As the doors of the buses slowly closed, Ye Zian watched as the 20 buses made their way back to the fortress, his expression gradually growing serious.
Tonight's blood moon would not only create powerful ability users among humans but would also trigger a second evolution in all zombies.
Not only would the number of mutated zombies increase, but even ordinary zombies would become stronger.
After tonight, even the most common zombies would have their strength boosted by at least 30%, and their bloodthirst would significantly increase.
Each zombie's head would develop a nail-sized crystal core, aiding in their gradual evolution into mutated zombies. However, ability users could absorb the energy from these cores to elevate their own powers, making these cores some of the most valuable items in the apocalypseโessentially becoming a form of currency.
Additionally, the probability of ordinary zombies dropping cards upon death would also increase significantly, with the drop rate for white cards reaching one percent.
Both humans and zombies would gradually widen the gap between them.
The apocalypse was like rowing against the current; if one did not advance, they would retreat. The brutal survival of the fittest would shatter the fantasies of those who hid in their homes, and ordinary people would be torn apart by the suddenly evolved mutated zombies.
This was also why Ye Zian had not dared to let his guard down for even a moment in recent days, eagerly consolidating survivors and resources around Xiacheng into the fortress to lay the groundwork for its future development.
Time passed second by second, and today it had grown unusually dark early. A round moon rose in the sky, an eerie shade of red.
It seemed to possess some magical allure, captivating those who gazed upon it.
Ye Zian opened the sealed door of the cafeteria, unleashing the overpowering stench that had been concealed. A thick smell of blood filled the campus.
Standing in front of the door like a guardian, Ye Zian rhythmically tapped his Tang Dao against the cafeteria's iron door, awakening the silent campus with each knock.
He believed that the Shadow Walker would not be able to resist such temptation.
The primary sustenance for zombie evolution was a large quantity of biological blood and flesh, especially that of strong individuals.
Both the blood and meat inside the cafeteria and Ye Zian himself outside were a delectable feast in the eyes of the Shadow Walker.
As night fell, the scent of blood permeated every corner of the campus, and Ye Zian once again felt that chilling presence.
It seemed the Shadow Walker had indeed been lured by the scent of blood and flesh, approaching the cafeteria.
However, its cautious nature prevented it from acting recklessly; instead, it waited in the shadows for Ye Zian to reveal a weakness.
The cold wind howled, and the only sounds were the rustling leaves around them.
Ye Zian waited a long time without the Shadow Walker making a move, but that chilling sensation continued to linger.
Interesting. Ye Zian quickly deduced the Shadow Walker's planโit was trying to outlast him, waiting for him to lower his guard before striking with a deadly blow.
If that was the case, he hoped it wouldn't disappoint him and could continue to endure.
Ye Zian conjured a white card with his left hand, pinching it between two fingers, and casually tossed it into the cafeteria.
A fireball appeared out of nowhere, igniting the flammable materials inside the cafeteria. In an instant, the gasoline-soaked blood and flesh began to burn, and flames shot up from the cafeteria, consuming the blood and meat within, releasing a strange odor as the grease burned.
The Shadow Walker, hidden in the shadows, clearly hadn't anticipated Ye Zian's actions. Watching the vast amounts of flesh being incinerated, its primal desire for blood and meat overcame its remaining rationality, and it swiftly lunged toward Ye Zian.
Indeed, seeing the feast it had nearly reached go up in flames, the Shadow Walker could no longer hold back and made the first attack.
The howling wind masked the Shadow Walker's movements as its claws sliced through Ye Zian's energy shield, leaving a notable scratch on his tactical armor.
In return, it only received a shallow cut on its hand from Ye Zian's Tang Dao, a minor injury.
In this initial clash, the Shadow Walker had taken the upper hand, breaching Ye Zian's energy shield.
Dissatisfied that it hadn't been able to disembowel Ye Zian, the Shadow Walker retreated into the darkness once more.
With no shield to protect him, Ye Zian was now vulnerable to being torn apart.
Unfortunately for the Shadow Walker, it had fallen for Ye Zian's trick.
Though the wound on the Shadow Walker was superficial, the residual spiritual energy revealed its location.
Ye Zian could clearly sense the lingering chaotic energy from the Shadow Walker in the distance.
Knowing where the Shadow Walker was positioned made it easy to act next.
Ye Zian cast several more fireballs, centering them around the cafeteria. The surrounding teaching buildings were instantly engulfed in flames, one after another, as the pre-placed flammable materials ignited, surrounding both him and the Shadow Walker in a ring of fire.
Out of fear of the flames, and with the surroundings illuminated by firelight, the Shadow Walker could no longer hide; for the first time, its true form came into view.
The Shadow Walker appeared as a twisted, hunched creature about one meter tall, with arms thicker than its body resting on the ground, glaring at Ye Zian with a fierce expression, ready to pounce.
The only remaining exit was behind Ye Zian.
The crackling of flames filled the air between them, and the smell of charred flesh wafted through the space as the blood and meat inside the cafeteria turned to blackened charcoal.
Feeling insulted by the human in front of it, the Shadow Walker pushed off with its hind legs and lunged at Ye Zian once more.
In mid-air, it saw Ye Zian drop the Tang Dao from his hand.
The damned human thought that by putting down his weapon, it would spare him? He would only become its next meal, a source of evolution.
But the next second, as the Shadow Walker reveled in its fantasy of tearing Ye Zian apart, it suddenly saw a massive golden hammerโlarger than itselfโdescend upon its skull.
"Crack!"
The Shadow Walker was smashed into the ground, shaking its head as it struggled to rise.
"Take a deep breath; dizziness is normal."
This hammer was, of course, the one Ye Zian had borrowed from Anna. With his high agility, even wielding this massive hammer wouldn't significantly hinder his movement.
The stunning effect of the Hammer of the Heavens was triggered, followed by a torrential barrage of strikes from Ye Zian.
The Shadow Walker was hammered into the ground, its bones cracking one by one. Its skull shattered, revealing the dark green crystal core inside, while beneath it lay a golden card, shining with a fantastical glow.
The golden light was so dazzling that Ye Zian had to squint as he hurriedly picked it up to examine.
The card depicted a completely black long knife, glimmering with an eerie golden light under the blood moon.
---
๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฎ. ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐!
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ๐ ๐๐ผ:
โข ๐ฝ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐จ๐๐ช
โข ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ
โข ๐ผ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ป๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ:
โข ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐: ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฏ๐ฑ+ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐.
โข ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐-๐ข๐๐: ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ!
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐บ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐. ๐๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐!
๐ ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ: ๐๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ค๐ฃ.๐๐ค๐ข/๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง