The First Harvest

Arrows whistled through the air, each one finding its mark with deadly precision.

More than a dozen zombies were instantly slain with headshots, yet one managed to break through, charging toward Wang Gang and Zhao Yong.

Zhao Yong's hands trembled as he watched the undead monstrosity lunge toward them.

"Relax. Don't panic. Aim for its neck and strike," Wang Gang urged, his voice steady with reassurance.

Zhao Yong nodded resolutely. With a sudden roar, he stepped forward, mustering every ounce of his strength as he swung his blade in a fierce arc.

A sickening squelch echoed as the blade buried itself—not in the zombie's neck, but deep into its shoulder, sinking in until only the hilt remained visible.

He attempted to wrench the blade free, but his strength failed him. The weapon remained lodged in rotting flesh, immovable.

The zombie let out a guttural snarl and clawed toward Zhao Yong's face.

With a furious shout, Wang Gang lashed out, his boot slamming into the creature's skull with bone-crushing force.

A thunderous crack resounded as the zombie's head exploded upon impact, blood splattering over Zhao Yong like a torrential downpour.

Stunned, Zhao Yong stood frozen, eyes wide as he watched the corpse collapse at his feet.

Wang Gang clapped a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Everyone hesitates their first time. Here—take your blade."

With a firm yank, he wrenched the weapon free from the lifeless body.

"Thank you," Zhao Yong murmured, his gratitude sincere.

"No need for thanks! We're classmates, aren't we?"

Wang Gang had not forgotten the debt he owed Zhao Yong—the one who had risked his life to unlock the iron door when Wang Gang had been cornered on the rooftop.

"Come on, let's check the classrooms. There may still be more of them inside. Let's clear them all out."

Without hesitation, Wang Gang strode into the nearest room.

As expected, two zombies lurked within, but they were no match for him. Within moments, they lay lifeless on the floor.

One by one, Wang Gang swept through the seventh, sixth, fifth, and fourth floors, leaving no undead behind.

By the time he was finished, the tally had risen—he had slain a total of 112 more zombies.

With this achievement, he earned another spin at the lottery.

He opened the interface and pressed the button.

This time, he didn't win an interdimensional space or a new weapon, but something else— a Weapon Advancement Rune.

"Sophia, what does this rune do?"

"Master," Sophia's voice chimed sweetly in his mind, "the Weapon Advancement Rune enhances your weapon's tier. For instance, your Sunpiercer Bow is currently a first-tier weapon. By using this rune, it will ascend to the second tier."

"A second-tier Sunpiercer Bow will easily slay zombies and creatures of the same tier. Moreover, once its passive ability activates, it will be able to fire three explosive arrows in rapid succession."

Wang Gang massaged his temples. He hadn't expected the bow to have a passive ability at all.

It reminded him of Hou Yi's skill in Honor of Kings, where three arrows could be loosed in succession.

Just as he was about to upgrade the Sunpiercer Bow, Sophia interjected, "Master, you're still just a first-tier Berserker. If you upgrade the bow now, you won't even have the strength to draw it."

Wang Gang groaned in frustration. The Sunpiercer Bow had requirements?

He muttered to himself, Looks like I'll need to consume more essence stones later to reach the second tier.

At the thought of essence stones, he suddenly felt a pang of hunger.

Not surprising—after all, he had slaughtered 212 zombies in one night. With such exertion, any ordinary person would have been famished long ago.

"Zhao Yong, let's head back."

"Alright." Zhao Yong wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded wearily.

Though he had only slain eighteen zombies, exhaustion had drained him completely. He desperately needed rest.

Just as they prepared to ascend to the rooftop, a cacophony of terrified screams, frantic footsteps, and guttural roars erupted from the stairwell.

"Wang Gang! Someone just ran inside—there's a horde of zombies right behind them!"

"Stay here. Don't move. I'll check it out."

Wang Gang quietly shut the classroom door and crept outside.

Just as Zhao Yong had guessed, three students were sprinting up the stairs in a blind panic.

Behind them, a massive horde of zombies swarmed in pursuit.

A rough estimate—at least a hundred of them.

Moments later, desperate pounding and pleading cries echoed from the rooftop.

Wang Gang grimly deduced that the three had reached the top—only to find the door locked.

Ten seconds passed.

Then fifteen.

The banging ceased.

Their cries for help dissolved into harrowing screams of agony.

Wang Gang clenched his fists. He knew exactly what had happened.

Qi Hui hadn't opened the door for them.

They had been devoured.

"That bastard," Wang Gang spat in his mind.

Had Qi Hui opened the door in time, those students might have survived.

Of course, Wang Gang knew that if he had led the zombies away, they too might have escaped—but doing so would have meant risking his own life.

Alone, he couldn't take on an entire horde.

Worse, he might have put Zhao Yong in danger as well.

Yet if he had been on the rooftop, he would have opened the door.

Because for him, the zombies posed no real threat.

The corridor fell eerily silent, as if nothing had happened.

Back in the classroom, Wang Gang turned to Zhao Yong and said, "Three students. They didn't make it. If we want to get back, we have to clear those zombies first."

Zhao Yong inhaled sharply, then exhaled, his grip tightening around his blade.

"Let's go," he said, determination rekindling in his eyes.

"You stay out of this one," Wang Gang ordered.

Zhao Yong was already exhausted—forcing him to fight again would be cruel.

The two moved stealthily up the stairs.

On the fifth floor, they encountered two zombies—easily dispatched.

On the sixth, they faced seven or eight—no challenge for Wang Gang.

On the seventh, they encountered twenty-one. Wang Gang lured half away, eliminating them before returning to finish the rest.

These zombies had all come from the eighth floor.

That meant seventy more remained.

Using the same tactic, Wang Gang drew out small groups, slaying them methodically.

After ten cycles, the eighth floor was finally cleared.

And with that, he had completed yet another hundred-zombie kill quest.

His reward? A third spin at the lottery.

This time, he struck gold—an interdimensional storage space.

However, when he attempted to store his Sunpiercer Bow inside, he realized something infuriating.

The space was only one cubic meter in size.

"Sophia, what the hell is this? Didn't you say I could build castles and even kingdoms inside?"

Staring at the tiny, one-meter cube, Wang Gang felt utterly speechless.