Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Zombie King (2/5)

There were still some zombies left in the school, but Zhu Liang had taken care of all of them. Ordinary zombies yielded little experience, so Yang Fan only concerned himself with dispatching the mother zombies. Thus, under Chen Ming’s astonished gaze, the three of them walked out of the school.

The school stood near the city center, with a series of “Construction” avenues to the left and the so-called downtown to the right, leading towards the “Sands of the Sea.” At this moment, the entire city was deserted and lifeless. The area around the school was scattered with small convenience stores, residential houses, and a few hotels.

“Where should we go?” Chen Ming was the first to ask. Yang Fan glanced at both directions and replied, “To the city center.”

In his previous life, he had been brought to the city center because the government troops were stationed there and people sought protection, hurrying to that area. The main reason Yang Fan chose to head there again was to settle some matters. Qin Ziwen’s friends were all deranged, and there was something Yang Fan had to prevent.

A certain organization—a group of madmen—had found a golden treasure chest when mutated beasts emerged, arming themselves and forming a seven-member team. Along the way, they committed unspeakable atrocities. Yang Fan could never forget how, passing through an alley, he saw the mutilated corpse of a woman, nor could he forget another woman, captured by this group, who suffered relentless abuse.

Ultimately, their depravity led them to cut flesh with knives, pour chili water into her body, and some even, for some twisted purpose, drove a sharp object through the inside of her thigh. The agonized screams were forever etched in Yang Fan’s mind. This was why he felt compelled to protect women—not to indulge in some vulgar fantasy of gathering thousands, but because he simply couldn’t bear such horror. Even Qin Ziwen, a scoundrel himself, called them beasts, which showed just how deranged that group was. Any woman caught by them would surely be tortured to death.

This, Yang Fan believed, was proof that humanity’s darkness was the most terrifying of all. In the apocalypse, people were pushed to madness.

Yang Fan said nothing along the way, only glancing at the nearby convenience stores and small supermarkets. Most supplies had been looted, leaving almost nothing behind.

The city center lay five kilometers away. On the road, Yang Fan didn’t dare underestimate the danger; together with Zhu Liang and Chen Ming, he took the side streets. Zombies outnumbered humans two to one, so nearly every intersection was filled with them. Even on the side roads, many zombies lurked, and Zhu Liang gained valuable experience from this.

Yang Fan encouraged Chen Ming to fight as well, catching a few zombies for him to kill. At first, Chen Ming hesitated, but finally steeled himself and managed to slay one, though he did not awaken the apocalypse system.

The so-called apocalypse system was initially granted to eight million, eight hundred eighty-eight thousand, eight hundred eighty-eight people. The remaining batch of one million, one hundred eleven thousand, one hundred twelve were randomly selected. Killing zombies gave a high chance of obtaining the system, but it was not guaranteed.

Yang Fan wanted Chen Ming to kill zombies so he might awaken the system sooner and inherit the summoner class, which would greatly benefit their future.

So, eight out of ten zombies along the way were dispatched by Zhu Liang. Yang Fan let Chen Ming kill a few, while he himself handled the mother zombies. Eventually, finding it troublesome for Chen Ming, Yang Fan gave him the Desert Eagle, which improved things considerably.

Their small trio was nearly invincible on the side roads. Zhu Liang’s bone blade sliced through zombies as easily as tofu; his silver-grade equipment was formidable, even surpassing Yang Fan’s current weapons. However, it struggled against insectoids, since it was only a first-tier silver-grade item—barely able to harm them.

As for the Thunderblade, it was only slightly sharper than bronze-grade equipment, with a few more effects. The so-called divine set were artifacts, but only for the first tier. If one reached the second tier and the artifacts didn’t evolve, they’d be inferior even to second-tier silver-grade gear.

These items were all growth-type equipment. True artifacts would at least grant +99,999 to all stats, increase dodge rate by 99%, and ordinary attacks would have a 10% chance of refreshing skills.

That would be a real artifact. For now, these were merely top-tier starter items.

Just like now, they encountered a terrifying mother zombie.

This zombie stepped down from an old building, nearly two meters tall, dressed in tattered clothes, with hair wild and mouth smeared with blood, exuding a chilling aura. Its deathly pale face twisted into a grotesque expression that would surely make any child cry in terror. Yang Fan immediately used the Zombie Eye skill to scan it and obtained the following information:

[Silver-grade BOSS]
Mother Zombie
Tier: First
Level: 10
Type: Mother Zombie King
Constitution: ???
Strength: ???
Agility: ???
Intelligence: ???
Description: An extremely rare Mother Zombie King, classified as a BOSS. Recommended strategy: ten well-equipped players of level 7 or above.

“Silver-grade BOSS.” Yang Fan frowned, his expression grave as he said to Zhu Liang and Chen Ming, “Hide quickly, this zombie won’t be easy to deal with.”

A silver-grade BOSS, what did that mean? An ordinary zombie had two to three times the abilities of a normal person, though slower. A mother zombie would have four to five times the abilities, and the Mother Zombie King at least ten times. A silver-grade Mother King could reach fifteen times the capabilities of a human, and as a BOSS, its internal aura was thick and deadly.

Such a creature was invincible in the early stages. Even mutated beasts or insectoids of the same tier would suffer in a confrontation, since zombies were the hardest to level up and evolve. A Mother Zombie King like this was born only once in every hundred thousand zombies—how could they encounter such a monster?

Yang Fan was incredulous; in his past life, he’d never even heard of such a Mother Zombie King.

“Roar!” Before Yang Fan could think further, the zombie suddenly charged, moving like a ghost, its hands tipped with sharp claws exuding corrosive liquid. A mere touch could spell disaster.

“Run ahead, I’ll hold it off!” Seeing the zombie king charge, Yang Fan shouted to Zhu Liang and Chen Ming.

He lunged forward with the Thunderblade, slashing at its face. The Thunderblade was nearly indestructible; with his energy added, its sharpness could slice iron like mud. Yet when it struck the zombie king, it made a screeching sound, sparks flying everywhere.

“What a tough body,” Yang Fan gasped. The zombie king’s claw swept at him, carrying a terrifying disease. Yang Fan kept his guard up, his energy shielding him, barely able to withstand the attack. After taking a hit, he immediately countered with Taiji boxing.

Sticky, winding, striking—he executed the moves flawlessly. Yang Fan punched the zombie king’s forehead. If it had been a normal person, their head would have exploded, but the zombie king only let out a thunderous roar and staggered back several steps.

Chen Ming and Zhu Liang immediately ran, not hesitating for a second. After tangling with the zombie king for a while, Yang Fan also began to retreat.

No joke—a silver-grade BOSS like this was impossible to face head-on unless his strength increased significantly.

Growth-type artifacts were not omnipotent.

So Yang Fan dragged the fight out for nearly a minute, then started a hit-and-run battle, dodging and striking. The zombie king’s sharp claws were coated in corrosive liquid; a single touch would be fatal. (Three thousand words, nearly four hours, my head is about to explode...)