As skills evolved and levels increased, so too did the madness and distortion. Here was a human carrying zombie meat with pride, enthusiastically discussing its preparation as though it were a culinary delight.
If they knew about the secret society formed by the four survivors in Hope Town—a group focused on eating third-tier zombies, exchanging recipes for better flavor and enhanced abilities—their shock would reach new heights.
Pushing that thought aside, Memphis narrowed his eyes at the E3 Level 33 zombie. This monster chose to consume brains and internal organs—the most grotesque parts. But why? Brains made some sense, given they housed medicinal crystals. But organs? Why not eat ribs or thighs—the "prime cuts"?
After instructing Wylie and his team not to provoke or lure E3 further—just occasionally dropping 100g of meat to keep it contained—while beginning drone surveillance of all zombies around the Crimson Flame Town area, Memphis set off once again.With the north and west secure, he still needed to inspect the southern area near Iron Stone Town and the central Renaissance area. He couldn’t linger here marveling at his foes.An attack from an E3 level 33 was simply terrifying. If it hit an armored BMP-1 vehicle, it would undoubtedly pierce through front to back, destroying everything inside—or, at the very least, punch a hole while the residual force turned the entire crew into minced flesh.Truly horrifying.The most revolting thing in this apocalypse wasn’t a horde of tens of thousands of zombies but the Devouring Type. A horde of 70,000 zombies might be held back by 1,000 defenders, but against a Devouring Type? Haha, a thousand people from Hope Town would just line up to be devoured.
This was an incredibly powerful zombie horde, only slightly weaker than the Sunny Hills horde. Moreover, they were unrestrained defensively—they were fully in attack mode.Once they moved to attack, it would be an unrelenting onslaught.However, this horde’s advance was not particularly fast, covering only a few dozen meters per hour. Their trajectory shifted inconsistently between left and right, as though they had yet to settle on a specific target.Five kilometers southeast of the horde’s current position was a massive bridge spanning the Grieving River—Grieving River Bridge—connecting Whiskey County and Lakeside County.
The vehicle took 20 minutes to transport Memphis back to the Renaissance district's center, now concentrating 70% of Hope Town's forces. This was the next patrol point he needed to personally oversee.The central Renaissance area housed 200 regular team members, 50 reserves, and 200 logistical personnel, all under Jarred's management. They were actively executing plans to clear out the remaining 60% of the district’s area.Tasks included using loudspeakers to broadcast messages to hidden survivors, breaking into houses to eliminate trapped zombies, scavenging all remaining resources, raiding tech stores, draining vehicle fuel tanks, removing street car batteries, retrieving paper documents from government offices, and raiding company headquarters for machine operation manuals.Though the workload was heavy and the district vast, surviving humanity had vastly evolved. Official team members had all surpassed level 7, their strength and stamina significantly enhanced, their numbers large
One member recently killed a mutated cockroach, a level-12 creature the size of a wrist. In doing so, they acquired the Tier-2 passive skill "Omnivore" and were now requesting an exchange for a Tier-3 skill from the higher-ups.This skill perfectly encapsulated the essence of cockroaches: the ability to consume virtually anything. Those who learned this skill could eat wood, dirt, paper, plastic, rotten corpses, and even zombie flesh, digesting it as though it were normal food. The downside? They would permanently lose their sense of taste, unable to experience flavors ever again.After some deliberation, Memphis decided to pass on the opportunity, leaving it to someone with more... adventurous tastes. Jokingly, he thought, while he had often imagined himself starving underground, he would never stoop to eating dirt. If that day ever came, he’d simply use the Tier-3 "Big Earth Manipulation" skill from his backpack to dig his way out instead of consuming dirt to survive.Besides, with
In short, as long as this barrier exists, no wild zombies can infiltrate the area under its protection. Even if they manage to enter, they cannot hide or cause harm. Humans living within the zone will enjoy maximum security.The stronger the faction, the denser the human population within, and the more resources and higher level of development it commands, the broader the barrier's coverage. The instant elimination threshold for zombies will also rise accordingly.However, the system is not without its weaknesses.Firstly, when the barrier purges zombies within its range, its area shrinks. If the barrier's size falls below 30% of its previous day's coverage, the Safe Crystal loses its ability to level up or regenerate. Once its coverage drops to 10%, the Safe Crystal enters a self-destruction process, eventually disappearing permanently.The idea of throwing the crystal into a zombie horde was abandoned immediately. While it would indeed kill many zombies, the crystal itself would be
Setting these concerns aside, Memphis focused on the third function of the Safe Crystal, which perhaps most justified its name.The first function, the protective barrier, safeguarded the entire territory.The second function, the trading market, enhanced the residents' defensive capabilities.The third function, however, allowed the crystal’s owner to escape danger, returning to the protected zone.The purple star in his hand could temporarily detach five smaller star fragments from its core. When the imbued skill within these fragments was activated, the
Company Diamond Valley."You fool, you worthless scum, don't you know how to act like a decent human being?"Memphis Jackman stood in front of the director's desk, his head bowed, eyes fixed on his shoes, silently enduring the stream of vulgar curses. If it weren't for the 3000 USD monthly salary, he would have long since stormed up and kicked that idiotic fat man.His director, Lionel Hester, was a hybrid between a hippopotamus and a wild boar. Clearly, Diamond Valley was a scam company, yet he demanded that Memphis Jackman do upright and legitimate work.Like a brothel forcing its prostitutes to build a temple for chastity.Of course, Memphis could do it, but the righteous tasks he performed were just to cover up for the other idiots in the company, allowing them to reap the benefits.If those idiots were also only getting 3000 USD like Memphis, he wouldn't have cared. But they were getting 10,000 USD. Wasn't this a blatant exploitation of him? Clearly, their skills were equal, so w
At that moment, the sky outside the window suddenly darkened, and a storm, along with thunder, erupted, causing the windows to shake. Memphis was first stunned, then, feeling a premonition, looked up at the sky.There, a gigantic skull had appeared from nowhere. The skull, surrounded by swirling black clouds and lightning, seemed to stretch from a distant void, taking up half the sky.Memphis's face froze in terror. What... what the hell was that?Before he could think further, the skull opened its enormous mouth and spoke in a booming voice that seemed to pierce through his eardrums:"Lowly ants, your days of leisure are over. From today, I will make you taste my wrath. Get ready to face my fury, join my game, and make me pleased, ha ha ha ha..."As soon as the skull finished speaking, countless beams of light shot out from its eye sockets, entering the atmosphere from different angles. Memphis's eyes widened as he watched one beam head straight for him, hitting the top of his head w