Chapter 10: Departure

The pre-dawn darkness enveloped the tortured city. Lin Yi stood at the window of his apartment, staring at the silent streets below. It was the third day since the apocalypse had begun, and the world had already changed beyond

He glanced back at the still-sleeping An Xia, feeling a surge of protectiveness. On the bed, An Jingtian had not yet awoken, but his condition was visibly improving. Lin Yi knew that, barring any complications, An Jingtian would soon

To be sure, Lin Yi activated the Judgment Eye again, carefully examining An Jingtian's condition. Golden light flickered in his eyes, confirming that the pendant was indeed suppressing the zombie virus. Seeing this, Lin Yi exhaled slightly in relief.

He then began the final preparations for the dangerous journey ahead. Lin Yi carefully moved several zombie corpses, piling them by the door to mask the lingering scent of living humans. He then barricaded the entrance tightly with various items. Only after doing all this did he finally feel at ease.

Just then, his sharp hearing caught a faint sound from the apartment across the hall. Clearly, there were other survivors. Lin Yi could sense someone cautiously observing him through the peephole, thinking they had gone unnoticed.

Lin Yi didn't care. But in this apocalyptic world, displaying strength was often the best deterrent. So, he casually picked up a zombie's head and, in full view of the observer, crushed it single-handedly. The hard skull shattered like a fragile water balloon, scattering fragments everywhere.

"Ah!" A terrified scream came from across the hall, followed by the frantic sound of a door being locked.

Lin Yi smiled faintly—mission accomplished. Such an open display of force was enough to keep any potential troublemakers at bay.

Though the reinforced iron door was enough to keep out ordinary zombies, human intentions were unpredictable. Lin Yi had seen the worst of humanity in his past life: people turning against each other for food, cannibalizing their children, and betraying their spouses. If it meant ensuring An Xia and An Jingtian's safety, he had no qualms about getting his hands dirty.

In fact, Lin Yi had considered whether to kill all the other residents in the building. The only thing stopping him was the possibility that the siblings might know someone living here. Otherwise, there might only be two survivors left in the building by now.

Still, as long as they didn't encounter a mutant or human malice, Lin Yi wasn't worried about ordinary zombies threatening the two siblings hidden inside. The supplies and water in the apartment were more than enough to last a month. As long as they didn't leave the apartment, there was no way the zombies could gnaw through the reinforced iron door with just their teeth.

Even if something happened to him, the two could still hold out for a while. The supplies in the apartment were all things Lin Yi had instructed An Jingtian to stock up on before the apocalypse broke out—complete with military-grade rations.

Thinking of the supplies he had stockpiled, Lin Yi couldn't help but recall the batch of gear he had purchased in advance, worth over two million yuan. That kit could sustain three people for five years, including weapons, medicine, and all necessary living supplies. However, after being unconscious for three days, he wasn't sure if the supplies had been delivered to the designated location.

If they were, with those resources, Lin Yi could easily form a team and establish a safe zone. In this apocalyptic game, going solo wouldn't last long. Only by building his own power could he secure a foothold in this brutal world.

Lin Yi sighed. Being unconscious for three days had messed up a lot of his plans. Not only that, but many of the rare items and gear he remembered from his past life were still out there, waiting to be claimed. Fortunately, it wasn't too late to retrieve them.

Clearing his mind, Lin Yi silently left the apartment, sneaking toward the community gate. Holding his breath, he moved cautiously, sticking close to the walls. His enhanced physique allowed him to hold his breath for up to five minutes.

Even with his current awakened strength, Lin Yi wasn't afraid of ordinary zombies. But large numbers of them could slow him down and attract mutants. His top priority now was to deal with the "Stitcher" inside Wan Da Mall, so he had to avoid any unnecessary risks.

The "Stitcher" was far more dangerous than the Licker he had previously encountered. The Licker was just a first-tier mutant, while the Stitcher was second-tier. Each tier of mutation drastically increased the threat level. Lin Yi could barely handle first-tier mutants with his current strength, and he might even be in danger if he encountered a specialized type. Taking on a second-tier mutant now would be suicide.

Along the way, Lin Yi devised a plan for his next steps. For the first six days, he would gather rare items and equipment he remembered from his past life and kill a mutant to level up. Without enough strength, rushing things would be futile. The last three days would be reserved for killing the Stitcher.

His first target: Xingyi Flower Shop!

Lin Yi clearly remembered that this flower shop on the city's outskirts once had an extremely rare "psionic plant." Psionic plants, like power-ups in a game, usually appeared in the form of plants, fruits, or food. Whether consumed by players or zombies, they provided permanent attribute boosts.

For apocalypse players, leveling up granted only a single attribute point per level. In contrast, psionic food offered an incredible boost, making even a single attribute point vastly impactful. In his past life, those lucky enough to find such fruits often became regional powerhouses.

However, these rare items only existed briefly before the apocalypse began, gradually disappearing within a month after the outbreak. Lin Yi only knew about them thanks to the "chat channel" that opened six months into the apocalypse game.

Unlike typical game chat channels where anyone could talk freely, the apocalypse chat required consuming significant amounts of energy and stamina—essentially precious food. As a regular person in his past life, barely able to feed himself, Lin Yi could only silently watch as awakened players occasionally shared information or casually chatted.

By the second year of the apocalypse, Lin Yi hadn't seen any mention of psionic plants in the public chat. If he didn't seize the opportunity now to grab some psionic food, finding them later would be nearly impossible.

"Judgment Eye!"

To scan his surroundings, Lin Yi activated the Judgment Eye once more. A flash of golden light in his pupils enhanced his already excellent vision, and streams of data flowed into his mind as he scanned the area.

Once he confirmed there were no immediate dangers, Lin Yi deactivated the Judgment Eye. Though it didn't consume much mental energy, using it continuously could add up.

No special mutants detected.

Zombie count: 678. Survivors: 122.

The small community, once home to over a thousand people, now had fewer than 10% remaining. The apocalypse's brutality was clear.

Lin Yi quickly made up his mind: he needed to find a motorcycle.

The journey to the city was long, and though the zombie count wasn't as high as in the city center, it was still substantial. Fighting his way through the hordes on foot would waste too much time. A heavy-duty truck would be hard to find in the old town, and an ordinary car might break down after hitting a few zombies. A motorcycle was the best choice for now.

Later on, if conditions allowed, he could find an armored vehicle and turn it into a mobile fortress. That would be ideal.

By now, the gate of the residential area had once again gathered a crowd of zombies after a night's wait. The ground was stained dark red with bits of entrails and blood, and the zombies had gnawed the corpses clean, leaving behind only bleached bones. It seemed that several people had tried to escape or enter the area during the night.

Hundreds of zombies wandered aimlessly, occasionally letting out ear-piercing shrieks. Lin Yi waited for the right moment, then darted out like a flash of lightning. His target was a small group of zombies clustered around a spot not far away, where a black motorcycle lay overturned. The keys were still in the ignition, ready to go. Beside the bike was a skeleton, gnawed clean—probably the bike's owner.

Lin Yi pushed off with his right foot, the ground beneath him cracking as he propelled himself forward like an arrow.

"Downward Slash!"

His half-arm-length kukri knife whistled through the air. The blade, which belonged to An Jingtian's collection, was sharp and deadly. Though the Licker's spine was stronger than alloy weapons, it wasn't easy to use without proper modifications.

With a clean, precise cut, Lin Yi slashed two zombies in half, their bodies splitting apart as smoothly as if cut by a laser. The severed torsos slowly slid to the ground, neatly divided in two.

"Roar!"

The nearby zombies, smelling fresh human flesh, flew into a frenzy, their decaying hands and limbs reaching desperately for Lin Yi.

"Side Kick!"

Lin Yi quickly shifted his body, twisting at the waist with inhuman speed and delivering a powerful kick.

"Boom!"

A zombie charging at him was sent flying, its upper body shattered from the impact. The white spine dangled by a thread, clinging stubbornly to Lin Yi's boot.

"Circular Slash!"

"Power Burst!"

A unique energy wave emanated from Lin Yi's body as he activated his awakened abilities. A golden glow shimmered around him briefly before sinking back into his skin. His face cold and emotionless, Lin Yi spun with the kukri in hand, the blade slicing cleanly through the air.

The sharp blade, empowered by immense strength, effortlessly sliced through the necks of the zombies.

"Shhh."

The sound of flesh being cut by the blade was piercing. Seven zombie heads were cleanly decapitated.

With one swing, Lin Yi swiftly and efficiently killed the remaining seven zombies.

"Whoa!"

At a window on the third floor nearby, a scruffy man in his twenties widened his eyes in shock, unable to hold back an exclamation. His face was filled with disbelief, as if a scene from a movie had suddenly become real.

Who is this guy? His sword technique was flawless, and his physical strength was monstrous. Could he be a legendary hidden master? Or perhaps one of those ancient martial artists from wuxia novels?

The man's eyes were bloodshot, wide open in astonishment. The day the apocalypse broke out just happened to be a weekend, and since he was resting alone in his apartment, he had been lucky enough to survive. But the zombies outside had trapped him in his home, leaving him unable to escape.

There was hardly any food left in his apartment. Living alone, he had long been used to ordering takeout whenever he was hungry. He had already finished his last packet of instant noodles. Having watched many apocalypse movies, he quickly realized that if things continued like this, he might soon face the grim reality of starving to death.

He had tried to leave, but after witnessing the burly man on a motorcycle get overwhelmed by zombies in less than three seconds last night, he completely gave up the idea.

After a sleepless night, just as he was about to check the situation outside, he witnessed Lin Yi slaughtering the zombies. Realizing Lin Yi's extraordinary strength, he quickly thought that maybe Lin Yi could help him.

Excited, the man hurriedly tried to open the window to call out, but he had forgotten that in his fear the previous night, he had locked the window tightly. In his panic and haste, by the time he finally managed to open the window and stick his head out, Lin Yi had already sped away on his motorcycle.

Without caring whether Lin Yi could hear him, the man shouted loudly, trying to leave an impression. What if this powerful man came back?

"Brother! My name is Liu Shiming!"

"I live in Building 3, Unit 2, Apartment 302!"

Liu Shiming's voice echoed through the silent neighborhood, but was soon drowned out by the distant growls of zombies. Disappointed, he watched as Lin Yi's figure disappeared around the corner, and couldn't help but sigh.