Hearing this, Song Xiaodao recalled what her brother had told her a few days ago.

He'd said that if anything happened to him, and if she was lucky enough to run into this bastard, she should follow him. Do whatever he said.

He'd also said that sticking with someone like this was her only chance of staying alive.

"I'm not leaving. And I'm not afraid." Song Xiaodao's voice trembled as she spoke.

Roar!

At that moment, Wang Quan-who had only just died-suddenly let out a guttural screech. His back twisted at an unnatural angle, and he rose stiffly from the ground.

Blood seeped from his hollowed-out abdomen. One of his intestines dragged across the dirt. His dead, fish-like eyes locked onto Song Xiaodao immediately.

Roar!

"Uncle! It-it's alive!"

Panic seized her. She bolted toward Zhao Yin without thinking.

"It just turned into a zombie."

Zhao Yin pulled out the butterfly knife and held it out to her. "Go kill it."

Song Xiaodao had been planning to hide behind him. His words stopped her cold.

He'd said earlier that he would make her kill zombies with her own hands someday.

She'd thought that day was far off. She hadn't expected it to be now.

"I... I'm scared. I don't think I can kill it."

"A freshly turned zombie is stiff. You can handle it. Consider this practice-so when you have to face one alone, you'll know how to survive."

His eyes brooked no argument. He extended the knife again. "Go. I won't repeat myself."

Song Xiaodao took the butterfly knife. She clenched her teeth and moved toward the thing Wang Quan had become.

As she got closer, she saw it clearly.

Its nose and eyes had been eaten away by the zombies earlier. The blood covering its body was still red. The stench hit her from several meters out.

Worse than a slaughterhouse.

Roar!

The zombie lurched toward her, picking up speed-but its muscles and tendons had been half-devoured. It hadn't had time to regenerate. It moved barely faster than a crawl.

Song Xiaodao's legs turned to jelly. She barely managed to sidestep its lunge.

"Get behind it! Stab the back of its skull!" Zhao Yin shouted.

She gritted her teeth. Something hardened inside her. Acting on instinct, she used her small frame to duck under the zombie's arm, circled behind it, raised the knife, and drove it down.

She didn't miss.

Pfft! The butterfly knife-sharp enough to slice through iron-sank to the hilt in the back of the zombie's head.

Wang Quan collapsed face-first.

Song Xiaodao stood there shaking like a leaf, staring at what she'd done. She still couldn't believe it. She had killed a zombie.

If Zhao Yin hadn't forced her, she never would have struck. She would have frozen until it bit her to death.

A flicker of gratitude stirred in her chest.

For the first time, she realized monsters could be killed. They weren't as terrifying as she'd imagined.

Then she doubled over and vomited.

Wang Quan's blood was still warm. The breeze carried the reek of it-blood, brain matter, ruptured organs.

Three more zombies shambled nearby. Zhao Yin drew his bow.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three arrows. Three headshots. He frowned at Song Xiaodao. "Get to work."

The thought of digging through skulls made her retch harder. She staggered toward the corpses, still heaving.

A frail twelve-year-old girl. Her thin body shook with every step.

She pried out three Corpse Crystals and brought them to Zhao Yin, brain matter still clinging to them. "Uncle, are these the right ones?"

Zhao Yin handed her a rag. "From now on, wipe them clean before you hand them over."

Song Xiaodao looked up at him. Was he squeamish about brain matter too?

"Oh."

She puffed out her cheeks, then carefully wiped each crystal until it was spotless. She held them out. "Here, Uncle."

Zhao Yin crushed all three in his palm and absorbed them right in front of her.

Song Xiaodao stared, curiosity flickering across her face.

That little monkey could grow and shrink at will. Things appeared and disappeared from his hands. And now the crystals shattered into faint white light when he crushed them.

It was all so strange. Like miracles from before the apocalypse.

But Zhao Yin offered no explanation, and Song Xiaodao was smart enough not to ask.

When he opened his eyes, he checked his status.

[Human Male | Awakened Ability User | F-Rank Evolver | Evolution: 100/1.76 | Strength: 15 | Agility: 17 | Stamina: 13 | Spirit: 24 | Talent: B-Rank Marksmanship | Life Countdown: 29,953 days]

A full day of killing zombies had pushed his evolution to 1.76 percent. At this pace, he'd reach E-Rank in less than two months.

Most survivors would kill for that kind of progress.

But Zhao Yin wasn't satisfied. Zombies had natural advantages. If he wanted to go further, he couldn't afford to fall behind them.

Still, his countdown had gained another month. That was something.

"Uncle, when you got here, did you see a boy?" Song Xiaodao asked suddenly. "About your height. Sixteen or seventeen. That's my brother-Song Xiaojian!"

Zhao Yin immediately thought of the "brave" kid who'd drawn the horde.

"I saw him." He nodded. "He's dead."

Song Xiaodao stood frozen. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

She'd known. She'd prepared herself for this.

But the grief still crashed over her like a wave.

Song Xiaojian had died for her.

From now on, she had no brother. No family left in this world.

A long silence passed.

"Where did it happen?" Her voice was small, pleading. "Can you take me there?"

She was still terrified of Zhao Yin. But for her brother, she'd push through it.

"He turned. Who knows where he wandered off to."

Zhao Yin frowned, considering. "If you want to put him down and bury him, I can swing by that area. If we run into him, I'll help you bury him. If we don't, I'm not wasting time on it."

Song Xiaodao hadn't expected him to agree at all. Gratitude flooded her voice. "Thank you, Uncle. If we don't find him, I won't ask for anything more."

Zhao Yin rubbed his stubble. His expression darkened. "Stop calling me Uncle."

Every time she said it, he wanted to smack her.

He was barely past twenty.

"U-then what should I call you? Big Brother?"

Seven years of compulsory education before the apocalypse had taught her basic manners, at least.

But Zhao Yin's face grew even darker.

In this life, he would never be anyone's godfather again. And he would never be anyone's big brother.

"My name is Zhao Yin."

He said it coldly and walked on.

He deliberately avoided the direction where he'd seen Song Xiaojian.

Even if the kid were still alive, Zhao Yin wouldn't save him.

There were two types of young men a guy had to watch out for in life: one was a Japanese punk, and the other was a brother-in-law.

He knew nothing about Song Xiaojian. No way was he taking on another burden.

Countless people had died in the apocalypse. Why should Song Xiaojian be any different?

Zhao Yin pressed forward, killing every zombie he encountered. With a ranged weapon now, even small groups were manageable between him and Little Monkey.

With Song Xiaodao collecting Corpse Crystals, his evolution climbed rapidly.

...Evolution: 100/1.83...

...Evolution: 100/2.51...

...Evolution: 100/3.78...

He wasn't wandering aimlessly.

He remembered something from his previous life-a mutated chestnut tree in the southern outskirts of Guang City.