Wen Yu stood on the top floor of the residential building, ignoring the scattered bodies, dirty blood, and dismembered limbs strewn all around him. He leaned against the handrail, drawing in deep, ragged breaths.
After bidding farewell to his young neighbor upstairs, Wen Yu had relentlessly set about clearing out the zombies, first on the fifth floor, then the sixth, and finally the seventh. It was a task full of close calls and heart-stopping moments. However, after he was done with the seventh floor, he finally accumulated the points he needed.
"Check points," he said aloud.
"DING! Remaining points: 12."
It was all worth it. In his previous life, it had taken Wen Yu three months from the beginning of the apocalypse to gain enough points and become a professionist.
But this time?
Only a few hours. This was his advantage, and Wen Yu knew that becoming stronger first would give him an edge. The stronger he became, the better his chances of survival were during the demon plague set to arrive half a year into the apocalypse.
Wen Yu squinted at the quiet city outside. The apocalypse doesn't seem so scary anymore, he realized for the first time.
He returned to his small rented room on the third floor, quickly consumed some food, and lay down on the bed for a rest.
As his fatigue began to fade, Wen Yu picked up his weapon and set off again.
The corridor was littered with bodies. The newly mutated zombies still bore a stark resemblance to humans, creating a chillingly terrifying atmosphere. Wen Yu was long immune to such scenes. Never mind a few corpses; he'd dare to charge into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, provided his own life wasn't threatened.
Nonchalantly stepping on a corpse's fingers and breaking them, Wen Yu left the building and headed towards the community entrance. The building where Wen Yu resided was approximately a hundred meters from the community entrance—a short distance in ordinary times. But since the beginning of the apocalypse, the hundred meters between the community gate and his building had become an arduous journey. Countless limbs and blood filled this short path, with at least a dozen zombies either feasting on something or continually wandering about.
Wen Yu gripped his weapon harder, resolutely staring at the Exchange Stone Pillar emitting a milky white light at the gate. It was his hope, and the hope of humankind in fighting against mutant beasts and Demon Fiends.
Dealing with zombies didn't scare Wen Yu. Besides, humans had one powerful weapon against the zombies—wisdom.
He knocked on the corridor door with the spear in his hand. CLANG! CLANG! The sound echoed far and wide. The zombies closest to Wen Yu heard the noise and staggered towards him. Wen Yu waited as the zombies approached slowly. The clear sound of impact couldn't escape the surrounding zombies. When they got closer, he found that more than ten zombies had gathered in front of the corridor.
He thrust his spear. Against these slow-moving targets, as long as I'm not surrounded, these low-level creatures are just mobile points for me, Wen Yu thought with absolute confidence. The continuous thrusts cost Wen Yu a lot of strength but also took the lives of many zombies. By the time Wen Yu had retreated while fighting, almost reaching the fourth floor, the last zombie fell before him.
"Another ten-plus points." Wen Yu broke into a grin as he watched his points soar.
Walking on the blood-stained floor, Wen Yu returned to the entrance of the corridor. Seeing the noticeable decrease in zombies outside, he grasped his weapon and stealthily dashed out. The remaining zombies could no longer pose a significant threat to Wen Yu. Seeing the Stone Pillar drawing nearer, Wen Yu felt an increasing frenzy.
Almost there, almost there! He quickly stabbed another zombie to death. Wen Yu estimated he was only about 50 meters from the Stone Pillar. And with his continuous killing spree, only one zombie remained between him and the Stone Pillar.
It was a beautiful woman Wen Yu often saw while commuting. Her simple professional attire could not hide her enchanting grace. Unfortunately, she hadn't survived the virus outbreak at the onset of the apocalypse. Seeing the woman he had once fantasized about aimlessly lingering around the Stone Pillar, Wen Yu gripped his weapon even tighter. Due to zombification, the beautiful zombie's eyesight had noticeably deteriorated; she completely failed to notice Wen Yu slowly approaching from a distance.
Calm down, calm down, he told himself. Staring at the zombie ahead, Wen Yu couldn't suppress the ecstatic anticipation surging in his heart. I'm about to become a professionist! Will I be the first in the world? Or the second? Definitely one of the earliest! He was thrilled.
He rapidly closed the distance: forty meters... thirty-five... thirty... Closer and closer.
Suddenly, a terrifying growl filled the air, interrupting Wen Yu's fantasy of life in the apocalypse.
Wen Yu's pupils constricted. The final hurdle in his path—the zombie—was suddenly flung away by a grey shadow. The beautiful woman's severed head flew high into the air, dark red blood splattering everywhere. Her lifeless, pale eyes stared straight at Wen Yu.
A shiver ran down Wen Yu's spine. He stood frozen to the spot, unable to move a single step. Because Wen Yu saw what had ambushed the zombie.
It was a dog, a dog he was quite familiar with.
The residents of the community called it Cyclops because it had only one eye. The other eye had been lost by the time it arrived in the area, leaving only a blurry, bloody socket. Judging by the wound, it had clearly been inflicted by a human.
The community where Wen Yu lived was not an upscale one. Its messy environment, nominal security, and perfunctory property management led to numerous stray animals nearby. Among them, Cyclops left the most lasting impression. About a year ago, this stray dog had arrived near the community. Its frightening eye wound, its matted grey fur, and its limping gait made even the most kind-hearted girls keep their distance.
At that time, Cyclops was only half a meter long and fought daily with stray cats and dogs for food. Its fierce fighting style quickly turned it into the best-fed among the strays. Naturally, having grown up in such an environment, Cyclops had no affection for humans. Every time it saw passers-by, it would glare at them with its single eye, making their skin crawl. Wen Yu was, of course, no exception.
Logically, Wen Yu wouldn't fear an ordinary stray dog. However, with the arrival of the apocalypse, the air on Earth had become contaminated with Demonic Qi. Animals didn't turn into zombies; instead, they transformed into something far more terrifying—mutant beasts.
Cyclops was also a beneficiary of this catastrophe, and quite a significant one. Its body had grown to more than three times its original size, now measuring over two meters long and more than a meter tall. Although its mottled grey fur was as ugly as before, its taut skin clearly hinted at the explosive strength of the muscles beneath. The massive body size came with massive strength. Just now, Cyclops's pounce had sent Wen Yu's dream girl flying at least three meters, and then its sharp teeth had torn off the zombie's head in a single bite.
Wen Yu knew for sure—this stray dog, detested by everyone, had evolved.
A Level 1 mutant creature.
For an ordinary person like Wen Yu, Cyclops was now a death bringer.