Bai Wen raised his gun without hesitation and pulled the trigger.
"PiuPiuPiu—" Bullets flew out one after another, striking the Zombie's chest and bursting into sprays of green blood. However, the Zombie only staggered back two steps before its wounds began healing rapidly. Within a few breaths, it had fully recovered, even ejecting the bullets from its body.
The Zombie let out a ferocious roar and charged madly toward Bai Wen.
Bai Wen then drew his Blood-colored Battle Blade, leaped forward, and brought it down on the Zombie's head.
"Thud—" The sharp blade, combined with his enhanced strength, left a deep gash on the Zombie's body. Green fluid splattered in all directions, covering him entirely.
Before the Zombie's wound could heal, Bai Wen swiftly pulled out a grenade, bit off the pin with his teeth, and stuffed it into the wound.
"Boom—" A deafening explosion shattered the towering Zombie into pieces. Green fluid and mangled flesh splattered across the entire room, creating an utterly disgusting scene. If not for his steel-like mental fortitude honed in his previous life, he would have vomited on the spot.
Bai Wen stood up from behind an overturned table, shaking off the rotting flesh from his arm. His eyes locked onto a faint glimmer amidst the thick layer of organic matter on the floor, and his expression brightened.
It was a cherry-sized Crystal.
He quickly picked it up, flicking off the green fluid, and asked SCV, "How many points is this Crystal worth?"
SCV replied, "Commander, this is a two-unit Crystal!"
Bai Wen handed the Crystal to SCV, feeling quite satisfied. Compared to the 0.1-unit Crystals he'd found before, two units was a substantial amount—definitely worth the effort.
He finally realized that Zombies likely produced Crystals by consuming humans or other Zombies, triggering evolution. To gather more Crystals, he would need to head to S City, where Zombies were abundant.
After resting and clearing out the remaining Zombies in the village, he found a place to wash off the disgusting slime covering his body. In the village cellar, he discovered some moldy food and clothes. Once everything was packed, he set off again.
To save time and energy, he had SCV search the village for a working car or motorcycle, but none were found intact. Instead, he mounted a bicycle and left the village, heading toward the distant S City.
Due to his enhanced physique, the weight of his Combat Suit, and his weapons, the bicycle wobbled unsteadily. Having not ridden one in years, he swerved multiple times, nearly crashing into roadside guardrails—a rather comical sight.
As he approached the city, Bai Wen encountered more and more Zombies. The highway became increasingly congested with abandoned vehicles, completely blocking the road. With steep cliffs on either side, he had no choice but to hoist the bicycle onto his shoulder and climb onto the roofs of the cars.
The chain of massive car crashes stretched for two kilometers, with vehicles covered in bloodstains inside and out. Some victims had been bitten to death by zombies, while others had died directly in the accidents. The corpses had already turned into skeletal remains, with even snakes, insects, rats, and ants nesting inside their bodies, feeding on the withered bones!
Of course, these were all animals that hadn't turned into zombies, so they showed little interest in Bai Wen.
After navigating past the pileup, Bai Wen set down his bicycle and drew his pistol, blowing open a zombie's head with a single shot. He then gazed into the distance.
Finally out of the mountainous area, an endless expanse of open land lay ahead, with S City now clearly visible!
S City was his home. He wondered how the orphanage was faring—likely not well, given the circumstances.
Drawing his dagger, Bai Wen sliced open the zombie's chest and retrieved a date pit-sized crystal, handing it to the SCV. "It's manageable now with few zombies around, but once we encounter a horde, I won't have time to collect crystals. What then?" he asked.
The SCV replied, "Don't worry, Commander. When that time comes, I'll assist in the collection."
"Then why aren't you helping me now?" Bai Wen frowned.
"When you're not busy, it's better for you to handle it yourself. It helps train your proficiency in crystal harvesting," the SCV said matter-of-factly.
This SCV was just too lazy!
Just as Bai Wen was about to mock it, a chorus of zombie growls erupted from ahead. He quickly pulled out his binoculars and spotted a large group of zombies staggering toward them—men, women, the elderly, and children, all clad in clothing that suggested they were villagers from nearby settlements.
After a moment's thought, Bai Wen climbed onto the roof of a truck and set up his sniper rifle.
Adjusting the scope, he said to the SCV, "You're in charge of collecting the crystals now."
"Understood, Commander!" The SCV leaped off Bai Wen's shoulder and swiftly floated toward the approaching horde.
With a soft piu, a bullet left the suppressor and instantly blew apart a zombie's head.
The horde immediately panicked, but with the distance too great to catch Bai Wen's scent, they could only scatter chaotically, driven by instinct.
PiuPiu~
Bai Wen fired shot after shot, dropping zombies one by one. Within minutes, the entire group of several dozen was eliminated, and the SCV used its drill and power clamp to harvest the crystals.
Indeed, densely populated areas yielded more crystal-bearing zombies. Bai Wen checked the count: 5.8 units!
Not bad.
A day later, S City loomed closer, and the number of zombies he encountered grew steadily. Instead of entering the city immediately, Bai Wen stopped at the outskirts to clear the undead from the perimeter.
Over the past day, he had classified the zombies: those without crystals were ordinary zombies, while those that had consumed humans or their own kind and developed crystals were Tier-1 Zombies—stronger, faster, but still manageable with his current physique and gear, as long as he avoided large groups.
Two days later, Bai Wen's crystal count finally broke into double digits, reaching 10 units.
"All the hard work finally paid off!" Bai Wen lay comfortably in the abandoned car, gazing at the hazy silhouette of S City in the darkness. He planned to venture deeper tomorrow—even if there were no high-level Zombies, there would certainly be more Tier-1 Zombies than on the outskirts, which would speed up his Crystal collection.
Early the next morning, Bai Wen entered S City. The streets were littered with rusted cars, some roads completely blocked. The sky had just begun to lighten, and the morning air was moist and fresh. Pistol in hand, he moved cautiously, taking down any Zombies he encountered with a single shot while letting the SCV collect Crystals behind him.
As he ventured deeper into the familiar yet alien streets, the scene before him was one of desolation. Wrecked cars and dried bloodstains were everywhere. The once-glamorous buildings now stood dull and lifeless, with towering trees sprouting from cracks in the walls. The entire S City had become a wasteland.
The further Bai Wen went, the more Zombies he encountered. Many were feasting on their own kind, creating a scene so bloody and horrifying it was enough to chill the soul.