The moonlight gradually intensified.
While Wen Yu was meditating with his eyes closed.
「Inside Riverside Park.」
Formerly a beautiful park, the original scenery was now unrecognizable. All that was left were severed limbs and dark brown bloodstains, both human and animal, scattered throughout every corner of the park.
Within this hellish landscape, the park was eerily silent. There were no moans of zombies, no roars of mutant beasts. It felt as though one were standing in a field of death.
Amid the multitude of bloodstains and severed limbs, a dark figure slowly stood up. In the dim moonlight, its three-meter-high figure looked like a small mountain.
As the moonlight gradually fell upon this dark figure, its terrifying true form was revealed.
It was a lion.
As the only male lion in Riverside Park, it had been tamed by humans to the point where it had lost all its wildness. Its daily routine consisted of eating, sleeping, and reproducing.
Simba, as his keeper had named him, never found anything amiss. In fact, he believed his life was wonderful.
This was how he had lived since he was a cub. In Simba's mind, this constituted the entirety of a lion's daily life.
However, with the arrival of the apocalypse, everything changed.
An overwhelming hunger and killing intent swiftly engulfed his heart, obliterating his sanity.
The first objects of this violent release were the female lions of his pride. The power discrepancy left them with no chance of resistance. In less than five minutes, his numerous mates lay at his feet, soon becoming his food.
He felt his body constantly growing, and power continuously surging. Empowered by this immense strength, Simba suddenly understood a truth.
He was meant to control the life and death of others, meant to be at the top of the food chain, meant to have no qualms.
Smoke continuously billowed from his mouth. Simba felt a searing pain in his throat, as if a ball of fire were lodged there. He opened his mouth, and a torrent of actual fire erupted.
Flame Stream (A-Class): The power of flame pours out, causing devastating damage to enemies.
Simba naturally couldn't understand why he could breathe fire, but this in no way hindered his ability to use flames to annihilate his enemies.
In fact, there weren't any enemies. The entire Riverside Park was his hunting ground.
Take the bear to the east: it was a bit hard to kill, seeming larger than before and capable of emitting a sharp gust of air. However, this posed no real problem. A single blast of his flames incinerated its head. Although the meat on its head was unfortunately lost, it didn't matter; there was still plenty of other food throughout the park.
The crocodile in the water also proved somewhat challenging. But it hardly mattered. His teeth felt sharper than before, his claws more pointed, and his skin tougher. Besides, the crocodile meat was quite tender.
The crocodile tasted warm. After finishing it, Simba felt his body grow significantly larger. His skin had become tougher than before. Indeed, his own claws striking it felt like scratching the hard, elongated bars that had once confined him.
Steel Protective Armor (B-Class): The power of steel protects you, greatly enhancing your body's defense capabilities.
Although growing larger was a good thing, it also made him feel even hungrier. The burning sensation in his stomach gradually eroded Simba's sanity.
And so, Simba's hunt began.
For all the creatures in Riverside Park, Simba, a Level 2 mutant beast, was an absolute nightmare.
Consequently, not a single living being—be it human, mutant creature, or zombie—managed to escape the small park.
Simultaneously, many zombies poured into the park, providing Simba with more food.
Gradually, the zombies congregating around the park became aware of a terrifying presence within. Their rudimentary instincts prevented them from entering the park, yet they didn't stray far from this metaphorical volcano on the verge of eruption.
Until today, until this very moment, Simba felt hungry. Over three days, Simba had slaughtered every moving creature within the park, feasting heartily.
However, as moving creatures became scarce, his body continued to grow, and his appetite burgeoned. Leftovers no longer satisfied Simba.
His immense power restored Simba's pride as a king.
There should be more food outside, Simba thought.
Then, Simba left the place where he had lived his entire life.
He departed with the strength of a third-level mutant beast and the pride of one at the apex of the food chain.
...
The loud noise outside woke Wen Yu from his light slumber.
Rushing to the window, Wen Yu knew the opportunity he had been awaiting had arrived.
The first thing to meet Wen Yu's eyes was a massive ball of zombies.
Countless Level one zombies agilely clambered onto this spherical mass. Their rudimentary intelligence told them that delicious food lay within and that evolution was merely a bite away.
As a result, more and more zombies piled onto the sphere, making it increasingly cumbersome and slowing its movement. Then, the massive ball of zombies ground to a halt.
Wen Yu muttered, TSK, TSK, TSK, someone must have rushed in with a bus. That's impulsive.
It was crucial to remember that one characteristic of zombies is their fearlessness in the face of death. Driving into such a horde would mean getting trapped. Moreover, ordinary sheet metal was no match for the sharp claws of Level one zombies.
The most terrifying aspect was their ability to summon others of their kind.
In Wen Yu's eyes, this was utterly suicidal.
The sight of zombies from all around the park rushing over frantically convinced him that whatever was inside was doomed.
Even an armored car would be hopelessly ensnared by such countless zombies.
Wen Yu couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment; if it were possible to simply drive through, he would have attempted it long ago.
It seems this isn't the opportunity I've been waiting for, he thought.
Just as he was bracing himself to witness the bus's tragic end, a dazzling red light suddenly erupted from within the massive zombie ball, followed by a deafening explosion.
The tremendous force made Wen Yu instinctively duck his head. Witnessing the zombies furthest from the blast being hurled ten meters into the air by the red light, Wen Yu was utterly dumbfounded.
"This, this is, this is Simba!"
Wen Yu opened his mouth wide, staring dumbfounded at the creature that appeared below.
It was a massive lion. It possessed a robust physique, a light-yellow mane, eyes like lanterns, razor-sharp claws, and a gaping, blood-red maw. A substance resembling molten lava continuously dripped from its mouth.
Although it was much smaller than the one he had seen in his previous life, its proportionate build, ferocious killing intent, and signature Flame Stream skill were unmistakably unique.
Wen Yu muttered, This has gotten seriously out of hand.