Chapter 15: Vitality Orb

The Rage Zombie, standing across from Clove, immediately sidestepped a large distance upon seeing his movement, watching him warily. Just moments ago, after the human in front of it made that very same move, its companion had inexplicably died!

Clove, noticing the Rage Zombie's sudden shift, sneered. "This strike is not something you can simply dodge, no matter how fast you move."

Rending Sky Blade!

With that, Clove swung the blade, and once again, his stamina dropped by ten percent. The space slash instantly formed—an invisible, imperceptible blade that could tear through space itself, shooting toward the Rage Zombie with incredible speed.

The Rage Zombie, with its limited intelligence, couldn't comprehend what fear was, but its primal instincts immediately triggered its berserk state, and it kept retreating. However, the Rending Sky Blade stayed relentlessly ahead of the Rage Zombie, following it until the energy sustaining the strike was almost depleted. In the final moments, the invisible slash accelerated, severing the Rage Zombie's left arm.

Seeing that one strike hadn't been enough to kill the Rage Zombie, Clove wasn't discouraged. At least now the Rage Zombie had lost one arm, and its attacking power was greatly diminished.

"Next, it's your turn." Clove scanned the surroundings, his mind and muscles tightly coiled, ready to react instinctively at any moment.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his right leg. Without thinking, Clove slashed the bone knife across his palm, spilling blood forward. In front of him, about three meters away, a zombie's figure slowly emerged.

"Didn't expect that to actually work," Clove murmured.

This move was something he had heard about in his past life, from a survivor's market. By concentrating deeply, keeping his muscles tensed, and relying on instinct, one could detect the position of an Invisible Zombie. Once the Invisible Zombie revealed itself or took physical form, it would be much easier to deal with.

To his surprise, he encountered an Invisible Zombie not long after the apocalypse began, and he immediately put this technique to use. As he saw the Invisible Zombie start retreating rapidly, Clove sneered. "You had no qualms attacking me recklessly earlier, did you?"

Clove began walking toward the Invisible Zombie, step by step. The Invisible Zombie let out a growl, then turned and fled in a panic.

At that moment, the Rage Zombie, still enraged and now missing an arm, howled and charged at Clove. Clove didn't retreat; instead, he took a large step forward, positioning himself to the side of the Rage Zombie. His bone knife plunged deep into its body, slicing from top to bottom, tearing the creature open.

Clove raised his fist and, taking advantage of the Rage Zombie's halted movements, he drove a powerful punch into its skull. With a loud crack, the Rage Zombie's hardened head shattered under the force.

But Clove didn't stop there. He pushed off with his feet and, in a flash, he closed the distance between himself and the Invisible Zombie. Lifting his leg, he struck like a whip, forcefully cleaving the Invisible Zombie in half at the waist.

After completing the actions, Clove finally halted in place, gasping for breath. Dealing with three zombies had cost him two uses of Rending Sky Blade, and considering the previous fight, his stamina was quickly nearing its limit. Had it not been for his extensive combat experience and decisiveness, he couldn't be sure whether he could have won this fight.

He casually retrieved a high-calorie chocolate bar from his space and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly. As his breath steadied, Clove took the bone knife and slowly began to pry open the head of the Invisible Zombie, eventually revealing a small white orb inside. A smile finally appeared on his face as he moved toward the Rage Zombie.

However, to his disappointment, the Rage Zombie's skull only contained brain matter—nothing more. Looking at the small white orb in his hand, Clove wiped off the blood, then tossed it into his mouth. The moment it entered, the orb melted rapidly, dissolving into a warm energy that spread through his body.

Clove could distinctly feel, deep within his consciousness, that the progress on his second genetic lock had moved from 0% to 1%. "Looks like I need to hunt more zombies to gather plenty of Vitality Orbs," Clove thought. "It's just unfortunate that not every first-tier zombie's brain contains a Vitality Orb."

He shook his head and glanced up at the sky. In the distance, the sun was slowly rising. Inside the building, the surviving cannon fodder stumbled out. They staggered forward and, with a thud, knelt before Clove.

The presence of the three first-tier zombies had caused the ordinary zombies nearby to hesitate, only daring to howl and circle around but not daring to approach. "Master, spare us! You've won," one of the survivors of the battle said, kneeling. After witnessing the overwhelming power Clove had displayed, they no longer harbored any thoughts of fighting him. All they wanted now was to live—just to survive.

Clove looked at the two survivors and waved his hand. "Forget it. Out of all these people, you two are the ones who made it through. Guess you've got some luck. Go ahead, introduce yourselves—names, occupations, whatever."

The man in the denim jacket immediately spoke up, saying, "Master, my name is Bob. I'm a truck driver." The other person quickly followed, "Master, my name is Harvey. I'm an ironworker. I can forge cold weapons by hand. Before the apocalypse, I even participated in a cold weapon forging competition!"

Upon hearing Harvey's introduction, Clove's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected such a skilled person to be among these cannon fodder. In a world where the industrial system had collapsed, this blacksmith was a treasure. He was even more valuable than any mechanical lathe.

Lathes required electricity, materials, and cutting tools. But a blacksmith who could forge cold weapons by hand only needed a hammer and a bit of food. After a few days, he could produce a functional weapon!

Every blacksmith in this apocalypse, a world now ruled by brute force, could thrive. After all, most monsters weren't something that could be solved with just firearms. More often than not, it came down to the powers of the superhumans themselves. In those moments, a well-made cold weapon could be a lifesaver.

"Hmm, good. From today on, you two are with me," Clove nodded, clearly pleased. The battle in the early morning not only advanced his genetic lock but also brought him a valuable talent.

"By the way, are your families still alive? If they are, where are they now?" Clove asked with a smile. Harvey immediately responded, "My daughter is still at Marshall Manor. She's ten years old this year."

Bob said, "My family is all dead. I'm the only one left. If I had stopped them from going outside, maybe they'd still be alive."

Clove didn't need Bob to explain further. He understood immediately—his family had probably been curious about the blood rain, and they came into contact with it, or even directly stood under it.

"Your daughter is still alive? That's good news," Clove said, nodding. "Here's what we'll do. You two should tidy up for now. It's best to block the front door on the first floor again. We'll rest for a bit. Once we're ready in a few days, we'll head to Marshall Manor to pick up your daughter."

"Don't worry. You're a blacksmith, one who can forge cold weapons by hand. That makes you very useful to me."

"As for you, Bob, keeping you alive is the greatest mercy I can offer. You need to show your worth quickly. My team doesn't take in freeloaders." With that, Clove waved his hand and walked straight into the apartment.

In the stairwell on the eleventh floor, Lucius heard footsteps, and his body immediately tensed. He quickly raised his gun and shouted, "Who's there! Don't come up any further, or I'll shoot you dead on the spot!"

Upon hearing this, Clove nodded and called out, "Lucius, it's me. Relax. The fight is over." With that, Clove started climbing the stairs.

When Lucius saw that Clove was covered in blood, a sense of guilt immediately filled him. "Sorry… I wasn't able to help much."

Clove shook his head. "You helped me by guarding this stairwell and keeping the zombies and enemies from getting to the women upstairs. That's already a big help. If you get the chance, you might want to find a woman too," Clove said, giving Lucius a pat on the shoulder and laughing heartily. "We're in the apocalypse now. As long as you're bold enough and strong enough, the women who like you will only increase!"

"Be bolder. Next time, I hope you'll fight by my side." Lucius stood taller, puffing out his chest. "Yes!"

At that moment, the door to the twelfth floor opened, and Linda slowly stepped out. When she saw Clove covered in blood, she let out a scream, "Oh my God! Kelly, quick! Get the first aid kit!"