Dark Apocalypse

Episode 38

Madness or genius? Who knows!



Zombies were undoubtedly present in the supermarket, a fact so obvious even a fool could deduce it—let alone someone with a brain, like Adam.

Survivors who ventured here to scavenge for supplies, food, and the like, were the very source of the zombie outbreak. Adam couldn't recall the exact moment the apocalypse began, but he knew that as long as the supermarket's doors remained open, it would be filled with people. Naturally, zombies wouldn't be few.

When he heard the distinctive growl of a zombie coming from behind him, Adam was already prepared. Without a second thought, he swung the shovel he held behind him.

A sickening thud echoed, the unmistakable sound of something impaling flesh—not the intimate noise of a man and woman, but the sharp, brutal sound of a weapon driven into meat.

The sensation in his hands told him he'd struck true, but given the dim light and limited visibility, Adam couldn't tell if it was a fatal blow. After all, unless the head was destroyed, a zombie wouldn't die.

Just as Adam was about to yank the shovel free and strike again, growls from both sides indicated the arrival of more zombies—indeed, the supermarket was crawling with them.

Adam had heard sounds from all directions, and while he couldn't see clearly, he estimated at least a dozen zombies nearby.

Had he the proper weapon and better visibility, he would be confident in dispatching twenty to thirty zombies.

However, the current situation was far from favorable. Not only was the lighting poor, but the shovel in his hands was unwieldy. What was worse, to avoid being ambushed, Adam was forced to abandon any hope of pulling it out. He was now armed with nothing but his bare hands.

"You don't have an immunity to the virus yet! Don't engage in hand-to-hand combat!"

The timely warning from Xucai echoed in Adam's mind. While he'd fought zombies barehanded before—during that previous rampage when the situation was different, and there was no concern about infection—this time it was different. A single scratch could mean death from infection. He could, of course, consume 10 points for an antidote, but given the imbalance between his current points and the necessity to preserve them, that wasn't a viable option.

Adam didn't respond. After dodging the zombies lunging from both sides, he took a few steps back and crouched low. Just then, another zombie lunged at him from behind.

In that moment, his right hand brushed against something cold on the ground.

"I'm not foolish enough to use my fists!" He rose, pivoted, and swung his arm. A resounding crack filled the air, akin to a watermelon being smashed with a bat.

Smiling to himself, Adam marveled at the object he'd just found. This was the weapon he needed—exactly what he had come here for.

What was it? Of course, it was a weapon—a metal baseball bat! Lightweight, effective, easy to carry, and packing a decent amount of power, it was the perfect mid-range weapon.

Despite the dark environment of the supermarket, Adam was familiar with its layout, enough to know where the sporting goods section was. The bat was the result of that knowledge.

With this new weapon in hand, Adam felt a renewed sense of confidence. Though his vision was still limited, zombies, unlike humans, gave themselves away by their loud growls, allowing him to judge their location and react accordingly.

A fatal strike was impossible in such conditions, especially since he couldn't clearly identify their heads. It was also dangerous, relying solely on body reflexes and hearing—those with weaker physical abilities would have been dead by now.

If obtaining the bat was his primary objective, Adam could have easily fought his way out. However, the bat was merely a secondary goal; there were more pressing matters to attend to.

Instead of retreating, Adam ventured deeper into the supermarket, avoiding unnecessary skirmishes with the zombies that emerged. He either dodged them or, when necessary, used his bat to knock them aside. Without engaging in prolonged combat, he made his way to the electronics section.

What was he after? A computer? A TV? An air conditioner?

It seemed that few people had come here before, as most of the electronic goods were still in relatively good condition. While some items lay scattered on the floor, the majority remained neatly arranged on the shelves.

"Xucai, can I exchange something for entertainment purposes in the system?"

Although Adam had never given much thought to the lifestyle items available for exchange, his recent experiences—particularly after spending nearly all his wealth points and discovering an unexpected result—had led him to wonder whether there might be a way to exploit the system's possible flaws.

"Yes, any item in this world can be exchanged. Even those that only exist in myths or fantasies are available. However, their prices are astronomical. For now, or rather, those items are practically unexchangeable because there are simply not enough points to cover them."

So legendary items existed? Could that mean the Xuanyuan Sword or the Tiger Soul Blade were available? But Xucai's words implied that even if such items existed, there simply weren't enough points to acquire them.

With the sound of approaching zombies growing louder, Adam knew there was no time to waste. He quickly selected a microwave oven and held it in his right hand.

"Xucai, exchange this microwave!"

This was the true purpose of his visit to the supermarket. Finding a useful weapon was a bonus, but his real goal was to reverse the exchange process and turn existing items in this world into points!

If items could be exchanged for, then surely they could be exchanged back! In this world of opposites, where there is a buying process, there must also be a selling one!

Though Adam's idea seemed outlandish, the truth was often discovered through experimentation. After all, when Copernicus proposed that the Earth orbited the Sun, wasn't he dismissed as a madman? Yet, wasn't that the truth?

And in a world where a system like Xucai could exist, could anything truly be too strange? Adam eagerly anticipated what would unfold.