Apocalypse

"Three first-order zombies, these things are truly ugly."

On a bay window of a building, Maxwell sat cross-legged, looking down at the three zombies wandering below, his face full of disdain.

He had been on this parallel Earth for a month now.

Here, 500 years ago, a huge crisis erupted, introducing a deadly purple fog into the atmosphere.

Humans who breathed in this fog turned into zombies, and animals transformed into terrifying monsters.

Their appearance instantly disrupted the ecological balance, ravaging the Earth.

It took less than a month for this place to become their playground.

The few who avoided the purple haze began genetic evolution.

They awakened various abilities and became powerful evolvers, or genetic warriors.

Relying on these people, the remaining humans established bases of varying sizes and some large forces.

Now, 500 years later, the shadows of humans have reappeared on Earth.

Five days ago, a grain town not far from the base where Maxwell was located was attacked by mutant zombies.

To clarify the situation, the base issued a high reward.

Maxwell, who had never become an evolver, was interested in the zombie energy crystals offered in the reward and set off fully equipped to investigate.

But when he and a few others arrived at the town, they were attacked by zombies.

Except for him, the rest were killed by the zombies.

After hiding overnight, Maxwell discovered that the mutant zombies had left the town.

Only some low-level zombies lingered, prompting him to think about escaping the town.

This place was essentially the base city's granary, and many rooms still had food; he wouldn't starve anytime soon.

But it was still not as safe as inside the base, constantly worrying about zombies, and not even able to sleep soundly.

Maxwell looked around and noticed that there were still many zombies in the distance.

These zombies were the former guardians of the town, including some evolvers.

Moreover, based on the characteristics of zombies, without external stimuli, they would stay in their long-term habitats for a considerable amount of time.

Thus, those over a hundred zombies should be scattered around various corners of the town.

As an ordinary person now, he might have a chance to escape if there were no high-level zombies.

However, the chances of surviving were still very slim, so he might as well continue to stay here.

For now, this place seemed relatively safe, and maybe the zombies would leave in a few days.

"Click."

Suddenly, there was a noise from the direction of the door.

Jumping down from the bay window, Maxwell crept over and peered through the peephole, his heart sinking.

Zombies, and two of them.

Looking closely, he noticed they were both female zombies.

Their necks and arms had several large holes, looking quite terrifying.

"Damn, even as zombies they stick together."

After muttering a few complaints, Maxwell turned to look for something that could aid his escape.

He was on the fifth floor, which was not easy to escape from.

Even if he left through the bay window, there might still be other zombies around.

Picking up a piece of rebar, a fierce look flashed across Maxwell's face.

These two female zombies seemed to be just low-level zombies.

If he could take them down, he would be in profit.

But if he couldn't... damn, still afraid to die!

With this thought, Maxwell tiptoed to the door and leaned against it.

He was waiting for the two zombies to come closer.

Although zombies appear slow, this is not their hunting speed.

Once they see a person, their speed can instantly surge, matching that of an average adult.

So at this moment, all he could do was wait.

Half a minute later, the door slowly opened, revealing a zombie's head.

"Bang!"

Without any hesitation, he swung the rebar in his hand, smashing it down.

Instantly, the zombie's entire head was caved in significantly.

Seizing the opportunity.

Maxwell's rebar continued to swing, and within a few strikes, the zombie's head was completely crushed.

But Maxwell did not stop.

He knew that zombies didn't feel pain and were not so easily killed. In uncertain situations, one should never stop.

Another zombie, smelling Maxwell's presence, screamed and charged at him.

However, Maxwell didn't strike immediately but stepped back. As the zombie approached, he quickly dodged.

These low-tier zombies only had basic hunting skills and completely missed the rope on the ground.

Charging forward, it stepped on the rope and was suddenly hoisted into the air.

This was a simple trap Maxwell had set up earlier; otherwise, how could he dare to sleep?

Now, this trap played a crucial role.

"Damn, Stop!"

Hearing the chaotic screaming of the zombie, Maxwell raised the rebar, planning to kill it thoroughly.

Otherwise, if he delayed any longer, more zombies might be attracted.

Just then, an electronic voice echoed in his mind.

"Ding dong, congratulations host on binding the Zombie Fusion System."

"Detected a zombie available for Fusion. Proceed with Fusion?"

A system?

Maxwell was startled but quickly caught on.

"Fusion."

As the word was uttered, the two zombies instantly disappeared from their spot.

Then, a semi-transparent screen appeared in front of him.

It displayed a matching-game-like graphic, with the number 1 boldly marked above the heads of the two previously seen zombies.

"Ding, the host can complete this by sliding the icons."

The operation was simple enough!

Looking at the matching-game-style panel before him, he no longer hesitated, dragging his finger to place the two zombies together.

"Proceed with Fusion?"

The screen once again displayed a confirmation button.

"Yes."

He pressed it, and a flash of golden light appeared, showing the two zombies had fused into one, with the number on top changing to 2.

"Two level-one zombies can fuse into a level-two zombie?"

Staring at the flashing golden number 2, Maxwell was momentarily stunned.

Over the past 500 years, this Earth had developed a very clear classification system for zombies.

Mutant zombies were equivalent to a level-one zombie, with ten ranks before level one,

and each level containing ten ranks. Above ten ranks was the Corpse King, an entity equivalent to a hundred-level terrifying existence.

But those were still far beyond him.

As Maxwell was contemplating, a beginner's tooltip popped up in front of him.

To fuse zombies, one necessary condition was that they had not yet died, only been subdued.

And the zombies after fusion would absolutely obey Maxwell's commands.

However, they would always occupy a slot, unless Maxwell decided to kill them.

Whether they appear or not depends on Maxwell's thoughts.

Moreover, each zombie, depending on their level, would contribute a treasure chest to Maxwell each day.

A level-one zombie produces a level-one treasure chest daily.

A level-two zombie produces a level-two treasure chest daily.

A level-three zombie produces a level-three treasure chest daily.

The contents of the treasure chests vary greatly, including everyday items, weapons, martial arts techniques, mutant zombies, and even mutant beast energy crystals—essentially, they contain everything one might need.

Especially significant are the mutant beast energy crystals, which are crucial treasures that can accelerate an evolver's training speed.

The mutant zombies themselves come with special abilities, and they guarantee attribute points when opened.

The specific attribute points depend on the zombie's strengths.

If the zombie is particularly strong, it may yield strength points; if it is fast, it may yield speed points.

With some luck, one might even obtain rare genetic points, which can directly modify one's genetic makeup.

Moreover, each time zombies are fused, the Fusion space gains some experience.

Once enough experience is accumulated, the Fusion space can level up, and each level up adds more slots for placing zombies.

Mutant zombies have a simple consciousness comparable to that of a young child, while a Corpse King's consciousness is akin to that of an adult.

During zombie Fusion, choosing whose consciousness to retain is determined by Maxwell's will.

After reading this beginner's tooltip, Maxwell couldn't help but express his admiration.

This zombie-themed matching game is quite impressive.

But for him, the stronger, the better.

After all, in this world fraught with danger, one can rely on no one else.

The only dependable one is oneself.