Chapter 28: The 13th Level Zombie Wave Approaches

Night fell.

In the western wilderness of Notting City, at the garrison camp, Zhang Yue and Su Jinyan continued their relentless hunt for zombies.

Boom! Boom!

Roar…

With each swing of Zhang Yue's Frost Staff, another Poison Zombie fell, and the poisonous zombie cores in their bags steadily increased.

"Wow, just nine more, and task is complete." Su Jinyan said happily as they took a brief break after downing another zombie. She glanced over at Zhang Yue. "How many more do you need?"

Zhang Yue checked his inventory space. "Five."

"Thanks to teaming up with you, I've been able to finish this task so quickly!" Su Jinyan grinned. "To show my appreciation, how about I treat you to a late-night snack after we log off?"

Before Zhang Yue could respond, Su Jinyan seemed to realize something and muttered, "Oh, right... we're not in the same place in real life."

After a pause, Su Jinyan suggested, "Since you've already joined Yanyu Pavilion, why not move to the city? The company's housing is pretty nice."

"No need," Zhang Yue replied. "I'm used to being free."

"Alright…"

As they continued their hunt, Su Jinyan's sharp eyes caught a small detail others might have missed. She blinked in surprise. "when did you switch out your Doomsday Greaves?"

"During dinner. I found a blacksmith to reforge them," Zhang Yue said casually.

But in reality, that wasn't true at all.

The greaves were still sitting in his inventory.

What Su Jinyan didn't know was that Zhang Yue not only swapped out the [Fatal Earthguard], but he also replaced his [Icefire Boots of Swift March] and [Magic Fury Robe].

Right now, those equipment slots were filled with beginner gear purchased from the equipment shop.

Su Jinyan didn't dwell on it and continued slaying zombies with Zhang Yue.

In the midst of the fight, Zhang Yue had a rare "misstep," and a Poison Zombie managed to pounce on him, sinking its teeth into his shoulder.

The next second, a massive damage number appeared above Zhang Yue's head—312 points!

Along with the poison status causing 39 points of damage per second, Zhang Yue's health bar plummeted to nearly half.

Su Jinyan quickly cast her Glowing Chains to immobilize the zombie, giving Zhang Yue the chance to finish it off with Fireball and Ice Spike.

"You actually messed up!" Su Jinyan chuckled, amused.

"Even the most careful will slip by the river eventually," Zhang Yue remarked as he picked up the zombie core dropped by the Poison Zombie. "That was the last one I needed. Let's head back to the city."

"Alright!"

As they walked away from the camp, Zhang Yue's gaze flicked toward a patch of tall grass to the right. He caught a glimpse of a shadow ducking quickly out of sight.

Zhang Yue smiled faintly but said nothing, continuing to leave with Su Jinyan.

Meanwhile, hidden in the grass, a head cautiously poked out. After confirming that Zhang Yue and Su Jinyan had left, the man lurking in the grass—Shadow, from Yanyu Pavilion—opened his contact list and sent a message to a user named Yanyu Pavilion, General:

"Boss, you were right! His defense is indeed low. A single hit from a Level 17 Poison Zombie took out more than half his health. His defense must be under 50 points."

It didn't take long for Chen Jun to reply: "You're sure?"

"I'm certain! Saw it with my own eyes!" Shadow confirmed. "He's heading back to the city with the Second Miss now."

Outside of Notting City, in the wilderness of the Level 15 zombie forest, Chen Jun, who had been hunting with a few trusted guildmates, closed his contact list.

He burst into laughter. "Just as I expected. That guy's attack power is high, but his health is as fragile as paper."

At that moment, Wu Zui glanced up at the sky, which was covered with dark clouds. "Judging by the weather, there's likely to be a zombie wave tonight in Notting City."

"Excellent!" Chen Jun's expression was one of both glee and cold calculation. "Tonight's the night he dies."

On the other side, Zhang Yue and Su Jinyan returned to Notting City.

Before they could turn in their quest to Captain Norse, a system announcement echoed through the air:

[Regional Announcement (Notting City):]

[Ding~ All players in Notting City, please be advised; A zombie wave will invade Notting City in thirty minutes. The incoming wave is Level 13. Prepare to defend the city.]

After spending a little over a day in Notting City, Zhang Yue couldn't help but remark, "The first zombie wave is finally here."

With that, the two headed off to find Captain Norse.

Meanwhile, Chen Jun, who was on his way back to the city from the wilderness, heard the announcement and couldn't hide his excitement. "This is our chance."

Walking beside him, Wu Zui advised cautiously, "Chen-ge, since the Second Miss and Zhang Yue are always together, wouldn't it be wise to come up with a plan to separate them? Otherwise, we might end up harming her by mistake."

Chen Jun nodded. "Don't worry, I've already thought of something." He quickened his pace. "Let's hurry back and prepare!"

"Zhang Yue, tonight I'll give you a surprise you won't forget."

In Notting City, Zhang Yue and Su Jinyan found Captain Norse and turned in their quest.

[Ding~ Congratulations on completing the quest [Collect Materials]. ]

[Reward: 100,000 EXP, 9,000,000 Power Energy, and equipment [Zombie Armor] +1, [Zombie Greaves] +1. You've also received a bonus reward: Skill Book [Blink] +1. ]

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two beams of golden light enveloped Zhang Yue's head.

[Ding~ Congratulations on reaching Level 16…]

[Ding~ Congratulations on reaching Level 17… Next level requires 55,000 EXP.]

After receiving two pieces of Level 15, 2-Star equipment, Zhang Yue immediately used his standard method—one-click refinement.

[Ding~ One-click refined 168 times. Total cost: 35,986 Power Energy. Congratulations, you've gained the Gold Attribute: [Zombie Anti-Explosion Armor].]

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[Zombie Anti-Explosion Armor] (Level 15, Gold)

HP: +720

Class: Knight

Bonus: Constitution +5, Stamina +5

Ability: [Defense] (Reduces damage by 50 points. Effect doubled against zombie damage.)

Description: This armor is designed to effectively withstand zombie attacks. Wearing it makes zombie assaults seem like nothing…

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[Ding~ One-click refined 149 times. Total cost: 32,149 Power Energy. Congratulations, you've gained the Gold Attribute: [Zombie Anti-Explosion Greaves].]

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[Zombie Anti-Explosion Greaves] (Level 15, Gold)

Physical Defense: 95

Magic Defense: 90

Class: Knight

Bonus: Stamina +5, Strength +5

Ability: [Defense] (Reduces damage by 50 points. Effect doubled against zombie damage.)

Description: Greaves designed to resist even the fiercest zombie attacks. Worn alongside the Anti-Explosion Armor, zombies will hesitate to even approach you…

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For Zhang Yue's Silver Armored Scorpion, a defensive pet, these two pieces were practically designed for surviving a zombie siege in the Second World.

Thanks to farming experience from the Poison Zombies, the Silver Armored Scorpion had already reached Level 15.

Zhang Yue immediately equipped the scorpion with both pieces of the Level 15, 2-Star, Gold Attribute gear.

Instantly, the scorpion's survivability increased drastically:

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Silver Armored Scorpion (Level 15, Elite):

Attack: 78

Physical Defense: 159

Magic Defense:148

HP: 910

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In this stage, where most players had attack stats ranging from 100 to 150, the scorpion's defensive capabilities—bolstered by its A-rank [Steel Body] and dual [Defense] traits—were practically invincible!

Beside him, Su Jinyan, who had received 100,000 experience points, also leveled up twice, rising from Level 14 to Level 16.

Now, she was just one level behind Zhang Yue.

This was primarily because Su Jinyan didn't need to share experience with a pet, allowing all of it to go toward leveling herself up.

If all of the Silver Armored Scorpion's experience had been allocated to Zhang Yue, he'd easily be at Level 19 or 20 by now.

Su Jinyan also received two pieces of 15-level, 2-star equipment as rewards.

However, with limited Power Energy, she used up all the energy she'd accumulated from killing zombies over the past few days and barely managed to refine both pieces to purple attributes.

Still, Su Jinyan looked quite satisfied.

It was clear that the two pieces of 15-level, 2-star purple attribute equipment had significantly boosted Su Jinyan's combat strength.

"Tonight, we can really cut through the zombie wave." Su Jinyan said excitedly, her eyes sparkling with confidence.

Just as she finished speaking, Su Jinyan's Feixin (Instant Message) alert chimed. She glanced at her screen.

It was from her uncle, Su Chen: "Xiaoyan, come to the office. There's something I need to discuss with you."

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