Chapter 5: The Unfortunate Jiang Yi

Is there one portion of food for every zombie killed? If so, I would never have to worry about food again! After eating his fill, Jiang Yi slung his backpack over his shoulder, gripped his skull-cleaving knife, and gently opened the door. A wave of stench hit him as he stepped over a heap of emaciated corpses and walked out...

He was eager to return and tell Jiazi that he had become an ability user, that he could give her a stable life, no longer exhausting herself every day just to provide water.

Jiang Yi liked Chen Jiazi—not because she was exceptionally beautiful, but because since high school, Jiazi had been the well-known diligent student of their school. Although her grades were only average, her positive and cheerful personality made her popular with many.

Jiang Yi, somewhat introverted back then, never expected that in the second year of high school, he would receive a confession from Chen Jiazi! Honestly, he was quite stunned. Though not unattractive, Jiang Yi had always been an insignificant figure at school—when mentioned, people would merely say, “Oh, you mean the top student from such-and-such class…”

Naturally, Jiang Yi’s heart stirred at the confession. After spending some time together, they became friends, but since this was a crucial period in their lives, their relationship remained platonic.

Despite Jiazi’s average grades, Jiang Yi took the initiative to tutor her. By the time of the college entrance exam, he had helped her improve from average to outstanding, enabling her to enter Long Province Institute of Technology with excellent marks.

Jiang Yi’s own scores were good enough for any major university in the capital cities, but because Jiazi didn’t want them to be separated, he gritted his teeth and applied to Long Province Institute of Technology as well.

Their relationship remained stable, and Jiang Yi had a sense that if things continued like this, by the time they graduated university, they might even be discussing marriage. But all of this was soon destroyed by the damned apocalypse...

Jiazi’s dorm was on the third floor. Jiang Yi, knife in hand, carefully hugged the corner of the wall as he moved toward the stairwell. He wasn’t arrogant enough to think his extraordinary system powers made him invincible. Nearly four-fifths of the students at the institute had turned into zombies, infesting the entire campus. Every day, more survivors were infected and joined the zombie horde...

If it weren’t for the vast size of the campus, the overwhelming number of zombies would have already wiped everyone out. Fortunately, someone discovered that perhaps due to the scorching summer heat, zombies were noticeably less active and less perceptive during the day. They only became especially active after nightfall, emerging from dark corners to hunt...

Therefore, as long as there was no loud noise during the day, one wouldn’t encounter large groups of zombies outside. This was why, despite the commotion Jiang Yi had caused inside the dormitory, only seven zombies had surrounded him.

But don’t be mistaken—daytime wasn’t safe. Zombies disliked sunlight but were not afraid of it. If a living human approached, they would not hesitate to feed even under the blazing sun.

At level two, Jiang Yi did not consider himself capable of taking on a horde. His low attributes made even facing a single zombie difficult. “Hopefully, I won’t run into any zombies,” he thought, sneaking down the stairs quietly. He was pleasantly surprised to find not a single zombie in his way. Just as he was about to reach the dormitory door, suddenly a dark figure dropped from above, crashing heavily outside the door!

Jiang Yi’s face twisted in horror as he saw a young, beautiful girl fall naked to the cement ground, covered in blood, limbs contorted and twitching eerily... Her unwilling eyes gazed blankly into the distance.

“Damn it!” Jiang Yi cursed and turned to run, diving straight into the empty guardhouse. Moments later, frantic pounding and roaring erupted outside the dormitory. Peering cautiously from the window ledge, his heart sank completely...

The fresh blood had attracted zombies that had been hiding around the building. A large number gathered at the dormitory entrance, frantically lunging at the girl’s corpse.

Just a glance showed at least a dozen zombies feasting outside. “Damn it, if you want to die, why not wait a bit longer!” Jiang Yi gritted his teeth in frustration, nearly making it out of the dorm.

He hadn’t expected any survivors inside the dormitory, but considering the chaos, it made sense. Girls, generally weaker, were safer hiding in their rooms than running around.

However, dwindling food and water supplies combined with the terror of being alone among zombies had driven many to psychological breakdowns. Jiang Yi had grown accustomed to suicides like this, and even witnessed several people driven mad by fear, running headlong into the zombie swarm.

A thunderous roar startled Jiang Yi from his thoughts. He looked up to see the once peaceful feeding frenzy outside descend into chaos. A massive figure charged in, swatting two zombies aside with a single blow. It then grabbed one zombie, tore it apart mid-roar, blood and gore splattering over its body, fueling its frenzy. The surrounding ordinary zombies shrank back in terror. The hulking zombie then crouched over the girl’s body, ripping out her heart and stuffing it into its mouth.

Jiang Yi’s eyes widened as he noticed a flicker of red light shining between the monster’s eyebrows...

“Not good! It’s an evolved zombie!” He pressed himself to the ground, holding his breath instinctively. A horde of ordinary zombies was already overwhelming; now with an evolved zombie here, Jiang Yi had no thought of resistance.

He knew this zombie all too well. The corpse core he had secretly kept had come from a zombie identical to this one.

That zombie had once rampaged into the cafeteria with a group of survivors, like a wolf among sheep. Fortunately, its immense strength caused it to break the floor and become trapped between levels, where multiple ability users finally killed it.

But even then, seven ability users had died in the battle. The single zombie had caused nearly forty casualties in the cafeteria.

Because no one dared to deal with that corpse, Jiang Yi was assigned the task, a dangerous job that turned into a huge opportunity for him. Knowing the terror of this zombie, Jiang Yi had no intention of fighting.

Though he had gained extraordinary powers, they had not made him significantly stronger from the start. In fact, he felt weaker now than before and certainly not strong enough to face so many zombies.

Cursing bitterly, Jiang Yi realized he was trapped for the time being, forced to wait for the horde outside to disperse. But in such a blood-soaked environment, that was unlikely anytime soon.

He slowly lifted his head to check outside again—and locked eyes with a pair of pale, lifeless eyes. No matter how strong his mind was, Jiang Yi was so frightened that he fell back to the floor.

Outside the guardhouse window, a zombie had appeared somehow. It seemed to have heard noises inside and roared, slamming its palm against the glass! The fragile window shattered with a crash.

However, the triple-layered glass did not completely break. The zombie’s palm left only shattered glass and a dark bloodstain on the window. Jiang Yi’s face turned ghostly pale. He scrambled up and dashed to flee the guardhouse.

He couldn’t stay on the first floor. With such a racket, the zombies would break through the door soon, and staying meant certain death. As he ran out, his eyes caught a large bunch of spare keys hanging on the wall. He grabbed them impulsively.

The disappearance of food outside only made the zombies more agitated, their pounding drawing even more of the undead. Hearing the howls and shattering glass below, Jiang Yi dared not look back and sprinted upstairs. Fortunately, zombies couldn’t climb stairs, so reaching the upper floors would keep him safe from being surrounded.

He ran all the way to the fourth floor, his face as pale as paper, gasping for breath.

His physical strength was still too weak—he was even inferior to an ordinary person. Just as he tried to catch his breath, a small zombie suddenly leapt out from the hallway.

“Roar!” Female zombies were usually slender and weaker than males, but the sudden appearance startled Jiang Yi. Before he could draw his knife, the zombie was already close. He hurriedly raised his blade to block its arm.

The tremendous force pushed Jiang Yi back relentlessly, nearly causing him to fall down the stairs. He barely stopped himself by pressing against the stair railing. The zombie’s strength was naturally far greater than a human’s, while Jiang Yi’s power was only a quarter of a normal person’s.

Locked in combat, Jiang Yi was pushed backward, almost off balance. Their struggle attracted the attention of zombies on the fourth floor, who began violently banging against the doors. Luckily, most were locked inside rooms and couldn’t break out yet.

Jiang Yi gritted his teeth, holding the zombie’s arm firmly, took two deep breaths, then suddenly kicked out and twisted his blade to the right. The clumsy zombie never expected its prey to use such a move to weaken its strength. It lurched sideways, screamed, and tumbled down the stairs.

Gasping for air, Jiang Yi stared at the struggling zombie on the stairs, who had yet to stand. His eyes brightened as he gripped his skull-cleaving knife with his left hand, ready to finish it off. Suddenly, a loud crash came from the dormitory door nearby—a crack appeared in the already fragile door!

Startled and momentarily distracted, Jiang Yi abandoned his chance to kill the zombie and sprinted toward the fifth floor. Alone now, he dared not risk entangling himself with the entire building’s horde...