Chapter 20: A Hard-Fought Battle

“Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.” Ye Nan stood at a distance, deeply shaken and amazed beyond words.

He knew the apocalypse was cruel, but never expected it to be this brutal. To survive, one could sacrifice even their own brothers. No doubt, this fat man was a ruthless villain. Yet, ironically, it was such people who thrived in the apocalypse; those who were kind-hearted had long been exploited or killed.

After the Level 2 zombie bit the blond and the long-haired man to death, it still pursued the fat man. However, due to the earlier delay, there was a considerable distance between them.

Just as the fat man exhaled in relief, the Level 2 zombie let out a furious roar and suddenly accelerated, quickly closing the gap.

His expression changed drastically, sensing imminent danger. The blood-soaked clothes on his body not only attracted the Level 2 zombie but also several ordinary zombies from afar, surrounding him.

“Damn it!” the fat man roared in fury, teeth grinding with hatred. If he escaped this time, he swore to kill Ye Nan.

Without hesitation, he ripped off the bloodied clothes and threw them at the zombies, but it was useless—his skin was already stained with blood, drawing their attention. Reluctantly, he activated his supernatural ability, beginning to slaughter the zombies in hopes of carving out a bloody path.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Surrounded by surging energy, icy breaths formed around his body, transforming into ice shards that shot out indiscriminately in all directions.

Several zombies were struck, but since their weak points were their heads, wounds elsewhere didn't halt their advance.

Only four zombies fell after this attack; the rest continued to besiege him.

Watching from afar, Ye Nan thought ice-element users were quite formidable, but purely in terms of offensive power, his own lightning abilities were undeniably stronger.

The Level 2 zombie had caught up and opened its mouth wide, revealing sharp, gleaming teeth, biting fiercely.

The fat man barely dodged, barely avoiding the attack.

The zombie seemed enraged, roaring loudly as it advanced, extending a razor-sharp claw as long as an average human’s index finger, swiping at him.

Blocks of ice appeared before the fat man, striking the zombie’s claw and momentarily dulling its movement before shattering. The terrifying claw still lunged forward, but the fat man seized the opportunity to retreat.

Cornered with nowhere to run, he summoned all his supernatural energy and shouted, “Frozen Thousand Miles!”

This was a skill he had mastered after gaining ice powers. Instantly, the Level 2 zombie’s body began to freeze, ice spreading rapidly until it was encased in a massive frozen sculpture.

“Hahaha, even a Level 2 zombie is nothing special.” The fat man panted heavily, smiling gleefully. Once he absorbed the crystal core from the zombie, he was confident his own ability would rise to Level 2—and then he’d slaughter that brat who had caused him trouble, tearing him limb from limb.

He laughed heartily, already picturing Ye Nan under his feet. But soon, his smile vanished as cracks appeared on the ice statue.

Crack!

With a sharp sound, the ice shattered completely, revealing the towering, terrifying form of the Level 2 zombie. It reached out, grabbed the fat man, and tore him in half, blood gushing forth.

“Damn, how brutal!” Ye Nan’s heart trembled. Compared with Level 1 zombies, Level 2 were incomparably stronger.

Fortunately, Ye Nan was also Level 2; otherwise, he would have fled by now.

After a few bites, the zombie shifted its focus to Ye Nan. He took out a bottle of blood from the Thunder Tower and threw it far away.

The zombie, lacking intelligence, abandoned Ye Nan and charged toward the blood.

Ye Nan approached the fat man’s corpse and began searching. Sure enough, inside the skull was a crystal core. It seemed not only mutated zombies but also awakened humans with supernatural powers could generate these cores.

He quickly absorbed the core, feeling his strength grow again. The fat man must have understood the secret of the cores and absorbed many, nearing Level 2 himself. Otherwise, Ye Nan wouldn’t have felt such a clear boost after absorbing it.

This time, Ye Nan took the initiative, charging forward with his thunder sword raised, striking hard.

The Level 2 zombie blocked with its arm. Despite the sword’s immense power, it couldn’t sever the limb—only leaving a wound. This proved just how absurdly tough Level 2 zombies were.

“I refuse to believe I can’t break through your defense,” Ye Nan muttered, swinging repeatedly. He opened several wounds on the zombie’s arm but couldn’t cut through.

“Damn, so strong!” He was shocked. He had thought that as a Level 2 supernatural user, dealing with a Level 2 zombie wouldn’t be too hard. But this one was no ordinary Level 2; it was among the strongest in its class.

The zombie roared furiously, launching simple but brutal attacks—biting and slashing with claws.

Ye Nan moved like lightning, dodging attacks and countering with his thunder sword, leaving wounds everywhere.

Instead of attacking the upper body, he targeted the legs, which were less protected. Severing them would cripple the zombie, making the fight much easier.

He could have used a gun, but chose not to. Gunfire would attract more zombies and survivors, and he wanted to test the zombie’s combat abilities while honing his own skills—two birds with one stone.

Summoning his energy, Ye Nan formed a two-meter-long lightning whip in his left hand, crackling with electric arcs.

When he was Level 1, he could already manifest lightning tendrils; now, with his strength increased, creating a whip was effortless.

He lashed the whip against the zombie’s legs, tearing open wounds and spraying blood. His right hand wielded the thunder sword, simultaneously slashing. Under this dual assault, one of the zombie’s legs was finally disabled.

Now it could only stand on one leg, its mobility severely hindered and forced onto the defensive.

“Now it’s my turn to deal damage—hmph!”

The combined thunder sword and whip attacks left the zombie defenseless. Though it raised its hand to protect its head, the flexible whip bent around, striking repeatedly and bruising the zombie’s head black with electric power.

Finally, with a piercing thrust of his sword into the zombie’s head, it collapsed, motionless—defeated.

Ye Nan exhaled deeply, exhausted. Another Level 2 zombie would overwhelm him.

Killing Level 1 zombies was easy, which had lulled him into a false sense of security. Facing a powerful Level 2, he realized the vast gap in strength. He’d rather fight ten Level 1 zombies than one Level 2—it was truly draining.

He collected the zombie’s crystal core.

The fierce battle had attracted more zombies, who now surrounded Ye Nan. But he had no time to waste; fleeing was the best option.

He fought his way into a shopping mall but didn’t rush to loot. Instead, he found an empty lounge, locked the door, and began absorbing the Level 2 core. With enough strength, finding supplies would be simple.

Absorbing a Level 2 core took much longer than a Level 1, but the power gained was far greater.

When Ye Nan finished absorbing, he felt a significant boost in strength. If he faced a Level 2 zombie now, the fight would be far easier.

He left the lounge and began gathering supplies.

Descending to the basement floor, a large supermarket, he found everything imaginable: rice, bread, bottled water, flour, clothes, toys—the list went on.

He opened the tower’s portal and indiscriminately collected everything into the Thunder Tower.

These supplies would last him a very long time.

As he prepared to ascend, he noticed a large storage warehouse nearby. The stock inside must be substantial.

Ye Nan approached the warehouse door and pushed hard, but it wouldn’t budge. He muttered, “Could someone be inside?”

Inside, five people stood behind the door, peering through the peephole at Ye Nan.

Three were mall security guards. The others were a portly middle-aged man with a receding hairline—Manager Wang—and beside him, a striking woman in a bright red off-shoulder mini dress: his wife, Liu Yue.

Manager Wang’s appearance was hard to describe favorably, but Liu Yue was a breathtaking beauty. Not only was her face exquisite, but her curves were stunning—especially her full, rounded hips wider than her shoulders, igniting desire at a glance.

One guard whispered to Manager Wang, “Boss, why don’t we let this kid in? We’ve been holed up here for days, no clue what’s happening outside. He looks harmless—no threat.”

Another added, “Yeah, with communications down, this clueless feeling is unbearable.”

The third guard said, “What if after questioning him, we let him leave and he brings people to wipe us out? That’d be suicide.”

The first guard sneered, “Easy—just kill him. There’s no law anymore; do whatever you want.”

“Right, question then kill—better safe than sorry. What do you think, boss?”

Manager Wang nodded, “Let him in first, see how it goes. Maybe we can persuade him to stay and serve us. If not, well... send him to meet the king of hell.”

Liu Yue warned, “Although he looks weak, we can’t be careless. Don’t want to get caught off guard.”

“Agreed.” Wang turned to a guard. “You open the door.”

The guard took a kitchen knife and cautiously opened the door.

Ye Nan was about to use his powers to break in but stopped when he saw the door open. His guard heightened—never trust easily in the apocalypse. The fat man’s betrayal was still fresh in his mind.

“Come on, kid, don’t stand there—get in! What if zombies rush in?” the guard urged.

Ye Nan carefully scanned for any supernatural energy but detected none inside, suggesting no powered individuals. That was somewhat reassuring.

He remained cautious and stepped inside slowly.

The guard closed the door and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Ye Nan.”

“How’s the outside? Any rescue teams?”

“Zombies everywhere. No rescue teams in sight.”

Manager Wang frowned. “If zombies are everywhere, how did you get in?”

Ye Nan explained, “I played music on my phone attached to a drone to lure nearby zombies away, then slipped in.”

Wang gave a thumbs-up. “Smart.”

Ye Nan continued, “This disaster might last a long time. I guess about ninety percent of people have turned into zombies. It’s dangerous out there. This place is a good refuge.”

Liu Yue sighed, “We were planning to leave in a few days, but after what you said, that’s out of the question.”

Ye Nan glanced at Liu Yue, struck by her beauty, and smiled. “What’s your name, sister?”

“I’m Liu Yue.” The term ‘sister’ brightened her mood considerably.

“Liu Yue?” Ye Nan paused. “So I should call you... Liu Yue?”