Song Xiaojian didn't stop her. He understood his sister would have to face all of this sooner or later.

"Xiaodao, we're still safe for now. If we ration the food, we can last another three days. Maybe by then, these zombies will be dead too," Song Xiaojian said.

He was comforting Xiaodao. Or maybe he was comforting himself.

But the moment the words left his mouth, the zombies outside the crack in the wall erupted into a frenzy. A figure burst through and sprinted straight toward the mall.

"Song Xiaojian! Xiaodao! Are you still alive? Open the door!" the man shouted from a distance.

Xiaodao recognized him instantly. "Brother, it's Brother Wang! He's back!"

Song Xiaojian frowned, his gaze locked on the horde of zombies converging behind Wang Quan. He grabbed his sister's arm. "Don't move!"

"Brother, when Mom and Dad were crushed, Brother Wang saved us!" Xiaodao pleaded. "If we don't let him in, he'll die!"

Song Xiaojian clenched his jaw. Beads of sweat broke out across his forehead as he wrestled with the decision.

"Song Xiaojian! Xiaodao! I found food-lots of it! Let me in first, and once it's safe, I'll take you there!"

Wang Quan had already charged into the mall and now stood outside the ruined office where the siblings were hiding. His voice was frantic. "Are you really going to let me die out here? If I'm gone, who's going to keep you two kids alive?"

Maybe it was the promise of food. Maybe it was the debt they owed him.

In the end, Song Xiaojian walked over and opened the door.

Bang!

The instant Wang Quan dove inside, Song Xiaojian slammed the door shut behind him. A heartbeat later, several zombies crashed into it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Xiaodao, quick! Help me block the door!" Song Xiaojian shouted without hesitation.

Xiaodao rushed over, and together the siblings dragged the only heavy object in the room-the office desk-against the door.

The door shuddered violently. The zombies outside were terrifyingly strong. If the office hadn't been fitted with a security door, it would have given way already.

Song Xiaojian pressed his body against the door alongside his sister. Then he caught sight of Wang Quan slumped on the floor, gasping for air.

"Brother Wang, get over here!"

Wang Quan lifted his head. A flicker of irritation crossed his eyes at the commanding tone in the boy's voice, but he got up and helped brace the door.

His gaze, however, drifted toward the corner of the room-where a meager pile of food and water sat. Enough for one adult to survive a single day, at most.

......

Zhao Yin woke slowly, opening his eyes to pitch darkness. A chorus of distant roars filled his ears.

In an instant, he understood. Another disaster had erupted. This time, he'd been unconscious even longer than in his previous life.

He didn't rush outside. Instead, he retrieved a flashlight from his Spatial Ring. With a click, the cramped shelter flooded with light.

His gaze fell to the ring on his finger, and information materialized in his mind.

[Spatial Ring: A-rank, spatial equipment. Contains ten cubic meters of internal space.]

Next, he examined his own body.

[Human Male: Ability Awakened. Strength 7, Agility 8, Stamina 6, Spirit 12. Life Countdown: 21,920 days.]

A normal human constitution. Before the apocalypse, that would have meant roughly sixty more years of life.

Nothing much had changed from his previous existence.

True Sight was only a B-rank ability, after all. It couldn't detect anything above B-rank.

But Zhao Yin was satisfied. Awakeners above B-rank were rare to begin with. The real value of True Sight lay in identifying treasures extracted from Star Crystals.

He remembered the pill from earlier and pulled it from the Spatial Ring.

[Potent Bewildering Incense: F-rank control-type medicine. Renders any life-form below F-rank unconscious for ten minutes.]

A simple description, but Zhao Yin's expression sharpened.

Control-type medicines were rare across all grades. This one was the lowest tier, but it was exactly what he needed most right now.

That mutated monkey should have completed its transformation by now. He'd been racking his brain over how to capture it.

With this Bewildering Incense? Child's play.

A thought struck him. The three Star Crystals that girl from the granary had given him-every single one had yielded something good.

Maybe she wasn't a jinx after all?

He dismissed the idle thought and began organizing his equipment.

[Long-Handled Bone-Cleaver: Unranked. Durability 8, Sharpness 6.]

[Butcher Knife: Unranked. Durability 5, Sharpness 9.]

[Butterfly Knife: F-rank attack equipment. Durability 13, Sharpness 14.]

[Military Jacket: F-rank defense equipment. Durability 16.]

[Fishnet Stockings: E-rank auxiliary equipment. Movement Speed +28. Bonus effect: Charm +3.]

Currently, the highest-ranked piece of equipment in his possession was the fishnet stockings.

Zhao Yin used the Spatial Ring to absorb the concrete chunks blocking the entrance, then crouched low and crawled out.

Roar!

Before he could even stand, a nearby zombie spotted him.

It shrieked and lunged.

Zhao Yin's eyes narrowed. He raised the bone-cleaver and thrust upward at an angle.

Splurch!

The blade punched through the zombie's gaping mouth and burst out the back of its skull, trailing a thick rope of black ichor.

[Male Zombie: Unevolved. Strength 8, Agility 6, Spirit 0.]

Zhao Yin rose to his feet and glanced at his first kill. The tattered uniform marked it as a former zoo employee.

Aside from the wound he'd just inflicted, its entire right shoulder was a pulped mess of flesh and bone-likely crushed when a building collapsed.

But black tendrils of regenerating tissue had already begun sprouting from the wound.

If he hadn't killed it, that ruined body would have gradually restored itself over time.

And then it would have evolved.

In the apocalypse, zombies were the greatest threat to survivors. Always.

Their numbers were staggering, their growth potential terrifying. For every survivor, there were nearly fifty zombies.

The only ones capable of fighting them were Evolvers or powerful ability users.

Yet in his previous life, fewer than one percent of survivors had become Evolvers. Those who awakened abilities? One in a hundred thousand.

Tonight, the zombies had risen. Mutant beasts had awakened.

The true apocalypse had officially begun-again.

Roar! Roar!

Several nearby zombies heard the commotion and shambled toward him.

They hadn't evolved yet. Stronger than they'd been in life, yes, but their stiff bodies made them slow.

Zhao Yin charged to meet them. The combat instincts forged through his previous life ignited in an instant. He swung the cleaver at the nearest zombie's head.

Against zombies, only destroying the brain guaranteed a kill.

The skull shattered on impact. Black brain matter and pale bone fragments sprayed in all directions. Several drops splattered across Zhao Yin's face.

His expression didn't change. He pivoted toward the second zombie and split its head with the same brutal efficiency.

By then, the remaining six had closed in.

Zhao Yin turned and ran, the fishnet stockings' speed boost carrying him clear of the encirclement. Then he spun, backhanded the cleaver, and caved in the skull of the zombie on his heels.

He repeated the tactic. Kite, turn, kill.

Within moments, all eight zombies lay motionless.

With his current stamina, killing those eight ordinary zombies in succession had left him gasping for breath.

He didn't linger. After gulping down several lungfuls of air, he sprinted toward the monkey enclosure.