C4 Looking for the Crystal Nucleus

Ding! The bolt missed its mark, striking the wall instead. Chen Cheng quickly reloaded his crossbow.

Whoosh! A head was struck.

The headless monster moved even more sluggishly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Three successive shots later, the creature was finally slain.

Chen Cheng drew his machete and began searching for the crystal nucleus.

The system claimed three crystal nuclei, and Chen Cheng understood why the monster had transformed. The dog and two zombies had been bound together, and over time, they had fused.

"Huh? That's odd. How come there's no reaction outside after all that commotion? There's definitely something fishy going on!"

Chen Cheng rummaged through the room but found nothing of value.

As he was about to open the door, a strong sense of danger gripped him. He quickly readied his crossbow, preparing to head to the stairwell and leave the basement.

Suddenly, the pungent stench of decay hit him, and he tensed instinctively.

In the stairwell, several zombies lay with their heads shattered, their brains nowhere to be found.

"Has someone been here? If it was a person, where did the brains go?"

Noticing the fresh, sticky trails of blood, Chen Cheng deduced that these zombies hadn't been dead for long.

Shua! Shua! Faint noises reached his ears, and the sensation of being watched crept over him again.

"Who's there?"

Chen Cheng looked behind him, sweeping the area with his flashlight.

Nothing seemed out of place, yet his gut feeling warned him he was being watched.

Ascending to the villa's first floor, he discovered over thirty zombies strewn about.

Some appeared to have been gnawed on, their bellies ripped open, intestines spilling out.

Chen Cheng spun around abruptly.

A baby-sized zombie was fixated on him, eyeing Chen Cheng as if he were its next meal.

Unlike the other zombies, with their shriveled skin, this baby looked almost human, except for its pallor and white pupils. Its sharp teeth were bared, clenching a segment of intestine.

The beam from the flashlight seemed to agitate the infant zombie. It let out a piercing shriek, a cry so shrill and unsettling that one might instinctively want to shield their eyes from the light.

With a swift pull of the trigger, the crossbow bolt flew out in a flash.

It seemed the baby zombie hadn't detected Chen Cheng's flashlight, and luck was on Chen Cheng's side as the bolt struck the creature squarely in the abdomen.

With a ferocious roar, the wounded baby zombie bared its teeth and claws at Chen Cheng, lunging at him in a blur of motion.

Chen Cheng, with no time to fire a second bolt, stashed it in his space and charged with his machete in hand.

Armed with his Basic Combat Technique, Chen Cheng was undaunted by the diminutive baby zombie.

In a mere moment, the zombie infant's speed matched Chen Cheng's, even surpassing him slightly. It swiped viciously at Chen Cheng's heart, but with swift reflexes, Chen Cheng retracted his machete and used it to shield his chest, all the while delivering a punishing knee strike to the creature.

"This zombie infant is surprisingly strong."

The sharp pain in his knee and the sight of his machete's shattered blade weighed heavily on Chen Cheng's mind.

Had his crossbow bolt not found its mark, Chen Cheng knew he wouldn't have fared well in the encounter.

The zombie infant was sent flying half a meter, crashing into the wall before tumbling to the ground.

Far from being cowed, the creature became even more savage, like a wild beast unleashed.

It righted itself, ignoring the arrow lodged in its flesh, and charged at Chen Cheng once more, its speed like a flash of lightning.

"Damn it, let's see if you're tougher or if my iron rod is!" Chen Cheng growled.

He swiftly switched weapons, thrusting the iron rod he had found first and never discarded, due to its remarkable sturdiness.

The zombie infant's kick landed heavily on Chen Cheng's chest, leaving him breathless as if struck by a bullet, while his iron rod impaled the creature's chest.

Chen Cheng had gambled on his armor's protection to grapple with the zombie infant.

Despite the iron rod piercing its chest, the zombie infant continued to snap its jaws and flail its small limbs, desperately trying to claw at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng's gaze turned icy.

With a swift motion, he summoned a machete into his hand and swung it viciously at the head of the zombie infant.

Bang! "This zombie infant isn't like the others."

Chen Cheng examined the machete, puzzled. Contrary to his expectations, the blade hadn't split the infant's head open but had lodged itself in the skull, leaving the creature still squirming.

"If one slash won't do it, then I'll make it two," he muttered.

Like a seasoned butcher, Chen Cheng swung his machete with lethal precision.

Thud! Thud! Thud! After three relentless strikes, the zombie infant's head finally burst open.

"Huh? No crystal nucleus?"

Chen Cheng surveyed the scattered brain matter with astonishment.

"Di... Soul energy detected. Di... Unable to store. Enhancing host."

The system's voice echoed in Chen Cheng's mind, sending a shiver through his body. A soothing warmth spread through him, leaving him feeling comfortably toasty and invigorated.

The sensation was fleeting, lasting mere seconds, but it left Chen Cheng feeling at his peak.

He quickly checked his wristband, but there was no change in its attributes.

"What's happening here?"

Chen Cheng queried the system as he tidied up.

"Insufficient authority."

"..."

Chen Cheng was at a loss for words.

The wilderness was bleak, increasingly distant from the city. As he traversed the road, the severity of the desertification was undeniable.

Here and there lay skeletons and the decaying remains of zombies.

No wreckage of cars or other vehicles marred the path, only sparse ruins marking what once was a road, with half-buried basements and shopfronts.

Now, he was following the sound of a recent explosion, hoping to find other survivors.

"This damned apocalypse... Why can't I even catch a glimpse of a shadow? Has humanity been wiped out?"

Chen Cheng mused aloud as he continued on his way.

He settled into a relatively intact house after ensuring its safety and setting up defenses, then began to rest.

The first half of the night passed in silence.

Suddenly, a rustling noise reached Chen Cheng's ears.

"Something's up!"

Chen Cheng peered toward the source of the noise, his ears perked up in alert.

The sound seemed to be drawing nearer with each passing moment.

He activated a red glow stick, brandished his machete, and silently awaited the arrival of the unknown creature.

Chen had sealed off the surrounding windows, ensuring no light escaped, and left only one entrance—a classic trap.

The rustling grew louder, and suddenly, a shiver ran down Chen's spine as he was confronted by a cockroach the size of half a tire.

"Holy smokes! That's one massive cockroach!"

He silently cursed, gripping the machete tighter. This cockroach was his first quarry, and he was determined to take it down.

The cockroach noticed Chen first, lifting its head and opening its mouth as its antennae waved menacingly, emitting a hissing noise.

"Oh no, this beast better not be summoning its friends!"

Unable to wait any longer, Chen charged at the cockroach, blade swinging.

The cockroach dodged with surprising agility, causing Chen to miss on his first attempt.

But Chen managed to drive the insect into a room he had prepared earlier.

He tossed a white glow stick inside and followed it in, ready for the showdown.

"Gotcha now, you're trapped," he taunted. "Let's see you dodge this."

The cockroach's hesitation emboldened Chen.

"Next time, I might just bring some bug spray."

With a smirk, he seized the moment and lunged at the cockroach, quickly dispatching it.

"Beep! Weak soul energy detected. System unable to store. Enhancing host."

Chen felt a wave of goosebumps. The system's voice—was that not the cockroach's soul? He checked his wristband for any changes but found none. Without dwelling on it, he proceeded to dissect the cockroach.

Besides a foul-smelling liquid, he found a milky-white sphere.

Driven by curiosity, Chen extracted it and examined it closely.

Just then, Chen Cheng felt a presence charging toward him, its roars and heavy footsteps unnervingly distinct in the vicinity. Without hesitation, he discarded the milky white sphere and concealed himself.

"Yes! With this zombie down, I'll have 36 crystal nuclei in my collection."

Peering through a crack in the wall, Chen Cheng got a good look at the intruding zombie. It paused at the doorway, sniffing the air before excitedly advancing toward the cockroach carcass. Spotting the abandoned sphere on the ground, the zombie lunged at it, devouring it with a voracity indistinguishable from that of a wild animal.

Seizing the opportunity while the zombie was distracted with its meal, Chen Cheng stealthily approached. When he was merely a meter away, the zombie whirled around, locking its milky white, lifeless eyes with his. Fangs bared, it continued to gnaw on the lump of cockroach flesh.

"Aooo!"

Before the zombie could let out a full cry, Chen Cheng swung his blade with full force at the creature's head. The strike was close to landing but was deflected by the zombie's flailing arms. The machete thudded dully against its limb.

"Damn, hit the bone."

Chen Cheng quickly retracted the machete, readying himself for another strike. This zombie's bones were unusually tough, not at all like the osteoporotic ones he'd encountered before.

The zombie reached out with its other hand, aiming for Chen Cheng's head. With a swift backhand, he blocked the attack and rammed the helmet on his head into the zombie's grotesque face. No matter the zombie's strength, its head remained its greatest vulnerability, and it stumbled backward, reeling from the blow.

"Now's my chance!"

Gripping the machete firmly, Chen Cheng summoned all his strength and delivered a vicious slash to the zombie's neck.

"Shua!"

The zombie's head tumbled to the ground like a deflated ball.

Exhaling forcefully, Chen Cheng collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Despite the simplicity of his actions, each move required intense concentration and every ounce of his strength.

"This zombie was almost as strong as me. Without my weapon and armor, I'd stand no chance against it in hand-to-hand combat."

Chen Cheng simultaneously summarized the battle as he engaged in combat.