Chapter 32: Tier 2

The three moved in seamless coordination. Yang Bin and Hu Wenliang held the zombie's attacks at bay while Chen Hao drove his iron pipe into its neck again and again.

Finally, after several grueling minutes, Chen Hao's pipe punched clean through the Tier-2 Zombie's neck.

All three collapsed to the ground, gasping. That fight had been brutal.

"Well, looks like it's time for new weapons." Hu Wenliang stared at his bent pipe with a resigned expression.

His pipe had warped from blocking the zombie's blows.

"The thing's hollow. Lasting that long is already impressive," Chen Hao said.

"So where do we even get weapons? Honestly, I'd gotten comfortable with this pipe."

"Weapons-I've been thinking about it. Option one: we grab a Fire Axe. That thing would be perfect for killing zombies. One chop to the neck, one kill, guaranteed.

Option two: we hit the Gymnasium and grab some Barbell Rods. Solid steel. One swing down and the skull just pops.

I'm leaning toward the Barbell Rod. Feels like a natural upgrade from the pipe. What about you two?" Yang Bin asked.

"I'm with you on the Barbell Rod. When there's a crowd of them, one swing clears a whole group," Chen Hao said.

"Same here. Fire Axe is too short. You'd end up drenched in blood," Hu Wenliang nodded.

"Good. Gymnasium it is."

Consensus reached in seconds. Yang Bin walked over to the zombie's corpse and dug into its skull, pulling out a crystal the size of a mung bean.

Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang stared at it curiously. They couldn't perceive anything specific, but they could feel it-this crystal was on a completely different level from the ones before.

Yang Bin activated True Vision Eye and examined the crystal. Same composition-pure energy-but the density packed inside this one dwarfed anything he'd seen previously.

Heat flickered in his eyes. He wiped the crystal on his shirt and swallowed it.

The moment it entered his body, it dissolved into a torrent of energy that flooded through his limbs and bones.

Inside his mind, the second corner of the first star on the Star Map blazed to life.

As it ignited, a surge of even greater power fed back into his body. Yang Bin felt a wave of raw, exhilarating strength wash through him.

It took a while for the energy to fully absorb. Yang Bin clenched his fist, feeling the power coiled inside him, and couldn't suppress the excitement in his eyes.

Before any crystals, a single punch from him carried maybe fifty or sixty kilograms of force. After the first corner lit up, that jumped straight past a hundred kilograms.

The crystals he'd consumed along the way pushed it further-roughly two hundred kilograms.

Now, with the second corner lit, his strength had leapt again. At least three hundred kilograms.

Feeling that power thrumming through his body, Yang Bin's pulse quickened. With this kind of strength, his odds of surviving the apocalypse had just jumped dramatically.

"So it really is like I guessed. The more of the Star Chart that lights up, the stronger I get."

Nine stars in his mind. Five corners on each star. Every corner lit meant a massive boost in power.

What would happen when an entire star was fully lit? And if all nine stars blazed to completion-what would that look like?

"Bin-ge, how'd it go?" Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang watched him expectantly.

"Second corner's lit." Yang Bin smiled.

"Did your strength jump a lot?"

"Yeah. Decent leap. I'd estimate a single punch from me now carries at least three hundred kilograms."

"Nice! Bin-ge levels up, and our survival just got a whole lot more secure." Chen Hao grinned.

"Don't get too optimistic. Each step forward is going to be harder than the last." Yang Bin shook his head.

"Doesn't matter how hard it gets. I believe we'll make it," Chen Hao said firmly.

"Mm. The way I see it, we follow the same system as the zombies. One corner lit is Tier 1. Two corners is Tier 2. Next priority is getting you two to Tier 2.

You've each consumed three crystals so far. Two more Tier-1 Crystals will push you to peak Tier 1. Then one Tier-2 Crystal breaks you through to Tier 2. Tier-1 Crystals are easy enough to find. The problem is Tier-2 Zombies-there's barely any of them." Yang Bin frowned.

"Don't worry about it, Bin-ge. The zombies are evolving too. Not many Tier-2 ones today, but by tomorrow there'll probably be more," Chen Hao said.

"True enough." Yang Bin nodded. "It's getting late. Let's handle the weapon situation first, then head back to the dorm. Nighttime's too dangerous."

"Right."

The group set off toward the Gymnasium. It was a fair distance away, and with their weapons basically destroyed, they didn't dare move too fast.

Under Yang Bin's guidance, it took over half an hour to reach it.

The Gymnasium's lock was a heavy chain type. They wrestled with it for a while before finally breaking it open.

Inside, they made straight for the equipment room. One pried lock later, racks of sports gear spread out before them.

But they knew exactly what they wanted. They found the barbells, stripped off the weight plates, and pulled out three 1.8-meter Barbell Rods.

Each of them hefted one, testing the weight. Satisfied grins all around.

Alloy steel. Solid core. Far heavier than the hollow pipes, and the grip felt perfect.

"This feel-incredible. No more worrying about it bending on me." Chen Hao swung his experimentally.

"With these, plus my Tier 2 strength, if we run into another Tier-2 Zombie, I can cave its skull in with a single swing." Yang Bin's voice carried quiet confidence.

If they'd had weapons like these earlier, that last fight wouldn't have been nearly so desperate.

"Sky's getting dark. Let's head back."

"Yeah."

Armed properly now, the group moved with visible confidence. Every zombie they encountered along the way got the same treatment-a brutal overhead swing. Wherever the rods landed, skulls burst like rotten fruit.

"This weapon is incredible. The impact-you can feel it," Chen Hao said, practically buzzing.

"Those are ordinary zombies. Below Tier 1. Two Tier-1 guys beating on unranked trash-you proud of yourselves? There's a Tier-1 Zombie over there. Go test yourselves." Yang Bin pointed toward a cluster of zombies in the distance.

"On it!"

The two charged toward the group, striving to be first.

The mindless zombies spotted them coming and lunged forward eagerly.

Then came the slaughter.

Both men swung their Barbell Rods in wide, savage arcs. Every zombie caught by a swing had its head shattered instantly-dead on the spot.

Over ten zombies, Special Zombie included, wiped out in under a minute.

"Which one was the Special Zombie?" Chen Hao looked at Hu Wenliang.

"No idea. I just swung at everything and they all died."

"........"

"So how do we find the crystal?"

"Gotta ask Bin-ge."

Yang Bin looked at the two idiots, shook his head, and pointed at one of the corpses.

Chen Hao ran over and dug the crystal out.

"Which of us eats this one?"

"Doesn't matter. Same result either way."

"Haozi, you take it. Get your advancement first. If we hit a big group of zombies, we'll need your Way of Assassination to thin them out," Yang Bin said.

"Alright."

Chen Hao didn't hesitate. Wiped it off and popped it in his mouth.

Once Chen Hao finished absorbing the energy, the group continued toward the dorm. Killing zombies along the way had cost them time. By the time they arrived, the sky had gone dark.

The dormitory building sat in silence. Everyone else had probably stayed at the supermarket rather than risk the trip back. Not everyone was as reckless as these three-willing to roam freely through an apocalypse.

Of course, raw strength was only part of it. What truly let them move with impunity was Yang Bin's True Vision Eye.

Without it, getting swarmed by a large group was almost inevitable. And once surrounded, no amount of strength would save you.