C10 Apocalyptic Civilization 002 Star

"Howl, howl, howl..." Fei Liang's world went black. When his sight returned, a cacophony of noises bombarded his ears, and his eyes opened to an alien landscape.

Ruins lay in disarray, advertisements strewn amidst the muck, weathered and rotting from exposure. Trees, as if ravaged by a typhoon, were toppled in every direction. It was unmistakably a forsaken world.

"Holy shit, zombies!" Fei Liang's heart skipped a beat, his scalp tingling with dread. He found himself in a crumbling building, surrounded by roughly thirty zombies, eerily reminiscent of those from the movie "Resident Evil."

"Exactly, Mr. Fei," Meier affirmed with a nod and a blink. "You're on Planet 002, within the Apocalyptic Civilization of the Human Realm. This world has been steeped in apocalypse for years now, so you must be vigilant."

"Uh, ah, wait, Meier!" Fei Liang started, but the zombies were already lunging at him.

The zombies, unphased by Fei Liang's alarm, howled with excitement and charged, their speed outpacing a human sprinter. Their decaying forms, writhing with maggots, nearly made Fei Liang retch.

In an instant, six or seven zombies were snarling before him.

"Run!" The thought was instinctive, but escape was not an option.

With no retreat, Fei Liang suppressed his fear and revulsion, brandishing his weapon. A few swift strokes and three or four heads soared through the air.

A blade? Indeed, a sleek, razor-sharp Tang Blade, over two meters in length.

But there was no time to ponder; nearly ten more zombies were upon him.

With a battle cry, Fei Liang steadied his resolve. The long blade sliced through two zombies, drenching him in their vile blood. Unfazed, Fei Liang stood his ground, now encircled by over twenty snarling zombies.

"Damn it!" Fei Liang clenched his teeth, his blade slicing through the air, severing several zombies in two. Overwhelmed by their sheer numbers, he found himself in disarray, letting out a pained groan as a zombie seized the opportunity to wound him. Though he managed to bisect the creature, more zombies swarmed around him, and even the halved ones relentlessly dragged themselves toward him.

"Mr. Fei, you fool, you'll either be killed by them or die from exhaustion. You need to break out first!" Meier's timely advice reached Fei Liang's ears.

"Right! Break out first!" A spark of clarity returned to Fei Liang's bloodshot eyes as he spotted an opening and charged in that direction.

Zombies, lacking any consciousness or intelligence, were driven purely by their feeding instincts. Their encirclement was far from tight or effective. Seizing the moment, Fei Liang swiftly escaped after dispatching three more zombies.

But the respite was brief. The zombies quickly regrouped and lunged at Fei Liang, while the bisected ones on the ground crawled eerily towards him.

"Meier, what's happening? How can that zombie still move?" Fei Liang exclaimed in horror.

"What's so surprising?" Meier replied with a dismissive twist of her lips. "Zombies are dead things. They move solely because of the virus inside them, which mainly resides in the host's brain. You can't take them down without destroying the brain. Of course, destroying their entire body works too."

"Uh, hmph, I'll just chop off its head." Distracted, Fei Liang was struck again. He groaned in pain and angrily declared, "Damn it, you think I'm a sick cat when I'm really a tiger?" With that, he cleaved another zombie in two and plunged back into the fray.

"Ah, go to hell!"

"Die, you vile creature!"

"Yah!"

"…" Fei Liang charged, his blade dancing through the horde, slashing, hacking, slicing, and cleaving. Soon, zombies lay dismembered around him—heads, limbs, and torsos scattered, their entrails and viscera strewn across the ground, splattering Fei Liang from head to toe. Yet, he remained unfazed amidst the carnage.

No, to be more exact, he had become numb to it all. Suppressing the urge to vomit, Fei Liang pressed on in the fight.

The relentless, high-intensity battles had significantly boosted Fei Liang's prowess. His combat skills and abilities were steadily advancing. At this point, Fei Liang's strength was nearly on par with that of Lee Shanfeng.

And the blade—its material was a mystery. After slicing through countless Zombies, it remained perfectly sharp, without so much as a nick. It was nothing short of miraculous.

"Meier, what's happening? Why can't the protective shield hold back these damned Zombies?" Fei Liang grumbled, slicing off another grotesque head after suffering another scratch.

"The shield is designed to activate passively only when the threat exceeds your capacity to handle it. We don't want you to become dependent on it," Meier explained.

"Damn it, kill!" Fei Liang had made some headway, but then several more Zombies lunged at him, the closest one mere inches away.

"Shua, shua, shua." With three swift strikes, Fei Liang beheaded two Zombies, while a third, more nimble one, dodged, losing only an arm.

"Hmm? What's this about?" Fei Liang noticed that a few of the Zombies seemed tougher than the others.

"Those are K2," Meier informed him. "K2? What's that?" Fei Liang asked, confused.

"The virus that turns people into Zombies on this planet is known as the K virus. The newly turned are K1, the evolved are K2, and so on. K1's strength is below Yellow Level, K2's is comparable to the Yellow Level Early Period, and K3's to the Yellow Level Late Period. Each evolution boosts the Zombie's strength by two minor levels," Meier clarified.

"What? This thing can evolve?" Fei Liang was astonished but quickly dispatched two approaching K2s, given their mere Yellow Level Early Period strength.

"Never underestimate a virus. It's a form of life, and one of the most perfect at that. Any life form is capable of evolution," Meier cautioned with gravity. "Underestimating your enemy could lead to a heavy price, Mr. Fei!"

"Damn, Meier, focus on healing my wounds first," Fei Liang grunted, wincing as he aggravated his injuries. He was dealing with no less than five wounds at this point.

"Okay, Mr. Fei, it will take three crystals. Are you sure about that?" Meier asked, her head tilting slightly in concern.

"Three crystals? That seems excessive. These wounds aren't that severe. Last time it only took four, and besides, we're just dealing with a consciousness here," Fei Liang said, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Mr. Fei, one crystal is enough to heal your physical injuries, but it takes two more to eradicate the virus in your system," Meier explained with patience.

"Got it. Let's proceed with the recovery," Fei Liang nodded in agreement.

"Of course, Mr. Fei," Meier responded.

The next instant, a wave of warmth and comfort flowed from Fei Liang's chest to the surrounding wounds. His injuries visibly mended at a remarkable pace, and the mysterious chill that had seeped into his body dissipated just as quickly. Before long, he felt as good as new.

Meanwhile, Fei Liang had managed to dispatch every Zombie in the vicinity. His gaze swept over the area, revealing not a single intact Zombie. The ground was littered with the remains of Zombies, dismembered limbs, and twitching halves of creatures that had once been whole—no fewer than thirty in total. Organs, intestines, shattered bones, flesh, and tainted blood painted a macabre scene, resembling a terrestrial hell.

"Ugh... Ugh... Ugh..." The wave of intense tension gave way to a flood of discomfort, nausea, and fear. Fei Liang could no longer hold back. Leaning on his knife for support, he crouched down and began to heave violently.

It took a while, but after emptying his stomach of its contents, Fei Liang finally felt some relief. With great effort, he slowly rose to his feet, dragging his knife behind him as he staggered away from the gruesome site.