Chapter 16

In a room, eight men and three women stood or sat.

They occasionally checked their phones, which looked like scrap metal, their expressions filled with exhaustion and unease.

One man had his right arm wrapped tightly in bandages made from pillowcases.

The bandages were garishly colored and messy, yet even so, an indescribable stench seeped out.

No one around him was willing to get close to the injured man.

The injured man, knowing his place, huddled alone in the corner, holding his right arm with his left hand, his face etched with pain.

“Click!”

The room’s door opened, and a short, stocky man entered.

One man in a gray shirt immediately stepped forward: “Biao Ge, how’s it outside? Any official rescue?”

Biao Ge sighed: “What rescue? Outside is as quiet as a ghost city. I barely made it a few steps from the door before I spotted a corpse—scared me right back inside.”

At these words, everyone sighed heavily.

They had all come here from all corners of the country to make money, never expecting the end of the world.

Now communications were cut off; everyone worried about their loved ones far away.

Who had any heart left for earning money?

Besides, with phones dead, how could they possibly earn anything?

Seeing their despair, Biao Ge encouraged them: “Everyone here who made it to this place is family. If we help each other, we’ll get through this.”

A young man with glasses chimed in: “Rather than wait here to die, let’s go out and hunt corpses.”

“Each kill gives ten experience points. Kill a hundred, and we level up twice.”

“Later we can reach level three, four, even twenty. Then we’ll rule this world—anything we want will be ours. Money will just be numbers to us.”

Silence. Heavy, unbroken silence.

The others stared at the glasses-wearing youth, utterly speechless.

Someone muttered under their breath: “Hunt corpses? More like getting hunted. Have you forgotten what happened to Xiao Wang and the others?”

The glasses-wearing youth, Luo Gu, heard this and turned red with rage: “Kong Junxiong, you coward! Big and strong, yet you tremble like a rat at the sight of corpses!”

The towering Kong Junxiong sneered: “Luo Gu, you like playing hero? Too many novels, too little sense. Look at Xiao Li’s arm—still not sure if he’ll keep it.”

“You!”

Luo Gu’s eyes blazed with fury. He rolled up his sleeves and began muttering incantations.

Before the collapse, he might have feared the towering Kong Junxiong.

But now, nearly all survivors had unlocked their attribute panels, their stats fully restored—his slight frame now carried powerful strength.

And Luo Gu had become a noble Mage. Why should he fear Kong Junxiong?

“Oh? Still trying to scare us with your little flame? How in the world did you even qualify as a Mage with that brain?”

Kong Junxiong wasn’t intimidated. As a Warrior with 16 HP, he knew Luo Gu’s tiny flame would barely chip off one or two points.

One charge, and he’d knock Luo Gu flat on his face.

As the two were about to clash, Biao Ge stepped between them.

“Enough, enough. We’re all family. Don’t ruin our bond over this.”

“Luo’s right—we can’t stay here forever. We must save ourselves.”

“But Junxiong’s right too—corpses are deadly. We lost too many early on, like Xiao Wang and the others. Xiao Li’s badly hurt.”

“So we need to prepare thoroughly. Set traps. Lure corpses in. Level up fast while keeping ourselves safe.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Luo Gu and Kong Junxiong both backed down.

They weren’t fools.

They knew this couldn’t go on.

If they were still ordinary people, they might never have mustered such initiative.

But the appearance of attribute panels, the restoration of stats, and some even gaining combat vocations—

All of it gave them a sliver of hope.

This scene wasn’t unique here—it played out across the globe.

Survivors began taking initiative, fighting for their lives.

…

“Crash!”

Fang Shi struck another corpse again, sending it flying.

Now he wielded a steel rod in both hands, swinging it so fast the air couldn’t slip through.

Corpses shuffled forward with rotting limbs, claws outstretched, charging at him.

Every one that neared was crushed—bones broken, tendons torn, spines bent, skulls skewed.

Yet not a single one retreated.

As undead, they felt no fear.

Instead, they loathed the scent of the living, craved their flesh, yearning to devour them whole.

As time passed, more corpses from afar were drawn by the noise.

Slowly, they formed a dense, surrounding circle.

This commotion woke the survivors hiding in their homes.

They cautiously peeked out, peering through their windows.

At first, they thought so many corpses gathering meant rescue teams had arrived.

Then they realized—it was one man, fighting through the horde.

“Hah. What an idiot. Another lunatic,” sneered a disheveled young woman.

She despised fools like this—they disturbed her rest.

What if the corpses swarmed downstairs? How would her boyfriend scavenge then?

“Xiao Xi, don’t say that. The man below isn’t crazy. Look at how he swings—he flings every corpse away. What strength!”

Said a square-faced man, his face stern yet gentle.

The young woman scoffed: “I’m not stupid. I see that. But you also see—every time he flings one, the ones behind block it.”

“Soon, he’ll be surrounded. He won’t have the strength to swing again. He’ll die, just like all the others I’ve seen these past two days.”

The square-faced man wanted to say more—that the man below had not just strength, but skill, perfect positioning, and experience—

But seeing her cold expression, he said nothing.

He changed the subject: “Xiao Xi, you haven’t unlocked your attribute panel yet. Next time we go out, stay behind me—I’ll hold one corpse for you to kill.”

Xiao Xi clung to his arm, pouting: “Zhai Yan, I don’t want to. Just seeing a corpse’s face makes me sick.”

“The stench makes me nauseous too. Besides, I’ve got you—that’s enough.”

Zhai Yan felt the softness against his arm, his heart stirring.

Before the collapse, this goddess had treated him coldly. Now, in just two days, she was this close.

Maybe tonight, they could share a bed.

The thought dulled his urge to persuade her.

What if she gained strength and no longer needed him?

The collapse was good for him.

…

Fang Shi, seeing the growing horde, frowned heavily.

This situation wasn’t his doing.

He always moved carefully—even when hunting corpses.

He’d lure them one by one, never group them.

Even with his strength, he’d never do it.

Sure, it’s efficient—but once surrounded, the danger skyrockets, and efficiency plummets.

Just like now—corpses everywhere.

Fang Shi had almost no chance to land a killing blow.

“Blunt Attack activated.”

“Successful hit. You dealt 7.5 damage to target [((Strength 15 - 10)/2) + Club 6 (1d8) - Natural Armor 1].”

The corpse before him had a sunken chest—he only needed two or three more strikes to kill it.

But Fang Shi had no such opportunity.

Every time he tried to finish one, others attacked—claws swiped from all sides.

He had to retract his strike and defend himself.

Hours of fighting, heavy exhaustion, little progress.

This was the trap of group combat.

It was all that stupid woman’s fault!

Earlier, Fang Shi had been hunting corpses when survivors spotted him.

One female survivor, for reasons unknown, ran outside—and brought a whole horde with her.

Fang Shi could guess her intent—she saw his strength, was being chased, and came running for help.

Fang Shi could easily guess the visitor’s thoughts—simply because he saw how strong Fang Shi was, and being hunted himself, had come to beg for help.

But this behavior is undoubtedly foolish.

The gathering of countless zombies instantly swallowed the female survivor.

She died in a series of piercing screams, writhing in unbearable agony.

And Fang Shi, too, became surrounded due to this foolish act.

A trickle of sweat slid down his forehead, his arm tingling with mild soreness.

Fang Shi realized it was time to flee.

Previously, he had persisted mainly for the experience points.

After leveling up to level 2, the experience required for the next level rose to 3000.

Meanwhile, the experience gained from each zombie dropped to 5 points.

This meant Fang Shi needed to kill 600 zombies to reach level 3.

What does that mean?

It took Fang Shi a full day to kill about seventy zombies just to reach level 2.

Six hundred zombies—even with slight improvements in his strength—would take at least four or five days.

Most of that time was spent searching, luring, and resting.

The residential compound where Fang Shi lived had a permanent population of around ten thousand.

On the streets, a thousand at most would be out—most people stayed indoors.

Compared to the efficiency of breaking locks and doors, Fang Shi preferred clearing zombies on the streets first.

But even so, he was still far from satisfied.

This efficiency was far too low to handle the crisis in three days.

In three days, the otherworldly beings would descend.

The surviving humans would be slaughtered again, with barely one in a hundred left alive.

Those who survived, frankly, did so purely by luck.

Even Fang Shi, with his rebirth, had no guarantee he could survive it entirely.

The only solution was to level up quickly.

The stronger his power, the safer he would be.

Even without the survivor luring the zombies, Fang Shi would have acted.

The difference would be that he would use a safer method, avoiding such desperation.

Then, that’s how it will be.

Fang Shi cast one final glance at the rotting faces of the zombies.

Every muscle in his body swelled as he unleashed his full strength; the steel rod swept in a circle, pushing back the surrounding zombies.

Then he turned and scrambled up the wall of the shop.