After the Great Catastrophe, Earth's biosphere underwent dramatic changes. With the help of the power of virus genes, humanity entered an era of extraordinary abilities, gaining access to various powerful powers, and slowly starting to regain a foothold in this terrifying world. From that moment on, abilities, along with technological power, formed the two main pillars of human survival.
However, the virus that granted humanity such incredible strength also planted a dangerous seed within each person's body. When humans die, the virus genes inside their bodies lose control, triggering an outbreak that transforms the deceased into zombies.
The process of transformation takes a certain amount of time. Depending on a person's physical constitution and the amount of virus within them, the time varies. According to statistics, the average time from death to transformation is between 30 seconds and 120 minutes. And Qing Yi, who had previously strengthened his body with crystal cores, was one of the people who would transform quickly. It took less than a minute for him to fully change into a bloodthirsty zombie.
Do not underestimate these low-level zombies. After losing their self-preservation mechanism, they can unleash all the power stored within their bodies. This means that the zombie form of Qing Yi was much stronger than when he was alive. Faced with such an opponent, who could only be killed by destroying its head, a severely injured Chu Xun had little chance of surviving.
"Shit!" Seeing the zombie limping toward him, Chu Xun's face darkened. He tried to gather his strength to fight back or escape, but the severe injury to his abdomen and the constant blood loss left him incredibly weak, unable to put up any meaningful resistance.
"Am I really going to die here?" Feeling the overwhelming dizziness rush over him, Chu Xun couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. He never expected that his second life would come to an end like this.
It was a cruel joke. If he could do it all over again, he would never have been so careless…
"Ugh..." The zombie finally reached Chu Xun, growling as it lunged at him. It was clearly eager for its next meal.
"No matter what, I won't become your food!" Despite the overwhelming situation, Chu Xun had no strength to dodge. He allowed the zombie to knock him to the ground, but he did not give up. With a roar, he mustered every last bit of energy and rolled over, pinning the zombie under him. He used his aching right arm, despite the pain, to grab the zombie's neck and desperately pulled it backward.
"Ugh..." The zombie, frustrated that it couldn't reach its meal, struggled wildly. However, Chu Xun, despite the intense pain that was blurring his vision, kept holding on. His only thought was to restrain this zombie and not let it bite him.
Fortunately, Chu Xun's decision proved to be the right one. Qing Yi had taken a heavy blow from Chu Xun earlier, which caused internal bleeding and led to his death. The excessive force had damaged his spine, and now, with Chu Xun's dying struggle, Qing Yi's already damaged spine finally gave way. With a loud crack, it split in two.
Although low-level zombies only had one weakness—their head—if their spine was broken, they couldn't control their body anymore. As a result, even though Qing Yi, now a zombie, continued to roar, his body stopped struggling. His mouth, now missing many teeth and covered in blood and flesh, still opened and closed, trying to bite off a piece of flesh from Chu Xun.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a flash of silver suddenly shot past Chu Xun's face, narrowly missing him. It then pierced through the zombie's head and was embedded in the hard stone ground.
Chu Xun looked up, stunned. What had pierced the zombie's head and embedded in the ground was a sharp surgical scalpel!
"Eh? This guy again?" Then, Chu Xun heard a voice behind him, tinged with mild surprise. He tried to turn his head, but the fatigue was overwhelming, and the world began to spin. His body slumped, and he fell unconscious.
"Based on the bloodstains and battle traces on the ground, it seems this kid killed the big guy, then got severely injured and wounded in the abdomen…" Nangong Yan crouched down, examining the zombie and Chu Xun's injuries. She muttered to herself, "But this kid hasn't awakened, how did he manage to kill such a strong guy, who was clearly a fighter? And judging by the injuries, it looks like he was killed by a punch? Interesting…"
A playful smile appeared on her beautiful face as she pondered the situation. Then, she pressed her lips together and reached for Chu Xun's foot, grabbing it as though dragging a corpse, and started pulling him toward her medical facility.
Soon, Chu Xun and Nangong Yan left the area, leaving behind only a corpse and a trail of blood that stretched into the distance...
"Ahh—!" With a scream, Chu Xun suddenly sat up in bed, drenched in cold sweat.
He had just had a nightmare, one where he was knocked to the ground by Qing Yi and slowly devoured piece by piece. He had tried to struggle, but it was futile, and in the end, he could only watch as his body became a bloody, mangled corpse.
Fortunately, it was just a nightmare.
"Where is this…" Chu Xun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked around. He suddenly realized he was back in the medical facility. Recalling the voice he had heard before falling unconscious, Chu Xun finally relaxed a little.
"It seems Dr. Nangong saved me…" Chu Xun took a deep breath and began to examine his wound. To his surprise, the injury on his abdomen had almost healed, leaving only a small scar, and his right arm no longer hurt—it had clearly healed as well.
"How long was I unconscious?" Chu Xun was momentarily stunned, then furrowed his brow. According to logic, with such a severe injury, it should have taken at least a month or two to heal completely. Did that mean he had been out for a month or more?
Just as Chu Xun was wondering about his injuries, the sound of high heels clicking against the floor suddenly echoed, and then the door opened. Dr. Nangong walked in.
Dr. Nangong was as beautiful as ever, with a seductive figure, fair skin, and long legs that were hard to ignore. Her white lab coat couldn't fully hide her curves, and her ample chest only added to her allure. But her cold expression and the indifferent way she looked at him—like he was just another object—made it impossible for anyone to feel warmth toward her.
She was a woman full of contradictions.
"You woke up faster than I expected…" Dr. Nangong said with her usual indifferent expression, glancing at Chu Xun before speaking again. "I didn't expect you to awaken your abilities. I guess I misjudged you before."
"Dr. Nangong, how long have I been unconscious?" Chu Xun, still feeling a little uneasy, asked. If he had been unconscious too long and missed the student assessment, he would be doomed.
"Not long, just 1 hour and 32 minutes," Dr. Nangong glanced at the time and replied. "Seems your abilities are related to your physical constitution. Your self-healing abilities are quite good. Otherwise, even with my help, you wouldn't have recovered this quickly."
"Good…" Hearing Dr. Nangong's words, Chu Xun finally relaxed. But then he remembered something and his face changed slightly. He asked, "By the way, Dr. Nangong, what about Qing Yi...?"
"Just a servant. He's dead, so it doesn't matter. I've had the city defense team handle his body." Dr. Nangong replied with her usual blank expression, as if she were talking about a dog or an ant rather than a person. She glanced at Chu Xun and then turned to leave. "Since you're fine now, you should leave. Don't waste medical resources."
"Uh, okay." Watching Dr. Nangong leave with her graceful figure, Chu Xun felt a little speechless. This woman was indeed beautiful, but she was just too cold, like an ice cube that no one could get close to.
After everything that had happened, he now had a clearer understanding of how low human life was in this world. He had killed someone, but didn't need to bear any consequences, simply because he was a noble, and Qing Yi was just a servant!
After leaving the medical facility, Chu Xun quickly arrived at the place where he had fought Qing Yi. The area had obviously been cleaned up. Not only had Qing Yi's body been taken away, but even the bloodstains had been wiped clean. If not for the faint smell of blood still lingering in the air, one would never have guessed that a bloody battle had just taken place here.
Smelling the faint blood in the air, Chu Xun couldn't help but recall the fight earlier. A feeling of relief and fear spread within him. If Dr. Nangong hadn't arrived in time, he might have already become a zombie's meal.
Only after losing something could one truly understand the value of life. Moreover, Chu Xun had almost lost his life twice. Thinking about it, he silently swore to himself: From now on, he would treat his enemies with the coldness of winter, strike swiftly like the autumn wind, and never give them a chance to turn the tables.
After all, anyone who survived in this cruel world was no simple character. Any show-off behavior could make one a true fool…
Shaking his head, Chu Xun continued walking toward the place he called "home."
According to his memories, there was something very important he had to retrieve.