Zhang Guoling, peering through the window, shook his head in despair.

The situation was dire.

It had been more than a month since the apocalypse began, and the grave circumstances did not seem to improve at all.

He remembered the seemingly distant memory; waking up to loud roars and desperate shouting on the eve of the apocalypse.

He could only watch in horror, as residents of the community were hunted down by zombies.

Even as a retired police officer, Zhang Guoling froze in fear that night.

He took his family into hiding, locked the doors and windows, and barely managed to evade the zombies.

Zhang Guoling became even more confused when various monsters appeared after the second week.

Was the world ending?

He thought the government would take control of the situation instantly, but a month later, he still hadn't seen a single military personnel except for a few helicopters in the beginning.

Zhang Guoling sighed with a sad expression.

"Dad, let's eat," Zhang Yuling called out to him.

Zhang Guoling closed the curtains with an uncertain look on his face.

The family gathered around the table, eating cautiously.

The meal was some pieces of biscuits.

They drank a few sips from one bottle of water, passing it around, but it was only enough to wet their lips; their throats remained dry.

Who could have imagined that one day, food and water would become so scarce?

If his daughter hadn't stockpiled supplies before the apocalypse, they might have starved before they could even encounter zombies.

Unfortunately, the food ended just after the thirtieth day, and they were forced to go out to scavenge for food.

Why else would they venture out in this dire situation?

The day before, they noticed the zombies had slowed down, and by morning, they were even more lethargic.

Facing the weakened zombies and their depleted supplies, they made a tough decision.

Go out to look for food.

They had almost succeeded; the zombies were sluggish, and they found an empty house on the ninth floor.

Unfortunately, a zombie was alerted.

Zhang Guoling thought of the bald zombie and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, the young man was there at the right time.

Zhang Guoling thought about the seemingly normal young man in unusual clothing, feeling confused.

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Was there such an impressive person in the building?

Why didn't he know?

As a former policeman, he recognized the young man's skill in handling the zombies.

The young man's eyes were cold, his hands were steady when he held the sword to confront the zombies.

Even when decapitating the zombie, he didn't flinch.

Zhang Guoling understood in an instant; this wasn't the young man's first time chopping off the head of an enemy.

He did it so casually and effortlessly that it looked like he was cracking open watermelons instead of heads.

Such people weren't normal, even in the army.

Ordinary people usually freeze in a confrontation, even when they have some training.

Zhang Guoling pondered, wondering if the young man had a military background.

Or was he some sort of psychopath?

"Do you know this young man?"

Ignoring the loud roars, Zhang Guoling looked at his distressed daughter and asked her.

"He moved into the building a few months ago. We greet each other sometimes when we cross paths." Zhang Yuling, startled, nodded.

"Brother Lu is really amazing! A strong man in the world with a sword," Zhang Jiahao added, his eyes glowing. He raised his fist and waved it excitedly.

The man found the boy's words amusing but secretly agreed in his heart.

Which man did not wish to fight against a hundred and emerge victorious; Like a hero of ancient times.

He waited for Zhang Jiahao to be quiet and asked his daughter again, "What job does he do?"

Zhang Yuling hesitated, her face turned into a frown as she tried to remember. She paused before answering, "An e-bike delivery, I think."

"Impossible!" Zhang Guoling was shocked. How could an ordinary person possess such strength without strict training?

His face was filled with confusion.

"Maybe he was a master among common people, like in the novels," Zhang Jiahao said on the side.

Zhang Guoling nodded, contemplating this possibility.

Zhang Yuling wanted to say something but closed her mouth after a moment of thought.

She remembered now; she had heard of a mysterious man in the building.

Residents who knew about him called him a psycho.

He apparently spoke nonsense about the apocalypse and isolated himself like a hermit.

Zhang Yuling was initially amused by but dismissive of such stories.

But she was somewhat superstitious and bought food and water one day, just in case.

Thankfully, she did this; that decision fueled by gossip and her superstitious nature had saved them from starving.

As loud roars echoed, the three sat in silence, chewing on the biscuits with small bites.

___________

Green closed the door behind him and picked up a crystal shard, staring at it closely.

The crystal shard in his hand was sleek and transparent, reflecting light in a mesmerizing way.

The entire crystal was just the size of his pinkie

Its surface appeared smooth, with no apparent blemishes.

As he examined it closely, he noticed something.

"What is this?"

A nearly invisible white mist drifted away from crystal shard.

Suddenly, the crystal gently disintegrated, turning into white light that poured into Green's body.

Some of the white light tried to escape into the atmosphere, but there seemed to be an invisible force pulling it into his body.

《 Exp gained +5 》

"What!"

This thing actually burst open and gave him experience points?

Green was shocked and stared blankly for some time.

He remembered the remaining zombies littered outside and quickly walked out.

The zombies were all distracted now and he didn't even bother to hide.

Green opened the heads of the zombies in disgust and found a number of crystals.

He hurriedly returned to his room and crushed the crystals in his hands.

《 Exp gained +5 》

《 Exp gained +5 》

《 Exp gained +5 》

《 Exp gained +5 》

Not all the slain zombies had crystals in their heads; about half had formed a crystal.

Green was stunned by the sudden situation. He was dazed and thought of many things in an instant.

How are the zombies and the dungeon related?

Is the zombie apocalypse not natural but man-made?

What about the monsters, where did they come from?

Why did the zombies suddenly become so weird?

With each question that popped up, he grew even more confused.

He couldn't answer any of the questions now.

He could only put them away for the moment and look at the situation at hand.

The white-eyed zombies had strength similar to level 1 monsters in the dungeon, and the reward offered by the crystal shard was equal to actually killing a level 1 monster.

As a level 4, Green could easily take care of such zombies with level 1 strength, but what about others?

The zombies with white eyes, which he believed to be an evolved version of the black-eyed ones, were clearly much stronger than your average zombie.

Surely, the white eyed zombies would become a nightmare to the survivors.

The evolved zombies were strong already and might even become stronger in the future.

Although he had stockpiled supplies that could last for a while, Green was unsure if he could face later evolutions of the zombie, if they indeed evolved as he predicted.

No! Green shook his head, he had to get stronger fast, or else the undead horde will consume him!

After a moment's thought, Green decided to change his plan.

Until now, he just wanted to avoid zombies and get stronger in the dungeon. But now, he had a new goal.

Stockpile more supplies, kill the zombies in the building, and safeguard a

Zombie-free zone so that he can sleep in peace.

Plus, he can also gain experience points in the process; it was like killing three birds with one stone.

Green felt that the main goal in his heart was to gain more experience points.

In the dungeon, level 1 creatures had disappeared for a while, but outside, the zombies seemed almost never ending.

They provided the same amount of experience as the level 1 spider monster from the dungeon and the only difference was that they don't drop gold.

Green felt that the zombies were like the spider monsters, easy to bully.

The the only thing he was worried about was the zombie infection.

[Will he become a zombie if he got bitten?]

Green quietly asked this question in his heart.

No! He was strong enough to fight off the zombies.

He wouldn't fall to the horde, he just had to be careful.

Plus, what adventure doesn't have its challenges?

Even in the dungeon, he was uncertain about what he'd face while walking down the tunnels.

Yet, he always courageously pushed away his fears and continued on.

Green was determined to go after the zombies.

He chuckled to himself.

Would the phrase "the birds die for food and man for Exp," apply to him at the moment?

The fighting noise outside did not stop for a single moment and echoed throughout the world.

Xincheng city seemed to be enveloped by battle cries and groans of zombies.