the zombie earlier. If the zombie had bitten him, he would not have been able to avoid it.


    Now that the zombie sensed the presence of a human, it became agitated and charged at Rhodes immediately.


    Although he felt slightly frightened, he advanced and slashed the zombie¡¯s neck. The zombie did not die and quickly skittered deep into the wardrobe.


    With the zombie no longer blocking the entrance of the wardrobe, he saw the scene in there. He gasped when he looked inside. ¡®What happened in here?¡¯


    The more than 20 square meters wardrobe that looked like a secret chamber was drenched in blood from the floor to the wall to the ceiling. There was a rifle on the ground, and visible scratches could be seen on the wall.


    With the sunlight streaming into the dark space, he saw a pair of small hands lying in a pool of coagulated blood and a woman slumped against the wall.


    With this, he had a vague idea how desperate the situation in here must have been before this.


    At this moment, the zombie rushed up to him. He was about to strike with his knife when he saw the tear stains on the zombie¡¯s face. There was also a fist-sized hole on its chest. He could not help but sigh heavily.


    With this, he managed to piece a vague picture of what had happened.


    When the outbreak of zombies happened, the family in the house must have taken refuge here. However, the male owner of the apartment must have been infected. When he showed signs of infection, to keep his family safe, he had shot himself in the heart. Alas, he did not know that zombies could not die unless their heads were heavily damaged. Once he had died, the mutation process would speed up since there was no more resistance from him. Therefore, he must have quickly risen back to life as a zombie and tore into the woman and the child before they could even escape.

 Chapter 8

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Rhodes felt as though he could feel the despair and reluctance of the family from being dealt with such a cruel fate lingering in the air. Sadly, they could not overcome the zombie virus despite how unwilling they were.


    Rhodes sighed heavily after piecing the picture together. What a pitiful family! He tried to console himself it was for the best. At least, the family would rest together for eternity here. After all, in this era of zombie apocalypse, let alone a single woman and a child, he did not even know how long he could survive even with a system.


    When he looked at the zombie blocking the entrance, he knew it was a special zombie, like the one he killed with great difficulty yesterday, as soon as he touched it.


    What rotten luck to encounter this kind of zombie! Although he would be able to obtain an energy crystal from it, it would take a lot of effort just to kill it. Nevertheless, it was not like he had a choice. He had to kill it no matter what. For one, he could not leave a threat such as this undealt with. Second, he felt sorry for it. It had gone through indescribable pain while it was human. Rather than let it exist in such a wretched state, it was better to put an end to its existence.


    However, Rhodes was not in a hurry. The zombie had been temporarily incapacitated by him. He took his time to search the room. At the corner near the door, he found a crowbar. There was also some cash and bread. He threw the cash away but picked up the bread and began to eat it. He swore it was the most delicious bread he had ever eaten. No, it was the most delicious food he had ever eaten in his entire life!


    After Rhodes finished eating, he discovered the bread barely managed to satiate his hunger. He stretched his limbs and felt the strength of his body. He discovered his broken arm and fractured finger from yesterday¡¯s fight had completely healed. Apart from some superficial surface wounds, he was back to normal. Upon his discovery, he thought to himself, ¡®Wow, it seems like I have a little of Deadpool¡¯s abilities!¡¯


    Finally, he picked up the crowbar with his right hand and held the blunt knife in his right hand as he walked to the entrance of the wardrobe.


    The zombie roared when it saw Rhodes approaching.


    This time, Rhodes was not frightened by the zombie¡¯s killing intent. In fact, he even roared back at the zombie. When he drew close enough, he kicked the zombie¡¯s head, sending it flying against the wall.


    Thud!


    The zombie landed heavily against the wall.


    Rhodes seized the opening and quickly entered the wardrobe.


    At the same time, the zombie had recovered and charged toward Rhodes in a frenzy.


    Since he had already killed seven to eight ordinary zombies, he did not panic. He was slightly more experienced in dealing with them now, and this included special zombies.


    Rhodes let go of the blunt knife and brought the crowbar up with both hands before smashing it down with all his might on the zombie¡¯s head.


    Bang!


    The zombie was sent flying against the wall with a bang by Rhodes.


    Rhodes did not ease up. He rushed in front of the zombie and used all his strength again to smash the zombie¡¯s head again.


    The zombie seemed stunned.


    Rhodes did not stop. His hands were like rapidly moving windmills as he swung them around in a frenzy. He held the zombie against the wall and relentlessly punched it.


    It did not take long before cracks began to show up on the thin wall. With one final hit, the zombie was sent crashing out of the wall into the bedroom next door. It landed accurately on the bed.


    Rhodes picked up his blunt knife and swung his crowbar before he walked through the hole in the wall.


    At this moment, the zombie was in a stunned state. It seemed to have forgotten about its instinct to attack and devour. If it had retained its intelligence, it would have wondered what kind of human had this kind of terrifying strength. He couldn¡¯t imagine what had happened at all.


    Rhodes stood atop the rubble, looking like a god of war, as he looked down at the zombie on the bed.


    Truly, zombies were too horrible to look at. Their faces were deformed and disfigured. Some of them had no eyes or had eyes hanging out of their sockets. Their noses and lower jaws were gone.


    Rhodes felt disgusted just thinking about the grotesque appearances of all the zombies he had encountered.


    At this moment, the zombie seemed afraid as it looked at Rhodes standing atop the debris and rubble. It shrank back in fear.


    Rhodes remained indifferent. He knew zombies held emotions from when they were humans. After his experience yesterday, he had become more desensitized to them.


    He leaped to the bedside, grabbed the still stunned zombie, and began to use the blunt knife to hack at the zombie¡¯s face.


    The zombie struggled violently after receiving another critical hit.


    Rhodes did not stop. He continued hacking away until its face was just a bloody pulp.


    After five minutes, the zombie seemed to have given up on struggling, and Rhodes finally managed to sever its head from its neck with the blunt knife.


    Rhodes searched through the zombie¡¯s brain, and sure enough, he found a low-level energy crystal. He wiped it clean on the bed before putting it away in his pocket.


    After that, he threw the dead zombie back into the wardrobe that was like a secret room. That was the most suitable resting place for that zombie.


    Then, Rhodes decided to search the wardrobe. It seemed like the family had used this as a secret room. He found clean clothes for men and women. There was also drinking water. Most importantly, to Rhodes at least, he found a bottle of Coca-Cola. He could not help the excitement that bubbled up in him when he saw the bottle of soda.


    He wasted no time in twisting the cap open before pouring the soda into his mouth. He exclaimed in delight, ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± For a moment, he felt as though his fatigue had been swept away.


    Now that he was done exploring the second story of the duplex, he took the things he had found and made his way downstairs. It was high time he changed his clothing.


    As soon as arrived on the ground floor, he went to the bedroom to check on Julie. He felt a pang of disappointment and sorrow. He could not help imagining what it would be like if the human Julie were here. At the very least, he would not feel so alone, right?


    Rhodes shook his head, no longer indulging in his fantasy.


    The end of the world had arrived, and a terrifying life awaited the survivors. Zombies were not the only threats in these times. Humans could be terrifying as well. In a lawless world, it was only inevitable that some humans would show their ugly nature without any reservation.


    With these thoughts in mind, Rhodes made a promise to himself to be extremely cautious.


    Now that he had calmed down, he looked at Julie who was lying on the bed. The state she was in was unexpectedly good. Perhaps, it was because she had not been bitten or mauled by other zombies, and she had not eaten human flesh. The only differences were her face was pale, her eyes were lifeless, her body was stiff, and her movements were slightly jerky.


    After observing Julie, Rhodes heaved a sigh of relief. Up until then, he did not really dare to take a good look at Julie, for fear of ruining his memory of her. He counted himself lucky that she did not like the other zombies.


    He approached her and lifted the leg of her pants and looked at her wound. The place where she was scratched had completely rotted over, and it emitted a horrific smell. Apart from that, blue liquid seemed to flow through countless tiny blood vessels.

 Chapter 9

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Rhodes took out the rope he had found earlier and re-tied Julie¡¯s hands and feet before he gagged her with a towel. Then, he brought her to the bathroom.


    After yesterday¡¯s ordeal, Julie¡¯s body was dirty, and it reeked. Moreover, he had to clean or disinfect the wound on her leg even if he was not sure if it would help. However, he could not stay idle while he watched her leg drop off.


    Julie kept struggling in his arms. Even with her mouth gagged, she kept trying to bite him.


    Rhodes was not annoyed. Instead, he could not help but laugh. ¡°Julie, I bet you didn¡¯t expect us to end up like this, did you? If this were ordinary times, you would¡¯ve thought I¡¯m a pervert!¡±


    While Julie struggled, Rhodes continued talking, ¡°Do you still remember the first time we met? At that time, you were wearing a white dress and standing at the door. I just returned from school when I saw you at the door. Did you know it was love at first sight for me? In fact, after that, I dreamed about you every night. You were the female lead in every single one of my dreams. However, in my dreams, whenever you¡¯re about to accept my confession, I would always wake up.¡±


    It was a strange sight to behold: a man talking to himself while he held on tightly to a woman who was struggling violently.


    Maybe it was to console himself, but he took Julie¡¯s struggling as her response to his words. He envisioned that Julie was not truly dead, her soul was just trapped in a really strong prison. This was the only way she could respond to him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Julie. I¡¯ll definitely save you!¡± Rhodes said to her, but it was more like he was making a vow to himself.


    When they arrived in the bathroom, Rhodes turned on the tap, not forgetting to adjust the temperature, before submerging Julie in the water. Then, he picked up the scissors next to him and began to cut Julie¡¯s clothes away; as he did so, his fingers could not help but tremble.


    After all, this was his first time being so close to a woman¡¯s body. Moreover, this woman was the woman he loved, the woman of his dreams.


    When he reached the final cut, he hesitated briefly. His hand holding on to the scissors hovered in the air as he hesitated. In the end, he gritted his teeth and cut the last of her shirt away.


    He was stunned when he saw the top of her exposed breasts that were still contained in a bra. Without any warning, his lower body suddenly stiffened. He truly did not expect her to have such a full chest. Although she had turned into a zombie, her breasts still looked supple. When his fingers, intentionally or unintentionally, brushed past them, he discovered they were slightly cold to the touch, but they were incredibly soft.


    Rhodes felt wonderful. What a wonderful feeling! He had never felt anything like this before. He shivered slightly, immersed in the feeling. There was no doubt he was enjoying himself.


    After a moment, he seemed to regain his senses. Although no one was around, he could not help but feel ashamed of himself. He coughed to mask his awkward feeling and explained to Julie with a straight face, ¡°Uh, Julie, I didn¡¯t do that on purpose. You understand, right? I¡­ I¡¯m just trying to clean you. After all, you¡¯ve always been a stickler for cleanliness. Let¡¯s not fuss about the details¡­¡±


    As he spoke, he nodded to himself. He was certain Julie would understand and forgive him.


    He took a deep breath and tamped down the feeling of anticipation that rose in his heart. Then, he cut the bra apart, freeing Julie¡¯s supple and tender breasts.


    Rhodes gulped before he looked away from them. Then, he proceeded to cut her jeans apart. When he was done, he began to peel them away with trembling hands, revealing a cute and tiny pink panty.


    Rhodes choked and launched into a coughing fit. When he finally calmed down, he suppressed the restlessness that lingered in his heart before he proceeded to wash her clean and changed her clothes.


    Although he found the entire process a little too stimulating and erotic for him, it was not important. The important thing was he had helped Julie who had always been obsessed with hygiene to clean up. In the end, he found a bottle of perfume in the bathroom cabinet and even sprayed a little on her. Finally, he carried her back into the bedroom.


    Finally, it was time for Rhodes to take a bath. However, he felt a little awkward. Since earlier, the lower half of his body had stiffened and had not eased. It was¡­ it was too stiff! Fortunately, there was no one around. Otherwise, it would be even more awkward.


    After closing the bedroom door, he went to the bathroom. He still had not taken off his shirt when he heard a noise.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s coming!¡± Rhodes was certain of this. After the system had increased his attributes, his senses had grown two times more sensitive compared to before.


    He was about to rush out to the bedroom to carry Julie upstairs when the door to the apartment opened!


    Rhodes did not think it was wise to reveal himself so easily so he hid in the kitchen immediately. Then, he looked through a gap in the door.


    When the door opened, two people entered.


    Due to the backlight, Rhodes could not get a good look at them. Based on their figures, he could tell the figures belonged to a man and a woman.


    The man was quite tall, and he was carrying a big and bulging backpack.


    In contrast, the woman was very petite and followed behind the man timidly.


    As soon as he entered the apartment, the man immediately closed the door.


    With this, Rhodes finally had a good look at the two people. He exclaimed inwardly, ¡®It¡¯s them?!¡¯


    The man was Jeffrey. He was 6 feet 2 inches tall. Moreover, he loved exercising so his figure was good as well. It was not inferior to Captain America¡¯s figure at all.


    Rhodes knew the woman as well. Her name was Beth. Although she could not compare to Julie, she was still a beautiful woman. In fact, she was her class¡¯ beauty.


    Rhodes was slightly confused by these two people being together. After all, during the pre-apocalypse days, those two were from different worlds.


    Jeffrey had a great figure, but he was not very good-looking. Moreover, he had a very bad outbreak of acne on his face. He was not popular with the women in university at all, let alone someone as beautiful as Beth.


    Rhodes continued to observe the duo. It was obvious that Beth was very dependent on Jeffrey, and it was even more obvious that Jeffrey was enjoying it very much.


    Rhodes was shocked when he saw Jeffrey reaching into Beth¡¯s shirt and squeezed one of her breasts from time to time.


    A pained expression could be seen on Beth¡¯s face whenever Jeffrey took advantage of her, and yet, she chose to endure and remain silent.


    After entering the apartment, Jeffrey surveyed the layout of the apartment before he said in a low voice, ¡°It seems like no one¡¯s here, right?¡±


    Surprisingly Beth did not pander to Jeffrey and answered honestly, ¡°Not necessarily. There are so many zombie corpses at the door, and they all died so miserably. It probably has something to do with the owner of this place!¡± After she finished speaking, she happened to see a puddle of water in front of the bathroom door.


    ¡°What?¡± Upon hearing Beth¡¯s words, Jeffrey frowned. Then, he said in a slightly urgent tone, ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s leave for now. If the owner is still around, we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±


    Beth was filled with disgust when she looked at the man next to her. However, due to her situation, she could only force a smile on her face before she said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯re all humans; we¡¯re on the same side. The owner might be willing to help us.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too optimistic? Such a powerful person has to be a homicidal maniac,¡± Jeffrey said, clearly cautious, ¡°Do you remember, before the zombie outbreak, several students went missing at night? They¡¯re suspected to be dead, and the murderer hasn¡¯t been found.¡±


    Fear could finally be seen on Beth¡¯s face when she heard Jeffrey¡¯s words. She said fearfully, ¡°T-that¡­ That¡¯s unlikely to happen to us, right?¡±


    Sensing that Beth was about to relent, Jeffrey tried to look calm as he said with a scoff, ¡°Nothing¡¯s impossible. I think we should leave for now. It¡¯s not safe. Moreover, there might be zombies in here as well. After all, not everyone can deal with as many zombies as we did¡­¡±

 Chapter 10

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    As Rhodes eavesdropped on the duo¡¯s conversation, he could not help but urge them inwardly, ¡®Go! Hurry up and leave!¡¯


    These two people were his university mates, and he had shared a few classes with them.


    For this reason, he was aware of their personalities.


    The seemingly timid and weak Beth was, in fact, incredibly manipulative. Before the zombie apocalypse, she did not hesitate to use her beauty to string three to four men along at the same time. She did not have to pay for anything and lived quite a comfortable life.


    On the other hand, Jeffrey was a strange one. Despite his height and body, he was rather timid. In the past, he did not even dare to make eye contact with women and would lower his head whenever he passed them by. However, unbeknownst to everyone, he was a freak. One day, he was caught by the university administrator while he was killing small animals in the woods on campus. At that time, the administrator saw him kill the animal by twisting its neck before severing its head and putting it in a glass bottle. It was as though he wanted to watch it rot. Later, rumor had it that many skeletons of small animals could be found in the part of the woods where he was first caught. In the end, he was reported, and his parents were called in. He was then forced to attend weekly therapy.


    Rhodes had no idea if therapy worked for Jeffrey, but he was not willing to take the risk. Who knew if Jeffrey¡¯s natural instinct might break loose in the apocalyptic world?


    At this moment, Beth said through gritted teeth, ¡°What you said makes sense, but we¡¯ve already alerted the zombie horde when we made our way here. If we go out now, we might run into them!¡±


    Recalling the hordes of zombies earlier, Jeffrey shrunk his neck and said grudgingly, ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll stay for a while then.¡± After he finished speaking, he brought bread and water from his backpack before he sat on the floor and began to eat.


    As Beth watched Jeffrey eat, she could not help but gulp a few times. She looked at his food greedily but remained silent. In the end, she said, ¡°I¡¯m going to explore and have a look.¡±


    As Beth was about to leave, Jeffrey grabbed Beth¡¯s arm as a lecherous smile appeared on his face. He said, ¡°You promised me that you¡¯d give it to me when no one else is around. Are you planning to go back on your words?¡±


    When Beth looked at Jeffrey¡¯s pimple-riddled face, she felt like retching. It was disgusting just thinking about having sex with him. Therefore, she hurriedly said to fend him off, ¡°We don¡¯t know what the situation is like in this apartment. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m yours. I can¡¯t run away anyway.¡±


    Jeffrey chuckled before he said, ¡°Who cares? No one has come out after so long. There must be no one around. Why wait? Let¡¯s do it now.¡± After saying that, he instantly pulled Beth into his arms, discarding the wrapper bread he had finished eating and the bottle of water in his hands. Now that his hands were free, he moved his hands to Beth¡¯s chest and began to squeeze them.


    Beth pleaded, ¡°No, no, no. Jeffrey, wait. Just wait a little longer.¡±


    However, Jeffrey was already in the mood. How could he let go of what was right in front of him? He fisted his hand on Beth¡¯s white shirt in excitement before he tore them in one swift move, exposing her bra. He grew even more excited after seeing her half-exposed chest. He gulped as he stared at her with a hungry expression.


    ¡°No, no! Jeffrey, let me go. Let me go! You can¡¯t do this. We¡¯re classmates,¡± Beth shouted.


    Jeffrey only scoffed before he said disdainfully, ¡°Are you still trying to pretend? There¡¯s no one in this apartment. No one¡¯s going to save you. If zombies come because of you, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re the first to die!¡± In his opinion, since no one had shown up since they arrived, there must be no one in the apartment. Therefore, his actions became even bolder.


    Jeffrey unclasped Beth¡¯s bra, revealing her beautiful breasts. Then, he moved in to kiss her. His hands did not stay idle; he groped her chest, waist, and butt. After a while, he undid his pants and shoved his hand in. Then, his hand began to move vigorously under his pants. At this moment, his expression was extremely lewd.


    ¡°No! Jeffrey, even if I die, I won¡¯t let you go!¡± Beth cried out in desperation as her eyes wandered around.


    Jeffrey grew even more excited. ¡°Die? Beth, do you think you can die just because you want to? If you don¡¯t satisfy me, I¡¯ll throw you to the zombies later!¡± He did not bother stopping Beth from shouting; he rather enjoyed the feeling of having the prey futilely struggling in his grasp.


    At this moment, it was obvious Jeffrey could no longer hold back. He roughly yanked Beth¡¯s pants down before tearing away her black silk panty. Then, he did not hesitate as he moved his hand to her secret garden between her thighs.


    Upon sensing the intrusion in her body, Beth no longer held back and began screaming.


    Jeffrey only laughed. ¡°Little sl*t, I should¡¯ve known you were just pretending. In the past, I didn¡¯t have the chance to reveal your true colors, but it¡¯s different now!¡±


    The scene grew more and more steamy.


    Meanwhile, Rhodes could no longer endure it. Despite everything, his lower body had stiffened again. He could not help but think that if he were in Jeffrey¡¯s place, he would not be so rough. Moreover, in his mind, he had already replayed many scenes that involved Beth¡¯s body.


    However, all of sudden, he seemed to sober up. He felt ashamed of himself. What was he thinking? His girlfriend was in the bedroom! It did not matter if she had turned into a zombie.


    Then, Rhodes decisively knocked hard on the wall.


    Jeffrey, who was busy working outside, reacted immediately. His pants were still halfway down, ready to pounce on Beth just a second ago, as he looked around warily and shouted, ¡°Who is it? Show yourself! Don¡¯t play tricks.¡±


    Jeffrey received no reply. Alas, he had lost his amorous mood. After all, with that sound, he recalled the zombie corpses outside that clearly died an extremely wretched death. What kind of human beast inflicted that kind of damage?


    If Jeffrey had bothered to look at Beth at this moment, he would have been shocked by the lack of fear in her eyes. She pulled her clothes back on and covered the exposed parts of her body. After that, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and have a look. Wait for me.¡±


    Before Jeffrey could reply, Beth had already gotten up and opened the bedroom door. Upon seeing a person lying on the bed, she froze before she screamed.


    Jeffrey rushed over immediately, furious that Beth had acted on her initiative. He roared angrily. ¡°Do you want to die? Have you forgotten how you escaped from that place?¡±


    However, when Jeffrey looked inside the room, he felt chills running up his spine as he blurted out, ¡°Zombie?¡±

 Chapter 11

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Jeffrey quickly regained his senses. ¡°Why is this zombie tied up? More importantly, doesn¡¯t the zombie look familiar to you?¡±


    Bess was bolder than Jeffrey. She slowly walked over. When she finally saw the zombie¡¯s face, she exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s Julie!¡±


    ¡°Julie?¡± Upon hearing this, Jeffrey hurried over. A regretful expression appeared on his face when he found out Julie had turned into a zombie. He turned Julie over, and when he saw her face, he could not help but gulp. He asked in confusion, ¡°Why is she different from other zombies?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. She¡¯s really clean as well. There are no stench and bloodstains on her,¡± Beth said, similarly confused.


    ¡°Could it be that she just mutated recently?¡± Jeffrey speculated out loud as he blatantly ogled Julie from head to toe.


    Julie was the belle of New York State University. She was a cheerleader as well. She was incredibly beautiful, and her figure was flawless.


    Jeffrey had no chance with Julie before, but now that things were different, an idea appeared in his mind. His Adam¡¯s apple bobbed up and down as he stared at Julie¡¯s body lecherously.


    ¡°Are you really thinking about that?¡± Beth asked in disgust.


    Jeffrey was displeased that Beth had seen through his thoughts. However, he did not bother with Beth. He said, ¡°Although she¡¯s no longer human, she still looks like one. It¡¯ll be fine to touch her!¡±


    Beth looked repulsed when she heard his words.


    Just when Jeffrey was about to fondle Julie¡¯s breasts, a cold voice suddenly rang from the entrance of the bedroom. ¡°I suggest you stop what you¡¯re doing!¡±


    Cold sweat immediately broke out on Jeffrey and Beth¡¯s backs. They felt as though a sharp knife was being pointed at their backs when they recalled the mangled zombie corpses at the entrance of the apartment. Every single zombie at the entrance, apart from being badly mangled, had their heads decapitated or bashed into minced meat.


    The duo did not dare to turn back to look at this moment. They shivered and said in trembling voices, ¡°Sir, we didn¡¯t mean to intrude. We¡¯re sorry. We¡¯ll leave immediately.¡±


    Rhodes¡¯ expression was extremely dark at this moment. ¡°Leave?¡±


    He did not think someone would dare to touch his woman. They were simply seeking death. Fortunately, he was present. Otherwise, Julie would have been ruined. The thought of this enraged him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. This has nothing to do with me! It¡¯s all him. He wants to touch your woman. I¡¯m actually a victim as well. Please let me go,¡± Beth hurriedly pleaded.


    ¡°Beth! You dare betray me?¡±Jeffrey roared furiously.


    ¡°Jeffrey, you forced me! If it weren¡¯t because my life was on the line, do you think I¡¯d humbled myself to this extent? Moreover, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so sick! You won¡¯t even let go of a zombie!¡± Beth retorted angrily. It seemed like her fear had disappeared.


    ¡°Y-y-you liar! You¡¯re trying to frame me,¡± Jeffrey stammered, ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything at all. I was just checking the situation out.¡±


    ¡°Checking the situation?¡± Beth grew even more furious. As though the gates to her anger had been opened, she yelled, ¡°I¡¯ve been unhappy with you for a long time now. You bullied a woman just because you¡¯re a big man. Today, in front of this kind sir, I must kill you!¡± With that, she did not hesitate as she lunged at Jeffrey.


    Jeffrey knew that he had been horrible to Beth. Moreover, he had been caught red-handed, almost committing a hideous act. With a mysterious elite standing behind him, he did not dare to fight back at all. He could only brace himself and endure the beating from Beth.


    Beth was truly furious. This was finally a chance for her to vent her anger. Jeffrey had been horrible to her, and she also wanted to leave a good impression on the mysterious elite standing behind them. Therefore, she did not hesitate to attack Jeffrey. In just a few seconds, scratches could be seen on Jeffrey¡¯s face.


    Meanwhile, Rhodes watched them indifferently. He did not care about what happened to the duo at all; he did not have a good impression of either of them.


    At this moment, Jeffrey instinctively turned to avoid Beth¡¯s onslaught of attacks. When he saw the mysterious elite, he froze immediately. Then, shame, anger, and contempt flitted past his face.


    ¡°Damn it, so it¡¯s you, Rhodes?¡± After saying that, Jeffrey grabbed Beth¡¯s hand and gave her a hard slap.


    Being hit by a man of Jeffrey¡¯s size, coupled with the fact that she was caught off guard, Beth was instantly sent flying back. After she landed, she raised her head in a daze before she cursed, ¡°Damn you, Jef¡­¡± She trailed off when she saw Rhodes standing at the door. Her expression changed immediately.


    ¡°Rhodes?¡± Beth asked in disbelief.


    Jeffrey, naturally, did not think much of Rhodes at all. He glanced at Beth before he said, ¡°Hey, Beth, this is the person you plan to rely on?¡±


    Then, Jeffrey looked at Rhodes from head to toe. In his eyes, Rhodes was slender and weak. Rhodes did not look like he had any muscles on him at all. Moreover, Rhodes had a fair complexion just like a girl. Rhodes was obviously trash! To put it bluntly, he could easily crush three or four of Rhodes at the same time.


    Meanwhile, Beth was flustered, at a loss of what to do. She had just thoroughly offended Jeffrey to the point of no return. With his personality, she knew she would suffer even more in his hands later. However, was she supposed to rely on Rhodes? He was weak and powerless! Jeffrey could probably kill Rhodes with just a punch.


    However, Beth could not help but wonder about the mangled zombie corpses outside the apartment. Curiosity got the better of her, and she asked slightly hopefully, ¡°Rhodes, did you¡­ did you kill all those zombies at the entrance of the apartment?¡±


    Upon hearing Beth¡¯s question, Jeffrey¡¯s expression turned solemn. That was right, he had forgotten about the zombie corpses outside. He could not afford to be careless during these times.


    Upon seeing the changes in the duo¡¯s expressions, Rhodes smiled and said, ¡°Of course not. Do I look like I¡¯m capable of something like that?¡± He gestured with his hands as he continued to say, ¡°After I escaped from the campus, I came across this place¡­¡±


    As soon as Rhodes finished speaking, the duo¡¯s expression changed again.


    Beth¡¯s expression darkened completely. She looked at Rhodes in disappointment, anger, and shame. She had mistaken him for an elite earlier. How embarrassing! Most importantly, because of the misunderstanding, she had thoroughly offended Jeffrey in hopes of gaining the support of the elite. However, who knew the ¡®elite¡¯ would turn out to be Rhodes? When she recalled the words she had said and her actions earlier toward Jeffrey to impress Rhodes, she felt as though death was looming over her head.


    On the contrary, Jeffrey was delighted. He was so happy that he could not even hide it. He looked at Rhodes and said with a sneer, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here, Rhodes. It¡¯s great¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so great? I don¡¯t think we¡¯re acquainted apart from having shared a few classes,¡± Rhodes said indifferently. If it were not for the fact that he was uncertain if Jeffrey was carrying a gun, he would not have wasted so many words on Jeffrey. After all, one out of five people in America owned a gun. With the zombie apocalypse, the number of gun owners would have undoubtedly risen. He would not take such a risk.


    Rhodes could not help but shake his head inwardly. It was too bad the rifle upstairs was out of bullets. Otherwise, there was no need for him to be so passive.


    Jeffrey did not seem to take offense. Instead, he chuckled and said, ¡°How can you say that? During times like this, every bit of connection is important no matter how tenuous?¡±

 Chapter 12

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    A hint of disdain flashed subtly in Rhodes¡¯ eyes when he saw Jeffrey pretending to be friendly.


    However, Jeffrey did not fail to notice it. Even so, he restrained himself. After all, now that the world had collapsed, everyone was forced to change to survive. It was better to be cautious. He thought to himself, ¡®Rhodes, you better not fall into my hands. Otherwise¡­¡¯


    Once Jeffrey confirmed Rhodes was not a threat, he would let Rhodes taste his fists.


    Meanwhile, Beth¡¯s eyes kept darting between Rhodes and Jeffrey; a conflicted expression could be seen on her face. She was trying her best to read the situation. Her decision was of utmost importance; she could find a loyal dog to protect or she could rely on someone stronger. She knew her advantage was her beautiful appearance and sexy figure. With this, she could string four or five men along at the same time.


    ¡°This is my place. Both of you can leave and find another place to play,¡± Rhodes said bluntly. Julie¡¯s condition was not stable so he did not want to start conflict if possible. If somehow, during the conflict, Julie got free, he would have a headache. Considering this, he decided to let the b*stard, Jeffrey, go for now.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re chasing your classmates away as soon as we meet? Isn¡¯t that a little unreasonable?¡± Jeffrey shamelessly took a seat on the sofa. He pulled Beth to him and began to fondle her exposed fair breasts as he continued to say, ¡°I think your place is pretty good. Why don¡¯t we live together?¡± It was clear he did not take Rhodes seriously at all.


    At this moment, Beth did not dare to resist. She could only pray that she could use her body to quench his anger. With that thought in mind, she began to move her body slightly as though she enjoyed the treatment.


    ¡°What a sl*t!¡± Jeffrey squeezed Beth¡¯s chest harder, feeling a sense of satisfaction from his perceived conquest.


    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± Beth cried out seductively when Jeffrey increased his strength as he fondled her. He was so rough that her chest had turned red.


    This seductive scene, which Rhodes had yet to experience, caused him to blush. He had no idea his classmates were so experienced.


    He and Julie had been dating for a long time, and at most, they would only kiss. It was nowhere near as exciting as what was going on in front of him.


    ¡°What are you standing here for? Hurry up and get lost! Do you want me to personally see you out?¡± Jeffrey looked at Rhodes who stood, stunned, at the door. He was really displeased. How dare this weakling who was easily bullied in the past dare to disobey him? Was he seeking death?


    Rhodes remained silent. He was most worried about Julie now.; everything else was secondary. In the end, he walked into the room and lifted the struggling Julie and hoisted her over his shoulder. Worst case scenario, he would just look for a new place to stay. Julie was the most important.


    At this moment, Julie, who was carried over Rhodes¡¯ shoulder, kept struggling and twisting around. The clothes she had changed into were rather ill-fitting so when she struggled, it revealed a fair amount of her fair skin.


    ¡°Be good. I¡¯ll bring you to our other home, okay?¡± Rhodes said tenderly. He placed a palm over her plump butt as he carried her over his shoulder, unwittingly squeezing the soft and supple flesh.


    Upon seeing this scene, Jeffrey¡¯s hand that was squeezing Beth¡¯s chest grew even more forceful, causing Beth to cry out in pain.


    ¡°B*tch! What are you shouting for? You¡¯ll enjoy yourself in a moment!¡± Jeffrey slapped Beth.


    Beth¡¯s exposed chest and her torn clothing were a sight to behold. It would make most men¡¯s blood boil.


    Rhodes glanced at Beth briefly before he cursed himself inwardly for being a jerk. He had just lost his girlfriend, why was he looking at another woman? However, he rationalized that Julie probably did not understand what he was doing, right? Moreover, they no longer spoke the same language. It should not be a big deal that he snuck a look.


    Rhodes turned away and thought he would leave the house if it was necessary.


    At this moment, Jeffrey suddenly rose to his feet; his body made the room seem a little cramped. He called out, ¡°Wait! You can leave, but leave her in here.¡±


    It was obvious Jeffrey had stood up to intimidate Rhodes with his size. To be honest, he had disliked Rhodes for quite a while now. Julie was a beauty widely acknowledged by everyone from high school to university. There were many boys who chased after her, but she had somehow set her sight on Rhodes who had nothing. Most importantly, that trash Rhodes did not know his place and dated her. Did Rhodes not look in the mirror when he took a piss? Did Rhodes think he deserved her?


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking to you. Julie is gone, but you¡¯re still clinging on to her. You¡¯re such a f*cking wimp! Why don¡¯t you let your brother have a good time? Maybe my bodily fluid can cure her,¡± Jeffrey said lecherously. Then, he began to chuckle as though he was imagining some lewd scenes in his mind.


    Beth, who was seated next to him, looked at him fearfully, at this moment. She did not think he was being serious earlier! She really did not expect he really wanted to sleep with a zombie! What a lunatic!


    Beth had never felt such despair in her entire life. In the past, she always had three to four dogs trotting after her, trying to please her. However, now she had to suffer and pander to Jeffrey. She cursed her rotten luck for encountering Rhodes instead of another man. If it were any other man, she would have been rescued! However, it just had to be that piece of trash Rhodes. What a joke! When she saw Jeffrey¡¯s intention to snatch Julie away, she thought Rhodes deserved it.


    At this moment, Rhodes, who was just about to step out of the bedroom and leave the apartment, abruptly came to a halt after listening to Jeffrey¡¯s crude words. Then, he slowly turned around.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Just like that. Put your girlfriend down, and you¡¯re free to go,¡± Jeffrey said domineeringly. He had already thought about what he was going to do next: he wanted both women.


    At this moment, Rhodes lowered Julie to the ground gently and brushed her hair off her forehead.


    Upon seeing this, Beth was filled with even disdain for Rhodes. How could he be called a man? Julie must have been blind to fall for someone like him! As expected, no man could be trusted.


    When Jeffrey saw the disdainful expression on Beth¡¯s face when she looked at Rhodes, he was rather pleased. ¡°You went through a lot of trouble delivering food to me. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have any money for you! Get lost!¡± Then, he strode toward Julie, intending to carry Julie. He could not wait to kiss those rosy lips and touch that plump butt. So many guys had dreamt about this in the past.


    At this moment, it seemed as though Jeffrey had forgotten about Beth. He only had eyes for Julie who was still on the ground.


    At this moment, Rhodes said coldly in a low voice, ¡°Earlier, didn¡¯t you want to know how the zombies at the entrance died?¡±

 Chapter 13

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Rhodes, who had his back to Jeffrey, slowly turned around.


    ¡°What the hell? I don¡¯t want to know now! If you don¡¯t leave immediately, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Jeffrey, who was now blinded by lust, did not notice the change in Rhodes.


    However, Rhodes¡¯ change did not escape Beth who was observing from the side. His entire person seemed to have changed, even the air around seemed different. At this moment, she was reminded of those vicious people she had once hung out with. Those people were cruel, had no morals, and no humanity. Luckily, she came to her senses and managed to disassociate herself from those people. In any case, the current Rhodes seemed even worse than those people. At this moment, a shocking thought appeared in her mind. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me he¡­¡¯


    ¡°Stop pretending. If you don¡¯t want to leave, I¡¯m willing to personally send you out.¡± Jeffrey lost his temper when he saw Rhodes defying him.


    ¡°F*ck you!¡± Jeffrey roared. He lifted his muscular arms and pulled them back as he fisted his hand before he punched Rhodes with all his might. As someone who had worked out a lot, he knew ordinary people would not be able to withstand his punch.


    ¡°You want to fight?¡± Rhodes said calmly. He did not dodge. Instead, he pulled his hand back at a swift speed and gathered his strength before he hurled his fist out as well.


    Upon seeing this, Jeffrey was delighted. Rhodes wanted to fight him with those noodle-like arms? Was Rhodes worthy?


    When their fists collided, Jeffrey was still lost in his thoughts. However, in just a moment, he discovered something was amiss. It¡­ it felt like his fist had met a brick wall. He looked up in shock.


    In just an instant, Rhodes easily stopped Jeffrey¡¯s fist. Then, he tightened his grip on Jeffrey¡¯s fist and pulled. Just like that, he had torn Jeffrey¡¯s arm out of its socket, tearing Jeffrey¡¯s flesh and muscle in the process.


    The bedroom was drenched with Jeffrey¡¯s blood. Blood kept spurting out of his wound. He instinctively used his remaining hand to press against the stump on his shoulder as he screamed in pain. ¡°Ahhhhhh!!¡±


    Jeffrey¡¯s scream instantly attracted a horde of zombie¡¯s attention. However, it seemed like he no longer cared. He lay on the ground in a daze. Rhodes had destroyed his confidence, pride, and his ability to survive in this apocalyptic world. Rhodes had essentially sentenced him to death.


    Meanwhile, Beth was dumbfounded when she witnessed this. How did a weakling who was easily bullied manage to tear Jeffrey¡¯s arm off? Did he conceal his strength all along? Soon enough, her surprise was replaced by fear. ¡°That idiot Jeffrey! His screaming is going to attract the zombies. It¡¯s too late! They¡¯ve already heard him!¡±


    Beth had already experienced the horror of zombies when she was on campus. She had seen how fast and powerful they were; they were almost indestructible. Most importantly, they eat human flesh! Even a dozen people might not be able to subdue one zombie. How were they going to deal with a horde of zombies?


    ¡®It¡¯s over! There are at least a dozen zombies outside!¡¯ Beth began to regret not staying on campus. She might end up as another man¡¯s plaything, but it would still be better than Jeffrey. Moreover, if she was going to die anyway, she¡¯d rather die on campus than out here. Judging by the way things were going, all of them were going to die.


    At this moment, Beth rose to her feet and glared at Jeffrey with deep hatred. She strode toward him and began to kick and punch him. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, you piece of trash!¡±


    At this moment, Beth did not seem to care that her breasts were exposed and swaying as she attacked Rhodes.


    The scene, although violent, was rather erotic.


    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, you piece of trash, for bringing me here! If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have to die here! You b*stard!¡± Beth picked up a stick on the ground and continued to beat Jeffrey.


    Currently, Jeffrey was so injured that he had no strength to resist. Blood continued to gush out of his wound, forming a pool of blood on the ground.


    With the smell of blood in the air, coupled with Jeffrey¡¯s screams, many zombies were making their way to the apartment.


    Jeffrey¡¯s life force seemed to weaken as time passed. He had lost a lot of blood and was in a lot of pain. It was obvious he did not have much time left.


    Meanwhile, there were already quite a number of zombies gathered outside the apartment. All of them were agitated due to the strong smell of blood in the air. To them, this meant there was a buffet of human meat waiting for them!


    Beth finally stopped after she grew exhausted. There was not a clean spot on her body. Even her chest was stained with blood. Strangely, it looked rather alluring. At this moment, she lay on the sofa with her legs crossed and calmly asked, ¡°Do you want to have a good time before you die?¡±


    Beth paused for a moment before she lit a cigarette. It was the only thing left that made her feel good. After taking a puff, she said invitingly, ¡°I heard you¡¯re still a virgin, right? Why don¡¯t you let me take you to the world of adults before you die?¡±


    At this moment, Beth seemed resigned to this apocalyptic world. It was just sleeping with men, anyway. She might as well sleep with someone strong before she died.


    Rhodes stared at Beth who was covered in blood. His gaze seemed to waver. He had to admit the woman before him was really seductive. However, the person in his heart had always been Julie. Whether it was in the past, the present, or the future, Julie would always be the person in his heart. In the end, he glanced at her before he said nonchalantly, ¡°Not interested. Too dirty.¡±


    Although Rhodes¡¯ words were curt, Beth understood the implied meaning behind his words. Dirty. This meant he knew what she had gotten up to on campus, and he was also referring to Jeffrey¡¯s blood on her body. In the end, she said, ¡°It¡¯s the f*cking end of the world! Why do you care if I¡¯m dirty or not? Don¡¯t tell me you want to sleep with zombies as well?¡±


    Under Beth¡¯s confused and slightly angry stare, Rhodes slowly pulled out the knife that had been stained with many zombies¡¯ blood. His hand trembled slightly as he held the knife as though he longed for blood and battles. Before he left, he said to Beth, ¡°Although it¡¯s the end of the world, you should live well. Don¡¯t wait for death here.¡±


    Beth watched in shock as Rhodes held the knife in his hand and sped toward the entrance of the apartment where many zombies had gathered. His speed as he charged toward the zombies seemed to have broken the Olympic record.


    From the bedroom, Beth watched as Rhode opened the door before he lifted his knife and brought it down.


    Swoosh!


    With just one slash, Rhodes decapitated a zombie. It was clean cut.


    Then, Rhodes seemed to have gone into his berserker mode again.


    His enhanced body surpassed that of a normal person. In this place now, he was like Superman. With each swing of his knife, he killed a zombie.


    Beth was stunned.


    The speed!


    The power!


    The endurance!


    ¡®You really concealed your strength well¡­¡¯

 Chapter 14

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    It only took a few minutes before zombie limbs were strewn all over the corridor.


    Rhodes remained expressionless as though he was doing some mundane chore.


    Every slash and strike was precise as he decapitated the zombies.


    After he was done with killing the zombies, he went through the severed head and searched the brains for energy crystals. He was rather lucky; he killed slightly more than ten zombies and managed to obtain five energy crystals. This could be considered food for Julie in the future.


    Rhodes looked at the bloodied low-level energy crystals happily. As long as he could cure Julie, it was nothing if he had to suffer a little.


    Then, he shook the blood off his knife before he sheathed it and returned to the apartment.


    Meanwhile, Beth was still in shock. If she told people on the campus that Rhodes single-handedly killed more than a dozen agitated zombies, they would have called her crazy. If she did not witness it for herself, she would have thought it was crazy as well.


    Jeffrey, who was lying on the ground with only a little consciousness left, was shocked as well. He did not expect this good-for-nothing from the university could easily kill so many zombies. If it were him, he was not certain he could kill even one zombie. With this display of strength, he had completely given up and had no desire for revenge at all.


    When he saw that Rhodes had returned, he struggled to speak with his last breath, ¡°Rhodes, on account that we were classmates, please spare me this time. I was wrong for provoking you and looking down on you¡­ You can just treat me as trash.¡± At this moment, tears and snot flowed freely down his face. He acted as though he had turned over a new leaf.


    Rhodes did not even spare a glance at Jeffrey who was lying on the ground and glanced at Beth casually. Then, he picked up Julie who was still struggling on the ground before he took an energy crystal out and stuffed it into her mouth. He finally decided to feed her energy crystals.


    After she was fed with the energy crystal, Julie became like a child who was given candy.


    Silence fell.


    Rhodes¡¯ eyes were filled with tenderness as he looked at her. He carried her on his back and strode out of the room. The stench of blood was too strong here. It was no longer suitable to stay here.


    At this moment, Beth finally reacted. She did not care about her exposed body and hurried after Rhodes. How could she let go of such a good opportunity? If one wanted to rely on a person during the apocalypse, naturally, it would be best to rely on the strongest person! She did not know if Rhodes was the strongest, but he was definitely strong enough! There would only be hope for her if she followed him. She did not pay attention to Jeffrey at all as she rushed out.


    Beth¡¯s behavior did not escape Jeffrey¡¯s notice. He could only watch them leave as his eyes burned with hatred and vengeance. ¡°Rhodes! Julie! Beth! You better not fall into my hands¡­ Otherwise, you¡¯ll wish you had died instead!¡± He winced from the pain after he cursed at the trio.


    Grr! Grr! Grr!


    At this moment, Jeffrey heard deep growling noises approaching him. When he looked up, he saw a few zombies staring at him outside the window.


    Coupled with the smell of blood, the zombies¡¯ eyes turned red when they saw a human lying on the ground.


    Blood!


    Flesh!


    They rammed against the window in a frenzy, immune to pain.


    Jeffrey watched as cracks began to form on the window. He screamed hysterically, ¡°Get lost! No! No!¡±


    ¡­


    Rhodes heard the screaming and quickly sped up. Since Jeffrey had such disgusting intentions toward Julie, how could he spare Jeffrey?


    The smell of blood in the house would attract a large number of zombies sooner or later. He decided to use Jeffrey as bait to lure all the zombies away.


    Rhodes was not a bad guy, but it did not mean he did not get angry.


    Moreover, the apocalypse brought out the worst in people, and he was just trying to protect himself.


    Now that it was no longer viable to stay in that apartment, he needed to find a safe place for him where he could hide Julie. It was going to be difficult to find such a place. After all, he was sure everyone was frantically looking for a safe place as well.


    Even an apartment with lingering zombies attracted people like Jeffrey. One could only imagine how difficult it was to find a safe place.


    If he could not find a safe place to hide Julie, it would not be long before Julie would be exposed and treated like a zombie.


    Rhodes was deep in his thoughts as he carefully navigated around the hordes of zombies.


    At this moment, a voice rang from behind him. ¡°Are you looking for a place¡­¡±


    It was Beth. She was panting at this moment. She had been following Rhodes since the beginning, and she was hardly clothed. If it was before, she would have been surrounded by people. However, now that they were in an apocalyptic world, the zombies had no interest in her breasts at all. They were only interested in her blood and flesh. After she caught her breath, she said, ¡°I know of a safe place, and there shouldn¡¯t be anyone there.¡±


    Beth had followed Rhodes and easily the hordes of zombies because of him. She was even more certain now that the man in front of her had concealed himself deeply. Otherwise, how could he suddenly have such keen senses and be so skilled at killing zombies?


    With these thoughts in her mind, Beth could not help but look at Julie, jealous. In this apocalyptic world, Julie had already become a zombie, and yet, Rhodes still loyally stayed by her side. Rhodes was definitely a good man. If such a person was her man¡­


    Beth looked at Rhodes in front of her. She did not believe the virgin boy would not surrender himself to her in the end. Julie was just a zombie now. It would not affect them at all. A man and a woman together. She did not believe nothing would happen in the end.


    Meanwhile, Rhodes turned to look at Beth. He could see the slightly ingratiating expression on her face. He did not trust her at all. He knew she had no one to rely on so he could make use of her. Therefore, he did not refuse her. He looked at her coldly and said, ¡°You know what will happen if you provoke me. Lead the way.¡±


    Rhodes knew Beth was far more familiar with this area than him. She had been here for a long time so she must know of some good hiding places. However, if she tried to trick him¡­ If it did not matter if a person was a man, a woman, or a zombie, if they tried to harm him, he would kill them all!


    Rhodes tightened his grip on his knife as he moved aside to let Beth lead the way. All he had to do was help her avoid the zombies.


    There were more and more zombies wandering outside now. The longer time passed, the harder it would be for humans to survive. He wondered how his parents were faring. They lived in the countryside so it should not be as bad as the city. He decided to try and contact his parents and Julie¡¯s parents after he had dealt with Julie¡¯s matter.


    ¡­


    Beth led Rhodes and Julie down a path filled with twists and turns.


    Finally, they arrived at the end of an alley.


    Beth used to meet men here.


    Rhodes looked at the place in front of him with a strange expression on his face.

 Chapter 15

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    ¡°This is the safe place you mentioned? What kind of place is this?¡± Rhodes asked with a frosty expression on his face as he looked at the building in front of him.


    ¡°It¡¯s where I used to have my dates. Don¡¯t worry. This place is very hidden,¡± Beth said honestly. She did not care since many people, including Rhodes, knew about her past. It was no secret since she was living very well. There was nothing for her to hide.


    Rhodes, on the other hand, was a little skeptical about the place Beth brought them to.


    ¡°I can guarantee that there aren¡¯t many people here, and it¡¯s safe enough,¡± Beth said confidently. This place was quite isolated, making it a perfect place for her to meet her ex-boyfriends. Moreover, it was less likely for her to run into people from the university here. Since she dated men outside of the university, she had chosen this place.


    If it were not for her dates, Beth would not even come to such a small alley. If she was asked where the safest place was in the vicinity of the university, this was definitely the place. With how hidden this place was and Rhodes¡¯ strength, her safety would be guaranteed.


    ¡°What do you think? Are you satisfied with this place?¡± Beth asked with a look of satisfaction. She was trying to prove her worth to Rhodes. Clearly, she had lost her earlier contempt toward him.


    Rhodes looked at Beth and only nodded in response. Indeed, he could not have found a better place than this. It seemed like she had some use, after all. He was not wrong when he assumed she knew her way around the area around the university.


    Rhodes planned to rest and wait until Julie¡¯s condition stabilized before leaving the university¡¯s area. At that time, he would part ways with Beth. Naturally, he did not voice his plans out. In any case, everything would have to wait until Julie was stable.


    Rhodes gently lowered Julie to the ground before he went in first. Although this place was hidden, there was no guarantee there was no one around. He slowly pulled out his knife, intending to kill all the zombies here.


    When he kicked open the door, a woman¡¯s scream rang in the air.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come over!¡±


    A man and a woman were hiding in a corner of the room, shivering in fear. It was as though they had just gone through a battle.


    The woman was not even dressed properly. She was obviously not wearing a bra under her short shirt.


    Meanwhile, the man next to her was holding a gun. He looked at Rhodes in fear.


    When the duo saw the person who rushed in was human, the look in their eyes changed from fear to surprise, and then to greed. They had been trapped here for a day. There was no food or water. There were zombies outside so they did not dare to go out and search for supplies. They only hid in the house. Thankfully, the place was very hidden, helping them to avoid the hordes of zombies. However, they were starving now. If they did not eat, they would go crazy soon.


    The woman spoke first. ¡°Do you have¡­ water or food on you?¡±


    If they could get supplies without violence, it would be the best. They did not want to waste their bullets needlessly. Moreover, if they made too much of a commotion, they would attract the zombies. At that time, all of them would die.


    Rhodes did not act recklessly once he saw the gun in the man¡¯s hand. Although his body and strength had improved, he did not want to try to see if he was bulletproof. To avoid conflict, he took out a bottle of water and bread from his backpack and placed it in front of the duo.


    ¡°Is there no one else here apart from both of you?¡± Rhodes asked the woman.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one here. If there were, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold on until now.¡±


    Meanwhile, the man grabbed the water and the bread in a hurry. After that, he hurriedly drank from the bottle. He tore the wrapper and quickly ate the bread. Then, he almost finished the entire bottle and only left a measly amount for the woman.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t enough to fill my stomach at all,¡± the man complained as he looked at Rhodes with a face filled with longing. He did not care at all that the woman next to him did not get to eat at all.


    Rhodes frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t have much here so I can¡¯t give you any more.¡± He had decided to give in seeing as the man had a gun. He did not expect the man to be so greedy.


    ¡°You f*cker! Your backpack is bulging! You must have a lot of supplies in there! Leave your bag here and go!¡± The man seemed to have gone insane. His emotions ran high as though he was on drugs.


    The woman chimed in at this moment, ¡°He has a gun. Why aren¡¯t you listening to him?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t give it to me, you¡¯ll f*cking die!¡±


    Upon hearing the man¡¯s threats, Rhodes¡¯ expression turned icy. He reached out and brought the backpack in front of him. He slowly unloaded the things in the bag. There were quite a lot of supplies and low-level, or level-one, energy crystals in the bag.


    The man laughed when he saw how obedient Rhodes was. ¡°You didn¡¯t even try to put up a fight? How weak!¡± His mood had clearly lifted upon seeing that he was about to obtain a lot of supplies.


    ¡°Rhodes, what happened?¡± Beth called out. Seeing that Rhodes had not returned after such a long time and there was no sound of fighting, she decided to take a look. Naturally, she had ulterior motives. If Rhodes somehow died here, she definitely would die as well. Whether she lived or died depended entirely on him for now.


    Although she was standing behind Rhodes, the man in the room saw her in her exposed state. Her breasts were too alluring; not many men would be able to resist them.


    ¡°Come over here!¡± the man shouted as he raised his gun.


    Beth, who was unaware of what was happening inside, was startled by the sudden shout. It was out of her expectation that there were people in there. She lamented inwardly, ¡®It¡¯s over! I just promised him no one would be here!¡¯


    Beth did not expect her words would backfire on her. She did not dare to look at Rhodes at all.


    The man continued staring at the exposed Beth. Why would such a beauty follow a piece of trash? What a waste! Truly, today was his lucky day. Not only was supplies delivered to him, but a beautiful woman was also delivered to him. He said domineeringly, ¡°The woman stays as well. You can get lost now!¡±


    ¡°Are these your last words?¡± Rhodes asked.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Before the man could react, what seemed like a streak of white light charged into the house.


    Swoosh!


    It was so fast that no one could react in time.


    In just a second, the hand that was holding the gun was severed.


    Earlier, while the man was distracted by Beth, Rhodes had drawn his knife from his back. At this distance, he was confident he would be faster than the bullet from the gun. Therefore, he charged in at an incredible speed and severed the man¡¯s arm. His speed was so fast that he created a sound wave when he moved.


    Ordinary humans could not hope to compare to Rhodes. The man did not even have time to resist before his arm had fallen to the ground. He seemed to be in a daze at this moment. When blood began to spurt out from his wound, he finally regained his senses and began to scream!


    The man¡¯s blood painted the entire place red.


    ¡°Don¡¯t f*cking scream.¡±


    There was another flash of movements before the man¡¯s head fell off his neck.


    Following that, the woman began to scream.

 Chapter 16

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    When the woman saw the blood spurting out wildly from the man¡¯s wound, she could not help but scream.


    Similarly, Rhodes did not hold back nor hesitate.


    Swish!


    With a slash, the woman¡¯s head was separated from her body.


    The man and the woman were clearly a couple and a team.


    Rhodes would worry if he let these people live. He would feel more at ease if he killed them. There was no law and order in society during the apocalypse. In the current world, strength was all that mattered.


    After killing the couple, he threw their bodies out of the door. Then, he checked every room to make sure it was safe and there was nobody around. The building was not too big, but it had a little more room than usual. He confirmed the place was fine but realized there was a lack of supplies. He would need to scavenge the convenience stores or malls in the vicinity. In the end, he decided to scavenge for supplies tomorrow. What was important now was to get his girlfriend settled in.


    ¡°You can just choose one of the rooms to live in. Don¡¯t bother me if there¡¯s nothing important,¡± Rhodes bluntly said to Beth. He knew Beth only wanted him to protect her. However, he already had a zombie girlfriend, and he really could not let her go. However, if Beth did not cause trouble and quietly stayed in this place, he would not mind tolerating her presence. After all, it might not be too bad to have someone else around since he could not communicate with Julie at all.


    After he finished talking to Beth, he did not wait for her reply and left to carry Julie into one of the rooms.


    Beth only watched as he went upstairs. However, a hint of a smile could be seen in her eyes at this moment. Since he had agreed to her staying, she did not think he would be able to resist her for long. After a moment, she walked into one of the cleaner rooms. She was covered in blood and needed to clean herself.


    Meanwhile, Rhodes entered a room upstairs and put Julie down. However, when he finally took in his surroundings, a strange expression appeared on his face.


    Posters were tacked on the walls of the bedroom. It was not really a big problem, however, all of the posters depicted men and women in revealing sexy outfits engaging in lewd acts.


    There was even a poster behind the door depicting a woman with the man¡¯s appendage in her mouth.


    Another one showed a man entering a woman from behind.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°This place was a f*cking hourly hotel!¡± Realization finally dawned on Rhodes. No wonder he felt the atmosphere of the place was a little strange. This was the kind of place he and Julie had considered before, but they, naturally, had never been to one.


    At this time, the level-one energy crystal that Rhodes fed Julie seemed to have been completely digested by her. Rhodes saw she starting to become restless again. She was beginning to struggle, twisting and writhing her body. Her pair of slender and long legs kept pushing and kicking against the bedsheet.


    However, in this ambiguous atmosphere, surrounded by the obscene but seductive posters, her writhing and twisting were cast in a different light.


    Her hair was fanned out on the bed, and her complexion, although a little pale, was delicate. Her beautiful face and figure seemed to be inviting Rhodes.


    Compared to before, Rhodes felt Julie was incredibly alluring at this moment, causing his desire to rise.


    He had battles after battles consecutively until now; his adrenaline was still coursing through his body.


    The visual impact of his girlfriend writhing on the bed and posters made it more difficult for him to control himself. He took a deep breath and steeled himself, ¡®Stop this! How am I going to face Julie when she regains her senses? I can¡¯t cross this line!¡¯


    While Rhodes was fighting a war within himself, Julie struggled and inched closer to Rhodes¡¯ lower body as though she smelled something that had attracted her attention. Naturally, as a zombie, her instinct was to bite!


    Rhodes, who recovered in time, was shocked. ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t learn these things!¡±


    Rhodes felt another headache coming. For some reason, Julie seemed to be very interested in his lower body.


    ¡®Wait¡­ My lower body?¡¯ Rhodes checked the pockets of his sweatpants. As it turned out, he had left one of the level-one energy crystals he had obtained from the zombies he killed at the apartment in his pocket. No wonder Julie kept trying to get closer to his lower body.


    Rhodes sighed in relief. However, he had to admit there was also a small hint of disappointment.


    Subsequently, he looked at the constantly struggling Julie and spoke to her patiently as though he was teaching a puppy. ¡°Do you want to eat? However, you have to be patient, understand?¡±


    Rhodes looked at Julie whose eyes were turning from light red to a darker red. He smiled slightly as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Julie. I¡¯ll make sure you recover! Even if your mentality remains that of a child, at the very least, I¡¯ll return your consciousness to you.¡±


    Now that he had time to rest, he discovered both he and Julie were filthy. After going through so many things, they definitely needed to clean up.


    In the apocalypse, mundane things like bathing were a luxury.


    Fortunately, it had not been that long since he had his last proper bath, considering everything.


    The showers here were not working, and there was no bathtub. Luckily, they still had taps that were working.


    Rhodes¡¯s current physique was far superior to an ordinary person. He was not afraid of infection. Julie was a zombie so he did not think she had to fear infection of any kind. However, if she discovered herself dirty when she regained her senses, she would definitely feel unhappy.


    Therefore, Rhodes collected all the buckets he could find so he could collect tap water in them.


    After he was done, he looked at the buckets of water in the bathroom in satisfaction. Apart from that, he felt a sense of security as well. He knew as time passed, water and food would become scarce.


    Before the apocalypse, one would, perhaps, buy a handbag or cosmetics to please a woman. However, water and food would probably be more appealing to women, and men, now.


    Water and food were now the currency of the apocalyptic world. As time went on, their value would only soar higher and higher.


    After that, Rhodes returned to the room to bring Julie to the bathroom. When he looked at her, he was awed by her beauty again. He thought to himself, ¡®Some people are just born beautiful. Even after a few days of being a zombie, it did not diminish her beauty at all¡­¡¯


    Rhodes found her body especially comfortable to hold due to her body¡¯s cool temperature.


    ¡°Julie, wait for a moment. I¡¯ll clean you up.¡± It was not that Rhodes did not consider asking Beth to help him clean Julie. However, with both of them in the same room, it was likely that he was going to end up with two zombies on his hands. There was no other way; he could only do this himself.


    Rhodes stuffed a level-one energy crystal into Julie¡¯s mouth, at this moment.


    With the level-one energy crystal in her mouth, she finally calmed down.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally quiet¡­ We can start now¡­¡±


    Rhodes unbound her hands first as he stared at her. He found that she was relatively calm. She was happily enjoying the energy crystal in her mouth as though it was a piece of candy.


    All this time when Rhodes spoke to her, the only response he got was a series of growls. It was not dissimilar to the growling of small animals.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take off your clothes now. You¡¯re too dirty, understand?¡± Rhodes did not even know if he was speaking to her or saying that for his own benefit.


    Julie¡¯s complexion had always been fair. Now that she had turned into a zombie, her skin was even fairer.


    It did not take long before Rhodes removed all her clothes, revealing her fair and curvy figure and her full chest and plump butt.


    When Julie closed her eyes, enjoying the energy crystal in her mouth, Rhodes gulped. He quickly dismissed the evil thoughts that appeared in his mind.


    After that, Rhodes lifted Julie to start cleaning her body.


    However, at this time, Julie, who had been calm and quiet since she had been fed the energy crystal, suddenly opened her eyes. It was as though she had smelled something delicious. Her red eyes flashed with excitement as she looked at Rhodes¡¯ lips and directly leaned in to bite them.

 Chapter 17

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Rhodes was caught off guard by Julie. After all, she had been calm when he had untied her. Even when he undressed her, she was quiet. He did not expect that as soon as he held her in his arms to lift her, she would suddenly attack.


    Although Rhodes¡¯s body had been strengthened, Julie was a zombie, after all. He felt a sharp pain as soon as Julie bit his lips. He instinctively cried out in pain.


    Before he could recover from the pain, the voice that rang in his mind stunned him.


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Strength +1.¡±


    ¡°The number of times you¡¯ve been bitten has unlocked a special ability. Special Ability: Insight.¡±


    The long-awaited system notification finally sounded. However, this time, he was told he had gained a new skill! Did this mean the systems could grant him other skills as well?


    Rhodes gently pushed Julie away. She was still trying to bite him.


    As he held her away from his face, she stared at his lips and licked Rhodes¡¯ blood off her lips. Her red eyes seemed to darken again as she struggled to free herself, snarling and snapping her mouth. It felt as though she retained some memory of the last moment before she turned into her zombie. She kept trying to get close to Rhodes¡¯ lips. She made her objective abundantly clear: she wanted Rhodes¡¯ lips!


    To be honest, Rhodes did not really mind it. In fact, he rather enjoyed it. The posters in the room really riled him up. Moreover, although it was slightly painful when he was taken by surprise, in fact, she did not bite him very hard. Otherwise, his lips would have been bitten to shreds. With this, he could not help but feel Julie still retained a trace of humanity in her despite becoming a zombie.


    With Julie taking the initiative to get close to his lips, regardless if it was to bite them, his desire was aroused.


    With all these thoughts in his mind, Rhodes hugged Julie tightly. Their bodies were tightly pressed together, and he could acutely feel her full chest pressing against his chest. He could feel how supple it was against him.


    With this, Rhodes who had barely managed to suppress his desire felt his lower body stiffened again.


    Julie seemed stunned when Rhodes suddenly hugged her. She stopped struggling for a moment.


    Meanwhile, Rhodes was feeling blissful as he hugged his naked girlfriend. However, he felt slightly aggrieved when he remembered how she had bitten his lips earlier.


    ¡®D*mn it! Why is it only you¡¯re allowed to kiss me?¡¯ Rhodes thought to himself. His blood seemed to rush through his body at this moment. While she was stunned, he grabbed her face and fiercely kissed her.


    With this fierce kiss, Julie seemed to break out of her daze. Then, she bit him in return.


    He felt it hurt a little, but there was more pleasure and pain. Just the right amount of pain mixed with pleasure; the feeling was truly indescribable¡­


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Beth took a simple shower downstairs. She found some clothes to change into as well. She still remembered how Rhodes said she was dirty. Ever since she found out that Rhodes was determined to save Julie, her opinion of him had changed.


    Beth made her way upstairs to Rhodes¡¯ room to ask about his plans. Just as she was about to knock on the door, Rhodes¡¯ voice traveled through the paper-thin wall.


    ¡°Babe, don¡¯t bite there. It hurts¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Beth¡¯s mind was filled with question marks. Was Rhodes so wild? She could hear the pleasure in his voice despite his contradictory words.


    Beth was no stranger to this. She had done many things with her ex-boyfriends, after all. She only had one burning question in her mind now: How hard was the bite?


    ¡­


    Under normal circumstances, Rhodes, whose body had been strengthened and senses had been heightened, would have noticed someone standing on the other side of the door. However, at this moment, he was too immersed in the deep kisses between him and Julie.


    Meanwhile, the system notifications kept ringing in his mind.


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Vitality +1.¡±


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Virus -1.¡±


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Strength +1.¡±


    Rhodes rationalized that as long as he could become stronger, enduring this little bit of pain was nothing. In order to grow even stronger, he continued to entangle himself with Julie.


    As his body continued to grow stronger, his strength seemed to have surpassed Julie¡¯s strength. At this moment, she was pressed beneath his body, unable to resist.


    In his mind, the pleasant sounds of system notifications kept ringing.


    At this moment, Rhodes felt as though his lower body was about to explode. As pleasurable as it was, it was also incredibly uncomfortable.


    He pulled away from Julie, who was underneath him, and stared at her.


    Her small mouth was opening and closing, and he could feel the puffs of breaths hitting his face.


    All of a sudden, a bold idea appeared in his mind. ¡®If¡­ If it¡¯s just with the mouth, I don¡¯t think Julie will mind¡­¡¯


    Rhodes looked at Julie with eyes burning hot with passion. He slowly took off his sweatpants, leaving only his thin underwear on. The front of his underwear resembled a small hill. Then, he removed his underwear as well.


    At this point, Rhodes was panting heavily. He tried his best to suppress his beastly desires. However, he really could not hold back when he looked at Julie who was naked under him.


    Thud!


    A sound rang from outside the door at this moment.


    Rhodes instinctively grabbed the knife he had brought into the bathroom with him and rushed out.


    He saw Beth sitting on the ground, trembling, looking as though she had fallen.


    Beth was taken aback by Rhodes sudden emergence. However, she was even more shocked when she saw Rhodes¡¯ body.


    Now that his body had been further strengthened, his body was just the right size of muscular, and he now had muscle lines and V lines on the sides of his hips.


    However, what caught Beth¡¯s attention the most was the size of the thing between his legs. He¡­ he was the biggest she had ever seen, bigger than all of her ex-boyfriends. She could not help but take a second look.


    Seeing the seductive woman on the floor, he seemed to have snapped. He said icily, ¡°Do you like eavesdropping?¡±


    Rhodes¡¯ tone made Beth shiver involuntarily. Due to her loose shirt, it was easy to see into it. It did nothing to conceal her voluptuous chest.


    ¡°Kneel down and put it in your mouth,¡± Rhodes said domineeringly.


    Beth¡¯s face flushed red. However, she obediently got on all fours and crawled over to him. For some reason, she did not find Rhodes repulsive at all, unlike Jeffrey. Maybe it was because Rhodes had killed Jeffrey, inadvertently saving her life.


    ¡°Hurry up!¡± Rhodes said impatiently.


    Beth sat on her heels, in front of him, as she held that thing that was as thick as an infant¡¯s arms. She was stunned by its size. At the same time, it frightened and excited her as well.


    Rhodes narrowed his eyes and gestured for her to use her mouth. He had to find a place to vent; Beth was barely passable. After all, he had to admit she was a beautiful woman with a seductive figure.


    At this moment, Rhodes grabbed a fistful of Beth¡¯s hair before he pushed her head toward him.


    Beth froze for a second, shocked by the intrusion of the huge thing in her mouth. She looked up at Rhodes who was standing in front of her as he began to move his hips back and forth.

 Chapter 18

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At this moment, Rhodes¡¯ eyes were closed, and his head was rolled back as he stood in front of the room.


    The former class beauty, Beth, who had just taken a shower, was kneeling at his feet, hard at work. If the top of her ears were sharper, she would be like a seductive demon that had men falling over her feet.


    However, at this moment, she was kneeling in front of Rhodes, pleasuring someone whom she once looked down on.


    ¡°Deeper. How many more times do I have to tell you?¡±


    Rhodes¡¯ eyes were flashing so coldly that it caused Beth to shiver in fear.


    He looked down and saw her chest and a peek of her seductive figure through her loose shirt. At this moment, he frowned a little, feeling like Beth¡¯s movements were too slow. He decisively grabbed her hair and pressed her head toward him again.


    Rhodes¡¯ attitude toward Beth and the huge intrusion of the thing in her mouth made her feel a sense of humiliation and submission.


    At this moment, a slightly pained expression appeared on her face as she said in a muffled voice, ¡°T-too¡­ T-too big¡­ S-slow down¡­¡± He was really too forceful and strong; she could not endure it.


    Meanwhile, Rhodes grew more and more excited when he saw the former high and mighty class beauty wagging her tail and begging like a dog.


    ¡­.


    At this moment, the energy crystal in Julie¡¯s mouth had been devoured and digested. Therefore, she began to struggle again.


    At this moment, the door opened. Rhodes carried Beth into the bathroom.


    Beth was shocked and confused. She did not know what he intended to do. However, she felt like had submitted herself to him completely so she could only obediently stay here.


    Then, Rhodes grabbed Julie¡¯s face with one hand and began to kiss her. He let Julie bite his lips as well. With his other hand, he held Beth¡¯s head, facilitating Beth¡¯s movements.


    He felt pain on top, and pleasure on the bottom. This feeling was truly indescribable.


    Rhodes¡¯ movement sped up as he fell deeper into the throes of pleasure.


    Meanwhile, the system notification began to ring over and over again in his mind again.


    During the apocalypse, he would only be able to live a good life if he became stronger.


    This¡­ this was a rare opportunity for him to get stronger.


    Rhodes¡¯ speed continued to increase as he let Julie bite him.


    At this moment, the system interface appeared in his mind. In just a short time, his attributes had undergone a big change.


    Host: Rhodes.


    Age: 22.


    Strength: 43 (originally 11)


    Speed: 41 (originally 8)


    Vitality: 42 (originally 15)


    Spirit: 43 (originally 13)


    (Ordinary people usually possess 10 points)


    Special Ability: Insight (using special skills will consume spiritual energy)


    He was in a daze when he saw the points on the system interface. Apart from that, he learned using the special ability would consume mental strength.


    While he processed the new information in his mind, he did not stop moving.


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Strength +1.¡±


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Speed +1.¡±


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Spirit +1.¡±


    At this moment, Rhodes was moving frantically. It was not long before he finally had his release.


    After that, he looked at Beth who was lying on the ground indifferently. After his release, he had entered a phase where he was like an ascetic monk.


    Then, he looked at Julie. It was all because of Julie that he had grown so much stronger. Whether it was his strength, speed, vitality, or spirit, he was so much stronger than before.


    Host: Rhodes.


    Age: 22.


    Strength: 50 (originally 11)


    Speed: 50 (originally 8)


    Vitality: 50 (originally 15)


    Spirit: 50 (originally 13)


    (Ordinary people usually have 10 points)


    Special Ability: Insight (using special abilities will consume spiritual energy)


    Since Rhodes¡¯ attributes had all reached 50 points, and ordinary people would only have 10 points for each attribute, it means that he was now five times stronger than ordinary humans.


    In such a short time, his attribute points had increased so much. As expected, he would become stronger whenever he was bitten!


    Finally, he shifted his attention back to Beth whose face was covered in his release. She was a beautiful woman with a good figure¡­ A thought appeared in his mind. If Beth was willing to completely obey his words and take care of his and Julie¡¯s daily necessities, he might allow her to stay near him. In return, he would protect her as much as possible and provide her with food and water. If he made her submit to him completely, he would be able to rid her of her difficult personality.


    He picked up a towel and threw it to Beth, indicating she should go clean up.


    Then, Rhodes began to wipe Julie¡¯s fair body clean.


    While he cleaned Julie, he was lost in his thoughts. The system had indicated that he would get stronger after being bitten by a zombie. In the beginning, he remembered the system was activated due to Julie biting his lips. His strength, speed, vitality, and spirit points had risen by roughly 20 points. Did it mean that he could only grow stronger if he was bitten by a zombie on the lips?


    He continued thinking to himself, ¡®Due to my carelessness, I was bitten on the lips again today and gained a new special ability, Insight. All the points and abilities, are they random or is there a pattern to them? Do I only get stronger if Julie bites me, or does it extend to other zombies as well?¡¯ In the end, he decided there was much to learn, and he needed to experiment more.


    ¡­


    After washing Julie clean, Rhodes carried her back into the room.


    At this time, Beth had already cleaned the mess Rhodes had made.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Rhodes looked at Beth indifferently. ¡°Water or food. Whatever it is. Just tell me what you want.¡±


    In the apocalyptic world, people would inevitably fight and kill over food and water. Friends might even turn on each other. This new world would bring out the worst of human nature. People would slowly revert to operating on their base instincts, not dissimilar to beasts. Men would kill for supplies while women would remove their skirts just for a mouthful of clean water. In fact, as food grew scarcer, cannibalism would not be surprising at all. Although all these things had not come to pass, Rhodes knew if things continued as it was, these things would surely happen.


    Rhodes had only vented his lust on Beth. He had no feelings for her at all. She was a tool that could be exchanged for something.


    Beth was aware of this as well. In this apocalyptic world, people like Rhodes who were willing to give others food and water could be considered kind. There were those who would kill without reason. She had seen countless scenes like this on campus when the outbreak first happened. She had been desperate to leave the campus at that time because she knew she would only meet with a bad end if she continued staying there. At that time, the campus was like a small playground for beasts, both zombies and humans. There was no order at all.

 Chapter 19

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    At this moment, Beth stood in front of Rhodes. She said in an easy-going manner, ¡°I don¡¯t want anything. If you need anything, you can come to me.¡±


    Rhodes cocked an eyebrow. Retreating in order to advance? This woman was quite interesting. He bluntly said, ¡°I can guarantee your safety, but in return, you¡¯ll have to pay a price.¡±


    In the apocalyptic world, there were many things that no longer needed to be concealed like before.


    Beth¡¯s face flushed red. Naturally, she knew what Rhodes¡¯ words meant. However, to her surprise, she did not dislike it. Moreover, she had decided to find a strong man to rely on. She could still recall the scene where Rhodes fought so many zombies on his own. He was definitely the strongest man she had seen so far. He was not even afraid of the gun earlier. At least for now, he would be able to guarantee her safety.


    Speaking of the gun, he had already put it away in his backpack. He would not possibly leave something so dangerous around that could be used against him later.


    At this moment, he looked at Beth¡¯s constantly changing expressions in amusement. He wondered if she would faint if she knew he planned to have her take care of the zombie Julie? In any case, he was patient. Time was needed in order to make someone submit. He would take his time.


    When he noticed Beth¡¯s chapped lips, he took out a bottle of water and a piece of bread from his backpack and handed it to her. ¡°Eat sparingly. Until we can scavenge for food and supplies, we don¡¯t have any extra food with us.¡±


    Beth was slightly excited when she saw the food and water. One had to know that the bottle of water and piece of bread alone would cause a big commotion outside; people would even kill for it. With food and water, if Rhodes were willing, he could easily find a few women to have sex with him.


    In the face of survival, what was morality? Was morality more important than life itself?


    Beth¡¯s hands trembled slightly as she held the bottle of water and the piece of bread. Based on what she could tell from his backpack, they only had enough supplies to last them for two days. Did this mean they would have to leave in two days?


    Rhodes said a few more words to Beth before he left.


    Beth wanted to sleep in the room, but Rhodes rejected her. He would definitely do something he could not undo if she had slept in the same room with him! Therefore, he resolutely closed the door in her face.


    After that, he fed Julie some ham and sausages he had found earlier, ate some bread, and fell asleep.


    In this relatively safe room on the second floor, it did not take long before Rhodes fell asleep. He held Julie in his arms as he slept, feeling her smooth and delicate skin. He even had a beautiful dream. In his dream, Julie had regained her senses and¡­ bit him in various ways. He kept getting stronger and more powerful. However¡­ he kept having a nagging feeling that he had forgotten something.


    ¡­


    When the morning sunlight streamed into the room, Rhodes, who had slept the entire night with Julie in his arms, gradually woke up.


    Rhodes shook his head and sat up. He muttered to himself, ¡°36D. As expected of 36D.¡±


    Julie¡¯s body felt extremely comfortable to the touch. It felt as though he was holding a smooth but pliable jade.


    Although he had a good night¡¯s sleep with Julie, it was not without some side effects. He looked down at the wet patch on his shorts and laughed at himself.


    Rhodes got out of bed and looked into the mirror. ¡°Now that I¡¯m five times faster and stronger than an ordinary person, my physique has changed as well.¡± His body was now muscular but not overly so. It was well proportioned. Especially his abdominal muscles, V lines, and his waist. He really could not believe his figure would become so good.


    After that, he took off his shorts and cleaned them.


    When he was done, he checked the supplies in the backpack. He looked at the food and water he had left and estimated that it could last him a month. Although the amount was not bad, he had to be prepared.


    Moreover, this place was still in the vicinity of the university. When resources on campus dried up, it was inevitable that those who had taken shelter on campus would come out to scavenge for supplies. There were only so many places around campus that they could go to. At that time, this place would no longer be safe.


    In any case, his strength, speed, physique, and spirit were five times better than ordinary people. Those bumbling students would not be a match for him.


    At this moment, food and water were not a problem. What was more important was energy crystals. The energy crystals he had obtained yesterday were almost gone. He needed to go out to get more energy crystals.


    After he put the things he needed together, he used the bedsheet to bind Julie¡¯s hands and feet. He said to her, ¡°Julie, stay in the room. Don¡¯t move around. I¡¯m going out to get more energy crystals so you can eat your fill.¡±


    When Rhodes was about to leave the room, he recalled that he had been a special ability yesterday. He had acquired it after being repeatedly bitten. The system had called the ability Insight. However, he had no idea what its use was.


    Since his spirit points were rather high, five times higher than ordinary people, he thought it would be fine if he tried to use the power once. It should not drain too much of his spiritual energy.


    He focused attention, trying to activate the ability. After a while, he felt a slight stirring in his mind. Soon after, he felt as though a cool breeze was blowing against his eyes. Subsequently, he felt as though there was now a layer of indescribable power covering his eyes. The world in front of him had suddenly changed.


    When he looked out the window, he could clearly see the streets in the distance. He could even see in detail the terrible appearances of the zombies shuffling around on the street. Apart from that, he could tell in just an instant there were more than thirty zombies in the vicinity. There were even more zombies in the distance.


    How strange! All of them were heading in the same direction: Rhodes and Julie¡¯s university.


    Based on the current situation, if the people on campus were not prepared, it was only a matter of time before the campus would be overrun by zombies.


    Rhodes continued his observation. After a while, he discovered that if he looked at a zombie for a period of time, he could see information about the zombie he was looking at. At this time, the zombies he saw were low-level zombies that were slow and were only driven by their instincts.


    After a while, he was alarmed when he saw two zombies that were different from the others. Strangely, the two zombies were not wearing any clothes. They moved swiftly and differently from the low-level zombies, but one of the things that caught his attention was the word ¡®Level One¡¯ above their heads! Apart from that, he could see a faint red dot on their foreheads. Clearly, these two zombies had level-one energy crystals in their brains!


    With this, Rhodes had a grasp of his ability, Insight. Apart from better vision, he could accurately determine details and information about most things.


    Since he had just received this ability, there might be a chance that the ability would level up over time. At that time, the ability would probably improve.


    As he looked at the two zombies with a faint red dot on their foreheads and flashing ¡®Level One¡¯ above their heads, his grip on his knife tightened and killing intent flashed in his eyes.

 Chapter 20

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    The two zombies, a male and a female, were walking around, seemingly looking for something. They did not seem to be controlled by their base instincts like the low-level zombies.


    Meanwhile, Rhodes had been keeping his eyes on the two zombies for a while now. At this moment, he saw them slowly approaching the building, which used to be an hourly hotel, he was inhabiting. When they finally drew close to the building, his eyes flashed with killing intent.


    ¡®Perfect timing!¡¯ Rhodes wanted to test out his body and abilities after the massive points increase yesterday.


    At this time, he was still in his room. The amazing thing about the ability, Insight, was he could roughly sense what was going on even if his vision was blocked.


    The two zombies leaped over before they entered the building and began to sniff around the ground floor. It was as though they had sensed or smelled something delicious. Their dark red eyes scanned the area.


    Suddenly, one of the zombies began to make its way up the stairs. Soon after, the other zombie followed suit. It seemed like the two of them were heading in the same direction: his and Julie¡¯s room.


    He wondered why the zombies would look for Julie specifically. After a short moment, realization dawned on him. ¡®Energy crystal!¡¯


    Rhodes quickly turned to look at Julie and used Insight on her. There was no ¡®Level One¡¯ above her head nor was there a faintly flashing red dot on her forehead either. Then, the zombies must have come for the remaining energy crystals he obtained before.


    It seemed like the evolution of the zombies was related to energy crystals. A theory had already formed in his mind; he just needed to verify it.


    He made a quick decision and moved to the room next to the room Julie was in.


    When the two zombies were about to reach Julie¡¯s room, he rushed out of the room at lightning speed. His speed that had been boosted was astonishing!


    A cold light glinted in the air¡­


    Swoosh!


    He brought the knife in hand down toward the male zombie¡¯s head. He was so fast that it did not have time to react at all.


    Meanwhile, the female zombie seemed to be stunned by this.


    Rhodes seized this opening and raised his knife again before bringing it down on the female zombie¡¯s head.


    With that, he had effortlessly dealt with two level-one zombies.


    After that, he cut the zombies¡¯ heads open; their foreheads were still shining with a faint red dot. Then, he rummaged through their brains. As expected, he found an energy crystal in each of their brains.


    After he collected the two gray level-one energy crystals, he threw the corpses out the window. Then, he quickly returned to Julie¡¯s room. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Julie looking at his hand that was holding the two level-one crystals with a look of greed on her face. He could not help but feel like laughing when he saw her reaction.


    In the future, if he had to temporarily leave, it would be good to leave her with a supply of energy crystals.


    Rhodes approached Julie tentatively.


    She snapped her teeth together, instinctively trying to bite him. However, since he was prepared, she, naturally, failed to bite him.


    Rhodes took a step back and quickly threw the two level-one energy crystals into Julie¡¯s mouth.


    All of a sudden, Julie let out a cry that was different from the sounds she had made before.


    Rhodes used Insight and noticed Julie¡¯s eyes had gotten imperceptibly darker. Moreover, her nails seemed to have grown longer as well. Soon enough, a faint flashing red dot appeared on her forehead along with the words ¡®Level One¡¯ above her head.


    Rhode¡¯s zombie girlfriend, Julie, the former beauty of the university, had successfully leveled up!


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the broadcasting room of the New York State University.


    James was sitting in front of the broadcasting equipment. His head was rolled back, his eyes were closed, and a gratified expression could be seen on his face.


    At this moment, his art professor, Ika, was kneeling on the ground. Her head was moving in a forward and backward motion in front of his crotch.


    This female professor had snow-white skin and a head of beautiful golden hair like spun silk. She always wore gold-rimmed glasses.


    She might be James¡¯ professor in the past, but now she was just James¡¯ plaything.


    ¡°Swallow it all. How many times do I have to tell you this?¡± James said lazily. However, a hint of coldness could be heard in his voice.


    Ika was so frightened that she barely managed to swallow all the filth in her mouth.


    By James¡¯ request, she was completely naked. He wanted to have a good look at her body. He wanted to see the bruises that painted her skin, proof of his violence against her.


    James was a sadist. Once in a while, he would yank her hair and beat her over and over again.


    In just a few days, Ika had turned from a respected professor into her student¡¯s personal plaything.


    In fact, there were more than a dozen of playthings like her here.


    There was nothing Ika could do. She did not dare to run away even if she was humiliated and beaten until her body fell apart. If she went outside now, she would die!


    She had witnessed some of the girls being devoured to the bones by the zombies outside. She had also seen a girl who was unwilling to submit being thrown out of the school building by these beasts.


    In fact, James had captured three zombies and locked them up next to the broadcasting room.


    She had seen James throwing another female professor to the captive zombies because she called him an animal!


    Everyone could only helplessly watch as the zombies tore into the defiant female professor¡¯s flesh and feasted on her. If they did not want to die, they would have to satisfy these people¡¯s demands.


    James had gathered a group of friends from the football team, establishing the strongest force on campus.


    Many girls had been raped by James. Some who were even more unfortunate were not only raped, but tortured and killed.


    For these reasons, many people, including Ika, chose to submit and give in.


    With all these thoughts in her mind, Ika¡¯s eyes began to brim with tears. She really missed when the world was civilized and not such a lawless place.


    James, who was enjoying himself with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and kicked Ika away.


    ¡°Did I tell you to stop? Are you f*cking stupid? F*ck, I told you to be careful with your teeth!¡± James lost all interest and stood up abruptly.


    He was about to vent his anger on Ika again when a voice rang from outside the door.


    ¡°Boss, there are hordes of zombies outside the campus gates. I don¡¯t know if the gates could hold them back for long. What should we do? Apart from that, there are people coming in from the back entrance. I think they¡¯re the f*cking cops!¡±


    Then, the person continued to say in a lewd tone, ¡°You should see how beautiful the female cop is! Her legs are amazing. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d get tired even if I played with her for a year. It¡¯s simply¡­¡±


    James interjected coldly, ¡°Why? Do you like that female cop?¡±


    The other person chuckled before he said with the attitude of a lackey, ¡°James, even if I like her¡­ You will obviously have the first pick!¡±


    ¡°Do you know how many of them there are?¡±


    ¡°Just two. However, they have guns. It doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re easy to deal with¡­¡±


    Upon hearing the other party had guns, James¡¯ eyes lit up immediately. His interest was instantly piqued. His faction was not the only faction on campus; there were three other factions on campus. If he had guns in his hand, he would have a huge advantage over the other three factions.


    His eyes flashed with determination as he thought to himself, ¡®I¡¯m not going to let the female cop get away!¡¯

 Chapter 21

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    With his Insight ability, Rhodes watched Julie evolve from an ordinary low-level zombie into a level-one zombie. Currently, she had the words ¡®Level One¡¯ above her head.


    ¡°As expected, zombies are able to evolve!¡± Rhodes had a suspicion about this when he saw the two unusual zombies. He did not expect his girlfriend would help him to confirm his suspicion so quickly. However, as of now, he could not tell what was different about Julie now that she had evolved to a level-one zombie.


    At this moment, the system notification rang in his mind.


    ¡°The host¡¯s girlfriend is about to regain her senses for a minute. Please make good use of your time! 5,4,3,2,1¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s such a thing?¡± Rhodes was shocked. He looked at Julie; he did not expect she would be able to regain her senses so quickly despite it only being for a minute.


    At this moment, Julie who was lying on the bed looked at Rhodes with half-closed eyes and called out, ¡°Um¡­ Rhodes¡­ Where are we?¡±


    As though she had just woken up from sleeping, she stretched her limbs, exposing her beautiful and fair breasts.


    After a while, as though she had just recalled something, she cried out in surprise, ¡°Rhodes, you¡¯re alive!¡± When she saw the muscular Rhodes in front of her, she almost did not recognize him.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m alive. This is a temporary safe house I found!¡± Rhodes rushed up to Julie excitedly and lifted her. He could feel the warmth from her 36D.


    Julie, who was checking out her surroundings, suddenly blushed. With the posters plastered on the walls, she roughly guessed they were in an hourly hotel. She asked shyly, ¡°Wasn¡¯t I bitten by a zombie? Why did you bring me here?¡±


    At this moment, Rhodes suddenly thought of a possibility. He quickly let Julie go. ¡°I spent a lot of effort to bring you with me. I¡¯m going to conduct an experiment next. You have to cooperate with me, understand?¡±


    Julie looked at Rhodes¡¯ expectant eyes and nodded.


    Rhodes did not hesitate and pulled off his pants in one swift movement.


    Upon seeing this, Julie was in a daze, at a loss over what to do.


    Then, he held the thing between his thighs as he gently pushed Julie¡¯s head toward it. He gestured for her to take him in her mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you a few things¡­ But you just keep going, okay?¡±


    Looking at the monstrously-sized thing in front of her, Julie¡¯s face flushed red again. She had always been a traditional girl and had never done such a thing before. However¡­ the person in front of her was Rhodes¡­ It should be okay¡­


    Julie clenched her hands before she opened her mouth and took him into her mouth.


    Upon feeling the warmth of Julie¡¯s mouth, Rhodes could not help but groan in pleasure. His experience with Beth yesterday could not compare to this at all. It was like fire and ice at the same time. He did not know how to describe this feeling; all he knew was it was unique to Julie.


    Rhodes was slightly taken aback when he saw Julie picking up speed and getting more skilled. Upon closer inspection, was this not one of the actions on the posters? Was her learning ability so strong now?


    At this moment, another system notification appeared in his mind.


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Strength +1.¡±


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Speed +1.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Spirit +1.¡±


    So it was possible to do it this way. It seemed like the word ¡®bite¡¯ had a very flexible meaning. Rhodes felt as though a whole new world had been opened to him. The result of this experiment had laid the foundation for his future happiness!


    Rhodes looked at his girlfriend who was still taking him into her mouth, he thought it was time to tell her the truth. ¡°You¡¯ve become a zombie now.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a slight pain in his lower body, and he could feel Julie slowing down.


    A slow alarm rang from the system


    He hurriedly said, ¡°However, I¡¯ve found a way to make you regain your senses!¡±


    Then, the alarm from the system seemed to pick up pace, as though encouraging him.


    Rhodes thought about it and decided to tell her good news first. ¡°We¡¯re both safe for now.¡±


    After saying that, when he checked that the alarm did not slow down, he was relieved.


    He saw he had ten seconds left so he placed his hand on Julie¡¯s face and said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep getting stronger so I can save you. Trust me!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Julie, who was moved by his words, began to increase her speed.


    Rhodes saw there were only a few seconds left so he stopped her and lifted her head. She went slack for a moment before she returned to being a zombie.


    Her eyes seemed a little out of focus, but her red eyes were getting darker and darker. There was some whitish liquid at the corner of her mouth.


    Before Julie had turned back into a zombie, she had wanted to swallow it all. However, before she could do so, she had lost consciousness.


    Meanwhile, zombie Julie licked the liquid off the corner of her mouth as she looked at the huge thing in front of her face with a dangerous glint in her eye.


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey, this isn¡¯t food!¡± Rhodes hastily moved his treasure away from her. He did not dare to provoke Julie who had returned to being a zombie. What if she mangled or killed his treasure? Unless he gained some ability that would ensure she would not be able to bite it off for real, it was better not to try.


    Rhodes had just put on his clothes and was about to leave when the system notification rang in his mind again.


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, you¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. You¡¯ve awakened a special ability. Special Ability: Poison Control.¡±


    This time, the special ability came with an explanation from the system.


    ¡°Poison Control: You can increase a person¡¯s loyalty by making them ingest the high-protein liquid you ejaculate from your body.¡±


    ¡®What the f*ck? Such a thing could increase loyalty?¡¯


    ¡°System, can you check how many people are loyal to me now?¡±


    ¡°Ding! After checking, there¡¯s only one person whose loyalty is affected by Poison Control. It¡¯s your zombie girlfriend, Julie. Her loyalty is 90 out of 100.¡±


    ¡®What? Her loyalty is so high after just one time of giving me a blowjob?¡¯


    Rhodes shook his head. ¡®No, no, no. Julie¡¯s loyalty to me, to begin with, must have already been very high¡­¡¯


    When he calmed down, Rhodes looked at the interface and nodded. Next time, he would try this skill on other people.


    Moreover, he was sure there were still more special abilities to unlock.


    He recalled when he awakened the ability, Insight, he was bitten on the lips.


    This time, he awakened Poison Control after being ¡®bitten¡¯ on his treasure.


    He wondered if the condition to awaken a special ability was to get bitten on a different part each time? What a strange system!


    Rhodes shook his head and decided not to dwell on the matter for now. What he wanted to do most at this moment was to kill more zombies to obtain more energy crystals so Julie could level up. He believed Julie would give him many more pleasant surprises as she continued to evolve.


    At this moment, Rhodes¡¯ Insight ability kicked in. In his mind, he saw hordes of zombies gathering at the gates of his university. Among the hordes of zombies, many of them were zombies with flashing red dots on their foreheads. Like the leaders of the masses, they were leaping around.


    Rhodes smiled. He no longer had to worry about finding food for Julie. He knew where to find it.

 Chapter 22

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Once Rhodes saw the zombies gathered at the university nearby, he did not waste time and began to pack his weapons.


    He was certain the university must have been taken over by a few factions now. Although his attributes were five times more than ordinary people, it did not hurt to be cautious. Moreover, he had not ascertained if he was bulletproof.


    The people on campus might be students, but many of them ran with a tough crowd and carried guns.


    After he sheathed his knife, he caressed Julies¡¯ head and kissed her forehead before he made his way to his former university.


    ¡­


    Emma was a cop.


    At this moment, she held a gun in front of her chest as she stood guard at the south gates of the New York State University.


    Half an hour ago, she had sent a distress signal to the university¡¯s broadcasting room. She had asked the arrogant person on the receiving end of her message to save her. She even agreed to serve him and his brothers.


    Bullsh*t! How could she agree to something like that?


    She was a well-known beauty in the police department. Her figure and appearance were excellent, especially her long, slender but toned legs.


    It was only natural that the beasts on campus did not want to let her go.


    She knew it was not going to be easy to survive in the apocalyptic world. However, if she had to serve and become a plaything and a slave to those beasts, she would rather be bitten to death by zombies.


    She had counted, she only had six bullets left. She was going to keep the last one for herself. After she had made up her mind, she holed up in the car. When she was ready, she tried to escape from the zombies. However, after almost half a day, she no longer had the strength to resist the zombies anymore.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, James who had waited for a day smiled smugly when he received the distress call. He had encountered many stubborn and defiant girls like the female cop who had a strong character.


    Naturally, her current situation was all premeditated by James.


    This was how he tamed and controlled his harem of female slaves.


    During the apocalypse, apart from the zombies, what could be more unbearable than hunger and thirst?


    He was certain the female cop must be almost fainting from hunger now, if she had not already fainted.


    As long as he sent his people out to capture her, it would not be long before she became his plaything.


    With this thought in his mind, a sneer appeared on his face.


    Then, he casually pulled a female slave sitting next to him and roughly sat her on top of his rod that had been hard for a long time. He needed to vent his anger first. After all, it took time and care to toy with a high-level plaything like that female cop.


    At this moment, a series of hurried knocks sounded on the door.


    ¡°B-boss¡­¡±


    James was naturally furious that his good time was interrupted. ¡°Who the f*ck is it? Can¡¯t you tell that I¡¯m busy?¡±


    This interruption made him lose his mood immediately. He roughly pushed the female slave on top of him who was still in the midst of pleasuring him with her alluring figure.


    When the person on the other side of the door, who was clearly a lackey, heard the displeasure in James¡¯ voice, he mustered up his courage and said, ¡°I-I have bad news. Look at the gates!¡±


    Upon hearing these words, James opened the door with a dark expression on his face. ¡°What¡¯s happening at the gates?¡±


    With the door opened, the lackey gulped as he looked at the naked slave lecherously for a brief moment. After that, he hastily apologized in a humble manner, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. However, there are hordes of zombies gathered at the south gates. Once the gates give way, we won¡¯t be able to stay here anymore.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, what¡¯s going on?¡± James walked out to the balcony facing the gates and looked at the hordes of zombies gathered there.


    He shouted, ¡°F * ck, did any of you even keep watch of the surroundings? How did it escalate to this extent? Why did no one inform me of this huge problem?¡±


    In fact, James was also angry because of another reason.


    There were currently four forces on campus. They occupied the east, south, west, and north gates respectively.


    The faction at the east gate consisted of people from the university¡¯s security department and students from the basketball team. This group was very strong since most of them were strong adults who used to work at the university¡¯s security department. Moreover, they possessed guns. They could be considered the strongest among the four factions.


    The faction at the south gate was made up of a few students from the football team and a ragtag group of students. Since guns were easily accessible, they possessed guns as well. Their strength was not much weaker than the east gate¡¯s faction.


    The west gate¡¯s faction was led by a group of professors, and their members were also a ragtag group of students. They usually accepted people in need of help into their faction. Therefore, the faction had the largest number of members, but they were, in fact, the weakest among the four factions.


    In fact, many of James¡¯ female slaves and playthings were kidnapped or snatched from the west gate¡¯s faction.


    And then, there was the north gate¡¯s faction. They were a mysterious faction. Not much was known about them. They did not have many members, but each of their member¡¯s combat ability was extremely high. There were witnesses claiming they had seen them firing a flamethrower.


    Therefore, even if the other factions had guns, they did not dare to recklessly provoke the north gate¡¯s faction.


    Since the hordes of zombies were gathered at the south gates, James naturally felt his head ache.


    At this moment, the lackey rubbed his hands together and said with a lewd smile, ¡°Boss, I¡­ I¡¯ll make sure to keep an eye on the female cop on your behalf. In fact, I¡¯ve been helping you to keep an eye on her for a long time. She has really tender and smooth skin. I¡¯ll continue keeping an eye on her so when she surrenders, I can capture her and¡­ bring her to you¡­¡±


    James was irritated. ¡°Women! Women! Women! Are women the only thing you think about?¡±


    The men James had accepted were mostly thinking about drugs, alcohol, or women. If he was not the captain of the football team, he would not have been able to order these people around.


    James was not as discerning as Rhodes when selecting company.


    At this moment, he had a headache as he continued to look at the hordes of zombies. If the zombies managed to breach the gate¡­ What could that group of druggies, alcoholics, and womanizers do? In fact, they were more likely to bring him down!


    After mulling over it for a moment, James finally said, ¡°Gather everyone! Everyone will follow me and rob those do-gooders at the west gate! We¡¯ll capture a few of them as well! Kill the men, and kidnap the women!¡± His voice was laced with killing intent when he spoke. Since the apocalypse, he had killed more than one or two people.


    ¡°Yes!¡± the lackey replied excitedly


    ¡­


    At the south gate.


    In an inconspicuous car.


    Emma was lying low in the car as she muttered to herself, ¡°If it¡¯s not for the damn apocalypse, I would¡¯ve arrested everyone here!¡±


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the apocalypse, I would have arrested everyone in the school!¡±


    A hint of sadness flashed in her eyes as she recalled the scene from yesterday. A young boy had followed in his mother¡¯s footsteps and became a zombie. She lowered her head and stared at her pair of long and toned legs that would make men go crazy as she shook her head. If only she had run faster, perhaps, that boy would not have been infected. And in a chain of events, she ended up getting scratched by the infected boy.


    She lifted her head at this moment and looked at the dark scratches on her fair arm with a frown on her face. She murmured to herself, ¡°I¡¯m not going to turn into a zombie, am I?¡±


    She shook her head as though she was shaking off the negative thoughts. Her eyes flashed determinedly. Even if she turned into a zombie, she would not let those b*stards go!


    She had yet to discover it, but at this moment, her breathing was getting weaker and weaker, and her eyes were slowly turning red.

 Chapter 23

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Rhodes carried all the weapons he had on his back.


    First, he made a stop at the nearest convenience store that was located near the university gates. This place had long been looted, probably by the students. However, it was an excellent hiding place. From there, he observed the hordes of zombies at the south gate.


    Although he did not use Insight, with just a glance, he could see the numbers were in the three figures. He could easily take care of the zombies alone. However, he had to investigate the people or factions on campus. After all, what if he killed all the zombies, and other people reaped the benefits?


    After that, he circled around the wall. He used Insight and saw two people standing guard at the south gate. He had to admit those people had hidden themselves very well. If it were not for his special ability, he would have walked into a trap.


    With this discovery, he decided against going in through the gates. He would have to find another way to get in.


    He looked at the walls that stretched out at the sides. For ordinary people, it would be impossible to climb in. However, he, whose attributes were five times more than ordinary people, easily jumped over the wall. It was like a stroll in the park for him.


    After successfully entering the university, he discovered, apart from the hordes of zombies gathering outside the gates, there were a few zombies shuffling around on campus as well. Based on the corpses on the ground, it seems like the people killed some of the zombies and left some of them alive.


    Rhodes could infer the meaning behind these few zombies shuffling around on campus. It was not that the people could not kill them, but whatever faction or force was in charge probably used these zombies to intimidate people.


    Rhodes openly made his way to the hidden guards at the gates as he announced, ¡°I¡¯ve already found you. Let¡¯s end this quickly.¡±


    However, the closer he was to their hiding place, the more he felt that something was amiss. Through Insight, he could see their postures were extremely strange.


    One of them seemed to be kneeling, head constantly moving back and forth. Then, he turned his back to the other person. Then, the person behind began to move vigorously. After a while, both of them collapsed to the ground.


    Although Rhodes finally figured out what was going on, he did not waste any unnecessary words.


    The two people who were just finished with their business suddenly saw a flash of movement. In just a blink of an eye, a bloody knife appeared in front of them, startling them half to death.


    Rhodes¡¯ voice rang frostily from beside them, ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you questions, and you¡¯re going to answer them. Otherwise, your heads will roll.¡±


    When they looked at the source of the voice, they were surprised to see it was the weakling Rhodes! With this, their fear seemed to have vanished without a trace and was replaced by disdain instead.


    One of them said mockingly, ¡°Rhodes, you¡¯re so amazing now. You even dare to use a knife.¡±


    In the university, was there anyone who did not know the weakling Rhodes was dating the university¡¯s beauty, Julie? No one understood why such a beautiful girl would like a good-for-nothing guy like Rhodes.


    Their captain, James, had once challenged Rhodes. However, being the coward he was, Rhodes did not dare to accept the challenge.


    ¡°Brat! How dare you point a knife at us?¡±


    Rhodes could hear the anger, confusion, and disdain in their voices. He did not hesitate to draw his knife across the neck of the guy who had just spouted nonsense.


    ¡°F*ck! Rhodes, are you f*cking crazy?!¡± The other person was naturally stunned. He did not expect the cowardly Rhodes would dare to kill someone. Moreover, he had killed in such a decisive and neat manner. He was growing afraid now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue. I¡¯ll ask the questions; you¡¯ll answer them.¡± Rhodes placed the knife that was still dripping with blood against the guy¡¯s neck.


    The guy nearly peed his pants from this.


    ¡°How many factions are there on campus?¡±


    ¡°F-four¡­ Each one occupies the north, south, east, and west gates respectively.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of the south gate?¡±


    ¡°James. The captain of the football team.¡±


    Rhodes knew who James was of course. After all, James had publicly declared his love for Julie in the broadcasting room. It caused Julie to feel embarrassed for a time.


    ¡°Where¡¯s he now?¡±


    ¡°Our boss saw the zombie hordes at the south gate, and it seems like the gate is going to give way. Therefore, he has gone to the west gate to fight for territory.¡±


    James had a terrible personality, and Rhodes had a grudge against him. However, he had to admit James had a really keen sense of danger. When there was danger, he knew how to run. However, could he make the other party¡¯s wish come true?


    Under the other person¡¯s incredulous gaze, Rhodes cut the corpse of the person into pieces. After experiencing the apocalypse, he was no longer his former self. In the world, only the strong would be respected. As the saying went, ¡®To be merciful to one¡¯s enemy is to be cruel to oneself¡¯.


    ¡®James? It¡¯s time for me to repay you for the past.¡¯ With strength five times stronger than ordinary people, Rhodes had the strength to crush a team of football players.


    Rhodes made his way to the university¡¯s west gate. He was a little impatient earlier and forgot to ask for the exact location. However, as long as he was heading in the right direction, he would meet those people sooner or later.


    ¡­


    ¡°You don¡¯t have much time left. If you don¡¯t hand Ira over to be my slave, we¡¯ll force our way in. Think about it,¡± James said threateningly to the people from the west gate.


    The west gate¡¯s faction called themselves the Mutual Aid Association. The faction consisted of a ragtag team of professors and students. Although they had many members, their combat strength was truly lacking.


    Faced with James and more than 100 of his men who wielded weapons, the people from the Mutual Aid Association, naturally, did not dare to confront them directly.


    After all, James and his men were very intimidating. Initially, James had gathered more than 150 people to his side. However, due to some incidents and some people, he had deliberately killed a few people to intimidate his men. He had never been hesitant about killing people. There were people who were accidentally bitten while killing zombies; he had immediately sent his men over to kill those people. As long as they were injured, no matter how light or severe, all of them were killed. In the end, there were only 120 people left.


    James had come to the west gate today with ulterior motives. He would make sure there would be a fierce battle between the south gate and west gate today unless they handed Ira over.


    Before the apocalypse, Ira was widely acknowledged as the most beautiful professor on campus. At that time, James had tried to make a move on her.


    In any case, James did not care what the west gate¡¯s people¡¯s choice would be. Either one would serve his purpose. He would have Ira or he would carve a chunk of flesh out of the west gate¡¯s faction and grab some people over. He needed more manpower. After all, recently, the east gate¡¯s faction, made up of mostly ex-security guards and basketball players, had gotten stronger and stronger.


    ¡­


    After an hour.


    One of the lackeys stepped forward and said tentatively, ¡°Boss, when we came out to kill the zombies earlier, your cousin was injured¡­ We¡­¡±


    ¡°Beat him to death.¡± James did not even hesitate.


    ¡°But he¡¯s your¡­¡±


    ¡°There are no buts!¡± James said coldly, ¡°No matter who it is, if they¡¯re injured by a zombie, they will become a zombie. Kill!¡± Then, he added threateningly, ¡°Do you want to go to the room next door?¡±


    The room next door referred to the room next to the Broadcasting Room, where James lived. The room next door was filled with zombies and was used as a place to deal with corpses or to punish people.


    The lackey felt his legs weakening immediately when he heard James¡¯ words. ¡°B-boss, I-I was wrong. I won¡¯t ask for mercy anymore.¡± Then, he added timidly, ¡°D-do you want to go and see your cousin for a final time?¡±


    James ignored his lackey and fiercely vented his frustration in the mouth of a short-haired girl under him.


    After he was done, he said to his lackey, ¡°Come, let¡¯s go have a look.¡±

 Chapter 24

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    The lackey led James to a building near the south gate. This was where most of the members of the football team lived.


    James looked at his cousin and said with a dark expression, ¡°You know the rules.¡±


    James had told the others countless times that as long as they were infected, it did not matter if the injury was big or small, they would have to die. He would not break this rule even if said person was his family member.


    At this moment, dozens of people gathered in the corridor. Their expressions were slightly unsightly.


    Since James¡¯ group was relatively big, he had delegated some people to his cousin and appointed his cousin as a leader.


    James had appointed his cousin a leader and allowed him to lead dozens of men to kill zombies. With dozens of men with his cousin, he thought that no matter how stupid his cousin was, his cousin should be safe. Who knew his cousin would end up getting injured by a zombie?


    To be honest, when James was consolidating his power, his cousin had contributed a lot. His cousin was his most ardent supporter. Therefore, now that his cousin had ended up in this state, his expression was slightly gloomy.


    Nevertheless, when he looked at his cousin who was lying on the bed and saw that no one had stepped forward to kill his cousin, his anger rose. ¡°What? Are my words worthless now?¡±


    The people gathered here were all assigned by James to his cousin. He did not expect that after such a short time, they would no longer listen to his orders.


    At this moment, a burly man stepped forward and said, ¡°Boss, your cousin¡¯s wound is rather light. Moreover, we cleaned and disinfected his wound real fast. Don¡¯t you want to wait and¡­¡±


    The burly man stopped talking abruptly.


    James had drawn his dagger across the burly man¡¯s throat.


    The burly man reached up and held his throat. However, his hands were not enough to stop the blood from spurting out of his neck like a fountain.


    ¡°Did I give you permission to speak?¡± James said coldly.


    This sudden attack intimidated the others; they no longer dared to speak. Their eyes were darting everywhere, and their palms were drenched in sweat.


    In the apocalypse, only a ruthless person like James could survive longer.


    He looked at the people with lowered heads and continued to say coldly, ¡°No matter who¡¯s bitten or scratched by a zombie, they have to die. It doesn¡¯t matter even if it¡¯s my cousin. Those who plead for mercy don¡¯t care about the collective safety of the faction. This can cause more deaths in the faction.¡±


    He swept his threatening gaze across the men.


    None of them dared to meet his gaze at all or speak up.


    After a pause, he said, ¡°I will not show any mercy. Deal with him now!¡±


    ¡­


    At this moment, Rhodes was making his way to the west gate. He was constantly on the lookout for supplies and James.


    When he passed by the medical building, he decided to check if he could find any knives, disinfectants, medicine, gloves, and so on. These things would definitely come in handy at some point.


    However, as soon as he stepped into the building, Rhodes, whose hearing surpassed ordinary people, heard noises from the third floor.


    There was a cacophony of groans and moans of pain and pleasure.


    From what he could discern, there seemed to be, at least, a dozen of different voices.


    ¡®Is there a sex party happening, right now?¡¯


    Rhodes slowly made his way up to the third floor. As he drew closer to the source of the noise, he peeked through a window of a classroom. He saw a dozen women being held down by a dozen men as the men had their ways with the women.


    Upon closer inspection, Rhodes discovered many of the women seemed to be professors from the university. He watched as the men switched women after they were done with one. It kept going on and on. Meanwhile, the women¡¯s voices rose and fell.


    Rhodes was like an outsider at this lewd party. He did not fit in at all nor did he want to fit in. After finding out what was going on, he stopped looking.


    During the apocalypse, things like this were common. The apocalypse had freed men and women from the shackles of morality and the law.


    Rhodes turned away and made his way to the fifth floor. He did not forget he was here to look for supplies.


    In one of the rooms on the fifth floor, he saw three zombies through the window. Moreover, he saw evidence of human corpses that had been feasted on by the zombies.


    He did not waste time and quickly dealt with zombies.


    The first thing he found was a box condom. He nodded in satisfaction. He could think of many uses for condoms. They can be used as gloves, to tie something, and they could be used to hold liquid. Indeed, condoms were very useful.


    As he looked at the zombies on the ground, he wondered if the zombies were kept here to guard the supplies in the room.


    After that, he rummaged through the cabinets and searched the room. Whatever he found useful, he would put them in his backpack.


    ¡­


    After Rhodes left the building, he continued walking. He thought to himself that James should be somewhere nearby.


    At this moment, he saw a flurry of movements and a figure from the corners of his eyes. When he saw the person¡¯s face, he could not help but laugh. The person was none other than James.


    ¡­


    At this moment, James and his people were killing zombies on the path that led from the southern side of the campus to the western side of the campus.


    ¡°Boss, the smell of his corpse will attract more zombies.¡±


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m using their corpses to attract zombies.¡± James hauled the corpse of the burly man whom he had killed with a dagger and threw it next to his cousin¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°Boss, there¡¯s movement from the zombies. There are more than ten of them.¡±


    ¡°Watch carefully.¡± James held the steel pipe in his hand and told the people around him that dealing with the zombies was like playing a game. He would lure them in, and while they were feasting, he would kill them from the back.


    This cycle continued as zombies were continuously lured in.


    Soon after, his men joined in and began to deal with the zombies as well.


    The first wave.


    The second wave.


    The third wave.


    By the time James and his men finished killing the third wave of zombies, the two corpses on the ground did not even retain the shape of a human anymore. Their limbs were gone, chunks of flesh were missing, and their faces had been eaten. A half-eaten eyeball oozing liquid lay near a pool of blood. It was truly a gory sight.


    It did not take long before the fourth wave of zombies arrived, lured in by the smell of blood.


    At the same time, a figure stood in the woods near the south gate. He looked at these people who were killing zombies at an extremely slow pace.


    Rhodes felt the collective speed and efficiency of these dozens of people killing zombies could not compare to him alone. Their speed was even slower than when his body was just strengthened.


    He looked at them disdainfully. He¡¯d be able to deal with all those zombies in a much shorter time.


    Then, he shifted his gaze to James, and his gaze turned even more disdainful. He used to think that James was incredibly strong. At that time when James publicly revealed his interest in Julie, he had only wished he could bring Julie away and escape. However, at this moment, he only felt James was incredibly weak. Even killing one zombie seemed like such a laborious task to James.


    All Rhodes wanted to ask James now was, ¡°How do you want to die?¡±

 Chapter 25

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    In a building near the west gate.


    This building was originally the residence for the university¡¯s professors. Currently, it had been turned into a shelter for a large number of the Mutual Aid Association.


    Most of the members were now gathered in the common room on the fifth floor. They had gathered all the tables and pushed them together in the center of the room to form a large table.


    At this moment, the leaders of the Mutual Aid Association were gathered for a meeting.


    ¡°Professor, James and his group are killing zombies on the path leading to our territory.¡±


    Many students had discovered James leading his men from the southern side of the university to open up the path to the western side of the university.


    In fact, Ika and a few others had deliberately lured the zombies here as a means to protect the western gate.


    All of them felt that James and his men were even worse than the zombies when they found out of their depravity. At the very least, the zombies would not eat them because they were driven by instincts. However, James and his people would capture, torture, and kill people for fun.


    ¡°Professor Ira, what should we do now?¡±


    ¡°Professor! According to the information we just received, it won¡¯t be long before James and his men will be done killing the 100 plus zombies!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. They¡¯ve killed about half of the zombies now. It won¡¯t be long before they¡¯re done!¡±


    ¡°Professor, you have to think of a way!¡±


    ¡°The supplies in this building won¡¯t last us much longer. Why don¡¯t we promise James¡­¡±


    There were quite a few students in charge of supplies who knew very well how much supplies they used daily. During apocalyptic times, it was definitely not a small amount. How were they going to support all these people without any supplies?


    It was time to make a choice.


    Ira was slightly flustered and at a loss over what to do. She had never considered these things before. Her father was the dean of the university before the apocalypse. Naturally, her first instinct was to protect the students. She had expected someone to come to their rescue after a while. With this fantasy in mind, she and a few of her father¡¯s subordinates had set up a support group here. However, reality was like a bucket of cold water that was splashed on them.


    Their shortage of food and supplies was the first of their problems.


    Suddenly, a student looked at Ira and said solemnly, ¡°Professor, the slave things that James mentioned this morning¡­¡±


    ¡°F*ck! Shut the f*ck up! Don¡¯t you know what will happen if we send Professor Ira to him?¡± someone interjected angrily.


    The other person raised his voice and argued in return, ¡°However, if we hand Professor Ira over, we¡¯ll be able to survive. It¡¯ll be too late when James and his men charge in here!¡±


    People who were originally opposed to handing Ira over to James fell silent. Their mouths opened and closed a few times as though hesitating to speak.


    ¡°F*ck them! F*ck this apocalypse! I¡¯m going crazy!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just agree to James¡¯ request?¡± a female student quietly said.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we send you over instead to be a female slave?¡± someone retorted.


    ¡°Well, if we don¡¯t send her over, she will probably die when they charge in. At least, there¡¯s a chance of survival if she becomes a slave¡­¡±


    ¡°You call that living? Being raped by men every day, locked in a building, and waiting for the next man to rape you. Is that living?¡±


    ¡°This won¡¯t do, and that won¡¯t do. What should we do then?¡±


    ¡°Professor!¡±


    ¡°Professor¡­¡±


    ¡°Professor?¡±


    More than ten people sat around Ira and argued among each other,


    All of sudden, Ira cried out as she pointed outside, ¡°Look, Look!¡± It was as though she had seen something unbelievable.


    ¡°What is it? Did the zombies got to James and his men?¡±


    Most of the people looked in the direction Ira pointed.


    ¡­


    Rhodes continued to observe as James and his men killed the zombies. After a while, he confirmed they did not carry guns or firearms.


    Maybe they did not bring their guns because they were afraid the noise would attract more zombies. Who knew? Rhodes could not care less. All he knew was without guns, he had no need to be wary of James and his men.


    Finally, Rhodes began to make his way out of the woods.


    When James saw Rhodes emerging from the woods, he was shocked. He recognized Rhodes immediately. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±


    James had pursued Julie for a long time. Who would have expected, in the end, she would fall for a good-for-nothing?


    James¡¯ men, or lackeys, knew about James pursuing Julie, and they, naturally, thought Rhodes was a good-for-nothing as well. They began to speak up one after another to mock him.


    ¡°Rhodes, are you alone? Where¡¯s your girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Why didn¡¯t you bring your girlfriend? You looked down on our boss back then. It¡¯s not too late to apologize now.¡±


    ¡°Rhodes, we¡¯re in a world of zombies now. Can you even protect the university¡¯s beauty with how cowardly you are? Why don¡¯t you bring her to our boss? What do you think?¡±


    Before long, the mockeries turned into outright threats.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You should send your girlfriend over. Our boss will definitely protect her.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll f*cking die today. Don¡¯t even think about leaving!¡±


    Many of them had bullied Rhodes in the past. They became even worse when he started dating Julie. At that time, Rhodes did not dare to resist at all. If he resisted, it would be even worse.


    ¡°What a f*cking loser. I think he¡¯s too frightened that he forgot how to speak?¡±


    All of them looked at Rhodes with eyes brimming with contempt and anticipation. It was as though they were certain they would be able to see the famous university beauty dancing naked in front of them just to please them.


    ¡®They¡¯re really overestimating themselves.¡¯ In Rhodes¡¯ mind, he had already decided to kill everyone who had spoken. He looked at James with a hint of amusement and calmly asked, ¡°How do you want to die?¡±


    James and his men were momentarily stunned by Rhodes¡¯ words. When they recovered, all of them burst into laughter. No one took him seriously at all and thought he was a fool who overestimated himself.


    ¡°Trash, you must have not been beaten for a long time? Do you miss being beaten?¡±


    Someone laughed. ¡°There are so many of us and just you alone, but you dare to say those words? You¡¯re really going to die today!¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, useless Rhodes is just trying to be funny. It¡¯s the funniest joke I¡¯ve heard this year.¡±


    A boy from the football team began to say, ¡°Trash, when I see your girlfriend kneeling in front of our boss¡¯ crotch¡­¡± However, his words were abruptly cut off; he was stunned speechless by the sight in front of his eyes.


    A head could be seen in the air. The eyes on the decapitated head were filled with disbelief. Based on his body posture, he did not even have time to defend himself.


    The others who were laughing earlier looked at Rhodes who was holding a knife in his hand with widened eyes.


    At this moment, hints of terror could be seen in the depths of their eyes.

 Chapter 26

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    One of James¡¯ men looked at Rhodes fearfully after witnessing his strength. ¡°W-what¡­ What do you want?¡±


    James was their leader for a reason. He was a very skilled fighter. Many of his men had witnessed him battling a zombie alone. His muscular body was like a small mountain when he stood still.


    It was beyond their expectations that someone as powerful as their leader would be killed by Rhodes with just a single strike. It was evident that Rhodes possessed strength beyond their imaginations.


    As they watched Rhodes advancing slowly toward them, they trembled in fear. Could it be possible that he intended to kill all of them?


    A faint smile could be seen on Rhodes¡¯ lips, but his eyes were flashing with killing intent.


    In the current world, the strong preyed on the weak, and the weak could only submit to their fates.


    Swoosh!


    In the next moment, Rhodes swung his fist and punched the side of one man¡¯s head. A squelchy noise rang in the air immediately. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. It was a terrifying sight to behold.


    One of the men was so frightened, he felt as though he was going to pee his pants. He fell to the ground as he cried out, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t kill me¡­ Please¡­ Please show mercy¡­¡±


    There was even one man who really did pee his pants after discovering Rhodes intended to kill them.


    Alas, their words and thoughts were useless. Death was coming for them.


    Another four squelching sounds rang in the air.


    The metallic smell of blood that lingered in the air and Rhodes¡¯ hands that were covered in blood made him look like a demon who had crawled out of hell.


    All of the men were killed by Rhodes in just a second.


    Julie was shocked when she witnessed this scene. Rhodes was too powerful! Even Mike Tyson, who seemed like he possessed 1,000 Strength attribute points, did not seem so powerful!1


    Although Julie had turned into a zombie, she still retained 30% of her soul. The display of Rhodes¡¯ strength seemed to shock her back to her senses for a very fleeting moment. Soon enough, her zombie instincts took over. When she saw and smelled the blood, she started running toward the corpses before squatting down and beginning to eat them.


    The sound of her tearing into the flesh and eating the corpses was extremely horrifying.


    Since she had turned into a zombie, her teeth had changed as well. They were now stronger, and she could easily chew through bones. In her mouth, bones were like tofu.


    Upon seeing the state Julie was in, Rhodes sighed as he thought to himself, ¡°This won¡¯t do. I can¡¯t let Julie continue like this. I have to think of a way to make her regain her senses even if I can¡¯t turn her back to a human!¡¯


    Rhodes and Julie¡¯s relationship was a long and happy one. How could he bear to see her living like a zombie? He promised himself to save her so that they could continue being happy together in the future.


    Earlier, Rhodes had speculated that when a zombie bit him at a specific spot, he would awaken a special ability. He had boldly deduced that if he guided Julie to bite specific parts of his body, he would be able to awaken many special abilities.


    With this thought in mind, he called out, ¡°Julie!¡± His voice was gentle and carried a hint of sorrow from seeing his girlfriend in this state.


    At this moment, Rhodes softly called out, and a faint sense of sadness rose in his heart.


    Unexpectedly, when Rhodes called out to Julie, she turned around and looked at him hesitantly. However, it seemed like James and his men¡¯s meat was too tempting for her to resist.


    Rhodes covered his face, feeling helpless. Julie was too gluttonous! In the end, he could only take the initiative to approach her. He stretched his arm out in front of her, placing it directly in her line of sight. ¡°Julie, don¡¯t eat that. You can bite me¡­¡±


    Julie seemed to be listening to Rhodes¡¯ words as she continued to chew on the human meat in her mouth.


    Rhodes moved his arm closer to her when suddenly, Julie fiercely bit his arm.


    Rhodes hissed as a searing pain spread through his body. Beads of sweat dripped down from his temples. He endured the pain and waited for the system¡¯s reward.


    As expected, he was not disappointed.


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, host. A chunk of your flesh has been bitten off by a zombie. You are rewarded with a special ability, Body Regeneration. The ability is increased by 1,000%!¡¯


    ¡®Ding! Host is currently recovering.¡¯


    ¡®Ding! Congratulations, host! You have successfully recovered!¡¯


    After the system¡¯s voice rang in his mind, Rhodes felt a comfortable sensation on his arm. The intense pain he had endured earlier had completely vanished. With that, his mood seemed to brighten.


    ¡®This feels pretty good¡­¡¯ The feeling of his body recovering was really comfortable. He felt as though he had been reborn. It was too bad this special ability only applied to him. Otherwise, he could use it to help Julie. It would be even better if he awakened an ability that could directly cure Julie.


    With this thought in mind, coupled with the new special ability, Rhodes grew even more determined. He placed his other hand in front of Julie and said as though he was coaxing a child, ¡°Julie, come¡­ Be good, eat my finger¡­¡±


    If anyone was around to hear his words, they would have been shocked and horrified. Let alone letting a zombie bite off a finger, even a slight scratch would turn one into a zombie.


    Rhodes was different since he was fortunate enough to obtain the system that granted him many special abilities. He only wished Julie would eat more of his flesh.


    Julie did not hesitate and bit Rhode¡¯s finger off in one bite. Blood flowed down the corners of her lips as she chewed on his severed finger and bone. Then, Julie bit off Rhodes¡¯s finger with one bite and then began to chew on it.


    Rhodes had to admit that zombie Julie really had a good appetite. She ate as though she had not had anything to eat for a long time.


    Soon enough, the system¡¯s voice rang in his mind again.


    ¡®Ding! Congratulations to the host for having his finger bitten off by a zombie. Reward: Strength +2!¡¯


    As the system¡¯s voice kept ringing in his mind, Rhodes could feel himself rapidly growing stronger again!

 Chapter 27

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After Julie bit off Rhodes¡¯ finger, Rhodes guided her to bite different parts of his body. Unfortunately, he did not awaken any new special abilities after that. However, with every bite from Julie, he felt his body growing stronger and stronger. The feeling was not very subtle; he felt as though he could feel every cell in his body cheering over the upgrade. Alas, this feeling did not last long. After she bit him all over his body, the system notification stopped ringing in his mind.


    Rhodes called up the system interface after the last system notification rang in his mind.


    Host: Rhodes.


    Age: 22.


    Strength: 105 (originally 11)


    Speed: 105 (originally 8)


    Vitality: 108 (originally 15)


    Spirit: 102 (originally 13)


    (ordinary people usually have 10 points for each attribute)


    Special Abilities: Insight, Poison Control, Body Regeneration


    (Special Abilities will consume spiritual energy)


    After not checking his statistics for a while, Rhodes discovered many changes on the system interface. He looked at the special ability, Body Regeneration, and knew it was the special ability he had just awakened. Since he had witnessed the use of Body Regeneration earlier, he no longer dwelled on it.


    After he was done, he shifted his attention to the outside world again.


    Without Rhodes¡¯ commands, Julie no longer bit him. Instead, she struggled, trying to make her way to the corpses strewn on the ground.


    Rhodes looked at Julie who was trying to get the corpses as a trace of sorrow appeared on his face. His mood that had been lifted by his boost in strength vanished immediately.


    ¡­


    ¡°So powerful!¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s he? Is he also from our university?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s just like Superman. I wonder if he has a girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°In this apocalyptic world, I¡¯ll definitely be able to live a little longer if I can stay next to him!¡±


    The male student, who had proposed earlier to give into James¡¯ demand and hand Ira over to James to be turned into a female slave, sighed as the females in the room began to discuss among themselves.


    ¡°That¡¯s only natural! After all, he¡¯s so powerful! It must be easy for him to find food and water!¡±


    ¡°As long as there¡¯s food and water, I¡¯m willing to do anything!¡±


    ¡°I hope he comes over here! At that time, I¡¯ll kneel and beg him to give me some food!¡±


    ¡°How nice would it be if he were my boyfriend?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m still a virgin. I should have a chance if I take the initiative, right?¡±


    The males in the room remained silent.


    Only the females were speaking excitedly. Their conversations seemed to escalate and became more and more obscene. These female students were mostly famous beauties on campus. No matter where they went in the past, a long line of boys would trail after them, inevitably raising their statuses. Not many ordinary male students could get close to them. How ironic. In the past, they were so arrogant that they would have looked down on Rhodes. However, currently, all of them wished Rhodes would accept them. As long as he agreed, they would even agree to become his slave. In fact, they were more than happy to do so.


    The female students¡¯ words seemed to affect Ira, the most beautiful professor on campus whose beauty was not inferior to Julie. It could be seen from her expression that she was moved by the words around her. Her beautiful face was slightly red as she thought to herself, ¡®If I can stay next to him, there¡¯s no doubt I¡¯ll be able to live better in this apocalyptic world.¡¯ After a while, she shook her head and continued thinking to herself, ¡®How can I have such thoughts? Not only is Rhodes the boyfriend of the number one beauty on campus, Julie, but he¡¯s my student as well! As his professor, how can I have such thoughts?¡¯


    ¡­


    While Ira and the female students were lost in their wild fantasies, Rhodes began making his way in their direction. It did not take long before he entered the building and walked to the room where everyone was in.


    He stood ten steps away from them and took out the first gun he had seized today.


    Upon seeing Rhodes bringing out the gun, these arrogant beauties on campus hid behind Ira in fear.


    A cold voice rang in everyone¡¯s ears soon after. ¡°I¡¯ll ask the questions, you¡¯ll answer them!¡±


    When the people in the room recalled how easily Rhodes had killed James and his men, they grew even more frightened.


    ¡°Apart from you people here, is there any other faction on campus?¡±


    Rhodes waited for a long time, but no one answered his question. He was about to shoot when Ira hastily replied, ¡°Apart from us, there are three other factions. The faction at the east gate consists of members of the basketball team and people from the security department. This faction is very strong since there are many adults, and most of the people from the security department are equipped with guns. Then, we have the north gate¡¯s faction. They¡¯re a mysterious force. There aren¡¯t many people in their faction, but each of their members¡¯ combat ability is incredibly high. There were also witnesses claiming they had seen the people from the north gate firing flamethrowers. Therefore, although the other factions have guns, they would not recklessly provoke the north gate¡¯s faction.¡± Then, she hesitated just for a brief moment before she said, ¡°Finally, there¡¯s the faction at the south gate. The faction consists of members from the football team and ordinary students. They have guns as well, and they aren¡¯t any weaker than the east gate¡¯s faction. Right now, hordes of zombies are gathered at the south gate.¡± Her voice was melodious when she spoke. As expected of a professor. She was articulate and organized her thoughts well. In just a brief moment, she had detailed the situation on campus to him.


    Rhodes fell deep into his thoughts as he listened to Ira¡¯s explanation. When he regained his senses, he saw a group of women with dirty faces, greasy hair, ragged clothes, and sallow complexion speaking over each other at the same time.


    ¡°Rhodes, you¡¯re so amazing!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Rhodes, you¡¯re just like a superhero!¡±


    ¡°Rhodes, thank you for saving me!¡±


    ¡°Handsome, you saved my life. How do you think I should repay you?¡±


    ¡°Rhodes, I¡­ I¡¯m still a virgin. I-I hope¡­¡±


    He frowned slightly. It seemed like they had not eaten food or drank water for a long time. Although they were all flattering him, their eyes were trained on his bulging backpack.


    It was only natural that these women could tear their eyes away from Rhodes¡¯ backpack. After all, they could even see a bag of chicken wings with sauce at the side, almost spilling out of the backpack.


    Rhodes had managed to find the food in the broadcasting room earlier.


    There, they could clearly see the mineral water and bread!


    At this moment, Rhodes ignored the 12 women clamoring in front of him. Instead, he shifted his attention to Ira who was standing by the window. She bit her lip as she looked out the window, resting her pair of 36E on the windowsill. Although her lips were chapped and the state she was in was not any better than the other women, her beauty still shone through. He thought that her pair of 36E enhanced her beauty even more.


    When Ira saw Rhodes staring at her, she hurriedly turned away and looked outside.


    Meanwhile, the other women followed Rhodes¡¯ gaze and found him staring at Ira. They were, naturally, jealous and envious. With this, they seemed to double their efforts to catch his attention. One after another, they tried to flirt with him and made bold suggestions. Some of them even rubbed their bodies against Rhodes¡¯ body, completely unabashed.


    Upon seeing this, Rhodes sneered. ¡°Do you want some water or food?¡±


    The eyes of the women around Rhodes lit up instantly as they shouted in unison, ¡°Yes!¡±


    Rhodes glanced at Ira before he said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, beg your professor to leave with me¡­¡±


    It was not that Rhodes had perverted thoughts. It was just that he needed Ira. Since he could not stay by Julie¡¯s side all the time, he needed someone trustworthy to look after Julie. In his mind, Ira and Beth would balance each other out. With Ira around, he would not have to fear Beth trying to harm Julie when he was not around. With this thought in mind, he was determined to have Ira leave with him.

 Chapter 28

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Rhodes¡¯ words instantly caused a commotion among these people, including the male students who had been keeping quiet.


    ¡°There¡¯s bread! There¡¯s bottled water!¡±


    ¡°However, will Professor Ira agree to it?¡±


    ¡°Professor Ira, you have to agree!¡±


    ¡°Rhodes, what¡¯s the difference between you and James if you do this?¡±


    ¡°No, Professor Ira, you can¡¯t go!¡±


    At this moment, Rhodes¡¯s frosty voice rang in their ears again. ¡°I can give you bread and bottled water for Ira¡¯s sake. However, if you keep up this commotion, you won¡¯t get anything at all!¡±


    ¡°Professor Ira, agree to his request!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This way all of us will survive!¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡±


    ¡°Professor Ira has protected us for so long, but you want to trade her away as though she¡¯s an object!¡±


    ¡°However, think about the bigger picture. In exchange for Professor Ira alone, most of us will be able to survive!¡±


    ¡°Even a child would be able to see this!¡±


    ¡°F * ck, you ingrate! I¡¯ll kill you right now!¡± At this moment, an athletic male student rose to his feet and punched a long-haired man wearing glasses.


    The long-haired man was not going to take it lying down so the fight escalated.


    At this moment, Ira¡¯s voice that was as melodious as a nightingale rang in the air. ¡°Okay, stop fighting. I¡¯ll go!¡±


    Upon hearing Ira¡¯s words, the men stopped fighting. When she looked at the people around her, she could feel a sense of alienation. Sadness weighed heavy in her heart as she walked toward Rhodes¡¯ side.


    Once Ira stood next to him, Rhodes threw some food and bottled water across the small room.


    They flew in a beautiful arc before they landed on the floor. Then, chaos descended in the room. People were fighting over the backpack; they were no different from the zombies outside at this moment.


    ¡°Professor Ira, how do you feel seeing this? These people look like they¡¯re fighting for food, but in fact, they¡¯re fighting over your flesh and blood! Do you think they¡¯re any different from the zombies? When I threw the supplies in there, did they even spare you a glance?¡±


    Rhodes¡¯ words were like a sharp knife stabbing into Ira¡¯s heart. She could not withstand the sadness and fell to the ground, crying.


    Rhodes did not comfort her. He just stood aside as though he was watching a circus.


    Most of the males in the room had managed to snatch some food and water for themselves.


    Meanwhile, the females barely managed to grab anything. At most, some of them only grabbed enough to fill their stomachs now. Who knew who hungry these beauties would be again when night fell?


    Moreover, at that time, Ira who had always protected them would be gone.


    Who knew what would happen at that time?


    Meanwhile, Rhodes looked at the sky outside that was gradually turning red. Then, he lowered his head to look at Ira who had stopped crying. He said in a low voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go! We won¡¯t be able to leave at night!¡±


    After he finished speaking, he did not wait for Ira. He turned around and made his way to Julie.


    Looking at Rhodes¡¯ retreating and strong back, Ira rose to her feet and looked at the meeting room on the fifth floor one final time. This time, there was a hint of coldness and determination flashing in the depths of her eyes. With that, she turned away and hurriedly caught up to Rhodes and left the west gate¡¯s stronghold.


    ¡­


    During the journey back to the safe house, Ira followed behind Rhodes quietly, feeling awkward. She did not know what to say and only followed as Rhodes continued to search for supplies.


    After some time had passed, they finally arrived at the safe house.


    At this moment, the sky had darkened.


    Although Beth was slightly surprised when she saw Ira walking in with Rhodes, she still greeted him with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re back!¡±


    Rhodes handed the backpack on his shoulder to Beth as though it was a matter of course, and Beth took it from him as though she was an obedient and submissive wife.


    Rhodes did not spare the two women an extra look as he brought with him to clean up, leaving the two women to size each other up.


    Upon seeing Rhodes leaving, Ira felt even more embarrassed and awkward. She did not know what to do.


    Beth took the initiative to speak. She said lightly, ¡°Professor Ira, I didn¡¯t expect you¡¯d follow Rhodes¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡± Ira replied as a faint blush appeared on her beautiful face again.


    Upon seeing the shy expression and the blush on Ira¡¯s face, Beth lost all interest in chatting.


    The two women sat down silently, listening to the sound of running water.


    Soon after, Rhodes emerged from the bathroom with Julie in tow. He looked at Ira and said, ¡°Ira, I didn¡¯t have any ill intentions when I asked you to leave with me. I want you and Beth to look after Ira during the day since I would need to go out to scavenge for supplies! Since Beth is alone, she won¡¯t be able to do much on her own. Don¡¯t overthink things. You can pick any of the rooms to live in and food and water will be taken care of. All you need to do is look after Julie on my behalf while I¡¯m away¡­ Understand?¡±


    Ira looked at Rhodes blankly and nodded.


    ¡°Alright! Since you understand, you can have a shower and rest!¡± After Rhodes finished speaking, he no longer cared about two women in the common area and brought Julie back to his room.


    The night passed by silently without any incident.


    ¡­


    In the morning.


    After Rhodes had gotten up and washed up, he left the temporary safe house.


    According to Ira, the hordes of zombies were gathered at the south gate. With that in mind, he set off early to the south gate.


    Rhodes soon arrived in an alley on the way to the south gate. He was not in a hurry to make a move because he had heard the sounds of zombies growling. He could tell the zombies were not far away from him. He cautiously followed the noises and took a peek when he arrived. After a while, he noticed there was nothing unusual. He wondered to himself in confusion, ¡°What are they doing?¡±


    After observing a little while longer, he began to feel bored and decided to continue on his journey to the south gate. Just as he was about to leave, a black shadow flashed across his sight, shocking him. ¡°What the f*ck is that?¡±


    Since his interest was piqued, he was no longer in a hurry to leave this place. He wanted to see what that speedy zombie was doing. He hid himself better before he began to observe the zombie with an extraordinarily fast speed. However, what he saw frightened him.


    The ordinary zombies who were growling like beasts earlier were now gathered around a thin zombie. At this moment, they looked as though they were communicating with each other in low voices.


    Although Rhodes could not understand them, he could somehow sense they were communicating.


    Soon after, the zombies¡¯ meeting seemed to be over.


    The thin zombie sped away as though it had received the information it wanted.


    After the thin zombie left, the group of zombies dispersed as well.


    Meanwhile, Rhodes muttered to himself in shock, ¡°Did they evolve and gain intelligence?¡±

 Chapter 29

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    Rhodes was shocked by the thought that appeared in his mind.


    He recalled the strange scene had witnessed earlier again. The thin zombie seemed to have been drawn here by the ordinary zombies¡¯ growlings. Then, it seemed to be listening to the zombies as though it could understand the zombies¡¯ growlings. Whatever it was, it seemed like the thin zombie had gotten what it wanted from the ordinary zombies.


    ¡®It seems like the situation at the south gate is more complicated than I¡¯d imagined. It¡¯s best if I return after I increase my strength.¡¯ With this thought in mind, Rhodes retreated from this troublesome place.


    ¡­


    On campus.


    An inconspicuous car sat on the path between the south gate and the west gate.


    The beautiful cop, Emma, who was lying in the car opened her eyes with great difficulty. She had fainted many times over the night, but every time, she managed to regain consciousness.


    At this point, she had not eaten any food or drank any water for two days. Most importantly, she discovered she was no longer as clear-headed as before.


    Along with a high fever, the scratch on her arm had turned darker as well.


    She frowned upon seeing this. When she felt clear-headed enough yesterday, she had cut off the piece of rotting flesh! However, after a night, the rotting piece of flesh did not only grow back, but it had worsened as well.


    She used the last of her strength to struggle and fumble around looking for the dagger on her body. After a while, her hand finally tightened its grip around its hilt. After catching her breath, she used all her strength to pull the dagger out from the sight.


    At this moment, she could barely keep her eyes open. Her mind seemed as though it was forcing her consciousness away. However, just as she was about to lose consciousness, she used all her strength to use the dagger to cut the piece of rotting flesh on her arm again.


    She cried out as a sharp pain seared through her body. The pain seemed to have taken the final toll on her, and she passed out.


    ¡­


    Rhodes, who happened to be passing by, heard the miserable cry. He followed the cry and found himself in front of a car. He had watched as Emma struggled and cut off the rotting piece of flesh from her arm. He was somewhat impressed by her.


    After all, for someone to be able to stick to their morals and not harm others in this apocalyptic world, it was indeed worthy of Rhodes¡¯ praise.


    Rhodes opened the car door and searched the car for a while; he found a gun and a very sharp dagger. He planned to leave after he found those things. After all, Emma had screamed rather loudly earlier. It would definitely attract the zombies.


    However, when Rhodes was about to leave the car, Emma suddenly bit him.


    The system notification rang in his mind, interrupting his plan to leave.


    ¡°Ding! Congratulations, host. You¡¯ve been bitten by a zombie. Reward: Speed +2!¡±


    This was the second zombie after Julie that he had met that could make him stronger! With this, he yanked a few wires out from the car and quickly tied Emma up.


    When he was done, a few zombies were already shuffling toward him. When they smelled the blood in the car, they grew agitated. They roared and rushed toward Rhodes.


    With that, the zombies¡¯ roars seemed to have started a chain reaction. Alerted by the roars, every zombie in the vicinity rushed toward Rhodes¡¯ direction.


    Rhodes could only smile bitterly. ¡°This is really too much!¡±


    He quickly picked Emma up and tied her to his body. Then, he got out of the car and jumped onto the roof of the car. As he stood on the roof of the car, he surveyed his surroundings. Then, he leaped as hard as he could and grabbed onto the railings of a balcony on the second floor. With his boosted strength, he used one arm as he moved from window to window. Like an ape, he traveled across the building.


    After an unknown amount of time had passed, Rhodes began to feel slightly sore in his arm. He found a balcony that could accommodate two people and climbed up.


    He untied Emma from his body and placed her on the ground. When he saw her police uniform that was in a messy state and her long fair legs, he could not help but have a reaction.


    However, before Rhodes regained his senses, she suddenly opened her eyes.


    At this moment, Emma had already turned into a zombie. She struggled to break free from her restraints.


    However, Rhodes did not give her a chance and quickly knocked her out with a stick.


    ¡°Ah! Julie, I really don¡¯t know how much longer I can hold on! I hope you¡¯ll get well soon. Otherwise, I¡¯m going to fall into a trap sooner or later¡­¡± Rhodes sighed before he carried Emma on his back and made his way back to the safe house.


    ¡­


    At this moment¡­


    Beth and Ira were both hiding in a closet, trembling in fear.


    Julie was pounding on the closet in a frenzy.


    However, after a moment, the noises abruptly stopped.


    Beth buried her head between her legs and asked Ira in a trembling voice, ¡°Professor Ira, do you think she has left?¡±


    Upon hearing Beth¡¯s question, Ira slowly raised her head that was also buried between her legs. She looked at the gap between the closet doors and said, ¡°I-it seems like s-she has left!¡±


    Upon hearing those words, Beth began to sob. ¡°Professor, I¡¯m almost frightened to death! I¡¯m really scared!¡±


    Although Ira was scared as well, she was a few years older than Beth so her endurance was slightly better. She gently patted Beth¡¯s back to comfort her, and at the same time, she comforted herself inwardly as well.


    After a while, Beth¡¯s sobbing gradually died down into silent tears. She asked through her hiccups, ¡°Professor, we lost Julie. Will Rhodes abandon us when he returns and finds out about this?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think so!¡± Ira stammered. She truly did not know the answer to Beth¡¯s question.


    ¡°Then, are we going to become zombies?¡± Beth asked.


    It was deadly silent in the closer.


    Both of them had wounds on their thighs. They did not know if the wounds were from Julie or if they had wounded themselves during the commotion.


    ¡­


    Rhodes successfully carried Emma back to the safe house. However, as soon as he walked in, he knew in an instant something was wrong due to the scratches on the walls and the bloodstains. He quickened his pace instantly as his heart grew uneasy. He put Emma down and began to call out, ¡°Julie! Julie!¡±


    There was no movement even after he called out for Julie a few times. Feeling helpless, he could only call out for the other two women. ¡°Beth! Ira!¡±


    Finally, Rhodes heard movements. However, instead of two women, he saw two half-human-half-zombies.

 Chapter 30

    Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation


    After Rhodes called out, Bess and Ira stumbled out of the closet toward Rhodes.


    ¡°Rhodes¡­ S-sorry¡­ W-we failed to¡­¡± Ira stammered.


    Beth, on the other hand, could no longer speak. She opened and closed her mouth but no sound came out from it.


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Rhodes cursed angrily. Before he could even figure out what had happened to Julie, it seemed like Ira and Beth were about to lose their sanity. He was incredibly furious, but he could kill both of them now.


    Left with no other choice, he could only use Poison Control on the three women in hopes that it would slow down their mutation.


    The system notification began to ring in his mind soon after.


    ¡°Ding! The number of zombies affected by the Poison Control has increased to another three zombies!¡±


    ¡°Zombie girlfriend, Julie. Loyalty: 100.¡±


    ¡°Half-human-half-zombie, Ira. Loyalty: 80.¡±


    ¡°Half-human-half-zombie: Beth. Loyalty: 80.¡±


    ¡°Zombie Police. Emma. Loyalty: 80.¡±


    After hearing the system notification, Rhodes knew Beth and Ira¡¯s conditions should have stabilized for now.


    Then, he hurriedly asked Ira, ¡°Ira, what happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I only remember hearing a loud roar before Julie lost control¡­ While we tried to get under control¡­ I think¡­ I-I think we were injured! She seems¡­ to be looking for something important. I don¡¯t know how I know that, but I can sense the thing is very important to her¡­¡±


    Rhodes fell deep into his thoughts after listening to Ira¡¯s explanation. All kinds of questions appeared in his mind at this moment. ¡®Julie grew agitated after hearing a roar outside? However, I didn¡¯t see anything outside when I returned. Moreover, she seems to be looking for something¡­ What was she looking for?¡¯


    While he was distracted, lost in his thoughts, the three women seemed to have heard something and grew agitated and violent. Regardless, they did not hurt him at all. Instead, they began to head outside, ignoring him.


    Thump!


    While Emma shuffled outside, she tripped on a wire and fell to the ground.


    The loud sound caused Rhodes to regain his senses. When he saw the three of them seemingly headed to the same place with a purpose, he decided against using Poison Control to stop them. It seemed to him that whatever caused these reactions in three of them was the same thing that caused Julie to go berserk.


    Rhodes decisively followed them out of the alley.


    As soon as the three of them exited the alley, he was stunned by the scene in front of him. Hordes of zombies, one after another, were shuffling systematically toward the same direction.


    Rhodes continued to follow the army of zombies, walking and stopping.


    The south gate!


    Rhodes did not expect them to head to the south gate!


    After the zombies moved further away, it was his turn to walk past the south gate. His nose was assaulted with a sour and rotten stench of garbage and corpses. He looked at the severed limbs strewn on the ground and the pools of dark red blood before he retched.


    He quickly calmed down and followed the zombie army.


    This is the first time he was venturing outside the vicinity of the campus after so many days. He was afraid just imagining what was going on outside so far away from campus.


    The university¡¯s south gate was the closest to the park. After exiting the school gate, if one turned left, one would soon arrive at the entrance of the park.


    As expected, this was the zombies¡¯ destination.


    Now that Rhodes had found out the destination, there was no need for him to stay behind the zombies. He quietly used his special ability to summon Beth, Ira, and Emma with his mind. He ordered the trio to follow him.


    Just like that, four of them quietly left zombies and made their way to the heart of the park through a path. Since he no longer needed to follow the zombies¡¯ pace, he was much faster now. In just a short time, they arrived at the heart of the park.


    At this moment, the zombies seemed to have gone crazy. They swarmed toward the heart of the park like stampeding beasts.


    Rhodes, who wanted to observe the situation, had no choice but to climb up a tree.


    The situation was not very complicated. A short zombie was standing in the center. Next to it, groups of zombies were fighting each other as though they were trying to determine who was the strongest.


    Rhodes activated the special ability, Insight. He discovered the horde of zombies in the center were all level-six to level-seven zombies. He was startled by this discovery. He had worked hard, day and night, to kill zombies and harvest their energy crystals for Julie, but in the end, he only managed to help Julie become a level-eight zombie. He wondered inwardly, ¡®Where did these zombies get so many energy crystals to level up?¡¯


    Then, he was further shocked when he shifted his attention to the short zombie standing in the center. ¡®Level-five? It¡¯s only a level-five zombie! How did he make these level-six and level-seven zombies fight?¡¯


    Soon after, through Insight, he saw two blue lights flickering in the short zombie¡¯s body. Upon seeing this, he seemed to understand why the other zombies were in such a state. It seemed like the zombies were here for the blue lights. The zombies were most likely fighting to see which of them was the strongest so they could obtain the short zombie¡¯s blue energy crystals.


    With this, he confirmed his suspicion that Julie had to be among the hordes of zombies.


    He wasted no time in looking for her. When he found her, she seemed to be in a miserable situation. She was surrounded by four level-seven zombies. Although she was a level higher than them, she could not handle being surrounded by four level-seven zombies at the same time.


    Julie was about to be defeated by the four zombies when Rhodes suddenly appeared by her side. With a body that was ten times stronger than an ordinary person, he sent a level-seven zombie flying with just one punch. Then, he grabbed Julie and used all his strength to stomp on the ground to propel himself backward.


    Before he made his way to Julie, he had ordered Beth, Ira, and Emma to hide among the hordes of zombies and to regroup with him amidst the chaos.


    When the short zombie saw that someone had disrupted the fight around it, it immediately shrieked. Its ear-piercing scream spread through the entire park. All the zombies stopped fighting immediately and began to chase after Rhodes.


    Rhodes did not look back. He carried Julie and rushed toward the area where the number of zombies was the lowest and charged through their ranks.

 Chapter 31

    Rhodes was very fast. He had no intention of waiting for the zombies to surround him. However, he was faced with a dilemma as soon as he exited the park. In front of him was a group of strangely muscular zombies. At the same time, hot on his trails was the thin zombie he had seen earlier that seemed to be able to communicate with other zombies. He knew if he fought them directly, he would definitely win. However, it would slow him down considerably. At that time, the army of zombies would definitely catch up to him. If the army of zombies surrounded him, he would not be able to get out. Let alone Julie, he would also be torn apart by the army of zombies.


    Moreover, as a level-eight zombie, Julie''s energy crystal was extremely attractive to the zombies. If she was surrounded, there was no doubt she would die an even more miserable death than Rhodes.


    Rhodes saw the thin zombie catching up to him and knew he could not afford to hesitate any longer. If he hesitated any longer, he would not be able to walk out of this place.


    At this moment, he saw a tattered banner hanging from a tree. He quickly pulled it down and used it to tie Julie to him. Then, he took the initiative to charge at the muscular zombies at full speed.


    Boom!


    When he collided with one of the muscular zombies, one of the zombie''s arms was reduced into a pulpy mess.


    Blood rained down on the zombies in the surroundings.


    Rhodes did not stop and continued to charge into the group of muscular zombies. He was like an angry wild bear as he cut his way through the group of muscular zombies. He destroyed everything that stood in his way.


    Unfortunately, this wasted a lot of Rhodes'' time. The zombie that seemed capable of communication had already caught up to Rhodes.


    Apart from that, some zombies even reached out their disgusting hands to grab Julie who was tied to his back.


    Just as those stinky hands were about to grab Julie, Rhodes suddenly made a sharp turn and jumped onto the roof of a truck that was parked in front of him.


    The zombie that seemed capable of communication could not stop itself in time and directly hit the truck.


    When Rhodes stood up, he realized he did not know in which direction he should run.


    At this moment, the south gate was surrounded by zombies. He did not know the people on campus so it was not worth the risk to run in there. There was a possibility he might face danger in there as well. Apart from that, there was also the risk of him being denied entry. At that time, he would only end up wasting more time.


    In the end, he decided he could only find a temporary safe place before he made any further decisions.


    He jumped off the truck decisively.


    The zombie that seemed capable of communication seemed to have recovered and was continuing to chase him.


    He passed through many obstacles before he finally entered a building he deemed safe. However, the sight that greeted his eyes when he entered the building shocked him. He saw a zombie with an appearance that was different from all the zombies he had seen before. This zombie was also short, and its face was twisted beyond recognition. It had a protruding green belly, and his long tongue lolled out of his mouth, dripping with disgusting green slime.


    The zombie saw Rhodes as soon as Rhodes saw it. It did not hesitate and began to attack by spitting green slime at Rhodes.


    Upon seeing the green slime that threatened to drench him, Rhodes moved to the side at top speed and avoided the attack.


    As soon as the green slime hit the floor, a nauseating stench permeated the air. At the same time, the ground where it landed began to corrode as a sizzling noise rang in the air.


    When Rhodes saw the corrosive effect of the green slime, he could not help but feel lucky for dodging it. Fortunately for him, despite the zombie''s corrosive green slime, its attack speed was very slow. For this reason, it was easy for him to dodge its attacks.


    Meanwhile, the corrosive zombie seemed angry when it saw that its attack did not land on Rhodes. It immediately launched five consecutive attacks in a frenzy.


    Rhodes looked at the five puddles of green slime sailing toward him in the air and cursed, "Damn it!" Then, he quickly retreated from the entrance of the building.


    At this moment, the zombie that seemed capable of communication entered the building. Coincidentally, the five barrages of green slime landed on it, completely destroying it.


    Looking at the puddle of green slime and corroded zombie at the entrance, he knew he would not be able to get through if he did not kill the corrosive zombie.


    Seeing its attacks had missed again, the corrosive zombie began even more furious. It seemed to have given up on long-range attacks and began to charge toward Rhodes with its heavy body. However, it had only taken a few steps forward when it tripped over a corpse on the ground.


    "Ah?" Rhodes was slightly stunned. He had expected a fierce battle, but the result was somewhat unexpected. When he regained his senses, he quickly grabbed a shard of glass on the floor and decisively plunged it into the corrosive zombie''s protruding belly to kill it.


    As soon as the half-a-meter-long shard of glass pierced the corrosive zombie''s belly, a sizzling sound rang in the air. The green slime was melting the shard of glass!


    Due to the thinness of the corrosive zombie''s skin over its belly, Rhodes could see the inside of the corrosive zombie''s stomach that was sloshing with green slime. He watched as the shard of glass completely melted before the zombie''s stomach began to gurgle violently and contract.


    Soon after, he saw the sloshing green slime in the corrosive zombie''s stomach surged toward its four limbs, causing its body to grow in size.


    After the transformation, the corrosive zombie rose its feet and roared. When it opened its mouth, the sour and rotten stench of the green slime assaulted Rhodes'' nose.


    At this moment, the army of zombies finally caught up and entered the building. One by one, the zombies were corroded and killed by the green slime at the entrance of the building. However, it did not take long before the green slime dried up. With thatt, the remaining zombies roared as they swarmed into the building.


    Rhodes did not have time to feel disgusted when he looked at the corrosive zombie in front of him and the roaring army of zombies behind him. He kicked the corrosive zombie where it was most vulnerable. However, his shoe began to corrode rapidly as soon as it made contact with the zombie. Fortunately, he was able to kick the zombie away even if he did not manage to kill it.


    Before the corrosive zombie rose to its feet again, Rhodes quickly ran upstairs with Julie on his back.


    Meanwhile, the army of zombies did not relent and continued to chase Rhodes.


    Rhodes did not know how long he had been running, but he felt slightly tired. Finally, when he lifted his head, he discovered he had reached the rooftop of the building. ''No wonder I feel tired. I ran all the way to the top of the building¡­''


    Rhodes opened the door that led to the rooftop. When he walked out, he saw the slightly red sky and the setting sun.


    He knew this was it. Whether or not he could escape depended on this one time.


    The door would not be able to hold the army of zombies back for long. At this moment, they were already frantically pounding on the door.


    Rhodes estimated that in about two minutes, the zombies would break through the door.


    With this, he no longer hesitated. He moved back to the door as he looked ahead, ready to sprint.


    That was right. Rhodes intended to leap from the rooftop of this building to the rooftop of the building across it.


    No one, not even Rhodes himself, knew if he would succeed.

 Chapter 32

    Bang!


    The sound of the rooftop door giving way was like the sound of a starting pistol.


    He lowered his body and pushed back with one of his feet, leaving a print on the concrete floor, before he sprinted toward the ledge of the building like a fired arrow.


    As soon as he took out, zombies began to swarm to the rooftop. From high above, it seemed as though some sort of liquid was pouring out onto the rooftop from the door. They chased after Rhodes, relentless in their pursuit.


    However, Rhodes had already arrived at the edge of the rooftop. The wall was not high so he did not lose the momentum he had built up as he accelerated and leaped off the building.


    As soon as his feet left solid ground, he knew in his heart he was going to land safely on the other side. He drew a beautiful arc in the air as he leaped out. With his safety confirmed, he even turned around gracefully to face the zombies before flashing them his middle finger. All of this happened in just a split second.


    In just a moment...


    Bang!


    The sound of a heavy object smashing glass rang in the air.


    Rhodes landed safely. However, in order to prevent Julie from getting hurt, he shielded her when they landed.


    He hissed in pain as he pulled out the shards of glass embedded in his flesh. Fortunately, he had the special ability, Body Regeneration. After pulling out the glass shards, he saw his skin knitting together, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    Then, Rhodes put Julie down after he surveyed his dark surroundings. He had no idea why she had fainted. However, he found nothing unusual after he did a quick check. Feeling helpless, he could only tie Julie to his back again. Then, he began his journey to return to the safe house.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on campus.


    All the factions on campus had received a message at the same time: "New York City, this is Washington! We''ve developed a vaccine. Due to the large scale of infection and the speed of the mutation, we haven''t found a cure for the infection. The vaccine is useful to survivors and will prevent infection and mutation. Before the army arrives, protect yourself and prevent yourself from getting infected!"


    ...


    West gate.


    Ever since Ira left, it seemed as though hell had descended on the place. The high and mighty beauties on campus had all become playthings.


    The males no longer suppressed their desire and treated the females as pets. Some of the males who held onto their morals and had objected to this were killed after Ira left.


    Currently, the smell of blood and rot permeated the place. Severed limbs could be seen strewn on the ground outside. Meanwhile, the beauties lay on the ground like dogs, wagging their tails and begging for mercy. They could only do everything in their power to please those above them. Moreover, food was becoming scarcer recently.


    Although Washington had sent a message, the boys who had their fantasies fulfilled did not want society to return to the way it was.


    ¡­


    East gate.


    Compared to the tragic environment at the west gate''s faction, this place was much better.


    Almost everyone here wielded a gun and was physically strong.


    Apart from that, it was worth mentioning that the people here worked well together like a well-oiled machine. They were divided into small groups, and each group had its own responsibility. Whatever they found would be distributed between the small groups.


    Moreover, since almost everyone possessed guns, the groups seemed to have a tacit agreement and would not recklessly provoke each other. For this reason, it was relatively peaceful. However, if the balance was broken one day, this place would instantly turn into a living hell.


    It seemed like the thing that would break the balance had finally arrived today.


    ...


    North gate.


    The most mysterious faction on campus. Nobody knew how these people banded together, who they were, or how they awakened their abilities.


    People would be surprised if they knew the members were all vagrants and had awakened abilities.


    After the apocalypse dawned on the world, they had awakened abilities, giving them strength they did not possess in the past. With their abilities, they thrived in the new world. What they wanted the most, now that they had gained abilities, was to take revenge on the society that had once abandoned them. They had killed so many people that they had begun to feel bored. However, the message that they had just received had provided them with a new target: the army that was supposed to ''save'' them!


    ...


    Meanwhile, Rhodes had already arrived at the safe house and was waiting for Ira and the other two women''s return.


    He was determined to grow stronger so he wanted to conduct an experiment. He was going to let Ira and Beth bite him to see if their bites would increase his strength as well.


    Soon after, Ira and the other women returned.


    Rhodes bluntly told them about what he planned to do and the two women did not object to it.


    The two women obediently followed him and Julie into the room


    ....


    "Ding! Congratulations, you''ve been bitten by a zombie. Strength +1."


    "Ding! Congratulations, you''ve been bitten by a zombie. Speed +1."


    "Ding! Congratulations, you''ve been bitten by a zombie. Spirit +1."


    "Ding! Congratulations, you''ve been bitten by a zombie. Vitality+ 1."


    ...


    Rhodes lowered his head to look at Julie. His eyes were slightly red as he looked at her tenderly. A faint smile could be seen on his face as well. "Julie, don''t worry. I''ll make sure you return to normal as soon as possible."


    He continued to say, "Oh, right. I found two helpers. I''ll probably have more of them in the future. You won''t be jealous, right?"


    When he saw that Julie seemed to be shaking her head slightly in disapproval, he hastily added, "Julie, don''t worry. You''ll always be number one in my heart!"


    As though she could understand his words, a smile appeared on her beautiful face when he finished speaking. Her red eyes were brimming with love as she looked at him.


    Meanwhile, Rhodes suddenly heard a system notification. He was rather pleased by the notification he just received. He quickly called up the system interface. With just a glance, he saw the changes in the system interface.


    Host: Rhodes.


    Age: 21.


    Strength: 135 points


    Speed: 135 points


    Vitality: 138 points


    Spirit: 132 points


    (ordinary people usually only have 10 points for each attribute)


    Special Ability: Insight (10%)


    Special Ability: Poison Control


    Special Ability: Body Regeneration


    Special Ability: Elementary Metal Molecule Manipulation


    (using special abilities will consume spiritual energy)


    Ability Points: 12 (gaining points will help your special abilities level up)


    Zombie Virus Status: 60% (When it reaches 100%, you''ll transform into a zombie. Gaining -1 zombie virus points will reduce the virus by 10%)


    Zombie girlfriend, Julie: 100 Loyalty


    Half-human-and-half-zombie, Ira: 100 Loyalty


    Half-human-and-half-zombie, Beth: 100 Loyalty


    Zombie cop, Emma: 100 Loyalty


    "System, what''s the use of Elementary Metal Molecules Manipulation?"


    "Please find out for yourself."


    Rhodes had expected this response from the system. ''Fine. I''ll just find it out for myself!''


    Currently, he had 12 Ability Points. He could choose to level up one of his four special abilities.


    ''Insight, Poison Control, Body Regeneration, and Elementary Metal Molecular Manipulation... Which one should I choose?'' Rhodes thought to himself. After a while, he decided to save the 12 points for the time being. For now, there was no rush for him to upgrade Insight and Poison Control. Since he still did not know what his new ability could do, he decided to test it out when he had free time. At that time, it would not be too late for him to decide which of his special abilities to level up.


    At this moment, Rhodes suddenly stiffened. He quickly signaled Julie not to move.

 Chapter 33

    Rhodes lifted his head and looked in the direction of the entrance. Something was wrong! He heard the growlings of zombies, and the sounds were drawing closer and closer! He had killed the zombies in the surroundings when he had returned earlier. Although he had let a few zombies in the safe house''s surroundings survive to deter other survivors from approaching, these few zombies would not approach the safe house as long as they did not make loud noises and there was no obvious smell of blood.


    There was no heavy stench of blood nor was there any loud noise¡­ So why did the zombies come?


    Rhodes found a piece of tissue paper and wiped the corners of Julie''s lips as he said, "All of you stay here and protect Julie. I''m going out to see what''s going on!"


    Due to the special ability, Poison Control, Ira, Beth, and Emma had no choice but to obey Rhodes'' words.


    Emma stood guard at the door while Ira and Beth stood around Julie to protect her. Since Rhodes had ordered them to protect Julie, they would obey his words to the last letter. Unless they died, they would not allow Julie to get hurt.


    Upon sensing this, Rhodes was very satisfied. "If only there were more beautiful zombies like this!"


    He thought about using his points to level up the special ability, Poison Control. However, the thought was fleeting. He had a vague feeling that the new ability, Elementary Metal Molecule Manipulation, would not disappoint him. Moreover, he might even be surprised by it.


    When Rhodes went out, he saw the few zombies he had intentionally spared slowly walking toward him. However, he could clearly see their speed was faster compared to a few days ago.


    He activated Insight.


    "Huh? They''ve evolved into level-three zombies overnight?" He chuckled when he saw the zombies'' changes. They were just level-three zombies so he could easily deal with them.


    Rhodes rushed forward. With just three slashes from his knife, the three zombies died.


    After being bitten by his zombie girlfriend and his three female slaves for the entire night, his attributes had reached 130 points each. It was 13 times higher than that of ordinary people!


    These zombies were only slightly faster than ordinary people, and their strength was about three times that of ordinary people. Moreover, their attacks were random and driven by instincts, holding no thoughts behind them. For Rhodes who had killed countless zombies, it was simply too easy to deal with them.


    ''Ah! I forgot to use the Elementary Metal Molecular Manipulation ability! Well, it doesn''t matter. There are more zombies on the street outside,'' Rhodes thought to himself as he used his knife to dig out the energy crystals from the zombies'' brains.


    He was in no rush to test out his new special ability. Instead, he was curious about how the zombies leveled up in such a short time.


    After he dug out the energy crystals, he held them in his hand and studied them.


    He activated Insight again.


    One of the energy crystals was, indeed, different. It was a level-three energy crystal similar to the level-three zombie it belonged to.


    A thought suddenly appeared in his mind. ''Did this mean higher level zombies have a higher chance of possessing similarly high-level energy crystals? With higher-level energy crystals, would Julie be able to level up faster?''


    With this thought in mind, he ordered Ira, Beth, and Emma to continue protecting Julie and told them no one was to open the door except for him. After giving the orders, he rushed down the stairs again.


    When he arrived at the street, it was just as he had expected. There were many zombies from level one to level three. He even saw a level-five zombie! Naturally, there were more level-one zombies compared to the others.


    A faint smile appeared on his face as he looked at the zombies. The higher the level of a zombie, the faster Julie would be able to level up!


    He felt slightly excited as well. This time, he remembered to test out his new special ability, Elementary Metal Molecule Manipulation.


    In just an instant, he felt something stir in his mind. When he opened his eyes, the world seemed a little different. No, it seemed like he had become different.


    He lowered his head and looked at the knife in his hand. In the next moment, the knife levitated and hovered in front of him.


    Under Rhodes'' control, the knife shot out swiftly, looking like a streak of silver light as it easily pierced through a zombie''s head.


    Just like that, the zombie died and fell to the ground.


    Rhodes waved his hand and willed the knight to fly behind him.


    It felt as though his mind was connected to the knife, and he could control it at will.


    "Elementary Metal Molecule Manipulation? Isn''t this the ability of Magneto from X-men?"


    After discovering the general use of the new special ability, he called up the system interface in his mind.


    Host: Rhodes.


    Age: 21.


    Strength: 135


    Speed: 135


    Vitality: 138


    Spirit: 132


    (ordinary people usually have 10 points for each attribute)


    Special Ability: Insight (10%)


    Special Ability: Poison Control.


    Special Ability: Body Regeneration


    Special Ability: Elementary Metal Molecule Manipulation


    (using special abilities will exhaust spiritual energy)


    Ability Points: 12 (gaining points will help your special abilities level up)


    Zombie Virus Status: 60% (once you reach 100%, you''ll transform into a zombie. Gaining -1 zombie virus point will reduce 10% of the virus)


    Zombie girlfriend, Julie: 100 Loyalty


    Half-human-and-half-zombie, Ira: 100 Loyalty


    Half-human-and-half-zombie, Beth: 100 Loyalty


    Zombie cop, Emma: 100 Loyalty


    He discovered he could not select the special ability, Elementary Metal Molecule Manipulation on the system interface.


    Special Ability: Elementary Metal Molecule Manipulation


    Effect: Has magnetic control over all metal below 50kg within a 20-meter radius


    While Rhodes was looking at his new ability, the system notification suddenly rang.


    "Ding! System notification: The host''s world will be experiencing a large outbreak of zombie virus over the next 10 days. The virus is about to undergo a large-scale evolution. Please look after the people around you."


    "F*ck! The virus is evolving at this time?" Rhodes cursed under his breath and hurried back to the safe house after receiving this notification.


    ¡­


    When Rhodes opened the door, he saw the four women had fallen to the floor.


    He sighed in relief. Fortunately, no one went out of control this time!

 Chapter 34

    There was a commotion outside the night after Rhodes received the system notification.


    ¡­


    Early the next morning.


    The zombies were no longer as agitated as they were during the night. However, it could be seen that they had become more powerful.


    Rhodes wondered out loud, "Ten days ago, when the apocalypse began, 90% of the people turned into zombies. In just ten days, the world seemed to have gotten worse by a level. I wonder if the same thing will happen again after another ten days?"


    He did not dwell on the matter for long. In any case, he needed to work hard to increase his strength so he could help Julie level up as soon as possible. He also needed to find more powerful beauties, feed them the ''poison'', and build his own force.


    After a while, he recalled that he had to find time to check out the situation at the south gate.


    He had ordered Julie and the others to help him increase his strength again this morning.


    He managed to accumulate 20 Ability Points. He did not hesitate and used all the points on the special ability, Elementary Metal Molecule Manipulation. With that, the ability was upgraded into Intermediate Metal Molecule Manipulation. Its range had widened to a 100-meter radius, and the weight of the metal he could control had risen to 500kg.


    Then, Rhodes'' mind slowly drifted to the process of him increasing his strength through the four female zombies'' bites, and his hand began to move rhythmically.


    The zombies were getting more and more ferocious. Even their energy crystals seemed to have improved as well.


    To help Julie level up, he would not slack off at all. He had killed many zombies and had obtained six level-three energy crystals. Apart from that, he managed to obtain two level-five energy crystals as well.


    Fortunately, he had awakened the Intermediate Metal Molecule Manipulation ability. Otherwise, he would have to constantly sharpen his knife.


    He had experienced it yesterday; the head of a level-five zombie was much harder to pierce compared to a level-three zombie!


    ¡­


    In an area outside of the university''s vicinity.


    At this moment, military helicopters whistled past in the air; they did not stop at all.


    Angry curses could be heard in every corner of the street every time the helicopters flew past. The curses were from survivors whom the military, intentionally or unintentionally, failed to rescue. Alas, apart from cursing, there was nothing they could do. They could only feel bitter as they dispersed, in fear of attracting zombies.


    Meanwhile, on the 27th floor of Ronan Tower.


    Bradley was also one of the people who were cursing. Amidst his angry curses, he lit a cigarette and walked to the window, hoping the nicotine would calm his anger.


    He surveyed the scenery below him blankly as he exhaled the smoke from the cigarette. All of a sudden, his eyes stopped roving around as he focused his sight.


    It was as though he had seen a new world as he watched the zombies swarm the street below.


    Since the apocalypse dawned on humankind, he had seen many zombies. He had even seen waves after waves of zombies swarming the street. However, what he was seeing now shocked him.


    Zombies had no intelligence; they were only driven by basic instinct. They only knew how to instinctively search for the scent of the living to satiate their hunger. To be blunt, they were blindly running around. Even if there were obstacles in their way, they would run against the obstacles without any hesitation.


    Bradley was well aware of this after spending some time observing the zombies. However, today, his understanding of the zombies had been destroyed.


    Normally, hordes of zombies would occupy the street. However, something was different today.


    Attracted by the sounds of the helicopters, a horde of zombies came running from afar. Usually, they would run blindly, crashing against everything that stood in their paths. However, at this moment, the horde of zombies avoided an area in the center and split into two groups, like a two-prong fork. After passing the area they avoided, the two groups of zombies proceeded to merge into one again.


    How high was the 27th floor? It was more than 70 meters in height. Under normal circumstances, humans could only vaguely see from such a height.


    Bradley''s interest was piqued. He squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look. He wanted to find out what it was that actually made the zombies take a detour of their own accord. Soon enough, he saw a figure with a swollen belly, similar to that of a pregnant woman, lying on the ground. From this distance, it was too hard for him to tell, but based on the situation outside, he deduced that it could only be a zombie.


    He felt as though he was walking in the middle of a cloud of dense fog at this moment; his vision was really bad. Moreover, the curiosity was like an itch in his heart that would not be satisfied until he found out the reason behind this strange phenomenon.


    His heart thumped wildly in his chest as he hurriedly brought out his phone from his pocket. In his haste, he had forgotten about the cigarette, which had already burned close to the butt, in his mouth. He only reacted when it burned his lips.


    He spat the cigarette out and hastily turned on the camera on the phone. He pointed the camera in the direction where he had seen the figure as his fingers began to zoom in on the scene.


    In just a moment, he saw that the figure lying on the ground was, indeed, a zombie. To be precise, a female zombie. Shockingly, it seemed like it was pregnant! He could even see the outline of a tiny arm moving under the surface of the belly.


    As soon as Bradley saw this, his heart skipped a beat as fear of the unknown began to tighten its grip around his heart. As though to combat his fear, a hint of denial briefly appeared in his mind.


    He was not stupid. Anyone would think of childbirth immediately when they witnessed this scene. However¡­ were zombies capable of having children? If zombies could have children, could humans still be saved? Would the new generation of zombie babies be as instinct-driven and stupid as their parents?


    Bradley did not have the answers to all these questions. However, there was something he was certain of. Whether humans survived the apocalypse or became extinct due to the apocalypse, the recording in his phone was definitely an extremely important piece of information.


    He finally understood why the zombies had instinctively avoided the pregnant zombie. It was due to the birth of a new life. The continuation of a species was of utmost importance. Even wild beasts would instinctively protect their children. It seemed like zombies were no different in that aspect.


    He lowered his gaze and continued to look at the phone screen in shock and fear. His breathing quickened as he watched a small hand clawed its way out of the female zombie''s belly. After tearing its way out of the female zombie''s stomach, a fair and tiny hand moved in the air for a moment.


    The hand was small; it was exactly the size of an infant''s hand. The difference between the hand and an ordinary infant''s hand was the sharp claws at the tips of the small hand. Although Bradley could not tell how sharp they were from such a distance, to be able to tear the female zombie''s stomach open, they had to be very sharp.


    Bradley''s heart rate continued to accelerate, and he felt as though he had been dealt a heavy blow. As he looked at his phone screen, he did not know if he should continue watching. He had an ominous feeling that he was about to witness something terrible.


    His feet seemed to have taken root on the ground, and his arms were stiff. He could not move at all. It felt as though he was under a spell and was forced to continue watching.


    Bradley was still stunned and frightened by what he had seen so far when a small head popped up from the torn stomach.


    What Bradley saw next made him feel as though his heart that had been racing wildly in his chest had abruptly stopped beating altogether. He had even unconsciously held his breath as though he was trying to diminish his sense of presence. He thought he had been extremely afraid earlier. However, at this moment, he finally realized the true meaning of fear.


    The small head that popped out of the belly lifted its head at this moment, revealing its face that was like a porcelain doll. As though it could sense Bradley watching it, it looked directly into the camera as though it could see him.


    At this moment, Bradley finally reacted. He screamed as he frantically retreated from the window. He stumbled and fell to the ground as he threw the phone in his hand away like a hot potato. He crawled under a table, shivering, as he looked at the window fearfully. It was as if he was afraid the little monster would pounce at him through the window.


    "F*ck! Who''s screaming?"


    "Are you trying to f*cking scare me to death in broad daylight?"

 Chapter 35

    "Trash! Bradley, what are you doing? Let me guess¡­ Judging by the ugly expression on your face, did you have a nightmare?"


    Bradley''s terrified screams were so loud that some of the survivors who were holed up in Ronan Tower came to have a look. A few of them who were irritable even cursed at him angrily.


    Even after calming down, Bradley was still in shock. He leaned against the wall for support as he rose to his feet. Fear brimmed in his eyes as he looked at the window.


    His appearance caught the attention of a few survivors, and they approached him.


    "What''s wrong? You look like you''ve just seen a ghost!"


    "That''s right. It''s broad daylight. Did you really see a ghost? Hey, are you okay? Calm down."


    "What did you see? Tell me."


    A few men came over and began to ask questions. It was obvious to them that something was wrong.


    These few men who approached Bradley seemed to have given Bradley a lot of courage with their presence. He inhaled deeply before he looked at them with a complicated gaze. Then, he said in a low voice, "Follow me."


    After saying that, he walked to his phone and picked it up. He looked at the screen and saw that it was still recording. After he stopped the phone from recording, he glanced at the window. He thought to himself that the 27th floor was rather high up. Unless the little monster could fly, it was unlikely that it would be able to come up. With this kind of psychological comfort, his courage seemed to return to him bit by bit as he slowly made his way to the window again.


    He raised his phone and pointed it in the direction of that terrifying scene. He was stunned again when he looked at the phone screen.


    Through the phone''s camera, he saw the female zombie lying on the ground with a big hole in her stomach as blood pooled around her. However, the baby zombie was gone.


    What stunned and scared him was the expression on the female zombie''s face. ''It¡­ Is it¡­ smiling?''


    Bradley felt as though he could not understand this damn apocalypse! Could zombies smile? Were zombies capable of smiling now? Did they not only roar like wild beasts? Moreover, that baby zombie from earlier¡­ the way it had looked at him really frightened him to the core.


    The few men who followed Bradley over initially wanted to tease Bradley when they saw the expression on his face.


    One of them raised his hand but it abruptly stopped in mid-air.


    The men were stunned when they looked at Bradley''s phone.


    "What... is that?"


    "Why do I feel like this female zombie''s expression is a little strange? Moreover, it gives me the creeps..."


    "Bradley, were you frightened by this? To be honest, it''s a little unsettling, but you shouldn''t be frightened by something like this, right?"


    When Bradley finally regained his senses, he wanted to continue recording the female zombie. However, his vision of the female zombie was blocked by a horde of zombies at this moment. It seemed like after giving birth and the departure of the baby zombie, the zombies no longer instinctively gave the female zombie a wide berth. Instead, they walked and stepped on the female zombie now.


    With this, he had no choice but to give up. Then, he looked at the few men next to him. He took a deep breath before he clicked on the terrifying video he had recorded earlier. He said solemnly, "Take a look at this. If you can still remain calm after watching this to the end, I truly admire your courage."


    People were naturally curious, especially when there was an element of challenge. Therefore, many people were lured into watching scary videos and were frightened in return. The scariest and most vivid video was of someone punching at the television''s LCD screen.


    One of the men took Bradley''s phone as the others surrounded him and began to attentively watch the video.


    When Bradley looked at their faces, he felt as though he was looking at himself when he had witnessed that scene earlier.


    Soon after, the men cried out in surprise. Their breathing quickened, but their eyes were staring intently at the phone screen as though they could not tear their eyes away from it.


    "F*ck!"


    "F*ck, almost scared me to death!"


    "This is too scary! It felt as though the little thing was looking at me!"


    "F*ck! I almost died! My heart almost stopped beating. That little thing is really something!"


    Meanwhile, the phone was on the floor again. In such a short time, it had been thrown on the floor twice now. If this was before the apocalypse, Bradley would have been heartbroken. Currently, there were many shops in Ronan Tower that used to sell cell phones. If this one broke, he could easily get another one from one of the shops. However, the phones were all locked so some functions that were unavailable.


    The phone he was using now was Apple''s latest phone. He had taken it from one of the shops, post-apocalypse. It cost almost 1500 dollars just for one phone. In the past, he would have been unwilling to spend money on such an expensive phone.


    Bradley calmly picked up the phone from the ground before he looked at the men who were clearly still frightened. Then, he asked with a smile, "So what do you think? Is it worth watching? Do you think it''s thrilling?"


    "Yes, yes, it''s worth watching, but it''s too thrilling that my heart almost couldn''t endure it. If you have a bad heart, there''s a possibility you''ll die watching this," one of the men replied, trying to make light of the situation.


    Meanwhile, the remaining men looked worried. It was obvious they had thought deeper into what they had seen and shared many of Bradley''s thoughts.


    "Since zombies are capable of giving birth, is there hope for humans? Can we still be saved? It feels like a long time has passed since the apocalypse, and the zombies look like they''re living better lives than us. They haven''t lived as long as the zombies in Resident Evil."


    "They look shriveled to me."


    "What I''m most concerned about is whether the little zombie is intelligent or not. Is the female zombie pregnant before it was infected or can zombies procreate now?"


    Upon hearing these words, the few of them exchanged a look with solemn expressions on their faces.


    Matthew, the man who had tried to lighten the atmosphere earlier, shook his head and said, "Hey, do you think pregnancy is like magic? It hasn''t been that long since the apocalypse started. Even if zombies know how to mate, it''d be impossible for them to give birth so quickly!"


    Bradley had been listening to the men''s conversation silently. However, at this moment, he suddenly asked, "Aren''t any of you curious? Did any of you wonder where that baby zombie went?"


    Matthew and the others were stunned by Bradley''s words. When they regained their senses, they saw the fear in each other''s eyes.


    The baby zombie that had disappeared was the most terrifying to them. Was it intelligent? They were not sure, but based on what they had seen on the phone earlier, the baby zombie did not seem like it would be easy to deal with.


    At this moment, Matthew spoke up. "So what if we''re curious? There are millions of zombies wandering on the streets. Do you think we have the ability to go out and look for that baby zombie?"


    Upon listening to Matthew''s words, Bradley and the others were rendered speechless for a moment. Indeed. What was the point of them thinking so hard on this matter? They could not even protect themselves; it was better to let those high-ranking officials work their brains on this matter. In any case, even if the worst happened, there would be capable people dealing with it.


    With this, the few men lost interest in this matter and resumed what they were doing earlier.


    On the other hand, Bradley walked to the window with his phone in his hand. He looked down at the hordes of zombies that seemed to cover every inch of the street. Then, he lowered his head and silently began to silently fiddle with something.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the first floor of Ronan Tower.


    A small figure was crawling around. Wherever it crawled, the zombies would step aside as though they had seen their king.


    The small figure belonged to the baby zombie that had just clawed its way out of the female zombie''s stomach. It was a female baby zombie. At this moment, its flashing bright eyes had dimmed and were the color of wine instead.


    Although it had just been born, its movement was incredibly fast as it pressed its hand against the closest zombie. In just a blink of an eye, the zombie shriveled before it quickly turned into ashes.


    After absorbing the energy from the zombie, the baby zombie seemed to have grown a little.


    Even as it continued to absorb the life force of the zombies in its surroundings, they did not avoid it at all. As a result, the number of zombies on the ground floor dwindled swiftly. However, at the same time, more zombies entered the building.


    With this, the baby zombie continued to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    It started with the body of an infant before it grew to the size of a three-year-old little girl. Then, it continued to grow.


    Six years old¡­


    Seven years old¡­


    Eleven years old¡­


    Twelve years old¡­


    After it continued to absorb the life force of countless zombies, the baby zombie who had just been born a little while ago grew to resemble a 17 or 18-year-old girl.


    While it was growing, its eyes flashed with different emotions. Sometimes they were blank and emotionless, but sometimes they burned with so much fury. At the same time, images began to flash in her mind: the underground research facility, the scientists and the doctors, the syringes and the needles, and her mother. Apart from that, all kinds of information appeared in its mind as though it had inherited them.

 Chapter 36

    The young girl walked around aimlessly on the first floor. Her bare feet were fair and tender, and her long and slender body was wrapped in a white cloth. Her figure under the white cloth was graceful, and her curves were exaggerated, bringing out her womanly charm to the extreme.


    Her expression was frosty, and she seemed to be in a faze. Her exquisite facial features were still indescribably beautiful despite the blank expression on her face. Her pair of wine-color eyes were even more beautiful, making her look like a demonic beauty.


    She continued wandering around as though in search of something.


    All of a sudden, she raised her head and looked up. It was as though she had just recalled something. With just a leap, her slender legs that contained incomprehensibly explosive strength brought her six to seven meters up in the air before she landed on the second floor.


    She walked past shops of famous brands. She looked at the clothes on display before finally walking into one of the shops.


    After an unknown amount of time, the girl finally walked out. The white cloth around her body had been replaced with a white dress that reached her knees. Apart from that, she also wore a small and exquisite tiara on her head. A white bracelet that complemented her dress could be seen on her fair wrist. She wore a pair of high heels as well.


    She seemed satisfied with her current appearance when she saw her reflection. After a while, she suddenly lifted her chin, sniffing and scenting the air. Her wine-color eyes were trained on one of the higher floors.


    She easily leaped to the third floor and the fourth floor. She continued until she arrived on the 26th floor. When she saw zombies lingering around the escalator, she shook her head in disdain. It was as though she despised their stupidity.


    Then, she pointed at the zombies who were repeatedly walking into obstacles in front of them.


    All of them zombies froze in unison for a moment before they began to move the obstacles aside like humans.


    Upon seeing this, the young girl nodded, albeit reluctantly. Then, she looked up and jumped again.


    When she arrived on the 27th floor, she wandered around at a leisurely pace. Her small nose twitched slightly as though she was scenting something. Soon after, her eyes lit up when she saw a few men walking toward her. Her eyes glowed brightly with an unnatural light as she decided to approach them.


    "That video we saw earlier is really terrifying. I almost peed my pants out of fear. It''s much scarier than the recent horror movie I watched!"


    "No one''s disagreeing with you on that. It was truly terrifying. However, I wonder where the zombie baby went."


    "Hey, Matthew, do you think the zombie baby will come looking for Bradley? I have this persistent feeling that something is wrong. Hey, Matthew¡­ Matthew? Why are you in a daze?"


    The men suddenly realized something was amiss when Matthew did not reply to them. They turned around and saw Matthew who had stopped walking. He seemed like he was under a spell, mesmerized, as he looked ahead.


    The men instinctively followed the direction of Matthew''s gaze and saw a girl walking toward them.


    "This girl is really beautiful!"


    Among the four men, Ram was most stunned. However, he quickly recovered his senses. He asked, "Is there such a beautiful girl in the tower? I don''t think I''ve seen her before..."


    "I don''t recognize her as well. However, there are hundreds of people in Ronan Tower. It''s impossible for us to recognize every single person here so it isn''t strange that we haven''t seen her before."


    Ram felt that the words made sense. He turned around to look at Matthew and saw Matthew standing incredibly still, as though he had turned into a statue. Moreover, Matthew''s face had turned unnaturally pale. Ram walked over and lightly nudged Matthew. "What are you doing? Why do you look like you''re about to die from fright?"


    Matthew stared blankly at the girl who was walking over and asked in a stiff manner, "You... Don''t you think her eyes and her gaze are very¡­ familiar?"


    Ram was slightly taken aback by Matthew''s words.


    The other two men overheard Matthew''s words as well and instinctively looked at the girl again.


    All of a sudden, a frightening thought appeared in their minds.


    Ram stuttered, "H-her e-eyes¡­ Her eyes¡­ If they''re not cosmetic lenses¡­ D-don''t¡­ D-don''t tell me she''s the zombie baby? What¡­ What kind of joke is this? How long has it been since the baby was born? How could it grow so fast?" Cold sweat began dripping down his forehead and he shivered as he watched the girl continue walking toward them with a strange smile on her face.


    The girl finally stopped in front of the four men. Although her expression was blank, she was rather articulate when she spoke. "It seems like you''ve seen me before?"


    Ram, Matthew, and the other two men were at a loss for words. Despite being grown men, they felt like the weaker party in front of this petite girl.


    The girl tilted her head as a light flashed in her eyes. She walked past the four men and moved along the path where the four of them had come from.


    The four men could smell the sweet fragrance lingering in her wake as she walked past and instinctively inhaled.


    Soon enough, instead of four men, there were four zombies.


    The four men who had been turned into zombies looked at their surroundings with lifeless murky eyes. The smell of the living came from every direction and assaulted their senses. They roared as they charged in different directions on the 27th floor.


    In just a moment, wretched screams and miserable cries resounded through the 27th floor.


    ...


    Meanwhile, Bradley was still standing in front of the same window. He lowered his head and looked at the street below. The phone screen lit up, showing that something had been successfully sent.


    Click! Clack! Click! Clack! Click! Clack!


    The sounds of high heels were crisp and clear, and there was a strange rhythm to it.


    Bradley turned around instinctively and saw the young girl who had appeared behind him. A hint of wariness could be seen on his face when he looked at her, especially when he saw her pair of wine-color eyes. For some reason, her eyes filled him with unease. The scene he had recorded earlier flashed in his mind, but he rejected that unrealistic thought. It had not been that long, after all. It could not be so exaggerated, right? How could that thing grow so fast? With that thought in mind, he asked, "You are?"


    She lifted her chin slightly as she looked at Bradley. Then, she asked emotionlessly, "You''re the man who stood at the window earlier, right? I remember you; you should remember me as well."


    Upon hearing these words and seeing the girl''s gradually brightening eyes, Bradley felt as though someone had just poured a bucket of ice water on him. Even in the scorching summer heat, he felt as though he was standing in an ice cave. He struggled to speak; he did not know what to say. His voice was hoarse as he stammered, unable to finish his words, "You... you..."


    "That''s right... I''ve grown up," the girl said blankly before she turned around to leave.


    Bradley was baffled. He was sure he was going to die so he was prepared to stall for time, at the very least. He did not expect the girl to leave so suddenly.


    ...


    At the entrance of Ronan Tower.


    The girl walked out of the building. She raised her head to look at the sun in the sky before her eyes gradually moved to the direction of Rhodes'' university, which was located further away.


    She continued walking down the street for a brief moment. Then, when she suddenly leaped, her figure vanished from sight immediately.


    When she left, the sweet fragrance lingered in the air again, permeating the street.


    Upon smelling the fragrance, the hordes of zombies seemed distracted. Their lifeless and cloudy eyes seemed to flash briefly with a red light as they roared and charged toward the direction where the girl had left.

 Chapter 37

    New York State University''s east gate.


    In the east gate''s stronghold.


    Benedict sat on the bed as he slowly wiped the pump-action shotgun in his hand. He was still in the midst of cleaning the gun when he suddenly discovered the zombies outside seemed to be rioting. Soon after, he thought he saw a flash of shadow flitting across the campus. However, when he tried to have a better look, he did not see anything out of the ordinary.


    For some reason, the zombies had gotten agitated. They seemed to be attracted by something. One after another, they roared and howled as they ran in the direction of the south gate in a frenzy.


    This strange scene, naturally, raised the alarm in Benedict''s mind. He could vaguely feel that something was amiss.


    He did not bother to put the gun in his hand together again as he rose to his feet and hurriedly picked up another shotgun. He put on his self-made protective suit and rushed to the top of the highest building near the east gate.


    When Benedict arrived on the rooftop, there were already quite a number of survivors there. All of them were looking at agitated zombies in confusion as they discussed the matter excitedly among themselves.


    As he walked in, the conversations in his surroundings became clearer and clearer in his ears.


    "F*ck! What''s going on? Are these zombies on drugs?"


    "All the zombies on campus look like they''re rioting. Heavens! They''re all rushing to the south gate! What''s going on?"


    "F*ck! Isn''t this too terrifying? Aren''t these zombies too tough? It hurts just looking at them. That''s real blood! It isn''t special effect makeup or ketchup! I don''t know if they feel pain, but I know I feel pain just looking at them!"


    Benedict hastened his steps as he rushed toward the edge of the rooftop when he heard the conversation in the surroundings. When he looked down, he was greeted by a shocking scene!


    Although there were not many professors, other staff, and students on campus, there were still more than 20,000 people in total. Among these people, more than 98% had turned into zombies.


    How could Benedict not feel shocked when he saw more than 20,000 zombies rampaging and rushing toward the south gate as though they had gone mad?


    The zombies were densely packed together, and the mass of figures looked terrifying. Even if the zombies were not rushing toward them, it was still a scary sight.


    What frightened Benedict was the zombies'' bizarre behavior. As the sea of zombies tried to make their way to the south gate, one after another, they rushed forward unhesitatingly and charged into the wall in the courtyard repeatedly until their heads exploded with blood.


    As a mountain of zombie corpses finally piled up high enough, the zombies at the back rushed up the mountain of corpses in a frenzy, using their fallen brethren as steps to climb over the wall. They looked like the zombies in World War Z.


    As the zombies stampeded over the wall, some of them fell. Even with broken legs and arms, they remained unaffected. They would rise to their feet or crawl toward the south gate as they roared.


    Everyone was still baffled by what they were seeing when...


    From afar, waves after waves of zombies with savage expressions and bloodstains on their bodies appeared on the horizon like a flood.


    Like streams and rivers merging into the sea, the zombies swarmed from all directions and merged into one as they stampeded toward the same direction.


    The earth-shattering roars resounded in the air. As they charged to their destination, the ground began to quake. Benedict and the other survivors could even feel the floor of the rooftop shaking.


    "What the f*ck? What the f*ck is this?"


    "F*ck! This is heaven-defying!"


    "We... We... won''t be crushed by these zombies, right?"


    The students on the roof were anxious now. They could not tell how many zombies there were. Everywhere they looked was filled to the brim with zombies.


    It was the same process as before when the zombies encountered the wall that obstructed their path. If there were a car on their path, they would charge at it relentlessly. One by one, the corpses would pile up, allowing the other zombies to continue on their way. These zombies who had become steps for their brethren were soon turned into meat paste by their stampeding brethren. This applied to all the obstacles that stood in their way.


    At this moment, the sounds of glass shattering with a loud crash resounded from the tall buildings that were located to Benedict''s left and right.


    Shards of glass fell as figures after figures leaped out of the buildings into the sea of zombies below. Zombies after zombies continued to leap out of the buildings and were drowned by the sea of zombies, as though they were committing suicide. The scene was like water being poured into the sea.


    As Benedict and the others continued to watch in trepidation, the scene became more and more terrifying. At this moment, it was no longer a sea of zombies. As more and more zombies from all directions gathered and made their way to the same destination, they seemed more like a tsunami of zombies now!


    Their savage expressions and their bone-chilling roars caused the survivors on the rooftop to shiver.


    Rumble!


    Even their roars resembled the roaring sound of a tsunami at this moment.


    Faced with the endless waves of zombies, the students were frightened out of their wits. They did not even dare to breathe loudly or make a sound. They watched in fear as the endless waves of zombies rushed past them.


    Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!


    The deafening noises from the stampeding zombies resounded to the heavens. The earth-shattering footsteps were like a net cloud. Benedict and the other survivors'' faces paled, and they almost vomited blood. However, none of them dared to move, afraid of somehow alerting the tsunami of zombies. If that happened, it would be impossible for them to escape, and they would surely meet their end.


    The floor beneath their feet shook violently. The magnitude of it was comparable to an earthquake in the range of 4-5 on the Richter scale.


    The survivors at the front of the crowd who were filming this with their phones almost lost their grip on the phones. Fortunately, despite the shaking, their cameras continued to dependably record this shocking scene.


    The deafening roars and the quaking caused by the stampeding continued for an unknown amount of time.


    As the last of the zombies finally walked away, Benedict and the other survivors looked as though they were boneless; they felt weak all over and fell to the ground. Their faces were pale, and their clothes stuck to their back from the sweat.


    After a long period of silence, someone finally said, "T-the¡­ the zombies are gone¡­"


    The person''s voice sounded grating to the ears like the nails on a chalkboard.


    "T-they¡­ T-they s-should have gone to the south gate. W-what are they after?"


    "I''m really terrified!"


    "How many zombies were there? There are, at least, tens of thousands of them, right?"


    "No, no, no. The waves of zombies appeared at 9 in the morning. It''s 2 in the afternoon now. Even if there aren''t 10 million of them, there should be, at least, 8-9 million of them, right?"


    Someone inhaled sharply upon hearing the number. "8-10 million? Are there even so many people in our university town?"


    "How the hell do I know? It just feels like there are millions of them¡­ With this terrifying number, short of using nuclear bombs, I don''t know how we''re going to deal with them!"


    "That''s right! No matter how destructive incendiary weapons are, they would still run out of fuel. Even howitzers and cannons need to be reloaded. Not to mention, the amount of ammunition would probably be insufficient..."


    "Have they gone crazy? Why are they rushing toward the south gate? What''s attracting their attention over there? Since when did zombies act with such one-track minds, apart from when it comes to food?"


    Benedict rose to his feet; his legs still felt slightly weak. He looked ahead at the buildings and the streets; as far as the eyes could see, they were empty. The entire area near the east gate was empty.

 Chapter 38

    Why were all these zombies running toward the south gate?


    ...


    A few days ago, on the 11th day of the apocalypse.


    Somewhere close to the safe house.


    3:30 pm


    "Julie, kill the zombies in front of you.".


    Julie, Rhodes'' zombie girlfriend with a flawless body and stunning appearance, was all decked out in camouflage combat uniform. Although the uniform was slightly loose, it did nothing to hide her alluring figure.


    A smile found its way to Rhodes'' face as he looked at Julie.


    Julie''s red eyes were lifeless and she was silent, at this moment. However, she would 100% obey Rhodes''s orders.


    She advanced on two zombies, but the two zombies did not react at all.


    Bang!


    Julie swung her fist out and punched one of the zombies. Her punch left a gaping hole on where its mouth used to be.


    This was the incredible strength of a level-nine zombie!


    Although there was a gaping hole on the lower half of its face, the zombie did not feel pain nor did it die. After a moment, it roared before it rushed toward Rhodes.


    The other zombie followed suit.


    "The zombies won''t attack Julie? Perhaps, it''s because they''re low-level zombies and are only driven by instincts. This might not be the case for high-level zombies..." Rhodes muttered to himself. After a moment, he ordered Julie to attack the zombies'' heads.


    Julie responded with a roar.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    With just a punch, she was capable of blowing up a zombie''s head. She easily killed the zombies around her with a strike each. Her strength and speed were far superior to the two zombies.


    After observing for a while, Rhodes mumbled to himself, "Although she only has strength and speed and doesn''t possess any special ability, it''s not too bad."


    In the end, he concluded that low-level zombies would not attack Julie at all. Whereas level-three and level-four zombies would be instinctively afraid of her since she was a level-nine zombie.


    In any case, Rhodes did not expect Julie to help him. All he hoped for was for her to be able to protect herself so he would not worry about her when he went out.


    At this moment, he looked at the girl he loved. Although she had turned into a zombie and had lost her senses, he hoped that they would be able to get along every day.


    Currently, Julie would do whatever Rhodes asked of her. If he asked her to bite him, she would bite him. With every bite from her, he would become stronger and stronger. Moreover, now that she was a level-nine zombie, she would not mindlessly tear into his flesh, only driven by instincts like the low-level zombies. It was unfortunate that every time she bit him, he would be infected with the toxic zombie virus. The best solution was to let her level up as soon as possible so she could recover.


    Before this, Rhodes frequently killed the zombies lingering around the safe house. For this reason, there were not that many zombies around.


    Julie followed his instructions and continued killing the zombies before him.


    Meanwhile, Beth, Ira, and Emma stood around him.


    They wielded sharp Tang knives in their hands. These knives were his rewards to them for him getting stronger after being bitten by them last night. He had personally checked the knives and confirmed they were better than ordinary weapons.


    Meanwhile, apart from the Tang knife, Emma also carried an AK-47 on her back and two pistols in the holsters on her waist. She had graduated top of her class from the police training academy so her marksmanship and combat skills were both excellent.


    Currently, Rhodes had 12 Ability Points. With so many special abilities, Insight, Poison Control, Body Regeneration, and Intermediate Metal Molecule Manipulation, he could only level them up one by one. As for which one to level up, he would have to see which would be of the greatest help to him according to his situation at that time.


    Rhodes was not bothered about the few straggling zombies even though he was feeling rather energetic. He took out a few clean energy crystals to give them to Julie, treating them like candy. "Julie, open your mouth. Eat some candy!"


    After feeding Julie a handful of energy crystals, he turned to look at the beautiful long-legged female cop, Emma.


    "Emma, how do you feel about these energy crystals now?"


    "Well... I still want to eat them, but the urge is not as strong as it was yesterday."


    "Then, just have a low-level energy crystal first."


    "Okay." Emma, naturally, would not go against Rhodes'' words.


    Rhodes activated Insight.


    After eating the energy crystal, Emma''s zombie virus status increased from 3% to 44%.


    "How do you feel now?"


    "I feel... I feel like I''ve become stronger."


    Rhodes nodded. This was as he had expected. Then, he gave another two low-level energy crystals to Emma.


    He ended up giving Emma three level-two energy crystals and seventeen level-one energy crystals before he finally stopped feeding her.


    With that, Emma''s zombie virus status rose to 60%.


    Rhodes temporarily told Emma to stop eating energy crystals.


    Unexpectedly, Emma pleaded for more. "Rhodes, please give me some more. I feel as though there''s some energy in my body that needs to be released."


    ''She feels like there''s energy in her body that needs to be released? Could it be¡­'' He recalled something the system had said: high-level zombies, zombie kings, and superhumans would appear.


    Needless to say, superhumans were stronger than ordinary humans. Moreover, some of them even possessed special abilities.


    "I wonder if Emma has a special ability?" After thinking about it for a moment, Rhodes took out another energy crystal for Emma.


    "This is a level-five energy crystal?" Emma was slightly taken aback.


    "Yes, eat it quickly. Let me see what special ability you possess."


    Rhodes ordered Julie not to move before he looked at Emma intently as she ate the level-five energy crystal.


    A moment later, he activated Insight before he looked at the long-legged female cop again.


    After Emma ate the level-five energy crystal, her zombie virus status increased by 10 points.


    A moment later, Emma asked again, embarrassed, "Rhodes, can you give me some more?"


    "You''ve not had enough?" Rhodes cocked an eyebrow.


    "I think it should be enough, but it might take some time. I don''t want to keep you waiting so if I eat more, the ability will manifest faster."


    "No." Rhodes flatly refused Emma.


    It was not that he could not bear to part with the energy crystals. After all, he still had many left in his possession. Moreover, he would only greatly benefit from his female slaves getting stronger. However, in his opinion, this situation was similar to how people would feel sad in just an instant while some people would take many days before the sadness hits them. Awakening new abilities was probably the same. He was not in a hurry.


    Soon after, they got into a car and sped away.


    ...


    After some time, Ira suddenly transmitted her voice to Rhodes. "Rhodes, the street ahead is blocked. Should we change direction?"


    ''The street''s blocked? How can there be such a thing?'' Rhodes felt that something was amiss so he activated Insight! With Insight, there was no need for him to rely on his eyes. All he needed to do was rely on his senses. Soon enough, he sensed someone on the left up ahead.


    With this, he instantly looked in the direction where he had sensed someone. He saw a bank. The doors had long been broken, and there were green bills scattered all over the ground.


    At the beginning of the apocalypse, there must be people who thought they could make a fortune by seizing the chance to rob the bank. However, the swift emergence of the zombies probably made them realize how useless money was so they threw the bills away.


    In just a second, Rhodes saw a bald homeless man standing behind the broken doors.


    ''Why does he look slightly familiar?'' Rhodes thought to himself. In any case, he was certain the bald man had something to do with the street being blocked. After all, he did not sense anything unusual in other places when he had used Insight earlier.


    After a moment of studying the man, he had a feeling the bald man was a superhuman. Otherwise, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to block his and his group of zombies'' path.


    With this thought in mind, a smile appeared on Rhodes'' face. After he had leveled up Metal Molecule Manipulation from the elementary stage to the intermediate stage, he had never tried using it. It seemed like today he would have a chance to test his upgraded special ability.

 Chapter 39

    After seeing no one else was coming, the bald man made his way over immediately. He feigned kindness as he asked, "Hey! Do you guys need help?"


    The bald man was sneering inwardly, thinking the beautiful women would soon be his. He would kill the man in the car and torture the women to his heart''s content!


    At this moment, Emma, the long-legged female cop, saw the bald man approaching them through the car window. She frowned slightly and said, "Rhodes, this person feels familiar."


    "You think he looks familiar as well?" Rhodes touched his head and thought of someone.


    There was a bald man who had his private parts bitten off by a woman before the apocalypse. At that time, that bald man had vowed to seek revenge from society in the future.


    Rhodes did not know if his speculation was right or wrong. All he knew was he was right to be suspicious of this man.


    After that, Rhodes got out of the car and threw the ring on his finger out.


    As the ring sailed in the air, it began to change shape. In just a brief moment, it had transformed into a small knife that was shooting toward the bald man.


    "You have a special ability as well?" The bald man was stunned for a moment before he began to laugh in disdain. "Your small knife is too weak. Just watch me!"


    The bald man pushed his palm out and flames shot out immediately.


    At first glance, it looked like a powerful ability. However, it only looked powerful for less than a second.


    At this moment, the bald man was shocked to find his body no longer under his control. He did not even have the strength to unleash his special ability. He began to yell, "What ability is this? How? How did you control my body? No! No!"


    Rhodes clenched his fist, manipulating the metal the bald man carried on his body.


    In just a second, metal spikes shot out of the bald man''s body, making him look like a hedgehog. Although injured, the bald man pleaded, "Don''t kill me! Please don''t kill me! I''ll be your lackey! I''m different! I can even be your dog! Please don''t kill me!"


    Rhodes ignored the bald man; he did not care about such a bit character. He was more interested in his ability to control metal. The ability had done pretty serious damage!


    At this moment, the long-legged zombie cop, Emma, and his zombie girlfriend, Julie got out of the car and made their way to Rhodes'' side.


    Meanwhile, Ira, the beautiful professor with a pair of 38E, stayed in the car, constantly checking out the surroundings.


    Currently, Rhodes could be considered to have formed a powerful faction. Moreover, the members were all his women, and they were 100% loyal to him.


    Rhodes continued to wonder if the Intermediate Metal Molecule Manipulation ability had any other uses as well. However, before he could think any further, he heard the bald man cry out before he finally died from being pierced by the metal he carried on his body.


    "Wasn''t he very domineering when he was talking earlier? Why did he die so fast?" Rhodes smiled. Suddenly, the smile froze on his face. After a beat, he began to laugh.


    "This bald man is really quite useful!" Rhodes really wanted to thank the bald man at this moment. Not only did the bald man help him create the perfect environment for him to test his power, but the bald man also helped him out in another way.


    At this moment, there was a long line of zombies behind Rhodes'' car. The disgusting and savage level-one zombies were not fast or extraordinarily strong, but there were many of them. They stumbled over each other like dumplings and some even fell into a hole in the wreckage.


    Earlier, the rumbling from the car and the bald man''s screaming had attracted the zombies.


    "Rhodes, there are too many of them! What should we do now?" Emma stood guard over Rhodes with her AK-47 in hand. She shot a few zombies dead consecutively. When she saw more and more zombies appearing, she grew anxious.


    "It''s alright, Emma. Turn on the megaphone on the car to draw all the zombies over!"


    It was not difficult for Rhodes to kill zombies. On the other hand, it was much more troublesome for him to find and collect energy crystals. However, it seemed like that would not be a problem now, partly in thanks to the bald man.


    Rhodes flicked his fingers. All the metal in his surroundings transformed into sharp weapons. With a few consecutive flicks, the sharp weapons shot into the horde of zombies. As long as he could maintain his control, the sharp metal weapons would continue to kill the zombies.


    In just a short while, dozens of zombies'' heads were separated from their bodies.


    More and more zombies were trapped in the torrential rain of metal weapons.


    All Rhodes did was stand near the bank entrance and move his fingers.


    Countless zombies fell dead as the number of energy crystals on the ground kept increasing.


    All these energy crystals would benefit Julie and help her level up quickly.


    "Julie, it won''t be long before you can level up again." Rhodes reached out and stroked Julie''s soft hair. Then, with a casual wave of his hand, he decapitated a zombie that was charging toward him.


    After his attributes had reached roughly 185 points each, Rhodes was able to deal with these low-level zombies easily.


    After killing more than ten zombies that were charging toward him, Rhodes suddenly looked ahead. He had sensed something. However, apart from the zombies that kept coming one after another, he did not see anything unusual.


    He quickly activated Insight.


    He saw a black shadow flashed past his eyes in just a blink of an eye. He could not see whether it was a zombie, a mutated animal, or a superhuman. He muttered to himself, "You''re really fast¡­ However, it doesn''t matter who or what you are as long as you don''t provoke me. Otherwise¡­"


    At this moment, Rhodes did not care about matters that did not concern him. All he wanted to do was to take advantage of the situation here and quickly harvest more energy crystals. He wanted to help Julie level up quickly!


    All of a sudden, Rhodes turned to look at Emma who was standing next to him. "Emma, what''s wrong?"


    "My legs..."


    "What''s wrong with your legs?"


    As soon as Rhodes finished speaking, with Insight, he saw Emma''s long legs suddenly burst forth with light. Moreover, they seemed even longer and more shapely than before! They were incredibly alluring. At the same time, he noticed the changes in Emma''s information.


    Emma, 20 years old, female slave.


    Special Ability: Gale


    At this moment, Ira, the beautiful professor, asked, "Emma, what''s wrong with your legs?"


    Grrr!


    Julie growled, overcome with the urge to bite the two women next to her.

 Chapter 40

    Since Julie''s loyalty had reached 100, and also due to Rhodes'' wellbeing being tied to them, she would not really attack them.


    After seeing the changes in Emma''s information, Rhodes no longer felt worried. "Special ability, Gale? What''s its use?"


    Then, he saw Emma''s long legs, which seemed to have gotten slightly longer and more seductive. Suddenly, he felt like he could play with this pair of legs for a lifetime without getting bored.


    At this moment, Emma''s expression finally returned to normal. Initially, she had felt anxious and confused. Now, a delighted smile could be seen on her face. She said excitedly, "Rhodes, I think I''ve obtained a special ability!"


    "I know. It''s called Gale." Then, Rhodes told Emma to test out her new ability to see what it could do.


    Emma nodded and leaped out immediately. She was as fast as a cheetah when she moved.


    "So fast!" Ira exclaimed. Seeing her comrade''s speed, the 36E Ira felt envious. In general, not taking special abilities into account, she was inferior to Emma. She had no experience with combat and even less with guns. Even using tools such as walkie-talkies, she felt she was not as adept as Emma.


    Ira continued thinking to herself. She thought her cooking skills could be considered outstanding. Apart from that, Rhodes seemed unable to keep his hands off her pair of 36E. While Rhode was eating, he had praised her for her effort in pleasing him underneath the table. However, apart from these things, the ways she could help Rhodes would gradually be taken away by Emma.


    Ira continued observing Emma. No matter how the zombies attacked, they could not harm Emma at all. She wished she had a special ability as well. With this thought in mind, she turned to look at Rhodes and asked, "Rhodes, can I have a special ability as well?"


    After mulling over it for a moment, Rhodes replied, "Theoretically, it''s not impossible."


    After all, as he had discovered, energy crystals could even make zombies talk and make zombies and humans stronger. However, energy crystals contained the zombie virus. They could turn people into zombies or raving mad monsters or they could turn humans into superhumans. He concluded it all depended on luck.


    However, Rhodes'' special ability helped him stop his female slaves from going berserk. After all, with Poison Control, he could control any zombie that ingested his ''poison''. If he failed the first time, he could do it the second time. If it failed as well, he could do it the third time. More than ten times in a night were not even Rhodes'' limit. He was not worried about this at all. Even if it started with 0%, he could turn it into 100%.


    In the end, Rhodes handed Ira a level-one energy crystal. "Eat this level-one energy crystal first." Then, he observed her zombie virus status.


    From 0%, it rose to 5% .


    Rhodes took out a few more energy crystals until Ira''s zombie virus status reached 50% before he stopped. "How do you feel?"


    "Um... My chest feels a little swollen and warm¡­ and¡­ and I feel good..."


    ''Emma''s first reaction was that she felt that she had gotten stronger, but Ira feels¡­ good? What the hell is happening?'' Rhodes thought to himself. After a while, he wondered if Emma''s special ability was related to her long legs. If that was the case, did this mean Ira''s special ability had something to do with her pair of 36E?


    ''That''s certainly something to look forward to!'' In the end, Rhodes smiled and only told Ira to inform him if she felt uncomfortable.


    Naturally, in Rhodes'' heart, Julie, his girlfriend, was number one. Nobody could replace her. However, between his two female slaves, the 36E professor and the long-legged female cop, he preferred Ira more since he was more familiar with her.


    At this moment, Emma finally returned to Rhodes'' side after testing out her special ability. She held a few energy crystals in her hand. She had gained them while she was testing out her ability on the zombies. She had seemed surprised as well when she told Rhodes that her speed was like the wind. Currently, she could travel 100 meters in three seconds. She knew she could continue to increase her speed. She asked, "Rhodes, can I have some energy crystals now? Won''t my ability grow"


    "No!" Rhodes bluntly rejected her. "You can''t eat too many energy crystals for the time being. Otherwise, your body might undergo unpredictable changes."


    Earlier, after he had killed the bald man with metal spikes, he had found energy crystals on the bald man''s body. It was not difficult for him to guess that the bald man had ingested too many energy crystals and had experienced strange changes in his body. That was why he had kept the energy crystals and did not eat them. Moreover, he could see the zombie virus status with his ability.


    Rhodes used Insight to inspect Emma''s heaven-defying long legs. He could vaguely see a gust of wind surrounding her legs.


    ''In fact, the abilities'' uses could be seen from their names. For example, my Intermediate Metal Molecule Manipulation ability. Based on its name, it''s easy to infer that the ability allows me to control metal. The bald man''s fire power was obvious as well based on its name. This means that Emma''s special ability, Gale, is related to the wind. If that''s the case, I''m sure her ability isn''t limited to increasing her speed,'' Rhodes thought to himself. Then, based on his own experience, he guided Emma in testing out her special ability.


    "Emma, try again. Use Gale."


    Emma closed her eyes and kicked at the zombies two meters away from her. When she opened her eyes, she was a gust of wind sweeping toward the zombies. However, the force of the wind was not strong and only caused the zombies'' tattered clothes to flutter. Upon seeing this, she was somewhat disappointed and dejected.


    On the contrary, Rhodes was quite satisfied with the result. After all, Emma''s ability was at the lowest level now. As long as she continued to eat energy crystals, she could probably send a powerful gust of wind thousands of meters away. He felt her ability was better than the bald man''s fire power. He patted her head to comfort her.


    In the future, just as Rhodes had thought, Emma''s ability would grow even stronger, to the point where it exceeded his expectations.


    ¡­


    More than half an hour had passed.


    Rhodes would occasionally make a commotion to attract the zombies nearby. Then, he would lure them into a hole in the wreckage in front of him. With just a flick of his fingers, a torrential storm of sharp metal would rain down the hole.


    The sharp metal continued to kill tirelessly.


    If the zombies had energy crystals in their brains, the metal elements in their bodies would dig the energy crystals out from their brains before the energy crystals floated to Rhodes'' side.


    From dozens of energy crystals, they grew to more than 100 energy crystals. From there, they continued growing to more than 300 energy crystals!


    Rhodes was delighted when he saw the increasing number of energy crystals. With this, Julie could probably level up again tonight.


    All of a sudden, Rhodes turned around. It was the black shadow he had seen earlier!


    The black shadow flashed again.


    "What the hell is that?" Rhodes was puzzled. Soon enough, he discovered the black shadow seemed to be approaching him.


    What Rhodes did not know was the black shadow would bring a huge crisis to him. He did not know that all the zombies in New York City were coming for him. The zombies at the south gate had just been waiting for the awakening of a powerful existence. The elites among the zombies, those that had gained intelligence, were ready to fight for these energy crystals.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, far away in Washington DC, the research center had detected the abnormality in New York City.


    Troops were on standby, ready to be sent out at a moment''s notice to annihilate the zombies. If necessary, they were even prepared to use nuclear weapons.


    ¡­


    With all these things coming into play, an unprecedented battle was about to begin.