Chapter 4: A Hundred Bites
1589 Words
When Lin Yuan walked out of the bathroom, everyone’s gazes were entirely different from before.
“Daddy Yuan, it was Jiang Yaojin who pushed you. He even said you were disobedient and had tendencies to split from the group. Keeping you would have been a disaster. We didn’t dare oppose him,” explained a clever man in the corner. He stepped forward, bending over slightly as he spoke, but kept his distance, afraid Lin Yuan might swing the axe at him.
Lin Yuan glanced at him but said nothing. This guy was smart, but his cleverness made him a bit overconfident.
Lin Yuan found a backpack, packed some food and water, and without paying any attention to the others, headed straight for the door.
With his new "Life Perception" ability, Lin Yuan could clearly sense all living beings within a hundred-meter radius. He could easily distinguish between humans and zombies. Besides the survivors on the fourth floor, there were some people left on the sixth floor, and a few on the second. However, the third, fifth, and seventh floors were filled entirely with zombies.
The people in the office dared not move. Whether in times of peace or during the early stages of the apocalypse, killing someone was still something that could shock and terrify most people.
Standing by the door, Shen Rong had seen everything. When Lin Yuan had torn off Jiang Yaojin’s head, she had nearly vomited again. As Lin Yuan walked past her, she didn’t hesitate for a second and quickly followed him.
“Rong Jie, he’s a murderer!” whispered a woman who knew Shen Rong, clearly puzzled why someone as good as Shen Rong would follow a killer.
“You’re murderers too. What’s the difference?” Shen Rong said, a hint of pity in her eyes. She took one last look at the companions she had spent the last five days with and then followed Lin Yuan without looking back.
At the stairwell, the tables and chairs that Lin Yuan and Wu Kai had piled up a few days ago to block the zombies were still there. Even though it was a simple defense, it had been effective.
Lin Yuan moved the furniture aside and started walking downstairs.
The office building didn't have much in terms of supplies; at most, it could last ten days before everything edible would be used up. As for the rescue team that Jiang Yaojin had mentioned, it was likely just a rumor he spread to maintain his position.
“Downstairs is your company, right? Is there a place where we can rest?” Lin Yuan didn’t turn around but could accurately sense where Shen Rong was standing. His life-sensing ability allowed him to detect precise positions, even through walls.
“I usually take naps in the office. There’s a bed, and I have a decent amount of food there too. I also have the office key.” Shen Rong clutched her stomach, struggling to pull her gaze away from Lin Yuan’s backpack. Over the past few days, no one but Jiang Yaojin and his cronies had eaten their fill.
As they descended the stairs, they saw a female zombie wandering slowly in the hallway. Sensing the presence of living humans, the zombie suddenly snapped out of its daze and charged at them. But before it could take a second step, it slipped on some dark red blood on the floor and fell face-first to the ground.
Lin Yuan stepped forward and swung his axe down, splitting the unfortunate zombie’s head in two.
“This one had a nice feel.” After chopping down a few zombies, Lin Yuan had developed a knack for it. By angling the axe slightly, he could pop the top of their skulls off cleanly.
“Sun Jie…” Shen Rong looked at the fallen zombie with a complex expression, perhaps feeling a twinge of sympathy.
“One of your employees?”
Half of the third floor was Shen Rong’s company. Unfortunately, not many people had escaped when the outbreak occurred, and most of her employees were women.
“Sun Jie had been with me for five years. She helped me a lot.”
Shen Rong carefully avoided the corpse. While she felt sympathy, it was still a zombie, so she dared not get too close.
“You should kneel and pay your respects then. If you didn’t appreciate her when she was alive, what’s the point of mourning her now?” Since gaining the Zombie Evolution System, Lin Yuan found it easy to put himself in the mindset of a zombie. This was gradually influencing his personality.
Shen Rong pouted. Although she wasn’t the kind of boss who exploited her employees, she didn’t see the need to kneel either.
The hallway was free of zombies, but there were shadows moving in the office area. Those zombies were dragging bodies to the corners, feasting on them at their leisure. The crunching sound of bones being gnawed on occasionally echoed through the air, sending chills down their spines.
Carefully, the two of them moved step by step. As long as they didn’t disturb the feeding zombies, they wouldn’t be attacked in this situation.
With Lin Yuan covering her, Shen Rong quickly reached the door, pulled out her keys, and began unlocking it. In her haste, her trembling hands fumbled with the lock several times before finally opening it. They rushed inside, and the strong scent of blood outside immediately lessened, allowing them to relax a bit.
Lin Yuan placed his axe to the side, opened his backpack, and began eating. After devouring two pieces of bread, his stomach felt somewhat satisfied, and he took a swig of mineral water.
“Why are you staring at me? Want me to feed you?” Lin Yuan asked, noticing that Shen Rong was standing obediently to the side, her eyes drawn to the food as she swallowed hard.
At his words, Shen Rong nervously picked up a piece of bread and carefully bit into it.
Lin Yuan let his body digest the food slowly, absorbing the nutrients, then began searching the office. The space wasn’t very large, but there was a small separate room. Inside was a single bed and a bathroom. The closet next to it held a few clothes, likely Shen Rong’s.
Approaching the window, Lin Yuan looked down from the building. Hundreds of cars clogged the street below, stretching endlessly into the distance. Some of the cars were blackened husks, reduced to little more than metal frames.
Hordes of zombies wandered the streets, like a parade moving aimlessly.
The sudden outbreak of the zombie crisis had caught ordinary people completely off guard; after all, they hadn’t been prepared for anything like this.
Just then, the sound of a roaring engine filled the air. A helicopter flew rapidly overhead, crossing the city without showing any sign of stopping.
"Seems like ordinary folks won’t be getting any rescue," Lin Yuan thought to himself, watching the helicopter fly overhead. He had no illusions about the situation—such helicopters were only for the high and mighty. In the apocalypse, you could only rely on yourself, and he was now in an ideal position to quietly build his strength.
【You've finally exacted your revenge. You feel a sense of peace and clarity, physically and mentally relaxed. However, zombies are still just zombies. No matter how special, they can't withstand gunfire and explosives. From now on, work hard to evolve. Every time you bite an uninfected human, you'll gain one evolution point.】
【Current level: Ordinary Zombie】
【Evolution progress: 1/100】
【Abilities: Agile movement, Life Sensing】
“So this is the true Zombie Evolution System. The earlier part was just a prerequisite?” Lin Yuan wondered aloud. Though he wasn’t sure what would happen once his evolution reached 100%, a sense of anticipation stirred within him.
After all, in the movies, advanced zombies possessed terrifying abilities. Even if he, a mere imitation, could only gain a portion of those powers, it would still make him exponentially stronger.
While pondering how to evolve further, the door to the small room suddenly opened. Shen Rong emerged, now dressed in a fresh set of athletic clothes, and her face, which had been oily for days, was clean. Though her hair hadn’t been washed, it was neatly tied back, giving her a sharp and refreshed look. The red mark on her collarbone was still visible, a clear bite mark encircling her skin.
Noticing the strange look in Lin Yuan’s eyes, Shen Rong felt a wave of fear wash over her. She instinctively covered her neck with her hand.
Lin Yuan slowly approached her and pinned her against the wall with one hand.
“What... What are you doing?” Shen Rong’s heart raced as panic set in. She had already anticipated this would happen—after all, she had thrown her lot in with him, and knew there would be a price to pay. But now that the moment had arrived, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.
As she felt his breath growing hotter against her ear, she instinctively tightened her legs together, her body involuntarily sliding down the wall. But then, suddenly, a warmth spread across her collarbone, followed by a sharp pain.
“Ah—!”
A tingling numbness spread through half her body, quickly drowning out the pain. Shen Rong's eyes glazed over, and she found herself unconsciously rubbing her face against Lin Yuan's.
- Writer
