The human nature in the apocalypse.

Wonderful! I have finally broken through to the second tier! Now, I can take on second-tier missions, draw second-tier rewards, and wield second-tier weapons!

Brimming with excitement, Wang Gang retrieved the Sun-shooting Bow and the Weapon Advancement Talisman from his dimensional space.

As he pressed the talisman against the bow, a radiant glow flickered across its surface.

Previously, the Sun-shooting Bow had been a silvery white, but after advancing, it transformed into a magnificent golden hue—far more striking than before.

Gripping the bow, Wang Gang strode to the rooftop's edge. Under the moonlight, he drew the string taut, taking aim at a lone zombie wandering in front of the school building.

Time to test the power of the second-tier Sun-shooting Bow.

With a sharp whoosh, the Exploding Arrow shot forth.

In an instant, the zombie's head was obliterated, and even its neck was completely blown away.

Wang Gang noted with satisfaction that the bow's might had significantly increased. Previously, it could burst a zombie's skull, but it had never been able to annihilate its neck so thoroughly.

Not only that—the bow's range had also expanded. Where it once had an effective kill radius of ten to thirty meters, it now extended from ten to fifty meters.

That additional twenty meters was no trivial matter.

Had his first-tier bow possessed such range, Wang Gang wouldn't have needed to risk entering the school building at all. From his vantage point on the rooftop, he could have effortlessly picked off the zombies circling below.

After all, the height from the rooftop to the ground was precisely thirty meters.

Suddenly—

"Ahhh!"

A terrified, pain-laced scream echoed from Zhao Yong's direction.

A girl's voice.

"Help me! Get it off! Somebody, please!"

Her frantic cries rang out, desperate and pleading.

Wang Gang's first thought was that the zombies had broken through the iron gate leading to the rooftop. Immediately, he nocked an arrow and advanced toward Zhao Yong and the others.

Yet, when he laid eyes on the scene before him, he silently lowered his bow.

The iron gate remained securely shut. No zombies had forced their way in.

Instead, a single sparrow was relentlessly attacking a girl, pecking at her with eerie persistence.

Aside from Zhao Yong and Zhang Jingjing, the others merely stood by, unwilling to intervene. They had even backed away, as if fearing entanglement in her plight.

The whole situation felt unsettling.

Ordinary sparrows would have fled at the sight of humans, yet this one displayed no such fear, its beak viciously stabbing at the girl, leaving her face bloodied.

Then, Wang Gang understood.

This was no ordinary sparrow.

It had been infected.

A zombie sparrow.

Its eyes burned crimson, its head grotesquely swollen, and its beak had morphed into something eerily scissor-like—razor-sharp and lethal.

"Damn it! There are zombie sparrows now?! That means many animals must have been infected… Please, let my parents and sister be safe…"

Suppressing his unease, Wang Gang swiftly raised his Sun-shooting Bow and aimed at the airborne menace.

With a piercing whistle, the Exploding Arrow streaked through the air.

A resounding blast followed—

The zombie sparrow was obliterated, leaving no trace behind.

Zhao Yong and Zhang Jingjing exhaled in relief. The girl who had been attacked collapsed onto the ground, her body trembling with exhaustion.

"Are you two alright?" Wang Gang asked as he approached.

"I'm fine," Zhao Yong responded, shaking his head.

"Me too," Zhang Jingjing echoed.

"Wang Gang, she was bitten by the zombie sparrow. She's bleeding. She might turn into a zombie. We should throw her out."

Qi Hui stepped forward, his voice low.

Had Wang Gang been weaker than him, Qi Hui wouldn't have bothered discussing it—he would have simply cast the girl out himself.

He had no intention of sharing space with someone on the verge of turning.

"Yes! We should get rid of her! If she turns, we're all doomed!"

A freckled girl chimed in, and the others quickly echoed their agreement.

"No! Wang Gang, please, I beg you! Don't let me die!"

Tears streaming down her bloodstained face, the girl clung to Wang Gang's leg, looking up at him in sheer terror, her voice trembling with desperate pleas.

Zhang Jingjing hesitated, her heart wavering. "Wang Gang, maybe… maybe she can still be saved."

By now, everyone had subconsciously begun looking to Wang Gang as their leader.

Strength ruled this lawless, apocalyptic world, and Wang Gang was undoubtedly the strongest among them.

With a heavy sigh, Wang Gang cast a solemn gaze upon the girl.

She was doomed.

He had no doubt—sooner or later, she would become a zombie.

Given that grim reality, casting her out was the only viable option.

This wasn't a matter of cruelty, but necessity.

Besides, she wasn't exactly an innocent soul.

Not long ago, she had sided with Qi Hui's group, barring Wang Gang from entry and even seizing Zhao Yong's food.

People like her, selfish and willing to sacrifice others for their own survival, were not worth saving.

More importantly, she was beyond saving.

Seeing Wang Gang's silence, Qi Hui stepped forward and viciously kicked the girl to the ground.

"You idiot! You want to get us all killed?! You've been bitten! You're going to turn! Die if you must, but don't drag us down with you!"

Turning sharply, he signaled to two other boys.

"Come on, let's throw her out."

Without hesitation, they seized her by the arms and legs.

"You bastards! I'll fight you!"

Wild with desperation, the girl lunged, teeth bared, attempting to sink them into Qi Hui's hand.

He recoiled just in time, narrowly avoiding her bite.

"You filthy wretch! You dare try to infect me?! I'll kill you!"

Qi Hui's face twisted with malice.

Drawing a fruit knife from his pocket, he plunged it straight into her heart.

A soft gasp escaped her lips.

Eyes wide with shock and disbelief, she stared at Qi Hui before her body went limp, lifeless.

Blood gushed from her mouth like a crimson fountain.

"I… I killed her… I killed someone… But she was going to turn! I did it for us! Right? Right?!"

Qi Hui's hands trembled, his breath unsteady.

Yet, he quickly steeled himself, forcing a sense of justification.

Wang Gang sneered inwardly.

Qi Hui had killed for himself—plain and simple. Yet, he cloaked it in the guise of self-sacrifice.

But Wang Gang said nothing.

Instead, he turned to comfort Zhang Jingjing, who stood there, pale-faced and shaken.

After disposing of the girl's corpse, the group returned to their previous positions.

None of them could sleep.

Their eyes remained vigilant, scanning the darkness, fearing another zombie sparrow attack.

Wang Gang, however, stood at the rooftop's edge, steadily eliminating the zombies swarming around the school.

When he struck down his fifty-eighth target—

His breath caught.

A towering, two-meter-tall zombie strode into view.

Unlike the others, it moved with uncanny agility, its massive frame radiating menace.

The surrounding zombies instinctively stepped aside, making way for it.

As though it were their king.

Sofia's voice rang in his mind, urgent and sharp.

"Master, that's a second-tier zombie! Kill it—now!"

A second-tier zombie.

Wang Gang's eyes gleamed with excitement.

To draw second-tier rewards, he needed to complete second-tier missions.

And that meant slaying one hundred second-tier zombies.

Up until now, he hadn't encountered a single one—

But now, one had come straight to him.

Without hesitation, Wang Gang drew his Sun-shooting Bow, waiting for his target to step into range.

4o