Zhao Yin crushed the E-grade Zombie Core without hesitation. A surge of pure energy flooded into his body, and the familiar sensation of evolution spread through every fiber of his being.

[Human Male, Ability Awakener, E-grade Evolver, Evolution Progress 100/0.16: Strength 31, Agility 35, Stamina 25, Spirit 48, Talent B-grade Shooting, Life Countdown: 59,963 days]

All his attributes had doubled. Even his lifespan had increased by thirty thousand days.

Barring accidents, Zhao Yin could now live another hundred and sixty years.

His entire aura shifted in that moment-more vigorous, more alive.

"Zhao Yin, you...!"

Song Xiaodao stood frozen, arms full of Zombie Cores and Star Crystals, staring at him.

"What about me?" Zhao Yin turned and asked.

"N-Nothing..." Song Xiaodao snapped out of it and shook her head quickly.

She could feel that something about him had changed, but she couldn't put it into words.

"Here. The Zombie Cores and Star Crystals are all here."

Zhao Yin took the Zombie Cores and stored them in his Spatial Ring, then piled all the Star Crystals in front of him.

Three had come from the Zombie King. The twelve F-grade zombies had dropped twelve more.

Fifteen in total, stacked into a small hill.

At this moment, Zhao Yin's vision and hearing extended two kilometers in every direction. Aside from a few scattered zombies, there was no trace of any other living creature.

He sat down in the mud and began opening the Star Crystals one by one.

[Nongfu Spring: Grade F, Type Supernatural Beverage, restores 24 hours of water consumption after use]

Of course. Nongfu Spring again.

[Filled Bread: Grade F, Type Supernatural Food, restores 24 hours of energy consumption after use, additional effect: heals injuries]

[Compressed Biscuit: Grade F, Type Supernatural Food, restores 24 hours of energy consumption after use, additional effect: heightened vigor for 24 hours]

[Nongfu Spring...]

[Instant Noodles...]

Zhao Yin opened eleven Star Crystals in a row: 3 bottles of Nongfu Spring, 2 pieces of Filled Bread, 3 Compressed Biscuits, 1 bottle of Iced Black Tea, 1 pack of Instant Noodles, and 1 Military Jacket.

Only one piece of F-grade equipment. The rest were all one-time consumables.

Convenient timing-the Zombie King had shredded his old jacket. This new one would do nicely.

Four Star Crystals remained. One had dropped from an F-grade zombie. The other three had all come from the Zombie King.

He remembered a rumor from his previous life: Star Crystals dropped by Zombie Kings had a much higher chance of yielding top-tier items.

True or not, Zhao Yin saved those three for last. He wanted to give himself a surprise.

He picked up the final F-grade crystal and squeezed.

Crack-

The Star Crystal shattered into white light.

When the glow faded, a small bottle rested in his palm.

[Evolution Potion: Grade F, Type Basic Potion, unlocks human evolutionary genes after consumption, turning one into a New Human]

The Evolution Potion unlocked an evolver's potential. Zhao Yin had no use for an F-grade one anymore.

Only an E-grade Evolution Potion could strengthen his current potential further.

Of course, even without one, he could still use Zombie Cores to reach D-grade. But if his E-grade potential remained undeveloped, his evolved attributes would be cut in half.

His gaze drifted to Song Xiaodao.

Little Monkey was a mutated beast. This potion could only go to the girl.

Song Xiaodao noticed his stare and looked blankly at the bottle in his hand.

Over the past two days, she had pieced together fragments of understanding: Star Crystals produced precious supplies and equipment. The Spatial Ring stored items. Zombie Cores made Zhao Yin stronger. And he possessed some kind of ability to form contracts with mutated beasts.

"Zhao Yin, what is that? Is it for me?" she asked, eyes bright with hope.

Zhao Yin tossed the bottle to her. "Take it. You may only use it when I allow it."

Song Xiaodao caught it with both hands, clutching it like a priceless treasure. "Thank you, Zhao Yin."

She didn't know what was inside, but the look on his face told her it was valuable.

What she didn't understand was that in the apocalypse, a single Evolution Potion could be traded for hundreds-even thousands-of lives.

Zhao Yin turned his attention back to the three remaining crystals.

The Zombie King's crystals.

He took several deep breaths, then crushed all three at once.

[Mountain-Cleaving Machete: Grade D, Type Supernatural Weapon, Durability 50, Attack 54, additional effect: swing speed +15]

[Heavy Armor: Grade D, Type Supernatural Defensive Equipment, Durability 60, Defense 39, additional effect: stamina +20]

[Invisibility Tent: Grade A, Type Supernatural Mobile Shelter, Durability 430, Attack 0, additional effect: invisibility]

Three bursts of white light faded.

Zhao Yin's breathing quickened.

All three had produced good items.

Two D-grade pieces-a weapon and armor-and one A-grade mobile shelter.

The rumor was true.

The Star Crystal had nurtured the Zombie King. Then the unknown energy inside the Zombie King's body had further refined the crystal, elevating the quality of whatever lay within.

An E-grade Zombie King had produced an A-grade item.

What might higher-level Zombie Kings yield?

S-grade? SS-grade?

Zhao Yin dismissed the thought almost as quickly as it came. One Zombie King had nearly killed him. Who knew what abilities stronger ones possessed?

As long as he stayed alive, he would get everything he wanted. He had the memories of a reborn man and an SSS-grade ability already in hand. It was only a matter of time.

He stored everything away and prepared to leave.

Then he caught sight of something glinting in the mud nearby.

The bull's horn.

Zhao Yin glanced at the water buffalo in the distance-now left with only one horn-and quietly pocketed the broken one.

It wasn't a Supernatural Weapon from a Star Crystal, but in terms of hardness and sharpness, it rivaled the D-grade machete in his hand. It had punched clean through the Zombie King's abdomen.

He had no immediate use for it, but good materials shouldn't be wasted.

"Zhao Yin, where are we going next? The house is gone." Song Xiaodao pointed toward the village. The small rural villa they had stayed in the night before had collapsed. Her eyes were full of reluctance.

"Don't worry. We have somewhere to stay."

He looked up at the sky. The battle had dragged on until noon. He had eaten a piece of Filled Bread and drunk some Supernatural Iced Black Tea, so he wasn't hungry-but Song Xiaodao and Little Monkey definitely were.

He didn't bother lighting a fire on the spot. He gathered Song Xiaodao and Little Monkey, called the water buffalo, and headed back to the village.

Crack!

Zhao Yin drew the newly acquired Mountain-Cleaving Machete. One slash, and the Chestnut Tree was severed cleanly at the root.

The bare trunk crashed to the ground.

"Zhao Yin, why did you cut it down?" Song Xiaodao asked, stunned.

"Dig up the roots."

He turned to Little Monkey. "Use your ability. Get to work."

Earlier, the Spatial Ring hadn't had enough room. He had never considered taking the tree. But now he had the water buffalo-that massive body was practically a living cargo truck.

Little Monkey activated Giantification immediately. Its enormous hands tore into the earth, moving as fast as a pre-apocalypse excavator. Within minutes, it had unearthed a root cluster over three meters across.

The monkey struggled to haul it out of the pit.

Zhao Yin snapped his fingers. "Old Bull."

The water buffalo trotted over eagerly, its single eye full of affection.

"From now on, wherever you go, you carry this root cluster on your back. Without my order, you don't put it down."

The buffalo nodded obediently. Its mental voice rumbled: "Understood, Master."

Zhao Yin cut a section from the useless trunk. He carved one side to match the contour of the buffalo's shoulder blade and shaved the other side flat, then fitted it onto the animal's back.

He stripped tattered clothes from nearby zombie corpses, tore them into strips, twisted them into rope, and lashed the wooden frame to the buffalo's front shoulders.

A stable support structure.

Finally, he had Little Monkey hoist the root cluster onto the frame and secured it with more rope.

As long as he watered the roots with one bottle of Supernatural Nongfu Spring every two or three days, he could keep them alive for half a year. Once he obtained a living-creature storage space, he could plant them properly.

With that done, Zhao Yin found an open area and took out the Invisibility Tent.

He examined the A-grade item in his hands, anticipation flickering in his eyes. He was eager to test it.

In his palm, the tent looked like nothing more than a gauze cover the size of his hand.

He willed it to activate.

The tent floated upward, then expanded rapidly.

It grew until it covered three hundred square meters, then slowly descended.

In an instant, it enveloped Zhao Yin, Song Xiaodao, and both mutated beasts within its bounds.