Roar!

More than ten kilometers from Zhao Yin's villa, a zombie resembling a middle-aged man clawed through concrete, seized a Star Crystal, and threw its head back with a guttural shriek.

The next instant, it swallowed the crystal whole.

A dozen zombies crowded around it, all of them restless and agitated-yet not a single one dared make a grab for the prize.

This was the second Star Crystal this zombie had consumed. It was already far stronger than any other corpse in the vicinity.

The middle-aged zombie's wounds had long since knitted back together. Now its body swelled visibly, flesh expanding as the unknown particles carried by the meteorite seemed drawn toward the Star Crystal lodged in its gut, flooding its frame with raw mass.

Minutes later, the creature stood over two meters tall.

Its suit had burst at the seams, exposing knotted muscle-pectorals like slabs of iron, arms thick as barrels, thighs each as wide as a grown man's torso.

A terrifying pressure radiated from its body.

At the same time, zombies across the region were stirring. The first wave of evolved undead had begun to emerge.

Even those that hadn't consumed Star Crystals or flesh had mostly regenerated their bodies and were slowly transforming.

Most survivors still cowered in whatever corners they'd found. A small number had ventured out of their shelters-some because their food had run out, others because they refused to sit around waiting to die.

One way or another, they'd chosen to face the apocalypse head-on.

Mutated beasts had begun hunting survivors for food. Others preyed on zombies. And of course, they themselves could just as easily become meals for the undead or for desperate humans.

In front of Zhao Yin's villa, a green sprout that had appeared three days ago now stood a meter tall.

Along the shore of the nearby artificial lake, a carpet of emerald green spread across the ground.

...

Zhao Yin drifted awake. It was already the next morning.

He sat up without effort, clenched his fist, and felt power coursing through his veins. The familiar sensation of being an Evolver-the same feeling from his previous life-had returned.

"Squeak squeak squeak!"

The little monkey bounced excitedly at the foot of his bed, arms flailing. Its inner voice chirped: "Master's not dead! This is great... Master's actually alive! Now I'll have food again!"

Smack!

Zhao Yin's palm connected with the top of the monkey's skull.

The first half of that thought had actually warmed his heart-at least something in this world cared whether he lived or died.

The second half made him want to slap the greedy little bastard into next week.

"All you ever think about is eating!" Zhao Yin snapped.

The monkey clutched its head and peered up at him, trembling.

Hunger gnawed at Zhao Yin's stomach. He pulled a few compressed biscuits from his Spatial Ring and washed them down with mineral water.

His only remaining supernatural food was the precious tuna. Among the ordinary supplies, only the compressed biscuits hadn't spoiled too badly.

The little monkey stared at him with pitiful eyes. "Master, I'm hungry too!"

Zhao Yin remembered the scene before he'd passed out-this monkey had desperately shoved food into his mouth without stealing a single bite for itself. So he tossed it two of the most rancid sausages.

Ignoring the monkey, he activated True Sight and examined his evolved body.

[Human Male, Ability Awakener, F-Rank Evolver: Strength 15, Agility 17, Stamina 13, Spirit 24, Life Countdown: 29,920 days]

Compared to before his evolution, every stat now exceeded an ordinary person's by more than double. Even his lifespan had extended by over twenty years.

Barring accidents, Zhao Yin could live past a hundred.

His Strength and Stamina were actually a few points higher than when he'd first evolved in his previous life-probably the result of eating supernatural food beforehand.

Satisfied, he tossed the monkey two more sausages.

Now that the little creature wasn't starving anymore, it had grown picky. It no longer wolfed down the spoiled meat.

It shot a furtive glance at Zhao Yin eating his biscuits, eyes brimming with grievance.

"Don't want it? Give it back." Zhao Yin glared. "Do you have any idea how many people are going hungry right now?"

Truth be told, if he had anything better, he wouldn't be feeding the monkey sour sausages and moldy bread.

The less-spoiled biscuits had to be saved for himself. This was all he could spare.

"Do you know how many mutated beasts would kill to be in your position?" Zhao Yin continued. "Most of them can't even find moss to eat. Countless beasts out there are smarter and more loyal than you, and they're all starving to death. Having a master like me-do you have any idea how lucky you are?"

The monkey's expression shifted to outright terror. It nodded frantically. "Master, I'm not complaining about your generous gift! It's delicious! So delicious!"

It chomped down loudly, doing its best to look like it was savoring every bite.

Clearly terrified that Zhao Yin might go find some smarter, more loyal beast and abandon this useless little monkey.

Zhao Yin nodded, satisfied. "Finish eating, then come help me work."

He turned and began packing. Food and water were already in his Spatial Ring. Pots, pans, bowls, utensils, clothes, bedding-anything portable went into storage.

He didn't plan on coming back.

The zombies nearby that had swallowed Star Crystals were basically all dead now, killed by him and the monkey over the past few days.

To find more crystals, he'd have to range farther out. Returning here was no longer practical.

The apocalypse. Where was home anymore?

As he left the villa, Zhao Yin paused and looked back.

This place had been left to him by his parents. It had sheltered him through two lifetimes.

If he ever returned, it might already be destroyed by mutated beasts or zombies-or occupied by other survivors.

After a moment's thought, he left the key by the front door.

Not out of kindness. He just didn't want survivors breaking down the gate. It was, after all, something his parents had left behind.

The nearby zombies had all been cleared out over the past few days, but a few stragglers had wandered into the area.

Roar!

Several corpses spotted Zhao Yin and the monkey instantly and charged.

Zhao Yin tightened his grip on the bone-cleaver and shot forward.

With a physique now more than double that of an ordinary human, his explosive power was staggering.

His already impressive speed, boosted by the E-Rank Fishnet Stockings, turned him into a blur. A gust of wind kicked up in his wake.

Bang!

One zombie's head exploded before it could even react. The others finally registered his presence and lunged at him with ragged snarls.

To Zhao Yin's eyes, they moved like they were wading through mud. He swung the cleaver in a series of brutal arcs.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Every skull shattered.

Blackish-brown brain matter sprayed across the pavement.

Zhao Yin lowered the cleaver and stood still, wiping gore from his face. Pride swelled in his chest.

In his previous life, by the time he'd gotten his hands on an Evolution Potion, these zombies had already grown far stronger. He'd had to scrape and claw just to survive.

Now, as an F-Rank Evolver facing unevolved corpses?

Pure slaughter.

They were pathetically weak.

The little monkey came trotting up behind him, its dull butcher knife in hand. It froze at the carnage.

Then it gazed at its master with naked admiration, inner voice muttering: "Master's been such a coward these past few days. How'd he suddenly get so fierce?"

A beat later, the monkey remembered its master could hear its thoughts. It looked up-and met Zhao Yin's cold stare.

The monkey immediately clutched its head, inner voice pleading: "Master, don't hit me! I didn't mean to say that about you, Master..."

Zhao Yin ignored the mouthy creature. He stepped forward and used the bone-cleaver to pry apart the shattered skulls.

Bending down, he fished a peanut-sized crystal from the blackish-brown mush.

He pulled a rag from his Spatial Ring, wiped the crystal clean, and held it up in his palm. Pure white, semi-transparent-like mutton-fat jade from before the apocalypse.

Under the hazy yellow sunlight, it gleamed with a soft, beautiful luster.

Sure enough. Some of these zombies had already developed Corpse Crystals.

And those that had swallowed Star Crystals-how far had they evolved by now?

F-Rank? E-Rank?

Zhao Yin recalled another type of zombie from his previous life. The lucky ones. Creatures that had consumed multiple Star Crystals in the apocalypse's earliest days. No survivor back then could have handled them.

People called them Zombie Kings.

It wasn't until SSS-Rank ability users emerged that teams of experts could finally take one down.

But in his previous life, no Zombie King had appeared in this region. He and the monkey should be safe from that threat-for now.

Zhao Yin crushed the Corpse Crystal in his palm.

An unknown energy drilled through his skin and into his body.

The sensation vanished almost instantly. He checked his status.

[Human Male, Ability Awakener, F-Rank Evolver, Evolution Progress 100/0.01: Strength 15, Agility 17, Stamina 13, Spirit 24, Life Countdown: 29,923 days]