Chapter 51: Black Tower Maze

“Ssh!”

A crossbow bolt sliced through the air, piercing the skull of a corpse.

The stupid corpse never even sensed where the attack came from before it died.

“Well done, Jiang Xian.”

A stout, heavyset teenager slammed his palm hard onto the shoulder of the slender boy beside him.

“Ow! Fatty Zhang, can you be lighter? My shoulder’s about to break!”

Jiang Xian rubbed his shoulder and sighed helplessly.

Zhang Di, the Fatty, grinned: “It’s only because you’re so damn good—your own crossbow’s got that much power.”

“At twenty meters, you still hit. If we had more arrows, we’d have wiped out all the corpses by now.”

Jiang Xian sighed: “Corpses aren’t the worst—those beautiful big birds are the real killers.”

“They react too fast, too agile. My crossbow’s too slow—I can’t even land a shot.”

Zhang Di didn’t care: “So what? Once I level up, I’ll dump all my stats into defense. You hide behind me and shoot all you want.”

Zhang Di’s face beamed with cheer, utterly free of any despair from the apocalypse.

Jiang Xian shot back mercilessly: “Ha, you? With that fat body? Fine as a meat shield—but I bet you collapse before you even reach the front line.”

Zhang Di’s face flushed red: “What do you know? This isn’t fat—it’s muscular!”

“You know those ancient generals? Every one of them had a big belly. That’s where real strength comes from.”

Saying this, Zhang Di pulled up his shirt, revealing a solid, unified set of abs, and slapped them twice with a thud.

“I’ve switched to Warrior. With my current stats, I’d be a legendary warrior in ancient times.”

Jiang Xian sneered: “Keep bragging. You’ve got ten strength points. A legendary warrior?”

“Seriously—can you even beat a single corpse? I really doubt it.”

Zhang Di’s face turned crimson: “Who says I can’t? I’ll go find one right now and show you!”

“Oh? Don’t expect me to lend you my crossbow, right?”

“I don’t need it! You think just because you switched to Rogue you’re invincible? Warriors can charge through Shaba City seven times over!”

As he spoke, Zhang Di swung a kitchen knife he’d somehow acquired, muttering inside jokes Jiang Xian didn’t understand.

“Enough, Fatty Zhang—we’ve got real business...”

“Boom!”

The ground shook violently. Zhang Di lost his balance, and the knife flew from his hand, nearly striking Jiang Xian.

Had Jiang Xian not been skilled in handcrafting and quick on his feet, he’d have been injured.

“Sorry! Sorry!”

Zhang Di was still apologizing, but Jiang Xian didn’t react—he stared blankly out the window.

Zhang Di turned his head too, and saw a black tower rising suddenly from the ground.

Right where Jiang Xian had just killed the corpse.

The black tower had no door—or rather, its entrance stood wide open, as if welcoming anyone inside.

Walking down the empty, silent street, Fang Shi didn’t bother killing corpses—he simply leapt and ran across abandoned cars.

The death aura of the Firewing Bird clung heavily to him.

Only a few foolish ones had approached at first.

After that, not a single Firewing Bird dared come near.

His bold stride also drew a trailing horde of corpses—and caught the attention of survivors.

“Great hero, please save me!” someone begged through a window.

Fang Shi wore black cultivation robes and wielded a long sword, leaping across cars—exactly like a martial hero from an ancient drama.

“I left some information under this building. Come get it yourself.”

Fang Shi didn’t have inner energy—he couldn’t fling a single sheet of paper to the fifth floor.

As for those too afraid to come down—

Then Fang Shi never said it.

He’d already slipped the paper into the door crack. If they still wouldn’t come out, they were beyond saving.

Those who won’t save themselves won’t be saved by others.

In this apocalypse, relying on others to survive was the worst mistake.

Mountains crumble, people run away—only yourself is reliable.

Had Fang Shi not relied on himself, he’d have died when the human settlement fell before his rebirth.

He wouldn’t have struggled for so long before being reborn.

Along this journey, Fang Shi had seen plenty of signs of survivors saving themselves.

Tragedies happened, yes—but so did successes.

People like Zhao Wenjun were never the only ones. Humans weren’t cowardly creatures.

In disaster, someone always stood up and held up the sky.

“Fatty Zhang, it was your stupid idea. I followed you in here—I’m just walking to my death.”

Jiang Xian growled. Zhang Di now had bandages wrapped around his waist, with faint blood seeping through.

“Heh, Jiang Xian, you didn’t want to come? If I hadn’t taken that hit for you, you’d be dead already.”

“That’s why you got hurt!”

Jiang Xian now regretted it bitterly. Since the apocalypse, being trapped in one place had worn out the boys’ patience.

Add to that their youthful boldness and curiosity about the newly appeared black tower.

And boredom was unbearable.

After discussing it, they’d seized a chance and sneaked toward the tower.

Luckily, it was only ten or so meters from the entrance.

They ran into the tower before the Firewing Birds overhead reacted.

And now, here they were.

Inside the tower was a maze. They turned left and right, completely lost, unable to even find their way back.

Worse, the maze held monsters.

Some were weak, easily killed by Zhang Di and Jiang Xian.

Others, like the goat-man ahead of them, were strong.

Had they not run fast enough, they’d have been cleaved in half by its axe.

Luckily, these monsters had territorial instincts.

If they escaped beyond a certain range and stayed out of sight, the monsters wouldn’t pursue.

Zhang Di and Jiang Xian had just ducked around a corner, hiding from the goat-man’s chase.

“This won’t work. We need a plan to escape this maze.”

Jiang Xian gritted his teeth. They were safe for now, but what came next? No one knew.

More importantly, if they couldn’t escape, their food and water would run out.

Then, even without monsters, they’d die of hunger and thirst.

“I once read online that if you follow one wall, you’ll find the exit. Should we try that?”

Jiang Xian snapped: “Fatty Zhang, I told you you’re stupid. What about all the monsters along the way? Get blocked and you’re dead.”

“Besides, that only works on simple mazes. Useless against compound ones.”

Zhang Di scratched his head: “Still gotta try. As for monsters—I’ll lure them away.”

“These things are dumb. If you run fast enough, they just go back to their spots.”

“We can take turns pulling them, clear the blocked paths.”

Jiang Xian’s eyes lit up. After thinking it over, he realized the plan had merit.

“Your idea’s good—but we can improve it.”

“This maze isn’t all walls. There’s rubble, even flowers.”

“We can use rocks to lure monsters. One person might even manage it alone.”

“Fatty, when I throw a rock at that goat-man, you slip past.”

Zhang Di nodded. The two began their escape through the maze.

PS: Thank you to CrazyWarriorDragon for the 100,000-point donation.